As the name implies, this restaurant aims to make you feel as if you are eating food cooked by your…read morebeloved lola. The place surely helps toward achieving their desired effect. Local hardwood railings and native accents are in abundance. The tables are the high backed variety that we frequently see in old houses. The food is almost exclusively native dishes. I say almost because they serve cream dory in white sauce and I'm pretty sure that's not a local dish. Standouts are their Kare-kare and Baked Tahong. They also have Ginataang Tilapia which I rarely see in restaurants nowadays. And whatever happens, don't leave without trying their Halo-halo. The have many ingredients that you can experiment with to help you beat the heat of the tropics. Delicious Filipino dishes that are affordable and you can eat in a homey environment. This is what Lola Maria offers for those who want to relive those days when our lolas would cook for her favorite apos.

There are few spots I tend to hit when in Mandaluyong. This is one of them. The service is…read moreexcellent. The food is masarap (yummy). I especially like to come here for lunch as the buffet is great. This is not the over the top 100 options type of buffet common to Manila these days. This is old school buffet with local cuisine. Try this spot, you will not be disappointed.

Price: 2 stars. Expensive. For 3 people. We ate P3,000++. We had 3 soup and 4 main. No dessert. No…read morecoffee. Food: 4 stars. Soup was served poured from a teapot in front of you for presentation. Excellent plating. Portion is small, as with any fine dining style portioning. Taste is above average. Especially the fried pork belly I'm told is "to die for" (I didn't have any). Serving time is long and we have to wait 30 minutes, we were thinking do they only have one chef to cook? And the place only has two tables that are occupied, ours and another. Minus 0.5 star. Place: 3.5 stars. Ambiance is nice, although it's really a small place. We went there noontime, which they open (at 12nn).

After a couple of weeks of eating out, and sub par food in Manila, Stockton Place was a welcomed…read moresurprise. I'd been told about this place but only made it there on the day we left. My guy commented that he wished we'd come here sooner! Although it took a little while to prepare, they were poaching the chicken, the dishes came out well presented and with thought to them. The mashed potatoes for instance had some flair with flavour and plating. I only wish we had time to try the dessert. The staff are friendly and accommodating. It's a small place so be sure to book if it's a busy night or a big group. I'd recommend trying it out!

When I was helping my girlfriend look for a new place, we found a listing in the building above…read moreRobina Chicken House, and we went there to look at the place. It was a dead end, sadly, but we ended up going inside Robina since it was hot outside and we were famished. This turned out to be splendid idea. Robina, as suggested by its name, served fried and roast chicken, mainly, and in this endeavour it does well enough. However, its main draw for me is their chilled taho, which is just the perfect mix of taho and sugar, and chilled to perfection - best way to cool down on a hot day.

The number of times my family dined out when I was just a kid was few and far in between. So I…read moreremember all my childhood restaurant experiences vividly. Sadly, many of the places where we ate out have closed down. One food place that I never thought to visit again is The Robina Chicken House. I don't know the exact place where I had my first taste of roasted chicken, but I'm sure it was at Robina's. I thought they no longer existed but I was happy to discover their outlet along Finlandia Street in Makati. The restaurant offers many choices of Filipino dishes, including Crispy Pata, Pansit, and Chopsuey. But the only thing that I ordered during my visit was their bestseller, the Roasted Chicken. It took a while before I got my order of half spring chicken but I didn't mind because I was really excited to let my wife sample one of my childhood favorites. The chicken was still juicy and tasty even if it has since turned cold when I arrived home. I really savored each bite and didn't even bother eating with rice. My wife also liked the chicken because the meat was tender. The sauce that came with the chicken is unlike the liver sauce that's become typical these days. Rather, it's a dark brown syrup with strong hints of five-spice. The restaurant is open every day from 9:00am to 10:00pm. They only accept cash.

If you've been following my review feed, you can see that I probably ate in all the Shabu Shabu…read morerestaurants in Manila! Well, those that I know of. If you know of any that I haven't tried, please message me! Tian Tian Hotpot is actually a more recent find of mine despite it being around for years. I always see it when I pass through the Atrium building so i finally decided to try it. When you enter the restaurant, it looks like a typical Chinese restaurant. Nothing too fancy, large tables for big groups and bright white lighting. You can order Chinese food too but I go for the hotpot. You can choose two broths as well for the soup. I alwaya go with one spicy and either a satay or the basic broth. Their menu is pretty complete with different kinds of vegetables, meat, seafood and dumplings. However, what you MUST try is the fish balls with cheese inside! When you bite into it, the mozarella cheese just oozes out. I'd go back just for this!

Great service! The food selection available is so extensive. And the food tastes just like what I…read moreremember Filipino food is supposed to taste...like home cooked, a feast to the palate and you can hardly move after eating because of a large serving size! The best thing about the place is the availability of food sets. Good for a number of people...and price more affordable than if you bought the dishes as single orders. I visited family in Manila and since there was about ten in the dinner group, we ordered 2 of these sets...which, by the way, included pitchers of iced tea...and dessert! The bill...US$86 for the night. Not bad at all! (Although...to the local populace, not all can afford it...but that's another story) I've frequented different location of Gerry's Grill and the food will taste just as good, and the service will just be as top-notch as with any other location. They've been around for twenty years during my visit. They'll be around for a very long time!

This is the first time we tried this branch, and as usual, we came out satisfied and happy. Their…read morefood selection is huge and the price is reasonable. Above all things, their food tasted authentic and full of flavor. Service is outstanding as well.

I couldn't help but be a little disappointed when it actually wasn't a village. Like one of those…read moretheme towns for tourists that display cultural stereotypes which toe the border of political correctness. Korean restaurants in Malate have been around longer than the recent Korean influx, so my opinion of the culture was colored mostly by restaurants like these (as well as Starcraft). Turns out, they're pretty close. Of course, that means that the menu is fairly predictable, with standard dishes like bibimbap and samgyupsal, as well as other favorites. It's really difficult to set one's self apart, especially in an area as condensed with East Asian cuisine. Honestly, I don't even know how old the restaurants are here, since they change names and locations more often than I'd care to remember. For now, Korean Village is pretty good for the price, and at least they don't have themepark food.

Ba Noi's Ca Phe is the more casual (and cheaper) younger brother of the Ba Noi's with which you're…read moreprobably familiar. I'm not sure when the rebrand of this branch happened - some time within the last 6 months - but it certainly is a better fit for the stretch of casual-fare restaurants along East Kapitolyo. The menu is a bit smaller with servings and prices to match. They keep the essentials when one is craving Vietnamese food: Pho, Fried and Fresh Springs Rolls, Vermicelli Noodle toppers. What is notably missing are some of the seafood options that standard Ba Noi's offers. The worthy replacement is their list of Bahn Mi's - vietnamese sandwiches served on a French-influenced brioche with your choice of filling. Head to Ba Noi's for a casual dinner before drinks at Capitol Commons. But, you'll probably want to go for an early dinner, as the parking on Kapitolyo tends to fill up quickly - check to see if there are spots available right in front, across the street the guard at the empty house lets you park if you're nice and let him know you're just going to be eating across the street.

My appointment with a client was cancelled, and so I took the opportunity to have a date with my…read morewife instead. We picked a restaurant wherein there is a high chance that both our families will not eat...and that's Vietnamese food. Ba Nois is a casual dining restaurant with black and white tables and chairs. Its walls hang pictures of Vietnamese lifestyle and culture. To try as much as we can, we ordered the spring roll and pork strips on dry noodles, large size (Php320) and the crepe with bean sprouts and side salad (Php250). Just for the sake of reminiscing our honeymoon in Vietnam, she ordered an iced truong coffee (Php110) while I tried the blended ice mocha (Php150). The crepe came out first and we were happy to see that it looked like the one we had in Vietnam. The crispy crust, eaten together with the bean sprouts, basil leaves, lettuce, and the special sauce has a nice, clean, and balanced taste. It is crunchy, sweet, and healthy, too. The noodles came out next. The combination of each ingredient makes it a wonderful dish: the bland rice noodles is complemented by the salty spring roll, sweet tocino-like pork strips, sourness of the vinegar-chili sauce, and the freshness of the vegetables. My disappointment would fall into the drinks. My wife's coffee was too light for a Vietnamese coffee, but we were glad that it was served authentically into a Vietnamese brewer. My mocha, on the other hand, was too sweet and too creamy. It was like a milkshake, and destroyed the otherwise good taste of the food. I was also disappointed to find that they do not serve banh mi. Service is ok. Ambiance is also warm, except for a certain fly that won't get off our table.

This is our go to Japanese restaurant in Makati. They offer authentic and high quality Japanese…read moredishes. I came by around 1:30 pm and the restaurant was full. After a little wait, they gave the long tatami table. Ordered the lunch bento set with tempura and sashimi. Just made it as it's only available until 2 pm.. The tempura was crispy, tasty and delicious. The tempura sauce complements it perfectly. The sashimi was super fresh and of good portion. There were different types of sashimi... tuna, salmon, escolar, octopus, squid, etc. Highly recommend ordering the bento sets. Great value! I will need to visit again to try the other bentos. Restaurant decor brings me back to Japan. It has a sushi bar, multiple tatami tables and also private rooms with sliding doors. Staff was very friendly and helpful. This is the closest you can taste authentic Japan cuisine in the Philippines. Try it out when you are in the area. You will not be disappointed.

Service is fast and friendly. Food is superb, freshest as it can be. The sashimi is "melts in your…read moremouth good"! Place is cozy, we love dining here.