A carinderia often populated by students of nearby schools and residents of close subdivisions,…read moreJuncel offers a wide selection of Pinoy viands, affordable student meals and friendly service. My favorite would simply be their tortang talong. The eggplant is grilled, peeled then fried with egg. The smoked flavored torta goes well with plain rice, beef caldereta and a slab of their juicy grilled liempo (yum!). They are also famous for their adobo, menudo and giniling which cost only Php40.00 per dish. Dine at Juncel anytime of the day as they are open 24/ 7, great for quick late night stopovers, takeout, or early morning after-party hangout. Juncel has been patronized by locals since the 1990's and due toof it's success as a carinderia, they were able to expand their business and now offer Silogs, different sizes of pancit bilao and accept catering services for weddings, baptisms and birthdays too!

While looking for a restaurant to dine at Greater San Juan, we bumped into Chef Pals, its at the…read moreback of Wilson, corner of Leige and V. Cruz st. It is a humble restaurant that is beside the owners house and specializes in home cooked food like embutido, morcon, and lengua. We had all three to be shared plus their tapsilog. All of us agreed that we liked the embutido. It's abit sweet, but the taste is what we grew up with. The downside for me, i prefer it just steamed, not steamed then pan fried that formed a crust. The morcon was a bit tough and chewy. The gravy/sauce was salty for our taste. The sauce has the rich, beefy taste, but was salty. It was okay, but overly seasoned that destroyed the flavor. Lengua was cooked right, soft and tender. The sauce was too buttery that overpowered the lenguas' taste. I've had better lengua. The sauce that I usually see is a mushroom sauce that is made from bechamel, but their version lacks the flavor. I hope they would recheck their recipe for everything. I mean, I've had meals in the past that is similar to these kind of restaurants, homegrown, beside their house, growing through food delivery. Some serve fantastic heirloom recipes, but some just do it to earn a living. At the end of the day, its not how much the business earn, but its how it can tie to generations of memories that brings people together. That is, a good business, because thats were loyalty comes in. #TheFoodCrawlers #OngsFoodprints #TheLostDiego

Chef Pal's is a small neighbourhood restaurant offering basic breakfast dishes throughout the day…read more We had the embutido, morcon, and lengua all of which are their specialities as so their disposable paper table mats indicate. Expect a simple home cooked meal feel. Tapsilog (90 PHP) It's a good value meal, rice, beef tapa, and egg. Serving size may not satisfy from a hungry tummy, but sufficient enough to start the day light. Morcon (140 PHP) A dish that badly wanted to impress with its rich sauce that over-seasoned character. Embutido (120 PHP) Served warm, but quickly settled to room temperature as we ate, not the best Lengua (130 PHP) Soft and tender with gravy that's butter more than mushroomy. I;m sure they were thinking creaminess, but may have overdone the mix. Ambiance is comforting in a homey sense and paired with the easy going staff it feels laid back and calming. The wallpaper, hardwood furniture, and tasteful pieces make the overall environment sincere. Looking forward to their success.

Finding solace and quiet is worth the trip to Blacksoup Art Café. The peculiar vibe is held and…read morehighlighted in the tables lines with photographs (most likely lomography photos) and the walls adorned with old, random posters like portraits of Salvador Dali and Frida Kahlo. As part of a food tour, my friend and I decided to have starters namely the kalabasa soup, the crab and mango roll, and the Blacksoup salad. Because the knew we were going to share the cup of soup, they even split the order into 2 cups so we didn't have to share from 1 - something we really appreciated. The kalabasa soup has clear broth, soft kalabasa, strips of basil, and some peanuts, which went well with the kalabasa. The crab and mango roll also had cucumber and lettuce along with it, wrapped in vermicelli wrapper, and had a dipping sauce of slightly sweet fish sauce. This reminded us of Vietnamese fresh spring rolls. We had the salad last and was very pleased with the contrasting yet complementing tastes and textures of the pomelo, nuts, adobo flakes, and the muscovado dressing. Indeed a lovely start to our food tour.

The first time I went here was when a friend of mine was to perform an acoustic set. The place was…read moresmall and there were a lot of people, but me and another friend managed to get a table of our own. I ordered the Porkchop with herbed salsa and rice and, my God, it was sooo good! I couldn't even converse with my friend because I was too fixated on my dinner. Other than the food, the place felt so chill, with the dim lighting, the live acoustic music, and the beer. It's a nice venue to hang out and drink with friends. Would definitely come back for more.

What started out as a simple catering company has now blossomed into a down-to-earth restaurant…read morethat has elevated Filipino cuisine to new heights. I ordered the fried chicken and pork adobo which came with garlic rice, fried egg and tomatoes. The adobo and garlic rice were well balanced, and were not as salty as other restaurants. I also highly recommend exploring their extensive dessert menu.

I remember my first UP Fair as a freshman, and an indie rock band was singing how the only way he…read morecould stay at the Chocolate Kiss Café was if he used his 70 pesos to buy their bottomless iced tea and just hang out there the whole day. As foreshadowing, I never really got to eat there as a perpetually broke college student. It was only 'til after I finished school did I experience ChocKiss. PROS: Their food quality justifies the price. We started with their nachos, and their dips were rich and tasty. For our rice meal, we had their beef caldereta that has very tender pieces and a gourmet feel. And for dessert, we had the devil's food cake, its specialty. We fell in love. It not just looks so cute with its thousand-horn-shaped white marshmallow frosting, but it also has chocolate cake insides that are sinfully decadent. CONS: I guess it's perfect that this is located in Bahay ng Alumni, since only alumni can afford it. It's too expensive for the typical college student. And at approximately P300 per order price, it feels expensive even for the entry-level fresh grad; The food takes a while to be prepared. TL;DR: If you have the budget, indulge in Chocolate Kiss' devil's food cake and other satisfying treats.

Been here few years back and it was packed with people, good music and nothing but pure Penpen's…read morevibe. Went back last night to feel the same ol' vibe but what I've seen was nothin' but a mere aftermath of what Penpen's used to be -- in a not-so-good way. Two things that never changed though -- their newspaper-like menu and crispy liempo. Their signature bacon-thin crispy liempos were a must-try. I've it had it before, but last night was more crispy. Other than our locally known beers, they also serve craft beer. Had Bogsbrew NPA (Negros Pale Ale) - locally crafted beers in Negros province. It was bitter than SMB, but something worth to try if you're into supporting local products. I've seen Penpen's during it's glorious days, can't the management do something about it? We were billed P315 with no service charge. A bottle of beer was priced reasonably.

Back then, when PenPen was still in Scout Castor near Tomas Morato, I was already a customer. I…read moretried their pasta with tinapa (or was it tuyo?) flakes (never thought dried fish could go so well with pasta!). Even then, I recognize that their menu offers Filipino comfort food. When they moved to Cubao X, the menu changed somewhat. My favorite is now the malunggay pesto pasta with pili oil and kesong puti. The pili oil has a distinct nutty taste which goes well with the pasta. And as for the malunggay - I've had malunggay pesto before, and PenPen's version is also good. At less than P150, the taste is quite good. While they serve the usual Filipino food, they also have interesting offerings like the Smoked Tapang Usa and Duck Egg Silog, the Three-Cheese Baked Bangus Belly, the Sizzling Sisig in Liver Sauce, and the Leche Flan Tsokolat-E.

On United street find for Ace Hotel and Water spa then look right you'll an alley of restaurants,…read morebut no signage of Diner on 16th. Trust us it's somewhere in there. The Waffle Florentine (265 PHP) 3 pieces of fried chicken that's crispy and just enough breading for some heft. Spinach, Bacon and poached egg atop a stack of 2 quarter pieces of waffles, drizzled with a subtly mix of their Hollandaise sauce. It wasn't the most savoury breakfast we'd eaten, but it certainly offers much more value than a local breakfast chain. Taste it yourself you might like the calmness of this dish. The Breakfast Bowl Not something we'd recommend, but if you just need a basic breakfast then go ahead. It's not bad, just nothing special we'd order again. Just too ordinary. The Cheesecake Milkshake (136 PHP) It won us over with its stunning presentation and affordable price. It's a light milkshakes that's great for the summer and instagram. Taste is a good as it gets for milkshake. Ambiance was great, they played a chill mix of the latest hits. It perks you up in the morning. They also have beer pong tables outside for evening activities. The booth tables are well separated (no head bumps) with power outlets on each table, perfect for everyone who has the latest shiny low capacity smartphone.

Arrived at this place a little after lunch and there were not much people - just a few that come…read moreand go. We visited this place because me and my friends wanted to try a new place to eat at. At first, I thought this place was pricey until I saw their serving size - most of the items on their menu was good for sharing. I was able to try their Beer-Battered Chicken and Waffles (Php 256.00) and it was definitely worth it. The chicken strips were moist and soft, while the waffles and its syrup were good enough- although the 2 "bacon strips" they put along with the dish were not enough. Their Chicken Caesar Salad did not disappoint as well because of its serving size, it's definitely good for sharing and they did not skimp on the chicken strips. The Poutine (Php 156.00) was disappointing because its taste and serving size isn't what we expected. It was too small - it looked like it was rushed and the fries doesn't have it's usual crisp - the "cheese curds" part of the Poutine wasn't melted at all and their gravy doesn't do much. Another item that disappointed me was their Cheesecake Milkshake (Php 136.00) because I was able to try their other milkshakes and there was no difference - only its presentation - and I was not able to taste even a hint of cheesecake - only by its presentation was I able to figure out it was a cheesecake milkshake. Overall the experience at Diner on 16th was just okay. It's a place that people should visit and get to try when they are within the area. In the afternoon, it's a good place to just hang out and chill by yourself or your friends (they have a beerpong table!). There are power outlets on each table (at the booths) however, they don't have WiFi.

My friends from school love going here because its so friggin' sulit. You can have a full meal for…read more less than Php50. A full meal meaning: 1 ulam, 1 rice, unli sabaw. And if yer super kuripot like my friends, order half an ulam and 2 cups of rice lol. The Bicol Express is extra saucy so expect 1 cup of rice to be a bit bitin. Their food is mostly meat so vegetarians may feel a bit disappointed. What's nice is with the place is the amiable cook/ waiter/ owner. They're very accommodating to the point of allowing outside drinks in the premises. That day, I was feeling particularly alcoholic and thirsty so I decided to skip lunch altogether and grab 2 cold pilsens at Knot 4 Gains across the street. I was ready to down them outside Gayuma's entrance but to my pleasant surprise, they let me take the bottles in and nurse both for about an hour. Tapos yung pulutan ko unli sabaw. Panalo! One less star because they don't offer vegetarian options.

Just had a FANTASTIC chorizo and egg rice bowl for brunch, one of the best breakfasts I've ever…read morehad. My wife had the pasta, which I tried as well and while it was no match for the flavor of MY order, it was certainly delicious in its own right. My cappuccino was on point, however my wife thought that it was a little too strong for her. I will be coming back to try some of their other confections.

The interior of The Garden is inviting and had a lovely ambience to enjoy a quiet breakfast…read more We ordered the Benedict Crisp Prosciutto & Roasted Pumpkin and American Breakfast Set. The Benedict was quite good, except for the pumpkin being fried and tasted sour. But the server said it was really like that. The American Breakfast set was not that good: the bacon tasted like Tocino, the pancakes were not quite what I was expecting, overall, I will not order this again. Their staff was friendly and dining service was good. I would say that service was fair because our food took a while before it was brought to our table but food temperature doesn't seem like it was newly cooked.