This restaurant seems to be famous among locals. Until we left the branch, the restaurant was…read moregetting more and more busy. Assorted Xiao Long Bao (original, black mushroom, cheese) could be ultimately better if (1) I could distinguish the difference among flavors and (2) if they were served hotter. Cheese was very mild; just a hint of flavor. They all tasted good, though. For that, I am grateful! Hakaw was typically good and the Mandarin Orange Chicken was a good time-out from lemon. They seemed to be understaffed during the hour but wait time was okay. Requesting water refills was a bit of a challenge but we could really see their efforts.

Fong Wei Wu used to be called and was more known as Feng Wei Wee. I'm not so sure why they changed…read moretheir name as everything is the same in the menu anyway. Could it be a change in ownership or tax troubles? Who knows. The important thing is that they still deliver the same quality of food that made them famous. The whole restaurant is unassuming. It is small and doesn't look like much. For all intents and purposes, it's basically a turo-turo. This is where all similarities end, as the food is completely different. If this is your first time, I suggest going with the house specialty, the hong ma. It is a sizable bit of braised pork belly. Don't you dare remove the fat when you're about to eat it. It's part of the experience. This dish is really rich and decadent so I don't recommend eating it all by yourself. Share it with someone lest you get a heart attack after.

Fong Wei Wu is a small Taiwanese canteen type restaurant and is a constant favorite of most Chinese…read moreseniors that live around the Banawe area. It took me completely off-guard when they just turned around and changed their name from Feng Wei Wee (not sure why; it's not like they tried very hard for a new name). The menu consists of simple homemade Taiwanese cuisine that feels as if your very own Taiwanese grandmother cooked for your family. I won't lie, when my grandmother has a potluck party and she has no time to cook, she asks me to run over to Fong Wei Wu to order their food to bring as her dish. She manages to pull it off every single time. Sometimes I wish I could cook that well and get away with it. My go-to orders would be their Kiampang (Adobo fried rice), and Angsho Chicken Leg.

This place caught me by surprise. I came in with no expectations and I came out quite satisfied. I…read morethought that no one could top Mien San's Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, but apparently this place can give Mien San a run for its money. I apologize in advance to Mien San die hards but sometimes their soup is a bit runny and/or oily. At Taione, the beef soup is really tasty. Not oily at all. I didn't get a headache afterwards which probably means that the soup was made from bones and not MSG. I ordered the Beef Brisket and the beef was soft and came apart easily. Everything tasted so clean. For dessert, I had the taho with pearls and black syrup. Absolutely loved it. The pearls were especially chewy. I didn't think anything else would be good but the server recommended their tofu dish and it was also quite impressive. Definitely worth a try.

There's only a handful of Chinese restaurants I love coming back to, and these are usually…read moreestablishments that have been around for ages. So when someone suggested we try a new Chinese place, it's not something I was exactly excited about. Wang Fu though is an automatic addition to this short list. The price range is a bit on the high-end side of the spectrum, perhaps almost as expensive as Lugang Café, but the experience was definitely worth our money. The food was excellent. The items on the menu were mostly staples in Chinese restaurants, but each dish had its own unique special character I'm not sure I've tried in similar places. I liked that the interiors exuded a vibe of luxury--spacious and with modern-style furniture. I also appreciated the aquarium area that seemed to remind diners that at the heart of all this contemporary facade is the classic Chinese food the traditional preparations that come with it. Overall, it was a great dining experience. If I'm in Tomas Morato again and craving for Chinese, I'd definitely be at Wang Fu.

We were immediately seated upon arrival. The service was good and the food portion sizes were not…read morebad. We got shao long bao, machang, chicken feet and siomai for dimsum and century egg congee. Everything tasted great. I loved how the chicken feet were fat. For dessert, we tried the mango pudding with ice cream. It was amazing!

Xlb, steamed vegetable dumpling and DF porkchops are a staple Taiwanese fan fare dishes. Its quite…read moredelicious in comparison to other restaurants in the city. I decided to try the steam chicken with ginger and scallions and bitter melon with salted egg. An excellent addition to the above three. Kudos to the chef!!

"Their pork chop is the bomb diggity" said my Tita. And I have to agree with her. It's the hot star…read moreequivalent of a giant deep fried piece of meat with two sides of your choice. I usually pick the adobo egg and tofu combo for pure protein ecstacy. MACHISMO. I have ordered this several times over the past year or so but I was disappointed the last time I tried it. The meat tasted a bit questionable compared to the past iterations. Maybe it's just a bad batch. I would have given this place a 4/5 if they got the consistently right. I also tried the roasted chicken and the roasted duck, both with two sides as options. The beef wonton noodle soup is also worth a try (only P170). Budget here is between P100 to P200 only and the serving is pretty generous. If you wanna get your Hongkie on then I say Shuin for the win.

A local branch of the famous Taiwan milk tea store. They really tried to make the place look very…read moresimilar to the joints in Taiwan where different kinds of tea and tea paraphernalia are sold. There are also bar stools and tables in the store and outside of it where you can hang out. In terms of the milk tea itself, I had the green milk tea and it actually tastes like the ones found in Taiwan. I have yet to try the rest but it's a good start.

Backyard Coffee is a treat for coffee lovers like me. They offer single origin coffee beans and I…read morelove them! After eating out with my friends, we tried different drinks that they offer. My friends ordered Iced Mocha, Iced Black, Cold Brew, Strawberry Frappe and Ube cake. As for me and my posh friend, I ordered Sumatra while he ordered Civet coffee. Love the beans that they are using even for their regular coffee drinks. But let me describe my order. I love Sumatra because it is not that bold and not that bitter. It's a little sweet, a bit acidic and fruity in flavor. So if you are in San Juan area and looking for a different cafe or different drink of coffee, checkout Backyard Coffee and try their single origin coffee beans.

On my seemingly endless conquest of Metro Manila coffeeshops, I blindly followed my friend to this…read morecoffeeshop in San Juan the day before our exam week starts. I wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised. Located above the Rustan's Supermarket on P. Guevarra, the café is quiet compared to the busy street below and gets tons of natural light from the building's all-glass facade. Great plus for me as it made the place have a very airy feel which went great with the painted concrete floors and industrial seating. The coffee was great too! I got their cold-brew coffee and it was a solid cup of cold-brew. Nothing out of the ordinary but it wasn't offensive. The price was great though! At least 30 pesos less than a comparable brew from one of the third wave stalwarts. They also have a lot of differently sourced beans to choose from, with even a Filipino Benguet option! So even though it might not have same pretentious or hipster vibes that we have come to expect from many of the other third wave purveyors here in Manila, I love how laidback this place is. You can definitely get a lot done here. Cash only!! There are ATMs downstairs though if you're in a pickle.