I can't remember how long Vista Apartelle is standing near home. But over the years, we never…read moreactually used it for the rooms. Instead, we order take out from it! It comes handy about a few several times already, especially when an unannounced relative surprises the house with a visit (being Filipinos, you gotta throw some sort of celebration, right?). There's nowhere else to turn to but Vista Apartelle--or at least, that's how it all started. They serve a wide range of the usualy Filipino fiesta food, namely the different kinds of pansits in various bilao sizes. But my favorite dish to order in this place would be their fried prawns. The batter is just super nice and crispy. Very delectable. It doesn't have the usual Japanese-style bread crumbs, but I guess the quality of the prawns they use just makes up for it. The food here is just so addictive that my family and I order a feast there just for the kicks these days. You should try them too, if you live around the area.

This Chinese restaurant has been around for decades, and not much has changed over the years (in a…read moregood way). I'm lucky enough to have had really good dim sum in my life, and though I know I've had better, something about this place really makes the food slap. Maybe it's the nostalgia talking, but it's something special to eat some comforting Chinese-Filipino food with family while surrounded by the controlled chaos that is Greenhills mall. The interior is a bit rough and ready, but has significantly improved since I was younger. Employees are always really nice and pretty efficient with everything. And when you dine in the restaurant, you get a unique view of Greenhills since the restaurant is semi-underground: a big window opens out to the ground floor of the mall and you can see shoppers and sellers walking around. Can't really go wrong with any of the orders here, but don't miss out on the Shark's Fin dumplings, Pork Siumai, and Calamansi juice. The menu is mainly made up of classic Chinese dim sum with some Filipino/Filipino-Chinese offerings like gulaman and asado pao.

Trying this highly recommended place by Foodtrip28 (Anthony Gonzales) together with the Pat's Boys!!read more

Dairy Queen is one of my favorite ice cream parlors in Katipunan because of its convenient location…read moreand affordable price. As a student, I often have stressful and "I deserve this" kind of moments, so I just walk across from my school to get a treat and eat it on my way back. There are times also my colleagues and I crave for ice cream so we order a Blizzard cake and bring them back to our lab. I usually get a KitKat Blizzard. I like that they have a "Blizzard of the month" and feature a new flavor. When I have a tight budget, I get either their sundae cones or ice cream sandwich. Besides the basic ice cream, they also have drinks like Moo latte and shakes, and also banana splits for sharing. I'm really glad to have grown up with DQ because it did not only satisfy my sweet tooth, but I also got to bond with my close friends during high school, college and even during the present times! It's a classic for me and their ice cream quality did not change over the years (still the just right cold yet creamy goodness they can assure their customers: "served upside-down or it's free!"). I highly recommend to try out their ice cream cakes for a different birthday treat experience and also when they release a new flavor of the month. Check out their new products for every occasion (Halloween, Christmas, summer season etc) and who knows, some of these featured flavors/products might become a regular!

Dairy Queen is one of the most classic ice cream parlors in Metro Manila (even if it's not actually…read moreFilipino). They've got flavors that cater to a lot of palettes, and the classics like Oreo, Strawberry Banana, and Rocky Road definitely do not get old. The Ice Cream Cakes are particularly delectable as well, and they're a welcome treat at any birthday party, or celebration in general! I always find their Blizzards to be nice and thick, full of flavor and immensely creamy. I do wish that Dairy Queen would open a bigger branch already, particularly in Katipunan, where you can actually sit down for a bit and enjoy your ice cream and even work on your paper in peace, because I'd love to do some school work while enjoying a Blizzard. Starr's is well and good, but Dairy Queen just has that older charm to it, and isn't quite as pricey.

It is impossible to find a coffee shop or tea place that isn't full to the brim with law or med…read morestudents who hoard the tables and chairs, and leave no more space for other customers. If there is one thing that annoys me most, it's this behavior, but it is also for this that I found one of my new favorite places to study in Malate. All the nearby Starbucks were full, so I had to look for a place where I could do my writing. I am always in the area since my sister works in the Landbank Tower, and I would wait for her to get off from her work before we could hang out and catch up. It's nice to know that when I need to be near her office, Q Tea will be there to provide a silent sanctuary where I can read and work in peace without the normal bustle of mainstream coffee shops. Q Tea is quite a latecomer to the milk tea scene, but I think it has a captured audience of the more mature crowd since they offer superior tea selections that do not mask bad quality with lots of milk and sweeteners. I don't know if there are other Q Tea branches around, but this particular branch along Bocobo street is always pleasantly populated by studious and hardworking individuals who don't care for much noise. The comfortable seating areas are conducive to long hours of work and study. Another thing that makes this tea shop interesting is their Potted Plant option, which gives you your regular milk tea or tea drink, plus a topping of Oreo and a sprig of mint, which indeed makes it look like a potted plant. Give this store a visit if you need to work on something.

Qtea will always be a special place for me and my thesis groupmates because we would always do our…read moreresearch paper here. Their crew might have known our faces ass the scallywags who hoard the long table at the second floor every Saturday. I always order up their matcha smoothie paired with boba sinkers. I love how their boba pops and bursts out this fruity flavour which reminds you of the alateres(?) but only sour instead of sweet. What got my interest in QTea is their waffle. It's very weird because it's not like your regular pancake-y waffle. Theirs is the crispy on the outside but gooey on the inside. It's like that fried pilipit made of glutinous rice that I used to eat back when I was young. The place is quite dim for reading but I wouldn't mind the lighting so much if you're just gonna type on your laptop. It was also weird listening to their songs because all of them are in the Chinese language which isn't really isn't of a big deal because you get to avoid distractions by not singing along with it.

Delicious and filling grain bowls!…read more I tried the adobo grain bowl and the orange chicken grain bowl and both were very good! The adobo was flavorful and I enjoyed having fresh vegetables alongside it. The orange chicken was also very good. I also tried the cold brew sago't gulaman. I felt that the sago was too hard and not chewy, but I did like the coffee jelly. The coffee itself was too sweet for my taste. I requested a splash of milk as well to balance out the sweetness, but felt that it was still too sweet for my taste.

4/5 score on Ambiance with reasonable prices. Their Cooper Coffee is good, a must try.read more

Eggs and soy sauce. Who would have thought? That was the first thing that caught me by surprise…read morewhen I finally got my hands on the Kaya Toast set. I knew what I was in for, more or less: kaya toast, butter, coffee and an egg. What I wasn't expecting was people putting soy sauce in a soft boiled egg. So... I tried it and found that it matched perfectly. The sharp saltiness of the soy blended wonderfully with the mellow egg flavor. Needless to say I probably won't be eating my eggs any other way after that. But I've rambled about eggs enough. You're probably thinking "what about the rest of the food", right? Toast Box focuses mostly on Malaysian food so apart from Kaya toast, you'll find things like Horlicks and Laksa (which I hear theirs is really good) and Nasi Goreng so it isn't all just snack food and varying versions of things you'd find in a cafe. Personally, I find I might end up going back for the Kaya. There's just something about the sweet Kaya and the butter and the bread with that creamy-salty egg and that stronger-than-what-you're-used-to coffee that makes me crave it for days on end afterward.

Whenever I need my Hainanese chicken fix, one of the places that comes to mind is Toast Box. I…read moreimmediately loved their version of the Hainanese chicken rice when I first tried it at their Nuvali branch. As I always like to order almost the same thing every time I'm eating out at a restaurant, this is what I tried during my visit there. While Toast Box prides itself in its "Toast Box" sets which consists of toasted bread with eggs with soy sauce and a cup of coffee, they also have what they call the "Asian Delight" - which is simply put, various Asian dishes like their Curry Chicken, Hainanese Chicken Quarter Portion, Fishball Soup, Nasi Lemak or Nasi Goreng. Apart from this, the restaurant also serves various sandwiches with fillings like floss, luncheon meat, tuna, ham and cheese, Hainanese chicken and club house. Another must-try at Toast Box though is their coffee. It's prepared and brewed in a different way and I like that thier Iced Kopi Mocha had that really strong amount of caffeine so it was a bit bitter but I really liked it a lot. To go with my Iced Kopi Mocha, I ordered a Hainanese chicken set. I liked that the chicken was cooked thoroughly and the size was just right for one serving. The rice was also very flavorful and went well with the chicken. On the side, I really like the thick brown sauce/condiment and of course, the ginger. It was so good I had to ask for another extra order of this - no charge of course. The ambiance of this branch though might need some improvement as it looks a little bit old, but I don't really mind as the food speaks volumes. I will definitely come back for my Hainanese chicken fix at Toast Box when the mood arises.

Delicious large dishes! Came on a Sunday night without reservations. Service was fast and friendly…read more Their menu is extensive and include small and large dishes. The Maki Mi came with loads of meat. The soup was not too salty. There is the right amount of noodles. Overall, I would recommend coming here at least once to try their specialty.

If you are craving for Maki, or Makimi, Maki Haus is a good place to visit. Maki is a traditional…read moreChinese merienda snack that is made with pork broth thickened with cornstarch then mixed with soy sauce and egg and topped with soft, fluffy pork. Ma (meat) Ki (thick soup) Mi (noodles). It is often eaten with fresh egg noodles. Sometime later, the Fish Maki was introduced. Equally good, but I prefer the original. Traditional Maki is best eaten with Kiampong, Chinese salted fried rice, because the thick soup coats the rice well and the pork serves as the meat viand of the meal. Maki Haus also serves other Chinese classics like Chayotsi, Sweet and Sour Pork, Lumpia, and Oyster Cake. I can say that taste is authentic. We tried their Chayotsi (stir-fried pork kidney with chives) and it was a great classic dish. Store is very sample and they have a few parking spaces.

Last week, I tried their new A Breakfast Affair, a one-week menu showcasing breakfast items…read morere-invented as dinner. They often offer this type of special tasting menus to showcase new dishes, new ingredients, or to try something new. A BREAKFAST AFFAIR The menu consists of 5 courses, and includes a cocktail and coffee or tea. It was P1,380/person +5% gratuity. Mimosa We started with cocktails, and I chose to get a Mimosa (orange and champagne). We were also served some really good bread while waiting - with a crisp crust and chewy inside. Blinis This blini dish is a wonderful start to the meal. The sweet, savory, earthy, bite-sized pancakes are surrounded with maple foam and a wasabi sauce. The smoked salmon is perfectly salty. There's sweet, savory, hot, salty and creamy in one plate. Tomato Soup The Tomato Soup is very comforting. It is creamy and cheesy, with just enough acidity from the tomatoes to cut the creaminess. I could drink a big, big bowl of this every day! The toasted bread with melted mozzarella turns into a puffy, cheesy sponge that soaks up the yummy soup! I felt like a cat eating this, if cats liked tomatoes and cheese in their cream! This is my favorite out of the 5 dishes, although it was really hard to pick which one I liked best, because everything was delicious! Uni Scrambled Egg Toast (2 pcs) A bite-sized symphony! This is the most unforgettable dish out of the 5 courses, taste-wise. There's creamy, moist, and fluffy scrambled eggs, a crispy bread chip as the base (also adds crunch and a contrasting texture), topped with some pickled onions that wake the palate, and cubes of delectable, fatty unagi (eel) and drizzled with sweet and salty unagi sauce. Marinated Hanger Steak with 63-degree Eggs The hanger steak was well-seasoned, flavorful down to the center. It was also tender and juicy. It was served with a hollandaise espuma (foam), and pickle relish (which tasted like a coleslaw) that was a good foil to the rich eggs. Take a look at that egg yolk! The golden, molten goodness had me itching to scoop it up with the accompanying crispy bread chips (croutons). The egg white was soft, gelatinous and just beginning to set. I love sous vide eggs, and 63-degrees is the perfect one for me! Brioche French Toast Millefeuille This was our dessert. It looks pretty! However, it wasn't my favorite dish. It is a stack of brioche french toast, filled with a honey cream, and decorated with strawberry glaze and dots of passionfruit mousse. I found the brioche with cream a bit bland. I loved the sweet and tart passionfruit mousse, and wished there had been more on the plate to provide more flavor and contrast for the brioche millefeuille. Restaurant 101 is a part of Enderun Colleges, so it comes as no surprise that students from Enderun Colleges staff the restaurant. It provides training and work experience for Enderun Colleges' students. SUMMARY Check out their good-value-for-money set meals. You might even spend less than you would if you went to one of the mid-range chain restaurants, but get better ambience, better food, and score more cred with someone you might be looking to impress! As for the food, try their main menu items or check out their tasting menus. Experience the type of dishes you think you'd only see from your favorite cooking competition shows! There are different kinds of mousses and foams, sous vide eggs, and delightful flavor combinations of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami in one plate. It's nice and fun, especially for a relaxing date with someone who also appreciates food. At P1,380+ per person, the A Breakfast Affair menu is a good value considering the quality ingredients used and the inventive food combinations we got to experience. Unlike buffets where the food has been prepared way in advance, the food here is prepared upon your order. It's especially made for you! I didn't think I'd be full, but in the end, I was full, and very satisfied. Restaurant 101 is located on the ground floor of the main building when you enter Enderun Colleges. Parking is available for guests, just let the guard know that you will be dining at Restaurant 101. Enderun Colleges is located along Campus Drive, literally just behind Venice Piazza.