Great food and accommodating staffs. Clean and good…read moreambiance. Best friend chicken. Thank you.

The food was good, just as expected. We came here to compare the difference between the Max's in…read morethe Philippines and the one in WA. We like the individual servings that this location offers. This way we don't take any leftovers back to our hotel or end up wasting it all. We ordered kare kare, half order of fried chicken which also comes with fries, and pork sinigang. Basically the essentials. LOL. It was tasty and perfect for the weather, however, the Sinigang wasn't as sour as we'd hope but still satisfying. The service at this location was great compared to the one in South Center area in WA. The service there is pretty slow with one waiter/server whereas in the Philippines everywhere you go there seems to have an overload of employees!! It's pretty amazing!

This is one of the oldest hot-pot restaurant in Manila. There are so many of ingredients choices…read morefrom seafood, beef, pork, chicken, vegetables, and needle. Three different taste of Soup also available. Freshness of all materials and pricing are reasonable. We can use there for business purpose too.

I am ashamed to say that I only discovered this place 2 years ago. Tien effing Tien is the bomb!…read moreThe first time I was able to dine here, we ordered off the ala carte menu but I had noticed that every one else was enjoying a hot pot meal. Subsequent visits were made and it was hot pot all the way from there. No regrets were had. (Skip this paragraph if you already know how to get there/park cause tl;dr) Tien Tien used to be located on Pasay Rd/Arnaiz so don't make the same mistake as me! They are now located in The Atrium Bldg along Makati Ave right next to the pretty pretty Zuellig Bldg. Parking can be a bit of an issue if you're not familiar with how it works but here are some hopefully helpful instructions based on personal experience of driving around in circles: If you're heading north on Makati Ave from Ayala Ave, you'll actually see The Atrium Bldg, that way you have an idea of where it is. Make a right on Paseo de Roxas and an immediate right into what looks like the parking lot/driveway of the Zuellig Bldg. Go past the lot onto the next street which is Apartment Ridge Rd and make a right there since it's a one way street. It's parallel to Makati Ave and just follows along the curve. You can park (or double park if you have a driver I guess) next to the wall and there should be an entrance to Tien Tien from the back. Semi bad thing is that you'll have to go through the function rooms which can be awks if there are a lot of people or if there's private party. Enough about location and parking, onto the food: Two things I remember about the ala carte menu is that 1) the seafood is super fresh. You can actually see the food (haha get it) swimming in the aquariums near the front entrance. 2) Eel in black bean/tausi sauce. Don't even think twice except maybe for the bones so be careful. Eat this with rice because it is so worth the calories. The hot pot blows so many other hot pot places out of the water. What Tien Tien doesn't give you in AYCE, they give you in quality. You have a choice of 4 soup bases and you can pick 2 in a split pot for variety. I personally prefer the wansuy soup base (stock with cilantro and peidan/century egg) cause I find it very light and refreshing. It also doesn't mask the taste of the meat, fish, etc too much and it absorbs their flavors too if you wanna drink the soup afterwards. Do not get wansuy if you have the genetics that make you think cilantro tastes like soap. Get sate instead if you'd like a spicy kick. The wantons, shrimp balls, and beef balls are all freshly made and take a little longer to cook so throw them into the soup first. The HK sliced beef is so red and fresh with just the right amount of fat. The rest of the stuff is pretty much standard. I unfortunately couldn't try the cheeseballs that people have mentioned because I'm lactose intolerant. Sad day. There is a sink near the entrance so you can wash your hands if you don't need to use the bathroom since it is located outside. In the dark empty building that could easily scare you if you're a scaredy cat like me. That sink is very much appreciated. The staff is great and very attentive! Very efficient and awesome service! We're sorry if we kept making you come back to pour tea, we wanted a whole teapot so you wouldn't have to go back and forth. However, I wouldn't recommend using the bathroom here because it's not exactly a golden throne.

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.

Chew and Brew! the long line caught my attention.. like what's going on in there? so out of…read morecuriousity, one time during lunch went there to check out their menu.. food that they are selling are lined up like like a buffet where you can choose what you want to take out. it's like a high end carinderia/canteen. food is good. Food Recommendation: Steamed inihaw na bangus, picadillo, chicken binagoongan, arroz ala cubana

Chew And Brew. If ever you are working near the area of Perea Street in Makati Central Business…read moreDistrict, you better check this one out. Chew And Brew itself is a restaurant - it has a airconditioned dining area - but during lunch time hours, they put up a carenderia style setup outside. They serve lutong bahay food which you can dine it or take out to eat the office. My personal favorite is their Sinigang na Ulo sa Miso and their Caldereta. And almost every friday, they have monggo and fried fish (perfect combination!). Me and my officemates love it here so much that we go here every lunch. Not only is the food good, it is also cheap! If you are ever on a budget or surviving till the next payday, Chew and Brew is the place to go. A viand and rice can only cost you less than 100 pesos! P.S. Lines here can get really long during lunch hours. Better leave the office early!

A small but atmospheric restaurant in salcedo village. The servers were all wearing Maria Claras…read moreand had their hair in a bun and spoke straight Tagalog (but super fast as if she memorized it) The food was delicious. We were disappointed that they didn't have the fried carabao cheese, but everything we ordered was delicious. The fried binagoonan was specially memorable. Unlike other Filipino restaurants, their portions are smaller so take note if you're in a large group and want to order family style. The server was helpful in making suggestions on what to order. The food arrived promptly. This is the first restaurant we visited upon arriving in Makati. The double credit card slip requiring you to sign twice freaked us out a little. The restaurant explained that one copy goes to them and the other goes to the bank. But after a few days we realized it's more common practice.

Mabuhay! This place has good Filipino food. The interior is designed reminiscent of the Spanish…read moreera. The staff are courteous and spoke in Tagalog (even on the phone when we were making reservations). The dishes that I personally liked are relyenong talong (eggplant stuffed with longganisa- Filipino sausage) and the bangus salpicao. The tamarind iced tea gave me flashbacks of my childhood when my Dad made tamarind candies. The place is a bit cramped but the food experience makes up for it.

Beef red curry was the best, very flavorful. The salted egg pork ribs wasn't that great. Spring…read moreroll was also good. Pad Thai was also good. Finished off our meal with their tasty mango sticky rice.

I always find myself in a spot where I just sit in front of a menu and silently wish Filipino…read morecuisine would be more like Thai cuisine, mostly because of the heavy usage of fresh greens and pure vegetable dishes. As opposed to fatty, salty, oily, and meat-heavy Filipino food, any sensible person who has health in mind would pick Thai cuisine any day... Vegetarians and vegans such as myself will be delighted at Tamarind's menu, because they even have a dedicated section in their menu for vegetarian specials. I'm obsessed with veggie meat/mock meat, so I just had to try their Vegemeat Sate. I believe this dish was made with Magic Meat (a local TVP brand). It was seasoned quite well, does NOT taste like cardboard at all, and DELICIOUS with the peanut sauce. Portions are good, and beautifully presented. What also got my eye is their dessert selection. Vegans/vegetarians: we got lots of options here, as a lot of ther desserts use coco milk instead of dairy (do double check with your server, though)! Tamarind is definitely among the top Thai places I've tried locally, and if you don't eat meat/seafood, this is a great place not to go hungry when eating with omnivores.

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!

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.