Date Night Diaries : Celebrating our 6th at Terraz

6 years.  It seems like such a long time, but really, it doesn’t seem that long ago.

I’m talking about my wedding anniversary, ofcourse, which the hubby and I just celebrated recently :).

The downside of getting married so soon after the holidays is not having the time to properly prepare for it :(.  I would have wanted to get the H a simple token, and to book a table at a nice, romantic restaurant, but unfortunately, exhaustion and back-to-work duties prevailed.

Nevertheless, I guess what is most important is that we found time within the day to celebrate our special day–just the two of us :).

For dinner, we chose to eat at Terraz, the new restaurant at the Zuellig Building. We had also considered dining at Stockton Place or at The Black Pig, but I guess the proximity of Terraz, and the lure of being able to explore the Zuellig Building won out.

Located at the 3rd floor, Terraz is operated by Raintree Restaurants, the same company that owns and operates Chelsea, Stella, Momo, Rocket Room, Mr. Jones and Saboten.

I found the ambience to be very casual, bright and inviting, with clean and streamlined furnishings that were quite comfortable to sit on :).

Here is what we had for dinner :

I decided on the freshly made pappardelle pasta with arugula and grilled chicken, while the hubby got the pork ribs “bento”, with bibimbap rice and steamed vegetables.

Simple, but yummy food :).  I just wish the slivers of grilled chicken on my dish were a bit bigger, although the pasta was already quite substantial and filling :).

For dessert, we had the Ube Tres Leches with Sago (tapioca pearls) on top.  We originally wanted The Impossible Cake which is Chocolate Cake with a layer of leche flan, but opted for something we thought to be healthier.  Hahaha!  The cake itself was okay–light and not too sweet–but I thought the sago as a topping was a bit strange.  It did not add much to the dessert, so I actually just stopped eating it altogether.

Terraz has simple and good food, but to be honest, it pales a bit in comparison to its sister resturants.  We enjoyed our food, nevertheless, although maybe we’ll try a different dessert next time :).

So that’s how the hubby and I celebrated our anniversary.  Just a quick, quiet dinner to mark the passing of 6 good years :).  Mental note to self to start planning our celebration much, much earlier.  Hopefully we can even plan an out-of-town getaway next time! 🙂

TERRAZ MEETINGS & BISTRO 3/F Zuellig Building, Paseo de Roxas corner Makati Ave. Telephone Number : +632 625-4831/32 ; Open daily from 11AM-11PM

P.S. Before heading to Terraz, I came home from work and found this HUGE flower arrangement waiting for me from the hubby!!!  Isn’t it beautiful? 🙂

Dine For A Cause : #YolandaActionWeekend #ReliefPH

If you’re thinking of dining out this weekend, why not try one of the establishments listed below.  These generous food purveyors have pledged a portion of their proceeds this weekend to relief efforts of The Philippine Red Cross.  It’s a simple way of showing your support for the victims of Supertyphoon Yolanda, as well as your solidarity with the rest of the country, as together, we work to help rebuild afflicted areas in the Visayas region.

Hong Kong Highlights Part 1

August is always a good month to escape Manila.  There are a lot of long weekends to choose from, and it also happens to be my daughter’s birth month :).

Last year, we took the little one to Hong Kong.  We took her to Disneyland, went food-tripping, and did some shopping.  This time around, we decided to make the trip a bit more educational, opting to sightsee, rather than to spend our time at a theme park.  Ofcourse shopping and eating are always part of the itinerary :).

We decided to take an 8am flight out of the Philippines, and arrived in Hong Kong at 930 in the morning.  Everything went smoothly from the moment we left our condo, to the minute we arrived at our hotel for the next 3 days, the Marco Polo Gateway.

It’s been years since I last stayed at this hotel, and I was glad to see that everything was nice, modern, and newly refurbished!

I also super love the location!  Because it is on Canton Street, not only is it just across Silvercord Mall (home to Din Tai Fung, Ippudo, and near H & M), but it is also conveniently connected to the Harbor City Mall!  All the shops are practically a stone’s throw away!

When we got to our room, I was happy to discover that it was a nice size, perfect for our little family.  I was thrilled that the bathroom looked so clean and brand new!  It totally passed my standards with flying colors!  Hahaha!

After we unpacked and had gotten settled in, lunch was in order.  We decided to give our friends at Din Tai Fung a visit, especially since I was craving for some soup dumplings.  They never fail to hit the hungry spot!  Hahaha!  I also needed to fuel up for the whole afternoon shopping session that was to come after our sumptuous lunch :).

Since I’d rather not bore you with shopping details (I was on my best behavior! *Read : I didn’t really buy much :)), let me end this post by sharing about the restaurant where we decided to have dinner.

By this time we were exhausted and chose to eat close to home.  Prior to our trip, I had been researching the blogosphere for some recommendations, and this one came from Jin of Jin Loves to Eat.  We decided to eat at Canton Deli, located at the 3rd floor of the Harbor City Mall.

They serve very traditional cantonese dishes, and since we were in Hong Kong, we thought, “What the heck, might as well eat authentic Chinese food!”.  Hahaha!

While the ambience was nothing to rave about (although they did have these cute bird cages suspended from the ceiling), the food was quite good!  Since it was a bit late, the hubby and I decided to just share some soup and beef tenderloin cooked chinese style.

I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty everything was :).  The soup had a good amount of crab chunks and corn.  The beef had slices that were thicker than I was used to, but it was very soft and flavorful that I did not mind at all!  Definitely, we enjoyed our meal very much :).  I would have wanted to try other stuff on the menu, but because it was already very late, we decided against it :).  Hahahaha!

If you ever find yourself in the Marco Polo/Harbor City Mall vicinity, do give Canton Deli a try :).  While it’s not the type of restaurant that’ll blow you away, the food tastes pretty good, and it is very conveniently located as well :).  We walked away that evening with pretty happy tummies! 🙂

Anyway, since this is already pretty lengthy, in my next post, I’ll talk naman about the places we visited, and the sights we saw in Hong Kong.

Hope you guys will stay tuned! 🙂

Cronuts

So while the bulilits were having fun at KidzVille, the grown ups decided to crash at Wildflour and have some cronuts!

Finally, I got to taste what all the hype is about!

To be honest, I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would :).  I’m not really a fan of croissants, so I was never really interested to try out or line up for this particular hybrid. But since the SIL ordered a couple, I eagerly dug in, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was yummier than I expected :).

Knowing that it is supposed to be a cross between a croissant and a doughnut, I was a bit thrown off that the cronut was chewy, rather than light and flaky.  But that’s a good thing :). Although I prefer my pastries to be more dense, soft and moist, I was actually relieved with the cronut’s consistency because I actually dislike the flakiness of croissants.  It doesn’t give me much to sink my teeth into. Hahaha!  It can also get a bit messy, which is usually a turn off for me.  So I’m glad that despite its flaky layers, the cronut was dense enough to give me the feeling that I was actually biting into something more than air :).  Plus points! 🙂

Another thing I liked about the cronut was that is was also not that sweet, considering the amount of sugar and glaze it came with! Hahaha!  The cream inside helped to balance the sweetness, and provided a different texture as well. Again, while I’m not a fan of bavarian cream doughnuts, the cream in the cronuts, I thought, was well incorporated, and enhanced its taste, and the overall experience :).

But even after all the pluses I mentioned above, and after trying out different flavors (chocolate, dulce de leche, berry, and I forgot the other one), I still think I prefer a good old fashioned donut to a cronut any day.  I’m loving the innovation, though, and I wonder what the next one will be :).  A declair (donut + eclair)? A crupcake (croissant + cupcake)?  The possibilities are endless!  Hahaha!

Actually, while I enjoyed having the cronut for merienda, I think I enjoyed the ambience and decor of Wildflour Podium even more!  Hahaha!  Despite the tight space, I loved the design elements and its overall look :).  Special mention goes to the machucca tiles by the register area.  Soooo pretty, that I just had to take a requisite foot photo :).

Have a happy hump day, everyone! 🙂

WILDFLOUR CAFE + BAKERY is located at the Ground Floor of The Podium Mall, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila.  Telephone Number :  +632 571 8588

Date Night Diaries : Saboten

This rainy weather has been driving me batty!

Now that the rainy season has started, and the wet gloomy weather almost an everyday occurence, it seems that the only way for me to battle the blues is with some good old comfort food.

Nothing says comfort to me like a bowl of hot, steaming miso soup, sticky japanese rice, and deep fried tonkatsu.  Thank goodness I didn’t have to look far to satisfy this craving…Enter Saboten, the newest tonkatsu place to hit the BGC dining scene!

Actually, Saboten has been open for a while now.  But the H and I decided to let the lines dissipate first, before giving it a try.  While the restaurant still gets very full (and unfortunately, they don’t accept reservations), we were quite lucky to get accommodated right away last Wednesday, when we walked into the restaurant.

This is what I ordered:

While the “best seller” is ofcourse the tenderloin or loin set, I wanted to try their seafood as well.  I ended up opting for the mixed set, which was a combination of tenderloin, shrimp and creamy crab.

The tenderloin was as expected–yummy!  Tender, juicy, lean, soft, and with just the right amount of batter.  I’ve been watching my food choices lately so I was happy to note that despite being deep fried, this dish did not feel overly oily and greasy either.

The shrimp and creamy crab were also good, but I think I will most probably just order an entire tenderloin set the next time I’m there, after having tried and compared all three.

Our meal sets came with unlimited cabbage, and miso soup.  I enjoyed my cabbage very much with the asian creamy sesame dressing.  This is probably the only time you’ll ever catch me eating this much uncooked cabbage.  Hahaha!

And the miso soup just hit the spot, providing much comfort to my belly on that wet, drizzly night.

The verdict?

The H and I really enjoyed our Saboten meal, and you can bet we will be back for more!  The sets are a complete meal in itself, and definitely hit the spot when craving for some good ol’ tonkatsu.

My Best Food Forward Picks!

My “diet” just flew out the window :(.

*SIGH*

I guess it was to be expected as the H, the Little Miss and I made our rounds of the Best Food Forward food fair last Saturday.

Being a BFF virgin, I was excited to see and sample the various offerings of the participating food purveyors.

Was it worth sacrifice?  A big resounding YES!!!

Here are my top picks (in no particular order).  Please note, I wasn’t able to sample all the vendors below so my picks are not solely based on taste.  They’re also based on the uniqueness of the product and on interesting packaging :).

1. Casa San Luis

Although they are more known for their pastries, I decided to sample their Sweet Dips.  According to the lady attending their stall, the Salted Caramel with French Sea Salt and their Caramel Bacon Bits are their best sellers.  Since I’m not particularly a fan of Salted Caramel and a HUGE fan of bacon, it was a no-brainer that I allocate my precious calorie count to the Caramel Bacon Bits dip.

Rich, decadent, yummy and sinful were words that came to mind when I tried it.  I could actually feel my waistline expanding–haha!  The nice thing about these spreads is that they are also very versatile and can be used either as a dip, sauce, or topping!  I can imagine that they would be great poured on top of ice cream, or something to eat with crackers or to spread on bread!

Both flavors come in 4oz and 10oz jars that are priced at Php150 and Php300 respectively.

For orders, you can call Casa San Luis at 0916 644 8522 or email them at casasanluispastries@gmail.com

2. Double Delights

This next vendor caught my attention because of its cute, detailed designs.  At first, I thought I was looking at a bunch of mini cupcakes, but they’re actually polvoron cupcakes!  Innovative, right?  I love how they gave a different twist to this well-loved Filipino milk candy, and made it more “now”.  Since cupcakes are all the rage nowadays, why not a polvoron cupcake?  And not just any ordinary polvoron cupcake, apparently, because aside from the polvoron layer, it is also topped with white chocolate and royal icing.  Can you say “yum”?

To order, call 2963702/0932 8881350/0919 4286320 or email at anne@double-delights.com.  Their website is http://www.doubledelights.com.

3. Casa Angeline

By the time I got to this booth, my stomach was already losing pretty much all of its valuable real estate space :(.  And it was really too bad because I love flan and I was so looking forward to trying Casa Angeline’s Flan Pots.  Again, I thought it was  interesting and different to package the custard in a mason-like jar, versus a ramekin or a serving dish, as it is usually presented at home or in restaurants.  It kinda makes the leche flan look more special and sosy.  Hahaha!

The Flan Pots come in four different flavors: Leche Flan, Mango, Strawberry and Coffee Caramel.  It costs about Php225 for 3 pots.  Not bad, right? 🙂

And aside from the flan, Casa Angeline is also knows for their french macarons, cream puffs and sticky toffee pudding.  Talk about a quadruple threat!

To know more about Casa Angeline, visit their website at http://www.casaangeline.com. You can also follow them on FaceBook! 🙂

4. [unit16sweets]

Aside from the fact that I LOOOOOOOOVE chocolate, I could not help but be drawn to this booth because of the cute and quirky designs of the chocolate labels.  Then I realized they were personalized chocolate labels!  Kewl!

Mental Note: Great Gift Idea!!!!

The chocolates used are guaranteed to be of the finest quality, and comes in a variety of flavors–milk, semi-dark, dark, and mint flavored.

To know more about their pricing and how to order, you can go to their website, http://www.unit16sweets.com, or call them at 8959180.

5. The Noodle Bakes

Almost, but not quite up there next to chocolate in terms of my favorite flavors, is Green Tea or Matcha.  I blame it on Kit Kat.  Now I am addicted to anything green tea! Hahaha!

When I tried The Noodle Bakes’ Matcha White Chocolate cupcake, wow, it totally made my eyes roll to the back of my head!  Hahaha!  Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit, but I was honestly really hooked!  Like, “I want to buy a whole box and keep it to myself” hooked.  Hahaha!

Not only was the cupcake moist, but you could totally taste the matcha flavor. What I especially liked about it is that it wasn’t sickeningly sweet either.  It was just right, actually, which is pretty deadly.  That means it is perfectly “legal” to have more than just one!  Hahaha!

The Noodle Bakes is a home-based seller that can be reached through cell (+63920 920 7268) or via email (thenoodlebakes@gmail.com)

Guess what?  They also have speculoos cupcakes on limited availability!  That, I cannot wait to try!!!

6. Twisted Desserts

When my good friend M was on her radical sabbatical, she had a sideline business making uber yummy red velvet trifles that she packaged in 3 ways.  A small personalized cup, and tubs that were good enough to feed a group of 4 and 8. Ever since she had me sample her product, I’ve been having late night cravings or even dreams about it.  Seriously!!!

Sadly, M had to go back to work and her fledgling business had to take a back seat as well :(.

When I came across these Dig Deep Cups at BFF, it reminded me so much of M’s trifles!  Unfortunately, because I was already seriously full at this point, I could only sample a small morsel of the 3K Karrot, which is a cup full of carrot cake, with layers of cream cheese in between, and topped with crushed walnuts.  I was pleasantly surprised at how moist the cake was (I’ve encountered a lot of really dry carrot cakes.  Boo :(), and how the sweetness was just right.  I’m sure their Oh-riffic (Oreo) and Choc O’ Nut versions taste really yummy too!

The cool thing about these Dig Deep Cups is how you can handily eat your cake pretty much anywhere, without the mess!  Talk about having your cake and eating it too!  Hahaha!

For orders, call/text +63906 246 0976 or +63917 620 8749.  For a complete list of their products, you can visit their FaceBook page.

7. Cocoa Monster Manila

Pretty packaging always gets me right away.  If only more people realized that. You can totally take a basic product (like chocolate) and jazz it up to look like it costs a hundred bucks, all by simply giving it some awesome packaging.

In the case of Cocoa Monster Manila, they definitely made me do a double take, when I saw their edgy red, black and white design.  It definitely stood out amongst the other stalls in BFF.

Cocoa Monster offers many different types of chocolate products from tablea to fondue, to cocoa powder and specialty chocolates.  They guarantee that their products use 100% pure cocoa.

I wish I had sampled one of their truffles but like I said, I was so full, my stomach could not take anymore :(.  The good thing is, Cocoa Monster can do custom orders for events or corporate giveaways!  I may just give them a try!

For orders and inquiries, call 838 8067 to 69 or +63922 873 6638.  They also have a FaceBook page!!!

8. Kalookies

I first came across this brand through Patty Laurel’s blog.  My first thought, “I love the name!”  Hahaha!  It’s funny, catchy and memorable :).  Nowadays, the expression “kalurky!” has become such a part of Filipino lingo and this brand totally capitalized on that.  Smart.

But the great thing about this product and its name is that the experience of eating it, totally makes you feel as if you’re going “kalooky” (slang for crazy) because it’s soooo honest to goodnessly good!

I had the Kalassik cookie and the Oreolla during the fair.  Both cookies were of the deep dish kind, and just one bite had me craving for more!  Next time, I am definitely trying the Paolo Special and the White Toblerone.  Haaaaay!  At the rate I am going, todo diet na ang kailangan ko with matching barre3 and treadmill!  Hahaha!

To order Kalookies, call +63921 302 2241.

So there you have it, my picks at this year’s Best Food Forward.  Hope I’ve enticed you to give these vendors a try!  Support Filipino made, support Filipino entrepreneurs, support small businesses!

Fabulous Find : Ministry of Mushrooms’ 3-Kinds Mushroom Risotto

I’m not much of a cook, but I do know how to cook.  Hahaha!

When I was living abroad, I had to learn how to cook more out of necessity, otherwise I’d probably starve to death, or worse, have to eat really unhealthy fast food all the time!

While I’ve gotten good feedback on the dishes I’ve prepared, it’s still not enough to motivate me to slave away in the kitchen.  There’s something about the peeling, cutting, dicing, and absorbing all the food smells that just doesn’t appeal to me.  I’d much rather wash dishes!  Hahaha!

Thank goodness for meals that cut out all the prep work, but still taste so yummy,  it makes you look like you spent the whole afternoon preparing it in the kitchen!  Hahaha!

Enter, Ministry of Mushrooms’ 3-Kinds Mushroom Risotto!

It comes in an aluminum sealed pack, and is good for 4 servings.  To make the dish look more profesh, you can even add strips of grilled chicken and asparagus! 🙂

Would you have guessed that I just poured all the contents into my rice cooker, added onion, water and oil, and twiddled my thumbs waiting for it to cook?

And it was so yummy, the H was impressed!

Definitely, my kind of meal!  Fuss free and delicious!  And at Php300 a pack, it hardly breaks the bank too!

This amazing find is available at the Ministry of Mushroom stall at Salcedo Park Market every Saturday morning 🙂

Date Night Diaries : Barbacua

It was a night of a hundred stars…okay, maybe not a hundred, but let’s just say there were a lot of stars there–famous people from the showbiz, culinary and publishing worlds.  But the real stars in this venture of Manila Pop Up was the food!!!  Amazing, wonderfully sublime food!

The brainchild of Chef Bruce Ricketts, Dee Jae Paeste, Mike Concepcion and Erwan Heusaff, Barbacua is a one-night-only gastronomic thrill. This second initiative of the Manila Pop Up team featured food with a mix of Thai and South American flavors.

Potential patrons were invited via social media (twitter and IG), and were contacted through email.  Information was given regarding seating schedules, location, cost per food item, and the type of cuisine to expect, but that’s pretty much it.  Guests were instructed to bring along their sense of adventure (and cash!  Hahaha!), as they were invited to join this culinary escapade.

I just love pop-ups!  While it’s not entirely a new concept, it is only starting to gain popularity in Manila.  I love the mystery behind it, as well as the novelty. While I’m not big on snobbish, velvet rope exclusivity, there was nothing snobbish about this event, despite its limited seating and it being held for one night only. It is for these very aspects that I find this pop up to be intriguing and exciting!  For those of you who read my blog, you also know how I love new and different experiences!  And this, definitely, falls under that category :).  Without a doubt, this experience ups the ante in Manila’s culinary scene :).

On to the food…

The menu was pretty much composed of small sharing plates and several kinds of punch cocktails.  Our “waiter”, Erwan Heusaff himself, recommended that we each get 2 plates, so that we can try out a variety of the dishes.  We eventually settled on the tuna, oxtail, skirt steak, lapu lapu and sea prawns.

The tuna arrived at our table first.  It was soooo good!  The dish was served with green papaya, avocado, soy and bone marrow.  It had a bit of cilantro in it as well. I looooooove cilantro!  It makes everything taste so fresh and crisp!  This was a wonderful dish to start the meal with :).

Next came the sea prawn.  It was served on top of a bed of crab rice and uni (sea urchin).  Can you say winner? 🙂  This dish was AMAZING!  I enjoyed the mix of the seafood, as well as the different textures they each had in my mouth.  Mouth party!!!

While I’m not usually into oxtail, the H happens to love it!  And because it came highly recommended, we decided to give the ox tail plate a try.  And I’m so glad we did because again, it was such a wonderful dish!  The ox tail was so tender, so soft and extremely flavorful.  That it was served in tiny taco bites was also perfect, and made it easier to eat by hand.  And don’t you sometimes think that eating with your hands makes the meal all the more enjoyable?  Even though I don’t usually like getting down and dirty when I eat, there was something about the juices dribbling down my mouth and fingers that made eating this dish particularly fun and pleasurable! 🙂

Seasoned with black garlic, accompanied with some peanut sauce, avocado and market veggies, and topped with a fried egg and some oregano, the skirt steak was another favorite, and satisfying dish.  Again I loved the different textures and flavors rolling around in my mouth with each bite!  Call it a more sophisticated version of steak and eggs.  Hahaha!  While I would never think to mix it with peanut sauce and avocado, the combination surprisingly worked very well! 🙂

Of all the dishes, the least I liked was the lapu lapu.  There was nothing wrong with it per se–it tasted really good as well–it just didn’t have the same WOW effect as the others.  It pretty much tasted like other ceviches I’ve tried.

For drinks, only 3 types of punch cocktails were served.  Because I hardly drink any alcohol nowadays, this was a bit disappointing for me.  However, when I took my first sip of the Pilgrim’s Punch (a combination of pineapple syrup, gin, green tea and bitters), I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was! I could hardly taste any alcohol!  It was light, yummy and refreshing, and went really well with our meal!  The H even ordered a second serving for himself!

The verdict?

Everything about Barbacua was fantastic!  The concept, the food, the flavors, the experience–chalk one up for the Manila Pop Up Crew!!!  It was a date night to be remembered for the H and I.  I’d be lying if I didn’t mention that the eye candy was a big draw as well.  Hahaha!

Grabbed these IG photos from Jae Pickrell and Nix Alanon.  Was too dyahe to take my own photos.  Hahaha!  I didn’t want to come off as an awe-struck groupie.  Hahaha!

I can’t wait for their next event, Kabukicho!  Slightly different in concept, it is a dive bar/food/music event, done in collaboration with Yabu.  For those interested, shoot the Manila Pop Up team an email at mnlpopup@gmail.com.

Foodie Friday : Wrong Ramen

Time for another Foodie Friday post, folks!

The H and I finally had a chance to try the newest ramen place in town–Wrong Ramen at Burgos Circle in BGC!!!

What I love about this place is its slightly irreverent approach to this traditional Japanese fare.  There is nothing typical about the ramen here, yet Wrong Ramen makes no apologies about it.  It poses the question: “Is it better to do Wrong Ramen Right, or Right Ramen Wrong?”

Hmmm…“Ano nga ba?”

Read on and find out…

We had the Enoki Mushroom Fries for starters.  To be honest, I could not really taste any of the mushroom :(.  Sayang because it sounded so good when it was described on the menu.  I think this is one dish that can still be improved on.

For my main dish, I had the Sea Men Ramen.  Catchy name, right?  Hahaha!  And it’s called so because it is a seafood ramen!  There were clams, shrimps, and some squid rings, along with a good dose of bean sprouts and spring onions.

The broth of this soup was light, yet very flavorful.  I looooved it, and so did the little one!  Two thumbs up, and highly recommended!

The H, on the other hand, ordered the Wrong Ramen Tonkotsu Rich.  From the way he slurped his soup, and finished his bowl down to the last drop, I guess I could say that he enjoyed his meal!  Hahaha!  I actually liked the slightly nutty taste of the broth too.  I only wish they added more pieces of pork, though :).

Aside from our meal, I also looooooved Wrong Ramen’s interiors!  Although the place is quite small, I thought the minimalist tables with dividers were genius!  Depending on the size of your party, the tables can expand simply by removing the dividers!

I also loved the quirky art…

…and this painting by Dan Matutina!

So despite its name, I definitely think that Wrong Ramen got a lot of things right!

No doubt, we will be making more trips back here!  Thank goodness it’s right in the neighborhood! 🙂

WRONG RAMEN, Burgos Circle, Fort Bonifacio, right next to the Apple Store, Telephone Number 823 8249

Tip: Try to come early.  Since the place is small, it fills up quite fast.  During the time of our dinner, they were not yet accepting reservations.

Foodie Friday : Recovery Food

I am hardly a night owl but lately, both the H and I have been having trouble falling asleep.  I don’t know if it’s the product of an active mind and having too much at work to think about (bad!!!), but we end up hitting the sack at around midnight, or even later.

Often, because of our less than ideal sleep habits, the H and I get the munchies.  I know, I know…very bad if you’re perenially on a diet like we (the H and I) are.  We usually succumb to our cravings with cookies, a bag of Ruffles or Cheetos, or left-overs from dinner (and I’m wondering how I’ve gained weight, right? Hahaha!). But when we’re REALLY hungry and feel like treating ourselves, we also make calls to Yellow Cab for our favorite pizza, or make food runs to North Park for some dimsum.  Yumyum!

About 2 weeks ago, the H and I made a really fabulous discovery–a restaurant that not only serves really good comfort food, but that is open 24/7!!!  Yup, you read it right–it’s open the whole day!  And from the owners of Mamou, no less!

What is this fabulous restaurant, you ask?  It’s called Recovery Food :).

Conveniently located in Bonifacio Global City across MC Home Depot and near the Starbucks drive-through, this means the H and I now have a very accessible midnight craving haunt :)!  For clubbers, it means the newest after-party or post-hangover breakfast destination.  And for call center agents, it’s one of those very few places that serve delicious, affordable food during the wee hours of the morning!  I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but one thing I do know is that having a restaurant that serves yummy comfort fare at all hours of the day, and that is practically a stone’s throw away from home is mighty dangerous.  Hahaha!

Since we’ve made this discovery, the H and I have already been there twice.  Once for lunch, and another time for an early morning snack after picking up my sissy from the airport (1AM!).  Both times, we enjoyed our food immensely :).  Their ramen is turning into a fast favorite for the H, while their Happy Beef rice bowl is my go-to meal!

Despite the no-frills and slightly cramped interiors, I foresee that we will be back at Recovery Food many, many more times :).  Just like it promises, the food is comforting and familiar, yummy and fulfilling–precisely what the H and I need and look for during those too often midnight cravings :).

I think next time, I’m gonna try me some TuronDots with Dulce Gatas.  Sa pangalan pa lang, panalo na!  Hahaha!