Cheap Eats at Rufo’s Famous Tapa, Blue Wave Branch

Last Friday night, I took the hubby to a dining place recommended by an officemate. It’s at Blue Wave, a commercial strip along Macapagal Blvd. in Pasay City. The name of the restaurant is Rufo’s Famous Tapa. My officemate said the food is cheap there. Being on tipid mode, this was where I immediately thought of feeding my husband dinner before going home in Bacoor for the long weekend. We really pass through Macapagal Blvd. on our way home so the location was not a problem.

True to what my officemate had said, the food at Rufo’s is not only cheap, but is also big in taste. It’s one of the very few casual restaurants I know that serves delicious meals at fast food prices. The hubby had an order of their Famous Tapa (P108) while I got their Spaghetti (P59) and Burger (P46 + P12 for the cheese). We also shared an order of their Chili Chicken Wings (P98).

The hubby liked his tapa meal. He said it really lives up to Rufo’s claim “Sauce pa lang, ulam na!” I believed him. I took a bite of the famed Batangas beef tapa and liked how tender and sweet-salty-saucy it was. If I'd have to nitpick it, I'd say the serving is quite small.



I have always loved Pinoy-style spaghetti. Rufo’s version didn’t disappoint. I was actually blown away by their spaghetti that came with three small meatballs. It was very tasty and flavorful and had a generous topping of grated cheese. For P59, I thought it was a steal!



As for the burger, it was generally okay. The beef patty was juicy and tasty, but I could tell the sesame seed bun used was old. It was crumbly and quite hard to the bite. I finished it, anyway, because I was hungry. Haha. The bread aside, I thought the burger was filling and the size was well worth the price.



The chili chicken wings were good, saucy and crunchy with just the right heat. My only complaint is that there were only four small pieces.



All in all, it was one good and affordable dinner. I actually plan to go back soon for the spaghetti. It was one of the best Pinoy-style versions I’ve tasted and could definitely compete with Jollibee’s and Greenwich’s. Oh well, just try it so you could make sense of what I’m saying here. :)


with the hubby


Rufo's Famous Tapa
Blue Wave Strip Mall
Macapagal Ave. cor. EDSA Ext.
Pasay City
(+632) 511-0436 and (+632) 511-0437


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Eat-All-You-Can Buffalo Wings at Buffalo Wild Wings

Armed with two Cash Cash Pinoy vouchers, I took my sister N to Buffalo Wild Wings one Sunday morning. Prior to going there, I made a reservation for a table for two with the restaurant. Originally, it was for the fiancé and me but he backed out last minute due to an errand that no one could finish but him. Commuting from our place all the way to Panay Avenue in Quezon City was no easy task so I made sure to make the most of our time. I had my second IPL session with Power Peel Clinic at 11:30 a.m. (also on Panay Avenue) before having a satisfying brunch at Buffalo Wild Wings with N at past 12:00 p.m.

The buffalo wings at Buffalo Wild Wings are categorized according to heat levels. It's Piccolo for the mildest, followed by Five Star, Super Lolo and the hottest Goodbye Philippines (scary!). We only get to try the first two, though, and they're both good.


choose your wings based on heat levels

At Buffalo Wild Wings, the eat-all-you-can wings are cooked-to-order. Once you're finished with your first basket of wings, you could order again until your tummy is satisfied. I think we had a total of six baskets. Or probably more. Haha.

For our first basket, we settled on the mildest Piccolo. The photos I took using my Nokia E63 are of low quality but I assure you the wings look very appetizing in the flesh. Anyway, the Piccolo was a combination of sweet, sour, salty, butter-y and saucy. It wasn't as crunchy as the other chicken wings I've tried before but the richness in taste and flavor made up for it. We liked it a lot and didn't mind sucking up all the fatty goodness of the wings. It was yummy both as is and with rice. We'd found out later that the unlimited rice was included in their Cash Cash Pinoy promo offer. Cool. We each got a cup of rice to pair with our delicious Piccolo wings!

Afraid that the buffalo wings would be too hot for my sister's liking (she's not a big fan of hot and spicy food), I decided to just order Five Star and skip on the remaining two variants. The Five Star wings were hot but not too hot. It also didn't have so much to offer when it came to flavors. It was just hot and a bit salty and sour, that's all. Between the Piccolo and the Five Star wings, the former is the runaway winner for me.


love 'em wings!


blurry Five Star drumette

N and I didn't bother getting dips for our chicken wings. They were good on their own, anyway. If you prefer to have dips (blue cheese, creamy cheese and spicy mayo), they cost P50 each.

We also ordered their Ultimate Nachos, P169. The serving was generous and we thought we got what we paid for. My only complaint is that it was disgustingly oily, like we found at least five tablespoons of oil from the ground beef lying under the mountain of nachos. Gross.



We wanted to try their other appetizers but most of them were not available because according to the girl that served us, their supplies hadn't arrived yet. Poor restaurant. They're driving away sales just like that.

Buffalo Wild Wings has neat, modern interiors. I like its red and white theme with touches of black here and there. Aside from their specialty buffalo wings, the restaurant has some good starters and rice meals on its menu. The prices are VAT-inclusive and definitely pocket-friendly.





The service at Buffalo Wild Wings during our visit was a bit slow but it's no big deal to us, I heard they've just opened recently so they could still improve.


my sister N and yours truly


more food

When I told the fiancé that Buffalo Wild Wings serves good wings, he immediately asked me to go back. Yes, why not? But maybe on my next IPL treatment na para sulit ang lakad. Plus, I'll bring a better camera already. :)

Buffalo Wild Wings
2/F ITC Building
Timog cor. Panay Avenues
Quezon City

(+632) 565-2812


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Food Trip at Midnight Mercato

If there’s Mercato Centrale weekend market, there’s also Midnight Mercato that opens from 10:00 am to 3:00 am every Friday and Saturday at The Fort. No confusion, though, because they’re from the same organizer and operate at the same venue. While Mercato Centrale boasts mainly of its organic and healthy offerings, Midnight Mercato serves the city dwellers with its plethora of food items that you can eat right there and then. Or to go.



Last Saturday was Midnight Mercato night for us. We found the venue at the corner of 9th Street and 30th Avenue at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.





With no unoccupied tables on sight, we had no choice but to take our freshly-bought food home. It turned out to be a blessing because we were able to share our food with more people.

Below are the Midnight Mercato food items we partook of that night (errr, early morning pala):

Manang’s Chicken

The blogs I read about Midnight Mercato prior to our food trip weren’t lying. Manang’s Chicken was really delicious! Basically, it’s double deep-fried chicken coated with Manang’s secret soy sauce (with original, mild spicy or spicy variants) and sprinkled with fresh sesame seed.





The fiancée even commented it tasted better than Bonchon’s. No wonder they had one of the longest customer queues at Midnight Mercato. If you’re visiting Midnight Mercato anytime soon, never leave without trying this chicken!



Sumoyaki Takoyaki

I’m not so sure of the name, but it’s everyone’s favorite takoyaki they’re selling. These takoyaki balls were sold at P70 per four pieces. Unlike the authentic takoyaki in Japan, it had no real octopus inside but crabstick. Still, it was yummy and we liked it.



Bibimbap Rice

We bought this from the stall that sold various Spanish paella rice dishes. The Bibimbap rice looked like it didn’t belong to the group but we tried it anyway because we missed the awesome Bibimbap at Kaya Restaurant. We were disappointed! The Bibimbap rice we got tasted awful. The rice grains were also undercooked and the entire rice mixture was watery (must be due to the cucumber and other veggie bits!). Its only saving grace was the sunny side-up egg on top. But anybody can never go wrong with eggs, right? At P75 per serving, I think it’s a waste of money.




this paella rice tasted way batter than the Bibimbap!

Token Cakes

We got four different cakes: carrot, mango, chocolate and cookies and cream. They were sold for P100 per two cakes. Cheap, isn’t it? I had low expectations with the cakes. Suprisingly, they were good! I particularly liked the carrot cake because it had complete ingredients (walnuts, dried fruits, etc.), the right sweetness and the cream frosting was light but yummy.





Merry Moo Special Ice Cream (Food for the Gods flavor)

I really enjoyed my Food for the Gods ice cream. This butterscotch-flavored ice cream was light, sweet and creamy, just like how ice cream should be. I asked the seller if I could taste their bestsellers (Early Grey Tea and Salt Caramel flavors) but I liked my first choice better so that’s what I bought.







Our food trip at Midnight Mercato was a success. It made me forget I was on a diet, but I’m not complaining. Everything we took home was delicious, save for the terrible Bibimbap rice.

Here are more Midnight Mercato photos:







If you’re bringing a car, parking is P30. While entering the premises, we saw several people eating inside or on the back of their cars. Some were even munching on their snacks while sitting on the sidewalk. Midnight Mercato seems to be a hit. I hope it remains so for a long time.


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