Dinner at Uncle Cheffy's - Lucky Chinatown Mall

I had a date with my mom and my sister last Monday night. It was the spur-of-the-moment kind. We braved the traffic and went to Lucky Chinatown Mall in Binondo. I had long wanted to try the popular panizza at Uncle Cheffy's and that night, I did. Aside from the panizza, we ordered a few more food which were all delicious. I'm happy to report that the restaurant has nice ambience and serves good food at friendly prices.





It also helps that they have warm and friendly staff who would really go the extra mile to make your dining experience more satisfying. During our visit, we got a table for three and Chad the waiter gave us a table with cushioned chairs near the entrance. After several minutes, our orders arrived.



We started off with the Spaghetti Alejandro (P185) which was Spanish-inspired pasta with tomato sauce, smoked chorizo, pimientos and Edam cheese. We loved its sweet, salty and rich flavors which awakened our taste buds.



When the Uncle Cheffy Favorites panizza (P200, medium) was served, initially I was wowed by the nice presentation. I was more wowed when I tasted it after doing the basic of putting some alfalfa sprouts, tomato salsa and lettuce to the pizza and rolling it up like what you would a shawarma or a pita wrap. The combination of the oven-dried tomatoes, mushroom, garlic, anchovy, chili flakes, basil and three different cheeses was a delight in the mouth. I would have eaten the entire panizza if not for the fact that I was with two other persons who were liking it as much as I was. Haha.







We also had the Asian Fried Rice (P220) and the Garlic Studded Pork Belly Lechon (P190, 200g). The fried rice was big, I thought it could easily feed three to four persons. It was on the sweet side and the rice grains were a bit soggy but it went perfectly with the pork belly lechon which was really tasty and had crispy skin. My mom loves lechon so she finished most of it. Haha.







To wash down everything that we ate, my mom and I each ordered a glass of fresh lemonade (P90) while my sister didn't order any drinks and just settled for water. The lemonade was okay we could really tell it had fresh lemon juice in it.



We capped off our dinner with a slice of Cheffy Cheesecake (P150). It had two layers: chocolate on the base and cheese on the top. Above them were a dollop of whipped cream and a cherry. The chocolate on the base tasted like flourless chocolate cake to me (smooth texture, chocolatey goodness and all) and the cheese on the top was, well, tasted like your good 'ol cheesecake (creamy and fluffy). The whipped cream did a great job at balancing the two flavors (chocolate and cheese). I think the best thing about this dessert is it's uniqueness. It satisfies your craving for chocolate and cheese in one go.



Overall, it was a good meal for us. I can't wait to bring the hubby to this resto so he could try their panizza, too! :)





P.S. Uncle Cheffy's food prices already include VAT. But expect a 10% service charge to be added to your bill. :)

Uncle Cheffy's
3/F Lucky Chinatown Mall
Reina Regente cor. Dela Reina Sts.
Binondo, Manila
(+632) 708-9576


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Lunch at Café Platito (The Cliffhouse, Tagaytay)

During our recent Tagaytay weekend, I made sure we checked out The Cliffhouse, Tagaytay. It’s one of the best places to visit in the city if you wanna get a good view of the famous Taal Lake. These days, the Cliffhouse serves as a tourist attraction in itself with its beautiful garden landscape and row of restaurants. We went here on a Saturday noon, took a lot of photos and settled for lunch at Café Platito, the first restaurant that caught our attention.



Café Platito sat beside The Inn (the only hotel in the complex) and was right across Café Breton. It was a quaint little dining place with very limited items on its menu. There were a few tables provided for al fresco dining and a few more at the indoor dining area that seemed to double as a souvenir shop.



The fiancé had their Boneless Bonoan Bangus meal (P218) while I settled for their American Beef Burger meal, P198. For drinks, I had a pink lemonade while the fiancé got a regular Coke aside from his complimentary orange juice (for his Bangus meal).



To be honest, I found their food servings quite small. Even the drinks looked kid-size. And to think their prices are on the steep side. Sadly, the taste didn’t make up for these shortcomings.


pink lemonade, P75


orange juice (complimentary)

My burger was nothing special: two small beef patty with cheese, mustard and ketchup on a ciabatta bread. I liked the use of ciabatta bread (for added texture) but didn’t like the fact that the burger was only made tasty by the mustard and the ketchup. The fries that went with it weren’t even crispy to begin with. At P198, I thought it was overpriced and definitely not a good deal.





The fiancé’s Bangus meal had three sunny-side up eggs (for cholesterol overload?), garlic rice and two pieces of daing na bangus. I tried the fish and it was okay, tasty and went well with the rice if I may add. I also ate one of the sunny side-up eggs just so the fiancée won’t have a cholesterol overload. Haha. Again, at P218, I thought it didn’t offer good value to our money.



Sorry, but Café Platito didn’t live up to our expectations. It was a good thing they had polite servers that were easy to deal with. Had it not for them and the nice ambience, our dining experience would’ve been terrible.



I might dine again at Café Platito to find out if they would improve for the better, but not anytime soon.

Cafe Platito
The Cliffhouse Complex
Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo Highway
Tagaytay City


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Mr. Jones: Casual Dining, American Style

The groupon addict (and frugal) in me struck again. This time, the vouchers were for Mr. Jones in Greenbelt 5 Makati. I bought it for P500 and we got a total food value of P1,000 from the restaurant. We went on a Sunday night at around 7:00 p.m. I called the reservation in advance but found out they didn't accept reservations during weekends. You just show up there and if they have table, they give it to you. If in case they don't have, you get waitlisted and seated once a table gets empty. Sounds fair and decent, if you'll ask me.



The restaurant's theme is inspired by the 1960's contemporary American diner. It looked and felt vintage to me during our visit. There were only a few groups dining when we arrived, so we got seated immediately. I think I saw only six tables inside. The al fresco dining area had several tables and if it weren't very humid that night, we would've dined outside to better enjoy the ambience.



After browsing the menu, I settled for the Big Mama's Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf (P395) while Edwin hand-picked the popular US Ribcap "Tapa and Garlic Overload" (P295). For drinks, Edwin had their Bottled "Pop" (P95) which could be any soda: Coke, Sprite, Royal, etc. I, on the other hand, got from their line of "Diner" Milkshake and chose the Blueberry Granola Yogurt Slim Shake (P250) just because I saw the tag line "not as many calories" below it. Haha. Seriously, granola and yogurt were a healthy combination so, why not?

Mr. Jones' menu had a wide variety of American food. I spotted some salads, burgers, breakfast fares and entrees. They also had desserts and of course, wine and cocktail selections.

Our drinks arrived first. I sipped through my milkshake and liked its richness and the fact that it was not too sweet. It came in a tall glass with 1 piece of cherry on top. There was also another glass provided containing what could possibly be left over from the blender. Cool! Edwin's drink was presented in the form of a 355 ml. bottle of Coke with a glass filled with ice and a slice of lemon.







Our meals came a little more than 10 minutes after the drinks did. I was hungry already so I started eating right after taking some food photos for this blog using Edwin's iPhone 4. Our meals came in American size servings. I even felt intimidated by our big plates at first. I remember the same thing happened when we dined at TGI Friday's before, but that's a different story altogether.

I got two 1-inch thick meat loaves with sides of mashed potatoes and buttered baby carrots and French beans. The meat loaves were as real as it could get, very far from the canned meat loaf I was used to eating. The peppery gravy that went with it made the meat loaves more interesting to me, gastronomically speaking.


my Sunday dinner at Mr. Jones


thick and tasty meat loaves!

The taste of the meat loaves actually resembled that of a burger patty minus the full texture and the smokey flavor of the beef. The mashed potatoes were light and tasty and the veggies were crunchy and well-seasoned. It was a good meal but I got full instantly I had to share the rest with Edwin.



Edwin's Pinoy tapa-inspired meal was pretty good, too. It came with a cup of rice, vinegar dip, pickled papaya (atchara), two sunny-side up eggs and two orange wedges. I tried a few spoonfuls of the tapa and it was on the sweet-salty side. It was the kind that needed lotsa rice to balance the flavors. The garlic bits were crunchy and added flavor to the tapa. Edwin found his meal a bit overwhelming also but he managed to finish it off in the end.

One good thing noteworthy about Mr. Jones is the attentiveness of its service staff. They were not really friendly, just attentive to our needs and I appreciated that. I also liked it that the restaurant's menu gives a lot of choices to diners who would like to experience casual dining, American style in the cozy Greenbelt Makati. Watch out for a bigger and better Mr. Jones because they're currently working on expanding their space as evidenced by the banner hanging on the left side of the restaurant.



Food prices at Mr. Jones are a bit steep. Meals range from P295 up and that doesn't even include appetizers or drinks yet. I suggest allotting P500 per head. No worries, though, because you'd get what you'd pay for. And they have nice ambience and attentive staff so you're bound to get a good dining experience. Country music on the background, too. This could take you back to memory lane so be prepared to reminisce about your youth. Haha.



The people behind Mr. Jones are the same group that brought us Museum Cafe, Momo Cafe and Chelsea Market and Cafe.

Mr. Jones
Level 1, Greenbelt 5
Ayala Center, Makati

(+632) 501-3682
(+632) 501-3111


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Angel's Pizza Pasta Combo: The Ultimate Place for Good Pizza, Pasta and More

Another food tasting invite came; who was I to complain? I was on pizza heaven last week together with my blogger friends to sample the offerings of Angel's Pizza Pasta Combo, a fast-growing local pizza chain serving one of the best-tasting pizzas in Manila. The branch we visited was the one at City Golf Plaza, Ortigas Center.



The Different Flavors of Pizza


 
I'm a pizza lover and I can say I've tasted both great and crappy pizzas before so I kinda had high expectations with Angel's pizza offerings. Good thing they didn't disappoint!

Nothing really beats a hot-off-the-oven pizza. The aroma was just heavenly. I was already salivating while taking photos of the three flavors of pizza served to us. They all tasted fresh and delicious. The pizza crusts were soft, chewy and crunchy all at the same time because they were hand-tossed (a mark of authentic Italian pizza!). After several bites, I knew my expectations had been met. I also tasted a hint of sweetness in the pizza sauce. I welcomed it with open arms, err, opened mouth. I prefer my pizza sauce to be a bit on the sweet side, allowing the toppings to create a medley of flavors for a fantastic pizza experience.


Angel's Double Cheesy Melt, P599 (Big Family)

I tried hard not to play favorites but the one that left a lasting impression to me was the Double Cheesy Melt. This two layers of flavorful pizza (one was topped with gooey cheese while the other had loads of pepperoni) was very satisfying. I had a hard time resisting having another serving. Aaaargh.


Angel's Double Cheeseburger, P599 (Big Family)


Angel's Style, P555 (Big Family)

I'm not a big fan of the Double Cheeseburger (a blogger friend said it was good, though) so my another favorite would be the Angel's Style. It had loads of mushroom, onion and bbq chicken strips. It tasted sweet and savory at the same time because of the special bbq sauce. I loved it!


the two pizza dips, P25 each

When they provided us with two pizza dips (sour cream and tangy tomato), I dipped it into the sour cream by instinct. The tartness of the sour cream gave a nice contrast to the sweet-savory taste of the pizza. I really enjoyed it up to the last bite.

The Different Pastas in a Dough


Classic Spaghetti in a Dough, P189


Carbonara Pasta in a Dough, P199


Tuna Pesto Pasta in a Dough, P199

The Pasta in a Dough gives a fresh take to the regular pasta and garlic bread combo. I have to give it to Angel's Pizza for this innovative concept. They served three to us: Carbonara, Classic Spaghetti and Tuna Pesto. I'm a big fan of Pinoy style spaghetti that's why my heart went for the second one. I particularly enjoyed the sweet-tangy sauce that enveloped this dish and gave it a delicious finish. Both the carbonara and the pesto tasted okay, though. Go easy on the yummy crust, though, as it could make you feel full fast because of all those carbs.

The Calzones


flavors from left to right: bbq chicken, pesto and ham, beef & mushrooms

Because I was already full what with the three pizza slices and spoonfuls of pasta I wolfed down, I just tried a bit of the three kinds of calzone. Each had its distinctive flavor but I think I liked the chicken one best. My palate welcomed the sweet-tangy taste of the filling with gusto. The pesto one was a bit dry for my taste I thought it could use more oil and pesto sauce. That, or maybe it had dried up already because we took photos first before actually tasting them.

The Rice Meals



To make for a complete casual dining experience, Angel's pizza also has some rice meals on its straightforward menu. That night, they served us two: crispy fried chicken and breaded pork belly. The fried chicken was well-seasoned and had very light breading which made the skin crispier than ever. I skipped the pork belly but to me it looked crispy and delicious, too.

The Ultimate Dessert



What's a meal without desserts? To cap off our already carbo-loaded dinner, we had their sinful Brownie Squares, P85. Boy, was it huge from a far! Up close, it was hot and had small squares for sharing. It came with a frozen chocolate dip. When I spread the dip onto the hot brownie squares, it started to melt because of the heat. It looked divine, talk about double chocolatey goodness. The brownie was soft, moist, gooey and sweet. I had several bites before calling it quits. One word: addicting!


the slow chocolate melting moment

Angel's Pizza Pasta Combo is one of the restaurants serving the denizens of City Golf Plaza. The place is quite small and laidback but it has a nice balcony for al fresco dining that's fronting the road (Doña Julia Vargas Avenue). I can imagine a second visit to the place with my close college friends, you know, for a catch-up session over delicious pizza. That sounds fun, ayt? I'm also glad that it's affordable, like, we could just allot P300 per head and have a good meal of pizza and pasta and still afford to have desserts. Plus, they give  freebies and/or discounts to SM Advantage, SM Prestige, BDO Rewards and Laking National  Bookstore cardholders. How's that? 

If somehow this post made you crave for some Angel's pizza, get 'a taste of heaven at your doorstep,' NOW. Check out this photo to know what number to call:


Angel's Pizza delivery hotline

Angel's Pizza has an ongoing promo pizza lovers will surely love:

Buy 1 Take 1 Promo
(DI - dine in; TO- take out; DE - delivery)

Makati Store
10am-1pm DI TO DE
12mid to 3am DI TO only

Kalayaan QC Store
10am to 1pm DI TO DE

Fairview Store
10am to 1pm DI TO DE

1:01 pm -11pm DI TO only and for BIG FAMILY only

Pasig Store
10am-1pm DI TO DE
10pm-12mid DI TO DE

Sucat
10am-1pm DI TO DE
9pm-11 pm DI TO DE

Recto
10am to 1pm DI TO DE

Malate
All day B1T1-DI TO DE
10 am to 11pm

Know the food prices at Angel's Pizza Pasta Combo by checking out the complete menu here, here and here.


our foodie bloggers group

Thank you to Angel's Pizza Pasta Combo for the awesome pizza treat. Thank you, also and once again, to our PR friend Annesy del Mundo for the invite. :)

Angel's Pizza Pasta Combo
City Golf Plaza
Ortigas Center, Pasig City

Delivery Hotline: 922-2222


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Anniversary Dinner at Old Spaghetti House, SM Manila

From the ground floor, Old Spaghetti House transferred to the fourth level of SM Manila where most of the dining establishments are found today. For our 6th anniversary as couple, Edwin and I decided to celebrate at the said restaurant. Aside from its homey and relaxing ambience, Old Spaghetti House is said to boast of its good selection of pasta dishes. I wanted to find out for myself if there is truth to that claim. And so, before Edwin could change his mind, I dragged him inside the said dining place and asked for a table for two.

Just one look at the menu, the frugal me already spotted the less expensive "trio meals." Each trio meal is composed of three dishes: a serving of salad or appetizer, a medium-sized pizza and a plate of pasta. I chose the Bestseller (P585) consisting of an appetizer sampler, a medium-sized four-cheese pizza and a plate of pesto pasta with grilled chicken strips.





Edwin and I were happy to learn from the poster-underliners that we could get a pitcher of iced tea if we would pay using a Citibank credit card. Good thing Edwin had one in his wallet and so we got the freebie. No need to order and pay for drinks. Yipee.



If there's one thing we regretted bringing to our Old Spaghetti House visit, that was a camera. I needed one to take good photos of our food. Since we couldn't turn back time, I had to contend myself with my phone camera that barely did justice to our delicious food that night.

Let's start off with the appetizer sampler. We got this plate with several pieces of calamares, chicken fillet and onion rings. Funny that they all looked the same and you could only tell which was which by the shape and the taste. There's really nothing special about them; I think their saving grace was the mayo dip that tasted delish.



I liked how the iced tea at Old Spaghetti House had hints of calamansi that were just enough to enhance the flavors of the tea. It was refreshing and served its purpose well.


our free pitcher of iced tea courtesy of Citibank!

The chicken pesto was light and delicious. We loved that it was healthy and there was parmesan cheese provided by the waiter should we needed more.



The pizza, oh the four-cheese pizza, was very rich and flavorful! I loved every bite. I poured some drops of hot sauce to add some kick to it. The crispy, thin crust fit it perfectly. I didn't think it would be that delicious if it came with a thick crust. I will definitely order this on our next visit to the restaurant.



The damage? Only P600+, 12% VAT and 9% service charge included.

Old Spaghetti House is the place to go whenever you miss your aunt's Italian cooking. It's nice that their food are reasonably-priced and the service is fast. The homey ambience is also ideal for when eating out with friends and family. It offers casual dining at a relaxing atmosphere which is one of the things we always look for when dining out, ayt? :)

Old Spaghetti House
4th Level, SM City Manila


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