Last week, we were supposed to eat at Dampa but I realized that it was John Mayer’s concert that day.  I suggested that we just meet at Serendra as there are several restaurants there.  As we were walking around, I exclaimed, “Let’s eat at Zao!”.  The 1st time I tried Zao Vietnamese Bistro was at Eastwood Mall and I remember very clearly that I enjoyed the food we ordered.  I was able to convince my mom and her friends, and so we ended up trying it out after all.

Zao’s food, which is Vietnamese food, is meant to be shared.  Looking through the menu, I saw spring rolls, tamarind tea, satay barbeque in the menu.  We ordered quite a lot which is good because I was able to sample a lot of their dishes.  Here are the dishes that we ordered (yes, we finished all of it):

• Crispy Spring Rolls (Php 195)

I realized that we totally forgot to wrap the spring rolls with lettuce hahahaha!  We just ate the spring rolls all by itself!  I guess we were too hungry that we failed to notice the other ingredients in the plate.  Basically, pork, glass noodles & mushrooms wrapped in lumpia wrapper & then deep-fried.  Yum!  Could have been better if we ate it like how we were supposed to eat it 😛

• Zao Pho (Php 225)

This reminds me of the soup being served at Pho Hoa.  This Vietnamese-inspired dish is made with rice noodle mixed w/ flank, brisket, meatballs, tendons.  A truly hearty soup, yet the broth was very light and tasty, and most especially it’s not too salty.  The simplicity of the dish is also what makes it appetizing.

• Cahn Chua (Php 275)

I have always thought that the traditional Filipino sinigang is the best there is, apparently I was wrong.  Zao’s version of sinigang is another soup now part of my top favorite soups.  It’s really a bit different from the Filipino version but oh boy, I was admiring the taste the whole time.  It has this sweet & sour taste to it.  The secret?  most probably, Tamarind.  We can either choose shrimp or fish with this super yummy soup, we chose shrimp.

• Zao Satay Platter (Php 345)

4 different grilled Vietnamese satay in 1 order namely: pork, chicken, beef & shrimp.  Served with Zao Vietnamese Bistro’s own special dipping sauce.  The pork is my favorite from the 4 specialties in the platter.  But if you’re a barbecue fan, you will definitely love the variety in this dish, and you should definitely also order it!  It’s as simple as you can get, but like with any type of grilled meats or seafood, how you season and marinade it will truly make or break the dish.  Zao did well with how they prepared and cooked their satay.

• Lemongrass Chicken (Php 265)

Chicken cooked with chili lemongrass sauce.  Uniquely good!  Seems like lemongrass is a popular ingredient in Vietnamese dishes.  I would have wished they have included lemongrass juice in their menu though.  Back to the chicken, it’s Zao’s specialty.  You must order this.  The great combination of the chili with the lemongrass really gave this chicken a great contrast of flavors.  We don’t normally associate the flavors of lemongrass with chili, but with this dish, it really does work well!

• Vietnamese Beef Stew (Php 345)

Vietnamese Beef Stew, now I know how they cook this.  Seems like they put a lot of basil in this dish.  Cooked with star anise.  Did I like it?  Yes, definitely!  It was interesting how they presented this dish as well, with all the greens on top, but once you get one bite, I realized why it was like that.  The basil, along with the onions, and the beef was so very sumptuous!

• Deep-Fried Catfish (Php 195)

Their version of pinaputok na pla pla.  I really think there’s a lot of similarities with dishes around the world.  It’s just how they cook and how they season it that makes it different.  With this version, the ginger sauce made it special.  And oftentimes, it’s the sauce in these simple dishes that really gives it that extra special touch.  However, I have to say that even if this was a simple fried fish, the fact that they fried it so perfectly and still made it look easy to present is something that they should also get credit for.  Not to mention that it was perfectly crisp on the outside yet moist still.

• Water Spinach w/ Tofu (Php 175)

This was not a favorite of mine.  I wish we could have ordered something different.  Don’t get me wrong, it does taste okay.  Just our normal spinach with tofu.  Just like their other dishes, what I would have wished for this dish is that they gave it a little more twist, added an ingredient or two, seasoned the tofu a bit more, or something.  In my opinion, we can make dishes like this still traditional, but for a restaurant like Zao, considering the other dishes, this tofu and spinach dish did not meet expectation.

• Saigon Fried Rice (Php 215)

Fried rice cooked with Chinese sausage, shrimp & green peas.  We ordered several plain rice as this wasn’t enough for us, we were a big group! 😛  As what my fiance always says, whenever rice is mixed w/ chinese sausauge, it will never go wrong.  Which was definitely the case with this fried rice.  I really wish I could have had more of this fried rice.

• Iced Tea (Php 95)

With their iced teas, we had a choice between the jasmine, tamarind or lychee tea.  None of us ordered the jasmine tea.  I ended up ordering the tamarind one, super yummy drink!  tasted like real tamarind, I loved it!  I tasted the lychee tea too, I think it really depends on your preference but I liked the tamarind flavor more.  It’s bottomless too!

We were seated at the far back since we were a big group.  I kept admiring the design of Zao Vietnamese Bistro.  Very, very unique and oh, so eye-catching.  I loved it, especially the lantern.  It complements completely the delicious food that they serve.

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Zao Vietnamese Bistro
Unit 1C16 Serendra, Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 856-2819

After dinner at Masan Garden last week, we drove to Robinson’s Place to have desserts at Cafe Breton.  When it comes to crepes, I know Cafe Breton serves the best.  Ambiance is so cool too, you can stay for hours and not get bored.  With its cool design and welcoming atmosphere, not to mention the awesome customer service too!

I was actually caught for taking pictures of the menu.  The server told me it’s not allowed.  When she told me about it, I already finished taking pictures.  I just took the ones where our orders are printed, so I could give you a whole picture of our experience in Cafe Breton 🙂

Here’s a list of our orders:

• Butter & Sugar (Php 84)

I have various interests but ultimately, I still love simple stuff.  Just like with crepes, I prefer the plain one rather than the flavored ones.  This butter & sugar plain crepe sprinkled with powdered sugar is as perfect as it is.  No complications but perfectly yummy!  Nothing gets better when it comes to crepes than if the crepe is perfectly done, soft, and thin enough too that it doesn’t become a pancake hahaha :p

• Peche Mignon (Php 272)

Composed of peach halves, chocolate sauce, whipped cream and ice cream.  Vanilla was supposed to be the flavor of the ice cream for this dish but we requested that we change it to blueberry ice cream.  It tasted wayyy better!  It was actually my 1st time to try out blueberry ice cream, I didn’t think that it would be so good.  So one tip for you people, request for a change in ice cream flavor to blueberry, you won’t regret it 😉

• Cappuccino (Php 85)

In this variant, you can actually choose either as is, decaf, double cappuccino or a decaf double cappuccino.  The one in the picture was just the normal one.  Is it good?  I don’t know, didn’t order this but it seems to be nice.  I didn’t hear any complaints from my mom’s friends.

• Cafe au lait (Php 85)

This also has the same options as cappuccino above but what is the difference between a cafe latte & a capuccino?  Well, simple.  What many people don’t realize, is that both actually have the same ingredients:  Milk and espresso.  It’s just that with a latte they use steamed milk, and with a cappuccino they use milk that is frothy.  It really is according to what you like when it comes to coffee.  Sometimes, a lot of people agree that a latte often has a milder taste to it, but that’s because technically more milk is mixed in rather than the cappuccino which has less milk due to the fact that the froth incorporates more air into it.  I know I know, I said it was simple :p  All you have to figure out really is if you want a bit more of a stronger coffee with the more froth, then go with cappuccino, otherwise stick with a latte that usually has a bit more milk added into it :p

• Cafe Mocha (Php 95)

This is definitely not for those on a diet!  This is almost as rich as you can get when it comes to coffee.  Sweet, a lot of chocolate, milk (or cream), iced, and even whipped cream on top.  For those with a sweet tooth, then I definitely suggest this drink.

• Mango Fruit Slush (Php 94.50)

In Cafe Breton, you can either order a fruit slush or a fruit smoothie.  The only difference is that smoothie has milk in it.  Since I’m on a diet, it’s best that I choose the pure one (without the milk).  No regrets there.

While my mom & her friends were chit-chatting, I couldn’t help but admire the paintings on the wall.  Very artistic, I wonder if they hired someone to do the paintings for all their branches.  It really does fit with the theme of Cafe Breton.  Super lovely!

Even the cups & tea pitcher have great designs. I took a picture, don’t they look cool?

Cafe Breton usually comes to mind whenever I’m in a mall and craving for some dessert.  It will continue to be that way since my experience is always pleasant each time 🙂

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Café Breton French Crepes & Fine Coffee
Midtown Wing, Pedro Gil cor. Adriatico St., Malate, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 567-0704

There are lots of Korean Nationals especially in Makati, near the red light district.  Due to that fact, there are lots of Korean establishments nearby and one of them is Masan Garden.  The restaurant is advertised as a Korean & Japanese place but I see it as more of a Korean food place.  Authentic, that’s what I love!  The owner is always there wearing a Korean costume with a big smile on her face too.  Very warm & welcoming, even if we’re not Korean, we still felt so welcome 🙂

As we entered the place, 2 dolls were immediately visible as if they were greeting us hahaha!  Then a server assisted us and brought us to our chosen seats.

The ambiance is very Korean-Japanese.  Bamboo trees sketched in the glasses, very Japanese design all over the restaurant.  The customers being mostly Korean also helped with the ambiance hahahaa, made it truly authentic.  I was really so excited to eat Korean food again, especially the soup!

Here are our orders:

• Salmon (Php 300)

Salmon Kui as the menu says.  It’s just a simple piece of salmon, you put calamansi on top and you are ready to eat.  Simple but delicious!  Cooked well, and still moist.  There really wasn’t any presentation to this dish, which was a shame since it really tasted very good.  In most cases, I try to emphasize good food presentation since it is also part of the experience, but honestly with this dish, you really can’t complain with how it tastes.

• Roasted Pork (Php 320)

Pork Bolgogi.  I love this dish, very spicy but tasty!  The chili really did give the pork a bit of a kick.  I wish I wasn’t so late when I arrived, I could have eaten more of it.  The chili based sauce really was delicious.  For those that don’t like spicy food, sometimes that’s the trade-off when it comes to dishes like this, because the taste of this dish is truly wonderful!

• Roasted Beef (Php 320)

Beef Bolgogi.  Actually the same as Pork Bolgogi but instead of pork, they used beef as the main ingredient.  I always prefer beef over pork but still, both tasted delicious.  This dish was a different variant from the previous dish not only because of the different meat, but because of the different base used to stir fry the dish.  You could taste a bit more of the onions, and the sesame seeds also gave it a more nutty taste, no single ingredient was overpowering, but it really was a great combination of flavors.  The seasoning was also excellently done.  As with most dishes, it doesn’t matter what you put into it, sometimes it can be ruined because it is too salty or under seasoned.  In this case, the meat was tender and the seasoning was just right.

• Garden Fresh Lettuce

The lettuce were given to us for free as we ordered the bolgogi (both beef & pork).  Basically, we just wrap the bolgogi with the lettuce, put their special sauce + garlic.  Perfect lettuce wrap!  I loved it!  My mom also used the salmon with it.

• Bibimpop (Php 300)

A popular rice dish in Korea.  I wasn’t able to taste this though, as my soup order already includes rice so I passed on bibimpop.  Although, it certainly did look appetizing.  This is almost a meal within itself, a great looking concoction indeed!

• Hemul Pajon (Php 280)

I don’t know what the english term for this dish but I would say this is like a vegetable cake or vegetable omelette.  It’s a bit oily though but it was yummy.  I like the how the greens were incorporated in this fried cake, it certainly gave it a great taste that wasn’t too heavy, even if it was a bit oily :p

• Bean Curd Soup (Php 270)

The last time I visited Masan Garden, I ordered the Bean Paste Soup and I hated it.  So this time, I made sure that I ordered the right one which is the Bean Curd Soup.  This version is just lovely, it tends to be spicy, you might want to ask them to just put a small amount of chili.  This is basically soup, with soft tofu and beef.  I can finish this on my own, together with the high quality rice included in the order.  The base is just so yummy, I really loved how full of flavor this dish was!  This is definitely a dish worth ordering every time you dine Masan Garden!

Aside from the awesome service (I think awesome is an understatement but service was just superb!) & great food, I love how generous they are with their FREE appetizers.  It doesn’t matter how many are in the group, it could just be 2 or a group of 5, we were still given all the available appetizers like spinach, kimchi, tofu, dilis).  Now, that’s exceptional value!

We also get free fresh pineapple after our meal! 😀

Lots of reason for me to go back.  The authenticity of the dishes, the wonderful ambiance, and the superb service!  Have you tried Masan Garden?  If not, then you should! 🙂

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Masan Garden Korean & Japanese Restaurant
29 Polaris Street, Bel-Air Village I, Makati City, Philippines
(02) 896-5094

Around a month ago, we were walking around Mall of Asia looking for a place to dine.  I believe we practically strolled around every single area of the mall, walked for half an hour, and then we saw Jatujak.  Who could miss a place called Jatujak?!  So, after we finished looking around, I said let’s try Jatujak!

It’s a Thai restaurant situated on the 2nd floor of MOA.  Always jampacked but glad that there was 1 table free when we got in (must be destiny! hehehe).  I was totally craving for it, I would have been so disappointed if we weren’t able to try it out that day.  Thai Iced Tea & Tom Yum Soup immediately came to mind.

Here are the dishes that we ordered from our new restaurant discovery:

• Sampler Appetizer (Php 198)

Whenever we eat a restaurant, I would always want to try out as many dishes as possible.  So when the time came that we had to choose our appetizer, the sampler appetizer was my obvious and only choice.  This dish included 3 different appetizers: fresh springrolls, fried springrolls and shrimp cakes.  The springrolls contained glass noodles, minced pork & mushrooms inside, I still prefer the fresh one.  All 3 appetizers have different dips too!   I really love samplers, best for first-time diners.

• Tom Yum All Shrimps (Php 195)

We had a choice as to which Tom Yum Soup we wanted, either all shrimps or mixed seafood.  A no-brainer for me coz shrimp is just one of my favorite foods and I believe it’s the best ingredient for Tom Yum!

• Bagoong Rice (Php 155)

If you wanna eat Thai rice then your only choice would be bagoong rice!  I just love this rice, the ingredients are all there: bagoong, egg, onions, green mango & of course, rice!  You have the option to choose which ones to mix with your rice so you could have the fried rice that you like.  I love that the rice itself is cooked with bagoong so it was really tasty.  Yummy!

• Crispy Pork w/ Cilantro Relish (Php 230)

A truly unique dish, I got shocked when I saw that the pork was actually put in a bed of vinegar spice.  It’s not spread all over but you can just dip your pork at the bottom of the bowl so you can have more spice.  This dish is just wow!

• Thai Iced Tea (Php 78)

When we say Thai Iced Tea, we usually know that it’s actually milk tea.  I don’t know what comprises the recipe as it does have a distinct taste which I truly, truly, truly love!  I’m guessing cinnamon & vanilla but hey, If I want it, I’ll just go to a Thai restaurant like Jatujak hehehe.

• Mint & Lemongrass (Php 70)

I was about to order Thai Iced Tea but then I saw lemongrass tea in the menu.  It’s rare to see lemongrass juice in the menu and better yet, they offer bottomless!!!  I just couldn’t pass it up.  As far as I know, lemongrass is a type of herb that has lemon flavor & aroma, I super love to drink its juice!

I also like the design of Jatujak, even with the limited space, they were able to make it look so welcoming.  At the back of the couch, there’s this customized cabinet.  The cabinet shows some pictures of Jatujak’s specialties, the cabinets, on the other hand, were filled up by Thailand products & decorations.  It made Jatujak’s ambiance authentic as a Thai Restaurant.

I wish they could open more branches since MOA is far from my place.  Nevertheless, when I get the chance to go to MOA again, Jatujak will be one of my top choices for dining.

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Jatujak
2/F Entertainment Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 556-0850