Author: Rochelle Sy Chua

The weather in Manila is getting hotter by the day.  I do not know why I still suggested that we eat ramen last week.  I guess, I really wanted to try out Kenji-Tei which has been receiving raves from a lot of people.  I did try it out once a few weeks ago but we just ordered 2 dishes and I felt it wasn’t enough for a blog post.  So I was glad that friends agreed to have our meet up at Kenji-Tei Ramen House.

Fresh and simple flavors ensure relish incomparable culinary experience true Japanese ramen – that’s the tagline of Kenji-Tei Ramen House.  I can’t judge the authenticity of the ramen as I’m not Japanese.  All I can say or critique is based on my personal taste, whether I felt if the dishes I tried are delicious or not.  That’s just how I always describe my experiences in restaurants.

First up, I liked the interior of the restaurant.  I noticed the multiple noodle-like lines all over the counter and ceiling.  I believe it’s a strong statement that their ramen is their specialty.  It would be such a shame if we don’t try their ramen out, right?

Next, Kenji-Tei’s service tea.  I usually don’t order drinks whenever I dine at a Japanese restaurant.  I guess I really like the unique taste of Japanese tea.  The tea tasted like rice, so I assume that it came from rice broth but I really don’t know.  Do you know what those Japanese tea are made of?  I really would like to know!

Tempura and gyoza are plastered in every Japanese restaurants’ menu, Kenji Tei definitely has those dishes in theirs.  I had to try them out!  During my second visit, I did as we waited for our other friends to arrive.

• Yaki Gyoza (Php 188)

You know what?  I think I totally forgot that I was sharing this Yaki Gyoza dish because I ate 90% of it, haha!  I liked that the meat is packed in the wrapper.  You know some other restaurants do have the same amount of meat but they wrapped it loosely making it hard to eat.  It’s nice that Kenji Tei has wrapped them perfectly. Every lil bite that I had with gyoza was wonderful.  It was pure gyoza goodness which made me want to try their cheese gyoza the next time I visit.

• Ebi Tempura (Php 248)

Breaded shrimp can be ordered 3 pieces (Php 248) or 5 pieces (Php 368).  As much as I like tempura, I felt this was a bit overpriced.

• Gohan (Php 68)

I guess with the unbearable hot weather we have right now.  You would just want to have rice dishes instead of ramen.  If that’s the case, you can order rice with gyoza or tempura.  I suggest gyoza, Kenji-Tei’s were really, really good!

Ramen Dishes

There was no stopping me from trying out Kenji-Tei’s ramen dishes.  I was so curious that I had to taste two different variants before I finally write it here in HeaRty’s Haven.  I ordered Mabo Tofu during my first visit and Seafood Ramen on the second.  They’re incomparable because they are different but I liked both!  That’s why I think Kenji-Tei is here to stay.

Oh, the spices on the table are not for display.  Add some to your ramen and you will feel some difference as it gives more flavors to the dish.  It enhances the taste of the ramen and you’ll enjoy it more.

You can order Kenji Tei’s ramen as is but you can also order additional toppings [2 pieces Chashu (Php 48),  butter (Php 16), spinach (Php 22), moyashi/bean sprouts (Php 22), egg (Php 20), negi/leak stalks (Php 32) and ramen (Php 32)].  If you ask me, order those additional chashu 😉

The best way to choose which ramen to order is to decide which soup base you want.  Kenji Tei has 3: Shōyu (soy based), the Shio (salt based) and the Miso.  Once you’re decided with the soup base, you can order the ramen with the toppings of your choice.

• Chashu Miso Ramen (Regular-Php 248, Large-Php 338)

Miso-based ramen served with an array of toppings: braised pork slices, vegetables and egg.  The Chashu (pork) really melts in your mouth.  the meat was so tender and definitely delicious!  That’s why I suggest you order additional of chashu (2 pieces at Php 48) as you surely won’t get enough of it!

• Gomoku Shio Ramen (Regular-Php 268, Large-Php 358)

Gomoku Shio Ramen is one of Kenji Tei’s bestsellers.  It was shio-based ramen with mixed seafood, egg, vegetables and pork.  Among all the soup base that Kenji Tei offers, I must say I love shio the most.

• Mabo Tofu Ramen (Regular-Php 248, Large-Php 338)

I ordered mabo tofu ramen because it’s unique.  I super love tofu and I wondered how it would taste like with ramen.

It was soy-based ramen topped with tofu and spicy sauce.  The dish might have looked heavy but I didn’t feel that way.  And yes, I can conclude that mapo tofu actually works very well as a ramen dish.

While I browsed through websites reviewing Kenji Tei, I found out that it’s actually a restaurant that started in Paranque City.   Apparently, their most famous dishes are cheese gyoza and chicken teriyaki.  I had to try those out on my next visit 🙂

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Kenji Tei Ramen House
3rd floor Greenbelt 5, Makati City, Philippines
+63-2-7543098
Sunday-Thursday 11am to 10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am to 11pm

My friends know that I’m addicted to tea!  If I’m given a chance to choose between coffee or tea, there’s no question that I would answer tea.  I’ve been a mainstay in different milk tea places that have been operating here in Metro Manila.  I must honestly say though that I change my favorite among them when I got to try better brands.

As of the moment, my favorite is teaberi.  I was so impressed that I am raving about it to my friends.  I used to rave about another brand but after teaberi, I’m totally sold!  Teaberi has the best selection of tea.  The taste of their tea is better than other brands too (in my opinion, of course)!  It seemed that the people behind teaberi studied carefully about the best formula to make tea.

I wish teaberi will open more branches as it’s going to be such a shame for other people not to discover this tea place!  Popular tea parlors here in Manila should watch out for some competition with teaberi.

Teaberi is located at the side of A. Venue Mall.  You can just quickly park in front and order for take out.  To order tea, just proceed to the counter and choose the drink from the menu pasted on the countertop.

You can also look over their menu on the wall for better viewing.  During the time I was there, I ordered one of each among teaberi’s different sets of teas.  I wanted to have the complete experience that’s why I ordered a lot.  I could always bring them home anyway.

Guests can also opt to dine in.  Teaberi has a small area for customers who wanted to hang out.  I love the colorful and bright atmosphere of the place.

It’s great for taking pictures too!  I remember how I loved my shots there, hahaha!

Prices of tea are toppings-inclusive already but you can order additional for Php 15 each except for cheese froth which costs Php 30.  Toppings in teaberi are black pearl (teaberi’s specialty), pudding, taro pudding, grass jelly, nata de coco, coffee jelly, brown ice jelly, aloe, bubble pops and cheese froth.

For sugar-conscious folks, you can let teaberi know how sweet you like your drink to be, whether it’s 100%, 75 %, 50% or 25%.

Here are some of the drinks that I tried out in Teaberi:

• Roast Sencha Milk Tea (M-Php 85, L-Php 95)

What I like about Roast Sencha milk tea is the strong tea flavor.  The tea flavor comes out even if there’s milk in it.  If you’re a true tea lover, you will like this drink.

• Winter melon milk tea (M-Php 85, L-Php 95)

Winter melon milk tea is becoming popular among tea lovers.  It has always been my comfort drink.  I like teaberi’s version as theirs is milder.

• Strawberry Green Tea (M-Php 75, L-Php 85)

I’ve tried teaberi’s strawberry green tea.  I chose pudding as my topping for this drink.  I love that teaberi’s chill tea is the best to fight the extremely hot temperature we are experiencing in Manila right now.  It’s very refreshing and can at least alleviate a bit of the hot feeling.

• Lemon Squeeze (M-Php 75, L-Php 85, Hot-Php 65)

I got to try lemon squeeze with bubble pop.  Bubble pop are cute little pearls when popped, flavored juice comes out.  I got the strawberry pop and I must say, it made the experience of drinking tea more fun & enjoyable!

Lemon squeeze is part of Teaberi’s ‘herbal & fruit infused tea’ selection.  The tea comprised of rose hip, lemon juice and lemongrass.  Other herbal/fruit infused tea are orange spice, berry medley, peach delight and blackcurrant.

• Cocoa Cheese Froth (M-Php 110 L-Php 120)

A lot of people are crazy over drinks with cheese froth.  Teaberi recognizes that and got themselves some creations with cheese froth.  They have cocoa cheese froth — a combination of different chocolates.  Well, it wasn’t surprising that this drink is one of teaberi’s bestsellers.  Chocolate is everyone’s best friend after all! 🙂

• Matcha Black Bean with Roasted Rice (M-Php 95, L-Php 105, Hot-Php 85)

My favorite among the ones I tried out in teaberi has got to be this Matcha Black Bean with Roasted Rice drink!  My golly, it tasted soooooooo good!  I’m not sure if it was the ground black beans or the tea or the roasted rice, but the whole drink in itself was so yummy!

Teaberi is a haven for tea lovers!

Their specialty drinks are my personal favorites.  Have you tried it?  You should!  Try their Matcha Black Bean with Roasted rice, I’m totally in love with it!  Can’t wait to see more branches of Teaberi soon!

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Teaberi
A. Venue Mall, Makati City, Philippines
Mon – Sun: 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm
teabericafe@gmail.com

Everyone love desserts!  I, myself, always crave for desserts after every meal and it has become a habit.  So hearing that The Cake Club opened in Bonifacio High Street Central, made me happy as we have more options now for a dessert place.  However, I realized after having visited The Cake Club, that it wasn’t just a dessert place.  They offer main dishes too!  Get to know more by reading on…

I loved the clean and elegant design of the restaurant.  What I found really interesting was the service!  The servers were dressed the same as the servers in Diamond Hotel!  They were dressed formally and we get the same royal treatment that we used to get when we go to 5-star hotels.  Isn’t that cool?

The surrounding will make you hungry.  I was itching to order already as we waited for the rest of the group to arrive.  The display of Hediard Tea, Malongo Coffee, wines and Royce Chocolates were such a nice sight to see.

Who wouldn’t take home cakes, ensaymada and ice cream when you see them neatfully placed at the center of the restaurant?  We all went home with cakes and I thoroughly enjoyed them at home.

We made sure to order different items so we could share in our blog posts almost every dish that Cake Club has.  As for me, I ordered red beet soup, US Angus Beef burger and blue garden tea.

Starters

• Hobart’s Spicy Tomato Soup (Php 190)

homemade tomato jam, fresh basil.

• Roasted Red Beet Soup (Php 190)

goat cheese, green apples and toasted walnuts with beet.

While everyone ordered tomato soup, I was the only one who ordered red beet soup.  I super love red color but unfortunately, I didn’t like this red-colored soup. I find it odd as I have tasted other beet dishes and liked them.  I guess it was only me as others have tasted my order and they liked it.  It really boils down to everyone’s personal taste.

• GM Salad (Php 210)

pan roasted mushrooms, crispy parmesan basket, baby greens and shallot vinaigrette.

• Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese Tart Salad (Php 295)

cheese, aruguia and frisee lettuce, cherry tomatoes and white win vinaigrette.

• Truffle Fries (Php 180)

This has got to be the best appetizer among The Cake Club’s menu.  When this was served, it was empty in just a few minutes.  We had to order again as everyone wanted to eat some more.  The truffle oil must be the secret to this addictive dish.  Yummy!

Mains

• Slow-Roasted Beef Belly

honey roasted baby carrots, brown rice and horseradish cream.

• U.S. Angus Beef Burger (Php 410)

Juicy beef patty, vine ripe tomatoes, caramelized onions, fresh basil pesto and cheddar reese served with fries.

I wanted to order slow-roasted beef belly but noone ordered this U.S. Angus beef burger so I decided to give it a try.  It was funny that the burger was colored red because I just had red soup, haha!  The burger tasted good and it was juicy, meaty, flavorful and really, really good!  If you love burgers, you’ll love this.

• Lamb Burger (Php 490)

Moroccan spiced lamb patty, feta and parmesan cheese, harissa yogurt, served with fries.

• Porcini Mushroom Crepe (Php 420)

parmesan and emmental cheese and light cream sauce.

• Baked Salmon (Php 455)

salmon with mediterranean crust and saffron risotto.

• Saton-San’s Mentaiko Spaghetti (Php 370)

spicy cod roe, dried seaweed and cream sauce.

Beverages

Aside from the savory dishes, The Cake Club offers good selection of beverages.  They have Hediard tea (which I ordered) and Malongo Coffee, both of which are famous French brands.  Red and white wines are also available which are great for food pairing.

• Blue Garden Tea (Php 200 per pot)

Chinese tea flavored with rhubarb and wild strawberry, sprinkled with cornflower and helianthus petals.  Blue Garden tea is the best seller of Cake Club when it comes to Hediard tea and I must say, I agree!

• House Wine (Php 170 per glass)

Red or white wine served by the glass.

Pastry Selection

The Cake Club wouldn’t be named after cakes if their cakes weren’t delicious right?  This was why I was so looking forward for our meal to end as I was excited to try out the numerous mouth-watering cakes being offered at the Cake Club.

Individual cakes can be purchased/ordered for Php 250, whole cakes are priced at Php 1,500 and if you crave for Diamond Hotel’s famous ensaymada, you can order them too at Php 120 each.

We were all lucky to have the privilege of trying out almost all the cakes at the restaurant.  My gosh, just by looking at how pretty the cakes were presented, made it much harder for us to take the first plunge in eating it but nothing stopped us for trying them all out.  I had my favorites of course, and they are Ispahan & Vanessa.

Le Royale – Chef Pang Kok Keong’s signature cake made of Vairhona dark chocolate mousse, almond meringue and hazelnut crispy.
Vanessa (my fav!) – named after Diamond Hotel’s General Manager, this cake is made of pistachio macaroons and fresh strawberries.
Danielle – Chef Daniel Back’s white chocolate raspberry cheesecake that is sugarless! Perfect for diet-conscious peeps!
Baked Cheesecake – Diamond Hotel’s signature cheesecake that is known to be the cheesiest cake in the metro!

Ispahan (another fav!) – Diamond Hotel’s tribute to French pastry chef Pierre Herm.  The cake is made with raspberries, lychee and rose essence.
Cecilia – used to be in Diamond Hotel President’s wish list but came true when chef Robert Mempin made this version of buko pie.
St. Honore Ube – cake made after the French patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs, Saint Honor and is made of puff pastry, pâte a choux and ube ganache.
Supermoist Chocolate Cake – I’m not a fan of chocolate cake but I’m sure that this cake will be a major success to all customers with sweet tooth! 🙂

Ice Cream Selection

Aside from the famous cakes, The Cake Club also serves their very own homemade ice cream.  Their flavors are totally unique and each one has a distinct taste & flavor.  Some of the flavors are based on their cakes.

The Cake Club’s Ice Cream Flavors were: Supermoist Chocolate cake, Baked Cheesecake, Genmaicha (green tea with roasted brown rice), Black Sesame, Azuki (Japanese red bean), Mont Blanc (chestnut & rum), Taro-Jackfruit, Melon, Apple Pie and Coconut – Palm Sugar (low-sugar ,6%).

I definitely enjoyed Taro Jackfruit & Black Sesame ice cream flavors the most and I would recommend you try those out 🙂

You can order 2 scoops of ice cream for dine in at Php 150.  If you want more, you can order one pint (Php 350) or half-gallon (Php 1,000) for take out.

As always, being able to spend time with foodie Yedy just made the experience more joyful! 🙂

The Bonifacio High Street Central is Cake Club’s second branch.  More people can access Diamond Hotel’s loved desserts through The Cake Club’s branches in Rockwell & now, Bonifacio High Street Central.  Go and indulge! <3

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The Cake Club
East Superblock, 30th St. corner 7th St. Bonifacio High Street Central, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Philippines