Author: Rochelle Sy Chua

Best Western Premier F1 Hotel is the first hotel that opened in the booming Bonifacio Global City.  I was lucky enough to be part of the media folks they invited to taste the food that the hotel offers at their resident food establishment, F Restaurant.

F Restaurant is located at the 5th floor of Best Western Premier F1 Hotel.  This restaurant has the best view of Fort Bonifacio!  Actually, the marketing manager was narrating to us how their guests enjoyed the fireworks last New Year’s Eve.  People were changing positions to view the beautiful firecrackers in every angle.  I wish I discovered this sooner but oh well.

The circular design of the couch greets guests upon entering F restaurant.  I love how cute and innovative the design of the restaurant is.  It keeps the classy hotel restaurant look but at the same time, it’s hip and cool!

Chinese decorations were all over the place…. and I guess you most probably figured that it’s because Chinese New Year is upcoming!  I will be surprised if Filipinos won’t know this special Chinese occasion.  Because guess what?  Our very own Philippine president declared January 23, 2012 a non-working holiday!  Wow!  I never imagined that this could ever happen!  I’m happy that the government recognized the presence of numerous Filipino-Chinese (tsinoy) here in our country thus declaring Chinese New Year as an official Philippine holiday!  Whee!

If you’re looking for a place to celebrate Chinese New Year, why not give F Restaurant at Best Western Premiere F1 Hotel a try?

Here’s a rundown of our ‘preview’ of the Chinese Buffet that F Restaurant is currently offering.  At Php 998++ per person, you get to eat unlimited amount of Chinese food goodness!

Take note that the F Restaurant’s Chinese buffet runs from January 16-31, 2012.  If you choose to celebrate Chinese New Year on the day itself at Best Western Premier F1 Hotel’s signature restaurant, you get to see the much-anticipated dragon dance!  Now, that’s a treat!

Appetizers

• Boiled Peanut

I’m used to eating fried peanuts.  Upon tasting this tea-boiled peanuts from F restaurant, I’m now a convert!  Boiled peanuts taste so much better!  I’m not sure why this particular appetizer won me over.  According to the other foodies that attended the food preview, there might be a hint of cinnamon and sugar with it.  I couldn’t tell but I was having multiple servings of it, can’t get enough!

• Selection of great Chinese appetizers

Next on the table was a mini lauriat of Chinese appetizers.  There were Jelly Fish, Beef Kimchi, Cucumber with Garlic & Chili Sesame and Cold Pork Knuckle.  While I liked most of those dishes, Beef Kimchi came out as a winner!  At first, I was actually hesitant as I dislike eating kimchi.  However, it didn’t look like kimchi at all so I took one piece and voila, sooo yummy!

Soup

I like the choice of soups that F Restaurant decided to serve in their Chinese New Year Buffet.  I wish they included hot & sour soup though as it’s what most tsinoys refer to as their favorite (apart from seven herb soup of course!) when dining at a Chinese restaurant.

• Crab and Corn Soup

I love the generous servings of crabs in this soup.  I can see that it’s really quality that F restaurant at Best Western Premier F1 Hotel is striving for.  Considering it’s a buffet and people will get numerous servings, they wanted to ensure that even a soup like this can taste just as good as their main courses.

• Seafood Spinach

The seafood spinach soup is another winner for me!  I love that they put bits of shrimp into the spinach soup.  I love the lightness of the dish and the right amount of flavors that were in it!

Fresh Noodles

• Fried Noodle with Sliced Pork, Bokchoi, Carrots, Mushroom and X.O. Sauce

Noodles will always be part of every food menu on a Chinese celebration.  Noodles signifies long life so a fried noodle dish like this one by F restaurant was a nice touch to add to the 2-week Chinese-themed buffet.

Main Course

• Hainanese Chicken with Ginger Sauce

The hainanese chicken tasted a bit bland but I guess that’s how it should be, right?  Well, I was able to enjoy it as I dipped the chicken into the ginger sauce.  Finally giving it some sense of character.  I wish they provided the other sauces that usually comes with Hainanese chicken order too like soy sauce and chili sauce.

• Steamed Asparagus with X.O. Sauce

When I saw the asparagus, I was ecstatic!  I super love asparagus as it’s light, delicious and healthy!  I also appreciate that they cooked it with X.O. sauce.  The vegetable doesn’t really need too much.  I’m glad they brought out the natural flavors of this dish.

• Deep Fried Pork Ribs with Salt & Pepper

Another favorite chinese dish of mine is spareribs!  I was truly delighted that F restaurant included this in their buffet menu or else, I would be so disappointed.  If you’re watching your cholesterol intake, the looks of this dish might take you aback.  However, the crunchy and salty taste of this pork will leave you wanting to forget all those doctor’s advice.

• Peking Duck

The star of the buffet is the peking duck.  Others might think that the Php 998++ price for unlimited serving of this peking duck wraps is enough reason to indulge in the Chinese New Year buffet.  I must agree!  Where else can we find unlimited peking duck these days?

• Steamed Marlin with Soya Sauce

This is the only dish that I disliked among the ones we tried.  I guess it’s acquired taste but it would have been nice if they served steamed fish fillet with garlic sauce instead.  That would have been perfect.  I gave this suggestion to Best Western Premier F1 Hotel but of course, it was just my opinion.  I heard the other foodies liked this.  So I guess it really depends on your taste.

• Sichuan Beef

Spicy!!!  That’s how I describe it but I do love the spiciness combined with the soft and tender beef slices.  You’ll love this I’m sure.  Don’t forget to get servings of this when you dine at F Restaurant during the Chinese New Year buffet offering.

• Lechon Macau

this dish looked so simple yet so deceivingly good!  The skin was uber crispy and the meat was juicy!  I was eating about 2 pieces of it without sauce when someone suggested that we put mustard and sugar with it.  The suggestion was a big hit among the foodies in our table.  Suffice to say, we finished all the lechon macau served in our table.  However, I have to remove some fats.  I don’t want to get a heart attack haha!

Dessert

• Mango Sago

Last, but definitely not the least, is their dessert which was mango sago.  It wasn’t the usual mango sago that I see in Chinese restaurants.  F restaurant’s version is thick!  Usually, the tapioca are immersed in mango juice.  This one, however, looked almost like a custard or a pudding.  It’s a good twist to our usual mango dessert.

It was so nice trying out F Restaurant with fellow foodies.  As I looked at my watch, I realized we were eating for more than 2 hours!

My favorites among the Chinese buffet were boiled peanuts, beef kimchi, peking duck, szechuan beef and lechon macau.  The Chinese dishes I mentioned in this post will comprise 70% of the buffet table.

Php 998++ price for a hotel buffet such as this one is definitely good value for money.  The buffet runs from January 16-31, 2012.  Catch it while you still can!  Kung Hei Fat Choi!

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F Restaurant
5/F Best Western Premier F1 Hotel, 32nd Street, Bonifacio Global City, 1634 Taguig, Philippines
(02) 928-9888
http://www.bestwesternpremierf1hotel.com

I consider Muang Thai as a hidden haven in Banawe Street.  No one will actually notice the restaurant as it is squeezed between numerous car repair shops in the busy street of Banawe in Quezon City.  The design and signage don’t help either, not being as eye-catching as those of most other restaurants are.

But hey, diners who have tried Muang Thai have only nice words to say about the Thai Restaurant.  When I suggested to Christina and Wendy to have our lunch there, they hadn’t heard of it and had to ask for directions.  When we started eating our food though, everyone was so happy to be eating at Muang Thai.  The place was small and simple but the food was just so worth it.

Muang Thai is just a small restaurant but it has ample space as it has 2 floors.  On that day that we had lunch, there weren’t many people so we stayed downstairs.  I feel worried though that they may closed down because not a lot of people know about the place.  So this is me, sharing with you our secret Thai place in Banawe area.  It’s nice and good that I want them to be successful so we can always dine there when we crave for Thai dishes in our area.

The three of us love to eat and you can well believe that we have huge appetites!  So even if there’s just the three of us, we always order food good for 4-5 people hahaha!  Well, eating is a good activity, we shouldn’t feel guilty at all! 🙂

Main Dishes

• Crispy Catfish Salad (Php 205)

Muang Thai’s crispy catfish salad was the best I’ve ever eaten so far!  The serving was generous, it was definitely tasty and most of all, even if it looked dry, it didn’t taste that way.  It was basically crispy catfish flakes topped with shredded green mango salad in sweet and sour lime dressing.  I highly recommend this dish and I’ll definitely blame you when I learn that you didn’t order it while in Muang Thai.

• Muang Thai Fried Rice (Php 205)

This was a bit of a surprise for me.  This homemade fried rice has almost all the ingredients you can think of.  There were shrimps, beef, pork, chicken, egg strips and assorted vegetables.  You can actually feel too full when you eat much of this.  One whole order is at Php 205) while half order is at Php 110.

• Stir-fried Vegetables with Pork (Php 185)

While I love Muang Thai, I cannot say the same for their stir-fried vegetables with pork.  I hated it.  I wish they cut the pork more thinly.  It just didn’t work for me.

• Grilled Prawns (Php 235)

We saw the pictures of the grilled dishes in Muang Thai’s menu.  So we tried out the prawns.  The presentation was really good.  However, the taste was just normal.  The prawns were served skewered with bell pepper and pineapple and was served served in a hot plate, with special sweet sauce, fried garlic, and sweet and sour vinegar dip.

The other grilled dishes were beef, chicken, pork and squid.

• Fish Fillet with Garlic Sauce (Php 215)

Deep fried red snapper fillet topped with stir-fried basil, bell pepper, onions, chilies, tomatoes, coriander and minced garlic in light sweet soy sauce.

Another favorite Muang Thai dish for me is their fish fillet with garlic sauce.  I somehow felt that they put a secret ingredient to it.  Because their description in the menu actually doesn’t match the taste that I had.  It was so good!  They may have put peanuts in it.  I was like trying to taste it over and over that I ended up finishing the dish!  Sorry to my friends who I was with if you read this! hahaha!

• Muang Thai Drinks – Thai Iced Coffee (Php 55)/Buko Juice (Php 45)

Of course, Thai signature drink – Milk Coffee won’t be missing in the restaurant’s menu.  However, I was more interested in the buko pandan juice as they made it fresh.  However, they didn’t have the pandan available that day so I opted for having the buko juice without it.

Desserts

We were already too full but any meal won’t be complete without desserts.  There were only three desserts available in Muang Thai so we ordered them all!  Yeah!  As I told you earlier, we’re an eating machine!

• Thai Halo-halo (Php 65)

Want to know Thailand’s version of halo-halo?  Here it is: a bowl of Tapioca coated chestnuts, gelatin, banana, corn, camote, langka and topped with coconut milk & crushed ice.  It was light and refreshing.  Perfect to have during summer seasons.

• Takho (Php 65)

Good thing one order of Takho has 3 pieces, it was perfect for the three of us!  Among the 3 desserts that we tried out, the takho was my favorite.  I guess the gelatin with corn and coconut cream in banana leaves played well with my taste palate.

• Sticky Rice with Ripe Mango (Php 70)

Last, but definitely not the least, was the sticky rice and ripe mango.  When this dessert arrived in our table, I realized we ordered too much! haha!  The steamed glutinous rice with coconut milk and sugar and ripe mango topped with roasted sesame seeds are good for sharing (unless you’re still very hungry).

I appreciate the warmness of the staff.  They gamely took our pictures even if we requested for several takes (sorry, camwhores LOLz!).  Good food and good service, such a good combination.  Muang Thai will always have a special place in every diner’s heart.  Hope to see more people discover this place 🙂

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Muang Thai Authentic Thai Cuisine
494 Banawe Ave. Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
63 (2) 741-8696

I’m not sure why I haven’t tried Mr. Rockefeller considering I used to go to Greenbelt every single day a few years back.  Mr. Rockefeller has always been at Greenbelt 3 and in spite of passing by there lots of times, I couldn’t seem to want to go inside and try it out.

Good thing my childhood best friend suggested we celebrate her birthday at Mr. Rockefeller.  The restaurant is one cozy place.  Perfect for couples who are planning to date.  I guess almost all all steak places has this kind of ambiance.  I wonder why.  I asked a friend and he said that it was because steaks are generally associated with fine dining.  Therefore, the dining environment should be appropriate.

It was pretty obvious that Mr. Rockefeller specializes in oysters as it was named after it.  In fact, we were browsing through the oyster menu and saw the many varieties of oyster dishes.  We ended up ordering Oysters Rockefeller, well we should right?  The restaurant was named Mr. Rockefeller for a reason.

We also ordered ribs.  I wish we tried out their steaks as well but our stomachs could only take so much 😛  Maybe next time!  I heard some great feedback about their steak so I’m keeping that in mind.

• Oysters Rockefeller (Php 330)

A definite star at Mr. Rockefeller was the Oysters Rockefeller.  As I knew that it’d be that good, I opted for 8 pieces even if my friend was worried that we couldn’t finish it.  I assured her that if she couldn’t, I surely would! :)) 4 pieces of Oyster Rockefeller is at Php 195.  I do suggest you order the 8 pieces though, coz the oyster were that good.

Why do I think that Mr. Rockefeller’s oysters were that good?  Well, it’s because in spite of the 18 ingredients on each and every oysters, I can still taste the freshness of the oysters.

• 5-layer Nacho Dip (Php 285)

Oh yeah!  Mr. Rockefeller’s best selling appetizer according to them is the 5-layer nacho dip.  I super agree coz you know why?  The original nacho dip was just too good that I can’t even describe it!  No words, man!  This is a must order!   The dip was superb, or should I say perfect!

• Gambas and Risotto (Php 375)

I’m a huge fan of risotto.  Only a few restaurants serve it so when I saw risotto in the menu, I immediately told my friend we should order one.  Our choice was gambas and risotto.  It was tiger prawns cooked gambas style served on mushroom risotto with cream and parmesan cheese.  In all honesty, while I loved the prawns, I didn’t like the risotto 🙁  I guess it was too dry and sticky for my taste.  Maybe they put too much cream in our dish.

• Boneless Bourbon Ribs (Php 495)

 We have an option to order the boneless bourbon ribs as half-rack (Php 495) or full-rack (Php 920).

Mr. Rockefeller’s famous bourbon ribs was simmered for 8 hours, until the meat is falling-of-the-bones tender then coated with BBQ sauce and grilled on volcanic rocks.  We were so happy that we ordered it as the ribs were rich, sweet and zesty!

The ribs come with 2 side dishes.  We can choose from baked beans, creamed-style corn, sauteed vegetables, garden salad, coleslaw, grilled zucchini & carrots garlic noodles, mashed potatoes, french fries, pesto potatoes, garlic rice, vegetable fried rice, plain rice and brazilian bean rice.  Our choice that night were french fries and pesto potatoes.

We had a great dinner.  We actually were able to talk about a lot of things, I guess the ambiance was nice for long conversations 🙂  If ever I’ll go back to Mr. Rockefeller, I’ll try out their steaks.  Even though the delicious nacho chips and oyster rockefellers won’t be forgotten hehehe 😛

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Mr. Rockefeller
2nd level, Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati City, Philippines
63 (2) 757-4802

I LOVE pares!  It might come as a surprise to people considering the ambiance of Pares house but it has always been one of my favorite food!  However, there’s one particular Pares Mami House that I frequent to and that’s the one located at Retiro Street, Quezon City.  To be completely specific, the name of the restaurant is The Original Pares Mami House.

The Original Pares Mami House is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  So just in case any of us crave for pares, we can always go there.  And you don’t have to worry even if you go at wee hours of the day, because the place is jam-packed anytime of the day, any day of the week.  I’ve been there evenings, midnights and even early mornings, and every single time, there was always lots of people.

You’ll see people from all walks of life.  Whether from class A, B, C or D, they are all there to enjoy the yummy, affordable food in the Original Pares Mami House at Retiro.  If only we can see that kind of unity in our government, anyhow, that’s a different topic altogether.

Considering how the turnover of the restaurant is, it seemed they have perfected their restaurant process.  The establishment was pretty efficient in their service.  They get orders fast, they serve food pretty fast too and the billing process was slick!  They have numbers allotted for each guests.  Even how they clean plates and utensils was impressive too!

As for food, I always order the same thing at The Original Pares Mami House.  Pares will always be part of it and when I get hungry again, I’ll order additional food items like stuffed shrimp, campto and chicken.  Yes, they are all good and I’m happy that they are not so expensive.  Though I think their prices are getting higher and higher, I guess they get that they have tons of loyal customers.  I hope they don’t raise prices that often coz I might change my mind in frequenting them.  Though I must admit, their pares is just too irresistible! 😀

• Pares Beef (Php 75)

Pares in english is “pair”, a dish that is composed of braised beef, soup and fried rice.  It’s a dish that, as far as i know, originated in the Philippines, a dish we can truly call our own:)

Pares’ braised beef is sweet and I love how soft the beef is.  The soup is made with beef stock mixed with the braised beef sauce, locally known as loto.  This is oh so yummy and I’m sure it’ll always be something I crave for often.

Oh my, I’m craving for Pares again!  Now to drive to Retiro street.  This is it!

• Coke (Php 15)

The Original Pares Mami House has soft drinks, buko juice and water for ordering.  I, however, always choose to order Coke!  Sarap eh!  I can drink coke for one whole day and still feel thirsty for it!  Maybe Coke has a love potion in its drink that most of us consumers can’t seem to stop drinking it!

• Campto Soup with Rice (Php 88)

Campto is a stew of pork strips flavored with garlic and spring onions.  It is comfort food at its best.  If ever I still get hungry after finishing an order of pares, this will be my second choice.

Campto with rice is at Php 88.  If you wanna order ala carte, it costs about Php 70.

• Buttered Chicken (Php 140)

I ordered The Original Pares Mami House’s Buttered Chicken as I was curious to find out if they cook chicken as deliciously.  Well, I wasn’t disappointed at all!  I love how they cut the chicken into small pieces and put the right amount of breading.  There was ketchup available but I ended up just eating it as is.  I super liked the taste considering it was newly cooked.  If I estimate it correctly, one order of this is equivalent to half the chicken.

• Chopsuey (Php 80)

My friend ordered this when we had breakfast at Pares.  I somehow felt that Php 80 is a bit high for a small bowl of chopsuey.  But since this has been ordered, I tried it anyhow.  It’s a normal combination of vegetables.  A good option to have variety in your meal.

• Stuffed Shrimp (Php 48)

When I first tried out stuffed squid at the Original Pares Mami House, I was completely shocked.  I actually thought it looked like tempura.  However, I didn’t even notice the shrimp at all hahaha!  It looked more of an embutido than a stuffed shrimp.  But still, it’s a good side dish for our favorite pares!

If you go to the restaurant, you’ll see almost everyone ordering the stuffed shrimp 😛

My plates will always be empty whenever I go to Original Pares Mami House.  Yes, I’m always hungry whenever I visit the place.  Empty bowls and plates FTW after every pares meal.  Satisfying!!

See how happy our faces where after we had our breakfast at Pares yesterday.  After burning calories while jogging, we ended up filling up so much food in our tummies hahaha!

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The Original Pares Mami House
PARES-RETIRO (NS Amoranto (Formerly Retiro St.) cor. Dr. Alejos), Barangay La Loma, Quezon City, Metro Manila 1114