Category: Lifestyle

I rarely go to Tiendesitas area.  Tiendesitas is famous for their pet shops and tiangges (bargain stores).  The place also has tons of food places.  However, Bistro Mateo caught my eye because of it’s ambiance.  I’d rather eat in a secluded place where I can hangout with friends and enjoy the food than in an open noisy area.

The place has this Spanish theme into it.  Apparently, Bistro Mateo serves Spanish-Filipino food.  I had high expectations.

The 2nd floor has a mini bar where most people hang out for some drinks.

Customer service was superb.  The server that was assigned to our table was so accommodating.  He was patiently waiting for us to choose our orders plus he was sharing what the dishes were to help us decide.  It wasn’t hard calling the servers as well when we had additional orders or wanted to ask for water refill.

I felt Christina and I ordered too much to eat for just the 2 of us.  Anyway, it’s always nice to try out something new.  I wasn’t impressed with the food in Bistro Mateo as I feel the dishes weren’t extraordinary.  But hey, the food are so affordable!  With the ambiance of the restaurant, I believe we are getting more than we are spending.  So it’s all good 🙂

We tried the following:

• Fresh Pineapple (Php 85)

I rarely drink fresh pineapple.  My order was surprisingly good!  I have to learn how to make one on my own in the future.  For now, I know that I like the drink.  I’m glad that Bistro Mateo put sufficient amount of pineapple that it didn’t taste like water 🙂  Yummy!

• Special Hot Chocolate (Php 50)

Hot, thick and dark — that’s Bistro Mateo’s special hot chocolate!  It wasn’t my order.  It was my friend’s.  If only they offer white chocolate expresso, then I would have ordered it in a heartbeat 😛

• Sopa de Mariscos (Php 170)

I liked this seafood soup.  Bistro Mateo was very generous with their serving that both of us were already full when we finished the soup.  We ended up taking home a lot of left overs of the other dishes haha!  Anyhow, it was a good start for a decent meal.  If you want to order soup in Bistro Mateo, then this should be your order.  It’s worth it!

• Tokwa’t Baboy (Php 90)

Tofu cut into cubes with crispy pork and onions immersed in soy-vinegar sauce.  I like that the restaurant used crispy pork rather than normal fatty pork that other restaurants’ use.  It had the right amount of spiciness, yumyum!

• Paellita (Php 155)

Bistro Mateo’s pride is their paellas.  Surprisingly, their paellas are pretty cheap (less than Php200 for an order).  We ordered their paellita which is flavored rice with seafood, meat and vegetables.

• Bistek Tagalog (Php 260)

Unfortunately, I didn’t like the Bistek tagalog we ordered.  The pork was a bit tough and the dish was super oily 🙁  It had great flavors but the pork was a bit disappointing.  I hope they presented it better too.  Other restaurants serve it in a sizzling plate.  The effect could be different if they presented it beautifully.

• Tortang Talong (Php 125)

from all the dishes that we ordered, Bistro Mateo’s Tortang Talong was my favorite.  It’s basically an eggplant omelette that can be served with either ground meat or crab meat.  We have chosen crab meat and I really loved it!  It was just a small simple dish but it was very nice.

• Churros con Chocolate (Php 105)

I saw other customers enjoying their churros order in their table and I got a bit curious.  When I checked the menu, it says there that it’s Bistro Mateo’s specialty.  I had to try it out as I felt I might not able to go back to Bistro Mateo anytime soon.  Well, the churros was what we expected it to be.  A pastry served with chocolate sauce.  The sauce wasn’t too sweet which is good.

• Coffee Jelly (Php 55)

I like their coffee jelly as you can really taste real coffee in every scoop.  However, I really wish they used vanilla ice cream instead of whipped cream.  I really don’t like eating too much cream in a dessert.

• Buko Pandan (Php 75)

Bistro Mateo’s buko pandan is basically the same as their coffee jelly.  It’s Php20 more expensive which i I think is because of the real bits of buko on top of the dessert 😛

As I said earlier, Bistro Mateo serves affordable and decent food.  With its big space and good location, I’m sure it’ll stay.  Service is a great reason for a restaurant’s success and Bistro Mateo has that.  Hopefully, the chef can get a bit adventurous and work on improvising new unique dishes and improving current menu.

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Bistro Mateo
Tiendesitas at Frontera Verde, Ortigas corner C5 Ugong, Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 631-4367

After watching Captain America, we were ready to eat dinner.  We all wanted to try out something new and coincidentally, all of us haven’t tried H.K. Choi.  I was a bit hesitant at first as H.K. Choi looked like an expensive restaurant.

Luckily, I was wrong.  H.K. Choi is affordable!  It’s actually a cheaper version of Choi Garden which is pretty cool!  I haven’t tried Choi Garden so I can’t tell the difference.  Anyhow, I loved the food in H.K. Choi.  I was just a bit disappointed as we weren’t able to try out their tohue (Php 250).  We didn’t know that tohue (H.K. Choi’s popular dessert) had to be ordered in advance.  H.K. Choi should be indicating that in their menu so customers like us won’t be disappointed.  It was dinner time and when we finished, we wanted to order dessert and we got rejected because they already finished cleaning up the kitchen.  The server didn’t ask us for our last orders 🙁

H.K. Choi in Megamall Atrium is pretty big!  The place is very cozy.  The mini chandeliers looked so elegant and beautiful.  The restaurant is well-lighted and well-maintained.  It’s a great place for families and friends to hang out for lunch or dinner.

While we await for our orders, we can munch on the free peanuts on the table.  I was busy taking pictures and chatting with my colleagues though.  I didn’t even notice that our orders arrived already as I was enjoying the chit-chat.

• Yang Chow Fried Rice (Php 220)

Yang Chow was the fried rice recommended by the server.  H.K. Choi’s version was tasty.  I’m glad they were generous with the ingredients in the dish.  There were sufficient amount of barbecued meat, green peas, shrimps and eggs in the Yang Chow Fried Rice.  It was also perfectly good for 5 of us.

• Hot Prawn Salad (Php 320)

The best dish among all the ones that we had.  It’s basically a hot salad with prawns as main ingredient.  The prawns were pretty crispy and the mayonnaise was the perfect sauce for it.  The vegetables beneath the shrimps were a great touch too.  A must order in H.K. Choi Chinese restaurant.

• Fried Beancurd with Salt & Pepper (Php 160)

I wonder how H.K. Choi was able to bread and fry the tofu perfectly.  The fried bean curd was just a simple dish but we enjoyed it truly.  It was a perfect appetizer!  The tofu was very soft and I loved how they cut it into bite-size pieces.

• Chicken with Lemon Sauce (Php 240)

Finally, a lemon chicken that has real chicken!  You see, I’ve eaten a lot of lemon chickens from different restaurants.  Usually, the ratio of the chicken and the breading is 1:5.  I’m really so happy that H.K. Choi didn’t disappoint.  I enjoyed this dish a lot.  I also appreciate that it has the right amount of sweetness.

Good food, decent service, great ambiance and good location.  Those are pretty good reasons to go to H.K. Choi and have a meal.  If you have eaten at Choi Garden, then you’ll like H.K. Choi as well.  For a group of 5, we shelled out Php 200 per person.  It was an affordable meal. 🙂

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H.K. Choi by Choi Garden
2nd Floor, Mega Atrium, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City, Philippines
(02) 470-4233

Chocolates are happy food.  You see it being a popular food item given as a bring-home gift/pasalubong or as a romantic gift.  Everyone just loves it!  People just light up whenever they see chocolates.  It’s amazing how a certain food can change moods in a very, very positive way.

So when Chocolate Fire opened its doors in Makati City, it became an instant success.  I’ve been hearing people rave about it.  I was about to join some of my colleagues last year for dinner at Chocolate Fire but something came up and I wasn’t able to join.

Good thing that we had our desserts last night at Chocolate Fire.  Finally, I can share my experience with you.

Ironically, I’m not fond of chocolates.  I know it’s weird but chocolates just aren’t my favorite.  If I get a chance to eat chocolates, my only choice would be white chocolates (ONLY white chocolates).

We parked our cars outside the restaurant located at the G/F of a building in Makati.  You won’t have any problems finding a parking space as there are tons of available space outside.

As we entered the place, I was in awe.  I loved the design of the place!  It was sooooo romantic!  I guess the ambiance won’t be the same if we dined during lunch time.  The romantic scenery at night was totally so cool!

We saw chocolates displayed all over the place.  I mean if you’re a lover of chocolate, it’s impossible not to put up any smile on your face.

There were cakes, dried fruits, glazed fruits, barks, lollipops and a lot more delicious food displayed.  I wonder how you can resist all of those yummy looking chocolates.  You better forget about your diet when dining in Chocolate Fire.

We were about to order the chocolate fondue but we felt that we might be drowning ourselves with too much chocolate that we won’t be able to finish it.  So we decided to use try out two cakes from Chocolate Fire’s selections.  I hope to try their fondue next time though.

• Chocolate Ganache Cake (Php 189)

A Chocolate sponge cake with a top layer of Chocolate Ganache.  I tried it and I think it was okay.  I’m not really fond of chocolates so I’m not the right person to judge this wonderful looking cake.  My friends said that it was just a normal chocolate cake.  I take their word for it.

Ganache which is one of the main ingredients in this cake is a mixture of chocolate and cream.  It’s basically used here as a filling but it’s also used to make candies and truffles.

Chocolate Garnache Cake is considered as one of the bestsellers in Chocolate Fire.

• Tiramisu (Php 147)

A popular dessert in Italy, this sponge cake has liquor in it.    That’s tiramisu, beautifully baked by Chocolate Fire.  It was nothing extraordinary but it was a pretty decent Tiramisu cake 🙂

The cakes didn’t impress us much but the iced chocolate drinks were heavenly!  I thoroughly enjoyed my order of white chocolate and it truly made my night complete.

You see, the chocolate used in the drinks were pure Belgian ones!

There are 4 steps to take when we order Chocolate Fire’s Iced Chocolate:

1. Choose your Chocolate
2. Choose your Ice Cream
3. If you desire, select a Syrup
4. you may also select a Topping

• Dark Iced Chocolate (Php 165)

My friend has chosen the dark chocolate with Vanilla ice cream.  He didn’t look as impressed as I was.  They were mentioning another chocolate shop had better drinks.

• White Iced Chocolate (Php 195)

I, on the other hand, ordered the white chocolate with vanilla ice cream.  I didn’t ask for any more toppings or syrup as I was perfectly fine with the main ingredients.

I truly loved my order!  I enjoyed every sip of those overly delicious chocolate goodness!  Oh my, that was the best white chocolate drink I have tasted so far!  I’ll surely have the same order when I get back to Chocolate fire.  The texture, taste, combination of ingredients, flavors were just spot on!  Outstanding!  Loved it (a lot!).

I’m glad we had desserts as I was able to try out Chocolate Fire finally.  We also had some good conversations going at that time.  It’s always good to catch up with friends 🙂

The ambiance in Chocolate Fire is great especially at night.  PERFECT for dates!  So if you want your date to be happy, then bring her to Chocolate Fire.  As they all say, chocolates is the way to a woman’s heart 😉

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Chocolate Fire
G/F PDCP Building corner of Leviste Street & Rufino Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City, Philippines
(02) 840-3473

Ersao has been around for quite some time.  It is known to have affordable and delicious milk teas.  However, competition is getting stiff as tea places have been popping up left and right.  In spite of that, Ersao is still as alive as ever.  They have renovated their place plus the menu was completely revamped.

I have been going to Ersao if I’m craving for milk tea or some light snacks.  I appreciate that their prices aren’t that high so affordability is the key reason why I still go back to Ersao.  It’s very accessible to me as well as Ersao is just a 5-minute drive from my house.

If you’re from the south area, you might not know what Ersao serves as most if not all of their branches are located in the north.  Ersao has branches in Banawe, E. Rodriguez, West Avenue, Abad Santos and Blumentritt.

What is Ersao famous for?  Basically, it’s really their milk teas..  Right now, they expanded their drinks selection with fruit shakes, green teas and other variants of milk teas.

During our dinner at Ersao Banawe branch a few weeks ago, I tried their Avocado Shake (Php 55).  I didn’t appreciate it that much.  I guess they put too much ice in the drink or maybe there was too much sugar.  Anyhow, it was a pretty decent drink, not something I would go back to though.

My friends ordered Taro Milk Tea (Php 45), the original Pearl Milk Tea (Php 45) and Passion Fruit Green Tea (Php 45).  I’ve tasted those drinks before and I can recommend them.

However, my newest favorite in Ersao is Coffee Milk Tea (Php 50).  We always ask ‘Coffee or Tea?’.  I usually respond with tea.  But hey, we can have the best of both coffee and tea with Ersao’s Coffee Milk Tea!  It was such a delight!  Super yummy!  Even if I still like Ersao’s Pearl Milk Tea, their Coffee Milk Tea is the new king in my book.

Ersao has transformed into a restaurant as it also serves combo meals, rice dishes and even noodles.  The ff. were our main courses for the night:

• Dumpling Noodles (Php 95)

Ersao’s Noodles selection basically have the same flavors.  The only difference is the main ingredient.  In this case, my friend ordered dumpling noodles.  We can opt not to order noodles which makes it a dumpling soup (Php 55).  The other noodle items that Ersao offers include maki mi (Php 110), Pork Cha Mi (Php 110), Beef Noodles (Php 130), Jachai Noodles (Php 95), Meatball Noodles (Php 95), Pork Steak Noodles (Php 125) and Seafood Noodles (Php 160).

• Spicy Pork Rice (Php 75)

The food item Ersao is famous for are their spicy squid (Php 50), spicy chicken (Php 50) and spicy pork (Php 55).  My favorite is the spicy pork.  Right now, Ersao offers it as a rice topping too (just add Php 20 for the rice).

Ersao also sells raw spicy pork/chicken/squid in packs.  It’s seasoned already so all we need to do is just fry them.  I can’t cook so I still buy the cooked version 😛

• Chicken Steak Rice (Php 90)

The pork steak rice also looked like the same thing and Ersao offers it at the same price.  If you love fried food, then you might enjoy this pork/chicken steak rice.

• Beef Topping (Php 130)

Just as I thought that Ersao can only fry food, I saw this beef dish.  I wasn’t able to taste it but I believe it should taste okay as my friend finished her beef topping.  I might try to order this next time.  I just have to stop myself from ordering my usual choice – spicy pork 😛

• Fish Fillet Rice (Php 125)

I’m trying to diet.  That night, I was also a bit adventurous so I ordered Ersao’s Fish Fillet Rice.  I’m glad they put sauce in it.  It was a pretty decent dish.  The fish was tender and fried well.  The sauce was okay.  Serving size was enough for me too.

• Radish Cake (Php 50)

Radish cake is a favorite of mine.  I always make it a point to try out a restaurant’s radish cake if they serve it.  I like that Ersao put a bit of a sauce in their radish cake coz it gave the dish character.  Fried radish cake is dry and sometimes you would feel a bit tired of the flavor if it’s served plain.

 Ersao will definitely stay as it’s one of the pioneers of the milk tea business here in the Philippines.  Have you tried Ersao?

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Ersao
668 Banawe St., Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 408-9665