Category: Lifestyle

This is one of the most unique restaurants I have been to.  I’m really so excited to share this with you as I truly enjoyed my dining experience with my newest discovery, Miss B’s Tuckshop.  The restaurant is located somewhere along Jupiter Street and it’s a bit near my workplace.

I’ve gotten to know Miss B’s Tuckshop through a group buying site.  I wondered what kind of food they serve and if it would be worth a try.  I invited a friend and we went straight to the place after work.

Parking won’t be a problem as there are ample space in front.  It also won’t be hard finding Miss B’s Tuckshop as it’s beside Distillery.  You might wanna reserve a seat or go a bit early as the place is small.  It can only cater to a few groups of people and tables get filled up pretty quickly.

This is one of the places I consider as hidden as not a lot of people know Miss B’s Tuckshop.  I hope that they get more exposure as I believe the restaurant has great potential! 🙂

The first thing I noticed when we entered Miss B’s Tuckshop is the classroom theme of the place.  Tables and chairs are made of wood and they looked so similar with our classrooms in school.  I felt like a schoolkid again which is so cool!  The menu written in the blackboard is a great touch!  It’s very innovative and it saves paper!  They don’t need to create another booklet when they need to change the menu as all they need to do is just to erase and change.  Wow!

Me and my friend were just in total awe with Miss B’s Tuckshop.  We were blown away with the design and we were also impressed with their water bottles! hahaha!  Look at how cute those ‘lil bottles are (see photo below).

How about our orders?  Yes, we liked them too!

• Iced Tea (Php 85)

Look at those jars!  So cute!  It wasn’t the first time that I’ve seen jars being used as containers for drinks but I was glad to see Miss B’s Tuckshop use it too.

• Crispy Pork Confit Burger (Php 185)

The biggest surprise for the day was the crispy pork confit burger.  It had a very generous serving of lechon kawali put in a bun.  If you love pork and if you love cholesterol (:P) then this is meaty heaven for you!

• Pulled Pork Burger (Php 185)

My friend ordered the pulled pork burger.  This one was a bit different from mine because the pork was softer and more tender.  The taste was a combination of sweet and spicy much like ‘hongma’ (chinese meat dish).

• Salt & Vinegar Chips (Php 65)

I only get to try out restaurants every now and then.  That’s why I try to order as much as possible.  We also ordered chips to try out.  First was potato chips!  I’m a sucker for junk food and Miss B’s tuckshop just didn’t disappoint.  The potato chips was newly cooked and I really wonder how they put the vinegar into the chips but it was too tasty, soooo yummy!  It took a bit of time for them to prepare it though.  Anyhow, it was worth the wait! 🙂

• Cajun Fries (Php 65)

We also tried the cajun fries.  By the way, before I forget both the fries and chips are unlimited.  You can ask for a refill as much as you want! 🙂  You have to wait for them to prepare though as they cook them as you order.

• Roasted Marshmallow Milkshake (Php 180)

It might have looked like that we had a complete meal.  However, I knew we had to try Miss B’s tuckshop’s milkshakes.  It seemed that our meal won’t be complete without the milkshakes.  So we had to order.  I ordered the roasted marshmallow milkshake which is composed of fresh milk, vanilla ice cream and three pieces of roasted marshmallow.  Boy, was the milkshake big!  It’s good for sharing and I had to take half of it home as I can’t finish everything after all the food that we have eaten 😛

• Red Velvet Milkshake (Php 180)

My friend ordered Red Velvet milkshake which I really hoped I ordered.  This one was a clear winner for me!  It tasted like cold milk chocolate with cheese!!  Yes, it had cheese!  I never thought that it would taste that good!  If I remember it right, the ingredients in this drink were chocolate beans, vanilla ice cream and cream cheese.  I will surely order this when I get back to Miss B’s Tuckshop!  A must order!

What an unforgettable foodie experience!  I was raving about Miss B’s Tuckshop for a few days.  It felt like I had a hangover hahaha!  Anyhow, you should try this place out if you wanna try something unique and different.

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Miss B’s Tuckshop
# 20 Valdecon Bldg., Jupiter St., Bel-Air, Makati City, Philippines
+63921-7614028

At work, I always buy food for lunch.  I do not know how to cook, that is why.  To be totally honest, I’m really starting to get tired of the same food that we eat.  We do not have much food choices nearby our office.  So one day, we decided to eat out somewhere.

One of my colleagues’ wife is Japanese.  He told us that a restaurant in Makati Creekside Mall serves good authentic Japanese food.  Who else do we get advice when it comes to Japanese food but him, right?  We were excited!

The name of the restaurant is Mangetsu.  I never heard of it but I was looking forward for a great dining experience.  According to my colleague, Mangetsu Japanese Restaurant’s lunch boxes are pretty popular.  I couldn’t wait to order one!

As we entered Mangetsu Japanese Restaurant, I noticed that it’s very dark.  The first thing that came to my mind was, “Gee, this is going to be hard to take pictures!”.  hahaha!  Anyhow, I was able to take some pictures.

We went straight to the 2nd floor.  I immediately checked the menu and started deciding which lunch box set to order.  I was really excited as I was starving then.  I certainly loved the view because while we await for our orders, we can take a peek at the kitchen through the backseat.

We saw the chef preparing our food.  And it made us feel more excited to eat their food!

I noticed that the chef kept cleaning after cooking a single dish.  Apparently, Mangetsu uses Ozone Water to clean food.  As written in Mangetsu Japanese Restaurant’s menu: “Ozone Water is a sterilizer several hundred times more powerful than conventional chemical treatment (chlorine).  It deodorizes, bleaches, preserves food freshness, resolves pesticides and many other profitable effects as secondary effects.”

I also enjoyed the free tea being served.  If I guess it correctly, it was rice wine.

We were a group of 10 but all of us ordered Mangetsu’s lunch set.  We ordered almost the same thing so even if there were 9 different lunch box sets available that day, I can only share 3 in this post.

Some of my colleagues ordered the ff.:

• Stir-fried Eggplant & Beef (red miso flavor) with Rice & Soup (Php 300)

This set is a unique one.  Only one of our colleagues ordered this but I was able to taste it and I kinda liked it!  The set includes the eggplant and beef, rice and soup.

Miso, a popular Japanese ingredient was used in this eggplant-beef combination.  Miso has 2 types, the red and the white.  For this particular dish, red was used.  The difference between the 2 types is that white is much sweeter and milder.

This Eggplant-Beef box set can be a great choice but I still loved the one that I ordered [I’ll get to that later.  Continue reading on :)].

• Mangetsu Bento Box (Php 420)

Several of my colleagues ordered this.  You see, with just Php 420, you get three authentic Japanese dishes!  I almost ordered this bento box but I had to order the other best seller.  I said to myself though that I’d be ordering this when I get back to Mangetsu next time.

Box 1 – Tuna Sashimi Salad

Box 2 – Potato Salad.  Pork Tender Cutlet.  Boiled Broccoli.

Box 3 – Deep fried tofu with Beef thickened sauce and rice

My colleague let me try the beef and I must say it was delicious!  It didn’t feel oily or buttery thus I didn’t feel much guilt when I sampled Mangetsu’s version of Beef Yakiniku.

Overall, the Mangetsu Bento Box is a must order lunch set when you have a big appetite!

Finally, the most recommended lunch set in Mangetsu was my order.  Most of my colleagues ordered the Chicken namban lunch set too!  I had high expectations of this dish.  I must say that after I tried it, the Chicken Namban didn’t disappoint!

Chicken Namban Rice Bowl with Soup & Salad (Php 350)

The set includes soup…

mini salad…

and of course, the star of the meal — Chicken Namban Rice Bowl.

The chicken was basically fried and seasoned with vinegar and tartar.  I’m not a fan of tartar sauce but the combination of ingredients just made me like the dish.  The chicken was juicy, the meat was soft and the sauce was just heavenly!  Delicious!!!

My colleague was right!  Mangetsu is definitely a restaurant to try out if you love Japanese food!  Authenticity at its finest.  The chefs aren’t Japanese but I heard they were trained by Japanese chefs thus we can’t tell the difference anymore.  It’s always nice to have a taste of international cuisine in our own country.

Have you tried Mangetsu?

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Mangetsu Japanese Restaurant
RG4 Makati Creekside Mall, Amorsolo corner V.A. Rufino streets, Legaspi Village, Makati City, Philippines
(02) 894-1553

It’s pretty obvious that I love eating out.  One thing you have to know is that my ultimate favorite Filipino restaurant is Barrio Fiesta.  It has been my favorite since I was a ‘lil kid.  This is mainly because of their mouth-watering dishes like Crispy Pata and Adobong Kangkong.

A few days ago, a Facebook friend posted a picture of Heart Evangelista with a big sign of Barrio Fiesta Greenhills at her back.  Heart is a famous celebrity here in the Philippines and she’s part of the family who owns the Barrio Fiesta franchise.  Seeing that picture immediately made me wanna go straight to Barrio Fiesta and sample their awesome food.  However, I had to wait for dinner time.  I called up a friend and we went to Barrio Fiesta Greenhills for a delicious dinner.

It didn’t take long for us to find the place.  It was a bit ironic that Barrio Fiesta is located beside its direct competitor.  The competitor’s entrance is located at EDSA side while Barrio Fiesta’s entrance is at the back street.  I only have eyes for Barrio Fiesta.  No other restaurant have stolen that ultimate favorite Filipino restaurant title from Barrio Fiesta in my eyes yet.

The ambiance of the Greenhills branch is far from my impression of Barrio Fiesta.  It looked like they applied the accepted design for modern restaurants.  The place was well-lighted and well-designed.  The art work displayed on the walls gives that distinction to Barrio Fiesta.

If you go to Barrio Fiesta’s Makati branch, you can see the difference when it comes to interior design.  The Makati branch has the Filipino ambiance with their tables and seats designed as a Jeepney (Philippines’ famous transportation vehicle).

No matter how different the restaurant design between Barrio Fiesta branches are, their food is just the same (even from 10-20 years ago!).  I always have the same food order whenever I visit Barrio Fiesta.  However, I wasn’t able to order everything during our visit [missed Buko Juice (Php 65) and Sinigang na Hipon (Php 356)].  I’m really in a tight budget right now but next time, I’ll be back to getting all my original favorite dishes.

• Crispy Pata – Large (Php 587)

Anyone in their right state of mind will order Crispy Pata in Barrio Fiesta.  The dish is what made the restaurant famous.  Barrio Fiesta now offers their crispy pata in three sizes, small (Php 487), medium (Php 550) and large (Php 587).  I don’t care if there was only two of us dining but large size was our order.  It was as crispy as ever!  The meat didn’t feel dry at all.  Gee, just writing this entry makes me wanna go back there again.  I must resist!

• Adobong Kangkong – Half (Php 134)

Another must-order in Barrio Fiesta is their Adobong Kangkong.  Available in different sizes: Half (Php 134) and Medium (Php 253).  What I like about this dish is that the meat and vegetables are swimming in tasty sauce.  Every spoonful was so heavenly especially when you pair it with rice.  You should try it out if you haven’t.

• Garlic Rice – Family (Php 129)

Last, but definitely not the least, Barrio Fiesta’s Garlic Rice/Sinangag.  I know this is weird but there’s just one distinct taste in this dish.  Maybe, they put a secret ingredient in the rice or they just perfected the recipe of garlic rice.  I just couldn’t get enough of it!  We even ordered their family size which is good for 4 people!  The server was recommending the cup size (Php 36) but he didn’t know that we could finish the bigger size.  It’s that good!

You have to note that I’m not in any way related to Barrio Fiesta and I paid for our own food.  I really just love Barrio Fiesta and it will always be my ultimate favorite Filipino restaurant.  Whenever I go to this restaurant, I always have this huge smile on my face.

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Barrio Fiesta
Edsa Cor. Rochester St., Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 726-7836

I always had this impression that Feng Wei Wee serves delicious food.  So when my friends asked where we can eat for dinner at Greenhills area, I recommended Feng Wei Wee.  I noticed that it was newly opened and it looked high-end, definitely a very upgraded version of their Banawe, QC branch.

As we entered the place, we immediately noticed the bakery inside the restaurant.  We initially thought that the bakery is part of the restaurant but it’s not.  It’s actually Formosa Bakery.  What’s really interesting is that the owners of Formosa Bakery and Feng Wei Wee doesn’t know each other but they share the same space.

We went there for Feng Wei Wee so we continued on and searched for seats.  We loved the ambiance!  Feng Wei Wee was well-lighted and the chairs were pretty comfortable to sit in too!  I also appreciate good customer service.  The server was ready to recommend dishes and explain what they are.  It didn’t take a long time for us to order.  I was sure that based on my previous experience with the restaurant, the food will be good.  There’s a huge difference between the 2 branches though as I remember the Banawe branch to have a canteen setup.  I wonder if they changed their style there.

Without further ado, here’s a list of our orders:

• Kong Pao Chicken (Php 250)

I was expecting something different so I was a bit disappointed when I saw the dish.  When I got to taste it, I realized I didn’t like the taste either 🙁  Don’t get me wrong.  My friends loved it!  I guess the different flavors put into Feng Wei Wee’s version of Kong Pao Chicken wasn’t something I would like.  I initially thought that the dish would have so much spice & nuts plus the chicken would be fried & crispy but I was wrong.  Oh well.

• Salt & Pepper Spareribs (Php 250)

There isn’t much difference with this dish compared to other restaurants’ version but I must say that Feng Wei Wee cooked it perfectly.  It has the perfect combination of spices.  The pork was crispy too!  The important thing for me is that the meat wasn’t chewy like a bubble gum (I’m very particular with that).

• Cuchay Tokwa (Php 200)

I’m delighted that we followed the server’s advice for us to order Cuchay Tokwa.  Cuchay is basically a type of vegetable and tofu is obviously tofu 😛  I loved the combination of the two.  I wish we could have more but the serving is only good for 2-3 persons.

• Taiwan Fried Rice (Php 250)

Most of the fried rice dishes in the menu is good for one.  As for sharing, we had a choice between Yang Chow and Taiwan fried rice.  Taiwan fried rice was recommended.  The rice was definitely a tasty one.  It had so many ingredients in it, like chinese sausage, onions, eggs and some other stuff I can’t name anymore.  I do admit that I love to share my foodie experience through this blog but I’m really not an expert with food and worse, I can’t even cook.  So I hope you don’t expect too much from me.

• Jasmine Tea (free)

Last, but definitely not the least, the Jasmine Tea.  Yes, it was a service tea and freely served.  But the jasmine tea was just too good!  Even if we were just 6, we requested for two tea pots in our table.

You see, even my friends readily posed for the camera with the Jasmine tea!  This picture should pass as a marketing material hahaha!

I’m just glad Feng Wei Wee has turned into an established restaurant.  Good job to the owners!  Before I forget, it’s Feng Wei Wee and not Feng Wei Wei (I had it misspelled for the longest time!  just check my previous post) 😛

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Feng Wei Wee
Unit 2, Madison Square, 229 Wilson St., Greenhills, San Juan City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 571-8955