Category: Lifestyle

I was set to meet a long-lost friend of mine and other friends.  They asked me to decide which restaurant to go to as they are aware that I blog a lot about food.  I wanted to try out a new restaurant because I rarely write about a restaurant twice in HeaRty’s Haven.

I asked from friends in Plurk if they could provide some suggestions of good restaurants in Tomas Morato.  Most, if not all, suggested Restaurant Uno.  It’s actually ironic that I never heard of it.  I asked for directions and found out that Restaurant Uno is tucked inside Scout Fuentabella Street near Tomas Morato Street.

I followed my friends’ recommendation and we met up at Restaurant Uno yesterday.

Parking was a bit of a challenge.  Luckily, there was a space available at the left side of the restaurant.  As I observed, the owner of Restaurant Uno converted the apartment into a restaurant.

I hesitated a bit when I arrived at the entrance.  I wondered if it really was the door in front of me hahaha!  Anyhow, I got it right.  Whew!  It must have been embarrassing if I got it wrong 😛

The design of Restaurant Uno is very traditional.  You can see wooden tables, wooden chairs, clean table cloths and big windows.  Most of the light coming in are from the outside.  It gives a homey feeling.  Somehow, we stayed for 3 hours which explains how cozy Restaurant Uno is.

We were first served bread.  While we browse through the menu, we can already taste the freshly-baked bread by Restaurant Uno.  You can also buy if you like to bring some home.  The bread being served in the restaurant when you dine in is free though.  You can get more servings too if you like more.  Butter was provided on the side as well.

I was told that Restaurant Uno changes their menu quite often.  However, all feedback that I got are all positive which means that the food is really good.  I knew then that we would have a good dining experience.  Seeing also so many people dining in the restaurant proves that.

We had the following:

• Fresh Calamansi Juice (Php 60)

I was planning to order fresh fruit shakes but I was plain shocked when I was told that Restaurant Uno doesn’t have it.  I ended up with fresh calamansi juice which was great still.  I love anything fresh.  I’ve been drinking too much soda nowadays.

• Orange, Feta, Olives, and Chickpea Fatoush with Lime Coriander Dressing (Php 290)

There were only 2 choices available in the menu: this orange salad and the tuna sashimi salad.  I’m not a fan of raw food and I refuse to eat raw.  I shared that concern with my friends so we ended up with this yummy salad.  Honestly, just by looking at the dish, you can already see how delicious it is.  When I tried it, I was so satisfied.  The combination of the ingredients was perfect.  The dressing was poured all over the dish that each spoonful of the salad was flavorful.  I still hated the olives and opted to separate it.

• Baked Salmon Fillet “Jambalaya” (Php 510)

I’m not fond of Salmon but Restaurant Uno’s salmon was made of awesome!  I actually never thought salmon this thick can have such great flavors.  What was more intriguing is that the salmon wasn’t dry at all.  I wonder how the chef did it but this was admirable.  The vegetables and jambalaya rice complements well with the salmon.  Can I say it again?  This salmon was made of awesome, AWESOME!  Yummy!

• Roasted Breast of French Duck with Limoncello and Ginger Gastrique (Php 710)

When I got to taste this dish, I was already writing Restaurant Uno in my mind as one of my go-to restaurants in Tomas Morato.  Gee, this duck was heavenly.  I appreciate that they sliced it up thinly.  I’m not sure if this was baked but the temperature of the meat was perfect.  It was perfectly cooked, not raw and not overdone.  How lovely!

• Shrimp with Lemon, Capers, Garlic and Paprika (Php 290)

While I loved this shrimp pasta, I was thinking it lacked sauce.  I remember that if I get to eat homemade spaghetti, I always make it a point to put so many sauce in the pasta.  So I guess my comment earlier is mostly personal preference.  My friends loved this dish.  You can see that Restaurant Uno was generous with the shrimps.  Not a bad dish at all!

• Butter Rhum Cake (Php 55)

I’m surprised as to how reasonably priced the cakes are.  Come to think of it, I kinda felt it’s underpriced considering how delicious the desserts are.  Well, not for the butter rhum cake as I didn’t like it.  It wasn’t tasty as I thought.  It wasn’t sweet too as I thought it would be.

• Creme Brulee (Php 45)

Nothing special but it’s the creme brulee that we all love.

• Cheesecake (Php 65)

I was expecting something different but I was pleasantly surprised after I tasted it.  It was definitely a genuine cheesecake and shall I say, this should be how a cheesecake is.  Full of cheese and baked to perfection.  This is a must-order!  I bet this menu item stays in Restaurant Uno.  I believe only their main entree selection changes quarterly.

Delicious food, cozy ambiance and great company of friends.  What else can you ask for in a meal?

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Restaurant Uno
195-C Tomas Morato corner Scout Fuentabella, Quezon City
(02) 374-0774

Yoh-Gurt Froz is celebrating its 6th anniversary this year.  And they are taking it to the next level by upgrading their brand to ……. Yoh Froz!

I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the launch at their newest branch located in Banawe, Quezon City.  I’ve actually noticed Yoh Froz in Banawe as it has a nice welcoming ambiance and the place is really, really big!  I was wondering why a yogurt place would open such a big branch if they are only serving yogurts?

Apparently, I was wrong.  Yoh Froz is way more than just serving yogurt.  While I hear the owners explain the history of Yoh Froz, I was totally in awe.  I admire the passion of the Gatchalian family!  Just look at their vision & mission:

• Vision – To become the country’s no. 1 frozen yogurt brand that will passionately promote health by integrating yogurt into the Filipino lifestyle through our products and services.
• Mission – with our vision as our driving force, we aspire:
  • to offer the most satisfying frozen yogurt experience to our customers through continuous product innovation, excellent customer service and quality control.
  • to provide our employees a workplace that is grounded on integrity and inspired by the pursuit for excellence.
  • to expand nationwide and allow passionate entrepreneurs to share in our vision by creating profitable franchises and working closely with our franchisees as we grow our business together.

Do you know that it all started with a simple family discovery in one of their trips abroad back in 2004?

They were successful as yogurt is now part of our lifestyle.  It became one of our favorite dessert!

As for Yoh Froz, from one tiny cart in 2005, they now have 17 branches in the Philippines.  Wow!
The branches are in the following locations: ABS-CBN, Alabang Town Center, Banawe, Bonifacio High Street, Dagupan City, Davao City, Eastwood, Greenbelt 5, Greenhills, Marquee Mall, Rockwell, Robinsons Place Manila, San Juan, Shangri-La, Shangri-La Supermarket, SM Las Pinas, SM Mall of Asia, Tomas Morato and Trinoma.

Health is definitely their philosophy (Do Your Health a Favor).  You can see all sorts of reasons why yogurt is healthy at the walls of their stores.  It makes you wanna eat more without feeling guilty since we’ll be getting so much benefit from eating yogurt.

Yoh Froz’ main product is the Froz.  The Froz, formerly known as Classic Fro-yo, is a 98% fat-free creamy indulgence that is loaded with prebiotics, probiotics and all the health benefits found in yogurt.  It’s low-calorie, has zero cholesterol and is safe for lactose-intolerant consumers.  Apart from all those descriptions, the Froz is actually delicious based on the products I’ve tasted yesterday during the launch.

In connection to their rebranding, Yoh Froz has expanded their menu offerings in order to provide us new ways to enjoy the Froz.

• We can have our Froz in Plain flavor or in the flavor of the season.  We can also create our own Froz by choosing the toppings from their big selection of fresh fruits, cereals, nuts, pastries and candies.

The favorites: Chocolate Jungle Froz (chocolate dip, rice krispies & banana) & Fruit Mania Froz (Strawberry, kiwi & mango).

• Yoh-Gurt Pasta & Sandwiches

• Belgian Waffles (Php 135)

• Yoh-Gurt Parfait (Php 175) – you can choose from Mango Parfait or Strawberry Parfait.  The Yoh-Gurt Parfait includes Plain Froz, almond nuts, banana, granola clusters and mango or strawberry (according to your order).  This looked so appetizing!

• Yoh-Gurt Smoothies – you can choose from Mango Banana (Php 125), Peach Mango (Php 125), Merry Berry (Php 135) or Strawberry Banana (Php 135)

Two more products will be offered very soon.  We were all so lucky to be the first ones to try it.  Actually, they were trying to get our feedback so they can improve the recipe before rolling it out in Yoh Froz.  Honestly, both items were sooooooo good!

• Yoh-Froz Mochi

I’ve eaten ice-cream mochi before and the combination really worked!  I’m glad that Yoh-Froz is trying that out as well with their Froz.  They are offering it in 7 flavors.  I was able to try out their coffee and strawberry flavors.  Both were delicious.  Loved it!

• Yoh Pops

This was definitely my favorite!  See the smile on my face there.  The pinipig pops was just too good!  Shall I say, PERFECT!  It was jampacked with Froz and the coating was yummy!  I will definitely wait for Yoh Froz to finally offer this in their stores as I will be getting it for sure.  This was the best item I’ve tried during the Yoh Froz launch.

I had a great time during the launch.  I enjoyed the different Yoh Froz products I tasted too!  Since Yoh Froz Banawe is near my place, I’m sure that I’ll be back soon.

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Yoh Froz
Banawe Avenue, between Sta Catalina and Scout Alcaraz streets, Quezon City, Philippines
(02) 373-9651

I was with 2 of my high school friends last saturday.  After singing our heart out in the afternoon, we decided to continue our bonding through dinner.  My friend suggested Cerchio Grill & Lounge and she was sure I’d love it.  I haven’t heard of Cerchio Grill but I believe in my friend’s taste so we went straight to the restaurant which is just near the Karaoke place we went to.

My friend was all praises about Cerchio Grill.  When she mentioned that the restaurant was also put up by the same owners of Romulo Cafe, I knew then that she was right.  I had such a good experience in Romulo Cafe and was so impressed with their food and ambiance.

I can say the same with Cerchio Grill & Lounge.  I was so pleasantly surprised with how beautifully designed the place is.  You can see tons of circles all over the place.  I realized then that Cerchio means circle in Italian and that probably was the reason why they designed the restaurant in that shape.

Cerchio Grill & Lounge is classy and it doesn’t just stop with its beautiful interior design.  Cerchio Grill & Lounge’s service was awesome too!  You can definitely feel that their servers were trained really well.

Here is the list of food items we ordered:

• Cool as a Cucumber (Php 95)

I remember this drink from Romulo Cafe.  I must say after having this the 2nd time around, that I’m officially addicted to this.  My old wish still stands, I hope Cerchio Grill & Romulo Cafe can serve this a bottomless drink.

• Ripe  Mango Shake (Php 85)

Fruit shakes will never be absent in any restaurant’s menu.  Cerchio Grill & Lounge also has green mango, pineapple, banana and buko shakes (all at the same price).

• Mojito (Php 115)

Even if Cerchio Grill & Lounge is a restaurant, it seems like you can hang out there and have cocktails and alcohol.  My friend ordered this mojito.  I wanted to taste it as I know I needed to write about it here in HeaRty’s Haven.  I swear the alcohol was just too strong.  My friend was actually red-faced throughout our dinner due to this drink hahaha!

• Singaporean Crispy Squid Heads (Php 180)

A definite winner in Cerchio Grill & Lounge’s menu!  Perfect appetizer for any meal indeed.  This sweet but very spicy dish had all the flavors over the squid heads.  We couldn’t get enough of this even the dish was served to us when we were almost finished with our main dishes.  We don’t wanna cancel our crispy squid heads order as we knew that the wait was worth it.  Sooooooo yummy!

• Filipino Onion Soup w/ Bulalo Bits & Queso Puti Croutons (Php 150)

I couldn’t imagine how we can make the famous French Onion Soup into Filipino style.  Cerchio Grill & Lounge, however, was able to do this successfully!  This definitely had a different taste but it was complete inspired from French Onion Soup.  The queso puti and bulalo bits were perfect ingredients to this tasty soup.  It was yummy!

• Shrimp Tempura in Tamarind Broth (Php 145)

Cerchio’s own version of sinigang na hipon.  They made it a bit Japanese by putting breaded tempura into the soup.  The other different thing they’ve done was to use Tamarind broth.  This was okay but I think I’ll stick with the original sinigang but this was good too.  It’s just a matter of preference 🙂

• Mixed Vegetables with Tofu & Mushroom (Php 170)

Our meal won’t be complete without a vegetable dish.  I guess we consider vegetables as a light dish. This dish was just ordinary but it was tasty.  I love how the sauce was evenly spread out the dish that every spoonful of this was flavorful!  If you’re a vegetarian, Cerchio’s mixed vegetables with tofu & mushrooms is a good option.

• Oven-Baked Crispy Pata (Php 650)

Who can ever resist crispy pata?  When I saw the name with ‘baked’ in it, I thought it could be less oily.  We all know that Filipinos cook crispy pata by frying it.  So baking it might make it a bit healthier by removing those oils.

The taste was just as delicious.  I really love the crispiness of the skin and the tenderness of the meat.  This is a must-order.  You also have 3 choices of sauce: sweet, spicy and a combination of sweet & spicy.  I liked the sweet & spicy sauce the most but it all boils down to your own taste.  So take your pick! 🙂

• Garlic Rice

Most of us are on diet.  The waiter was very firm in recommending the garlic rice to go with the oven-baked crispy pata.  I took his advice and didn’t regret it.  It was a great combination indeed.

• Toffee Sansrival (Php 140)

I love the presentation of Cerchio Grill’s cakes.  They put the name of the restaurant in a plate using Choco syrup.  It was simple yet very delish to look at.  Toffee Sansrival Cake was my choice of dessert and I was so glad that I stuck with it in spite of many choices in the menu.  The cake wasn’t too sweet and you can taste the nuts in each bite.  The icing were soooo good too!  I totally forgot about my diet.  I just wanted to eat this Toffee sansrival.  I’ll take care of my diet right after this meal.

• Carrot Cake (Php 160)

While I enjoyed Cerchio Grill’s toffee sansrival, the carrot cake was a disappointment for me.  I felt the icing had too much milk.  However, the cake itself had real bits of carrots.  It definitely stayed true to its name.  It was indeed a carrot cake.  I really just hope they fix the icing in their carrot cake.

A lot of friends do ask me for restaurant recommendations.  I now will put Cerchio Grill as one of my top choices for restaurants in Tomas Morato.  Beautiful ambiance, great service and yummy food – what else can you look for?  They got all the ingredients right.  Highly recommended 🙂

Me and my high school friends had a great dining experience.  For sure, I will be back in Cerchio Grill & Lounge soon! 🙂

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Cerchio Grill & Lounge
76 Sct. Limbaga St., Brgy. Laging Handa, Tomas Morato, Quezon City, Philippines
(02) 351-5279

After the amazing show in Tribu K Mindanawan Cultural Village, we walked to Riverwalk Grill for our dinner.  We were told that Riverwalk Grill is famous for their exotic foods.  Crocodile was mentioned a couple of times and I was actually thinking yaiks, should I eat?

I was hungry then as I only had noodles for lunch that day.  As we walked through the restaurant, I saw the chef cooking barbeque.  When I got to smell the aroma of the food, I knew right then and there that we would have a nice meal.

Riverwalk Grill is more of an outdoor type of place.  It doesn’t look like a high-class restaurant but hey, it was the food we were looking forward to.  I was excited.  I wondered how a crocodile would taste like!

I wasn’t part of the ones who ordered the food so I was just there to be surprised haha!  Here are the food that were served to us:

• Thai Mango Salad (Php 90)

This dish is a combination of green and semi-ripe mangoes drizzled with vinegar and garnished with onions.  Thai Mango Salad is nothing extraordinary but I actually liked this dish.  The bitterness in the mango was very distinct here, yum! 😀

• Imbao Soup (Php 120)

Imbao soup is actually clam soup.  Here in Riverwalk Grill, the clams they used are the female ones.  The clams are juicier than other types.  This dish was pretty cheap for only Php 120 and it was presented nicely too.

• Croco Spicy (Php 390)

Now, our most awaited dishes were being served.  First up were crocodile dishes.  This one is Crocodile spicy (one of the most popular dishes in Riverwalk Grill).  Honestly, I never imagined that I would actually eat something like this in my lifetime.  I took a bite.  It tasted like chicken but I just kept chewing for a few seconds.  The sauce gave the dish character but I can’t conclude my impression of crocodile yet.

• Croco Sisig (Php 390)

The 2nd exotic dish served was still a crocodile one.  This time cooked like a sisig.  Oh boy, it did look delicious!  After I took a teaspoonful of Croco sisig, I can now conclude that I won’t be eating or craving for crocodile in the future hahaha!  It’s nice that I was able to finally try it though 🙂  Crocodile meat was tough, I felt like eating chewing gum.  I will stick with pork sisig next time 😛

• Ostrich Egg Omelette (Php 500)

Next up were ostrich dishes. Contrary to crocodile meat, I actually liked ostrich a lot, like a lot!  I think I’ve eaten more of ostrich dishes compared to other dishes Riverwalk Grill served us.  I especially liked the Ostrich Egg Omelette.  It was a bit expensive at Php 500 per plate but hey, how often do we get a chance to eat ostrich?

The omelette was cooked with ostrich, several spices and cheese (I think).  It was one of the most ingredient-packed omelette I have eaten.  We also enjoyed taking pictures with the Ostrich Egg hahaha!

• Ostrich Steak (Php 390)

Another favorite of mine is this Ostrich dish cooked as steak.  Surprisingly, it tasted like beef steak and there wasn’t any after taste at all.  Loved it! 🙂

• Beef Kaldereta (Php 216)

• Grilled Chicken Barbeque (Php 66 per stick)

We saw the chefs grilling the chicken earlier.  I knew as soon as the dish landed in our table that it would taste good.  I wasn’t disappointed.  Freshly grilled chicken was definitely a winner!

• Mixed Fruits with Cream

For dessert, we had mixed fruits.  I loved the presentation but I was really thinking why cream was served with the fruits.  I’m not a big fan of cream.  I guess fruits will taste better with cream (like fruit salad right?).

• Mango Float (Php 70)

The name of the dish is quite confusing to me.  Riverwalk Grill’s mango float is actually a mango graham cake.  This freezer-baked cake was topped with cherry which was a nice touch.  I loved the rich flavor of this cake.  I wasn’t able to finish one whole dish as I was too full already with all the dishes that we have tried out.

• Ripe Mango Shake (Php 50)

We all enjoyed our food adventure 🙂  Most of us ate crocodile and ostrich for the 1st time!  What an eventful first night at Davao.  We all ate like a family, passing the dishes to each other and exchanging stories and stuff during our unique meal.

We also took several pictures and this was some of us after our meal.  If you visit Davao, don’t forget to go to Riverwalk Grill and order their crocodile and ostrich dishes.  You won’t regret it.  It’s always nice to be adventurous once in a while 😉

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Riverwalk Grill
MA-A Diversion Road, Davao City (Behind Davao Crocodile Park)
(082) 221-9643