Category: Lifestyle

The Aristocrat

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On February 16, 2010

The Aristocrat
432 San Andres Street, Malate, Manila
(02) 524-7671

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Last Sunday morning, I had a girls only breakfast with my old college friends. I haven’t seen them for such a long time and it was great to have breakfast!! So nice to spend 1st part of your day with your closest friends. Anyway, since we all live all over the place, we decided to just meet halfway and this is in Manila. Aristocrat being very popular among Filipino-Chinese was our chosen venue.

I arrived at 8AM and oh boy, the place was packed! Good thing there was still 1 table available for us! So I sat and ordered soup while I waited for my other friends to arrive. After 30 minutes, we were complete and by that time, everyone was starved. Now, I had to control myself from ordering too much as I have this tendency to do so when I’m really hungry.

Here are what we ordered:

Melon Shake (Php 74)

I was about to order buko juice but then, the server mentioned that their melon juice was better. So I took his advice. I felt though that too much water was put in it and I really thought that it didn’t feel fresh though it was freshly made.

Sotanghon Soup (Php 53)

This is just my favorite soup of all time. I don’t know how they made this but I’ve always loved the taste of sotanghon soup. I know it has sotanghon, meat, onions but there’s just something that made me not forget to order this dish whenever I visit Aristocrat. IMHO, this is the best soup the restaurant offers.

Cream of Mushroom Soup (Php 58)

My friend said the soup was a bit salty.

Native Chocolate (Php 51)

If you’re fond of chocolate, then this is for you. I wondered why I ordered this considering I’m not a chocolate person. I ended up just taking a sip and just left it at the table. Though don’t get me wrong, it was good. I’m just not a chocolate person. I bet all chocolate lovers would appreciate this drink..

Brewed Coffee (Php 51)

Pork Spareribs Barbeque (Php 172)

Boneless Chicken Barbeque (Php 149)

Since the meal was for breakfast, I opted to order their breakfast meal. But if ever I’m there for lunch or dinner, this is surely something I will order. It was nice that you don’t need to exert some effort taking the meat out of the bones as this has already been prepared beautifully by Aristocrat.

Cheese Omelette (Php 120)

One of my friends is a vegetarian so this was the dish that she decided to order. Cheese omelette, I wonder how this taste like.

Combination of Longaniza & Adobo Filipino Breakfast (Php 239)

This was my order. Honestly, their presentation sucked! Geez just look at this dish! It looked weird. It wasn’t even sumptuous at all! I ordered the combination meal which included pork & chicken adobo, longaniza, 2 pieces eggs, garlic rice & 1 drink (either coffee, chocolate, tea, iced tea). The food was just normal. I appreciate the home-cooked one better though.

Sinigang na Baboy (Php 281)

Customer Service is of utmost importance for any company. One thing that was very much noticeable in Aristocrat was their lack of servers. It was really hard to find any waiters available for orders/requests. Plus, the servers looked sooo stressed that we rarely even get any smile from them. Our water didn’t get refilled. Something that really disappointed me. It was too bad that the food was good. Owners of Aristocrat have to learn to hire more servers. Because look at what happened? Their customer service was failing due to their employees being burned out or stressed.

Still, I would personally go back to Aristocrat along Roxas Boulevard when I have craving for filipino food. I really just hope the restaurant would improve their customer service. Still one of the best filipino restaurants in Manila.

More pictures from the breakfast here.

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua on media, events, travel, food and restaurant experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Manila, Philippines and Asia.

Last Valentines nAPO nila Concert

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On February 15, 2010

The APO Hiking Society has been in the music business for 40 long years. This is the first time though that I was able to watch their concert. I decided to go watch this because I heard that Apo will be disbanding and this concert will be their last for Manila. So I took the opportunity to go see them in concert for the first and last time.

Thanks to sioti Marcelle for giving me his extra ticket. It was such a surprise that Apo Hiking Society were actually a funny bunch. I was pleasantly shocked as to how they were able to bend some songs to make them more hip & modern. They know that times have changed and we are already in the new generation. It was real fun that they were able to convert their original songs much more enjoyable to listen. Kudos to Apo!

The concert started 1 hour late. Some fans by that time were a bit pissed. You could hear the frustration from the crowd when the announcer was saying that the concert would start in a few minutes. I, on the other hand was pissed not because the concert started late but because the lady sitting in front of me was standing all through out. It didn’t matter if the show hadn’t started but staring at a back of a person for 30 whole minutes was definitely NOT fun.

roch last valentines apo

That’s me in the photo sitting at the back of the venue; our ticket–wasn’t sooo good seats. We were seated at the back (literally, the last row!) & also the farthest right. So if you can just imagine, we cannot see the stage at all. If we wanted to see what’s happening, we had to look at the screen. One lesson that I learned that night, never never ever purchase tickets that have bad seats. We might as well buy the recorded version of the concert. So since I got the ticket for free, I don’t have the right to complain (but I did anyway, in this post hahaha! Sorry!)

The picture below showed my view of the stage. You can see that I couldn’t see Apo there anymore except if I look at the screen provided on our side of the venue. Still, being in the concert was nice because of the artists themselves, the Apo Hiking Society. They really worked the crowd. Sang such beautiful songs & entertained us for 3 whole hours. Front act by Kate Brosas was great too, though I think the punchlines were not meant for kids to listen :P:P

stage apo concert

My favorite performances were the song for Noynoy. Then there was a song that described our political situation in the country & also the last 2 medleys that Apo Hiking Society made. I even took videos of the last 2 performances. Lemme share them with you as I end my post.

Thank you, Jim Paredes, Danny Javier & Buboy Garrovillo. You certainly made history in the Philippine Music Industry. Thank you for sharing the music, laughter and your talent with us.

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua on media, events, travel, food and restaurant experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Manila, Philippines and Asia.

Ikabud Pagkaing Pinoy

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On February 15, 2010

Ikabud
G/F Marquee Mall, North Luzon Expressway, Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines

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After such a tiring but enjoyable day at the 15th Philippine Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, we proceeded to Marquee Mall to have oru lunch. Can I just say, “Wow!”. Marquee Mall was such a nice place! It looked like they recently just opened. So I researched and found out that they opened just last October 2009 and one of popular restaurants in the mall is Ikabud.

I’ve been told that if you go to Pampanga, you really have to try Ikabud. So we did 🙂 Boy, the food was delicious! I wonder why they haven’t brought this restaurant to Manila. I’m sure it will be a hit! There are many Filipino restaurants all over the metro but Ikabud is definitely different.

Here are what we ordered:

Bulalo (Php 180)

There was only one item that I look for whenever I order bulalo, bone marrow. Without it, the dish, IMHO is just a failure! Ikabud’s bulalo? Definitely didn’t disappoint. Apart from having the bone marrow, the meat itself was just tender. The taste of the soup was yummy. I couldn’t ask for more.

Nilasing Crablets (Php 75)

The nilasing crablets was a hit! Truthfully, we all wanted to eat the dish especially with vinegar! This is a must-order when you go to Ikabud. We just loved it! As in super, super!!

Family Garlic Rice (Php 150)

If your party is at least 3 people, I suggest you order the family sized rice. They’re more affordable. I found it quite surprising that even with just a simple dish, it made me feel like it was better than most offered by restaurants. Maybe it was the oil or the garlic. Maybe it was the rice.

Salpicao (Php 190)

When we ordered this, we really thought that it was beef salpicao. The server explained after we said, “salpicao,” but I didn’t pay much attention. When the order came, I understood what the server was trying to explain. Apparently salpicao is sizzling seafood! It doesn’t matter that we misunderstood what it was because it was definitely worth eating! This was delicious! Sizzling shrimps, tahong, fish, mushrooms, hotdogs, squid and young corn… hmmm yummy!

Crispy Pata (Php 320)

The crunchy rectangular pieces garnished with crispy pata was not chicharon but kropeck. I was almost fooled by that hahaha! Anyway, we ordered way too much for 4 people. That’s fine though. The food was delicious and we don’t have ikabud here in Manila.

Tutti Fruiti Shake (Php 65)

Combination of Mango & Cherry shake. My colleagues said it was super yummy & better than the Guyabano shake we ordered. We also noticed that all their fruit shakes have this “Stick-O” (the chocolate snack). IMHO, that gave the drink more umpph! hehehe

Guyabano Shake (Php 55)

It is rare that we see fresh Guyabano shakes being offered in a restaurant. When I saw this in the menu, I immediately ordered it! It was super rich. I was very impressed! Most of the fruit shakes we ordered in the restaurant had too much water in it. This one, it was very fresh! You can feel that we do get what we paid for.

What a great morning this was! We had a great balloon ride, great sites and great food! We went home very satisfied and happy! 😀

More pictures here.

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua on media, events, travel, food and restaurant experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Manila, Philippines and Asia.

15th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On February 14, 2010

Yesterday, several colleagues and myself travelled very early in the morning so we could go to Clark, Pampanga to see the 15th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. This Fiesta has been around since 1991 and it was my first time to attend.

It was sssooooooo cool!!! Glad I was able to wake up early to catch this. We arrived a bit late so we weren’t able to catch the start of the hot air balloon flights but still on time to see them in the sky.

There were about 20 or so balloons that flew up in the sky, each balloon were designed so beautifully! Each balloon had their own logo of the corresponding sponsor.

hot air balloons

Ticket entrance was Php150. When we arrived at the site, the line was very long. No joke. Most of my colleagues decided not to enter anymore and just watch the balloons outside.

If you want to see how long the line really was, here go see the picture below:

queue hot air balloon

Aside from the astounding exhibition of balloons and of course the sponsors’ booth, there were a lot of food booths, and there were kite flying, paragliding, airplane models, army cars, human status and even ibun festival! There were just too many things to do that some people even stayed in Clark overnight to see all the activities at the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. 🙂

human statue hot air balloon

paragliding hot air balloon

army cars hot air balloon

kite flying hot air balloon

ibon festival

The highlight for us though was the balloon ride!! Balloon ride cost at least $150 and is on a first come, first serve basis. There were some promos available at both Marquee Mall & Caltex sites. I only checked out Marquee Mall’s booth. There you just have to present Php1,000 worth of receipts from the mall and you get a free balloon ride.

marquee mall hot air balloon

It was total coolness that I can ride a hot air balloon myself!

So what does this hot air balloon made of? It uses material that is similar to a parachute and is between 60,000 to 140,000 cubic feet. Four people can fit in the basket. It is important to note that for safety reasons, balloonists prefer that the winds to be less than 10 miles per hour, and clouds at least 2,000 feet about the ground. Don’t understand what I’m talking about? Well just go and take a look at the video! 🙂

What an experience! This is definitely unforgettable!!! We enjoyed our stay at 15th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta! Next up, Marquee mall to have our lunch after such an enjoyable morning.

hot air balloon fiesta jump shot

More pictures can be found here at the Flickr album in my account.

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua on media, events, travel, food and restaurant experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Manila, Philippines and Asia.

Mister Kabab

Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On February 11, 2010

Mister Kabab
2nd Level, U.P. Ayala Land Technohub, Commonwealth Ave., Diliman, Quezon City, Metro Manila
(02) 332-3935

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If you have been following my blog for awhile now, you would know that I love Persian food. I don’t know why but kebab is definitely something I always crave for. So when we visited Avilon Zoo & since I parked near UP, we decided to drop by UP Technohub.

When we were asked which restaurant to try out, I immediately said, “Mister Kabab!” I’ve tried Mister Kabab but not at UP Technohub branch. Wow!!! The ambiance was just waaayyy better than their other branches! It was very clean and it looked very classy. The view was superb!

On the other hand, Mister Kabab’s West Avenue branch didn’t have aircon and you had to sit in an uncomfortable chair. Not only that, you couldn’t stay too long because there is usually line outside of people waiting to get in to be seated. So after eating, you really got to leave.

We ordered the ff.:

Shrimp & Mushroom (Php 95)

This was good! I always order their Chelo kabab. I’m glad that I was able to try the other dishes at Mister Kabab. This one was shrimps fried with mushrooms with some sauce, garnished with tomato and cucumber.

Beef Chelo Kabab (Php 135)

They really call this Special Chelo Kebab! This is tenderloin kebab and beef kebab. I’m not really fond of tenderloin so I requested if I can just have two beef kebabs. They gave it to me for the same price. So it is possible. They called it beef chelo kebab. Can I tell you that this is my favorite when coupled with rice and butter? Perfect!

Fresh Fruit Shake (Php 40)

You know before their fruit shakes were just priced at php25. But their cups were a bit small. I can say that they’ve improved! They now put their shakes in a bigger cup. The price got raised a little to Php40 but still affordable. 🙂 🙂

Rice (Php 25) & Butter (Php 10)

Rice with butter just puuurrfeecctt! We should do this at home too!

Shawarma in Plate (Php 85)

Shawarma is usually wrapped in bread but Mister Kabab offered this Shawarma in Plate. You’d see shawarma then the sidings (onions, tomatoes) put in a plate. So you can either just order a bread or rice to go with it. According to my friend, it was just okay. She preferred this dish to be crispy.

Bread (Php 15)

Keema (Php 60)

This is actually not our order but this is minced beef served with calamansi. I tried this and it was actually good too! My favorite though is still the beef kebab! 🙂

Hahaha! So I just finished writing this and to be honest, I just wanna drive and go to Mister Kabab and eat again! You can find the rest of the pictures from our lunch here.

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua on media, events, travel, food and restaurant experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Manila, Philippines and Asia.