Category: Lifestyle

I’ve seen California Berry all over the metro but I never had the chance to try it until last saturday.  I was invited to try out some of their food offering and share my experience here in HeaRty’s Haven.

The branch I was asked to go to was the one at Mezza Residences.  I was shocked to learn that parking fee is at Php 25 per hour!  I guess the target audience of the establishments in this condominium is mainly the Mezza residents.  If ever I want to go back to California Berry, I will go to their other branches.  There are many of them anyway.  In fact, there’s one near my house! 🙂

I love the ambiance of California Berry.  It gives such a welcoming feeling.  I love the lively colors and stylish designs.  The place is so pleasing to the eyes.  California Berry is a happy place.

The whole menu is framed at the counter with all the pictures of their bestsellers.  While California Berry is known for their non-fat frozen yogurt, they also serve other items too!  I’ll share with you in this post, everything that I tried while I was there.

Fresh Fruit Blends

While California Berry also serves serves organic coffee for Php 85, I opted to order their fresh fruit blends.  I love fresh fruit shakes and that’s something I can’t resist whenever I see those in the menu.

Of course, California Berry’s version has got to have yogurt.  So the fresh fruit blends is actually a combination of fresh fruits and yogurt.

I tried out Mango Tango and Banana Rama.  There are other flavors too like: Doubleberry (strawberry & blueberry), FluShot (strawberry, kiwi & orange) and WhipItUp (our choice of 3 fruits to blend).

• Mango Tango (Php 95) & Banana Rama (Php 95)

Mango Tango is a combination of mango, banana & peach.  However, banana flavor really stood out in the combination.

The other drink I tried was the Banana Rama, a combination of kiwi, banana, mango.  California Berry named this drink right as I didn’t taste the kiwi and the mango at all!  It tasted like pure banana shake (not that I’m complaining!).  It tasted fresh and yummy! 🙂

Utensils

Before the yogurt and the food were served, I noticed the colorful utensils in our table.  Gee, not only do the place looked so youthful but it also matches the colorful spoons and forks!  I actually really took notice of them!  They were so nice to look at that I have to pause for 2 seconds before getting one for myself hahaha!

Pasta

I was there for lunch and I wouldn’t want to have just frozen yogurt so I was really glad that California Berry serves pasta.  There are four kinds of pasta to choose from: Seafood Alfredo (Php 145), Pasta Carbonara (Php 135), Cheesy Lasagna (Php 145) and Spaghetti Bolognese (Php 125).

• Seafood Alfredo (Php 145)

If you’re in a hurry and you’re starving then this is perfect as California Berry serves pasta really fast.

• Cheesy Lasagna (Php 145)

I haven’t eaten lasagna for a long time so I was really happy that this was served in our table.  I immediately started eating.  I believe California Berry’s pasta dishes were prepared beforehand then when a customer orders, they will just heat it in the oven.  It still tasted nice nevertheless.

Frozen Yogurt & Ice Ice Baby

The highlight for me is the yogurt which is what California Berry is all about.  California Berry prides itself for having 100% non-fat, healthy frozen yogurt using only non-fat milk in their yogurt mixture.

They have a wide array of toppings to choose from. We can make our own yogurt combination to our stomach’s desire 😛  One topping costs Php20 while 2 toppings for Php 30 and 3 toppings for Php 40.

California Berry do have their signature creations as well which I recommend as the mixture of ingredients worked very well.  They wouldn’t call it Signature Creation if the recipe they made isn’t delicious, right?

If you’re not the adventurous type, you can just order the original flavor without toppings (S-Php60, M-Php85, L-Php115).  If you prefer flavored yogurt then the price is slightly higher (S-Php65, M-Php90, L-Php120).

Here are the ones that I got to try out:

• Medium-sized Original Yogurt with Cherries, Almonds and Marshmallows (Php 125)

• Medium-sized Blueberry Yogurt with Lychee, Walnuts and Mangoes (Php 130)

• Medium-sized Blueberry Yogurt with Mangoes, Cherries and Kiwi (Php 130)

I liked the frozen yogurt especially the one with cherries, marshmallows and almonds.  However, when I got to try the new menu of California Berry which is the Ice Ice Baby, my attention was all there.  Ice Ice Baby is not a frozen yogurt but an ice cream.  It’s low-fat and it’s shaved ice cream that is pretty refined.

Ice Ice Baby is only available in large cup and it comes with 2 toppings of your choice.  Price is at Php 65 which is pretty cheap.  If you want to add 1 more topping, you add Php 20.  If I’m you, I will stick with 2 toppings.  You might want to go try the ice ice baby without the toppings too.  I feel you won’t be able to appreciate the ice cream if the taste of the toppings is overpowering it.  Well, it’s your choice.

• Watermelon Ice Ice Baby with Cherries and Marshmallows (Php 65)

• Watermelon Ice Ice Baby with Kiwi and Mangoes (Php 65)

• Strawberry Ice Ice Baby with Chocolate Chips, Jelly Beans and Orange Berries (Php 85)

My choice for the day!  Super duper pleasing to the eyes plus it was oh, so delicious!!! :D:D:D

• Taro Ice Ice Baby with Oreo and Rainbow Sprinkles (Php 65)

It’s totally not my usual lunch but I was satisfied nevertheless.  I had a complete meal from pastas to desserts.  The fruit shake was a great drink to go with them too!

Thanks California Berry!  Me and my blogger friends who were there enjoyed the food that we had.  Till next time! 🙂

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California Berry
SM Mezza Residences, Aurora cor. Araneta Ave., Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Our visit to Eat Well! Delicious Kitchen was an accidental one.  We were supposed to eat at another restaurant but two of their branches had special parties and were closed to the public.  I didn’t bother going to a 3rd branch as I knew that we weren’t meant to eat at the restaurant.  I then noticed Eat Well! Delicious Kitchen across the street.  I told my friend let’s try this new restaurant out!

I’m just glad that Eat Well! Delicious Kitchen doesn’t close their doors during afternoons.  Most restaurants take a break from 2-6pm.  Since we were there for a late lunch, it was a relief that they are open throughout the day.

Eat Well! Delicious Kitchen is a typical Chinese restaurant.  I appreciate the music that they were playing that day – Chinese songs (old popular ones!).

There was also the roasting station at one corner of the restaurant.  We didn’t order any roasted stuff but we were totally satisfied with our food orders.  Everything was so delicious!  I shall keep Eat Well! Delicious Kitchen in my mind now if I’m craving for good Chinese food in Greenhills area.

We ordered quite a lot.  Sometimes I think that my blogging is influencing me to order quite a lot when I dine at a restaurant.  I always have this thought that I should be sharing at least more than 3 dishes or else, it won’t make sense for me to blog about the experience.  I must change that habit as I’m trying to lose weight too! 😛

In spite of the many orders, we still finished every single dish.  In all honesty, I loved everything (well, except for the drink :P).

• Mint Iced Tea (Php 65)

Eat Well’s Iced tea was made of brewed tea combined with calamansi and mint.  I think calamansi overpowered the whole drink itself.  I wasn’t able to taste the mint and the natural flavors of the tea were almost not distinguishable.

• Deep-fried Bean Curd in Spicy Salt (Php 155)

The actual dish was exactly the same as it was pictured in the restaurant’s menu.  The serving was generous and we were able to enjoy this dish as our appetizer.  The vinegar went very well with the bite-sized tofu too!

• Braised Pork with Chinese Sausage and Taro Rice (Php 165)

We tried this out as it looked different from the usual fried rice offerings in a Chinese restaurant.  As we tasted the dish, we noticed that it’s actually kiampung!  The only difference is that they put taro on top of the rice.  The fried rice was put in a dim sum container which really worked!  The ingredient that made this fried rice delicious is definitely the chinese sausage.  Yummy!

• Fried String Beans with Minced Pork (Php 230)

When I saw fried string beans in Eat Well! Delicious Kitchen’s menu, I knew I had to order it.  This has got to be my favorite chinese vegetable dish of all time!  I loved the sauce that the chef put into this dish.  Not sure what comprised the sauce but it was sweet and I loved it.  I noticed I was the one who finished this dish.  I can’t stop eating it even though I was already full!

• Steamed Fish Fillet with Minced Bean (Php 305)

Eat Well has a full menu of fish dishes.  They have fish in black bean sauce, fish in sweet & sour sauce and some other variants.  When I saw that they have steamed fish fillet with minced bean, the decision became easy.  Taoso (minced bean) is my ultimate favorite flavoring for fish fillet.  When I finally tried out the dish, I was completely satisfied!  The fish was meaty and there was enough taoso in every slice.  Yay!

• Chilled Almond Jelly with Mango Sago (Php 78)

A different twist to the usual mango sago dessert.  What Eat Well! Delicious Kitchen done is they used the almond jelly as a base (ala ‘taho’) and mango sago as the sauce.  It was pure genius and the combination worked pretty well!  You must try this especially if you love both almond jelly and mango sago.

• Masachi with White Chocolate (Php 108)

Another twist to the normal chinese dessert is this Masachi with White chocolate.  It’s like a union between Western and Asian cuisine.  Oh how I love that with every bite, the white chocolate just flows out.  It tasted so delicious and I couldn’t think of any restaurant that serves the same kind of dessert.  It was truly one of a kind.  Super duper appetizing!  A must order!

I felt it must be destiny that we weren’t able to eat at the restaurant that we were supposed to eat at.  Eat Well! Delicious Kitchen is a great foodie discovery!  I’ll surely be back soon! 🙂

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Eat Well! Delicious Kitchen
Greenhills Shopping Center, Greenhills, San Juan City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 722-8518

Last night, my friends and I decided to sing the night out.  I just got my voice back as I had colds and coughs for the past 2 weeks.  I was so psyched to sing and to celebrate for being well again! 😀

As of today, the best place to go to is Red Box Karaoke (now known as Red Box: Rock, Dine & Roll).  Red Box is conveniently located at the malls.  Yesterday, we decided to try out the newest Red Box branch at Eastwood City.  I loved how beautiful the place is designed.  They were pretty organized too plus the promos are very affordable and well-thought of.

We availed of the prime time promo (Php 499/person) that includes free room use from 7pm to 12 midnight.  As soon as we entered the room, we immediately entered songs that we liked to sing.  Everything is computerized.  We were actually asking for a songbook but we were told that it’s not available anymore as they have automated everything.

I’m impressed as to how updated Red Box is.  Some of the more popular songs this month are already available in the database.  Newer songs have clearer videos too!

I wasn’t planning to eat dinner at Red Box.  All I wanted was to sing.  However, my friends were hungry so we ordered some food.  In all honesty, I wasn’t planning to blog about our experience.  But upon seeing the food, I was surprised.  I immediately took out my camera and started taking pictures.  I knew then that I needed to share with you how delicious and how presentable Red Box dishes were.

Red Box is not just a karaoke place but it serves awesome food!

• Sushilicious (Php 425)

Red Box has a menu booklet solely for their sushi offerings.  We tried their bestseller, Sushilicious, that has the ff. ingredients – Salmon, Unagi, Melted Cheese, Avocado and Shrimp Tempura.  The sushi was truly sushi-delicious!  Red Box obviously named it right!  It was packed with my favorite sushi ingredients.  You must try this if you love sushi.

• Crispy Calamares (Php 295)

Another surprise for me was Red Box’ Crispy Calamares.  The dish was highly recommended by the server.  We took his advice and ordered it.  I’m so glad we listened.  Their calamares has a different twist considering that they also included crispy wanton wrapper as siding.

• Sisig (Php 295)

I loved the taste of the sisig.  I think the green chili and mayonnaise gave the dish character.  Or maybe some other secret ingredients contributed to the nice flavor of the dish.  Whatever it is, I liked Red Box’ version of our favorite sisig.

• Lechon Kawali with Fried Tofu (Php 295)

Presentation of this Lechon Kawali and Tofu dish was just made of total awesomeness!  I never thought that Red Box didn’t just improve their karaoke services but also their food!  I was in total shock.

The lechon kawali was pretty tasty too.  I do wish they provide more servings of the meat though.  Maybe change the glass to a bigger one?

The tofu was nice but I feel that the serving wasn’t enough for all of us.  I hope they add more tofu next time.  It was super ‘bitin’ especially for a tofu lover like me.

• Garlic Rice (Php 45)

With beautiful dishes like sisig, lechon kawali and tofu, it wouldn’t be complete without garlic rice.

• Hot Tea (Php 95)/Brewed Coffee (Php 95)

I was shocked when I saw the hot tea in a Coffee Bean cup then we discovered that Red Box has partnered with Coffee Bean apparently.  I do hope they offer the other products that Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has.  As of now, there’s only hot tea and brewed coffee.

After eating so many yummy and good-looking dishes at Red Box, it made me change my perception of the karaoke bar.  I can now confidently go to Red Box with an empty stomach as I already know that the place serves awesome food.

We will surely be back!  It’ll probably be at the same branch in Eastwood Mall. 🙂

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Red Box: Rock, Dine & Roll
4th Level, Eastwood Mall, Eastwood City Cyberpark, Quezon City, Philippines
(02) 355-7921