Category: Lifestyle

If there’s one thing that I have gained from being so addicted with Facebook, is that sometimes you can stumble on some great information!  For example, while I was browsing through a friends’ profiles on FB last week, I came across Fish & Co.’s ad on their official FB page.  The ad was just to let everyone know that yes, they actually serve meat in the famous seafood restaurant and they were giving away free dinners!  I joined the contest and luckily, I was chosen and invited to dine in the restaurant last Wednesday.

I asked my colleague Maus if she would like to accompany me to Fish & Co., try out their meat dishes as well as also give a chance to have a little bonding time too! 😀  So we went & I’m just glad we did.  It was great to try out their new offerings, but I still like their fish in a pan dish more.  However, it’s great that they are expanding their menu to serve more customer needs.

We were asked to choose between 3 different meat dishes:

• Grilled Lamb Chop (Php 995)
• Breaded Chicken Piggyback (Php 385)
• Shrimp & Chicken Breast Al Pesto (Php 395)

With the picture of the Lamb Chops in front of us, we just couldn’t resist!  And even though we both had choices of the three dishes, we both ended up getting the lamb chops!  It may have been a better idea to get different dishes so that we could try out more than one dish, but we really just wanted our own share of the lamb chops :p  And plus, we were hungry anyway so there were no regrets!  Hey, the food was yummy plus it was given for free!  There was no room for complaints! 😛

I find it funny that the lamb chops was served with seafood rice, hehe!  They are staying true to their theme, Fish & Co. is still a seafood restaurant.  I personally think that serving it with plain or garlic rice would be better for the juicy lamb chops w/ mango salsa.

I noticed Maus was putting some salt & pepper to her lamb chops, I asked her why and she said the lamb chops was lacking it.  I may be the one who blogs a lot about food but my friend Maus is a great, great food critic!  With just one taste, she can usually tell in an instant how the dish was done & what ingredients were put in the dish.  Truly amazing!  Somehow, I’m glad that I’m not as sensitive when it comes to taste, because I honestly feel that the lamb chops that Fish & Co. served was already good.  I can understand though, because my thinking is that you never want to over season a dish since customer taste varies in restaurants.  And lamb chops, like the ones we were served, I think was well done.  Simple yet executed well.  the salsa really cut through the heaviness of the meat, and sometimes that’s just what you need with lamb chops or even pork chops, etc.

If you’re going to head on to Fish & Co. and order their Grilled Lamb Chops, I would suggest you share it.  It’s good for two persons, unless you really eat a lot then you can eat solo 😛

We thought that the treat ends there but they gave us Creme Brulee (Php 175) for dessert too! 🙂  I saw them give Hot Fudge Chocolate Cake (Php 190) to other guests, I was just glad it was Creme Brulee for us.  I’m not a fan of chocolates.  Fish & Co.’s Creme Brulee is basically egg custard with a little extra vanilla flavor.  Creme brulee is one of those desserts that can sometimes have the tendency to be a little bit sweet since there is granulated sugar that is on top of the dessert itself.  What I liked about this creme brulee is that it was just perfectly sweet.  I enjoyed the dessert a lot!  We had a complete meal!  Whew!  Now there goes my diet..

One thing that really stood out during our visit was their excellent customer service!  Maus & I were so impressed by just how proactive their servers were.  We did wait for awhile for our dish.  We didn’t follow up but they kept updating us as to how long our meal would be arriving & they even kept apologizing for the delay.  I really hope other restaurants can learn and be like them, it just makes our experience much much better if we are given good customer service.

So there you go, our super full meal from Fish & Co (yes, they now serve meat!).

——————–
Fish & Co.
3/F Greenbelt 3, Esperanza St., Ayala Center, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 729-7431

It’s great that we have a colleague who truly knows how to dine.  He was able to schedule lunch at Terry’s for his & another colleagues’ anniversary celebration.  About 20 of us attended the lunch event.  Since it was my first time there, I had to go with colleagues in going there.  I didn’t realize that it would be far, and we ended up walking hahaha!  It was good exercise so I’m not complaining, and had great conversation along the way too 🙂

As soon as we got in, I immediately knew that the food was not going to be cheap!  The design of the restaurant is sooo cool and very chic.  The great environment was definitely because of just how simple it was.  With the great black and white pictures and with the black frames really complimented the simplicity of it all.  I actually found out that the spaciousness of it all was because it has 3 floors!  The first 2 floors is for dining, and the third floor they actually have their own gourmet shop!!  Wow!

If I recall it right, they have a shop located at Podium in Ortigas too.  I’m just glad that I was able to dine at Terry’s at long last and I can finally feature it here at HeaRty’s Haven.  We definitely ordered a lot, and I was so busy eating the yummy dishes that I totally forgot that just how blog worthy this place is.  So when we were about to be served the main dishes, I started taking pictures.

Here are the dishes that were pre-ordered so there was lil waiting time:

• Manchego Dumplings (Php 360)

Manchego cheese combined with salami wrapped in wonton wrappers then deep fried.  Nice too how they presented the dish with barbeque sticks inserted in each piece.  We don’t need to use our hands or utensils to get them.  Salami with the Manchego cheese tasted perfectly well together too!  Again, I love just how simple yet refined the feel of the place is, and it translates well into this appetizer too!  I often wonder how some restaurants come up with such unique dishes and appetizers.  This one was just perfect with the saltiness of the salami, combined with the smooth texture of the melted and warm cheese, then add on to that the perfectly fried and crisp wrappers.  Simplicity with great flavors!

• Morcilla Piggy Back (Php 144.77)

As much as I enjoyed the manchego dumplings, Morcilla piggy back is definitely the winner from all the appetizers that we were able to sample at Terry’s.  If you noticed in the photo, there was only 1 piece left in the plate 😛

Morcilla is a type of sausage that uses congealed blood as a filler.  In this case, we have pigs blood and seasoning added of course.  But when I heard the word ‘blood’, I was hesitant at first.  However, it smelled so good, so I just had to try it anyway, and was I glad that I did!  Yummy!  Sometimes the best dishes are really those that need to be tried without fear hahaha!  There’s actually different variants of Morcilla, and even since it was the first time that I had ever heard pig’s blood being used as a filler for sausage, apparently it’s common all over the world.  In our case, I believe they have it in a more Spanish style of preparation and perfect for the Filipino palette since it incorporated that sweet salty taste, a little spice too.

• Chistorado (Php 690)

Chistorra de Pamplona and rice are cooked in a sauce of red capsicum, Piquillo peppers and melted cheese.   If there’s always a rule of thumb in cooking, is that often, you really can’t go wrong when you have creamy and delicious cheese in a dish.  With Chistorra, you have the great taste of sausage bits, the taste of red capsicum which gives it a little of that sharpness and cuts through the richness of the dish.  The balance is there, and often times with each bite you almost get the feeling that you’re eating pizza only that it’s in a rice dish!  Oh so yummy!!  You will need to wait 30 minutes if you want to order this dish, but it is definitely worth it!

• Super Paella Parelada (Php 690)

This dish also takes 30 minutes to prepare.  A combination of squid, shrimp, chicken, pork loin, paella sausage, green peas, mushrooms, chorizo, and roasted red pepper that truly make this so delicious.  They are truly proud that this dish is originally of Barcelona.  Well, I couldn’t distinguish, I just know that I cannot get enough of it hehehe!  And just like many other paella’s, what makes them so good is the variety of seafoods that can be found all in one dish.  For any seafood lover, paella is always going to be a great choice.  This, of course, differs from most paella’s that we see in that it doesn’t have that strong tomato base that most other paella’s have.  But, again, with cooking that has been given a twist and made unique, it’s important that the balance of flavors is still there, and the seasoning of each ingredient is perfect.  Terry’s did a great job, conceptualizing this dish because it really is just so delicious!

• Gnocchi al Gorgonzola conPorcini (Php 380)

The traditional potato pasta shells in a creamy Gorgonzola and wild mushroom sauce, garnished with prosciutto crisps.  Gnocchi is basically dumplings, and the best gnocchi is always light enough that it absorbs the sauce.  So, the sauce in this dish was critical for it’s success.  The earthiness of the mushrooms blended well with the gorgonzola.  The buttery flavor of the gorgonzolla which taste almost like your normal blue cheese also went well with the white sauce.  The added saltiness and strong taste of the prosciutto crisps really made this dish rich.  I couldn’t get enough of the gnocchi with its soft texture, contrasted with the smoothness of the sauce, and the bite of that crips prosciutto.  This is definitely a traditionally simple dish that Terry’s restaurant has perfected!  Bravo to the chef!

• Lengua a la Sevillana (Php 490

Ox tongue in itself is one of those dishes that you really have to try for those who truly love to dine.  It’s not your normal steak, or other cuts of meat.  But when it’s cooked to tenderness, the taste and the texture is unbeatable.  Terry’s did a great job with this brown sauce, a superior gravy that incorporated the sweetness of the sherry wine too.   this is usually the way gourmet brown gravy or sauce is cooked, and this is why the deep flavors of the mushroom and the onions as it’s cooked with the sherry really blends in a truly delicious gravy, and is perfect for a great meat like lengua.  The surprise in this dish, which puts it over the top is the olives that were added to give it that slight tartness to the overall rich dish of this lengua.  Again, conceptually, it’s a great and simple dish that is executed to perfection, and that one last touch with the olives, even though it may not be noticeable really makes this dish stand out.

• Tarta Imperial Russa (Php 160)

This dessert was just my favorite!  It was moist, full of flavor, words just cannot describe how good this was, maybe ‘perfect’ is the word!  Truly yummy!  It says in the menu that this was adapted from Sansrival.  It can’t compare, this dessert by Terry’s was just too good.  This is gourmet desert at its best.  With attention to detail, and quality ingredients that you can taste in every bite.  The presentation was simple, yet appetizing, but the taste is what makes or breaks a desert, and trust me when I say that you won’t be disappointed!  It had that moistness to it, which means that it was prepared in advance, the nuttiness that you would expect from sans rival, and the layering which gave it some crunch and a contrast in texture too.  The sauce, which was a bit caramel in nature, combines all the layers perfectly.  You have to try this dish when you dine at Terry’s!

• Tocino del Cielo (Php 110)

When I tasted this, all I can say that it’s just the same as leche flan.  This dish though was named beautifully 😛  Just a bit sweeter than our Filipino version.  This dish wasn’t as much a standout as the previous dessert, but if you love leche flan, and you have a sweet tooth, this may be the desert for you :p

This post is somewhat special to me too.  As the last picture that I took was the entrance of Terry’s.  Right that minute, my camera lens’ broke :'(  To have it repaired, I need to shell out such big amount that it’s better for me to buy a new camera.  So there, the pictures that you see above were the last shots from my beloved Canon G10.

Lucky enough that I was able to take all the pictures so I can share with you my experience with Terry’s.  Wonderful dishes, with a great European and Mediterranean combination of dishes.  The strong Spanish influence in the concepts of the dishes is also evident, but what’s most important is that they gave many of the dishes their own unique touch, and I think also incorporated the Filipino taste into much of their dishes too!  With a wonderful atmosphere, great presentation in dishes, and the unique but traditional, European style of dishes, I really think Terry’s is a must try for those looking for great and delicious gourmet dishes right in our own backyard! 🙂

——————–
Terry’s (from Terry Selection)
G/F Lafayette Square, Salcedo Village, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 889-3198

Emerald Garden is one of those restaurants in Manila that is regularly frequented by those in the filipino-chinese community.  Not only do they serve some of the best shrimp and crabs, they are also excellent when it comes to fish and traditional Chinese dishes.  But I have to say, the main reason I love going to Emerald Garden is because of their shrimps and crab!  Oh so yummy! :p

Whenever my fiance visits me here in the Philippines, I always drag him to Emerald Garden and we always order the same thing (or should I say I do? hahaha It’s always me who does anyway :P).  Crabs and shrimps should always be in our order list.  I drag my mom to Emerald Garden too whenever she visits me here.  Talk about being addicted to a food place.

Here is what we ordered during our last two visits:

• Szechuan Soup (Php 140)

Aside from Sibut, Hot & Sour Soup (otherwise called Szechuan soup) is another famous chinese soup that I like.  It has a distinct taste that you would absolutely love.  This soup will really take a great cook in order to master the dish, it’s one of those soups with a fair amount, probably around 10-15 ingredients in all.  We’re just 2 diners, but we were able to finish it hahaha!  Sometimes we really just forget how much our body can take if the food is too good.

• 300g Steamed Shrimps (Php 264)

We usually call this suahe.  It’s really your basic shrimp.  What I love about Emerald Garden is just how fresh the shrimps are.  You can literally see the staff take the live shrimps out of the aquarium just before they cook them, talk about FRESH!  I can finish this on my own!  It’s really just that good.  It’s one of those menu items that once you start eating, you won’t be able to stop until the very last one is on the plate :p  It was so easy to peel the shrimps as they’re fresh.  If you’re a a person who’s poised, you don’t have to worry.  I actually peeled them all without using my hands (just the spoon & fork) 😛  Steamed is still the best way to cook shrimps, yumyum!!

• 1kg Fried Crab (Php 1,200)

Awwww… Emerald Garden’s fried crabs!  Just the best there is!  Pretty affordable too!  It’s Php100 per 100g I believe.  Oh my!  I’m literally craving for it again as I write this.  I’m finishing this article today, but yesterday while preparing for this post, I just had to decide at the last minute that my mom & I would have our meal at Emerald Garden.  Again, we ordered this too.  The crab is meaty, perfectly cooked, just the way we all like it.  I just can’t stop raving about this dish!  This is definitely the highlight of the entire meal!  Fried crabs that is actually seasoned well, with moist crab meat too.  It’s really a totally different eating experience as to steamed crabs.  It just has more taste, a bit of that crispy and saltiness to it that you really must try!  I promise, it’s worth it hehehe :p

• Fresh Scallop w/ Broccoli (Php 300)

Not my favorite.  This is one dish I surprisingly didn’t like considering I love scallops maybe I expected too much since I love the other dishes so much! hehehe.  I honestly wouldn’t recommend this dish, but we tried this only because we had just tried some of the best scallops at another restaurant, and it seemed like we were really craving for more scallops.  I didn’t really think they presented or make the dish as focused as it should be.  They could do with less veggies, more scallops, and really try to season the scallops a bit more.  This is almost basically a veggie dish chopsuey style and they added scallops in the end.

The way I envision a dish like this is maybe if they marinated the scallops a bit and maybe seared it, added some steamed veggies, season a little, and it would be a much more excellent dish.  But that’s just me :p

• Mapo’s Bean Curd (Php 190)

A unique way to cook Mapo Tofu.  I was actually expecting something different then got surprised when this was served.  I’ve always pictured the dish as having soft tofu in a bowl of meat & lots of sauce.  This was totally a different twist but I welcome it.  It’s good in a certain way & we also finished this dish.  I must admit that the dish isn’t presented as nicely as it should, but it doesn’t take away from the taste.  I think they could do with less of the meat and sauce and balance it better with a little bit more tofu.  And yes, this dish presented in a bowl would probably be a better choice.

But, again, the seasoning and the combination of flavors is just right.  It’s a simple dish, but the way the cook it is really why it’s also a great dish to try out.

• Mango Sago Soup (Php 70)

This can also serve as juice but I’ve always loved having mango sago as a dessert.  Plus, they put less water in this item thus the mango really stands out.  Chilled and with sago, this is a must-oder especially if you love eating after such a sumptuous meal.  And the mangoes they use here is fresh and oh so sweet.  It’s the next best thing to actually eating fresh mango.

We had lunch at Emerald Garden when Nick visited me here in the Philippines (on both instances).  See our happy faces.  Very satisfied customers, shall I say stomach?  I think it will always be a memorable place because of so many reasons, not just the food, but because of the company.  A restaurant that caters to all types of diners, with food that warms the stomach and where you can spend a lazy Sunday, or go on a date, spend type with family, or just enjoy a wonderful conversation with friends and family.  Now, why wouldn’t you want to go right? :p

Emerald Garden is one of those places, where it’s affordable, the food is good, and sometimes you just have to take your time and enjoy the wonderful and delicious fresh foods that they have to offer.  Even if you’re not Chinese, this is a highly recommended place that I suggest.  It’s truly been a great dining experience for me ever since I can remember, and this is definitely why Emerald Garden is the place that is frequented a lot by the Filipino-Chinese community.

——————–
Emerald Garden
1170 Roxas Blvd., Ermita, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 523-8510