Category: Lifestyle

Leslie’s Restaurant

Leslies Tagaytay

When in Tagaytay, we shouldn’t miss dropping by Leslie’s Restaurant located on the outskirts of Tagaytay.   The best reason is not only the great view, but because of their famous and delicious bulalo!   Not convinced?   Trust me when I say, that not only is the the soup perfectly made, but you get such a big portion of the meat, and the bone marrow, it is to die for!!  And did I mention, that with Leslie’s, they provide unlimited refills of the yummy soup!

I always have that in mind, that before heading back to Manila, going to Leslie’s Restaurant is a definite must for everyone, and not only tourists.

Whenever I visit Leslie’s, we always sit at the indoor area.

leslies tagaytay indoor

But when we went last time, we discovered that there is actually a cottage that you can dine at which is sooooo cool!  You need to pay additional Php500 though to be seated there, but it was well worth it, believe me.  Sitted at a cottage, we’ll be able to see full view of Taal Volcano while we have our sumptuous lunch.  The view is just breathtaking, with the cool wind blowing, the sun shining down, while eating lunch with someone special, it’s truly a magnificent experience.

Here is our view while eating:

outdoor view leslies

Leslie’s Tagaytay branch also has souvenirs available at the restaurant as well as resident musicians that will serenade you.  Don’t forget to give a tip to the band who plays any music that you request them to play.  We requested a Tagalog song for the first song, and they also obliged us with a wonderful second song that they chose, which was an English song.  I am always amazed at the caliber of talent, and these singers along with the guitars in the background was just another addition to one of the best lunches you’ll ever have, especially at Leslie’s Restaurant in Tagaytay.

Here is what we ordered:

    • Bulalo Special (Php 550)

leslies bulalo

One of the best bulalo ever!  It’s such a big portion too, a lot of meat, and not to mention the delicious bone marrow and the soup too.  I requested for more bone marrow and they gave us exactly that. I was just so ecstatic while having it! yum yum yum! A must-order (I really mean it!) when you visit Leslie’s! If it’s Leslie’s, it’s bulalo.

    • Garlic Rice (Php 55)

garlic rice leslies

Filipino dishes are best eaten with garlic rice. Enough said.

    • Sizzling Gambas (Php 299)

gambas leslie

Shrimps served in sizzling plate, cooked in tomato. This is very very tasty, especially with the great tasting shrimp.  Again, as with any Filipino tomato dish, it always has that distinct sweet yet a little sour and spicy taste to it.  Leslie’s sizzling gambas definitely did not disappoint.

    • Buko Juice (Php 79)

buko juice

It is such a treat drinking fresh fruit juice especially if it’s buko. Good for the body plus it’s one of the yummiest fruit juice in the Philippines. You do know though that tourists always make it a point to try out buko juice when visiting Manila. It’s the more popular fruits in our country.

After eating, guests usually come out and take pictures with Taal Volcano.  Leslie’s has a really great spot for taking pictures.  This is me having my picture taken with the wonderful scenery.

leslies taal volcano

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Leslie’s Restaurant
Aguinaldo Highway, Silang Crossing West, Tagaytay City
(046) 483-4271

Rockin’ Noggins

Rockin Noggins

The most popular theme park in the Philippines is Enchanted Kingdom.  I’ve been to EK lots of times and I just realized that it seems I’ve been visiting it once a year now hahaha!  Anyway, did you notice a section at EK just in front of the space shuttle ride?  I’ve passed it by but never dared to try it until just this year.

The booth is called Rockin’ Noggins.  It offers such a cool service where they provide a product that uses “green screen” technology to superimpose our heads into animated dancing bodies.  Believe me, it’s fun to do and most especially super fun watching the end product!

The 1st thing they asked us to do is to wear the green apron, then we were asked to sit in a stool.  The background of the wall was green as well hahaha!  Only our faces weren’t covered.  I’m actually wondering why they have chosen green instead of other colors, I forgot to ask!

rockin noggins green

We were also asked to choose the song we would like to dance to.  We chose “Shake your groove thing” but boy, there are lots of songs to choose from (girls wanna have fun, I love rock & roll, lady marmalade, thumb thumpin, etc).  While we were preparing, the guy was also editing the images that will be put on the video.

rockin noggins monitor

When it started, all we really had to do was basically move our heads with the music. We could hear and view the video on screen while it was recording so we could make our own moves and make it look like we’re really dancing with the music hahaha! I was too conscious and too shy but Nick, he enjoyed it too much!

Rockin Noggins live

And here’s the finished product:

Crazy! hahaha!  We really enjoyed Rockin’ Noggins!  It was truly worth the time and money.

Here are the rates:

  • 1-2 guests w/ 2 DVDs – Php 249 per DVD
  • 1-2 guests w/ 1 DVD – Php 299
  • 3-6 guests w/ 2 DVDs – Php 249 per DVD
  • 3-6 guests w/ 1 DVD – Php 349

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Rockin’ Noggins
Enchanted Kingdom, San Lorenzo South, City of Santa Rosa, Laguna
(02) 843-6043 local 720

California Pizza Kitchen

california pizza kitchen

Whenever I go to a restaurant that I have been to, I usually already know which dishes that I will be ordering.  Most of the time, once I taste something that I super like, there’s just no way for me not to order the same thing the next time I visit that restaurant.  This was exactly the case again when I went to California Pizza Kitchen.

I first tried California Pizza Kitchen in nowhere else, but yes, California!  I tried their Kung Pao Spaghetti with shrimp, and from that time forward, whenever I visit CPK, my order has always been Kung Pao Spaghetti with shrimp.  I can’t seem to make myself try other dishes.  The Kung Pao Spaghetti is just too delicious to pass up.

Even here in Manila, there isn’t really much difference between the taste from the original California branch.  Which is soo cool because I don’t have to fly all the way to the United States in order to eat at CPK 😀

Here is what we ordered during our visit a few weeks back:

  • Grape Shake/Dalandan Shake (Php 175)
  • CPK Fruit Shakes

    There are also other fruit shakes available like Dayap, Mango & Watermelon but my favorite has always been grapes 🙂  Nick ordered Dalandan since he had been craving for it since we went to Tagaytay.

  • Classic Caesar Salad (Php 425)
  • cpk chicken caesar salad

    I’m not fond of salads but CPK’s classic caesar salad is just the best.  We ordered it with chicken breast (additional Php 175).  I gave my share of chicken to Nick coz it’s just the salad that I like.  The crisp romaine lettuce with parmesan cheese is just heaven!  And of course, the croutons that give it that extra flavor and texture. But I don’t eat the croutons either. It really is just the caesar dressing and the parmesan cheese tossed into the lettuce that makes this salad so good. I can never get enough of the parmesan cheese too, that I always have to add more as I eat the dish.

  • Kung Pao Spaghetti (Php 355)
  • cpk kung pao spaghetti with shrimp

    Words just cannot describe how delicious this dish is.  It’s just too yummy that it’s unexplainable!  But let me try anyway 😛 It has just the right amount of tomato sauce taste, that tangy taste to any tomato based dish, but then there’s a layer of sweetness to it too. It also has that spicy taste to it, but it’s not hot. The fact that it has chili peppers cooked with it, gives it that spicy taste, but it’s not hot at all. We ordered this with shrimp (additional Php 625) which I think is perfect for Kung Pao Spaghetti.  This spaghetti is made with Kung Pao sauce, peanuts, green onions & hot red chili. Trust me when I say this, but the added peanuts just give it a totally unique taste that will always have you ordering this dish.

  • Tiramisu (Php 245)
  • cpk tiramisu

    Nick swears that this is a must-order at CPK.  I’m not fond of cakes but I took his word for it.  When I tried it though, it’s good but not something that I would remember for a long time 😛  It tasted differently from what is served in California as the Philippines version is much sweeter.  I guess it’s because we have a sweet tooth? And not only that, but it wasn’t as smooth as it should be according to Nick, since when we got the dessert that day, it was served from frozen, and with any refrigerator cake style dessert that contains cream, the texture, and the overall taste will always be different when frozen and then thawed.

It does seem like a typical American restaurant but I must say CPK is my favorite mainly because of their classic caesar salad & kung pao spaghetti w/ shrimp! 😀

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California Pizza Kitchen
2/F Shangri-La Plaza Mall, EDSA cor. Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 687-7841 to 42

Circles Event Café

circles event cafe

One of my weaknesses is definitely good food.  I can’t seem to resist any opportunity of eating at a good restaurant & having delicious yummy food.  Explains the reason why I gained 5 kilos (11 pounds) in the past few months.  No regrets whatsoever though.  I do know however that I need to cut down on my pig-out events hehehe.

A few weeks back, Christina & I went to Circles Event Cafe for lunch, which is located at the lobby of Shangrila Hotel Makati.  Christina had a free buffet voucher so we only needed to pay for 1 person (Php 1,424.48).  Boy, the place was packed.  No matter how expensive this is, people still make it a point to go to Circles Event Cafe to dine.  I must agree, that with such good food and a pleasing ambiance, I guess dining once in a while here is well worth it.

circles buffet dining

I really liked how the buffet was done, open theater style.  Different stations specializing on a certain cuisine.  Circles Buffet has a salad bar, Japanese sushi bar, cold dishes, Asian dishes (dimsum, Mongolian, Indian) & western dishes (pizza, roast beef-YUM!).  I love their complete selection of breads too!

circles buffet 1

circles buffet 2

Whenever I go to a pricey buffet like Circle Event Cafe, I make it a point to prioritize the more expensive food items, particularly items like roast beef.  You can see in the picture below, me enjoying a serving of Roast Beef, it’s really good, however I wouldn’t go for a 2nd serving on that one!  I have to watch my cholesterol intake 😛

circles roast beef

Another favorite station of mine was the dessert bar!  My golly!  I just loved it!!!  I especially loved the enormous variety of fruits available for us!  Wow!  I had to go back like 3 times, I couldn’t get enough of it!! 😀

circles buffet fruits

Who would forget the ever-famous chocolate fondue fountain & other desserts available at Circles Buffet.  The Tiramisu cups, creme brulee, cakes & the yummy ice cream w/ awesome sidings.  The experience was truly heaven, you can check the pictures in my online photo album for Circle Event Cafe.

circles buffet desserts

One thing I also noticed was the display of the different smileys at the place as well as the good selection of wines in one corner.  Let me share some information because I did read the posters beside them:

circles buffet extras

  • Emoti Cake – Very cute smiley cakes where you can choose a certain emotion to put in your cake (chocolate or cheese flavored) then provide the message you wanna put in (I miss you, I love you, I’m sorry, congratulations, etc).  Pretty cute, a very nice offering by Circles Event Cafe.  The cakes are offered in 2 sizes, Petite (14cm) & Regular (19cm).  Prices ranging from Php 380 to Php 780.
  • Wine Rendezvous – available from 6-11pm.  Guests can choose & drink unlimited wines from Argentina, Australia, South Africa & France for just Php 795++.  There are a lot of wine drinkers out there, unfortunately, I’m not one of them hehehe 😛

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Circles Event Café
Lobby, Makati Shangri-La, Ayala Ave. cor. Makati Ave., Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 840-0884

Tong Yang Hot Pot

Tong Yang Hot Pot

If you want to try out a shabu-shabu hot pot then it’s best to go to Tong Yang Hot Pot.  Tong Yang offers a buffet with a decent price of Php 560 per person (cheaper when you go during weekday lunch time).  It has a great variety of ingredients for diners to choose from.  You can get as much as you want as long as you can finish everything on your table.  If you happen to have leftovers, you’ll be charged additional Php 500 on top of the buffet price.

Tong Yang Shabu Shabu

There are like over 100 items to choose from like lapu-lapu, oysters, cooked crabs (limited supply), gindara, fish fillet (the best!), meat tender cuts, fresh vegetables, squid balls, fish balls, hotdogs, kikiam, luncheon meat, intestines, squid, tofu, shrimps and a whole lot more!

Rice, bread & cooked noodles are available too for consumption.  Beverages, which is all you can drink, are also included in the buffet package [softdrinks, pineapple juice, iced tea, dalandan juice, coffee & even San Miguel Beer! (hahaha!)].

tong yang menu 3

tong yang menu 1

tong yang menu 2

tong yang menu 4

There are 2 ways for us to cook the food:

  • simmer the ingredients with the soup
  • fry it using butter in the metallic plate

We can choose from 8 soups to go well with Shabu-Shabu: Chicken, Sate, Sinigang, Vegetarian, Kimchi, White Soup (Pork), Taiwan Mala and Seafood Soup.

The soup literally is perfect with many of the seafood items at the buffet. We tried the shrimp which was very tasty, fresh, and tender. The tofu, which is by far always a favorite of mine, also went well with the soup. With a whole lot of taste infused in their soups, great seasoning, yet never overpowering the great natural taste of the fresh seafood or any of the meats, it was just simply delicious.

I liked the spicy sate soup the best, but of course it really depends on your taste 🙂  I especially enjoyed the fish fillet being cooked in butter, oh that was soo yummy, can’t get enough of it.  Also enjoyed the meat tender cuts cooked either way too! The meat, you must make sure to keep an eye on since they are thin cuts.

Tong Yang Shabu Shabu Hot Pot

Special sauces are also available for us to complement the food that we’re eating.  Sauces like teriyaki sauce, egg sauce, native sauce & soy sauce.  My favorite is the egg sauce, it already has everything in it (sate, egg, chili, onions & garlic).  If you want to just dig in and not worry about seasoning the food perfectly, then the egg sauce is the way to go.  A good close second would probably be the native sauce.

Tong Yang Sauce

I was already too full by then but the meal just isn’t complete without taking some desserts.  Tong Yang has great choices for desserts.  They offer fresh fruits, Halo Halo (a Filipino dessert favorite) & ice cream (Big Scoop brand)!   Have Halo halo with as much ube as you want, that’s the great thing about this buffet, even the desserts can be made with just the proportion that you want.   Definitely can’t do that at most other restaurants.

Tong Yang Dessert Area

Tong Yang Ice Tea

Whew!  Even just reliving the Tong Yang experience makes me feel so full already hahahaha!  I can even remember that I didn’t even have enough appetite to eat dinner (we had lunch at Tong Yang).  So if you’re really really hungry & craving for something hot, filling, and fresh, then Tong Yang Hot Pot is the way to go.

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Tong Yang Hot Pot
1498 Quezon Ave., Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02)373-3860

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