Category: Restaurants

Sunday is Lord’s day for us Christians.  Yesterday, we decided to have breakfast at Cafe France before attending Lord’s day.  It’s funny that in spite of Cafe France running for more than 1 year, I haven’t heard of it.  However, as soon as we parked the car in front of its U.N. Manila branch, I noticed that it must be Delifrance rebranded.

Apparently, I was right!  Jollibee who used to own Delifrance franchise in the Philippines sold its Delifrance assets to Euro-Med Philippines last December 2010.  Since then, existing Delifrance branches were changed to Cafe France, giving it a new image.  Filipinos love to hang out at Cafes and rebranding Delifrance into a coffee shop will tap more customers in the Metro.

Cafe France still served French style baked products like croissants, baguettes, etc.  You can either buy those products for take out or order for dine in.

We decided to order some of Cafe France’s breakfast sets for dine in.  Price is a bit steep for my taste but my companions seemed to like the restaurant.  Service is good though.  Without asking for water, we were even served it.  Servers were easy to call out for any requests.

Cafe France has decent ambiance too with refreshing colors and well-maintained interiors.

• Egg Salad Sandwich (Php 155)

Brother Joseph ordered egg salad sandwich.  It looked like a club sandwich with potato chips on the side.  I’m not fond of sandwiches but I really liked that Cafe France decided to put potato chips with their sandwich sets instead of the usual french fries.  Suffice to say, I took some of my friend’s potato chips 😛

• Ham and Cheese Omelet (Php 185)

Sister Shilo ordered Ham and Cheese omelet.  With a whopping price of Php 185, I’m not really sure if it was worth the price.  I guess the whole brand and quality of preparation attributed to the tag price.  It was basically ham and grated cheese wrapped in scrambled egg, served with 2 pieces of bread on the side.

Rice Meals

Siobs Debbie and I ordered rice meals.  I ordered beef while Debbie ordered fish.  Cafe France’s rice meals had several options.  You can either order a la carte, with soft drink (+Php20) or with juice/coffee (+Php50).  I’ve always enjoyed Delifrance’s orange juice so it didn’t take much time for me to decide to order the one with orange juice.

• Breakfast Beef & Egg (Php 175)

I was expecting tapa (Filipino-style beef) but was surprised that it actually was Japanese-style beef.  Fatty beef strips that were cooked in butter – unhealthy but oh so tasty! 🙂  My order came with salad, two sunny side-up eggs and rice.

• Fish Fillet in Tartare Sauce (Php 175)

I almost ordered fish fillet and I was relieved that I have chosen beef over it.  Cafe France gave generous servings of the fish.  However, I guess I didn’t appreciate that they cut thinner strips of fish as usual.  I prefer the bigger rectangular cut but I think this all boils down to preference.  Still, a successful dish as my friend enjoyed her order and finished it!

We had breakfast early in the morning and I looked newly awake.  Still! hahaha!  Anyway, I had a great time with church friends.  I’m especially glad because I get to spend more time with Debbie as our barkada don’t go out that much anymore since most of them got married recently.

As I write this post, I remember that yesterday I saw three different Cafe France branches.  So funny that I decided to immediately write this review over other stories that I need to write quickly.  We had breakfast at Cafe France U.N. branch, saw another branch when we visited a church friend at Metropolitan Hospital in Manila and lastly, saw another Cafe France at MOA while we were strolling around the mall.

So, that was my experience yesterday with Cafe France.  Oh, and by the way, the U.N. branch is open 24 hours daily.

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Cafe France
U.N. Ave. Maria Orosa St., Ermita, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
+63-2-523-5555

In our office, almost everyone watches basketball, and they are most passionate about UAAP games.  I guess everyone has a certain pride with their alma mater.  And who doesn’t like to eat?  With a passion for both basketball and food, I’m pretty sure that knowing former De la Salle green archer member Marko Batricevic opened a restaurant will bring in fans to the place.

This was actually the pitch when I got invited to try out Balkan.  I was both excited to try out Yugoslavian cuisine as well as to meet Marko.  When I first saw the owner, I was shocked!  He is tall, like 6 foot 5 inches tall! :O

He shared with us that the Makati branch is their second Balkan restaurant.  They first opened Balkan Express in San Juan and it was a huge success considering Marko got his ROI in three months!  Wow!  Three months!  Restaurants usually gets their ROI in 1-2 years but Balkan Express got theirs in so little time!  It triggered my curiosity even more.  What is with Balkan that made it so successful?

I surveyed the restaurant and immediately noticed the unique design of the ceiling.  I haven’t been to any of the Balkan countries, but I suspect there’s something very traditional about the ceiling design.

The Balkan Makati branch has a relaxing ambiance and definitely considered to be a comfort place.  There are photos of notable people and places in Serbia.  It somehow gave us a glimpse of where Marko was from.

How about the food?  What makes Yugoslavian cuisine unique?  As I learned and noticed while we dined at Balkan, they weren’t focused on presentation.  What’s really nice and I believe most of us dining customers would appreciate more is Balkan’s huge servings on their dishes plus the price, is really affordable!  I wonder how they made money since they are really generous with the food that they serve.

Have you tried Yugoslavian food?  It was my first time to try out and I’m sure it won’t be my last…

• Goulash (Php 250)

The beauty of being able to try out different restaurants is knowing the history of each of them.  Like Balkan for example, it was my first time to dine in a Yugoslavian restaurant.  I came to know that Goulash is apparently a classic beef stew of the Balkans.

The goulash is made of lean beef, onions, and paprika served with noodles.

The wonderful soup is best eaten with Balkan Bread.

From the Grill

• Pljeskavica (Php 200)

I had to wait for the bloggers to cut the burger so that I can show you through a photo how mouth-watering the dish looked like.  Pljeskavica is a traditional serbian hamburger served with home made sauce, tomato, lettuce, onion, and french fries.

• Stuffed Pljeskavica (Php 320)

If you’re like me who prefers rice over sandwiches or buns, then I suggest you order this stuffed version of Pljeskavica.  Boy, once you cut the burger half?  You’ll see the mozzarella cheese coming out.  Oh I promise you’ll have a good time eating this dish.  Just by the looks of it, while I’m trying to describe this dish, my stomach is already starting to growl..

• Batak (Php 290)

While everyone had a portion of each and every dish, I was lucky enough to have an order of Batak all by myself.  Batak is boneless chicken thigh, grilled to perfection and topped with melted mozzarella.  I was totally saying ‘delicious’ all the time that I was eating the dish.  My gosh, I never thought that Serbian/Yugoslavian dish like batak can taste this good.  The meat was very tender and every part of this chicken meat was oozing with so much flavors.

Clay Pot Dishes

• Butkice (Php 650)

Tasty pork knuckles served with baked potatoes and carrots (good for 2-3).

Everyone was raving about this dish!  When bloggers were asked which dish they liked the most, it seemed that the pork knuckles were a clear winner!  I always thought that pork knuckles are best eaten fried.  Apparently, baked pork knuckles work wonders too!  I was able to taste one small piece of this.  In spite of tasting the dish after 1 hour of being served, and feeling satisfied still, then this must be something.  Balkan’s butkice/pork knuckles is a must order friends!  Don’t forget this!

• Sarma (Php 260)

Pickled cabbage rolls stuffed with ground beef, rice and spices served on a bed of mashed potatoes sprinkled with paprika.

I’ll make sure I’ll order Sarma next time as I wasn’t able to taste this during the foodie meet.  Balkan’s San Juan branch will be my next destination as it was there where Balkan started and became successful.

Lamb

• Jagnjetina (Php 700)

Jagnjetina is Balkan’s House Specialty.  It’s imported baked lamb that is very tender that it falls off the bone.

One thing that you have to know is that Yugoslavian cooking doesn’t involve frying.  All they do with food is either grilling or baking which I think makes it a bit healthier comparing to other cuisines.

Salads

• Sopska (Php 200)

Sopska is a salad that has cucumber, tomatoes, onion, and olives on a bed of lettuce and cheese.

You might be wondering why I put sopska after the soup and main dishes.  You see Yugoslavian dining culture involves eating salads with or after the main dishes.  You might wanna do the same when you try Balkan yourself (just to have a complete Yugoslavian food experience).

Desserts

For dessert, we tried two types of crepes.  I prefer the nutella crepe among the two that were served. 🙂

• Palacinke (Php 120)

Traditional Serbian crepes with fruit jam.

Traditional Serbian crepes filled with Nutella.

So that’s a preview of what you can indulge in Balkan Restaurants.  Don’t forget to order wine and mind you, the wine costs less than Php200.  I don’t drink alcohol but I know I need to suggest Balkan’s wine to you all as I saw my foodie friends enjoying theirs.

Delicious, flavorful, unique and generously-filled dishes are things you can expect from Balkan Restaurant.  I’m making my visit to Balkan Express real soon and I already have a list of dishes to order in my mind.  How about you?

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Balkan Yugoslavian Home Cooking
G/F Maripola Building, 109 Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City, Philippines
+63-2-846-0744

If you recall, I mentioned in my Relik Tapas Bar and Lounge review, that I would be trying out their lunch sets soon.  I was curious as to what food they serve as each lunch set is priced reasonably at Php 350.  I thought that the food might be different.  What I discovered during my lunch meal at Relik Tapas Bar and Lounge is that we’re getting our money’s worth.

Each lunch set includes soup, salad and an entree.  The food is actually part of Relik’s regular menu.  When I did my computation, I realized that the lunch sets are super discounted!  You see the pumpkin soup that is included is already Php 150 and the garden salad when ordered a la carte is at Php 160, that’s already Php310 in total.  So it’s like paying only Php 40 pesos for the entree!  Wow!

I suggest that you ask for the lunch sets menu when you go to Relik Tapas Bar weekdays between 11AM to 2PM.  The servers don’t usually serve the lunch set menu.  When I went there with my colleagues, we were only given the regular menu.  Good thing, I remembered during the media launch that Relik serves lunch sets or else, I wouldn’t have realized how much savings we’re gonna get if we avail of the offering.

I believe lunch set menu changes occasionally.  During my visits recently, the lunch menu are as follows:

Soup

• Pumpkin Cream Soup

I mentioned in my previous post that some blogger friends were raving about this soup.  So knowing that the soup served with the lunch set is the pumpkin soup, it was a good surprise.  The soup was creamy and flavorful as expected.  A perfect start!

Salad

• Garden Salad

Light, refreshing salad served with balsamic vinaigrette.

I’m not fond of olives but I’m glad that the sauce in the salad is vinaigrette.  Relik’s garden salad is very simple, it felt light and it was indeed refreshing as described in the menu description.

Mains

choices of:

• Chicken Parma and Chips

Crumbed breast of chicken with tomato fondue, kurobota ham and ementhal cheese.  Served with home made fries.

I was expecting something similar with chicken fingers.  When the order came, I was totally shocked as to how big the chicken was.  What I liked the most about the entree is the unique combination of ingredients.  Imagine breaded chicken breast with tomato sauce, ham and cheese on top!  It felt like an over-loaded special pizza hehehe 😛

• Mushroom and Pesto Pasta

Creamy penne with mushrooms.

My colleague has just came from a long-term sickness so she was really conscious as to what food to eat.  So it was nice that Relik has this mushroom and pesto pasta.  The other main entrees seemed to be salty and fatty so this was her preferred entree for the lunch set.

• Mother Ann’s Braised Ox-Tail

Slow braised Australian ox-tails served with pomme puree and buttered carrots.

I couldn’t get over Relik’s braised ox tail so when I saw this dish as one of the mains, I immediately ordered it.  I was expecting it to be poured over rice but apparently, the dish was served with mashed potatoes (I think).  I hope they can give us an option to choose between rice or mashed potato (?) in the future as I definitely will choose rice over other carbohydrate food anytime.

• Marinara with Olives and Tomato Fondue

Fetuccini with a chunky tomato sauce topped with Jamon Serrano.

Among the 2 pasta dishes in the main entree, I would choose this.  The marinara is basically seafood pasta.  I didn’t order this when we dined at Relik Tapas Bar and Lounge but my colleague was sharing that it was good!  A good feedback is always good so sharing with you all 😉

So there… another Relik Tapas Bar and Lounge blog post.  This time around, I shared my experience with the restaurant’s lunch sets.  When I dined there, only about 1-2 tables were filled.  I really felt sad that not much people are dining there during lunch despite the delectable food that Relik has.  I couldn’t pinpoint its location as the reason because the place is filled during night time so I guess not a lot of people know that Relik actually serves lunch.

If you work at the Fort area or near there, then you might wanna check out Relik.

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Relik Tapas Bar and Lounge
Lunch: M-F, 11:30am to 2:30pm, Dinner & Cocktails: daily, 5:30pm onwards
2nd floor, Commercenter Building, 31st Ave cor. 4th St. Bonifacio Global City, 1200 Taguig, Philippines
+63-2-6248251 & +639175298333

Yoshinoya introduced 8 new additions to their menu recently.  I was stoked when I was invited to the media briefing as I’d get to taste each and every dish.  I can judge for myself which one is best and of course, I was excited as I could share the news with readers of HeaRty’s Haven.

The event was held at Yoshinoya’s Robinson’s Galleria branch.  The first thing I noticed was the revamped menu.  Maybe I can start to discover other dishes as I tend to always order only their beef rice.

The place was packed with media folks eager to eat the new offerings from the Japanese fast-food restaurant.  I actually found it really cute when waiters started to bring out dishes one by one.  They went out through the curtain which reminded me of how waiters in wedding hotel reception serve dishes hahaha!  I was confused for a second there if I was gonna eat Chinese dishes or Japanese dishes.

Mr. Timmy Yang, the man behind Yoshinoya, welcomed all of us to the media event.  I could tell that he was really proud and excited about the newest creations that they have in the restaurant.  Timmy is an interesting personality.  Did you know that he actually started as a part-time crew in McDonald’s Philippines?  This guy has gone far!  From a part-time crew, he now heads his own food business and a successful one at that.  Kudos to Timmy!

Yoshinoya brought out tasting servings of each of the new offerings.  Good thing they thought about that because I honestly don’t think I could eat eight full meals in one sitting.  Every dish has its unique taste into it so I think Yoshinoya got the right plan executed.

Here are the newest additions to Yoshinoya Restaurant Menu:

• Yoshi Chicken (Php 95)

Don’t be fooled by how Yoshi Chicken looks.  It might look simple but boy, when you start to get a bite of the chicken, you would appreciate it.  The chicken was deep fried and double coated with marinade.  Even if the sauce was poured over the chicken, it was surprisingly crispy!  Who wouldn’t want crispy chicken skin?  I’m pretty sure one piece of Yoshi chicken won’t be enough, so get a 2-piece Yoshi chicken with rice (Php 145) instead.  Comes in either thigh or leg part.

• Pork Tonkatsu (Php 159)

Deep fried breaded pork fillet topped with a special tonkatsu sauce served with cabbage siding over steaming white rice.

I didn’t like this dish.  I’m not really sure why, maybe I ate it when it was a bit cold already?  I felt the meat was a bit tough which is quite ironic as I loved the pork tempura dish (another pork creation by Yoshinoya).

• Tokyo Beef (Php 139)

Tender slices of beef with fresh sliced onions sauteed to perfection, garnished with sesame seeds and capsicum slices over steaming white rice.

As I said in my Yoshinoya Review before, the beef bowl is the sole reason why I always, always go back to the restaurant.  This time around, Yoshinoya enhanced the dish by adding sesame seeds and capsicum slices.  There was no contest that among all the new additions, this was my choice.

• Veggie Beef (Php 115)

Tender slices of beef simmered with fresh sliced onions in a special broth of herbs and spices, served with mixed vegetables on the side on a bed of steaming white rice.

My all-time Yoshinoya favorite has another version of the dish.  This time with veggies on the side.  I can get away with just beef but if you’re the type who’s used to eating two different dishes in one meal then Veggie beef is for you.

• Tokyo Chicken (Php 149)

Golden brown pieces of grilled chicken fillet marinated in ginger-based sauce, topped with a special sauce and served with mixed vegetables over steaming white rice.

Yoshinoya’s Tokyo Chicken reminds me of the popular chicken dishes out in the market.  With a cheap price tagged to this dish, I’m sure you would go back for seconds.  This dish is affordable, delicious and explodes with flavors!

• Chicken Tempura (Php 159)

I like Yoshinoya’s chicken tempura.  The chicken chunks were tender, lightly breaded and fried just right.  My companions, however, were raving about the sweet potato included in the rice bowl.   So, whichever ingredient you like better, at least you know that you ordered a delish bowl.  Yum!

• Shrimp Tempura (Php 159)

Crispy golden brown white prawn and deep fried garnished with a special tendon sauce.

It’s ironic that Yoshinoya just started to offer everyone’s Japanese favorite dish, shrimp tempura.  Well, as they say, it’s better late than never.  So for all tempura junkies out there, Yoshinoya finally added tempura to their menu!

• Pork Tempura (Php 159)

Breaded pork fillet with sweet potato and eggplant on the side over steaming white rice topped with a special tendon sauce.

Whether you like pork, chicken or shrimps, now you know that Yoshinoya has them all covered.  My personal choice would be the pork tempura.  I guess the pork cut was perfect for my taste making it tender, tasty and light.

• Iced Tea (Regular – Php 39, Large – Php 45)

Any Yoshinoya visit won’t be complete without ordering their iced tea!  You can choose between mixed fruit tea, green tea and apple tea.  I think the mixed fruit (red) tea was too sweet while the Apple tea was just okay.  My recommendation is the green tea – not too sweet, refreshing and perfect with my favorite Yoshinoya beef bowl!

With all eight dishes added to Yoshinoya’s menu, I believe we can now say that Yoshinoya just positioned itself as a full-fledged Japanese fast-food restaurant.  They made it all exciting with the revamped menu.  In fact, I’ll be dining at Yoshinoya Japanese Restaurant next week as I want to eat their beef bowl again!  🙂

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Yoshinoya Japanese Restaurant
G/F Robinsons Galleria, EDSA cor. Ortigas Ave., Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 635-2206

My friends can attest that I recommend Ba Noi’s whenever I’m asked where to eat Vietnamese food in Metro Manila.  Ever since I first tried out Ba Noi’s, I knew that it would be a place where I can get fine Vietnamese cuisine.

When I got the invite to dine there with other foodie bloggers, I couldn’t help but say yes.  I knew I’ve blogged about it twice already and I knew I’ve been there too many times.  But you know, it’s impossible to resist good food!  I wouldn’t mind writing about it again considering this time around, I’d have the chance to meet the man behind Ba Noi’s.

I was glad that I can finally share with the owner how I loved Ba Noi’s food!  I wanted to share with him my blog posts about his restaurant and how I couldn’t wait to eat their food again.  The other thing that made me look forward to the foodie meet was that I get to try all of Ba Noi’s House Specialties in one night!

We were all chit-chatting and munching on chips while we waited for the other foodie bloggers to arrive.  I, however, was already imagining myself eating Ba Noi’s Beef Noodle soup, the spring rolls and the spiced beef.  I couldn’t wait to eat those savory food!

• Pho Bo (Php 250)

Perfected homemade beef noodles soup served with fresh herbs and spices.

I appreciate that even though I have eaten this dish in Ba Noi’s tons of times, the Pho Bo tasted as good every single time.  The consistency is something that I really admire in Ba Noi’s.  No wonder people like me love to go back to the restaurant.

• Cha Gio (Php 190)

Mixture of ground pork, shrimp, taro and black fungus wrapped and deep fried.  Served with fresh greens and traditional nuoc mam dipping sauce.

I couldn’t get over the divine taste of this fried spring roll.  I was raving about this dish when I first tried it out.  The fried rolls tasted soooooooo heavenly even without wrapping it with the lettuce leaves provided.  However, as the owner kept emphasizing, it’s best to follow the right way to eat it in order to really appreciate Vietnamese food.

• Goi Cuon (Php 200)

Pork, shrimp and rice vermicelli, rolled in rice paper and served with their famous peanut sauce.

Admit it or not, I’m sure you would want to try Ba Noi’s fried rolls yourself 😛  If you’re worried about your health and would want to stay away from fried food, then I suggest you order their fresh spring rolls instead.  I strongly suggest you dip the roll in peanut sauce before eating it.  And please, make sure to do that with every bite!  Needless to say, people with peanut allergies will have to think twice about this.

• Banh Xeo (Php 250)

Savory delicate crepe filled with sautéed pork, shrimps, mung bean and bean sprouts. served with fresh veggies and nuoc mam sauce.

I had the shock of the night when I saw this served to us, hahaha!  I was totally clueless on how to eat it.  Luckily, the owner was there to demonstrate on how to indulge this mouth-watering dish.  The right thing to do was to get a portion of the crepe and wrap it with lettuce then dip into the sauce.  The taste was gratifying!  My gosh, I now have added one more dish that I will definitely order the next time I visit Ba Noi’s.

• Ca Kho To (Php 250)

Catfish simmered in rich caramel sauce, garnish with spring onions and fresh chilies.

Surprisingly, there’s a dish in Ba Noi’s menu that I didn’t like and it’s this one.  However, my foodie companions only had good words for it.  I guess it really depends on your palete. 😛  I still prefer to eat catfish fried or steamed in garlic sauce.

• Bo Luc Lac (Php 340)

The house favorite stir-fried spiced beef served with fried basil and chili.

I wasn’t shocked at all when I saw that Bo Luc Lac is Ba Noi’s house favorite.  Well, of course, because it’s my personal favorite in Ba Noi’s too!  The beef was tender, flavorful and in spite of being on the salty side, I loved it especially when eaten with fried basil.  Best eaten with rice.

• Ga Kho Kari Xa (Php 240)

Braised chicken slowly cooked in lemongrass and curry powder, infused with fresh chillies, shallots and spring onions.

Admittedly, I forgot to taste this dish.  I think I was too busy eating the Bo Luc Lac that I didn’t notice this chicken dish waiting for me to savor 😛

• Banh Dan Lung (Php 135)

Warm pandan cake filled with mung bean, drizzled with coconut cream and toasted sesame seeds.

A perfect way to end a good meal!

I think I’ve run out of things to say about the food as I have described them on my previous posts (1 & 2) about Ba Noi’s.  One thing is for sure, Ba Noi’s is one of the best (if not the best) Vietnamese restaurant in Manila!

To really appreciate Vietnamese food is to learn how to eat them the right way.  We go to Ba Noi’s to experience Vietnamese cuisine right?  Then it’s but proper for us to eat like Vietnamese people do.  Look for the instruction tutorial on the table and take time to read them while you wait for your orders to be served.  You won’t regret it!

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Ba Noi’s – The Fresh Flavors of Vietnam
G/F Greenbelt Mansions, Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 893-7359