I have been addicted to Serenitea for quite a looong while now.  I actually wonder why I haven’t been blogging about something that I really like.  I actually influenced a lot of my friends to try it out.  Well, I guess it’s time for me to write about it so the readers here at HeaRty’s Haven can discover this great tea place in the Metro.

I usually rave about it whenever I talk with friends.  When I got to meet a friend for some chit-chat, I made sure that we stopped by Serenitea.  Good thing that there was still available space when we arrived.  Usually, it’s full especially during weekends and people just end up getting their drinks & food order to go.  We spent a couple of minutes at the place savoring the yummy appetizers & of course, the tea! *slurp*

Ordering is easy.  We just go to the counter and choose which drink we like, some finger foods too as we wish.  Prices are reasonable, cheaper than similar products in the market.  Plus, quality is  really top notch, considering that their teas are brewed (not made of artificial flavors).

What separates Serenitea from the rest is their brilliant idea for customers to choose the sugar level of their drink.  PLUS, you can also choose the toppings you would want your drink to have.  Uber Cool!  (Though I’ve seen some competitors following the same lead but who thought of it first, right?)

Sweetness Level:

• Full Sugar (standard)
• Less Sugar (75%)
• Half Sugar (50%)
• Mild Sugar (25%)
• No Sugar (healthy)

Optional Toppings to Choose:

• QQ (combination)
• Pearl
• Egg Pudding
• Black Bricks
• Crystals
• Lime Jelly

I assume you have an idea on what Serenitea offers.  Anyway, here are some that we’ve tried so far:

• Wintermelon Cool (Php 80)

This is one of my all-time favorite drinks.  I used to have difficulty finding this drink.  Before Serenitea, only Tasty Dumplings offered this drink.  I’m glad I found another place to find such a delicious drink 😀  Serenitea actually has different versions of the Wintermelon drink.  Wintermelon Cool has black bricks as toppings.  With Wintermelon Sweet, you won’t have any option on choosing the sweetness but you can choose the topping.  You should try this when you visit the place, but just in case, they also have wintermelon milk tea!

• Lychee Milk Tea (Php 95)

Honestly, I don’t understand why my friend ordered Lychee milk tea hahaha!  I guess he has a certain fondness for lychee and would like to try it as a milk tea.  If I  may suggest, you should order either Royal Milk Tea, Hokkaido Milk Tea or Black Dragon Milk Tea 🙂  My personal favorite is Black Dragon Milk tea but if you want to be safe, Royal Milk Tea is for you 😉

• Pepper Tofu (Php 50)

Oh yes!!  Tofu again!  Okay, I know you’re getting tired as I always get tofu wherever I go.  But I just love this version from Serenitea, they cook to order which means each and every appetizer that we get is cooked on the spot.  And most importantly, it’s fresh!  So when it arrives on our table, it’s newly cooked.  Very hot & yummy!  Main spice in this dish is pepper (as the name implies).  They cook it so well, and seasoned just right.  The firmness of the tofu is also just right, I honestly just loved each and every bite of this tofu.

• Chicken Chop (Php 65)

When you go to Serenitea, please please order this dish!  It’s the best chicken snack I have ever eaten.  The chicken is just so juicy and tender.  It’s literally so soft!  And the coating is crispy too!  What a combination.  I don’t know how they did it but I loved it!  We can call this pepper chicken too since I think the seasoning on this one is basically the same as what we had with the tofu dish.  And we actually tried the greens along with the chicken, and even that was also a great treat!  The plate was empty when we finished! hahaha :p

There was a time between March to May 2010 that I would go to Serenitea every single day to order at least 1 drink.  I was able to finish a couple of Serenitea LoyalTea Cards (talk about addiction!).  I love Serenitea’s version of loyalty card, it really serves the purpose to reward loyal customers.

The promo is you get a free drink whenever you complete all 10 stamps in the card.  How?  You get one stamp for every purchase of Large drink.  Card is valid 3 months from the date of 1st stamp.

Another thing to note that the blogging community is very fond of the place.  There have been numerous discussions (shall I say raves) about Serenitea.   While I have heard it before from non-blogger friends, but the noise that the blogging community has had with Serenitea really is so powerful that you’d regret if you haven’t tried the place.  So why don’t you? 😀

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Serenitea
74B N. Roxas Street, Banawe, Quezon City
(02) 238-2545

One day, I organized a get together at Romulo Cafe.  It was unfortunate that most of the group were not available (but that doesn’t mean that we didn’t have a great time).  Actually, it was a great lunch get-together with my shobe Theresa & her friend!

It took me quite a while to find the restaurant since I’ve never been there nor have I ever even heard of it.  I know it will come as a shock to my readers, but there really is a lot of restaurants out there, and there will always be a first for trying out each restaurant.   And everyone knows that I will always try out most restaurants that I come across, that I hear about, or restaurants that are recommended to me.

When we arrived, I had to park a bit far from Romulo Cafe as parking slots were taken already.  It was well-worth it, and I understood after our meal why there were a lot of people dining considering their affordable prices & the unusual location.

Here is what we ordered:

• Sinigang na Salmon sa Miso (Php 295)

Oh, how I loved this dish!!!  I was hoping I can take some more servings of this.  The salmon was very fresh & tasty, perfect for sinigang.  The ingredients were just right as I really love drinking the soup.  A must-order.  The tart taste of the soup definitely gave that great balance which is a characteristic of all great sinigangs.  But the added flavors of the tomato and the other veggies, as well as the great flavor of the salmon, it was all I could ask for in any sinigang.

• Tito Greg’s Kare Kare (Php 385)

A popular Filipino dish that is usually served with bagoong.  What could be more classically delicious than this traditional kare kare that is being served by Romulo Cafe.  I just couldn’t believe the great balance of the peanuts that went into this dish.  The softness of the pork, the creaminess of the sauce, the seasoning of the sauce too.  Sometimes kare kare tends to overemphasize the peanuts in the dish, and you end up with something that tastes more like peanut butter rather than the traditional and delicious kare kare.

• Boneless Crispy Pata Binagoongan (Php 625)

There was just too many ingredients in this dish, and it was even garnished with eggplant.  But oh boy, this really tasted good, with the bones removed and sliced perfectly.  We cannot help but enjoy the different combination of flavors in the dish.  It tasted a bit like sweet & sour, spicy, fried all done in 1 dish.  I love just how it maintained its crispiness while soaking up all the flavors of that wonderful sauce.  The meat was soft and tender, the spices were just perfect, and the taste was really something you must experience for yourself!  But still, with all those ingredients,  the taste was still a bit unusual, but still so good!  Talk about a confused but happy customer hahaha!

• Cool as Cucumber (Php 95)

I’ve always loved to drink cucumber juice.  I much prefer having cucumber as a drink as opposed to eating it or even putting it on our face hahaha :p  I’m just glad that Romulo’s version works very well, combining it with fresh lime & mint leaves.  It was very refreshing, just sweet enough, and plus the added flavors of mint and lime really gave this drink a special touch.  Just delicious!  I was really hoping that they could have had this as a bottomless order.

• Banshee (Php 75)

Mixture of fresh banana, white cream de cacao & fresh milk.  I didn’t order this as I’m not a big fan of bananas hahaha!  Anyhow, looks so fresh & healthy.  But for those who are fans of shakes with banana in it, this is something that may also be worth a try.

Obviously I enjoyed the food but it just wasn’t that alone that made our stay enjoyable.  I also liked the design & ambiance of the place.  Simplistic theme with major colors of black & white combined with clean surroundings, cute furnitures, etc.  You can either dine outside or inside (we were seated outside).  I went inside to go to the washroom and also checked how it was designed inside.  I was impressed even more.

I said to myself that I would definitely go back to the restaurant.  One of the better Filipino restaurants in the Philippines.  If you haven’t tried, I suggest you do 😉

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Romulo Cafe
#32 Scout Tuason cor. Sct. Dr. Lazcano, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 332-7275

It was such a pleasant surprise when I saw the newly opened Icebergs on Banawe street, Quezon City.  Although Banawe street already has a lot of restaurants, I have always felt that it still needed a little bit more of variety.  And with Icebergs, we now have a place to go to for ice cream, desserts, and basically if we want something cold and sweet :p  Especially with the Philippines having hot weather, sometimes we just want something sweet & cold to get us refreshed and satisfy our sweet tooth.

Now, mom has been craving for halo halo ever since she arrived here in Manila.  So when we accidentally passed by Icebergs, we stopped and decided to have our early dinner there.  Coincidentally, a few weeks before that day, I had desserts at Icebergs, Harbour Square right after we watched CATS.  Another rare occurrence was that in both instances, I was wearing black! hahaha!

We ordered the ff. (I took the liberty to also include the desserts we had weeks ago):

• Icebergs Famous Sisig (Php 178)

In all honesty, when I do think of Icebergs, their meals and dishes usually isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.  And so, I really wasn’t aware that sisig was a famous dish at Icebergs!  Then we saw a big big picture on the menu and it turns out that sisig is indeed a specialty.  My mom ordered sisig so that she could try and judge for herself as to how Icebergs’ sisig differs from other places.  I also took a bite so that I knew how it tasted and in order for me to provide a review from my own perspective.

I can tell you that it was good, however, there’s really not much difference from their version to other restaurants though.  Although, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t good either, because what I look for in sisig is exactly what they provided.  The seasoning of the dish, which is always something I judge any dish on, the seasoning was just right.  The bits of meat, and the crunchiness of the chicharon too, really gave this dish a lot of texture and contrast which is important.  Combining the egg with the entire meal really completed this dish well.

• Southern Style Fried Chicken (Php 150)

I was extremely disappointed with my order of Fried Chicken.  It was overcooked and ended up being too hard to eat.  I ended up not eating the chicken and just ate the country fries included in the order.  Their country fries is truly one of the best, you can order ala carte too, price is at Php 128.  But I’m glad that we at least had a chance to try their chicken.  Now I know for sure that when it comes to chicken I’m probably still going to stick with KFC or Jollibee.

• Halo Halo Special (Php 88)

Icebergs’ Halo halo really satisfied my mom’s craving.  What I like about their halo halo is that the amount of ingredients they have in each order is just perfect.  And the amount of milk is also just right.  There’s nothing more disappointing when it comes to halo halo than too much ice, but not enough milk.  With Iceberg, the proportion of ingredients makes every spoonful rich, creamy, sweet, and delicious!  And do you see that big chunk of ube on top?  Yummy!

• Fresh Mango Iced Tea (Php 58)

I love this new drink from Icebergs!  It’s basically brewed tea with real chunks of Mango!  I love how they are catering to the Filipino taste, and an iced tea with mango chunks is truly unique and delicious!  I always like to order iced tea, but I’m glad that I was able to try this variation of the drink.  I really suggest that you try it too.  It’s a perfect recipe, which basically means it’s a yummy drink! :p  The balance in flavors gives it that right amount of mango taste without losing the iced tea flavor.  Sometimes flavored iced tea becomes too much about the flavor and suddenly we forget that its iced tea.  With Iceberg they were able to strike that balance in flavor with their fresh mango iced tea.

• Mocha Shake (Php 138)

I wasn’t really sure about this mocha shake.  I think the purposely made the shake rich, but when I think of a shake, my mind automatically thinks of a good mix of milk and whatever flavor the shake is supposed to be.  I think the shake was good, but it could have toned down on the richness and maybe added a bit more milk and maybe mixed it a bit more.  The cream was okay too, but I think however beautiful this shake may look, it could still use a little bit more refinement in its recipe or execution, or both.  The flavor was good, don’t get me wrong, but it’s sort of like having too much seasoning in a dish or meal, in this shake there was just too much.

• Mais con Hielo (Php 88)

Corn bits, corn flakes, milk, shaved ice and ice cream comprises mais con hielo.  A very old Filipino favorite and will continue to be mine.  Icebergs makes the traditional, simple, yet delicious mais con hielo.  Again, the proportion and the amount of milk they put in the dessert is really something I wish more places would practice.  It’s amazing just how simple this dessert can be, and yet Icebergs I know has done its homework when it comes to the proportions of its ingredients.  What I like about mais con hielo in general is that it’s not too sweet, but satisfies your craving for something sweet just enough.  And the taste of corn with ice cream and milk, mixed with some shaved ice is really something that can’t go wrong when you just need to cool off and relax.

• Strawberry Parfait (Php 168)

I know people go to Baguio for strawberries.  If you don’t have the resources to go there, you might as well order Strawberry Parfait in Icebergs!  When my friend gave it a try, she told me that this tastes just like strawberry jam only that it was frozen.  Their parfait consists of ice cream, some fresh strawberries, and strawberry syrup, and the whole thing topped with whipped cream.  I do recommend this too if ever you stop by Icebergs.  The only thing that I was wondering about this dessert is that I have always thought of parfaits to be a bit more light and fluffy, creamy, and even light in terms of flavors.  But other than that, I definitely would still recommend this dessert, parfait or not.

I would say though Icebergs has specialty meals, they are still a dessert place.  One of the popular ones in Manila actually.  They are expanding and it seems like they’re here to stay.  For hot days, when you need to satisfy your craving for something sweet, craving for ice cream or halo halo, or even some shakes, I suggest a stop at Icebergs.  You won’t regret it, and your sweet tooth will thank you for it! :p

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Icebergs
698 Banawe St., Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

We had dinner & mooncake dice game at Sky Dragon Seafood Restaurant last week.  Before I entered the restaurant, I was warned by my mom’s friends that the place isn’t that nice & the food isn’t good as well.  I kept that in mind but I still wanted to see for myself before I came to any conclusion.

When I entered, the ambiance wasn’t really that great, very simple, but it just shows that this place has a family hangout theme to it.  Mainly for big families with a budget while still wanting to have a good time.  The ground floor is mainly for dining while the second floor has private rooms.  Each room has a karaoke system inside where guests can sing their heart out.

While we waited for our orders, my mom & her friends sang their favorite songs. I didn’t like the sounds & obviously, the karaoke was not of high quality but hey, it was for free!  It’s added service, so there really is no room for complaints.

My mom’s friend ordered all the food for us.  I felt a bit embarassed as everyone waited for me to take pictures of the food before they started eating hehehe!  Anyhow, it only took me like 10 seconds to take each picture, so I think they didn’t mind (well, I assumed hahaha!).

Here are the dishes that we tried at Sky Dragon:

• Spinach Seafood Soup (Php 468)

Contrary to popular belief, I actually love everything vegetable!  This Spinach soup did really taste yummy and I enjoyed it very much.  I was hoping that I could get a 2nd serving but considering we were like more than 10 in the group, the big bowl that we ordered was just enough.  I love the fact that it was almost a mix of egg drop soup, with the touch of spinach incorporated into the soup.  It was light, and I honestly could have eaten so much of this soup.  It wasn’t seasoned so much, which made the taste of the spinach really stand out just perfectly, but the bitterness of spinach which sometimes gives a lot of spinach dishes a downgrade in my opinion, the bitterness was not there.  They really must have experimented with this dish just to make it perfect.  What an innovative soup creation!

• Broccoli with Scallop (Php 600)

I’m not really sure as to how they made this dish.  It seems pretty simple enough, with the broccoli cooked just right and not overcooked.  The thick broth (sauce) was probably your basic sauce consisting of garlic, onion, soy sauce, salt and pepper, but the added scallops really made this dish stand out too.  I just kept wondering if the scallops really was there, I wasn’t sure.  Because the thin strips almost looked a bit like misua noodles.  I keep thinking that maybe they just had the scallops shredded to give the sauce more of the scallop flavor.  And if this is the case, then this dish is yet another great innovative way to serve scallops along with the brocolli.

• Fried Chicken Taoso (Php 468)

This dish was a favorite of my mom’s.  A very unique dish indeed.  Taoso is usually put on steamed fish, but didn’t realize that it actually works with fried chicken too!  I enjoyed this dish mainly because of the taoso.  If you don’t know what taoso is, it’s basically bits of crispy tofu.  It’s a great way to really add an extra layer of flavor and crispiness to an ordinary roasted chicken.  Don’t get me wrong, I think they also did a great job in roasting the chicken since it was definitely moist and wonderfully seasoned.  The taoso however, was definitely the ingredient that made this dish truly special.  And anyone who knows me, knows that I love tofu.  And this is almost my dream combination in terms of food ingredients since I also love chicken skin.  Now, who can go wrong with this great combination of crispy taoso and delicious roasted chicken!

• King Fish Soy Sauce (Php 580)

We got 2 of these for the price of Php 580.  Nothing special but decent.  I do like the fact that it had almost a steamed character to it, but with really more flavor because of the delicious soy sauce incorporated into the dish.  A very light dish that won’t leave your stomach too heavy.  But again, I don’t think this is really one of their all star dishes to try out.

• Kingdao Spareribs (Php 648)

Kingdao spareribs is actually a staple in many Chinese restaurants.  Although it’s not as popular as your sweet and sour dishes, or even the noodle dishes, etc., it still is one of those dishes that you should try once in a while.  The sauce is what makes it so good.  It is a bit sweet, because in some recipes they will use honey, but in this case, I think they just used sugar.  It has a tomato based type of sauce too, almost like a ketchup flavor, and of course there’s a little soy sauce included as well.  I’m not sure the exact recipe used in this dish, but I can tell you that the taste is really delicious.

Kingdao, I think really does blend well to the Filipino tastebud since it’s almost like the sauce used in a lot of Filipino barbecues hahaha :p  That’s why I think I really like it too!  The only difference is that this dish really has that tomato base, whereas in The Filipino version of this sauce, banana ketchup would probably be used instead.  The only thing that kinda stopped me from eating more was that there was just too many bones!  I guess I was lazy to cut each piece & get the bones out.  It was delish though, I loved how they cooked it.  Perfectly seasoned.

• Kuachay Rice Kiampong (Php 492)

Oh how I love rice like this.  Only Chinese restaurant cook rice this way & I’m just glad the rice served to us was kiampong!  Successful dish in our table, we were able to finish it all.

• Assorted Cold Cuts (Php 328)

Their asado & lechon kawali combination was hideous!  I hated it sooo much, I got one of each, took a bite then just left them in my plate.  The asado was too dry, too hard while the lechon kawali was just made of fat meat, period.  I’ve tried lechon kawali in so many places that I know exactly what it should be.  The crispiness of lechon kawali should almost be like chicharon, that’s why its always been a favorite of mine, but sadly this was not the case here.

• Misua Guisado

I’ve always loved fried misua and glad that while we celebrate Moon festival, we have this as part of our meal.  I loved the noodles and I actually took a 2nd serving.  Then I heard 2-3 of my mom’s friends saying that they actually tasted something foul.  Apparently, one of the ingredients was already spoiled.  Good thing, both my mom and I just ate the noodles so we didnt experience it.  If there was indeed some spoiled ingredients, then that’s definitely a disappointment especially for a restaurant.  A dish is only as good as its ingredients, and if one ingredient is spoiled, it really ruins the entire dish, no matter how good the recipe is and how good the dish SHOULD be.

• Mixed Fruits

This was given to us for free because we kept complaining about the misua & asado dishes.  Ironically, we also didn’t like this so it was left in the desk with only 1-2 pieces eaten.  Poor fruits, I wish we had some appetite to eat it but it didn’t look fresh 🙁

There were a lot of times that I felt some pity for the restaurant because the group was complaining the whole time about the dishes.  While it may be true, the servers & manager just accepted all criticisms, tried to compromise by giving us free dishes.  We even got 20% discount!  Now, that’s something commendable, the customers are really their boss.  And because of their really gracious service, I still think that the entire meal was still worth it considering that I got to try out some great new and delicious dishes.

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Sky Dragon Seafood Restaurant
Ongpin Street, Binondo, Manila, Philippines