Pinoy Food Critic

For this afternoon I’d like to share with everyone one of our favorite Persian restaurants in Quezon City. No, I’m not talking about Mister Kebab. This is actually a rather new place that opened sometime last year. You’ll find it just after the Katipunan flyover going to EDSA. King Kebab can be a bit pricey compared to your average Persian restaurant but they make up for it with the quality of the food that they serve. Their kebabs are just fantastic and always find myself going here if I have a craving for Persian food and if I have excess cash.

QUICKIE FACT SHEET
Name: King Kebab
Location: Katipunan
Type: Persian Food
Price Range (per dish): P150 - P400

Read more about King Kebab after the jump. Read more…

Okay, this has nothing to do with food, but might as well since this is really something unique and can be a very good gimmick place for everyone. Blue Water Day Spa, one of the most famous “wholesome” massage establishments in the country recently opened a new branch in Ortigas with a very unique and enticing selling proposition. They have a spa-movie theater. OMGWTFBBQ. Yes, you read that right, lol. The picture on this post is something I grabbed from a blog post over at Tech Filipino.

More on this after the jump. Read more…

Talk about spur of the moment, lol. I was chatting with my officemate and good friend, Kamesh, and she recommended I visit this restaurant in Tagaytay called Sonya’s Garden. Apparently it’s a famous date place that’s really romantic and they also serve fantastic food. Since I have no major plans this weekend, I called Mich up and we’re going to Tagaytay this Saturday or Sunday to try it out. I’ll definitely take pictures and make a review and post it by Sunday or Monday.

Hopefully it lives up to the hype!

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always had the hots (lol) for lasagna. Why? Well it’s because of the furry and fat orange cat that we all know as Garfield! My brother collected a lot of Garfield stuff and I ended up reading the comic books and other stuff about him - including his obsession with lasagna. Which brings me to this question… where do you usually go to satisfy your lasagna craving? For me, I have one answer - Sbarro’s.

QUICKIE FACT SHEET
Name: Sbarro’s
Location: SM North Edsa (they have other branches in other malls though)
Type: Italian Food
Price Range (per dish): P150 - P250

Full review of Sbarro’s after the jump. Read more…

This is a good review to do since I’ve talked about restaurants in Tagaytay in my previous posts. Sanctuario actually originated from Tagaytay as well but they recently set up shop here in Manila. I was very pleasantly surprised to find out just this evening that they have a branch at mecca of pirated DVD’s - Metrowalk, Ortigas! Sanctuario is a pleasant reprieve of classic and timeless Filipino classics compared to the usual noisy and a bit rowdy bars in Metrowalk. Sanctuario is cozy, quiet, and warm which makes it really stand out. In Tagaytay, Sanctuario was known for their Bulalo Soup, Lamb Chops, bread, and fresh salads. Let’s put them to the test!

QUICKIE FACT SHEET
Name: Sanctuario (Originally from Tagaytay)
Location: Metrowalk, Ortigas
Type: Filipino Food
Price Range (per dish): P100 - P300

Full review after the jump. Read more…

I found some old pics of the food I took pictures of when I was still in the planning stages of this blog. My original plans included doing a dedicated section talking about my favorite appetizers and another section about my favorite deserts. Let’s kick this one off by talking about one of my favorite appetizers served by Penang Hill - Spicy Crablets! Here’s the picture that I was able to take a I think sometime last year, 2008. I just used my Nokia N95 for this so please don’t mind the picture quality.

Looks yummy? Let me tell you all about it after the jump. Read more…

I can’t count the number of restaurants in Greenhills. There are so many really to remember. I can recommend you one gem of a restaurant that we’ve been regularly going to for a few months now. Penang Hill offers a variety of Asian food but mainly focusing on Malaysian dishes. It’s hard to actually decide on going to this restaurant since it’s situated in the middle of Promenade. They have pretty stiff competition surrounding them - Teriyaki Boy, Cibo, Tender Bob’s and Little Asia to name a few. However, Penang Hill is actually one of the best restaurants in the Promenade strip! Here’s one reason why.

Did I get your attention now? Hahahaha!

QUICKIE FACT SHEET
Name: Penang Hill
Location: Promenade, Greenhills Shopping Center, Ortigas
Type: Asian Food - focusing on Malaysian Dishes
Price Range (per dish): P200 - P900

Full review of Penang Hill after the jump. Read more…

Other than anime, I love the Japanese because of their food (LOL). I’ve always had the pleasure of eating Japanese food at an early age since my grandfather, the late Senator Blas Ople, usually hosted a family get together every Sunday at Saisaki along EDSA. I remember being excited waking up every Sunday morning since I know I would be able to eat lots of Tuna Sashimi, Fried Rice, and Steak, hehe. Anyway, a few days ago my girlfriend, my brother, my friend Paul, and I went out for dinner at one of my favorite Japanese restaurants - Kimono Ken. They have several branches already but the best one is their branch along Tomas Morato in Quezon City.

QUICKIE FACT SHEET
Name: Kimono Ken
Location: Tomas Morato (they have several branches though)
Type: Japanese Food
Price Range (per dish): P150 - P500

My review of some of Kimono Ken’s most famous dishes after the jump. Read more…

One of the most famous restaurants in Tagaytay City is Leslie’s. Even my dad and my late grandfather talked about how delicious the Bulalo was in that restaurant. The last time I went there, it was almost a decade ago. That’s why when Mich and I went to Tagaytay for a vacation, I couldn’t resist the temptation to look for it and eat there again. It wasn’t hard to find since almost everyone in Tagaytay knew where it was. I just had to roll down my window and ask someone on the street on where it was and we were there in no time.

QUICKIE FACT SHEET
Name: Leslie’s Bulalo
Location: Tagaytay City
Type: Filipino Food
Price Range (per dish): P200 - P500

Review of Leslie’s after the jump. Read more…

Last November, I had a weekend vacation with Mich in Tagaytay. We stayed in Discovery Country Suites which was literally a heaven-on-earth type of rest house. That place is one of the best vacation spots I’ve ever been to for years! Anyway, that’s for another post. For today, I’ll be discussing a gem of a restaurant we discovered in Tagaytay. We met with a couple of friends and ate lunch at Hawaiian Barbecue. It’s a cozy restaurant inside the infamous lovers’ Boutique Hotel. Their specialty is the Hawaiian Barbecue Baby Back Ribs.

QUICKIE FACT SHEET
Name: Hawaiian Barbecue
Location: Boutique Hotel, Tagaytay
Type: Hawaiian Food (D’uh)
Price Range (per dish): P200 - P400

Full review of the restaurant after the jump. Read more…