John and Yoko, GB5

First time I saw this resto, I was immediately intrigued. Likely because it carried the name of a Beatle member who I adored so much in my late teens. Remember when Channel 5 would play shows of the early years of the British band? Man, I was hooked even though I was watching replays everyday (haha).

So finally, hubby and I had the chance to eat there around mid Feb. As we expected, we had to wait for about 20 minutes to get our seats (this resto always has a queue). This wasn't so bad actually. Diners who arrived later than us at around 8 had a much longer waiting time.

On reading their menu, one would be educated on the reason for the resto's name. Apparently, they serve a combination of eastern and western food fare. Though if what we ordered be the basis, I don't think they re-interpret the dishes to make them "fusion-ized". They just serve both types, that's all.

For the western dishes, we had their New Orleans oysters. Very good. It's actually my favorite of those that we had. They had a delicate crunch that made the dish more interesting (don't really know what the ingredient though is) .

For the eastern fare, we had a salad whose name I can't recall now. It had raw tuna as one of the ingredients I think. So-so.

We also had their sukiyaki. This one too was just okay. Nothing out of the ordinary. I thought the sukiyaki we once had at Great China Flavors along Makati Ave was better.

In total, John and Yoko is .. okay. Sumo Sam which is likely to be a sister company (since their take-out packaging had Sumo Sam printed on them) still seems to be better.

Anyhow, the experience at least satisfied my curiosity. I might still go back for the oysters..and oh the iced tea. You could order blue iced tea. Cool.

Som's delicious thai food interpretation

every time i would have a craving for relatively cheap eats, i would always think of som's near rockwell. from my experience eating thai food in manila, this establishment offers the best interpretation of inexpensive thai food.

i say interpretation because the thai food they make isn't exactly authentic. but it's a very good interpretation. one has to consider that thai cuisine really requires a lot of ingredients native only to thailand. i predict the owners want to prioritize affordability over authenticity.

although i've been to som's quite a number of times, we almost always end up ordering these two dishes: pak boom and tom yum goong.

pak boom is essentially the thai version of adobong kangkong. but i think it's much better because it is less acidic and more flavorsome (likely due to the generous use of garlic and green pepper). i also love ordering this dish because it's a vegetable dish, healthier and hence, always a guilt-free choice:-)

their tom yum goong is a good imitation. the taste of authentic tom yum goong is pretty tough to imitate if one does not have original ingredients like galangal (thai luya). i think it takes a pretty creative person with a sharp palate to be able to improvise by using locally available ingredients.

i've also tried their phat siew. again, a good interpretation. although i still much prefer the authentic version as the one you buy from thai street hawkers use the thick version of the noodles. the original is also not that dry like say our pansit bihon. authentic phat siew is more..fluid. and of course, thai calamansi or manao makes a big difference in the taste (our calamansi is too sour to be used for this dish).

if you simply want some thing that has everything in it, try the different variants of fried rice. you can have them with crab, beef or pork. always a winner. on the menu, this dish would be called 'khao pad' (fried rice) followed by the thai term for the type of meat you want (eg 'khao pad moo' is fried rice with pork).

for drinks, you can try their cha nom yen which means tea with milk. no, don't think it's a bad concoction. it's pretty good. i miss cha yen though, the thai version of iced tea (without milk). it's really quite refreshing and in no way tastes like nestea or lipton. but they don't serve cha yen here as this requires use of manao.

for two people, you can have as many as three dishes and your bill will not amount to more than P400. not mentioning generous amounts of left over for take home.

som's is located on the street left side of grilla restaurant which you'll find behind the rockwell compound. it's a small street so you might miss it. in case you find yourself lost though, try and ask one of the 'farangs' (foreigners) you might come across, i'm pretty sure they'll be able to point you in the right direction. farangs love this place:-)

kagura's okonomiyaki in little tokyo

i read about this japanese resto called kagura restaurant in little tokyo in another blog. it specializes in japanese pancake. i thought it would be interesting to 1) try out the pancake dish as it really did sound very delicious and 2) visit little tokyo as in all my years in manila, i've never heard of it.

a number of weeks ago, i had the chance to visit. going there, some might have difficulty finding parking right in front of little tokyo (located along chino roces) but if you're willing to do some walking, it would be better to park at cinema square. the resto is within the enclave of little tokyo which is essentially made up of a cluster of small japanese restaurants with each one having a different specialty.

the price, though a bit expensive, is fair considering the huge serving. i tried the 'modern special with pork and katsushushi' (P395). in my assessment, one order would be good for as many as four people--the dish is really quite heavy. if you have more than two slices, you might get 'umay'. i suggest you get a small appetizer (eg try the scallops in teriyaki sauce--it's only 3 pieces for P258 but really quite delectable) for a more complete meal.

i find this dish flavorsome. the dish is good for sharing and is very satisfying to the palate.

just a tip, don't forget the bonito flakes when you order your okonomiyaki--makes a huge difference in taste:-)

i like okonomiyaki so much that i already had a second visit yesterday lunch time. lunch might actually be a good time to visit for first timers as there are less customers to compete with for seating (this time around, i had the chance to sit in a large table, japanese-style compared to the first when i just sat at the bar).

and if the japanese owner likes you, he might even throw in some kiat-kiat (small oranges) to complete a very satisfying meal.

too classic

i'm always on the lookout for dessert shops that offer unique offerings. so when i saw this really cute dessert shop in greenbelt5, i promised myself that i will pass by and try them out.

so one night, i and hubby had the chance to pass by. we ordered the most popular dessert of the shop, nono's chocolate oblivion. i thought it was..okay. the dessert wasn't that moist but then maybe we just had the last batch of their production for the day (we went there at around 9 or 10 pm). in sum, it wasn't the unique sweet dessert that i was hoping it would be.


we also had the calamansi bar. i guess it was their take on the lemon tart. again, it was okay for me. my hubby liked it though -- unfortunately, he doesn't like having desserts in general.

classic confections could probably do with more unique offerings. most of their potential customers have probably tried more variants of chocolate cake than they care for. they would probably like something really special. the shop simply can't afford to be oblivious to this.

travel cafe philippines

travel cafe philippines (tcf) is located at the recently opened greenbelt5. i had the opportunity of attending its launching last december. hubby said tcf is the department of tourism's way of marketing the philippines as a "must-see" destination through non-traditional means. tcf already has a number of branches abroad including one in japan which has been highly popular and successful. the value proposition of tcf is to provide a means for customers to know more about the philippines while having the chance to enjoy filipino specialty coffee and dessert.

the 'piece de resistance' of the shop is the locally grown alamid coffee which has received much acclaim among coffee afficionados. it is also one of the most expensive coffee beans around.

as this is a specialty coffee shop, some variants of coffee are quite expensive. but there are more affordable coffee items in the menu. for the dessert, as would be expected, the selection is comprised of artfully presented filipino delicacies like suman, turon, leche flan.


what i like best about tcf however is its very tastefully designed interiors. it is modern filipino interior design at its finest. the lighting is very subdued. there are large tv monitors on the walls --albeit in no way obtrusive, showing videos of popular tourist destinations in the country. to add to the authentic feel of the shop, they make use of wares made of 'pinatubo' ashes.

consistent with its ultimate objective, there is a travel specialist who is on standby to attend to inquiries re local travel packages.

we've brought all our us-based relatives here and they're all quite pleased. i would predict a big part of that is because it's in greenbelt5 and it's really a well-designed coffee shop. go and see for yourself, i'm pretty sure you'll like the experience.

best sardines ever

first time we received this sardines from my father-in-law, i didn't really think much of it. i mean, i've tried a pretty good range of brands including both local and foreign and they all tasted pretty much the same.

however, my world view changed the first time i had my first bite of Montano's sardines in tomato sauce. it was really...malasa in a not-so-malansa way (hehe). my hubby and i tried to scrimp on using the rest of the bottles, lest we not be able to savor the sarap of this new discovery for the most amount of time.

that was a few months ago. then i asked my hubby if he could surf the net to see if Montano's is available here in manila as i don't think we'd have the chance to go to dipolog any time soon. and lo and behold, one site said that it's available in rustan's and sm. and so, everytime we'd visit the supermarket, i'd check out the sardines aisle. but the stores seem to be always out of stock.

but today, we got supremely lucky. there was one remaining bottle at the trinoma supermarket. we literally got the last bottle of the sardines in tomato sauce variant. hmmm...hmmm....hmmm.. can't wait to have this heaven in a bottle very soon:-)

my in-yo visit

went to in-yo about mid-jan..one of those nights when you just don't want to think and eat something that will really please the palate.and yes, aspirations of dieting are thrown out the window. again. we just got hold of this book entitled "manila's best kept restaurant secrets". in-yo was the first in that book so I had pretty high expectations.

place was easy enough to find. i found the place quite cozy and unique, ideal for second/third date kinda place. i liked the front yard and the see-through glass floor near the doors.

price though was a bit on the expensive side. but that's okay i think given the owners' personalized attention to the food. i could sense he really wanted to please and meet the expectations of his customers.

now with the food. well, i tried a pasta dish with a tomato-based sauce. i found it a bit heavy. you know when the pasta's been a bit over drenched in sauce. it just didn't seem as appetizing. the taste was okay.

hubby tried the salpicao. he loved it immensely. seemed to be cooked with sugar as it tended to be on the sweet side. it's a pretty good interpretation of salpicao.


for dessert, we tried this cake that tasted like fruitcake. it was unique but not one i'd seek out again.

hubby and i shared the same view, you go to in-yo for the ambiance and good service (given what we tried). you go there for the good conversation that such a place inspires. as for me, i'm a sucker really for food with personality. but it's worth a visit.