Milk Tea

It seems there's milk tea craze nowadays, what with all these Taiwanese milk tea cafes popping up. I've tried a few, but to me they aren't that big of a deal.
Milk tea has been around for quite some time, with some Chinese restaurants offering it on their menu. I particularly like the milk tea of Old Penang. Kopiroti's decent, while Bubble Tea was one of the first to repackage milk tea in what we see a lot of nowadays with the extra pearl or coffee jelly.


The other night I tried Milk+Tea. Mild flavor, not the type I'm looking for.


Then I also tried Chatime. Very mild, and at least the owner gave me additional tea to increase the flavor. In both these places, I noticed that coffee creamer was used as the "milk". For me, that isn't milk.



My friends and I also sampled the taiwanese chicken and squid balls. The chicken is better, with the right amount of five spice powder and chili.


Then there's ZenTea. Surprisingly, their Nai Cha is as close as to the Asian milk tea that I like, with pearl drops to incorporate what local people expect out of their milk tea. They have a smaller selection of teas, with various flavors for the adventurous or the bored with the standard fare. I'm partial to the original flavor but was willing to give the Caramel and Horlicks flavors a shot. The caramel and horlicks flavors were a bit too strong for my tastes, overpowering the milk tea. But the best thing about them is that they're P40 cheaper than their competitors. That and their flavor puts them way ahead in my book.


I was also able to finally try SereniTea. Their milk tea was similar to ZenTea's, but a bit lighter in flavor. They also have a big selection that makes it a bit daunting what to order. A bit pricey though.

Chatime has a branch on Wilson street, San Juan, right after PSBank. Their first one is on Laon-Laan Street in Banawe, Quezon City.
SereniTea is located on Laon Laan street in Quezon City. They also have outlets on Madison Street and Little Baguio in Greenhills.
ZenTea is located on Laon Laan street, right beside Chatime, in Quezon City.
Milk+Tea is located at the ground floor, Imperial Suites, Timog Circle, Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

Cookbook Kitchen

A couple of our friends hosted dinner at this quaint little place tucked in one of the small side streets of Mandaluyong. It has a cozy feel, and they also have al fresco dining when the weather is cool enough.


First up was the Parmesan herb fries. It's basically French fries with a healthy topping of Parmesan cheese. I suspect they used frozen fries though and it was not herb-y enough.


Italian Toast was up next. It was like a small pizza on bread. Tomato sauce, cheese and herbs on toasted bread. Light and mild.


Salad with chicken. The chicken slices were nicely roasted, and the vegetables were fresh to the taste.


Pasta al adobo. It's nice enough, a unique twist to the pasta dish. Mild, which was good since the adobo wasn't overpowering.


Allo Cheka (or something to that extent). My sister is vegetarian, so we had to get another dish that didn't have meat. This was nice, with a healthy dollop of mozarella cheese mixed into the pasta.


Parmesan crusted white fish. Cream dory baked with Parmesan cheese on top. Pretty good, with the cheese giving the fish a flavorful kick. Not a fan of cream dory though.


Gen's Steak. Tenderloin steak cooked in eight herbs. The meat was tender but I'm sure my mom would have trouble eating it (therefore not tender enough). Nice with a strong rosemary flavor. However, since the rosemary was strong, we didn't notice the other seven herbs.


Lastly, the Temecula Ribs. Pork ribs in their special barbeque sauce. Soft and tasty. However, it's not something I'd order again (RUB's come to mind).

Cookbook Kitchen is located at Socorro Fernandez, the street perpendicular to Luna Mencias in Mandaluyong city. They also have a branch on Macarthur Highway in San Fernando, Pampanga and another at the ground floor of Eastwood Mall in Eastwood City.

Subic Eats

In Subic Bay, we went to Tequila Joe's for dinner. Didn't they have branches in Manila? I sort of remember one in Libis a few years back.

This one has a nice ambiance, with the waitresses wearing cowboy hats to give it a western feel. The odd thing was that they have a stage for live bands however according to our server that it has only been used once. The menu features family meals, with their bestsellers being the ribs. We weren't that hungry so we settled on sandwiches.

I ordered the hickory smoked pork. It came with a side of coleslaw and fries. The pork sandwich was a bit bland, needing additional BBQ sauce (readily available in squeeze bottle). They recommend spreading the coleslaw on the sandwich but the slaw taste just gets lost in the pork. The fries were very good though. If I wasn't so full from an earlier meal I might have considered another order of fries.

Their 1/3 lbs burger. With the way my friend was eating it, it looked good. I should have ordered this.

The beef sandwich. Good enough from what I tasted. Not my type though.


For breakfast we went to Xtremely Xpresso. I'm not a breakfast person which led me to just ordering waffles with blueberries.


...and it was disappointing. The waffles were thick and the blueberries tasted like they came straight from a can.


The pancakes with blueberries.


If I was really hungry i would have ordered the Filipino breakfast instead. Garlic rice, egg, longganisa, tapa, and tocino.

The redeeming meal from Xtremely Xpresso was their pizza. I know, I know, with the lousy breakfast I had, why would I ever think of coming back to this place? I was assured by my friends that their pizza was really good. So on our return trip to Subic we found ourselves back in Xtremely Xpresso. And they were right! It was a 22"-24" thin crust pizza, with just the right amount of firmness. Topped with helpings of sausages, olives, bell peppers, and cheese, this baby hit the spot.

Lunch was at Bunker Bob's. Its main attraction is eating inside a real American bunker. No windows, no cellphone signal, good thing they have wi-fi.


Their bestseller was the Bunker Bob pizza, so we ordered that. It has chunks of sausage on a 10" thin crust. It was surprisingly good! (But this was before eating the pizza at Xtremely Xpresso).


We also ordered the Banderios -- skewered shrimp, vegetables, and cheese with olive oil. Good as finger food.

Situated in an American bunker, we were assuming the food would be more American, with a majority of sandwiches and shakes. However, the majority of the menu was comprised of Italian dishes, sprinkled with a couple of Spanish and Mexican for good measure. (After looking them up online, turns out that they really set out to serve Italian, Spanish, and Mexican dishes).

Another turn-off was their use of monobloc tables and chairs. Those items stood out as they clashed with the existing wooden furniture.

Tequila Joe's is located on Waterfront Road, SBFZ.
Xtremely Xpresso Cafe is at #1 Dewey Avenue cor. Sta Rita Street, SBFZ
Bunker Bob's can be found at Ilanin Forest, Nav Mag, SBFZ. (It's a good 10 minute drive to get there from Dewey Avenue, on the way to Ocean Adventure)

Golden Leaf

We decided to try a recent addition to the Chinese cuisine scene. Golden Leaf is a small place in relation to other lauriat restaurants. At least they have valet parking.

As we sat at an unoccupied table, we were served hot tea and an appetizer that consisted of spicy fried lumpia wrapper bits -- a welcome departure to the usual peanuts.

We ordered Hakaw (shrimp dumplings) as the starter. Pretty decent.

Next up was Po Lan Cai -- stir-fried Chinese kangkong in garlic. Good color and good flavor.

We had stir-fried Bamboo shells with ginger and mushrooms, which wasn't on the menu. It has a strong ginger flavor with a bit of a kick.

Our main course was the Hongkong chicken. White chicken pieces interspersed with salted ham and shitake mushrooms. At first bite it was salty, but then we figured out that the chicken, ham and mushroom were to be eaten at the same time. The saltiness of the ham blended well with the mushroom, enhancing the flavor of the chicken. Surprisingly good and gets better after each bite.

When we paid the bill, we noticed there was a small charge for these disposable napkins. We didn't use them so we returned them. It was their take on the hot towels usually handed out at these establishments.

The ambiance notwithstanding, the food we ate at Golden Leaf was decent, with the Hongkong chicken meriting a return trip.

Golden Leaf is located at Don Chino Roces Avenue in Quezon City.

RUB

Last Saturday we ate at RUB. We just had to try their Baby Back Ribs.

The beef dish we ordered (can't remember the name!) came ahead. It was tender and the gravy dip was delicious!

The baby back ribs came so we attacked that next. The pork was good, the BBQ sauce sweet, which was a contrast to the beef we just ate. The side dish of spinach and mushrooms was excellent!

Still feeling hungry, we ordered the pulled pork sandwich. It was sweetish and the pork wasn't chewy.

Hawaiin Punch is on the menu! The brewed iced tea (from tea bags) that comes in a pitcher is a welcome change from the powdered variety.

Dining at RUB is a carnivore's delight, definitely meriting a return trip.

RUB is located at 64 Scout Rallos Street, Q.C., just off Tomas Morato.

Pages Deli

After trying to book a ticket to the last full show of Le Marquis at the French Film Festival at Shangri-La (which was unsuccessful), my friends and I trooped to Pages Deli for dinner. The menu items were a play on words on classic literature. However it escapes me what the names of the dishes we ordered were. This wasn't the first time this has happened (see my entry on Crisostomo). Note to self: jot down the names!

We settled on Aglio Olio pasta. Simple and tasty.

Next up was the salmon. My friend Kato told the waiter to only have it half-cooked, and it turned out good with the mustard sauce. The boiled vegetables, particularly the carrots, were over done and felt like mush.

The highlight of the evening was the Pizza Milano. It was a 10" thin crust pizza with thick sausage toppings (not the usual pepperoni slice). By the time we remembered to take a picture, there was only 1 slice left. That was how good it was.

For dessert we had the cheesecake and the apple crumble. The cheesecake was light but its flavor wasn't memorable. The apple crumble was good, with a lot of cinnamon and apples. Its crust was firm enough and the crumble was sweet.
Pages Deli is located at the ground floor of the Shangri-La Mall in Mandaluyong City.

Crisostomo

We decided to try Crisostomo, which boasts "turn of the century Filipino cuisine". With its wide selection we had a difficult time choosing from the very thick menu. Oddly, the drinks and desserts are apparently in a different menu. With the help of our waiter, we eventually chose the tinapa with salted egg as a starter, and crispy pata, beef morcon, dinuguan, and garlic rice for our main course.

Around 15 minutes later, all our food arrived at the same time, although my aunt noticed that it was just warm, not hot. Hungry, we sampled the tinapa with salted egg wrapped in lumpia wrapper. I was impressed by its flavor, although my mom found it too salty for her.

The beef morcon was decent; tender beef but the sauce is a bit thick and on the sweet side. Not outstanding as I've tasted better elsewhere.

The crispy pata was, as what was becoming a trend, not bad but not great either.

The dinuguan was better than the usual fare, wherein they used pork cuts instead of the standard innards. Again, I've tasted better (Nathaniel's comes to mind).

When we tried to order a cup of plain rice, however, the waiters seemed to not know where they were. Our waiter was busy at another table, so we tried to call another waiter. When finally somebody came to us, we asked why they didn't want to approach. He said it was because they first had to check whether an order wasn't served.

All in all, decent but could have been better.

Crisostomo is located at the Newport Mall at Resorts World Manila. They also have branches in Nuvali and Eastwood.