H Cuisine...a new favorite!

 Just the other day, we were dining at RUB. Then we saw this resto beside it. It advertized itself as "the Most Awesome Angus Beef Belly". Hmmmm ....mayabang?! Sige nga masubukan!

The opportunity came the following day when I needed to bring two friends for a belated birthday treat.

Big Raspberry iced tea php 78

I got the BIG raspberry iced tea. To show how big this is, I took a photo of it with a regular glass of water. It tasted like regular iced tea with raspberry flavor.

Asian chicken Salad php 178

Our first order was the Asian chicken salad. This made me a believer! A perfect salad (if such dish exists!) The greens were crisp, the fried wonton wrappers and fried noodles added the crunch, the peach slices provided a sweet, slightly tart contrast. The accompanying vinaigrette complimented it perfectly. Just the right balance of sweetness and sourness. Yum!

most awesome beef belly solo php 288

Next came the Most Awesome Angus Beef Belly. The meat lover in me was doing cartwheels! The beef was super tender. Although I have to admit, the gravy made the dish really sing! The single order we got is actually good for two specially if you are ordering other dishes.

Osso Buco with grape relish  php 388

The Osso Buco is also to die for. Tender beef shank with intact marrow in thick tomato sauce served with a sides mof mixed veggies and super creamy mashed potato. I can feel my arteries clogging and my hips growing as I partake in this gastronomic delight.

menu

 menu

the bill

We are so full that we have no more room for dessert. For that sumptuous meal. it came down to just above a thousand pesos. And I got to take home half of that wonderful Osso Buco. Will I be back? Definitely yes!







H- Cuisine
64 Scout Rallos, QC
Its the first street after the scout circle, sandwiched between RUB and Serenitea.

RUB....Ribs and more in QC!

64 Scout Rallos, QC

Its Sunday. The family routine is usually Mass at 9am, followed by my rounds (if I have to), errands (if any) and then lunch.



I have been wanting to try a ribs place in Pasig. I was delighted to find out that they have a branch near Tomas Morato in QC. So this carnivorous family trooped to Scout Rallos where RUB is located.
The place is a bit small and can barely accommodate 50 people.






The most difficult part was deciding what to order. Finally we settled on the Family Brunch sized Ribs with three sides, 2 orders of rice and a pitcher of their house blended tea.

Menu

house blend iced tea php 110

 The first to arrive at our table is the house blended iced tea. It tasted like regular iced tea except that orange juice was added.

family brunch ribs with three sides php 685

 The Family brunch ribs can serve 4 people. We chose garlic mashed potato, coleslaw and potato bacon salad as sides, The ribs were perfectly done (bone falling off tender) but it was a bit bland and needed the slightly spicy sweet barbeque sauce that it was served with.

garlic mashed potato 65

I loved the garlic mashed potato so much that I ordered extra!

She liked the ribs!

sarap to the bones!

Fried Oreos with vanilla ice cream php150

The fried oreos was the house best seller dessert so we opted for it. It was surprisingly good. The oreos were dipped into batter and fried, served warm with Vanilla ice cream. Its just overpowering sweet so one order was good for us four.











The bill came up to just a thousand for four people. Not bad considering we were full and sugary happy with the sweet dessert. We even had iced tea left overs and half of the extra mashed potato in a doggie bag. The verdict? Worth going back if you have a craving for American style ribs.

RUB
64 Scout Rallos , QC
Turn right at first street at Tomas Morato from Scout circle.

Pho bac, Stop over 2. Bonifacio Global. Taguig

The place was empty at 11am.

 It was an early work wednesday and first surgery of the day was at St. Luke's Global CARMI. Second surgery was unexpectedly cancelled so I found myself with about half an hour or so free to take my lunch before starting clinic at NKTI. I remembered there is a small Vietnamese resto across SLMC-Global and decided to try it.

Definitely I ordered my two favorite Vietnamese dishes, the fresh roll and pho (noodle soup). I chose mixed sea food. Service was quick (I was the lone customer at 11 am!) 

Fresh roll php 97

The fresh roll is the typical cold noodle shrimp roll. The basil was not over powering. It comes with a peanut sauce dip that complimented the fresh roll.

Mixed seafood noodle php 215

Before I could even finish the fresh roll, the mixed seafood noodles arrived . It was a bit bland, specially after I have slurped half of the delicious broth. Oh, there at the table were the condiments of chili, hot sauce and bean sauce! A dollop of the bean sauce and a tiny drop of the hot sauce solved the problem.





Hay, after that big bowl of noodles, I wanted to rest and sleep....But duty calls!

Condiments: Chili sauce, Bean sauce, Green chili slices

Josh and Jean Burgers

Belfast Ave. inside FilOil gas station

 One time on my way home from CHMC clinic, I passed by a Filgas station and saw a newly opened burger joint. I promised myself to try it and last Saturday with my friend Anna, we went out and tried the burger.



The place is literally on the gas station and there are no air conditioning. Dining is alfresco but Anna and I joked that its more of pinausukan (pinausukan ng jeep, bus, motorcycle and kotse). hehehehe.

alfresco dining

The menu as you can see is very limited. there are only two burger choices: Regular ( one patty) and Choice (Double patties). They have only two pasta: Spaghetti with meatballs and palabok.  There are no side dish (french fries, onion rings etc..) choices and there are only two softdrink options.
We decided on the choice burgers and palabok (after being told that spaghetti and meatballs was not available). 

Choice burger php 75

The burger as advertized was all beef. The patties were respectable in size and two of these makes it a good meaty burger. The only drawback is that the burgers were a bit dry. The  lean meat and fat ratio needs to be tweaked a bit more. 

 

That's me biting into the burger

The cheese is one of those tasteless pasteurized artificial sheets you get from the grocery store. I requested them to make my burger without the ketchup so I can truly taste the meat.




I thought they forgot the shrimp sauce when they gave me the palabok . Apparently they ran out of eggs and it was the only thing that was missing. well, this is not exactly an appetizing plate. However, it was not as bad as it looks. The noodles were of good quality and done just right. Though it did not have a sauce it was tasty. Still I would label this a pancit malabon rather than palabok. 

pancit palabok php 45

The verdict: Not so bad. The burger was tasty but a bit dry. I prefer this over nearby fast food joint burgers. And the price is reasonable compared to them. They should increase burger selection by adding extras like sides and different cheeses. As to the palabok, lets just say its the last time I will order that! If ever I get the burger craving, this is so near my place that I would not mind going there again.

Kebabers SM Fairview

 It was election day and I was pretty excited to go to the polls. But Word got to me that my name was no longer in the list. To vent my frustration, this disenfranchised  voter decided to go some retail therapy in the nearest SM---in Fairview!

On the way to hypermart, we passed by a newly opened kebab place. Hmm... this looks mighty familiar...aha, this is the kebab place along katipunan! Since yours truly loves kebabs, we decided to try this place out.

Their menu is flashed on a bright signboard over the counter. 

Then they give you a big plastic thingy that will light up once your order is ready.

Cheese kebab 3pcs with rice php 125

 I decided to order their "special" : kebab stuffed with cheese. It was kinda ok but if you are a true blue kebab lover this is a failure hands down. The rice was disappointing. Considering the price, I guess their market was geared towards university students . After all, their first store is across ateneo and miriam.

Ground beef stuffed with cheese

 
Paul ordered the steak shawarma. Their twist is the addition of potato crisps to the shawarma. He said it was ok and i asked for a bite. The texture was interesting ( because of the Potato crisps) . The chili garlic yogurt added much needed taste.

steak shawarma php 88

As extras we ordered fried jalapeno stuffed with chesse. Hmmm....this is mexican , not middle eastern fare. May identity crisis ang resto na ito.











Verdict: their product is definitely geared for the student market. It is cheap and you get exactly what you pay for. Was it that bad? Not so much. But if you want authentic mid east cuisine, this place will surely be a let down.

Ulo-ulo in Maginhawa

It was a day before my birthday that I got a craving for Ulo-ulo. Yes, that ubiquitous fish head soup cooked in a sour broth (sinigang for short). I used to eat this near VMMC but I saw a place across Cafe quezon and with my VMMC residents in tow, decided to try this out.

Val gamely posing in front of the place

The garage converted into the ordering and display counter

The place is a bit big, a house converted to a resto. They applied screens all over the dining area which effectively kept pesky flies out.

Tinumok or Pinangat

Siningang ulo0ulo (Salmon) Not malangsa and soured with kalamansi

adobong kalabaw

The food was lutong-bahay good. Not much ambiance and service can be disappointing. The best part was the price. For seven people we ordered 10 servings of rice, 2 servings @ of Ulo-ulo, adobong kalabaw and pinangat; 3 servings of lechon kawali and two 1.5L of Mountain dew. The  total bill did not even reach a thousand pesos!

St. Alp's Katipunan

It was another sunday, and after attending mass, we were looking for a place to eat. Since we were near katipunan, we decided to look for a place to eat in Regis Bldg across Meriam and Ateneo. Initially we wanted to go to Mom and Tina's but as we passed St Alps we thought, hmmmm....why not try this place?

st. Alp's counter

The ambiance is warm and inviting. there were few diners in the place. You have to go to the counter to place your order. The staff was friendly and accommodating.  Unfortunately, those were the only positive thing in the place. The food which should be the best part of dining there was a total let down.

Daing na Bangus php 185

Ok, so what could go wrong with this? Its supposed to be boneless but Paul found several fish bones. Plus the fish was a bit bland. We like our daing  na bangus to be on the vinegary side.

Taiwanese Chicken Soup php195

I asked which of the noodles were non-spicy for my daughter and they told me to order this. Initially it was not spicy but as the soup cooled down it  became spicy. Why? I found two red chili slices in it!










Buti na lang we separated her portion in her own bowl and it was free from the chili slices.

Minced Pork Php 195

This was sweet, spicy and forgettable.

Honey Glazed pork php 195

This initially looked promising. It tasted ok but it was a bit tough. Closer inspection showed there were uncooked inner pork portions. ewwww....

Raw inner pork portions.

black sesame milk tea--gritty.

What else there is to say except,we should have stuck with our original plan to eat elsewhere!