六十九：Eat Good, Feel Good at FaBurrito Fresh Mexican Grill

Faburrito

People nowadays are becoming health conscious. It might be because of the alarming increase of overweight people in the world.

I, myself, is trying to be conscious of my body since I started gaining weight because I enjoy eating food.

Though there isn't any problem with eating as we all need to eat to live, it's a matter of what and how much we eat to maintain a healthy body.

When I think of Mexican Food, I actually think that it's packed of calories, fat and carbohydrates but hey, it's delicious.

I think that's the goal of FaBurrito, and it is to serve delicious food in a healthy way. 

Salad

When I was having my lunch with a friend, we decided to try something different and healthy since we were both trying to watch our weight.

FaBurrito just opened in Eastwood City and we both got curious.

To be honest, when we saw the menu, we thought it was quite expensive since the price range is around Php150-200+

We tried it anyway and chose the Build Your Own dish.

I chose the burrito set with Cajun chicken, jalapenos and mango vinaigrette since I like mangoes and spicy food. I also opted to add a lemon grass tea and a mango pannacotta for dessert.

My friend on the other hand chose the salad with Cajun chicken, mango salsa and garlic aioli.

Burrito, Pannacotta and Lemon Grass Tea.

When the food arrived, the salad looked really good and my burrito was quite small compared to, let's say, Army Navy's burrito.

The taste, it was good and it tasted... clean and healthy?

The lemon grass tea is also not sweet. It has very little sweetness and almost has no bitterness.

The pannacotta is quite different. It has a lot of grains in it. I think it's made of soy instead of dairy to make it healthier. It is also not sweet but has a lot of texture because of the grains which makes it interesting.

The burrito is actually good and tasty. Even though it was small, it was very filling. It tasted really fresh.

My friend's salad also tasted really good and she enjoyed it a lot.

I think because everything had less salt and sugar, the food in FaBurrito is less sinful and definitely healthier but still good though I won't recommend it to those who like really tasty food.

Everything is quite expensive but I think the price is reasonable.

Website: http://www.faburrito.com/

六十八：Merienda en Dulcinea

Due to the colonization of Spain in our country, us Filipinos have been accustomed to eating snacks during afternoon or what they call in Spanish, merienda.

The Spaniards also introduced us to tsokolate and desserts made of milk, flour, sugar and those that require baking or frying since our ancestors would have been eating only steamed rice cakes for merienda.

Now we have a lot of choices for our merienda not just rice cakes. Now we have pansit, banana cues, breads, even western snacks such as cakes, pasta, burgers etc.

Clockwise L-R: Sans Rival, Creme Brulee and Brownie.

One day my friend and I decided to eat merienda and we were craving for something sweet so we decided to go for some pastries from Dulcinea.

Dulcinea is a restaurant that serves Filipino-Spanish foods such as paella, tapa, adobo etc. They also serve other western foods like pasta and sandwiches. Besides savory foods, they are also known for their cakes and pastries especially their churros.

I've heard great reviews about their churros and since I haven't tasted it yet, we ordered a set of churros con chocolate.

We also ordered their dessert sampler which has 3 desserts in one plate.

Thick Chocolate

Churros is actually a deep fried dessert made of flour, eggs, milk and sugar and is very similar to a funnel cake.

My first taste of churros was when we were grocery shopping at S&R in Taguig. They sell bavarian cream filled churros for 35Php for a foot long and it was one of the best thing that I tasted. But it wasn't long before it all got wasted because I remember while I was slowly eating and enjoying my churros, someone bumped me and I accidentally dropped my churros on the floor and I was totally shocked and was thinking of the 5 second rule but of course, I know I should let go of my dear churros because it was already swarmed by bacteria the first nanosecond it touched the cement... so much for my first time.

Crispy Churros

Moving forward and back to the present time, an order of Dulcinea's churros con chocolate has 4 churros and 1 dipping chocolate sauce.

The churros are very crunchy and also oily but tastes good. The chocolate is really thick and smooth and matches the churros well.

What I didn't like with their churros is that it is very oily mainly because it is deep fried. It's not as if it's dripping in oil but it's like my taste buds and body can sense that the food is indeed rich in fat.

The rest of the desserts in the dessert platter which were the Sans Rival, Brownie and Creme Brulee were also good. The Creme Brulee is like our leche flan or pannacotta which is smooth, milky, creamy and sweet. The brownie was fudgy and the Sans Rival was full of cashew nuts, rich, crunchy, buttery and not overly sweet.

We enjoyed our merienda well and I would definitely try their other desserts and maybe their dishes next time.

Dulcinea has numerous branches especially in SM Malls such as MOA, Megamall and North Edsa. The one in Sta. Lucia Mall is at Phase 3 Ground floor near the escalator. Budget would be around 200-500 per person.

六十七：My Christmas 2014

My gingerbread cookies.

Christmas 2014 has just passed. 

Usually I bake Christmas cookies or iced gingerbread cookies during this time of the year like what is shown in the pictures but this year I didn't get to bake some because I had quite a lot of things to do.

That explains why I was not able to post since May of this year but I will be changing that. ^_^

Snowflake

When Christmas is near, it also means my birthday is near for I was born in December which explains my name.

I am proud of my name as it represents God and it has a beautiful meaning.

Oh Christmas Tree!

I also like this season because most people become nice, generous, kind and loving.

We forgive each other for our wrong doings.

We change for the better.

There is more Love to share during this season.

Snowman

I also like it because the weather is cold and it's really nice to sleep when it's cold.

I would wrap myself in a blanket and sleep for hours hugging my pillow. ^_^

Plaid

This year, I went to Sagada for the second time since last year for a vacation. It was cold and we had a lot of fun.

We went to the places that I didn't get to visit during my first time there.

We got to eat at restaurants that served fresh and delicious foods!

Christmas to me is also about being with the family.

My family was complete during Christmas Eve.

We had a lot of food! Pizza, fried chicken, grilled tuna, cheese puffs.

I also bought Mango Bravo Cake from Conti's together with my high school friends. ^_^

All you need is LOVE

The night before Christmas day, I meditated and thanked God for all the blessings he gave me.

I have a lot to be thankful for and the list grows and grows every year. ^_^

The following day, Christmas Day, my family went out and we went shopping and had dinner together,

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

I don't want to be a hypocrite and say I am not asking for anything for the coming days and the new year to come...

I am wishing for more happiness, abundance, good health, wisdom, patience, peace and protection.

And I am wishing it for myself, my family, my friends and everyone around me.

N for Nosey!

It's been another great Christmas Day for me and my family. 

I am happy we are all well and together.

All because of Him.

Thanks be to God!

六十六：BonChon Seafood Platter

I love BonChon!

BonChon is a Korean fast food chain famous for it's super crispy Korean style chicken.

Last year, BonChon opened their branch in Sta. Lucia Mall.

Korean style fried chicken based on the recipes that I searched are double fried that is why it is very crispy. It is also usually covered in a sweet, salty and most of the time spicy sauce. The sauce is usually a mix of sugar or molasses, garlic, soy sauce and chili paste.

I have tried BonChon's chicken before but I like their seafood dishes more and usually I order their fish and chips in spicy variant.

BonChon's Seafood Platter

They also have other seafood dishes like calamari and shrimps. If you really like seafood, they have the seafood platter which is 395Php and has 4 crispy shrimps (soy or spicy), calamari (pepper spiced) and 4 crispy fish (soy or spicy). It also comes with 2 dips for the calamari.

Seafood Platter 395Php

What I like most about BonChon is that when you order the food in spicy variant, it is indeed spicy with a hint of sweetness which I really like.

Crispy Shrimps

The shrimps have a thin very crispy shell outside and the spicy variant is sweet and spicy. The shrimps aren't that big but not that small either. I like how it looks, kind of like a caterpillar. LOL!

Calamari

The calamari also has a crispy coating and the squid is chewy but not rubbery. The calamari has a little pepper flavor and is not that salty and so it comes with their spicy mayo dip. The dip isn't actually that spicy but is somewhat sweet, tangy and a little spicy.

Crispy Fish

My favorite in BonChon is their crispy fish. The fish is very tender and flaky and the crust is really crispy. I also like it's flavor because it is sweet, salty and spicy.

Delicious brewed iced tea. 45Php.

Besides the food in BonChon, I also like their iced tea. It's not your typical powdered lemon flavored tea. It tastes like iced brewed tea with real citrus juice. I usually have it up sized because it tastes really good.

Besides the food, BonChon's ambience is also nice. It's theme color is mainly white and red with the white dominating, giving it a sanitary and spacious feel.

They also have walls that mimic wood and brick walls that gives it a warm effect and the frosted glass giving it a modern look.

If America has KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), Korea has their own KFC (Korean Fried Chicken), BonChon. I must say, I like both!

Website: http://www.bonchon.com.ph/

六十五：Fleur De Lys Patisserie and Cafe

My review is a late post as my friends and I ate at this restaurant last 2013.

When I was a kid, I used to watch Heny Sison's baking show, A Taste of Life which teaches viewers how to bake cakes and other pastries. Heny Sison is one of the famous pastry chefs in our country much like my relative Reggie Aspiras.

Heny Sison had a co host in her show, Jackie Ang Po, a Fil-Chi pastry chef and is the owner of the patisserie in Tomas Morato, Fleur De Lys.

Soda iced tea 48Php.

It was two of my friends' birthday that day and we decided to have dinner at Tomas Morato since one of them works at a hospital near the place. 

Usually, the two would celebrate at Pizza Hut but decided to go different that time so we can try other restaurants plus we were craving for sweets.

There were four of us and decided we order a dish and a cake for each of us and everyone decided to get the soda iced tea (48Php) for our drinks.

Cream Dory with almond Butter

One of us ordered Pan fried breaded cream dory. It came with rice and somewhat butter mixture on the side and slices of lime. The fish looked dry and a bit burnt on the sides but it tastes good and the butter was quite different. I forgot what kind of butter it was but it's not your ordinary butter. I think it's actually almond butter.

Beef Stroganoff

I ordered beef stroganoff (165Php). The sauce was a mixture of red and white pasta sauce with shreds of beef and topped with parmesan cheese. It also came with a bread with some herbs in it. I found the serving to be quite small and the pasta quite dry.

The two other dishes that we ordered were from their breakfast dishes list. I can't remember the names but one is the Tapa (145PhP) and the other one I cannot remember. Both came with garlic rice but the garlic is actually just sprinkled on top of the white rice. I was expecting it to be mixed in the rice and then fried.

In my opinion, the servings were all small and it didn't look appetizing at all. It wasn't bad but the food doesn't taste great also. Food was just okay.

As for the ambiance, the place isn't cozy. Chairs were silver painted and the tables were wood. The place doesn't look that clean either in my opinion. We were also the only customers during that time and it was 6:00PM on a weekday.

Moving on, since our main goal was to actually eat dessert, we went to check the cakes and the cakes and pastries actually look beautiful. They have unique names such as Fountain of Youth and Pocket Garden. Our attention were all taken by the Pavlova Picasso cake because of its colors but none of us ordered it because it was just meringue with cream and fruits and we wanted cake.

You have a lot to choose from. they have Several cheesecakes, chocolate cakes and pies.

Again they have unique names for their cakes and pies such as Nuts About You because its a pie filled with nuts and the Cheesecake by Request because you can choose the topping that you want for the basic cheesecake that you'll be ordering.

We've decided to order Venus, Autumn Leaves, Cheesecake by Request and The Majestic.

I ordered Autumn Leaves and it's a basic chocolate cake and you can choose strawberry or caramel for the sauce. I chose strawberry because caramel might be too sweet. The cake was okay, nothing special and the strawberry sauce was too tart for me. I didn't enjoy it nor did my friends.

Autumn Leaves Strawberry Sauce 98Php

One chose Cheesecake by Request with Blueberries on the side. The cake was dense and creamy and it was okay, not that delicious. Again, nothing special.

Cheesecake by Request Blueberry 108Php

The third was The Majestic which for me tastes good because it wasn't too sweet. It's layers of mousse, cake and fudge covered in chocolate ganache. It's like everything that is chocolate that you'd want in a cake.

The Majestic 108Php

The last one and the savior was Venus. It's a mini cake that tastes somewhat like a Tiramisu. It's sponge cake that is soaked in  coffee with chocolate mousse and cream then there is a thin sheet of dark chocolate around it. 

Venus 108Php

If it weren't for the Venus cake and The Majestic cake, I'd say we didn't enjoy a single food there.

The cakes

I'm not sure if it was just wrong timing but the whole experience eating there wasn't enjoyable but the servers were nice and the cakes were "just" okay. So everything was just an okay experience for me.

The facade.

I also would like to say that the lighting there is also not good especially when taking pictures as you can see on the pictures that I posted. I really had a hard time taking good picture of the food especially the cakes. I think the lights were too yellow or they weren't just placed right that I had to use flash which is what I hate when taking pictures with my camera.

For those interested, I think some people will still enjoy the cakes there. I really cannot recommend the food so just try the cakes and you might enjoy it.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fleur-De-Lys/

Address: 305 Tomas Morato Ave., 1103 Quezon City, Philippines

六十四：UCC Park Cafe

UCC Park Cafe has been near my work place for like 3 years already but it was just last year that I've tried eating there. I've heard food is good but is very expensive.

I've also heard that the cafe is actually from Japan and so the food is a fusion of Japanese and Western cuisines but is most famous for their coffee.

Based on my research, UCC stands for Ueshima Coffee Company and is actually a coffee manufacturer from Japan.

I like Japanese foods so I was sure I'd like the food there.

The first time that I decided to eat there was an epic failure. It happened when I was with a friend late night. We watched a musical event and I suggested we eat at UCC Park Cafe.

At first I thought I was lucky as my friend is a fan of the cafe and likes eating there with his colleagues at work and so we drove off to Taguig City where he lives and where there is a branch of UCC Park Cafe. Unfortunately, he doesn't remember the exact location and so we had to scour the place from Bonifacio High Street to McKinley. My feet got sore from walking and he had to pay twice for parking fees.

After about an hour searching, he remembered the location and when we got there, it was already close....

Unagi Rice Meal 409Php

My next attempt was a success. I was with another friend and she also likes Japanese cuisine. We were at Eastwood City and decided we want to eat Japanese food and so we went to UCC Park Cafe at the 1800 building. 

Typically, UCC's establishments are just coffee houses which serves mainly coffee, tea, cakes, pastries and the dishes are mostly for breakfast. UCC Park Cafe offers more dishes than the typical UCC Cafe.

Grilled Unagi on top of rice.

As expected, the prices are steep. The price ranges from 200+ to almost 400 pesos for a dish. 

They have a wide range of available dishes but of course most are Japanese such as ramen, curry and omurice dishes. They also serve Western dishes such as pastas, sausages and sandwiches and Filipino dishes such as our Si-Logs (sinangag at itlog/fried rice and egg) and the ever famous chicken adobo.

TanTan Men 399Php

Most of the time, when I eat at a Japanese restaurant, I would order ramen (Japanese noodles) because I believe it's the most Japanese dish in my opinion other than sushi.

TanTan Mian 399Php

That night I ordered their Tan tan men (399Php) or Tan Tan Mian in Chinese which is according to their menu is inspired by the Chinese Sichuan noodles which explains the Mian meaning noodles in Mandarin.

It's a spicy noodle dish with a Tonkotsu broth base with sesame paste topped with minced pork, scallions and eggs. The sesame paste gives it the creamy consistency and a nutty taste. It was very tasty and a bit spicy though I think the sesame paste is too overpowering. It's a bit too nutty for my taste but it is still delicious. 

UCC drinks (119Php)

My friend on the other hand ordered the Unagi Rice Plate (409Php). She is addicted to unagi which is grilled eel with a sweet soy sauce marinade. Unagi for me tastes like a very tender fish and is very delicious.

Pearl Milk Coffee 119Php

For our drinks, we tried their pearl drinks namely the Pearl Milk Tea and Pearl Milk Coffee. UCC is very famous for their coffee as they actually started as a coffee shop hence their name UCC Cafe but since we were going to eat warm dishes, we decided to have cold drinks and because the price of our dish is expensive already, adding coffee will be out of our budget.

Pearl Milk Tea 119Php

My friend ordered the Pearl Milk Tea and I tried the Pearl Milk Coffee (119Php each). The Milk Tea is very tasty. The balance between the tea and milk is just right. It wasn't too milky nor does the tea taste too strong. The Milk Coffee was served pousse cafe style (layered) where the milk settles at the bottom and the coffee floating on top.

I like coffee and the milk coffee was good. The coffee isn't too strong. Like the milk tea, it's just the right combination of coffee and milk. The pearls at the bottom also has the right chewiness, not too chewy nor too soft.

Japanese dinner at UCC Park Cafe Eastwood City

Overall, I liked the experience except for the fact that the food is too expensive. I would eat there again to try other food especially the coffee and pastries.

UCC Park Cafe in Eastwood is located at the ground floor of the 1800 building just in front of McDonald's.