What better way to get a bit of sun

and a taste of what Bonifacio Global City has to offer?

Take a stroll with Ivan Man Dy at the BGC Passionfest. 

1^st Stop

Desserts Come First at Cupcakes by Sonja | Miss Desserts

Fascinatingly, the first pit stop of the food walk leaves a sweet taste in the mouth.  It was Cupcakes by Sonja, side by side with Miss Desserts shop.  Both lovely little dessert stores offered sweet pinchers, introducing ample sugar in our system to get the group going that Saturday afternoon.

As the name implies, the strength of the first dessert shop café lies on its variety of delicious cupcakes created by Ms. Sonja Ocampo, who studied culinary in New York.

On the Tables

Choco Cream Pie

Rich luscious Belgian chocolate cream in OREO crust and topped with mouthful of whipped cream and sprinkled with OREO bits

Red Velvet Vixen

Traditional Southern cupcake made with Belgian cocoa and cream cheese icing

Melt-in-your-Mouth Flourless Chocolate Cupcake

Dense Valrhona flourless chocolate with rich velvety texture dissolved in your mouth with pure sublime flavor

Vanilla Sunshine

A classic and fluffy yellow cupcake topped with either vanilla or chocolate buttercream

Chocoalte Overload

Rich, moist Valrhona chocolate cupcake filled with creamy ganache and topped with velvety chocolate cream

Miss Desserts Photos

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First leg of the tour and my camera battery ran out.  Good thing middle of the next stop, Fritz lent me his extra point and shoot camera.  Fritz, you’re my Food Walk hero.

Cupcakes by Sonja | Miss Desserts

1C03 Serendra Piazza,

Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

(632) 856 0308

2^nd Stop

Going Vietnamese at Zao

Zao was one of the Serendra restaurants I first visited.  I took Bubba out on a dinner date back in 2007, I think.  It was good to visit Zao again as I remember enjoying the meal we had here.  Zao serves Vietnamese dishes at very reasonable prices.

Oh hi Judd! 🙂  Good to bump into ya

On the Table

Fried Spring Rolls PHP 195

8 pieces of lightly deep-fried golden spring rolls with lettuce served on the side to wrap it with.  The inside consists of pork, glass noodles, and mushroom

Fresh Spring Rolls PHP 175

Bite into spring with their freshest spring rolls with a speck of peanut butter dipping sauce.  Inside the transparent wraps are shrimps, pork, glass noodles, bean sprouts, and greens

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Pho with Meatball, Flank and Tendon

Phos, otherwise known as Vietnamese noodle soup, has their calming effect about them.  I love my pho with tasty meatballs, tender flank and fatty tendon

Zao Barbeque Platter PHP 495

A sample of their barbeque specialties that include grilled honey tenderloin, shrimps and chicken

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My Table Partners

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Zao Vietnamese Bistro

Unit 1C16 Serendra,

Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

(632) 856 2819

Just before we reached the 3rd destination, Ivan pointed out the different scene-scapes around Bonifacio Global City.  The group also stopped over at this point and clanked the big orange cylinders.

3^rd Stop

Diner Favorites at TGI Friday’s

Upon entering Friday’s, popular worldwide as the best American diner chain, I initially thought, “Ooh something smells good here.”  And you’re really in for a treat as TGI Friday’s continue to serve traditional Western dishes and then some.

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The vibe is quite different from other uptight restaurants, as we all know it to serve us a casual, fun atmosphere where service is friendly and world-class. 

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The ever-interesting Ivan Man Dy

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There’s a buzz in the crowd that the place definitely influenced and the excitement grew when Ivan introduced the champion of the world bartending competition (hailing from the Philippines!!!) who displayed his bartending and shaking prowess. 

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The crowd gasped and cheered as bottles kept flying all over the place.  Quite an entertainment and that will be the day when I see Ivan Man Dy doing the bartending tricks himself in one of his tours 😉

Nachos with Salsa

A visit to Friday’s is never complete for us if we don’t get the Friday’s Three For All (PHP 610) –our definite favorite among the scrumptious appetizers they offer.

On the Table

A Different Platter

I wasn’t able to take down the name of the platter they served us but it contained the buffalo wings, which is the traditional New York-style (Buffalo) deep fried chicken wings marinated in spicy sauce, crispy and fresh celery sticks with tangy Bleu cheese dressing, Sesame Jack Chicken strips which are golden brown chicken breast strips, coated with crispy panko breadcrumbs and sesame seeds –newly introduced, and Parmesan-crusted chicken quesadilla –now who can go wrong with that?

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Blogging Pioneers (except the one in blue, me!)

Still retains to be on the top list of where to hang out with friends, colleagues or family while enjoying specialty drinks and mouthwatering appetizers and dishes.  Everyone could use more Friday’s.  No doubt. 

TGI Friday’s

Bonifacio High Street,

The Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

(632 )856 2996

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Congrats to Arpee and Noreen as new parents of an adopted cat 😉

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Inside Hobbes and Landes -a favorite hobby and toy store since it opened

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Spotted: Enjoying her frozen yogurt is Angel Aquino

4^th Stop

Yoh-Gurt Froz Brings an Afternoon Cool Delight

Frozen Yogurt treats that are 98-100% fat free, low calorie, no cholesterol, with prebiotics and probiotics, and taste delicious?  Impossible?  Yoh-gurt Froz makes it possible. 

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Yoh-gurt Froz Original is a combination of frozen fruits on top of frozen yogurt that fuses the natural flavors of the selected fruit/s and the frozen tangy-sweet yogurt.  Get refreshed as when you’re eating ice cream and still enjoy the health benefits of downing a yogurt with Yog-gurt Froz.

Bubba stopped by a bit after shopping at GAP

But left before this photo with the group?

Yoh-Gurt Froz

(Inside Hobbes and Landes)

Bonifacio High Street,

Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

(632) 373 9651

5^th Stop

Get a Taste of Italy at Pasto Italian Café and Dessert Bar

If we’re craving for good Italian, Pasto is where Bubba and I are headed.  I think I’ve visited most of the Pasto branches, particularly the El Pueblo and Greenhills outlet and in Paseo Center when I was still working in Makati.  Interestingly, it’s my first time to visit their Fort branch and I know it’s been there for quite some time.  It was the 5^th stop in Ivan Man Dy’s BGC food walk.

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It is actually under the same watchful management of Zao.  Pasto, which means “meal” in Italian, started in 2001 as a place to get good, midrange Italian food.  Pasto’s signature 12-inch thin crust pizzas are freshly baked to perfection in their brick-fired ovens, which makes the taste all the more toasty and different than pizzas baked in regular ovens.

Bubba and I are both regulars in Pasto and our favorite is definitely their crostinis and dips, which is an original of Pasto’s.

On the Table

Crostini

Price depends on your option for dips: chicken pate, pomodoro salsa or creamy spinach

What Bubba and I love to do (which I think I have talked about in a previous post) is take one crunchy crostini and spread chicken pate generously on top as base, put pomodoro salsa next with a drop of the balsamic vinaigrette-olive oil, and a sprinkle of the parmesan cheese… voila, the best appetizer to whet your appetite.  Sometimes I even put a pinch of pepper and a drop of hot sauce for an extra kick.

Anton and Bong followed suit and all three of us snacked on the crostinis while talking about their Caramoan adventures.  At this point, I suddenly missed Bubba boo.

Pasta Genovese

Capellini with shrimps, arugula, pesto, and nuts in a tomato crème sauce

Pizza Di Carne

Tomato-based pizza with the “all-meat” toppings included like Italian sausage, smoked ham, and pepperoni

Pizza Bianca

Pesto-based pizza with assorted seafood

Vietnamese, American and then Italian… it’s like dropping on a food holiday in each of those countries.

Pasto Fort Branch

Fort Bonifacio, Taguig

(632) 884 1592

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The Last Stop Created a Lasting Memory

The Establishment

The Establishment is an elegant, contemporary lounge and bar restaurant that offers different sitting rooms, each laced in its own classy and urbane mood.  Step into the restaurant and be enthralled with the sophisticated designs, the black and white motif with silhouettes that endows the room with stylish mystery.

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Our group decked the lounge area called, The Hall, and the fluid wait staff served us a variety of luscious and delightful tapas.

On the Table

Tuna Belly Tataki with 9-Spice Aioli

Seared sashimi grade tuna, mixed greens, tobiko, crispy scallion

Crispy Beef Potstickers

Deep fried beef potstickers with citron sesame chili glaze

Baked Blue Corn Tortilla Chips with Wasabi Cheese Dip

Wasabi cheese, US Angus Beef bits, Tomato Salsa

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Beef Miso Zuke

Marinated grilled US beef tenderloin lemon miso sauce

Chicken Katsu with Lemon Chili Sauce

Breaded chicken cutlets with citron onion sauce

Cream Dory Katsu with Honey Wasabi and Tonkatsu Sauce

Breaded cream dory fish with red cabbage salad

The tour ended on a high note as The Establishment was truly a banquet for the visual, gastronomy, and lounge encounter certainly like no other.  It is definitely changing the Manila scene and taking it to a whole new “global” level with impressive service, delectable cuisine offerings and massive sophisticated interiors.

The Establishment

Unit A, The Fort Entertainment Complex,

26^th Street corner 5^th Avenue,

Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

(632) 844 6364

Many thanks to BGC team and Ivan Man Dy for the invitation to join the Passionfest Food Walk!  I truly enjoyed my Saturday afternoon getting more acquainted with Bonifacio Global City.  It is rightly a place for the passionate.

BGC Food Walk Photo Album

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