newly opened Archives - Between Bites - Bites of Food, Travel and Lifestyle

The True Mettle of Comfort Food at Kettle

November 26, 2013 by Janey

Routine brings us to welcome and dive into the unknown and take pleasure in the unfamiliar. That is precisely the reason I love traveling so much, a momentary or season-long escape, or else, hunt and enjoy varying degrees of adventure from around. Yet at the end of the day, most of us are creatures of comfort. I am and it is no less than true when it comes to food.

I find myself easing into the seat of Kettle at East Wing of Shangri-la Mall. Where many restaurants claim to dish out comfort food, only a few could push past asserting and make bold statements not out of their mouths but into yours.

On the Table

Oven Roasted Squash Soup P249

Shrimp salad, lemon oil, tarragon

Similar to how Anzani, one of my top 3 favorite Cebu restaurants, does it with a bit of flair, the actual soup gets poured from a small ceramic flask into a bowl. Roast squash suffused into the creamy liquid deliver that delightful slightly sweet taste with only a bit of tarragon scent swinging from time to time. In between the smooth creamy soup are munches of shrimp that texturally play with your tongue.

Clam Chowder P229

Served on sourdough bowl

Pork and Potato Strips P399

Crunchy pork belly and fresh potato strips, fried herbs, red onion, aioli

Like a hot woman in a tight fitting dress that shows off all the right curves who walks into a bar with long sexy strides, this appetizer cum perfect beer chow takes breaths away. It can also get you sinning all the time –with all the beer you want to guzzle down to partner this. I don’t mind getting punished with the consumption of this sin.

Fresh potato strips with webs of shaved parmesan are non-stop mouth poppers. Add to it the salty tones from the crisp pork belly that I also love nibbling and gyrate my incisors with until every whisper of fat excretes onto my wanting tongue. I realize then I was born to be bad.

Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen

May 9, 2013 by Janey

Although stores and shops are still sparse in the newly opened East Wing of Shangri-la Mall, its food landscape is starting to shape up. The well-lit spanking new hallways of the mall can easily usher you to check out the line of new restaurants. I’ve tried two in this part of Shang and another one last Sunday after attending the 4pm Service taking on an unscheduled dinner invite.

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Balboa, East Wing

Wrong Ramen Makes it Right

Nomama Artisan Ramen

Kichitora of Tokyo

After scouring 2 levels and eliminating Shabu Shabu, Sushi and Filipino restaurants, we finally settled to have something light and not heavy that evening. Ramen was the choice and I was sort of craving for it. That brings us to the door of Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen, which had a line outside. Good thing we just needed a table for two and there was one ready for us.

The interior of Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen is quite an eyeful, heavily designed with wood panels marked with Japanese characters. I don’t know if space-functionality is compromised but it certainly gives a bona fide Japanese feel with all the lighting fixture and wood element.

Specializing in Ramen, the menu is quite limited but centers mainly on ramen offerings. Soup flavors come in different categories mainly: shio ramen (salt flavored soup), shoyu ramen (soy sauce flavored soup), tonkotsu ramen (pork bone based creamy soup), and miso ramen (miso flavored soup).

On the Table

Gyoza P150

6 pieces of Japanese potstickers, a great starter or side dish for the bowls of ramen. Bite into the tasty dumpling filled with minced pork and chives, dip lightly in the gyoza sauce it comes with and pop the whole thing in your mouth and enjoy the outside crunch intermingled with the soft filling inside.

Miso Tonkotsu P380

Tonkotsu-based soup with very rich pork broth specially blended with quality miso paste. It comes with green onion, bamboo shoots and 2 slices of pork chasu. I smell the waft coming from the bowl and I know I am in for a treat. The warm broth was comforting yet had spikes of unexpectedness, like it is familiar but I am still surprised.

The bamboo shoots add a crunch while the half / soft boiled egg (P50) I ordered on the side attached softness and some creaminess. The slice of roasted pork is tender but lacked the taste of roast but the flavorful orange broth brings everything in.

Balboa in East Wing Shang

April 12, 2013 by Janey

Last Tuesday, I watched Croods at Powerplant Mall. The mall at Rockwell has always been a favorite mall of mine and I enjoy watching movies there. Their seats are comfortable and feel clean and well-vacuumed. It’s not overly crowded, it feels homey and easy. I’ve been watching movies there lately again. Shangri-la Plaza comes close second. And I like it due to proximity and almost the same things I like about Rockwell. I like it even better now with the addition of its newly opened East Wing.

Last night, another random invite got me watching Olympus Has Fallen in Shang Cineplex. I liked the trailer and after watching it, I loved the action-packed edge-of-your-seat movie.

This movie upped Gerard Butler’s hot-o-meter again! 🙂

If only, he wasn’t such a ladies man in real life.

Damaso Residencia, A Private Kitchen by Chef Bambi Sy Gobio

September 18, 2012 by Janey

Last August, Bubba and I headed out to hunt down a Swiss chalet-type of house somewhere in Greenhills. If you pay attention closely right after La Salle Greenhills, the red roof and green shutters are hard to miss despite the tall brown gate.

Bubba and I arrived first ahead of the others and were welcomed to a waiting-slash-reading room that looked like it was a setting taken out of the movie, “The King’s Speech.”

It felt so English except that the server asked what drinks we wanted and asked politely if we’d like to try their Tubig ni Maria. Curiosity didn’t kill the foodie and we found out that it is actually cucumber water lazed with ginger and lemon. I obliged since I barely drink colas or anything else –it’s an interesting take which still retained the purity and lightness of water.

If you’re familiar with Restaurante Pia Y Damaso, the restaurant that started that whole theme of Spanish-Filipino era from interiors to menu, the original concept was from Chef Bambi Sy Gobio. The Damaso restaurant in Greenbelt 5 took Filipino cuisine to a new light with her at the helm. Chef Bambi further opens your palate with scrumptious dishes taken from her family recipes at her lovely home. Damaso Residencia, is the newest private kitchen to open its doors to discerning foodies.

If you are celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, family occasions and in need of a venue for group gatherings, Damaso Residencia is a good option to hold a private dinner at. That evening, the spread was centered on Chef Bambi’s famous Roasted Turkey with Chorizo Stuffing.

The guests started piling up in the sitting room. The air was busy with talks of latest food discoveries while everyone munched on bite-size corn muffins and chicken skin served on a tier of silver platter.

After a short while, we gathered inside the dining area which was an elegant setting fit for a happy family ready to partake in a feast.

On the Table

Split Pea Soup

The warm soup of split pea felt comforting since it was raining that day. It’s in the shade of greyish green color that has a grainy composition that gives it texture.

Baked Fish

Of course, the roasted turkey is but lonely with the accompaniment of other viands like the baked fish. The sauce was delicious and combines ingredients of lemon, wine, caramelized onions, garlic and tomatoes.

Creamy Mashed Potato

Smooth smashed potato perfect alternative starch for “trying hard non-rice eaters” like me. The no-rice diet like most of my diets only lasted a day.

Roasted Turkey with Chorizo Stuffing

The star of the show comes out eliciting hushed enthusiasm from the crowd. It’s fairly-sized for our party’s number but Chef Gobio has bigger turkey sizes for bigger groups. After giving the turkey dirty looks, and snapping shots for food pornography, the server then starts to willfully glide the sharp knife across the breast part for easy serving.

He also places the chorizo stuffing and other vegetables neatly on the serving plate. With the hefty weight, turkey has the tendency to be dry, but these thinly sliced turkey meat were incredibly moist and tender than expected.

Miss B’s Tuckshop

September 5, 2011 by Janey

Last Thursday after Worship Night at VCF and somewhat while stalking Pacquiao (we didn’t catch him), we found ourselves grabbing late dinner at Miss B’s Tuckshop. Miss B’s Tuckshop stands on where Gino’s Eats and Beats used to along Jupiter Street.

The unfinished and quirky interior gives a laidback and fun diner feel from the pastel-colored tables and chairs, blackboard, and bare finish ceiling. In UK, tuck shop is a small, food-selling retailer.

Couple Nicole Oropesa and Aaron Lau opened Miss B’s Tuckshop offering simple dishes inspired by American comfort food and basic French techniques. They make everything from scratch while keying their own concept into the plate.

On the Table

Roasted Marshmallows Milkshake PHP 180

Miss B’s Tuckshop boasts of interesting milkshakes like Red Velvet and Peanut Butter and Jelly. The wait staff said that this is vanilla milkshake with roasted marshmallows, we picked this one since we love vanilla and it seems to be the safest bet.

It came in a tall glass with blue straw and visible roasted marshmallows on top. Bubba found the milkshake on the salty side and threw him off a bit as he was expecting taste of vanilla and milky sweetness. Later on, he found out (from who we believe was Aaron who was behind the cashier) that the white liquid was pure marshmallows and not vanilla (I guess the wait staff had the wrong info). We learned that they even make their own marshmallows and this can come out really sweet so they had to contrast it with salt. So that explains it.

Potato Dauphines PHP 65

The menu is diverse but very limited, even the side orders. I was intrigued by the potato dauphines plainly because of the name. It’s basically like a croquette with potato mash inside. Good to snack on.

Fish and Chips PHP 240

The fish and chips entrée is one of Miss B’s house specialties. The golden brown batter is fried to perfection keeping the fish meat delicately intact inside. The fish tasted fresh and light and a beautiful contrast to the slightly crunchy encasing. It’s a little under-seasoned but nothing the malt vinegar cannot fix. The homemade potato chips were also a delight to eat.

Boeuf Bourguignon and Frites PHP 420

This was Bubba’s order and it reminded me of Julie and Julia movie and how Julia pronounced “Boeuf Bourguignon.” Bubba and I both think the bourguignon was the queen of that night. The French beef stew was teeming with flavor and the beef was fork-tender. It had all the right elements going –the beef, carrots, mushroom, and potatoes soaking in that savory beefy sauce it was poached in.

Papa John’s Pizza in Manila

December 22, 2010 by Janey

Last Thursday, Richard, Irene, Bubba and I set out for lunch and decided to check out the newly opened Papa John’s Pizza located at Robinson’s Galleria recently opened Veranda section.

Papa John’s Pizza is a US-based pizza chain serving meals featuring mainly pizza, pasta and soup. It supposedly owns or franchises approximately 3,200 restaurants worldwide that makes Papa John’s Pizza a well established International franchise restaurant chain from USA and the 3rd largest pizza company in the world.

Now it has come to Manila and is part of its 171 restaurants in Asia. The first branch in Galleria can probably sit 40-50 people but the tables are too close to each other for comfort. I would have preferred better spacing in terms of the chairs and tables so there’s more room to move around.

Papa John’s pizza chain believes that it’s better to make a pizza using fresh dough and superior quality ingredients than just focusing on cooking technique while in the kitchen. Thus it’s tagline, “Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.”

On the Table

Potato Wedges PHP 90

The Potato wedges were not seasoned well but Bubba and I finished it anyway while waiting for our food to arrive.

Chicken and Mushroom Calzone PHP 160

Irene spotted this and it was pretty good. Calzones are like Italian turnovers or pizzas folded together in a crescent-shape. This hot-off-the-oven calzone is stuffed with mushroom and chicken and served with fresh marinara sauce on the side. Its dough is soft and chewy and cooked evenly.

Chicken Wings PHP 169

The chicken wings were surprisingly and delightfully juicy. I found the price expensive though for 4 actual pieces (total of 2 whole wings only) of plump wings.

Baked Italian Meatballs PHP 140

When the plate arrived on our table, our foursome gave each other a look. The meatballs looked so tiny amidst its serving plate. However, I really liked the bright colors of red from the tomatoes, yellow from the mozzarella cheese and brown from the meatballs displayed on the plate which produced an appetizing presentation of colors.

The meatballs, although small and can be eaten almost in one bite, are packed with flavor and I love the clean taste of the grounded meat against the refreshing sauce it is doused in.

Super Papa’s Pizza Medium 12” PHP 440

It was safe to order Super Papa’s since that was our first time and we wanted to try their “house specialty” (in other words, we were so hungry that menu was only quickly perused.) Super Papa’s Pizza had pepperoni, Italian sausage, chicken, olives, and bell peppers. They served whole Pepperoncini and garlic butter sauce on the side to add flavor.

Pepperoncini (Italian pepper) tastes mild with a slight heat and a hint of sweetness since it is usually pickled.

What I particularly liked about Papa John’s pizza is the chewy dough. The chewy dough was really soft and had this distinct flavor about them. I wonder how the reheat quality of Papa John’s Pizza is once you have leftovers. I hope it still stays as chewy as it is when it’s fresh out of the oven. It wasn’t a big worry since we didn’t have any leftovers.

The story behind Papa John is that owner John H. Schmatter at age 22 tore down the broom closet in his father’s tavern, sold his car and bought $1,600 worth of used restaurant equipment, and began delivering pizzas out of the back of the bar.

In 1984, Papa John officially opened its first pizza restaurant. Fast forward to 2010, you can actually have a taste of the famous US pizza brand in the Philippines.

Not that it has anything to do with the restaurant but I just want to say that I love the name. “Papa John” just strikes a warm place in my heart.

Papa John’s Pizza

Robinsons Galleria Veranda

EDSA cor. Ortigas Ave.,

Quezon City

Papa John’s Pizza Album

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