Tower Burger

At Php 110 (US$ 2.75) each on a la carte or Php 140 (US$ 3.5) with fries and soda, the Tower Burger is the latest addition to the menu selection of KFC, otherwise known as Colonel Sander's house of chicken.

According to KFC's website, the Tower Burger is "layer after layer of so good while you enjoy an original recipe fillet, premium cheese, lettuce and mayo topped with a crunchy hash brown"

My initial reaction on the first couple of bites was that, this is just a regular chicken fillet sandwich with a hash brown squeezed in between the fillet and the bun! But as you delve deeper into the sandwich, the flavors begin to mash with one another creating a sandwich that you wouldn't mind eating another one of. That is, if you still have the appetite for it. (a friend of mine told me he could actually eat 3 of these!?!?!)

Should you stick to your regular beef burger then? The answer is actually up to you and your personal preference. But for me, this is to be my burger of choice for the moment...so good!

The Fireplace

I usually do not entertain the idea of having dinner unless it is to be with the company of very good friends or my dear cousins but, last night, we had to fulfill our acceptance of an invitation from our friends from Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila to dine at The Fireplace. Jay Serrano (Director of Sales) and Jeff Poon (scion of Maxim's Manila and Sales Manager for Travel) graciously invited us to sample their new scallop dishes and we could not say no (yes we could, but who turns away a free meal or two!)

The exterior of The Fireplace which kind of reminds me of some fancy steam train that one sees in Western flicks


The inner dining area.


A closer look at the open kitchen.


Simple yet elegantly set up table for a party of eight.


Menu with corresponding prices placed at the entrance of the restaurant. You might need to enlarge it a bit as the lighting was a little bit dim-ish to keep with the ambiance.

First of all, a short description of The Fireplace based on the hotel's website "Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila introduces the perfect spot for wining and dining – The Fireplace. This upscale grill room offering perfectly cooked prime meats and seafood showcasing culinary excellence and offers an interactive dining experience that is unique to Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila.

Be charmed by the elegant brass interiors and open kitchen concept, with its large wood-fired oven located in full view of the guests as the chefs prepare their dishes.

A fine wine library with a vast selection of European and New World wines is another attraction of The Fireplace, where a relaxed, sophisticated atmosphere, matched with excellent cuisine, provides a dining experience like no other."

One of the wine storage facilities/cooler that lined the side wall of the restaurant. This one contained a selection of champagnes.

Now on to the food that we partook of last night. For starters, I had half a serving of their Millionaire's Salad.

The salad included pan-fried foie gras, prawns, seared scallops, organic leaves and raspberry vignairette. Now why only half a serving? For one, a whole order may be too much for one person as you may still want to enjoy the other courses. Should you wish to order this salad, I would suggest for two people to share it. This is a fantastic salad and one of the highlights of the evening's meal if taken in moderation.
Price: Php 1400++ (US$ 32++)


Next came my soup which was Oven baked onion with gruyere cheese, or as my boss would say, is just a fancy name for French Onion Soup.

Beautifully presented, I could not help enjoying this familiar and tasteful soup. The gruyere cheese sticking to the outside of the bowl which was meant as an 'ornament' to enhance the look of the soup was so good that I could not help peeling it off and eating it with my soup. I could only finish 3/4 of the bowl and it felt like the bowl was bottomless!
Price: Php 430++ (US$ 10++)


Next came the main course and piece de resistance, Surf and Turf. It consists of a piece of US Prime Rib, Scallops and some veggies. This dish is actually part of the special Scallop menu at The Fireplace which will only have a limited run (until end fo June, if I'm not mistaken). Scallops are specially flown in from the USA.

The prime rib, served medium as I requested was soft and juicy and quite tasty. The scallops though, were not what I anticipated it to be. Being of Chinese heritage perhaps, I've been exposed to scallops at an early age and although not a food connoisseur, I can say that this has not been the best scallops I've ever tasted. Overall, the dish was good but not excellent.
Price: Php 2000++ (US$ 47++)


And the finale? A bowl filled with Chocolate Soup. Those infected with a sweet-tooth (like myself) will enjoy this dessert as it ultimately chocolate-y. I finished the whole bowl without getting any quesy feeling so it must really be good. The small scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle helped neutralize the chocolate overdose a bit.


All in all, I would say that The Fireplace is an enjoyable place to dine in specially if you have a lot of spare change to spend. They have a wide selection of steaks that would make any steak lover drool. Wine lovers will also be bombarded with a diverse list of wines from practically all wine-producing countries (France, Italy, Chile, Australia, US, etc). Value for money is good at The Fireplace so make your next romantic date at The Fireplace.

The Fireplace @ the 5th Floor
Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila
1588 Pedro Gil corner
M.H. del Pilar
Malate, Manila 1004
Philippines
Tel: (+63 2) 2451234
Website: www.manila.casino.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/entertainment/restaurants/index.jsp#9062005
Open only for dinner: 1800-2300H daily

The Rotisserie

Aren't there times that you wished you could just take a relaxing and un-hurried dinner with friends with the ambiance of a fine dining restaurant. I do! Which is why for my post birthday treat this year (my birthday is actually in February but we always wait for the group to be complete before we do any celebrations, thus, this dinner happened early part of May), I decided to introduce my friends to The Rotisserie.

According to The Rotisserie's press kit "Preserving a traditional exceptional food and service, Rotisserie is the home of Manila's Prime Rib of Roast Beef and Caesar Salad. Take a stroll down memory lane and reminisce the flair of the Old Manila through Rotiserrie's classic vintage setting"

The Rotisserie has been around for more than 30 years if my memory serves me right and this restaurant used to be THE restaurant to be seen. Nowadays, it seems as if the restaurant has lost all its glory and the young ones would not even be familiar with this restaurant.

Be prepared to spend a bit when you dine at The Rotisserie. Expect to spend at least Php 2,000 or US$ 46 per person, not including the drinks yet. I was fortunate to personally know the Food and Beverage Director as well as the Executive Chef of the hotel and I asked them to prepare a special menu for me and my friends at a very special price (hotel director's privilege which I was able to "borrow").

First off, we had the complimentary bread basket. Remember this is in a fine dining setting so we expected the food to be served one at a time and at a slow pace. It helped that there was an abundance of bread for us to help ourselves and satiate our hunger while waiting for each of the dishes to be presented.

Our soup came out next. Lobster Bisque it was. Very thick and tasty. You immediately know that this is no run-of-the-mill bisque.

The Caesar Salad which was tossed by the maitre d' at the salad tossing station (?). The dressing was perfect as was the generous topping of cheese and bacon bits.

My entree consisted of Roast Beef and Prawns. Now, The Rotisserie has always been known for its Roast Beef and this is where we would find out if the restaurant was able to maintain the perfect way of preparing this dish. I am usually not a fan of steaks or beef for that matter but since this is what the restaurant is famous for. I, of course, would not want to miss the chance of tasting it once again.

Certainly, the roast beef was excellent. Topped with the gravy, it was soft, chewy and delicious. The prawns were also very good and taking their shell off was a breeze. I was the only one presented with this combo dish (my friends were given the roast beef + sea bass combination) since I am allergic to fish.

My friends also enjoyed their roast beef serving. Unfortunately, the sea bass was a disappointment to all. The general consensus was that it was not fresh. A pity since it looked very appetizing.

Last came the dessert. Tiramisu with a side scoop of ice cream. Everyone sang praises for this light and tasteful end to our meal. I expected it to be mediocre but to my pleasant surprise, it was so good that I wanted a second serving.

All in all, it took us more than two hours to finish our meal. I also brought in a bottle of red wine (corkage waived upon my request) to compliment our roast beef. For special occasions, I would highly recommend this restaurant as it oozes of romance and Old World charm as they claim. The price as I mentioned earlier is hefty but in the end, your taste buds are satisfied as only a proper find dining restaurant can satisfy it.

The Rotisserie

3rd Floor, Manila Pavilion Hotel

U.N. Avenue, Ermita, Manila

1000 Philippines

Tel: (63 2) 5261212

Mon-Fri lunch: 1130H to 1500H

Mon-Sat dinner: 1830H to 2230H

Closed on Sundays

Hui Lau Shan

Dessert lovers who happen to pass by Hong Kong should not miss out on Hui Lau Shan. Touted as healthy dessert, most of its base fruit selection is mango. (My friend and I were actually kind of surprised that nobody in the Philippines thought of opening something like this specially since the Philippines is known for producing excellent mangoes as well as other tropical fruits! And Hong Kong doesn't even have an agricultural sector to speak of). Most of the branches, which are scattered around Hong Kong, are actually just food stands/stalls and have no tables to speak of. The one we visited though along Cameron Road in TST is located in a basement space and has a few tables for patrons to enjoy their dessert selection.

Anyway, I decided to order the mango dish with ice cream, tapioca and coconut milk sprinkled with (i forgot what kind of fruit that is!!!!...help! (it's called Pomelo...thanks Perks)). Cost about HKD 33 (Php 188.10)

My friend on the hand, ordered the platter. Cost about HKD 50 (Php 285)

I am undeniably born with a sweet tooth and although the above desserts are not as sweet as what I expected, it was totally good. I now understand why a lot of my friends and cousins always rave about Hui Lau Shan and their mango desserts.

Patio Guernica

If you're in the area of Mall of Asia and you suddenly have a craving for Spanish food, where do you go? Patio Guernica of course! I remember the original Guernica located at Remedios and they were quite popular for their Spanish cuisine (at par with Alda's, some say). But now, the old Guernica has long been closed (the original owner passed away and with his passing, the original Guernica also disappeared). Patio Guernica is now owned by the surviving partners of the original Guernica in Malate (this was the story told by the waiter when I asked him why the original Guernica has shut down).

A little background on Patio Guernica taken from their website:

If you are craving for authentic Spanish Cusine and a feel of the old Manila, then head on over to Patio Guernica for a genuine Spanish dining experience relieving a classic cusine for more than a half a century.

Since we wanted to taste some Paella and a fell of the Old Manila, we decided to spend the evening at Patio Guernica.

above picture courtesy of www.patio-guernica.com

above picture courtesy of www.patio-guernica.com

We started off with our complimentary bread roll or in this case it was pan de sal with a side of butter.

Not content with just one, I asked for an extra serving of bread and the waiter readily gave me one with an extra butter as well. My dinner companions were also provided an extra pan de sal and butter.

Since we wanted a simple meal, we jumped to our main course without ordering any soup or salad anymore.

We ordered the Con Carne Paella which is a meat infused paella. Its filled with ham, chorizo, chicken and beef. Its good for 3 to 4 persons and at a price of around Php 700 (US$ 15.90) per order, it is worth it.

The Lengua was also a delicious treat although at only 3 pieces, the cost of Php 350 (US$ 7.95) is a bit hefty in my opinion.

We ended our meal with an on-the-house Leche Flan. Why complimentary? Thanks to our good friend, Perks, who is the Mall Manager of Mall of Asia (it pays to dine with the right people sometimes hehe).

The Leche Flan is actually comprised of six slices which is good for 6 people but since we were gluttons, the 3 of us decided to finish it all (we didn't want to offend the restaurant!). The Leche Flan is very rich, ergo, definitely its very fattening.

All in all, we had a very good meal, albeit an extremely full one. We spend around Php 550 (US$ 12.50) per person and I would say i didn't mind at all.

Patio Guernica

2nd Floor, Entertainment Mall

SM Mall of Asia

Pasay City

Tel: (+63 2) 8040837

Website: http://www.patio-guernica.com/home.html

After my ocular inspection of Imperial Palace Waterpark, I was invited by my good friend Marie L. for lunch at their main dining outlet called Familia. Familia is where buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner is served 7 days a week.

Now, I've been to a lot of hotel coffee shops that serve buffet meals and honestly, when I hear of the word buffet, I automatically lose interest already. I'm beginning to think that all buffet meals taste the same. But, there's nothing wrong with trying out another restaurant as there might be some surprises hidden beneath.

The restaurant space is quite spacious, that's the first thing I noticed. Second is that the decor is a bit on the darker side meaning they used mostly dark wood which made the coffee shop seem to be darker that it actually is. Typical of any buffet spread, there are several food stations spread throughout the restaurant.

You have the Korean and Chinese section

Japanese section

Dessert section (my favorite in any buffet!)

You also have the carving/Italian section but there were usually too many people crowding around it that it was difficult to get a proper picture.

Majority of the diners were Koreans and I was told that they are mostly in the hotel on a day trip basis (buffet lunch comes with the day trip fee).

Since Korea is still on a winter school break, majority of the guests were families with a long string of children tagging along.

Now without further delay, here's what I had for lunch

The orange thingy on the upper right is actually one of my favorite Korean street food. Loved it when I tried it in Korea and still love it when they served it here at Familia. Although the street food version is hot. Its called Korean spicy TTeok Bo Kki.

The dimsum tasted good and I wanted to go back for more until I remembered the word 'gluttony'.

I wasn't supposed to eat the Mapo Tofu (a single number above the normally accepted uric acid level) but it just looked so inviting so I had a little bit and it was worth it although it could have been a little bit more spicy.

Talk about carbo loading. Noodles, pasta (below), rice, maki and pizza. I had to try everything coz they all looked so good.

Familia made me forget about my swearing off hotel buffet spreads. There were a lot of food choices but not too much that one would be overwhelmed.

I was supposed to stick to an (imaginary) diet during my trip to Cebu but then, when one is in Rome, do what the Romans do!

Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort & Spa

M.L. Quezon Highway

Brgy. Maribago

Lapu-lapu City, Cebu 6015

Tel (+63 32) 4945288

Website: www.imperialpalace-cebu.com

Origami

Normally when choosing a restaurant to dine in, we tend to avoid those that are empty of diners. We immediately conclude that the food or service might not be good, hence, no diners. So on the night that my cousin Allen wanted to treat us (rather belatedly but who's complaining) for dinner, we were scouting around the area of Greenbelt 5 in Makati and could not decide which restaurant to dine at. The first time we passed by Origami restaurant and we did not even consider going in since it was empty...as in not a single diner! As we have been scouting for a while already and everybody was hungry and tired, what the heck, why not give Origami a try (nobody has died anyway from eating in a not-good-food restaurant).

Origami (ori=folding, kami=paper) is, of course by the name itself, a Japanese restaurant. Im usually not a fan of Japanese restaurants since I am, honestly, fazed by what to order. Everything on the menu is unfamiliar to me even though I have eaten in numerous Japanese restaurants. Its just that I have to make sure that my companions would know what to order because definitely, i will be of no help when ordering food in a Japanese restaurant.

The interior is typical Japanese in the sense that its design is based on simple lines and feels uncluttered.

The restaurant is really not very big. Enough to make you fell cozy once you enter the air-conditioned section. They do have a sprinkling of outdoor tables should one insist on smoking cancer inducing cigarettes (ex smoker who has successfully quit and would be happy to live in a tobacco/cigarette free world)

Behind the bar/counter, you'll find these diagonal square designs that break the monotony of an all-white wall.

Now on to the food. For starters, we had:

California Maki

Sashimi

And, Unagi Rolls

I was only able to taste the California Maki and it was very good. Add to that that I was already very hungry so if I had a choice, I would have finished the entire Calimaki dish.

I didn't get to try the two other dishes since I am allergic to fish! But my cousins told me they were equally good as well.

Next, we ordered individually and I opted to have the Chicken Teriyaki Bento Box

The chicken teriyaki tasted good but I would have to say there was nothing exceptional about it. (perhaps we have been so used to eating at Teriyaki Boy)

One of my cousins ordered this beef dish and I managed to try a bit of it and it was quite tasty...I wouldn't mind ordering next time I dine at Origami.

For me, one of the most unappetizing dishes that one of my cousins ordered was the seafood curry with rice. For a not at all cheap restaurant, the presentation is indeed lacking. Taste wise, my cousin said it was just ok.

We also ended up sharing a plate of Tempura (shrimp). Sadly, it was not very delish.

Our bill came out to be around Php 3,600 (US$ 81.81) averaging around Php 720 (US$ 16.36) per person (with a round of drinks for everyone). Not exactly cheap if you ask me but at least we almost had the restaurant to ourselves (eventually 4 other people ate at the restaurant but they decided to sit at the smoking section). Service was quite good (I guess it should be since we were the only clients around hehehe). I wouldn't mind going back to Origami though, at least now I know what are the items that I need to order.

Origami Restaurant

Ground Floor

Greenbelt 5

Legaspi Street, Legaspi Village

Makati City

Tel: (+63 2) 5013815 or 5013817