Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Tomato Kick

Tomato Kick originated in Maginhawa street then expanded to Katipunan Extension. They’re basically known for being an “inuman” place but surprisingly, they serve amazing food. They serve pasta, steaks, pizza and sizzling plates. I highly recommend trying their Nachos and Seafood Salpicao. I’ve heard good stuff about their steaks too, but I have yet to try one. Their pizzas are also delicious but they’re served per person. They serve cheap beers, and other cheap appetizers.


The place looks great, and artsy, but the parking lots are nowhere to be found. The place is almost the same size as the one in Teacher’s village, and can easily accommodate 20-30 people. The service is not the same as the original Tomato Kick, it’s a bit slower, but since they’re only starting out, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. Overall, TK is a good place to chill with friends especially if you’re into OPM kind of music which they almost always play. I’ve heard that the owner of TK is actually from a band called Moonstar 88. Not sure though. Nevertheless, I recommend TK for those who are looking for midnight treats and a couple of beers.
Service: 3/5
Ambience: 4/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Quality of food: 4/5
Quantity of food: 4/5
Budget: 150-200 (depends if you’re ordering drinks)

Uncle Moe's


Uncle Moe’s is another Persian restaurant located in Ortigas. It’s also known for being an “inuman” place which also serves good Persian food. It’s not as cheap as Ababu and you don’t get the same bottomless drink that Ababu serves. But their food is a lot better. I recommend you try their kebab rice, and chicken rice. Their ox brain is a little too sour for my taste buds and I prefer Ababu’s ox brain. This place can really be packed especially on Fridays and Weekends. The place is really as simple as it gets, it has a smoking and non-smoking area. A good spot is the one at the back overlooking Julia Vargas. The beers are averagely priced, and the food costs around 150-200. It’s a good barkada place after work or school and has a chill and quiet feel to it.



Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Value for Money: 4/5
Quality of food: 4/5
Quantity of food: 4/5
Budget: 150-200 (depends if you’re ordering drinks)

Sandy's Pizza

Sandy’s Pizza is an up and coming Pizza Restaurant that can easily match Shakey’s, Yellowcab, and Pizza Hut. They serve great pizza, and a wide variety of flavors including Tocino pizza, Tuyo pizza, and other Filipino Favorites. What I recommend to you guys is their White Pizza, you can never go wrong with ordering this one. The downside of Sandy’s Pizza is that their crust can get “makunat” after some time. Even if you re-heat it with an oven-toaster, it will be a little harder to bite. Their pizzas are a little cheaper than most leading pizza chains. An 18” pizza would cost around 400-500 depending on which flavors you choose. You can select up to 4 different flavors which makes Sandy’s pizza a lot more customizable than other pizzas. Sandy’s Pizza is a good “deliver-to-home” type of food. Pizzas are really more enjoyable when watching something at home like a game, a movie, or something. Overall, I think Sandy’s pizza is the most budget friendly pizza out there while still keeping in mind the quality and taste.

Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Quality of food: 4/5
Quantity of food: 5/5

Budget: 400-500 pesos (per 18” pizza)

Stone Grill


Stone Grill is a fine dining restaurant located in Eastwood. They serve the best Wagyu Steaks in the country! Although the steak is expensive, it would be great if you can try it at least once in your lifetime. The Steak is as soft as you can imagine it and once you’ve tried it, you wouldn’t want to try any other steak. A normal sized steak costs around 1800 pesos and can be shared between 2 people (considering the other one doesn’t eat as much). They also serve pasta, fish, and other fine dishes. For 1800 pesos, you get soup, vegetables, potatoes, other side dishes, and of course, your Wagyu Steak. The place looks really first class with all the dimly lighted lights, good interior decorations, and the service is really first class. Hands down, the best steak place in the country!

Service: 5/5
Ambience: 5/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Quality of food: 5/5
Quantity of food: 5/5
Budget: 1800-2500 pesos

Monday, November 29, 2010

Tong Yang

Tong Yang has a promo of letting you in for 400 pesos during lunch time. It’s a cook all you can, eat all you cook type of restaurant which serves A LOT of different food. They serve a lot of seafood, vegetables, pork, beef, chicken and the drinks are already included in the 400 pesos. They also serve desserts like halo halo, ice cream, cake, leche flan, etc. It really is worth is for 400 pesos. The only challenge is that you’ll have to cook your own food. Some people might not be able to maximize this since not all of us can cook. It’s good to have someone that knows how to cook on the table to guide you. They also serve unlimited beer, so if you want to stay there the whole day, sure. During non-promo periods, they usually charge you 600 pesos, which in my opinion is still worth it. They have the best Yang Chow fried rice by the way. The restaurant looks good and the only problem is the smoke that comes from the frying and from the soup. Can get a little crowded if all tables are taken.


Service: 5/5
Ambience: 5/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Quality of food: 4/5 (depends on your cooking)
Quantity of food: 5/5
Budget: 400-600 pesos

Don Henrico's


My friends and I usually drop by Don Henrico’s in Marcos Highway on their buffet nights. They serve buffets during Thursdays and Tuesdays for a little over 300 pesos. If you and your friends are looking for great buffalo wings, pizza, pasta, wedges, fried chicken, salad, etc. Don Henrico’s is the place to be. They quickly refill the buffet, serve bottomless drinks for an additional 50 pesos, and provide a good parking lot for the customers.
Before you drop by, make sure you have a lot of room in your stomach, avoid eating rice (although they serve good fried rice). Try mixing wedges with cheese and nachos, try different dressings on the salad. Overall, it’s a cheap buffet that can really fill you up. A couple of trip backs to the buffet table is only breakeven, try to eat a lot more.


Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Quality of food: 4/5
Quantity of food: 5/5
Budget: 350 pesos

Ride and Roll

Ride and Roll is a diner and a drinking place as well. They serve Pizza, pasta, burger, rice meals, etc. But the best dish they serve is their Jalapeño cheese sticks. They have good prices for their food and the beer. It’s a very relaxing place if you’re looking for a chill day. They have bands during the weekends. I recommend trying their chicken burger, jalapeños, adobo flakes, etc. Ride and Roll is a known for being an “inuman” but then once you get to try their food, it’s amazing as well. If you’re looking for a little bad for the health food, you should also check out their Chicharong bulaklak (I recommend this one with rice, yes, rice.).
Ambience is good, with all the art works posted, parking lot is good, nice smoking area at the back. Overall, Ride and Roll is my favorite “inuman” especially those who are looking for a quiet place to chill with their friends.
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Value for Money: 4/5
Quality of food: 4/5
Quantity of food: 3/5

Budget: 200-250 pesos (depends on the number of beer you drink)

Charlie’s

I heard that the owner of Charlie’s and Ristras is the same, they also operate in the same way. Self-service, pay when you order, grab your drink from the fridge, etc. Charlie’s is a burger place located in Kapitolyo and now also grilling in San Juan. They serve different kinds of food from burgers, to wings, to fish and chips, etc. I recommend trying their Black Angus Burger, Buffalo Wings, and Fish and Chips. Before they used to serve Duck Fat Fries, which are really good, however ever since, they were always unavailable. The Charlie’s in Kapitolyo is a little crowded since it’s located beside a carwash (Literally beside, you can actually get wet from all the car washing around). However, the one in San Juan is a little more spacious. Looking for a Parking space is really hard since Charlie’s is always crowded. They also serve delicious desserts like Key lime pie, etc.
Overall, Charlie’s is a good place for a barkada to go to. Especially since they also serve imported beer like Corona, etc.

Service: 4/5
Ambience: 3/5
Value for Money: 4/5
Quality of food: 5/5
Quantity of food: 4/5

Budget: 200-400 pesos

Ristras

Ristras is a new Mexican place located in San Juan (I heard there is another in the Fort) that serves your usual Mexican food like burritos, tacos, quesadillas, etc. I recommend that you try Chimichangas or Quesadillas but they do cost a lot since they serve a lot. The budget for a person is around 350 pesos ++. Although it’s good, I think it’s overpriced especially to students and non-working people. There are other Mexican restaurants which price their food a lot lower however Ristras really is known for the quality and quantity of food. If you have around 500 pesos to spare, why not try going to this place, I’m sure you’d have a good time.
They also have a Burrito challenge. They call it the “Godzilla” burrito in which you have to finish in an hour and a half. If you don’t you’d have to pay around 1500. It weighs around 3 pounds and would take a starving person to finish.
The place is great, a little crowded, but the parking spaces are good. They also have a smoking area outside and Serenitea is located just in front of Ristras if you’re looking for that milk tea treat.


Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Quality of food: 4/5
Quantity of food: 5/5
Budget: 350-500 pesos

Pares Mami House

Pares is like your usual carinderia that serves cheap food. They serve great Mami, Pares, and chicken. Their chicken is very identical to Max’s fried chicken for the cheap price of 70 pesos. They also serve crispy pata for 270 as compared to Dencio’s, Gerry’s which are priced at 400++ pesos. They serve a wide variety of food as well. They serve siomai, rilyenong bangus, etc. and a lot more. Pares is a very budget friendly place since most of their dishes are priced at 50 pesos.
The place is your usual Pares place, open air, counters, seats around 15 people at a time. They have a couple of Parking spaces. The people are friendly and would happily help you picking out a meal. Again, Pares is one of those “after inuman” friendly places.

Service: 5/5
Ambience: 3/5
Value for Money: 4/5
Quality of food: 3/5
Quantity of food: 4/5

Budget: 70 pesos

Boulevard Diner

Boulevard Diner is located near Ababu, along Xavierville Ave. It’s a new restaurant owned by Madz Talaue and serves a wide variety of Burgers, wings, and fries. It’s very student friendly since it’s located just below a dormitory. They serve 1/3 pound patties which are way larger that Jollibee’s Champ (although Jollibee claims that it’s 1/3 pound as well, but it’s a lot different when you get to try Boulevard diner’s) along with fries and a drink for a little over 200 pesos. I recommend their Gorgonzola Burger, which is drenched with a special sauce and amazing cheese.
The place is a little small but can actually fit 20 people with a little room to move. They have an LCD tv, and nice air conditioning. It’s actually a good place to study given that they provide free wifi for students. I’m looking forward to a delivery service soon since I really enjoyed their burger. It’s a level up from Wham! , Crave, and other burger places. You should try their Wings (try Death) as well and their Moo shakes. Overall, Boulevard Diner is a new place for students to hang out and dine at the comfort of being very close to school.

Service: 5/5
Ambience: 5/5
Value for Money: 4/5
Quality of food: 4/5
Quantity of food: 4/5
Budget: 150-250 pesos

Chicken Inato

Chicken Inato is your usual inasal type of chicken. They also give you the luxury of having unlimited rice for an 88 peso meal. It’s quite cheap and the chicken is way better compared to Jollibee’s newly purchased Mang Inasal. Chicken inato serves their chicken within 12 minutes or else it’s free. Unfortunately, I haven’ gotten a free chicken yet. It’s either the breast part or the thigh part that Chicken Inato serves, but they also have other Filipino dishes like Bulalo, sisig, etc but their specialty is of course, chicken. They also give you the choice of sweet, spicy, or regular chicken, which for me is a huge step ahead of Mang Inasal. I recommend you try the spicy one since it’s the best seller. It’s a good combination of spicy, sweet, with a little chicken oil for those of you looking to drift away from your usual inasal.


The place actually looks great, they have big tables, a couple of LCD televisions around and the service is very efficient. They have several waiters carrying around a huge bucket or rice ready to refill customers as soon as possible. They have smoking area on the second floor which can also be used as an “inuman”. Overall, Chicken Inato is a different kind of restaurant compared to Mang Inasal. The chicken is way better, and it gives you a non-fast food feeling.

Service: 5/5
Ambience: 5/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Quality of food: 4/5
Quantity of food: 4/5
Budget: 100-200 pesos

Ababu Katipunan

Ababu is well known to students from Ateneo and UP. Since they started in Maginhawa street in Teacher’s Village, a lot of UP students are familiar with Ababu. Their main dishes are of course, Shawarma, kebabs, Ox brain, etc. What makes Ababu different from Persian restaurants is their cheap prices and bottomless drinks. A meal would cost around 100 pesos that comes with rice, vegetables (corn, tomatoes, onion) and your choice of bottomless drinks. Also, I would recommend you try their Ox Brain, put a little salt and pepper and enjoy the 40 peso treat.
The place is an open-air area with a lot of monobloc chairs and tables. Something you’d expect from paying as little as 100 pesos for a very “busog”-ish meal. I’d recommend dropping by Ababu after your usual drinking sessions with friends or after playing basketball. For my friends and I, it’s become a ritual to drop by Ababu after playing ball since it easily fills you up at a low price of just 100 pesos.

Service: 3/5
Ambience: 2/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Quality of food: 3/5
Quantity of food: 4/5

Budget: 100-150 pesos

Wok Dis Way

Wok Dis Way is a well-known student’s restaurant in Katipunan. They serve different kinds of dishes at an affordable price. It’s located beside Shakey’s and in front of Kostka. I would recommend their Pinakbet for those veggie lovers out there and their Sisig (with egg) for those who are simply looking for delicious meals. Wok Dis Way is known for being a “tambayan” as well. You can see students from different schools hanging out in Wok. By offering an affordable price, Wok Dis Way is known for being a “default” choice for students when looking for some cheap thrills.

The place is neat and well organized. The lights and walls give a relaxing feeling to the customers and the waiters/waitresses are very friendly and easy to talk to. The only downside of Wok Dis Way is the availability of parking spaces. Overall, I recommend this restaurant for students who are tight in budget and are looking for cheap places to eat at.

Service: 5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Value for Money: 5/5
Quality of food: 4/5
Quantity of food: 4/5
Budget: 100-200 pesos

Causeway Libis



Causeway Libis is a good restaurant if you’re craving for Chinese food and some fine dining. I would recommend ordering from the trolley which serves several kinds of dumplings from Pork Siomai, Hakao and Shark’s fin to other dishes like Chicken feet and Spareribs with Tausi. When it comes to the main dishes, nothing beats their Sweet and Sour Pork. The pork is deep fried and then drenched in the Sweet and Sour sauce making it crispy and juicy at the same time. You should also try their Crispy Seafood Noodles if you’re looking for something different.

As for the place, Causeway Libis is simply decorated and the lay-out for the tables really maximized the space they had. I would recommend dropping by during the afternoon since they are always full during lunch and dinner. They also have promos at night lowering their dumplings to around 50 per order as compared to the normal prices of 70-80. It’s always fun to drop by around 9pm after having drinks with friends to enjoy dumplings and especially Chicken feet. Causeway Libis is a classic restaurant for those who are craving for Chinese food. You can’t go wrong with Causeway.

Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Value for Money: 3/5
Quality of food: 5/5
Quantity of food: 4/5
Budget: 300-500 pesos