Beef + Scallops + Laing + Ostrich, The Mesa Way

Ahhh~ there's too much food loving in my beautiful city! Tonight, I've discovered another restaurant that unmercifully busted the doors of my digestive system and just had my intestines waving in sync and shouting "Allelujah!!" while grinding the delicious pieces of their food. 

Although I've come to pass by Mesa a million times and ignored the place a bazillion times over (usually there are too many costumers inside that i think there's no space left even for my midget body hehe), something about the place gives me this buzzy feeling (prolly because of the swarming costumers?) that had me eternally curious about their dishes, until we finally dined in last night.

We settled ourselves in this little hut-like table that made us feel we like were somewhere along the dark shores of a secluded beach (choz!). The glasses wherein they served the water were uniquely inspired by bamboo branches!

For our appetizer, we had Baked Scallops with Garlic Butter. It was the best baked scallops I've tried!!... Well, second best if I include my boyfriend's mom's baked tahong (100% no bias on this one. nope. hahaha!). The carneous scallops went so well with the creamy garlic butter! I kept my eye on this dish the whole time, until my boyfriend decided to be a hungry hellhound and ate the last few pieces I've been wanting to devour.

For the vegetable menu, we ordered Laing 2 Ways. To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of Laing, but tonight was an exception. I couldn't choose which one of the two versions (L-R: Laing with coconut cream; crispy Laing) were better, because both tasted SO good.

Drunken Ostrich. "It looks like chicken, but it tastes like beef!", True that. The meat was firm, with the natural sweetness of the accompanying mushrooms, herbs, sauce and spices.

Beef 2 Ways. Wow, oh, just. w.o.w. This one's my favorite among the rest. The moment I took a spoonful of this curry-like dish in my mouth, my tongue, my teeth, and my palates just died right here & there and quickly resurrected in an instant! The tenderness of the beef with the oh-so creamy coconut plus the right amount of spices had my eyeballs skip rolling on the river and straight to the ocean!

Thanks kuya JP for the treat! xo

Mesa Filipino Moderne

G/F SM Lanang

Davao City

Taweng's Batchoy: Sizzling Spaghetti

After a long ride in the busy streets of Tagum city, I finally got to visit the restaurant famous for their sizzling spaghetti!

Taweng's famous sizzing spaghetti! A must-try!

They're located at:

Jose Abad Santos street

Tagum city

Yuyu Cafe's Homemade Ice Cream: Cookie Butter + Mango Float

Mango Float

If I closed my eyes whilst eating this, I wouldn't have guessed this was ice cream (besides the obvious part that it is, in fact, ice cream lol). The sensational taste is as legit as the real mango float dessert!

Speculoos

Dee-lee-scious!! This is my current favorite (among the only two flavors of 6-8 flavors I've tried haha). Idek how they do this, but it's just as delicious as the real cookie butter  food paste! I mean, other shops who make homemade ice cream improvise the original flavors so much that the ice cream doesn't taste exactly as how they're supposed to. But this, wow. just wow. A big thumbs up for Yuyu Cafe!!

Just a little tip: Eat their ice creams as fast as you can because before you even decide to emote over the yummy-ness of one scoop, the ice cream's already melted! 

Munchtown's Munchtown Fries + EBTKS + Salisbury Steak

Boyf and I were just strolling around SM Lanang when we passed by into this beautifully designed diner. I saw costumers eating these deliciously-looking burgers and hotdog sandwiches that I thought I could actually feel my tummy worms wide awake and kicking, hopeful to be able to try what the diner has to offer. Munchtown Diner's menu dominated of burgers, hotdogs and fries, which was perfect for a casual weeknight date!

Munchtown Fries

 This basket of mouth-watering potatoes topped with beautifully mixed ingredients of "rock salt, black pepper, bacon bits, paprika, chili flakes, sour cream, dill and cream cheese" notched the top 1 spot on my top 10 list of favorite fries! Both crunchy and soft at the same time, Munchtown fries absolutely goes the extra mile.

E.B.T.K.S.

EBTKS = Everything But The Kitchen Sink - uh, i have no clue on what this means, maybe because this dish almost has every spice and flavor ("chunky meat sauce, cheese, jalapenos and caramelized onions on top of their special in-house hotdog") that correlate with each other that the kitchen sink is the only piece left? ew? haha. Anywaaay, this is really good! Spicy, sweet, and cheesy... this dish deserves a mouth-drooling wow!

Salisbury Steak with Mashed Potatoes

How can I even begin describing this fine piece of meat? Soft, chewy, flavorful... absolutely delicious! The  mashed potatoes was a great companion to the steak! The creamy gravy flowing through its vent added the N to the heaven-feels of this dish.

Cafe Andessa: Jalapeño Poppers + Taco Salad + Banana Turon à la mode

Jalapeño Poppers

These are the bomb!! Ground meat and other spices stuffed inside an empty (no seeds inside!) green pepper and rolled in lumpia wrappers, plus the grated cheese on top, this will surely be your new favorite!

For those who like it hot & spicy: This is not as hot & spicy as you think it is though, it's a good thing we have hot sauces walking around.

 

Taco Salad

Tomatoes, onions, ground meat, lettuce... just a typical salad, or so you think it is! This light appetizer jumps to the extra-ordinary level by adding chips and lots of cheese! The sauce that was an add-on to the salad made it much more flavorful.

Banana Turon à la mode

Banana and chocolate? A not so great combination just by hearing it, but wait 'till you taste it! This is a definite must-try! Plus, who doesn't love vanilla ice cream?

Homemade Blueberry Cheesecake

Homemade Blueberry Cheesecake by Ms. Camila Noelle Yamas

Small @ 240Php each

Large @ 680Php each

2 orders of Small @ 440Php

The creamiest blueberry cheesecake i've tasted so far (no bias lol)! The generous amount of delicious cream cheese in between the distinct mixed flavors of sweet, sour, and juicy blueberries on top and the rich biscuit base just makes it the best homemade blueberry cheesecake ever. lami-a lagi!

Order up! Have a creamy blueberry-filled Christmas! Dial her at 0922 860 6424

Tsuru's Volcano Roll + Baked Seafood Dynamite Roll

Volcano Roll: 

"A fiery roll of salmon, spicy onions, spicy oil and mayo fried to perfection and finished with two of Tsuru's special sauces."

I will never ever get enough of this one. Ever. The presentation itself is drool-worthy. The taste is first rate! I could feel the sexual tension between the spaces of my teeth at every grind of this one haha. Its freshness, sweetness, juiciness and the tinge of spice at every bite would justify why it's called "Volcano Roll".The combination of the flavors explode every time between the palate and lustful taste buds of my mouth!

Baked Seafood Dynamite Roll

"Maki topped with scallops, kani, spring onions and spicy dynamite sauce baked to perfection."

It was my first time trying this one! Every piece was savory, and the taste exceeded my expectations. Well... I maybe had a little "This looks reaaaally delicious this must really taste good" mindset the first second the dish was served on our table, ready to be guzzled by my greedy-for-maki appetite!

Tsuru

G/F Abreeza Mall

Davao City

Miko's Brew: Miko's Sandwich

It was my first time to order Miko's Sandwich from Miko's Brew last week. It was one morning where i was procrastinating on our rotational case study and my mind wasn't really working with nada glucose to munch on, so I decided that maybe a bite or more of one of Miko's Brew's specialties with the bonus of the place' lovely ambiance will cure my oh-I-only-have-a-few-hours-left-before-our-case-study-presentation-and-I-haven't-mastered-my-part-yet-and-Im awfully-procrastinating-this-isn't-working-!!!! kind of feeling.

Miko's Sandwich consisted of:

wheat bread

cucumber

lettuce

a layer of tuna mayonnaise

wheat bread

egg

a layer of chicken (Im not so sure~ I was so hungry whether it was chicken or tuna mayo I wouldn't care for hell anymore) mayonnaise

wheat bread

bacon slices

another layer of mayonnaise

 wheat bread

+ a handful of crunchy chips

I also tried their Chocolate Macadamia milk tea. It's a must try!

Miko's Brew

Chavez street

Davao City

Tori Grill's Japanese Experience: BBQ Style!

My love for Japanese cuisines just boomed from 100x to idk, maybe 99999x better?

Since Filipinos are known to commonly sear their dishes with a bit of charring here and there, Tori Grill's legit way of letting us experience affordable BBQ cuisines in Japanese style has got this city grilled up!

What I ordered:

Meal 6 which includes:

5 skewers of my choice + rice

I also ordered an additional bowl of miso soup, salad, and one glass of iced tea

Here is Meal 6!! What I liked about their presentation (aside from the fact that their barbeques looked so delicious I was actually sad the sticks were not edible), was that their rice had a dust of Tori Karaage (chicken bites) on top!

The 5 Skewers I ordered were:

(From top left to right, to bottom left to right)

Negima (chicken thigh with scallion)

Butabura (pork belly)

Tsukune (chicken meatballs)

Uzura bacon (quail egg wrapped with bacon)

Aspara Bacon (asparagus wrapped with bacon)- my favorite!!

Additional orders:

Torikawa (chicken skin)- my favorite!!

 Sunagimo (gizzard)

 What I loved about their BBQ was the taste of the seasoning was evident in every bite! Everything else was soft, juicy, and just plain delicious! I swear, while I was chewing I could just imagine closing my eyes and feel the sensation of the meat rolling through my teeth!

PS. The serving is quite smaller than you think, esp for barbeque bums like myself, but you can always order an additional plate or two!

Tori Grill

Quirino Avenue

Corner Gen. Luna street

Davao City

Fatski: Durian Mini Cheesecake

Just before my duty, my friend introduced me to try this place. As some of you may know already, based on my previous posts, I'm not much of a sweet tooth, but I guess I have finally grown a piece or two!

I ordered their Durian mini cheesecake as to-go because I had my graveyard shift in about an hour or thirty minutes. For 115P, I did not actually expect this to taste really really really good! Tbh, I wasn't sure what to order because everything looked so tempting, but I gave in to my guts (and for my love of Durian) to order this, and boy, my guts were right!

There is a right balance of the cheese's sweetness with the Durian's dominant taste, and the graham base below just made the whole thing soft with a bit of crunch at every bite.

They also sell lots of goodies and offer more cakes and desserts!

Fatski Sugarry Palace

Door 4 G/F

Seven O'3 Building

Tionko Avenue, Davao City

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts + Cadburry Chocolate

Yoohoo! Calling all chocolate lovers! Here it is! Another limited special feature launched by Krispy Kreme:

Cadbury's chocolates + Krispy kreme's dougnuts = what more could we possibly ask for? 

This is far by most delicious collaboration from Krispy Kreme and Cadbury, made especially for the chocolate aficionados! It's availability is only for a limited time though (starting from Sept. 10), because it was intentionally made in celebration for the International Chocolate Month. Haven't bagged one of these doughnuts yet? Hurry now to your nearest Krispy Kreme store!

Triple Chocolate

"Chocolate doughnut dipped in white and dark chocolate and topped with a dollop of Vanilla Kreme icing and crushed Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate."

Chocolate Mud Pie

"Chocolate doughnut with chocolate kreme filling, dipped in dark chocolate, and sprinkled with crushed Oreos and Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate."

Fruit and Nut

"Chocolate doughnut dipped in white chocolate and topped with chopped Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit and Nut."

Chocolate and Buscuit

"Chocolate doughnut with checkered chocolate ganache and topped with crushed graham crackers and Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate."

Visit Kripy Kreme here

Saging Repablik's Sisag + Spare Ribs with Banana BBQ Sauce

Feeling like you're about to drain, but couldn't afford to snooze off? What better way to cure drowsiness than to eat a Banana! Bananas are known to boost up one's energy levels, therefore eliminating any lethargic cell lulling our bodies to sleep. But, here's the catch! Saging Repablik has creatively incorporated this magical fruit into our cuisines!

What we ordered:

Spare Ribs with Banana BBQ Sauce (P245)

Sisag (P175)

Spare Ribs with Banana BBQ Sauce. Ooh, this one tasted inexplicably good! You have to try this! The meat was amazingly tender and succulent that I didn't think I needed my set of teeth to chew it!

Sisag (Sisig + Saging). This is my favorite dish in Saging Repablik. Trust me when I say that if you order this, you wouldn't want to share this with anybody else! Haha

What I've noticed was that their cuisines tasted sweeter than the usual generic blend of the flavors of how to usually prepare them. Spare Ribs and Sisig are two common dishes various restaurants serve, but with a mix of banana, the ample amount of sweetness had me craving for more!

SAGING REPABLIK

Tionko Ave. corner V. Mapa St.

Davao City

Easy to love comfort food: Cafe' Anabelle's!

Whoa! Imagine my surprise when I found this cute place inside the mall! The interior design of the place was exactly what I have planned my cafe in Restaurant Town / Bakery Town app to look like... if I had enough gold coins to spare. hehe

What we ordered:

Strawberry smoothie

Heart-shaped pancakes

Peanut butter and Jam Sandwich

Earl Grey Tea with a spoonful of honey

I think the cafe was having a soft-opening the day we chose dine in. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to capture the interior design of the place because there were quite a mob of customers ordering and dawdling around the place, with children running around as well (btw, the cafe has a mini corner for toddlers to play!!), but, surely, this dainty of a place satisfied our dainty appetites!

Truly, Cafe Anabelle lives up to its motto, "easy to love comfort food"!

CAFE ANABELLE'S
G/F Abreeza Mall
Davao City

Chocolate Marble Float by Ms. Irene Chris Acuña

Nothing but rich melted chocolate combined with thick cream and more

chocolate sprinkles compressed in a cute jar, with sweetness as its

dominant flavor, I can honestly say one is not enough.

The texture is not blant at all, plus its softness will have your taste buds

give something to lust about at night. This jar of oozing goodness is only

for 160P!!

contact Ms. Acuña at (0932) 853 9652

Cafe Tavera's famous "Dragon Balls"

This fine piece of best-selling dish is a must try when you visit Cafe Tavera!

ALSO TRY THEIR:

Salt & Pepper Spare Ribs

Shrimps cooked with Salted Eggs

 

PS. Thanks to ate Che for this treat!

Poopy Finals

Hey guys!! I've been busy with finals and all poopy academic stuff! Ill be back soon!! But here's a sneak peek of my tummy adventures :) xoxo Alex

FOOD BLOG: For the Love of Cupcakes!

What's more unique than eating a delicious Red Velvet cupcake in a glass jar? Here it is! The famous Red Velvet cupcake in a jar by Stephanie Chu: For the Love of Cupcakes!

I just remembered last Friday night that Mother's Day was coming up and I was a bit school-occupied so I had no time to go to the malls and cram on what to give for my Madam Alicia. Good thing online shopping came in handy and I accidentally tumbled on the lovely Ms. Chu and an uploaded photo of her red velvet cupcakes on my Facebook newsfeed.

I know, I know... no more troubles of guiltily throwing those wrappers with really cute designs wrapped on the mouthful red velvet cupcakes that are now probably having their roller coaster ride in your tummies! The jars could be recycled to however you want to use them and it's up to you if you could keep the stickers and use them for future use (on an artsy project, maybe?).

 I ordered four cupcakes and had the stickers personalized especially for Mother's day (Except one: I had to order one for myself! I mean look at these! Who could resist? I can't just give a jar to my mom and drool as she eats the cupcake! Or worse, steal the jar and have it all to myself and probably tell her she should stick to her no-sugar diet. Nope, I don't think I'm not that cruel............. or maybe I am.....

I had to spread the white creamy frosting on top to even out the sweetness on the top layer

The color contrast of the white frosting and the cake just makes it more visually gorgeous (as always for red velvet cakes) and the texture is fairly light. The sweetness of the cream is just right! The sponge has an ample density as well. Overall this is totally yummy!

Order up!! :)

Contact: 0932 849 2357

For the health-conscious: This cupcake has about less than 250 calories per serving.