kl:the counter

the counter is a burger joint. you basically customize your burger from the type of patty to the size, cheese, bread and fillings. surprisingly the sauce is served separately, as you can see in the picture below.  i find my onions too big and raw, i thought they were like caramelized onions. i ordered a brioche bun because i like my bread soft and rich. 

this is the sad part, my onion rings. i wish i just ordered fries or sweet potato fries which they did pretty well. surprisingly, in other reviews i saw the onion rings golden brown and crunchy not like this one. i guess we should have complained!

overall, it's still a great burger experience but the it comes with a hefty price tag as well.

the counter

pavilion mall

bukit bintang, kuala lumpur

todd english food hall

since i wasn't able to try it in nyc i was glad they opened up in manila.


the famous ferris wheel with cupcakes, it actually moves hehe. i like the ambiance of the place, very sleek and bright.

my iced tea, had to take a picture because it was so small haha and costs like almost a 100 i think. but hello this is todd english! haha.

greek salad - light and refreshing

vongole - lots of clams. pretty good.

burger - i don't know how it fares this was my dad's hehe. but the fries were lonely.

gyoza - the menu is quite odd or maybe because it's a food hall and they're supposed to serve all sorts of things. this is pan fried gyoza you can choose pan fried or steamed. we chose the one with curry it was suprisingly good.

flatbread pizza - nicely done. nothing to shout about though. my parents liked this because it's not cheesy.

surprisingly, todd's is quite affordable. though i'm the only one who had drinks and we got the senior citizen discount the amount we paid was comparable to the meal we had in mann hann, i was really surprised. so this can be a to go to place whenever in sm aura.

todd english food hall

sm aura

fireside by kettle

because we dunno where to eat c and i settled for another "kettle."

hot crab and artichoke dip. it was good not the usual cheesy spinach artichoke dip.

mac and cheese? oh gheez i can't remember haha. probably decent since i cannot remember anything about it.

because c loves meat, i dunno how she can keep her uber thin physique and yet eat meats and not veggies. well same as green pastures still fails in comparison with resto 101. the pork is not that tender and flavorful.

fireside by kettle

sm megamall fashion hall

kl: johnny rockets

i don't know how to begin with this post. but there's only one thing lingering in my head right now about johnny rockets...waste of calories!

johnny rockets

pavilion

kuala lumpur

kl: the daily grind

the daily grind is probably the first gourmet burger joint in kl, but it's leaning towards the higher end of the market so their prices are steeper compared to the more popular ones.  logically, we should have tried the regular burger but we couldn't resist the fancier ones.

burger waffle

softshell crab burger

the daily grind

bangsar village i

kuala lumpur

kl: red lobster

this is one of the chains i wanted to try during my last us vacay but failed to do so. i was so happy they opened up in kl. i was actually just in for the free cheddar bay biscuits which are good but a bit salty. everything was mediocre especially the almost overcooked pasta.

red lobster
the intermark
kuala lumpur

kl: kgb burgers

killer gourmet burgers is one of the forerunners during the burger boom. i like the fact that they have two ways in cooking their burgers (grilled or crust seared) and they have a variety of flavors for their fries. plus it's more accessible for me since they have a branch at my favorite mall.

kgb

the gardens, midvalley

kuala lumpur

kl: acme south

sooo happy a resto opened up that serves southern food. acme south didn't disappoint. the flavors were spot on.

acme south
bangsar village i

chuck's deli

the secret is with the bread...soft pillowy insides and a crusty outside. i tried one of the bestsellers, the buffy, it's buffalo chicken fillets. the flavors were spot on and they don't scrimp on the filling, it was really good. this was a half slab and it is more than enough. i think 1/4 is just right especially with the sides.

chuck's deli
eastwood mall

kettle

this was not our intended lunch spot but it was almost 2pm and we were famished i've read about kettle as well so i said we should give it a try.

first of all, this is one of those moments that i know the combination of our food is totally wrong but sometimes you just have to satiate ones cravings.

pork and potato strips. thinly sliced potatoes fried until crisp think piknik, the wider variety but thinner and more crisp plus chunks of lechon kawali, parmesan cheese and truffle oil? this is so wrong in so many levels. i thought i was gonna have a heart attack. i dunno, it's just too cloying/oily for me everything is fried!

buttermilk fried chicken, they are famous for this. but i am not impressed. the chicken was a bit overcooked see how dark it was or they used a super old batch of oil. either way i wasn't impressed. though the honey and gravy did actually work and they obliged with our request to change the corn bread to mashed potato which i think is more apt.

i dunno why i don't have a photo but we also ordered clam chowder! see how rich and mismatched our meal was? it was one those meh meals...i know we ordered the wrong food and i was a bit sick that day so my taste buds were a bit out of whack.

kettle
shangri-la east wing

pj: myburgerlab

so finally, i was able to try the infamous myburgerlab. i got a set which comes with fries and bottomless drink. my burger was a+ which has cheddar, caramelized onions and enoki mushrooms. but i received the a++ which has a parmesan crisp. i didn't complain anymore, the place was packed and the extra parmesan crisp wouldn't really matter.

the beef patty was bland. bland meaning there's no beefiness in the patty. i really don't know how to describe it but let' just say a quarter pounder is more beefy than their patty. and then i remembered how pale colored their patty was like as if it was 50% fat and 50% beef. maybe that was the reason, more fat makes it more "tender" and should add flavor but nothing beats the beefy goodness of meat. i tried the chicken version as well and i think it fared much better because you get a chicken breast fillet.

the fries, during the first visit was soggy and too cloying. they've put too much italian seasoning. the second visit, the fries were much better but still not crisp enough and the seasoning was a little less.

the portobello fries are good, better than the potato fries but i hope they don't go crazy on the seasoning as well. and for the dip, i think it needs more fine tuning. i actually couldn't figure out what flavors it tries to impart it's just a creamy sauce that's spicy. i like it because the spiciness cuts the cloying taste of the deeply fried foods but it ends there. probably better with just a spicy ketchup.

myburgerlab
14, jalan 21/22
seapark, petaling jaya

dc: five guys burgers and fries

five guys and fries were a bit under my radar since i've been seeing it on maps and posts about food finds in the east coast. then v and c talked about it and said it was like in and out. i've never been to in and out so i had nothing to compare it with.

luckily, there's a branch at the dulles airport. in terms of the patty this one tops shake shack. the patty was juicy and beefy, i guess that's what you'd expect from fresh ground beef. you can choose all the toppings you want and they are free.

i chose the standard condiments for my little cheeseburger, (little is one patty, regular serving is double patties) i added grilled onions as well. 

the bun was very soft and as i've said the patty was beefy and juicy, however, my burger was bland. i think they forgot to put salt. if they did it would have been perfect. and i also like my onions to be more soft and nearly caramelized.

i also opted to order fries, i've been noticing that their french fries bags indicate the source of the potatoes (saw it in other branches too) so i thought they must be good - natural, organic or handcut whichever they are. it was worth the calories! the fries were crispy and yet soft in the insides. the fries still have skins and it's fried in peanut oil so it's a tad healthier compared to others. the fries are more than the ones in the cup they actually spilled over inside the bag.

pardon the crappy photo, i was famished needed to eat asap.

five guys burgers and fries

multiple branches in the us

http://www.fiveguys.com/

dc: ihop stateside

so i have never been to ihop despite several visits to the us before and i haven't been to manila since it opened so it was really a must for me during this trip.

luckily v obliged to bring me to ihop for our sunday breakkie before going to mass. when we got there, there was a line! well not really a line but it was quite a wait. you need to request for a table and just wait for your name to be announced. c said, sundays are usually packed because families have their breakfast at ihop and yeah i can see that it was mostly families dining there.

there were so many choices i really couldn't pick one but since v ordered the healthy wheat blueberry pancakes i knew i don't have to order them i can just pick on her plate hehe.

so i just decided on the 3x3x3, 3 regular pancakes, 3 eggs over easy and 3 turkey bacon. as usual i kept complaining that the servings in the us are huge that's why people can't keep their diets! excuses! gheez i didn't realize there was a 2x2x2 why didn't i see that?

i had brewed coffee as well it was meh, they usually give a pot but it was so bland i'd rather have coffee from mcdo.

the various pancake syrup, i liked the blueberry if i remember correctly. surprisingly the fruit flavored ones don't taste too much like just artificial flavourings. the butter pecan which i was excited about tasted meh. and the maple, forget about it. well i'm actually spoiled because i do have authentic maple syrup at home so i've been used to the real thing for quite sometime now and nothing can top that.

there's really nothing special about ihop maybe except for the variety. but in terms of food quality, they can be had in similar places. if you ask me, i think i'm happy with pancake house's pancakes, they are lighter and fluffier not like ihop's which seems to be too crumbly so to speak.


ihop
rockville pike
rockville, maryland

dc: hill country barbeque market

when i saw a post from divasoria about hill country i was drooling. i wondered when will i get to try those mouthwatering meats. unfortunately, my nyc itinerary did not permit me to eat there. so it was a must for me in dc. 

i didn't know what to get. i've perused their online menu several times before but didn't decide on the final "configuration" of the meats i will order. though divasoria noted the jalapeño sausage i was trying to be healthy and gear away from processed meats. one thing i was sure of was to get the moist brisket, i eventually ended up getting a lunch special which has 2 ribs, cornbread and a side and then i ordered extra quarter pound of moist brisket. here's my meal.

not for the faint hearted or rather those avoiding a heart attack haha, too much meat! the moist brisket was perfect, a little salty for my taste but got fixed by some tangy bbq sauce. it was moist and tender and not fatty at all, basically looked like a lean brisket. the ribs on the other hand are a bit dry for me, it wasn't the meat falling off the bones bbq. and because of that, i really didn't finish the ribs :(.

for the sides, i only took a bite of the cornbread. that was it! i then regretted having to order the set because i wasn't too keen to try the cornbread especially since it didn't have great reviews. but the white shoepeg corn pudding which was ordinary for most, was love for me. i liked the slight kick, the spiciness if i'm not mistaken comes from jalapeño or some other chili, thick and creamy but with bits and pieces of corn.

i also had mexican coca-cola, it's coke in a bottle and still made with natural cane sugar so it was a little healthy ;).

hill country barbeque

410 7th St. NW near the corner of D St. NW

washington dc

http://www.hillcountryny.com/

nyc: applebee's

this was a meal by chance. i was supposed to have lunch at nobu and i didn't remember that it was closed on sundays. i was so disappointed. i just started to walk aimlessly towards gershwin theatre where i will watch wicked later on that day.

i was stumped! i knew benihana was nearby but i really didn't want to shell out atleast 30 USD for a meal i wasn't too keen to have. now that i am writing this i forgot that there was a nearby momofoku, darn!

i digress, so applebee's was by chance. but it's not like i was forced to eat there. i also had a goal of trying out these american chains that are not available in asia (applebees has a branch in singapore though) like olive garden and red lobster to name a few. anyway, i just walked in and had my lunch at applebee's.

sorry about the bad lighting, this was margarita queso chicken and shrimp. when i saw my plate i got a  bit apprehensive, the chicken breast looked a bit overcooked and dry. but i was wrong! it was still tender and juicy inside. the salsa, creamy avocado and cheese just made it more flavorful. this was a happy meal. i saw from the website that it was 9.99 but i think, i paid more for it. if i'm not mistaken resto chains in nyc charge more than the ones in other locations.



applebee's
7th and W 50th
new york, new york
http://www.applebees.com/

three restos on a christmas night

it's a christmas dinner with friends which ended up in three restos. first stop, wild flour.

freebie bread

mixed veggie tempura, light batter and a great selection of veggies including squash blossoms. bad thing? it was soooooo oily. we asked them to drain it out again and weren't sure if they did anything to remedy the oiliness. we didn't finish this one. i reckon it was cooked at the wrong temperature making it extremely oily....icky oily.

tarte flambe with gruyere, apple and arugula. it was good,  the three main ingredients complemented each other (i hate arugula but i still eat it plus b super loves it) you have salty, sweet and bitter. i just think that the crust was too thin or rather it was too wet to hold everything together.

roasted bone marrow, b and i always order bone marrow whenever it's on the menu. this was just alright. the mango salsa brightened up the oh so boring marrow. i think it still needs a minute or two under the broiler and more salt and pepper it was quite bland.

braised short rib. it was alright, it could have been more tender though. i liked it but b finds it a bit expensive. this was 700PHP ++ me thinks. so what do you think? was it over priced? 

we didn't make reservations so we were in such a hurry. we were only given about an hour to have dinner. the meal was ok, but i deem that the dishes could have been done much better. 

so because of that artery clogging meal, it was so apt to get some tea. we wanted to try da u de as well which was just next door. we perused the menu but there wasn't anything exciting for desserts so we just had tea. i forgot what we chose, it was a special blend of fruits. their wait staff needs to be trained more. we basically got nothing out of him so we just chose a flavor ourselves. 

the unique tea contraption...was wondering why we were served with clear plasticky looking cups which raised our eyebrows but then they brought out the tea pot which explained why the cups were such.

i liked the fruity tones of the tea no sugar needed or maybe we were just trying to be healthy because of that marrow and oily tempura from dinner. i hope they had more exciting pastries because if they had we would have stayed. 

still unable to satiate our palates and in dire need of something sweet, we walked further to bhs central.  slice was full, and b is not happy with the cake club so we just ended up in village tavern.

there was a bit of drama with that whole bistro card that b availed but i already blogged about that here.

we initially wanted to order two desserts, but we had the thai chicken salad first and because we were still full we had to cancel the other dessert and opt for just the carrot cake. doesn't it look oh so yummy. it was, actually, the carrot cake was very moist and warm. i was just disappointed because i thought it had cream cheese icing. the icing on this one was just too cloying for me. arrrgh! b and i always become victims of this supposed much raved about restos which always fall short of our expectations. i am not sure if it was just what we ordered or we just have such high expectations that we just get disappointed when it doesn't deliver up to par. 

because we weren't overjoyed with this christmas dinner. we followed it up with a chrismas lunch to make ourselves happy, i'll post that one next.

wildflour cafe

da u de tea lounge

g/f net lima bldg

4th ave cor 26th 

the fort, taguig

village tavern

bhs central

the fort, taguig