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

va bene pasta deli

i've wanted to try this place for the longest time, finally they opened up at a much accessible location.

some freebie tostini with some checca like sauce with parmesan.

arugula salad - loved the dressing and caramelized apples

polipo - the octopus is very tender but i think the dressing in the arugula salad would have been better on this one. the lemon dressing was too light and this needed a pop of flavor.

black ink tagliorini - where do i start? the first time they served this it was too salty and we only complained after sometime but they replaced it. my problem with this dish is the pasta. it's gummy and doughy at the same time. i cannot describe it. but given this is a fresh pasta i expect it to be smooth and with the right snap so to speak. i've made fresh pasta before and it should be comparable to the dried ones but much better. am i making any sense? basically i had issues with the texture of the pasta.

pappardelle? - i'm not a 100% sure but it looks like it. the pasta is much better the flavors are ok but the meat is not that tender should have the fall of the bone texture and this one wasn't.

i'm quite disappointed with the place. i know it was full and busy but the quality isn't really up to par. and to think this has great reviews.

va bene

central square building

bhs, bgc taguig

green pastures part deux

i love green pastures, if it's not that obvious here's another post from different outings.

finally got to try duck fries!!! after so many tries. love the crunchy duck skin bits haha. i wish the vinegar was more tart it would give a nice contrast.

i forgot what salad this was...look at the shavings of cheese =) though i am not a fan of the seeded tomatoes.

cauliflower rice with angus beef tapa is love.

another salad this one looks like it has feta and grapes perfect combination.

osso bucco tagliatelle...yummy.

oh well, cinnamon doesn't sit well with me and this dish is apple with cinnamon butter porkchops me thinks. this was rather tough, resto 101 still sets a high bar when it comes to porkchops.

green pastures

shangri-la plaza 

florence: trattoria zaza

i was looking forward to florence and was more excited with its culinary offerings....seems like there are more restos in florence and everything is within walking distance. i've read so many reviews about zaza and although it's very touristy, people vouched for their good food. and indeed, trattoria zaza didn't disappoint. we ate there twice, it could have been more if only there were nights we weren't lazy to walk.

spinach ricotta ravioli

this was awesome...the truffle scent was wafting and yet not overpowering. i super loved this dish. truth be told i got confused i was thinking that this ravioli was stuffed with meat... think tortellini so that it won't be cloying. i was so famished i was not thinking straight and ordered this ultra rich dish. you need something else to counteract the richness...that's what my parents' orders are for hehe.

pork dish

i forgot the name of this dish. it was good too. the pork loin was sooooo tender. the baked beans cooked in tomato sauce was reminiscent of canned pork and beans but was a couple of notches better. 

zaza's tuna spaghetti...i forgot the name again

this was a house special. you'd think it's so lame to order tuna spaghetti in italy, it's so "un-italian". but this was extraordinarily good. the herbs and spices just worked together. this was a nice contrast to my cloyingly rich truffle cream ravioli.

salad nicoise?

this was from our second outing, dunno why i ordered this. cannot remember if they have plain caesar which is what i should have gotten. there's nothing really special about this one it was so so.

fried zucchini flowers

i wish they were stuffed, i wanted them to be stuffed but they weren't. i just doused it with malt vinegar since it was bland. skip this.

bolognese

i always thought that our pinoy spaghetti translates to the bolognese, but i thought wrong - blame it on my asian and american experiences! this bolognese has a different flavor profile, i liked the mildness of the italian herbs and it doesn't have that distinct tomato flavor, this totally redefined bolognese for me, it is not just plain red meat sauce.

bistecca fiorentina

this was a must! i couldn't leave florence without trying bistecca fiorentina. a traditional bistecca fiorentina is the t-bone from the chianina or maremmana breed which are more expensive. this one is a different breed, atleast 1.5 inches thick it's a minimum of 1kg. the verdict? the beef wasn't that flavorful...i want my meat really beefy - think dry aged beef. of course this one is fresh so the flavors are less intense. i wasn't super duper happy but i'm glad to have finally tried it.

there are hits and misses with zaza, you'd rather stick to the pastas which they do really well and zero in on the truffle menu if you like truffles =).

trattoria zaza

piazza del mercato centrale

(it's right outside the mercato centrale)

there are two zazas side by side and they are just the same

rome: life

we were hungry and i didn't anticipate we would be in the spanish steps area by lunch time. i just checked yelp and saw life which was relatively nearby. i've read a couple of reviews on it so we decided to eat there.

my dad's vongole - didn't try it

truffle pasta, fragrant but nothing special. i even hate the pasta it was gummy.

my mom's grilled chicken with a slaw of veggies nothing special either 

life
via della vite
rome, italy

rome: ristorante santi

who doesn't love italian? i think everyone does. so i was pretty excited to be in the country that serves awesome food, or so i thought. in fairness to italy, rome isn't really the culinary capital. but i never expected food to be really mediocre. come on! this is italy and family owned restaurants should be one of those awesome finds.

i've done my research on the "best" eats in rome. ristorante santi was one of the forerunners because it was soooo near our hotel plus the food is relatively affordable plus people had good reviews about the place. these are the food items we tried during our several visits.

carbonara - it's rome's signature pasta dish. i only got to try it once and it was a bad version. the eggs were curdling, it wasn't creamy at all. only a faint taste of guanciale if they used guanciale at all or maybe they just used pancetta. authentic carbonara should use guanciale, cured pork cheeks while pancetta is the italian bacon. the plate was huge this can feed 2 people i didn't finish it.

lasagna - decent enough

seafood risotto - my parents said it was too buttery but i didn't find it as such. i thought risotto is supposed to be this creamy rice dish yeah i know this version doesn't have cheese! but the method of cooking risotto should yield a creamy porridgy consistency because of the starch in the rice meshed well with the broth!

arrabiata - nothing special

grilled seabass - i liked the idea of using garlic and parsley to stuff a fish. but nothing really special and the sides are just really sad.

dessert - this was like a crema catalan, i forgot  the actual name. so not worth the calories.

lemon sorbet - to cleanse the palate

there were other items i forgot to take pictures of. i still cannot fathom the awesome reviews this place had. the food is so so, yes cheap/affordable by rome standards but seriously? there was a night we just opted to eat at chicken hut instead of going back to this place. the service is so so, even during our visits when it wasn't busy at all. sets are around 10 euros and that's cheap by eu standards.

ristorante santi

via daniele manin

off via principe amedeo 

parallel to via cavour near termini station

gino's brick oven pizza

i've known about gino's for the longest time and somehow i fail to try it whenever i'm home. this time around despite my less bad carbs lifestyle. i told myself i had to try it.

the house salad was good, the cheese, walnuts and caramelized figs made this a really yummy dish. however, it was cloyingly sweet, they should adjust the dressing and make it bit more tart.

bolognese - not really sure if this is fresh pasta but i like how light it was considering it was a bolognese. what i mean is, it wasn't heavy on the meat and tomato. it wasn't your typical bolognese that is rich, simmered for hours with red wine. this is a lighter take on bolognese and there are days when i just want it this way.

bianca verde - my mom likes arugula so i ordered this. i really didn't care much actually for this one. i think it was boring.

panna sausage - i have a hidden love for italian sausage. this one however, is their house made sausage, if i'm not mistaken gino's makes their own sausages. and this one is damn good. it's a cross between an italian sausage and longganisa. it's a bit sweet like a longganisa but has the savory details of an italian sausage. the flavors were just perfect. i am not exaggerating but to prove how much i fell in love with this, i ate 3 slices!!! holy cow i wanted to barf after realizing i ate so much carbs. that's how good it really was, i suddenly forgot my less carbs diet. and to think that i was pretty much a good girl during my us trip and really ate minimal carbs and only a slice of john's if i am not mistaken.

even my mom and dad were extremely happy with this place. being pizza lovers they said they'll be getting their pizza from gino's moving forward. as for the crust, it's unique it's not overly thin like italian pizzas but also not doughy like the ones we are used to and it has this crunchy but pillowy crust. you just have to try it!

gino's brick oven pizza
second floor of the mercury drug bldg
katipunan avenue

shella makes: noodles :D

just wanted share these wonderful carbs i've cooked, one is western and the other is pinoy.

salmon and zucchini fettucini

inspired by tgi friday's cedar smoked salmon pasta (not sure about the name). this version is sans the cream but basically has the same ingredients as friday's.

garlic, fresh tomatoes, salmon, zucchini and italian parsley.

palabok

this is palabok, a filipino rice noodle dish. the sauce is made with garlic, ground pork, shrimp juice, annatto seeds, water and flour. there so many choices of toppings, mine had chicharon, egg, shrimp, spring onions and fried garlic.

lusso

finally tried margarita fores' much raved about greenbelt 5 resto.

complimentary grissini

truffle potato chips to whet our appetite

d's cannelloni

i wanted the demi pound burger but they said they ran out of the bun and would be served with plain bread...meaning tasty!!! that was a major turn off for me. the service was good but seriously? serving your famous burger in white bread was just appalling. anyway, the spinach taglerini had great reviews and it was good. the pasta for me was a bit overcooked but the balance of the flavors were just right.

fresh calamansi juice because my throat was a bit scratchy hehe...love paper straws btw :).

lusso

greenbelt 5

makati city

secret recipe in kl

secret recipe is actually a malaysian resto chain. it's almost everywhere here in malaysia. i've only tried it in manila and with just the pies, this time i got the chance to try out the other dishes.


got some freebie crackers...loved these, this is the saltiest food item i've had in KL..ahhh salt!




got the prawn macaroni (RM16++) of which reviews i've read about. hmmm, the dish was just too bland and i was shocked to see just 2 pieces of shrimps...to think that shrimps are cheap here. this dish didn't work for me.




my friends got 2 types of chicken fillet (RM15 for a set meal wth drinks) one has a pepper sauce and the other one has mushroom gravy. i liked the mushroom gravy, it was flavorful enough, the pepper sauce was just too peppery for me.






for dessert, we got the chocolate indulgence which is basically chocolate mousse. it was not too sweet so it was a good way to cap our meal.





if ever i find myself again in this place, i ought to try the lamb shank.



secret recipe
kl sentral
midvalley megamall
suria klcc