Piggy Mode at KBOP

We had an out of town trip this weekend with friends.  We had originally planned to stay up until Sunday afternoon, but due to work-related issues we had to go back to Manila right after breakfast.  Yuri and I were bummed about our vacation being cut short so we thought we might as well eat something good for lunch to make us feel better.

I suddenly remembered this fairly new Korean restaurant called KBOP at the Venice Piazza at Mckinley Hill.  A friend had shared a poster of their Order All You Can Breakfast promo for Php 189.00 on Facebook and this place has sort of been on my mind since then.  Can you blame me?  Korean food is always on the pricey side so KBOP had me intrigued.   It was a little past 11 AM when we got to Manila, but we thought we'd check it out anyway even if we already missed the breakfast promo.

Apparently parking is free at the Venice Piazza on Sundays.  Yay!  Yuri and I thought this was an omen of good things to come.  It's the little things that make our day.  Plus we rarely get a free pass on anything.

The Venice Piazza was strangely deserted.  Usually, restaurant complexes like this are packed on Sundays.  I guess it's because the area is relatively new and hasn't quite picked up yet.  I must say though, it's oddly refreshing to walk around without having to weave your way through a throng of people.

It's impossible to miss KBOP's lively and cheery facade.  It naturally draws people in.  We took a closer look at their menu stand and, lo and behold, they had an Order All You Can Sunday promo.  I was excited!  I could not pass this up.  For only Php 250.00, you get to choose from 11 dishes and order as much as you want.  As with any similar promo, sharing and leftovers aren't allowed.  The selection might be limited, but still, this is the cheapest eat all you can promo I've EVER come across.  It took a bit of pleading to convince Yuri to get on board, but he eventually caved in.  We took a deep breath, stepped into the restaurant, and prepared for battle, Man vs. Food style.

We took a seat and waited for our orders to arrive. 

Spicy Squid Php 150.00 (Regular Price)

 First to arrive was the Spicy Squid.  The squid rings were breaded, deep fried, and then coated with a sweet chili sauce.  The squid was tender and the breading was nice and crispy.  It opened up our meal quite nicely.

Bokkumbop Php 50.00 (Regular Price)

Soon after, the Bokkumbop (Kimchi Fried Rice) was placed in front of us. It's a quick service restaurant so you won't see the assortment of side dishes you'd normally see at other Korean restaurants.  For me, no Korean dish is complete without kimchi so I decided to order this, since it was part of the promo, instead of the additional kimchi side dish (which costs extra).  It had the heat and flavor of kimchi that I was looking for.

Kbop Chicken Php 185.00 (Regular Price)

We had to order dishes that didn't come with rice or else we would've exploded.   So, we got the Korean Style Chicken Wings and the Tomi Chim (steamed fish).  The wings were done a la buffalo wings style, meaning it was deep fried and then coated with sauce, except this sauce had a mild heat to it and was on the sweet side.

Tomi Chim Php 125.00 (Regular Price)

The Tomi Chim was my favorite dish by far since the fish was nice and tender, and it had sliced shitake mushrooms to break the predominant characteristic sweet and spicy flavor of the Kbop dishes.  This dish also went well with the kimchi fried rice.

Bulgogibop Php 145.00 (Regular Price)

We decided to go for broke and placed our final order, the Bulgogibop (Beef Barbeque Rice Bowl).  By this time our tummies were quite full, but we thought we had room for one more.  Oh my.  We were soooo wrong.  Each bite was painful.  Our tummies were close to bursting!  The only thing that got me through were the veggies.  The spinach, bean sprouts, and carrots were all crunchy and fresh which helped me pull through to the end.  The beef had a nice flavor to it but it was kind of hard to eat since there was more fat and cartilage in it than meat, and believe me, when you're this close to bursting you get really picky with your food.

We wisely tapped out after this dish.  It felt like I had a brick in my tummy.  We had eaten three uber generous bowls of rice on top of all the seafood and meat.  We definitely got our money's worth but it might've been wiser for us to have stopped after our 4th dish.  This definitely isn't for everyone since all the dishes are on the sweet side.  Also, the spiciness and the heat gets progressively worse with each bite.  Not that I'm complaining.  That's what I look for in Korean food so that was fine with me.

So there, the secret's out.  Well... maybe it's not much of a secret.  We're piggies!  Harhar.  Kbop was quite the experience.

I really think that you get more value for your money by availing of the order all you can promos rather than ordering off the a la carte menu.  To help you guys out, I've listed their three promos here.

Order All You Can on Sundays
10:30AM - 2:00 PM
Php 250.00 / Head

Order All You Can Breakfast
Monday to Saturday 7:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Php 189.00 / Head

Happy Hour Special
7:00 AM - 10:00 AM
4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Php 499.00 / Head
6 Bottles of Beer + Pulutan of Your Choice

Happy eating!



Address: 2/F The Venice Piazza Upper Mckinley Rd. Mckinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
Tel. #: 846-0576; 212-1212

A Taste of Singapore at Shiok

About 3 weeks ago, Yuri and I had one of our busiest Saturdays ever.  Two of Yuri's best buds decided to get married on the same day.  What made this whole thing even more of a dilemma was that both weddings were set to take place at about 60 kilometers away from each other.  This is why guys should talk more to each other about things that actually matter like their feelings and stuff like that... right?   I'm dreading the evil glare I'll be getting from Yuri once he gets to read this so I'll stop here.  So anywaaaay, as I was saying, one wedding was scheduled at Greenfields in Laguna while the other one was to take place at The Mango Farm in Antipolo.  Good Lord!  These guys had no idea that they planned their weddings on the same day, and by the time they did, they'd already booked the churches and the venues.  So that was that.  It was up to us to figure out the logistics of it since Yuri, naturally, wanted to be there for both of his friends on their special day.

We decided to hitch a ride with two of our friends, Eric and Rinah, to both weddings.  Both weddings were set to happen in the afternoon.  So, before we headed out for our road trip, we decided to grab a quick bite first.  Eric and Rinah took us to this new-ish Singaporean-Chinese casual dining restaurant in the Bonifacio Global City area called Shiok.

"Shiok", apparently, is a slang word commonly used in Singapore and Malaysia to convey feelings of happiness, excitement, or sheer pleasure.  I was about to find out if this place was SHIOK or not.

Shiok Menu.

We only had thirty minutes before we had to head out, so I decided to have the Char Kwey Teow.  I was torn between that dish and the Nasi Lemak (Malaysian Coconut Milk Rice), but I wanted something quick and easy to eat plus I had been craving for some really good Char Kwey Teow at the time.

Char Kwey Teow Php 160.00

Char Kwey Teow is made from flat rice noodles (approx. 1 cm thick) that's stir-fried over high heat typically with soy sauce, chili, belachan (shrimp paste) , prawns, bean sprouts, and chives.  The version that I'm familiar with, and is the benchmark for every other Char Kwey Teow I come across, is similar to what I've just described except that it's stir-fried with egg as well.  Now Shiok's version is quite new to me since they added slices of Chinese sausage into the mix.  It added a nice sweetness to it.  This is an unhealthy and high-cholesterol dish but oh so goooooood when done right.  Shiok did this dish justice.   Even though this version was different from the Char Kwey Teow I'm used to, I daresay it's still the best I've tasted so far in Metro Manila.  I thought it was worth sharing with you guys here.  Another up side to this is that this dish is plenty enough for two people.  Yuri was forced to order his own plate of Char Kwey Teow because I was unwilling to share.  Yep, I'm pretty set in my piggy ways. *snickers*

Way back when, my parents (especially my mom) used to eat char kwey teow every other Sunday morning at our favorite hawker stalls in Kuching (Sarawak, Malaysia).  It was either char kwey teow or laksa for them.  For me and my brother, it was no other than kolok mi but I'll save that for another story.

I feel right at home at restaurants like these.  These dishes always take me back to my happy childhood years in Malaysia and Indonesia.  Singaporean food is a melting pot of Malay, Indian, and Chinese cuisines and Shiok is just that.  In their deceivingly brief one-page menu, you get to sample dishes that touch on each of these cuisines AND you get them at reasonable prices to boot.

I know I only got to eat one dish on this particular trip, so I've left you guys with their menu so you get an idea of what they have to offer.  I plan to go back to try out their Nasi Lemak (which I've heard was good), the Hainanese Chicken Rice (of course!), and possibly the Beef Rendang.

Oh and just in case anyone was wondering, we somehow made it to both weddings, and both were all sorts of romantic.  The trip was definitely worth it :)



Address: 105 Forum Building, Bonifacio Stop Over, 31st and 2nd St., Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
Hours:  Mon-Fri 10:00AM - 10:00PM; Sat 11:00AM - 10:00PM; Sun 11:00AM - 9:00 PM
Tel. #: 466-6291

Blissful Lunch at Felicity

It's true what they say that you don't really see what's right in front of you.  It took a few friends to point out a perfectly good restaurant that was literally a 5-minute drive from our house.  In fact, it was sitting right on top of the bike shop we regularly go to for tune-ups.  Well how about that.

I remember looking up one time while my bike was getting fixed and wondering what Felicity was.  I thought it was only a dessert place so I just shrugged it off.  I almost missed out! 

So finally, the date was set and we went there for lunch with a bunch of friends.  I really didn't know what to expect.  I wasn't anticipating to be wowed that's for sure.

We had to go up a flight of stairs to get to the restaurant. 

We stepped into the restaurant and I was pleasantly surprised!  I was an instant fan of the interior and feel of the place.  It was fabulously shabby chic!  It took my a while to get my order in since I was too busy looking at the details of the place.  By this time, I knew for certain that I was in for an interesting meal.

It's a quaint and tidy operation that can seat approximately 20-25 people.  Their kitchen isn't entirely closed off so as soon as you line up and get your order punched in at the counter, you hear that wonderful sizzle and aroma of yummy food being painstakingly prepared.

The food was delivered in the same order they were placed, so mine came last since I was happily distracted by everything around me.  

Sicilian Tomato Pasta Php 160.00

First up, was the Sicilian Tomato Pasta.  Simple and hearty.  The plating was so pretty and neat with the twirled pasta sitting on top of the sauteed tomatoes.  You could immediately tell that the pasta was perfectly al dente just be looking at it.

Saucy Tomato Hungarian Sausage Php 175.00

This dish looked like it had a good bang for the buck.  You definitely can't go wrong with this order.  Quality hungarian sausage topped with sauteed tomatoes and then garnished with fresh basil leaves.

Pasta Kai-Vigan Php 160.00

Next up was Yuri's Pasta Kai-Vigan.  They took the Vigan longganisa stuffing, sauteed it with garlic, and then tossed the pasta with it.  I had one or two bites of this and I loved it!  I have Kapampangan roots so I usually prefer my longganisa sweet.  Yuri only eats Vigan longganisa so I've been learning to appreciate the other side of the spectrum.  This dish needed no appreciation though, it just captivates and reels you in with each bite. Mmmmm.

Dreamy Carbonara Php 170.00

 If you're looking for really filling pasta, this would be it.  They used heavy cream, mixed in with mushrooms and bacon that are part and parcel of Filipino-style carbonara.  Ku still had a slight hangover from the drinking we did the night before this.  It probably wasn't the wisest dish to order in that state. *teehee*

Now for the main event (at least in my opinion)!  I asked the staff for a recommendation and they immediately mentioned this dish.  Parmesan Crusted Garlic Shrimp.  Hey, every word sounded good to me so I went for it.  Shrimp is way up there in my list of favorite ingredients.  Allergies never stopped me from enjoying my seafood so I was really looking forward to this.  I also opted to try their corn rice instead of the plain one to get the full experience.

Parmesan Crusted Garlic Shrimp Php 280.00

Leave it to me to order the 2nd most expensive item on the menu!  But it was oh so worth it.  10 pieces of medium-sized shrimp cooked and seasoned beautifully.  It was creamy and had hints of garlic and parmesan.  Thankfully they didn't smother it in the sauce as I'd expected.  The corn rice tasted like garlic rice except that it had corn kernels and shredded carrots in it.  It went really well with my shrimp.  The only thing is, my buttered veggies had corn in it too so maybe next time I'd stick with plain rice instead.

The recipes here are simple and hearty but their edge lies in there execution, which was flawless.  They were definitely undertrained in terms of service but the food more than made up for it.  Everything was cooked really well.  It sits in the happy median.  The food is not over nor under cooked.  It's quite refreshing to eat food at their right textures and flavors especially at this price point.    The bread was the biggest surprise.  Usually pasta comes with uninspired bread that's just, well, bleh.  Their bread almost stole the show.  It was creamy, crumbly, and moist and all sorts of yummy!  Seriously.  Everyone wanted to order another side of bread.

Funnily enough, Felicity is owned by Mr. Jasper De Leon, who used to be Yuri's teacher back in high school.  What a coincidence indeed.

A few of our friends opted to end the meal with a dessert.

Slice of Blueberry Cheesecake Php 110.00

They had a slice of blueberry cheesecake which was light and smooth.  I on the other hand was perfectly happy with my last bite of shrimp.

Felicity is obviously one of QC's best kept secrets.  This place is definitely worth checking out!




Address: Don Matias Ave. Corner Holy Spirit Drive, Quezon City

Mercato Part 1: Mochiko

So last Saturday we stopped by Mercato Centrale for a quick midnight snack.  We were in the area anyway, coming back from a reception at Blue Leaf  which was the 3rd wedding we'd attended in a week.  We had been planning for months now to have a look at the Mercato scene but every time we planned to go, work stuff would always get in the way.  So, believe it or not, and I'm completely embarrassed to say this, but this trip to Mercato was actually our first.  They say better late than never right?

So anyways, I've been hearing good stuff about the ice cream mochi here and I've been dying to eat green tea mochi for a while now.  Mochi is simply a Japanese rice cake made out of glutinous rice.  Traditionally, it's filled with a sweet center like red bean paste and such.  The ice cream mochi is sort of a modern take on this Japanese delicacy and it's genius!

The last time I ate ice cream mochi was September of last year in Macau when Yuri and I were on our honeymoon.  There was this 24-hour convenience store near our hotel that sold vanilla ice cream mochis in packs of two.  They also had the regular mochis lining their shelves but I wasn't interested in that.  We went back there everyday to get my ice cream mochi fix... aaaand I might've hoarded quite a few on our last day there. Teehee.   

I was first introduced to ice cream mochi during my early teens.  Dryer's came out with Green Tea Mochi sold in packs of six and my family and I were instant fans.  Since then we'd go through at least a pack a week.  I don't have a sweet tooth but I do love rice and green tea!  I guess this was and still is the perfect dessert for me.  After a couple of years Dryer's stopped selling mochis.  I guess it never really caught on, but yeah it's been hard to find a regular supply of green tea mochi ice cream since then. 

Soooo I'm pretty sure it's obvious by now how weirdly obsessed I am with green tea mochi ice cream.  Lucky for me, I finally found a yummy ice cream mochi source.   Darnnit I can't believe I waited this long to go to Mercato.

Mochiko sells all things mochi!  Mochiko's shop is all the way up at the Cliffhouse in Tagaytay so it's great that they've become a whole lot more accessible to us at the Fort. 

The green tea ice cream is wrapped in a thin dough made out of pounded glutinous rice.  Our friend tells us that their cappuccino-flavored mochi's delicious too.  They've also got unique ice cream mochi flavors like Azuki and Black Sesame.

Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream Php 70.00

It's best to let the mochi thaw out a little before biting into it to get the maximum effect.  The gooey mochi together with the ice cream is just heavenly.

I really didn't go around that much since my feet were complaining from being in heels all day.  Plus we were getting funny looks from people.  You see, this trip was unplanned so we were all still in our wedding regalia. Harhar.  No matter.  Bottom line is that I got my green tea mochi.  It capped off my night perfectly!

Rinah with her empanada and me with my mochi!

Address: Mercato Centrale, 8th Avenue cor. 34th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Hours: 7am - 2pm Saturdays and Sundays

Flowers and Candy

This month has been craaaaaazy busy.  I'm not complaining though, oh no no no don't get me wrong.  What I am is extremely thankful that we're booked with catering gigs up to our ears.  The only downside is that it's been cutting out on my blogging and social life.  I have loads of new material to post I just haven't been able to squeeze it in.  More than overseeing the kitchen, flower arranging and event styling has been eating up a lot my time.  You see, we've been trying out a lot of new looks and changing up the feel of our events.

I'm loving every minute of it though! :)  I've been making everything from orchid arrangements to fake candy centerpieces for a Katy Perry-themed debut (I'm excited about that one!).  These are the sorts of things that are keeping me up at night these days. 

I'll churn out a new post soon, but right now I've got to go back to rolling my clay.  My arms get a mean workout and I get to fine tune my pastry skills as well so it's not so bad. :)

Have a great week everyone!

Trip to the "Kubo" at Bali Gulp

I know I haven't been featuring much of Filipino food.  Honestly, it's just hard for me to find a restaurant that measures up to my mom's good ol' home cooked Filipino dishes.  So I only write about if it's really different (something my mom doesn't make), or if it really blows my mom's cooking out of the water (hehe sorry mom!).

Well I discovered something special in Antipolo.  I've been hearing about this place from Ku, my brother-in-law, and our friend Parc.  They call it the "Kubo".  They've been raving about the food there for a while now.  Apparently they aren't alone because a lot of golfers hang out here too after hitting the greens at Valley Golf.

So one night, Ku brought us to this "Kubo".  Gullible me thought that that was really the name of the resto.  It was something a lot more interesting.. 

Welcome to Bali Gulp.  It's right beside the entrance to Valley Golf.  Hence the quirky name.  And yes the resto is made out of different sizes of "kubos" perched on different levels too, to accommodate both big and small groups.  So you get your own private hut while dining here. 

For starters I ordered a buko drink.  I thought I'd counteract our pig out session with something healthy.

Whole fresh Buko (Coconut) Php 45.00

Now I've been hearing about their Ginataang Suso dish.  The Pinoy escargot.  Ku is a HUGE fan of this dish.  I have to admit that I am a bit squemish about anything with snails in it.

Ginataang Suso Php 125.00

The last time I ate this was when I was a teenager and it was only because my whole family loves this dish.  They can't have enough of it.

I supposed that it was time to give it another shot.  Just like Andrew Zimmern, my motto in life is to try everything at least twice.  So I gathered all my courage, took a deep breath, grabbed a snail, closed my eyes, and ate it the hard core way... by sucking it (the snail) out of it's shell.  My mom says that the lady-like way to go about it would be to pick out the snail with a toothpick before biting into it.  But that would mean that I'd have to actually SEE the snail first.  Erm no thank you.  It was as chewy and slightly rubbery as I remembered, but it wasn't as horrific as I thought it would be.  I'd like to think that my taste buds have matured a bit since my teenage years. Or it could be that I just got a whole lot braver!  Good thing I drowned my snail in the sauce because the sauce was lovely.  A sweet-ish reduction of ginger, garlic, and leeks.

Sinigang na Baka sa Bayabas Php 245.00

 Next up we had the Sinigang na Baka sa Bayabas.  This reminded me a lot of my lola's cooking.  She always loved to use guavas picked out from a nearby tree for our sinigang, but I've never had beef with it so that was a nice twist.  It was hearty and the guava really comes through in the broth.

Crispy Chicken Wings Php 130.00

Fried chicken has very much become a part of Filipino cuisine.  Pinoys LOVE all things chicken.  It's no wonder Jollibee, Mcdonald's, KFC, Max's, Andok's, etc., are making billions.  This tasted like really good home cooked chicken.  Slightly salty (since it's meant to be eaten with loads of rice) and oh-so-crispy!

Crispy Tawilis Php110.00

Yuri's (and both our dad's) personal favorite is the Crispy Tawilis.  It's freshwater sardines found only in the Philippines.  The good ones are the really tiny ones.  When they're fried right, you can eat the whole thing, bones and all, because everything's just crunchy.

Sizzling Stuffed Pusit Php 280.00

Now for the piéce de resistance. This is the main reason why I'm featuring Bali Gulp.  This dish is aaaa-ma-zing!  Hmmm where do I begin.  Sizzling plates always puts my senses into overdrive so that was a good place to start.  First off, the squid was cooked to perfection.  It was tender and had the perfect bite.  The squid was stuffed with chopped tomatoes, onions, butter, CHEESE, and then bathed in butterrrrrr.  It was delicious and fresh-tasting because of the tomatoes. It was definitely the highlight of my meal.  I'm coming back for this you can bet on it!

Now I've made myself hungry.  I'm off to have lunch!  Have a great weekend everyone!



Address: Sumulong Highway, Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Antipolo City
Contact Nos.: 240 5534, 396-3104