Chop House

Chop House is located at Trinoma and we ended up eating in this restaurant because we wanted to try a place that is unique to that mall and doesn't have branches elsewhere. It was Christmas Day and in between family gatherings , we found ourselves in this mall for some last minute errands and wanting to avoid the crowds , we picked Chop House simply because I haven't seen it elsewhere. Something new. That's me.

The house specialties obviously would be steaks and chops but after the heavy noche buena the night before and anticipating the Christmas dinner , I opted to stay away from the meat. 

We ordered the Spanakopitas, Barbecue Chicken Asian Salad, Pesca Puttanesca and Pulled BBQ Beef Rib Sandwich .

Spanakopitas P175

The Spanakopitas are crispy triangles of spinach and feta cheese in pastry or a Greek spinach pie simply put. This is ok but I'm not really raving about their version, I've had better.

Barbecue Chicken Salad P130 Solo

The salad is alright,I like the dressing even if the chicken strips didn't really taste like they were barbecued if not for the sauce. The solo serving can be good for two.

Pesca Puttanesca P265

The seafood puttanesca is fine. I like the sauce and it had enough shrimp, fish and squid though the squid wasn't really tender. This pasta dish is  not really spectacular, but it's okay because this is a steak place after all and not a trattoria.

Pulled Barbecue Beef Rib Sandwich P240

I only took a small bite of this sandwich , which is really M's order so I can try it and taste wise it's ok because of the sauce  though some of the beef strips were a bit tough. Love the fries.

It was a pleasant meal  but I feel the dishes we ordered lack a bit of flair. Maybe the steaks are good but I'm not really a steak person so I might have to think twice if I will eat here again.

Manila Maki

"I think I just died and went to maki heaven",  this is what I told Alain Panlilio, managing partner/owner of Manila Maki after trying their Laguna Roll, one of their premium rolls. Manila Maki is this cozy Japanese Filipino fusion restaurant tucked at the ground floor of Elizabeth Place along HV Dela Costa, Salcedo Village in Makati.

This is the Laguna Roll, crispy salmon belly with kesong puti in sushi rice and bacon bits topped with spicy salmon. Divine. Love at first bite.  The taste is nothing short of heavenly. It even comes with this special sauce but the Laguna Roll in itself is really good already.

Laguna Roll

Laguna Roll

We also tried the Manila Maki - nilasing na hipon with mango and kani salad in garlic sushi rice topped with fresh tuna and a special mango dressing. This is another brilliant creation and equally good but if I will be forced to  choose between the two  I will pick the Laguna Roll but this is a must order too!

Manila Maki

Manila Maki

Before the rolls, I had a bowl of their miso soup. I can't start my meal without a bowl or cup of soup and their miso soup tasted so fresh ,  you can actually  taste the hint of tamarind they added to give it a Pinoy flavor.

Comforting Miso Soup

Aside from the premium rolls, there's the  Sabahi Belly sushi. Crispy bangus belly in teriyaki sauce on sushi rice. Mmmm... I love it.

Sabahi Belly

And of course , no Japanese meal would be complete without the Ebi Tempura. I like it, crispy, not oily and the sauce was okay. It was perfect with the rolls.

The last ordered dish is the Sisigdon. Oh my god if you love sisig, you have to order this dish. It's real pork sisig and when I say real, not the sisig that's mostly chopped chicharon they put on sizzling plates. Their sisig has that sweet Japanese sauce,  on top of Japanese rice with chicharon bits and a few chili flakes for a bit of heat. I super duper love this dish that I almost finished it to the last grain because I just love Japanese rice and the sisig itself was simply delish.

Sisigdon

There was very little room for dessert that's why we weren't able to finish the yummy banana fritter ala mode that Alain sent to us. It tastes as good as it looks. 

Drool!!!

I was beyond happy, imagine I had tempura and sisig in one meal with a pretty darn good maki and a sinful dessert ..sigh. Thank you Alain and Manila Maki for a wonderful meal.

Barcino

I've been to Barcino several times but it was only a month ago, during the birthday dinner of two friends at their Greenbelt branch that we were able  to take pictures of the tapas and the paella.


We ordered the good old favorites , crab croquettes , gambas, chorizo pamplona, brie trufado, seafood paella and we tried their squid cooked what appeared to be sisig style for me.

Crab Croquettes

I love tapas and a croquette or croquetta is one of my favorites. I love how crunchy it is outside and creamy on the inside. I remember in Barcelona, we would frequent the tapas bar along Las Ramblas and elsewhere in the city  and grab these cute yummy logs with the other  tapas on toothpicks.  Some tapas bar are self service, diners just get from the tapas buffet and almost all the tapas are on mini sticks including your chorizos, gambas, twirls of jamon and after your meal , you just go to the counter and pay the corresponding amount for the number of sticks you've consumed. 

Barcino's version doesn't fall short , I love it and I think it's better than Tapella by Gaudi. 

Gambas 

You can never go wrong with this dish. This is good.

Brie Trufado

Brie turfado is simply caramelized onion topped with brie cheese served on a slice of bread. Tapella serves this exact thing on fluted bread and it's one of my favorite tapas in that resto. Barcino upped the ante by adding truffle and it was heavenly. Now I have to go back to Tapella and decide which is really better haha..

Chorizo and the Squid dish 

We ordered two kinds of chorizo and we liked the other one better because it was so mild and not salty. The other one, pictured above  was a bit salty for us already. The squid dish at the right is Barcino's version for me of a squid sisig, chopped tender squid in olive oil, topped with crumbled chorizo , bell peppers with a bit of chili for heat. It was good, I liked it.

Seafood Paella 

Barcino's paella is good and can easily serve 4  to 5 specially if you're already full from the various tapas, still we managed to eat a good portion of it saving enough space for dessert at the nearby Bizu.

I love Barcino and I know my other friends feel the same way. Good food, wine and happy memories! Cheers!