Agave Mexican Cantina

There's nothing like a Mexican lunch to re-energize me after an all nighter , waiting and standing for hours at the recent Katy Perry concert. Even though Agave is not really my go to place when I'm craving for enchiladas, nachos, burritos and other favorites, it was the only resto at Boni Hi Street serving these stuff.

It was Chinese New Year that day and we were lunching with a friend who just arrived from Japan. We ordered a platter of nachos and three individual combinaciones.

How can anyone go wrong with nachos? This one had grilled chicken so it was healthy and yummy of course, the chips weren't soggy or drowning in toppings too.

My combinaciones is plate of two chicken enchiladas, two crab and shrimp chili rellenos served with Mexican rice and refried beans.

Chicken Enchiladas and Crab & Shrimp Chili Rellenos Combinaciones

The enchiladas,  which looked like quesadillas ( enchiladas are usually rolled like a canneloni ) tasted so ordinary, it's something you can just put together at home. Good thing there's salsa to add zest to this "enchilada". The crab and shrimp chili rellenos were okay , similar to the Spanish croquettas, these logs have tiny pieces of shrimp , crab and cheese stuffed inside a chili coated in batter. Not bad at all.
The red rice could use more paprika or cayenne and other spices.

The boys looked happy with their combinaciones.

Chicken Taco and Yucatan Chicken Skewers

Andy was satisfied with his chicken taco and yucatan chicken combi(naciones).

Chicken or Steak Burrito?

Marco was okay with their burrito but offhand,  we've had better and I personally prefer B & T's version.

For dessert  , Andy gave us a box of green tea mochi straight from Kansai airport. I love green tea! Green tea KitKat, ice cream, yoghurt and other matcha nibblers. These mochi balls were really yummy, we only had a piece each because we were planning on having frozen yogurt  after.

We transferred to Hobbes and Landes for their froyo , not exactly my favorite but I love froyo , it was the perfect ending to a wonderful meal.

Orale!

As I've mentioned in my previous entries, I love Mexican food  so I was very pleased that there's a new one at the Fort called Orale! . Orale , based from what I saw online , is Mexican for  "hell yes!" or "right on!". They have the more or less the basic menu of tacos, burrittos , quesadillas, chips and rice plates.

We ordered the chips and salsa , I just can't recall their word for it, it sounds like a topopos but it's just your usual chips but theirs is home made and really good with the ranchero sauce!

For the main meal, we tried the grilled chicken soft tacos and vegetarian burritto. 

Grilled Chicken Soft Tacos

The grilled chicken tacos are a bit spicy but if you like a bit of heat in your dish , this is really good.

Vegetarian Burrito

The vegetarian burrito is ok but I'm not really raving about it.  Still, we're happy with the food and will be back to try their other offerings. Orale! 

Hermanos Taco Shop

This unassuming taco shop along Granada Street shares the same space with Petron and sits beside Arny Dadings Peachy Peachy ( yumyum!) . The signage says authentic Mexican food.  With all the Mexican grills and kitchens we have in the metro, this is an interesting claim.

The first thing I noticed when we stepped inside is that the owner is Mexican. Señor Rene personally greets all  the customers and take your orders. He's very friendly too and asked where do I usually go for my Mexican fix because  I told him I love the cuisine of his home country. The menu board boasts of tacos, burritos, tamales , quesadillas and chimichangas. Gosh, I wanted to order everything but had to settle for the fish tacos ( I've heard so much about their fish tacos ) and the beef burrito.  We had chips and salsa also while waiting for our order. 

Chips and Salsa 

We love the chips, the texture and taste is different from the ones served in Ristra's and B & T Kitchen. I think its because their homemade masa is better. 

Fish Tacos 

The fish tacos.. hmmm.. they're good with the roasted tomato salsa and a squeeze of lemon but there's a missing element for me. Maybe I was missing the fresh tomatoes? But it was still a pleasant dish and the tortilla used is very good, it's not the typical pale version commonly used here. This is probably Señor Rene's personal rendition of the fish tacos. 

Beef Burrito 

The beef burrito was really good! The beef was flavorful , moist and tender wrapped with Mexican rice and other veggies. The rice alone is good. 

It was a great lunch and  I can't wait to be back to try their tamales and other goodies. Took a picture with Señor Rene for posterity. Ole! ; )

B & T Mexican Kitchen

There's a new Mexican joint that's creating buzz, B & T Mexican Kitchen. B & T which stands for Burritos and Tacos is located at the Sekai Center , Ortigas cor Madison, beside the North Greenhills gate. I heard from the grapevine that it's owned by one of the former partners of the other popular Mexican place hmmm...

We got the chicken chipotle quesadilla, sweet potato fries with ranch dressing and the horchata.

Chicken Chipotle Quesadillas - P310 /Sweet Potato Fries with Ranch dressing P115

I love the chicken quesadillas. One order is good for two since you get four huge slices. You choose between jalapeno and chipotle and we opted for chipotle.  The filling was your usual corn, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, guacamole, cheese and generous chipotle chicken for that mild kick. It had the usual sour cream and salsa and the nice thing with B & T is the unlimited salsa! Free refills of their salsa which is good by the way. I love salsa! It's healthy and it balances the creaminess of the cheese and the sour cream.

The sweet potato fries on the other hand were the best!!! It's so good you won't miss your usual french fries. It was so crispy and coated with not sure,  if it's paprika or cumin. It was perfect with the ranch dressing.

The horchata is a very rich  drink made of cream, cinnamon and ground almonds. It's a bit heavy it can be your dessert.

I will definitely go back to B & T kitchen. I love the unlimited salsa and not to mention the ample parking space they have.

Taco Bell's Fiesta Platters

Free Taco Bell goodies from my credit card. Yummy! I like Taco Bell. It's fast food but Mexican fastfood. I got 4 burritos, 3 tacos to go and 3 fiesta platters for dine in. It was my first time to try the fiesta platters.

We had one of each kind: the beef enchilada ,  the beef with mexican rice and the roast pork ( carnitas) with rice. 

beef enchilada with nachos and mini potatoes with cheese 

The beef enchilada was good. It could use more salsa though since I love salsa  but it's really good. Perfect with the chips and cheesy potatoes. Yum , yum, yum!

seasoned beef with mexican rice, potatoes and salad

The beef with rice , which looks like an Arroz ala Cubana without the bananas was ok but better to get the beef enchilada or burrito. 

chunky pork barbecue with rice, salad and churros

The pork barbecue platter was the best of the three. The pork is really juicy and flavorful, actually it's pulled pork which is very rice intensive. The salad greens with the salsa was ok but bitin so we ordered extra salsa. The nice thing with this platter is the churros with chocolate dip. It's a bit cakey inside, just a bit , but still crunchy on the outside. The chocolate dip was thick enough for the churros and it wasn't too sweet. 

The fiesta platters are good but my favorite in Taco Bell will still be the Baja Chalupas. 

Tummy Trip in Europe: I got a high with these Dutch Treats!

I love Amsterdam! I love the global cuisine, the hustle and bustle of this vibrant cycling city, the canals, the nightlife...it was just so alive! No wonder teens and party goers from all over Europe are packing the Dutch capital during weekends! There's so much you can do in Holland, you can visit the cafes that are scattered all over the city for a good meal, watch a concert at the Heineken Music Hall, check out the Van Gogh and other museums, hang out at the Dam Square, shop til you drop and try the "coffeeshop" for you know what hehe..

Anne Frank's house behind me..

The nice thing is that the city is very accesible from Schipol, just take the train going to Centraal station and you have access to the metro already  to get to your choice hotel or you can simply walk from there.

These are just some of the Holland goodies we were able to take pictures of:

grilled chicken platter at the Mexican

carne asada

Wok to Walk ,  a fast food hole in the wall in Amsterdam , lets you choose the kind of noodle or rice you want and the toppings ( seafood, veggies, meat ) and the sauce. I had rice noodles with shrimp, pineapples and curry sauce. It was really good!!! And it was perfect with the cold weather that day in Amsterdam.

shrimp, pineapple with curry sauce on rice noodles at Wok to Walk 

They have Belgian fries/frites all over the city too. We tried Chipsy King. It was delicious if not the best.

drool!!!!!!

This pizzeria was near the Dam square. Heineken and beer!!!

yummy pizza!!!

Using the remaining euro coins at Schipol..They have the McKroket , a Dutch original : )

 

 Amsterdam is a must see! Oftentimes I find myself in Schipol just  for the connecting flight but this city definitely deserves a visit of its own.

Ristras Mexican Grill, the best quesadillas...

I'm craving for Mexican now that's why I'm posting pictures of the huge quesadillas of Ristras Mexican Grill. This is the best quesadilla in Metro Manila for me..

Ristras' grilled chicken quesadilla 

They don't scrimp on the filling and everything tastes FRESH , the corn, pico de gallo, the tender cubes of chicken, cheese,  onions.. yummy!  I like their homemade tortilla , they grill it until its lightly toasted. You get four huge slices per order so it's good for two  ( two slices will really pack a punch) . The quesadillas come with salsa, sour cream, guacamole.. quesadilla heaven!

I like their salsa too, it had the right piquant taste and  perfect with the tortilla chips.

Let's not forget their burritos!  They remind me of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the US.

 Yum,yum, yum! I wanna run to J. Abad right now to satisfy my Mexican craving  : ))))