Hana Kazu

After having lunch at Mona Lisa , with a few hours in between to burn the calories, it was time to go Japanese for dinner. Dinner was at Hana Kazu, a small restaurant along BF's Aguirre Avenue and since I'm a northener , it was actually my first time to try a restaurant in this southern area.

Being a family dinner , in celebration of Marco's Lola Lettie's birthday,  we ordered a variety of dishes from the appetizer to the main course.

Potato Salad

I didn't order this but they said it was ok with the Japanese mayo and nori on top.

Salmon

Hamachi 

The salmon was ok , they said the hamachi had that fishy taste but the server told us the taste should be like that ..hmmm..of course not..

grilled squid 

Special California Maki

I love the special california maki, instead of kani, they used ebi tempura inside , I'm not really sure but it was crispy , maybe it was kani tempura..

Toridon

The toridon is actually my main course. It was ok.

Tendon

Some ordered the tendon. They said it was good , they dipped the tempura into the sauce already but you can ask for additional.

Chirashi Set

The chirashi set looks so cute, isn't it? Ria said it was good and healthy. There were lots of dishes we weren't able to take pictures of coz' everyone started eating but everyone was happy with their food.

Mona Lisa Ristorante

It was a Sunday down south a.k.a. Alabang and for lunch, we decided to try Mona Lisa at the Commerce Center. I've always wanted to try this restaurant because they serve for dessert cannoli, tube shaped pastry dough filled with ricotta cheese and Mona Lisa even serves it with gelato ice cream!

We ordered a classic Sicilian salad to start and the Spaghetti con Polpetine (Spaghetti with Meatballs)  for the main course. You can choose your own noodle so for a change, we opted to try the meatballs with linguini.

They give you complimentary bread with a variety of spreads, tomato, herbed butter and pesto. The bread is ok , I didn't indulge in the bread coz' I was preparing for the huge amount of carbs with the pasta and making room for the cannoli.

Sicilian Salad 

The Sicilian Salad is good for two , so we asked our server to split it already . It was very good and refreshing with the grapes, walnuts, mangoes, sun dried tomatoes and romaine lettuce. I love their home made dressing.

After the salad, enter frame the Linguini con Polpetine.

Linguini con Polpetine

The linguini with meatballs is good. I like that there are chunks of tomatoes in the pommodoro sauce and it tasted fresh. The meatballs were very savory , tender but firm texture wise and didn't taste like they put in a lot of breadcrumbs. Meatballs are a combination of ground sirloin and pork or sometimes even with ground veal. The serving is definitely good for two or three if you're having other dishes but since we finished it, we were so full there wasn't any room for dessert anymore.  Oh well, there's definitely a next time and we'll make sure to have that cannoli for dessert.

Mona Lisa Ristorante is located at the 2nd level of the Commerce Building , Commerce Ave., Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang , Muntinlupa

Kulinarya Kitchen

Kulinarya is an old favorite at the Power Plant Mall though I haven't eaten there in ages! Actually the original Kulinarya is along Katipunan extension after the flyover, where Fat Skillet presently resides. I love their Gamberi Pasta and other blue plate specials so I was pleasantly surprised that they're still open and newly renovated as Kulinarya Kitchen.

We tried their executive lunch specials . For a fixed price you get a soup and a main course with sidings and rice. I anticipated that it won't be enough ( and I was right) so we got an appetizer too.

Seafood Salad Maki

 The seafood salad maki is good! I highly recommend this appetizer. It came with a wasabi aioli dip and fresh mango cubes on top.

Grilled Chicken Teriyaki

The grilled chicken teriyaki is good, fully cooked yet tender and not charred. It was perfect with the fried rice.

Breaded Porkchop

If you want pork , get the breaded porkchop. You get a nice piece of meat without the thick breading though a small portion would be the fat ,typical of porkie chops.

Lunch was just right but not really full (executive lunch specials are really like this, they're not really heavy on the belly ). I guess if you're a hearty and heavy eater like me , there's still that tummy space that can only be filled up by another dish perhaps or a good dessert to cap the meal.

Shi Lin

Shi Lin at the Podium,  like Crystal Jade and Lugang, serves xiao long bao among other dimsum choices. The limited menu also offers noodle soups and rice toppings. It wasn't the xiao long bao that attracted us when we were checking out the menu but the noodles with spicy sesame and peanut sauce. Hmmm....So we ordered it plus the wonton noodle soup , vegetable buns and just to try their version, the xiao long bao. 

The xiao long bao is ok. The wrapper was firm enough to hold the soup inside but the filling was a bit tough for me. The xiao long bao of Lugang is better. Or perhaps it was just one of those days for the guys making this dimsum..

xiao long bao

The vegetable buns are just ok for me. It had a mild bitter after taste, I won't order this the next time.

vegetable buns

This is the noodles with spicy sesame and peanut sauce. It was served lukewarm , intentional I think and it was very rich! The sauce was good ,specially with the spicy sesame but it was thick that you needed some sort of  a chaser , or in this case, soup from the wonton noodles to dilute it  after a couple of spoonfuls. Make sure to share this noodles 'coz you will pause midway after having too much of that rich peanut sesame sauce. 

Noodles with Spicy Sesame and Peanut Sauce

Wonton Noodle Soup

The wonton noodle soup is ok. The clear soup tasted so mild, almost bland but at least it wasn't salty.  The wontons are better than the xiao long bao for me. 

Manos Greek Taverna

It was a rainy Sunday when we decided to try Manos Greek Taverna in Tagaytay. For sure, you've spotted  this blue and white restaurant  if you're coming from Sta. Rosa , located at the right side of the road but wasn't prepared to make a sudden pit stop because it might be a hassle and a hazard unless you're on the early look out..

We ordered most of the Greek favorites. Instead of the usual tzatziki dip alone, we got the vegetarian shawarma which already has a tzatziki dip , salad, feta cheese, fries  and pita bread. This is a very healthy and yummy dish. They said they use only Greek olive oil from Crete, I hope the fries were fried in them too coz they were good and crispy. 

Vegetarian Shawarma

For the main course, we had the souvlaki platter and the grilled beef patties. The platters were served with rice and fries. Double carbs! I guess I would have welcomed the fries if we ordered gyros sandwiches similar in Europe where they serve it with the frites  but rice and fries..hmmm....Maybe diners can have the option of changing the rice or the fries to a Greek salad instead. 

Pork Souvlaki platter

The pork souvlaki ( there seems to be no chicken version..) , three sticks of  pork chunks , sad to say weren't tender. It took a bit of effort to bite into it and though flavorful, you can't really taste the meat because it was too chewy. It had rice, fries and three roasted tomatoes. But one thing missing is the yogurt garlic sauce that you can mix with the tomatoes. I overheard other diners looking for it also..hmm...do they serve it with the gyros only? 

The grilled beef patties, though it looks boring, were good. They were homemade,  savory and most of all tender.  Again served with  rice and fries! C'mon, we had fries already with your shawarma platter (hehe..snicker snicker)  a Greek salad would be the perfect side dish and  that yogurt garlic sauce for that added zing. It had  a small serving of mixed vegetables which sad to say tasted old and one of those pre- mixed vegetables you buy in the grocery.

 We had baklava for dessert and it was good , though I personally prefer having more of that crust or pastry in between, their baklava is good as it is.  

Baklava 

It was a good and breezy lunch , with a few misses that a good baklava won't be able to solve. And it's worth a stop over if you happen to be in the area already , I'm sure they have other Greek goodies up their sleeves. Opa! : )

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! ; )

Yen Yen Taiwanese Street Food

The adventurous foodie in us brought us to Granada St opposite Gilmore townhomes one scorching afternoon..We were there for Yen Yen, this hole-in-the-wall joint beside a car repair shop serving so-called authentic Taiwanese street food.

We ordered the best sellers, the taipei braised beef noodle soup and the wonton noodle soups. Since we ordered a complete meal, we  even had extras of fried wonton, Taiwan mini pao and green iced tea. 

Braised Beef Noodle Soup with Green Iced Tea P188

and Taiwan mini pao

The braised beef noodle soup is the bestseller and we agree! The rich beef broth was very good , evident of long and slow fire boiling making the beef melt-in-your-mouth tender and very flavorful. The noodles were tender and a lot! It came with the Taiwan mini pao that's not your usual bola bola or asado pao , instead the filling is similar to that of a dumpling which made it very good. The sauce is really yummy too. 

Wonton Noodle Soup P168

Another best seller is the wonton noodle soup. The wontons are really good and they even provide you with a  sweet spicy dipping sauce. The broth is milder than the braised beef , it tasted a bit like ramen for me actually which is good  because of the shallots and the nori they generously garnished on top and the strips of egg omelet. We love their noodle soups! The fried wontons which came with this dish is ok , it came with a sweet chili dipping sauce which didn't taste like the ones from the grocery but the steamed or boiled version is better.

We were full already but we wanted to close the meal with another extra plate of dumplings and we sure did finish it. 

dumplings!! P88

Looking at their interesting menu, they serve rice toppings also ( I'm sure the braised beef with rice is equally good!) , dimsum, stir fried noodles and other goodies.  The place is really small though, it can sit a total of 20 diners only and there's no parking except for one but it's worth a visit .