Food Trip: Kabisera ng Dencio's at The Fort

Wednesday night was a date night for Ian and I. At first, I wanted to eat something light and healthy but my stomach protested at this idea (My stomach wanted RICE!) so we decided to eat in Kabisera ng Dencio's. 

If you're in Bonifacio High Street and craving for Filipino food, I would definitely recommend to come and eat here. We've actually eaten here with some friends before (binged on food would be the more accurate description) so we knew coming in that we liked the food here. Up front, I would have to say that the food is not cheap here but you get what you pay for. What we had (from our previous visit and from this one) did not disappoint.

Laing (Php 280)

Boneless Chicken BBQ (Php 190)

We ordered the laing (we've already tried this before and we KNEW it was good) and the chicken bbq. Honestly, when the chicken bbq arrived, we didn't really expect it to be on skewers. I was expecting it to be more of a grilled fillet of chicken meat with bbq sauce. I was mislead by the "boneless" part of its name, but the fault lies with me. I didn't think to ask the waiters. It was just ok, nothing special. The laing more than made up for the chicken bbq because it was just as we remembered - very, very good! We ordered 2 servings of the plain rice (i think it was called pandan rice) costing Php50 each. The rice was good - the mushy, slightly sticky kind that I liked and it went very well with the laing and chicken bbq. 

alcoholic drinks galore: san mig light for ian, mojito for me

After a long hard day at work, its always nice to kick back with a cold one. Kabisera was having a 1+1 promo with their drinks (I believe they have this promo everyday starting at 4pm.) so Ian ordered a below zero San Mig Light while I ordered a mojito. :) The servers were very accomodating. They served the two beers at the same time so by the time Ian finished with the first bottle, the second one was no longer below zero. But when we asked them to exchange it, they did so with no hesitation. There are no mojitos on their drink list but when I asked if they can serve mojitos, they said they could. They just billed us for a cosmopolitan instead. The mojito also had a 1+1 promo at 160 (I think around that) but they also have bottomless mojito for around 260 (I think..) so if my hazy recollections of the prices were correct.. this would be an awesome place for a mojito night! :)

lovely lamps in Kabisera

Can I just say that I love these lamps that light up Kabisera? :) All in all, I recommend coming here to dine if you're in a big group (about 4 or more). The price and the servings would be too much for just two people (at the very least, you won't be able to taste the "specialties" because the servings are for a larger group).

Kabisera ng Dencio's (across from R.O.X.)
B3, G/F Bonifacio High Street
Taguig City, Metro Manila
(02)8565543

Food Trip: Banapple Pies and Cheesecake at Katipunan

One Monday evening, my friends and I wanted to go to Tomas Morato Ave. in order to have dinner at Uno Restaurant. However, circumstances beyond our control prevented us from doing so. And since the natives were already very hungry by 9pm, we decided to have dinner in Banapple Pies and Cheesecake along Katipunan Avenue.

To be precise, there are two branches of Banapple along this stretch of road, one in each side. So whichever direction you might be going, its always on the way. We stopped at the bigger branch (I believe its also the newer branch) of the two.

interior

decors and lamp

The decor of Banapple is quite cozy and homey with cute tables and chairs accented with baubles on shelves. And if you look closely at the ceiling lights, you'd see the banapple logo incorporated in its design (a fact which my friend Cho brought to my attention).

Migs Gallabergher

Creamy Chicken Pie

Ian ordered the Migs Gallabergher (Php 150) which is actually one of our favorite offerings in Banapple. (Personally I think its the melted cheese and gooey mozzarella combo that makes it a winner.) I wanted to try something different and I wasn't really that hungry - so I ordered the Creamy Chicken Pie (Php 100). Can I just say that I love this pie? It's very, very good! But I wasn't a fan of the potato salad that came with it. You can actually order the pie alone and it would be cheaper (I think around Php 60). So if you're not that into potato salads, just skip it and order the pie. (One of my friends liked the potato salad though, so perhaps its just a matter of taste.) 

Grandma's Corn Chowder (Php 70)

Breaded Fillet of Cream Dory (Php 160)

Savory Tuna Pie (Php 100)

I think this is the Herbed Chicken Rolls with Basil Cream Sauce (Php 160)

Hickory Smoked Barbecued Country Ribs

Salpicao Rafael (Php160)

Once my friends arrived to join Ian and I for dinner, they ordered a ton of food! Hehe. Well four friends came to join us so of course they ordered a lot. :) I wasn't able to get to taste most of their food (because, well, it's THEIR food) just a bite here and there. The Savory Tuna Pie was also good and is a good alternative to the chicken. The Hickory Smoked Barbecued Ribs were good! It was faintly reminiscent of the steak sauce that can be bought in Racks but at Php 155, I think the ribs delivered. The Salpicao Rafael was good as well, but it reminded me more of adobo than salpicao. Perhaps its because I mostly associate salpicaos with a LOT of garlic but this dish didn't have as much as I expected.

baskets of muffins

Banapple also sells muffins and cookies by the basket loads. I love muffins so I always make it a point to buy a few whenever I come by (My favorite being the orange poppy seeds muffin). The muffins cost Php 50 each. 

fangirl moment: me with Angel Aquino

While we were there, we actually saw Angel Aquino come in. I think she bought a whole cake or pie to go. So while she was waiting for her order, I asked her if I can get my picture taken with her and she agreed. :) She was a class act - very gracious and friendly. 

All in all, Banapple Pies and Cheesecakes is definitely one of my "go-to" restaurants for comfort food. Sure, some dishes are more memorable than others but overall, the good more than outweighs the bad. For the reasonable price and for the good food, I would definitely come back.

Banapple Pies and Cheesecake

206 and 225 Katipunan Ave, Blue Ridge

Quezon City, Metro Manila

(02)4382675/4392675

Food Trip: Jatujak at MOA

One Saturday evening, while looking for a place to have dinner in MOA (Mall of Asia), Ian and I stumbled on Jatujak. We have already seen their branch in SM Megamall before. In fact, we ordered for a thai iced tea to go but never had an opportunity to dine there. Since we had a hankering to eat thai food that night, we decided to get our dinner here.

Jatujak is named after the largest weekend market in the world (according to their wall art) and is found in Bangkok, Thailand. We actually went there last year, and I have to say, it is a bargain hunter's dream come true. :) Soo many good deals in one big marketplace!

placemat

shelves

The decor is pretty nice, with wooden shelves housing various knickknacks that fit the theme. I especially like their place mats. I thought at first they were made of paper but they're not. The mats are reusable and has a very pretty purple color.

pad thai with shrimp

beef noodles

iced coffee and iced tea

We ordered our usual pad thai with shrimp, thai iced tea and thai iced coffee. Ian was craving something hot and he ordered the beef noodle soup with thick rice noodles. The noodle soup arrived first and it was very good. It had a tangy-sweet-beefy taste to it. This was the first time I've tried noodle soup in a thai restaurant and it was a pleasant surprise. The pad thai was nutty, sweet and slightly spicy. The thai iced tea had its signature sweet taste and orangey color while the thai iced coffee had the kick of caffeine that I needed, a bit bitter though. I recommend mixing the drink as much as you can as the milk tends to settle at the bottom of the glass. 

All in all, we paid around 500 pesos for the meal. For a satisfying thai meal, i think it was a pretty good deal. I would definitely come back to try their other menu offerings.