BONCHON CHICKEN

We came accross IL Terazzo, a building near the corner of Tomas Morato and Timog Ave. in Quezon City, yesterday while looking for a place to have dinner.  We've been to this place before but we decided to check it out again since it's been months from the last time we went here.  While strolling inside, we saw a new restaurant named BonChon Chicken.

At first, I thought that it was really expensive here learning that it serves good dishes based on buzzes I heard about this place and knowing that they are the best chicken in America (as per the New York Times, GQ, and Esquire) from what I saw in advertisements but I was wrong!  Take a look at their menu below.

Yes, food here is so affordable just like eating in a fastfood!  They don't only serve chicken but also fish, calamari and even Korean dishes.  Based on the name of their establishment, chicken is their specialty so we decided to order their chicken.  We had a Drumstick Ricebox and a Thigh Ricebox which costs Php95.00 each.  We were asked by the cashier whether we want it in Soy Garlic or Spicy.  Both of us tried the Soy Garlic.

1 pc. Thigh Ricebox

Had their fries also which costs Php45.00.

Serving is not that much but it was really worth a try especially if you want to have a different taste on your chicken.

Next time we visit this place, we might try their Korean dishes.

JOSEPHINE RESTAURANT

After a long ride from People's Palace in the Sky, we were able to get to our last stop on our Tagaytay food trip...

Josephine Restaurant has been known to be one of the famous restaurants frequently visited here in Tagaytay.  We arrived here at around 2PM and found out that there were still lots of people dining.  We were assigned number 9 on their queue and waited for them to call our name before we get seated.  While waiting, you can roam around their restaurant and take pictures of the scenery.  At the back of the restaurant is a clear view of the Taal Volcano in case you are interested to have a photoshoot.

View of Taal Volcano from the restaurant

After around 30 minutes, our name was called which means that there's already an available table for us. 

Let's start with the wide selection they have on their menu...

Images of the food on the menu are really mouth watering that with the variety of options we found it's so hard to choose which one to order. There are lots that we would like to try but we have to choose only a few. 

For our starter, we tried one of their specialty which is Josephine Soup.  As mentioned in their menu, there are shelled shrimps, clams and fish fillet in this flavorful stew of crushed tomatoes spiced with basil, parsley and laurel.  Just right for us since we love seafoods and it was not too spicy.

Josephine Soup - Php120.00

For our main course, we had the Fried Tawilis and Bulalo Steak.

Fried Tawilis - Php195.00

I thought that I still have to remove the fish bone on the tawilis but my buddy told me that it could be eaten as well so I did.  It was crispy and you wouldn't even notice the fish bone.  I find the taste of  it just a little salty.  I was able to eat lots of this.  Serving was more than enough for the two of us.

Bulalo Steak - Php495.00

Their Bulalo Steak is huge!  I didn't expect it to be this big having it at only Php495.00.  It was so delicious.  Inside the bone there are lots of fatty marrow which I enjoyed eating.  While around the shank are lots of meat.  Though it's really delicious, it was already too much for the two of us.  We had the small bone shank for take out instead since we got full already sharing with the big one. 

For our beverages, we tried their "Sunshine" and "Paradise Quencher."  Sunshine is their own version of piña colada while Paradise Quencher is a blend of peach, mango, banana, orange and lime juice.  What can I say about the two? Very refreshing and really a must try! 

Sunshine and Paradise Quencher - Php105.00 each

We're already full but still I would like to have a taste of their Leche Flan for our dessert.  This is the only one I didn't enjoy on our picks.  Nothing much special on the Leche Flan.  I'm not sure if that's because I'm expecting too much or since my stomach is already full.

Leche Flan

Overall, it was really a good experience having tried this restaurant.  Though it's a bit expensive compared to others here in Tagaytay, we find it still worth it with the quality and serving of the food that we had.

ONE TAGAYTAY PLACE HOTEL SUITES

During our Tagaytay vacation, we stayed in One Tagaytay Place.  Upon check-in we were provided with stubs for their complimentary breakfast buffet.  Here's what to expect.

Dining Hall

Buffet table

Selection of food

My plate

Aside from those, I also had bread with butter toasted on their bread toaster.  I also had a French Toast which they also have in their menu.  For the drinks, you can choose from iced tea, mango juice and orange juice.

Though there weren't too many options on their menu, it was just enough to have yourself full.  Whenever a particular dish is already consumed, no need to worry as it is immediately refilled for those who would like to get themselves another round.

MAHOGANY MARKET in Tagaytay

Since me and my buddy are free this weekend, we decided to have a trip to Tagaytay.  It's already late and it was also raining when we got to our destination so we were not able to roam much on our first day.  Instead, we just decided to try out the MAHOGANY MARKET to have dinner.

As the name says, it is a marketplace wherein there are small food stores on the side or what we Filipinos call as "carinderia".  There are several carinderias but I think each of them serves almost the same menu. Here's an image of the place.

When it comes to food, Tagaytay is well known for it's special BULALO, a soup with beef shank including the bone with marrow inside.  So we ordered this as this is a must try!

Served in a soup pot with flame underneath to keep it warm

The first thing I looked for when the waiter placed this on our table is the bone.  I checked it if it has lots of marrow inside as it is the precious part of this dish.

Lots of marrow inside the bone

Just a reminder, if you're blood pressure is high, try to avoid the marrow since it is high in cholesterol as they say.  Instead, you may eat the meat part which is also tender.

With just Php300.00, you can have this special bulalo which has lots of bone marrow and several chunks of beef.  One order could be good enough for 4 persons.

As for the dessert, you can have these bananas for free.  You may get as many as you want I guess because I got 5 pcs. at no extra charge.

If you don't like bananas they also have leche flan on the side which will cost you Php80.00 per order.  Unfortunately, the leche flan is not that delicious as we were expecting.

Overall, if you're tight on the budget and would love to try Tagaytay's Special Bulalo without caring too much on the ambiance, then this is the place you should visit.

LITTLE ASIA

We got here months back but unfortunately the branch in Tomas Morato was under renovation.  Just visited them today, and they are now on soft opening. It's our first time to try this restaurant courtesy of a voucher we got from a group buying site. 

From the name of the restaurant, it mainly serves Asian Cuisines like Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese dishes.  It was a bit hard to choose from the menu with the number of choices they have.

Since it is newly renovated, we were expecting a lot - from the interiors, ambiance and food.  Here are some of the images...

The lonely chandelier, we find it a bit off.  We were seated at the ground floor and found no other chandeliers aside from this one.

The table with nice red cushioned chairs

The bar where they prepare the beverages

 Here's a glimpse on the wide selection of food on their menu...

After discussing what to order, we decided to have the Fish Fillet Wrapped in Bacon and Beef Tenderloin Rolls with Cheese in Teriyaki Sauce. 

Beef Tenderloin Rolls with Cheese in Teriyaki Sauce

Steamed Rice

Fish Fillet Wrapped in Bacon

We also ordered Japanese Beef Fried Rice which is new to us.  It's a sticky rice with ground beef, vegetables and egg.  For us, it's so yummy.

Lastly, for the dessert, we had the Caramel Banana Tower.  It has baked wontons, caramelized bananas and vanilla ice cream.  We find it very sweet.

Overall, the taste of the food is a bit ordinary while serving is just enough for 2-3 persons.

Branches

Greenhills Promenade
Ortigas Ave., Greenhills, San Juan City
(632) 727-5265; (632) 727-5785

Tomas Morato
Tomas Morato Ave. cor. Scout Fuentebella, Quezon City
(632) 373-0609; (632) 410-4937

The Venice Piazza
McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City
(632) 798-0354

YAKIMIX Sushi & Smokeless Grill

If you're into buffet and enjoys cooking, this is one restaurant you must try!  Compared to the usual buffet they don't only have cooked food in their menu but they also have raw dishes for grilling.  It's a smokeless grill restaurant so no need to worry.

They have a wide selection of makis and sushis to choose from ... just make sure you don't eat to much of these as you'll easily get full and won't be able to try their other dishes

The smokeless grill where you'll cook the raw stuffs you got from the buffet table...












For grilling, they have crabsticks, hotdogs, shrimp, salmon, different pork and beef selections, and a lot more...












And for the finale, they have ice cream, cakes and sweets.  For us, we had this delicious leche flan to end our Yakimix adventure.

Overall, the experience here was really satisfying.  The price of the dinner buffet inclusive of drinks at Php600+ was worth it!








Branches:

Hobbies of Asia
Macapagal Blvd.
Pasay City
(632) 387-8120

Tomas Morato
Quezon City
(632) 332-8073

Greenbelt 3
3/F, Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center
Makati City
(632) 475-5153 to 54

SM Mall of Asia
Pasay City
(632) 836-1537

The Podium
5F The Podium
Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City
(632) 634-0302

Trinoma Mall
Quezon City
(632) 861-1718

POLU KAI GRILL

Another restaurant  located in Serendra... Polu Kai Grill, a Hawaiian-Polynesian restaurant.  It's our first time to be in this kind of resto and  I had a hard time ordering since I don't know what to choose and ended up with Chicken Loco Moco.  Well, actually I think it is not really a solid Hawaiian dish, but I like chicken, only that it is a chicken patty.,with mushroom gravy and egg served on top of the rice.  The  prices, I think, are expensive as the said dish (chicken loco moco) costs 230+ pesos.  The  other food that we ordered Grilled Shrimp Bacon Skewer costs 350+ pesos and it was really good.  Well, what else can I say, I like the ambiance and stafff are friendly.

Grilled Shrimp Bacon Skewer

Chicken Loco Moco

Polu Kai Grill

Serendra, Bonifacio Global City

Taguig 

Phone: (632) 901-1841 / (632) 856-0355