Adventures of the Happy Tummy

O-paaah! Festive, good food, old friends = happy dinner! Check-in at Foursquare (a social networking locator application on smartphones) and get a flaming cheese for free! Flambe'd mozarella on a cast iron pan & buttered french bread on te side! First get dips.... Then go for the salad - insist on the one with the grapes & walnuts.. Meat.... Rice or Fillers... In our case, we got the paella :) Sing happy birthday and embarrass your friend, the celebrant. Then fight to eat the ice cream freebie :) cyma 6th fl, Shangri-La Plaza! Mandaluyong City

Antonio's Breakfast is back! I guess the set-up with the real Antonio's fine dining place deep inside Tagaytay did not really work. If I want a gourmet breakfast, or even a simple one in Tagaytay, I'd rather have it on a sunny place with a view. And that's where they returned to. More spacious than before, the farmhouse has evolved into more than just a functional restaurant. The laid back atmosphere, the menu, the plating, even the uniforms of the staff are has all been thoughtfully maintained. And I'm expecting to shell out more than usual, as expensive and superb food is what they're known for. We had: Mixed Mushroom Cream Soup p150 Quesong Puti & Arugula Salad - soft and mild white cheese and greens ROESTI - Crisp potato pancake served w/ Panini House Burger - humongous! Eggs Benedict - p400, good for sharing. 2 poached eggs on 2 hams, cheese, and english muffins. Sliced fruits on the side: pineapple & banana for my plate. Choco chip...

Yes, this time I brought the whole family! Famished after a day of shopping, I know the bellies are eager for a hot, hearty meal. 3 points for us: -Good that we came a few minutes earlier than the slew of hungry groupies who trooped to where we're at. -Good that wecalled in to say we need 5 seats and we'll be there in less than 15mins! -Good that we ordered the mushroom gyoza in advance so we had something to chomp on before the real deal 7 points for nomama: -Pick-up something to read: various publications which features Chef Him/ nomama while... -Others can tinker with their gadgets plus the resto have free wifi with a cool password -Fast, very attentive staff: warm water and cold water for different people were timely replenished -Staff does not look harassed even if the clients keep on pouring in -Chef Him is in charge and his presence sets a responsive alertness to the team as evidently seen in their open kitchen -Very good food, been here 3x and the taste is ...

Light lunch, full of flavours. Neat, huh? Walk through the breezy Greenbelt5 outdoors and Simply Thai shall invite you with its welcoming country style elegance. Fresh shades of lemongrass green and white will certainly take your mind off the tropical heat. Start off with light FRESH SPRING ROLLS, and the tangy and sweet, POMELO SALAD. TOM YUM is the must-order soup. Add P35 for noodles. Prepare to pair chili spiced dishes with ICED THAI MILK TEA, and have a scoopful of the MANGO-APPLE SALAD WITH CANDIED DRIED FISH. CINNAMON PORK with greens. GREEN CURRY SALAD is so-so. But the RED CURRY, and CRISPY, SWEET PORK BELLY, oh, delish! Simply Thai Ground Level, Greenbelt5, Ayala Center, Makati Semi-Casual, Thai P250-350

Pair it please with cocktails and mocktails :) Pastries meant to be shared and enjoyed with various drink-up concoctions. Good thing the partners came up with creative partnership of such or I'd be at a loss! Green Tea Temple (Mocktail) - served in a flute glass, light. Mad About Sugar - rich, peanuty-midnight espresso cake and lychee-almond cocktail meant to be taken simultaneously to let the flavors blend and melt in your mouth. Heavenly. Tip: Check-in at Foursquare and you'll get freebies! We got a whole Hungarian Sausage platter with a small bowl of cheesy dip - best paired with beer :) Paire pastries and cocktails Cocoon Hotel, Sct. Tobias cor Sct. Rallos Sts., near Timog, Quezon City +63-2-5791555

Must try! Must visit! We held a few get-together parties here and Nomama has been bery consistent with bringing quality food and service to the table. Try everything! Mushroom gyoza 125 - shitake, ouster, button, shimaji mushroom Raw salad 210 - corn, french beans, mixed greens, cherry tomato, edemame tossed w sesame miso dressing Thai green curry ramen 322 - home-made green curry paste in coco broth seared chix fillet, bokchoy & peas Ox tongue and chili tofu 322 - braised ox tongue chili tofu saice house pork stock Spicy tongue dry noodle 345 - big serving! Nomama Ramen 355 - best in the house! request for really soft boiled eggs :) Flourless chocolate cake with salted caramel is soooo good! The caramel sauce is much too salty for me though. But you can always dillute it with the cream on the side :) Assorted Japanese beer are also available. Have a hearty ramen break and have it here at nomama! Nomama Artisanal Ramen Php 350 - 500/pax Scout Tuason, ...

Busy? Want healthy, home-baked goodies? Come to QC and visit Everyday Mom's! From Morato, if McDo is on your right, turn left at roces (the street fronting mcdo) and turn right on the 1st corner, Scout Tuason... and the bakeshop will be on your left! Walnut Banana Loaf Muscovado Banana Loaf Plain Banana loaf Carrot Cake Cafe Mocha cake Carrot cupcakes Mocha cupcales Buko pandan Coffee Jelly Delicious! Not too sweet and healthy pa! Everyday Mom's Scout Tuason, QC

Quaint and cozy, this li'l Thai place is a gem in tucked safely in the streets of West Kapitolyo and also along Granada St near Santolan and Villa San Juan. We Chanced upon this place while looking for a light meal after errands. It looks authentic without too much fanfare and it is. The owner is a Thai chef and has been featured in numerous publications already. Looks like we came to the right place! Dishes featured below are all very good. Even my mom, who's very particular with taste, says so. Here they are: - Tom Yum, sweet and tangy with just the right measure. Served piping hot in stainless soup thingy - Bagoong rice (rice to be mixed with pork, shrimp paste and green mangoes) - Pandan Chicken, sweet and savoury - Curried beef dish (great with loads of white rice) - Pad Thai noodles - Thai Iced Tea, lemongrass and tea makes it a refreshing choice to pair with the spicy dishes! Thai Dara West Kapitolyo, Pasig City Or Granada St., San Juan City Php 200 - ...

Roll out the sesame seeds cause here we come! What a nice day to date my mom! Magnolia Mall is homey, an classy enough to make a parent proud to be "dated" at. My mom ain't a bug eater but I really want her to try this extremely popular place for katsu. It's harder to get tables during the weekends with the whole family on board. You have to wait for hours for yout turn to be seated! I would get a scolding from the guys in my family if this will be the case. So here I come with my mom in tow. No complains about the line cause it's 2pm already... We still ha to wait for at least 15mins to be seated though. Ok so here's my mom's two cents: - very soft pork, good quality - nice cooking - nice presentation - humongous serving (for her frane) - noisy place - such hulabaloo for katsu! - very attentive staff (my comment) - interesting sauce choices (she had fun crushing & mixing the sesame seeds) - would come back but need to share dish with my b...