Fiesta Bicolandia Boodle Fight at Blackbeard's Seafood Island, Market! Market!

Having not to eat any meal in the last 36 hours, oh my just thinking it out again just make me feel like im passing out. I didnt pass-out just to settle things out clearly, but remembering what I just did for the weekend - slept, and played racing, and then slept again, and no eating-in-between, it was just unbelievably me.

So there goes my boodle fight, or 'should-have-been-a-boodle-feast' lunch. After the mind-boggling waiting for something to digest, we hopped to Blackbeard's Seafood Island and checked their menu. The 'pirate' said the serving should be available for 10-20 minutes. Ow god 20 minutes? But what is 20 minutes compared to the last 36 hours I waited for a food? But that is just another tedious 20 minutes, I thought.

But instead of trying out the buffet-style next to Blackbeard's we decided to check-in their boodle fight, and get one of its fiesta bundle offers, 'Fiesta Bicolandia.' It got some grilled white shrimps, grilled pork bbq, crab cooked in curry style, some shells inside a cold coconut, grilled fish, then the vegetable, the bicol express to complete the bicolandia experience, and the always-present rice.

So 20 minutes, fine. Let's check out the place then while waiting. We seated in a two-seater table near the resto door, and from there you will see the wall that looks like a treasure map. The ship, the pirates, the chairs, the ropes, the aquarium in the outside area where you'll see live fishes and shrimps, they make the by-the-sea-side ambiance real.

Then our food arrived, carried by a pirate in a huge wood that covered the table - inviting, and shouting that we grab them in 3,2, 1, but because we remembered that we are in Manila, and a few minutes away from our domiciles, we'll eat with plates, and fork, and spoon, instead of bare hands - the boodle fight way that it was supposed to be. 

The food was okay. Had the iced-teas refills been more automatic the experience could have been really perfect. But of course the way the pirates communicate with their visitors, they were very well, it was just not the 'snap snap' automatic way you'll see in fine dining restos. There was one instance that my teas glass was filled without me asking, but there were times that their attentions have to be called first before giving you what you've paid for.

The casualty? 

1 Fiesta Bicolandia 3-4 persons, 675, 2 bottomless iced tea - 190, 10% service charge - 77.23, total of a Php 942.23.

Ambiance was almost perfect, a/c can be improved, we dont want our customers sweating while eating 8.

Customer service was almost perfect too, initiative needs to be consistent from the crew pirates. 9.

Food, was sea-side style, grilled, and cooked nicely, 9.

Over-all experience, 8.5.

So over-all i'm recommending this place with an 8.5/10 rating.

archie's at tiendesitas - special bbq and ribs

Trying to remember the isawan in Kalay and Malcolm in my great old alma mater, we decided to do some ihaw food tripping. Final destination was at tiendesitas, since its near my place, plus lots of food choices. Just like what we did in dampa macapagal, we passed by several stalls and food places until we decided to stay in Archie's.

Archie's isaw baboy costs P27, isaw manok costs P25. The BBQs are at P45, while the ribs, there seem none available when we were there.

Here are some photos you might want to look at. Just to reference if you were really at the place I am referring. Enjoy your BBQs!

 

And here's how the BBQs are cooked. Of course you know how the grilling works.

It might be worth-mentioning that the persons there were very nice, and very courteous. Though we understand that the culture there is "self-serve," they extended their efforts and had the courtesy of giving us suka refils [vinegar sauce refills which are sour and sweet at the same time], and even delivered our drinks at our table.

The BBQs seem to be processed really well, and cleanly. I asked a few more sticks for take-out, and they had them even covered with an alum foil.

Customer experience: 9/10.

Food taste: 9/10.

Ambiance: 9/10.

Great work!

igmaan sa dampa macapagal

We were supposed to visit MOA to use our gold tickets for the pyromusical. But just after buendia, all the cars seem not to move. Tik, tok, tik, tok.We've been inside the cab for an hour now. So instead of having a bad hair *night*, we decided to just give up the traffic jam, forget the pyro-show, and off the seafood tripping at seaside macapagal.

walk here, walk there, cant decide which resto to go. are we eating for less? or spending for some real food-tripping?

viola, we decided the later. we came here to eat a lot, and pay for it. 

So as the calm night passed by, we decided to sit on one of the paluto restos along the dampa creek. we weren't really particular with the discounts the ates and kuyas were offering, but we went on  our search for the place that is not so palengke-like, and has a good ambiance.

And we decided to sit on this resto, with a white flower on each of the tables. The flower on the table's the one on the photo on top. Igmaan. We were really not familiar with the word. But the framed photos on the wall, they seem to be of Ilonggo origin.

After looking at the menu, where it lists just the price of the paluto charge, we decided to take on some shrimps, and prawns, and crabs, plus a piece of tilapia. 

tik tok, tik tok. tik tok. my belly's almost shouting for food, so i decided to ask how soon do we have to wait.

5 minutes. and true enough, after five minutes, our crab, the buttered shrimp with garlic, the  lovely tempura, and the stuffed tilapia, all jumped to the table.

the food is very tender, very sweet, and very hot.

Seeing the photos above is just mouth-watering. Reminds me of these I consumed. Had this been not in Pasay, I would have to visit the place more often than my neighbor tiendesitas.

The price for this meal? Approx 1,600.00 for 1/2 tempura, 1/2 buttered shrimp, 1/2 crab, 1 piece of stuffed tilapia, 1.5 liter of soft drink, and a serving or rice for a group. For 2 persons, you would have no choice but to take out almost half.

rating: 9/10.

food: 10

customer service: 9

timeliness: 8

ambiance: 8

From The Free Samples of Matahari, born a new favorite nut store

We were about to exit Market! Market! when we decided to drop by stalls, checking stuffs we didn't pay any much attention before, just for the hopes of discovering some new 'yummy' munch. And here's what we found out.

The Matahari lady offered us a free sample of 'Australia Cornik'. There must have been an earthquake then, or maybe a volcanic eruption somewhere miles away that radiated to make my brains say 'yes' to the free sample, and munch a few bits. I don't usually care if the samples are free or what, I just dont care enough, and would rather freely say "thank you, that's so sweet" and walk away. But this time, must be really an eruption.

Shame on me, ahaha, cos I even asked the young lady if she'll also offer  free sampling of their 'Roasted Garlic Bali Nuts.' Which she courteously handed, and even gave us free chips samples. Not bad. 

In the end, the experience kind of required me not to walk away empty-handed. We decided to get 100 grams of nuts and ordered! What's even got me surprised is when she said that we can combine nuts of the same price, at no additional cost. It turned out that today's discovery... had been 'nutty' productive. 

And how did the nuts taste? Of course delicious.

An Easy Monday

Sharing to you what's up for us for breakfast: lots of hotdogs, corned beef, and well, 'crunchy' omelette. The perfect meal to start the week.

corned beef, the crunch omelette, and hotdogs

crunch omelette anyone?

Ps. The omelette might look like its been fried for years, but  the taste, its perfectly delicious.

And oh, I'll share to you as well that while we were eating these, we were also watching 'drag me to hell'. Didnt last 30 minutes watching the film, and decided to move to 'Bride Wars.' Wondering why? Just check the film. You'll love it. But then take note that I stopped without even reaching 30 minutes.

Rex

starbucks at boni high street

We were passing on several stalls, and most of them are already closed. Its almost midnight. Its almost monday. Tomorrow it'll be another work day. Back to reality. 

But snap back to the moment, as I sip on my hot caramel macchiato, Starbucks Boni High @B3 didnt fail our expectations. As I observed the place and tried to compare the interiors to the other Starbucks houses as I get in the door, and noticed just three sets of couch inside, I was suddenly cut back when the baristas warmly greeted us a wonderful evening.

Their smiles are just contagious. I was welcomed warmly by a young lady who asked for my order, and my name of course, then she said it would be the guy barista who would be taking my order. The guy barista, who like the young lady, smiled like he had no problem in the world. With me having several things to think about, a warm smile is just so special. It kind of make me feel that there are so many other things to think about, so many beautiful stuffs to be happy with. So he asked for my order really quickly and then in less than 3 minutes, I got my grande hot caramel macchiato.

So where will we sit now? To my left, the set of seats have already been occupied by three, two ladies, and one guy who seem to be like us, trying to pass the sunday night through, preparing themselves for the next days' battle against reality, against the five days that will pass too quickly but will require them all the energy and all the emotions to be productive and happy at the same time. To the right, the first one is still occupied, and the second, oh! Well earlier it was occupied by a barkada. Now we can take it. But their left overs are still there.

In just a snap another barista came from nowhere, and in an instant cleaned up the table, and made it available for us. And now Im here trying to share a beautiful experience. It is a so simple experience I know, but that smile that the baristas gave, the promptness and the initiative they offered, in a very timely manner, added up to the Starbucks ambiance, and its coffee of course, made my [and I guess ours even] experience today worth sharing.

Overall: 10/10.

Rex

PS. Please dont hate me for posing here. Peace. Y'_'Y

Food trip at Kamay Kainan @ Market Market

At around 3PM today we decided to eat out again at Kamay Kainan in Market Market. We go here almost every Sunday, if we decide not to check out Mann Hann, or any other food places inside the mall. In fact, I have gained my mayorship in this place at foursquare! See: [http://foursquare.com/venue/6192782]. That should be a proof of what I just said earlier.

 

So Kamay Kainan is, as you might have already known, an all you can eat buffet style resto. They feature pinoy food favorites like tempura [which by the way is unavailable most of the time, but hey dont expect that its this great tempura from paluto stalls in dampa, because the tempura here looks like fried small shrimps over-coated by flour], pata, papaitan [my favorite], dinuguan, pansit, adobo, fried chicken, fried pork, sinigang sa miso, bopis, and a lot others. There are times that they have barbecue available, but that happens to be an exception rather than a rule. They also have refillable drinks: bottomless ice tea, softdrinks, and if you are a bit money-conscious, purified water which is free.

And when you are done with the main course, they also have dessert choices, like mangga at bagoong, gelatin salad, bola-bola, ube bar, and sometimes ice cream.

They offer this buffet style eating experience for Php249.16. That's right, 249.16. I was actually thinking that people are not really attracted with this "figure-technique." Nobody believes with a .16 pricing. I just say its 250, simple and clear. Their drinks are at Php50, so for a big meal, budget a Php300. Not bad. You can even stay there like forever. And eat until you lose breathe.

The money's worth it. There are a lot of food choices available. The place looks good from the outside. But prepare yourself with the servers. Some are really good, they will make you smile because of their promptness and initiative. But there will be times that you are seeing waiters flocking in one side, laughing and seemingly unengaged with the customers who have been trying to create eye contact with them, for a refill of the drinks they ordered, but they are seemingly staring away for engagement, just to stay away for the work.

Payment time! If you dont want to get a bulk of coins in your change, be sure its exact. Their black slip holders shouts "No service charge." The receipts shout the same. The waiters will also verbally state that. "No service charge sir." Was that a way of getting a tip? Or are you saying that I dont look like I give tip? I dont mind. And one last thing, though they advertise that they accept credit cards, most often, the bank networks are offline. So be ready with cash.

Food rating: 7/10. Because of the choices.

Customer service experience: 7/10. 

Ambiance: 7/10. The outside is good, but the inside seems a fiesta siesta house.

Overall: 7/10.

Recommend: 7/10.

Rex

Location: Market! Market!, Fiesta Market Section 26th St. cor. C5 Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

the el pueblo mcdo at the heart of ortigas

photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenarski/3284761188/. 

So there, I would like to stress out first that I do not own the photo above, and that its the first photo I saw when I checked google, and typed in "McDo El Pueblo, Ortigas". Its just the first that popped out, and so here we go... BINGO! But I am not at all promoting Jenarski's site. I have no direct affiliation with the site. Just to make things as clear as mud.


So Sunday morning, after spending some time with a few cocktail drinks and dance dance loco we decided to hop to McDos for the usual Sunday morning breakfast. Its the usual breakfast stuff at El Pueblo, in terms of the food on the menu, on the cozy place, on the peaceful environment. The usual relaxing breakfast at the heart of the city of Ortigas.

But there was one catch with my today's, and I guess also my friends' experience. Where have their smiling faces gone? Or paraphrased, where have the smiling crew gone?

We were served by a young lady named Bea, who seem to have not known that there is such a term as smile. I asked her. "Do you have sundae?" Like an old lady stuck in the house, busy with the home chores, and disconnecting with the house people, she answered me with a plain and simple "No." Then she went pressing on the screen and maybe sending a message to the cooking crew, hey another order's here. I asked her again with a smile, trying to change her mood for today. Hey its just 7am and I wouldnt want her to carry on the bad vibes till the end of her shift."What time will it be available?" She answered, again with disconnect, "8". I gave up. I just gave the hundred bucks and grabbed my order.

I hoped she didnt carry the same vibes with the 15 others I was with. But she did.

the blog description - from 500 characters to seemingly 500 words

So i realized that what I was writing a few was actually the blog description the one you see next to the blog name. And so that is why it limits the characters to just 500 huh? Alright. Might be really stupid but I would like to share to you what I wrote. For the supposedly 500-character-blog-description.

there are so many bloggers popping in and popping out, declaring that they critique fairly, or they just write about something and or someone correctly. that is my assumption. so with my assumption, why the gracious am i joining their trend? their culture of writing what they think and engaging themselves in the cyborg technology of thoughts+machines, ideas+robots, sentiments+blogs, or even sex+facebook?

that is a great question for my assumption. but they have their own voice, and i have my own voice, and you also have yours. if you write as well and think as good as i do, then tell me your link and i'll subscribe to your feeds, but then would you dare challenge me with my subjectives of 'as-good-as'? 

i am not that clever. i am just trying to make you engage with my words. and i hope i had you stay this long, and read through and through. 

my topics in here are unclassified. this is not specialized for photography, for food review, for resto rating, for service grievance!!! no, this is a compilation of all the goods and bads of experiences, and the ups and downs of the everyday economy of my life. bow. you're welcome.

So there you go. A 500 character description, that looked like 500 words. Clever I know. But at least you get to know the tune of my style.

Rex