Fine Life On A Budget + + +

After a whole day of attending two special occasions -- a joint birthday celebration of a college classmate's son and daughter and the son of my boss' baptismal event -- I was ready to rest and get some sleep. The day, though, proved to be not over. By evening, I was in a casual reunion with two college classmates. It was impromptu and I couldn't beg off because I have not seen one of the two classmates for more than a year. Metro Manila does that to us, sometimes. It was a good thing that food reunites us all when the time is right. In our case that night, crispy chicken and ceasar salad did!

Secret Recipe's salad bowls do not come in small servings. They are something that people on a healthy diet can brag about as a hefty meal. I ordered the Crispy Chicken Salad (more or less Php180) because I love tomatoes and onions and it has lots of those. I had its spicy dressing served separately so that I could control the taste. They each had the Ceasar Salad (Php150) which got its kick from its dressing which tasted a bit lemon-y.

While waiting for our order, I had my salad circle members pose like they were the tandem of the '80s duo Everything But The Girl.

YOU OUGHT TO READ THIS:
What I ate right after coming from the ER: Stackers burger and fries!

Have you ever been turned away by a restaurant for a valid reason? I have been. It happened one weekday morning when I planned to eat brunch just as the mall opened. I walked inside this one restaurant without anybody there noticing me. I sat as any customer would. After a minute of being ignored, I stood up to get a menu from a menu rack. Just as I was flipping through it, a waiter approached me and politely informed me that they could not serve me any food at that time as the cashier personnel was not in yet.

It was then when I dragged my weary soul inside the mall. I found myself inside Mondo Juice smoothie shop three minutes later. I'm a sucker for Big Chill, so I was a bit cynical if Mondo Juice's smoothies were any good. Point #1: their menu is so interesting. And I'm not referring only to the fancy names of drink concoctions. I mean the combo of various fruits are just quite remarkable that I had a hard time choosing a flavor to purchase. I decided that I would have to drop by several times to sample most of the flavors that interest me. Funny thing was, I ended up buying their simplest flavor -- the Perfect Peach -- which is a combo of peach, mango, signature nectar and other minor stuff that I can't remember anymore.

Now, I don't really watch my weight, but for those who do, Mondo Juice drinks come with fruit mix info stickers that are placed on the cups which is my point #2. The so-called Perfect Peach smoothie that I ordered tasted rich in fruit flavor and yet still thirst-quenching. The resulting concoction is not as unnecessarily ice-crunchy (for a lack of a better term) as other smoothies that I've tasted.

I will definitely return to Mondo Juice for the other fact that they serve a very delicious looking slice of chocolate moist cake that's only for Php100. Plus, I'd love to sit on one of those diner-style seats next time.

I don't have the perpetual sugar rush as some foodies have, but once in a while I take a break from hefty meals and just settle for something short (in serving) and sweet. This is why I always manage to squeeze in a dessert at least twice a week.

I've always found Chinese desserts exotic only because I am not familiar with any of its kind. I have lots of Chinese friends, but food never really bonded us. School and the arts did. Just imagine my surprise for tasting the peanut roll pictured above. I call it my Hong Kong surprise. The black sesame filling gave the treat the omph it needed. I dislike tikoy. I like-y like peanut roll. I had it at Lutong Macau restaurant, by the way.

I was not familiar with S'mores (short for some more of marshmallow) until I tasted a cake version at Red Ribbon. It tasted soft and rich, but I just couldn't finish it because the combo of marshmallow, chocolate, and caramel was a bit overwhelming to my taste. I recommend this to kids.

I also ordered this in another occasion at Red Ribbon but I already forgot what it's called. I'm guessing it may be vanilla caramel. Correct or not, this cake slice worked for me.

An officemate sold me the pastillas de leche treat above. It's from San Miguel, Bulacan, the land of everything pastillas. The classic milk bar is soft and just sweet enough for one to finish a box full of 24 pieces.

Everyone combines anything with banana these days. Likewise with coffee. And, so it's only logical that both banana and coffee converge in one treat. I was cajoled by a friend to try the banoffee pie at Starbucks. I was told that there's a more delicious one available somewhere in Katipunan, Quezon City. I just may try that some time because the Starbucks bannoffee pie I had was only good when chilled. I didn't realize that the whip cream would disappear once I left the pie alone for a few hours.

I first had to be disappointed with Bo's and Blenz Cafe's lemon squares before I got amazed with Mary Grace's. I had the above photographed piece (the set includes four pieces) only yesterday and I will return to Robinson's Galleria today to buy more because I absolutely love the version by Mary Grace. It doesn't have to be chilled nor refrigerated for a number of hours. Being left out on a table somewhere, it still tastes flavorful with that signatgure citrus kick and it doesn't fall apart easily.

The sugar-free tiramisu I had was at Seattle's Best. It had a rich, creamy flavor that's not overwhelmingly sweet. It didn't matter, though, if it was not served with low fat anything. I don't gain weight easily anyway.

Puto or steamed Filipino rice cake is a comfort food for me. I always recall my Baguio summers whenever I'd get a fill of putong malagkit or the sticky version of this rice cake. I don't really fancy the slightly dry version that's being sold in Goldilocks. These days, I get my puto fix from Razon's.

Secret Recipe offers the best cake slices in the metro. They even get their selections straight from Singapore. This caramel cheesecake slice is good for 2-3 people. Order coffee to drown the intense caramel taste.

I've tried Eskimo Bob by Iceberg's milkshake before. I decided to return to the place for its meals. Soon, I was all over the Shrimp Gambas with Mushroom that I ordered. It was served in olive oil with lots of spices, garlic rice and corn and carrots. It may not be as topnotch quality as most plush restaurants' version, but it was good enough for me to find such a meal being offered in an ice cream parlor. I didn't want that day to have my meal and desserts in two separate restaurants. Somehow the setup worked for me.

When it comes to the interior design, I found the chairs' back rest very amusing what with that fancy cherry hole! I know that the lighting and wall design were conceptualized to attract kids, but somehow they appealed well to me as well. The food spot is remarkably a good break from the similar-looking restaurants at the mall.

C A S U A L   D I N I N G   R E S T A U R A N T S   I   W E N T   T O:
Prince of Persia   +   Mangan   +   KKK  

I've been to Hong Kong once, but I barely remember what happened. It was for a family vacation when I was still in grade school. I just recall having missed getting aboard that water ride in Ocean Park. I even recall staying at the Hyatt just watching cartoons which I could have done back in Manila, so, you see, it was not much of a memorable trip for me. I couldn't even remember eating famous Hong Kong dishes.

Fast-forward to 2009 one weekday afternoon. I was told that if I wanted authentic Hong Kong-style Chinese food, Lutong Macau is the place to go to. A friend boasted that he already dined several times in its Makati branch somewhere in Jupiter. A college classmate tipped me that Lutong Macau's 2nd branch just opened at the SM Mega Strip where SuperBowl of China was formerly situated, so I wasted no time and sampled myself some Hong Kong food specialties.

Lutong Macau, I found out, is most famous for its aptly called Lechon (Litson or roast pig) Macau. This is a testament to the restaurant's operations for less than a decade already. I managed to have the rest of ithe roast specialty for take out and it still tasted flavorful the next day.

Should you drop by the restaurant soon, I recommend that you order the Hainanese Empress Chicken (first image above). If anything, it's the best of Hong Kong that you can taste out of Lutong Macau. The meat is totally succulent and the thick skin is firs-class Oriental.

With both tasty viands on my table, I figured I drown my palate with Pink Lemonade. I enjoyed the concoction for the pulp bits that cleverly decorated the drink surface.

When it comes to Chinese food, one must not miss sampling the dimsum. The classic Pork Siomai is a can't-miss. If you're more open to be surprised, then also try the Steamed Shrimp Dumpling which I did. There are plenty of sauces to dip it into anyway, so you're in control of how Oriental you want your food experience to be. Toss in the restaurant's other popular fare -- the Fried Spring Roll -- which is anything but simple and you are ready to say "I've been to Hong Kong and back!"

Lutong Macau is also a condusive food place for groups of 12. The restaurant allots a function room for such convergence for a consumable rate of only Php5,000. A good three hours is guaranteed private and a delicious food experience for a casual gathering at the heart of the SM Megamall Strip.

To celebrate the restaurant's opening, Lutong Macau currently offers 20% discount on all food items for the whole month of September for dine-in transactions on cash basis.

Ortigas residents and office workers will be glad to know that the resto will be available for food deliveries starting October from 10 am to 10:30 pm. Call 633-1111 or 632-1111 for details.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALBERT LIBRE III

Ortigas Center has a new leisure spot and it serves a mean pansit canton. More than the food, the venue is actually a videoke spot. For Php30 an hour per person, you and a party of 5 can enjoy singing to high heavens. And you can do it in style as I did. MusicMatch KTV rooms are plush, cozy, and spacious. The sound system is topnotch. It's as high-tech as Red Box (my other favorite videoke place) and the songs are uber-updated.

MusicMatch also boasts of a wide spectrum of drinks that rival hotel bars. Maybe this is the reason why the hallways are wide (LOL) if you know what I mean...

The place just opened this last week of August, so you can expect to have brand new facilities. The KTV room walls and restrooms are grand to the eyes. Everything looks so creative that one can imbibe good taste.

The song selection is available in two formats -- the high-tech automated list via a wide screen computer and the traditional song book. MusicMatch boasts of having over 30,000 English, Filipino, Chinese, Japanese and Korean songs.

The KTV crew properly dons cool Chinese cut-inspired uniforms for the convenience of spotting who to talk to when you are in the hallways. Or you can use the reliable wall-mounted machine to summon a crew member for food orders or any kind of assistance.

There are a total of 23 computerized KTV rooms to choose from, so there's always a big chance that you won't wait for your turn to get jiggy before the flat screen TV.

Once upon a weekend, I visited the newly-opened garden walk at the SM City North Edsa. I reckoned that checking out the fancy strip would show a new food place. There are a lot of those actually, but I found my restaurant for the day inside the SM Annex. I found KKK or Kainan sa Kalyeng Kanluran.

KKK serves Kapampangan food or native dishes of the province of Pampanga. I've eaten in its Mall of Asia branch. It has a branch in West Avenue, Quezon City as well.

For my late lunch I ordered their Lechon Kawali Kilawin-style. The dish comes with unripe mango and tomato slices, plus lots of onion. It was a treat in that it has crunchy pan rosted pork (litson) and the usual side dish all in one. The number, though a bit pricey at Php220, was delightful in the mouth. Everything was remarkably crunchy.

I paired the pan roasted pork off with Tinapa or Smoked Fish-Stripped Fried Rice (Sinangag na Tinapa). KKK's version has bits of salted egg (itlog na maalat) which makes it more interesting. It costs Php145 but the serving is good for three people. The fried rice is a meal in itself.

The restaurant interior even offers more than what the usual customer sees in other establishments. Dining out in one of KKK's branches takes you to a memorable cultural experience. Makes you wonder if you are even inside a mall.