~ Five Cows ~

When you're at the fourth floor of Trinoma Mall, it's hard to miss the brightly lit Five Cows Resto and Ice Cream Bar.  They have a wide range of dishes & desserts to choose from.  We were still full from our lunch so we decided to just have dessert.

Table Napkin

Menu

Counter

We want this! :D

We ordered the Blueberry Cheesecake too. 

Cute Hat

All of the waiters & waitresses wore cute hats with a stuffed cow doll on top.  Our order taker was nice enough to have her picture taken. 

Blueberry Cheesecake

Absolutely delicious.  It tastes as good as it looks.  The top consists of blueberry ice cream then a rich vanilla ice cream with a graham crust.  If only the barquillos (rolled up thin wafer) was crispy.  It was actually stale when I took a bite.  Otherwise this dessert was perfect.

Comparing it with the picture in the menu.

Ferrero Crunch Supreme

This wasn't what I expected.  First I thought this dessert comes in a waffle cone just like the picture.  I was looking forward to tasting some Ferrero Rocher chocolate inside the ice cream but there was none.  It's actually their version of vanilla ice cream with hazel nut.  The dessert was nice but the name was deceiving. 

Comparing the ferrero with the picture. 

This is not just a dessert place.  They also serve hot meals.  Maybe next time I'll get to try some of their savory dishes & have my dessert too.



Remember: Eat Live and Be Happy!

Price Range : P150 - P500

Payment: Accepts Cash & Credit Card

Fee Wifi: Available

Parking: Mall parking

Address:

Trinoma Mall
4/F Trinoma Mall
North Ave. corner Edsa,
Quezon City, Metro Manila
Philippines
Tel: 63 - (02) - 901-3748

☺ Mooncake Festival Dinner ☻

Since it was Mid Autumn Festival on September 12, 2011 my family decided to celebrate it by going out to eat.  Other families even have a yearly tradition of playing the dice game.  I was able to celebrate this festival in Beijing, China exactly eleven years ago when I was still a student.

I expected the locals prepared an elaborate celebration for this festival.  I thought there will be a lot of food, fireworks, and the dice game.  The school organized for local students to meet & greet the "foreign" students on Mid Autumn.  I got to ask how do they celebrate this festival.  Their answer actually surprised me.  They said most of them usually meet up with friends or stay with their family, eat some mooncake and look at the moon.  I asked if they have the dice game.  They looked at me with a puzzled looked & asked what dice game.  I said, "didn't the tradition originate here, where you play a dice game on Mid Autumn and you get various prizes?".  They said those kinds of tradition might be regional.  I guess Beijing being in the north and my ancestors hailing from the southern part of China didn't share the same way of celebrating the Mooncake festival.  I hope one day I will be able to visit my ancestral land during this time of the year.  It would be interesting to see how they celebrate it in the twenty first century.

☺ Now on to our own food celebration.☺

Signage

The restaurant of choice was Peking Garden.  I guess we're suppose to have Chinese food for a Chinese festival.  I had a different restaurant in mind but then who would resist to eating good food. :)

Menu

Table Setting

The ever present Xiao Long Bao

Fish Fillet with Tao So Sauce

The fish is soft & tender.  The overload of fried garlic is a nice compliment to the soy sauce provided.

Sauce for the fish fillet

Fried mini "sliver thread" buns

It's just fried bread roll.  The restaurants give elegant names to simple dishes to make them more interesting.  I just had to order the bread since it's my favorite.

Condensed milk for the buns

Braised Abalone with Mushroom & Vegetables

The abalone was thinly sliced for easy eating with your chopsticks.  The combination of the mushroom & vegetable with the sauce completes the dish.

Mooncake for dessert at home

I'm already full from dinner but I just had to eat some mooncake for the occasion.  I had the lotus flavor with one egg yolk.  I still got to eat one fourth of the whole mooncake even with a full stomach. hahahaha  

Remember: Eat Live and Be Happy!

** Full details about Peking Garden can be found in a previous entry.**

中秋节快乐! (Zhong Qiu Jie Kuai Le)  Happy Mid Autumn Festival Everyone!

♥ Caffe Ti-amo ♥

After eating a sumptuous dinner I thought I'm too full for anything, but after passing by Caffe Ti-amo, it changed my mind immediately.  The sight of the colorful display of ice cream got me excited.  There's so many flavors to choose from.  Fortunately the store lets you try a small sample of the ice cream of your choice.  They also have a variety of coffee & tea to choose from.  Since I just recovered from a cough recently I thought I might as well have some tea after my ice cream. 

Signage

Lots of Ice Cream!

So many flavors

 You can ask for a taste before you decide to order.

Pistacio

 My friend's choice.  She says it's really good.

Cookies & Cream

 My choice.  Creamy vanilla with bits of cookies & chocolate. 

One for you, one for me. :D

Menu Board

Green Tea

 After taking a sip, I got a nice surprise.  The green tea is a bit minty too.  A nice complement after eating my ice cream.

Pot on top of the mug

 This is the first time for me to use this unique pot.  You place the pot on top of the mug & the tea will pour out from the bottom of the pot.

Interior

 The coffee shop is like an oasis in the middle of the shopping center.  The cozy decor & soft lighting will make you feel warm & at home with this coffee shop.

Logo

Captured with my Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Xperia

Captured with my friend's Iphone4

My friend said she would like to try the Affogato next time we get the chance to visit.  I want to try the other ice cream flavors & a different tea.  Until next time.  Ciao!

Remember: Eat Live and be Happy!

Price: P60 - P150

Payment: Accepts Cash & Credit Card

Website:  http://www.ti-amo.ph/

Free Wifi : Available

Parking: Mall parking

Locations:

Ground Floor Greenbelt 5 

Ground Floor SM Manila

Sugi

It's been a while since I've been to Sugi Restaurant.  This used to be frequented by our family especially by my parents way back even when they were located in Greenbelt 1.  The staff are nice enough to remember us.  The restaurant was crowded for dinner but we were lucky one table was available for us.    

They still have the traditional menu where it's still filled with writings & description of their dishes.  I thought they might try putting some pictures on the menu, specially for their new dishes to promote them.  I guess they're sticking to tradition.  As I browse through their menu I noticed most of my favorite dishes are still available except for the Korokke (Japanese version of a croquette).  I asked the waitress if they still have it, she checked with their kitchen, she informed me they can make it even if it's not in the menu but they were not able to prepare the ingredients so better luck next time.  

Signage

2nd floor dining area

They have private rooms with tatami mats at the 2nd floor & western style private rooms at the ground floor.  

Ceiling Lanterns

Lantern Captions
Left: Soba
Right: Sushi

Menu

Table Setting

Appetizer: Beansprouts

Nishiki Maki

This is a sushi roll with eel, salmon, asparagus, creamy cheese, mayo & wasabi.  A burst of different flavors in just one sushi.

Yaki Meshi

  

Gindara Teriyaki

 I like fish & Gindara is one of my favorites.  The meat is white & soft with just a few bones on the side.

Kitsune Soba

  Soba (buckwheat) noodles with fried tofu in soup.  You may also have this with udon noodles.  I've tried this in other restaurants but I still like Sugi's version the best.  The tofu is soft & sweet that compliments the noodles & broth.  The serving is big enough to be shared by two persons if you want to try other dishes.

Nasu Abura Itame

 One of my old time favorites.  This simple dish is composed of fried eggplant with sesame sauce.  This dish is on the sweet side so children might even like it.  It's so good that even a friend of mine who is not a big fan of eggplant tried it & thought it was okay.  ;)

Niku Jaga

 A dish of potatoes, beef with lots of onions in a sweet soy based sauce.

Wall Pictures

It was nice to have my old favorite dishes & try some new creations by the restaurant.  It's always a treat to eat at your favorite restaurant.  I hope I can have my Korokke the next time I get to visit.


Remember: Eat Live and Be Happy!

Price Range: P500 - P1000

Website: http://www.sugirestaurant.com/

Free Wifi: Available but can't connect

Parking: Mall parking

Address:

Greenbelt 2
Esperanza Street
Ayala Center, Makati City
Philippines
Tel: 63 - (02) - 757-3678 to 79, 757-3986

Greenhills Shopping Center
Connecticut corner Missouri Street,
Greenhills, San Juan
Philippines
Tel: 63 - (02) - 721-7111, 725-0208, 723-9496

Mushroom Burger

I've seen this fast food place since I was a child whenever we visit Tagaytay city.  It never caught my attention as a kid since most children only know the commercialized fast food joints.  As an adult, it finally got my attention & interest.  A few years ago as we were headed home we passed by the Mushroom Burger in Tagaytay.  I suddenly asked the driver to pull over & buy me a burger.  My expectation was since the place is called Mushroom Burger their burgers were meatless.  I was expecting a large portobello mushroom or a mushroom patty as replacement for the burger patty.  Finally the driver came back with my burger.  He said the place was crowded & there were different kinds of burgers so he just asked for the most popular burger they serve.  I finally took a bite of my first Mushroom Burger, to my surprise the patty was made of beef just like any other burger.  The burger was tasty with the restaurant's dressing but I was highly disappointed by the fact there's not much difference about their burger.


I recently found out there are branches here in Metro Manila.  I thought there's only one Mushroom Burger place which is in Tagaytay.  Yesterday since I was in the area of Quezon City, I had the urge to try their burger once again.  This time I went in to have the full Mushroom Burger experience.  The place has tables good for a group of four people.  The servers are very polite & accommodating.  

Tissue Holder

Picture of a Mushroom Farm

Menu: the BURGERS!

There are different kinds of burgers to choose from.

Menu: other dishes & meals

They have value meals that can compete with other fast food places.

I haven't tried it.  Interesting enough for me to try next time. :)

They even have their own unique dessert.

No Meat

  I finally found the no meat burger.

King Burger

The Mushroom Sandwich

Fries

Actual Mushroom Sandwich Unwrapped
Doesn't look similar with the poster photo :)

The burger doesn't have a patty.  The sandwich contains a lot of shredded mushrooms & a few pieces of cucumber with their own dressing.  The sandwich we ordered is with cheese & comes with fries & a drink.  I'm very fond of mushrooms so it's no surprise that I liked the Mushroom Sandwich.  For the mushrooms lovers out there, this is a sandwich you have to try for yourself.

Actual King Burger Unwrapped

This burger was for my ever reliable driver.  

Without him, I wouldn't be able to go around & try new restaurants.

Remember: Eat Live and Be Happy!

Price Range: P60 - P100

Payment: Accepts Cash

Website: http://mushroomburger.com.ph/

Free Wifi : Not Available

Parking: Outdoor parking

Address:

Quezon City:
1.  95 West Ave., Quezon City
2. 297 Katipunan Ave., Loyola Heights, Quezon City

Tagaytay City:
KM60, Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay City