I got news that Midnight Mercato is now open Wednesday nights, and never having been, we decided to check it out. There’s a big selection of grilled items from pork barbecue, isaw and other innards; as well as grilled fish and chicken. There were also stalls that sold burgers and fries, deep dish pizzas and something with lots of crispy bacon. Other stall had Ilocos empanada, chicharon, kebabs and fried chicken. Siomai, maki and takoyaki are also available. I also remember seeing paella, steaks and pasta being sold at other booths.

For those looking for dessert, there were, I believe 3 stalls that sold cakes and other baked products. There’s also a stall that sold gelato and mochi. There was actually a lot of food there but I can’t remember everything I’ve seen.

That night, I settled for pork barbecue, chicharon bulaklak, chicken kebab, and some fried chicken wings from Annalyn’s Chicken Delish booth. I suggest you give her fried chicken wings a try because they’re quite good. The skin is crispy, yet the meat inside is still quite tender. It’s then coated in sauce; you can choose from a sweet sauce and a semi-sweet, mildy spicy barbecue sauce. I think if you want more heat, you can ask more for chili sauce. I had a some Meiji dark chocolate gelato for dessert.

Midnight Mercato is open from 10:00pm to 3:00am every Friday, Saturday and Wednesday; Mercato Centrale is open every Saturday and Sunday from 7:00am to 2:00pm.

Midnight Mercato is located at the corner of 34th street and 8th avenue beside MC Home Depot in Bonifacio Global City.For more information, please visit their website www.midnightmercato.com or their Facebook account www.facebook.com/mercatocentrale. For vendor booth rental or venue rental inquiries, please email admin@mercatocentrale.ph or text 09178401152.

Spicy Tuna Roll Php 320.00

They served us Tiger Prawn Tempura Popcorn -truffled prawn popcorn tossed in red bell pepper sauce-which I didn’t get try because of my love-hate relationship with prawns recently.But I’ve been told it was good.

Tiger Prawn Tempura Popcorn Php 370.00

 We also had a Sushi Sampler Platter as well as Beef Salpicao and Unagi Sushi.

But my favorite on their menu is the Soft-shelled Crab Roll that they served with Aligue Mayo. It’s quite simple but really good. It’s crispy soft-shelled crab and a very creamy aligue-mayo dipping sauce that’s so good, it’ll give you a heart attack on the spot. I’m kidding about the heart attack ofcourse, but yes, it is quite a sinful treat.

Unagi Nigiri Sushi Php 210.00

We washed it all down with tall glasses of iced tea and a signature cocktail they named Lady Gaga, which is just as cool, quirky and refreshing as it’s name sake.

Soft-shelled Crab Roll Php 390.00

Servings of the dishes we had are good for one except for the platter is which is good to share. Dishes start at PHP 100.00 for sidings, starters at Php 150.00; and main courses go up to Php1000.00.

Japanese Beef Salpicao Php 320.00

Robot offers more in their menu aside from those we’ve tried that afternoon, like Truffled Portebello Mushroom Confit, Mesquite Smoked Duck Breast Roll, and Honey Soy marinated Chillean Sea Bass to name a few.  I’m hoping to go back there soon to try them out.

Robot Bar & Lounge
7912 Makati Avenue corner Sto. Tomas Street (beside Manila Peninsula), Makati City.
Tel. 8128800

One of my favorite restaurants, Bistro Ravioli, opened two branches in the last twelve months. One is in Robinson’s Midtown Wing of Robinson’s Place in Ermita, and more recently, at Glorietta Mall in Makati City.

Both branches offer the same delicious dishes that their Mall of Asia branch does, such as their fresh pasta dishes and pizzas baked in a brick oven. And let’s not forget dessert!

If you’ve been wanting to try their offerings for some time now, but still haven’t, it’s certainly more easier to do so with two new branches in the metro. Here’s hoping that they’ll open another branch somewhere in the north.

Makati branch
2nd floor, Glorietta 3
Makati City

Malate branch
2nd floor, Midtown Wing, Robinson’s Place Ermita

Yes you read that right. It’s Chicken-All-You-Can once again at Max’s! For only Php 199.00, we can once again experience eating all the Max’s fried chicken that our stomachs hearts desire. This already includes a glass of any Pepsi softdrink that can be upgraded to bottomless drink for only PhP28.

I had six.

As an added treat to its customers, Max’s is also giving away free PhP 20 money coupons for every PhP200 spent during the Chicken-All-You-Can promotion. A maximum of three accumulated coupons per transaction may be used to “purchase” any Max’s products within a year after issuance.

The promo started last June 10, and will run until July 10, 2011. Chicken-All-You-Can is available between 6:00 to 10:00 P.M. So what are you waiting for? Attack na!

Caffe’ Ti Amo is a gelateria cafe’ that offers Italian gelato and coffee in a fast casual dinig format. It was established in 2006 in Korea, where it has become quite succesful with stores numbering close to 270. Their first branch here in the Philippines is located at The Annex, SM City North Edsa, and they have since opened another one in Greenbelt.

Affogato and Gelato; Gelato Small Php 55.00; Regular Php95.00

I’ve tried out a lot of the flavors of their gelatos from chocolate to green tea. But out of everything I’ve tried, the dark chocolate, coffee, mocha, strawberry and yogurt are my top faves.

Honey Bread  Php 120.00

But aside from the gelato, Caffe Ti Amo also has Gelato Creations like the Honey Bread, which is a big chunk of loaf bread drenched in honey and served with scoops of gelato. They also have different flavored waffles which are topped with gelato and slices of fruit.

Gelato Waffle Small Php 95.00; Regular Php 189.00

They also have Banana Split, Affogato, and 3 flavors of Mischiato: Yogurt, Green Tea, and Chocolate. Affogato is a combination of hot coffee and gelato.

Chocolate Mischiato

And what cafe wouldn’t be without coffee? Caffe Ti Amo  not only serves gelato, but offers coffee and tea selections  as well.

Caffe Ti Amo is definitely one of my favorite cafes to hang out in. The place is cozy and inviting, the gelato and food are delicious and truly mouth-watering.

For starters, we were served some delicious sweet corn as we were looking over the menu. We then ordered a plate of the Creole Crispy Shrimp for our appetizer. These are fried baby shrimps seasoned with a Creole rub, served with cocktail sauce and malt vinegar. This was so good. True to it’s name it was crispy, and the Creole rub gave the shrimps a wonderful flavor that was complemented by the dipping sauces.

Creole Crispy Shrimps PHP 338.00

We wanted some meat, and their selection looks really yummy. We went with the BBQ Caboodle King Paddle size. This is a BBQ set that includes a full slab of baby back ribs, hickory BBQ chicken quarter, bountiful beef ribs, and Texas links. The meat was very tender and flavorful. Everything was coated in a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce.

BBQ Caboodle King Paddle PHP998.00

The set also includes 3 side dishes. The choices include: bourbon peaches, honey corn bread, dirty rice, rustic, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, corn on a cob, crinkle cut fries, coleslaw, broccoli and cheese, and baked potato. We chose the coleslaw, rustic mashed potatoes and honey corn bread.

The coleslaw is a bit sour, not like the coleslaw that we are used to. The rustic mashed potatoes are seasoned with just salt and pepper, and mashed with the skin still on. A great balance to these two was the sweetness of the honey corn bread.

Szechuan Crab

Dining at Claw Daddy wouldn’t be complete without sampling their crabs. The crabs on the menu are priced by weight. For a 600gm-700gm crab it’s PHP 100.00/100 gms. An 800gm- 1 kg crab is PHP 135.00/100 gms.; and the ones that are above 1.1 kilos are PHP 145.00/100 gms. The crabs we got were  800 gms each.

We ordered 2 crab dishes that evening: Crab Maritess and Szechuan Crab. The Szechuan Crab is a dish that has a sweet and mildly spicy szechuan sauce. The leeks give it that extra light kick. I love pouring the sauce on hot steaming white rice.

Crab Maritess

Something new for me was the Crab Maritess. I love how this tasted! It’s sauteed in olive oil, white onions, chilies and garlic. Lots of garlic. Despite the garlicky aroma, which i really love, it has a very clean, light flavor. The garlic doesn’t overpower the flavor of the crab at all.

Fresh Watermelon Shake

To wash it all down, we had some really good watermelon shake. I like that it wasn’t too sweet, and that they used fresh watermelon. It was on the house. We found out that the restaurant is a partner establishment of Smart Rewards, and my aunt, being a Smart subscriber decided to use her points and rewards. So we got a pitcher of free watermelon shake to go with our dinner! We enjoyed dining more because of the great discounts, freebies and points that we got by using my aunt’s Smart Rewards.

A delicious meal was had by all. Everything was satisfying. The food was great, and the service was excellent! I’d definitely keep coming back.

Claw Daddy
Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City
Tel. No. (02) 836-4785/ 856-4326

6th Level, EDSA Shangri-la Plaza,
EDSA corner Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City
Tel. No. (02) 636-5679/ 637-4528

Part of their savory offerings is the Spanish dish callos. It’s something I am very familiar with as it’s somewhat of a staple in our household; once only cooked during holidays and celebrations by my mom, until eventually when ever we feel like having it. I even shared her recipe on my other blog (with her permission, of course) . Cocktales’ version has the requisite mix of ox tripe, garbanzos and chorizo, but unlike my mom’s recipe, is a bit sweet, maybe to adapt the taste to the Filipino palate. I liked how it tasted but found the serving rather small. But then again I am a big eater, hahahaha!

To wash it down, I ordered a fruit shake. The menu boasts of a varied selection of fruit based shakes. From simple mixtures to one of a kind concoctions. Deciding to stay simple, I choose the Peach Mango Smoothie- a combination of peaches and sweet ripe mangoes blended to a cool, smooth drink. A very refreshing drink served in a slim tall glass.

I guess the small serving of the callos was actually a good thing because if it here as hefty as I wanted it, there wouldn’t be room for dessert! What meal would be complete without it? Cocktales’ dessert menu consists of fruit shake based desserts served with fresh fruits and sweet creamy desserts like panna cottas and tiramisu.

To balance out the savory flavor of the callos, I chose something that looked light so I chose the Mango Cosmo. This stylishly-named dessert has a sweet mango shake base, topped with mango cubes, almond jelly and whole lychees. The sweetness of the mango is layered from top to bottom with the mango shake and the mango slices; and complimented by the light tart flavor of the lychee. The almond jelly finishes it off with it’s velvety -smooth texture.

The items on the menu are varied. Aside from what I’ve featured here, there are hot and cold drinks, more desserts and other dishes like pasta and sandwiches. The savory dishes also come as set meals. Included are drinks and a dessert. The prices vary depending on what you’d want to have. Drinks and shakes can ordered spiked with alcohol, for an additional fee.

Drinks and shakes start at Php 75.00. The Peach-Mango Smoothie is PHP 150.00 per order ; desserts like the panna cotta and tira misu are Php95.00 per order. The Mango Cosmo and other similar fruit bowls come in sizes: single and to share. Prices start at Php 120.00 for the single and Php180.00 for the to share bowl. The callos is Php 175.00 for the solo and Php 245.00.

Cocktales
3rd Level, TriNoma Mall
EDSA cor. North Avenue, Quezon City
Tel. No. (63 2) 290-5236
http://cocktales.multiply.com/

Max’s Pork Binagoongan Php 275.00

Max’s Pork Binagoongan is a dish of tender pork cubes sautéed in a rich, mildly sweet and salty shrimp paste. This classic Filipino dish is served on a bed of fried eggplant and garnished with tomato wedges, fine julienned green mangoes, sprinkled with chopped spring onions.

Max’s Chicken Caldereta Php 352.00

Max’s Chicken Caldereta, a hearty chicken stew in a thick tomato-based sauce with potatoes, carrots, red and green bell pepper and green peas. This dish has the right level of spiciness. Both dishes are great with steamed white rice. LOTS of steamed white rice! If you are figure conscious, I say stop worrying about the pounds and just dive in! One order is good for 2-3 persons.

These will be available until October 15 and will be served with a complementary serving of white rice and a Pepsi softdrink. This promo is for dine-in customers only,but Max’s Pork Binagoongan and Chicken Caldereta are also available for delivery.

Log on to www.maxschicken.com to find the nearest Max’s near you.

I spent one evening in the company of fellow bloggers where we dined on Sakae Sushi’s offerings. I came in late so they’ve already started eating by the time I got there.

The first things I got to try were sushi off the kaiten- a conveyor belt that goes around the restaurant where diners can just pick up what ever they fancy.Used to seeing it only in pictures and on tv, I finally got try it myself. It was a lot of fun! I was like a kid playing with a train set.

Each serving came in two or threes. I also got to try some new maki creations like the Superior Rolls. There are 2 options for the Superior Roll: the Ebi Salad Roll which is a combination of asparagus, ebi salad, spring onion and lolorosa, and salad on a roll; while sweet-tangy-savory Tropical Roll is a mixture of ham, mango, spring onion, red bell pepper and kani salad.

Aside from sushi rolls, Sakae Sushi also serves fresh sashimi. Some tried the Salmon Sashimi, Maguro Sahimi, and Kajiki Sashimi. I had some of the salmon and the maguro.

We also tried Ebi Tempura, Samurai Steak and Gindara Teriyaki. These you have to order off the menu because they are not available off the kaiten. I’ve loved gindara teriyaki ever since I was a kid, so it’s no surprise that I would love Sakae Sushi’s version.

The Samurai Steak is also really good. Cubes of beef sizzling and served on a hot plate that is so soft it melts in your mouth. The meat is juicy and very tender. I didn’t really get to eat much of the Ebi Tempura because my attention ( more like my mouth) was focused on the Gindara and Samura Steak.

After gorging on gindara and steak, next was the deep fried chicken skin in an asian vinaigrette that everyone said I should try. Crispy strips of golden brown chicken skin served in a sweet and tangy sauce. Man that was delicious!

And to end the meal we had Sakae Sushi’s version of fried ice cream, the Tempura Ice Cream served with a dollop of strawberry jam on top.

I enjoyed dining at Sakae Sushi, regardless of what I’ve read or heard. While I initially wanted to try it because of the kaiten, eating there sure proved to be a pleasant experience. I’m definitely going back for more of that Gindara Teriyaki, Samurai Steak and most definitely, the Crispy Chicken Skin.

Sakae Sushi was brought to the Philippines by Hubert Young, and is a sister company of UCC Concept Stores, Cafe City 1888 and Crepes & Creams. Aside from the Mall of Asia branch, there’s also a Sakae Sushi restaurant on the UG of the Annex, SM City North Edsa.

Sakae Sushi
Unit 2145-2146 2nd Floor
Main Mall, SM Mall of Asia
Pasay City
Tel. 556-0150

Steak ala Dad

It’s been an old-age saying that the way to any man’s heart is through his stomach.

Being the number one man in our lives, our dads are about to celebrate their special day come June 20. And what better way to melt our dad’s hearts than to give him a gastronomical experience he will never forget.

Known to be the first restaurant to serve certified Angus Beef in the Philippines, Melo’s Steakhouse never fails to satisfy their guests with their mouth-melting, succulent and tastiest steaks. Now also known to serve authentic Wagyu steaks, it’s no wonder more and more steak enthusiasts come to Melo’s.

With Fathers’ Day coming up, families are sure to dine out and Melo’s is more than prepared for this once-a-year celebration. Melo’s came up with their own Fathers’ Day Special which is certified to make the man of the house melt. Steak ala Dad is the latest creation Melo’s cooked up to commemorate all the dads for their hard work, dedication and love for their families.

Featuring Melo’s signature Wagyu Tenderloin seasoned with Al Funghi Porcini Sauce, Steak Ala Dad may just be the best Fathers’ Day meal dad will ever have. They’re in for the real treat once dads find out that they can personalize their own steaks.

Dining at Melo’s this Fathers’ Day is sure to be a rewarding experience for any dads out there. Always aiming for personalized service and impeccable food, Melo’s guarantees an unforgettable dining.

Going out for a family lunch or dinner is a good way to celebrate Fathers’ Day. Making it extra special is even better. So if you want to express just how grateful you are to your dad without speaking, show it through a hearty, meaty meal. Make your way to Melo’s and let Steak Ala Dad be the best Father’s Day gift he could ever receive.

(Steak ala Dad photo provided by Melo’s. Watch this space to read about my Melo’s gastronomic experience.)