Highlands Coffee

Highlands Coffee - Cafe Sua Da (iced coffee with condensed milk) P119Whenever I go to my store in Jollibee Plaza I pass by a sign “Highlands Coffee Opening Soon” and since I am a coffee addict I was very excited.

Highlands Coffee, a Vietnamese import, opened their latest branch at Eton Emerald Lofts on the same street as Jollibee Plaza and only a 1 minute walk away.
Highlands Coffee-001

Highlands Coffee-002

Highlands Coffee store hours

Highlands Coffee-016

Highlands Coffee-015

It’s summer in Manila and it’s hot, hot, hot so I ordered the Cafe Sua Da or iced coffee with condensed milk.
Highlands Coffee menu

Highlands Coffee menu-001 Highlands Coffee menu-002

Highlands Coffee menu (click to enlarge)

Highlands Coffee-008

Highlands Coffee cakes & pastries
cakes & pastries

Highlands Coffee cakes & pastries-001

I liked the open display of their sandwiches, salads, pasta and drinks. It reminded me of Pret A Manger.
Highlands Coffee sandwiches, salads, pasta
sandwiches, salads, pasta

The sweet potato chips caught my interest but I found the very light bag too expensive at P75. I will try it one of these days if I can find it in the supermarket. Click here for Annette’s Kamote Crunch Facebook page.
Highlands Coffee- Anette's Kamote Crunch P75
Anette’s Kamote Crunch

The premium three cheese sandwich looks interesting.
Highlands Coffee sandwiches, salads, pasta-001

I also want to try the rosemary chicken sandwich and smoked salmon egg salad sandwich.
Highlands Coffee sandwiches, salads, pasta-002

I ordered my iced coffee to go. I was surprised that they poured my coffee from a pitcher instead of making it from a Vietnamese drip filter (cà phê phin). Maybe they just use it for dine in orders. I was also initially dismayed that P119 (US$3) got me only half a small cup of coffee and lots of ice.

I changed my opinion as soon as I took a sip. Oh boy was it strong and sweet!! I take my coffee strong, I also enjoy drinking espresso with a dash of cream and sugar so I’m definitely not a coffee wimp but this coffee was so strong I had to wait for some of the ice to melt. I wanted to do the happy dance with every sip. Next time I will just request for less condensed milk since it was a tad too sweet for me.

Even though the coffee was strong it lacked aroma or any distinct flavor nuance. I don’t mind though since the strength was enough to give me my morning wake up shot and more.
Highlands Coffee - Cafe Sua Da (iced coffee with condensed milk) P119-001

Note: The manager told me I wasn’t allowed to take pictures thankfully after I’ve finished taking all these shots. He claimed, “We have to protect our store identity.” I found that strange since any industrial spy can just enter any of their stores to look at anything they want. I guess they don’t understand the benefit of free advertising from blogs like mine. Oh well….

This was the only the second time in my 4 years of blogging that I’ve been told not to take pictures. Both times in the Philippines.

Highlands Coffee
Emerald Eton Loft
F. Ortigas Jr. Rd. (Emerald Ave. cor Garnet Road) 
Ortigas Center, Pasig City
website
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Nachos at Hermanos Taco Shop

Hermano's carne asada nachos P195
Have I ever mentioned before that I love nachos ☺?  I’ve read mixed reviews about Heramanos Taco Shop but I had to try their nachos myself and be the judge.

I pass by Granada Avenue every Tuesday and it was only last week that I finally noticed Hermanos Taco Shop. My eyes seem to always focus on Arny Dading’s Peachy Peachy right beside it. They’re both located next to a gas station.
Hermanos Taco Shop

Hermanos Taco Shop-003

Hermanos Taco Shop-004

Hermanos Taco Shop menu 2

So many choices but I was dead set on the nachos which they call Carne Asada Chips.
Hermanos Taco Shop menu
Hermanos Taco Shop menu

Hermanos Taco Shop-005

I ordered the regular size for take out but I ate most of it in their shop. The regular was quite a big serving. It was definitely good for at least 2 people.
Hermanos carne asada nachos P195
carne asada nachos P195

I really liked the tender and well seasoned steak cubes better than the usual ground beef other places use. Instead of cheese sauce they used real cheese and warmed up the nachos under the broiler until the cheese melted. This way it also insured that the sour cream was warm and not ice cold from the refrigerator. Cold sour cream on hot nachos is not a good thing.

My nachos came with a container of spicy salsa which I only used when I was down to the last few soggy chips without any topping or sauce.
Hermanos carne asada nachos P195-002

There was a lot of toppings well spread out. Almost every chip had something on it.
Hermanos carne asada nachos P195-003

Even the bottom tortilla chips had melted cheese. I would have given their nachos top marks except the tortilla chips were makunat or stale. I wonder it’s because how it was fried or stored. They definitely should improve this since the tortilla chips are the major component of nachos. Other than that I really enjoyed my late lunch of nachos.
Hermanos carne asada nachos P195-004

Hermanos Taco Shop
#27 Granada Avenue, corner Jose O. Vera St., 1112 Quezon City, Philippines
telephone: 570-8425
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Joe Nachos at SM Megamall

joenachos special P90-1
Sometime I fear going to SM Megamall because I always discover something new to eat. Sometimes I can resist it but this time I didn’t even think twice. Nachos are one of my favorite foods. It’s definitely my favorite Mexican food.

I don’t even remember why I went to SM Megamall but as soon as I saw the new food cart of Joe Nachos I immediately stopped to try it.
Joe Nachos

Joe Nachos menu
Joe Nachos menu

Joe Nachos 2

I wasn’t even hungry but I had to try the Joe Nachos special which had everything on it. First layer was the hot melted cheddar cheese, then the salsa, jalapeño, ground beef, and finally sour cream. All that for only P90!
Joe Nachos special P90

It looked really good. I took a bite and was thrilled with all the delicious flavors blending together on crunchy corn chips. Even though I had to stand beside the cart to eat it I didn’t mind.
Joe Nachos special P90 - 1
Joe Nachos special P90

The only thing I didn’t like about my nachos was that it was too WET! I had to eat pretty fast because I could taste my corn chips getting soggy.
Joe Nachos special P90 - 2

I think the culprit was the salsa which wasn’t well drained. Look at all that liquid left at the bottom. It was a diluted mess. Next time I will just order the regular nachos with extra beef. I hope the owners can improve on this because they really have a good product.
Joe Nachos special P90 - 3

Joe Nachos
UG Level, Bldg. A of SM Megamall, Mandaluyong, Philippines
telephone: 211 2778
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Dessert Crepes at La Creperie

Le Pain Perdu (French toast)
We just finished a gut busting lunch at mu noodle bar yet we wanted something sweet to end a wonderful meal. I suggested La Creperie thinking we could share a crepe and have coffee.

I thought four women could share two crepes right? Noooo… someone in our group wanted her own crepe and wasn’t willing to share. Guess what? We finished 4 delicious crepes easily.

How can you go wrong with chocolate crepes filled with mangoes, peaches and slathered with Nutella and topped with toasted sliced almonds and a glob of whipped cream?
Mango Peach Nutella crepe P195
Mango Peach Nutella crepe P195

As good as the chocolate crepe was I loved the simple Salidou crepe filled with salted butter caramel even more. The nuances of the flavors were just sublime.
Salidou gourmet sweet crepe P145
Salidou crepe P145

My all-time favorite crepe was still the Crepe Suzette which was all things orange. It was soaked in orange juice, orange zest and a measure of Grand Marnier and flambéed on the table. It was Deb’s choice too since she insisted on one of her own. I don’t blame her.
Crepe Suzette P155
Crepe Suzette P155

The french toast wasn’t ours so I wasn’t able to try it but I wanted to. Instead I just took a picture of it. So pretty right?
Le Pain Perdu (French toast)-001
Le Pain Perdu (French toast)

They also have delicious savoury crepes.

La Crêperie
403 F. Calderon St., Bgy. Little Baguio, San Juan, Metro Manila
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Want a free Macaron from Bizu?


April 20 is Macaron Day! Take heart macaron lovers, Bizu Patisserie celebrates Macaron Day on April 20 by giving a free macaron to every patron.

Visit Bizu branches at Greenbelt 2 Parkside (757-2498), Greenhills Promenade (724-2498), Alabang Town Center (809-2498), St. Luke’s BGC (789-7700) and One Rockwell (478-7755) to get your free macaron.

Now on its second year running, Bizu’s Macaron Day offers free macaron in especially designed packaging that signifies a personality trait. There is a macaron perfect for everyone.
First held in 2005, Jour du Macaron was started by French patisserier Pierre Hermé as a gourmand event in support of charities.

For its part, Bizu will donate a portion of its macaron sales for the day to Action Contre la Faim (ACF), A French humanitarian NGO.

Macaron is a French cookie that is crisp on the outside with a soft crème ganache and ground almonds in the middle. It is said to have originated in Italy in the 1500s then found its way to France. What was just a simple recipe of ground almonds, egg whites and sugar with no filling and flavoring was then transformed in early 1900s by French chef Pierre Desfontaines of Parisian pastry shop and café Ladurée into the macaron we know today, two cookies with a ganache filling.

Bizu introduced the macaron to the Filipino palate way back in 2001. Bizu Groupe founder and CEO Anabel Tanco recalls that very few people know about macarons then, often confusing them with the sweet coconut covered macaroons. Bizu now has 13 macaron varieties all with less sugar and more almonds.

Bizu requests people to share their photos and videos doing the Bizu Macaron Kiss on Twitter or Facebook.

Check out www.bizupatisserie.com, http://www.facebook.com/ilovebizu, Twitter and Instagram: @Bizuph#bizumacaronday.

Bizu has chosen Action Contre la Faim (ACF) to be its beneficiary for its 2013 Macaron Day celebration. It is a global humanitarian organization that fights hunger, from its most extreme manifestation of severe acute malnutrition to its causes—inadequate maternal and child care and feeding practices, poor household access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food, clean water and quality health services, and unhealthy environment.  ACF intervenes directly in over 40 countries and supports more than 6 million people.  Since 2000, ACF has provided humanitarian and development assistance to less empowered and more vulnerable populations in various regions of the Philippines, including populations affected and displaced by armed conflict and natural disasters such as Typhoons Ondoy, Sendong and Pablo.

Lunch at Mu Noodle Bar

dong bo buns P240
I’ve written about my love for mu noodle bar before but believe it or not last week was the first time I’ve eaten at their restaurant. All my other meals were take aways. My lunch at home the past 3 Sundays was food from Mu.

A trip to this gem tucked near the corner of Wilson St. and P. Guevarra is definitely worth a visit. You will definitely be going back over and over again once you’ve tried their amazing food.
Mu Noodle Bar

Mu Noodle Bar menu

There were four of us for lunch. All of us were women in case you wonder about the quantity of food we ordered. Two were Mu newbies who wanted to try everything in the menu.

One of the best things I like about Mu is how they take typical Chinese dishes and take it out of the box and giving it a new spin. In this dish they combined the components of dong bo pork (soy glazed pork belly) and cua pao. Instead of bread or cua pao they used fried matou (siopao w/o filling) and served it in a deconstructed form. I just wished the pork was less bland but it actually tasted fine when I added the mustard and ground peanuts with sugar.

With the first dish my friends were already gushing with praise.
dong bo buns P240-001
dong bo buns P240

Hoti is fried seaweed commonly used in Chinese fresh lumpia. It was genius of them to use it to coat shrimp. The flavors of hoti were amplified as a super crunchy coating. I must warn you though it’s an acquired taste. Some kids may not like it. They will surely like the sweeter cereal coated prawns. An extra treat was the fried ginger slices that my friends ate with gusto.

8 pieces of medium sized prawns for P350 only!!! That’s a great deal!
cereal & hoti prawns P350
cereal & hoti prawns P350

I would never have ordered the gabi cake since I hate/detest/dislike gabi (taro). Deb ordered this since she loves gabi cake. I was surprised to see it wasn’t anything like I expected. She forced me to try it and I am now a convert since it didn’t taste like taro at all. I would describe the thin slices of gabi cake as savory tikoy. It had a chewy consistency similar to mochi. The addition of shrimp, peanuts and a side of raw garlic made it truly a special dish.
gabi cake P400
gabi cake P400

YOU HAVE TO ORDER the beef fried rice. Deb said she doesn’t really like fried rice but conceded that it was pretty amazing fried rice. It looked deceptively simple but trust me, you can eat this without any viands and be happy.
beef fried rice P200
beef fried rice P200

Naturally I had to let my friends try my all time favorite dishes at Mu. The next three dishes are always in my MUST ORDER list.
red lamb curry P260
red lamb curry P260

Sometimes their black ho fan with seafood in squid ink sauce is good. Sometimes it’s spectacular. Last week at lunch it was somewhere in between.
black ho fan P220
black ho fan P220

If you like the radish cake at dim sum you will love this cubed version laced with spicy X.O. sauce.
X.O. radish cake P200
X.O. radish cake P200

I didn’t find anything I wanted to try in the dessert menu but the frozen tarragon tea intrigued me so we all shared one glass which they split for us. It was a unique and refreshing drink. You can really taste the tarragon (one of my favorite herbs) but it wasn’t overpowering.
frozen tarragon tea P80
frozen tarragon tea P80

We ordered so much food and our bill was only P2,000!!! We had lots of leftovers which Pat gladly took home for her dinner.

Needless to say my friends loved the food at Mu. Deb and Elisa enjoyed the food so much they actually ordered the fried rice, shrimp, gabi cake and lamb curry to take home for their own families to try.
P1100721

Mu Noodle Bar menu-001
mu noodle bar menu

Mu Noodle Bar menu-002

Mu Noodle Bar menu-003

mu noodle bar
197 Wilson St., San Juan, Philippines
telephone: 451-2681
cellphone: 0917-807-4057/02
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All You Can Eat Dim Sum at Red Lantern, Solaire Resort & Casino

Red Lantern dim sum favorites
My friends Jennie and Florence treated our group to a stuff-your-face-silly dim sum lunch at Solaire Resort and Casino.

Red Lantern @ Solaire

The private rooms in Red Lantern were beautifully appointed.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- private room

There is a minimum consumable fee of P20,000 if you want to dine in private.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- private room-001

I really liked the Chinese calligraphy stickers on the glass walls.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- private room-002

Red Lantern @ Solaire-004

Our group of 10 wanted a round table so we can converse with each other. They said there were no tables for 10 because of their wide and comfy chairs. Hmmm I count 10 people on this table.
Red Lantern @ Solaire-005

They sat us at this long table and I didn’t even get to talk to half of my friends.
Red Lantern @ Solaire-006

Only the early birds got this really cute bag chair.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- bag chair

Red Lantern @ Solaire-011

Just like Finestra they used really nice tableware. The dinnerware was from famous French brand Bernardaud. Click here to see a similar pattern sans the red lantern.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- Bernardaud dinnerware

I simply adored and coveted the teapot. It was so heavy! The house tea was light and had a floral scent which we all enjoyed.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- Bernardaud tea pot

Red Lantern @ Solaire-menu
Red Lantern menu (click to enlarge)

Red Lantern Dim Sum Lunch
picture from Solaire’s Facebook page

Ordering was simple. Just tick the items you want and the food will be brought to your table. Execution by the new and inexperienced staff made the process confusing. Food that we already consumed still kept coming while the ones we were waiting for took a long time to arrive.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- dim sum lunch menu
Dim Sum menu (click to enlarge)

I was in charge for ordering for 6 people on our side of the long table. I basically ordered 90% of the menu and I posted the pictures in the same order as listed on the menu.

My strategy was to order 1 item of each and just re-order the ones we liked best. This way we get to try more food without getting too stuffed. It also minimized food leftovers.

Generally the dim sum was okay. There were some I wouldn’t order again and some we ordered multiple times. I didn’t put any rating on the dishes I wasn’t able to try.

SOUP

Red Lantern @ Solaire- sweet corn soup with chicken
sweet corn soup with chicken
Red Lantern @ Solaire- hot & sour 'Szechuan' soup with seafood
hot & sour ‘Szechuan’ soup with seafood

STEAMED
Red Lantern @ Solaire- shrimp dumplings with coriander & water chestnuts
shrimp dumplings with coriander & water chestnuts

I appreciated that their menu had unique items like this squid ink dumplings with scallops. I didn’t really taste the squid ink but I enjoyed the tender scallops.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- squid ink dumplings with scallops
✔ ✔  squid ink dumplings with scallops

There were some items that I ordered but never arrived and a couple I didn’t order like these beef balls and the vegetable dumplings. I never liked beef balls so I didn’t try this.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- beef balls with crunchy green vegetables
beef balls with crunchy green vegetables

The pork siopao was good but really small so make sure you order more.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- glazed fluffy barbecued pork buns
✔ ✔ ✔ glazed fluffy barbecued pork buns

The glutinous rice was one of those items that we ordered a lot of. We started by sharing two rolls then ended up eating more than one roll each.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- glutinous rice with chicken & salted egg in lotus leaf
✔ ✔ ✔ glutinous rice with chicken & salted egg in lotus leaf

The sticky rice was soft and moist and the filling was very tasty. This didn’t need any soy sauce at all.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- glutinous rice with chicken & salted egg in lotus leaf-001

Even though I didn’t order this I tried it and was quite pleased. The wrapper was thicker and stickier than the standard dim sum wrapper. Veggie lovers will like this.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- vegetable dumplings with fermented red bean curd
✔ ✔  vegetable dumplings with fermented red bean curd

The flavor of the chicken feet was really good, sweet and spicy, but it was really, really malnourished.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- steamed chicken feet with X.O. sauce
✔ ✔  steamed chicken feet with X.O. sauce

RICE ROLLS

The rice roll wasn’t bad but there was barely any shrimp or barbecued pork inside.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- shrimp & parsely rice rolls
✔  shrimp & parsely rice rolls

DEEP FRIED

We all loved the crispy Bean curd skin roll filled with shrimp. I didn’t taste the jackfruit though. We ordered 4-5 plates of this.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- deep fried shrimp in bean curd rolls with jackfruit
✔ ✔ ✔ deep fried shrimp in bean curd rolls with jackfruit

Too bad I ordered this when everyone was already full. Take your typical shrimp & cuttlefish ball and coat it with a generous amount of sliced almonds. I loved the crunch!
Red Lantern @ Solaire- deep fried prawn & cuttlefish with almond flakes & thyme
✔ ✔ ✔ deep fried prawn & cuttlefish with almond flakes & thyme

This is the Chinese version of gyoza. The filling of ground pork and chives was quite juicy.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- Shanghai pork dumplings with chives "Wo Tie"
✔ ✔ Shanghai pork dumplings with chives “Wo Tie””

Red Lantern @ Solaire- mashed yam puff dumpling with minced pork & black pepper milk sauce
mashed yam puff dumpling with minced pork & black pepper milk sauce

These bite sized egg tarts with a very flaky crust was in the deep fried section instead of the dessert section.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- oven baked egg tartlets
✔ ✔  oven baked egg tartlets

I love barbecued pork pastries more than the siopao version because of the flaky crust. Red Lantern’s version was almost as good as those in Hong Kong.  The glazed walnuts were a welcome addition. We also ordered 4 plates of this.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- golden barbecued pork pastries with walnuts
✔ ✔ ✔ golden barbecued pork pastries with walnuts

While some of the food was mediocre the radish cake was positively disappointing in spite of the chicken floss which couldn’t save the super starchy, bland and almost radish free cake.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- pan fried radish cake with chicken floss
✖ pan fried radish cake with chicken floss

RICE AND NOODLES

If the dim sum isn’t enough to fill your tummies there are a few fried rice and noodle dishes you can try. These two were not bad at all.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- fried rice with barbecued pork
✔ ✔  fried rice with barbecued pork

Red Lantern @ Solaire- crispy noodles with chicken in brown sauce
✔ ✔  crispy noodles with chicken in brown sauce

CONGEE
Red Lantern @ Solaire- century egg & pork congee
century egg & pork congee

I ordered six safe and familiar pomelo and mango sago for all of us and just one chilled osmanthus flower & wolfberry with aloe vera to try. We ended up enjoying the refreshing jelly like cubes in a sweet, floral syrup more. Even my friends from the other side of the table ordered this.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- chilled osmanthus flower & wolfberry with aloe vera
✔ ✔ ✔ chilled osmanthus flower & wolfberry with aloe vera

Red Lantern @ Solaire- chilled pomelo & mango sago
✔ ✔  chilled pomelo & mango sago

This is Richard the very capable manager of Red Lantern. If you order from him the food will come out in a jiffy and in the right quantity. I told him about the several ordering snafus we experienced and he guaranteed it will improve on my next visit.
Red Lantern @ Solaire- Richard Hong, restaurant manager
Richard Hong, restaurant manager

Red Lantern @ Solaire- tea choices
tea choices

check please!
check please!

Red Lantern @ Solaire-040

Overall I enjoyed the food MUCH more at Red Lantern than at Finestra.

✖ skip it
✔ not bad
✔ ✔ do order
✔ ✔ ✔ MUST order

Red Lantern

Solaire Resort and Casino
Entertainment City (Near SM Mall of Asia) Parañaque 
telephone: +632-888-8888
click here for the map and directions
website
Facebook

Finestra at Solaire Resort & Casino

mozarella & tomatoes
Solaire Resort & Casino has several signature and casual dining restaurants. The first one I tried was Finestra their fine dining Italian restaurant.

Finestra at Solaire Resort & Casino

I’ve seen pictures of Finestra from other blogs but it still didn’t prepare me for the beauty and grandeur I’ve only seen in other countries. I even overheard a few people comment that Finestra’s interiors were at par or even better than those in Hong Kong or Singapore and I agree with them.
Finestra at Solaire Resort & Casino-001

Finestra at Solaire Resort & Casino-002

From floor to ceiling it was evident that no expense was spared to line each surface with exquisite materials that haven’t been seen in the Philippine restaurant scene.
Finestra at Solaire Resort & Casino-003

Finestra at Solaire Resort & Casino-004

The views from Finestra was also unmatched. On one side was the swimming pool which wasn’t operational yet.
swimming pool at Solaire
swimming pool

On another side was the Manila Bay.
view from Finestra

You can choose the antipasti buffet for your meal or part of the lunch offer or as your starter.
antipasto buffet P1,460
antipasti buffet P1,460

For me the highlight of the antipasti buffet was the burrata (mozzarella stuffed with cream) and fresh mozzarella cheese.
antipasto buffet P1,4601

As soon as the bread basket landed on the table I immediately chose the cheese bread since it looked the most appetizing of all.
P1100507_Fotor_20130414

I just love it when my instincts are right. The cheese bread was the most delicious bread I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant in the Philippines. The best bread selection for me is in L’Atelier Robuchon in Hong Kong but this was very, very close. We all loved the cheese bread so much that when we asked for more they gave us an entire basket of it.

The bread was warm, crusty, soft and very, very cheesy and I guarantee you won’t stop at one piece.   I ate 2 1/2 pieces. I really wanted to eat more but I was getting full already.

My dining companions were feeling guilty with eating so much bread that I teased them by saying this bread could very well be the best part of our meal. It turned out to be true.
cheese bread at Finestra
cheese bread

The olive oil was excellent! It was very aromatic and fruity. I dipped my cheese bread in the olive oil and it was even better.
olive oil at Finestra

They used the finest tableware. Even the linens were imported from Italy. I really liked the red water glass.
Finestra's table setting

I read from other blogs that the pizza is served unsliced in Finestra. I requested them to slice it before bringing it to our table and they agreed.

The only thing I liked from this particular pizza was the taleggio cheese used instead of the usual mozzarella. The cheese was creamy and smokey. The aged Parma ham was pretty good too.
prosciutto pizza P790
prosciutto pizza P790

I didn’t like the thick and doughy crust. I did like the crunchy outer part of the crust. I didn’t even finish this slice of pizza.
prosciutto pizza P790-001

I didn’t even try the marinara pizza without cheese. Our host ended up taking home most of the two pizzas.
marinara pizza P840
marinara pizza P840

I wanted to order protein instead of my favorite carbs and would have ordered the lamb or veal but a friend advised me to try something else so I ordered the cioppino or seafood stew.
cioppino P2,020-001
cioppino P2,020

I was the only one in our group of 7 who was relatively happy and satisfied. All the seafood specially the salmon was perfectly cooked. The clams were too miniscule to enjoy. The broth was too salty and spicy for me to drink but it was sufficient to season the fresh seafood.
cioppino P2,020

In the menu this pasta dish was called “traditional fusilli” but since they wanted a more traditional pasta they requested for angel hair or linguine instead. The kitchen used spagetti chitarra or guitar string spaghetti instead. They commented that this pasta didn’t taste like pasta. It tasted like udon or something else. Two people shared this dish and yet more than half was left behind. They ate more cheese bread instead.
pasta with clam sauce P670
pasta with clam sauce P670

My dad had the lunch offer which included the antipasti buffet, Chef Salvatore’s specialty of the day which was a choice of pasta, vegetable calzone or lamb and dessert for P2,350.

All of us have never seen pasta tubes that big. Not only was the paccheri pasta huge it was also too hard. Again this was wrapped up to go. The next day I nuked it in the microwave and the pasta became more edible. The taste wasn’t bad at all but the sauce wasn’t enough.
paccheri with seafood in cream sauce
paccheri with seafood in cream sauce

As beautiful as the restaurant was much has to be desired about the service.
Me to waiter: What dessert do you have?
Waiter: I don’t know, let me check.
Me: What flavors of gelato do you have?
Waiter: I don’t know, let me check.

Compared to other restaurants they don’t have a very long and extensive menu. I don’t think it should take that much effort for the waitstaff to KNOW what desserts and gelato they serve. On a positive note they were friendly and nice to look at. Just not well informed. Hopefully in time they will get into the groove and be more familiar with their work.

With that out of the way I am glad to report that my dad’s watermelon sherbet was very, very good.
watermelon sherbet
watermelon sherbet

The coffee wasn’t to my liking. It was strong but didn’t have any aroma or body. The biscotti was good and chewy though.
coffee
coffee

The big question is will I go back again? Yes! I will go back for the cheese bread and a bowl of soup or the antipasti buffet. I might give the risotto a try but I don’t think I will be ordering anything else. I miss the cheese bread.

Finestra menu
antipasto buffet, starters & soups,  pasta,  risotto & pizzeria,  entree

Finestra
Solaire Resort and Casino
Entertainment City (Near SM Mall of Asia) Parañaque 
telephone: +632-888-8888
click here for the map and directions
website
Facebook

Solaire Resort and Casino

Solaire Resort and Casino
I finally got to visit the newest mega casino resort that just opened in Manila.

As soon as you pass the tight security and enter the lobby you are greeted by two statuesque ladies in high, high heels. The large skylight and beautiful decorative fixtures were quite impressive.
Solaire Resort and Casino-001

Solaire Resort and Casino-002

Solaire Resort and Casino-003

The scale and grandeur really felt like I was in Macau or Las Vegas.
Solaire Resort and Casino-004

Beautiful multi-colored hydrangeas were the focal point near the registration area.
Solaire Resort and Casino-005

I went back to the hotel a few days later and the colors of the flowers changed.
flowers at Solaire

Solaire Resort and Casino-006

Solaire Resort and Casino-007

This is the VIP entrance. If you enter here it will be nearer to the restaurants. You will need a special VIP card to use this entrance.
Solaire Resort and Casino-008

I like the colorful carpet and the gorgeous ceiling.
Solaire Resort and Casino-009

Solaire Resort and Casino-010

Solaire Resort and Casino-011

Solaire Resort and Casino-012

After our lunch at Finestra (post to follow) we requested to see their hotel room.
Solaire Resort and Casino-013

Solaire Resort and Casino-014

It was a pretty nice and modern hotel room. This was the standard room which costs P8,000 (USD$200).
Solaire Resort and Casino- standard room-006

There was an iPhone or iPod dock speaker system on the side table. You’re out of luck if you use an iPhone 5 though.
Solaire Resort and Casino- standard room-001

Solaire Resort and Casino- standard room-002

I don’t really like the table under the tv but I guess it serves it’s purpose as extra storage space. Those doors serve a purpose too.
Solaire Resort and Casino- standard room-003

Behind door 1 is the mini bar and refrigerator.
Solaire Resort and Casino- standard room-004

Behind door 2 is the closet and the countertop safe.
Solaire Resort and Casino- standard room-005

I wish all hotel rooms have separate shower stalls and tub like this. An additional handheld shower is a bonus seldom seen in hotels.
Solaire Resort and Casino- standard room

From the room I saw this single level structure facing Manila Bay. I learnt that this was the Bayside Villa which measured 546 square meters and rents for P150,000.00 (USD$3,630) a night. I think you have to be a high roller or Head of State or just filthy rich to stay there. I wish I could take a tour inside.

Beside it is the Chairman’s Villa  which is even bigger at 936 square meters (bigger than most mansions) which you can rent for P300,000.00 (USD$7,260). According to our guide only the chairman Mr. Razon has stayed there.
Solaire Resort and Casino- Bayside Villa  & Chairman's Villa

Solaire Resort and Casino
Entertainment City (Near SM Mall of Asia) Parañaque 
telephone: +632-888-8888
click here for the map and directions
website
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Brownie Crunchies


Have you ever heard of Brownie Crunchies? I haven’t either until my friend gave me a bag of it.

These goodies are from Brownies Unlimited which you can find in SM Malls and a few other malls. Let me confess, I’ve never bought anything from their store. It’s because I’m afraid. I’m afraid that I will like their brownies or other goodies and will be addicted to them. Well, these Brownie Crunchies did the trick. Now I have something to look forward to when I go to SM.

Initially I thought these were made from left over brownies and toasted just like what they do to mamon and ensaymada. But these crispy treats were thin and even in thickness so I guess they make it from scratch. It was really, really, really hard to NOT finish the whole bag in one sitting.

I took one bite and quickly fell in love with the crispy, super chocolatey crunchies studded with chocolate chips. They’re actually just like crunchy cookies which are perfect for dunking in milk.

Brownie Crunchies cost only P65 a bag!! Try it and let me know how much you like it.
Brownie Crunchies

Brownies Unlimited
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