St. Marc Cafe (Greenbelt)

Beloved and I had merienda at St. Marc Cafe. We've actually been to this place a couple of times on their Megamall branch. In addition, Beloved has already visited this particular branch by herself, so we were quite aware what this Japanese-style cafe offers. They don't really offer traditional Japanese dishes. They have pastries, desserts, coffee, and tea—usual cafe food and beverages. However, most if not all of them has that Japanese touch, such as incorporating matcha and having an inordinate variations of parfaits.

We come here not for their desserts nor for 90% of their pastries. We come here for the unique pastry they carry called the "Chococro". A portmanteau of chocolate and croissant, this confectionery essentially combines chocolate filling with flaky croissant. They are placed in self-service containers in front of their baking area, making them fresh most of the time. However, after our second or so time here, we always ask for them to be reheated even if it will take a bit more time.

Aside from the classic chocolate-filled Chococro (55 Php), which we ordered one piece of, they also offer other variations of the pastry, some only seasonally available. We basically got at least one of what was available that day. In addition to the classic one, we also got their Salted Milk Chococro (65 Php), a pair of their Chococro Marble (60 Php), and one White Chococro (65 Php). For our drinks, Beloved ordered their Iced Vietnamese Coffee (140 Php, large) and I got their Hot Matcha Latte (170 Php, large).

Hanayo (Scout Lozano near Tomas Morato)

Beloved and I had dinner at Hanayo. It's actually the second time we've been here, but we didn't manage to take photos the first time, which happened early last year. Found just a skip away from Tomas Morato, this Korean grill is similar to the likes of Don-Day, one of the food places I exclaim highly due to the budget buffet they offer. This isn't as inexpensive as Don-Day, however. When we first went, the buffet, which includes on-your-table grilling, only costed a bit more than 500 Php.

When we went, the weekend price costs 630 Php per head. I guess it's to be expected due to inflation. Nevertheless, the offerings remained the same. We sat down on a table and immediately went to the buffet table.

Katsu Sora (Trinoma)

Beloved and I had dinner at Katsu Sora. This katsu place is located right beside Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, and I believe they have the same owner or franchisee, at Trinoma's alfresco area. This place is a direct competition of Yabu, one of our favorite food places, specializing it katsu. But does it offer any competition at all?

One big thing we noticed is that they are also a buffet. No, they don't offer unlimited katsu. Instead, they have a salad, soup, and rice buffet with their sets. The last one we can forgo, but Beloved and I were quite piqued due to the first two. After investigating the menu, we also learned that while they offer the sought-after kurobuta, or Japanese black pig, they offer an even more premium Iberico, which, I believe, is also black pig, but from Spain.

Because of that, I opted to try out one of their most expensive items in the menu, the Iberico Pork Set (655 Php). Beloved ordered their Menchi Katsu Curry Set (350 Php), which offers a sampling of all of the different kinds of pork they offer (Iberico, Kurobuta, Shimofuri, and Sakura). I also ordered their Calamansi Sprite (70 Php), because I like Calamansi and I like sprite, but I've never thought of combining them in one drink.

Nanbantei (Bonifacio High Street)

Beloved and I had dinner at Nanbantei. This Japanese restaurant is located at Bonifacio High Street, a place we rarely go to. According to Beloved, this is not the only branch of this place, and her uncle frequents the same restaurant's Greenbelt branch, which is another place we rarely go to. This place specializes in yakiniku, or Japanese barbecue. What differs from the norm is that this place isn't a buffet like YakiMIX or Sambo Kojin, nor is it a barbecue place where you grill stuff on your table. Instead, it's just your typical sit-down restaurant specializing in yakiniku.

Most of their menu consists of these yakiniku offerings, basically meat or veggies on stick, grilled Japanese-style, each having two pieces per order. However, they also serve platters which are collections of their yakiniku offerings for a cheaper overall cost. We ordered their Best Sellers Platter (985 Php). We also ordered two different kinds of their rice offerings. Beloved got their Yakimeshi or Japanese Fried Rice (110 Php) and I got their Shiitake Rice (100 Php) because it sounded interesting. Because they also had a promo on their cocktails, taking 50% off the price, we got those as our drinks: Japanese Mojito (175 Php normally) for me and Hibiscus Mojito (150 Php normally) for Beloved.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka (Trinoma)

Another ramen place? Sure, why not. Beloved and I had dinner a couple of times at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka at Trinoma. This relatively new ramen place opened its doors at Trinoma's fourth floor alfresco area, replacing our old tambayan Timezone Arena. Good old days.

Anyway, our first time was a couple of weeks ago with friends. Since that was a bit unplanned in Beloved and my part, we weren't really sure what to order there. Luckily, our friends have been here a couple of times and, to my surprise, they recommended not their ramen, but their set meals. They actually have quite a few, pairing up ramen with salad, dessert, and another main dish. Most of their stuff in the menu were the usual Japanese fair, such as tonkatsu, Japanese curry, and ebi fry. However, I found one item unique, which was why I went for that. I ordered their Set J (470 Php) with shoyu broth. Beloved ordered their Set G (470 Php) and added 20 Php for their kara-miso broth. We also ordered their Kurobuta Gyoza (240 Php) because the sets didn't look very filling for us (very big disclaimer for normal eaters here).