Pino (Malingap Street, near Maginhawa Street)

Beloved and I finally got the chance to eat at Pino a couple of nights ago. I say finally because this place is pretty close from home, once located at Maginhawa, then they moved to a street nearby, and we've been wanting to try the place out for years. This somewhat Filipino cuisine place apparently also owns BRGR: The Burger Project, so we really were expecting much from it. We've also heard praises of their bagnet, so I was making sure to order that.

True enough, the place was packed. Luckily, they had tables outside to accommodate us. They provided us with menus both from their main restaurant and their vegetarian restaurant, Pipino. The menu was filled with Filipino delicacies, some with a sort of Asian twist. As planned, we ordered their Kare Kareng Bagnet (245 Php), which is basically twice deep-fried pork belly in peanut sauce, usually prepared using oxtail or beef. Beloved ordered for herself their Kalderetang Lengua (195 Php), which is basically beef tongue in a tomato-liver sauce, usually prepared using goat meat. We also ordered their Wasabi Onion Rings (145 Php) from their main menu and, finally, their Mushroom Salpicao (80 Php) from their vegetarian menu.

Almon Marina (SM North EDSA)

Me and my friends ate at Almon Marina for dinner a couple of days ago after our semi-weekly Bingo sessions. This relatively newly-opened sandwich bar replaced Seattle's Best Coffee's location in SM North EDSA's the Block. We had no idea what to expect here, but I guess it was safe to assume that this would be something similar to Oliver's Super Sandwich where sandwiches are the main specialty. However, I also assumed that they had good seafood due to the second of its name.

And indeed, both assumptions held true. Their choices had three entire boards dedicated to sandwiches, and among these sandwiches were seafood-oriented ones such as salmon, tuna, crab, et cetera. However, it wasn't entirely dominated with sandwiches, nor was it entirely dominated with seafood. They had grilled entrees as well, and because I was pretty hungry, and because the number of sandwich choices was too many to just pick one, I decided to order one of their house grilled specialties, their most expensive item on the menu, which was their Fillet Mignon for 260 Php.

Caffe Dolce (Banawe)

I love to drink (but not the alcoholic kind!). I love going to milk tea places, coffee shops and cafes so its no wonder that when I discovered a new cafe at Banawe: Caffe Dolce, I asked my friends to meet up there after work. One thing unique about this one is that this is a vegetarian cafe.

I was the first one to arrive since it only took a few minutes to go to Banawe from work. I found out that its located on the second floor of Hong Kong Cafe (which sadly closed down). When I got to the second floor I was very impressed with the interior design of Caffe Dolce. Ghost chairs paired with white table tops for the dining area, red velvet accent chairs for lounge, and wicker furniture for the verandah part decorated with floral arrangements, chandeliers, a floral accent wall, and a water feature. Very shabby chic-x-modern style. But I didn't just went here to praise the interior, so I ordered their Iced Caffe Mocha (135php) and Steak Panini with Salad (199php) since I would be expecting Hannah in an hour or so.

The Seafood Club by Red Crab (Greenbelt)

For my birthday, Beloved and I had dinner at The Seafood Club by Red Crab. If the obviousness doesn't strike, this seafood restaurant specializes in crabs. More appropriately, they specialize in alimango, since Red Crab is self-titled "alimango house". While the Tomas Morato branch is a place we often pass by, the particular branch we ate in is located at Greenbelt 3.

Aside from crabs, their menu consists of other seafood and some meat items. However, since we were here, we didn't bother with the meat. We ordered for ourselves their Crab Relleno Salad (295 Php) because it looked good in the picture. As for our main course, we got their King Seafood Platter (995 Php) which was apparently good for 2-3 people. They also have a slightly cheaper Queen-sized platter, but the waiter said it didn't have any crab in it. We also ordered garlic rice, but that's just so we don't tire of too much seafood.