Cafe Via Mare (Tomas Morato)

Beloved and I had an afterbrunch at Cafe Via Mare a few days ago. Beloved noticed that there's a lack of Filipino restos in our blog. That's really not the reason we went here, though. We were deciding on a place to eat at that we haven't written about yet at Tomas Morato. This happens to be one of the places left. We also found out that their prices were not as steep as we originally imagined. Craving for Filipino food wasn't really the reason, but we rarely do. Since we had a lousy time on our previous adventure, we were hoping this place delivers.

I'm not really fond of the stew dishes of Filipino cuisine, which majority of is. I do, however, like the grilled or deep-fried dishes. We got something from both: Inihaw na Liempo (265 Php) for me and Ensaladang Bagnet (175 Php) for us to share. Beloved ordered their Tortang Alimasag (185 Php). She also asked for their Puto Bumbong (65 Php) with Quezo de Bola topping (23 Php). We also ordered some special drinks: Iced Cafe Mocha (95 Php) for Beloved and Calamansi Juice (65 Php) for me.

C2 Classic Cuisine - #Unlicrispypata (Missouri Street, near Greenhills)

Me and a couple of friends partook in C2 Classic Cuisine's Unlimited Crispy Pata promo yesterday. This limited time promo is being offered by the restaurant's Greenhills branch at Missouri street. Since crispy pata is mainly a dish known for causing instant hypertension, myocardial infractions, and cerebrovascular accidents, sometimes leading to death, I really wanted to try it out.

The mechanics were simple, you pay 299 Php for Unlimited Crispy Pata. If you have leftovers, you pay double. The usual rules such as no sharing applies. What we were curious about was how this will be delivered, since eating an entire deep fried pig's leg felt like a surmountable task in itself.

Rufo's Famous Tapa (Eastwood)

Beloved and I ate at Rufo's Famous Tapa a week ago. We were supposed to go to The Marketplace, pending a follow-up visit before we review it, only to find out that it was temporarily unavailable. Also, this was delayed because Diablo III. Anyway, since this was among the only choices at One in the morning, we decided to go ahead and try it out.

The place specializes in famous Filipino 'silogs and other strange but familiar Filipino dishes. Their main specialty is their tapa, or cured beef, which is probably obvious from the name. Despite being called famous, I have actually never heard of this place before, and I decided to try out the so-called Rufo's Famous Tapa (108 Php). Beloved had their Corned Beef Ala Rufos (75 Php) and we also ordered their Mushroom Adobo (104 Php). Finally, Beloved eyed one of their desserts and ordered it too: their Black Sambo (35 Php).

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.

Rodic's (UP Diliman Shopping Center)

So, I promised some affordable places that deserve either fame or notoriety. Here's one of them. Being a UP Student since birth, and being a grandchild of a former UP Diliman employee who lives in the Campus, Rodic's is practically my Thursday diner. I've experienced Rodic's since it still served its signiture silogs (fried rice with egg) on their signiture metal plates when they were still just over 20 Php. If you're a UP Diliman student and haven't eaten here or at least heard of it, you're either a freshman or a liar.

Rodic's haven't changed much. Present day, they still serve said silogs on their metal place at the same two-floor location at UP Diliman's Shopping Center. They still proudly hang the cartoon poster of ancient UP Diliman featuring hallmark landmarks including their place. They still take orders weirdly, shouting over the counter, remembering every order, and serving you on your table. While they've expanded quite a bit, now accepting catering orders, this place stayed almost entirely the same aside from a few staff changes and, of course, their prices. Now, their silogs cost 70 Php per plate. But is the quality the same?

When I was younger, I fancied their Jumbosilog, which is a plate of a lone but huge natural-casing hotdog with the usual fried rice and sunny-side up. Nowadays, I order either their Baconsilog, obviously with bacon, or their Campus-famous Tapsilog, which has their original dried cured beef that many people would agree to be their specialty. Today, I decided to order both.

Kanin Club (UP-Ayala Technohub)

On the same day we ate the notorious Lechon Pizza from Pizza Hut, me and my friends continued on and had dinner at Kanin Club with a larger company. I've heard plenty of positive feedback from this place, but was never inclined to try it because of the first word. I'm not a rice lover, period. Because of the name, I expected rice to be the specialty. However, a friend insists that the Crispy Dinuguan here is a must try. And because it was a pretty large company, I decided to tag along.

I find out that it's a Filipino restaurant. As such, I expected that this is a great place for large parties. There were ten of us when we went in. Their menu is filled with typical Pinoy favorites, usually with some sort of twist, and plenty of variations of rice from plain to brown to chorizo to insert-Filipino-style-of-cooking-rice-here. I eyed a couple of dishes that I wanted to try out. So I ordered their Crispy Liempo (142 Php), which was listed as an appetizer. I also asked for their Adobong Kangkong (97 Php) because the idea of eating a Double Down for breakfast, Lechon Pizza for lunch, and another pork dish for dinner sounds like it would kill me in my sleep. Finally me and a friend shared an order of Sinigang Rice (224 Php), apparently good for 2-3.

Icebergs (Trinoma)

Me and my friends went to Icebergs a couple of days ago. This is one of those I've-passed-by-this-place-a-lot-of-times-before-but-never/rarely-tried-it places—for me, at least. I think the number of times I've been here can be counted in one hand. From its name, you can assume it specializes in ice cream, which it does. The branch I always pass by, especially when I was a child, was the one in SM North EDSA. But the place it's in is pretty obscure that me and my lola, whom I always go with to go grocery shopping there back then, don't get to visit it. That, and my family has a history of diabetes. That doesn't stop any of us from eating ice cream, though.

Anyway, the branch we went to was the one in Trinoma. Similar to SM North's Icebergs branch, this one is also in an obscure place, surrounded by apparel stores that you wouldn't think there was a food place here. I also thought it was pretty funny that despite this being an ice cream store, the place features other foodstuffs, specifically Pinoy favorites such as sisig. Because I was hungry, I decided to try out one of their "all-time favorites"—their Golden Lechon Kawali (178 Php). The reason I got that was the rice, which I found interesting. I upgraded the plain rice that comes with the meal to their Yellow Corn Rice for 32 Php. Because Icebergs is an ice cream store, I also got one of their desserts—their Caramel Flan con Hielo (118 Php)—after a very hard time deciding.

My meal came first. Don't let the picture fool you—there's actually a lot of rice and a thick cut of meat. My friends were laughing at the fact that the pork was extremely oily on the side down, teasing that I would certainly die young. Nevertheless, I will admit that this is one great piece of pork. The fats toasted just right to retain its delicious flavor while still having enough juices keeping it from being dry. The atsara is a welcome addition to the plate as well, making for a great palate cleanser. Sadly, the rice, which was the reason I ordered this plate, wasn't really that great. I expected a buttery flavor, but it just tasted a bit plain. The only difference, aside from the color, is the random bits of corn every now and then.

Lamesa Grill (SM North EDSA)

Earlier, Beloved and I had dinner at Lamesa Grill in SM North EDSA. It's kinda funny why we ended up here. Beloved was craving for soup, so we first started going towards Yoshinoya. While at the Sky Garden, we passed by Marina, and beloved started craving for sisig. We almost decided to eat there, but I thought it was weird to eat at a seafood grill and then order pork sisig. We ended up going to the next Filipino resto that served sisig, which was Lamesa Grill from the path we took. Do note that there are many bar-and-grills at Sky Garden that specialize in Filipino food, and Lamesa Grill is just one of them.

Beloved said that Lamesa Grill is the same as Mesa, except this one specializes in the grilled stuff and is a bit cheaper. I do notice that they also have the "boneless crispy pata" in their menu, which I thought was pretty unique when I first saw it, so I guess this sort of confirms what she said. Aside from that, the rest of their menu is similar, but there's noticeably a lot more grilled stuff from seafood to meat. Of course, other Pinoy favorites that goes well with beer are present including sisig, so we ordered that—Pork Sisig for 170 Php. Learning from the past Filipino restaurant experience, we decided to go for variety and ordered a healthy plate of Adobong Kangkong with Garlic for 115 Php. To add variety, we also ordered a special rice—their Seafood Rice for 150 Php. Finally, because we weren't drinkers, we asked for a couple of glasses of their Bottomless Iced Tea priced at 65 Php which was nothing special, but I guess reasonably priced.

OMA (Scout Fuentabella near Tomas Morato)

A couple of nights ago, beloved and I had dinner at Oma. Oma is a semi-Filipino bar and restaurant at one of the junction streets of Tomas Morato. Why I call it semi-Filipino, read on. Anyway, Beloved has been bugging me to go here after learning the names of the two soups in their menu. However, every time we pass by, it's either under renovation, closed because it's a Monday, or still not open because the sun's still up. Finally, after deciding to eat at Burger King, we happen to pass by and see it open so took the opportunity to do so.

Why I call Oma a semi-Filipino bar and restaurant is because they have either your Filipino favorites such as sisig and Pinoy stews such as sinigang, adobo, caldereta, et cetera, or your usual bar menu such as finger foods, pasta, and pizza with a Filipino twist. The Filipino twist usually comes with the use of kesong puti, specifically in their pasta and pizza. If that's not enough, they also name their menu items with common Filipino first names. Also, because this was a bar, I expected elevated prices from your usual restaurant.

Beloved was somewhat disappointed in learning that they replaced one of the soups, Iñigo, to a different one. Also, the other soup, Ramon, although was still in the menu, wasn't available the time we went. So, yes, we didn't get to order my entire first name. We did learn that half of Beloved's first name was available in a form of pasta, so we got that: an order of Paulina (255 Php). In addition to that, we also got a pizza: one Clara for 320 Php. For our drinks, because we weren't really much of drinkers, just got ourselves a couple of glasses of Bottomless Iced Tea for 60 Php each; no cute or silly names here.

Mesa (Greenbelt)

Last night, beloved and I had dinner at Mesa. We were in Greenbelt, and had pretty much little choice as most of the restaurants there were out of our budget's reach. Not that Mesa is for the impoverished, no, but we could afford it. We also don't usually eat Filipino food, which is what Mesa specializes in. Filipino food for me is composed of either stews or not-so-tender fried/grilled meat or soupy veggies that I don't really fancy. Not that I don't eat them, but when given a choice, I don't pick them. Although we did have a choice today, beloved read a good review on this and also saw that they serve ostrich, so we went ahead.

As I've said, Mesa specializes in Filipino food. I guessed that their menu items are good for two to three people considering the prices and how that's usually the way Filipino restaurants are. As expected, it's filled with the usual Filipino favorites—stews like sinigang and kare-kare, sisig, grilled meat and seafood, et cetera. It's also pretty much a bar so they serve a lot of cocktails as well. Anyway, as I've mentioned above, beloved saw that they serve ostrich, so she got herself their Salpicao Ostrich (320 Php). I was torn between crispy pata and inihaw na liempo, but saw that their pata had a twist, so I ordered their Crispy Boneless Pata (440 Php). Even though they also serve different kinds of rice good for many, we just ordered ourselves a couple of cups of plain ones priced at 30 Php each. We also ordered their bottomless iced tea at 65 Php each for our drinks.

The drinks came first, but that's negligible as it's your usual instant one, nothing interesting there. We had to wait for quite some time before our order came, and they came in all at once.

CnT Lechon (Ayala Center Cebu)

A few days ago, me and the father side of my family went to Cebu. According to most I've asked, Cebu's primary delicacy is their lechon. I've first tried their lechon at the hotel we stayed in, and I must admit that it was far superior than the ones we have at Manila. Of course, it could be because this was a five-star hotel quality lechon. A couple of days into our vacation, I had the opportunity to try out their real local lechon at the food court in the only Ayala Center in the city—CnT Lechon.

The queue was visibly long, and the menu was simple. Lechon. No fanciness attached. You order it by the kilogram, and it costs 440 Php per K. Since a couple of us were eating, we ordered half a kilo (220 Php). In addition to that, they serve rice wrapped in the same stuff suman is wrapped in, which costs 7 Php each. It took a while before our turn in the queue, but once we're up, the server chopped up and measured the lechon and put it on a plate quite simply and quickly.