The Sweet Spot (Maginhawa Street)

Beloved and I had dinner at The Sweet Spot a couple of weeks ago. This place is one of the first to lease a newly-opened building near the corner where the police station of UP Teacher's village was. I've passed by this place a couple of times before, and noticed that they didn't really offer only sweet stuff, as anyone sane would assume from the name of the place. In fact, I thought one of their items was interesting. Anyway, because we were feeling adventurous, Beloved and I went.

Their menu was quite small, and we learn that this was more of a bistro or cafe than a full-fledged restaurant. Their dishes have a nice ring to their names and they have a wide array of coffee- or tea-based drinks. I ordered their Honey and Whiskey Glazed Pork Belly (285 Php). Beloved got the menu item that I thought was interesting—their Asahi Fish and Wasabi Chips (220 Php). We also ordered their Truffled Cream of Mushroom Soup (90 Php). For our drinks, I settled for their Matcha Green Tea Mint (190 Php) and Beloved asked for their Iced Mocha (120 Php). Note that we didn't get our receipt until later.

π Breakfast and Pies (Malingap Street, near Maginhawa Street)

Beloved and I had dinner a couple of times this past week at π Breakfast and Pies. This is a new place found at Malingap Street, at UP Teacher's Village. This place is located beside Pino and Pipino. In fact, I believe this place is owned by the owners of the aforementioned place, as well as BRGR: The Burger Project. Since we've been to these places and had pleasant experiences, we had quite high expectations of the place, even if it has just opened up, I believe just a week ago.

It's pretty obvious what their specialty is: Breakfast and Pies. The first time we went, their Menu didn't have permanent prices, all just penciled on. However, it was pretty much complete with what you expect from breakfast—pancakes, waffles, corned beef, bacon, et cetera. They, of course, also have a big enough selection of pies. Since both Beloved and I enjoy waffles the most for breakfast, we ordered their Gourmet Waffle Chicken and Waffles (205 Php 165 Php). In addition, we also ordered their Steak and Eggs (625 Php 595 Php). Now, it's usually Beloved who gets more excited with the drinks. This time around, however, I noticed a peculiar drink in their menu. I immediately ordered that, their Cereal Milk (75 Php 125 Php). Beloved settled for their Celery Cranberry Juice (75 Php). Finally, we also tried their Banana Cream Pie (105 Php), just so we can experience the full... uh... experience.

Snack Shack (V. Luna Extension, near Maginhawa Street)

Beloved and I had brunch at Snack Shack. I've been to this place many times before, and have been wanting to visit it with Beloved because she holds the camera. Now, I'll try not to spoil much before we get to the pics, but I'm quite excited writing about this one.

The place is literally a shack. Located at V. Luna Extension, close to Savemore Supermarket, it's a very small place where only a maximum of four people can be accommodated with the bar table. However, the place is really made for take-outs and stand-ins (and perhaps deliveries). As for the "snack" part, there's actually just four (then, when we visited now there's five) items on their menu composed of two categories: burgers and sausages, both in buns. There are two kinds of burgers, their Quarter-Pounder with Cheese (70 Php) and Half-Pounder with Double Cheese (135 Php). Yep, you read that right—that's a quarter pound burger for less than 100 Php; by far the best deal pound-by-pound of all the burger places we've been to. As for their sausages, there's the mildly spiced Bockwurst with Cheese (90 Php) and the curry-spiced Currywurst (90 Php). Now, they have the spicy Hungarian (90 Php).

You can customize your burger with different add-ons for 20 Php each: Jalapeño peppers, Blue cheese, Cream cheese, Garlic ranch, Garlic chips, and Barbecue sauce. You can also add Extra cheese for 15 Php. Beloved had their Half-Pounder with Double Cheese with Blue Cheese add-on (155 Php total) and I had, as I have always had since I first visited, their no-frills attached Half-Pounder with Double Cheese (135 Php). I had their Bockwurst before, so this time, I also ordered their Currywurst (90 Php) just to try it out.

Crazy Katsu (Maginhawa Street)

Beloved and I had afterbrunch at Crazy Katsu some days ago. This one's a bit overdue, being one of the few restaurants accessible to us located in Maginhawa. Unless you're not familiar with Japanese food, you would probably know by now that this place specializes in the Japanese "katsu" style of cooking. I'm actually quite familiar with the menu, despite not having the chance to eat here before. They basically have all sorts of katsu dishes plus some other Japanese favorites that go well with said dish.Our orders comprised of Chicken Katsu Curry (190 Php) for Beloved, Katsudon (150 Php) for me, a couple of orders of their Miso Soup (30 Php), and an order of their Gyoza (120 Php).

Gayuma ni Maria (V. Luna Extension, near Maginhawa Street)

Beloved and I had dinner at Gayuma ni Maria last night. We've known this place, which is located at the Savemore end of Maginhawa Street, where it meets Anonas and becomes V. Luna, for a while but never had a chance nor reason to visit it. Beloved got to try out one of their cakes called "Better Than Sex" during one of the food fairs we attended. Aside from the name, she didn't really found it special. After looking at the menu through the web, Beloved finally found a reason to go.

The reason for going was basically the names of their dishes. Beloved was giggling hysterically as she read through the online menu. When we got there, through a porch that you occasionally see during Halloween, we found ourselves in a similarly themed dining area. The online menu was a bit outdated, especially when it came to price, but the reason, the silly naming, was still there. Beloved planned to order their version of tom yung goon called "Unrequited Love", but settled for their French Kiss (295 Php), which was a beef tongue dish with mushroom-sauce. I was going to order their "Holding Hands While Walking Pa-Swing Swing Pa" or "H.H.W.W.P.S.S.P." for short, solely because of the name. However, I was recommended to order their I Love You, Cross My Heart (215 Php), instead, and I chose to do so since it looked a bit more satisfying, despite being both chicken dishes. We also ordered their Peek A Boo (145 Php), a pumpkin soup, because all the other appetizers we wanted to try weren't available.