That Looks Yummy: Haikang's Prawn Laksa with Fried Mantou *****

So far, the most mouth-watering Curry Prawns you can find in the Manila.
Fried jumbo prawns in a rich superb curry sauce. They serve it with fried Mantou
that you must dip into that out-of-this-world curry.
This dish will get you salivating and craving.

Hai Kang is located at 227 Wilson St. Greenhills San Juan

Triple O is O-O-O-some! ***

If the US has In and Out, the Canadians have their Triple O's by Whitespot.
With 65 locations all over British Columbia, thousands have enjoyed and craved for their burgers with their world-famous Triple O sauce.

Triple O by Whitespot is now open at the 3rd Level Mega Atrium of SM Megamall offering the same crave-worthy goodness of the White Spot Burger joint in Vancouver, Canada. Brought here by the Goldilocks group (we got this info from the manager), the restaurant in Megamall has a feel-good 1950's vibe. Their burgers have a signature pickle on top.

Ordered the Triple O Original Combo P 290
This one had the big and juicy Triple O burger
and thick cut French Fries and Iced Tea.
The store has promos every weekday.

Now this is a burger I can call a manburger.
It's big and hefty. The patty was not paper thin.
The burger delivered as promised and the sauce is very, very good.
The pickle on top was complemented the beefy flavor of the burger.
Burp! I entered hungry and left very satisfied.
Will return to try other flavors.

Triple O by Whitespot
3rd Level Mega Atrium
SM Megamall Building B
 

Spectrum: A Spectacular Buffet of Colors at Fairmont Hotel ***

Spectrum at Raffles Apartments/ Fairmont Hotel offers a refreshing take on the hotel buffet.

Elegance is well emphasized in this place. Crystal chandeliers, plush carpet, polished wooden tables, the place exudes a radiant ambiance screaming rich, luxurious and successful. The buffet spread is not big but has a curious selection of Mongolian, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Indian, contemporary cuisine, seafood, and dessert, even a honey station with real bees.

The Japanese buffet is the crowning glory of Spectrum as the sashimi is very fresh.
Don't miss the maki with fried salmon skin. It is delicious.

Maki with Salmon Skin

The Chinese station has a lot of dimsum you love plus Peking duck, who doesn't love Peking duck?

(upper right) Peking Duck Wrap

Some contemporary dishes, I think those on the right are Swedish meatballs

Mussels

There's a station for Mongolian and make your own pizza.

Mongolian

 

Dessert includes gelato and sorbet. (Too sweet for my taste)

Carving station 

Ham

Totally enjoyed the experience, Thanks to the Li family for inviting us.


Buffet prices
1596 net/ head for lunch
1842 net/ head for dinner
inclusive of coffee or tea

Spectrum
Fairmont Hotel Makati
Makati Avenue, San Lorenzo Makati
(02) 5559888 for reservations

Eat Well Delicious Kitchen, Mall of Asia :( :(

To live well, one has to eat well.

Dining at Eat Well has always been a delightful experience.
How can you go wrong with great menu offerings at popular prices?
Eat Well has lived up to its name of being a delicious kitchen, but recently during a Sunday dinner at MOA, we were disappointed.

Our favorites were there, service was prompt, the air-conditioning was bad and the food was served... too fast. Imagine getting your orders in less than 2 minutes after it was taken. It was almost automatic, but the food felt it was prepped too early and was just sitting in the kitchen waiting for some poor dude to get it. Of course, when you order food, you want it freshly cooked. I don't know if this is just their system, but to eat well you have to also be served well and of course, the food timing should also be right.

Eat Well Roasted Crispy Pork P 285

The lechon macau was presented in two different colors of "charredness", Why?

Homemade Beancurd with Asparagus and Bailing Mushroom P 265

This is average. The tofu is soft but not silky smooth ones served in other restos, but for its price it does the job.

Chicken with Chinese Sausage Rice in Hot Pot  P250

I was expecting this Chicken Claypot Rice with Chinese sausage to be piping hot,
and we got served a lukewarm mess. It would've been tasty, if it were served H-O-T.

Deep Fried Pork Chop with Vegetable Rice  P250

This saved the day for me, Although Taiwanese Porkchop is not really a favorite at this place,
I wasn't hoping for the best and I was glad was served freshly made. The rice though is a bit dry,

Mashed Red Bean Pancake    P108

And to cap off the experience, we were served a really bad dessert, a putrid tasting red bean crap they had the gall to call dessert, Fried in really bad oil that the red bean dessert tasted like fish. Blech!

I just hope they improve, Eat Well is one of our favorite spots, but like a woman bent on revenge, everything was served cold. I'm still sticking to Eat Well the Fort, where everything is well under control.

As of April 2015, Eat Well Moa is now closed.

Eat Well Delcious Kitchen
North Wing SM Mall of Asia

Is Ippudo worth the hype?

Ippudo, finally opened on September 10, 2013.
The global ramen chain, which started in Fukuoka city in 1985, has been garnering a lot of hype and clamor for its ramen and other dishes. Ippudo, translated directly, the name means "One Wind Hall", connoting they only have one electric fan for the whole restaurant, haha.

Located at the 3rd floor of Megafashion Hall of SM Megamall, it's beside Sports Central and the yet to be opened Tuan Tuan. Long lines of curious customers and Ippudo fanatics were there in full force til 3:00pm. The lines waned after 3:00 pm and I was able to get a place by the bar without waiting at all. 

Can't help but notice a Japanese team supervising and guiding the local team,
service was quick and there were servers going around to check if somebody got your order.
Space was a bit tight but not cramped, since there were a lot of diners and its hard to eat with television crews shooting the restaurant.   The kitchen is not open type, instead you can peek at the crew doing the ramen, as a slightly fragrant steam greets you from above.

Ordered the Shiromaru Motoaji, P 375
A creamy ramen with classic thin noodles. The noodle came with slices kikurage and spring onions.
The server asked me if I wanted the noodles soft, normal, hard. I wanted normal but the pesky server insisted that I order hard because that's how they eat it in Japan. (So much for choices, ramen Nazi) So I had mine hard. No upgrading to soft-boiled egg. I just wanted to taste the ramen soup if it is as advertised. I was also tempted to order a pork bun AKA cuapao but I'm just going to reserve it for my next visit.


The ramen arrived and held to its promise, it is light and flavorful but I should've stuck with my decision on the noodles. The hard noodles were good but these are not made for people in a hurry. The soup was indeed flavorful and it was made even better with bits of crushed garlic using the DIY presser on your table (again insisted by my server). To make it easy for you, this was Shio ramen with a fancier name. I slurped and sipped my soup and left with a smile.

It is hard to make a review based on one item alone.  After all the hype and Instagramming, plus the over-exaggerated OMG's, this ramen can indeed hold a noodle to other well-known brands; but given the number of ramen places that opened, the taste is just a bit familiar.

I'll be back soon, but I'm definitely not falling in line.

Check out my follow-up entry to this http://kainmanila.blogspot.com/2014/10/return-to-ippudo-or-how-i-dodged-long.html





Ippudo
3/F Mega Fashion Hall
SM Megamall
Budget: 400+ per person

Banzai the Great Teppanyaki Theatre ****

Banzai gets it right when it comes to offering buffet - lots of choices, wide stations, food is replenished, food is fresh, and friendly staff.  Banzai is located near Buffet 101 and La Fiesta, completing a trio of buffet restaurants located at the back of SM Mall of Asia.

Buffet prices are popular:
699 for lunch on weekdays
899 for dinner on weekends
1088 for lunch and dinner on weekends
499 Kids price (lunch and dinner)

Stations include: Teppanyaki, Sushi/Sashimi/Maki,  Pizza/Takoyaki , Okonomiyaki, Gyoza, Ramen, Yakitori, Chinese, roastings, entrees, Katsu, Mongolian, cold salads and desserts. A wide variety of delicious stations for your pleasure. Also included are free-flowing drinks like soda, lemonade, iced tea and coffee.

takoyaki with bonito flakes

The prime rib is tender and juicy

sushi/ sashimi station

tempura station

ramen station

different flavors of gyoza

The quality of their beef teppanyaki was surprisingly good, it was juicy, succulent and thicker than others. Do not miss the roast beef, you can ask them to grill. Although I find it weird that they offer some Chinese dishes and roastings together with some Japanese classics. The tempura is so-so but who needs tempura, when you can savor the fresh shrimp teppanyaki, this is cooked with well that the sauce is so good on fried rice.

The place is wide and it has some function rooms to entertain big groups. Staff are friendly, and requests are swiftly acted on.  Restaurant promotions include 5+1 for birthday celebrants (5 paying, one is free) The food here is even more interesting than other hotel's buffets.

When you want a good quality Japanese buffet, scream "Banzai!"
Thanks to Elsie Tan for inviting us here.

Banzai the Great Teppanyaki Theatre 

Building J, SM By The Bay, 

Seaside Boulevard, Mall of Asia Complex (MOA)

+63 9994713597, +63 9163775357

 Reservation is a must, esp. on weekends