Splurging our Winnings at Kuppa Roastery and Cafe

Can I just say I love quizzes? No. I'm not referring to school quizzes but general information/knowledge quizzes! Yes! When I was a teenager, I used to join multiple intelligence contests in school. I also enjoyed watching Battle of the Brains, Digital LG Quiz, Family Feud, Are you smarter than a 5th grader? and many more! :)

Anyway, I was so happy I got to experience joining a contest again! A few weeks ago, we won the quiz night when we had our team fostering at Pasta Roni! And as a prize, we received a gift cheque worth Php 2,100 at Kuppa Roastery Cafe! So what else is there to do with this winning??? We splurged it like crazy! Hahaha! 

The winning team (Me, Lyn, Chary, Bri and Rose)

We ordered these yummy foodies:

Our appetizer: Classic Caesar Salad

Spaghetti Bolognese

Frutti de Mare 

Cristina(pizza)

Crispy Pata (I know it's not a good combination, but we tried it anyway..)

and for the dessert! Matt's Choco Lava Cake (you should order this ahead as it takes 20 minutes to bake this yummy dessert)

That's it for our happy Wednesday! Free lunch and bragging rights for everyone! :)

My First Binondo Foodtrip - Wai Ying Fast Food

I usually spend my Sundays resting, watching movies or series or doing grocery shopping or just sleeping. Weekends are supposed to be spent like these but last week my tummy went crazy!! And it craved for dimsums and noodles and everything Chinese! I was thinking of going to Passion at Resorts World Manila because they offer dimsum buffet. But it's so lonely to eat buffet alone and it's very far from where I live! So I thought, where else could I find the authentic Chinese restaurants in the Metro -- Binondo!

Just a little background about the place. Binondo is an enclave in Manila primarily populated by ethnic Chinese living in the Philippines. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594. You will know you are Binondo once you see the Binondo Church also known as Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz.

When you walk past the right side of the Church, you will be greeted by this arch. It says "Welcome Manila Chinatown". This is also popularly known as "Ongpin". 

The streets of Ongpin showcase all things Chinese and cultural. When you look around, lines of Chinese fast food/restaurants, jewelry shops, medium rise short time hotels and herbal drug stores abound the place. 

But for this entry, I will focus on my first taste of authentic Chinese food here in Binondo. So I went to this very popular Chinese fast food - Wai Ying Fast Food. 

Wai Ying fast food is located at 832 Benavides St., Sta. Cruz Manila. It is a small fast food that offers a lot of Chinese delicacies. They have noodles, soup, congee (lugaw), rice toppings, vegetables, chong fan, roasted poultry, drinks, dessert and most specially dimsum. 

Here is Wai Ying Fast Food Menu. The prices of the food are very affordable. And so I ordered their specialties. (Okay, don't judge me now! Hehehe..)

First is the fried rice. Okay, there is nothing special about this fried rice. And I think it is quite pricey at 90 Php for the serving. 

Next is the beef noodles. I think the beef noodles is good. The noodles are firm and there is a generous amount of beef chunks which I find very "sulit" for its price. I used to order chicken noodles in a Chinese restaurant but Wai Ying's version of beef noodles is just too worthy not to give a try. 

Here we go to my favorite part! DIMSUMS!!!!

First is their signature pork siomai. Wai Ying's siomai is quite pricey but it soooo delicious!!! As you can see, their siomai's are topped with small shrimps and the meat that comes with it is so tender. Actually, even if you don't put in any soy sauce to it, you will still feel and taste the goodness of its flavor!

Next is HAKAW or shrimp dumpling. So Wai Ying's hakaw is very tasty. You can feel the texture and richness of the plump shrimp wrapped in this thin and translucent soft dough shell. It is best paired with chili sauce though. 

Lastly, to complete the set, (yes, I ate them all.. I have a hardened tummy!!! :p) I ordered their cold milk tea. It was good. It is not too sweet and not too tea-ish. It is just brewed to perfection. It's not your typical milk tea that you normally buy in the mall like Dakasi, Chatime or Serenitea. I obviously drank all of it in just a few seconds! Hahaha

I was way too full when I left Wai Ying! Their food is the best tasting Chinese food so far! I will surely come back here again! :)

Stuffing with a Japanese-French Combo Foodtrip

I do not know what is with my taste buds that every weekend I always crave for good food. :) So, one hot Saturday afternoon, my sweet tooth kicked in and found myself craving for a yummy dessert. I was thinking of trying the amaretto sour gelato in Greenbelt but it's too far away. I remembered what my friend Luthie told me about this crepe heaven located in Shangri-la Mall and so I invited her to join me to try the famous crepes of La Creperie. 

La Creperie is located at Shangri-la Plaza Mall, 2nd floor near Bossini and Ecco. The ambiance is cozy even though the place is set in the middle of the hallway. French songs are also being played as background to compliment the French experience. 

Luthie ordered her favorite Double Chocolate Fudge Brownie Crepe and I got the Mango Hazelnut au Chocolat.

Double Chocolate Fudge Brownie Crepe (Php 235)

The brownie inside the chocolate crepe is so warm and chocolatey but not too sweet. And the vanilla on top of it is cold. Just the perfect combination! This is really a must try crepe!

Mango Hazelnut Au Chocolat (Php 195)

This crepe is made of fresh mangoes, hazelnut spread in a chocolate crepe with caramel, sliced almonds and whipped cream. 

I love this combination because it gives your mouth a variety of flavors. Sweet, sour and chocolatey and the texture of the almonds just completes the overall experience. It is also La Creperie's another best seller. 

We left La Creperie with a happy tummy. Our sweet tooth was well nursed. Tres Bien!

Next stop, Yabu House of Katsu.

When we finished having dessert at La Creperie, we roamed for a while at the East Wing and did a little shopping. I got this lovely semi nautical striped dress from Regatta. 

My outfit of the day! Yes, I love stripes!

After shopping, we decided to transfer to SM Megamall for our dinner. Luthie has been asking me where to eat. Almost all restaurants are full. So I let her decide and she suggested Yabu. Haha

We were seated immediately as soon as we arrived there. We both ordered Rosu Tonkatsu, 120gms! Hahaha! Yes, we are hungry like that! =)

We were first served this mortar and pestle with sesame seeds. At first, I was wondering what these are for and I realized that this is for the sesame dressing. At Yabu, customers are given the chance to experience preparing their sesame dressing. Haha.. But you can ask them to give you crushed sesame seeds if you are too lazy to create your own.

Tonkatsu sets at Yabu are served with unlimited Japanese rice, miso soup, Japanese pickles, unlimited cabbage with sesame dressing and a bowl of fruit. 

Rosu set is a 3/4 inch-thick Rosu (porkloin), with a sliver of glistening fat trimming its edges and deep-fried in crisp golden panko

This is the Japanese sticky rice that comes with the set. I told Luthie I can eat 5 bowls of it because I've done that before in Tokyo Tokyo. But, their rice is so sticky, and heavy and very carbo loading! I only had 3 of it! (It's still plenty though) Hahaha

Luthie and I were soooo stuffed!!! HAHAHA But we have no regrets! And we will definitely come back for more! :)