Il Mercanti

A lot of people in Manila have probably heard of the ill-fated Banchetto event last Friday.  I was there as well, being one of the people who reserved lanterns.  My family and friends were with me, and although the lantern event made it more special, we were mainly there for the food (we missed dinner in order to be able to eat a lot of things).  Unfortunately, due to the crowd, we were unable to buy anything at all, and I just claimed my lanterns before we went to Il Mercanti at Metrowalk. 

Il Mercanti was similar to Banchetto in the sense that they offered various food for taste testing.  They say that Mercanti has a higher price when compared to Banchetto but I really can't compare 'coz as I said earlier, I wasn't able to buy anything at Banchetto.

In any case, here were the things we tried out:

 Monster Burger with 2 patties!
Yummy! Overflowing with beefy goodness, and very heavy on the stomach.  I shared this with a friend coz I knew I could never finish this :)

Mixed Pasta with white sauce - a bit salty, very oily 

Banana Apple and Cream Mini Pies (BAC Mini Pies)
I loved these! I honestly think they were great!  It really tasted like apples, bananas and cream, only the banana flavor was more pronounced.  Not too sweet, just right :)

Tikoy - nothing out of the ordinary :)

Corndog - typical :)

Unfortunately, I was unable to get the names of the store owners for these food :(  But it's really worth the visit :)

Mix it the Mongolian Way

A good friend and I decided to go on our usual "am-bored-let's-go-out-explore-and-eat."

Since we are on a tight budget but with big HUNGER spelled on our tummies, we rushed through Trinoma's Food Choices and got curious on this stand lined up with various bowls of veggies, meats, oils and sauces.

Ranging from Php120 (mini bowl with drinks) to Php180 pesos (large bowl with drinks), Mongolian Rice Bowls offers you a wide array of do-it-yourself rice or rice noodles meal topped with your choice of veggies, seasonings, meat, beef, chicken or squid.

Rules I've learned on trying this Mongolian thing:

1.) Pay first. You'll never get started without paying because you'll only be able to claim your bowl upon payment.

2.) Follow instructions carefully in concocting your own sauce, which can be sweet and sour, sweet and spicy, hot and spicy.

3.) Touch move. Once you have handed over your bowl to the cook who will stir fry you meal, there is no turning back.

Overall, it was a cool experience and a very filling meal. Recommended to those who wanna customize their own meals under a tight budget.

DIY FroYo

Good day all foodies!

Since my good friend Pariah invited me to share some of the gastronomic delights I have discovered in this blog, might as well start contributing some delish articles of my foodventures.

Well if you have an appetite for fro-yo then you might enjoy this one.

My bro, who happens to be not so adventurous when it comes to food, came buzzing me the other night about his latest exploration, a do-it-yourself frozen yogurt stand situated in SM Manila.

As per his account, Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt, the latest addition to the growing FroYo family in the Philippines, allows its customers to create their own FroYo mixes by choosing from their wide array of flavored FroYo and toppings. The cost, Php 20.00 per ounce.

You could select from an array of flavored yogurts and toppings ranging from fruits, candies, chocolates, syrups, brownies and nuts.

Aside from their branch in SM Manila, they have other branches in SM San Lazaro, Glorietta 4 and SM Megamall and would soon open in the following stores: Gaisano Mall of Davao, SM Sta. Mesa, SM City (I think this is SM North EDSA), SM Clark, SM Cebu and Eton Centris.

French Macarons

Okay, I had a Blair Waldorf moment earlier when I tasted divine French Macarons from Ireland.  It was from Maison Laduree, and I have to say it's no wonder that Macarons were her a favorite of hers.  Here's the pics:

One thing's for sure: these are very sweet.  I needed a drink of water after I finished eating one.  As for the taste? Well, it's quite hard to describe since there were different flavors.  I guess I like the Rose flavored one (seen at the 2nd pic) more than the black forest flavored one, but to each his own.

It's something to try out if you ever get the chance to :3

Meidoll's Cafe at Cainta

I've heard a lot of things about this place so I decided to see for myself what the fuss was about.  It was quite a long drive from my place (since I live near the north), although luckily I did not get lost.  It was a small place on the 2nd floor of Saunterfield Bldg. in Cainta.

The pics here are some of what my best friend and I ordered.  Here was what we ate:

Bread Rolls
My friend and I enjoyed this.  It was just simple, and you could not call the flavor outstanding, but it was the simplicity of it that made it quite good.  The dressing on top was mayo and mustard, and the bread roll was stuffed with hotdog.

Korokke
It was just your regular hash brown, Japanese style.  It was very crispy on the outside and quite soft in the inside, since the potatoes were mashed.  Quite bland, but I guess that's to be expected if someone really wanted to bring out the potato taste.  

Fried Sushi Rolls
Okay, I have to admit I didn't enjoy this dish very much.  It tasted a bit like fried suman (native rice cake) with crab sticks inside.  The yellow sauce seen in the pic is mayo + mustard, I think.  Why I didn't enjoy it?  I guess it was just all wrong for me.  It's an interesting dish, but I guess when you deep fry the whole thing, the oil just seeps into everything and in essence, it tasted like oil.

Meidoll Gyudon
I was kind of expecting something else when I bought this, since the presentation was different in the picture.  I can't compare it to other Gyudon, since I don't actually order it in other Japanese restaurants.  The taste?  It was just like beef stew.  I have no complaints though, it tasted okay.  The question is, is that really how gyudon tastes like?

Tempura Fried Ice Cream

This was my order so that we could all taste dessert.  The concept I think was fried ice cream, but they kind of made it into something like the bread roll.  It was satisfactory, although I wouldn't say the slices were really meant to be bite size since I had to half it before I could eat it.

I guess it's the novelty of the place which really draws patrons here.  The "Maids" here call you master, and they cook and serve you the food.  You can get them to sing a tune or dance for you, but of course, that all comes with a fee.  As for the meals, they could be improved, but that's not really the reason why you came there, right?

Mini Cakes at Gourmet Tart Co.

A late review.  Am already at the Philippines and yet I haven't posted quite a number of my tastings in Ireland.  I've been busy on other things as well, but I will try to post as much as I can before I forget about them.

We were in Galway City Centre when I saw these cute mini cakes.  Here's the pic:

Why did I pic four cakes?  It was only because my mom and I couldn't agree on the flavors :D 

I can't remember the exact names of the ones in the upper right and bottom left, but all I can say is that they were the fruity ones.  The mini cake with the strawberry was berry flavored, and the full flavor was quite intense.  It was a mix of tangy berry flavors and just a hint of sweetness.  As for the rectangular cake, it was also fruity, but as far as I can remember it had a milder taste than the berry cake.  It also was not that sweet, which accentuates the taste of fruit more.

Side note:  I checked the website, and I think the rectangular cake might have been Passion Fruit and Cassis Mousse and the  Strawberry cake might have been the Red Berry Mouss.  I'm not that certain though.

The one on the upper left is the Triple Chocolate mousse.  Everyone's verdict: utterly divine.  It was just the right amount for anyone wanting a bit of that decadent chocolate cake.  It was also quite soft that it melted in your mouth.  The amount of each layer was just fine, it blended well into that creamy chocolate taste in your mouth.  Phew!

The last cake is the Black forest.  Quite a surprise, isn't it?  I was also intrigued by this cake since it was all white, and not a hint of chocolate in it.  When I tasted it, viola!  It was the black forest taste I have always known.  The secret?  It was the bottom layer that housed all the nuances of the black forest cake.  It was a different take on the cake I thought I already knew.

Gourmet Tart Co., Co. Galway
http://www.gourmettartco.com/index.php

Brambles: Another Cake Affair

A week or so ago, I took home 2 pieces of cake from Brambles, a cafe (or so I think) in the ground floor of the Jervis shopping center in Dublin.  They had a lot of cakes to choose from, but these were my choices:

The cake with the strawberry is the Victoria Cake and the other is Fruit of the Season Cheesecake.  I hope I'm right about their names xD

For the Victoria Cake, it was a 3 layered sponge cake with cream and strawberries between each layer as well as on top.  Chocolate bits cover the side of the cake.  I think it's a fresh cream cake, but I'm not sure.  In any case, it was very good.  It was just the right amount of sweetness, and I know I could eat more than a slice of it.  The cream did not overpower the strawberry but they mixed with every bite.  The chocolate on the side was just an extra, you could hardly taste it except if you're just taking the side part.

The other cake was a cheesecake topped with a gelatine layer of a berry mix.  I found the top too sweet to eat with or without the cream.  The flavor totally overpowers the entire cake.  It was still good, you can taste a bit of strawberry and blueberries, and a hint of raspberry, perfect for someone who would like to try a berry cheesecake.

Recommended to Dubliners if you haven't tried it yet :3

Brambles @ Jervis Shopping Center
Dublin, Ireland

Edit: The Victoria Cake is a Strawberry Gateaux.  Here's a better pic of it: