Stay Away From the Overrated Worldly Chicken! Meister is Better.

I love food courts.  I grew up spending lunchtimes at this crowded part of the mall, enjoying looking at the brightly lit half-dried, half-warmed, half-exposed smorgasbord of colorful recipes that practically look the same.  The ubiquitous fastfood chain in the center, your friendly carinderia on the corner, and the box-office siomai stall all completing the cast of this wonderful place.  I would definitely trade a run-down overpriced dinner at a fancy restaurant for a comforting value meal amidst the smokey air of the food court.

Still, I gape at the long line of people piling up in front of an overrated food court chain known for its chicken and carbs combo.  I had tried this once before, got utterly disappointed, and vowed never to fall into such a travesty once again.  Compounding my bitterness was the fact that a better, lesser known, choice was just a few paces away.

Inside the Glorietta Food Choices area, towards the end of the hall, there's a humble stall quietly serving some of the best-tasting and healthier combo meals this part of the mall.  Meister, a food court brand of the Almon Marina restaurant, is a known favorite of hungry office people and shoppers alike, who tire of the long lines of cold meal disappointments. Serving value meals worth under P160, you get a hefty serving of your daily RDA of carbs, and a healthier grilled serving of meat, whether it be chicken, pork, or a fat piece of sausage.

This is easily one of my favorite go-to places in the food court (the other being Magic Wok, oh lechon macau I long for thee).  We usually order a rice / pasta and pork combo for me, and a pasta / sausage value meal for the missus. 

 Pork Loin, Rice Pilaf, and Vegetable Sides Combo

P145

I couldn't resist the long slice of pork loin basking in oil, enhanced by the warm light and barbecue fragrance in the air.  Even if I wanted to choose the healthier grilled chicken, I always end up surrendering to this slice of sinful heaven.  That's the good thing about food courts, what you see is what you really get (literally).  The way here in Meister is that you get to choose your poison (meat), your added kick (the sauce for it), the carb filler (rice or pasta), and the guilt-reducer (veggie sides, coleslaw, or another round of carbs - potatoes or macaroni salad).  I got the veggie side to reduce my guilt, then splurged on the rice pilaf.  The pork itself was silky smooth, with just the right amount of fat bordering the soft meat.  Add the spicy barbecue sauce, and you'd think this was Rack's, with a cheaper price tag.  The vegetable siding paired well with my sinfulness, crisp and crunchy pieces of carrots, turnips, and cucumber.  You can't go wrong with the rice pilaf, and this isn't your run-of-the-mill artificially colored excuse for a java rice.  All this will set you back for under 200 bucks.

 Pasta Vongole, Baby Potatoes, and Italian Sausage

P140

A less sinful combination, but equally tasty.  The vongole sauce consists of clams refusing to be opened drenched in white, peppery, creamy sauce.  The fettucine was al dente (which was surprising for a food court), and the sauce was generously draped over.  The baby potatoes does not actually come with any sauce, but, being a frequenter of this place, we got to convince the server to drench ours in the chili and cheese sauce (which was great!).  The Italian sausage was nearly half-a-foot long, packed with a peppery punch, further enhanced by the spicy barbecue sauce again.  You can ask the server to separate the sauces if you don't want to eat with all the sauces mixing up and turning into an undecipherable goo.  All this for a good price of less than 200 bucks.

And people still line up on the other side for a cold, uninterested slice of small chicken and a sad serving of an excuse of a pasta.  And they pay for practically more.  Still, I would rather watch them waste away their time and money, while I sit quietly and enjoy my secret nook in my favorite part of the mall.  The food court.

Jones

Meister

Glorietta 4 Food Court

Makati City

Cheerful Sundays start with a preppy breakfast!

People say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  But I say, breakfast is the most fun, most colorful, and most lively meal of the day!  Just one look at Stacy's restaurant will surely make you agree.

Tucked in an idyllic part of the Quezon City, the moment you get off your car and set foot in this center, you feel instantly transported to a different place.  Nestled in a lofty hill overlooking a golf course, Stacy's provide a homey feel to an already comforting atmosphere.  With its brightly lit room, pastel white walls, and colorful table settings, it feels like Alice in Wonderland.  Minus the rabbit.  

Pre-school class was cancelled. So they turned it into a cool restaurant.

Even the counter was arranged in a cute way.  The pink ref stood out among the things behind it.  We didn't get to try the cakes, but they looked delicious inside the brightly lit cooler.  The blackboard menu with each item and beverage written in colored chalk is surely a hit with kids, kids who like school, that is. 

Noisy pupils aren't written in this blackboard.

Another eye-catching treat was the table arrangement.  After we got comfortable in our seats, they immediately served a complimentary glass of cheese popcorn mixed with marshmallows and strawberry pretzels, matching the bright pink and yellow sunflowers on each table.  Definitely a sugary start to a preppy day!  

I wonder if the flowers are also edible.

But would Stacy's live up to its cheerful aura with their line-up of menu? I knew beforehand what to order here, by browsing through a few foodie blogs.  So we quickly perused the items written on the menu.  It would have helped if they had pictures of their food, since it was quite difficult to imagine which would taste good (and not just look good).  Here's what we had for breakfast:

Stacy Jones, P195

+10% service charge

I pounced on the chance to order this cleverly named dish, famous among food bloggers for its soft tapa.  And believe me, it is.  Each morsel was soft, much like the beef in sukiyaki.  Even without the vinegar, it oozes with smoky flavor.  The fried garlic only added another dimension.  Served with 2 servings of eggs done any way you want it, to complete the trio of the classic Pinoy tapsilog!

Rice N' Shine, P175

+10% service charge

What could go wrong with longanissa? This dish reminded me of my childhood when I used to eat longanissang lucban, the kind which explodes out of its skin.  I loved those crunchy bits, much like eating sisig.  This was served with a garnish of fried garlic and fluffy scrambled eggs filled with tomatoes and onions.  Another best-seller!

Jersey Shore, P170

+10% service charge

Although it appeared we were already set with what we ordered, we found the description for the Jersey Shore interesting.  This consisted of 3 slices (that's equal to 1 and a half pan de sal) of pan de sal, topped with tuna and homemade dressing and melted cheese.  It came with a side of a leaf of cabbage with what seemed sweet vinaigrette.  This was a bit unspectacular, but we were also quite full by the time this arrived, so I got to take it home.  It still tasted well the following day.

Decaf Coffee, P70

+10% service charge

Although I don't drink coffee (it makes my stomach hurt), I didn't have much choice since the hot chocolate was sadly not available.  So I chose the lesser evil.  To my surprise, it was pretty good (because my stomach didn't revolt).  It came with a dry biscuit, which I just took a bite and didn't quite finish.  It would have tasted better with hot choco.

Stacy's was a bright, sunny, and cheery start to a lazy Sunday.  I had long wanted to visit this place, and it was definitely worth the drive.  It has a few drawbacks though, such as the menu having no illustration or picture, and the place being relatively inaccessible to those who don't have their own cars.  But the location was picturesque, overlooking a golf course and the Metro Manila skyline.  It would have been better though if the restaurant faced the skyline, but it was on the other side.  (In fact, another breakfast favorite has set-up shop opposite Stacy's)  Still, Stacy's is the ideal place for a cozy, lazy, laid back Sunday brunch, something different, something preppy, something cheery.

Stacy's 

Greenstreet Commercial Center

Capitol Hills Drive, Old Balara, Quezon City

https://www.facebook.com/stacys.resto

A Whole Lot of Chow and A Whole Lot of Fun!

Okay, so it's been a while since I blogged about food! I've been too busy (lazy is a better word) to put up a good blog and a few pictures, so there, I haven't been up here in a while.  Although I have been trying a good number of Gyudon dishes in the time I was away, I suddenly thought, why not blog about my other food adventures too?  Although the sacred Gyudon will always be my first love, I guess there's a whole culinary world out there to discover...

So, I found out about this new joint in San Juan, through reading food blogs! I was greatly intrigued by their concept (actually, it was their dessert that caught my fancy).  So, on an important occasion (my Mom's birthday!), I decided to bring them there and try it out!

And Chow Fun was surely a lot of fun!  Still in its infancy at barely 3 months old, this modern Chinese restaurant is really standing out amidst the increasing boredom of Wilson Street in Greenhills.  Sure, the area is packed with Chinese restos left and right, but they all seem so.. mundane.  But here is where Chow Fun becomes unique.

Shedding the traditional look of Chinese fare, it offers a different take.  (Damn, I forgot to take pictures of the place, I was so engrossed at capturing the food!).  Along with my mom and dad, we arrived relatively late, just past 8PM, and there were no other people inside.  That was a good thing actually, since we had the place to ourselves.  Anyway, we didn't waste time and I proceeded on selecting their best-sellers, as attested to by food bloggers.  So, here's what we ordered.

Oriental Duck Rolls, P165

This was supposed to be an appetizer, but I ordered it last haha!  It was way too good to pass up.  Each piece was crispy and fully filled, with the duck meat exuding its flavor, even without any dip!  It comes with 3 dips though, an orange dip, a chili sauce (which was just plain hot sauce, I was told), and a chili vinegrette.  It goes well with all three.  The best thing was, at first bite, I immediately knew this was freshly prepared and not just a ready-to-fry frozen piece of disappointment.

Hot and Sour Seafood Soup, P195

+10% service charge

In any food trip at any Chinese restaurant, this is an ubiquitous part of my menu! I had to try this out, and it was the perfect time, with the cold weather and dreary rain and all.  Anyway, it didn't disappoint, except for the fact it was practically just good for 1-2 persons with quite a pricey tag.  But it packed a lot of punch and was really hot and spicy!  Too bad though that it was mostly filled with tofu (maybe they should have changed the name to hot and spicy tofu soup) and I had trouble dredging around the bowl searching for any semblance of seafood in there.  But the taste was great, I could feel the sting on my tongue, with the red and green chili morsels in between my teeth.  What was surprising is that my mom, who doesn't fancy chili food, actually enjoyed this one! (with the occasional cough here and there).

Broccoli XO, P225 (i think)

+10% service charge

Sorry I forgot the actual price tag, but I wouldn't forget the name of this dish!  Just by its looks, I knew the broccoli was also fresh.  It wasn't soggy, and it retained its crisp texture, even when the XO sauce practically drenched it.  But hey, I wasn't here for the veggies! But it was a good hit with my parents anyway.

Sour Caramel Pork, P255

+10% service charge

At first glance on the menu, I thought this was quite pricey.  Especially when the dish was set down on our table, I thought I was hoodwinked.  But no, this was also the star of the night.  Served with a siding of spinach, this was unique take on the common sweet-and-sour thing in Chinese food.  The caramel touch was a welcome blend to the sour aspect, and the meat itself was soft inside with a crunchy exterior.  It was definitely a winner!

Chow Fun Chicken Fry, P290 (half order)

+10% service charge

And who would say no to fried chicken fried the Chinese way?  No, this was not your typical Savory chicken / crispy chicken with Kropek flakes on the side.  Covered in peppercorn and spices, each piece was a slice of heaven.  No, this was neither your Korean chicken fry drenched in oily sauce.  This was like KFC.  With pepper.  And vinegar.  Okay, that was an understatement.  But the chicken was so good, you'd forget the sauce altogether.  Each piece was fried to a crisp, but the inside was tender and fresh.  The vinegar just added a mild twist on the taste, but it was perfect.  I wonder if they'll come up with a 1 piece value meal for this haha! Now that would really be worth it!  And if you just had one dish to try in Chow Fun, you simply cannot, and should not, pass this up!

Overall, I did a lot of chowing and had a lot of fun in Chow Fun.  Not only that, the staff was courteous and accomodating, even offering us small plates and a knife the moment they saw us bringing out a birthday cake! (no corkage here, fellas).  Furthermore, when I asked for a microwaveable container to bring a slice of cake home, they readily obliged (at no extra charge).  They still have to improve in a few points though, since they ares still barely out of infancy.  It would help to put a few pictures on the menu, since I only knew what to order immediately just because I saw them on blogs.  Also, I hope they come up with more choices for soups and noodles (I would love to see how they twist the taste of hototay soup haha!).  Chow Fun really stands out amidst the long line of restos along Wilson street and its immediate vicinity.  No frills here, no incense smell in the air, no creepy Chinese chant music around.  It's just a whole lot of chowing and a bundle of fun!

Jones

Chow Fun Modern Chinese Bistro

Ground Floor, 103 J. Abad Santos Street, Little Baguio, San Juan

www.facebook.com/itsmorefunatchowfun

P200-499 per oder