Secret of the Alley: Ally's All Day Breakfast Place!

Ask anyone about their favorite meal of the day, and probably 9 times out of 10, breakfast is the easy choice.  That one who chose otherwise might even pick brunch, so technically, it's still breakfast.  Personally, I could eat breakfast fare any time of the day, even midnight!  But, for some strange reason, breakfast food tastes so darn good when you have it just around noon, when your stomach is growling angrily, your mouth salivating copiously, and your vision getting dim.  It's the perfect time to pig out and break the "fast", pun intended.

The strongest evidence that breakfast is widely popular is the burgeoning food fad of the all-day breakfast.  Long before IHOP stepped on our shores, local joints like Pancake House were already dishing out your favorite silogs and waffles and pancakes at your whim.  Soon however, local entrepreneurs got wind of this craze and established their own novel shops.

Located in the heart of the vibrant food center that is Teacher's Village, Ally's All Day Breakfast just recently opened its doors to the hungry public.  As a common practice nowadays, these newbies in the food scene offer discount vouchers on group buying websites.  So I grabbed one when I saw it, having read about Ally's on some food blogs.

Can't miss the sign.

Barely occupying half a block, this quaint little spot appears to have sprung out of somebody's house along Malingap Street.  Yet despite its diminutive location, its bright orange and yellow pastel signage attracts attention even at high noon.  I would have missed the spot if not for that sign.  Inside, the cheerful vibe bursts forth with the yellow plastered walls and orange plastic seats.  The shop is indeed small, seating only around 16 to 18 people inside and perhaps 10 more outside.  It was a humid day, so we picked the seats inside.  Plus, it's more colorful there.

Breakfast will break your diet.

Someone's got an eye for the jar of M&Ms.

In keeping with its simplistic theme, the menu is quite straightforward.  On one side, the familiar silog rice meals and pancakes dominate the page.  On the reverse, waffles and all sorts of sweets tempt the weak of heart.  At this time of day, rice meals are the easy choice.  

Only Oreo.  Makes me weak on the knees.

Even though it labels itself as a breakfast place, it was surprising to find a few items that seemed a bit out of place, like french fries and spring rolls.  Nevertheless, everything appeared honest-to-goodness and homey.

Classic Beef Tapa, P130

It would be a mortal sin not to order the Filipino all-time favorite tapsilog.  It's obvious that in our country, each shop in each area has their own version on the beloved tapa, with each one of course claiming to outdo the other.  Ally's version isn't flashy and appears to stay true to tradition (hence, the "classic" label).  

All members of the trio are present, with two eggs done your way, an ample serving of beef, a small portion of tomato and bell pepper sides, and of course steamed rice garnished with crunchy garlic bits.  A colorful and complete meal indeed.  The beef was tender and soft, thankfully.  However, after a few bites, especially without any rice, the saltiness goes overboard.  Maybe it's just me, but I prefer my tapa on the sweeter side, having grown up in Paranaque where it is typically sweet and even shredded into a flaky texture.  Adding the garlic on top of it must have enhanced the salty taste, almost transforming it into beef salpicao.  With eggs.  Nevertheless, there's nothing our friendly Datu Puti couldn't resolve, and a few dips on the vinegar eases away some of the briny taste.

Sweet Pork Tocino, P130

Of course, no Filipino breakfast would be complete without the porky partner of the tapsilog.  The Sweet Pork Tocino marries luscious cured pork, two eggs done at your whim, and a heaping scoop of garlic rice.  By some accident, my order of eggs got mixed up and it came out scrambled.  Never did I regret it.  The scrambled eggs were moist and fluffy, nay, even dreamy.  

But the tocino stole the show.  The serving was generous and aptly portioned, with just the right amount of cloying fat, its edges perfectly charred into a crisp texture.  The meat itself was sweet but not overpowering, tender and freshly pink.  Perfectly executed, I must say, the way the Filipino tocino should be.

Iced Tea

Each meal already comes with a cold glass of their house blend iced tea.  It wasn't too sweet, and a bit on the bitter side, exuding the leafy goodness of real tea.  But, this was not the only sweet treat for that day.  

At Ally's, you can opt to create your own pancake!  Once you've decided to order, the servers hand out a small piece of paper to tick your choices, complete from batter to toppings and guilty add-ons (M&Ms and whipped cream, anyone?).  We elected to go for a more conservative approach.  Those who are too lazy to even think of their own concoction can just pick their specialty pancake creations, ready-made for your degustation.  Here's our creation, the Banana Nutella mix!

Our own concoction: Banana Nutella Pancake (2 pcs.)

To start off, the pancake itself was divine.  It was fluffy but not too airy, and sweet on its own.  Remarkably, it resembled the fluffiness of IHOP.  Yes, IHOP.  Believe me when I say it.  If not for its thinner texture, it could masquerade as the cheaper version of IHOP, without sacrificing the taste.  It's that good.  The slices of banana were fresh and plump.  The Nutella spread was, well, Nutella (surprise, surprise!).  Sadly, they scrimped on the spread, lathering the top pancake only while completely forgetting the other one.  Even the top spread was too thin for the price tag (P35), I would say.  We topped off our creation with chopped walnuts and crushed graham for a contrast in texture. Oh yes, crushed graham goes well with Nutella and maple syrup.  That was a sinful combination.

The wall says it all.  Breakfast love!

Ally's All Day Breakfast Place is a homey, down-to-earth addition to an already muddled competition of all-day breakfast joints.  With a smaller up-keep, a strategic location, and a more directed target market, it has found a niche despite its young age.  The create-your-own pancake concept is novel and simple (I would rather have them cook it for me rather than me doing the cooking, take that Slappy Cakes!).  But the praises for the cakes don't end there, as their batter is light and fluffy, reminiscent of the more famous versions.  The rice meals are probably hit and miss, but likely more hits.  But just for the pancakes, I would definitely come back.

Ally's manages to avoid redundancy in the already repetitive world of breakfast places.  Its cozy spot attracts those who wish to avoid the crazy lines and even crazier price tags of the popular breakfast places.  It's comfort food done well.  It's breakfast you can have any time of the day, as if you were simply at home.  Or maybe, this is home.

Jones

Ally's All Day Breakfast Place

50 Malingap Street, Sikatuna Village

Quezon City

https://www.facebook.com/AllysAllDay

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Sunny With A High of 75: Milky and Sunny!

There's something about having a big breakfast on a lazy weekend.  Somehow, it gets one rejuvenated and re-energized after a long boring work week.  Other times, it's the perfect wake-me-upper for a whole night of Friday partying.  Still in some, it's just plainly something to fill the starving stomach and appease the voracious appetite.

No question about it, we love breakfast.  And with the food fad nowadays centering on all-day breakfast joints, it helps to carefully select which shop to choose.  Some offer unique creations, while some choose to stick to the basic staples, like silog meals.  Of course, there are those in between, twisting and manipulating the common breakfast meals into a crafty masterpiece.

I have long planned on dropping by Kapitolyo in Pasig to just try any of the restaurants and shops littered along the whole stretch of the street.  What better way to start my food trip with a big breakfast at Milky and Sunny.  This quaint shop has often been the talk of food blogs, earning both praises and criticisms.  I had to try it for myself to see what the fuss was all about.

As always, pastel colors mean delicious food.

To start off, indeed there was a lot of fuss.  We got there just past 11AM on a Saturday, but the place was already packed!  Luckily, one table became available just when we arrived.  The place was really small and felt cramped, but could comfortably seat 35 people or so.  The pastel blue colors contrasted by white was a welcome treat for the eyes, as well as the big photos of their breakfast selections.  The fixtures were simple yet colorful.  It almost felt like a pre-school classroom turned restaurant.

Eat, drink, and be chubby.

The food is the star.

I hope the serving size is as big as that.

The menu was straightforward yet extensive, offering the typical Filipino breakfast silogs, omelettes, pancakes, and even pasta!  But, a major letdown was that they did not have hot chocolate on the menu.  Who doesn't love hot choco in the morning?  Beats me what kids get to sip here.  It's almost a crime not to offer a piping cup of hot chocolate in a breakfast joint!  There are milkshakes on the selection, but not everyone can tolerate a cold drink for breakfast.

Having no hot chocolate is a crime, nay, a sin!

Nevertheless, we sought to compensate for our disappointment by ordering a lot!  It took us a while to pick our orders.  It would have helped if the menu book had nice pictures of the food they served.  I imagined Banana King Kong to be a heaping pile of chocolate french toast in the mold of a gorilla.  Of course it wasn't.

Blueberry Honeypie Pancakes, P140

First to arrive was the Blueberry Honeypie, a stack of hotcakes sandwiching a thick blueberry spread.  For that price, you get enough bang for your buck.  Each cake was large and perfectly round and thick, a pleasing treat to the eyes.  However, the cakes were not fluffy like that of IHOP or Pancake House.  Hell not even close to McDonald's.  There were sections that were too thick and a bit tough.  The saving grace though was the blueberry.  This was not your run-of-the-mill straight from the bottle jam.  It tasted homemade, and there were real whole plump blueberries in it.  I had never tasted such a blueberry spread before.  Often the berries were turned into mush by food processing.  But this was way different.  Another plus was that in between each layer was a generous spread of blueberries, plus you get a shot glassful of maple syrup to suit your sweet desire.  This would have been the star if not for the thick and tough pancake itself.

Banana King Kong, P150

This glorified French toast was a delectable treat.  Two large slices of white bread done in the usual French toast way, but slathered with a thick banana compote in between.  A drizzle of chocolate syrup adds a touch of sweetness.  The bread was good and sweet but not overpowering.  Some parts though had a burnt taste.  I was a bit surprised to find a banana compote filling instead of real fresh bananas.  Not that the filling was not okay, but it might have been better to use fresh ones.  The filling had a texture of mashed sweet saging na saba, which I'm not really a fan of.  Despite that, this dish was more hits than misses.

Bacon, Mushroom, and Cheese Omelet, P150

This trio of bacon, 'shrooms, and cheese was a perfect mix of flavors and texture.  The omelet was large enough to accommodate all three, and it was stuffed to the brim.  They did not scrimp on the bacon, although it was not crisp as expected.  It was rather soft and chewy.  I preferred the crunchier variant.  Although we could have ordered it the way we wanted it.  Also, some of the mushrooms included were old and tough and fibrous, questioning the freshness of the ingredients.  More so, it wouldn't have been too much to serve a slice of toast to along with this omelet.  But for the generous amounts of bacon, this was already a good meal in itself.

An explosion of flavors.

I was torn between the tapsilog and tosilog, but in keeping with the sweet overtones, I chose the tocino instead, expecting a sweet savory blend.  Bad move.

Tocino, P130

For some strange reason, despite its temptingly sweet appearance, it was not.  Instead, the tocino was garlicky and mildly salty.  I picked at each piece, trying in vain to perhaps get a bite of a touch of sweetness, but there was none.  Not even a trace.  You know how a good tocino with its crisp burnt caramel edges should taste like?  Well this was the exact opposite.  I was fooled by the burnt appearance and the glistening coat.  Still, the meat was pink and fresh, and the serving just enough for the cup of garlic rice.  However, I for one believe that tocino should be made on the sweeter side.  If I want garlic I would have chosen the tapa instead.  On second thought, maybe the tapa here was sweet, which is how I prefer that to be.  On all accounts, several other tosilogs out there best this version handily.

Breakfast is always the biggest meal of the day.

Milky and Sunny clearly has all the right formula for success: a tantalizing mix of savory dishes and sweet blends.  Its homey feel and laid-back vibe appeal to the surrounding neighborhood and offices.  As evidenced by the early Saturday crowd, it already has its loyal fans trooping from even the far reaches of the metro.

Understandably, it also has its critics.  Milky and Sunny is probably not at par with the big shots IHOP and the like, but for this price range, the food is quite good.  Still, it would help to tweak some of their recipes, aiming for a fluffier pancake or fresher fruits and such.  Oh and that hot chocolate should be added. No excuses.  Despite all that's been said, the forecast for Milky and Sunny remains bright, a gratifying getaway on a rainy day.

Jones

Milky and Sunny

9 East Capitol Drive, Barangay Kapitolyo

Pasig City

https://www.facebook.com/milkynsunny

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Mom Knows Best!

In the year that has passed, several food crazes have been sweeping the nation.  There is the ongoing love affair with ramen, and the recent rage about modern / twisted Filipino cuisine.  And then there's the prevailing trend of food bazaars and markets, including creative food trucks.  And finally, there's the contagious spread of restaurants offering "all-day breakfast", ranging from the high end and cosmopolitan (like The Breakfast Club) to the frankly down-to-earth (think Kanto Freestyle Breakfast).  And in between of course, is a bevy of homey joints seeking for a larger share of the market.  Not to mention the usurpation by a foreign brand (IHOP, of course!).

Long before this craze was born, however, one shop was already making waves, albeit with its famous cakes and pastries.  It's fame for breakfast menu soon spread, such that it has expanded around the metro.  Mom and Tina's Bakery Cafe is your typical corner shop, with bright pastel finishing, a homey garden theme, and a comfort-food heavy menu.  I had heard of this joint by word-of-mouth, but it was their pastry collection that was much talked-about.  Sifting through the web, I found out they actually had a full breakfast menu.  And I love heavy breakfasts, especially on a lazy Sunday.

So, off we went to its relatively newer branch, just a stone's throw away from the ABS-CBN compound.  On a cloudy and lazy Sunday, this part of Quezon City was peaceful and serene, a perfect hideaway from the busy metro.  Its exteriors resembled a model house, the kind you see in subdivisions being marketed along Tagaytay or some such place.  This branch had a second floor, and could comfortably seat almost a hundred or so.

Mom and Tina were twins.

Small bouquets are always the centerpiece for shops such as these.

It was barely 10 AM, yet a few of the seats were already occupied.  I figured the food here must be good, for people to wake up this early on a laid-back Sunday.  I had browsed the menu in advance, so I knew what I was craving for right away.  We ordered something to perk us up first.

Waffle Pancakes, P125 (+service charge)

In places that serve all-day breakfast, we always manage to pick at least an order of pancakes.  This time, these were both waffles and pancakes!  It was mouth-watering to see this little flaps of joys, but our happiness was short-lived.  To our dismay, the waffle-pancakes were tough and chewy, and served almost cold!  The butter we spread barely melted, while the maple syrup scarcely softened the thing up.  What a way to start our meal.

A few minutes later however, redemption began as our main dishes were served.  I was in the mood for a heavy silog meal.  And she followed suit.

U.S. Beef Tapa, P205 (+service charge)

No, those aren't burnt bacon strips.  Those are delectable strips of U.S. Beef marinated in our local Filipino tapa recipe.  Finely cut with just a teasing amount of fat, these beef strips were perfectly fried to a crisp texture.  These must have been marinating for a fortnight, as the flavor seeped into the meat, exuding a sweet soy taste.  The rice had a mild hint of garlic, and a serving of atsara was an excellent break in flavor.  One of the best tapsilogs my palate has ever encountered in my entire life.  Period.

Tocino with Egg, P195 (+service charge)

Its porcine counterpart, the ubiquitous tosilog was equally gratifying.  Each piece was plump and freshly pink, and cooked impeccably, with just the right amount of burnt edges to give that smoky flavor and texture.  Inseparable with a cup of garlic rice and an egg cooked your way, this version is an easy choice for those craving for their cured meat.

Ghirardelli Premium Hot Chocolate

Blue Lemonade

To douse the fiery main courses, I ordered a cup of Ghirardelli Premium Hot Chocolate.  I had a whole can of this at home, so I practically new how it tasted.  It was superb, as always.  The Blue Lemonade, on the other hand, was ordinary.

To top off our caloric intake for the day, we curiously peered into their see-through refrigerators for a peek at their lovely desserts.  Still, I had my eye on that small mysterious cup glistening in the cold mist.

Toblerone Walnut Torte, P110 (+service charge)

Anything with Toblerone in its name always catches my attention.  So I tried this cup of heaven out.  It was like a frozen chocolate mousse, with crushed walnuts and frozen Toblerone forming the top.  Embedded within was whipped cream to contrast the solid texture.  It was definitely sweet, but not overwhelming.  We finished it in no time at all.  The best thing about this, however, was that it comes in bigger 1.5 Liter tubs!  I would definitely come back someday and take out one of those sinful containers.  Calories galore.

For a cafe that's well-known for its pastries, it comes as a delightful surprise that their breakfast courses deliver.  Not to mention that they do have a full menu, including steaks and pasta, which I presume would also taste pleasant.  Although the waffle was a disappointment, I'm hoping it was more of an aberrancy than a consistency.  Nevertheless, the silog meals were to-die-for, even better than commercialized restaurants that claim they have the best tapa.

Mom and Tina's is a quick getaway to your comfort, homey food, the way everybody's Mom knows how to cook.  With a number of branches cropping up around the metro, it is set to break mainstream.  I suggest, almost selfishly hesitantly, to try out their branch along Sgt. Esguerra.  It has the best parking spaces, and maybe the largest eating capacity.  On second thought, don't bother.  I want that spot secretly for myself.

Mom and Tina's Bakery Cafe

58 Sgt. Esguerra Avenue, South Triangle (just across ABS-CBN compound)

Quezon City

www.momandtinas.com

www.facebook.com/momandtinas

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