Miss Desserts

Deciding between Miss Dessert of Sonja's Cupcakes was a no brainer. We're all so tired of cupcakes and I think that the hype has (finally) died down. When we went inside Miss Desserts, we were so attracted to their display case we wanted to order everything! After calming down, we decided to go with these:

Fantasia Slice Php130

This was heavenly! I haven't had an amazing pastry in a long time and I'm glad I picked this. The crust, which was hard and yet still moist, was a perfect combination of bitter and sweet. The filling was very creamy and chocolate-y good. The nut toppings (walnuts I think) was so generous. There was a burstful of crunch in every bite. yumyumyum

White Macadamia Cheesecake Php120

For its size and its price, it was very much worth it. This is cream cheese at its best and that's not the best part yet! What I like most is that I could actually taste the macadamia nuts both in the cake and the crust of the cheesecake which is very important to me.

Banana Cream Pie Php95

Better than Starbuck's pie I think.

Duo

The place is really perfect for long conversations. My friends and I had a 3 hour lunch there recently and I was pleased that our servers were all very attentive and patient with us, not to mention we were making so much noise! I love the butter they served with their complimentary bread. They also gave us a second round for free. The prices of the food may be pricey but at least it is VAT inclusive already. There was a lot of older customers when we were there, probably trying to have a peaceful and relaxing meal only to be distrubed by us. My only complaint, and I think everybody would agree with this is that their logo looks "unappealing." I feel that the look of the logo is more suited for a more casual form of dining.

Toretellini Carbonara Php395

Stuffed with mushrooms and goose liver duxelle. It was very rich and sinful. I found the serving to be a bit 'bitin' (lacking) so I asked for another bread plate (which I think my friends appreciated. Better to have this with a large group of people sharing everything together than as a personal order.

Roast Lamb Shank Burgundy (Osso Buco) Php555

It was good. Not the best, but good.

T.G.I.Friday's

Had a party here recently and we pigged out. Definitely ordered much more than we can eat.

Friday's Three for All  Php545

Packed with Potato Skins, Fried Mozzarella and Buffalo Wings, it offers a little something for everyone. Served with sour cream and chives, marinara sauce and Bleu cheese dressing.

Southwestern Chicken Caesar Salad Php465

Spicy chargrilled chicken breast heaped atop a Southwestern Caesar salad. Garnished with fresh pico de gallo and fresh tortilla chips.

Chicken and Shrimp Diablo Php325

Shrimp and chicken sauteed in olive oil tossed in a spicy tomato Diablo sauce. Served over linguini with shaved parmesan cheese. 

Jack Daniel's Glazed Ribs Php505

Mouth watering baby back ribs garnished with a grilled pineapple slice.

Fish and Chips Php385

Market fresh fish battered and fried to golden brown. Served with Friday's® Fries and tartar sauce.

Chicken Fingers Php230

Hand battered chicken tenderloins fried and served with Friday's fries, coleslaw and honey mustard sauce.

Oreo Madness Php285 for two pieces

Giant Oreo cookie sandwich with vanilla ice cream topped with caramel and chocolate sauce.

Hula-Hula

I've actually never had Hawaian food before. My  meal here in Hula -Hula was a mix of good and bad food. Read on to find out.

Japanese Hawaian Luao Feast Php695

Spicy Tuna Roll, Kani and Cucumber Salad, Beef Yakiniku, Island Belly Chops, Ebi and Fish Fry, Grilled Black Marlin, Grilled Eggplant and Pineapple Fried Rice.
It really is a feast. I was startled when the servers were taking away my plate and placemat. When asked, they said we were going to eat in the platter. I was confused and I didn't expect the platter to be this huge!

We also got a Bangus Belly Island Grill Php225 and Paella Rolls with Baby Shrimps php145 both of which were forgetable.

Zong

As if I hadn't had enough Chinese food yet, I had Chinese food once again. Here are what we ate:

General Tso's Chicken Php198

This was good. Very thin slices of chicken in a deep orange sauce. Very crispy too.

Beef and Broccoli Php198

The usual order of beef and broccoli.

Seafood Rice Php150

The usual Chinese fried rice. Good for 3-4 people

Qdoba Mexican Grill

So this is a fastfood type of Mexican grill. The ingredients are by the counter and they just prepare and heat your order after you ask for it. I was able to try the

Steak Quesadilla $

Marinated grilled steak and our own fresh pico de gallo. This was good but I think it's better thought off as a snack than a lunch or dinner meal.

Beef Taco $

Soft flour or crispy corn tortillas, grilled meats or vegetables, lettuce, salsa and lite sour cream or cheese. I really don't know what the difference between 'steak' and 'beef' is in their menu. We got a soft taco which I think was small but definitely better than Taco Bell Philippine's Soft Taco.

Grilled Chicken Mango Salad $

This was okay. Nothing Mexican about it really. But hey look at all that cheese on top!

IHOP 2

We ate at IHOP again and these are what I was able to taste:

Pancake Combo $

Your choice of 3 same style signature pancakes. Choose from Harvest Grain n' Nut, Corn Cake, Chocolate Chip or Original Buttermilk. 
Served with two eggs, hashbrowns and your choice of two bacon strips or two sausage links.
I chose the Harvest Grain N' Nut pancake which I sooo dearly love. The pancake itself was fluffy and the nuts in it was a great addition to texture. I loved the Pecan Syrup on this the most (there are 4 choices). Days later, I was still thinking of that pancake. It's just sooo damn good. I can honestly eat those pancakes for the rest of my life! Best of all, you know it's healthy too!

Chicken Florentine Crepes $

This was good although savory crepes are not really for me. I prefer my crepes sweet.

The Cookery

One night we had dinner so late that there were no other food options on the road. We ended up in The Cookery which is really a trucker's rest area. Not the best crowd.I was able to taste the

Atlantic Salmon $

½ lb grilled-to-order Atlantic salmon topped with buttery garlic sauce served with choice of side and garlic bread. Not the best salmon.

Spicy Shrimp & Smoked Sausage Fettuccini $

One dozen shrimp sautéed with smoked sausage tossed in a spicy chipotle pepper Alfredo cream sauce with fettuccini, tomato and green onion served with garlic bread. This would have been good had the sauce not been so watery! I couldn't finish the rest of my pasta after I had eaten the shrimp because it was so watered down. You can't even call the sauce a sauce. I also didn't like their kind of smoked sausage because it left an uneasy taste on my mouth.

Zephrus

We went to Martha's Vineyard and wanted to have some fresh seafood for lunch. After much walking we found Zephrus and immediately went inside. We were glad that there was some seafood in the menu. They weren't prepared as "fresh" as we would have wanted but I guess the typical sandwiches would suffice. Here's what we had:

Clam Chowda' $5

Rich in clams, light cream, potatoes, bacon and Island tradition. I guess this was okay but for the price, I was expecting a bigger serving and more clams in the chowder.

Crab Cakes $12 for a single order

Crab cakes on island greens & old bay rémoulade. This was good. I don't usually like crab cakes but this one was pleasantly surprising.

Calamari Arrabiata $12

Crispy fried calamari sweet banana peppers w/ side of Arrabiata sauce. Our classic calamari, only this one was served with an Arrabiata sauce instead of a creamed one.

Salmon Salad $12

Served on a parmesan shell with mixed greens, radishes and roasted pecans tossed in a honey lavender dressing topped with pulled salmon. This was good but I think the serving is only good enough for one person.

Jaws Bite $8

Grilled tuna steak w/ lettuce, tomato & lemon herb aioli on herb stirato bread.

Lobster Trap $13

Chunky lobster sald on a New England Roll. This was good. The amount of lobster in the sandwich was generous. Very filling. Best of all, the sandwich wasn't dry. So much fries came with the dish. Great presentation too!

Ruby Tuesday

Had dinner here and was welcomed by a looong salad table that I sadly have no proper picture of.

They have everything you can ever think off of putting in a salad. They also have about 7 dressings to choose from and have ready made beet, macaroni and potato salads as well.

But what I did order though was a 'handmade' burger.

Bacon Avocado Turkey Burger $

With applewood smoked bacon, fresh avocado slices and Monterey Jack cheese. This is half of my burger. I had the other half in a to-go box before I even ordered because I knew I wouldn't be able to finish it. This was good although the turkey was a bit dry.

Red Lobster

Red Lobster has the best (free) biscuits among all the fast food chains in Northern America. They ahve the right amount of cheese in them and are perfectly soft on the inside yet crusty on the outside. This alone can be my complete meal already!



I ordered the 3 Viand Feast which had Deep Fried Oysters, Parrot Bay Jumbo Coconut Shrimp and Battered Crawfish $19 for the feast

• Deep Fried Oysters- Not so good. I found the oysters to be runny.
• Parrot Bay Jumbo Coconut Shrimp- Hand-dipped in coconut and Captain Morgan’s Parrot Bay Rum batter, then fried to a golden brown. Served with piña colada sauce. This was so good. I should have ordered just this! The best part of this dish was the pina colada sauce, not that there was anything wrong with this.
• Battered Crawfish- Think popcorn shrimp, only I couldn't really taste the crawfish anymore because it was so small! 

Lobster and Seafood Mixed Grill $21

A Maine lobster tail with skewered jumbo shrimp and sea scallops, fire-grilled and topped with a whitewine and butter sauce, over wild rice pilaf.

They also have a huge lobster in their lobster aquarium that we were all gawking at. One of the servers were kind enough to pick it up for us.

Arby's

Ate at an Arby's in Tennesee. We were so happy there was a 5 for $5 promo! What it is really is that you pick 5 items from a preset list they had and everything would just be $5. Isn't that awesome? Among the choices were a roast beef sandwich (so tender!), ham sandwich, curly fries, shake, 
medium drink, turnover, mozzarella sticks and several others I can't remember.
This was my first time to eat at Arby's and I was surprised that they didn't have the usual fastfood menu. I particularly liked their roast beef sandwich menu. Arby's is a great substitue to your usual fastfood joint.
Everything for just $25. That's exactly 25 items there!

Applebee's

This is a great place for bistro type dining and I think their menu is much better than that of Friday's or Chili's. Here's what I was able to try:

Spinach and Artichoke Dip $6.99

As breathtaking as the big dipper. Creamy spinach and tender artichokes served warm with tomato salsa, sour cream and tortilla chips. This was a great start to a great meal. You can really tell that the tortilla chips are not the commercial kind. I like this one much more than that of CPK's.

Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl $9.49

Boneless breaded chicken breasts are mildly spiced and covered in a sweet ’n’ spicy orange glaze. This was huge! Best if shared with somebody else. There was  generous amount of chicken on top and an even more generous serving of rice underneath. The almonds sprinkled on top give the dish a bit more bite. This is also the best Orange Chicken recipe I've tasted since I've been here in the States. 

Applebee's House Sirloin $10.49

A 9 oz. steak grilled to perfection and served with garlic mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and garlic toast. We asked for well done but it came medium rare. We had it redone but still it was rare.



Steak and Crispy Buttermilk Shrimp $12.99

Succulent shrimp, lightly breaded and golden fried to perfection.

Chicken Fried Chicken $9.99

Boneless chicken breast, lightly breaded and chicken-fried. With garlic mashed potatoes, gravy and vegetables