Silantro - U.P. Town Center

I'm really not into fish dishes. With a few exceptions, of course, and one of those exceptions is grilled mahi-mahi. In Southern California, that is my order of choice whenever we eat at a Hawaiian restaurant. When I discovered that Silantro is serving this, I made plans to try it as soon as possible.

Today, Dec. 23, when traffic wasn't that detrimental and exasperating, my wife and I hied over to the U.P. Town Center. Thankfully we arrived early enough that we were seated right away (normally it takes from 30 minutes to 1 hour before that could happen). The menu wasn't that extensive, besides, I already know what to order. Naturally, it was Grilled Mahi-mahi for me, while my wife ordered the Rib Finger. For drinks, I asked for Iced Tea while the Mrs wanted Fresh Dalandan Juice. The server told us it would take about 25-30 minutes for our orders to be served. 

The drinks came almost immediately though. One aspect why my rating was less that 5 was the iced tea. It had a tad of bitterness that a real tea has and because I am so used to having the sweet kind, this particular brew did not hit well with me. The dalandan juice, on the other hand, was just perfect!

The Rib Finger came first. It was actually pieces of rib steak covered with Barbecue (not smoked) sauce. It was served with mashed potato. The meat was not fall-off-the-bone tender but definitely not tough. Some were even done medium rare. The mashed potato was delicious. When the Grilled Mahi-mahi came I was a bit apprehensive...would it taste the same as those I had in the U.S.?.. would there be a fishy taste to it? To my delight, it was as if I was having lunch at a Hawaiian place in southern California. The fried rice that came with it was mixed with peas and corn which sort of uplifted the quality of the rice itself. Another thing that intrigued me was the sauce that came with the fish. In America, usually it is tartar sauce, but here I was curious as to what that green thing was. It turned out to be guacamole with cucumber. It went well with the mahi-mahi I must admit.

The ambiance was not that great - the place was relatively small and the chairs were like benches. Since it is a very popular place, it gets full quickly and as I mentioned earlier, newly arrived customers have to wait for quite a while to be seated.

Grilled Mahi-mahi

Rib Finger

Wildflour Cafe + Bakery

Our friend treated us to this place and since this will be the first time here I was curious as to what type of food they offer. After much deliberation (despite the fact that their menu for main dishes wasn't that extensive) I decided on the Wildflour Breakfast which consisted of baguette, eggs (you choose how it is done - I opted for scrambled), crispy potatoes and either sausage or bacon steak. I chose the latter. My wife ordered the Tuna Melt Sandwich while our friends had Kimchi Rice and Baby Mixed Green Salad. Before our orders were served we were given a baguette with butter as an appetizer. 

The breakfast was awesome! They probably used at least 3 eggs for the omelet and the bacon-steak was tender and delicious! The crispy potatoes were also good. The bread came with a jam. I preferred butter so I asked the server for one and she was kind enough to fulfill my request. My wife's tuna melt sandwich was - how shall I describe it - overflowing! The leafy salad that came with it had a very minimal vinaigrette dressing though. One reason I did not order the Kimchi Rice for myself was that I was afraid it might be too spicy for my taste. When our friend offered me a bite, it did have a degree of spiciness to it - not that hot but more like an aftertaste.

The ambiance is, sad to say, horrible. The tables are located right next to the main lobby of the Podium and close to the escalators so you can just imagine the amount of people passing by and the noise that goes along with that. Another minus point is the price. I consider it a bit too much for the quality of the food that they offer.

Overall Rating: 3.5

breakfast - bacon steak

mixed vegetable salad, kimchi rice

tuna melt sandwich

Banana Leaf

Banana Leaf had always been one of our favorite restaurants. We used to patronize their branch at Podium but unfortunately that place already closed. When we learned that they opened at the U.P. Town Center which we was nearer to our home, we visited it as soon as we had the chance. We've been back several times and let me just say that it still remains a favorite.

Today, we ordered the usual entrees that we really enjoy: Barbecue-roasted Baby Back Ribs and Stir Fried Clams in Singaporean Chili Sauce. Since we're not really into spicy food we always request that the latter be made extra mild. The baby back, as always, was so tender that the meat falls off the bones.

Prior to the entree we had the Roti Canai with Curry Sauce as an appetizer. The roti has the right amount of crispiness to it and the curry was mild.

Service was excellent: The server repeated our orders to make sure that she got them right. The waiting time was very minimal.

Definintely a place that we would come back to.

Yo! Panda

We purposely went to Yo! Panda strictly for dessert. We wanted to try their bubble waffles which they are famous for.

I ordered the Peanut Dulce de Leche Twist while my wife wanted the Mango Cheesecake Vanilla flavor. It took about 30 minutes for these to be served! We wondered how come it took that long and then realized that they had to prepare the bubble waffles from scratch.

Both desserts that we ordered were tasty! Mine even had a piece of choc-nut included and my wife's had pieces of ripe mango as well. The bubble waffle was warm and crispy and delicious.

Overall rating: 4.0

mango cheesecake vanilla

peanut dulce de leche twist

Cafe Shibuya

My wife and I received as a gift a couple of coupons (worth P1000) for Cafe Shibuya. So off we went to the U.P. Town Center to have lunch at this restaurant.

We were promptly seated and as we pondered on what to order, our server, Sasha, was standing beside us giving suggestions and answering the questions that we had.  We decided on Honey Lemongrass Chops for me and Baked Salmon for my wife. For our drinks, I had regular coke and Cynthia had the Pink Passion fruit cooler. For dessert, we ordered a slice of the Caramel Pecan Crunch cake which we shared.

It took a while for our meals to be served - about 15-20 minutes.

The pork chops were cooked well and were tender and juicy. The java rice, however, wasn't up to par and the tomato corn sauce was very minimal. My wife's baked salmon still had that slight fishy taste and the mushroom cream cheese sauce that went with it was quite overwhelming. The Pink Passion fruit cooler was also a bit bland. Their redeeming factor was the cake! It had the crunchiness that we hoped for and the sweetness was just right.

Again, I'd like to reiterate that the service given by our waitress and the cashier was excellent. For the food, I'll give a 3.5 rating, for the service, 4.5. The price range was also a bit on the high end - about P300+ for the meals (good thing we had coupons).

Overall rating: 4.0

Ba Noi's

My wife and I went to Ba Noi's at the U.P. Town Center for lunch. The servers were very polite and attentive. When asked on what our orders were going to be, I pointed to the posting on their wall about their all day brunch menu and said I wanted the Bo Luc Lac. The waiter said that that was only good from Monday to Friday. When we got home, I checked their menu online and found out that the all day brunch was  served everyday! That was minus point number 1. 

I also ordered the Iced Vietnamese Blended Caramel. A few minutes later, I was informed that they don't have whipped cream. So I canceled that order, after all what good is iced blended coffee without whipped cream. Minus point number 2.

My wife ordered Banh Mi. However the side dish of lobster crisps were not crispy at all. She had to inform the servers about it. To their credit they replaced it. The Banh Mi though was very good and my wife enjoyed it.

My order was Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Crepe) with chicken, beef, and shrimp sauteed with bean sprouts. The taste was quite good, but not outstanding.

Service: 3.5/5
Food: 3.5/5
Ambiance: 4/5

Sizzlin' Steak

Every Sunday, after church, my wife and I pass by this restaurant. Recently, I noticed that they have a new entree called "Mi Gusta" which seemed appetizing. This morning, my wife relented to my pestering and agreed to have lunch here. Of course, I ordered the dish I so wanted to try while my wife had their bestseller, the Sizzling Beef Rice.

When our orders came (which was quite fast) my wife noticed that the beef were not fully cooked yet. The waitress explained that the reason the plate was sizzling was for us to cook the served meat. She even showed us how to do it. My wife enjoyed what she ordered and I can only say to my entree: "Mi gusta!" ..I like! Very much!

The prices were very reasonable - P219 and P249 respectively. We only had to add P20 for the Iced Tea (P40 if bottomless). The servers were very nice and courteous. The ambiance just right.

The only reason why I did not give it a perfect 5 was because of their the chairs. They were rocking. A bit difficult to enjoy your food if you're moving to and fro.

Overall rating 4.5

chicken

pork

beef

me gusta

soup

Mongolian Quick Stop

Mongolian Quick Stop moved to the 4th level of Robinson's Galleria. My wife and I love Mongolian food so we decided to give this place a try. We both opted for the single bowl.  The first thing we noticed was that there were only a few tongs to use in picking the variety of vegetables and the rice. Also when it comes to choosing the meat/seafood, the server will do the picking - you just point out which ones you like. It was the servers also who will put in the sauce after asking which you prefer - spicy, sweet, etc. For me, that method is so different from the other Mongolian buffets we've been to where you do all the picking, including the sauces.

The  cooked food is then delivered to your table. The taste is not that outstanding, primarily for me, because I was not able to put the amount and type of sauces that I would have wanted.

I guess it's all because the cost is relatively cheaper than the other Mongolian restaurants.  It is just P165 for the single bowl.

Overall rating: 3.5

Banapple

It has been a while since my wife and I last visited this place so we thought it would be a good idea to have breakfast here. Our orders of choice were Savory Longanisa with caramelized onions for me and Boneless Bangus a la Pobre for my wife. It took about 20 minutes before our orders were served perhaps because the place had a lot of customers that Saturday morning. Anyway, my longanisa was just perfect! It had that certain crispiness that I thoroughly enjoyed! My wife also was delighted with her bangus. The only nit we had was that the garlic friend rice had some unfried chunks in it. In both our orders! The Cafe Mocha was great too!

Ambiance was so-so and as I mentioned earlier, the place was crowded. The servers were nice and attentive though.

Overall rating: 4.0

Pizza Hut - SM Marikina

Their menu for 2 (which included a bacon cheeseburger pizza, a hawaiian supreme pizza,  spaghetti bolognese, spaghetti carbonara, 2 bowls of mushroom soup and 2 glasses of pepsi) was tempting so my wife and I decided to try it with a bit of trepidation. I say that because about 4 years ago when we first patronized this place we had to walk out because after sitting at our table for almost 15 minutes no one paid attention to us.

Thankfully this time the server was very attentive and took our orders right away. She even asked us if it is ok to wait for 15 minutes before our orders can be served. We said that it was ok. A few minutes later she came back and apologetically asked if it was ok to substitute macaroni to the spaghetti mentioned in the menu. Again we approved of the change.

Now for the food: The cream of mushroom soup was delicious - the croutons still crunchy. 

The baked macaroni bolognese tasted similar to the way Filipinos prepare spaghetti: with a bit of sweetness to it. Since the bolognese was sufficient for both of us (the serving was quite generous), we bypassed the carbonara and decided to just take it home. By the way, both pasta dishes were served hot! 

The two pizzas were tasty with ample meat toppings.

Overall we were happy that the service had changed for the better. The supervisor and the servers were always smiling and very courteous. Could this be the reason why? 

The food was quite good too!

Overall rating is 4 out of 5.

IHOP - U.P. Town Center

This was our first time to try IHOP here in the Philippines. In the U.S. IHOP was one of our favorite brunch places. However our visit here was for lunch.

The servers were very attentive and accommodating especially to my wife's request regarding their lemonade drink. I ordered Chicken Cordon Bleu and my wife wanted the Cheese Steak Sandwich. It took a while before our orders arrived (and there weren't that many customers).

When our meals finally came, it looked good - presentation wise. The taste however did not meet our standards. The cordon bleu was a bit tough and the sauce did not have the "cordon bleu" quality to it and lacked thickness. My wife was also disappointed with her sandwich. The beef was bland and the cheese tasted like cheez whiz.

And to top all that the bill was a bit pricey - it cost us almost P700 (including iced tea and lemonade) - and that was already senior discounted.

Are we going back? Most likely not.

Rating: 3 out of 5

El Pollo Loco - SM Megamall

We've been here several times and I must say that everything is consistent. Like before, the order takers were cheerful, polite and helpful. The taste of the chicken was exactly the same as those we had in California.

Yesterday, my wife and I ordered the 4-pc Pollo Lovers Meal (priced at P545). This included half a chicken, 2 choices of sides, 2 choices of dessert, 2 drinks and tortillas. As I said earlier, the chicken was consistent in taste which we enjoyed. Our sides were Spanish Rice and Fiesta Corn - both of which were also tasty. Our desserts of choice were Ube and Leche Flan - both not meriting a perfect 5 points but still enjoyable. We had a pleasant lunch and we will continue to patronize this place.

Overall rating: 4.5 out 5

Denny's - Uptown Parade, Bonifacio Global City

Since they just opened yesterday, we wanted to see how they compare with their counterpart in the U.S. First of all service was very good. The waitresses were attentive and made sure we were comfortable. However, it took a long while for our orders to be served (about 30 minutes). 

The coffee was so-so and we had to ask for more creamer because we were only served one pack each. Also, unlike in the U.S. coffee was not bottomless. 

We ordered an All-American Slam which consists of 2 slices of bacon, 2 sausages, 2 slices of bread and 2 hash browns. However, the waitress apologetically said that they were out of has browns, so my wife asked if they could substitute garlic rice or more toasted bread. The waitress said that it's not possible because it had to be french fries only that can replace the hash browns. 

We also ordered garlic rice and extra 2 strips of bacon on the side since my wife and I will be sharing the Slam. The food was similar to the U.S. version (which wasn't that great either) as in the bacon strips were not crispy and the scrambled egg was not fully cooked. 

Ambiance was a bit disappointing - it was our misfortune that at the time we were having our breakfast, there was a commotion when two customers were loudly arguing at each other and spewing expletives even. I know that it was not the restaurant's fault but it sure did dampen our enthusiasm.