A Members-Only Resto

This restaurant's review is quite different. The probability of one eating at this place if one is not a member is slim to none. One has to be a member of Valle Verde or know someone who's a member and get invited in order to eat here. And since my boss' boss is a member, well, I got invited.

If I'm right, the restaurant's name is Lanai Ala Carte. Looking at the menu, the prices are similar to that of a mid-range priced restaurant like Max's. It's not very expensive but it's up there. We ordered Pancit Canton, Pancit Palabok, Calamares, Lumpiang Togue, and Lumpiang Shanghai. 

I couldn't eat the Lumpiang Togue for the fear of having my ankles ache. With it was vinegar with what seemed to be garlic and pepper for a dip. The Calamares was ok at best. It had with it, white sauce for dipping. Sweet chili sauce was the dip for the generic Lumpiang Shanghai. I'm guessing the sauce's brand is Jufran. The Pancit Canton was alright. From what I can tell, it had slices of pork, squid, and shrimp. The Pancit Palabok was a bit bland. I lacked saltiness that would have enhanced the Palabok flavor.

In spite the fact that the restaurant is exclusive to Valle Verde members, the food could have been better. To be honest, Hap Chan's food tastes better. It's a good thing I was just invited so I didn't spend on anything.

I guess what you're paying for is more of the privacy of the place. Since it's members only, you may have a table all to yourself and you can take your time just using the Wi-Fi. You can say it's free but since you're a paying member, you've probably paid for that.

It's a good experience. But that's it.

Tapa King's Tapa Queen

So it's not my first time eating at Tapa King. But then again, I have never blogged about it; or even complained. 

I don't remember the first time I had my first Tapa King nor do I remember which branch. All I remember is that I had tapa. That's it. Today, there's like four different tapa sets; King, Queen, and the other two. I forgot what they're called. But back then it was just Beef Tapa. They also have other dishes that weren't on the menu, God knows how long ago.

Just to be consistent with my Tapa King dining experiences thus far, I ordered a Tapa Queen. It's beef tapa but it's sweet and spicy.

How did it taste? Well, it was sweet and spicy. It wasn't the original beef tapa I had long ago. But I guess I wouldn't remember as much. 

I didn't really took the price into consideration since I didn't pay for the meal. I'm sure it was around Php 100+, probably around 150. Value for money? It was okay. Although I would rather have a two-piece Chicken Joy with that price range. And you can have tapa and eggs at Jollibee as well for around Php 20 cheaper. But you can only buy that during breakfast. At 10AM, no more breakfast. 

For me, dishes like these, tapa, daing na bangus, danggit, longanisa are the types of food that I eat once I get the craving for them. Not really a daily thing. Not even weekly. Probably biweekly. So it follows that I would probably eat at Tapa King once I get a craving for whatever's in their menu.

Kalye Uno

So today I decided to eat at Kalye Uno. It's not my first time to eat at Kalye Uno but I have never blogged about it. So what's Kalye Uno?

Kalye Uno is a fast food restaurant. It's not as big as Jolllibee, or KFC, or any of those franchises. I don't even know if there are other branches besides the one near my office. Like most fast food restaurants, it's self-service. 

By the way, my office is located at Bridgetowne. It's at the edge of Quezon City. Almost at Pasig City. 

For the main menu, first you choose whether you want your meal with rice or on a taco. Then you choose what your meal is. I'm sorry but I usually just order Garlic Longanisa and nothing else. But I'm sure there's Daing na Bangus since I just saw it on the menu board because it's new. I think there's Tapa as well.

They also have Sisig, and Nachos with some awesome dressing. I think Garlic Longanisa bits are one of the toppings. I'm pretty sure I tasted some.

Price range, it right around double the price of a regular meal at Jollibee. A two-piece chicken is not a regular meal, by the way. Just by how often I eat there is proof that it's not cheap, but not expensive either. How many times have I eaten there since it opened? Around five times, I guess. I just eat there when I have the craving for Garlic Longanisa.

This branch is located right in between Zeta and Exxa Towers at Bridgetowne. Just beside Subway, but Subway's in the outside of the main entrance. Kalye Uno is inside. Just across Mini Stop. 

Mesa Philippines

After a company event, one of our bosses gave us a tread at a restaurant called, Mesa. This branch we ate at is located at the third level of Robinson's Galleria just beside Kenny Roger's Roasters. I remember seeing one at SM City Lipa and SM Fairview if I'm not mistaken. As for other branches, you better do a Google check. They are better known as Mesa Philippines. Although a search for 'mesa' would still point to them for now. You'll never know in the future, it might bring you to a search result for tables.

This restaurant serves food that is covered by BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources). For those who know me, I am not very fond of crustaceans and mollusks because I have an allergic reaction to those kinds of foods. So as they were serving the feast, I could not help but just look since I could not eat most of them; shrimp on century egg, steamed shrimp, fried squid on oyster sauce, some sort of sisig that I definitely do not know what's in it, lumpia that I wasn't also sure what's wrapped inside it.

It was a feast that I couldn't really partake wholeheartedly. Then came the tilapia. At last, fish. I'm fine with fish. Why don't they have tuna or mackerel or sardines. They took out at least three platters of fried tilapia. The flesh was already fried and the bones (with a little flesh left over was fried and shaped into what seemed to be a heart. It came with four condiments; alamang (I think that's fish paste), vinegar, sweet and spicy sauce, and one that I did not bother trying. And yes, I took one whole platter and claimed it my own.

It is rather unfair to judge the restaurant by a single dish; that would be a very common fried tilapia. The only thing uncommon about it was the heart-shaped ornament made from its bones. But nevertheless, it was good. And basing form how the rest of us ate, I guess the other dishes were great as well.

If you're like me who cannot eat most of BFAR-covered foods, then this is not for you. But if you're good on seafood, then this might be the place for you. I cannot give you if it is worth the budget because I didn't pay for anything.

UKB 199 is not an Idol Group

The first time I heard of this place, what came to mind was AKB 48 and its sister groups. That's probably because of the "KB" on the name. But what this place really is, is one of the many Korean Barbecue places that are popping up one after the other. And so far, this has got to be the cheapest one.

As the name says, it only costs Php 199 to eat here with unlimited refills of side dishes an meat for grilling. But wait, let me be clear. That 199 price tag is only for pork cuts. For 299, you get beef cuts as well. I guess the 199 is their best seller.

Like most Korean Barbecue spots, you grill your meat yourself. But you don't really grill on a grill. They use portable, outdoor stoves. The ones where you use butane canisters for fuel tanks. Yes, those ones. And they have oil if you wish to use oil which makes you fry instead of grill.

Besides the unlimited meat, you get unlimited side dishes. You have the usual Korean Barbecue side dishes; kimchi, tofu, meat buns (but I think this is Chinese), soup, rice, and the like. There was this one side dish that looks good. I ate it without cooking, because it looked like it was good to eat. Unfortunately, the next day my stomach went haywire. Good lord. Take my advice, cook everything.

For other items like cheese, iced tea, and shrimps, you have to buy those separately. They don't come with the unlimited label.

As for the location itself, dine in al fresco. There are tables in small rooms where you sit on the floor like the East Asians do. It was raining lightly while I was there but, the rain didn't get to where you sit. I'm not sure if it's the same case when the rain is a lot stronger.

So if you're looking for a cheap Korean Barbecue spot in al fresco, this is the place for you. I never checked if they have other branches but you can google them.  The branch that I got the chance to eat at is located along Regalado Avenue, West Fairview, Quezon City.

Get on over and experience grilled or fried, Korean Barbecue.

The Samgyup Story

It's been a long time since I wrote something here. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I haven't been to any unique food place. But today... today was different. Let me tell you about the Samgyup Story.

Samgyup Story is the name of the restaurant that serves... what else... Samgyupsal. Some call it Korean barbecue. I've been to similar restaurants like Samgyupsalamat, and Tipsy Proky. And I've been to Yakiniku places like Tajimaya, and Sambokojin.

As far as I am concerned, they are the same. It's just that samgyupsal has a lot of side dishes; steamed eggs, meatballs, squid balls, rice, noodles, cheese, bean sprouts, small potatoes, miso soup (although I think Koreans don't call it miso soup, but I'm pretty sure it's miso soup), and many others but it won't be complete without Kimchi. When there's Kimchi, then it's Korean Barbecue. If it has just the meat and the grill, and rice, that's Yakiniku.

But what makes Samgyup Story unique is it's service. The servers are quick to refill your empty plates of meat strips without you having to call their attention. Here it's quite the opposite, you have to call their attention just for them to stop the refill lest you want the meat wasted because you're so full and can't eat another bite. For the most part, you cook your own food on the grill at the center of the table. But there are times when you're just too busy cooking and not doing any eating anymore, the servers will actually do the cooking for you while you eat. And in some cases, even the owner will do it for you. They also have traditional Korean outfits that you could wear so you could take a picture in from of their backdrop that seems like a scene from one of those Korean period dramas. And if your pitcher of water seems to be no longer cold (or maybe because it's summer) they will change it for you even if it's still half full.

As you can probably tell, the service here is top notch.

For the grill itself, they don't use burning hot charcoal. They use a flame from a stove which produces little to no smoke. This is good considering the restaurant is not air conditioned, no overhead exhausts over the grills, and uses only electric fans.

Now I'm sure you want to know about the price. Well. For a place that serves unlimited refills on almost everything, it is priced low; Php 299 on their cheapest set.

If you want to check it out, Samgyup Story can be found at 0167 Commonwealth Ave., Novaliches, Quezon City. Or you may google it; "Samgyup Story."