The Island Explorer

For some reason, I feel at home when I dine at Icings in SM Hypermart in Pasig (Tiendesittas). So when Icing opened a new store in Tomas Morato, I was happy. The place was bright and airy, and bigger. It was a good place for a conversation with friends over coffee, tea and cakes. The shop in Morato expanded their menu to offer breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have yet to try their new offerings. I have been a fan of their sandwiches. So if you're in the area, drop by Icings. It's located along a street off Tomas Morato (sorry for the directions), but there was a sign that guided me. That's how I found it. Sugarfree Ube Mango Cake White Velvet (white chocolate coffee concoction) Spanish Tsokolate

When Jason and Mich told me that there was this new resto in Greenhills, I immediately asked if it was good there. I think I have been on a bad restaurant streak these weeks, and I just couldn't find anything new and worthy of true praise these days. So, off we drove to Greenhills, trying to find the newest kid on the block, Cucina Gayuma. Not to be mistaken for the now closed Gayuma Restaurant in Katipunan, Cucina Gayuma is located just after the intersection of Santolan and Ortigas in Greenhills. You wouldn't miss it, going to Gilmore. Parking is a problem since it's in a row of shops situated in front of a very busy road. Ok. When I saw the sign and got a peak of the inside, I must admit I became hesitant. It was those types of restaurants that was in a wrong place, with a bad taste for design. The place was small, but had two floors. There was a function going on upstairs, and there were other big groups dining downstairs with us. So it was pretty packed and that was im...

As I've said, I've been a fan of frozen soft-serve yogurt for years now, and it's good that the craze is finally hitting the Philippines. Fro-Yo, as it is more popularly called, is a great alternative to ice cream and is a truly satisfying dessert. The best thing is, with the notion that it is "healthier", you can devour one without the guilt. From FIC Ice Cream Bar, we move on to White Hat. Most consider White Hat to be the best fro-yo in town, so I decided to pass by while visiting an event venue in SM Mall of Asia. White Hat is located in front of Nike on the 2nd floor near SM Discovery Center and China Highlands Palace. Rotimum is also nearby, which I think is a great partner to the Fro-yo. White Hat has two sizes, regular (P85) and large (P115). Toppings start at P20. The toppings are not that appetizing on display, hence I had a difficult time choosing. I was weary since the fruits looked canned. No fresh ones, so that was a disappointment. The selection was...

I forgot to post this entry on Apartment 1B, the quaint restaurant at the ground floor of Lafayette along Sedeno in Makati. Of course, this entry may be too late, since Apartment 1B is already considered one of the worthy restaurants in the city. I was excited to try everything in their limited menu, since I was so hungry (hence, takaw-tingin). Here's what we had: For Starters, the New Zealand Mussels. This dish was supposed to be a starter, but it was more of an entree! Well, mussels from New Zealand are huge, but they served a lot of it. They were both fresh and refreshing. We even ordered extra bread, that was also excellent. The first entree was the Pasta, the Spaghetti Vongole. It was a spaghetti with manila clams, white wine, olive oil and garlic. It was not a good choice, since the starter tasted similar to this dish. Just change the mussels to clams, and make it spicier and throw in some spaghetti. We just wanted some pasta, so this was the choice. It wasn't bad though....