The Island Explorer

Next on the list in the newest restaurants to open at the Eastwood Mall is Buenisimo by Cafe Isabel. Of course, Cafe Isabel is one of the institutional restaurants in Manila, owned by Chef Gene Gonzales. Their new venture is located at the 2nd floor of the Veranda in Eastwood Mall. The place looks expensive, so we were apprehensive at first. But when we entered, the place actually felt homey, sans the clientele who are mostly executives from the offices nearby. I was confused at the menu that they served. I thought Buenisimo offered Spanish or Italian cuisine, but turned out, it presented a whole range of dishes, from pasta, to Filipino favorites, to those normal continental ones. We were given freshly baked foccacia bread with plain butter. We ordered the Calamares (P198) to start. It was firm, not too tender. But the breading was packed, and it held on to the squid. Two sauces were served with the Calamares. One was a garlicky cream sauce, and the other one (red) tasted more li

Now that Red Mango is open in Manila (they also serve great waffles), here's another chain that I wish would arrive in Manila too. Introducing Yogurberry, one of the most popular froyo brands from Korea. I had my last Yogurberry when I was in Kota Kinabalu. It was located at the Warisan Square near the Waterfront. I love their froyo naked, but my companions dressed it with fruits (strawberry, kiwi and mango, which is a real good combination). I realized that 3 years ago, I wanted to bring Pinkberry or Yogurberry badly to the Philippines. I even inquired about the franchise costs and all. That was when Pinkberry boomed in the US. After 2 years, the FroYo craze hit the Philippines. I should have followed my instincts before.

The first time I heard about Brooklyn Pizza was through a friend. I was craving for New York style pizza. My friend then asked me, "Haven't you tried Brooklyn?" I said no. He knew the delivery number and immediately dialed it. He did the ordering and after 30 minutes, the pizza man was at our door. That was the first time I had a superb white cheese pizza aside from Sbarro's. Since then, Brooklyn has been a favorite in my pizza delivery list. I found their pies more flavorful and less greasy than several of the New York Style pizzas out there. Recently, I visited their branch in Ortigas, at the City Golf Arcade along Julia Vargas Avenue. It was my first time to dine in their place, and I was quite surprised at my experience. The place was small but cozy. They even served complimentary garlic bread. We were having our first real meal of the day, so we ordered Buffalo Wings to start. The wings were spicy, and the tangy flavor was not too strong. It didn't need the s

I now have a new favorite. It's located along Connecticut St in Greenhills, just after Belomed. The name of the place is Angel's Kitchen. Though not a newcomer (it's been here since last year), I was only able to visit the place when we planned a get together dinner with friends. We were supposed to go to Chilis, but when I passed by Angel's, I immediately stopped in front of it, and asked if there were still seats. Fortunately, a group was leaving, so I texted everyone about the change in venue. The restaurant was packed, well, it was not that big anyway. It reminded me of Conti's. Of course, it had a home feel, making it perfect for families and friends (of our age). I was excited to see the menu. We ordered I think every signature dish, except for the lamb ribs. So, let's take them one at a time. The first dish here is the Mandarin Chicken. To me, this was the worst of all, but don't me wrong. It was average. I started with the worst among what we ordered

Filipino restaurants are truly becoming a trend nowadays. And it's a good thing, because, I always thought we lacked good Filipino restaurants. We always think of Kamayan, or Barrio Fiesta, or Cabalen. Now, we have a lot to choose from, ranging from those roadside grilleries to fine dining options. A new restaurant hopes to crack the same ground. This is Hacienda, located at the ground floor of the Transcomm Bldg, beside Tiendesittas in Pasig. What made me very interested is the fact that they call the place a Filipino deli/coffeeshop/restaurant. All slashes. Being a deli, it serves local delicacies. Being a cafe, it serves charcoal roasted mountain coffee. Being a restaurant, it serves your usual Filipino fare ala carinderia style. We were there for dinner and surprisingly, there wasn't any customers when we arrived. 2 groups came in a few minutes later though. The food is presented ala carinderia, meaning, they are already laid out on the counter, and you just have to choose

Tucked at an unnoticeable corner at the back of the Ortigas Home Depot Complex (which is going under a lot of development with cheap eats and specialty shops), and beside Pier One, Muruve's lights are dim yet inviting. Talk about being hidden. The newest wine venue, Muruve offers an alternative to wine lovers who frequent Barcino's nearby. I really love this place. I saw one of their roadside ads along Julia Vargas, and being a new resto, I was excited to try it out. Turns that that the place was more of a wine hang out. I was able to visit it one night, and after that, I came back the next night and 2 nights after, bringing in different people. Their food is mostly Spanish and I can commend them for having great dishes at reasonable prices. On my first visit, we sampled the Tapas Platter, which had yummy chorizo bilbao and spanish sardines. In other occasions, I was able to try their Lengua, which was satisfactory like it came out straight from Mom's kitchen. The serving

After the Kebab Factory, I head off down Ortigas into the Home Depot complex where another new kebab place makes noise. Welcome to the Persian Square. Persian Square looks nice from outside, with all the adornments. The same ambience is present inside, and I'm guessing people are telling themselves, "well at least they don't look like the old Behrouz". There's a map of Iran in stone on the floor as you enter the door (Persia is the ancient name of Iran). We skimmed through the menu, and found the prices like Behrouz, thus, had it as our benchmark. We ordered this bread, forgot the name but it's the one that's P30. We thought it would be more like roti, but it came out like a toasted thick naan with sesame seeds. As a result we ordered hummus to dip the bread on. My friend ordered a keema, which came out under a bed of long grain rice topped with an unopened pack of fresh Anchor Butter. The butter is usually mixed with the rice, but I prefer to smother it o

There is truly a Persian invasion. A lot of these restaurants have sprung out and they range from roadside eateries like King Kebab and Mr. Kebab to high end ones like Hossein's. One of the two newest ones making quite a buzz is the Kebab Factory at the brand new Megamall Atrium. Located on the 2nd floor, the Kebab Factory offers Persian cuisine at a casual and modern atmosphere. It looks more of a bistro. We looked over the menu and was happy with the variety. It also had Indian dishes. The shawarma was packed, and had a lot of beef. You'll be already full with this supposed snack. We also had a Lamb Kebab, which was very good. The flavor of the lamb was distinct and its juices were oozing as I sliced through the meat. I wrapped it in fresh pita bread and mixed in some onions and tomatoes. It was one of the best kebabs I ever had, believe me.  We also ordered Grilled Chicken in a yogurt sauce (I just keep forgetting the name of the dish, which I order in most Indian restaurant

8 Spices is a Thai resto in the newly opened Il Terrazo along Tomas Morato. My first impression was, the interiors looked like it has been plucked out from a province in Thailand. It's not classy, like KIngdom or People's Palace, so it's more of the Chinese looking Asian restos. So I wondered, will their food be authentic? Of course, I enjoy Thai food, so I was very weary in trying another Thai resto in a country where there is no "real" great Thai restaurants. We were there for lunch, and since it was still new, only a few guests were present. But compared to the other restos in Terrazo, they had more luck. So I look at the menu, which was extensive. They offered a lot. Since it was a first time, I had to order the basics to measure the standards of the restaurant. But first up was a relatively new dish for me, a Tofu and Eggplant Salad. This tasted really good and the flavors authentic. The tofu was cooked well, not too flimsy. The eggplant was marinated with bo