Hazelberry by Ara Mina

I visited a bazaar in Pasig last May, where online retailers are having a "private" sale. One of the products sold there were these home-baked goods, Hazelberry. They sold red velvet mini cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, macadamia cookies and many more (as seen in above photo). Of course, how could i resist?! The sight of red velvet is heaven.  I like trying different brands and finding out which one's the best (based on my preference).

I grabbed a tray of mini red velvet cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies and macadamia cookies. I liked the macadamia cookies, the rest, not so much. I love the size of the cookies. Haha! I think all cookies should be that size. Its not too small, not too big either. Its rare that i find cookies with macadamias in it. So i liked the fact that its uncommon. I'm not a big fan of macadamia nuts but this is making me appreciate it. The chocolate chip cookies were nothing special at first bite. Nothing special again after the second. Its not like its terrible its just nothing special. My cousin says its good with a glass of fresh milk so i guess that means she liked it. :) The red velvet was essentially bland and a bit dense. It was moist, but that's it. Cukay's red velvet is still the best for me.

I'm no baker. I just looooove to eat and i know what i like. I still suggest you try the products for yourself to see if this is something that you would like.

Kenji Tei Ramen House

This is long overdue. I went to this place a few months ago with  friends and my cousin. I know i know... why take this long to post about it. When i started this blog i never really set out to feature food establishments. But as it turned out, i looooove sharing. Haha! I love sharing worthy food experiences. So i started nitpicking on past food finds and decided on featuring them on my blog. And here we are.

I'm always intrigued with new restos and this one was no different. Though i sampled just a few of their dishes, i was impressed. The broth used for the ramen was light but flavorful! I haven't enjoyed ramen this much since the last time my mom made some when she was here in the Philippines. I got the Seafood ramen since i love seafood and well... the server suggested it as well. Haha! Talking about this is making me crave for ramen right now!

We also tried the tamagoyaki (a must side dish for me) and beef curry rice. My cousin loved all the dishes and so did i. The tamagoyaki was cooked RIGHT. Yes i know its just egg but as all things are there is a right way of doing it. We were also surprised with the generous servings. The single serving of ramen that i ordered is good for 2! Well to me anyways. So when you order don't go crazy ordering multiple dishes thinking it won't be enough because it is and there might even be some leftovers if you don't have a bug appetite.

Kenji Tei Ramen House has branches in Alabang Town Center (near the cinemas) and Greenbelt 5.

'Til the next food trip!

Modern Shanghai

I came across Modern Shanghai back in January. I was craving for xiao long bao and didn't really wanna go to my usual place. I wanted to try other restos that served the dish so i can compare. You can only imagine how excited i got when i found this place. So posh-looking from the outside... all the hostess needed to say was they serve XLBs. And they did. That was enough for my feet to start walking into Modern Shanghai and grab a table. 

Once at the table we were handed right away with menus and i immediately ordered my ultimate fave - xiao long bao. I wanted some veggies in my system so i ordered mushroom & vegetable dumplings (now also one of my faves). I then turned to the server and asked her what she would recommend for an appetizer and noodle dish. She recommended the soft-smoked egg for the appetizer, which at first i was hesitant with. As it turned out it was surprisingly good and is definitely going on the list of "must order" whenever i eat there. LOL. The noodle dish she suggested was good. Took a while to get to our table though so i guess that's why we were given a complimentary dish. Haha! The noodle dish was a little peculiar for me since it had peanut sauce but i didn't mind. It was a bit spicy though... so even if i wanted to eat more of it i couldn't bear the heat. Can't wait to get back and try their other food. Now only if i can find someone willing to drive for me all the way to MOA. Haha!

For more information check their Facebook account, Modern Shanghai.

They are located at the 2nd level North Veranda, Mall of Asia.

Sensei Sushi Bar

The first time i've heard/seen the restaurant was on ETC in one of the capsules of Etcetera. I wasn't able to watch the beginning of the show and was only able to catch that the Japanese restaurant was located in BF. Along Aguirre st. of all places. I was stunned! I thought to myself, "Well that's odd... Why haven't i seen it? Why haven't i been there?". Since i wasn't able to catch the resto's name, it took me longer to find it. Funny thing on how i stumbled upon this restaurant is that i was talking about it to a friend - how it seemed like a promising restaurant - all the while, she was raving about recent check-in on foursquare at a new restaurant in BF. Since she knew the name of the place, might as well check out the one that was easier to find. When i was finally in the restaurant, it hit me. We were talking about the same place! It was right beside Nuat Thai. We wasted no time and started browsing the menu. They don't have the usual menu. They basically have a board and a mirror planted on the wall which serves as the menu. The server also informed us that the menu changes within 2-3 days.

We ordered the first thing that caught our eye. Fried oysters! It turned out so good it became a staple every time we visited the place. I've had oysters before and this is the first i've had it not baked but fried. My friend Pat doesn't really like oysters but this one she loved! Which meant only one thing - IT WAS THAT GOOD! Another good eat is the Spicy tuna roll and the Crispy Philly. If you'll notice in the photo there's a kani sushi on the upper right corner. I had to. Well not really but its kind of one of this things that i just have to order when i'm in a sushi bar. That and tamagoyaki. Their price range from Php100 to Php600.

This was on my second visit this time with my high school bestie Jopee.

We even got free desserts! Haha! The chef/owner Bruce Ricketts initially asked us if we wanted to order some dessert. We declined citing we were too full. And we were! I could hardly breathe. LOL. But he sent this to our table anyways. We didn't know what it was but it was soooo good! Just the right serving size too specially when you've already stuffed yourself!

We liked the complimentary dessert so much we decided we had to just give in to gluttony and order the half-baked cake! Not as good as Barcino's yet it still satisfies the sweet tooth. At Php200.00, we were glad we made room for more dessert. :)

For more information check out their Facebook account: Sensei Sushi Bar

In L.O.V.E with Chez Karine

I looooooove macarons. Ever since Blair Waldorf declared her undying love for french macarons i have  since been fascinated with the colorful morsels. It was like a spell was cast - i was obsessed with finding a local patisserie that can provide me a bite or two of Blair Waldorf's world. Granted, i have never tried the real deal but i figure how far off can it be? And for one, if my tastebuds turn out to love any of the local patisserie version then its good enough for me until that faithful day i claim the city of lights and finally grab one or two of the coveted  Ladurée macarons (a girl can dream!).

I've tried quite a few places that sell macarons. Four to be exact. And Chez Karine takes the cake (thinking real hard of something witty to say after that statement). I got nothing. Anyway, i looooooooove CHEZ KARINE's macarons. My first visit was spontaneous. I was in Bonifacio High Street, and saw on my foursquare app (know more about this application HERE) Chez Karine, a bakery it says on the category. I checked out the tips about the place and low and behold - they have macarons! That's it then. No turning back now. I have got to try out that place! 

The store/cafe was quaint and was squeezed in between two other dessert shops - Cupcakes by Sonja on its left and Gelatissimo on its right. I ordered a box of seven. A sampler if you will. I got six different flavors - Earl grey, coffee, strawberry, pistachio, dark chocolate, lemon and salted caramel. It was the right size - not too big, not too small. Enough for two bites (for me at least). It gives you that first bite moment of delicious discovery and on the second and last bite, a little sadness creeps in just 'cause in that last bite, it'll all be gone. Drama! Haha! The stand out (for me at least) was earl grey. It was so good that when i went back the second time, i bought a box of fourteen and half was all earl grey! Haha! 

On the right: This is what i got on my very first visit - a box of seven different flavored macarons, two jars of pudding (chocolate and muscovado) and a jar of mango panna cotta. The puddings have 3 variations - chocolate, vanilla and muscovado. Of the three, i love love love the muscovado. A must try i swear! Their panna cottas on the other hand has only two which are mango and strawberry. I haven't tried the strawberry but i'm sure it's just as good as the mango. Each cute jar of panna cotta or pudding costs Php100.00. :) 

What i love about the place is that they have a wide variety of flavors on their macarons. From green tea to black sesame. They're sure to have something for everyone. At Php50.00 each, there's no excuse not to try out Chez Karine. So make sure you drop by at their cafe located at 1/F Serendra Mall Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. I hope they open up an Alabang branch though. <3

To know more about

log on to http://chezkarine.com/