It's without a doubt that Zuellig Building, standing at the intersection of Makati Avenue and Paseo…read morede Roxas, is the hippest and most attractive building in Makati to date. I've always admired its exterior and often wondered how could I take a peek inside. Thanks to Laza Food Plaza, a food court located at the second level, I don't have to send application letters to companies holding offices in the building just to experience its ambiance. The Laza Food Plaza lives up to the upscale reputation of Zuellig Building. Its interior design is modern and truly world-class. The limited number of food stalls did not dampen my excitement about spending time there. After going around the food court area, I noticed a few familiar names like Starbucks, Malcolm's, Green Tomato, and Lola's Kitchen. I also saw a couple of interesting stalls, namely New Bistro Deli and Noodle & Co. I tried Lola's Kitchen's Menudo and Paksiw na Tilapia. And from Pinoy Sizzlers, I ordered sizzling squid. The food was good, just as what anyone might expect in other office cafeterias. But the ambiance is reason enough to come back to Laza Food Plaza. By the way, they have an Acoustic Night every Friday at 6:00pm.

Don't tell anyone but the main reason why I come to Food & Art Galerie is to get inside GT Tower…read more The building is one of the structures in Makati that has a great interior design. I'm particularly interested in their main lobby which has an unmistakable Gothic look, with dim lighting and angular metal trusses. Bruce Wayne would surely feel at home. Food & Art Galerie is the building's food court at the 12th floor. The area has a pretty interesting aesthetics as well. When it first opened a few years ago, it really looked like an art gallery with colorful chairs and tables, lounge areas, and several art fixture for customers to admire. One food stall that keeps up to the artsy tradition of the place is City Bites, whose main décor is a front-end of a vintage car hanging on its wall. The interior of the food court has depreciated a bit and the newly added stalls have made it looked cramped, but Food & Art Galerie is still a good place to dine in because it has a wider array of food choices compared to other office cafeterias. Whether you want bread, omelet, Filipino or Korean food, and even vegetarian stuff, you will find it here. I usually eat here during my meatless Mondays because of the Salad Bar, a create-your-own salad kiosk. There's also C Verde, a stall by Big Chill that caters to vegetarians. Of course, meat lovers are not left out in the cold. Stalls like Oh! My Lechon will surely satisfy mouths craving for pit-roasted pork at a reasonable price.

When my sister still worked near the Pacific Star building along Buendia, she discovered a nice…read morelittle cafeteria hidden in the mezzanine area of the DBP building As you may already know, most of the dining establishments in Makati are ridiculously expensive, and it is not easy to look for places to go and eat at when you are on a tight budget - either you have to rough it out in street carts or Jollijeeps, or you just have to bring your own "baon" to work, which turns into a lousy (and sometimes, spoiled) mush of congealed rice and ulam come lunchtime. After she discovered the DBP Canteen, we would go and have our lunchtime "dates" in there because it is easily one of the cleanest and most comfortable cafeterias I have ever been to. Just like any food court, the place has a small catering service that mostly caters to DBP workers. I think the lunches for employees of the DBP building may already be subsidized in part, that's why the food from the concessionaires are so cheap. I don't even know if the place is open to the general public, but we always somehow just walk in. There are also other booths to buy from, like the Fruitas smoothie place or the Wendy's kiosk. You should check this place out if you are trying to save some money. It is near most of the workplaces in Makati, and it is convenient because the food is hot and delicious. You also have plenty to choose from because they would usually prepare several different kinds of viands.

Ambience: This is a really simple place but it offers some…read moreaffordable food like chami, lomi, and breakfast meals like longganisa. It's located near Lucena United Doctors General Hospital, so this can be a reasonable meal option if you have been to the hospital's canteen and the nearby convenience store too often lately. It's also very cozy to dine at especially from later afternoon onwards. Lomi: This was the main reason for our visit and the small size already impressed us because they give a generous amount of soupy noodles and colorful toppings. I tried my best to identify the toppings: liver, sweet ground beef, siomai, chicharon (fried pork skin), another type of typical street food item, and spring onion. Among these, liver was my favorite.

So you think it's just Floating Island and the chain restaurants where you can dine at the Makati…read moreMedical Center (MMC)? Guess again. They have a canteen on the ground floor that also serves non-hospital employees. A canteen is a canteen is a canteen, yes. But if you're on a budget and find yourself hungry while in MMC, it's good to know you can eat where nurses and doctors also eat. They serve a variety of viands (depending on the day) with rice, pansit, spaghetti, baked macaroni, salads, desserts, and sandwiches. There's also hot brewed coffee here for P80 or less, as well as fresh soy milk and chilled taho. Not bad. Not bad at all. I'm sure it's all going to be improved, too, because the last time I was at MMC, the canteen was under renovation. Looking forward to the changes!

The Makati Med cafeteria holds about a lot of bittersweet memories in my childhood (as sappy as…read morethat might sound). Back when my sister had encephalitis, this cafeteria had been a hangout-slash-waiting room for me and my little brother. My auntie would bring us here, treat us a few snacks as the doctors do procedures to my eight year-old sister upstairs. I've seen how this place transformed to the cozier cafeteria that It presently is. And it has only improved. Some hospital cafeterias are filled with a lot of food franchises, but not this one. Its heart (and the selling factor) is still MMC's cooked rice meals, which promotes balance diets than most food places in the hospital. And it has been that way for more than twenty years now. They serve different menus three times a day. You can never get tired of the viands here, because it will change each time you decide to eat here. I think the only franchise I love here is the juice stand, Buco Loco where you can buy fresh fruit juices. My favorite bottle to pair my in-hospital cooked meal is the melon bottled juice. Their instant coffee (nescafe) is little bit overpriced though, so best to bring your own.

Dell's Food Hall is not unique to Robinson's Summit in Makati. In fact, there are other branches in…read moreManila, Ortigas, and Eastwood. Thus, it's not really surprising that this cafeteria chain is run like a well-oiled machine. It's organized, clean, and supervised by very professional staff. At their Robinsons Summit branch, you'll feel that you are in a restaurant instead of an office cafeteria because their servers are dressed in long-sleeved shirts with vests and neck ties. Moreover, newspapers and magazines are available for customer use. A small open area is also provided for smoking patrons. The food court is open continuously from Monday at 6:00am until Saturday when it closes at 3:00pm. Yes, they are open for 24 hours on the days in between. There are only four food stalls in this cafeteria. The biggest one is Dell's own outlet and it is the only one that sells full meals and snacks. The three smaller kiosks are Belgian Waffles, Fruitas, and Kaffe Krema. Aside from the homecooked Filipino meals from the eatery, I also recommend that you try the hazelnut latte at Kaffe Krema.