A few months before BonChon and the other Korean chicken joints came to the Philippine shores,…read morethere was Chicken Charlie. The first time I tried it was in this branch in QC. There was a long line and a long wait just to get one box of the soy garlic chicken. With one bite, I understood why. The chicken is so crunchy, the whole deal seemed unreal. Close your eyes when biting and you wouldn't even know it's actually chicken. That is until you cut into the juicy, flavorful meat. The first experience was simply unforgettable. To this day, I get really bad cravings for their chicken every time I remember how good that first bite was. I love how creative they've become with the menu. There's the usual chicken portions -- they have value meals with one-piece, two-piece or chops, they have a chicken basket with 3, 6 or 12 pieces, they have it in a burger bun, they have it in a bowl with rice, they have it on top of greens, you can even get your chicken with noodles.

I'm pretty sure Chicken Charlie was here way before the whole Bon Chon craze. I remember being…read moretreated here by my aunt during the first week that I just got back from the U.S., and I told her that I wanted to try something new (of course by then, I've had a good dose of Jollibee). Their chicken wings are double-cooked, and served as either soy garlic or spicy. They serve various meal items for chicken wings at a cheap price (at least cheaper than the competition), and somehow I like their version just a bit better. I always go for the spicy option, and I wasn't disappointed at all. It's hot enough to want an extra serving of rice, but not anywhere near tongue-burning sensation. If given the choice to choose between the two, I think Chicken Charlie offers a better flavor and price range than its competition. Also, they have Dynamite Jalapeños - hands-down winner for me!

There's a new hangout place in Banawe that every family and barkada will be having fun. While…read morelocated in the off-skirt of Banawe, in Ubay, it is already becoming the new secret hangout place of people in the area. Thus, its name Neighborhood Game Cafe is very apt. They are one of the new board game place that is sprouting in the metro, offering not just games for avid boarding gaming community, but also a wide variety of casual game sets that made the place a go-to place for families young and old. Their place itself has a welcoming ambiance that people just want to stay. Aside from the game board, they do have a interesting coffee selection drinks. If you are adventurous enough, order the H.A.L.F - where you just give a little faith to the barista to come up with a surprising good drink that is perfect for you. On that day, I got an Oreo Match Ice Blended drink. Delicious! Not that sweet but you get the full flavor of Oreo in Matcha. As for the food, they offer good variety of rice meals and a few pasta and varied flavor of wings. A must try is their salted egg chicken wings. You get the goodness of salted egg flavor with mild kick that is surprisingly good combi for wings. For their pasta, they use angel hair and they offer two flavors, adobo flakes for that more asian salty flavor, and orange pasta, the more traditional cheesy pasta. For their rice meal, recommendable to try is their Silog Trio (Tapa, Longanisa and Tocino) in one dish for those who are looking for familiar comfort food as well as their Baked Rice Duo (half of which is tomato porkchop and the other half is creamy seafood). While there are still room for improvement on their food offerings, for a shop in their soft opening, they are off with a good start.

Neighborhood Game Cafe is the newest board game cafe and resto in town. Located along Ubay St, this…read morecafe entices family and friends to bond through board games. Most of their board games also caters to group games, rather than just playing alone. The cafe is spacious and even has special dividers for private function. Like any other board game cafes, the thing that will make you stay is the food. Neighborhood Game Cafe has dishes with American and Filipino influences. Stand outs would be their Salted Egg Chicken Wings, salty and spicy, who onew these would match? Another one I liked is their Orange Pasta. It is called that way because it looked color orange. This pasta dish is cheesy and a little sweet, perfect for any kids or kids-at-heart. For a healthier choice, try the Creamy Seafood Baked Rice or the Baked Rice Duo (combination of tomato porkchop and creamy seafood), it is a match made in heaven. Seafood is generous and the cream is flavorful, perfect pairing with the rice. The cafe offers coffee and non-coffee drinks as well. I took a leap of faith and ordered their H.A.L.F., which is a surprise drink that their baristas will make. For my visit, I got Matcha Oreo. It was delicious as both flavors can be tasted. I love the oreo bites in the drink as well. The cafe has free wifi, and parking of their own. A really cool and new place to hang out and play with friends. Looking forward to my next visit.

This KFC was pretty clean and spacious enough! It had it's own AC, which is a huge plus considering…read moremost stores don't typically have AC but more fans. They had a second floor, but it was closed when I visited. As for their food, it was warm and fresh! It gets really busy during lunch hour since the location is near schools and workplaces, so be aware if you're planning to dine in for lunch.