There are places that are worth going to even if they're totally out of the way or tucked in the…read moremiddle of nowhere. For me, one such place is the Dutch Bread Hauz. This quaint shop is first and foremost a bakery but they also offer meals, coffee, and snacks on the side. The smell of chocolate and bread in the oven wafting from the kitchen greet customers the moment they step inside this bread house. On the counter you will see various types of dinner rolls, croissants, buns, and breads. Although they serve familiar dishes, like lechon kawali with rice and chicken shawarma, I chose to try Dutch specialty snacks which -- according to the staff -- were made using traditional means from the Netherlands. I was a bit adventurous so I got Berehap (slices of meat ball and onion on a stick served with peanut sauce) and Bitterballen (small meat-based balls served with mustard, a favorite snack from Holland). My wife was hungry this time and she was not in the mood to try products she can't pronounce so she decided to have parma ham and cheese sandwich. The attendant asked her to choose the type of bread for the sandwich and she picked spelt, a type of bread made from hulled or dinkel wheat that's popular in Europe. Of course, both of us had coffee. I was glad that we decided to drop by this place because the coffee was good as expected from Lavazza and the food was different but surprisingly savory. The spelt bread was tough and heavy so I don't think anyone could finish one order of sandwich using this bread. I liked my order of Berehap. The sausage was a bit salty when eaten on its own but a bite of the sweet onion and a dab of the peanut sauce neutralizes the saltiness. My wife liked the Bitterballen dipped in mustard. She said it was similar to croquettes because it's crunchy on the outside but a bit gooey on the inside. The place is clean, well-maintained, and generally peaceful so I think this is an ideal place for a meeting. It's also worth noting that their restroom faucet comes with hot or cold water. Parking can be a problem but if you do not mind walking for one or two kilometers, you can park your car at Power Plant Mall and just walk your way to Dutch Bread Hauz.

An imposing and elegant dining area. Floor-to-ceiling arch windows. Great ambient light. Polite,…read moreeager-beaver staff. My list of reasons why I love Chateau 1771 goes on and on. Despite the name of the place, they are not exclusively serving French food. They have pasta, steaks, and seafood. If anything, Chateau 1771 is a modern European restaurant serving favorite French, Italian, and Swiss food. When I first visited the place years ago, I was actually anxious about that moment when the waiter would hand me the check. European dining in the Philippines has always been equated with expensive fine-dining. But to my astonishment, the price was actually reasonable. I mean, it's not affordable and one would be crazy or filthy rich to eat in this kind of place every day. But for special occasions, I would recommend this place. My most recent visit was during my wife's birthday. It was a table for two and we had a late lunch. After a few moments of browsing through the menu, she asked for Croquette Salad, while I went for Butter-baked Oysters. For main, she had Vanilla Brick Spring Chicken, or grilled chicken served with vanilla bean dots. I ordered the Potence, the house specialty. It's basically steak where the meat is served hanging from a potence, or metal frame, and then set alight (by the waiter) with brandy. Their Pomelo Fruit Juice is a must try. I would recommend having a reservation when dining at Chateau 1771. While the place typically fills up during dinner, I find it perfect for a late afternoon hangout. The ambience can truly transport you somewhere in Europe.

Every time I come to this place, I'm already too full to eat and I'm just in the food for a cold…read moredrink or hot coffee and sometimes their dessert. You know how other shops have fresh fruit shakes but when you drink it it just tastes like sugar? Well, Chateau 1771's shakes are fresh, cold and it's the actual fruit. Oh, their flambeed coffees are amazing. Try their Irish coffee. You'll want more. For dessert, it doesn't matter whether you order a Creme Brulee or a Coffee Bean Sansrival. All of their desserts are excellent.

Came here for lunch with my family and love the interior. Food is great. I enjoyed the seafood…read moreplatter and the potato cubes

What an impressive place. It's nice to see that the Nielson tower, a piece of history has been…read moretransformed to a nice dining restaurant. My relatives here in the Philippines treated my husband & I to a sumptuous Sunday lunch here. For starters we a bottle of cab sav with the prawn scotch eggs. I had the Thai Chicken Curry noodle soup. My husband had the Blackbird burger. For dessert we truly enjoyed their sundaes, burnt butter and banofee. Such an enjoyable Sunday lunch at this place.

If you're looking for romantic and/or fine dining options outside Manila not named Antonio's, one…read moreof the best places to visit would be Vieux Chalet in Antipolo. It can get quite confusing getting there at first, but just trust the occasional signs you encounter and the GPS of your mobile phones. Vieux Chalet also doubles as a bed & breakfast, so you can actually stay the night there while you watch the Antipolo night sky envelop the Manila skyline. In the restaurant, you'll likely be greeted by the restaurant manager Rico Doy, who is the best at what he does. If you're still unsure on what to order, don't hesitate to ask him for his recommendations. If you're a fan of arugula like me, you'll be enamored with their salad, which is generously peppered with the piquant green. For the main course, the beef tenderloin drizzled with mushroom sauce will send you writhing in ecstasy as it's just that good. So if you're looking for a date place and want to avoid Tagaytay as it has become to cliché of late, head on over to Antipolo and Vieux Chalet!

Vieux Chalet is undoubtedly one of the restaurants I would always recommend to friends who want to…read morehave a good meal outside their busy cities or the central business districts. Tucked away in a village in Antipolo, Vieux Chalet is actually the home of the owners, which they converted into a restaurant, and bed and breakfast. I have tried several kinds of salad, pasta, pizza and mains, having been there several times. What I like most about their pizza and pasta is that they make it from scratch, so the taste and texture is really different and you can really distinguish the good quality of the dough and the noodles or the ravioli. My must-orders would be their raclette and the chocolate cake ala mode. With Vieux Chalet serving predominantly Swiss and European cuisine, it's no surprise that they offer good raclette, complete with olives, boiled potatoes, young corn, pickled onions, and gherkins (my personal favorite!). The cherry-infused chocolate cake is made with no other than Swiss chocolate and is topped with homemade (you guessed it!) Swiss dark chocolate ice cream. Indeed, Vieux Chalet is a restaurant born from the passion for food and accommodating guests into their home, with homemade dishes carefully and passionately prepared. At Vieux Chalet, happiness is indeed homemade.

Food was just okay. Tapenade (ground floor) is so much better. The coffee, though, is pretty good…read more (Hence 2 stars) Service was god awful. I will note that we were a party of 9, but the only ones dining at the entire restaurant! Not only did the wait staff get our order wrong, she was adamantly insisting that we were wrong (stressed it at least 3 times) without any apology or remorse or offered consideration or compromise. When we got the bill, they said that our room "specifically" (ouch) was not allowed to charge to the room and when we asked where that came from the staff said she "confirmed twice with the front desk" (to rub it in) and yet when we went down to speak with the front desk, they apologized for that experience even when they claimed that no such call or order was made. While it seems like they are pointing fingers, I always had a pleasurable experience with the front desk and would like to think that the Flame restaurant staff just offers terrible dining service. Very sad considering the caliber of the hotel.

My husband and friends wanted a nice steakhouse to celebrate my friend's birthday for our last…read morenight in Manila. The restaurant is located on the 16th floor of Discovery Primea hotel. The views are wonderful during the day and the night. There's also indoor and outdoor seating available. My friend decided to choose this spot since we saw that they had oysters, foie gras, and all that good stuff. For appetizers, we ordered Steak Fries, Crispy Salmon, Duck Gyoza, XO Oysters, and Grilled Bone Marrow. My husband and I didn't care too much for the fries and crispy salmon, but we definitely enjoyed the duck gyoza, grilled oysters, and the bone marrow. I really wanted to try the scallop ceviche and snapper crudo, but we were hesitant on trying anything raw since we we're from out of the country. For our entree, my husband and I shared an Excel Ribeye from Colorado topped with seared foie gras accompanied with a green peppercorn and brandy sauce. We enjoyed our delicious steak with the foie gras, but we didn't really care for the green peppercorn sauce. My friend and her fiance ordered the Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass and the Prime Tenderloin. We ordered our steaks with a side of Truffle Cream Mac N Cheese and Pan Roast Mushrooms. Both sides were fantastic. So good! We had leftovers and had the 3 items again for breakfast, and they were still amazing! The mushrooms were especially my fave - that sauce? Mmm, chef's kiss. Now, onto our desserts. My husband and I ordered the Panna Cotta, while our friends ordered the Pineapple Consomme and the Miso Cheesecake. All the desserts were beautifully made. They were literal works of art. The panna cotta didn't feel like a panna cotta to us - not sure how we would describe it since the white part of the dessert had a firmer texture than the orange part. The pineapple consomme was very different. It was cut up pieces of fruit, with some kinda of pineapple juice or sauce poured over it. Similar to a fancy fruit platter. However, the miso cheesecake was definitely the crowd favorite. Loved it. Overall, I would definitely recommed this spot if you're craving some kind of steak. The service and quality of everything was immaculate. Super glad my friend chose this spot!

Sala is Makati's old guard. A well-heeled institution of a restaurant that has seen lesser…read morepretenders come and go, Sala is one of the restaurants that deserves its storied reputation. Okay, I honestly thought I wouldn't be able to try this restaurant out anytime soon, as it literally takes a small fortune to eat here. I was lucky, however, that my boss treated the team out to dinner at Sala. I did have a minor heart attack upon seeing the menu, but it does look inviting. I had an order of Lamb Cutlets, which was cooked to perfection. The dessert was absolutely divine as well. I'd love to come back here someday, preferably with a hot date. Need to pull out a mortgage first.

I'm not sure why I never cared to ask what the"free" and tiny hors d'œuvre is officially called,…read morebut it seems that everyone I know who's experienced it absolutely loved it!

Great selection of desserts to grab on the go. Clean interior and friendly service as well. It's a…read morebit pricey, but well worth it for the quality. A great spot to try out!

I have been going to this Bizu for numerous years. It was always my go to place for macarons and…read morecappuccino. I never realized that they had an Afternoon Tea from 3pm to 6pm. Of course, I had to go there for their afternoon tea. I believe that it is a really good deal. The following is included for 995 Pesos: Canapés Petit Croque Monsieur Smoked Salmon Tartare Roast Herb Chicken on Crostini Shrimp and Mango Croute Watermelon and Feta Chorizo Croquette Earl Grey Scones Clotted Cream and Dark Cherry Jam Chocolate Truffles Opera Gateaux Macaron de Paris Served with your choice of loose leaf tea The Afternoon Tea is perfect for sharing. You receive 2 of each item. The only difference is that you will receive 2 different chocolate truffles and macarons de Paris. If you like cheese, then you will definitely like their Croque Monsieur. It is my favorite sandwich, and this is one of the best places that make it.

Balkan is a newly, revamped, relaunch place in Legaspi. They started from humble beginnings from a…read moresmall resto in San Juan that serves their local dishes to a newly converted restaurant and bar. We had an opportunity to be invited to their launch and we were served platters of cold cuts, some kebabs and dip. Roasted whole lamb, and plejskavica. The roasted lamb was soft and tender. It easily tears apart that was well seasoned. It was just too seasoned on the skin part, but then again, it was really good. No sauce pr anything, just plain ole' lamb. Plejskavica, is still nice, juicy, burger stuffed with cheese, like what I had back in their San Juan branch. The taste and quality is still the same. It was a perfect beer match. I like how Balkan transformed from a hole in the wall restaurant to an upscale bar and restaurant that caters to lunch-dinner crowds to the after dinner market. #TheFoodCrawlers #OngsFoodprints #TheLostDiego

Tucked into the quiet side of Legaspi Village, Balkan along Perea St. is one of those restaurants…read morethat you never knew existed until someone mentions it, and you have absolutely no idea what they might possibly have there. I'd never heard of Yugoslavian cuisine before I first ate at Balkan, but one taste was enough to keep me coming back at least once every two months for a full year. My wife and I only ever eat 2 dishes when we're at Balkan: their famous Serbian stuffed burger, which is essentially a beef patty folded over cheese and grilled 'til the stuffing melts, and their stuffed chicken batak, deboned chicken thighs stuffed with smoked salami, mushrooms, and cheese. I didn't realize that cheese was such a big hit in traditional cooking in that part of Europe, although a wild guess of mine is that it was a later addition. Whatever the case, Perea St. and the whole of Makati is grateful for it.

Excuse me while I try to recall all the fantastic dishes I had at a wine-dominated dinner at…read moreAllium. There was a basket of bread on the table that turned out to be some kind of chorizo roll; heavenly. If it wasn't sacrilege to overlook my lobster and uni starter, which was also delicious, I might have finished all of it! But a lobster bisque came as well and I moved on from my chorizo obsession, though I would suggest others order this last while they enjoy some wine. Our main course was a plate of Blackmore Wagyu, which was just my style. As a carnivore, I am overjoyed when the meat can speak for itself - no need for gravies, just a pinch of salt. The Blackmore Wagyu was just divine; thank you, cow, for that wonderful meal. Desserts were the recreated Laiskonis Egg, which the chef first encountered in New York and simply remade here; close to original, I've heard. The Valrhona with caramel cake that followed was huge and everyone on the table got a taste of the rich and indulgent chocolate. Allium is an intimate and posh spot to have great dinner with wine. It's one of the three restaurants in the city to have a Josper grill, which is an awesome kitchen piece that treats your steak right. Only Makati Shangrila's Sage and Solaire's Strip have the other two Josper grills in town, as of this writing. I had absolutely no problem with the food. They were prepared with care and style, but didn't compromise simple flavors that complemented each other on a plate. Everything about it was subtle and refined; no fancy in-your-face techniques that stole the experience of enjoying a quiet dinner with friends and loved ones.

Chef Mark Tan is definitely one of the most underrated chefs in Manila. A total food geek (that's a…read moregood thing!), you can see how much he knows about food through his techniques and use of premium ingredients. And that complimentary chorizo and cheese bread--oh my goodness, this stuff is gold! A bread made with cassava flour, chorizo from Pamplona, and parmigiano reggiano, it's slightly chewy yet light as air. The four course Market Menu at Allium (P1950) is a total steal, given the quality ingredients and hefty entree. Looking forward to all the surprises Chef Mark Tan has in store!