If you're Pinoy, you'll understand that when you have a family or company party/get together, you…read moremust bring food that will satisfy and feed everyone...on a budget! Apart from the essential noodles (spaghetti or pancit) and meat dish (fried chicken or pork barbecue), a "kakanin" or rice cake dessert is also something to complete the festivities. For kakanin in a hurry, this is a good place to drop by. They have cassava cake, pichi pichi, and even leche flan. The prices are very affordable and they offer small or big serving sizes. I actually like their pichi pichi with cheese. They are bigger than the usual ones you get from other restaurants and cheaper too! :)

A Pinoy breakfast is just not complete without Pan de Sal. And when we talk about Pan de Sal, we…read moreneed to talk about Pan de Manila. Stepping in where neighborhood-type bakeries can't hack it, Pan de Manila somewhat brings the neighborhood experience to the most urbanized of locations with their good, solid products. Admittedly, I've tasted better Pan de Sal in smaller, more intimate neighborhood outlets. Having said that, if you catch yourself in the middle of a city sprawl such as in Makati and Ortigas, you can count on Pan de Manila for better-than-decent Pan de Sal. This particular branch is noteworthy because it has a dining area, which is perfect when you want a nice quiet place to eat that stuffed Pan de Sal before heading on to work.

I've just had a crazy workout at the gym and I couldn't wait to get home to get something to eat…read more As ironic as it is right across my gym are rows of bars so while that didn't cut it for me, Pan de Manila's red, blue, and white sign was a godsend in my eyes. At 8PM there were no more lines, just a handful of people waiting for their hot pandesals. I, on the other hand had other things in mind. In the brightly lit counter sat a singular pesto pandesal and so I thought "must be good since its all sold out." Bagged and payed for, I indulged in my post workout meal. I don't know if it was the hunger talking but that pesto pandesal was good! With a sliver of cheese in the middle it definitely satisfies whatever it was my body was looking for. I wanted one more but hey, last piece. I went back another day for the same pesto pandesal but this time before my workout and surprisingly it was still good. So no, it wasn't my hunger, it's just a plain good piece of bread I'd definitely stand in line for.

I had heard only good things about this place so I wanted to check it out for myself. I was not…read moredisappointed. The service was bright and a table was set immediately after we walked in. After glancing over the menu, we placed our order and the food arrived just a few minutes later. Among the many dishes that we ordered, the xiao long bao (soup dumplings) were among my favorite. The food was fresh and perfectly seasoned, and the portions were generous. Each dish was only about ₽200-₽300 each - a bargain! If you ever find yourself in Manila's bustling Chinatown, be sure to stop by the Mezzanine Cafe to refill your tank!

Cafe Mezzanine was a pretty good spot for Chinese Filipino cuisine. I went with a friend and it was…read morenice try out many dishes. We had the following items: -Lechon Kawali -Kiampong -Beef Wanton Soup -Miki Bihon Overall, I thought most of the items were fine, but not necessarily fantastic. The Kiampong and Beef Wanton Soup were probably my favorite dishes since they were unique and something you probably wouldn't find in typical Chinese menus. The Lechon Kawali was probably the most disappointing dish since I'd heard it was excellent and it tasted very basic to me. The ambiance is very casual and the service was not particularly attentive. I wasn't terribly impressed by Cafe Mezzanine, but it was fine. You should really go with a group of people so you can try many dishes to explore the various flavors...also, I'd suggest going for the Chinese-Filipino dishes since those are much more unique.

Someone once came up with an idea to create a franchise of small scale bakeries that sold most of…read morethe stuff at your local Pinoy bakery. It's different from Red Ribbon and Goldilocks in that it doesn't try to be anything more than an actual bakeshop. The former two are bakeries and restaurants rolled into one. Julie's bakeshop is simply a franchised bakery. They display their baked goods and sell them at incredibly low prices. When I was young, my mom would spend upwards of fifty pesos on chocolate crinkles. The thing that I love most about Julie's is that you can always go to it for something sweet of good quality without worrying too much about the money I'm going to spend for it. There was even a time that I would look at this as the gold standard for small bakeries. If it tasted as good or better than something that would come from a Julie's Bakeshop then it's good enough for me.

So where do you go if you're me, too lazy to cook and to lazy to peruse the entire Maginhawa? You…read morego to somewhere you're used to. In my case, that would be Box O' Rice. Not to be confused with it's competition, Rice-in-a-Box, I find Box O' Rice to be the superior boxed rice place for several reasons. Firstly, it doesn't seem commercialized and cheap. They cook everything in front of you and though it comes in little packets for the recommended serving size, everything is there. Seafood, chicken, beef, pork, rice, sauce... it's all there. No dehydrated vegetables or tiny cubes of what you can only assume is meat. Secondly, the rice. The rice is just simply rice and star margarine but oh, how could you go wrong with rice and star? Kids born in the 80s would probably remember the Star Rice ad campaign and here it is, alive in all it's piping hot buttery glory. Thirdly, the flavors. Their beef salpicao is a given personal favorite. Beef (actual beef. Not "beef"), mushrooms, garlic... it's all there. Same with their sisig, their adobo, their mongolian rice... it's pretty good for lower level fare. It's not a fancy restaurant and but it's also one of those places where you can't doubt why it's lasted so long.

Rice is a staple in the Filipino's diet. We're practically raised on the notion that a meal isn't a…read moremeal without rice. And that a meal is perfectly fine as a meal with rice alone. If you need your fix for a carb overload, you can never go wrong with the perfectly cooked fried rice from Box O' Rice. PROS: I agree with Cathleen L. that their beef is the real thing and are the most flavorful options among their menu items; They deliver!; You actually see them cooking it in front of you, like teppanyaki, and you are gonna be mesmerized; Big servings. CONS: Their boxes should come with warnings about its hot contents, as I *always* burn my tongue and the roof of my mouth on the first spoonful. Or maybe I'm just stupid and matakaw; Could there be dine in options that include plates and spoons and forks? TL;DR: For a quick, easy, not too far away, and no-dishwashing-needed meal, Box O' Rice has you covered.

Our company had to do our annual board meeting and we were a bit challenged in finding a place…read morewhere we could chatter without disturbing other people. Then I remembered the Chambré room at Bizu's One Rockwell branch where my sister had hosted a dinner that same year. We made reservations and the meeting was set. With a minimum guarantee, you can get the private dining room with dedicated service. We got their cheese flambee and appetizer and two afternoon tea sets. The cheese flambee was wonderful and it was even put to flames as it was served, right inside the room. It felt like a mini show. It was so good that we had to ask for more crostini. Their afternoon tea set is equally lovely - served in a tier are the egg and watercress mini sandwich, smoked salmon and shrimp canapés, melon-prosciutto and gruyere skewer, petit slices of their Opera cake, panna cotta, macarons, lemon tart, and chocolate truffles, plus scones with clotted cream and preserve on the side. All these of course came with a pot of tea, which we had served a bit later as we were still enjoying our bottle of white wine, which they also served us. With good food and the beautiful setting for our meeting, we were inspired and had a very productive and insightful afternoon.

Went here twice during our stay. All the dishes were top notch and the friendly staff were on…read morepoint. Since it's the only breakfast spot open before 11 am, it can get busy. But the last visit tainted my view. At that visit, the wait was a little over an hour for four dishes, but we were not in a hurry. Actually, a couple left before getting their food saying to the waiter that the wait was too long. The food was delicious and the decor was pleasantly soothing. Hopefully, they can improve, get regular customers and rely on a generous customer base.

It had been years since my last visit, but I am so glad to see this restaurant is still going…read morestrong. The place is clean and beautifully maintained. If you are craving classic, authentic Filipino comfort food, this is absolutely the spot to visit. It is highly recommended for families, thanks to the ample parking, friendly staff, and remarkably quick service.

Stopped by Little Quiapo for a light snack on a super hot day. We ordered the special halo-halo…read morewith ice cream, palabok, and sisig on rice. The halo-halo was the standout for me--really hit the spot and perfect for the weather. The palabok was very generous with the sauce, which I appreciated, though flavor-wise it wasn't especially memorable for me since I've had better elsewhere. The sisig on rice was okay, but I wish there was a bit more sisig compared to the amount of rice. The place was packed though, so clearly a lot of people keep coming back for a reason. I'd still be open to returning and trying some of their other ulam next time.

I was really excited with Magnolia flavor house because how can you not be excited of ice cream?…read moreI've attempted countless times to try this place but it's always full especially on weekends. One Friday, me and my brother decided to finally try this but we still need to wait for a seat. Okay, we waited for almost 15 minutes and finally got one. We ordered their four Cheese Pizza (P300) and Cookies and Cream Cheese Marble (P175) My brother ordered their Mango Royale (P240). We waited almost 1 hour for orders to be served that I almost cancelled our order. Expensive and too much hype. I hope they fix their bad service to keep their reputation.

I faintly remember the old Magnolia House me and my family used to go to for that yummy Banana…read moreSplit. Apparently, the old Magnolia House was such a big deal to my parents' generation because of their yummy ice cream flavors and innovative banana splits. It was quite alarming when news broke down that they were closing down the place. Magnolia House was practically an institute filled with great memories. Luckily, Robinson's and Magnolia came up with the awesome idea of resurrecting that popular ice cream shop. Located at Robinson's Magnolia, Magnolia House lives once again with the same flavors my parents used to love when they were kids. Admittedly, I have had better ice cream but it's quite fun to see my parents reminisce of how my grandparents used to take them here and the funny stories they remember oh-so-well. Obviously, to my parents, it was more than just an ice cream house.