Such an amazing place for brunch !! We went two mornings while staying at the hotel. I ate so many…read moredelicious items! The first morning I had silog with tamarind chicken and pork asada, and lots of crispy Danggit! The congee was amazing! U added every topping possible plus fresh calamansi juice! Also had lychee chia pudding one morning and blueberry the next. The lycée was absolutely delicious! We consumed heaps of the most delicious dragon fruit. Now onto the pastries!! One morning they had bread and butter pudding squares and the other morning they had taisan bread. Both were so scrumptious!! Our server Harven was a delight! Friendly, got us warm milk, and answered my 6 million questions! We also took pictures in the back patio that overlooked Laguna de Bay. Beautiful views in every direction. They also had pineapple and mango jam! New jam flavors to me that were delicious on my cream cheese filled French toast. My husband also tries the miso ramen and the fresh salad with a great sesame dressing. In other words, we ate everything, everyone was so friendly and the views are incredible.

Our hotel package booking included daily breakfast at The Nest, located at the 31st floor of Vivere…read moreHotel in Alabang. Though it operates as a rooftop bar and restaurant, they also offer buffet breakfast for in-house guests. FOOD: 3/5 The overall food selection was quite limited, primarily a mix of Filipino, American, Chinese and other International dishes. The food was decent but could have been better overall. SERVICE: 5/5 I noticed that most of the servers were male while a few female staff at the food counter. Regardless, all of them were attentive, polite, and efficient. AMBIANCE: 4/5 Being at the rooftop, the restaurant provides a full view of the city. I can only imagine how much more stunning these views at night with the city lights. It also features a mini pool - not for use but aesthetically for decor which I believe needs a little polishing and renovation. Overall, the buffet breakfast at The Nest did its job - it fill us up in the morning, though I wished there was a wider selection. And I take my hats off to the staff at The Nest - their service were on point!

I've heard and read about Neil's Kitchen for years now from friends and food bloggers alike but…read moreI've never had the chance to try it even though this location (their first and original location) is super close to our house. My friends planned a "South Saturday lunch" so that we can hang out in my neck of the woods instead of going all the way to Makati to hangout. Luckily I got a table immediately before the crowds arrived and a queue was formed. We ordered the following to share: 1. Tokwa't (Tofu) and Baboy (Pork) - we all enjoyed this appetizer that we ordered more fried tofu. The sauce was tangy and sweet while the tofu was cooked really well, crisp outside and soft inside. The pork was tasty and crispy as well. Loved the flavours and the textures in this dish 2. Crab fat pasta with crab cakes - the pasta wasn't too overpowering but you can def taste the crab fat. The crab cakes were made with real crab and they didn't scrimp on it. Great dish! 3. Sinigang paella and pork belly - one of their most popular dishes at Neil's Kitchen (we actually ordered two!). The sinigang in the paella was a great way to do a different take to sinigang and the pork belly was delicious. 4. Kare-kare with bagoong rice - kare kare was great with the distinct peanut taste and loved the veggies too. The bagoong rice was a nice accompaniment to the dish. Overall, I'm glad I finally tried Neil's Kitchen and next time I want to try their desserts.

Went here for a saturday night date and we liked the ambience. Westgate is also charming at night,…read moreparking is sufficient and the crowd is good. It was our first time at Neil's Kitchen and we were readily greeted by their attentive staff. The food selection all looked enticing. We got the calamari with paella negra, and chicken inasal with hainanese rice. Both were very filling and delicious. Would definitely go back.

For some reason, this Recipes branch in Alabang Town Center is almost always empty. I don't…read moreunderstand why; we ate there several times and we liked it. In fact, we even try to replicate some of the dishes there at home. For instance, their bestseller, the General's Chicken. Hubby and I liked it when we ordered it there, and it seemed pretty basic so we tried to cook it at home. And although the result was good, we knew we needed to eat at Recipes again to compare and see what we needed to add to perfect it. Also, we both aren't fond of eating vegetables, but we liked the taste of their Gising-Gising! It's one of the few Kapampangan dishes that we love. The place doesn't look much, but the food is great and the service is alright. The cost is also quite reasonable. So I don't know why people don't come here that much, but hubby and I are fans of this humble spot.

Great food and service! Rose assisted in everything we needed. You can request special dish and…read morethey will cook it for you! Booked this restaurant for my family's christmas dinner!

We booked here last year November 8, for my birthday celebration coming from California the food is…read moreamazingly delicious!,, I highly recommend this restaurant

Hotel buffets are cutthroat competition. You're charging guests for thousands of Pesos, so…read morenaturally they'll be looking to make the most out of their money. Just giving them sashimi doesn't cut it anymore. It's something they can have at Yakimix or Sambokojin for half the price. You have to add something a bit more so that diners can rationalize for themselves that they got what they paid for. In Bellevue's Café d' Asie in Alabang, they serve what you'd normally see in hotel buffets - sashimi, rib-eye steak, and fresh shrimps. What I like that I don't see in other places though, is the Mongolian barbecue station. It's really not much, but I like it, especially since you can have as many shrimps as you can as opposed to going to a dedicated Mongolian buffet which doesn't even have shrimp. This, coupled with the fact that the staff of Bellevue are among the best, is enough to make someone like me from the other side of the Metro be willing to make the long trek there because I know I'm getting my money's worth.

Finally, the day has come for me to feast again at Bellevue Manila's Café d' Asie.My special moment…read morehere was spent with my colleagues as we celebrated our first team building. We went to Bellevue after work at around seven in the morning, most of the tables were still empty and the waiters were very accommodating in leading us to the large round table that we have previously reserved. The ambience was high -class and elegant, and the almost 50 foot chandelier hanging above gave a wonderful site and superior feel to the area. I usually go to Café d'Asie at dinner with my family, but today I experienced dining at breakfast time. When I'm in a buffet setting, I usually target the Japanese section and go for the sashimis, but sadly, (maybe because they were still serving breakfast), my usual favorite dishes like roast beefs, lechon, steaks, cakes and desserts were still not available. Nevertheless, I've discovered some great tasting breakfast dishes such as their Swiss Muesli; after thorough observation I noticed that it was a combination of oats, nuts, apples, yogurt, milk, raisins, walnuts, almonds, milk and honey- and wow, it's a perfect ten for all the oatmeals that I've eaten my life. They have breads and pastries, several imported cheeses, meats, hams, bacon, muffins, croisaants, imported yogurt,, spreads, ommeletes, danggits, crispy squids, Korean and Mongolian sections, a lot of fresh and vegetables. Previously, dining at Cafe d' Asie does not include drinks, but now I had a choice between mango juice, orange juice , iced tea or coffee. The hotel manager was kind enough to give us a huge corporate discount and gave the buffet rates at a very affordable price. Truly a bang for the buck.

Had the Boston, Philadelphia, Zig Zag, and California rolls…read more The Boston roll was a bit of a surprise as it really had a lot of bacon. The sesame seed coating was just fantastic. Comes with a sweet mayo dip should you opt out of the traditional soy sauce and wasabi dip one would normally use. The Philadelphia roll wasn't bad, just wasn't anything extraordinary, at least when compared to the others. Had mango, no doubt Filipino mango, and that was a nice treat. Also had that really delicious mayo dip. The California roll servings were ample, and tasted fresh. Also had mango which is one of the things I love about Filipino made sushi. The Zig Zag roll was special. It also costs about 5x more than the other rolls. The crunchy tempura was generous. Btw I hate soft shell crab. Why eat it? Because I wanted to be daring. It was certainly worth the dare, and was a sushi I will probably not forget. I am from the U.S. so maybe my baseline is a little off for sushi in the Philippines. My palate actually thought the Boston roll wins, maybe because being from the U.S. I have a fascination with bacon. The downside...it's the condition of the rest room. It was tiny, supposed to fit one per gender, but when I used it there was another guy using the toilet and was pretty insistent on letting me occupy it with him as there was an open standing urinal right next to the toilet. Also the sink was outside, and there was no way to dry your hands. :-( The wait staff was friendly and the ambience was just as friendly. Nothing but the typical affluent Alabang type folks. So difficult to give it only a four star rating. Really, the food was great and the prices are very reasonable using Filipino type pricing. If the wash room situation doesn't bother you, maybe consider this more of a five star review. Happy eating!

Because I'm a sucker for sushi, Omakase is a staple whenever I head to the south. Although they now…read morehave branches all over the city, I love visiting the Alabang branch. Despite moving from their hidden spot in ATC, there new place in Molito serves the same consistent rolls which I love. Their spicy tuna salad, fresh raw tuna cubes with a spicy salad dressing topped with crunchy tempura bits,is a must order. Along with a wide variety of rolls, their food is always a great. I love the different flavor combinations of their rolls. The Jurassic and dynamite rolls are a few personal favorites. Their sushi rolls platters are a good deal! If you have not tried eating here, go ahead and try it out for simple, great tasting sushi.

This place doesn't even deserve 1 star. DO NOT COME HERE IF YOU ARE A WOMAN…read more Why? Because you need to stop favoring MEN even when women have been waiting in line to be helped, let alone, PREGNANT WOMEN on Mother's Day!!!! This place made me wait for 20 minutes while I watched them serve men who arrived AFTER ME. What the actual f*ck. I had made my selection after having to demand for assistance since they just chose to ignore me and kept helping MEN who arrived long after me. So rude. So biased. Never coming here again. Going else where to spend my money because the staff at the Molito branch failed to honor the orders in which they were received The flowers were wilted, the staff was frantic, and the flowers are way overpriced. NOT WORTH IT. Go somewhere else. And to the a**holes who saw me there before them and still got served first, shame on you. You're a huge part of the problem & your significant others deserve better than you rolling out of bed and cutting off people in line to get these crappy excuses for bouquets. This is how angry I am. Funny thing is, my morning started off great prior to this. Get your sh*t together.

Fresh flowers right next to me while I sip my fresh cup of hot chocolate, why not? You might have…read morealready seen a Designer Blooms stall in SM Aura, or anywhere else, really. So I was kinda surprised to discover that they actually have a cafe! They also sell chocolates and some other bottled knick knacks like cookie butter. I tried their hot chocolate and their buttermilk chicken during my visit and they were good, although I found them a little pricey. The chicken cost around Php 400, and the serving wasn't really big so I have mixed feelings about it. They offer other beverages like flavored iced and hot tea, too. I dunno, they give me the feeling that I can get the same stuff somewhere else at a much lower price. Still, the ambience and the pretty flowers (that I went crazy photographing) that surround the shop could compensate for the price. In my opinion, at least.

I've been to Singapore numerous times and have even went to the original Wee Nam Kee there -which…read moresurprisingly doesn't look as good as the Wee Nam Kee branches here. However I would like to point out that they have nailed down the taste despite the considerable distance between its two host countries. I honestly still wouldn't trade for a serving of Hainanese Chicken Rice in one of Singaporean's numerous popular hawker centres. Wee Nam Kee is still a good and dependable choice for it nonetheless. You can choose whether or not to get the roasted or the white chicken, or a combination of it. I do not completely understand the difference between both as they still taste like chicken to me and neither seems contain more meat than the other. I normally choose which one on a flitting automatic whim without really thinking about it. Either are good and won't disappoint. There is also the yellow chicken (imported from Malaysia, meatier, more tender and succulent) which has more fat, but as the normal way of things go, more fat means more taste, so it is definitely something to have and go back for.

After seeing my friend's wife post on Facebook photos of manam CAFE's Crispy Pancit Palabok, they…read morewere automatically added to my bucket list. Needless to say, as we were planning our November, 2024 trip to the Philippines, I made sure to add manam CAFE to our itinerary. Part of The Moment Group, a premier, fast-growing restaurant group in the Philippines known for creating popular homegrown brands like 8cuts BURGER BLENDS and ooma, manam CAFE is a casual, all-day dining version of the popular manam COMFORT FILIPINO restaurant. They are widely celebrated for serving Filipino classics in two ways: Classics (traditional recipes) and Twists (modern reinterpretations). My much-anticipated visit to manam CAFE was for lunch at the MOLITO Lifestyle Center on Sunday, November 17, 2024. We were a large party of 13 persons, so when we arrived around 11 AM, we had to wait a few minutes for a long table nearby the entrance. The dining room was quite busy with most if not all tables occupied. The venue was clean and bright with natural light shining through the windows despite the light rain that day. The vibrant setting was perfect for lunching. manam CAFE's extensive menu boasts a curated, diverse culinary offering tailored to satisfy every palate. From traditional Filipino dishes like Sinigang na Baboy sa Sampaloc (₱235, ₱430, ₱795) and Chocolate Champorado (₱185) to innovative creations like Sinigang na Beef Short Rib & Watermelon (₱295, ₱530, ₱925) and Ube Champorado (₱185), the dining experience is fit for curious eaters. We ordered: Fresh Lumpiang Ubod (L, ₱295) - Is it just me or is ubod (heart of palm) a new lumpia filling? I never saw this before this trip. The sweet-savoury peanut sauce was tasty, but I do prefer lumpiang sariwa (fresh) with sautéed vegetables over ubod. Crispy Pancit Palabok (L, ₱745) - One of their signature dishes, this rendition of palabok with a fun twist was what reeled me in to manam CAFE and it did not disappoint. After the wow factor from the savoury orange sauce creatively poured atop the mound of crisp noodles, the unique pancit transformed into a pleasantly chewy noodle dish with layers of textures. Crispy Pata with Garlic Chili Bits (M, ₱685) - The golden-brown crispy pork knuckles stood out as the star dish of the lunch for its burst of flavour in every bite and lasting crisp from the crunchy, spicy garlic-chili bits. Munggo & Chicharon - (M, ₱340) - This is one of my favourite stews, definitely comfort food for me. manam serves this as more of a hearty mung bean bisque, creamy like ginataan (cooked with coconut milk). While it still embodied the heartwarming flavours that I expected, I wasn't into the creaminess. Sinigang na Beef Short Rib & Watermelon (L, ₱295) - Despite Kuya Peter telling us that this sinigang with watermelon "sounds weird, but it works," this adaptation of the Filipino tamarind soup was not a favourite of the family's due to the sweet flavour. I wasn't as disappointed in this dish as everyone else was, but I was the only American-born of the group. Does that make a difference? Not-so-dirty Ice Cream (₱115) - Our party ordered two; one Ube and one Macapuno or maybe it was Vanilla? Both cups of sorbetes were fully enjoyed. Turon of Mango & Kesong Puti with Ice Cream (₱175) - Banana lumpia with a modern twist, incorporating mangoes and Kesong Puti (Filipino soft, aged white cheese) and served with ice cream. Interesting, but I prefer the classic. Bibingkang Galapong with Salted Egg (₱145) - The Filipino rice cake made with fermented glutinous rice and salted egg wasn't bad, but I was looking for the banana leaf wrap. Puto Bumbong with Muscovado Butter (₱130) - This seasonal dessert, one of Mom's longtime favourites, is usually served only during Christmas, but, thanks to manam, aficionados can enjoy it here all year-long. The muscovado butter's rich, caramel-like richness is meant to elevate the purple earthy-sweet chewy rice cake, but Mom longed for the traditional version instead. Ube + Sago (₱175) - A purple glass of happiness with ube's satisfying earthy notes perfectly complemented by the chewy sago (tapioca balls). Namnam Halo-halo (₱185) - This Filipino-style shaved ice made with sweetened beans, fruits, and jellies and topped with milk, Leche Flan and Ube ice cream was vibrantly colourful and refreshing. Iced Coffee + Black Sago (₱205) - The mouthwatering shake-like coffee drink with chewy tapioca could have double served as a dessert. Guinumis (₱155) - Yum, this cooler highlighted the creaminess of the coconut milk, the silky smoothness of the pink gulaman (a gelatin made from agar or carrageenan extracted from edible seaweed), and the lovely toasted flavour of pinipig (flattened, immature grains of glutinous rice). Service was attentive and friendly. Serving local favourites alongside modern, reinvented dishes, manam CAFE caters to both traditionalists & adventurous eaters who want to try new twists on old staples.

Ambiance - Clean, typical family style restaurant. We were a party of four and were seated almost…read moreimmediately. Food - I appreciate having choices (small, medium, large) on the serving sizes for all the dishes. We ordered the traditional pansit palabok, crispy sisig, beef watermelon sinigang, fresh lumpiang ubod and beef salpicao. The palabok and the sisig were a perfect combination. The sisig was so crispy and flavorful. The palabok tasted even better with calamansi and had the right amount of sauce. The watermelon flavor in the sinigang was recognizable but did not take away from its original flavor. We ordered the medium size but it did not seem to have enough veges or beef. The salpicao was very good, maybe a tad salty. The beef was tender. The fresh lumpiang ubod was delicious. The ubod tasted fresh. We loved every dish. Oh, we also had the buko pandan shake and ube shake. Soooo good! I know I will miss this place when we return to the U.S. Service - our water glasses were always filled. Appreciated our server's wit and humor. When we all made fun of ourselves for whipping out our senior ids at the same time when he asked for our ids, he immediately said, "student ids po." Of course, we all laughed at his quick wit. We were so hungry and excited to eat, we forgot to take pictures of the food. Bottom line, Manam is one of my favorite Filipino restaurant. The food is great and the prices are so reasonable.