13 Ubay St. Comfort Dining

We got curious after we heard about this restaurant's name. It's in the neighborhood so we decided to give it a try. Arriving, it was a sweet surprise that the venue was huge. It has plenty of parking spaces both outside and in the garage. We learned later on that the restaurant used to be a printing corporation. That explains the big space. We were escorted by the guard to head upstairs. It was beautifully decorated -different masks hung on walls. A friendly smart looking server greeted us as we walked into the second floor. It was spacious with plenty of seats. She led us to a couch seat. At that time we were the only ones inside. There was a group of men, however, at the porch area who seemed to be having a party. The server handed us their pretty menu.

J did his research and ordered the Grilled Dorado which was a Mahi Mahi Fillet dish with sauteed shimeji mushroom and lemon butter sauce. I was craving for salad so he let me order their Smoked Salmon Salad. To top it all off, J ordered the Smoked Bacon Liempo. We also decided to share a cup of rice.  

We took a time to look around the place as we waited for our food. On our left we can see the well kept kitchen where the chef and staff preparing dishes. On our right, we see the porch outside with glass division separating us. There was a lot of interesting photograph paintings hung on walls. From the short background story provided on the paper placemats, we learned that these photographs were all priced possession of the owners. From the looks I can see some of them working in the kitchen. Their food are all from the family's recipe and perfected to serve only the best for its customers. This made us more excited for the food.

Smoked Salmon Salad

The Smoked Salmon Salad came first and in a rather small serving. It was delicious though. The saltiness of the salmon complimented the sourness of the house vinaigrette dressing while the mixed greens offered overall raw and refreshing taste. You will know that the ingredients used were of good quality. The greens were clean and crunchy enough to know that they are fresh. J felt like it lacked salmon pieces but for me it was okay. If they added more smoked salmon into it, it might not balanced out the other ingredients flavors and would have turned the dish salty. It was a great way to start a meal. We rate it 4/5 just because of the small serving size.

Grilled Dorado and Smoke Bacon Liempo

The Grilled Dorado and the Smoked Bacon Liempo were served simultaneously. The presentation of the two dishes was pretty. Again, they are in small serving size. The mahi mahi fillet was cooked perfectly. Upon closer inspection it looks so delicate and light. It didn't break into small crushed pieces when cut. The sauce was so yummy! It went well with the fishy taste of the mahi mahi. It was so good with rice. It didn't taste too salty or too sweet. It tasted like a creamy lemon seafood sauce but with a hint of mushroom. We love it we give it a 4/5 rating.

The Smoked Bacon Liempo was also really good! The toyomansi (soy sauce and lime) flavor complemented with how the pork was cooked. It was flavorful and tender. I ate the fat with it because it was not that thick so you wont get scared ingesting it. It doesn't have that bad grilled taste nor the pungent pork smell that some pork dishes have. We loved it. It was salty but when paired with rice is perfect. Our rating is again 4.5/5.

Overall, we love the experience we had with 13 Ubay Street. It was a little on the expensive side but we understand with how they use choiced ingredients in their cooking. We had a pleasant dining experience especially with the romantic atmosphere and the very attentive servers. Even the guard outside was very helpful with the parking and nice enough to take or picture. We rate the whole place a 4/5.

13 Ubay St. Comfort Dining is located at:
13 Ubay Street, Santa Mesa Heights, Banawe, Quezon City
Tel: +632 5796484
Mobile: +63 917876269

Cafe IF

After our rather disappointing meal at Wicked Dogs, we wanted something to clear our palates. Cafe IF, a Korean cafe, was nearby and people say it has a garden theme which made P very curious. We were hesitant though because their specialty is Bingsu (snow ice) but we wanted coffee. We decided to go for it anyway. 

The location was just at the corner of President's Ave and Aguirre. It was at the second floor of a building and has parking in front. 

Upon entering the cafe we immediately noticed the bad smell of the place. It smelled like a combination of cigarette smoke, sweat and old carton boxes. It was strong until you get immune to it. There was not even a slight smell of coffee. The place has good air-conditioning though and pretty garden decors. 

They have different comfortable seat selections. There were students who occupied wider tables to set up their books and laptops. I guess they got immune to the cigarette smell also.

P ordered her cafe latte and cappuccino for me. We chose a couch for our seats. From where we seated we saw where the bad smell was coming from. There was a smoking room at the corner of the room. We are guessing that there was no good ventilation inside that's why the smoke just builds up and reeks into the cafe. Oh well. We just wished the coffee will be good since they seem to have a large professional coffee machine. We saw the Korean owner walking around to check on her customers. She was really nice and even offered to take our picture for us. She can speak Filipino really well. 

Capuccino (left) and Latte (right)

Our coffee came and we were surprised to see how they came in a large mug and cup. My cappuccino seem so much frothier than what I am accustomed to. P's latte was in the mug with a heart latte art. P wanted to switch drinks with me because of the huge froth in mine. They also gave us a small caramel syrup if we wanted flavor in our coffee. 

The coffee were pretty decent. The coffee base didn't taste over-roasted or light. We both enjoyed our coffee as we chatted away. P even tried to have the caramel syrup mixed in and she liked it. Towards the end, because of the big serving, we felt like it started to taste a bit too milky for our liking. We both realized then that the coffee beans used were probably not that fresh. But they were not bad as well. We rate our coffee a 4/5 while the atmosphere is 2/5 because of the smoke.

Cafe IF is located at

Second Floor, GLT Building, Presidents Avenue, BF Homes, Parañaque City

Tel: +632 8341154

Mobile: +63 9277943070

Wicked Dogs

We initially wanted to try chicken wings at Crazy Chick in President's Ave. BF Homes Parañaque but it was closed by the time we got there which was around 4:30pm. Disappointed, we picked Wicked Dogs which serves specialty sausages in Aguirre instead.

It wasn't hard to find the restaurant although it was smaller than we expected. It was part of a compound which has parking in front. You cannot park right in front of Wicked Dogs because it has grass floor and a few tables and chairs. We parked in front of the clothes shop beside it instead.

Inside it has cute interiors. They use wood as theme for the place. They even have swings attached from the ceiling as seats. They also have a rather special couch seat for groups of friends. 

It was supposed to be a nice hangout place (they have board games you can play), if it hadn't been for the poor ventilation. The whole place will stink up once they start cooking because they don't have a proper kitchen. Even if they have an exhaust near their fryers, the smoke and the sound of cooking is felt and heard. It was difficult to have a decent conversation with all the noisy frying sound in the background. We also felt hot because of the bad airconditioning considering it was only a small area. 

The clear glass walls were nice but it allowed sunlight to come in which was rather bothersome. We were not really hungry at that time so we decided to share on a specialty dogs meal which has fries on the side. I picked their best seller, the Cachorro Quente Completo which was Hungarian sausage in french bun topped with mashed potatoes, corn kernels, tomatoes, cheese sauce and chips. We wanted to try their drinks which have a cute name but again we were not that hungry. 

Cachorro Quente Completo

The meal was served in a gray tray which didn't make the presentation nice. The sausage was almost twice longer than the bread. It was a bit hard to slice through the bread and sausage at the same time so I sliced it slowly but forcefully which caused the toppings to fall off. It was a messy looking meal. Tastewise, the Hungarian sausage was good. It was juicy and not too salty. We weren't fans of the toppings though. It wasn't because it was too salty or what. Stuff put into it just don't go well together. P didn't like the bread with mashed potatoes combination in her mouth. The french bread could have been replaced with a softer bread since it did nothing being hard in texture. The fries were pretty decent, they were crunchy and freshly cooked. They were not too salty nor too oily. I feel like the whole meal wasn't worth the 250 pesos I spent because it just tasted like an ordinary hungarian sausage sandwich served in our college canteen which cost 80 pesos or less.

Overall we weren't pleased with our food. It was that kind of meal that you would pause once in awhile to drink some water before continuing again. It might be that we ordered the wrong item only. Our uncomfortability with the place added to the lack of appreciation of this food experience. After a few bites we just wanted to finish the food fast so we can leave already. P hated how we smelled like deep fried food after we left. The smell clung to our clothes and we felt a little sweaty and sticky. We wish they could do some improvement with the ventilation. The staff were nice but they kept talking loudly. Rating that we give here is a poor 2/5.

Wicked Dogs is located at:

40 Aguirre Avenue Corner F. Ortigas Street, BF Homes, Parañaque City

Tel: +632 2384357

Roku (Trinoma)

Hi it's me, P. I just want to share my experience my awesome dining experience at ROKU Sushi + Ramen in Trinoma Mall.

I love Japanese food so I was excited to try this for a long time. The menu was full of pictures of delicious sushi rolls and ramens. I gave a conscious effort to pick only the ones that we could actually finish because I was only with my mom. Since it seems that sushi rolls are their bestsellers, I ordered two kinds of roll namely OMG Roll (P349) and Black Mamba Roll (P349). The OMG Roll comes in 8 pieces and made up with blow torched salmon, ebi tempura, ebiko and aburi sauce. Black Mamba Roll also comes in 8 pieces and made up with unagi (eel), black ebiko, tamago (egg), kani (crabstick), cream cheese and tempura flakes. I cannot take my eyes away from the Blow Torched Salmon Trio in the menu so I ordered that too. I also couldnt resist a Spicy Tuna Salad because it's one of my favorites 😛. Mom ordered ROKU Chashu Miso Ramen for herself since she craved for something with soup.

The orders came and my eyes feasted with delight. They were all made beautifully. I took bad pictures since the lighting was a little dim in the venue. Oh by the way, they were out of tuna so they asked me if they could put salmon instead in my Spicy Tuna Salad with no extra charge. I said yes because I prefer salmon anyway hehe. It didn't disappoint! It was the best Spicy Salmon Salad I've ever had.

Spicy Salmon Salad

I was glad to find the salmon pieces were in generous serving! Restaurants often serve them with more vegetables and less fish. I love the taste! I love the level of spice. The salmon pieces were fresh and didn't have any ocean taste. I also love the presentation. I give this a 5/5. 

OMG Roll

The sushi rolls were amazing! My mom prefer the Black Mamba because of the eel. I love them both. I eat sushi by stuffing the whole thing in my mouth at once so that I can taste how well the ingredients blend together and these rolls have good ingredient combination that really complemented. 

In the OMG roll, the salmon and ebi tempura were tasty and really fresh.The aburi sauce was not salty but rather made the sushi savory. There was also cheese on top that made it more interesting. There were no bad after taste. I definitely recommend this. I give it 4.5/5 rating just because too much of it will probably overwhelm you.

Black Mamba

The Black Mamba Roll was delicious!! The cream cheese really did the trick of upgrading the taste of the eel. The eel was perfectly cooked that you can taste a tasty eel flavor. The sweet taste in the tamago balanced the salty taste of tempura flakes. There were a lot going on once you popped a piece in you mouth. All the flavors blended well. The texture of the ingredients also were interestingly good. I give it a 5/5 rating.

Blow Torched Salmon Trio (Upper Right)

I finished the Blow Torched Salmon Trio by myself. Each was a little different because of the toppings. There's one that is topped with kani; the other is topped with more salmon pieces and the last is topped with tamago. I cannot pick which one is my favorite. The one with tamago made it sweet to taste which I love. The one with more salmon pieces tasted like I had a huge ball of salmon sashimi which were made so freshly. The one paired with kani added saltiness to the fresh bunch but still good. I give it a 5/5 for the trio dish. 

Chashu Miso Ramen

I wasn't able to taste the ROKU Chashu Miso Ramen but my mom finished the bowl. The presentation was different from the menu but mom said she liked it because it wasn't too oily or salty. The Chashu slices were also soft to bite into. The half boiled egg was not as interesting since it was dipped inside the soup already. The noodle itself wasn't thick which my mom prefers. I will not rate this dish. 

Overall I loveeee this restaurant. I cannot wait to go back with J this time for more sushi. I definitely recommend this restaurant especially to those who love sushis!

Roku is located at:
Ground Floor, Trinoma Mall, North Triangle, Quezon City
Tel: +632 6256007

Streetside Bakers

We picked a day where we can visit good eats in the South. Since P needed more rest in the morning, it was already mid-afternoon when we finally arrived at SM BF Paranaque. Streetside Bakers is our first stop for our "BF food trip".

Turns out, it was only a small kiosk near the center at the ground floor of the mall.
It has 3 small tables, luckily 1 was unoccupied. A little disappointed, we approached the glass counter to see their famous Japanese Cotton Cheesecake. The kind staff showed us a tray of samples for the cheesecake we can try. We don't have an idea on what to order so we tried each and ask for the best seller. She suggested the Triple Chocolate Fudge so we followed her advice then ordered milkshakes each because they look so tempting. It took a while for them to prepare so we sat on the table to wait patiently for our much awaited Japanese Cotton Cheesecake (yummy!).

Triple Chocolate Fudge Japanese Cotton Cheesecake

The first thing that came to our mind when we tasted the triple chocolate fudge was it is very soft and light. It literally melts in your mouth. It had this interesting smooth and velvety texture that you would like to experience over and over again. It tasted a bit like the mocha part of the Goldilocks Chiffon Slice but so much better in composition. Looking closely you'll see it is made very compact but still remaining soft. It didn't have any air bubbles like the one you see in cheap cakes. P liked the bottom part where the stronger chocolate taste lies. It didn't have any bad after taste -just what a good cheesecake should be. The serving was a bit small to share but since we also ordered milkshake it was filling. Overall rating for it is 4.5/5.

Smores Milkshake

We ordered two milkshakes. First was the Smores Milkshake. What got us curious was that it looks very IG worthy with the big marshmallows on top that were dripped with chocolate syrup. We ate the marshmallows first and were okay but a lot tasted bitter since they were burnt. Even the chocolate syrup tasted burnt. The milkshake itself was milky and delicious but after a while I was tasting it to be a bit sweet. It could have been made creamier and tastier if they added better quality milk and chocolate instead. It was also a little too frothy for our liking. Overall rating for it is 3/5.

Matcha Milkshake

We both love everything matcha so we also ordered the Matcha milkshake. The toppings on this Milkshake were a bit simple in design compared to the Smores. There were small marshmallows that you end up sipping together with the drink because of its size.  The biscuits on top also added a cute look. They taste good too, also in matcha flavors. The drink itself was a little too bright green in color for a matcha drink. From the food coloring you'll already conclude it is of lower quality and less authentic. Taking a sip, it really didnt disappoint that much. As a normal milkshake, it was satisfying -not too sweet and not blunt. I guess we justed wanted one with a bit more matcha taste. For this one, we rate it 3.5/5.

Overall, we recommend you to try the Japanese Cotton Cheesecake in Triple Chocolate Fudge or in Classic flavor. You need to experience the interesting texture it offers. The milkshakes are pretty decent. Maybe the other flavors would be a better bet. For us they are not the best milkshakes in town. (They dont claim them to be though.)

Streetside Bakers is located at:

SM City BF Paranaque, BF Homes, Parañaque City

Mobile: +63 918 5752171

The Yard at Xavierville

We went to The Yard in Xavierville. It was a Sunday and we arrived around 7pm. Parking was a bit of a challenge since there were lots of people coming in. We ended up surrendering to this barker for a "pay" parking space inside a compound for 50php (oh well).

We already prepared ourselves for the situation inside and surely enough the place was jampacked. First instinct was to find an empty seat. Literally none. So we decided to go around the whole place to check the kind of food each stall serves. They have everything! From American to Japanese, from finger food to dessert, these stalls serve them. It was a little challenging to move around because of the narrow spaces. Even the stairs leading up -there are actually 3 floors- need a little caution to take especially with people holding their foodplates or fishbowl of drinks (seriously) around.

We did our best to scan the menus of each stalls but with all the people, you can imagine how crazy things were going already. We decided to line up for food already while we scout for seats. 

We first ordered the Weho's Finest in The Black Plate (Bottom in pic). P picked this because she absolutely loves salmon. It's basically a sushi cone and the main topping in it is salmon. It has a light miso sauce, some greens and guacamole.  We said we'll come back for the food since we haven't found our seats yet.

Only about three stalls away our eyes locked on this japanese pancake stall called Takami. We ordered their best seller Bacon and Cheese (Right). She gave us our number and off we go again.

The next thing we ordered was the Ribeye Steak in Rustic Box Steakhouse (Top). P got curious because of the long line so it must be good she said. It was our luck to find an empty table nearby. It took a long while for the cleaners to clear up the table though since they are understaffed. 

Taking our seats, while waiting for our food, we suddenly want what the nearby stall is selling.  So we ordered a set of tempura from Tokyo Tempura (Left). They also offer unlimited tempura with rice for 240 pesos by the way.

After all the food were delivered (imagine delivering food in this kind of crowd!), it was time to eat. 

The Black Plate 

Weho's Finest (Bottom)

One bite of the sushi roll won our hearts. It was delicious! Somehow this was the one that feels light in our mouth because of the fresh ingredients and the taste of seaweed. We'll rate it 5/5.

Takami 

Cheesy Bacon Okonomiyaki (Right)

Serving was big! We love it. It has a heavier consistency as a normal pancake would be and more savory in flavor. It was topped with a lot of fish flakes (or what they call Bonito flakes) and bacon. Very delicious! This was really filling. We'll rate it 4.5/5.

Tokyo Tempura 

Tempura Bucket 9pcs (Left)

I was not much of a fan, but P liked it. It was a little different because the batter they used tastes so much more buttery. I think the shrimps used were decent. The tempura dip needs more flavoring though. We'll rate it 4/5.

Rustic Box Steakhouse 

Ribeye Steak

The Ribeye was cooked perfectly (we asked it to be cooked medium) but was a bit salty for our taste. The mashed potatoes we picked for the side was also ordinary. We'll rate it 3/5.

After we filled our stomachs out we kind of regretted we didn't order drinks from the middle stall that everybody has lined up for. Curious, we checked and found a shorter line! So we went for it just to clear our palates. They serve juices in big bowls. We had the medium size in green tea & lychee flavor. At 80 pesos I guess it was alright. 

Overall the experience was very good. It has a very lively vibe. There was also a live band playing and heard all throughout the place. The number of food choices made it hard for us to choose what we really wanted to eat. Maybe if it wasnt so chaotic we would have chosen a better selection. We will definitely visit again (trying the nitrogen ice cream and the milkshake for sure).

The Yard at Xavierville is located at:

83 Xavierville Ave, Quezon City, Metro Manila