Feelings of a First- Time Freeloader

It was January 29 when I got 2 email messages from my correspondent in SPOT inviting me and a guest to attend food pairing tips from Starbucks the next day. I was initially hesitant and quickly told my DH all about the email during breakfast. DH was not so keen on attending . What to do? call a "friend"... my ever reliable "sister" AC- my partner in crime~

Luckily, she doesn't have job, uh huh, sorry to divulge that but maybe this blog can help in finding her one. So, post if you need a "L-I-A-R" oops... my bad, lawyer tee hee~ 

I called up Karl, introduced myself, and asked if there were any fees to pay to attend the coffee seminar. I learned that all I have to do was to bring myself and that's it. No fees whatsoever. check. Bring a friend? check.

Not expecting anything, AC wondered out loud if Filipino time or ON time will prevail. The later won. Good thing, we were there a few minutes before the seminar started. We were only about 10, plus 1- that's AC, in the group so it was very intimate. The only downside with doing it inside the coffee shop was the pipe- in music which was a bit high in volume and sadly, I wasn't able to hear much of the food pairing and just settle with the food tasting which was SUPERB by the way, no complaints here. I was actually shocked that my fellow blogger came prepared with cameras, pen and pad in hand. I, on the other hand, have my trusty IXUS 860 which for me was good enough. I'll keep in mind to bring pad paper next time. *wishing & hoping to be invited again*

Sango the Burger Master? Definitely!

My visit: January 2009

The burgers that my friend AC and I ordered exceeded my expectation. I ordered a Master Burger (PhP109) while AC ordered Chicken Teriyaki Burger (PhP98). Both of us ordered a regular milk tea for PhP37 each and a Master French Fries PhP88.

The orders took around 15 minutes to arrive so that gave me enough time to check the venue and the high tech toilet. Although well- lighted, the venue is a bit old. Most patrons are yuppies. The flat screen TV shows a Japanese game show which caught most of the diners attention. The toilet is shared by both men and women. It features a lot of buttons that I couldn't figure or is it not functioning? 

Back to the burgers... I like the chicken teriyaki because it has chicken filet and not a patty. Plus, the sauce is superb! The only "health hazard" is the large amount of mayo on top of the greens. Geez, if I had known I would have requested for it to be removed. The Master Burger is like spaghetti sauce sandwiched in a bun. I liked it but it gave me onion breath the whole afternoon. The Master Frech Fries has also the same spaghetti sauce plus cheese squares as toppings. Ketchup and more onions are served on the side. 

The milk tea is a disappointment because its nothing like the milk tea I am accustomed to. Maybe that's the Japanese version? Or maybe it lacks one ingredient, black pearl.

What else can I say? Parking is a problem. We got there during lunch time. We opt to park inside Plaza Fair just across the Creekside and paid Php40. The waiting staff was inefficient. I ask for a glass of water without ice from two different waitresses. For the third time, I went to the counter to get the pitcher and pour the water myself. Two other personnel approached and ask me what I need because I was standing there for 5 minutes. It's a shame for such a budding fast food restaurant to have an efficient staff. 

Amazing Cones: Amazing Treats

In an attempt to lose weight in time for summer *bikinis... I wished* AC and I started badminton and each time we would pass by Amazing Cones- temptation, temptation... yeah, yeah, I know, I know we should watch what we eat. Another friend insisted that we should try it since he already has and it's gonna be his treat... who are we to say NO lol~

Amazing cones is having a promo on it's mini cones- 3 inch cones packed with flavors from their regular cones. It's a steal at PhP 25 each and with the 5+1 promo, I think it's worth a try!

Amazing Cones

Since we were 3 pax at that time, each of us get to taste only 2 of the 6 flavors that we ordered. I got the Everything but the Sink and the Ragin' Buffalo. Everything but the Sink was the Super Supreme in Pizza Hut. How do they stuff it with all the ingredients in a tiny cone beats me. Ragin's Buffalo taste just like Buffalo Wings with bits and pieces of chicken you can really eat.
AC and I ordered Buko Pandan and Buko Lychee drink. I dare say, I've tasted better. But PhP 40 to quench our thirst that time, was negligible enough.

I will come back to taste the other flavors. I'll still order the minis not because I'm a cheapskate but because I'm on a diet *wink*


Thanks to AC for the pic
xoxo

New Find: Dezato Mochi

My visit: January 9, 2009

Dezato Mochi

100 Hemady St.

Quezon City

7271229 3879484

When almost everyone was at the Black Nazarene, AC and I were trying to locate Dezato Cafe. She was driving and I was looking for a sign that screams Mochi- AC forgot the name of the coffee shop which she saw on TV- sign of old age maybe? Just kidding *AC would kill me if she read this*

We finally saw it when we crossed the intersection of E. Rodriguez and Hemady St. near Woodside Homes. We entered the empty coffee shop and we were able to talk to the 3 ladies manning the counter. The setting was simple and gave us a homey feel. The residence of the owner stand just beside it. It was well lighted and gives you the option to play poker, chess and other game boards while waiting for your 20 minute Shrimp and Garlic pizza to arrive.

 Shrimp Garlic Pizza- PhP350

The Pizza was freshly made from scratch and came out piping hot. Nothing spectacular about it and tasted just OK.

The Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream for PhP 35 a piece was very tasty and I love it. It's soft and chewy. Hmmm...I wonder what ice cream they use to put inside their mochi. I like it that the ice cream does not easily melt when I break the mochi into half. AC and I share an order *diet*

Pepper Lunch: Good or Bad?

My visit: December 31, 2008

Pepper Lunch

Rockwell Power Plant Mall

8956185

This is my first food review on the first day of the year, it ought to be good... NOT! hehe My family wanted to try this "pricey" fastfood restaurant for quite sometime but we only got the chance to dine yesterday.

We had our supposed to be lunch around 2 p.m. that was probably why there was no long queue outside the restaurant. One of the main reason why people often saw multitude of people queing for this resto would probably because of the positioning of their counter- close to the entrance and people would really have no choice but to line outside its door. Another spill was that people would be on stand- by outside because you cannot just seat anywhere, the cashier would be the one to assign you a seat after your orders were taken. The number can be found on the upper portion of your receipt.

 Pepper Lunch Beef Pepper Rice

We had ordered 3 Beef Pepper Rice and a Teriyaki Chicken. And had to look for our seat tucked almost at the far end of the room. We waited for more or less 30 minutes for our RAW food to arrrive. You would think that since they will serve it to you raw style the service would be fast and effiicient plus, it's not even their peak hour of the day. A waiter approached us and asked for our receipt so that he could look at what we have ordered. Whaaaaaaaat... was the big number on our table for??????????? A funny sticker note I found at the side of the sauce wherein it stated not to take home the chopsticks or something to that effect- it shows how Filipinos love to take souvenirs home lol when I got a look at the chopsticks, nothing exceptional except perhaps the color orange which would attract ERAP supporters hehe I requested for disposable chopsticks instead and the waiter quickly took the orange chopsticks away from us fearing that we might take it home lol Anyhows, only 3 orders where served and the other Beef Pepper Rice was nowhere in sight. We have to make two follow up for it to finally arrive. Since we didn't fancy any of their sauces, I try to ask for some extra Teriyaki sauce but was informed that it would cost me an additional amount. No way... Jose! Gravy is free for all and teriyaki sauce should be free as well. We were cheapskate you know lol