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What is this… this Baconator^® thing?!

It’s the rave about town, this Baconator^® thing: 6 strips of bacon, 2 burger patties, 2 cheese slices, one very satisfying grub. I was all, “no way you guys wanna kill yourselves with that … that cardiac arrest inducing THING?!”

It has dragged for weeks, my disgust over this burger and the more I shake the thought off, the more I seem to think about having some. To mask my personal dilemma, I was all still MOUTH WATERING MY ASS BECAUSE I’M STILL NOT GONNA HAVE AND RAVE ABOUT THIS NON-SENSE! Just imagine the oil and the calories in that … that THING! (more…)

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Mario’s Restaurant: Keeping the Classic Current

First thing that comes to mind when the name “Mario’s Restaurant” is mentioned is either “steak,” “hella old,” and “expensive.” In that order. This may very well explain why I’ve never been to any of their branches until last Saturday. (I’ve eaten in great hotels’ buffet both in and outside the country, dined in Lolo Dad’s–probably the most expensive dinner I’ve had, Le Suffle, Casa Armas, the Portico chain, you name it, and several others which when I enumerate will definitely earn me the ire of many as THE douchebag, but never in Mario’s. I blame the Partner I’ve had the privilege of being under in SGV and my bosses of old because, in all honesty, most of my fine dining exploits I’ve enjoyed by free loading. A harsh term, yes, but mind you, the phrase “there’s no such thing as free lunch” is with context. I learned the hard way back in the day.)

Restaurateur and owner Fil Benitez sent a dinner invite nobody would want to refuse for their Tomas Morato branch so we can experience firsthand how a brand which started 37 years ago can still remake itself and stay current, while not sacrificing the great reputation it had so carefully built in time. “…We hope the new, young generation like [you] will notice that Mario’s has something new even if some of your parents started dating here,” he said. Most notable was when Fil mentioned “we will always retain our Old Casa Specials, but will continue to add new and innovative dishes. We change them every quarter while we remove some of the items from the Main menu. Same is true with our wine list which is designed wherein we can introduce new varietals often.” In times when restaurants have a 5-year shelf-life on an average, going strong at 38 is a remarkable feat. Sure some of the food items in their menu may be priced on the steep side but their’s are still said to be comparably cheaper than most other fine dining places.

Some entrées, like the Chilean Sea Bass I ordered, are done with a bit of a “South Beach Diet” in mind. Flavorful yet light. I’m not one to eat fruits with my main dish but the mango-and-pineapple salsa served on top of the tender sea bass played well with the slightly salty character of the Miso-Mirin sauce it came glazed with. The same can be said with their Caesar Salad which I think I’ll never get enough of.

“On Sundays, we have the most reasonable Lunch Buffet at P 535.00+ for adults and P 405.00+ for kids 7 yrs and below. Choices of Roast Beef, Cochinillo and Turkey plus an array of dishes such as Sushi, Pastas, Paella, Desserts and our popular Chocolate Fountain. Caesar Salad inclusive.” Now, THAT one I’ve got to try next time. I’d also highly recommend this restaurant as an alternative business meeting venue. They have function rooms on the second floor to serve this particular purpose.

Thanks go to Fil Benitez, the crew, and the great chef at Mario’s Restaurant. Thanks go to Arpee for extending the invite.

For this post’s highlight, I share with you awesome food photos of WIN!

Elsewhere, their Mario’s Restaurant experiences:
Manila Boy: Baguio Boy
The Bachelor Girl: Mario’s Restaurant Renovates Interiors and Updates Menu
Pinoy Life at Large: The Resurrection of Mario’s Restaurant
Manila Travel(er): Mario’s Restaurant at Tomas Morato Quezon City
Annalyn Jusay: Mario’s Restaurant Quezon City: a classic reinvents itself
Kitchen Cow: Mario’s: Good food, good fun

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The Tall Tale of the Shabu Shabu and the Hungry Tax-Experts-in-Training

Healthy Shabu Shabu was right. I had been doing hot pot wrong all this time. And to think I thought I would never again set foot in a shabu shabu place to grab grub. Last time I’ve been in one is, I think, about six or seven years ago, give or take, when I was still starting out as a tax expert in the best audit firm in the country. Tax experts in training get hungry all the time, you see. And an ordinary sized meal would only make us want to tear each other’s hair out in frustration. So the dinner place of choice could only be that now closed shabu shabu restaurant in Glorietta or a brawl scene started by manic-and-hungry corporate looking, calculator weilding, BIR forms and worksheets clutching tax experts in training could ensue. You get the picture, right? Good.

Like me, you must have passed by the well lighted Healthy Shabu Shabu resto in the Powerplant Mall in Rockwell (across Starbucks). It is likely that you also paid it no mind. When I got the chance to try out what the place had in store in their Shangri-La Plaza Mall (EDSA) branch, boooooooy, I said to myself just so I don’t get to sound like the tax expert in training I was before, “why haven’t I tried this sooner?!” No joke! True story.

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McDonald’s menu’s nutritional information

When I was in Singapore, I grabbed a quick bite at McDonald’s one mid-afternoon after I did my customary rounds of the shops along busy Orchard Road. Customary because, lest we all forget, I’m also almost-model, yo, aside from being rockstar Paparazzi extraordinaire. Come on, if you are dead tired from all the walking around, the mere sight of those golden arches will draw you in like the welcoming arms of your mother. Or maybe not, but that’s beside the point. Anyway, said McDonald’s branch was conveniently located in front of my hotel (Orchard Hotel) and, heck, I was hungry and I needed fast food and fast.

While I was seated and wolfing one McNugget after another with some weird tasting supposedly-barbecue sauce dip, I noticed some indications written on the paper covering the tray. Nutritional Information. Hmmm, I haven’t seen one of those locally so, voila, I took photos of the sheet even if I won’t ever use them for future reference. I reproduce them here so you, unlike me, may think twice before downing a daily serving of those large fries and soda.

Do note, however, that although the data here is from McDonald’s, the ingredients used in similarly named items may not be the same across countries and may thus make this listing inaccurate in McDonald’s Philippines menu’s context. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

To guide you, in chronological order (since the succeeding photos do not have headers on them), they are: (1) Energy, (2) Total Fat, (3) Saturated Fat, (4) Cholesterol, (5) Sodium, and (6) Dietary Fibre.

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A rockstar’s dinner in Tokyo Cafe and Chocolat dessert, Paparazzied!

Because rockstar paparazzis eat, too, me and my compatriots found ourselves inside Tokyo Cafe soon after the WCG Philippines 2008 program ended last Saturday. Here’s what I got.

That’s chicken encrusted by bread and that’s mozzarella cheese oozing from the inside, served hot and fresh. I had the one below served five minutes after. Coffee Jelly FTMFW!

I ordered Coffee Jelly from UCC the other week and I can very much say that for its price and taste/consistency/presentation, Tokyo Cafe’s win in all counts. The surprise for me was, just when I thought I was finished with everything there is to eat of the Coffee Jelly, my spoon scraped on a scoop of vanilla ice cream at the bottom of the glass. WINNUR! *burp*

Because we can’t have enough desserts in one night, we decided to give the deliciously inviting cakes of Chocolat a try, this time, with coffee. I present to you: Chocolate Hazelnut captured by a camphone like you’ve never seen before! *gloats*

The chocolate cake’s icing was a bit course and a tad too sweet for my palate, though. Coupled with Chocolat’s coffee and maybe a not-so-filled stomach, I could have devoured everything in under two minutes. I’m not kidding. I got an Americano coffee and it tasted really great. That’s coming from an avid coffee drinker so trust me on this.

Overall, not bad for one night of pigging out. Crew from both restaurants give fast, efficient, and friendly service. Chocolat gets a plus for the cozy and homey design of their store’s interior.

Can’t wait for my next great food adventure.

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Authentic Thai Food in photos

Thai food will assault your senses with a well calibrated interplay of taste mixed with smell, texture, and visual appeal. Enough said. Below are photos of what we had for dinner just a few hours ago. I could have these all my life and never tire of them. Wait, lightbulb moment: I’ll go buy some spice here so I can try replicating these sumptuous dishes at home in Manila! iGenius!

Enough with the talk. The photos, let me show you them. (TIP: you may drag the photos to see parts of the width covered by the margin. Try it! It was WOW for me first time I did it. Kthnx)

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