Backlog Post: Highlands Prime Steakhouse

Sifting through my files, I found some photos of our Highlands Prime Steakhouse visit last July 2014. We ate there twice that week.

It was as if we walked into a log cabin when we entered the establishment. The place was quite spacious and has extra space to accommodate a grand piano. Seats overlooking the Manila Bay are also available. Here are some photos of what we had:


Steak

We ordered some meat...

Butterfly Prawns

...and some seafood as well.

Mango Cheesecake

That swirly mango garnish is made from a sour mango. I expected something sweet when I ate that whole mango garnish but I was greeted with sourness. The cheesecake was quite thick and rich.

And a few days after our lunch, we decided to have our dinner there. This time, there was a pianist playing some songs on the piano which enhanced the ambiance of the place. We tried the following dishes:

Espresso Apricot Chicken

Tasted some of the coffee and apricot in there.

Salmon Tornado

This salmon steak was the seafood of the night.


Mango Panna Cotta

A lighter dessert compared to the mango cheesecake. Still, there was a sour mango garnish. The panna cotta itself was milky and creamy.

I want to visit again and relive the taste of the food!


Branch visited located at: 2nd floor, Entertainment Mall, Mall of Asia, Pasay City

*This is a backlog post. Actual food expedition was made over a few months ago.

Potts Point: Mother's Day 2015 - Australian Organic Lunch

--------- Happy Mother's Day!!!!!!! ---------

Potts Point has recently opened a branch in Mall of Asia. What's good about their food is that it is organic. What's better is that we got online discount coupons (again) that gave us 40% discount. Yay! Just in time for an advanced Mother's Day celebration. We had our lunch here the day before Mother's day.


Organic Roasted Chicken Fillet with Salsa Verde, Mango Cream, Garlic Yoghurt Sauce, and Quinoa-Red Rice Salad

I liked the way they presented this with the sauces forming patterns on the side.

This one is perfect for rice-people who want a healthier alternative. A little salty outside tender and simple inside.


Australian Grass-fed All Beef Burger with Australian Cheddar, Pickled Beets, Olive Oil Aioli and House-made Brioche Bun with Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

The patty was made of pure beef, a little crumbly in texture, but juicy and tender. The patty itself was a little salty compared to other burgers where the saltiness comes from the sauces and other burger toppings (like the Cowboy burger of Village Tavern where its saltiness comes from the bacon topping). Pickled beets, cheese, lettuce filled up this burger. You could also add an organic egg if you want for additional Php30. It comes with sweet potato fries generously sprinkled with Parmesan cheese on top.


Baked Prawn Thermidore Shepherd's Pie with Garden Salad

A thin layer of cheese covered the prawn pieces resting on top of mashed potato at the base of the "pie". This was a little spicy. It also came with a salad and 2 pieces of bread. It had two of my favorite food items - prawns and cheese.

You get cheese, prawns, potatoes, and spice with almost every mouthful.

Old Fashioned Grass-Fed Meatloaf - for sharing

Another pretty sauce pattern.

For more beef, we had meatloaf for sharing. We were hesitant at first to order meatloaf. But we were glad we did. The sauce was what I liked most about this dish. Sweet, just the right sweetness. The loaf itself was tender and the mashed potato was lightly seasoned.


Branch visited located at: 2nd flr, Veranda, Entertainment Mall, Mall of Asia, Pasay City

Backlog Post: Tokyo Cafe: Mother's Day 2014

Mothers' Day is fast approaching! Around this time last year, my mom and I had a mini food trip of our own at Tokyo Cafe in SM Mall of Asia. Aside from Japanese dishes, they also have American and Filipino inspired dishes in their menu.


California Maki

The mayonnaise inside the maki itself is what I remember best about this. The rice was good too. It was the first item served and being at my hungry state, I easily devoured some.


Tokyo Boneless Chicken

Pieces of herbed chicken fillet in gravy. The chicken itself was tender but the sauce was a tad bit salty for us.


Pork Tonkatsu and Ebi Furai Bento Set

We ordered the Tonkatsu and Furai as part of a bento set. Bento sets are good deals if you want to get more than one type of food. This one came with rice, soup and side dishes.


We got a free set of lifestyle magazines and a tote bag due to the special occasion.

*This is a backlog post. Actual food expedition was made a few months prior to publishing of this post.

Branch visited located at: Ground floor, Main Mall, SM Mall of Asia

Backlog Post: Boon Tong Kee

Boon Tong Kee serves Singaporean dishes and we had some of their popular dishes sometime last year at a discounted price courtesy of online discount vouchers.

Signature Boiled Chicken
Also alternatively known as Hainanese Chicken, it is the simplicity, natural flavor of the meat, and the mixture of the condiments that characterizes this dish. This is a good choice for the health conscious.

Crispy Cereal Prawns
This is not the usual breading you get in tempura nor furai. As the name suggests, it is made out of some cereal. Floss also covered the prawns. The breading is flavorful, a bit salty to match the big prawn meat. It was indeed crispy.

Crispy Roast Chicken
Another chicken dish, this time roasted. The skin was browned and the meat is also quite simple in taste.

Braised Yi Mian with Prawns
Noodles and prawns. Not exactly a soup nor pancit but more like saucy noodles topped with halved prawns.

*This is a backlog post. Actual food expedition was made more than a month ago.

Branch visited located at: 2nd flr, Entertainment mall, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City

Backlog Post: Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

Celebrating a reunion? Celebrate it with ramen!

Our liking to Japanese food took us to Hokkaido Ramen Santouka for a reunion lunch with a fellow gastronomer last October 2014. We ordered Set E that included with a small sized ramen bowl, fried salmon and prawn, and a number of side dishes.

Their signature dish is Shio Ramen, pork and seafood broth seasoned only with salt. We were pleasantly surprised with the tasty and creamy broth since at first we thought that the salt flavour might be too plain. The soup’s hotness was just right as it did not burn our tongues when we consumed it immediately after serving. Tender pork slices and mushrooms added texture to the ramen goodness. And just a note, that intriguing red topping is neither a tomato nor a chili. It is a pickled plum that packed a sour punch. Two of us shared the small sized serving of ramen. It was a bit bitin for two. Good thing we still had more food that came with the set.

We had an easy time dividing the furai since the set had 2 pieces of salmon tempura and 2 pieces of prawn. The thickly sliced piece of salmon tempura was crunchy and it did not have that malansa taste. Even better, when we took a bite of the prawn tempura, it was a full bite of the prawn. This one has the meat as its real star of dish and not the breading.

Another item in the set worth noting is the matcha mini cupcake. It did have that leafy-like matcha goodness. For people who would like a tamer version of dessert, this would be good. We do hope it would have bigger servings. Pickled vegetables, salad with sesame dressing, and tea also came with the set.

As an additional order, we tried the salmon fried rice. It indeed tasted like salmon, complete with the fish after taste. Good thing slices of ginger were served on the side to cleanse our palette. It was a good variation of fried rice and would be an okay choice if you want flavored rice but I’d rather order another bowl of ramen next time.

*This is a backlog post. Actual food expedition was made more than a month prior to publishing of this post.

Branch visited located at: 2nd flr, Mall of Asia – Entertainment Mall Veranda, Pasay City

Backlog post: Ginza Bairin

End of school year food trip celebration at Ginza Bairin, UP Town Center last March 2014.

Mixed Set A: Hire, Prawn, Rosu

Vegetable Kushi Katsu Set

Katsu cravings satisfied. With crispy katsu plus unlimited servings of side dish and rice, you are sure to get a full, satisfied stomach. We ordered a Mixed Katsu Set (Prawn, Hire, Rosu) and a Vegetable Katsu Set (veggies and quail eggs on skeweres with katsu breading)

Freebie! Black sesame Ice cream

Want dessert? They had an ongoing promo at that time. All you need is to upload a photo of your Ginza Bairin dining experience and post it on your social media account (we posted on instagram) and you get a free ice cream of your chosen flavor. We chose black sesame since it was the most unusual among the three choices.

*This is a backlog post. Food expedition was made more than a month prior to publishing of this post.

Branch visited located at: UP Town Center