Don-Day Restaurant: All-day Korean buffet

There is a hidden goldmine of good restaurants along the Malingap and Maginhawa Street, an arcane treasure trove esoterically hidden from the glimmer of the metro, and a spot just right at my backyard. My friends from the publication industry have been raving about it, raging the place, and ravenously eating like predators. Some of them even put up a restaurant in the area, and while I am forcibly invited in numerous occasions, I just don't have the time yet.

The place is new to me as I am not frequenting the area the way I am with the Timog and Morato stretch. But this day is different as I tried to scour to look for a sumptuous culinary goodness that I can devour, quite literally.

And I found Don-Day Korean Restaurant, an open air Korean buffet nestled at the heart of Malingap Street, just in front of Pino Restaurant. And while Korean entertainment culture has becoming mainstream as influenced by the Koreanovelas, Korean pop sensation and Korean films, the only Korean word that I know of is Jjamppong, so spare me if I am posting some entrees without a name.

Their buffet is classified into two variants: Samgyeopsal(Php299) which I think has the similarity of Yakiniku, and the Don-Day Buffet(Php199) which is the same as your average buffet where everything is served on a spread table and you just have to pick up the food of your preference.

Fresh meats in thin slices are served and the lady server will show you how to cook it, then put some Ssamjang(chili paste, soybean paste, and sesame oil) or Gireumjang(salt, pepper, and sesame oil), then roll it up with lettuce as how Koreans did it.

True to what my MobilityReel told me that Koreans have one of the healthiest diets around, vegetables are served fresh and crunchy. And you can tell if it's an authentic Korean restaurant if there are a lot of Korean dining in.

I don't know how they call it, but this is a tofu-based entree.

Another no name entree, I think this is similar as to how Zucchini Fritters are cooked.

The Korean dry noodles, Chap Chae.

And their version of Lechon Macau? Roasted pork dish.

This is not your typical meat balls as this is not fried, but steamed, which I think is healthier.

Tangsuyuk, a sweet and sour pork.

I really wish they put names on what they serve on the buffet table so I can identify them.

Beef Bolgogi, which obviously look like Japanese Beef Teriyaki.

Pineapple and Papaya to conclude your meal.

Add Php50 and you'll get bottomless iced tea.

You might think that they serve too chintzy for a buffet but trust me, they're enough to make you swell. I only was able to consume three rounds of the grillables, perhaps it's because rolling them up with lettuce which is a water-based vegetable is a factor for the full house.

Sicilian Express: No frill pizza

What I like about pizza is that it serves a vivid illustration to the properties of the fabric of space and time, something that I am, in numerous occasion, picking as an animated example by bending the pizza pan, descriptive to the folding of the visible universe, or curving it up to account the curvature of space as perturbed by gravity, or turning it monodirectionally to indicate an accretion process as to how celestial objects are formed, for example the stages from planetesimal to planetoid to planets.

Just recently, the opportunistic black hole that I am went to meet up my college room mate to use the voucher I got from eBay. It's two 14inch pizza and a 2liter Pepsi Max from Sicilian Express worth Php555. Note that each pizza costs Php515 if you're going to buy it without the voucher, making this deal a one in a gazillion.

Sicilian Pizza(14inches) is a cheese-based pizza loaded with meaty slices of Sicilian sausages, chunky beef sausage, crunchy green bell pepper strips, and onions.

Pizza Bianca(14inches) seemed to be my favorite of the two, a healthy combo of prawns, garlic cloves, mozzarella, parmesan cheese with home made pesto.

That explains it, you know that I am a rabid fan for pesto or vegetable-based pizza.

I wish it would have been better if they also have a thin crust variant. It's such a gastric heavy weight wrestle mania to consume them, a kind of dining annihilation reminiscent to a man vs pizza arena.

Sicilian Express has lots of branches but the one we conquered is the one located at Soho Central, Shaw Boulevard, almost in front of St. Francis of Assissi Church.

Tempura Japanese Grill: Casual Japanese dining

Rainy days and Saturdays always get me down… What was supposed to be a bedroom weather ended up to be an outdoor culinary adventure. And our(me and my college room mate's) plan was initially at H&E Glorietta to try out their steak-all-you-can but their seemingly cramped space happened to be a deal-breaker. You know how I hate crowded and un-roomy places that whenever I go to restaurants, ambiance is as formidable as the food.

So we went to the United Nations branch to try Tempura Japanese Grill's order-all-you-can, which is not new to me since I have eaten at both Red Kimono and Matsuri already. Tempura Japanese Grill is a casual dining restaurant that infuses traditional Japanese flare with post-modern fusion cuisine.

You can't order everything found on their a la carte menu, instead, they will hand you over an order slip that contains limited entrees that you can check and just give to the waiter after choosing your preference.

We started it off with Kani Salad, shredded crabstick with garden fresh vegetables in Japanese salad dressing.

Then we got mixed Sashimi - maguro, ika, ebi, tamago and kana.

Gyu Asupara Maki - asparagus in thinly sliced beef tenderloin grilled with special sauce.

Tofu Teppanyaki - deep fried Japanese bean curd with shitake mushroom and diced chicken in Teppanyaki sauce.

Sukiyaki - sliced beef tenderloin with mushroom, tofu, vetegables and vermicelli in Sukiyaki soup.

Gyuniku Teriyaki - thinly sliced beef tenderloin with teriyaki sauce

Gyuniku Teppanyaki - diced beef tenderloin with vetegables in teppanyaki sauce

Mixed maki - Japanese maki in different variants

Tonkatsu - deep fried breaded pork cutlet

Hotate Asparagus Teppenyaki - scallops with asparagus in teppanyaki sauce

Spareribs Sansho Yaki - grilled spareribs cooked in house specialty sauce served with vetegables and sprinkled with Japanese pepper

And who would want to go to a Tempura Japanese Grill without the Ebi Tempura - deep fried tiger prawns in crispy yumminess.

There are some Teppenyaki that we ordered that are not in the pic. As usual, the suckers that we are, we ordered 90% of what we can see in the order slip.

Eating in a buffet takes a week of practice and because of the absence of that, my stomach went into a gastric somersault that I ended up throwing up what I have eaten.

The price tag of Php499 is already an all-in price point. They don't charge you with service charge.

F Restaurant at Best Western Premier F1 Hotel

World renowned hotel operator Best Western International Hotel opened up the country's first luxury hotel, Best Western Premier F1 Hotel, located that is located at the Bonifacio Global City. I know there'd be more hotels to come in the area in the coming years as Shangrila and Hyatt Hotel groups are tenaciously laying groundworks for their spots in the area.

Last Sunday, I took my lunch at the Best Western Premier F1 Hotel, a franchise of the Best Western International(BWI) hotel group based in Arizona. The name of the restaurant is F(seemed like they didn't put up much effort in naming the place). And being a franchise, I'm guessing this is where the F stands for as a coded nomenclature, not the F1 Ferrari, and more assertively, not the F calisthenics that you have been thinking on low-grade motel-types.

Or perhaps it stands for Food, and there are the Fine ensemble:

Some main entrees include Tequila Prawn, Sweet and Sour Pork, Orange Lemon Chicken, Jamon Serrano, and Braised Ox Tripe with Chorizo Bilbao.

Mixed Seafood Au Gratin, Roasted Capsicums Cannelini Beans with Crisp Panchetta, Herbed Fried Potatoes, Buttered Broccoli, Salt and Pepper Squid, Beef with Mushroom and Red Wine, and Spicy Salmon with caramelized onion, and Tanguige Brochette.

Their salad section includes mixed greens, Japanese sushi, sashimi and maki, different salami types, salad dressings, and a mixture of fresh fruits.

Aside form the pasta section where you can ask the chef to whip up pasta for you, they have noodles section too, where noodles are prepared according to your liking, and to complement it, they have dimsums too.

When I was a kid, I am only aware of a cheddar cheese and ball of Edam(we fondly call balls of Adam, a classmate of mine told me that Adam grew balls that big after eating the primordial apple), which we consume even without bread. Now as I started to broaden my culinary experiences, I noticed that there were far more than that. There's Camembert, Gouda, Bleu Cheese, Emmental, Brie mong other. You can complement these variant of cheese types with a different variety of breads, Whole Wheat, Multigrain, Broiche Twist, French Baguette, and Sourdough.

Their dessert section includes a Mud Cake Caramel, Blueberry Cheesecake, Creme Caramel, Tres Leches, Black Forrest, Choco Indulgence and a Chocolate fountain. They have a crepe section too where you can ask the chef to prep one for you. Or conclude it with an ice cream, Bitter Sweet, Double Dutch, Vanilla, Pistachio.

And my favorite, Roast Suckling Pig, so tasty, it has the right amount of saltiness to propel my appetite.

And my nirvana favorite, my favorite amongst all favorites, a US Beef Angus Steak.

They surely pass my buffet definition for having a lamb(although a Lamb Chop is what I have been expecting, a Lamb Patty with Rosemary Au Jus is just fine) and an Angus steak.

So let's see what I have been eating, I had a Roast Suckling Pig, a salad of my version that contains hard boiled egg, balsamic vinaigrette, bacon strips, and orange fruit. I picked up raw oyster and shrimp at the salad section, and have the chef baked them for me.

And after devouring lots of Tequila Prawns, I concluded my meal with crepe, fruits, and ice cream.

You can stay at the pool area while cooling down your gastric accelerometer or...

Just stay at the outdoor canopy where you can take your tea while trying to establish a pace of another round.

The restaurant lobby is graced by monolithic circular designed seats in red and black napped finish, reminiscent to roller coaster tracks. To me it looks like "8" of some sort, perhaps either a hotel brand insignia or an indicator of their buffet price range, Php888. :)

Johnny Rockets: American 70's bistro

It's an American sprit of 69 in the orient coast. It's Johnny Rockets, a Melrose Avenue-based restaurant chain that offers more than just feel-good comfort food but a one of a kind dining experience where Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis music still lives.

Had this been year 1960's, we could have been dining along with the Sicilian mobsters and American wise guys in Thomson automatic submachine guns. Glad that it's not, so the crew can freely dance to their hearts delight.

And since I mentioned it, I actually thought that Filipinos dancing in public would have aggravated our image as Asia's agogo dancing republic, be it Olongapo's strip club to Cebu Pacific's dancing FAs, to the street's dancing traffic enforcers. I just don't think it's a talent we should flaunt without proper stage set up.

After running some errands at the Bonifacio Global City, I went to Johnny Rockets Tomas Morato to have dinner with a college room mate. He just moved to a new company(good for him) with high hopes and a promising career(good for him), so it's our way to enjoy and celebrate.

He ordered Rocket Double(Php495 + 12% SC), comprising of two fresh patties, cheddar cheese, fresh lettuce, ripe tomato, onion slice, and their brand of special sauce. His order comes along with unlimited fries, something that was easily depleted as we shared it.

Upon seeing the word "bacon", my eyes twinkled and I immediately ordered Bacon Cheddar Double(Php595 + 12% SC). It has a two fresh potatoes, tick bacon, cheddar cheese, fresh lettuce, ripe tomato, onion slice and a special sauce. I added Php30 + 12% SC for a side salad.

I actually thought that the Bacons are spread on the topmost patty only but I was wrong. It's a double patty, double layers of bacon too.

Along with the number of bites we have to make, a bottomless soda(Php110 + 12% SC) should be sufficient to complement our taste buds and rid away the icky factor.

They are a bit pricey though but for burger to burger comparison, I think I love the Mr. Jones better.

Bistro Casanova: Dining a charmed life

I am no charmer(as my kumpare Cliff calls it "Estrogen Agitator"), instead I am the antithesis of being one. I soar miles ahead as a man of science but I definitely suck six feet as a knight in shining armor, incapable of even asking a woman's name in a bar while the conversation already extends to the far reaches of the universe. Sorry Cliff, I really am a true blue "Testosterone Blue."

Wishing that I can have at least a bit of Howard Wolowitz's guts, I went to Forbes Town to have my lunch.

Tucked inside the Burgos Circle at the Bonifacio Global City lies an Italian restaurant named Bistro Casanova which serves authentic Italian cuisine, and just like who it is named after, Giacomo Casanova, world's known women's man, I too am hoping that this Italian Job that will change a bit of my scruple.

I started off my lunch with a soup, a Minestrone alla Genovese(vegetable soup with cannellini beans).

Another kick off entree is the Casanova Insalate(a combination of lettuce, cucumber, ham, pineapple, chicken breast and croutons in mustard dressing).

For the pasta, I got Aglio Olio Peperoncino(oil-base pasta with garlic, olive oil, and chill).

Then on to the launching of my full lunch throttle comes a 12" Quatro Stagioni(a pizza combo comprising of four different tastes: Boscaiola, Napoli, Fruittii de Mare, and Casanova).

And there for the main meal, Risoto di Mare that comes with seafood and tomato sauce.

To complement my Risoto, I got Petti di Pollo Spadellati Salvia(chicken breast with pesto cream sauce).

You know me as someone who can't live without dessert, so I ordered two: Panna Cota and...

Concluding my meal is a Mango Tango.

What did I get out of that Quixotic quest? None but a gastronomic satisfaction and a guilty pleasure. It was well worth it for only Php549.

Now I will have my iPhone snooze me for a gym session tomorrow. I must.