TGIFriday @ Mall of Asia

...experience was so-so, saved by the friendly server & manager...

M & G had lunch at TGIFriday in TMorato about two days ago, but Tokyo Cafe was full & I was tired of walking in MOA. Friday's was near & so in we went.

Asked to be reseated as our table was near the kitchen door & almost beside a door where hot humid air blew in every time it was opened. Servers were attentive & friendly.

Our orders:

1. Fried Mozzarella - with salsa dip as appetizer


Really sounds unhealthy (fried cheese) but the 4 piece order arrived quickly & was it worth the high cholesterol risk? No, it was no different than if you ordered the same from any other place, nothing unique.

2. For M - Chicken club sandwich


OK, no complaint heard. All fries eaten, 2 quarters of the sandwich into the t0-go-bag.

3. For G - Cheesy bacon cheeseburger


One of the old stand-by orders when you don't like anything else in the menu. Quite a mouthful, G was not able to finish the burger. No complaints here.

4. For Moi - Jack Championship BBQ Porkchop


Picture in menu looked mouth watering-ly good. Came as promised and the problem begins. There was a generous serving of rice pilaf & two halves of a "slim" corn on the cob, so far, so good. The pork chop was "very well done", but not in the good sense. "Very well done" as it was near to being toasted. The pork was very dry & was gritty as if the burned portions have turned to charcoal. Had to scrape the charred top to get to the pork. Ate a little bit & just took some rice & the corn.

The server, as part of their routine, asked & was told of the problem, she offered to replace it. The manager, BING, also came & made the same offer and added that she will give me a bowl of soup while waiting. Politely said no to the offer as I did not expect any real improvement. Will they now under cook it? How will they cook it? No thanks.

5. Friday's Sundae

As the menu says " hearty scoops of vanilla ice cream topped with hot fudge, caramel sauce, nuts, whipped cream & topped with cherry." arrived as described. (Where did saturdae go?)


6. Total Bill p1,721.00 (includes soda)

Bing, the manager, did not include in the bill the "pork chop." Nice gesture.

But alas, another thing. Saw a waiter refill the ice tea dispenser by pouring tea from a red pail which to say the least appeared more at home on the floor of the kitchen or bathroom & should not be used for what is was being used. Even had a black electrical tape running at its side. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Over-all the experience was so-so, saved by the friendly server & manager.

But I was still hungry & that means, I still have to eat.....

Where to go in MOA?

malunggay ice cream anyone?

Sunday is south day for my little brood. Before noon, we head down to Tahanan Village for a day of eating and watching dvds. Last Sunday, no one had any new dvds on hand so we decided on the next best thing, to eat the whole day instead!

We learned about Elfav (short for el favorito, one of the pioneers of pinoy ice cream) ice creamery from our cousin Ate Lea. She actually told us of a good steak place for 99 pesos and the ice cream was just a side story. I was more interested in the ice cream because of the flavor she mentioned -- beer!

After David dozed off for his afternoon siesta, we went to Pergola Mall in BF and went up to the 2nd floor where ElFav's was. It was such a cute store with the white boards and the summery decors. It was a real perfect stop to a hot day. The tables all had games each for people to play with. We had sunka, Dan had a chess set for a table and we also had a snakes and ladders board. it was fun for the kids and for the grown ups too. I've forgotten the rules for sunka though, basta ikot lang kami ng ikot dun sa sunkaan hehe.





The first flavor I tried was beer. It really tasted like beer. It was weird because it was beer and ice cream! It was good but wrong at the same time. I had to stop myself from ordering a pint :P



wasabi, bubblegum make up a long list of flavors at elfav

The place also serves merienda fare and steak. Kasi after lunch na, i ordered the kiddie not-so-sweet spaghetti. Dan ordered the t-bone steak with rice and buttered vegetables...oo for merienda. My husband is a growing boy. The spaghetti was bleh :P Its' saving grace was the two tiny pieces of bread that it came with which tasted like soft biscocho. The spaghetti was not only not so sweet but not so tasty. It didn't have cheese too which is a must for my spaghetti. The sauce also tasted like watered down spaghetti sauce. For 90 pesos, i could have had a more filling spaghetti at Jollibee.

Dan's T-bone steak was another story altogether. Although the meat was veeery thinly sliced (for 90 pesos nga lang naman kasi) it was very tasty and the gravy was delicious. It was a good enough lunch (or merienda) that would not punch a hole in your budget.



All the meals we ordered came with a shot of ice cream or a sampler as they called it there. I got the malunggay ice cream. When I had it, Dan and I looked at each other and said out loud, "dapat may ganito nung nag-b-breast feed ako/ka" weh weh weh....the verdict....it was, to quote a friend, "refreshing!" It tasted like green tea but with leaves. It was mild and sweet and did not leave any aftertaste. It was a really pleasant surprise, and no I didn't crave for tinola while I was eating it. I finished my sampler right away.

Dan of course had the Yakult sampler and had his load of lactobacilli shirota strain for the day. Our cousins ordered a banana split but with popcorn ice cream. The ice cream tasted like popcorn,buttered popcorn pa ha :D



malunggay and yakult


Tasting the different flavors of the ice cream gave a weird yet familiar sensation. If you're in for a foodie adventure, this place is a good start. At least you know that the only thing you'll get here is an ice cream headache :)

One scoop of ice cream is 40 pesos. The place has free wi-fi too. Prepare to spend at least 200 pesos for a merienda meal and soda. All meals come with ice cream samplers.


2nd Floor Pergola Mall
BF Homes Commercial Center
Paranaque City
6593279
website: Elfav

Kenny Rogers. For Deliciously Healthy Food.

My wedding's on October and, boy, it's so hard to lose weight, especially when you're faced with pizza and fried chicken for lunch meetings! Thank God that this week, EJ and I made an effort to leave work earlier than usual (which we actually got to do) and do yoga and work out. But of course, we also wanted to try to watch what we ate.

It's a good thing that we have Kenny Rogers and now Kenny's Roast and Grill (a variant of Kenny Rogers located in Power Plant, Rockwell). I should suggest that we order more of Kenny Rogers for office meetings. #1, it's cheap and gives you value for your money and #2, it's healthy. I'm quite surprised that nowadays, young executives, even younger than me are suffering serious heart problems, diabetes, and sometimes even the big C!

I normally order solo A (with the 1/4 roast chicken, 1 cup steamed rice, 1 regular side dish and 1 corn muffin for dessert) at Php 145.00 or if i eat in the evenings after working out, I order the half chicken at Php 195.00. I'm not a 'rice' person so the 'chicken only' is fine by me. The price is very reasonable and you'll feel full after! I love the way they grill the chicken. The chicken is still juicy yet some of the outer parts are even a little crispy. Even if it's roasted, the chicken does not lose it's taste.

I also love the side dishes. EJ loves the corn and carrots. I like the steamed vegetables. You can also try the cheese and garlic potato. Or for the more indulgent, mac & cheese. Side dishes are at Php 40.00 for the regular sized container and Php 60.00 for the large sized order.

Another must try is the Kenny Roger's Grilled Sausage. Personally, I never liked hotdogs, but when I tried this dish, I kept craving for it. The sausage was not too salty. The sauce had a tangy yet sweet taste. It was very addictive!

Delivery number: 533-8888
www.kennys.com.ph


A variant is the Kenny's Roast and Grill. This is more like a restaurant version of Kenny Roger's. There were other dishes included in the menu and the prices were a tad more expensive than the original fast food places.

I ordered the Grilled Tomato, Pesto and Mozzarella sandwich (although this is available as well in the fast food version). Of course instead of the fries that came along with it at Roaster's, it came with thinly cut and fried potato chips (which I prefer).

Ej ordered the Angus Beef Burger. The burger was pretty good, but the veggies (the lettuce) was too bitter. The burger was grilled well, not burnt, not undercooked. It wasn't dry and it was still juicy. The food choices were also as healthy as the food choices in Roaster's.

The waiters in both places were very attentive. I like the ambiance though of Roast and Grill. It gave me a weird feeling since it was classier than Roaster's, which I was used to - plus it was cleaner!

A lot of healthy food also cost too much, but at least with Kenny Roger's, you can 'not' worry about your weight and 'not' worry about your budget.

Do visit the basement of Power plant, Rockwell for Kenny's Roast and Grill. Try it out - it gave me a weird, yet pleasant feeling to be in a place so familiar yet so new :)

Wendy's (Shang-ri La)

I will never come back to Wendy's again.

I was a fan of Wendy's. It was a welcome change from McDo or Jollibee, because it was bigger and meatier. Operative word: WAS.

I recently ate there again after a long time. I was expecting a big glorious burger because of the mouthwatering picture on the menu.




Instead, I got this:


(note I placed my driver's license beside the burger so you can imagine how big it is)



The fries are equally pathetic:


I was really disappointed with what I got. I can get more meat from McDo or Jollibee for half the price! Not good for office lunches, not good for snacks, certainly no good for dates. Avoid Wendy's.