I wish Wendy's would try harder

Because I'm secretly rooting for it. My family used to frequent this fastfood restaurant every week, back when it had a salad bar. I can still remember how awesome the Bacon Mushroom Melt is, and of course the Frosty's!

I just wish WenPhil Corporation, the Philippine franchisee of Wendy's International, would make more effort to compete with other fastfood chains. I was shocked to discover that a "regular" fries looks like in Wendy's... see in the picture, the bottom of the box is shorter than the length of a male adult's thumb. The fries themselves are also very short.

Now click to see how Wendy's redeems itself...

Garden Fresh Salad

Well, as far as I know the salad ingredients are always crispy and consistent in size and amount. It's nice to know there's still a fastfood chain that has good salad.

Big Classic Single with Cheese

I like that the burgers are still wrapped in foil to keep their juiciness and freshness. It's also bigger than McDonald's burgers, with fresher vegetable ingredients. Look at the fat slices of tomatoes. It's a real classic alright, with pickles too. According to the one who ate it, this wins over Burger King's and consequently Micky D's. This is because Wendy's beef patties are not frozen (info taken from Wendy's website) so "there is no loss of flavor due to freezer burn."

That's great. But knock knock, WenPhil, wouldn't it be awesome if your Filipino customers also knew about this??!

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7-Elections

Why bother to vote when my candidate seems likely to lose anyway? That was my initial thinking. But now I'm determined to exercise my right to vote ESPECIALLY because Villar and Noynoy are ahead in the polls. Somehow, my vote for Gibo Teodoro will negate a vote for any of them. Just look at that Gibo Teodoro cup right there. Wouldn't you say he'd look good on money?!

The "7-Elections" marketing campaign of 7-11 is brilliant. Together with GMA 7 and MBC, these collectible cups with the presidentiables' faces is a way of keeping a pulse on the voting population.

So far, Noynoy Aquino has most cups sold in 7-11 stores nationwide, with Gibo Teodoro not far behind. Erap's Obama-looking cup looks so nice you'll want to buy it even if you're not a supporter, so that's probably why he's third. Let's be honest, his supporters don't seem to be the convenience store types. The rest of the ranking goes Manny Villar for fourth, then Eddie Villanueva and finally Dick Gordon.

The collectible cups are actually for Big Gulp fountain drinks, but after some pleading the store guy allowed us to some Slurpee goodness. Hehe. Now, not only do I have a cool souvenir, I also tasted the new Slurpee flavors, Mountain Dew Blast (in Erap cup) and Fuji Apple (Gibo). I liked the former better because it has some sour taste, whereas the Fuji Apple is all sweetness. Read more

California, Rolled and Twisted

Location: Il Terrazzo, Tomas Morato, Quezon City

Love Japanese food with a twist? Love California rolls?To me, the answer to both is no. California rolls are for the faint of heart, or those who can't stomach raw food on its own. And what about Japanese fusion food?? Maybe I haven't had enough of the authentic thing to be ready for the downgrade.

However on the day I stepped into Omakase last week, I made an exception to embrace both.

The colorful platter below is called the GDR platter (Php575). It has 8 pieces each of three kinds of sushi: Golden Blossom, Dynamite and Rising Sun.

I'll start with the Dynamite Roll, which I've read good stuff about. It's the one on the farthest side of the plate. It's an eel tempura maki with spicy salmon on mayonnaise and roe on top. I like it just because it's spicy. I also like the crunchy contribution of the eel tempura in the rice roll.

The Golden Blossom, on the left, is the regular California roll but with shrimp tempura inside. At first I thought it's good, but I realized it's only because of the crunchy shrimp tempura (I like a mixture of textures). Normally there's avocado, but either there was none or we couldn't taste it. We noticed that some parts of the roll were sneakily dipped in tempura, batter and crisped a bit.

Lastly, on the right is the row of Rising Sun maki. The roll is made of rice, nori, crabstick and cucumber inside, and topped with slivers of tuna and salmon sashimi, mango and spring onions. This was our least favorite. B noted that the sashimi was sliced with a poor knife, plus their paleness suggested they were not very fresh.


The GDR came with this dipping sauce made of Japanese mayo, soy sauce and sesame seeds. I think the effect would've been similar to oyster sauce, except more egg-y. I barely touched this, and B said it was sickening after a while.

This is the highlight of our meal, the Uni Tempura (Php200+). The soft and slimy uni is perfect with the crunchy nori deep-fried in tempura batter. I ate the okra also. :) This dish is quite pricey but worth trying

Omakase's fresh take on california rolls--incorporating a crunchy element in the mushy maki--obviously makes it a hit among the locals. I haven't read a bad review of Omakase online, and when we went at 130PM, the place was still packed with people of all ages. The creativity put into the maki makes you wonder about the other things on the menu, but honestly, the bad service (waiters ignoring us, forgetting to provide dipping sauces, failing to give water and refill our glasses) could make you think twice.
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Buffalo's Wings N' Things

Location: Ortigas Home Depot, Pasig City

Did you think my favorite restaurant companion and I have stopped squandering money on food wherever it can be found in Metro Manila? Think again. This is the story of two people coming from Greenhills going all the way to Home Depot for these unhealthy but oh-so-fingerlickin'-gimme -two more baskets please-buffalo wings, only to find out a week later that Buffalo's Wings n' Things already has a branch in Greenhills.

Well, we consoled ourselves on the fact that we may have saved on gas, but we wouldn't have had the rowdy, perpetually Saturday Night atmosphere of Home Depot.

I discovered the place three days ago, and as soon as B came home from Boracay, I requested that we come back since he hasn't tried it.

For starters, we ordered the Twin Dogs (Php135). I don't know what I was expecting for a price like that, but I was definitely disappointed at the dogs which are the size of Yao Ming's middle finger. Although they were packed and are probably the beef kind, they were overcooked, making them hard to chew. The buns were too thick for the dogs.

Enough of the Things and on to the Wings!

B and I have a different opinion on spice. I think it gives food a kick; the best kind burns your tongue and leaves you feeling like someone just injected a tub of silicone on your lips. He doesn't care for spicy food, just as he doesn't like vinegar, as they "ruin the food's natural flavor."

Good thing Buffalo's Wings n' Things offer different levels of spiciness on the wings' sauce, and if you're sharing a pound (8-12 pcs), you can ask for it split into two sauces. He got the New York's Finest, which is mildly spicy. I had the level 3 of spice, just a chicken next to the ultimate which is Nuclear, called Firehouse Classic. If you've absolutely got no balls and probably has the genes of Elton John, go for non-spicy sauces which I don't even know because I never looked at them.

You can have dips with your wings; B had the popular Blue Cheese, while I had a Salsa, both Php35. The salsa turned out to be a dumb idea, because while I loved the hotness it added to my wings, the thick sauce of the wings and the thin, tomatoey liquid in my salsa didn't go together.

The difference between the New York's Finest and the Firehouse Classic isn't just on the amount of kick. The New York's Finest sauce is sweeter, with some creaminess that hints of cheese. The Firehouse Classic sauce leans more to sour and salty.What I like about the wings here is the crispiness of the wings despite the sauce. Normally, we take away the skin when eating fried chicken, but here the skin is the main event, and that's why after that night I told myself I won't be seeing those bright orange skinned babies for a while.

Trivia: Look at the logos below.

Buffalo's Wings N' Things

Buffalo Wings-N-Things, Portland

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Dessert at the Pen

Location: Manila Peninsula Hotel, Makati City

I don't like the Pen, thanks to memories of my high school graduation ball which was held there. But being there a second time, I noticed that it is quite beautiful after all. I love the sunburst sculpture on the four-storey high ceiling by National Artist Napoleon Abueva. I can stare at it the whole day. In fact, I'd like to have one installed in my future house.

After a superb dinner at Umu, B and I headed to the Pen for desserts. As expected, the prices were exorbitant, but the ambiance and the food presentation justify why.

Creamy creme brulee for him

Lovely pineapple carpaccio for me

Our desserts are from the non-ice cream specialties of the Pen Lobby. The hotel now serves a whole range of Selecta ice cream fanfare, from indulgent chocolate to tropical fruit flavors. They are priced from Php400 to Php650.

My dessert is about Php350. At first I thought I could've easily created the dish in my kitchen (if I had known what it was in the first place). But then I wouldn't be savoring it bathed in flattering warm light with live piano music in the background.

I still prefer kicking back at Sofitel's poolside bar with a cold Erdinger, but it was a different, rather childlike way of capping off nice date. Next time, maybe instead of being selfish B and I can share one ice cream dessert.

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Late night grub at the Filling Station

Location: Burgos St., Makati City

I've always wanted to check out this diner in Makati's red light district called Filling Station. I've heard nice things about it from friends, but I never really had a chance because finding a willing companion is a challenge. One night after a late one in the Fort, I was hankering for some pancakes, having skipped dinner. We couldn't find a place that was still open, until I remembered this retro diner is open 24/7. So how was the fare? Click click!

Basically, place is designed like a barbershop, complete with black and white checkered floor tiles. There's a pool table, but you need to order something in order to play. There's also a jukebox, but it's not working.

We got a booth (of course). There were some expat customers (some with Filipina companions), and Filipino oldies shooting pool. When we got the menu, we noticed that the food is quite expensive. By then I was over my pancake craving, so we got a Clubhouse Sandwich to share plus a Vanilla Milkshake, which I've heard good stuff about.

While waiting we took the time to admire the decors. It's too bad we went at night time, because it would've been fun to take pictures there.

I can't even begin to count how creative we could get with the statues of Batman, Superman and Spiderman (hanging from the ceiling). Elvis is also present, crooning with a guitar. Of course, what would a retro American diner be without bicycles (hanging from the ceiling over the pool table) and a motorbike?

Looking at the place, the word that comes to mind is over-decorated, but in a good way, like being in a museum. The servers are dressed in typical diner uniform, complete with the hat.

These accessories were on our table: a cool disc napkin holder, an ancient pay phone and jukebox machine.

As for the food, the serving is enormous, as expected in an American diner. I can't think of a way to make clubhouse sandwich spectacular; it's perpetually boring. It was good that it was prepared on the spot though, meaning the scrambled egg was fried just then. I didn't taste the ham, but I think the other half of the stack is chicken and mayonnaise. It was served with slaw and fries, which to our surprise weren't the frozen variety.

The highlight is the milkshake. I have not had milkshake in a thousand years, so I couldn't stop from taking "one last sip"s. It's basically vanilla ice cream put on a blender with milk. Oh so yummy!!! Aside from the tall glass it came in on, the server gave us the extra milk shake from the blender in a metal glass. The entire serving is one and a half glasses of cold, vanilla-ey, creamy, sinful goodness. It was simply too heavy to finish.

I wouldn't say I'd come back to Filling Station. The quality of the grub isn't worth their prices (Php200 up). True to its nature, the place is a greasy spoon where you can find unsavory elements of the community, especially given the hour we went. It was a fairly good experience, but I felt once is more than enough to appreciate the novelty.

Trivia: The word "diner" is a derivative of "dining car" and diner designs reflected the styling that manufacturers borrowed from railroad dining cars. The origins of the diner can be traced to Walter Scott, a part-time pressman and type compositor in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1858, 17 year old Scott supplemented his income by selling sandwiches and coffee from a basket to newspaper night workers and patrons of men's club rooms. By 1872 business became so lucrative that Scott quit his printing work and began to sell food at night from a horse-drawn covered express wagon parked outside the Providence Journal newspaper office. The success of the early converted wagons inspired a few individuals to form companies and manufacture lunch wagons for sale. Night lunch wagons or "Nite Owls" began to appear in 1800s. At the same time that lunch wagons were becoming popular, obsolete horse drawn streetcars were being replaced by electrified models. Operating on meager budgets, most owners were more concerned with making a living than maintaining their car. Dining cars took on the reputation of the "greasy spoon" and developed a bad image because of the sort of people they attracted at night.

Source: http://www.americandinermuseum.org/site/history.php

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Brooklyn Pizza

Location: Tomas Morato, Quezon City

To me, pizza is food for a celebratory occasion. If you can't have it with a lot of people, better eat something else instead. That's why B and I seldom eat pizza, whether when eating out or ordering in.

There is a dangerous place a block from our office named Amici. It's where we always get out fill of pasta and pizza, until we discovered Brooklyn Pizza downstairs right next to our building.

At much much less cost, Brooklyn offers giant servings of pizza and pasta. One pasta dish is good for two people, and costs Php150-270. The pizzas come in regular or junior size. Look at the size of that regular pizza, for only Php600! It's enough for 4 people (or 6 ladies) to share!

The best thing about Brooklyn Pizza is you can customize your pizza. You can have it by slice (Php70), a quarter of a whole, half of a whole and of course one whole. You can also customize it by toppings like what we did: one whole divided into two different toppings. Further, they ask you how you want the pizza sliced (extra small or extra large or standard).

Now, to me, big serving does not always mean I got my money's worth. But I was surprised with the quality of ingredients that Brooklyn uses.

Look at the huge tomato on that Vegetarian Pizza! The green peppers are also crunchy, and so is the white onion. It wasn't very greasy, and the cheese had a mild creamy taste, not too salty like the commercial pizzas of Yellow Cab and Pizza Hut. I didn't try the Pepperoni, as I'm trying to avoid meat on account of Lent. Although I like my crust cardboard thin, I don't think a wispier crust will be able to hold all the ingredients which are hanging on to dear life already.

I was very happy with this place. Never mind that it's owned by Marvin Agustin. It's definitely a place to be with friends, especially if you're treating on your birthday because Php600 can already feed 4-5 people! I was lugi with this pizza though, because I shared with two boys but only ate 2 slices. :p

Another awesome thing is the good service. Our waiter never missed filling our glasses with water. Considering they take orders from the table and the service is good, the fact that there wasn't servie charge was a very pleasant surprise. We left a tip, of course, because we want to return and we wouldn't want spit in our cheese pizza next time!

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Som's Thai Food

Location: Mandaluyong City, Makati City

Thai food is one of the things that excite me to no end. I love Pad Thai, I love pandan flavored anything, and ever since I had them at S.R. Thai Katipunan (which unfortunately no longer exists), the longing for similar tasting Bagoong Rice and Seafood Rice has always been at the back of my mind. I know, I know.... I could very well blame this Thai and Indian food fixation with the inner Englishwoman in me. :PI was ecstatic when B first told me about Som's, a cheap Thai eatery near Rockwell. It was exactly as I pictured it too, like a hawker's place with open air seating and cheap looking menu. The owner of the place is a Filipina who had married a Thai national. It's quite a success as everynight, Makati office workers and students filled the place so that parking is always hellish. An added bonus is you can head right over to Rockwell after eating.

My first visit was a long time ago. Recently I had a chance to see the Mandaluyong branch which reportedly had air conditioned seating.

Pad Thai, no doubt, was the order of the day for me. But when I looked at the menu, I wanted to try everything and pad thai was the least exotic sounding of them. We went for Bagoong Rice or Khao Kluk Kapi to share (pictured above). You can see what a surprise it was because it's only for one person. In S.R. Thai, it's served on an elongated plate, with the rice mixed with everything, just like how Chinese fried rice is prepared.

Apprently, this is the usual way of making Bagoong Rice or Shrimp Paste Rice. The shrimp paste is mixed with rice and some fish sauce. Som's rice had a hint of fish sauce, but I thought it could've benefited from more shrimp paste. The salty rice would have been nice with the mango, but as it was, it's just fried rice. The pork reminds me of tapa; sweet with the texture of being cured. The scrambled egg could've come from anyone's kitchen. I wish they made an effort to make it a real omelette, with shallots and all. But most disappointing was the mango which turned out to be ripe. It looks green but it isn't. The grated green mango is supposed to contribute a tangy kick and contrast with the saltiness and fishiness of shrimp paste.

This is Thai iced tea. It's supposedly an orange beverage, but Som's has a weak yellow-brown thing that comes in a recycled bottle. Thai tea is made of, well, Thai tea leaves, evaporated milk, water and sugar. Som's tea is rich with evaporated milk, and very sweet that I had to pour water on my glass to dilute it. Remember to stir before drinking as there is a tendency for the flavor to be concentrated at the bottom.

The beverage is nothing very special. B said the instant Thai tea you can buy in sachets in Bangkok is so much better. He promised to bring home some for me on his trip at the end of this month. :)

The only highlight of the meal was the dessert, Mango and Sticky Rice (Khao Nieow Ma Muang). I like the taste of coconut milk with sticky rice, but I don't get the mango combo. The sticky rice can very well stand on its own. This seems to be the cousin of a local snack, palitaw. The dessert is very heavy because of the coconut milk.

B told me that the original creator of SR Thai is actually in Banawe with a placed called Muang Thai. I always pass it but the dodgy looking place never incited a desire to visit. I must give it a try while B is in Bangkok. It's the next best thing for a non-motoring media like me.

Update: Info above on SR Thai is not factual. See post comment. :)

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McD's Grand Angus Burger

It took me a long time to write about the McDonald's Grand Angus Burger, available in all countries where people live for red meat. That doesn't include the Philippines, of course. I got this on my last month in Australia. Yes, I waited until the last minute to try it because I was afraid I'd crave for it all the time.

Imagine my excitement while taking this baby home on a huge brown bag. I remember taking a bus because there was trackwork that weekend and I was coming home from work. The smell of french fries still sizzling in their oil was torture. I kept the bag tightly closed to prevent the burger's aroma from wafting out and filling the bus.

The Grand Angus Burger was a new item of McDonald's Australia while I was there. Everytime I passed any foodcourt, men and women held boxes like this in their hands, no matter what time of the day. "One day," I always promised myself. "One special day."

That day finally came on our first anniversary. B and I had a virtual burger date. Notice the grease stain on the side of the paper bag :)

The Grand Angus Burger is marketed as a premium item that's similar to a meal in a fine restaurant. You have the salad and main course, all rolled into one. The only thing you will need is a glass of wine. By the way, this burger has a chicken version.

I appreciate the packaging design of this burger. It's trying to tell you that you're having a decent, nutritious meal and not junkfood.

The burger looks like a mess because it's been lugged around for 40 minutes, not including the 2km walk from the train station to my house.

The buns are made of sourdough bread. The burger is made up of onions, lettuce, cheese and 100% Angus burger. As you can see, the vegetables seem wilted which is due to the heat trapped in the box (the same thing happened to the french fries).

Taken out of the box onto a plate, the burger looks almost decent. The beef patty is thick and almost spilling out of the burger.

It's as big as the palm of my hand lengthwise. And weighs heftily too. I assume it's because sourdough bread is denser than the usual bun. That definitely adds to the weight of the burger.

I was disappointed with this burger. The beef patty was dry, and the vegetables didn't add anything because they were soggy and wilted. Even the onions failed to contribute anything. The cheese was good though, as it was creamy and added some flavor to the bland beef. I didn't like the use of sourdough bread too. I thought the buns were too thick and simply made the meal heavier, but not tastier. I like Hungry Jack's and even the local McDonald's burger buns better.

I waited more than an hour to eat this because B was late meeting me online. By then, the patty had turned gray in color, and quite hard.

I've had better burgers from Wendy's, Carl's Jr. (bring it back to PI!) and Bite Club. But I'm sure a lot of Filipinos will want this burger to arrive here.

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