FOOD POST: Flavours of China

 

It was a sizzling Saturday afternoon and our stomachs are asking for anything Chinese, and the only one existing in SM Sucat is Flavours of China. So Flavours of China it is. 

(And YES, FlavoUrs is spelled with a U)

While waiting for our food, the server gave us these complimentary crackers. It came with some bland vinegar, but who am I to protest. It’s FREE.

Shrimp Crackers for FREE

First up is this Steamed Sharksfin Dumpling. It is not actually made of sharks fin (duh), but is rather filled with generous amount of pork and shrimp. I find that the wrapper is too yellow-ish (don’t you think?) but texture wise, it is good. I like my wrapper thick and a little chewy. I suggest eating it right away or else it will go from chewy to bubblegum rubbery.

Steamed Sharksfin Dumplings (98pesos)

Yang Chow Fried Rice.  This can be eaten by itself with some chili sauce. It is fluffy and savory. My hubby LIKES this, a LOT!

Yang Chow Fried Rice (110pesos/good for 2-3)

Szechuan Chicken.  I am a bit hesitant to get this because my perception is that, it is a fried chicken smothered in chili sauce with loads of butter. But I am wrong. I was delighted with this dish. It has the perfect blend of crispy, spicy, juicy, salty and oh so yummy flavors. You can’t beat the price also.

Szechuan Chicken (220pesos)

For drinks, we just got refillable (powdered) iced tea that we had refilled for a couple of times (sinulit lang namin hehe).

OVERALL

Flavours of China is a straight to the point restaurant that serves good food for a good price. It favors the Filipino palate by creating a fusion between Chinese and Filipino cuisine. I won’t say that the food is authentic; rather the food will give you a glimpse of what Chinese cuisine is about.

NOTE: If you are looking for AUTHENTIC Chinese-Cantonese Food, you can try Gloria Maris.

Flavours of China

Ground Floor, SM Sucat Annex

Beauty Review: ELF MATTE LIP COLOR

This convenient jumbo sized lip pencil creates exact color application.

The pigment rich color glides on effortlessly and provides long lasting matte color.

The enriched Vitamin A, C & E formula moisturizes and hydrates lips for all day comfort.

PRODUCT DETAILS

Net Weight: 0.006 oz (1.8g)

Price: 249pesos

It has 2 ends, the lip pencil lipstick and the sharpener at the back.

Shade: Tea Rose 

Finish: Matte

actual color - on natural light (without camera flash)

sorry for the dryness of the lips! haha! product is applied as it is without lip balm

VERDICT

Pros

•  Affordable
•  Packaging is very travel friendly
•  No scent / flavor
•  Good color payoff and very buildable
•  It is very easy to apply
•  It is smaller than a jumbo lipstick pencil so application is more precise
•  Stays on for a good 4-6 hours without retouching

Cons

•  Limited shades available (6 shades only)
•  It is more of a satin finish rather than matte
•  It feels blotchy when applied as it is, so you need to moisturize your lips first

Overall, it is a good product. There is no WOW factor but I wouldn't say it’s horrible. It is good for everyday / office / school use. 

FOOD POST: Army Navy - Bad Food or Bad Food?

Army Navy is a fast-food joint that serves American-Mexican specialties. It’s a sister company of Yellow Cab, that’s why in some areas (like in Tagaytay), Army Navy and Yellow Cab shares the same location.

Like its sister company, Army Navy is also a self service joint – which means you need to fall in line, order, pay, wait then claim your food. Easy! This is not my first time here (3rd actually Ha-ha), so I think I know the drill.

To be honest, I am not really a big fan of their food. It’s just that my hubby wanted to eat their Chicken Sandwich – and so I found myself falling in line and ordering Pork Burrito, Chipotle Chicken Sandwich, Freedom Fries and Chocolate Milkshake.

THE FOOD

Carnitas - Pork Burrito (185pesos)

Warning: If you are a purist when it comes to Burrito, then NEVER try this. 

The taste is tolerable for me, it is actually not that bad but I had better burrito for almost the same price. The occasional pork tasted like pulled pork adobo and the wrap is soggy. Is this just a bad batch?

Chipotle Chicken Sandwich (185)

I should’ve ordered this. It is GOOD. It is the perfect combination of crispy chicken fillet, onion rings and chipotle sauce enclosed in a wonderful sesame seed Kaiser Bun. YUM! This gave some life to my slowly dying appetite (because of the burrito).

Chocolate Milkshake (99pesos)

I’m not looking forward to ordering this again.

Freedom Fries (75pesos)

I don’t have any picture because it arrived after 45 LONG minutes, and so we just decided to take it out. There is nothing special either. It tasted like KFC fries but thinner.

                                                                                                                                     

Our total bill is 544pesos. I wouldn’t mind paying more – if the service is fast and the food is great.

OVERALL

Two words: Mediocre and Overrated. I don’t know why some people are going gaga over it. I can’t seem to see the hype of this place. Their selection of burgers is really good, which I believe is the American part; the Mexican part - quesadillas, tacos, burritos – BLAH!

I've tried almost all their food selection from my previous visits and I fairly just didn’t like 80% of it. As much as I would like to give it another chance, the place already gave me too many misses - it will be hard to reclaim itself again – at least in my palate’s opinion.

In our case, Came in Hungry - Walked out really disappointed.

Army Navy

Net Quad Corporate Center, 4th ave cor 31st stFort Bonifacio, TaguigOpen 24 hours

FOOD POST: Vanilla Cupcake Bakery Experience

Vanilla Cupcake Bakery

CUTENESS OVERLOAD!!!

Last Thursday (Sept 11), my eyes feasted in this candy colored - pastel wonderland. It literally feels dining inside a doll house. Aside from wanting to try their desserts and savory dishes, the main reason I went here is because JinLovesToEat - one of my favorite food bloggers,  came in this same branch. (I know I'm OA but knowing that she stayed here, dined here, blogged here makes me so Kilig)

The Interiors - Cath Kidston inspired designs & Chandeliers made from different materials.

Chandeliers made from wood in pastel colors

OH Look! Hanging cups?

Dining won't be complete without trying their - Cupcakes!

There's just so many flavors to choose from. So confusing.

I ordered Luscious Salted Caramel. I just love anything salted caramel. And I need to try theirs. I NEED! :)

Price is reasonable for 90pesos/piece. The cupcake itself is very good; it can be served as it is. The cake is moist and has a rich chocolate flavor. The frosting is a tad sweet for me, but still tasted ok because they were able to pull off combining sweet and salty. 

For my main, I ordered Herbed Bacon Carbonara (225pesos).

The pasta - sauce ratio is perfect for me. I hate it when the pasta is like drowning with too much sauce, so I like this a lot! The bacon is still crisp and the parmesan is just enough to add saltiness to the dish. Pasta is al dente; I just wish they used linguine instead of spaghetti. 

For my drinks, I ordered Apple Iced Tea served in this lovely mason jar. (75pesos)

Even though it didn't taste like a home brewed tea in apple flavor, this one is still good.

My office mate who is also with me ordered a valrhona mint cupcake and triple chocolate milkshake (I'm not really sure if those were the names, I totally forgot). It looks promising, so I might try it next time.

My total bill is 429pesos. I had pasta, cupcake and drinks. Not bad. The experience alone in dining here is already worth it. I will definitely come back, over and over until I tasted every cupcake flavor they have. HaHa! 

Vanilla Cupcake Bakery

Two Parkade, 30th St. cor. 7th ave., 

Bonifacio Global City

(02) 985 8326

FOOD POST: Sundate Movie Night & an Angel's Pizza

Weekend + Lazy = Order Pizza!!! And that exactly what I did last Sunday night for our movie bonding at home. We don’t want to eat Yellow Cab AGAIN, and then we came across Angel’s Pizza while searching for pizzerias in the net. Ever since we tasted it, we kinda got hooked up.

They are currently giving 25% off for all online orders. How cool is that? 

Since my boyfriend got addicted to Pepperoni recently, we ordered the Angels Pepperoni Family Size, 12 inch of lovely crust, savory meat and gooey cheese goodness. DROOL!  

Angel's Original Hand Tossed Family Size Pepperoni Pizza

We got the original hand tossed pizza. The crust handle looks fat and unmanageable but its actually really tasty and soft. The pizza itself is very thin.

It has a chewy crust which I love. Not too oily nor dry. The tomato sauce is not overwhelmingly sour which is a PLUS for me. 

decent crust - toppings ratio

This one cost 459pesos but because of the 25% discount, it went down to 344pesos. What a steal!!

VERDICT

Thumbs Up! Though my favorite is still New York Supreme, Panizza in C'Italia and of course, Angeles City's institution pizza - Didis. This is not as bad. It actually taste like Papa John's because of the slightly chewy crust. 

I would rather buy this than get a Greenwich Pizza. Haha. Yes, I hate that pizza joint - dirty, tasteless, unreasonable price for what you're getting, so fasfood-ish quality which I hate the most. (Sorry for the slight ranting moment there)

Again, would totally recommend this specially for big groups. Cheap but so Sulit!

Angel's Pizza

Website: www.angelspizza.com.ph/

FOOD POST: Midnight Mercato on a Friday Night

I remember the first time I laid eyes in this gastronomic place, July 2011. My eyes dazzled with excitement as I see the variety of foods being offered. Since then, I keep coming back.

Midnight Mercato is a weekend market hub that offers an assorted selection of foods. From local foods like barbeque isaw, bagnet and sisig – to international cuisine like Japanese, Korean, Mexican, and American etc. 

I believe that the concept of Midnight Mercato was inspired by nearby Asian countries like Singapore, Thailand or Hongkong since these countries offers the best food stalls lined up on streets selling food till the wee hours of the night.

Last night, my boyfriend and I decided to go here since we already miss the place. These are the things we ate. Enjoy!

Assorted meats and seafood to be grilled. We ordered Chicken Bbq for 100pesos

Super famous chicken and pork intestines, 35pesos each.

Giant Takoyaki! Unlike the ones in the mall, this has more fillings of crab and squid. 1 serving is 70pesos for 4 pieces.

Pork Steak. Tender but lacks flavor. The gravy that came with it is very good though. 100pesos each.

Fresh fruit  juice. We ordered the large ripe mango for 70pesos.

And the star of the night. Merry Moo ice cream! Homemade ice cream using fresh ingredients! 

I got the Sea Salt Caramel for 85pesos/scoop. It was divine. It is very creamy, sweet and salty. Yummers!

We also bought home some cakes and brownies. 3 for 100pesos. I chose Carrot Cake, Caramel Cake and Revel Bars! 

Some things I notice. The food stalls are less than the last time I was here (January). The tacklings (bite size tacos) are now gone. There are also less barbeque stands. Mochiko (mochi with ice cream) is also nowhere to be found.  

Well, I will still come back in this majestic food heaven. Next time I will try the Nitrous Oxide Ice Cream. Ooooh!

Our total spending for 2 is 595pesos. It is very affordable and there are just so much things to choose from. If you want to have a full course meal with appetizers, main and dessert – bring at least 600-800 pesos for 2 persons.

Happy Eating!!! 

Midnight Mercato 
34th street and 8th avenue,
(across MC Home Depot) Bonifacio Global City