a bite of brownie

i had a long 12 hour layover from Cebu to US. it is not my first time to have this itinerary but the difference from my first time was it was summer season in Seoul. at that time, i did an impromptu city tour. i'll write a separate post for that interesting experience. this second time around, it's winter in Seoul and it's too cold to do sight-seeing outside. right after landing, i was greeted with beautiful photos of Korea along the walkway to transfer to connecting flight. the images showcase Korea and make me want to come back and visit Korea. after killing the time by sleeping, i got bored and started looking for something to do in the airport. i discovered its food court and had the traditional korean dish bibimbap.  it came with kimchi, quail's egg and squid, egg omelet and seaweed soup on the side. after the satisfying lunch, i walked some more and discovered the prayer room and airport's Korea Traditional Cultural Experience Center. i came across 2 of these centers in my long walk around the airport. this center offers a lot of free activities. i tried their phoenix magnet painting. you can choose painting a male or female phoenix and color it any colors you like. i painted both since i had a lot of time to kill. one can also paint a pencil holder or fan. while painting, live traditional korean performances are also showcased. i saw 3 different shows: 1) lady playing a guitar-like instrument while another lady sings, 2) lady playing a flute-like instrument, 3) walk of the royal family. Incheon has really set the bar for an international airport. it is not only clean and elegantly designed, it has these free Korean activities and shows that are educational and fun which make 12 hour layover feel like a breeze.


Verdict: 5/5

After the closure of our favorite all-you-can-eat restaurant at IT Park, my siblings and I decided to visit this quaint restaurant just beside AA's BBQ to see whether the place can live up to our expectations.

The place was packed, noisy, and teeming with Koreans and their dates. Smoke permeated the air as we were being seated at the final vacant booth of the restaurant the moment we arrived. Several waitresses were scurrying to and fro to attend to the needs of their customers, bringing food and drink to the respective tables. We had a few minutes to settle in and get ourselves comfortable after which we had a lovely attendant get us three orders of Chadolbaegi.

The neighboring booth housed several noisy patrons acting like they own the place with their voices at the top of their lungs. Surprisingly, those voices didn't belong to the Koreans in there, but from at least two Filipina women. Anyhow, no surprise there. I'm quite used to dealing with people like that so I shrug it off and avoid it from bothering me and my meal.


Verdict: 2/5

Dinner was okay, sub par for my tastes and the place is bit disorganized. They should install ventilation fans to dispel the smoke from the portable stoves they have or at least have fans all over.

Located on the second floor of Ayala Terraces and right in the middle of Mooon Cafe and Hukad, Tsim Sha Tsui is a comfy and well lit dimsum place that offer an assortment of several dishes from dimsum to noodles. For this particular visit, we had to try their all you can eat dimsum buffet on the bar station with a miniature conveyor belt.

The upbeat music in the background was definitely uplifting after it rained the whole morning. While I arrived a little bit later than my companions, service was good enough. The dishes up for grabs are limited to 5 or 6 different kinds and 2 versions of the same dessert. The machang served is no good, while the steamed rice is of so-so quality. I do loved their sweet and sour pork though and the siomai was able to redeem most of the lost quality.

I don't think the staff was doing the best that they could this time around. From what I remember from the past, they had more dishes served on the dock with at least three types of siomai, cabbage rolls, steamed dishes...

Maybe they were trying to cut costs?






Verdict:
2/5

Not so satisfied with the place. Add more choices, maybe? Instead of the repetitive fare being served.

Lured by the prospect of having an all-you-can-eat steak and sushi dinner, I had the front desk of the hotel reserve a table for my siblings and myself one afternoon of December. It took us hours of preparation for this mighty event; and we had to fast for at least a day to make room for the countless dishes that are to be offered to us.

My first impression of this buffet dining space is that the place is too crowded for its own good. The dull throbbing music was a pain to listen to, particularly when there's too many background noise from the function room. The ambiance of this place is so-so, as if I would definitely get stomach pains during my dinner.

After acquainting ourselves with our new surroundings, I stood up and made a bee line curve towards the buffet table for an inspection. The food was not that extravagant, contrary to what many people think. Many dishes were either frozen solid (sushi) or overcooked. The steak of this place was too heavy and dry too. The only redeeming factors of this restaurant would be the leche flan and other such rewards.



Hotel Elizabeth Cebu
Archbishop Reyes Avenue
Camputhaw, Cebu City
Philippines

Verdict:

2/5

Not worth the price. There are better restaurants out there. Stay away from this place unless absolutely necessary. Price is outrageous. Definitely not a repeater.

One lazy evening after a hectic day at school, my sister and I decided to chill out and unwind at IT park for the latest happenings and gigs in town. From there on, we took a quick stroll along the bazaar stalls situated in right at the middle of the open area and from there we breezed through our way towards this newly opened restaurant few steps away from Yellow Cab.

Hungry with anticipation to taste new food from this new strange place, we took our seat by the couch and immersed ourselves with easy rhythms played in the background. Our server promptly waited for us to get settled before handing us two tall plastic encased menus before scurrying off to the kitchen to get the next table's already waiting meals.

The place was clean and well kept, bright and pleasant to look at too. The music playing in the background, soft blues and revivals of old favorites from the 80's, just helped us settle in and enjoy the atmosphere. My sister decided to get a Wagyu burger while I got myself a medium well New York Striploin cut. Price-wise, it's extravagantly high for a burger and one piece of steak. In all honesty, I could get better tasting burgers at the right price somewhere else and a good kilogram of aussie striploin from the grocery for a little more. But beside the point, my order was cooked just right withn a hint of spice and its still delicious juices oozing from the meat fibers.



David's Kitchen
E-bloc 2, IT Park Lahug



Verdict: 3/5

The place is expensive, and the service was so-so. I'll give them credit for the aesthetic arrangement of the interiors and the innovative menus, but most of them are stuff even the common householder can do at a much cheaper price. It's not as satisfying as we thought it was (save for the steak. The steak was REAL good.)

The menu had a complete upgrade, increasing the number of items you could order in addition to their staple of chicken wings and drumsticks and kimchi coleslaw. Years from our first visit, they now had jap chae, fish taco, galbi jjim and a number of other chicken cuts available for sale. We had galbi jjim, combo meal with 6 wing parts and 3 drumsticks and drinks.

The taste was still the same from when I remember it, although this time, the soy garlic flavor wins thanks to its more complex taste as opposed to the mild spice the other flavor offered. The galbi's meat was a little too sweet for my taste too. The kimchi coleslaw was too watery and had a more dominant mayo over the kimchi feel.

Advertised as one of the earliest smokeless grills in town, Yugo is a fairly new restaurant that boast its assortment of dishes from three neighboring cuisines, namely Korean, Japanese and Chinese cuisines. The assortment is astounding, and the choice combinations are almost near infinite..The place is spacious and there seemed to be enough legroom for everybody!
The secret to their process of eliminating smoke from the grill is to have a ready made suction device that absorbs all unpleasant fumes. t'was a very fun evening with my siblings and my sister's workforce..

Yugo
IT Park Lahug


Verdict:: 3/5
With so many grill restaurants soon, you really do have to innovate to survive thje market and the competition. Good work on thinking all three cuisines in one.

One evening as we were off to the mall to eat dinner late at night, we decided to try Gerry's grill for a change. My experience there wasn't the best of experiences, simply because of the lackluster service the waiters offered. One in  particular a certain one called Degie, who had the gall to put us on hold when in fact that we asked for service at a much earlier time than the koreans who just came into the restaurant and sat right at the next table. And when he was taking our orders, it did feel like he had his attention divided by something, answering no to everything when upon being asked again, he answered yes.

We had a plate of Spicy Shellfish,. a sizzling plate of baby squid skewers, and a generous amount of binagoongang baboy (sauteed shrimp paste with pork bits). The spicy shellfish was... flat out gross (maybe it was the shellfish, maybe it was the sauce that was too spicy and watery to hide the seafood taste). As a saving grace of this restaurant, thankfully the baby squid skewers were superb while the binagoongang baboy was above average.






Gerry's Grill
Ayala terraces


Verdict: 1.5/5

The service for this visit is crap. This restaurant is definitely not one of those sit down and talk type of appointments, seeing that there's a lot of people drinking alcohol and getting drunk. Even the menu looks as if its meals are for pulutan/pica pica.

Having heard several good reviews about this Japanese restaurant, my sister and I decided to visit the place for a quick dinner amidst the spirited atmosphere of SM's activity area. And we did, after we did some light shopping for items that we needed at home. The ambiance is pleasant and semi private, shielded from most of the noise just outside the premises. In the background, they play quaint Japanese music that goes really well with our dining experience.

I've noticed that only a few people visit the place, mostly foreigners and Koreans, which are probably the intended target customers. The menu is fairly priced, affordable compared to other Japanese restaurants that charge exorbitant amounts for very little food. For starters, we ordered a mix okonomiyaki, a Japanese version of a pancake-omelet. For the main course, I had for myself a medium sized bowl with several scrap slices of sashimi on top of rice (bara chirashi sushi) and my sister got herself a sushi-sashimi-tempura set meal. We even had a steaming pot of green tea on the house to complement the heavy meal that we had. To my surprise, my order, the bara chirashi sushi had sea urchin in it! Yum!

Little Nonki
SM Cebu


Verdict: 4.5/5
I'm really pleased with my visit here. I'm definitely coming back if I have the chance.