Pepper Lunch

Drew and I missed our first chance to eat at Pepper Lunch in Singapore because we arrived back from the Singapore Night Safari quite late. Most of the restaurants on Orchard road were closed by then and so we thought we lost our chance to dine at Pepper Lunch.

But, lo and behold! Our flight back home got cancelled the next day and we were forced to stay another night in Singapore! Even before we disembarked from the plane we knew where we were going to head to after checking in at the hotel.

Pepper Lunch!

I had the hamburger steak and loved it more when I put honey brown sauce on it. Yumyumyum!

Pepper Lunch

391 Orchard Road
#B2-33 Ngee Ann City
Singapore 238872
Tel: 6835-7757
Fax: 6835-7737
Hours: 11am - 10pm

Other branches in Singapore can be found here.

Marikina: Pan de Amerikana

Unique. I knew I had to bring Miguel to Pan de Amerikana when Sweetie mentioned that they have a life-size chess board in the restaurant. Miguel loves to play chess and I knew then that I wouldn't have a hard time convincing him to come with me. 

Miguel, Jay, me, Migs, Andrew, and Mica

Food. The food at Pan de Amerikana is cheap! They have a wide array of Filipino food you can choose from like the all-day breakfast menu, sisig, barbecue, bangus belly and for merienda there's spaghetti (PhP20 only!), palabok and sandwiches served using their famous pandesal. Their fruit shakes also come very cheap and they have halo-halo too. 

Tambayan. It's also a great place to hang-out in because they have free wifi and they have a lot of stuff to see. I was sorry I did not bring my camera in the restroom because there were unique stuff in it too. Aside from the life-size chess board they also have a good number of chess sets you can borrow (I don't play, but my boys do). We also had a lot of fun cam-whoring around the place. 

Pan de Amerikana

Main Office:

92 Ordonez St. 

Concepcion dos Marikina 

+(632) 475-2398

Branches:

White Plains, Quezon City +(632) 421-1966

Wilson St., Greenhills +(632) 384-6741

Davao Butterfly House

I've loved butterflies eversince I was a kid and I always marveled at how they become very beautiful creatures when they come out from their ugly cocoons. At the Davao Butterfly House we saw (and touched) the alien looking caterpillars that would eventually transform into butterflies. Here are some of them:

I was surprised to see so many butterflies upon entering the Butterfly House. They were flying around, crawling on the floor, drinking water on festive plates and mating!

I even had a very up-close and personal experience with one of the pretty brown butterflies (someone said on Plurk that it's a good luck omen!). Here's a video of that experience:

Aside from the butterflies, the Davao Butterfly House also boasts of lush vegetation and a pond. You can also take a glimpse at the 

Davao Butterfly House Inc.

Riverfront Drive, Corporate City

Diversion Highway, Ma-a, Davao City

Entrance Fee: PhP50 per person

Davao FAT2: Cafe Andessa

Awed.

I was awed with how much yummy food Cafe Andessa served us. I also believe the owners are kindred spirits from the Bicol region because of the many Bicol-inspired dishes that was served. I know I'm going to start blabbing, so let me share with you photos of the gastronomic delights that we sampled.

The Sinugba is a dish that's going to make you eat more (pampagana!). I loved how the vinegar mix  cooked the raw tuna. 

Kamote is not just musical fruit, was served coated and with a sweet dip.

I'm not sure what this fish is called, but it was very tasty and definitely not oily.

Calamari, just couldn't get enough of it.

The binugtong (not sure if that's the right spelling) is something I am very familiar with because I always make sure I eat one whenever I visit Bicol. It's suman to the next level.

I'm not really sure what this dish was, but it was very tasty too. 

I'm pretty sure no one else managed to taste this sweet pork dish except me and Juned. When it was placed in front of us we looked at each other and agreed that we were going to keep it all to ourselves. LOL. 

Bicol express pasta! I put myself to shame with this dish because I was only able to eat a couple of fork-fulls, it was really spicy! Spicy but definitely delicious.

Pork liempo, another dish that Juned and I kept to ourselves. LOL.

Laing, ahhh another Bicol staple food. Authentic!

Turon with ice cream. You'll definitely eat it even if you're already full. 

Tokwa't baboy is one of my favorite food.

Sizzling squid.

I can't imagine how much food I ate that day. I'm not also sure which dish I'd call the superstar because everything was delicious. Hmm... hmm... no I really can't, but if there's one dish you should definitely try because it's unique, it's the Bicol Express Pasta. I don't think you'd find the same dish anywhere else. 

Cafe Andessa

Number 2, Cabantian Road, 

Carpio Subdivision, Buhangin, 

Davao City

+(6382) 302-9314

Davao FAT2: Mamu's Resto Bar

Mamu's was a pleasant surprise. I was quite pleased with the long-table set-up they had for us bloggers when we visited and we all got the chance to chat with the owners since they sat with us. We were also treated to a tour of their hotel rooms and I think I'm going to stay there the next time I visit Davao. 

Here's some of the unique delicacies that were served to us:

Smoked Tuna Sashimi

Seaweed

And the superstar of the night for me was the durian float.

Mamu’s Resto Bar 
Anisabel Suites, along Bacaca Road, 

Rolling Hills, Davao City

+(6382) 225-8114

Davao FAT2: Pepper & Peppers

I have to be honest, I was decidedly dazed when we went to dine at Pepper & Peppers. I must have left my brains at the Xcelerator Camp since I had just gotten engaged a few minutes before heading down for Pepper & Peppers. I barely remember getting in Drew's  SUV, picking up Juned, Maki and Manolo at Casa Leticia and finally getting myself in Pepper & Peppers. I do remember though that the owner is a very pretty lady! (So sorry I was on cloud 9 during lunch).

Pepper & Peppers superstar is the iberian chicken. I could only sniff the heavenly smell and keep myself from drooling all over the baked chicken, while I enviously watched my fiance, Jayvee, Fritz and Drew sample the chicken.  (I have unfortunately developed an allergy for chicken). If you plan to eat the iberian chicken better pre-order it 2 hours before going to the resto.

I absolutely loved the tender spare-ribs and I think that's what I ate the most while we were there (thanks to Drew who just kept putting `em on my plate!). 

The fish fillet was also great (not so sure if that's what this is called) and it's very tasty. 

I also found the krispy sisig very unusual. 

Pepper & Peppers

The Site

Jacinto ext. (near Bangko Sentral)

+(82) 303-5955

Must haves: iberian chicken and spare ribs

Can do without: sisig (it's okay, but I found it a bit dry)

Price range: PhP250 is safe

The Lakwatsera's Rating: must have the spare ribs again!

Davao FAT2: Kangaroo (Coffee Shop)

There are coffee shops and there are coffee shops, but when Drew excitedly told me about his new find (Kangaroo) in Davao, I knew that this was a must-go-to coffee place. 

The first time I went to Kangaroo was back in October 2008 when it was pretty new. When we arrived I was very pleased with the shop's set up since it was bright (and not glare-y) and spacious. The shop also did not just have boring tables and chairs, but had a mixture of cozy sofas and nooks where you can have some privacy. And most importantly, they have free wifi! I definitely looked forward to visiting again for Davao FAT2.

Kangaroo is quite known for the rare civet coffee (PhP300 per cup). My friends say that it's good and worth the price. I wasn't able to sample it on both occassions since coffee keeps me up and we went in the evening. I like the fact that Kangaroo serves its hot drinks on very big mugs.

  

Aside from various beverages, Kangaroo serves different cakes and pastries. Just looking at the selection below makes me want to log-off from my PC now and head for Davao. They served us yummy chocolate mint cookies (I have no idea if there's another place that serves that kind of cookies).  

An outstanding addition to Kangaroo were the artworks from various local artists (also for sale). I think it's a clever idea since it would boost awareness for local art. 

I wish coffee shops here in Manila would emulate Kangaroo. It's definitely a good place to hang-out with your friends.

Kangaroo Coffee Club
Corner of Tionko and Mapa streets
Davao City
Tel. 082-222-2800 or 222-2766