Food Court Fiesta: Okuya Express

My boys and I usually eat out for lunch after hearing mass on Sundays. We oftentimes dine at a food court because it's cheaper and we get to choose what we want to eat. Last Sunday we decided to head to Glorietta and chose to eat at Food Choices. After checking out the different stalls I decided on Okuya Express since I rarely cook Japanese dishes.

For a small stall they surely had a lot of dishes and maki/sushi to choose from. I got curious with the tamago california maki and ordered one plate -- I was surprised to see that it contained 8 rolls and not just 4 (only for PhP90!). It's standard california maki wrapped with tamago (egg). It was bigger than usual, so I had a hard time dipping it in kikoman.

My diet is pretty limited (no chicken), so I got my usual katsudon. It just cost about PhP80. The top was pretty tasty, but some parts were a bit matabang. The serving was huge, so I tried to donate two strips of pork to Sweetie, but he was already full haha.

Sweetie originally planned to get some food from the Spanish-Filipino cuisine stall, but he got envious with my order. He got yakinuku beef (I forgot to take a photo) and mixed sushi/maki.

Our total order cost less than PhP400. We got our drinks from another stall because I wanted buko juice and he wanted fruit shake.

Must try: maki/sushi, definite good buy

Cost: less than PhP200 for rice topping and maki

Okuya Express

Food Choices, Glorietta Mall

(map)

Cebu: Dessert Factory

I was hungry and wanted to eat at Sunburst last week when we visited Cebu. We were already outside of Sunburst when our Cebuano friend, Evan John, suggested we dine at Dessert Factory which was just a few meters away from where we were.

We were greeted by a fridge full of yummy looking cakes! We stood there, mesmerized, for awhile despite the fact that the server already gave us a table. Haha. We eventually managed to tear ourselves away in front of the fridge and settled on our table.

The menu was simply amazing! They had a lot of stuff to choose from, but what caught my eye was the "boneless crispy pata". Without a second thought I ordered it and just mandated my boys to help me finish it.

I like eating crispy pata (much more so when I'm eating it with Juned), but one thing I have a hard time doing is peeling off the meat from the bone. I like my crispy pata, crispy and chewy. I like hearing the skin crunch when I bite into it and love it when the meat absorbs the sauce. And Dessert Factory's boneless crispy pata aced my requirements. Definitely something I'd like to eat again when I visit Cebu.

Sweetie and Miguel ordered dessert. I was so busy with my boneless crispy pata I forgot to sample their order.

Jayvee ordered corn dogs and said that they were delicious too.

Dessert Factory is more than just a place that serves dessert. If I had the pleasure of visiting Cebu again I think I'd like to visit it several times so I can try out their other dishes.

Dessert Factory (map)
Ayala Center, Cebu City

Must have: boneless crispy pata

Price range: cakes at PhP50++, meals at PhP100++

Lakwatsera Rating: definitely coming back when I visit Cebu again

Caffe Ti-amo

It's been some time since I last hung-out at Caffe Ti-amo. I was quite hungry so I insisted Sweetie and I order some waffles. It was one of the dishes I got to sample during their opening last year (see more Caffe Ti-amo food here).

It took awhile before they served the food, but the wait was worth it. 

My dear friend, Juned, ordered his usual mint tea.

Caffe Ti-amo (Greenbelt 5)
map

Cebu: The Original AA BBQ

The Original AA BBQ in Cebu is one place that we frequent whenever in Cebu because: (1) they have every imaginable Pinoy food that can be BBQd; and (2) it's very affordable! I was in Cebu with my boys a few weeks ago and we thought we'd head there for dinner because we were all really hungry and wanted down-to-earth Pinoy food.

When you dine there the first thing you need to do is choose what you want to eat. Just get whatever you want and put it on a tray, turn it over at the end of the line and then look for a table. A waiter will then approach you for additional orders (rice, drinks, soup etc.).

We went crazy and got so much stuff to eat.

Pork barbecue. 

Spicy longganisa and hotdog. 

Yummy scallops (we got 2 trays!). 

Pampaalis sawa, mangga't bagoong. 

Standard inihaw na liempo. 

The special sawsawan. 

Food for three haha. 

We thought we ordered too much, but we ended up finishing everything.

We ended up walking back to Asiatown IT Park to do penance for eating to much haha. We had some dessert after at Brown Cup which is located at the far end of Asiatown IT Park (yes, it was a looooong walk!).

Anyway, after burning off everything we ate I was too tired to walk to our hotel, so we ended up taking a very short cab ride. I'm looking forward to another pig-out session at AA BBQ when I'm in Cebu with my boys.

The Original AA BBQ  (map)
Salinas Drive, Cebu City
*it's beside Crowne Garden Hotel

Calamansi Muffins in Boracay

My friend Jayvee lot no time in telling me that I should try calamansi muffins when he found out I was going to Boracay. He also reminded me to get some when I arrived in Boracay, so I asked around and found out that you can buy them at "Real Coffee" (it's located in a nook near Astoria/Zuzuni).

Rezza bought a dozen and we sampled it after eating a hefty lunch. The calamansi muffin reminded me of Becky's Kitchen lemon squares. I had a hard time finishing one because it was siksik (packed), more siksik than Goldilock's buttered puto hehehe. I loved it though and Rezza mentioned that we both grew up with parents who love lemon squares.

Well, case closed. So if ever you are in Boracay you just gotta sample calamansi muffin. It's available at "Real Coffee and Tea Cafe" which is located between Astoria and Zuzuni. Also say hello to Mamma Lee, the owner of the cafe.

The muffins cost PhP45 each and you get a discount for a box of 6, 9 or 12.

Real Coffee (and Tea) Cafe
Boracay, Aklan
Tel. No. +63-36-2885340
(located in a nook in between Astoria and Zuzuni)

Cebu: Mooon Cafe (The Walk)

Mooon Cafe at The Walk in Cebu I think is the first branch. According to my best friend the owners of Mooon Cafe used to be in the business of beverages. It was blogger friends though who first raved about Mooon and it made me curious so I tried it out the first chance I got.

The interiors of Mooon Cafe are the same anywhere you go (check out previous posts), I think I just missed taking photos from their CDO branch (I was probably really hungry when I went haha). Anyway, so it was at The Walk where my love for Mooon Cafe started and I managed to unearth some photos from my first visit back in 2009 and another one in 2010.

Mooon Cafe (map)

The Walk, Cebu