food for thought

Last Saturday was a day of firsts for me – resto and foodwise that is. I enjoy trying out new places and stuff but I had never tried out two new restos and dishes in one day. This blog is also a first for me – a food and restaurant review (sort of). Let’s see your take on these restos.

Let’s start with lunch. After the check-up/visit to my niece’s pediatrician (who is cute, single, successful and “wrong”….again!), my sister brought us to Mom and Tina’s Bakery Café located along C5 in Pasig right across SM Hypermart/Tiendesitas. The café has country-style designed interiors and has a rather homey feeling to it. The crew was nice and friendly (and my niece’s yaya thought the waiters were gwaping). As soon as you enter, you would immediately get a craving for their mouth-watery cakes, cookies and pastries as these are stowed everywhere - below and behind the counter and in the row of coolers on the side. You get to choose to sit on the usual four-seater setting or you could laze around on their couch/settee and table format good for around 8 people.

The food had a home-cooked taste to it and was delish. They serve soup, pasta and potato and meat dishes as well as rice meals. I had Chicken Alexander (P170) which was a baked dish of layered mashed potatoes with chicken (of course!) topped with a thin layer of cheese and served with a couple of freshly baked bread rolls. The mashed potatoes were creamy and tasty. I sampled my sister’s chicken spinach lasagna (P160) and my cousin’s fettucini pesto (P160) and both were also delectable. I wanted to try out their cakes for dessert but what I had was so filling I didn’t have enough room for more.

For dinner, my friend and I scanned the restos at Techno Hub (also my first time there)along Commonwealth Avenue and we both decided to try out Kanin Club. I’ve been hearing about it and I wanted to know what the brouhaha was all about. The first time I saw it was in Paseo de Sta. Rosa in Laguna (or is that in Tagaytay?) and the place was filled to capacity. And just like in Paseo, by dinnertime there was a long line of patrons waiting to be seated. So if you decide to try it out, I suggest you come in early like we did.

The design was old-Filipino inspired… and by old I mean the traditional home style with wooden tables and chairs and capiz window styled walls. The crew was also friendly and attentive. Although they offered an assortment of Filipino dishes, I didn’t read too closely their specialties since I already knew what I wanted for dinner – Crispy Dinuguan (P261). I’ve heard or read about it and, although I’m not a big fan of dinuguan, I thought I’d give it a try….and it certainly lived up to the fuss. It was yummy! Their servings were good enough for two (or three depending on appetite) and like the resto, our tummies were filled to capacity and we weren’t even able to finish half the food.

I had fun and a tummy-filling weekend (and I haven’t even told you about my Sunday at Rockwell) and I most probably gained at least 10 pounds (OA!)…ok, maybe just a couple. But I’d have to pay dearly for that sumptuous weekend with a lot of running and dancing and yoga. I had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend – maybe it was the new restos and food I tried but I say it wouldn’t have been half as fun if it weren’t for the good and fun company I had.

Go and try out these restos and if you enjoyed them like I did, bring home some doggy bag for me….hehehe.