Katre Mediterranean Restaurant - Fine Taste, Fine Dining

A long overdue post on one of my favorite restaurants - Katre Mediterranean Restaurant in Tomas Morato! I've been here thrice and loved it every single time.

The place gives off a clean, crisp, fine dining vibe.

During lunch time however, it has that sort of alfresco feel to it with its beautiful table setting.

On to the good stuff! Our first order: Navarin of Lamb with Couscous (Php395). This dish was divine! At first we thought it was rice, but the waiter informed us couscous was a form of pasta (Yes, pasta!). The Lamb was perfectly tender and flavorful, but when mixed with couscous, this dish became simply amazing! I can tell you it's worth every cent.

Our second order: Roast Chicken served with Pasta with Mushroom in Pesto Cream Sauce. This dish exceeded our expectations as well. I'm a bit picky when it comes to pesto, and this one definitely pampered my taste buds. It was the perfect blend of cream, sauce and chicken!

Needless to say, I would definitely come back to have another taste of this amazing experience.

☆☆☆☆☆ (5/5)

Katre Mediterranean Restaurant
103 Dr. Lazcano St., Tomas Morato, Quezon City
(02) 3746650

Ramen Bar Eastwood

Our latest find in the world of Japanese noodles: Ramen Bar in Eastwood Mall! We were headed towards Cookbook Kitchen for a date but stopped in our tracks when we saw this restaurant. It simply looked delicious even from the outside!

The restaurant exuded both warmth and subtle elegance. The displayed ramen-themed artworks were adorable!

More importantly, the wood interior was responsible for giving the authentic Japanese feel to the place.

Looking at the menu, their noodle prices (big bowls) ranged from Php280-Php380, which I felt was a bit pricey. Meanwhile, their rice toppings (big plates) were priced quite reasonably (Php165-Php185) in my opinion.

We ended up getting R.B.S. #1 (Php380) aka Ramen Bar Special - a Soy infused Tonkotsu Ramen topped with tamago, naruto, nori, negi, chasyu and kakuni. Let me just say that this was hands down the most authentic Japanese ramen I have ever tasted! Soup was very flavorful, pork was so tender that it seemed to melt once it touches your mouth, and the rest of the toppings combined created such a burst of flavor that you can't get enough of it. The serving was big and good for two.

For those who are interested to know what the toppings are actually referring to, here you go! Now we know the secret to this amazing dish: the pork bone soup was boiled for 20 hours!

We tried out their Yakiniku Beef Rice Topping (Php165) as well. The dish easily reminded me of Yoshinoya's rice bowls, just a lot more expensive.

Their tea came in a mug (yes, resembling beer) and tasted really good.

It was such an authentic dining experience that I'm sure to come back to try out their other noodle dishes, or maybe even having R.B.S. #1 yet again!

☆☆☆☆ (4/5)

Ramen Bar
G/F Eastwood Mall Quezon City
Between Cookbook Kitchen and O'sonho

Topshot Photo Booth's Top Picks

By now, you probably already know that I am addicted to taking photos.

To add a little bit of spice and zest, I made a special album in my photo booth's page called 'Our Top Picks', featuring our favorite photo of the event. The more exciting part is if your photo makes it to that list, you are instantly entitled to a special discount if you decide to book us! Cool, huh?

Anyway, I figured I'd share a couple of photos I really loved.

(1) Event: Ms. Lia Cruz's 26th Birthday at TV5's morning show Sapul sa Singko.
Don't you just love how the hosts rocked it out in the photo? (Sidenote: Ms. Amy Perez is hilarious!) We're truly thankful to have been part of this event.

(2) Event: Alexandra Milan's Christening at Crowne Plaza.
Councilor Alfred Vargas's baby girl was adorable, but his family stood out more for me because of their effortless synchronized posing.

(3) Event: Marc Dylynn's 2nd Birthday at Banawe QC.
Fondue memories come back to me when I think of this particular event. And you probably noticed why I love this photo. We had our special guest Chuckie join in!

Check out Topshot Photo Booth for more of these top shots. Snap away!

Sleek Meets Thai at Thai Pan

Thai Pan has got to be one of the more low-profile restaurants I've been to. The place had that sleek modern vibe with its crisp white tables and neutral tones.

My friend and I arrived quite early and only a couple of tables were occupied. This was definitely a place for quiet dates and meetups.

We had Poo nim Clook Nga Thod [Deep fried crablets with tamarind and seafood sauce] (Php240) for our appetizer. The dish could have used more flavor because the crablets weren't as tasty as I've imagined. I strongly believe good food stands out on its own, with condiments merely enhancing its natural flavor.

I am resolved to search for the best Thai curry out there, so trying out curry every single time is a must! Thai Pan's Kaeng Khiaw Waan [Green chicken curry] (Php320) was good. I'm used to it being more spicy though. The presentation could have been better and made more appetizing as well.

Their Pad Thai (P310) was probably the best Pad Thai I've ever tasted and was beyond doubt the highlight of the night. I have nothing but praises for this dish! The presentation was superb - Noodles wrapped in an intricate egg-yolk net and laid out in such elegant fashion. This was ART!

Tada! As much as we'd like to preserve its magnificence, the waiter had to mix everything. Again, this was probably the best I've tasted. The serving was big and good for 4-5 people.

I also love that they have a selection of condiments to suit your palette.

Its stylish interior and yummy Pad Thai easily made Thai Pan one of the undiscovered gems in the Tomas Morato area.

☆☆☆☆ (4/5)

Thai Pan
120 Scout Dr. Lazcano St., Tomas Morato, Quezon City
(02) 352-4926

Sentosa Singaporean Chinese Restaurant Tomas Morato: Thumbs Up!

It's my birthday! :) After days of thinking where to treat my family, I finally decided on Sentosa in Tomas Morato. This was my second time here and I must say my first and second time didn't disappoint at all.

I love their interior! It's modern, well-lit and perfect for family dinners. Servers were quite friendly as well.

While waiting for our orders, we were given complimentary peanuts that we couldn't get enough of. It's refillable, so you don't have to worry about keeping yourself occupied. The best thing about it is it's free!

On to our orders! We had Roti Canai (Php110) in Curry Sauce. This appetizer somehow reminded me of the one in Banana Leaf but this one's more firm and crunchy. The sauce was perfect with the bread! For the price, it was very reasonable as this was already good for 4-5 people.

For dimsum, we ordered Pork Siomai and Shrimp Dumpling (Php85/4pcs), both of which tasted just okay and you can do without. I suggest trying out their more special dishes when you visit.

I was never a fan of Yang Chow, so I decided to get Fried Rice with Salted Fish and Chicken (Php200). I would say this was the perfect alternative to those who want to try something other than the usual. This was good for about 4-5 people.

We also had Pineapple Fried Rice (Php220) which unfortunately I wasn't able to take a photo of (It's the yellow one at the top part of the menu). Hands down, I would choose Salted Fish over this because the Pineapple Rice was just too sweet for my taste and did not mesh well with the other dishes we ordered.

My favorite dish of the night - Singaporean Hookien Noodles (Php240)! This dish was such a pleasant surprise because it may look like your ordinary noodles but it's not. The mix of prawns, pork and vegetables was delicious! It was so good that I want to learn how to make this myself!

I never really liked Sweet and Sour Pork (Php240) but ordered it because my younger brother loves it. I actually found it just okay.

One of the few vegetables I eat is asparagus, and to my delight, I saw one vegetable dish that had it: Sauteed Asparagus with Scallops in Thai Chili Paste. The asparagus was very crunchy and tasted really good with the scallops and the sauce!

My mom loves fish. The one I ordered was Catfish with Shrimp Paste (Php240). The fish was really good and the use of bagoong as the sauce was really unique. You could also opt to use the normal soy sauce if you find this too peculiar for your taste (but I recommend you try this out!).

Lastly, we ordered their Singaporean Cereal Prawns (Php395/5pcs). I've been in love with Cereal Prawns ever since I tried the ones from No Signboard Seafood Restaurant in Singapore. Sentosa's version is definitely one of the must-orders when you visit them. The dish had a generous serving of cereal that you find yourself cleaning up the plate even after the prawns are gone!

Hurrah for desserts! We tried out their Bandung Rose Milk Tea with Tapioca Pearl (Php90) and Chrysanthemum Iced Tea (Php85). For those who are fans of flower drinks, the Rose Milk Tea is definitely worth a try! The Chrysanthemum Iced Tea, on the other hand, was truly refreshing and relaxing.

And because it was my birthday.. I got FREE dessert! They gave me Gula Melaka (Php85), which was Malay for sago pudding with palm sugar and one of the most popular Malaysian desserts. It was sooooo sweet, too sweet that I ended up giving it to my little brother who was more than happy to finish it.

I'm definitely coming back. Thumbs up for Sentosa! :)

☆☆☆☆ (4/5)

Sentosa Singaporean Chinese Restaurant
Thompson Square, Tomas Morato St., Quezon City

HEAT in Edsa Shangri-la: Hot and Cold

I love going to buffets, especially if it's for free! Luckily, my best friend won 2 Heat GCs worth Php1,500 each and chose me to tag along with him! :)

We arrived exactly 12nn, but there weren't much people yet at that time. It was actually my first time to eat here and I found the setup fairly easy to navigate through.

Different cuisines were set beside each other so diners don't need to walk too far to get to another type of dish.

Now, on to the good parts! One of servers there kept on suggesting that we try out the Filipino dishes done by Chef Myrna. The dishes were just there for a limited amount of time, so I ended up trying them all!

We got lechon kawali, aligue rice, lumpiang shanghai and adobong manok. Unfortunately, I didn't feel anything special about the food. Nothing stood out.

Now to my Western meat plate! (Sorry, the arrangement's a bit weird) I had ribs, roast chicken, lamb creole, baked potato and baked macaroni. I honestly thought I would go back for a second serving, but I didn't. The meat dishes, all in all, tasted bland and mediocre.

The more organized plate belongs to my best friend. He got roast duck rolls, asohos tempura, shrimp tempura and eggplant kakiage. The roast duck rolls tasted quite bland at first but improved when we put the sauce. Again, nothing special with the rest.

Sadly, the seafood chowder had to be the worst we've tasted amongst all the dishes we tried. We were expecting it to be really creamy and tasty, but it lacked both. It tasted bland, lacked seafood, and sort of felt like water to taste. We ended up not finishing it.

Chinese - one of my favorite cuisines! As expected, buffets are probably not the best places to try out quality Chinese food. However, I have to say that this plate wasn't so bad. Dimsum, fish and Hainanese chicken were okay, save for the pork which was not tender at all.

Our Japanese plate had to be the highlight of this experience. The temaki sushi was yummy! It was my first time to try one and it was really good! If I haven't been so full at that time, I would have probably gone back to get more servings of this. I was also told that this wasn't normally displayed there that's why you really have to request for one. So to those who haven't tried one yet, don't forget to request!

No matter how full you are, there will always be room for dessert. It took us almost an hour to finish everything we got: cheesecake, chocolate cake, mango and blueberry crepe, a bit of fruits, teppanyaki ice cream and green tea ice cream.

My first Heat experience was a bit disappointing to be honest. If we didn't have a GC and needed to pay P1,500, I would have expected the food to be so much more in terms of selection and quality. I hope they'd improve it though so we'll be more excited to come back next time.

Still, thanks so much Lloyd! :)

Heat, Edsa Shangri-la
(02) 633-8888 loc 2740 or 2741