Hukad Boracay and WHY IT SUCKS

I walked past D’mall, saw Hukad and found the vibe of the restaurant attractive. Their menu board was out and had reasonably priced Filipino food. I was attracted mainly to the PHOTO of their baked scallops slathered in butter as well as the freshly roasted Cebu lechon belly right by the entrance. I was so wrong and wasted both time and money eating here.

It was 11pm when we were there for dinner and there was just one other occupied table next to our party of 3. The service was terrible. The staff didn’t greet us when we entered and I had to call their attention to hand me a menu.

When the food arrived, I felt totally ripped off. The baked scallops were so far from how they looked in the menu photo. What they served us were 8 pieces of pathetically tiny scallops – my thumbnail was bigger than the meat on those things. At Php 280 for a plate of 8, they came out to be Php 35 each. Yuck!!! It was absolute highway robbery!

Here’s a photo of it next to a regular sized spoon for comparison.

Both the garlic rice and Cebu lechon arrived not hot, not even warm but just room temp like it had been left out for the last 30 minutes.

Good thing we ordered the smallest order of Cebu lechon belly at 1/4th a kilo because this was basically a plate of fat with some bits of skin. This would’ve been fine if I wanted leftovers for some stray Boracay dogs but nope, I was expecting to eat this food. HELLO, what happened to the freshly roasting meat up front. This place is a joke. I know it’s a franchise from Cebu so whoever owns this should really manage quality control because it flat out sucks.

The laing was the only decent part of the entire spread since it arrived warm (again, not hot). It was mediocre at best lacking in flavor. The next morning though, my friend got food poisoning the next day from this – she was all puke and diarrhea. Probably from the coconut milk they used, maybe this was old.

I couldn’t take it anymore so I called one of the waitresses to complain. They heated up my lechon because they couldn’t replace it (I guess that’s the norm there. To serve a relatively cold plate of fat after baiting them with roasted meat out front). They replaced my garlic rice. I also asked if the scallops were really served that way to which she said yes. I guess they are aware they rip people off and this is how their business model works. Attract people with decent, modern branding and a nice, laid back, beach front ambience then rip them off by serving shit quality food.

If you find yourself in Boracay, avoid Hukad like the plague. I haven’t eaten in their other branches but since the restaurant scene is booming in the Philippines, there’s really no reason to waste your time in places like this. I should’ve searched for reviews online before even considering eating here. I hope those who read my review don’t make the same mistake I did. There are so many options to choose from in Boracay, don’t be fooled by the looks of this place.

Christmas Socks from Gold Toe

A mysterious package arrived in the mail last week – it was an unlabelled gift. I haven’t waited to open presents on Christmas morning for a long time now (because I am a typical Scrooge) so naturally, I was curious.

Even Peggy was curious! In the box, was a big personalized Christmas sock with 12 more socks inside. Thanks Gold Toe!

The socks they sent me were all from their Elements line which is 70% more eco-friendly than most socks in terms of production. I don’t know how they tally the stats but that sounds pretty cool to me. Usually when Gold Toe comes to mind, I think of sports socks – it’s nice to see that they have all these different designs now. I’m usually drawn to striped socks so these were my favorite in the bundle.

The package label boasts all the perks so there’s this thing called Tencel mixed in the fabric that keeps the socks high-tech. Gold Toe Elements socks are anti-bacterial, they manage moisture, prevent bacteria and are naturally cooling.

Really sweet of them to send something my way this Christmas! Thanks Celina and the rest of Gold Toe. 🙂

Cocio Live in Manila

If you’ve been my friend for a while, you’ll know I’m crazy about milk. This is not a paid advertisement. I just am. When I travel, I always hit 7-11 to sample the local dairy. This is how I know Bangkok serves Yakult in 1L bottles. This is how I know Japan’s dairy can be both light and so creamy. Spain’s Cacaolat and Hong Kong’s Kowloon Dairy made me realize that milk tastes better when served in a glass bottle (vs the typical carton). So yeah, enough of that.

Cocio is here and it’s nothing short of amazing. It’s an old favorite from Denmark, may well be the best chocolate milk in the world and by an unbelievable stroke of luck, it’s available in the Philippines.

What I like about Cocio is its simplicity. They use just 3 ingredients: sugar, milk and cacao. There aren’t any additives so everything sinks to the bottom and you have to shake it well. I don’t like mixing and shaking stuff so to me, the gratification is delayed yet well deserved.

There are two variants: Classic and Dark. I’m particularly fond of the Classic for its balance. It’s light, creamy and I can drink 3 in one go if I’m feeling really fat. It’s not overpoweringly sweet yet the cacao still stands out which is what I love about it.

At the launch, they said the Dark variant was exclusive to the Philippines. If you’re looking for a bold, full chocolate taste, this is the one for you.

Out of curiosity, I tried mixing the Classic and Dark and heating it up. Something light and subdued melted in with bam in your face chocolate and I was sold. I dub thee The Clark and I suggest you try it this way. Double best.

For all interested readers, Cocio should be everywhere by now. Some friends of mine have spotted it already in Family Mart and Landmark for starters and the rest should follow suit.

Thanks to Jiv and the kind folks over at GeiserMaclang for inviting me to the launch. Non-required reading but here’s what the folks at Vice Munchies had to say about Cocio too.

Have you tried Cocio yet? If you have, which do you like better? Or are you weird like me and prefer the made-up Clark?

Cable Car – Fort Strip, BGC

I knew Cable Car to be a drinking place for high school and college kids tucked along Pasay Road in the same building complex as Ukkokei Ramen Ron. Learned about it through friends cause of it’s epic beer pong battles. Being a non-drinker and full-on lola, I was never presented with the opportunity to give the place a visit until Aldous invited me to a blogger dinner there. Yep, a dinner! I didn’t even know they had food.

I think the kind of food they serve here caters to a particular market and it seems to be targeted to young guys who enjoy their food with beer. I swear, everything they served here was full on dude food. It’s the kind of food that guys who don’t cook would probably think of cooking for themselves.

We started with the Sisig Spaghetti (Php 199) which is as straightforward as it gets. Had my doubts about it when it got to the table but I was surprised to find that it’s a strange combo that works. The sisig was generous and crispy too.

The medium Heartbreaker Pizza (Php 650) was served next. It’s an all-meat pizza topped with ham and burger bits. I thought it was on the sweet side.

I thought the Sizzling Seafood Aligue Rice (Php 249) looked pretty interesting but it lacked a bit of flavor in terms of taste. I liked that the seafood toppings were generous but I think this is something you have to eat with meat. It’s a good fried rice base but it isn’t best appreciated alone.

The Buffalo Chicken Rice Melt (Php 199) is drunken comfort food defined. This was a rich dish consisting of buffalo chicken strips, a creamy, cheesy sauce on a generous bed of white rice. This would be awesome if you were drunk and hungry.

Last was the Truffled Tapa (Php 350) which proves to be an interesting dish. You can’t go wrong with Pinoy tapa, two runny eggs, garlic rice with a dash of that truffle essence. The serving for this was generous which is great.

Here’s what it looked like when I mashed it together. Mmm…

To cap the night off, they served us a cocktail each. The Punyeta (Php 110) is what we like to call a traydor or a traitor. It’s the kind of drink that goes down smooth, tastes sweet like juice but will get you smashed as ever once you keep drinking. I don’t drink much so I had a sip.

Here’s a shot of the beer pong tables they have outside. I also saw another game synonymous to battle ship but a giant drinking version. Seems to be the perfect place for college kids to unwind. If you find yourself here and drunk, don’t hesitate to try their dishes!

Cable Car
G/F The Fort Strip,
Bonifacio Global City,
Taguig

2/F 822 Paseo Tesoro Bldg.
Arnaiz Avenue,
San Lorenzo Village,
Makati City

Sushi Take-Out Dotonburi – Osaka, Japan

I’ll be posting a lot of backlog from my last Osaka trip so this is just a heads up. I get a lot of messages from family and friends asking me what my favorite Osaka food finds are so I thought it’d be convenient to just post them all here for everyone to see.

I have no idea what this restaurant is called but we found it when as we were walking around Dotonburi for brunch. It was a brightly lit take-out sushi and sashimi joint where all the fish is freshly packed and refrigerated, just like in the grocery aisles. What sets this place apart from a grocery is that there are stools and high tables on one side where diners who buy their fish can dine. The tables have soy sauce, tissue and chopsticks and the place sells drinks as well.

It’s a pay at the counter kind of place. I can’t say it’s a restaurant cause it’s a lot more like a deli with rows and rows of pre-packed sushi and sashimi.

There was even a booth where they were selling fresh and grilled oysters for ¥400 a piece.

We had grilled oysters topped with soy sauce, butter and lemon.

Then we looked through the different rows of fish and picked out the stuff we wanted to try. There was a wide array of sorts, from the affordable to premium.

I was happy to see fresh slabs of otoro in the mix. It’s the fattiest best part of any tuna and comes straight from the belly. It’s usually pricey but in this fine establishment, Otoro Sashimi was ¥1500 which at Php 550 is affordable.

Of course, I ordered it. After paying, you can have it sliced by any of the chefs on-hand. If they’re not prepping stuff for customers, you’ll find them slicing and packing more fish and putting them in more take-out containers.

Sake Nigiri and Rolls for ¥500 / Unagi Nigiri for ¥200 / Tamago for ¥100

Look at the stripes on the salmon slabs, absolutely gorgeous. Tasted great and fresh as ever.

The Otoro was served with hot, seafood miso soup with baby clams. It was the best sashmi I ever tasted. It melts in your mouth just like butter and it’s rich, creamy and just such a dream to eat. I savored every second I had it in my mouth. It’s best eaten with your eyes closed.

We also saw that they were filleting a huge tuna by the time we were done eating. It’s some sort of tourist attraction there. There are guys gutting and cutting this huge fish and showing the different parts of meat inside.

Maybe you’ll all laugh at me when I say this was one of the best sushi/sashimi meals I had in my life. Never cared much for ambience and I find that the most unassuming places end up surprising you. What makes this place so special to me is how fresh everything is and the quality of the products and the prices all just don’t add up! It’s too good to be this cheap but I’m glad. Thank you Japan for going above and beyond my expectations every single meal.

Syabuya Sukiyaki – Osaka, Japan

It’s strange but I’ve been visiting Osaka yearly for 3 years now and I find that sukiyaki shops are hard to come-by. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of restaurants and food everywhere – but the thing with Japan is that most (if not all) restaurants just serve the same kind of food. If you want sushi, you go to a sushi place, ramen shops will only have ramen, katsu shops will only have katsu, you get my drift. I always stay in the Shinsaibashi area which is just walking distance to Dotonburi and Namba – and I don’t know if it’s just me but sukiyaki restaurants are few and far between. There seem to be a lot of shabu-shabu Japanese hot pot places but nope, not a lot of sukiyaki joints.

The first time I discovered Syabuya Sukiyaki was on one of the last few days of my trip last year. I was hell bent on eating sukiyaki and lo and behold, a google search came up and lead me straight to the mall – Namba Parks.

Tried both the Japanese Beef Lunch Set (¥2,037) and got Imported Beef on the side just to try. The lunch set comes with everything in this photo but since it’s a set, this is pretty much your whole meal.

I never ordered the Imported Beef again – as you can tell by the photo it’s lean and barely has any marbling.

Their menu is pretty straightforward. You pick if you want Sukiyaki or Shabu-Shabu. Beef or Pork? Japanese beef or US beef? Do you want to eat a set or unlimited? When you pick the unlimited option, everyone in the table has to get the same thing.

I went back with my family and we all got the Unlimited Japanese Beef Sukiyaki Set (¥4,298). This comes with unlimited everything – beef, rice, raw egg and veggies. It’s a steal at Php 1570 if you ask me cause you’d be hard pressed to find unlimited sukiyaki this good at this price point anywhere in Manila.

Just a closer look at the Special Japanese Beef. Check the marbling on that thing! It’s embarrassing to admit but I think we finished twelve of these trays total. Sulit na sulit! Lol.

It’s a full plate but enoki is all that matters. They served us about 4 small extra plates of enoki.

If you’ve never tried sukiyaki, it’s basically a Japanese hotpot stew. You start by letting the soup (soy sauce, sugar, mirin) boil, slowly adding leeks and some onions for a bit more flavor then when it heats up, you dip thinly sliced beef in and swish until it cooks.

What really sets this dish apart is the quality of the meat. Because prep is so simple, the ingredients really do stand out. Just by looking at it, you can tell Syabuya’s Japanese beef is top-notch.

Swish til it’s brown!

When the meat cooks, you dip it in in a separate bowl with beat raw egg and eat it. You can have it alone or with Japanese rice or noodles or tofu or veggies. I particularly enjoy eating it with rice and sometimes enoki. Dipping it in raw egg is a must. It enhances the flavor, adding a creaminess to the bold taste of the meat and the sweetness of the sauce. It just balances everything out better.

This is all the natural oil that came from the fat in the beef. The soup had zero oil in it, just had to take a photo for reasons unknown.

The aftermath. Thankfully they remove the trays of beef every time they see them empty otherwise our table would have a little tower.

The bill!

The restaurant is located at the 6th Floor of Namba Parks – it’s in the area where all the other restaurants are so it shouldn’t be hard to find.

Syabuya Sukiyaki
しゃぶしゃぶ食べ放題 しゃぶ家 なんばパークス店
Phone: 06-4396-1729
Namba Parks 6th Floor, 2-10-70,
Nanbanaka, Naniwa-ku,
Osaka-shi, Osaka, 556-0011
Menu & More Info from Gurunavi
Click to see their Japanese calling card!

Sandaya Yakiniku – Pasay Road, Makati

I’ve been eating in Sandaya for almost a decade now. It’s the family’s go-to spot for a great Yakiniku dinner. We’re creatures of habit and when we like a restaurant, we go very frequently and end up ordering the same thing. Sandaya’s always been a staple for us and for the longest time I thought I already wrote about it but when I did a quick search today I discovered I haven’t yet. This was so weird to me it’s like a bunch of aliens hacked my blog and deleted it or something I could’ve sworn I’d written about it before.

Anyway. We just get about 5 orders of CAB Angus Beef Boneless Short Ribs (Php 350 each), a cup of rice each and a side order of kimchi and we’re done.

We were too excited about the kimchi so this was taken in the midst of the meal.

I think other than the fact they serve really good beef, their dipping sauce sets them apart. There’s this red paste type sauce (I think its gochujang) and then there’s this light soy sauce based sauce that you mix together. I ask the waitresses for minced garlic to mix in with my sauce for the ultimate one-two punch combo for bad breath. So I mix 2 parts red sauce with 1 part brown sauce and grab a chopstick’s grip worth of chilli and there’s my sauce.

When I eat in restaurants where I have to cook my own food, I like to pace myself and eat slowly. It’d suck to get full fast and get sick so you might as well soak up the family time and conversation.

Sandaya’s charcoal grills fire up quickly so cooking is fun and convenient. They give you tongs too so you don’t need to touch the raw meat with the same chopsticks you feed yourself with.

After you grill it to perfection, you fish it out of the grill, dip it in the sauce and take a big bite with some rice.

I like it with the fat burnt crisp around the edges. It’s also nice that they don’t slice their beef too thin so it’s still nice and juicy when you bite into it. Other restaurants slice their meat so thin that it shrinks so much when you end up cooking it.

I highly recommend this place. If you’re feeling carnivorous and want to be satisfied, make that reservation ASAP and you won’t regret it. I have yet to find a yakiniku restaurant in Metro Manila that can top Sandaya. What’s the best yakiniku restaurant you’ve ever tried?

The best thing about Sandaya? Your clothes don’t smell like food after eating there. I kid you not.

Ralph’s is right under it so you can do an alcoholic grocery run after.

Drive slow when you’re on Pasay Road aka Arnaiz Avenue and watch out for the red sign. Or Ralphs! Or The Love Garden! You’re there!

This must be the place! Climb the stairs to the 2nd floor and enter this dark door.
Sandaya Yakiniku
Right on top of Ralph’s and The Love Garden
2nd Flr. Colbella Bldg.
910 Pasay Road
Makati City
Phone: 8932039

Operating Hours:
Mon – Fri 17:00–23:00
Sat – Sun 11:00–23:00

La Cabrera – 6750 Makati

I heard a lot of mixed reviews about La Cabrera when it opened, a lot of which were on the negative side so I wasn’t so bent on trying it. For Father’s Day though my dad really wanted to eat there so I went along with the plans and finally got to try their Argentinian steaks.

For starters, we ordered the Beef Chicharon Salad because my dad insisted on getting salad and my brother was curious about trying beef chicharon. The dressing had a vinagrette base and I do not like vinegar at all so I didn’t enjoy the salad. To be fair, I sampled the beef chicharon finger food style and was disappointed as well. It just tasted like old oil and flour, nothing beefy about it at all. I think it was fried earlier in the day and left to sit on a wire rack. It wasn’t even hot when it was served to us.

Any steak order at La Cabrera comes with unlimited side dishes. Here’s the lot of them and how they’re presented. I loved the idea. I mean, who doesn’t love unlimited sides? The sad reality is, RICE isn’t one of the unlimited side dishes served in this restaurant. Maybe that’s not how it works in Argentina but Filipino me immediately looks for rice at the mention of sides and steak.

Off the menu, they offer Plain Rice, Garlic Rice and Steak Rice. The steak and Steak Rice combo seemed to be the obvious choice and we had no regrets.

We ordered two huge steaks but I just have one bad photo of them so hear me out. The steak on the left side is the Bife de Chorizo Striploin in 800 grams (Php 2,980) and the one on the right is the Ojo de Bife Ribeye in 800 grams (Php 4480). We ordered both in Medium which might not have been so wise given that they’re served on a hot plate.

Ribeye the cut I always order. I think being so thick, the grilling then hot plate method didn’t work wonders for the steaks. This certainly came out more tender than the Striploin but I’m being generous when I say tender. The Striploin had a particularly tough and chewy consistency. I had to slice them small and thinly to be able to eat to my liking. In terms of flavor, there’s really nothing unique about it. Overall, it’s not terrible but if we’re spending this much I’d rather have steak at Mamou.

Among all the sidings though, I did discover three that I really liked – I made up names but I think the photos and description will be enough to identify them if you do end up eating there. The best of the bunch was the Carrot and Honey puree, coming from someone who doesn’t really like carrots this was spectacular. I thought the mash was balanced and both the honey and carrots gave it this subtly sweet flavor I couldn’t get enough off. I had 3 to myself that night. I’m not hot on corn either but I kept munching on that one cause it tasted so much like Pork & Beans but better.

My carnivorous dining companions that night. I think it’s mildly embarrassing that I eat more than my dad. He knows this so he orders a lot when my brother and I are with him. I think the unlimited sides were a big part of why he wanted to eat here in the first place.

Here’s a photo of me, pre-food. I may look OK but inside I was starving.

I won’t be finding myself back at La Cabrera anytime soon unless my appearance to a social function that requires to be there is mandatory. Don’t think the food is worth the price quite frankly. If steaks the highlight of the restaurant and we ordered the biggest priciest ones, then I expect better – better quality meat that’s cooked to perfection. There were some hits with the sides but the main event was kind of a flop.

La Cabrera Manila
6750 Ayala Ave Business Tower,
Glorietta Complex, Ayala Ave,
Makati City
(63) 905 290 0703
Operating Hours: 11am-3pm and 530pm-1030pm

Ooma Japanese Rice Bar – Megamall

I wrapped a commercial project today and it felt great! Had the final edit today with both client and agency and it all went smooth sailing. Yep, there aren’t really any holidays in my line of work. I’m babbling here cause I’m excited for it and it’ll be out on Monday so watch out for it since I’ll be flooding my online space.

Not too related but when I got home from a relatively long day (for a holiday) of work, my mom asked if I wanted to join her for a trip to Megamall. All things considered, I thought the timing was great and there’d be no traffic getting there and I was right.

Ooma Japanese Rice Bar is the second collaboration of Chef Bruce Ricketts with The Moment Group. I sure as hell am glad this place exists because as much as I’d like to practical budget restrictions don’t permit a weekly Mecha Uma visit. Ooma though is the kind of place I’ll find myself in every single time I am in Megamall. So yay.

I couldn’t find a phone number online so they listed us as the 28th diners when we got there around 7:30PM. The place was packed, the seats outside were full and it seemed that everyone was willing to wait. Mom and I did some shopping in the area and went back to claim our seats around 50 minutes later. Good thing I had a merienda worthy of a children’s party at the office so I wasn’t the least bit hungry. We were finally seated at 9PM and I took charge of ordering pretty much everything I was curious about so here it goes.

I ordered the Corn and Oyster Kakiage (Php 155) cause of all the hype surrounding it. Not much of a corn person (I try not to eat it – ever since I caught The World According to Monsanto) but I absolutely love oysters so I thought this would be a fine balance. I thought wrong. Fried and served with kimchi mayo and nori salt, corn was the majority shareholder of the dish with the teensy oyster as an afterthought. The oyster was really small, somewhat dry and I could barely taste it. The kimchi mayo was really good though but what would save this dish would be some fat juicy oysters.

Next up was the Spicy Tuna Maki (Php 245). This is something I order whenever I get the chance to. There’s a particular standard I look for when it comes to spicy tuna and Ooma’s was good – tightly packed, generous toppings, a gentle burn from the gojuchang aioli but what I missed were the tempura crumbs. The roll needed a bit more crunch to help it out but otherwise it’s something I’d probably order again after sampling the rest of the rolls.

The Hamachi and Kani Aburi Maki (P345) was on the sweet side with torched hamachi and teriyaki sauce. It was okay too but it tasted familiar. I think I’ll sample the other rolls before going back to ordering this one.

The highlight of my night was the Uni Udon (Php 495). My mom and I shared one and we both agreed that we’d get our own orders next time we headed back. The dish consisted of thick and creamy udon noodles fresh uni, shrimp, onion, fresh mushrooms, nori crumbs, scallion and a generous helping of uni cream sauce. So good, it’s not bland the typical cream-based dishes, the nori, uni and combination of everything else helped bring a tasty seafood tang to the plate.

The Hangar Steak (Php 495) was actually generous for the price. Prepared via sous vide the hangar steak was sliced thinly, served on a bed of sweet potato mash with truffle oil, ponzu butter and baby potato crisps. This would’ve been perfect if the potato crisps weren’t old and makunat by the time it got to us. First bite had the most distinct truffle flavor which was quite nice, meat was mostly tender – sometimes chewy but bearably so. There was a lot going on with this dish (the truffle, the sweet potato, the tartness of the pickle dressing, the bold flavor of the steak) but I liked it.

Here’s a shot of my lovely mama who was my date tonight. We enjoyed feasting together. Lol yup, what you saw was completely devoured by just two people. Hooray for us!

Just another shot of the Prom Queen – mixed in with all the sauce and elements tied together. If you only had money to eat one thing here, I suggest you let it be this.

Just for posterity and general internet logging, here’s my face: pre-food. So yeah, hungry and excited and feeling everything a normal person would feel after waiting the same length as a Holywood blockbuster to get a table for 2 at this restaurant.

Overall, Ooma’s definitely worth the trip to Megamall – near, far, wherever you are. Food’s good and I’d like to think you get what you pay for. Most of the items are unique to Ooma and that’s what’ll make people keep going back and wanting more. I have yet to try the dessert. I wasn’t a fan of the long queue and the long wait but hey timing is everything. If you find yourself with time to spare, preferably a weekday in the middle of the afternoon then go eat there. I’ll be back there too when there aren’t any people to compete with for seats.

Ooma Japanese Rice Bar
3/F SM Mega Fashion Hall
Edsa cor. Julia Vargas Ave.,
Ortigas, Mandaluyong City,
Metro Manila
10AM to 10PM
Ooma Full Menu

Japan Convenience Store Finds – Vol.1

Japan is convenience store heaven. There’s literally a shop in every corner. The hotel I’m in is surrounded by Family Marts – there are two here indirectly across each other at just 20 paces apart. When I travel, I like digging through groceries and convenience shops just to look around and sample the wares.

The Haagen Dazs Caramel Classic Crispy Sandwich is something I look for every time I’m in Japan.

My mom says it reminds her of sansrival. The wafer is really light and airy, the sides are coated in what tastes like caramel flavored white chocolate and the ice cream in the center is Haagen Dazs caramel – which is my fave.

Saw this on the shelf and I thought – Laughing Cow x Royce – not at all a bad idea.

Packaging is spot on Laughing Cow.

But the taste? Oh, man it tastes really effin’ weird – like chocolate flavored cream cheese. Not my thing.

I’ve been having a hard time finding Bikkle around here – this actually was not from a convenience shop but from the vendo. It’s a yogurt drink that’s a lot like Yakult but isn’t very sweet which is why I like it so much. Been searching far and wide, inside every Family Mart, Lawson and 7-11 only to find no Bikkle – so to the overpriced vendo it is – look for Suntory. Strange times we live in.