Revisiting Antonio’s Tagaytay
Went back to Antonio’s for the second time and the place looked more beautiful in broad daylight. The food was better than I remembered and the service was above average.
My order: Seafood Sampler @ PHP 1,600
From left to right:
Prawn Thermidor – I think this dish was the best among the three because it gave me the right amount of flavour without becoming too salty, and creaminess without overpowering the natural flavor of the prawn. This dish actually made me regret that I ordered the Seafood Sampler instead of the Mixed Seafood Thermidor
Crispy Cod Fish Glazed with Kombu Sauce on Peppered Egg Noodles – The glazed fish came off a bit too sweet for me and it kinda reminded me of turon (banna fritters). On the other hand, I loved the noodles so much, I think it tasted better than chinese misua being served in popular chinese restaurants.
Pan Seared Scallops on Celleriac Mashed, Truffle Cream Sauce – This tasted delicious but it didn’t offer something new and unique the way the thermidor has; it tasted like a normal scallop ;p
Herb Roasted Rack of Lamb with Cardamon Beurre Blac @ PHP 1,650
Schwein Haxen (Roast Pork Knuckle), Sauerkraut, Chateau Potato, Cabbage @ PHP 1,000
(not sure with this one yet, I’ll have to check)
Organic Free-Range Roast Chicken Leg with Bourbon Tomato and Boiled Potato @ PHP 1,200
My friends were raving for this… its aroma reminded me of my all-time favorite Fazolis’ chicken.
Mixed Seafood Thermidor (scallops, prawn, mussles, and cod fish) @1,450
*drools* I wish I ordered this instead =(
My order: Sorbet (guava, green mango, lamolime, green apple, watermelon, calamansi) - This tasted like an ice shaved off from an ice candy. After tasting this one, I immediately swapped with Nats because I couldn’t bear eating one more spoon of it.
I swapped Sorbet with Profiteroles with Vanilla Ice Cream, Chocolate Sauce or Caramel Sauce
This one tasted a liitle better because of the bread and ice cream but I did not like the very generic taste of its chocolate. This is so far the best among the dessert offerings of Antonio’s.
Overall, Antonio’s is so worth another visit. Their main course dishes are awesome but don’t expect much on their dessert because you’ll be dissapointed.
*Antonio’s main course meals come with salad, soup, dessert, and coffee for free
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Antonio’s Restaurant
Bgy. Neogan, Tagaytay City, Cavite
+63918 8992866
Food Tasting in Oceana
A yummy surprise greeted me in the office this afternoon =) I was requested by my boss to go to Oceana (our Christmas party venue) and attend food-tasting offered Oceana for the the Christmas party committee of our organization.
As of now, I’m only sharing the pictures of the food we’ve ordered and will give the verdict after our Christmas party because I know there are still room for improvements; after all, the reason for the food-tasting is to get our feedback on how they can improve the taste of the dishes.
Special thanks goes to Carlo for his Nikon D40 camera; and Barbie + Rhenz for the beautiful photos.
Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Cinnamon, Cream, and Bacon
Curried Potato Salad
Pepper Crusted Seared Tuna Nocoise
Pan Roasted Mahi-Mahi Fillets with Pesto Cream Sauce
Penne Pasta with Pancetta Cream, Wild Mushrooms, and Fresh Peas
Beef Pot Roast with Mushroom Bordelaise
Crepe Suzette
Fresh Mango Tarlets and Creme Brulee
Fresh Mango Tarlets
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Oceana is located at San Miguel by the Bay, SM Mall of Asia Complex. You can contact them at +632 7032515 or visit their site at www.cca-manila.com.
Mr. Kurosawa (Eastwood Mall)
Last sunday, even though a bit hesitant, hb and I decided to try Mr. Kurosawa restaurant in Eastwood Mall. Hesitant because our Sumo Sam (sister restaurant of Mr. Kurosawa) experience in Shangri-la Mall wasn’t very pleasant (bad service, small food serving, i could go on you know but I’d rather not because this post is for Mr. Kurosawa).
Anyway, we ordered the following:
- Crunchy Tuna Roll (PHP 189)
- Tasted like normal quality maki; nothing special here
- This dish contains 2 types of toppings – raw tuna and crunchy tuna
- Crazy Roll
- Tasted so much like the Crunch Tuna Roll; i think the only difference is the crunchy topping of the other
- Pepper Chicken Fillet (PHP 348)
- I was a little worried about this dish because there’s a similar dish at Sumo Sam and I disked it so much
- BUT! the one being served at Mr. Kurosawa tasted great!
- This dish is served with a yummy cup of fried rice
- I personally recommend this dish; just a bit pricey though
- Salmon Wasabi Cream Sauce (PHP 338)
- Although I didn’t really feel wasabi’s presence here, this dish didn’t disappoint
- This dish is filled with pepper tidbits and even though the salmon usually overpowers the taste of any ingredient you season it with, the peppery taste in this dish blended well
- Big serving; I thought that the price is well justified by its flavor and serving
…some more of my thoughts
- Great service - constant water refills, great-tasting complimentary tea, courtesty to customers
- Our maki orders was served in an instant
- The only downside here is that it took around 40 mins before they finally served our main course
Overall, ours was a great experience at Mr. Kurosawa and I’m giving them the following ratings:
- Ambiance – 6 because the place is kinda off for me; it felt like a red district bar/resto
- Value for Money – 7 because they serve relatively big portions and their dishes tasted good
- Flavor - 7 because although their food is great tasting, i was a bit disappointed at how similar their 2 maki roll dishes taste
Pamana Restaurant
During our overnight stay at The Boutique, we passed by this very intriguing place so we decided to check it out for dinner. This place is located a few steps away from The Boutique and it is also owned by Happy Ongpauco.
The facade of the place
The interiors of the place
Anyway, as you can see, the place is really well designed. It gives you a distinctly Filipino design flavor and it allows you to enjoy the feel of an ancestral home.
When we arrived at around 7, the place is already almost full and there were lots of reservations so I guess we were kind of lucky to be able to sit on a good spot.
While waiting for the food, we decided to have a mini pictorial =D
And at last, food was served! BQ was already in a bad mood back then; ayaw na nga magpapicture ;p Gutom na daw cya. 
Our orders:
Barrio Pinakbet (230 PHP) – very tasty and the saltiness is just right
Sinigang na Bangus Belly sa Kamias (310 PHP) – this dish tastes okay, nothing extraordinary
Angus Ribeye Bistek Tagalog (340 PHP) – this is the only dish I didn’t like; there was no hint of bistek tagalog taste; it tasted more like a salpicao dish
So would I recommend this place? Definitely =) I’m giving a 7 to the food because of its traditional delish taste and an 8 for the ambiance, value for money, and overall experience.