What's for dinner? Let's ask Lolo Dad. :)

My husband and I went out for dinner to celebrate his nth birthday last week. We haven't tried Lolo Dad's Cafe yet, located along the stretch of Quirino Avenue, Malate, Manila, and we've been curious to try it out for the longest time. His birthday seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so, and we did just that.

A cozy little restaurant along Quirino Avenue.

Since we were first-timers, we had to ask for recommendations. We can't not sample the house specialties, can we?

We decided on some soup in lieu of appetizers. Per our waiter's recommendation, we had their double espresso of mushroom and tomato soup. As you can see from the photo below, it's called double espresso because of how it is served - in dainty coffee cups. :) 

Tokyo Cafe

This was our second time to visit the restaurant in Mall of Asia, and as per usual, we love what we had.

Their two-piece Hamburg Steak (really just your ol' familiar hamburger steak) with gravy is of course a delight. Archie had this before but with demi glace sauce, which is also good. The patties are not as thick as I'd like, but juicy and tender nonetheless. Trademarks of a worthy hamburger.



We also had their Pescatore, which is essentially seafood pasta with tomatoes and olive oil. It had a generous amount of clams and shrimps in it, and the tomato sauce wasn't too sour (some people like the Italian-style sour sauces... I like mine tempered).



Down it all with peach iced tea, and we're good to go! Price is reasonable and the wait staff are courteous, too, so we'll definitely be going back to this place.

Next time, we'll try the crepes. ;-)

The best thing since Tia Maria's itself.

SALSA overload!!!

Gone are the days when you have to pay extra for a second small serving of Tia Maria's to-die-for, nothing-can-compare salsa.

I think I'm craving now for their Nachos Grande, a burrito or some soft tacos, with LOADS of salsa.... Yum!

Conti's Mango Bravo

The first time Archie and I visited Conti's several weeks ago, we didn't know what to try. I only know that their chicken pies and ensaymadas are to-die-for, but other than that, we were clueless.

Relying on their "Must Try" dishes on the menu, we ordered a couple of dishes: the seafood au gratin and the Italian pasta. I didn't have my camera with me at the time so I wasn't able to take any pictures. So I guess, sans the photos, I'll have to defer my comments on the stuff that we tried, including the very delectable bananalicious pie.



On our second visit, I still didn't have my camera with me, but this time we tried the Mango Bravo, and wow, what can we say? It was heavenly! The only thing I didn't quite like about it was the butter-based icing ~ I prefer sugar icing. But nonetheless, it was very wonderful, the best way to end a sumptuous meal.

*Photo courtesy of Food Trippings

Are you looking for:

a restaurant with wonderful ambience, with a magnificent view of the Taal Volcano and Lake, and the tastiest, juiciest steaks ever?

The answer is here: FIRE LAKE GRILL in CLIFFHOUSE, Tagaytay City.



Archie took me here for my birthday dinner. :) The moment we saw the place, we fell in love with it! Quiet, romantic, classy, and definitely a far cry from the tumpok that is Starbucks, Hen Lin, Pancake House and Cafe Lupe nearby. As for Fire Lake Grill itself, grabe. I was never a fan of steak, but when I had a taste of their house specialty, I knew I'd gladly eat a whole slab anyday. Ang sarap! Our very gracious host, Gilbert, recommended our dinner: Archie had the porterhouse steak, which had a red-wine demiglaze sauce, and "made it a meal" together with potato wedges for siding, and pumpkin soup. At first, Archie wanted the steak well-done, but Gilbert offered that the beef would be juicier and tastier if it were made medium-rare. I, on the other hand, wanted to try their pasta: Gilbert recommended the new pasta their chef made, which was linguini in cream sauce with white truffle (OMG!) and mushrooms...

Wow. Wow wow wow. Wow.

The only downside for those who would like to dine on a budget, however, is that the food is a bit expensive. I won't mention how much our dinner cost that night but all I can say is, it was worth every cent. :) Also, parking's a bit expensive if you're going to just park and enjoy the not-so-crowded area: it's P100 per hour, and a fraction of an hour is considered an hour, anyway. But if you dine in any establishment, parking's for free. :)

Need I say more? Super-duper, very highly recommended!