Bullish for Bullchef!

T'was another fun, fun Saturday last week. I was again in Pasig City for my second food trip there with one of my dearest chums, Chie. I also tagged along my youngest son this time (wrong decision. haha!) . We went to Bullchef as we had planned. For some reasons, our visit was delayed by a week, though, making me and my friend "sad" because we were already craving for bulalo. But then we were bullish we'd be able to push through with our plans the following weekend and we did, making our bulalo dreams come true. Haha!
Bullchef, by the way, means bulalo chef (so they say), and this soupy beef dish is of course the star in this small but now popular restaurant. Last year, just to recall, Bullchef was featured in the GMA NewsTV program "Poptalk" when they went on a Pasig food trip. Since watching that episode, I'd been wanting to eat there, bulalo being one of my top favorite Pinoy dishes. Thanks to my friend for finally presenting me the chance and being a very willing food trip companion. Oh well, I'm now sharing what we had: 

Bullilit (Bulalo Regular), P135.

Sizzling T-Bone Steak, P179. 

Sizzling Burger Steak, P135.

Free Bulalo Soup

Red Iced Tea, P25. and Ripe Mango Shake, P39.

Inside Bullchef

Pictures of their celebrity-customers fill the wall

Celebs' signatures 

Everything we had was delicious! My bulalo was heavenly - the soup was packed with flavor, beef chunks were tender and there was a lot of veggies - a piece of corn on the cob, Baguio beans and Baguio pechay. Loved it! Chie loved her T-Bone steak too. She gave me a piece to try and I liked it as well. It was very tender and the gravy was yummy. But my little boy, who initially said his burger steak was delicious, only had a few spoonfuls and then no more. What a waste. As I said, it was no good decision to bring along a little kid on a food trip. My son, particularly,  only likes Jollibee, McDonald's or KFC. He doesn't like anything that's new to him. Well, I tasted his burger steak and I liked it. I also loved that there was enough of the buttered veggie side dish. Oh well, there's no doubt I'd be coming back to Bullchef. There's a lot of other dishes to try: tapsilog, beef sinigang, sisig, etc. 
By the way, Bullchef is at #4 East Capitol Drive,  Kapitolyo, Pasig City.

Nice surprise at Nathaniel's

If there's one newly-discovered (for me!) foodie place that I can heap superlatives on, it's Nathaniel's Bakeshop. If you haven't been there, well, it's not just a bakeshop, it's a restaurant, too, that offers a somewhat wide range of dishes aside from being a food store that sells a variety of breads and pastries, puto, siopao and many other munchies.  I tell you this, and I assure you I'm not kidding, what we ate there were the best in their own league. Consider this: the best pancit palabok, the best pancit sotanghon and the best burger steak this side of earth. Haha!! 

I first heard about Nathaniel's from Ate Baby, one of my co-workers, last month. She wanted to buy Buko Pandan, which, she attested, was so good there. A few days later, we went to the Timog Ave. branch. There were four of us aboard our officemate's L-300 van. At Ate Baby's urging, we ordered palabok for take out. We also bought other food items including pichi-pichi and asado roll for me and a box of sans rival for Pam. Back in the office minutes later, I dug into my palabok. Mmm.. I was in love in an instant! I kid you not, this was the best palabok I've ever had in my life! Since then, I'd been looking for a chance to bring my family to Nathaniel's. That chance came on Black Saturday but alas! The restaurant was closed. Finally, last Saturday, we had the opportunity again. Two of my kids and I dropped by Timog Ave. on our way to get our organic veggies at the QC Circle. 
These were our orders: 

Pancit Palabok, P70. Definitely a must-try!

Sotanghon Guisado, P70. Very yummy too!

Sizzling Burger Steak, P135. The best burger steak I've ever tasted!

Lumpiang Sariwa, P55. 

Siomai, P55.

Buko Pandan Juice, P50. Another must-try!

Brewed coffee, P45.


Man, did we enjoy our meal! All, except for one, was very good! My daughter enjoyed her palabok to the hilt. As I write this, she's asking me to buy her palabok tomorrow. Hehe. My little boy, who eats burger steak each time we're in Jollibee, also loved it here. His ate  and I shared his leftover patty. At P135 per order consisting of two large and thick patties, a generous serving of rice and buttered veggies -  sulit talaga! Meanwhile, my sotanghon guisado left me really full and satisfied. The serving was big (I wasn't able to finish it) and it was really delicious, with lots of meat and vegetables. Even the slice of bread that came with it was good. And the siomai? Delicious too! And unlike other food places that give 3 to 4 pieces per order, Nathaniel's serves 5 pieces of siomai per order. And what did we have that wasn't so good? It's the Lumpiang Sariwa. We (my daughter and I) concluded that the sauce was the culprit - too mild in flavor, it failed to bring out the goodness of the lumpia itself. But hey, there's another thing to heap superlatives on - the Buko Pandan Juice - Nathaniel's signature drink. It's like having a drink and dessert in one. Very refreshing! Well, I liked my brewed coffee too, though it was already a bit cold when I sipped it at the end of my meal. Also, it was served in a plastic cup, which I didn't like 
(BPA, you know!)
Well, where's the surprise I was saying?
It's in the take-out bag!

See? There's a Bible verse written on it, and one of my favorites at that! Thank you Lord 

for my surprise blessing. :-)

Inside Nathaniels's Bakeshop along Timog Ave. in Quezon City.

Nathaniel's Bakeshop traces its origin to the City of San Fernando in Pampanga, in 1994. Its popularity quickly grew, fueled by its siomai, puto pao and buko pandan. Now it has four branches in Pampanga and two in Metro Manila - along Timog Ave. and in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. For more information, check out their website here: http://www.nathaniels.com.ph/index.php

Bigger, better burgers indeed!

Though I love sandwiches, I'm not really a burger person and I could go for months, even a year without a hamburger. So when we were about to eat at Big Better Burgers, I wasn't excited nor eager, I felt I just wanted to try something new. In fact, when I was actually at its branch at the Robinsons Magnolia mall, I didn't go for a burger but a fish fillet sandwich. My two kids, however, ordered burgers - my daughter a sandwich (with fries and drink) while my little boy chose to have burger steak with rice. The two allowed me to have a taste of their burgers and was I impressed! They do make very good burgers at Big Better Burgers! The patties were big and thick, juicy and flavorful! What's more, they're not fried but grilled, thus are healthier - a bonus! My fish fillet sandwich was not to be left behind, though. The fillet was crusty and crunchy on the outside but tender inside. Yummy! Even the fries here were delicious. Though they came in thick slices, they were no way soggy. They tasted great, too. I'm convinced they were the best fried potatoes I've had in my four decades (Well, a little over. Hehe.). I was definitely sold about the food at Big Better Burgers. And good eats deserve a repeat, don't they?

Bistro Rice, P115.

Fish Fillet Sandwich, P130.

It's as delicious as it looks.

BBB Value Meal with fries and iced tea, P140.

Skin on fries, P60.

Big Better Burgers has around 11 branches around Metro Manila. Go find one near you and have a good burger today. :-)