Without rival indeed

I was to go to the Sto. Domingo Church area last Saturday, specifically to Hi-Precision for dental x-ray, so I researched about foodie places to try there. Among the restaurants I read about, one that is said to offer the best sans rival this side of the metro caught my attention because of the diversity of the menu and pocket-friendly prices. Of course, I love sans rival, too! Thus, t'was hello, Betty's just before going to church. Even outside, I was impressed by this restaurant. The colors of the building - a combination of dark indigo and periwinkle  - breathed of quiet charm and elegance. Once inside, I found out the whole edifice belonged to Betty's as they have function rooms in the second and third floors. The ground floor, which has simple but elegant interiors with sunny colors that contrast with the exterior's, is for walk-in diners. Meanwhile, scanning the menu made me have second, third and fourth thoughts. Haha! I saw many interesting items on the list and it was tough choosing between the Korean Beef Steak and a squid and veggie rice meal which the server said comes in a bento box. After much contemplation, I chose the Korean Beef Steak. My two kids who I tagged along found it easier to decide. These were what we had:

Sans Rival, P48 per slice. 

Bacon and Mushroom Pizza, P68.

Chicken Pesto Pasta with bottomless iced tea, P98.

Korean Beef Steak, P98.

Tapa rice meal, P108. 

Brewed Coffee, P42.

Inside the ground floor dining area.

I was excited for my order, the Korean Beef Steak but I was disappointed at my first spoonful. It was okay, but I wasn't too happy with a sweet beef steak, being used to the Pinoy-style "bistek". Trying out my son's tapa, I wasn't too happy, either. In my humble opinion, the beef strips were too small and as lacking in flavor as they were in color. My daughter's chicken pesto was good, however, and would even be better, I thought, if no cream was put into the sauce. Meanwhile, the Bacon and Mushroom Pizza put the pizzazz in our afternoon meals. This one really impressed me taste-wise and price-wise. It was thin, flavorful, came in six slices and believe it or not, only P68! Can others beat that, I wonder. But then, I had to reserve some "oohhs" and "ahhs" for the house specialty - the sans rival! The reviews I read were right. It's so delicious that even my seven-year-old son who is a hearty but picky eater loved it. This dessert rightfully made Betty's famous. How come it's only now that I heard of this restaurant? Well, it's never too late as long as I make up for the lost time. Hehe. I plan to be back to try a lot of other dishes at Betty's. And before I forget (well, I already did. Hehe), coffee's good here, too - another reason to love Betty's! By the way, this resto is tucked away in the bowels of the Sta. Mesa Heights district in Quezon City at the back of Sto. Domingo Church. Specifically, it's right at the corner of Biak-na-bato and Cuenco Streets. See you there! 

The heart of France

I looked up over the weekend the meaning of le coeur de France and this was it (the title of this post), I found out. Why the sudden interest, you might ask. Well, I was so smitten by the ham and cheese croissant at Le Coeur de France, that is why. Hehe. It's just the way I like it - flaky and crusty. It was so delicious I'm still daydreaming about it. Haha!. By the way, my daughter and I were at this branch inside Times Plaza at the corner of UN and Taft Avenues just before church service last Saturday. We arrived in the area quite early and were buying time so I decided that we have coffee. We were both still feeling full from our late lunch and didn't want to eat anymore but since I saw a coffee-and-croissant pairing on the menu, I went for it while the daughter ordered a cappuccino frappe. Unfortunately, said the server, their whipped cream was unavailable so my daughter settled for iced cappuccino. 

When our orders came, not one but two croissants came when I asked for just one. The server explained that it was "buy 1, take 1" for their breads starting at 3 p.m. Was I delighted at my sudden good fortune! Haha! And it was happiness take 2 at first bite of the croissant. My brewed coffee, while being good as well, was too strong for me so I requested the server to dilute it with hot water and to give me more creamer, which she graciously accommodated. (Hmmm..good service - a plus point!). While I was leisurely sipping my coffee, I asked my daughter to buy me a notebook and a bottle of toasted garlic from separate stores inside Times Plaza. I took this opportunity to sip her iced cappuccino and I loved it too. Hehe.       

Ham and Cheese Croissant

The dream!

Love, love, love!

Brewed coffee is served with a cookie

Iced cappuccino

Last Saturday was actually our second time at Le Coeur de France, the first being last February but it's only now I'm blogging about it. Then, we ordered their Treat for 2 meal (P320) consisting of a serving of Pasta Salad, Double-Decker Sandwich and two glasses of iced tea. Well, I urge you to try the mentioned pasta for your own gastronomic pleasure because it's lip-smackingly delicious! To me, it tastes like cheese pimiento spread mixed with pasta and you might just agree. Also, it is served on a bed of fresh, crunchy lettuce. I think it's quite a unique pasta dish coz I haven't had anything like this elsewhere. As for the sandwich, it was yummy too. I think (if my memory serves me right) it had deviled egg with veggies at the bottom and tuna with cheese at the top layer. Le Coeur de France is now one of favorite places 

for coffee and more. I hope to be back there soon :-)

Pasta Salad

Triple-Decker Sandwich

Iced Tea

Sorry..not my type of guy

I'd been wanting to try what The Sandwich Guy (TSG) offers since I first saw one such store on Shaw Blvd. in Mandaluyong City last year. I know I'd written a not-so-nice post about it (involving another branch) sometime last year, but since it's been months since that (yucky)  incident which I read about in a blog, I decided last Saturday it was now time to try this place out for myself. So just before going to church, my daughter and I went to TSG at SM City Manila, full of high hopes. Hehe. Sadly, dashed hope was all I had at first bite of the roast beef sandwich..and moreso upon taking a forkful of the pesto pasta. :(  The bread used in the sandwich seemed not fresh to start with. Matigas sya. The filling could be promising, but because the bread wasn't good, the whole thing was ruined. As for the pesto, it was downright bad! It was very dry and the noodles were tough. Forgive my daughter but this was her comment: "The worst pesto I've ever had" Ugh! Well,  you might be saying that's what I get for paying just P55 for an order of pesto and you are right! My take on this is: A couple of bucks added to the price won't hurt, but would make a customer happy with a better-tasting plate of pasta. Obviously, TSG scrimped on olive oil, that's why the pesto was dry and tough and lacking in zing. Thankfully, there was the Cheezy Bacon Potato as the much needed redeemer or I would be breaking up with The Sandwich Guy even before a relationship could even begin. Haha! I know that doesn't make any sense. Oh, well..TSG is a promising food business and in fact, it now has several stores in the metro. I wish our experience was an "isolated case" and that tough bread and dry pasta aren't 

what they always serve. :-)

Ultimate Roastbeef Sandiwch, P125.

Looks good. I wished it tasted good as well.

Pesto, P55.

Cheezy Bacon Potato, P70. We loved this - baby potatoes with lots of bacon bits and melted cheese.

Forgive me but is fried the opposite of fresh?

Dayrit's: Standing the test of time

Not a lot of restaurants have managed to stay afloat through the decades and Dayrit's Burger and Roast Beef House is one of the fortunate few that have survived to this day. Owned by casino owner-turned-restaurateur Wilfredo "Freddie" Dayrit Sr., this homey, deli-type eatery first opened in the early '70s on Taft Ave. near De La Salle University. Branches subsequently opened in Magallanes, Greenhills, Buendia Ave., Manila (near UST), Alabang, and Timog Ave. and Kalayaan Ave. in Quezon City. At present, however, only two have remained - Timog Ave. and Magallanes. 

But even if Dayrit's has been around for around four decades, it was only today that I had the chance to try this foodie place out. It was a sunny afternoon and I was on leave from work for a medical appointment. After my schedule, my daughter and I were scouring Tomas Morato on foot, with the aim to look out for a new (to us, at least. Hehe.) restaurant. And Dayrit's caught my attention among the rows of restaurants on that stretch of foodie haven, mainly because it sounded familiar. Inside, I instantly felt at home, thanks to the simple, laid-back interiors with a nostalgic feel. For our afternoon snacks, my daughter and I shared:

Cheeseburger, P140.

With ketchup and mustard, yummy!

Pasta Americana, P150.

Buttered bread, lightly toasted.

Calamansi Juice, P45.

Special Iced Tea, P50.

The menu.

Old-style furniture, old-world feeling.

Crewman finds his texting sanctuary beside the ice cream freezer. Haha!

The first thing that impressed us when our food was served was how huge the cheeseburger was. It's good for sharing, and rightfully, came sliced in half. Tasted good, too, especially when we slathered it with ketchup and mustard. The Pasta Americana was actually carbonara, and we liked it as well - saucy and creamy. It came with a halved slice of slightly (or not?) toasted buttered wheat bread. What we downed these with were good too - calamansi juice for me, which I think was freshly squeezed and iced tea for my daughter, who liked that it was house blend or brewed, not the powdered type. 

So, did we like Dayrit's? Yes, but not so much for the price. There's a lot of burger joints nowadays that offer lesser-priced hamburgers with even thicker patties. Forgive me but I'm thinkin' about BBB. Hehehe. Still, kudos to Dayrit's for having survived the tough restaurant competition during these past few years.

Pure porcine pleasure

Last weekend, I, together with two kids, were able to try a new foodie place that opened just this month. You see, I'm such a sucker for anything crispy and have been craving for that Ilocos specialty called "bagnet" - pork deep-fried till the skin gets a nice crisp that one eats after dipping in vinegar (spicy, please!). Thus, when I learned that a restaurant whose specialty is bagnet had just opened up in Quezon City, I didn't waste much time and hauled 

ourselves off at once!

This new place said to offer ticket to porcine heaven is called Manong's Bagnet Station - a simple, unassuming restaurant which I found out, serves really mean bagnet - a haven indeed for pork lovers! All three dishes we ordered were made from bagnet and all of them were so good! Take a look at what two of my kids and I partook of for a late lunch:

Manong's Bagnet Rice Meal, P135.

Sinigang na Bagnet, P220.

You gotta eat this before the pieces of pork swim in the soup so you don't miss 
out on the crack.

Sisig ni Manang Rice Meal, P110.

Halo-Halo with 2 scoops of ice cream, P80.

Brewed Coffee, P50.

Iced tea, P35.

Mango Juice, P40.

Inside Manong's Bagnet Station.

My bagnet rice meal didn't disappoint. On the contrary, I was impressed! You should hear that crack whenever I would bite into the skin that was so crispy I was eating noisily! Haha! I also took spoonfuls of my kids' sinigang na bagnet and bagnet sisig. I'm not kidding you, both were really delicious as well. The next day, my daughter was still daydreaming about Manong's Bagnet Station, planning to order bagnet kare-kare next time. By the way, although this restaurant had just opened, it's not really a new kid on the block in the food business as it has been a weekend market favorite for quite some time. 

Manong's Bagnet Station is at 117A Scout Lozano corner Tomas Morato, just next (or behind) to Alba Restaurant in Quezon City. 

Sunny day + nice brekkie = happy morning!

Eating out for breakfast is a luxury for me since I'm a late riser and rarely do I leave the house in the a.m. (I go to work at noontime, too.). Today is one of those rare occasions. I had an errand so I had to get up earlier than usual and head over to QC, tagging along my daughter. And we didn't pass up the chance to have breakfast at McDonald's if only for their hash brown and sausage! Yummy! At this branch at the corner of Mindanao and North Avenues, there's McCafe, too, so we were able to get "specialty coffee" - cappuccino for me, cafe latte for my daughter. I went for a hotcake and sausage meal plus hash brown (P102), while my daughter had Big Breakfast consisting of rice with sausage and fried egg plus hash brown (P121). We added P40 to each order to upgrade our drinks to cappuccino and cafe latte.  

Breakfasts such as this on a sunny day indeed make for a happy morning. :-)
By the way, we're on the last days of summer for this year, so go out into the sun for a few good minutes for that healthful dose of Vitamin D! Have a blessed week ahead!

 

My breakfast - hotcakes with sausage, hash brown and cappuccino

Big Breakfast for my daughter, who's not fond of fried rice so she had it changed to plain rice.

Cappuccino - P75 for a regular cup; just add P40 to a value meal for an upgrade.

Cafe Latte, also P75 for a small cup; just add P40 if you order a meal and want to change your drink.

Inside McDonald's at North Ave. corner Mindanao Ave. in QC

I love the classy interiors of this McDonald's store.