Cafe Shibuya

Remember my post about Red Onion Cafe?  That was the very first time I set foot in UP Town Center.  Despite all the hype about the place, I never actually found myself wandering around the Katipunan area, thus, it took me this long before I actually saw the place myself.  The dinner at Red Onion finished quite early, and since I was already there, the glutton in me was not about to pass up the chance to try another restaurant in the area.  Yup, I went for dinner #2 at Cafe Shibuya (cue the oink oink sounds!  LOL!).  For the longest time, I've been hearing raves about Cafe Shibuya and how heavenly their dessert toasts are.  Naturally, I wanted to try it out and see for myself.  And these were the orders:    

Below Zero Chocolate Frappe

Made with Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate

The moment I saw that the chocolate frappe was made with Ghirardelli milk chocolate, I knew I had to have it.  Images of cold and creamy concoction began swirling in my head, and I was almost sure that I'd reach chocolate nirvana.  Erm... apparently, this was just a dream (or a hallucination) because with just one sip, all my hopes came crashing down.  In just two words, I will sum up what it tasted like:  bland and watery.  Sheesh.  Goodbye chocolate dreams.

Karaage

Japanese style boneless fried chicken topped with grated radish and sauteed onions

Tasted fine, but nothing special.  I've had better karaages in my life.  And this one is definitely not one of them.

Truffle cream with prosicutto

Rich truffle cream accented by shiitake mushrooms and premium quality prosciutto

If you're a regular reader, then you probably already know that I cannot simply pass up anything that has the word truffle in it.  This was no exception.  And once again, disappointment.  Yes, there was a slight hint of truffle on the pasta, but tastewise, it did nothing for me.  And do you see the small sliver of meat in the middle of the dish?  Yep, that's about all the prosciutto there is.  Oh well.  On to the next!

Mango caramel dessert toast

Diced mangoes served on top of a crumbly Graham cracker crust and vanilla cream sauce.  Served with vanilla ice cream

Looks good, doesn't it?  All this time I never gave up hope that I'd get to the better part of the meal because after all, Cafe Shibuya is known for their desserts and not their entrees.  Was I right?  Well, sadly, no.  The toast wasn't as soft as I'd like, and it's basically a thick toast smothered in cream and topped with mangoes, graham cracker bits and ice cream.  Something I can definitely make on my own at home.  Sigh.

Overall, I guess you could say that I was disappointed with Cafe Shibuya.  Sure, the food was not bad, but it wasn't blow-your-socks-off amazing either.  Far cry from the raves that I've read everywhere.  Good thing I've already had a satisfying meal in Red Onion Cafe, or the night would've been a complete bummer.  2 out of 5 stars.

Cafe Shibuya is at UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City

Red Onion Cafe

I am so late.  This what was was running through my mind the moment I stepped into Red Onion Cafe.  Late?  Yup.  Who knew traffic would be horrible and that I'd get lost on my way to UP Town Center?  I cursed myself inwardly and put on my best face forward in hopes that A. someone would come later than me and B. they are not halfway through their dinner yet.  What on earth am I talking about?  Let me go back to the very beginning:  a few days before the said dinner, I received an email from Aldous, a blogger who was organizing a media/blogger food tasting event at Red Onion Cafe.  As I always say, I'm open to trying out new things, so I quickly said yes, and looked forward to the dinner.  When I arrived, seems like everyone was already there.  I gave a sheepish smile and apologized for the time.  I plopped down on one of the seats and quickly went into full blogging mode.

Red Onion Cafe

Double Fried Sweet & Sour Pork

The first dish that I got to try from Red Onion Cafe was the double fried sweet and sour pork.  It reminded me a little bit of the Korean fried chicken because the outside was nicely crisp while the insides were tender.  And since it was sweet and sour (my favorite), I guess I would have to say that this one really hits the spot.

39 Spices Beef Noodle

We're all familiar with beef noodle soup, but this was my first time to try 39 spices beef noodle.  39 spices!  Whoa.  The taste?  Spices galore!  Hey, it wasn't called 39 spices for nothing!  The flavor was ok for me, but some who are not too keen on spices might find the flavor a little heavy.

Sichuan Mala Chicken

Spicy!  Spicy!  Spicy!  The Sichuan Mala Chicken was spicy alright, and since I'm not a spicy food eater, I didn't enjoy this dish thoroughly.  My other tablemates seem to like it though.

3 Cup Chicken

Always been a fan of the 3 cup chicken while growing up, so when this dish was served, it stirred up fond memories of my childhood.  Why 3 cup?  Because the main ingredients in making this dish consists of 3 different cups namely sesame oil, Chinese rice wine and soy sauce.

Walnut Shrimps

One of my favorites that night., was the walnut shrimp.  The walnuts were crunchy and sweet, while the shrimps gave a good bite.  The mayonnaise was not too overpowering too, making this my ultimate dish.

Ginger Mahi Mahi

Me and ginger, we are not friends.  But I liked the way Red Onion Cafe cooked theirs, in such a way that the ginger aroma was not too much for non-ginger eaters like me.  Oh and the mahi mahi?  Perfectly cooked. 

Mango Taiwanese Snow Ice

Didn't enjoy this one that much...  I feel that the taste of the mango was lacking.

Red Bean Taiwanese Snow Ice

Although the mango snow ice wasn't that good, I liked the red bean version.  You can really taste the red bean in every bite!  That's probably the Chinese in me talking.  LOL!

And how can I forget?  One of the owners who was with us that night, Mr. Mark Endaya, introduced to us Red Onion Cafe's official noodle shaver.  Adorable!  Care to think of a name for this chef?  

Overall, I liked the dishes in Red Onion Cafe.  Although they do not have the usual Taiwanese dishes we're accustomed to (namely, xiao long bao, which we were told will be coming up in the next few months), they manage to produce great tasting dishes without veering away from its Taiwanese roots.  Will definitely be back to try out the other dishes!  4 out of 5 stars.

*Special thanks to Mr. Mark Endaya for the great dinner, and to Aldous for the invite!

*Although this is a special blogger food tasting event, all opinions and views are mine, without any bias whatsoever.  Just saying!  

Red Onion Cafe is at UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City