What's Happening This Weekend (November 14-15)

So sad.  I committed to a full-day event this coming Saturday so I can't attend any of these.  Ah, the regret.  But for you lucky ones who are still in search of places to go this weekend, you're in luck!  Check out the different sales/bazaars that are happening this weekend:

Source: https://www.facebook.com/TriNoma.AyalaMalls

Source:  @thecaravanph IG

Source:  @thegourmandmarket IG

Source:  @spectrumfairmanila IG

Gah!!  I'm a sucker for these things, and all I can think of is that I simply CANNOT pass it up.  Guess will just have to go on Sunday then.  Until then, please don't finish all the stocks ok?  Leave some for me!  LOL.  Happy shopping and happy eating! (PS.  Please check out the dates.  Some of them happen only on Saturday and Sunday while some of them include Friday.)

Dean & Deluca, A Second Time Around

After trying out Dean & Deluca in Rockwell, we immediately went back the week after.  There is just no possible way we were going to miss out on trying out the other dishes!  Besides, the parents were away when we first dined in Dean & Deluca, and we wanted them to try out the pizzas too.  So... here's our Dean & Deluca experience part 2.  Enjoy!  

Creme Brulee Croissant

Flaky goodness with the right amount of creme brulee filling.  

Banana Wheat Muffin

I didn't like the Apple Cider Blueberry Muffin last time, so I was a bit hesitant in ordering this.  But it turns out, it was quite moist and is bursting with banana flavors!

Kougin Amann

Ahhhh... Kougin Ammans have always been my weak spot.  And Dean & Deluca's version hits right on the spot.

Butterscotch Sticky Bun

Too sweet, but expectedly so.  Reminds me of the cinnamon rolls I've loved as a child.  It was a gooey, sticky, happy mess.

Grilled US Duroc Pork Chop with Chorizo-Corn & Apple Salsa

The pork chop was tender, but not as tender as I've imagined it would be.  The chorizo-corn and apple salsa was too much for me.  Would've preferred a less festive accompaniment.

Pesto Pasta with Shrimp, Calamari, Dried Tomatoes and Piquillo

When it comes to pastas, our family prefers it to be cooked well done and not al dente.  We like our pastas really soft.  And this pesto pasta was perfect for us.  It was soft without being mushy, and the sauce was prefect!

Truffle Parmesan Steak Fries

Ugh.  I hate it when I order something with truffle and it comes out either completely void of truffle smell, or with an extremely faint truffle smell.  Dean & Deluca's truffle parmesan steak fries was the latter.  I could barely detect the hint of truffle in the fries. 

Braised Beef Stew with Mushroom, Vegetable and Mashes Potato

The beef was tender, but the serving size was too small.  Not so impressed with this one.  The mashed potatoes, on the other hand?  De-li-cious!

BBQ Braised US Beef Short Ribs, Roasted Garlic, Bechamel Sauce, Caramelized Onions, and Chimichurri Sourdough Pizza

As with last time, the BBQ Braised US Beef Short Rib Pizza was thin, crisp and chewy.  A bit lacking on the the meat though.

Not in photo:  Parma Ham, Rocket Leaves and Parmigiano Sourdough Pizza, which we inhaled and completely forgot to take a photo of.  The parma ham was sooooo good!  And unlike the BBQ braised US beef short rib pizza above, the amount of parma ham was just right.

Dutch Apple Pie

Huge, huge chunks of apples in this Dutch Apple Pie.  I found the crust to be a wee bit thicker than my liking, and it was a tad too sweet too.  But then again, I'm not much of a fan of apple pies.

So... on the second try, there were also hits and misses at Dean & Deluca.  But overall, it was more hits than misses.  There's still a few more things on the menu that I'd like to try, so that means I'm definitely going to be be back sometime soon.  4 out of 5 stars!

Dean & Deluca is at the G/F, Rockwell Edades Tower, Poblacion, Makati City

Dean & DeLuca, Now Open in Rockwell!

Dean & DeLuca, which first started as an upscale grocery store, was established in 1977 in New York City.  They've grown ever since, diversifying into cafes and opening in a number of international locations.  Admittedly, I've never had a chance to try out Dean & DeLuca when I visited New York a few years back.  Never got to try them out in other countries either.  But what got me so excited was because I seem to always see this store in a number of movies and TV series, so this definitely made me wonder what made them so famous.

Fast forward to late last year, a sign for Dean & DeLuca was put up in Edades Tower right across the Powerplant Mall.  I silently made a thank you to whoever was to bring it here.  

Finally, last month, Dean & DeLuca opened to the public!  Thanks to Instagram, and a few very up-to-date friends, I found out about it and dragged Hubby and the Brother to try it out for Sunday brunch. (sorry, delayed post!  We were able to try D&D on their first week of operations)

Dea & DeLuca from the outside

Inside Dean & DeLuca

I am loving this clean, uncluttered interiors!

Assortment of Breads

With so much bread, it's really hard to chose just a few!  I wanted to try them all!

Cakes

...and then there's also the cake situation.  My mind says "control yourself" but my tummy says "go for it!"

Coffee/Tea/Smoothie Bar

Don't even get me started on the drinks!  They have tea, coffee, milkshakes, smoothies and New York sodas!

Apple Cider Blueberry Muffin

Since it was just the three of us, we decided to just order one pastry and a couple of light dishes.  The Apple Cider Blueberry Muffin was the first thing that arrived on our table.  I was expecting really moist, almost melt in your mouth goodness, but I found it to be a bit dry.

Sauteed mushrooms, pesto toast, goat cheese and salad greens in raspberry vinaigrette

Love, love, love this salad!  The sauteed mushrooms were ultra earthy and juicy.  My only comment is that I wish the vegetables didn't look so sad...

Shrimp and calamari with pesto and marinara sauce

Thin, crisp and chewy, all at the same time.  This is probably one of the best pizzas I've tried.  A definite must!

Smoked turkey breast with Brie de Meaux and cranberry in croissant

When I saw this on the menu, my heart skipped a beat.  I loved everything they've incorporated into this croissant, but the croissant itself lacked the flakiness I've loved in other croissants.  Needs improvement.

Overall, Dean & Deluca has lived up to the hype.  4 out of 5 stars!  We absolutely loved the pizza, and cannot wait to try everything else on the menu.  It's still on soft opening mode though, so can't expect them to be perfect.  We did, however, go back the week after.  Watch out for my next post!

Dean & DeLuca is at the G/F, Rockwell Edades Tower, Poblacion, Makati City

Hatch 22

Last Friday, I dragged Hubby to the Power Plant Mall's "The Neighborhood", a pop up flea market that features retailers, performers, food and food trucks at the Rockwell Tent.  We initially wanted to grab a bite from the food trucks, but because of the rain and the wind, we opted to find someplace to eat within the mall.  I was actually excited because there's a new kid in town:  Hatch 22.  Been wanting to try out the place since it opened, but the last time I was in Rockwell with friends, the line was too long and we were too hungry to wait.  Well, the line was still long that day, but we had a bit of time to kill, so we just waited for our table.  

First disappointment:  From the moment I first scanned the menu, I knew what I wanted.  The Lobster Bayounnaise.  And it wasn't available.  Boo.  So I scanned what else was available in the menu but was distracted by the neighboring table's plate.  It was a breakfast dish, but it looked so intricate that I soon found myself ordering one.  

Second disappointment:  our server was in such a hurry.  She kept cutting us off and didn't even let us pause and take a second look at the menu, or order more dishes.  After we gave her an order of one soup and one main course each, she repeated our order and ran off.  Looks like she didn't want any additional income for the restaurant.

I was hoping that after those few disappointments, things would look up from there.  So was the food better than the service?  Read on:

Newer England Clam Chowder

Err... nope.  Here comes disappointment number three:  our clam chowder arrived, and it tastes watered down.  It's basically tasteless.

French Onion Soup

The French onion soup didn't do much either.  But it sure was better than the clam chowder water soup.

Trio of Longaniza

Disappointment number four:  Hubby's Trio of Longaniza.  Remember what I said about the neighboring table's plate?  Yup, this was it.  If you're curious as to what that brown thing in the middle is, it's actually egg.  Props to the chef for coming up with an unusual presentation for something as simple as an egg.  But that's about it because it doesn't taste as good as it looks.  One bite and about a teaspoon of oil will ooze out from the egg itself.  It's literally like drinking oil.  If I wanted to kill myself, then this is surely the way to go.  Puny pieces of longaniza too.  Even Jollibee's version would've been better.

Crispy Corned Beef

And the fifth disappointment:  my order of crispy corned beef.  Same oily wreck.  And the corned beef?  Canned.  And dry.  I could have done a better job at home compared to this.  Actually, I could have opened my own restaurant if the food is as bad as the ones we got.  I'd serve better food too.

Finally, one last disappointment:  we initially wanted to order something for dessert.  But after the colossal letdown from everything we ordered, we had to think twice.  Plus, we overheard the other table complaining about their dessert, which the server promised to serve within 10 minutes, but still didn't arrive after 30 minutes.  So, to save ourselves, we chose to skip dessert.

I had such high expectations from Hatch 22, but in the end, I now realize that it is nothing but pure hype.  Long lines does not always equate to good food, or good service for that matter.  0 out of 5 stars.

Hatch 22 is at Level 1, Powerplant Mall, Estrella St. Poblacion, Makati City.

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Press Cafe (A Rant)

...and I'm back!  Soooo sorry for not being able to blog for a month now.  A month!  I'm a bad, bad blogger, I know.  But I've got excuses too.  You see, July is my birth month, and this year was quite both special and unspecial. Special because I got to go to one of my favorite countries not just once, but twice!  Any guesses where?  Clue:  it's less than 2 hours by plane and is Asia's shopping destination.  Got it yet?  If you guessed Hong Kong, then you're absolutely right!  So expect a few posts about Hong Kong in the upcoming days.  On the other hand, July has also been quite challenging.  I got sick.  We initially suspected that it was Dengue, but blood tests confirmed that it wasn't, thank God.  Nothing major but it was one of the most difficult flu I've ever gone through.  Was out cold for almost 2 weeks!  Runny nose, cough, chills, fever, bloody nose, loss of appetite... these are just a few of what I've experienced, and I think I'll spare you the other gory details because I might lose a few readers if I put every single detail here.  LOL.  

So anyway... enough with the looooong explanation.  Let's get down to business --- Press Cafe.  Ah, yes.  Those who frequent the Powerplant Mall in Rockwell might be familiar with Press Cafe.  For those who aren't, it's the little coffee shop situated right beside Fully Booked on the third floor.  To tell the truth, I've never actually tried Press Cafe before.  I've walked past it hundreds of times, but only decided to try it one weeknight as Hubby and I were rushing to catch a movie.  We wanted something simple and fast, and Press Cafe looked like one of those places where you could grab a quick bite.  

We were seated immediately when we got there.  But the table was quite sticky, so we called the attention of the server and asked for the table to be wiped.  It took two server requests before one came, complete with an exasperated "why should I bother wiping your table" look on her face, and I knew then and there that we won't be enjoying our dinner.  And yes, I was right.  Why?  Let me count the ways.  

First, our orders.  Hubby ordered the Classic Herb Roast Chicken, I got the Cheesy Eggplant, and we had the Chicken Fingers to share.  First one to be served was the Chicken Fingers, which tasted fine, except I know I could do a better version in my own kitchen.  We waited another 15 minutes or so, and my Cheesy Eggplant was served.  So sorry I was not able to take photos because we were in so much hurry, but picture this:  eggplant, cheese and ground pork, dropped haphazardly together in a baking dish, looking like the cook didn't even bother making it the least bit presentable.  It was very, very oily too.  A few more minutes passed by, I was already close to finishing my Cheesy Eggplant.  It looked like Hubby's Roast Chicken would be a no-show.  We followed up our orders, and it finally came out. Guess what?  It was COLD.  Cold like they just got it out of the refrigerator and didn't bother reheating it properly.  Sheesh.  Had to send that one back and we were already panicking because time was running out and we were about to be late for the movie.  The Roast Chicken came out around 10 minutes after, and although it was now hot, the meat was dry and tasteless. What a waste of calories and money.  Fast food would have been a hundred times better.

Overall, I'd rate Press Cafe a -1 out of 5 stars.  Two words:  NEVER AGAIN. Both the food and the service (pardon the word) suck.  I couldn't believe that such a prestigious mall like Rockwell would house a train wreck like Press Cafe.  Word of advise:  if you haven't tried it yet, you are considered to be one of the lucky ones.  And you'd be doing yourself a good deed if you never set foot in that place.  Ever.  

Press Cafe is at Level R3 Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Estrella St. cor Rockwell Dr. Poblacion, Makati

Make Your Own Havaianas (MYOH) 2013

Yesterday might have been Labor Day, but I did some serious labor.  Why? Because I, together with a few hundred invited Havaianaticos, went to the MYOH 2013.  For those who are not familiar with the MYOH, this is a once-a-year event in which all Havaianas fans get the chance to create their own personalized pair of Havaianas.  Not only that, each year has a different theme.  For 2013, Havaianas collaborated with the Filipino artist Dan Matutina to create the glow-in-the-dark spacemen print sole.  Cool isn't it? This is actually (just) my second time attending the MYOH but I already had an idea on how the turnout would be: jampacked!  And yes, I was right!  Our reserved timeslot was 10AM-1:30PM, and when we got there at a little bit past 10AM, the crowd had already swelled up - the line was already on the streets of Rockwell!  Whew!  The heat didn't help either, so the three of us who went decided to take turns lining up.  An hour later, we were in :)  Scroll down for all the photos!

The tent extension

Inside the tent extension.  Spot the guy giving out free Jamba Juice!

Other sponsors

The waiting room.  Check out the cool glow-in-the-dark designs!

...and the madness begins!

Awesome hot air balloon made out of what else?  Havaianas!

The Havaianas photo wall

People lining up to make their pairs

Design wheel

The 2013 pins

Choice sheet

Assembling my pair

Punching holes for the pins

 So can you guess what design I got?  Before that, let me show you the slipper bag first, because I find it so cute!

Cute slipper bag

It comes with free colored markers too!

 ...and here's my pair!  Of course I had to get the limited edition one!  I and a few hundred people!  LOL.  I think almost everyone has this pair but you know what they say, if it's limited, then everyone wants it!  I just got one though, I think I have one too many pairs and adding a few more pairs will not help my bulging shoe closet.  But my oh my, I saw several people walking around with baskets of what I think are ten pairs or more!  Can you say Havainatic? :)

My pair

Aunt's pair

Hubby's pair

1

Hubby surely did make use of the markers.  Check out his slipper bag!

The MYOH 2013 happens at the Rockwell Tent from May 2 (that's today!) till the 5th, and it's open to the public starting today!  Go make your own pair or pairssssssss now!

Outfit of the Week: Feeling Blue

Can you see the common factor in my outfit today?  Yes, you might get the clue in the title.  If you say blue, then you are absolutely right!  There's some shade of blue in each piece I have on (except the sandals, might be overkill LOL), hence the title.  But don't worry, I'm wasn't feeling blue figuratively, just literally.  Nevermind the wind that keeps on blowing hair in my face.  Nevermind the extreme heat we've experienced while having my outfit shot taken.  I'm still a happy camper!  Shot this in Fort.  I realized it's been a while since I had my outfit shot outdoors, so here it is!  Have a happy Sunday! :)

Dress:  Culte Femme
Shoes:  Jelly Nelly
Bag:  Givenchy
Necklace:  from the Rockwell Bazaar

Boon Tong Kee

Singaporean restaurants have been popping up here and there for the past couple of years.  With the success of Wee Nam Kee and Tao Yuan, it's no wonder that other restaurants from Singapore will follow suit.  Boon Tong Kee is no exception.  So when a branch at the Powerplant Mall opened, we wasted no time in trying it.  Here's what we had:

Crispy Cereal Prawns

The "cereal" used in Boon Tong Kee's version of their Cereal Prawns are different.  I didn't like it much because I find the taste too "herby".



Fried French Beans with Garlic

The French Beans were quite good; it gives just the right amount of crunch with a hint of sweetness from the beans.

Prawn Toast

The Prawn Toast is also delicious.  You cannot go wrong with prawns+mayo topped with fish eggs.  Yum!

Signature Boiled Chicken

Their signature boiled chicken is just so-so.  I wish it could've been a bit more tender.  But it's already better than the other ones I've tasted recently.



Chicken Rice

Would you believe that the star dish of the night is none other than their Chicken Rice?  The moment the server laid the plate down on our table, I can't help but smell the fragrant aroma of the chicken rice.  A spoonful of this and I already know, this one's a keeper.

Overall Boon Tong Kee gets a 3.5 stars out of 5.  I have a feeling they'll get better because we ate there during their soft opening.  We'll be back.

Boon Tong Kee is at 3/F Powerplant Mall, Estrella St. cor Rockwell Dr. Poblacion, Makati