Finio

I tried to eat at Finio's Php 135 eat-all-you-can breakfast buffet this morning. Today's spread include garlic rice, omelette, sausage, pork tapa, beef with potatoes and carrots, tawilis, pinakbet, congee, champorado, pan de sal, iced tea, orange juice, fresh pineapple and watermelon. Below are my plates:

Champorado and congee

(From left to right) Pinakbet, beef with potatoes and carrot, sort of pork tapa and omelette

Same stuff except for the deep-fried tawilis. I didn't try their sausage because I'm avoiding processed foods. 

Pineapple and watermelon

Everything tasted average except for the beef with potatoes and carrots.  The beef is tender and I like its sauce. The most disappointing dish is their congee which is bland and its just like eating soupy rice.  

I would rate my experience as 2/5. Just go to Grills & Sizzles instead along Examiner St. If I'm not mistaken, their breakfast buffet is also at Php 135. Their dishes taste a lot better than at Finio's. Beside Grills and Sizzles is Bellore which also offers a breakfast buffet. I haven't tried to eat there but my mother said she still prefers Grills & Sizzles. 

Judy Ann Crispy Pata

Judy Ann's crispy pata (crispy pork knuckles) is the best I've tasted so far. Of course the skin is crisp but what I'm really fond of is its meat. Its flavorful and a bit sweet. Some says its because they marinate the pork knuckles with some pineapple juice. My husband finds it too sweet for a savory dish. But for me, its flavor is perfect esp. when you dip it in the soy-vinegar sauce. Its a 5/5 for me. 

Judy Ann Crispy Pata is located at 201 Gen. Luna St., Malabon City.  Tel. no. 281-41-93.

Cafe Midas

My brother-in-law celebrated his birthday at Cafe Midas. They offer their buffet at Php 899 per head. I think their spread is quite good for the price. Its not as extensive as that offered by five star hotels but the food quality is just as good. The most memorable for me is their Kalbi Jim (or korean braised beef). The sauce is good and the beef melts in your mouth. They also have good salads. Overall I'm recommending the place if you're looking for a reasonably priced buffet with good selection. It's a 4/5 for me. 

Below are my plates at Cafe Midas.

Midas Hotel is located at 2702 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City.

Yabu:House of Katsu

I'm not a fan of anything breaded and fried (except for a shrimp tempura of an authentic Japanese restaurant). But when I found out about Yabu and its good reviews, I got curious and tried what an authentic katsu is like.

Kurobuta (P515) And then...it only took a bite to taste the difference? It has a nice crunch and the meat seem to be softer than regular meat. The katsu is served on top of a wire mesh placed on a plate which I think to prevent it from getting soggy.

They will give you a suribachi mortar with sesame seeds wherein you will grind the seeds there and afterwards you will pour the tonkatsu sauce. This will be the dip for the katsu.

Katsu is served with shredded cabbage which is unlimited. You have a choice of soy vinaigrette (black bottle) or sesame (white bottle) as dressing.

To complete the set is miso soup, yellow pickled radish and cucumber and slices of pineapple and watermelon. Kurobuta deserves a 5/5 rating.

Hiyayakko Tofu and Wakame (P195) Hiyayakko Tofu (left) is a cold silken tofu served with ponzu sauce and topped with bonito flakes and spring onion. Wakame is seaweed served in vinaigrette topped with ebiko. Both are good but if I should choose between the two, I'll choose wakame. I'll give Hiyayakko Tofu 4/5 and Wakame 5/5.

Rosu (P315) Pork tonkatsu set served with unlimited shredded cabbage, rice, miso soup, pickled radish and slices of watermelon and pineapple. It's pretty much the same as the Kurobuta set. It also deserves a 5/5 rating.

Rosu Katsu Curry (P330) Pork tonkatsu served with curry sauce and the usual shredded cabbage, rice, miso soup, pickled radish and slices of watermelon and pineapple. The curry sauce is so good and a must try. It is a 5/5 for me.

Seafood Katsu Set 2 (P515) This set is composed of salmon, black tiger prawn, oyster and crab and the usual unlimited shredded cabbage, rice, miso soup, pickled radish and slices of watermelon and pineapple. What do you expect... its also good! But the most memorable bite is that of the oyster. It's so unique. Maybe its because of the contrasting texture of the very soft oyster and the crunch from the breading. Another must try. Again, and for the last time, it deserves a 5/5 rating.

I think its very much obvious that I definitely recommend this place! Its fairly new when we first went here (the sole branch then which is in Megamall). During our second visit, their area is much bigger (occupying 2 store spaces already). And now, according to their facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/yabuhouseofkatsu) they have branches in Robinsons Magnolia and soon in SM Mall of Asia.

Lutong Bahay ni Inay (JIJF)

Lutong Bahay ni Inay is known for its crispy pata for residents of the Quezon province, particularly the town of Candelaria. We usually eat here whenever we go to Lucena to visit my in-laws. They offer crispy pata, liver steak, sinigang the hipon and ensaladang mangga.

Crispy Pata (P395) Deep fried pork knuckles. They serve their crispy pata with two sauces - soy sauce and vinegar (yes, they serve it separately as opposed to what we're used to in Manila where it is a combination of vinegar and soy sauce). Lutong Bahay ni Inay's crispy pata has received several recognitions already as these were posted in their place. The skin is really crispy and the meat is tender but I think it still needs a bit more of seasoning or flavor. Anyway, maybe it's the job of the dipping sauce already :) When it comes to the price, I'm just expecting it to be cheaper because their price is the same with Manila prices. It's a 4/5 for me.

Liver steak (P200) Its liver marinated in soy sauce and calamansi then sauteed with onions. This dish is sooo good that I tried to make it at home. The liver is tender and the sauce is a balance of salty, sour and sweet and I love to pour it over rice. Its a bit oily though. This is a 5/5 for me.

The place we visited is the one inside San Antonio Village. They still have another branch. Just call 042-5857486 if you need more details and directions.

Nihonbashitei

I've discovered this gem through my officemates. Since then, it has been my "go to" place whenever I feel like eating something simple and light but filling and reasonably priced.

Seafood Salad (P200) Its an assortment of raw seafood like salmon, tuna, mackerel, shrimp, crabstick and others served with a slice of tomato, shredded radish, wasabi and a dressing which is somewhat like a mixture of brewed soy sauce, rice vinegar and others. It's very much refreshing to eat this salad. Real simple and straightforward. Its a 5/5 for me.

Tofu Salad (P200) The salad has thinly sliced cabbage, tomatoes and tofu with sesame dressing. The star of this salad is the sesame dressing. I've been dying to find out how to make such dressing but I could not get the exact taste. This salad is a 5/5 for me.

Hiyashi Chuka (P250) is a cold noodle soup using ramen noodles which is topped with seaweed, crabstick, sliced cucumber, sliced tamago, tomatoes, sliced pork, shrimp and quail egg with karashi (spicy japanese mustard) on the side. This is my favorite cold noodle soup. Again, it has a sweet and sour soup similar to that of the seafood salad. At first, I was ignoring the karashi thinking it might be too spicy. But then, curiosity came and so I tasted a small amount. Spiciness is tolerable. So I took some and mixed it with the noodles and soup and then....woah! Its good! If only my nose doesn't feel like smoking, I will do it again and again. This is a 5/5 for me.

Toro Spicy Maki (P200) Toro is tuna. Its a maki filled and topped with chopped tuna mixed with Japanese mayonnaise, spring onion, tempura flakes and whatever that is that made it spicy. We just wanted to try something new during that visit because we have already tried all their salads then. And to our delight, it was so good and we have been ordering it again and again. This is a 5/5 for me.

Wakame Soba (P180) It is a hot noodle soup which uses soba noodles on a dashi stock broth (I guess) with wakame seaweed and chopped scallions. A very simple but delicious and healthy dish. A 5/5 for me.

Salmon Sashimi (P280) Raw salmon served with shredded radish. I know we devour raw salmon in buffets but this is better than those offered in buffets. An all-time favorite, 5/5 for me.

Asari Miso Soup (P70) Miso soup with clams, wakame seaweed and scallions. A very good and healthy soup. It's a 5/5 for me.

We have also tried their tsupagetti and omelette but their not really good. Just stick with the authentic Japanese dishes and I think you won't get disappointed. Japanese nationals also frequent the place so its a sign that they serve good and authentic Japanese food.

Nihonbashitei is located along Arnaiz Ave in Makati. They are right beside Don Bosco.

Ganso Shabuway

We ordered a set menu for two which includes beef, vegetable platter, dipping sauces and rice. 


First they will serve you the dipping sauces - sesame (the brown one) and ponzu sauce (the black one).

These sauces comes with a set of condiments - spring onion, garlic and spicy radish. The garlic goes with the sesame sauce and the spring onion and spicy radish with the ponzu sauce.

Then, the raw vegetables will follow which include carrots, squash, enoki mushrooms, shimeji mushrooms, napa cabbage, tofu, asparagus, spinach, brocolli and pechay.

The meyer angus beef followed. I chose meyer over kobe beef simply because its cheaper. The beef is thinly sliced and looks fresh and bright pink in color. 

Lastly, they will serve the broth in a bowl with a divider because I chose to have both broths which are miso (the brown one) and traditional seaweed (the clear one).

The miso broth is ok but the traditional seaweed tastes like water only. I don't think they even salted it. I really doubt if authentic Japanese shabu shabu has this kind of broth. I think it should be a dashi stock instead. As to the beef, I didn't taste anything special about it. But it really looks good and fresh though. As to the dipping sauces, I'm undecided as to which one is better but I dipped in the sesame sauce more often. Anyway you will always be served with two sauces. Overall, its a 3/5 for me.


Ganso Shabuway
Powerplant mall