Trip to Little Tokyo, Makati!

The Arc and Bridge

Little Tokyo is one of my favorite places. Stepping inside this place makes you feel like you're actually in Japan (or, maybe not, because I've never been to Japan); aside from the general setting, because of the reason that most of the customers are from the country of Japan, a person somehow feels he's teleported to the country.

Anyway, the restaurants here are all authentically Japanese. You have a wide array of choices, which means that you can find the perfect restaurant that your wallet can accommodate. Little Tokyo can be found in 2277 Chino Roces Avenue, Makati. The entrance's landmark is an arc with the words "Little Tokyo" on it. This arc leads to an empty alley, which leads to a whole different world. Since a number of people ask me where to find this obscure place, I've placed a map at the end of this entry.

For Christmas?

Right now, the place seems to be decorated for Christmas... or maybe they just decided to make the place brighter, I honestly don't know. The arc itself has bright lights and beautiful lanterns hanging from it, and the alley is decorated with a row of lanterns!

Look at the pretty lanterns!

 My friend's favorite restaurant in Little Tokyo is Oishinbo, which upon entering is the restaurant on the furthest side. It's a simple and homey place, just like most of the other restaurants. It's also affordable, which is why that's where we decided to eat dinner in.

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Inasal Chicken Bacolod Giveaway

Inasal Chicken Bacolod's Menu (From here)

Hi, guys! I have six vouchers valued at 150 each for Inasal Chicken Bacolod. What is Inasal Chicken Bacolod? Here's an excerpt from ensogo telling us about them:

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: Because it wants to be part of the specially selected fowl that will eventually be served in Inasal Chicken Bacolod. Once selected, the chickens will be treated to a bath of achuete oil, spices and secret seasonings, char-grilled and served fresh and piping hot. As to why the human reading this crossed the street to an Inasal Chicken Bacolod outlet, well, we probably don’t need to tell you that, do we? Switch lanes and do away with fairly pedestrian restaurants serving so-so chicken—Inasal Chicken Bacolod is the obvious choice for comfort food that soars.

The vouchers are from ensogo, and a maximum of two vouchers can be used per transaction. That said, a total of three people may win two vouchers each. :) Here is a list of participating branches. Deadline for entries is on Thursday, December 1, 12 am, and winners will be announced on the same day. Winners will be picked via random.org, and the vouchers will be sent through e-mail. Two possible entries maximum per person. Thank you!

Here's what you need to do in order to join:

1. Like the Taste's Intentions facebook page.
2. Share this blog entry via FB (icon can be found after this post) with this as a message: "I want to eat at Inasal Chicken Bacolod because _____. Hope to win some vouchers from @Taste's Intentions! @friend1 @friend2". 

          AND/OR

Share this blog entry via Twitter (icon can be found after this post) with this as a message: "Want to eat at ICB because _____. Hope to win some vouchers from  http://shar.es/o2OLQ! @friend1 @friend2". 

1. Please make sure the tags are done properly, and that your profile is public so I may validate your post! Posts which are marked private and cannot be seen by me will not be considered valid!
2. Finally, please fill out the following form:

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Cheese Steak Shop Manila!

Classic Philly Cheese Steak - 7" P280, 10" P399, 15" P720.00

After days and days of pestering my boyfriend, he finally brought me to The Cheese Steak Shop, Manila. The Cheese Steak Shop can be found at the ground floor of E-Hotel Makati, A. Arnaiz Street. Franchised from the US, it is the first branch here in the Philippines. According to their website, Operations Manager Doug Smith "left the Philippines fully satisfied that Cheese Steak Shop Manila offers the same highest quality standards that are found in US branches". I've been wanting (and, pestering) to go here ever since I saw the posts from other blogs, such as from The Food Alphabet and Tales from the Tummy.

Their cheese steaks are offered in three size: 7, 10 and 15 inches. We decided to get a 15 inch classic Philly cheese steak and divide it into two. It was way too much for me, but it was delicious! It was such a challenge to eat it, and we actually asked for spoons and forks to make it easier (losers!). My boyfriend liked the spiciness, though after a while he set the peppers aside and said he couldn't take it anymore. Haha. Since I love spicy food, I enjoyed the spiciness to the last bite.

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Deep-fried Snickers from Zark's Burgers

Deep-fried Snickers - P125

After eating dinner today, I suddenly had an intense craving for something cold and sweet. My initial thought was some Wicked Oreos from Gravy Fix or Flaming Wings, but after going back and forth, we found out that both places had closed for the day. My companion and I were just about to give up when I remembered that Zark's Burgers offers Deep-Fried Snickers. In my mind, it looked a bit similar to Wicked Oreos, so we decided to try it out.

The name says it all: it's Snickers deep-fried in batter. Also, it's served with a scoop of ice cream. However, when I tasted the snickers itself, it wasn't that hot anymore (I guess that's the ice cream's fault). I think it was really hot the moment it was served, because my companion was complaining that I hurry up with pictures because the ice cream was melting really quickly. Hehe. It was too bad because I really love ala modes on warm food, and I didn't get to experience this time around.

It was delicious, albeit way too sweet for my taste. A few bites off the dish and, for me, it was too much of a sugar overload. To be honest, it didn't look very healthy either (on that note, I've seen Zark's deep-fried burger, and I think a heart attack should be expected if you eat it). The good news is, I've tasted their other burgers, which are extremely filling and delicious and really is their main attraction. To sum it up... most of their burgers are a sure shot for any ordinary person, but their Deep-fried Snickers is meant for the hardcore sweet tooth.

Location: 
2nd floor Archer's Nook Building, Taft (Across La Salle Taft, above Yellow Cab)
Working Hours:
Mon - Fri: 9:00 am - 10:00 pm
Sat - Sun: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm
Facebook

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Pizza Bianca from Shakey's

Pizza Bianca, Regular - P199

My roomie came back home last night, and she was in the mood for some pizza. Yeeey! :) So she ordered a Pizza Bianca and Mojos from Shakey's Pizza. After about half an hour, or maybe it was half an hour (I didn't take the time), the delivery man finally knocked on our door. But then... when we opened the pizza box, we found the slices all over the place. Just look at the picture... that's exactly how we found it. I guess the delivery man had a rough trip. It wasn't really a problem though -- the pizza was still delicious! Also, the sauce of the mojos was reaaally good. A teeny part of me might have liked the sauce even more than the mojos themselves (hehe).

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Banchetto's Wish Lantern Event is CANCELLED

(Update) Note: I will delete hate comments. Thank you for understanding. :)

Hi, guys. I want to emphasize that I am in now way connected to Banchetto (nor was I even going to attend), but it somehow happened that people used my previous post to disseminate information about the event. In lieu of recent happenings, I decided to post this for you guys since Banchetto has not updated their site and has only posted this on facebook, causing many people to miss the actual post because of a flood of messages. Again, I am NOT connected to Banchetto, but for those who are messaging me about their event status, here is their announcement:

Too bad, but I suggest we not flood them with hate messages either, because this is out of their control. I wish you guys the best of luck!

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Banchetto-Megatent's Wish Lanterns

(UPDATE) EVENT IS CANCELLED

Wish Lanterns at Banchetto!

It's all over Facebook, and it turned out to catch the attention of so many people. Banchetto Megatent will have a special event this Friday, November 11, 2011. To those who don't know, Banchetto Megatent is part of the many Banchetto locations. Banchetto locations are popular overnight food markets. Banchetto Megatent can be found along Meralco Avenue in Pasig City. A map can be found here. On Friday, Wish Lanterns will be released at exactly 11:11pm (on 11/11/11), and I'm pretty sure it's going to be an amazing sight. It's been one of my dreams to attend such an event ever since I saw the pretty scene from Tangled.

I bookmarked the facebook announcement and planned to reserve lanterns when I got home, but... wow. According to the site, more than a thousand reservations came in within a day. And since the organizers only plan to release 1,000 lanterns, obviously, not everybody is going to be accomodated. Really sad! However, don't fear because Banchetto events have no entrance fee. So even if you don't have your own lantern to release, you can still go there to see such a pretty sight. A part of me wonders if the lanterns can be seen from Pasig river... does anybody want to reenact the boat scene from Tangled? ...Well, go ahead, because I sure won't... but that would be a really awesome and risky idea, don't you think?

My favorite scene from Tangled

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Recipe: Mango Float/Refrigerator Cake

Mango Float/Refrigerator Cake

This dessert is very popular among Filipinos! I swear that almost every Filipino food blog out there has at their own version of this recipe. Despite that, I still insist on posting my own version, since this is just an absolute favorite of mine, and those who live under a rock and aren't aware about it should be introduced to it. It's a really easy dessert to make and perfectly cold and sweet for a warm day (heck, even for a rainy day). Personally, peaches would work just as great as mangoes. However, you can also substitute the mangoes with any other fruit you have in mind... strawberries, bananas, you name it.

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