Sakura Hanami: Your pretty place for tea

Love milk tea? My officemates and I certainly do and we often order it for delivery via Grab Food. Our favorite is Macao Imperial but we order a different brand every now 
and then to be able to try others, especially the new ones. 
Last week, we discovered Sakura Hanami on Maginhawa St. It's really new, having opened just on the last week of June. Since it's still not on Grab Food, one of my officemates and I went there to buy milk tea for all of us who are members of our office Milk Tea Club (Yup, we do have a group and I'm the vice president! Lol). Never mind that it was a rainy day as Tropical Storm Falcon was dumping water all over Luzon and classes in schools were suspended. Nothing could stop us 
from having our milk tea! Haha!

Anyway, Sakura Hanami is a small but very lovely and homey Japanese garden-themed dessert and milk tea place. Pink flowers, mostly sakura or cherry blossoms and roses, were all around, giving the place very girly feels. But much as we wanted to stay longer and drink our tea there, we still had work to do and must return to the office 
at once so we just ordered for take out.

What we had:

(Left to right) Sakura Signature Bubble Tea, Strawberry Rose Bubble Mousse, 
Cherry Blossom Fizz Tea, Lava Pearl Latte

These were just half of all our orders. And we all loved what we had! The one who ordered the Cherry Blossom Fizz Tea, didn't want to eat the flowers, though (They're edible!) Haha! Notice that the two drinks on the right are in really tall glasses. They're one-liter sized! Surely, that won't leave you wanting but fully satisfied! 

Strawberry Rose Bubble Mousse

I love this dainty, yummy thing! Isn't it cute? We loved the taste too. The mousse was soft, milky and smooth. Those are black pearls on top, which added 
sweetness to this dessert/snack.

Menu

In, around and outside Sakura Hanami

The whole ceiling is covered in flowers, too!

Sakura Hanami at #168 Maginhawa St., Diliman, Quezon City

Visit Sakura Hanami, guys and enjoy having your tea hot or cold, in this charming and very Instagrammable place along Maginhawa St. Their drinks and a handful of desserts are not just equally IG-worthy, they're also yummy. I just wish they'd expand 
their menu to include more snacks, and I'm pretty optimistic that they will. 

Unli-Korean barbecue at Fantastic Chef

There's no question about it. Korean food is now part of Pinoys' gastronomic life. Restaurants serving unli-samgyupsal aren't so hard to find anymore. 
They're just about anywhere! 

While on vacation in our hometown in Quezon last month, there was this Korean resto that my sister saw on Facebook, and she told me she wanted to have her 
"despedida" there before going back to the US.

So, we were at Fantastic Chef in Manila for dinner on a Sunday and I was glad our group of 12 was seated at once. I called earlier to reserve but was told that they didn't accept reservations. Anyway, my first impression of the place was it was cleaner and had a more contemporary interior design and "younger" vibe than other Korean restaurants I'd been to. I also liked that they have good ventilation 
and not smokey like some other places. 

Unli-samgyupsal costs P499 per person but that only includes pork and chicken. If you want to add beef, you have to pay P50 more. Side dishes are unlimited, 
too, but drinks are not included. 

Our dinner:

Korean barbecue - - all pork and chicken

Some of the side dishes

I think the only thing that they have which other unli-samgyupsal places do not offer is the coleslaw. But my favorite among the sides here at Fantastic Chef is the one at the center of this picture, which, if my memory serves me right, is fish cake.

 I love their metal combination plate. It makes eating more organized and less messy. I also love their spicy soup which is included in the side dishes. 

 Menu

 At one area inside Fantastic Chef. There's another wing to the place.

Fantastic Chef at Remedios Circle, Malate, Manila

I could say that we had a nice dinner at Fantastic Chef, if not for some downsides. The marinated meats were tasty, and so were the sides. The servers were helpful but some weren't very friendly. There was one, a woman, who seemed to be annoyed when we requested for something. Also, some of the things we were asking for took 
forever to arrive at our table. I guess it was because it was a Sunday 
and the place was full of customers.

As for the price, I think it's a bit more steep than in other similar places for unlimited Korean barbecue. Why? Because for the same price in other restaurants we've visited, we could already have bottomless drinks as well as desserts such as fresh fruits. Overall, however, Fantastic Chef isn't so bad and I could say we still had a good experience on our first visit. The location is good, by the way. It's easy 
to find and there's a nearby police station so it's a safe area. 

Try Fantastic Chef, folks, and stuff yourself silly with 

unlimited samgyupsal. I would want to again! 

Happy eating!

DC Super Heroes Cafe at the SM Megamall

I found a fun place at SM Megamall recently, and it was too cool to pass up. I purposely brought my two kids there last month so they could enjoy not only the food but also the happy vibe. As it turned out, I was the one who enjoyed the most! DC Super Heroes Cafe is obviously for those who love Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and other fictional heroes that originated from DC Comics and DC Entertainment. I may not be very fond of watching movies but I loved comics as a child and 
a former local comics layout artist myself. 
Dining at the cafe was both a gustatory delight and a feast for the eyes! Toys and collectibles were all around, they brought out my long-hybernating inner child. But more than just a toy and knick-knacks store, the place is also a "real" restaurant with several pages of an impressively made colorful menu covering mostly Western cuisines. An enjoyable lunch it was that my two kids and I had one Saturday.

Our orders:


Barbecue Chicken with Breakfast Cheese
Whoever gave birth to the idea of putting chicken and cheese together in one dish, I commend him. Who doesn't love those two anyway? Separately, barbecued chicken and melted cheese ooze awesome flavors and combining them results in a simple but amazing dish. My son ordered this and finished it together with a cup of steamed rice P50.). He was happy. I knew he would be!

Chicken fingers a la Negra, P350.
Anyone who knows me well also knows the fact that black is one of my favorite colors and it also applies to food. Needless to say, i got excited seeing black chicken fingers on the DC Super Heroes Cafe menu. It's served with a honey mustard sauce and a side of coleslaw. I also ordered Rice Pilaf (P60.) to go with it. Those "fingers" were delicious as they were lovely. There's a plastic Batman insignia right there among the pieces of chicken if you see it, and now I wonder if it was good for taking home. I regret not asking. There's no harm in trying!

Beef Kebab, P340.
These pieces of grilled beef Mediterrenean-style were yummy and filling, being served with both pita bread and steamed rice, topped with a dollop of butter. I love those spices that give Middle Eastern cuisine a distinct aroma and taste, though they could make the food cloying after a few spoonfulls. 

Menu

In, around and outside DC Super Heroes Cafe

Various items for sale

DC Super Heroes Cafe at the 4th level of SM Megamall's 

Fashion Hall in Mandaluyong City

Two thumbs up for all our orders! My kids and I had no complaints, we loved everything! I would want to go back to try their other offers, including the drinks and dessert, which look so appealing on the menu. We didn't order drinks on our first visit 'coz I decided that we would get milk tea after lunch. I hadn't had milk tea for over a week as we had just arrived from a vacation in the province the day before and I was really craving! Anyway, I recommend that you bring the whole family. 
to DC Super Heroes Cafe. It's one great place for both 
the young ones and the young once!
Happy eating!