Tap into your inner child at Brick Burger

My youngest child turned 12 this week and my hubby and I decided to have an advanced celebration last Sunday. It was me who decided where to eat and my choice was Brick Burger, a Lego-themed restaurant in Pasig City. I knew my boy would love it, being a huge Lego fan. So even though it was far from our home, 
Brick Burger it was for dinner. 
The place is quite small though really cute and bursting with colors, red especially, and with awesome displays of Lego creations that rendered the 
birthday boy wide-eyed in amazement. 
The menu, to match the theme, is fast food-like -- with burgers and all those American diet staples. Placing our orders took a bit longer because there was a lone crew at that time apart from the cook inside, I surmised. But good enough, it didn't take ages before the food arrived on our table, and the not-so-little boy had barely built 
a Lego creation with the blocks provided us.

Our family dinner consisted of:

Nachos, P120.

Nacho Tuesday Burger, P230.

Lord Business w/ Fries, P495.

Fantastic Four chicken wings, P450.

Pepper Mushroom Burger Steak, P160.

Pork Barbecue rice meal, P160.

Mac 'n Cheese hotdog, P140.

Vanilla Graham and Choco Oreo ice cream, P120.

Iced coffee, P85; Red iced tea, P50.

Mine was the Pepper Mushroom steak and I was happy with how huge the serving was. The beef patty was sizeable, yes, to match the cup of rice underneath. I shared one order with my daughter and we still couldn't finish it! Taste-wise, it was good, with a balance of flavors. What I didn't like was that the whole thing was kinda dry as the gravy, which was very creamy with a hint of cheese, was also very thick. Brown 

and runny gravy is my personal choice. Still, I give Brick Burger's 
Pepper Mushroom Burger Steak a thumbs up.

Anyway, the birthday celebrant decided to take up the in-store challenge of finishing the Lord Business cheeseburger with three patties piled on top of one other, in at least three minutes (the less time one takes to finish, the bigger the prize), with hope to win a Lego set. He lost, of course. He's just a kid! Maybe, I should 
bring him back in eight years. Haha! 
In the meantime, the chicken wings, we enjoyed -- juicy, tender and flavor-packed. One could munch on it mindlessly and finish the entire plate. What we ordered was the Fantastic Four made up of four orders of chicken wings in different flavors of Garlic Parmesan, Buffalo, Correa's and Honey BBQ. 
Meanwhile, I was pleasantly surprised at how good the iced coffee was, considering Brick Burger is not a place for caffeine. It was espresso-based, so it was bold and rich. The rest of my family all enjoyed their respective orders, though admittedly, there was nothing fantastic about the burgers, except, of course, for their one-of-a-kind Lego-shaped buns. As a sweet ending to our dinner, we all shared two orders of their ice cream creations adorned by cute and edible Lego toys. 

Menu

Inside Brick Burger

Lego creations

'Build, build, build' as you wait for your orders.

Brick Burger is at the 2nd Floor of Hampton Gardens Arcade along
C. Raymundo Avenue in Maybunga, Pasig City

A visit to Brick Burger is a nice, memorable experience especially when you have a kid in tow who loves Lego. Even if you're all grown-up, you can relive your playful days 
of building bricks here and enjoy the food at the same time.
Happy eating!

Sultan Mediterranean Grill in Kapitolyo, Pasig City

Last week, I found myself going to church in Pasig instead of in Manila after running an errand. Of course, I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to go on a food trip in the famous eat village of Kapitolyo. Just like the Maginhawa-Malingap area in Quezon City, Kapitolyo is teeming with interesting restaurants offering various cuisines. As I had been craving for falafel, I researched for a foodie place offering Middle Eastern cuisine and was happy to find one just behind the building housing our church branch. It's Sultan Mediterranean Grill -- a small but elegant restaurant with a clean and cozy feel. I was thrilled that I could finally relish what I had been thinking of for days -- falafel!

Falafel, although deep-fried, is still a health food for me because it's non-meat, especially non-red meat. I still regularly eat white meat or chicken but cut down on pork and beef for better health. Falafel is a traditional Middle Eastern food made of ground chickpeas, fava beans or both and rolled into a ball or patty. At Sultan, they serve falafel in a pita pocket but I requested to have mine served not sandwich-style but just sitting on a spread of hummus with a separate order of pita bread. Well, I got my falafel looking exactly the way I had "dreamt" of it -- five golden brown pieces of them lying on a bed of hummus with chopped cucumber, onion and tomato. I drizzled everything with garlic sauce and some of the 
fiery red sauce and went down to business.

Falafel, P250.

Pita bread, P25.

Hot tea, P50.

   Inside Sultan Mediterranean Grill

Sultan Mediterranean Grill at Victoria Plaza, 1 Brixton Street, Kapitolyo, Pasig City

Goodness! My meal took me to falafel heaven and I was more than pleased and satisfied. The green tea provided good washing to my palate and I went to church 
still a little dazed from food coma. 
Swing by Sultan Mediterranean Grill, folks, when you're in Pasig and have a good stuffing with some mouthwatering Middle Eastern food. Aside from falafel, there's shawarma, but of course, and many other really good stuff like 
moussaka, kebab, souvlaki, and keema. 
Happy eating!

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Rainbow in my coffee at Happy Beans

I'm admittedly a lazy person when it comes to going places especially when I have to be out of my comfort zone, that is, Manila and Quezon City. But what great motivators food and coffee are! Last Saturday, I purposely went to Metrowalk in Pasig City, tagging along two of my kids, just to have a "pretty" cup of joe in this cute and comfy place called "Happy Beans". Well, we were indeed pleased to be there although our orders were a mixture of hits and misses, ayes and nays.

What we had:

The Food

Happy Burger to You

For me, this was the miss and nay. The burger patty was too soft and I suspected the reason to be that the meat had a lot of fat. Because I didn't like the texture, the taste followed. My daughter liked it though, so she proceeded to eat my burger when I stopped after two bites. Good thing the fries were good - firm with some crunch to it, and flavorful. The burger could be ordered ala carte but I opted for the "combo" with 
unli-fries and drinks for P168.

Three-Cheese Pizza

Sorry to say but this wasn't good either. The crust was a bit tough plus there 
was a lack in the flavor department. But then, 
I preferred this over the burger.

 Pestoriffic Pesto

This one saved the day for me. It tasted fresh and was bursting with flavors. It was somewhat different, too, as it had mushrooms and tomatoes -- a welcome change from the usual pesto. Yummy this! A must-try at Happy Beans!

Crazy Fingers

This was neither a hit nor miss. But it could have been a real hit if the batter wasn't soft but a bit crunchy. Still, I enjoyed this one solely for the reason that chicken 
is one of my top comfort foods.

Nacho Loco

The three of us all loved this one. Well, no one could go wrong with nachos even if all that's put on top is cheese. The chips are fresh and crunchy, thankfully. 
And there were enough bits of beef, tomatoes, onions 
and cheese to cover everything.

The thirst-quenchers 

Rainbow Latte
Isn't this pretty and very much Instagram-worthy? Well, I came for this and I was glad that it didn't disappoint me. Apart from its good looks, it tasted good as well! The coffee wasn't too strong and I loved the balance between the milk and espresso. This Rainbow Latte not only added life and color to my afternoon meal, it also 
gave me some jolt, enough for me to endure 
malling and some shopping afterwards.

Rainbow Milkshake
This was my daughter's and she loved it. How beautiful, this milkshake was, 
only it was too sweet for me. Just look at all those candies!

Mango Graham Milkshake
My son went for this one as he absolutely loves mangoes, be it ripe or green. This one was a wee bit lacking in the looks department but because it had mango, it was delicious and the not-so-little boy loved it to the last drop.

In and around Happy Beans 

 Menu

Happy Beans is at 2nd Floor, Mall of Korea, Metrowalk Commercial Complex, Meralco Avenue, Ugong, Pasig City


All in all, it was an enjoyable stay that we had at Happy Beans. I failed to mention that board games were available for diners and my kids had a blast with two rounds of chess while we waited for our food. I also loved the cozy and homey ambiance 
plus the friendly service. 
Sadly, as I said, not all the food that we ordered was good. 
Good thing the prices are reasonable. 
Would I come back? Why not? For the Pesto and the Rainbow Latte. Also, there are many others on the menu that I would want to try.
Try Happy Beans, folks, and have some fun with family and friends.
Happy eating!

Bull's-eye 'bulalo' goodness at Bullchef

I had just come from a week-long joyful and refreshing summer vacation in my hometown in Quezon province. But before I left Manila with three of my four kids and two nephews, I had the chance to revisit one of Pasig City's top favorite foodie destinations - Bullchef. It is here where "bulalo" lords over every other dish - that extremely popular and loved Filipino beef dish that has broth which to me is so delicious and satisfying it could heal even a broken spirit. My daughter and I attended church in Kapitolyo, and were famished after the two-hour service.

It was but fitting to warm our tummies with bulalo. This was my order. My daughter chose the lechon kawali meal which also came with delicious bulalo soup.

Solo order of Bulalo called 'Bullilit', P135.

'Lechunami' (lechon kawali meal with garlic rice, ensalada and bulalo soup), P135.

Writings of celebrities who have dined here

Wall art

Counter 

Outside Bullchef at #4 East Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo, Pasig City

This was actually my second visit to Bullchef and my daughter's first. She loved the bulalo soup so much she declared at once that she wanted to eat here again. The soup here is very flavorful, which, I surmise, is the result of hours and hours of simmering beef bone marrow. Aside from our orders of bulalo and lechon kawali, Bullchef also offers other Filipino dishes like sisig and sinigang. All-day breakfast is available, too, to include tapa and longganisa meals. They even have steaks, which I was able to have a taste of last year when I was first here with a friend of mine. 
Try Bullchef if you haven't, folks and find very good bulalo without having to go to Tagaytay.

Crepes, crepes, and more crepes at Crepeman Cafe

Yesterday, I, together with one of my kids, went food tripping in Pasig City, something I'm rarely able to do. The only times I go to Pasig is when I visit a dear friend and attend worship service in our church's East Campus at Pioneer Center. Yesterday, I again chose to attend church in Pasig City just so we could eat at Crepeman Cafe in Barangay Kapitolyo. Here, I had a savory crepe while my daughter chose a dessert crepe.

Crepe lady

Blueberry crepe, P95.

Philly's Cheeseteak crepe, P100.

Beef, caramelized onion, cheese and cheese spread are inside the Philly's Cheesesteak

Strawberry smoothie, P90.

Mocha Frappe, P105.

Cappuccino, P80.

Menu

My daughter, although she liked her Blueberry Crepe, wasn't very happy at Crepeman Cafe because she was expecting to have a heavier meal. We hadn't had lunch and she was disappointed that all that's offered here are crepes. Oh well, I liked my Philly's Cheeseteak, yes, although it didn't have a lot of fillings, which was kinda disappointing considering its price. My strawberry smoothie seemed like the fruit was not fresh, just powdered flavoring. I hope not! Happily, the cappuccino saved the day for me because it was sooo good, I remembered Starbucks. Haha! I tasted my 
daughter's Mocha Frappe and it was okay, just a little bland for me. 

Have a nice week, folks! Happy eating!