The Paw Club at the SM Mall of Asia Complex

I love dogs and have not lived without them since grade school. I've had "aspins" or asong Pinoy (Filipino dogs, which are mixed breeds) all throughout my student days and purebred dogs ever since my husband got a doberman from his cousin some 15 years ago. We've also had a German Shepherd, a dachshund and minipins. We now have two minipins - Tiger Lily, a mom who's turning 11 this June and Wendy, one of her kids, who's turning 5 in August. I love cuddling with them on the sofa 
after a hard day's work to relax and destress. 
Recently, I learned about The Paw Club - - one of those lovely cafes where people can eat together with their beloved pet dogs. I thought it would be nice to spend a lovely afternoon there with my kids and pets. So far, I've made two visits 
with the kids, one time with Tiger Lily.
We loved the food, ambiance, and even more, meeting cute pups.

The Paw Club along Seaside Boulevard, SM Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City

Inside

Doggie food, toys and accessories for sale

Doggie hotel on one side of the cafe. If you're going out of town, you may want to let your pets stay here if no one would be left to care for them.

        Grooming station

Meanwhile, our food orders:

The Paw Club Cheesecake, P280. 
Too pretty to eat! We had to muster some courage to finally cut it up. Hahaha! 
Taste is nowhere near outstanding, though.

Kettle Cooked Chips with Bleu Cheese, P165.
Crunchy and yummy potato chips. 😊

Pomodoro Basil Pasta, P225.
My youngest son and I both loved this. Al dente pasta, all the right flavors. Thumbs up!

Spaghetti Carbonara, P245.
My son and his girlfriend both ordered this. I tried it and my verdict was on the positive. This carbonara is creamy and delicious, with lots of ham and bacon. Yum!

Fried Calamari, P245.
We also liked the battered and deep-fried squid rings. They were crunchy 
and best when dipped in sour cream sauce.

Pomodoro Pasta for Pet, small, P70.
I ordered this for Tiger Lily and I could say she loved it too.


Our pretty Tiger Lily enjoying her pasta.

House Blend Iced Tea, P95.


Pearl Milk Green Tea, P115.
For a milk tea addict like me, it was great to know they serve it here. Happiness!

Black Tea Rock Salt, P125. 
I loved the combination of black tea and rock salt. Some bitterness and saltiness give the taste buds a delightful burst of flavors. Refreshingly good!

Menu 

If you have a pet dog and would like to take them for a day out, look no farther than SM MOA. The Paw Club is right at the back, close to the sea wall, and near Seafood Island. The place is a haven for dog lovers! The food and drinks are good, too! 
Your beloved fur baby will love playing with their fellow pooches 
and munching on yummy, dog-appropriate food.
Happy eating, paw parents and fur babies!

It's a celebration!.. at CPK

The past week saw our family celebrating a milestone. We had our second college graduate! I am so thankful to God for helping me and my hubby produce two professionals among our kids. After the graduation rites at the SMX Convention Center, our whole family went celebrating at California Pizza Kitchen, also at the Mall of Asia. It was actually my first time there, and I had a pretty good impression. The food was good and all of us had an enjoyable dinner. 
Our orders:

 Classic Caesar Salad, P275 (Half).
I love fresh garden salads for the health factor and CPK's Caesar Salad was great. I loved that the greens were cut up bite-sized, thus convenient to eat. I just wished there 
were more croutons. Tee-hee.

Quesadillas, P195.
This was delicious! I was used to having soft quesadilla but this one was crunchy. It was as if I was eating thin-crust pizza. As toppings, there were olives, chicken, tortilla strips and ranch dressing. It also was served with tomato salsa. Yummy!

BBQ Chicken Nachos, P325.
Our family, specially the kids, love nachos and we welcomed the departure of CPK's version from what we prepare at home. For one thing, this one's topped with really huge onion rings, all of which were eaten by my not-so-little boy.

Minus the onion rings, you could see that there's a crowd in here. Haha! Lots of things in there - chunks of avocado  and chicken, tomatoes, corn kernels and of course, nacho chips, some of them in beautiful, deep purple color.

Four Cheese Dip, P175.
This was hubby's order, which I forgot to taste but he and the kids liked it. Very cheesy, I'm sure, what with mozzarella, queso quesadila, Velveeta and smoked Gouda cheese put together for this dip.

Spaghetti Carbonara, P695. (Full)
Because this was on the other end of the table from where I was seated, I didn't bother to eat this but I got to taste it much later because we brought home what was left of it. But since it was already cold by then, I didn't appreciate it much. Well, I liked that it had big slices of ham  (or was it bacon?) but disliked that it had green peas.

Bolognese, P625 (Full)
This is a beauty, don't you think so, too, with those pretty pieces of ribbon-shaped farfalle pasta? And it's delicious, having bits of meat (Italian sausage), chopped mushrooms, and the 
right amount of tomato-based sauce. 
Me loved this!

Hawaiian  Canadian Pizza, P375.
I loved this the moment I laid my eyes on it. Just look at how all the toppings made the crust disappear! I mean that's a lot ham and pineapple which come in big slices. Very yummy!

Italian Sausage Pizza, P325.
In contrast to the Hawaiian pizza, this looks like it's lacking in toppings but this wasn't bad at all. We loved it, too, though a little less.

For drinks, three of us had fresh shakes, two had iced tea (which I didn't take a picture of) and one chose Peach Lemonade.

Cucumber Mint Shake, P195., Watermelon Shake, P175., 
Ripe Mango Shake, P175.

Peach Lemonade, P150.

It was one fine dinner apt for celebrating! I think we got too excited placing our orders and ended up ordering a lot! Sadly, we forgot about dessert but at the end of the meal, nobody cared anymore because we were stuffed! And we liked that we still had CPK food the following day 'coz we brought home the equivalent of a whole pizza plus some of the carbonara. 
Aside from the food, I also was satisfied about the attentive and friendly service and loved the cozy, relaxed ambiance of the place (it wasn't crowded, maybe because it was start of the workweek). The prices of the food were reasonable but it was a different story with the drinks, which I think were exorbitant. 
Still, I would recommend visiting California Pizza Kitchen for a nice meal, specially when you're coming in a group as the servings are huge. Well, half orders are available, too, so it's perfectly fine if you're dining solo or in pair.
Happy eating!

Cake and coffee goodness at Tokyo Cafe

My family rarely goes to the SM Mall of Asia because it's quite far from where we live. Last June, however, I was there on two consecutive days because I lived close to it - temporarily. My sister came home from the US for a vacation and rented a condo unit in Ermita. My mom, another sister and I took turns staying with her in the condo. And for two days, my sister and I went shopping at MOA because it was now near and we'd gotten tired of Robinson's Ermita which was just a few steps away. And what do you know, I discovered in MOA a very nice coffee shop where brewed coffee was so good I immediately considered it as one the best I've had so far. It's Tokyo Cafe which serves good sandwiches, pasta and cakes, all with a Japanese twist and a variety of delicious coffee concoctions. It's not really new but it was my first time there and I loved it. It's the prefect place to spend the afternoon after shopping (or window shopping. Hehe.) at this vast mall. 

Here's what we had:

Yoshi burger, P195.

Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich, P240.

Caramel Mousse, P230. per slice

Cafe Vienna, P120

Sumibiyaki, P115.

Caramel Vienna, P135.

Yumminess behind the glass

This sweetened our day

I loved this classic and classy chandelier

Before we were here, I'd already read some blog posts about Tokyo Cafe, that's why I jumped at the chance to eat here. And I wasn't disappointed. We all loved our orders. The Yoshi Burger (one of my kids was with us, by the way, on this day and this was her order) was good, juicy, very cheesy and so filling it could satisfy a huge appetite. My sister and I particularly loved the Caramel Mousse Cake, but for me, it was the Sumibiyaki coffee that was unforgettable. Not all coffee shops serve good coffee, right? In fact, only a third (even fourth)  of those I've been to have a good and satisfying cup of joe. But this Sumibiyaki at Tokyo Cafe really impressed me and it's now among my Top 4 favorites (The others are the French Baker's Tchibo coffee, Lido Cocina Tsina's syphon-brewed coffee and Azucar Boulangerie and Patisserie's Illy coffee). The downside here is that Tokyo Cafe's is the most expensive among the four. Hehe. Nevertheless, I could say Tokyo Cafe 
deserves a second visit.

*Note: This place has been permanenetly closed