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!

Korean Village Restaurant in Malate, Manila

I hadn't had Korean food in a while and was glad to have the opportunity the other week. I met up with a friend at Robinson's Place Manila and she would not agree to my suggestions on where to eat. I then remembered Korean Village which she had told me about before and asked her if she wanted to go there. Wide-eyed, she exclaimed a "yes" and out of elation and gratitude even vowed to 
treat me for coffee afterwards. 
This friend of mine, already in her 60s, is a huge K-culture fan. She watches lots of those cute Koreanovelas, loves to eat Korean food, and had even gone on a tour to South Korea. And was she glad we were going to Korean Village in Ermita, which she recalled having visited some years ago.

The place, I discovered, was quite spacious but devoid of fancy interiors and obviously quite old. Any misgiving about the physical aspect of the place was erased, 
though, when it was time to eat.

Complimentary pot of tea

Samgyeopsal, P250.
Thin, tender and delicious slices of pork belly plus lots of onion and garlic that 
were given us as requested by my friend.

Banchan (Side dishes)

There were seven side dishes served with the pork for grilling, apart from the iceberg lettuce: spring rolls, spinach, hot and spicy dilis (anchovies), bean sprouts or toge and kimchi. Sadly, banchan isn't refillable at Korean Village, unlike in other Korean restaurants I've been to. 

Server grills our samgyeopsal as we wait, excitedly. Haha!

Galbitang, P300.
This soup dish impressed me a lot as the broth packed a lot of flavor. The beef, we believed, was simmered for hours and hours, until the meat was very tender and all flavors extracted from the bones. It was my first time to have galbitang and I discovered it was so much like our very own nilagang baka or bulalo. The only difference is that galbitang has sotanghon or vermicelli and egg. An order of it at Korean Village comes with a serving of rice. 

Jjampong, P300.
This was really good! Lots of mussels and some shrimps. Hot and spicy soup to make my day. The only thing I didn't like was that the noodles were too soft. I had this on my second visit, by the way. I was by myself and was surprised at how humongous this bowl of jjampong was. I finished just one third of it! But I was pleasantly surprised that it also came with 
side dishes -- three of them. Plus a slice of pineapple!

Spicy dilis, bean sprouts and kimchi with my Jjampong

I loved all of this, especially the crispy anchovies!

Slice of pineapple 

I guess all diners are given this to cap off the meal. My friend and I were also served pineapple on my first visit. Fresh fruit is a welcome change from the usual sugary desserts in most restaurants and best of all, there's no extra charge for it!

Inside Korean Village Restaurant

Korean Village Restaurant at #566 J. Nakpil; St., Malate, Manila

Long before K-Pop came to fore, Korean Village was already a crowd-drawer in Ermita, I learned. Now it's already a bit old but is still a favorite restaurant of many. There were always big groups celebrating occasions during my two visits. Someday soon, I could be bringing my family here, too. My daughters are crazy about samgyeopsal and I'm sure they would love it here. 
Visit Korean Village Restaurant when in Manila, folks and have your fill of mouthwatering and healthy food at pocket-friendly prices. 
Happy eating!

Dessert and coffee at Dolcelatte

Being diabetic, I avoid desserts especially when eating out. But I do give in once in a while, when I have company to share something sweet with. This way, I can have just a small portion and leave the rest to whoever is with me. 
Recently, after my friends and I had a really good lunch at a Korean restaurant and were on our way to the office, we saw Dolcelatte on Quezon Ave. and had a spur of the moment decision to swing by for dessert and coffee. It was my first visit, though I see this nice-looking place daily on my way to work. 
Oh my, it's a diabetic person's nightmare of a place with all those mouthwatering cakes on display! On the other hand, the place is heaven to those who have sweet tooth and don't have to worry about their blood glucose shooting up. I was just glad my good friend was with me, we split a slice of heaven..
in the form of carrot cake :)
Our orders:

Valrhona Crunch, P225.

 Carrot cake, P150.

Blueberry Danish, P68.

Cafe Latte Blended, P150.

Dark Mocha Latte (blended), P175.

Frozen Hot Choco, P195.

Cafe Latte, regular, P125.

Cakes on display

Croughnuts! Dolcelatte was famous for these when they 
were the craze five years ago.

Deli meats for sale.

Inside Dolcelatte

Dolcelatte along Quezon Ave., near EDSA, in Quezon City

We all enjoyed the pastry, cakes and drinks. The carrot cake, which is my favorite, was moist and delicious. I wished I could eat the whole slice! 

But Dolcelatte isn't just about desserts. They have a full menu - from appetizers, soup, salad, to main entrees. They even sell frozen imported deli meats. 
My friends and I had quite a lovely time, though we didn't get to stay long. The place was quiet and cozy, and the crew were friendly and patient with our whims. You know when good friends are together, everyone's "makulit"! We hope to be back soon at Dolcelatte for a full meal and lots of banter and laughter. :)