Crab n' Crew answers your seafood cravings!

If you had been visiting my blog for quite some time, you know I go to work on Visayas Ave. in Quezon City, which is a long stretch that is, thankfully, home to many foodie destinations. I've gone to most of them in my 12 years of working in the area, 
and I sure do have favorites that I keep going back to. 
Last week was my first time at Crab n' Crew Restobar,  though, and I had a great time that sent me wondering what took me so long? I had two co-worker-friends with me and we ordered a bag of assorted seafood and rice for lunch. 

Butter Seafood Bag 
They have three other flavors of this - Bicolana, Chili and Szechuan.

We chose the buttered bag of seafood consisting of crabs, shrimps, mussels and squid, plus a cut-up cob of sweet corn. The seafood were fresh -- with meat that's both firm and tender and packed with the slightly salty and mildly sweet flavor from butter. I thought I would not be able to finish my cup of rice because it looked like a lot to me but I finished it in record time, thanks to the lip-smackingly delicious bounty from the sea. The only challenge, as you may have guessed, is removing meat from the crab and shrimp shells, but on the other hand, the anticipation makes one all the more appreciate the "reward" of something fresh and savory. 
 The only thing I don't like about Crab n' Crew's bag of seafood is their use of plastic. I wish they would just put the crabs, shrimps and everything in a huge wok or bowl, or even a stainless pail. It's because plastics, when heated, leach chemicals into food, that's why 
I've long ditched our plastic plates, bowls and glasses at home.
A bag of seafood, by the way, is good for 3-4 persons.

Clam chowder
One of my two friends ordered this but she wasn't so happy about it, 
though I forgot her explanation.

Menu
(Grabbed from Crab n' Crew's Facebook page)

Crab n' Crew Restobar at # 77 Visayas Ave., Quezon City

What a great lunch it was -- quite unlike most of our previous lunches out when we would have either pasta and/or chicken, or pizza, or burger and fries. Never mind that we didn't end our meal with something sweet as there was hardly any room left in our tummy.
I want a second time at Crab n' Crew real soon and surely, I would want you, 

folks, to try and enjoy it here, too. Aside from good food, service is
friendly and fast. Prices are reasonable, too!

Happy eating!

Have a haunting Halloween at Amor Bakery

I read that we Christians must not celebrate Halloween because it supposedly glorifies evil creatures, but I can't help but find spooky and creepy things cute. When I went to my favorite Amor Bakery in Manila yesterday afternoon for some snacks after a visit to the doctor, I found out this lovely cafe is all spruced up for Halloween and I couldn't be more amused. You know - cob webs clinging onto antique-style chandeliers, spiders, ghastly masks -- all those things meant to bring fright. I loved it! Even cakes, cupcakes and some breads were baked to scare! I ordered a spidey cupcake and another one with a mummy face which I paired with my favorite lychee fruit tea.

Halloween cupcake, P69. each; Fruit tea, P80., 500 ml

Amor- España ready for Halloween

I love Amor's cupcakes as they are light, fluffy and not too sweet. They are really best to have with coffee but yesterday, I chose a cold drink over a steaming cup of joe as it was very hot and sunny outside. The weather and a viral infection (the reason for the doctor's visit) left my throat dry and itchy and the fruit tea that I asked to be made not with too much ice (and with no sugar!) soothed me. 
Anyway, I was thankful for a "spacious" Amor on a Saturday afternoon, with a good number of vacant tables (because students are on their semestral break and many, I suppose, have gone home to their provinces for the "Undas"). On most days I was here, this place was jam-packed with students, their faces buried either on laptops or textbooks. What a relaxing stay it was indeed yesterday afternoon at Amor so I decided to while away the time, playing my favorite game on my cellphone.

Have you tried Amor Bakery, folks? If you haven't, I suggest you do if you feel like having coffee and a light snack. Some branches now offer heavier stuff like pasta, that's why I'm jealous for the Espana branch which is the first store, I believe, but is left behind when it comes to the menu. 
Amor Bakery now has 5 branches (Espana, Ongpin, Tandang Sora, SM Sangandaan and Katipunan) just a year and a half after it first opened its doors. Visit the one nearest you and chill it out!

SHP Bibimbab Cafe & Restaurant in Malate

Apparently, Korean food is my "flavor of the month". I've been craving for it the past three weeks! Yup, several bowls of bibimbap I've had already and I'm still wanting! Anyway, I went to the La Salle area along Taft Ave. last week as my kids and I attended the opening of the solo sculpture exhibit of my eldest daughter's beau. And to hit two birds with one stone, I took advantage of the occasion to embark on a little foodie adventure with my little boy before going to the venue, which was the 
Cultural Center of the Philippines. 
I made some research the day before, as a real foodie should (Haha!), to find a restaurant that would arouse my curiosity and excitement. This time, SHP Bibimbab Cafe & Restaurant did it, and it was just the perfect choice as I've been, as I mentioned, on a Korean food mode. The pictures of food and the place itself made my heart skip a beat! Those huge teddy bears and the country-style interiors plus the bowls of 
my favorite bibimbap got me so excited! 
Then, finally, we were there at SHP Bibimbab, my little boy and I, and after choosing a place to prop ourselves up and placing our order, we quickly proceeded to clicking away with the camera - the little boy of me, and I, of him. One could easily get tired of taking pictures here, I learned, as every nook and cranny is picture-pretty 
and Instagram-worthy! 
And then, the food came, thus, it was time to...eat? 

Nope! ..to take more pictures, but of course. :)

Beef Bibimbap, P190. 

Clubhouse, P210.

                                                 Cookies and Cream Frappe, P170.

Iced Cappuccino, P140.

Counter

Menu

In and around SHP Bibimbab Cafe & Restaurant

Cribs all around that make group gatherings and hanging out 
more intimate and fun 

The wall at the corridor where the wash area is

The door that opens to SHP Bibimbab at the Second Floor, 

Mervin Terraces Building, 980 Pablo Ocampo St., Malate, Manila

We came to eating, but of course, but still in between taking pictures. Tee-hee. My son was all praises for the clubhouse sandwich. It took him just one bite to declare his love for it and announced wanting to come back here to have this sandwich again. Just look at those thick fillings of ham, tuna, fried egg and veggies and you're sure 

they don't scrimp around here.  

I loved the bibimbap (bibimbab is what it's called here), too, though I would have wanted it with more sesame oil flavor like the one I'm used to eating some place else. I wondered if the Bulgogi Bibimbap would be more to my liking. I liked, though, that at SHP, bibimbap doesn't come with a sunny side up egg at the center but with scrambled and shredded fried egg on the side. Weird as it may, but I leave the 

sunny side up fried egg whenever I eat bibimbap. 

Anyway, I was all praises for my Iced Cappuccino, which had a robust espresso taste that dominated over the milk. That's how I like having my coffee - strong but not too much as to give me a heartburn. My son also loved his Cookies and Cream frappe though I shuddered over its price tag. Haha! After eating, we had time to linger for some 30 more minutes before going to the CCP so we just hanged out to chatter and play games in our cellphone. Wi-fi is available here, by the way, but I didn't bother to ask for the password because my favorite game has been downloaded on my cellphone.

Well, it was a lovely stay in this lovely cafe. The place is obviously quite old and the water pipes sticking out of the ceiling, that I cropped out of my pictures, could be an eyesore (In my humble opinion, they suit industrial-themed interiors but not a girly place with a country design). But the cribs, decors, trimmings and wall art plus the teddy bears all successfully made the interiors pretty and inviting for hours of lounging. 

Visit SHP Bibimbab Cafe & Restaurant one of these days, folks, and find out for yourselves why this cafe is a crowd-drawer, especially among students.

Happy eating!