Nord's Bread Hub at SM North Edsa

I visit SM North Edsa every once in a while to buy my toiletries from 
Human ❤️ Nature. This store for all-natural, eco-friendly hygiene products is at the 3rd level of The Block, where there is also this conspicuous restaurant/bakery called Nord's Bread Hub right at the top of the escalator. I almost always dine here when I go to Human ❤️ Nature and love everything about this place: the food (Asian and American) and the way it's served, ambiance and service. Prices could be a bit steep but the quality of the food and its presentation give justice to it. I love it when the chef takes time to serve my meal in a beautiful setting. Also, the menu has a lot to 
offer: all-day breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack fares.
What I've had so far:

Frutti de Mare
I love seafood pasta and liked Nord's version. It was a little bland, but 
a dash of salt and pepper did wonders. 

Young Pork Tocino

What I love most about Nord's is that their dishes are served complete with sides. There's a lot included in this order of "tocilog"! So filling!

(Note: They have changed the menu since I ordered this and I think 

this is now called Sweet Cured Pork)

 Sandwich Symphony
Three different fillings in a single order of mini sandwiches -- chicken, ham 
and tuna. What's not to love? Fries and fresh salad complete 
this lovely and yummy set.

 Iced Americano
Refreshing caffeine jolt!

Americano
Nord's serves strong, good coffee - just the way I like it!

Cappuccino
The aroma of coffee and cinnamon was just so heavenly!

Sweets, sweets, sweets!

                    A wide array of breads and pastries to choose from

Menu

Nord's Bread Hub at the 3rd level of The Block, SM North Edsa

There's a plethora of restaurants at SM North Edsa and choosing where to eat 

could be a difficult decision to make. But for me, Nord's Bread Hub is on top 

of the list because there's quite a lot of food choices whether I want 

a full meal or just a light snack. And the place is never crowded so I 

always get to eat in peace and "get lost" in my own thoughts. 

Yes, I love where there's peace and quiet. 

Maybe it's the age? Haha!

Visit Nord's Bread Hub, folks! There's one at the Mall of Asia Complex, 

SM Megamall, and at Capitol Commons in Pasig, 

aside from the SM North Edsa store. 

Happy eating!

Dark Specialty Roast: My last foodie find for 2018

After partying left and right just before Christmas Day, I found myself tired of eating meat. So I decided to take a break from pork, beef and chicken for one whole day on the last Saturday before the 25th of December and stick to fish and veggies. It would be a bit of a challenge as I had to go out to do some gift shopping, I thought, as not all restaurants have fish on their menu. Fortunately, I found Dark Specialty Coffee at SM North Edsa because it's where I discovered a fantastic pasta dish with smoked milkfish or tinapang bangus which is one of my top favorite all-day breakfast food. Yay, goodness without red nor white meat! As a bonus, they serve good coffee, too, although I chose a cold coffee and tea blend as thirst quencher.

My lunch at Dark Specialty Roast:

Pasta Maria Ana, P165.

This has milkfish flakes, fresh tomatoes, capers, black olives and extra virgin olive oil.

Iced Cafe Matcha, regular, P160.
Green tea and coffee in a single cup, and the combination of flavors was awesome! 

Dark is my last foodie discovery for 2018 and I was glad to know about and be able to try it. It's a small coffee place with not much on the menu (three pasta dishes, I think, and some meat pies and cakes plus drinks) and shares space with Onesimus men's wear store. Don't let the size of the physical store keep you from visiting this coffee shop, however, as I guarantee, you'll be in for quite a nice surprise, based on 
my first impression of the food and drink.
Will I go back? I would love to! That tinapang bangus pasta would be 
something worth coming back for!

Meal time, fun time at Genki Sushi

When I first read about Genki Sushi, that restaurant at the SM North Edsa that serves food riding on a "bullet train", the first words that came to my mind were 

"fun" and "play". Only kids would think of those, I know, but hey, 

it's good to be child-like and have fun once in a while. 

It took me a long while before I actually made it to Genki Sushi since it reached Philippine shores from Japan in 2015 (if I'm not mistaken), but you know that popular adage: better late than never! It was in between Christmas shopping with my daughter earlier this December when we decided to have Japanese food for merienda and I thought of none other than Genki Sushi. Finally, "fun" and "play"! And it all started when we ordered food using the touchscreen monitor, up until we made our own green tea, and finally, using electronics again to view our bill and ask for our check. 
The highlight of our visit, however, was in between, of course: excitedly waiting for the train carrying our orders to arrive. For once, something 
beat the excitement of eating!

Our orders:

Shoyu Ramen, P250.
My daughter loved this, saying the noodles itself was already flavorful and tasty. I had some 
and liked the savory broth, which was comforting to the tummy. 

Fried Maki Salmon, P160.
We both raved over this -- luscious even to the eyes, and when you put it in your mouth -- an ensemble of delightful sapid flavors! On top of being savory-sweetish, it's spicy -- sure to titillate the taste buds! I could imagine it perking and lifting me up when I'm having the blues. 
Love, love, love!

Norwegian Fresh Salmon Nigiri, P90.
Loved how the salmon glided very smoothly on the tongue with a creamy, melt-in-the-mouth texture. Delish! I could eat salmon whether as sashimi or nigiri 
from breakfast till dinner and not complain!

California Maki Roll, P160.
Good, too, although not a standout. 

DIY green tea
That's green tea powder on the round container. Hot water runs on the faucet.

After putting some green tea powder on your cup, pour some hot water from the faucet, 
stir and voila! Your healthy cup of green tea is ready for drinking.

Special food delivery on board a mini bullet train!

Menu

Genki Sushi at the ground floor of SM North Edsa's main building

Needless to say, we enjoyed mealtime and yes, "playtime" at Genki Sushi. Haha! The electronic system of food ordering and having food delivered by cute trains spell fun! I imagine kids having more fun than me, so bring them over 
and let them play at mealtime. :)
Happy eating!

Tres Cuisine at SM North Edsa

Last summer, my sister who is a US-based nurse, came to the Philippines for her yearly vacation, and stayed all throughout those two weeks in her friend's condo unit in Grass Residences. Since this condo is located at the back of SM North Edsa, we frequented that mall and ate at various restaurants there. The night before she left for the US, we chose to have a despedida dinner at Tres Cuisine at The Block.

This restaurant that serves Filipino and Spanish cuisine has been in existence for 

about five years but it was our first time there. Hopefully, I could be there a second time soon because I loved most of the dishes that we ordered 

plus the attentive and efficient service.

What we had:

Main Dishes:

Classic Beef Kare-Kare-Kare, P393.
This is the dish Tres Cuisine is mainly known for and it didn't disappoint. The nutty sauce was flavorful and with the right consistency. The beef and tripe slices were tender. But of course, the "bagoong" or shrimp paste completed the overall taste and satisfaction this popular Filipino dish brought. Why is it called Kare-Kare-Kare? Because there are three steps to enjoy it (yup, you have to work a little. Haha!). First, pour the sauce, which is served separately, into the dish, then sprinkle the ground peanuts all over. Lastly, drizzle some chili oil, 
which is of course, optional.

Crispy Pata, ala carte, P623. (only P33 on promo)

    Who could resist ordering this for just P33 if your bill reaches P1,500? Certainly not us! We took advantage of Tres' promo and enjoyed this 

crunchy, savory delight that brought us pure porcine pleasure. 

Sinfully delicious if you're like me who's on maintenance BP meds!

Classic Bagnet, P243.
Didn't get to taste this but the kids said they loved the crackle of the pork skin.

Sinigang na Salmon sa Miso, P363.

 Something to balance the diet that dinnertime. Fish! 

   The hot, sour broth was very comforting.

Pancit Canton, P283.
It was a pleasant surprise to be served fried chicken with your order of pancit.  

How nice! A complete meal in itself.

Calamares, P233.
Another seafood dish to balance our diet. The kids loved this one both 

as pica-pica and "ulam" (viand).

Ensaladang Talong, P153.
I was a little excited for this but was a bit disappointed that it was too mushy and soupy. I would have loved it without the watery texture.

Desserts:

Birthday Mangoes, P153./slice
Loved this one for the rich mango taste without being too saccharine.

Fruit Salad, P93.
Nothing so special about this: canned fruit cocktail mixed with cream 
and accompanied by two wafer sticks.

Leche Flan, P83.
This was really good! Creamy, milky and firm, not soggy or overly soft. Yummy!

Drinks:

Calamansi Juice, P103; Fresh Green Mango Shake, P123. 

Tres Brewed Iced Tea, P93., Fresh Ripe Mango Shake, P123., 

Tres Cuisine offers an impressively extensive menu  and even has a number of variations to some dishes. Their Kare-Kare-Kare, for instance, comes in several varieties like Grilled Sugpo, Crispy Beef, and Crispy Pata. Hhmmm..interesting! I wonder as I write this why we hadn't thought of ordering these unique kare-kare versions. Anyway, servings are for sharing, making Tres an ideal place to bring family and friends. There are even two function rooms for 20 and 40 people - ideal for celebrating occasions. 
Try Tres Cuisine, folks!

Happy eating!

Cafe Adriatico Express: Goodness that lasts

Last May when I was at SM North Edsa with my two older sisters, we decided to have merienda (snacks) at Cafe Adriatico Express located at The Block.

Cafe Adriatico is an established restaurant in Malate, Manila, where it opened in 1979. It is now called Cafe Adriatico Premiere, maybe to differentiate it from the mall branch, which, I guess, offers a shorter menu. This is just one of a number of similar establishments under the LJC Group of famed restaurateur Larry J. Cruz. The other restaurants owned by the group are Bistro Remedios, Cafe Havana and the more contemporary Fely J's Kitchen, Abe and Lorenzo's Way. Cafe Adriatico 
specializes in Spanish, Filipino, and Italian dishes.

Anyway, when we were at Cafe Adriatico Express, both of my sisters went for palabok while I had the black pasta. We also had pandesal with kesong puti, 
and brewed coffee to wash everything down.

Pancit Palabok, P255.
This, I read somewhere (in the menu, I guess?), was one of the bestsellers at Cafe Adriatico and my sisters really loved it. 

Black Squid Pasta, Regular, P275.
My choice turned out to be wise. This dish, despite not getting a high grade in the looks department, tasted really good! I love squid to start with, and I commend the idea of making it a main ingredient for a pasta dish instead of simply turning it into viand. The flavor of squid is strong without the fishy stench or taste, and adding parmesan cheese 
brought out the best out of this dish.

Kesong Puti with Pandesal, P165
We had two orders of this, which were originally served with hot chocolate. We asked that the drinks be changed into coffee, though. The pandesal was big, fresh and tasty. But I wished the slice of kesong puti was bigger because there wasn't enough to fill up the two pieces of bread. 

Brewed Coffee
I was happy that Cafe Adriatico serves really good coffee. It was aromatic and bold. Also, it's served with milk, which I prefer over non-dairy creamer.

I'd always held an image of Cafe Adriatico as a restaurant for the old rich of Manila. I'm glad the management had decided to open a branch in one of the most patronized malls in the metropolis to reach out to more people of varying social standings. 
Despite the idea of "reaching out", Cafe Adriatico, to my humble opinion, has done well maintaining the high quality of its food. I know because I had dined at the flagship restaurant in Malate many years ago with two of my "bestest" of friends. I don't remember what exactly our orders were but I do recall loving the food and having a great time.