Amo Yamie Crib: A year after

It's nice to be back! 

This was how I felt setting my feet again last week inside Amo Yamie Crib, that hip and cool food and movie house at the University Belt in Manila. It was also around this time of the year when I was there with my daughter in 2014, when this place was only probably less than two weeks old. And boy, was I impressed! The place is  bigger - much bigger, now also occupying the next three units beside it on the second floor of Gordi Plaza Building on Legarda St., near the corner of C.M. Recto. The menu hadn't changed much, though, from a year ago. But I was happy to try some of their food and drink offers that I didn't get to taste before. I was at Amo Yamie Crib 

with a younger crowd - two of my kids and their friends. 

We had:

Mini bites (four mini burgers) and fries, P99.

Clubhouse sandwich with fries, P95.

Nachos, P89.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Flower Pot, P89

Blueberry cheesecake, P69.

Red Riding Hood (red velvet cheesecake frappe), P139.

Oreo & Juliet, P129.

Mocha Wish, P109.

Cafe Latte, P75.



Menu

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Counter



Cribs



Live music!




What we loved? The mini-burgers, fries, nachos and our drinks. Yummy! The clubhouse sandwich was also good but not something to rave about, likewise our desserts - the flower pot red velvet cake and blueberry cheesecake. But as you can see in the pictures, this place is unique and the ambiance makes this place so worth the trip especially if you're coming from another city and even on a rainy day. 
The "cribs" make a perfect hang-out place for friends for hours of sharing stories and laughter. The live performance by a singer was something also new to me - I think they didn't have this before - and surely, added more fun. One of the crew members told us any customer 
could join in the singing. 
And I still haven't told you, Amo Yamie is a movie house, too. Any group of people may rent one room for around P500 for up to three hours to watch a movie - with unlimited popcorn for everyone! Sounds nice for a real bonding moment with the whole family or barkada, right? 
Well, if those won't make you head over to Amo Yamie Crib right now, I don't know what will. Haha! By the way, another good thing is about to happen. Another Amo Yamie Crib is opening soon in Manila, this time on Espana Blvd. Aren't we Manilans lucky? Hehe..
Well, that's all for now, folks! 
Happy eating!  

Lovin' all-day brekkie at Tapa King

Tapsilog, short for tapa, sinangag and itlog, is a favorite breakfast fare among Filipinos, not excluding moi. For this reason, many restaurants offer it and not just in the a.m., but all day long. Moi is happy, but of course, because I love tapsilog even for merienda or dinner. Good thing, a number of foodie places offer it as a specialty and serve it any time of the day. One of such restaurants is Tapa King, which started its operation in 1987. Now 28 years in existence, it already has branches in different parts of the country and has even expanded abroad. A few months ago, Tapa King opened a store quite near our home - at the new Sun Mall in Welcome Rotonda in Quezon City. Good thing so I could have their tapsilog more often, as well as some of their other offers.
Here's some of my favorites here:

Tapa King, P142.

Spicy tuyo, P162.

Beef Steak Filipino, P85.

Chocolate cake, P65.
 TK Burger, P60.

French fries

Mushroom soup, P35.

Inside Tapa King at Sun Mall in Welcome Rotonda

Tapa here at Tapa King is indeed a royalty in taste - rightly spiced, and tender. I love that it's not saucy like at another famous tapa place (did I just give a hint there? Hehe..) but not dry either. I also enjoy their spicy tuyo, which is really my No. 1 favorite for brekkie at home, where I could fry it to a crisp.  Meanwhile, I also loved the Beef Steak Filipino although it didn't appeal to me at first sight. The beef was "anemic-looking" so I thought it was bland. Good thing it turned out to be delicious, just rightly salty. The burger was my daughter's order and she said she liked it, together with the fries. The chocolate cake was a bit of a surprise 'coz I didn't expect Tapa King to come up with a good one. But it was - moist and delicious, with the just the right level of sweetness. 
All these make Tapa King one of my favorite all-day breakfast places. 
Find a branch near you if you haven't tried it. 
Happy eating!

Ka Tunying's Cafe: The place to be on Visayas Ave.

If you watch shows at the Kapamilya channel especially Kris TV, or regularly watch the news even at the Kapuso network, you've probably seen or heard about Ka Tunying's Cafe - that bakeshop/restaurant owned by Anthony "Tunying" Taberna, a news reporter and radio anchor of ABS-CBN. This homey place with classic and classy interiors opened last week of August but just about 7 days later, a gunman pumped bullets into the building's facade (it's a stand-alone establishment), shattering glass walls and balustrade. Fortunately, the incident happened in the wee hours of the morning when the store was closed, so nobody was hurt 
and Tunying himself was not there.

But anyway, the happy news is that this cafe offers lots of yummy stuff - smoothies, coffee, frappes, breads, pastries, and Filipino all-day breakfast. I've been here with my officemates maybe 5 times - either to eat and have coffee or just buy bread to take home. By the way, Ka Tunying's Cafe is on Visayas Ave., Diliman, Quezon City and is in my office neighborhood, that's why my co-workers and I are frequent customers.

So far, we've tried:

Creamy Baked Bangus with Rice, P225.

Tinapang Galunggong with rice, P175.

 Arroz ala Tunying, 150.  

 Pandesal Platter, P175.

Blueberry Danish, P85. 

 Strawberry Danish, P85.

 Banana muffin, P25.  

 L-R: Chocolate, strawberry and blueberry muffins, P35 each

 Agimat, P145.

 Supremo Latte, P65.

Kapinoychino, P65.

 Tunying's Blend brewed coffee, P55.

Dalandan Ginger Iced Tea, P65.

Ensayamada, P135.


Balikutcha - the sweetener they use in their drinks which they buy from Ilocos. 
I loved eating it as dessert, though. :)

Interiors

 Main dining area on the second level

Cup-shaped chairs 

 This is inside an enclosed area upstairs. Once, I saw Tunying having lunch 
here with some guests.

Balcony dining area

Stairway leading to the second level

Counter, ground floor

 Menu boards

 Part of the bread display area

 Just some of the breads available

                                     Ka Tunying's Cafe on Visayas Ave, Diliman, Quezon City

We loved just about everything, including the drinks. My friend raved about the healthy green smoothie called "Agimat" - a mixture of cucumber, ginger and kalamansi. She said the three ingredients' flavors blended perfectly well to make a refreshing, delicious drink. Even their iced tea is uniquely delicious. It has the flavor of dalandan instead of the usual lemon or kalamansi. There's also bits of black gulaman (or was it really?)  in it. Another one-of-a-kind drink here is the "Ensayamada" which is inspired by the Pinoy favorite bread "ensaymada". 

Now you may drink your bread. Hehe..

Now on to the food. I love that they serve brown rice, which is healthy and recommended for diabetics like me. I had it with tinapang galunggong with tomatoes and itlog na maalat on the side. Yummy! My friend had the Creamy Baked Bangus then, which I tasted and liked. It had cream so it could be cloying after awhile, though. Good thing it was also accompanied by itlog na maalat and with atsara too to balance flavors. Another time, I had Arroz ala Tunying which was loaded with chicken and eggs. Delicious and comforting to the tummy, especially on a rainy day. My friend had the Pandesal Platter then, which consisted of four pandesal with different fillings - Spanish sardines, fried egg, corned beef and pulled pork adobo. 

As for their bread and pastries, my top favorite is the baguette, which I make into pizza at home, while my kids love the blueberry muffins and floss bread. My officemates swear by the Danish - both the blueberry and strawberry, and the raisin bonnets. 

Oh well, there's just so many things to love here at Ka Tunying's Cafe - the food and drinks, the ambiance, even our selfies with the guy (Anthony) himself, who is very funny and accommodating - always obliging to selfie requests from customers. Pay this cafe a visit, folks, but be warned! Making a choice (among the drinks and breads) is tough. Haha! 

Happy eating!