Guevarra's: The Best of Filipino Cuisine

We visited Chef Laudico's Guevarra Restaurant in San Juan for my mother's birthday lunch. I have been to the restaurant with officemates before and was really excited to come back with my family this time. 

The restaurant is an old house (~ this house has so much character) turned into a restaurant.  Consistent with the theming is the Filipino buffet spread. 

We were there early (about 1 hour before the opened their lunch tables).  We live in Rizal and we wanted to beat traffic.  We waited for awhile outside. 

NOTE: If you are coming on a weekend or holiday, don't just pop up.  Please be sure to make reservations.  During our visit, we saw a couple, who had to wait for vacant seats for 2 hours (even though they came early) because the restaurant is fully reserved (reservation details listed at the bottom of this post).

My parents playing cozy while waiting.

Waiting = Selfies

We have seniors with us, so I specifically requested for seating nearest the buffet spread (#PerksWithSeniors).

I love the interiors...

Autographed plates of famous guests, adorned the walls.

Don't worry my "forgets" had double dose of their maintenance medicine for the occasion. 

So much food ~  for the price we paid (P500 for a Saturday buffet, less Senior Citizen discounts)  I would say it was "Sulit".  

Chef Laudico Guevarra's Buffet Restaurant

387 P. Guevarra St. cor. Argonne St., Addition Hills San Juan

Manila, Philippines

Operating hours: 

11:00 am- 2:00 pm (Lunch)

7:30 pm- 10:30 pm (Dinner)

Buffet Rates: 

Monday to Friday - Lunch P399/ Dinner P499

Friday to Saturday - Lunch or Dinner P599

For reservations, call: Landline: (02) 705-1811, (02) 705-1874, and (02) 502-5006 or Mobile: 0917-311-2222

For more details or information, like Chef Laudico Guevarra's Facebook or follow them on Twitter.

Restaurant Review: Ogetsu Hime at SM Aura Taguig

Ogetsu Hime is Japan's food goddess.

She offers life-giving blessings to ensure bountiful harvest, abundant catch, fertile pasture and healthy farm.

Ogetsu Hime the restaurant was named in honor of Japan's food goddess ~ such a tough name to live up to. 

Let us taste to see if Ogetsu Hime was able to live up to its namesake. 

I must start by saying their plating is elegant. 

My mouth watered at the first sight of the dishes we ordered.  I love them all, especially the Tempura Soba (I took a mental note to remember to order this on our return) . 

We started with an order of Ogetsu Hime Salad (P280)

Serving was hefty and good for sharing. 

Gyoza (P165)

Japanese Pork Dumplings

These were really tasty and delectable.

Kaisen Fried Rolls (P270)

Bread Crumb Crusted Fried Roll with Spicy Tuna, Salmon, Cream Cheese, Topped with Wasabi and Mayonnaise and Unagi Sauce (I know it was a mouthful, but it taste awesome with all the flavors coming in together with the spicy tuna as the final kick). 

Tempura Soba (P280)

Buck Wheat with Ebi Tempura

This is by far my favorite dish from our order.  It is embarrassing but I cleaned this bowl (with very little help from my hubby); And it is a rather huge bowl :P

Tofu Steak (P190)

Deep Fried Beancurd with Subatsu Sauce

The tofu was perfect with the flavorful garnishing. 

Hungry for Japanese Cooking?

Visit Ogetsu Hime and have delectable -authentic Japanese cuisine at really modest price. 

Ogetsu Hime is located at the Level 5 of SM Aura.

For inquiries and reservation call:

(02)519-9840

(02)519-9740

0917 8096585

Like and Follow

Ogetsu Hime in Facebook: OgetsuHime 

La Bella Teodorico: An Italian Restaurant in the Heart of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar

After a tiring day of touring Las Casas beautiful and historic houses (Please follow this link to read about our Heritage Tour: Las Casas Heritage Tour) ~ our excitement taking photos and touring every inch of the resort was cut short by the grumbling of our stomach.
 

My brother offered to pay for our dinner and my husband and I willingly obliged (lol)

Rule #1:

Don't say no to free food, besides free food tastes so much better.

There are plenty of food options inside the resort:

Café Marivent ~ A Filipino -Spanish Restaurant

La Bella Teodora - Italian Dining

Café del Rio - with Tapas as specialty

We were in the mood for some pizza and pasta and so we headed to La Bella Teodora.

We were served a complimentary basket of breads with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip

~ one of the tastiest we have tasted.

Everything that we ordered tasted very good. Food were flavorful and freshly prepared (in layman's term takes a while to prepare) 

Calamari was cooked perfect ~ crispy outside, soft inside and deep in flavor.

Pasta Marina ~ they obviously did not skimped on shrimps. 

This is my favorite. I could have eaten the entire plate.

Carbonara was as delectable, but I am not into white sauces. 

Quattro Formaggi (4 Cheese) Pizza

It is a thin and crunchy while there was an ample amount of melted cheese as topping.

Me and my husband were too full for desert.

However, my brother loving Tiramisu just couldn't say no to it, when saw it listed on the menu.

My brother's Tiramisu (Yup ALL his :P)

My sister in law also had 2 orders of Sangria. 

Must have been good. 

VERDICT:

We all loved La Bella Teodorico. 

Food is wonderful though a bit pricey, but I cannot complain on that one as I had free dinner.

If you are visiting Las Casas de Acuzar and craving Italian cuisine, we highly recommend La Bella Teodorico. 

Molto delizioso!

Read more of our Las Casas trip by following below links:

Las Casas Heritage Tour

Staying at Casa Jaen ~ Las Casas de Acuzar

Hill Station ~ Baguio's #1 Restaurant

A trip to the Hill Station has been in my bucket list for years now. Since we normally climb Baguio during peak times, a table at this restaurant is near impossible to get without reservations.

So in our latest, Baguio escapade (an off peak, late afternoon-rainy day), we finally got in.

 

Hill Station has a rustic appeal.  High ceiling with wooden beams and wooden floorings. The outer most tables, are treated to huge windows and better ventilation, plus the smell of fresh pines.

So we got lucky ~ we were seated right next to a window.

The restaurant is connected by a grand staircase to Casa Vallejo, a boutique hotel upstairs (Casa Vallejo which was built in 1909 is said to be one of the 10 oldest institutions in Baguio). 

The Hill Station is the hotel's restaurant.

We were hungry from our 5 hour trip from Manila to Baguio and over ordered (a bit):

We were given a complimentary

basket of bread with an oil base dip.  

Artichoke and Spinach Dip (P150)

I was surprised my boys gamely digged-in.  They liked it so much, I never got to try it.  I am thinking it was good as they finished everything clean.

My youngest had a hard time complying to the "shoot first-eat later" rule.  He must be hungry, he also had Vanilla Milk Shake (P140), but, he drank it so fast, I never had the time to take a photo. 

Seafood Carbonara (P340).  It tasted different from the usual carbonara ~ I think they use coconut milk as cream. I am a seafood person, so I ended up hogging this plate. 

Lechon Kawali (P360) with thinly sliced cucumber (I never got to try the cucumber, my husband took everything) and laing. The laing is good, but not as spicy as I wanted.

The most expensive dish we ordered is the Salpicado (P595).  I got a few bites, before my husband declared its his.  The meat is tender and flavorsome (makes my mouth water just now, writing about it).

The last dish in our order is the Cambodian Chicken (P340).  I would be honest, I am not a big fan of this one.  I find it a bit too salty and seasoned with spices new to my taste buds. 

The tough choice: Choosing Dessert.  

Death by Chocolate (P120) cake's high rating in online reviews helped us decide. 

This dessert is delicious, no wonder it is so highly recommended. 

I was a bit confused though, why they call it cake, when it is really a mixture of warm dark chocolate topped with vanilla ice cream. 

Cordillera heirloom coffee (P70)

VERDICT

• Hill Station is special.  A visit is recommended if you are in Baguio. 
• I give 3 out of the 4 dishes we ordered A+.  The Cambodian Chicken however, was a miss for me (my taste buds ain't liking Cambodian food). 
• Would love to see more Filipino dishes on the menu.  I was quite sad learning there are no vegetable dishes in the menu. How could there be no veggie viands in Baguio?         
• We came on an off peak season and the place is not really full, the staff though nice and warm seemed a bit unorganized. 
• Parking could be a bit of a challenge. We saw a lot of vehicles parked on the side of the road, but Casa Vallejo has a parking lot (limited to about 10-12 cars) at the back of the restaurant (just ask the friendly hotel guard for parking directions).

Hill Station is located at Upper Session Rd, Baguio, 2600 Benguet

For reservations you may call (074) 424 2734. 

(reservation is a must, if you are visiting on a peak season) 

Open daily (7AM–10:30PM)

Charitos by Bag of Beans ~ TKO by Coffee

My-ex and I decided an impromptu joy-trip one weekend and found ourselves in Tagaytay.  We were feeling a bit romantic, having the alone time, without our extra baggages (our beloved but super "kulit" duo ~ awws you know who I mean), that we knew right away that lunch would be extra-romantic (meaning no fast food!) and yes a tad more expensive.

Restaurant hunting in Tagaytay is never a problem ~ good restaurants abound. 

We finally settled in Charitos operated by the well-known Bag of Beans. 

Unlike the Bag of Beans branch located at the Aguinaldo Highway, Mendez Crossing, Charitos is spacious with ample parking. 

Charitos is gorgeous ~ it has wide open spaces with a view of Taal volcano (unfortunately, the weather was gloomy that day and we only got glimpse of the famous attraction). 

Decoration is a bit eclectic, but more of the Victorian side.

I ordered Fish and Chips (P380), tender lightly coated fish fillet, with side salad and potato wedges.

My ex meanwhile herbs marinated Roast Beef (P450). 

I took bites and found it tender and really flavorful.   

For the finale (You can't say you have been to Charitos without) Bag of Bean's house blend coffee (P130) and  blueberry cheesecake (P160+).

VERDICT:

• Charitos by Bag of Beans is charming. It is perfect for a romantic or a special occasion date with your better half.  A clear view of the Taal Volcano below would have been the topping on the ice cream.
• It is bit upscale, but we didn't mind paying extra since service was A+ and food great.  
• We had a wonderful lunch at Charitos and would not mind coming back for more.

Happy customers :P

CHARITO BY BAG OF BEANS

Maharlika East, Tagaytay-Nasugbu Highway, 

Tagaytay City, Cavite, Philippines

Contact no: 046 4831279