Tapeo: Spanish Surprise at the Fort Strip

Seemingly out of nowhere, the Spanish tapas bar/restaurant named Tapeo emerged in the Fort Strip. Save for the fact that it's right in front of Racks, it's quite discreet. I love Spanish cuisine, so the next time we had a lunch out at the fort, this was first on my mind.

Nice, dim, cozy. My kind of restaurant. Most of their tables are more for drinking, since they were high and very narrow. We doubted the food would even fit (comfortably, anyway) so luckily, no one else was there and we did a little table-merging of our own. :)

Spanish flags a-wavin'.

Empanadas and Tortilla on the nice little counter. Apart from the table sizes, we were liking the place. I didn't notice very much because I was just excited to order. This place caught my eye with dishes like Callos, Fabada, Lengua, and Albondigas on the menu. I wanted to try more than I could eat!

Fabada, P175.00

Savory Spanish beans stew, sautéed Serrano Ham, Spanish Chorizo, herbs and spices. Served with fried chunky potatoes, baby carrots and slices of crusty bread.
I'll be honest with you. This Fabada was a bit bad-a for me. Our friends said it was just like pork & beans and though I'd usually be more up in arms over comparing such a fine dish to something I don't like, this time I sadly have to agree. The taste was plain. My bigger gripe with this, however, is that it was very under-cooked for me. The sauce was watery, whereas I like it creamy, and the beans were tough and bordered on having a crunch, while I prefer 'em soft and almost mushy. The potatoes and baby carrot fingers were okay and the bread was good. This meal isn't excessively filling, but the price is fair. I wish there were bigger pieces of chorizo in the soup, but unless they totally change how this is cooked, I likely will not order it again.

Callos, P245.00

Beef tripe (twalya), ox tail, chickpeas (garbanzos) in savory tomato sauce with herbs and spices. Served with fried chunky potatoes, baby carrots and slices of crusty bread.
Better. Callos is up there among my favourite Spanish dishes and it isn't usually made well in restaurants, so the fact that they served it good is impressive. It doesn't really compare much to the rich home-cooked Callos I've had, but it's better than what's in Sunshine Kitchen nearby. If I need a quick fix any day, this is where I'll be going. That olive was exquisite, too.

Verdict: 
Fabada: Bad
Callos: Good

Okay, this was a half-good visit. I hope to have better odds next time, since there are still a few I want to try. They also have buffet for a reasonable P400 between 2pm to 9pm, so we might go for that instead. The buffet menu changes day to day so you might want to check which day best suits your palate. ;)

Love Tapeo? Hate it? Let me know by commenting below, or just tweet me!



Other Restaurants in The Fort Strip:
Good Earth Roasts (GER)
Kasbah: A Moroccan Lunch
Racks: My Favourite Ribs
Sunshine Kitchen: Get your Sunny Side Up

Other Restaurants in The Fort:
IHOP: The Latest Pancake Craze
Jollibee: Ultimate Burger Steak and Flip Float
S&R: My Favourite Pizza
Saint's Alp: Taiwanese Chicken Goodness
SM Aura Premier: Pepper Lunch Express under the Sky Park
Stacy's: The Sweet Kind of Retro
Stella Wood Fired Bistro: Nothing Less Than Stellar
Toast Box: Going Goreng
The Kebab Factory: The TKF Trilogy
Wrong Ramen: The Weirder, The Better

TAPEO
G/F The Fort Strip (at 7th Ave. & 28th St.)
Taguig City
Operating Hours:
Mon - Thu: 11:00 am - 12:30 am
Fri - Sat: 11:00 am - 2:00 am
Facebook: Tapeo


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Toast Box: Going Goreng

Out on another lunch out (we do have a lot of these, huh?), we were craving for some KFC. A lot of other people must have been, too, because the lines were very long and there were no vacant tables. We walked further down the road and opted to give Toast Box a shot. It's been there for a while but this would be my first time.

Very neat and very white.

Toast Box is a coffee shop that originated in Singapore, owned by BreadTalk. Hey, I love BreadTalk! I used to treat myself to BreadTalk Wednesdays and I have tried most of their stuff. Let's see if this'll be as good. I wanted to order some toast, of course, but Alvie and my stomach convinced me to order something a bit heavier. I guess there is going to be no toast in this post.

Nonya Laksa, P225.00

Of South East Asian cuisine, I only really know Filipino and Indonesian, so if you'd ask me the first thing that comes to mind when you say Laksa, I'd say Maricel. This was my first time to try this dish and I liked it. I'm not a fan of the type of noodles in it, but the soup was like a cross of Vietnamese(?) Tom Yum and Palabok. It isn't sour, so I liked it even more.

Nasi Goreng, P185.00

In Bahasa Indonesia, nasi means 'rice' and goreng means 'fried'. This nasi is so good those little dilises were practically climbing over each other to get a bite! But I beat them to it. And ate them too. This has always been a favourite of mine since my dad started cooking it at home and also because I worked in Indonesia a couple of times. It is simply delicious and bursting with flavor. This one was bursting with flavor too, but was missing two key aspects: it wasn't sweet and it wasn't spicy. Those are the two factors apparent in about 90% of Indonesian cuisine (which is why I love it) and without them, this almost turns into just good bagoong rice. I still enjoyed it though, and there was a lot of it to enjoy. Not too shabby for 185 pesos.

Iced Barley, an add-on to any above meal for P30.00

In Chinese culture, the number 4 is considered to have bad fortune because it is pronounced similarly to the word for death. That fact rings true in this picture because I really didn't like this drink! For an additional 30 pesos, you can get this or Iced Lemon tea. We wrongfully chose to try this and share it. No sharing happened though, because Alvie didn't like it either. I'm not one to not finish my food (because of how I was raised or all the starving children in Africa, I'm not sure) but I left more than three quarters of the barley, unable to take in any more. I like barley soup, but it does not do well as a drink. It was like drinking sugar water mixed with rice residue and dumped with barley. lots of barley. The drink was actually okay, tasting a little like a Mexican rice drink called Horchata, but it was almost half barley, which was like chewy, gooey rolled oats. Not very appetizing for me, but some other people might be into it.

Verdict:

Nonya Laksa: Good

Nasi Goreng: Very Good

Iced Barley: Bad (not the quality of the drink, but due to my personal preference)

I lohohove Indonesian food, so I totally enjoyed the Nasi Goreng, despite their different take. I see that they have Tofu Goreng and Char Kway Teow too so I'd still definitely want to come back. Maybe one time, we could get around to trying some toast, too. :)

Love Toast Box? Hate it? Let me know by commenting below, or just tweet me!



Other Restaurants in The Fort:
IHOP: The Latest Pancake Craze
Good Earth Roasts (GER)
Jollibee: Ultimate Burger Steak and Flip Float
Kasbah: A Moroccan Lunch
Racks: My Favourite Ribs
S&R: My Favourite Pizza
Saint's Alp: Taiwanese Chicken Goodness
SM Aura Premier: Pepper Lunch Express under the Sky Park
Stacy's: The Sweet Kind of Retro
Stella Wood Fired Bistro: Nothing Less Than Stellar
Sunshine Kitchen: Get your Sunny Side Up
Tapeo: Spanish Surprise at the Fort Strip
The Kebab Factory: The TKF Trilogy
Wrong Ramen: The Weirder, The Better

TOAST BOX
G/F Bonifacio One Technology Tower,
Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City
Operating Hours:
Mon - Fri 7:00 am - 10:00 pm
Sat - Sun 7:00 am - 9:00 pm
Facebook: Toast Box Philippines


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Movie Review: Fast & Furious 6

Image from here.

I've never really been a fan of Fast & Furious. I watched only the first and the fifth so I have just partial knowledge of the story. You don't really need much story to appreciate movies like this, so I went along when my mom and brother wanted to see it at good ol' SMB.

Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) reaches out to Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), who is now living a more peaceful life in hiding, to acquire his help for a mission. The biggest mystery to all is that somehow, Dom's ex, Letty Ortiz (Michele Rodriguez) is apparently alive, previously unbeknownst to all in the crew. Everything kicks into high gear from there.

The movie was fun to watch and had great action. The plot is good too, though I don't think many people watch these many movies for the plot. There are cars. Fast cars. Don't ask me what kind because I know nothing about cars. I'm not proud of it, but cars never really interested me like most guys (and some girls). I still love my car though!

I liked the action scenes, though sometimes I felt there were too many close shots in some, and I've been spoiled with the great wide-shot action scenes from movies like The Dark Knight Rises and Iron Man 3. There was some good comedy in there, too.

The Rock was great in this movie. Man, is he on a streak! He seems to be the best thing about every movie he's in nowadays. I found myself rooting for him more than Dom or any other character in the film. The main antagonist (Luke Evans) was okay, but all I noticed from him was that he looks like an older Orlando Bloom.

Other Notable Cast:
Paul Walker as Brian O'Conner - The original main character is still here, but he was a bit boring.
Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto - She's gotten a lot older-looking than from the first movie.
Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce - Most of the comedy was from him, and he did it well.
Chris Bridges as Tej Parker - That's Ludicrous!
Sung Kang as Han Seoul-Oh - I just want to say, this dude looks like the love child of Jackie Chan and Glenn from The Walking Dead.
Gina Carano as Riley - This former MMA star is also dating the man of steel, Henry Cavill.
????? as ????? - Keep your eye out for a very cool familiar face. ;)

Verdict: 3.5/5 - A solid action film from another franchise The Rock has saved. If you love cars though, don't take my word for it since you might enjoy it much more than I did.

Loved Fast & Furious 6? Hated it? Let me know by commenting below, or just tweet me!


Here's the trailer!

Stacy's: The Sweet Kind of Retro

It's been a busy week. Alvie and I decided to take a break from it with a nice, peaceful lunch out. She couldn't have picked a better place. Where Paul Calvin's used to be at Burgos Circle (I never got to try it :( ), now sits a quaint little restaurant named Stacy's.

A new hint of sweetness.

Did Stacy inherit this great place from her famous mom? :) We were instantly amused by the beautiful retro theme. It was apparent in the colors, the groovy decorations, the smell in the air and even all the feel-good music that was playing the whole time. They weren't all necessarily retro, but they were all as happy as the song "Surfer Girl" by The Beach Boys. Here's the video in case you want to hear it, and keep it playing as you read on to set the mood. ;)

A frown won't last in this place.

We had no idea what to order. Everything looked good! I was just going to order the first thing on the menu, but I just let Alvie help me narrow it down. The first thing that arrived was a must-have in any place such as this.

A&W Rootbeer Float, P88.00

Genius. I terribly miss having the root beer floats from A&W. When I got to visit Indonesia and saw that they still had A&W, the first thing I did was grab one of those bad boys. This isn't as good because it isn't the creamy soft-serve and the soda was canned, but it was still a lot of fun. The mug was a good touch, too.

Spicy Lemon Shrimp Scampi with Angel Hair Pasta,  P215.00

Our first impression was that there wasn't a lot of it, but considering the price, it was a fair, good portion for one person. It had a nice taste and nice firm angel hair noodles. When we squeezed the lemon wedge on it, it became awesome, bursting with zesty goodness. We appreciated that they did not skimp on shrimp! The bread, which might have been wheat or rye, was really good with it too, mostly for scooping up all the leftover oil! :)

Martha's Pot Roast, P285.00

Mrs. Kent's claim to fame is why friends like Lana and Lex are always around mealtimes at the big red barn?
Slices of beef sirloin slowly simmered in our very own brown butter gravy sauce and laced with sautéed mushrooms and whole peppercorns. Lovingly served with corn and carrots and your choice of steamed parsley rice and smashed potatoes (add P45).
I wish there were slices of it and not just one slice because we loved it! The awesome cut of meat was thick, chewy good and juicy. The gravy was different and had a delicious tomato-ish(?) flavor which was just right. The mashed potatoes seem to have been over-processed or something because it had the consistency of kakanin. It wasn't creamy or potatoey at all, so I found myself wishing we didn't spring the extra 45 pesos for this and just stuck with the parsley rice. All in all, I loved that though this wasn't a usual dish at home, it still had that home-cooked feel. One whiff of the dish and it was already bringing out my inner Man of Steel.

A warm delicious meal like this would give anyone super-strength.

After the embarrassing posing and eating, we got tempted by the choco lava cakes on display and gluttonously decided to get one, despite already being stuffed.

Choco Lava Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream, P245.00

This looks like something out of Pop Tate's! A totally different take on the usual Choco Lava Cake, this one has more of a sundae look. It was good, but we've had better (Mozu). This would have been much better if the cake was warm to contrast against the ice cream, since that really is the charm of the choco lava cake. There wasn't a lot of lava in this one, too. This volcano was very dormant. I'm not a fan of cake, so more lava and less cake makes a great lava cake.

We wanted to take the little table, but it was reserved. ;(

Verdict: 
A&W Rootbeer Float: Okay
Spicy Lemon Shrimp Scampi with Angel Hair Pasta: Good

Martha's Pot Roast: Good

Choco Lava Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream: Okay
Ambience: Great!

Having lunch at Stacy's was a very pleasant surprise. There wasn't much hype about it, but we're happy to have a reasonably-priced, great-smelling, happy place nearby to smash hungers and uplift spirits.

Any Fallout fans reading this? This place reminded me heavily of that retro-esque environment, minus the little apocalypse part, of course. :)

They are only on soft opening but we loved our visit, no problems at all! We happily look forward to coming back, getting cheered up, and writing more posts about Stacy's. :D

Love Stacy's? Hate it? Let us know by commenting below, or just tweet me!



Other Restaurants in The Fort:
Good Earth Roasts (GER)
IHOP: The Latest Pancake Craze
Jollibee: Ultimate Burger Steak and Flip Float
Kasbah: A Moroccan Lunch
Racks: My Favourite Ribs
S&R: My Favourite Pizza
Saint's Alp: Taiwanese Chicken Goodness
SM Aura Premier: Pepper Lunch Express under the Sky Park
Stella Wood Fired Bistro: Nothing Less Than Stellar
Sunshine Kitchen: Get your Sunny Side Up
The Kebab Factory: The TKF Trilogy
Wrong Ramen: The Weirder, The Better

STACY'S
Rizal Drive, Forbestown Heights,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
Operating Hours:
11:00 am - 9:00 pm (soft opening)
Facebook: Stacy's

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A Midday Buffet at Don-day

Done with our errands in the middle of Saturday, we unsurprisingly thought of just one activity before heading home: EATING! but Don-day vamos a comer? We were near Katipunan, so Alvie suggested one cheap Korean buffet she heard about (I seriously have no idea where she gets all these places).

I was surprised to see so many restaurants cluttered about this area of Teacher's Village. BRGR Project's here too! We finally got to the place, and I was already full when we got there from drinking about a Venti and a half of Starbucks' Asian Dolce Latte (great drink, by the way and drinking all that before a buffet was a genius idea on my part, I know).

Check out my sweet ride!

I immediately liked what I saw when we got there. They have a small air-conditioned section and a huge outdoors area. I would have preferred to sit outside in the fresh air, but the tables were reserved for some K-Pop event. This is a fitting restaurant for that, I guess. Haha. We weren't welcomed, and weren't even noticed for the couple of minutes that we were snooping around the buffet table. More of a self-service place, well that's cool. The service was good enough for the essential things like taking your order and getting your bill and that's what really matters.

I was kind of confused with the setup and near the buffet table, we found the closest thing they have to a menu.

That dude has a cool shirt! I miss Rock Band.

You basically have three options:
Don Day Table Buffet, P199.00 - You can have everything that's on the buffet table, but it's only available lunch time. Not a bad deal at all!
Samgyupsal, P299.00 - Don Day Table Buffet plus unlimited pork that you can cook at your own table grill.
Beef/Samgyupsal, P399.00 - Don Day Table Buffet plus unlimited pork and beef that you can cook at your own table grill.
Whatever you end up choosing, make sure to clean up your plate or YOU!!! will be charged penalty. :)

A small buffet table with so many choices.

Since we weren't really hungry, we took the middle road and ordered just the pork option. I liked the buffet selection. There was a lot of weird, different food that I'm not usually exposed to. Is this authentic Korean cuisine? The not-so-popular kind? I don't know! I hope they put labels next time so I at least have some idea of what I'm eating. It doesn't even have to be anything fancy. Even small pieces of paper would do. If you were to ask me what my favourites were, I'd answer the thing, the round thing, and the other orange-y thing.

I loved these um.. roundy things.

They actually had a lot of good food. I didn't touch the rice and I didn't even have enough space to try a little of everything. That might have been my fault though, for starting full. Haha.

More delicious things! 

Now, what did I pay 100 pesos for?

Some gyupsal?

The pork was okay. It was tasteless, because it was simply just pork. I guess the taste of your Samgyupsal is dependent on your Korean culinary skills. They have a bunch of sauces and spices available for you. I did not know what to do with them, but I enjoyed the hot sauces. The pork wasn't bad, but I enjoyed the buffet table enough not to care too much about it. Perhaps next time, we'll try the beef, but that will no longer be cheap buffet. Haha.

Who needs the pork when you can come up with this delicious number from the buffet table alone?

Verdict:
Samgyupsal: Good for a great price


I liked the meat/seafood dishes, the pancake thingamajigs, and the croquettes (at least I got that one right!). The fun was cut short when my caffeine and milk-filled stomach started feeling worse for wear. :( I guess coffee and kimchi don't mix, or at least not in extreme quantities. I easily learn my lessons though, and I look forward to trying this fun and affordable buffet again in the future and I will not drink a Venti beforehand next time. Just a Grande.

Love Don-day? Hate it? Let me know by commenting below, or just tweet me!



DON-DAY FRESH RESTAURANT
40 Malingap St.,
Teacher Village - East, Quezon City
(02) 435-0528
Operating Hours:
11:00 am - 2:00 pm
5:00 pm-10:00 pm
Facebook: Don-day Fresh Restaurant


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Everything Goes at Sieg's!

Parents took us all out for dinner to celebrate their anniversary. Awesome! We were late since I had to come from the office and I wasn't early. It was cool that the place we decided to eat closes really late. Sieg's has always been an eye-catcher for me when passing through Bicutan, but after 12 years of living nearby, this will be my first time! Everything Goes at Sieg's, hmm?

Everything?

It was pretty empty when we got there. There were only two other tables with customers. Nice, quiet, and cozy, I guess? A few others came in after us so it seems having dinner here at ten isn't out of the ordinary.

As late as it already was, we had a hard time choosing from a wide selection that included Tempura, Fish and Chips, crab, Gambas, Pizza, Tapang Usa, Callos, pasta, burgers and steak. Everything Goes indeed! I happily ordered the Indonesian noodle dish I love called Char Kway Teow, which turned out to be out of stock. So were our next three choices. Is everything gone at Sieg's? Luckily, we were able to settle on second choices from their vast menu.

Fried Cheese, P130.00

four cheese, blended with cream and egg yolks breaded and fried with fresh tomato sauce. 
This intricately named appetizer was an easy choice, having the words "fried" and "cheese" both. My tongue doesn't have enough attention to detail to verify or classify the four cheeses, but it was good. The fresh tomato sauce wasn't that special but it accompanied the cheese well.

A Basket of Chicken, P440.00

deep fried whole chicken chopped and served with potato wedges and our gravy.
Now, I get it! A "chicken" basket! Another creatively named dish, this basket of chicken gets points for presentation but not flavor. This almost exactly tastes like your regular fried chicken at home. That isn't worth  the price tag for me, but it might be appreciated if you're particularly homesick. The best thing about this dish isn't the basket though, it's the amazing potato wedges that come in it. Rafa said it was great and I didn't pay much mind until I tasted it. Wow! I wish it was just A Chicken Basket of Potato Wedges instead. Pity there were only four wedges in the basket. I don't really recall the gravy so I might not have used any.

Yang Chow, P40.00 and Kare-Kare, P290.00

I got a cup of Yang Chow because I wanted something much more tasty than plain rice. I was barking up the wrong tree. This was quite bland, but at least it wasn't expensive. I have only recently become a fan of Chinese fried rice, so I had high hopes for this.

Made from ox-tripe, beef brisket and pork leg served with fresh peanut sauce and steamed rice.
The Kare-Kare was alright. It was good because I really like the dish but this wasn't that great. I can easily say Gerry's Grill (my usual point of comparison for this dish) has a much better version.

Crispy Pata, P495.00

the famous fried tender pata.
It looked great and there was a lot of it, but we found this to be quite dry. I discovered that dryness takes all the fun out of eating Crispy Pata. This was okay pork, but was far from the usual delicious Crispy Pata.

Sieg's Bicol Express, P220.00

sigarilyas, string beans, chillies, coco milk, and fried liempo.
I was wondering why this was in the Vegetable part of the menu. Majority wins, I suppose. :) This was our favourite of the night. Never would I have imagined that vegetables would be wiped out immediately and way before Crispy Pata and Kare-Kare, but it did happen. This isn't the usual kind of Bicol Express, but it was flavorful, spicy, and addictive.

Verdict:
Fried Cheese: Good
A Basket of Chicken: Good only because of the potatoes
Yang Chow: Bad
Kare-Kare: Okay
Crispy Pata: Okay
Sieg's Bicol Express: Great

Maybe next time, we should only order the dishes with Sieg's in the name. Haha. I did not see the Karaoke, but this looks like a fun place to enjoy that. The fun dinner was a bit of a hit-and-miss in the food department, but we were really happy with the Bicol Express. We barely scratched the surface of the huge menu, so I still look forward to trying more from Sieg's! (though I now know what I won't be ordering again :P)

Love Sieg's? Hate it? Let me know by commenting below, or just tweet me!



SIEG'S DINER
Doña Soledad Ave.,
Better Living, Parañaque City
(02) 821-4154


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Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

Image from here.

Beyond the darkness, lies greatness.

Star Trek Into Darkness is the second film in the franchise's recent reboot. The USS Enterprise faces a vicious threat in the character of Commander John Harrison, portrayed by none other than Sherlock's Benedict Cumberbatch.

I won't get into many details of the plot to leave your experience as unsullied as possible, but I can tell you it is a great movie and yes, it is better than the first. That's coming from yours truly, a fervent Star Wars fan and a Star Trek amateur.

The whole crew is back and played by the same actors from the first film. I must say, I'm still not a total fan of Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, but the idea is growing on me. He did a good job and is proving himself to be much more than a teen movie star. Zachary Quinto plays a good Spock, but I can never ever unsee Sylar when I see him. I'd sooner imagine him pulling off a telekinetic head slice rather than a Vulcan nerve pinch.

Benedict Cumberbatch steals this show. When a villain is so good, that you find yourself waiting for the next scene he's in, you know he's a damn good villain. It was similar watching The Dark Knight (and even its sequel for me), I almost felt like "aww man, another Batman scene..". Star Trek Into Darkness is one such film. As Sherlock, I always found him to be quite awkward and lanky, so I was impressed to see him convincingly portray a more physically able role.

They did a great job on this film, and knowing that the director, J.J. Abrams is also doing the much-awaited 7th Star Wars film, I have high hopes that he'll come through on that, too.

Other Notable Cast:
Zoe Saldana as Nyota Uhura - She is Neytiri from Avatar.
Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy - He is Eomer from Lord of the Rings, and the new Judge Dredd!
Simon Pegg as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott - None other than Shaun of the Dead.
John Cho as Hikaru Sulu - Harold from Harold & Kumar!
Peter Weller as Alexander Marcus - The original RoboCop and Stan Liddy from Dexter.
Nolan North - He is the voice of Uncharted's Nathan Drake and Assassin's Creed's Desmond Miles. Big names, huh? Can you spot him in the film? I wasn't able to..

Verdict: 4/5 - Great, entertaining movie. Even for one uninitiated in Star Trek, but it's much better if you have at least seen the first reboot film.

We watched this at the newly opened SM Aura Premier. Check out our review of that experience here:
http://savvyaboutnothing.blogspot.com/2013/05/sm-aura-premier-pepper-lunch-express.html

Loved Star Trek Into Darkness? Hated it? Let me know by commenting below, or just tweet me!



Here's the trailer!

SM Aura Premier: Pepper Lunch Express under the Sky Park

A lovely view of the SM Aura Premier from the Sky Park.

Alvie and I met up with my family at Market! Market! to catch Jeric's mall show with the rest of the X Factor Philippines Top 6 finalists. What better time to check out SM Aura Premier on the first day it is open? Any other time. We had to wade through oceans and oceans of people, all keen on checking out SM's latest innovative project. After what felt like an hour of squeezing through the crowd by the fashion show at the main entrance, we got to the less-populated section of the mall.

We ascended the mall looking for a place to grab dinner, hoping there were at least a few empty restaurant seats in the thoroughly crowded mall. It was far from complete as there were still many closed establishments  and areas. We were meaning to watch Star Trek Into Darkness that night and were glad to see that the screenings were far from full. I guess people weren't here to sit and watch today.

Cinema Prices:
P250 for regular
P400 for IMAX

Crowded!

Right next to the cinema is their food court named Food on Four. The options available right now are Latin cuisine from Brasas, Sbarro, Pepper Lunch, and the strangely named Eat Pinoy. I would've wanted to try Brasas or resort to my favourite Baked Ziti at Sbarro, but Pepper Lunch seemed to be quickest due to the shorter queue. Seemed. 

Pepper Lunch Express wasn't very "express" that day.

The line was short, but it took about 45 minutes for our meals to be ready to be picked up. We grabbed a snack nearby to tide us over.

Eat Pinoy's Garlic Peanuts, P150.00

The peanuts were flavorful, crunchy, and addictive, but is quite steep at 150 pesos. An eternity later, our meal buzzer buzzed.

Beef Pepper Rice, P145.00

The pepper rice they have in this express branch has sadder meat portions, but is still as delicious. This is tolerable for the noticeable price change. This meal usually goes for 215 pesos, so I totally wouldn't mind paying 70 pesos less for a meal that is still filling anyway.

Beef & Salmon Pepper Rice, P187.00

I opted to pay a bit more for some Salmon with my meal. I had to rush this plate from the stall to the table and quickly ask Alvie to take its picture "before the meat gets overdone and ruined!". Every time I eat at Pepper Lunch, I get the meat up on the rice as soon as I can because I like it rare. It tastes much better and doesn't have the life burned out of it! I can't speak for how safe eating this rare is, though. :)

While we were waiting for those meals to be prepared, Alvie and I excused ourselves from waiting duties to survey the place above. We were pleasantly surprised with what we found. We didn't know there was a park up here! Sky Park gives an awesome view from the top of SM Aura. Not grand in size, but it was a refreshing, unique place. It's similar to Trinoma's garden but I like this better. It reminded me of Hong Kong's Victoria Peak in design. I look forward to hanging out here, sipping on some Happy Lemon from nearby, if it won't be too populated.

I love the fountains of light!

Finally, time for the movie to cap off our first SM Aura experience. We grabbed some drinks from the almost unrecognizable Snack Time that is customary for SM theaters. Corn dogs? Bacon Cheeseburgers? This isn't the Snack Time I know!

I can't watch movies without sipping on soda!

The theater was quite small and they have their fair share of kinks to work out. Frustratingly, they had the opposite of widescreen. A significant portion of the left and right edges weren't being displayed by the projector, ruining even the occasional caption in the movie. There is a huge difference between "Star Trek" and "tar Trek". The film also stopped twice during screening for up to a full 10 minutes. Projector overheating? At the least, it eventually started working and we didn't have to get a refund.

Pepper Lunch Verdict:
Beef Pepper Rice: Good
Beef & Salmon Pepper Rice: Good

Star Trek Into Darkness Spoiler-free Review:
http://savvyaboutnothing.blogspot.com/2013/05/movie-review-star-trek-into-darkness.html

My impression was that this mall is a great addition to Bonifacio Global City. The Fort is my favourite commercial place (at least until it will inevitably get too crowded) and it just got better. A few of the things I look forward to enjoying here are:
Restaurants: Sbarro, Pepper Lunch Express (this is more of Alvie's), Yabu, and I hope the future holds more great ones. (Taco Bell!!!)
Movies: IMAX. The prospect of watching movies in BGC and not being limited to Market! Market! alone, is great, but they have IMAX too! Gone are the days we'd have to go to one of the opposite ends of EDSA to catch some great 3D cinema!
Shopping: Forever 21, Uniqlo are places I like because they have good clothes that aren't horrendously expensive. I never shop for fun so I'm glad to have these nearby for whenever I need to.
Milk Tea: Chatime, Gong Cha, Happy Lemon. Talk about competition! Do you feel left out, Serenitea?

This was definitely a memorable first experience at SM Aura Premier. I've always preferred Ayala malls and I used to be a Glorietta kid through and through so I never would have expected that right here in BGC, SM blew the nearby Ayala mall out of the water! I look forward to my next visit, hopefully when the hype dies down. :)



PEPPER LUNCH EXPRESS
4th floor, Food on Four
SM Aura Premier, McKinley Parkway
McKinley Hill, Taguig City
Facebook: Pepper Lunch Philippines
Website: http://www.pepperlunch.com.ph/


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