Double the Fun (Part 2)

Another restaurant that I ate at this week was Cafe Juanita in Burgos Circle, Fort Bonifacio, for my dearest friend's birthday dinner.

I've eaten at the original location several times. I find it amusing how, after admiring the shabby chic interiors there, you can buy a piece of it yourself to take home!

Peebee had all the food laid out on the table, family style. I've heard some people say that the franchise at The Fort just wasn't as good as the original, but it tasted the same to me. It just lacked in knick-knacks!

Sinigang again! They served each bowl individually as we sat down

Adobo cooked two ways: crispy flakes and regular. Delicious! I like the flakes the best. You can never do it at home without it tasting really oily.

Here's their version of laing. We were joking Anjeanette (whose hubby and their family hail from Bicol) that she would be a critic of the dish. She said the flavor was good, but didn't understand why each leaf wrapped a piece of pork.

Aside from mish-mash interiors, Cafe Juanita prides itself with a mish-mash menu, perfect for people who want to eat all sorts of things at the same time (like me!).

I love Thai food, and this mango catfish salad didn't disappoint, even though it was a "Filipino" restaurant

As I mentioned in part one of this post, I'm allergic to kare-kare, but look at its similarity to the sinigang from Mamou Too

Looking at these photos now reminds me of what a friend in LA told me when I took him to the only Filipino restaurant there, the Jeepney Grill. He said, "Filipinos like to eat a lot of fried or brown foods." Here's another brown fried meat, with brown sauce on top

The crispy skin is so yummy you would give your right kidney for it! This next dish is a winner. It's deep fried lapu-lapu with tamarind sauce (yes, its brown too!). It seems that Cafe Juanita has mastered the art of the "deep fry netting techinique"!

Last but not the least is dessert. Because a friend had eaten a different version the day before, when I saw sticky toffee pudding on the menu I ordered it. It was very good, but a bit on the sweet side

A perfect end to a meal with good friends and a family I have known for years!

Another plus for Cafe Juanita is that my 6-year-old was playing with the celebrator's 7-year-old nephew and let's just say they were a bit rowdy with their fighting techniques. Now, my son is usually well behaved. Nobody complained (though I did read on a restaurateur's Facebook they wanted to ban children from their restaurant. You can tell they don't have any!). The food was good old home-cooking, nothing hoity-toity, and somewhere you can bring your whole family (and even a yaya or two). Thank goodness for places like Cafe Juanita!

Happy birthday Peebee!!

Cafe Juanita
Burgos Circle, Fort Bonifacio
Tel +632.403.1952

Hanging Out In Chelsea

It's not every year you celebrate a big party for your little one. When Enzo turned six, I decided to just eat out then take him on a trip to Universal Studios Singapore during the summer. Chelsea, whose original location is in Serendra, opened a new branch at The Podium. This is perfect because it is right near the house and the food is always good. 

Again, I must say that eating together as a group and trying a lot of different things is just love for me. Everyone sharing little bits of this and that is the reason why people go out to eat together.

We started with some appetizers. Jack thinks these crabcakes are even better than Ruby Tuesdays in Hawaii. 

We also ordered the rocket salad, I love all those bitter greens such as arugula, alfalfa or watercress

The burgers here are simply huge! The potato wedges are awesome with its thick cut and breading, like potato wedge twister fries!

The meatball with Italian sausage pasta is tasty and its portion great for sharing. Don't you just love opening up that meatball and twirling pasta on your fork, and eating it all in one big messy bite? Meatballs always remind me of that scene in Lady and the Tramp.

This was my burger with a fried onion ring and barbecue sauce. Really, these are so huge I halved it and ate the other half for dinner.

That was in January. Last Saturday, my friends and I wanted to go somewhere to have lunch that would also be "kid-friendly." We opted to go to the original Chelsea.

Not only did we bring the kids but the dog as well! Unfortunately he had to stay outside while we ate inside. The kids checked on him from time to time. As Kate said to her daughter, "You brought the dog, it's your responsibility."

complimentary foccaccia

You know how you eat at a restaurant, and you see a fantastic dish come out of the kitchen? Well, I had this moment when I saw the Greek salad. "Whose is that?" I wistfully inquired. Marga said, "I think it's ours V." Bang!

 the best Greek salad ever!

It may look funny, and the thing on top look like agedashi tofu, but when you realize it is breaded deep fried feta, you will also go "ooooh" just as I did. The yogurt dressing was the right bit of tangy, and the vegetables were crunchy and colorful. Who knew we had tomatoes that big and red??

Now this next dish came first. I think Sarah ordered it for Chloe, but she ended up eating more of it than Chloe did (cue "This mac and cheese is really good!") I am so happy to have a good dining experience with Sarah. Seems like the past ones she had were sh*t on service, and sometimes she thinks if it's pick on the white girl!

 mac and cheese: for mommy or for baby?

I ordered for the kiddos before everyone else. I specifically said cheese pizza. I never asked for a garden.

 if you were a kid, would you eat this?

Kate, who is preggers, had a hankering for Caesar salad with chicken. It was damnnnn good! I am so loving the salads here at Chelsea!

 Caesar salad

This is my choice. I tried it for the first time on Enzo's birthday celebration and I absolutely love their aioli. It's got capers, lemon, artichoke, calamari and asparagus.

 fritto misto: I love!

And in honor of our dear friend Estelle who is in the UK, where it is cold, we ordered this pizza, which she says she loves. This is for you Stella!!! We'll eat here again when you come back!!! Treat pa! Come home na!

in honor of Estelle

We got to catch up on several things during lunch, such as plans for Kate's wedding, Sarah and Reggie's move to Boracay in April, as they say its cheaper to live there than here. (Can you believe that???) All in all, a lovely way to spend a day with friends who want to take a break from socializing over alcohol hahahaha!

 Blondy and busty

 B and B and more busty

Enzo cracking up T

I'm happy to tell you everyone enjoyed and the service and both establishments were consistently good. Again, different groups, different set of dishes. Why not come here with a new set of friends next time?

Chelsea The Podium

G/F The Podium 

ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center

Tel +632.914.0005

Chelsea Serendra

G/F Serendra Piazza, McKinley Parkway

Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

Tel +632.909.7011