Pinoy Life At Large

1. Maybe it was just so hungry that day or they were understaffed that day. Orders took some time to arrive. But I was in good company and the wait wasn’t that bad. Still little slow for noodles though.
2. Parking, though free, was not exactly the best of options. The parking was designed to accommodate two cars, inline, in one slot. This means, if the car parked in the inner slot needed to leave, the guard had to locate the driver of the outer car to backup before the inner car could leave. A bit of a hassle, especially if you’re the driver who needs to leave your piping hot ramen just to move your car. But then again, you just can’t have it all can you?

1. The food. There are a lot of Japanese expats dining at this place, and this only proves that their food is the real deal. Few places in Metro Manila can boast this claim. But then, Isshin doesn’t really boast. Just ask their satisfied customers.
2. The prices. This place is very much within our budget of P500 or less per diner. When other restaurants in the same street are so overpriced, Isshin is one of your better choices to dine authentic without busting the bank.
3. The freebies! When you dine here, they give you free ice-cold barley tea (very healthy). You may also ask for their hot green tea, and it’s free as well. Best of all, after the main course, you get to choose what to have for dessert; sweetened nata, chocolate ice cream or just have brewed coffee. Yes, free dessert!
4. The dining tables. This is a plus for me, who isn’t so familiar with dining Japanese style. With the low tables and a big open trench under the table where you can put your feet in (according to Khursten, traditional the Japanese dining table was made that way so diners have a place to warm their feet during cold weather.) It’s like the Furusato feel without the Furusato prices.

I ordered the Tempura Udon, served in a hotpot. This big bowl costs only P245.00 (US$5.70). Incidentally, since we all went Dutch, I do not know how much my companions paid for their ramen, but for sure, mine was the more expensive noodle dish compared to other two ramen dishes. As far as I can remember, the sushi dishes were less than P200.00 (US$4.65).

Seen here is the Tuna Sashimi and a shoyu ramen dish. Melissa enjoyed this dish and vowed to come back with her friends and relatives.

Khursten had a clear soup ramen dish and Ika Sushi (squid sushi). I will really try this next time. Khursten says the squid was fresh and soft to the bite.

Our total bill came to P985.00 (US$22.90). This bill was tax and VAT inclusive. I would recommend this restaurant to my friends and family. I just might come back for dinner, one of these days.

1. For the many years I spent in UP (way too many, hehe) I was never sick because of eating too much tenga ng baboy (pig ears), isaw baboy (pig intestines) or isaw manok (chicken intestine).
2. This UP isawan periodically renews their health and sanitation permit.
3. Some of the country’s most well-known celebrities, politicians and intellectuals have been known to dine on this isaw.

At P2.00 (US$0.04) each, who wouldn’t be tempted to buy heaping bundles of isaw manok?

Happy people smiling!

I have been hankering for Toast Box since I read the posts from some prominent food bloggers. So today, I went to Trinoma to finally taste it for myself. First, parking in Trinoma is hellish. This is my third time to Trinoma and I keep forgetting how crazy parking can be at this place on weekends. Oh well, back to my story.

Toast Box wasn’t easy to find because even the roving guards that I asked didn’t know where. So I finally went to Concierge and got the right directions.

Am I boring you? Sorry but I’m trying to be as factual as possible. I was happy and relieved to find it because we were all really hungry. Imagine my delight when I saw the sign.

In we went, got a table and ordered. Since it was my first time in Toast Box, I asked the lady for their specials. She recommended, Nyonya Laksa, Nasi Lemak with chicken, Mama’s Special Mee Siam, Teh C, Bo Luo Yao, Chuan Tong, Homemade Barley and Milo Dinosaur.

As usual, the boboos:

1. Flies. Yes, there were annoying flies in the restaurant. We sat at the corner beside the kitchen and there was always two or three flies flying around the food. The place seemed clean and there were no odors. But I couldn’t understand where the flies were coming from.
2. Maybe my taste was not sophisticated enough but I honestly found the Mee Siam unsavory. Mee Siam is a noodle dish of vermicelli in spicy, sweet and sour light gravy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mee_siam). The first spoonful was enough to send it back to the counter for reincarnation as takeout. At home I tried it again, and I still couldn’t eat the rest of it. Having lived in Thailand for months at a time back in the 1990s, I thought I was thoroughly familiar with Thai food. Apparently, I was mistaken.

1. The Nyonya Laksa was good. It’s reasonably priced and goes well with the Chuan Tong (the Kaya toast).
2. The service crew were very friendly and helpful when I was asking for what to order.
3. I loved the Homemade Barley with mint. Really worth trying!
4. Toast Box is so generous with their butter and napkins.
5. It is connected to Breadtalk, so you can buy bread from them and eat it with pulled tea (Teh C) at the Toast Box area. There are a lot of tables with no need to elbow your way to the counter for extra orders.