FOOD: Makiling Onsen Hotel and Restaurant 2014

I was suddenly craving for Japanese food last Sunday morning! So I told my husband, Ed, and he agreed to eat out for brunch. It's still too early (9:30am) and most Japanese restaurants open at 11:00am. We find Hana Japanese Restaurant in Pagsanjan, Laguna (which we consider close to being authentic) too far to drive just for this craving. There's Eat-Sumo Restaurant near UPLB, although cheap, we find it unsatisfying. There's Ippon-Yari Japanese restaurant in Calamba (which I love) but didn't want the hassle of being stuck in heavy traffic. Then, I thought, there's a Japanese hotel which is a 5-minute drive from where we live. I haven't dined in it yet, so I'm excited to give it a try... introducing Makiling Onsen Hotel and Restaurant.

Main Entrance

Restaurant

This is a medium size restaurant that can probably accommodate up to 40-45 people... just my estimate.

Appetizers 

(L-R: Sweet and Salty Anchovies with Sesame Seeds, Kimchi, 

Kropek or Deep Fried Prawn Crackers)

Makiling Onsen serves both Japanese and Korean food, as you can see on their appetisers. And yes, they're free. Served as well with a glass of cold water.

Ed ordered Sashimi Mix and iced tea. His Sashimi Mix consists of a couple of maguro (tuna), shake (salmon), kanikama (artificial crab stick), ika (squid), and ebi (shrimp)... served on top of shredded radish. I was able to try his food. I just hope they were fresher. That's all. 

Sashimi Mix = PhP270

Iced Tea = PhP22

I ordered Salmon Teishoku and cold calamansi juice. Teishoku means a meal of a fixed menu. Here means fresh salmon served with rice and miso soup. I'm happy that I chose salmon (alone) instead of mixed sashimi. Mine is fresher than Ed's ordered. What I didn't like though is the miso soup, it's too salty for me. It tasted like Eat-Sumo's and my home-made miso soup, which nobody ate/consumed... I've tasted miso soups from Sai-Bachi, Ippon-Yari, and Fu, and they were wonderful! So I guess that was the downside of my meal. I know it's rude but I didn't finish it.. sorry.

Salmon Teishoku = PhP365

Calamansi Juice = PhP85

We plan to stay at the hotel in the future and try their onset (hot bath). I'm not sure if I'm ready for it though. 57 degrees Celcius sounds too hot for me... For those of you who plans to go to Makiling Onsen Hotel, here's their contact number:

Manong guard courteously guided us to the covered parking lot. On our way there, I glanced upon the KTV/Karaoke room, gym, and driver's lodge.

So, will we come back again? Yes, to try the onsen at the hotel :)

xoxo,

FOOD: Breakfast at Bugong Restaurant

Ed and I have been on a light-dinner-diet for more than a week now. That's why we feel soooo hungry when we wake up in the morning. Today, we decided to eat out for breakfast. We went to Vega Center near UPLB because we thought we'd like to dine in at Chowking. But when we came, it was jampacked by people who have just finished attending mass. So, we decided to eat at Bugong, which dine-in restaurant is located inside the Vega Center. Don't get me wrong, it's not that we like Bugong less. We actually love their menu line-up & ambiance more than the other fast food restaurants ;-) And we've kept coming back.

Since it was early, I decided to have a "breakfast" meal. I ordered their Herbed Kesong Puti, which I've been wanting to try for quite some time. I got toasted wheat bread topped with kesong puti and slices of fresh tomatoes, served with two pieces of fresh basil leaves and hot coffee. I think they purposely put the basil leaves on the side because not everybody likes it, but me.. I LOVE BASIL! I think fresh basil has milder flavor than the dries ones. Anyway, I love the freshness of this meal. I wish i can have this everyday! P135.00 as of writing.

I've always had a BIG appetite ever since... so it became normal for me to have another set ;-) I also ordered their Omu Rice (omelette rice). For the filling, you can choose between roasted chicken and frankfurters that goes with rice. It is finally drizzled with barbeque & other sauce (can't recognize!) and then served with hot coffee. It's a simple but beautiful meal that is priced at P99.00 as of writing.

I've been talking about what I ate... Ed ordered a quarter chicken meal with mexican salsa and iced tea... a "not-so-brekky-meal" ;-) which in the end, he shared with me because he's not a fan of  chicken breast :-)

Didn't I tell you I have a big appetite? :-P

xoxo,

Glaiza

FOOD: Joey Pepperoni at SM Calamba

We went to SM Calamba to do some grocery shopping but decided to eat early lunch first before everybody else does. We wanted something Italian so we dined at Joey Pepperoni (our third time). We ordered Gamberi Pasta, Margherita Pizza, and Rosemary Chicken with Rice. The food preparation usually takes 20-30 minutes, maybe the reason why their placemats have games printed on it.

I love seafood and it always comes first to my order list. Gamberi Pasta is a savory mix of pomodoro sauce (tomatoes + garlic + olive oil + basil + seasonings) with shrimps and bacon, served with a bread stick. The pasta is cooked al dente and there are fairly enough pieces and bits of shrimps and bacon.

For 2-person sharing, the 8" Margherita Pizza is more than enough because we had our own full meals :-D Good thing it is low in calorie, topped only with mozzarella cheese, fresh tomatoes and basil leaves. I have bigger appetite than Ed so I ended up eating 3 slices of it. I had no choice :-D Hahaha

Ed had Rosemary Chicken with Rice (Pollo al Rosmarino con Riso). We already had pasta the night before at Faustina's Los Baños so he chose rice this time. Me? I didn't mind having pasta straight in a row :-D By first look at the chicken, we thought that this is not what we had before and what was posted in their website. The chicken seemed dry and overcooked, very different from what we got in our previous dines. What we had before was similar to what was shown on their website: 

So the verdict? 3 stars out of 5. Will we eat at Joey Pepperoni restaurants again? Well yes, but will definitely not order the Rosemary chicken again. I hope that all restaurants out there, especially the franchises, will be consistent in serving high quality food so the paying customers will get the value that have been paid for.

- Ed & Glai

FOOD: Fu Japanese Restaurant at Paseo de Sta. Rosa

We used to work in a company located across Paseo de Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Because of this, we had almost tried all the restaurants in the area. We both LOVE Japanese food and Fu Japanese Restaurant  is our favorite place! Actually, there used to be many Jap resto in Paseo de Sta. Rosa: Ippon-Yari (across), Fu, Ichi, Umenoya, Ryuma... but the last three mentioned are already closed, sad to say. I said Fu is our fave because the freshness of the food they serve and the ambiance of the place. Those who have eaten there before may say that the place isn't as fancy as the others, or the staff from other restaurants are dressed better, blah blah blah... but that's actually what we liked about Fu. It feels homey (especially for Japanese nationals) and less commercialized. So we were able to enjoy our food feeling relaxed, laid back.. ohhh I want to go back.

In the picture, you will know that WE LOVE SASHIMI! Mouth-watering... We rate this restaurant 4 out of 5. Will we eat at Fu again? Of course, YES!!! And we promise ourselves to try each meal on their menu. :-)

-Ed & Glai