#danielaeats: ble

I just realized I haven't had an entry in this blog for the month of May and it's already the 31st! May by far has been the busiest month of the year (travel, bazaar, work), extremely exhausting (the heat made everything ten times tiring), but definitely one of my favorites. I welcomed May in Taipei, joined my first 10k run, worked on Common Ware's second bazaar, surfed and chilled in Baler with the Seabiscuit Films Team, vacationed in a beautiful house in Matabungkay, and worked in between. I was a bit unsure as to how I would finish all my work and vacation at the same time, but I'm so glad I was able to pull it off. Now that the month's over, I'm feeling absolutely hashtagblessed! I had to.

I'll probably write about it in more detail in the following days, but to start, here's Ble.

It's a quaint Greek little restaurant in BF Homes, and you might have a difficult time finding it because (1) it's tiny, and (2) it's sort of hidden. The restaurant has two branches, one along Aguirre and one along El Grande. The Aguirre branch is quite small and can accommodate less than ten people at a time, so my friends and I decided to visit the newer one along El Grande which could sit more people.

Ble outside looks like a house. To spot it, just look for a Blue and White bungalow. There's a small sign outside with the restaurant name but since it's just a stand on the ground that's less than a meter tall, you might not spot it. 

Upon entering the place, you'll first see the outdoor area where customers could choose to dine (but in this heat, it might not be an option). When you reach the house you'll see this (photo above), cute small little place covered in Blue and White cabinets, walls, and furniture. A hint of Greece in an unexpected place, filled with the cutest nautical details, from ships, to ropes, to lamps, and patterned plates. 

To start, my friends and I shared the dip platter which had Hummus, Babaganush, Tzatziki and Olives, and pitta bread. We were five girls, so the pitta it came with wasn't enough. If i'm not mistaken we had five extra orders just so that we could finish the dips. My personal favorite was the Tzatziki with Olives. The garlic was a little overpowering (which I liked) and it was a good add on to the Beef Souvlaki I had. The flavours of the dips were strong but delicious, so having it come in a platter is perfect so that you could alternate it as you go. 

For my main I got a Beef Souvlaki. Upon ordering it I was thinking that maybe I'll be needing an extra dish because a wrap wouldn't really get me full. But as I was eating it, I realised how heavy it was. The Souvlaki was good and flavourful, but the wrap was way too heavy for me. It was actually the same pitta bread we had with our dips used as a wrap. It was thick and dominated the whole thing, so I got pretty full after just a few bites. I think I would've enjoyed it more if it was thinner so that I could get more of its contents with the wrap. Sayang, the flavour was already there!

Despite the heavy wrap, I'd definitely go back to try out more of their dishes. I enjoy Greek food once in a while and I think this place got it good!

If you'd like to try it out:
410 El Grande Avenue, BF Homes
0917 721 7488

 Until next time #danielaeats!

#danielaeats: bamba bistro

A special dinner for a birthday and a graduation.

We wanted something close by so we could head home right after for drinks. First on the list was Bamba Bistro since it was highly recommended by me, my sister and parents.

The Artichoke Crostini P290 - Artichoke, Basil puree, Ricotta, sweet balsamic, almonds

There's not much I could say about this starter since I had a small bite. I enjoyed the Ricotta but didn't taste so much the Basil, sweet balsamic and almonds.

Mesclun Salad P354 - assorted fruits, Feta, Grilled chicken, Papadom chips, house vinaigrette

A refreshing starter amongst the many filling starters we had. I enjoyed the fruits and greens altogether, and the house vinaigrette was good too.

Sangria. Love the jars and also the Sangria! You should order this when you pay the place a visit. It could sometimes be too icy that you have to wait for it to melt a bit so you can sip more drink out of your straw.

Huevos Flamencos P210 - Chorizo, Ham, Ground Beef, Stewed Tomatoes, Egg

Hands down, my favorite anything from this place. The flavor of the different meat altogether with toasted bread is to die for. It usually just comes with 3-5 slices of bread so you're bound to get an extra order. It's also so good that you munch on it so much as a starter that you end up getting almost halfway full by the time your main course arrives.

Braised Beef P320 - Slow cooked Sirloin simmered in a Sesame Soy Sauce with Crispy Sprouts and Cream Cheese, served with French fries

More Sangria.

No photo:

Porcini Crusted Steak P995 - Grilled Angus Ribeye, Duckfat Corn Kenels, Arugula Salad

I think this dish would've been excellent if our piece was less salty and peppery. One bite from the one we were served had way too much seasoning, it was hard to get a second without alternating it with another dish.

 Duck Ravioli P495 - Duck, Ricotta, Porcini mushroom cream sauce, Truffle

This was good, but very heavy. It's definitely a dish for sharing if you plan on eating other dishes (or even if it's the only dish you plan on getting). Maybe if the bite sizes were a bit smaller and there was a little more flavor in the duck too, it could be excellent. 

Classic Caesar Salad P220 - Romaine lettuce, Bacon, Croutons, Parmesan cheese

A simple dish done well. At first it wasn't being touched in the table, but once I tried it and found that it was pleasantly more delicious than most of the Caesar salads I've tried, more people attacked it.

The Morning After Sandwich P310 - Ham, Cheddar cheese, Fried egg, Mozzarella, Truffle oil, Honey, served with French fries

A recommendation from my sister which I absolutely enjoyed (of course, there's Truffle!). Another Bamba favorite because I enjoyed the levelled up breakfast for dinner meal. It's also pretty heavy so I suggest you share it with someone.

The place is pretty small and gets full right away so I suggest you make a reservation. Despite the full house though I must say they served us pretty quick! Definitely a place to visit when in BF.

#daniealeats: the genji-m and banzai experience

After many months (years, actually) of feeding Anton Japanese at every birthday, graduation, anniversary or any celebration for that matter, I finally got him Jap crazy. To be more specific, salmon sash crazy. Because of this, every Japanese sulit meal that came across our Facebook feeds or any slight craving for it brought us to the closest Japanese restaurant in the area. It just so happened that a few months back, two new Japanese buffets that offered affordable prices for unlimited Japanese feasts, opened. Once we saw this on Facebook, we scheduled a trip.

Genji-M

Genji-M, Makati Avenue

The first one we read of online was Genji-M. We saw on a blog that it had a promo of P250 off the bill of customers that printed out the Genji-M coupon and brought it when dining in. That's P250 off per head, provided that each person had their own coupon. 

When we got there we were asked to choose between three menus: (1) one with just rolls and sushi, (2) another with rolls, sushi, and sashimi, (3) there was a third but I don't really remember what extra it came with. We chose the menu without sashimi since it was more affordable, and we thought that unlimited maki and sushi would suffice since the list we were handed had quite a hand full of choices. How it goes is they serve you your first platter which contains all the available choices, and after tasting the variety, you get to pick which rolls and sushi you'd like to have again.

I don't really remember the names of all the rolls we tasted, but of course we had the basic tuna and salmon roll. I wasn't so happy with the two because their tuna and salmon rolls had ham and other extra ingredients in it which I don't really like. I usually like them simple with the rice, good sashimi, nori and a little bit of wasabi. Aside from that, the slice of tuna or salmon laid on top of the roll was extremely thin that the other ingredients of the maki sort of took over the flavour of the roll.

From the bunch, one roll that stood out was that maki with cheese on top--yes, cheese. I don't know if this is normal, but never in my life did I eat Japanese maki with cheese on top. I did not like it. We also had California maki in that first platter which I didn't like either. I don't like any California maki anyway, wherever it may be from.

For the sushi, I've had better. The rice that came with it was almost shaped like a ball and was way too compressed, so when biting into it, it didn't feel like rice. Our seared tuna sushi did not taste fresh at all, and the other sushi choices were OK, nothing great. The serving sizes were much smaller than the photos I saw online and again, the rice just wasn't done right.

In the end Anton and I were disappointed with our meal. I don't know if we just so happened to visit on a bad day because according to others, Genji-M is okay. But we weren't happy with the maki and sushi that we got, and I forgot to mention, my Miso soup tasted like water. 

Banzai

Banzai, Mall of Asia

Banzai, Mall of Asia

Banzai, Mall of Asia

Banzai, Mall of Asia

A few weeks after Genji-M, we decided to try out Banzai, the new Japanese buffet in Mall of Asia, Seaside Boulevard. This buffet is kind of like Sambokojin with a more Japanese ambiance, and a slightly wider range of choices. It included unlimited zaru and cha soba (which they don't have in Sambo), pizza, steak and others I was not able to taste. My meal as a whole was actually okay. I had my regular: sushi, sashimi, spicy tuna, zaru soba, tempura, gyoza, steak, Miso soup, and picked on a few meats from Anton's plate. I remember the steak and the Teppanyaki to be good, and the quality of the sashimi, sushi and the cha soba to be mediocre. The noodles of their soba didn't slide off each other once you try to pick them with your chopsticks; they clung to each other like sticky rice. I had a taste of their spicy tuna but didn't go back for a second round (as I usually would) mainly because the sauce tasted more like regular mayonnaise on tuna sashimi.

For the price though (if I'm not mistaken, about Php 899 per head for dinner on weekdays), I'd have to say I'm pretty happy with what I got. It's not great Japanese with regard to the raw dishes, but I'd say the cooked meals are pretty good.

Until next time #danielaeats!