Bistro Coron

One of the best things about traveling is the food trip that goes along with it. Coron's food is one of the most remarkable we've come across! The prices are so cheap that it equally balances quality and quantity of the food. On our last day, we ate in Bistro Coron located in the Coron Town. It is a restaurant that offers gourmet food and is owned by a foreigner who probably fell in love with the island and decided to make a living there. He was so hands on that every meal prepared was carefully scrutinized. 

Bistro Coron's Chili Oil

We went crazy on ordering, because everything in the menu sounded so delectable. The restaurant offered a wide variety of wine, mainly because the owner is French. We knew the food usually paired with wine would be good so we ordered the beef carpaccio. This did not disappoint at all, as the beef was extremely soft and thinly sliced. The beef was also very fresh because it was still red. Parmesan cheese is a great topping for it!

Beef Carpaccio (Php 185.00)

Our friend, Iano, ordered the sausage which she said was good. It was a normal sausage hotdog, but still passed beyond standards.

Sausage with French Bread & Mustard (Php 165.00)

Thirdy ordered the pork cordon bleu which was extremely yummy because it really tasted like gourmet food. The pork was thinly sliced and super soft. There was cheese in the middle and on top of the pork which gave the dish the kick it needed. Since the owner was French, we figured that the Brie cheese they used was imported.

Pork Cordon Bleue (Php 250.00)

I ordered the Kung Pao chicken expecting that it would be extremely spicy. The sauce didn't have a good consistency because it was runny. It also lacked the spice and flavor I was looking for. I was greatly disappointed with this dish. Maybe the reason why they didn't get it right was because Kung Pao is an Asian dish.

Kung Pao Chicken (Php 210.00)

The pizza had a generous amount of serving that we ended up taking some out for the airport. It was good and was reminiscent of the flavor of Magoo's pizza. It was rolled out thinly which resulted to the fact that it was crispy.

Bistro Pizza - Large (Php 499.00)

Click here to check out Bistro Coron's Menu! (Special thanks to Christian Lucas Sangoyo of LakadPilipinas for this photo)

Milky and Sunny

Milky and Sunny is an all-day breakfast restaurant located in Kapitolyo. The first thing that drew our attention was how cute the interiors of the place was. The light blue color that dominated the restaurant showed its casual and chill vibe. Kapitolyo is a place with many good restaurants in the area, that's why we made it a point to achieve our goal of eating in every single restaurant here!

They also sell art here which is a pretty good concept since this is easily exposed to the customers of the restaurant. I must say that the art on the wall was really not to my taste and liking, but we're not here to critique that!

These interiors remind me of a Tumblr dashboard with all the vibrant colors and inspirational messages that cover the walls. It's refreshing to be around such cute decorations! But, sad to say, what Milky and Sunny greatly achieved in the look of the restaurant, they sorely lacked in the taste of their food. Of course if we're talking about breakfast food, we'd expect something different as to what we eat at home. For me, when eating out, I want to experience food that I can't normally taste from lutong bahay food. But I was deeply disappointed with just how ordinary the food here was.

Our friend, Renz, ordered the beef tapa and we must say that the Queen Tapa of Tapa King would taste a lot better than this. The serving of the tapa was little, too, which is a big disappointment if you're super hungry!

I ordered the spam with rice which is just as ordinary as the spam I eat at home. The spam was sliced super thin and wasn't even crunchy, which is how I usually like my spam. I can't believe they'd only serve 3 pieces of thinly sliced spam! It was so bitin, and the eggs weren't even cooked well. The scrambled eggs were overcooked and it wasn't fluffy.

Thirdy ordered the corned beef with bagel, as an alternative to rice. We liked the fact that you could choose an alternative to rice, for those who are going on a diet. A major plus is that the bagel is whole wheat which makes it naturally healthy. When asked how the eggs were to be done, he said they wanted them over easy which meant the yolk would be runny, but instead, the egg became over hard. Taste wise, the corned beef was normal just like the two earlier dishes.

Milky and Sunny was a great disappointment to a hungry pack of people who not only looks for quantity in food, but quality as well. An all day breakfast restaurant should offer something different than those we can eat at home, but this was an ordinary and disappointing food experience. We prefer the all-day breakfast of Banapple compared to Milky and Sunny! We suggest that you don't waste your money trying the food here, head to Charlie's instead if you're in the Kapitolyo area.

Revenge

Revenge is a dish best served cold, the old saying goes but never did I expect it would be sinfully wrapped in a delicious American TV show with the same subject matter. This summer has been all about diving into TV series and I must say that the easiest I got addicted to was Revenge by ABC which stars Madeleine Stowe and Emily Van Camp. Admit it, everything we've watched in TV series basically have the same plot and storyline that we're just craving for something fresh and new to watch. Revenge is exactly what I've been looking for!


The story is about a woman named Amanda Clarke who seeks revenge against those that framed his father for terrorism when she was younger. Amanda returns with a new identity as Emily Thorne, in the privileged Southampton where her father's former co-workers reside. Every episode shows how she skillfully plans every downfall of those who framed her father. The series is a fresh approach to the usual privileged, beautiful setting a la Gossip Girl but even more interesting. Seeing the two sides of Amanda Clarke remind me of the Black Swan, the co-existence of two seemingly different personalities in a character. Emily Van Camp does a very good job personifying both good and bad characters.


Each episode feels like a roller coaster ride, as the plot thickens and thickens. There are many moments I found myself catching my breath with its intensity and pace. The way the series was structured makes every episode worth watching! I always want to quickly jump to the next episode just to see what happens next, and not a lot of TV series can actually do that nowadays.


If you're looking for a fresh new show to watch that is cunning and interesting, then you know what to download next!

Nolita

The new Bonifacio High Street Central offers a breathtaking al fresco view of the Fort. Numerous restaurants line up this area, and Nolita is one that deserves much recognition. Upon its opening, we  saw Twitter reviews raving about the authentic New York style pizzas they serve, so we knew we just had to try it. Nolita is another restaurant haven created by James Patrick Santos who is also behind the success of Borough located in Podium. It's no wonder that Nolita and Borough offer the same vibe and are very reminiscent of each other.

Everything here is self-service so get ready to meet a little inconvenience. If you order a lot, you would have to bring all of those yourself to your chosen table. This was one of the few disappointments we experienced here. The pizza is sold per slice usually at Php200 and up. Seeing just how pricey the slices are, we were ready to dig in to amazing authentic New York style pizza.

The first that caught our eye was the Spinach and Artichoke pizza (Php 220) which we knew we just had to order. It was really good and had the perfect balance of flavors. We loved the fact that the artichoke was served in chunks, which made us want to gobble it all up. One downside though is the amount of oil in the pizza which is probably enough to cause a heart attack.

The second one we ordered was the Chicken Parmesan Pizza (Php 230) which was just as good. The chicken chunks were a treat to eat and they were very generous with their serving.

We were just very unhappy with the price of the pizzas since it seemed a little bit too expensive for the serving itself. The taste of the pizza is a big thumbs up but it still remains overpriced for a mere slice. It's not very sulit when you come and eat with your barkada, because upon computation, two slices of Nolita pizzas can equate to one big box from another pizza chain. Although quality remains very good, Nolita should be more realistic when it comes to their prices.

What's even better than pizza? The combination of beer and pizza! A good bottle of San Mig Light will greatly compliment your meal.

These are the interesting interiors of Nolita. We really loved their decorations.

The steps on how to order and eat your Nolita pizza:

All in all, we enjoyed our Nolita experience and we encourage everyone to head here to satisfy their New York style pizza cravings! Let us know how your experience goes! :) Happy summer!

5 Master Crammer Techniques

Admit it, hell week brings out truly the worst in us. The crankyness, mad fits, group bitching, and endless rants on Facebook statii and Twitter updates sums up just about every student's week of death. Every professor is unreasonable, every lazy group mate becomes an enemy, and even the toughest friendships get tested under the institutionalized system otherwise known as school. The breadth and magnitude of every final paper, test, and presentation carries so much weight on final grade so of, course you decide to start it..... at the very last minute. Most students have already earned their Masteral degrees in Cramming way before their college graduation rites are so dearly bestowed on them, beat that! Of course, if you are a master crammer, you must also know the 5 Master Crammer techniques to fully maximize... your master crammer time:




1.)Switching to Facebook when you've decided that you've gone into a deep black hole preparing for Finals. Just a few clicks to check the news feed won't hurt right? Wrong. Before you know it, you've spent a good total hour clicking away. Oh, and look! Another interesting update!


2.)Ranting on Twitter how hell week has turned you into a zombie. 3 seconds in, and somebody has replied explaining the same sentiments. Another 3, and a few more replies! You are determined to fully explain how unjust and unreasonable this workload is that you begin to reply, retweet, tweet, tweet and tweet some more. Then, you check back on your original tweet and figure that 1 hour ago might be some lapse in technical judgment by the Twitter team. So, you decide to tweet about it, and then... the tweeting goes on.



3.)The  "crap-I'm-hungry-better-grab-something-to-eat" mode before fully diving into your work. You figure, food will give you more energy, which will make it easier for you to get things done right? Another wrong! A few bag of chips here, a few rice with ulam there, and you're on your way to munching yourself away into your bed. You bring your notes along with you and convince yourself that memorizing will be a lot easier now that you've finally converted all the sugar you've eaten into energy! Simple science! Then, you surprisingly feel sleepy and give yourself time to rest your eyes. Before you know it, it's finally 7am, and there you are, struggling to find your notes in your laway covered pillow. Yup, it's Finals day and you've got 3 hours before your first class.



4.)The power nap that turns into a full fledged snoozefest leading to the morning. Every excuse of a power nap is one way to escape into dreamland without ever finding your way back to reality aka studying again. The glorious sleep that enthralls you forces you into a force field of dreams that will be a thousand times better than equations, readings and your notes.





5.)The worst by far, the "group study" that perpetually turns into pig out x inuman craze. We all know how this goes! Grab some food in the fridge, pop some beer, and look intently in your notes as if you were actually studying. A couple of Foster the People songs later, everybody has gotten engaged into another conversation about Battle Royale vs. Hunger Games. Before you know it, the night has turned into kwentuhan instead of actual studying.


Aren't we all too familiar with these 5 master crammer techniques? We're all currently basking under the summer sun, but once school knocks around the corner, we all know what we will be turning to. The only good thing about summer is that these master crammer techniques morph into master bummer techniques! At least this time around, we do it guiltlessly! Hooray to summer and boo school. How has your summer been so far? :)

Restaurant Verbena, Discovery Country Suites Tagaytay

For our first anniversary, Thirdy decided to bring us back to a place where it all officially started. Tagaytay is the most chosen haven for people living in the Metro since it is easily accessible and is just a few hours away. It also offers the best spot and view of the Taal Lake, and is our own little version of a place that likens to the coldness of Baguio. Restaurant Verbena is part of the chain of restaurants by the Discovery group and sits at the heart of Tagaytay city. Here's what we ate for dinner:

Complimentary freshly baked bread with Dips & Spreads

Our a la carte dinner started with their complimentary bread with dips and spreads. All their dips were extremely good and even the bread was freshly baked because it was still very soft inside.

Roasted Bone Marrow with Caramelized Onions & Melba Toasts

This was our appetizer. Although this has an extremely winning taste on our tummies, you should take precaution when eating bone marrow due to the fact that it can lead to certain heart ailments. It's good to share for a group so you can divide the amount of fat (haha) between all of you, but between two people, it just seems too much! We can't deny the goodness of the taste, though! Thirdy, being his usual big eater self, felt pain in the lower part at the back of his neck due to too much cholesterol! 

Black Truffle Risotto with Deep-fried Soft boiled egg

This was Thirdy's favorite dish because of how extremely creamy the risotto was. The arborio rice (which is the type of rice utilized to make risotto because it turns creamy once cooked) was al dente! The serving of the truffle was generous which complimented the taste of the risotto greatly. The risotto was topped with lardons or salted pork.

Thirdy most especially liked the cooking technique done on the egg because it became soft-boiled despite deep frying it, which is an unlikely technique in other restaurants.

Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Garlic Confit, Pomme Puree
Portobello Mushrooms and Asparagus

This was my favorite dish! The mashed potato was so creamy instead of grainy, which made it so smooth to eat in the mouth. It was cooked well because despite the creaminess, it wasn't runny, but instead, was able to hold the texture of the mashed potato well. The chilean sea bass was extremely good because it was soft, as if freshly caught from the sea. It was cooked so well that I could still taste the amazing flavor of the fish.

Restaurant Verbena's Al Fresco dining area

Since we were out on a date, we decided to stay in the al fresco dining area which was such a treat! The cold weather in Tagaytay really made the atmosphere more romantic.

Restaurant Verbena's Main Dining; view from the Al fresco area

Restaurant Verbena's Main Dining

Their service was really good too, because the waiters attended to you quickly and were very hospitable. We suggest that you guys try this out when you're out on a date, or even when you want to dine with your family for great food quality.

Restaurant Verbena at Discovery Country Suites, Tagaytay City

Address:
300 Calamba Road, San Jose, Tagaytay City
4120 Philippines
Telephone:+ (63 46) 413.4567 (Tagaytay)

Ikea's Form and Function

IKEA, a leading furniture retailer, has teamed up once again with Carl Kleiner for their newest campaign. Who knew that kitchen wares could be as beautiful as these? Something seemingly boring as forks, spoons, napkins, and knives come alive visually by the use of Evelina Bratell's intricate styling! Dinner tables have never looked so delightful and interesting!

NO TO SOPA AND PIPA

We personally believe, as bloggers, that internet is a medium that has redefined and revolutionized the idea of free information. Human beings are supposed to be granted with rights to gain access information freely without being hounded by large companies that dictate punishment on copyright infringement. This is precisely why the Internet became one of the greatest tools in the 21st century. The limited nature that SOPA and PIPA pushes for is "stopping online piracy" by completely eliminating the many uses of websites such as Google, Twitter, YouTube and can even go as far as Facebook. The bill proposes that any image, video, song or property that is not yours cannot be shared, linked to, and retweeted on the Internet solely because the companies are fighting for 100 percent ownership of these. We are against the passing of SOPA and PIPA law primarily because this bill is made purely because of power and money-hungry companies who want to make money off of their "properties" for public consumption. Imagine having to buy every song, every video, every link, and every image on the Internet. These will ultimately defeat the purpose of the internet. This censorship of sharing contents on the internet is a great limitation to the uses of the internet! 

NO TO SOPA AND PIPA! NO TO CENSORSHIP!

Educate yourself by watching the video above by Ted Talks and take an informed stand regarding this issue. Do your part, share this video, link this, retweet, post it, and like it!

Mad Mark's Man Sandwich + Frozen D