Manila Eat Up

02/04/2024

During my recent trip in Cebu City, I visited 5 local coffee shops, ordered their Dirty Matcha (Matcha Espresso), and came out a happy customer EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. If you’re a matcha fan and a coffee lover, when you go to Cebu City, check these shops out:

uncommon.coffee

04/11/2023

Normalise taking AFTER photos.

Hope you’re all eating well and staying healthy.

20/10/2023

It’s been a hot minute since I posted a photo on here. I’m not much of an udon person but when the craving hits, this is my go-to.

13/04/2023

I’m 8 months DEEP into this fandom and I’m lovin’ it. Yes, I’m what you call a baby ARMY. To those who don’t know, BT21 is BTS’s collaboration with Line Friends in which each member designed their own cute characters. Since my bias is Suga aka Agust D aka Min Yoongi, I bought Shooky. My bestie bought Tata since her bias is V (Kim Taehyung). Btw, it’s ₱550 per collectible. It comes with 10-pc Chicken Nuggets, 2 Cajun Sauces, Medium Fries, and Regular Coke.

p.s. I’m thinking of bringing Shooky to Thailand when I watch Suga/Agust D concert. YES, I’m going to be seeing Yoongi this June!!
Meets

08/02/2023

I don’t know about you but my HOTSILOG for late lunch today didn’t taste like the worst dish in the world.☺️

15/12/2022

Maagang pamasko ng ! Maraming salamat sa regalo!

25/08/2022

Sunshine at last! After the typhoon, we’re happy to report a sighting of blue clear skies today. Since we want to take advantage of the sunny weather, the OG bestie and I decided to walk the 1.5km stretch from my place to Buffalo's Wings N' Things to grab lunch. It’s been 6 years since I last visited Buffalo’s Wings n’ Things so I felt like a first timer. They have about 18 different flavors of wings so narrowing it down to 4 flavors took us forever. Eventually, we picked 2 wing flavors–Firehouse Classic and Cheesy Jalapeño; and 2 boneless wing flavors–Basil n’ Garlic and Sriracha Garlic. Each order/flavor comes with 2 drumettes and 2 flats. Amongst the items we got, my top 2 were the Firehouse Classic which basically is your classic buffalo flavor with medium heat level and Sriracha Garlic which was garlicky with some hint of heat. 4 down, 14 flavors to go (if I will make it my life’s mission to try all flavors). Admittedly, I’m more of the dry rub kind but I like that their wings weren’t drowning in sauce so I could still taste the chicken. Overall, our lunch was good and we’ll definitely be back. The 1.5km walk back to my place was enough to help us digest all the wings we ate.
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07/07/2022

First time to try ’s Jin Ramen Veggie variety. I decided to and make Seafood & Veggie Ramen. Prep and cooking time will take about 1 hour but it’s pretty easy to make. Here’s how:

/peel the shrimps and put the head as well as shells in a pot filled with about 700ml (3 cups) of water
/on medium heat, let it boil then put heat on low and let it simmer for 30mins. Put the lid on. Make sure you have at least 550ml (2 1/3 cups) that you can use as your broth
/once done, strain the liquid
/put the shrimp stock into a pot, place on medium heat, and add the instant ramen’s seasoning
/add some onion leeks
/add 1 tbsp of gochugaru
/add 1 tbsp of sesame oil (I used Beksul)
/add 1 tbsp of soy sauce (I used )
/let it boil then add ramen
/add thinly-sliced chinese cabbage (the amount is up to you)
/add broccoli (amount is up to you)
/after 3 mins, add 6 pcs of shrimp and 4 pcs of medium sized chopped squid
/add pepper to taste
/put the lid on and let it cook for about 3 mins
/take it off the heat and transfer to a bowl
/add cooked sweet corn (optional)
/serve and enjoy!

Serves 1. Btw, this is so good!

23/05/2022

Just showing our appreciation and support to a fellow by dining in.💖

We’ve been going to Cafe Breton Ph for more than 10 years now and we’re glad to see that their Greenbelt 3 branch is already open. They got a face lift and took over Seattle’s Best’s old spot. Since GB3 is now the new home of some luxury brands, they decided to glow up. The weather was nice so we dined al fresco and ordered a couple of our favorite dessert crepes – La Pinay (fresh mango with chocolate sauce topped with vanilla ice cream) and La Délice (banana with chocohazelnut spread, almond slivers topped with vanilla ice cream). As always, sweet tooth satisfied. What we like about is the consistency of both the serving portions and most importantly, the taste.

Salamat sa pagtindig, Cafe Breton!🌷We really don’t need to say we’ll be back because we will, for sure.

19/05/2022

Ok, I get it. Nakapag- na today but the point is, need pa ba picturan?

YES PO, kasi food blogger po ako. 🥹
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Anyway, we got to check out flagship store in BGC and we instantly loved the high ceiling, the floor to ceiling window, the brightness, and the ambiance. Even though the restaurant looks good inside, we chose to dine al fresco. We got mains, pastries, and drinks— Ube Latte, Matcha Latte, Pistachio Croissant, Godiva Pain Au Chocolat, Korean Fried Chicken, and Yuzu Glazed Salmon. It was an excellent meal. Everything we ordered were delicious. We’d definitely get them again. Btw, we also bought their Pain Au Levain (sourdough) to take home.

That’s all.

26/04/2022

The nearest bakery sa kanto told me that they started selling Malunggay Pandesal 2 days ago so today, I bought a few and decided to fancy up my breakfast. Since it's avocado season, I added avocado in my chicken luncheon meat (I used the one from 롯데푸드(LOTTE FOODS) which I discovered a few weeks ago) and eggs pandesal. Do you prefer mashed avo or sliced in your sandwich? Wait, do you want your avo in a savory dish or in a dessert?

23/02/2022

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

I’ve cooked this dish about a hundred times and have quite perfected the recipe. A plate of this pasta dish can totally make your day – guaranteed.

Sharing the recipe on the blog so head over there now and get
cr/eating!

Pasta. One of the fastest and easiest food to cook if you want something delicious and satisfying. That’s exactly why I decided to make this pasta dish. I have cooked this dish a hundred time…

16/02/2022

Our newest discovery in 7-Eleven Philippines — Three Cup Chicken Rice Meal and Sweet & Sour Chicken Rice Meal. A new collaboration from 7-Eleven’s Chef Creations and Lugang Cafe .

The minute we saw these heat-to-eat rice meals on the shelf, we knew we had to try them. We just popped it in the microwave oven (btw, you can also steam them for 5 minutes if you don’t have a microwave) and these single-serve dishes are good to go.

Here’s what we think: we’re happy to report that both dishes were good! The chicken strips were tender and the serving portion was good enough to satisfy a hungry tummy.

/The Sweet & Sour Chicken Rice Meal has the right balance of sweet and tangy. We’re not big fans of sweet & sour dishes because we’ve tasted quite a lot that’s either too sweet or too sour but to our delight, this version’s flavor was just right. We also like that the sauce was packaged separately so you can choose to either dip, drizzle, or mix it with the chicken.

/Three Cup Chicken Rice Meal was our favorite between the two. The sweet and savory glaze was delicious and was poured generously on the rice which made for a more flavorful dish.

Both dishes have some sweetness to it but the balance of the flavors was impressive. We like the fact that Lugang Cafe is now more accessible via 7-Eleven and that the items are available in Luzon stores. Are we going to buy them again? For sure.

15/02/2022

It’s been over 2 years since we last dined in .ph. The moment we had a chance to visit the restaurant (because we wanted our balikbayan to experience the innovative food has to offer), we took it. We ordered our all-time favorite, Sizzling Sinigang, and our newly-discovered, which is now our newest favorite: Squid Kare-Kare. The presentation of the food alone is impressive — with its crispy noodles built like a tall wall standing on a paella pan and pieces of plump squid sitting on top of the kare-kare’s golden sauce. We like the fun involved in tearing down the noodle wall and mixing it with the sauce. The flavors of the kare-kare were present in every aspect of the dish. You’d think using squid won’t work but it does — quite beautifully so. We don’t know when this dish was added on their menu but we’re glad they did.

12/02/2022

Hello Miso Salmon in Sarciado Sauce! We’ve missed ya. Oh, and Matcha Latte too! Our 3rd time in and we know that these 2 items will be our mainstays every time we visit.

We tried their Haciendero Chicken which was good too. At this point, we’re already convinced that, aside from their drinks, they serve good food. We already have a line up of the other dishes we’d like to try. Something to look forward to on our next date.

02/02/2022

A friend recommended this Japanese restaurant so now we’re recommending this to you. If you’re into authentic Japanese food (read: chef is Japanese and diners were 80% Japanese when we dined in), we suggest paying Nakaji 【割烹なかじ】 Japanese Restaurant a visit. The place is quaint so better make a reservation to secure a table. We chose to sit at the bar because we love seeing the alcoholic drinks so close to us.😅

The moment we sat down, we ordered their Ginger Highball. As for the food, we got the-
/Fried Octopus which was tender and flavorful that we even got 2 servings of it
/Hot Calamansi Soba which was the perfect soup if you’re into sour dishes and it could even cure colds, we think
/Zaru Soba because it’s our mainstay whenever a restaurant has it on the menu
/Oden which felt like a warm wonderful hug from someone you love
/Negima which was beautifully grilled
/Pork Misozuke (miso marinated pork) which was packed with flavor

Overall, gave us a delicious dining experience that made the trip outside of our quarantine bubble worth it. We’d definitely be back.

27/01/2022

Today's lunch was brought to you by 's New York Style Pastrami Sandwich. This is the sign that you have to try this sandwich if you haven't yet.

12/01/2022

Food flatlay in the time of Omicron.

It's pretty challenging to do a flatlay in Yabu PH with an acrylic divider in the middle of the table but we did our best.

Btw, if you'll dine in restaurants, please be extra cautious — follow social distancing, mask up when not eating yet, and dine outdoors if you can. Take care everyone!

30/12/2021

Today, we finally trooped to the newest Swedish Restaurant in town. We're sure a lot of you are familiar with IKEA that recently opened near Mall of Asia. We've been to other IKEA stores but we wouldn't pass up the opportunity to check out the biggest IKEA store in the world. We booked the first schedule which was 9:30am and decided to get breakfast first before we start going through the showroom and market hall because we know it'll take us a good couple of hours of shopping. Since we got there early, we only had to queue for 20 minutes at the restaurant. Btw, the Baked Salmon Fillet isn't available during breakfast that's why we didn't get to order it. We got: Marinated Salmon with Mustard Dill Sauce, Swedish Meatballs and Plant Balls that come with mashed potato and broccoli, Plant Balls with Organic Spaghetti Pomodoro, Chicken Wings, Crunchy Almond Chocolate Cake, Carrot Cake, and Chocolate Cake. As for the drinks, we got boxed water and coffee.

Things we liked about the food. First, they are affordable. The dishes were reasonably priced and the portion sizes were satisfactory. Second, they all taste good. The salmon was perfect in terms of freshness, texture, and flavor. The Swedish meatballs and the Plant based balls were both delicious. We found the plant balls to have a lot more umami than its meat counterpart and the Swedish meatballs to be more savory and hearty. There's only a slight difference in taste so if you're blind tasting them, you'd think both are meatballs. The chicken wings were cooked right — crispy on the outside but moist inside. As for the desserts, we specifically love the chocolate cake more because of the dark chocolate flavor.

Overall, we had a delicious breakfast which kept us full for hours and gave us the energy we need to shop til we drop. Will we be back in IKEA? Of course! That's a no brainer.

06/12/2021

If there’s Jiro Dreams of Sushi, there’s definitely Manila Eat Up Dreams of Sashimi.
📸 Sashimi platter from

12/11/2021

So glad to have a coffee shop in the south area (because we're from the south) that serves good coffee and good food. First time to visit Presko Coffee Philippines and we're happy we did. We ordered Tuguegarao Longga, Organic Pesto & Seared Chicken in White Wine, Surf & Turf Sandwich, Secret Burger for the food. As for the drinks, we got Double Mocha Frappe, Iced Spanish Latte, and Muddy Matcha. From all the things we got, we especially liked—

/Tuguegarao Longga because the longganisa was flavorful and meaty, not to mention the side of Ensalada with Kamote Tops
/Organic Pesto & Seared Chicken in White Wine because the pasta was cooked perfectly, the pesto was done right, and the chicken fillets were moist yet flavorful
/Double Mocha Frappe because it's decadent
/Muddy Matcha because we could tell that they used good matcha and they know how to properly make a matcha drink that you can still taste the vegetal and bitter flavor of the matcha with the espresso and vanilla

Are we going to visit again? Absolutely.

09/11/2021

When you find yourself with fresh ingredients, you should do something delicious with them. And that’s exactly what we did. We created 2 dishes that taste like summer – fresh, herby, citrusy, and flavorful.

Recipes are on the blog so click on the link now to start cr/eating! Enjoy!
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When you find yourself with good fresh shrimp, you should do something delicious with it. The exact same thing happened to us the other day when we went to the seafood market. The moment we saw the…

06/11/2021

Warning: This is one cheesy post. ☺️ We've been getting cheeses from La Petite Fromagerie for the longest time yet every time we unbox our orders, it always feels like opening a Christmas present! This time, we got Smoked Gouda, Parmiggiano Reggiano, Cherry Mozzarella, and Smoked Salmon Cheese Spread.

We want you to experience that Christmas vibe too! Use our code CHEESYWITHMEU to get 10% OFF your orders (minimum order of P1500) from today until Nov 15. Visit https://lapetitefromagerie.ph 🧀

Le Petite Fromagerie is the premier source of all things cheesy! We carefully handpick specialty cheeses from around the globe and here in the Philippines for our fellow curious and discerning foodies.

03/11/2021

Our weekend indulgence — food from .

Last weekend, Pepe Samson offered this Creamy Tom Yum Noods which we happily ordered. It was creamy, tangy, tasty, and spicy. The flavors were rich yet balanced. At least even for just our palates, the dish took us back to Thailand.

Here's what you need to remember when you order from —
/Pro tip 1: Always order 2 servings of whatever dish will be on the weekend menu because 1 is not enough. We have proven this countless times. It's not because of the portion size, it's because the dishes were that good!
/Pro tip 2: If you have the budget, get the family size so you can share the happiness to friends and fam.
You're welcome.

22/10/2021

Itadakimasu! We used the stoneware set we got from Dwellco.ph. Ang ganda, di ba? ☺️

11/10/2021

In case you're thinking of what you'll make tomorrow, a potato dish sounds delicious. Here's the recipe of our SUPER EASY Roasted Potato Salad.

Visit the blog and get cr/eating!

For those times when we crave a fancier potato dish, we’d whip up this SUPER EASY Roasted Potato Salad. We usually pair it with steak, fish, and chicken for a more hearty meal. Prep time: 5 m…

06/10/2021

We do meal prepping too, especially when we know we won't have time to cook. We also take our meal prep seriously that's why we aim to make it a balanced meal. For this , we packed the following per container:
/1 cup cooked brown rice
/1 cup sautéed cabbage, carrot, and capsicum
/120g crispy skin salmon

We're not calorie experts but per meal is about 550 calories, more or less. Btw, we got our salmon from Marvs Boqueria PH.

'Til the next meal prep!