Vita Italiana Trattoria

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Being a small mall, Robinsons Metro East doesn't offer much restaurant options to diners. Of course, there are the ever-popular fast food chains like Jollibee and McDonald's. But sometimes, you just want a different, more special, yet affordable dining experience. Enter Vita Italiana Trattoria. It's a new Italian-themed restaurant, which opened last September of this year. At first the place seems to cater to the high-end market. But I was surprised that the items in their menu fall on the Php 200-400 budget range. It's very affordable alternative compared to other Italian restaurants that are within the Php 400-700 budget range.

[Bolognese Pasta Plate - Php 155]

Now, you may think that the food quantity is compromised by its price. It turns out that each serving of food is more than enough to satisfy the appetite of your average person. For under Php 200, you can get a generous serving of pasta with a slice of garlic bread on the side. Even their seafood pasta plates like the Garlic Shrimp and Marinara Pescadora, which are normally expensive, are only Php 190 each. You can even buy a pizza good for 3 persons for under Php 300.

As for the taste, the pastas are very flavorful. Not only are they generous in the serving portions but also generous in the amount of herbs and spices. They use big cloves of garlic, lots of basil leaves and juicy chunks of crushed tomatoes. The various mixture of flavors will certainly leave an impression on your taste buds.

Food price and taste are not just the things I commend this restaurant for. A great dining experience is only possible with great service. The restaurants staff are attentive. When they serve your meal, they offer freshly ground pepper to be sprinkled on your dish. They also refill your glasses with water even without prior requests. I just hope that management can maintain this A+ service.

Given all these positive reviews, Vita Italiana Trattoria still has some points for improvement. First is their payment method should also accommodate credit cards. They are currently accepting cash only but this could be inconvenient to large groups and families who hate carrying cash for large payments. Next, they can increase the items in their menu. Either they increase the variety of their pizzas and pastas, add new Italian-inspired dishes or both. Sometimes with very few options in the menu, customers can easily get tired of the food.

Overall, the restaurant delivers very well for a start-up venture. It currently has one branch only but you may find it worth your travel. With excellent food, affordable prices and great service, Vita Italiana Trattoria is really worth trying out.

Vita Italiana Trattoria

Upper Ground Floor Robinsons Metro East

Marcos Highway, Pasig City

Philippines

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Just When You Thought It Couldn't be Anymore Filipino

The mamon is the Filipino version of a yellow sponge cake. I thought that the pastry alone was already a symbol of Filipino creativity and culture. But then Red Ribbon redefined the common notion of the sponge cake and turned it into an even more Filipino product. This is the Ube Mamon. It is infused with the flavor of Ube or purple yam, a traditional Filipino confection made from a type of root crop.

The sponge cake has a glossy surface because it is topped with a thin layer of the purple yam cream. The exterior has a deep purple color, which makes it more appetizing. The inside of the pastry is soft, moist and flavorful. It is like eating Ube Cake minus the cream so there is less fat. Also, the texture is firm unlike its cake counterpart, which crumbles down easily. For Php 20 per piece, the price is reasonable and the product's uniqueness is worth your money. So the next time you want to buy pastries, drop by Red Ribbon and have a purple dessert.

White Forest Cake

Presenting the White Forest Cake, the latest creation of Red Ribbon. Honestly, using white chocolate on cakes never entered my mind so this is really an innovative concept. I'm a big fan of white chocolate so this product is a must-try.

Since white chocolate has more milk and sugar than cocoa, the bitter-sweet taste is absent. This enhances the taste of the cherry jam lining the layers of fluffy chiffon cake. The cherry flavor penetrates deep inside the entire pastry. To be honest, the strong fruity taste slightly overpowers the milk chocolate. I'm not sure if milk chocolate is really weaker compared to its dark counterpart or if my taste buds are just indiscriminate to this kind of taste. It seems that the creamy characteristic milk chocolate is supposed to have is not that noticeable. I'm still impressed though, since the cake's concept is innovative and its cherry flavor achieves my standards of taste intensity. Cheers to Red Ribbon!

Mongolian BBQ @ Cafe Azul

I love having the Mongolian BBQ bowl at Cafe Azul, a fine-dining restaurant in our university sports center. It has the traditional style of combining your ingredients of choice from rice and noodles to vegetables and condiments. What keeps me coming back for more is the variety of sauces. A customer can choose savory Mongolian sauce, sweet teriyaki sauce, spicy chili paste or a combination of them all. The best part is that you can get as much vegetables and spices as you like. That is, of course, as long as it fits in your bowl. The amount of squid and meat is rather controlled. 60 grams is the fixed weight for the mini bowl (see above photo) while the regular bowl has 100-grams. The choices are either beef, squid, chicken, pork or a mix.

For Php 100 per mini bowl that comes with a glass of iced tea, the price is reasonable but there are some things to remember:

1. Learn the art of compacting the ingredients into the tiny bowl. The value of your money depends on how much rich and vegetables you put in.

2. Choose more oranges than greens. For some reason the food always seems less after it has been cooked. The cabbages and onion springs tend to shrink and disintegrate when heated while the other s don't. So instead of getting a mountain of cabbage shreds, it is better go choose more tomatoes and carrots to minimize food loss.

3. A scoop of teriyaki sauce goes a long way. Unless you want a real sweet taste, go easy on this sauce. It easily overpowers the other flavors.

There you have it. I highly recommend trying the Mongolian BBQ bowl at Cafe Azul. Although it may be tricky in getting the perfect mix of ingredients right the first time, this dining experience is worth your time and money.

Signature Chocolate - Starbucks

As you may have already noticed, I've been blogging a lot about chocolate drinks. I'm actually in search of the ideal cocoa beverage. One that has real chocolate taste yet at the same time has the perfect balance of creaminess and sweetness. Now, the Signature Chocolate of Starbucks is under the spotlight.

The first noticeable characteristic was its strong bitter-sweet cocoa taste. I strongly believe that the beverage was not tainted with sugar or any dairy products. Sure, it has whipped cream on top but it did not compromise the original flavor. The chocolate was so pure that I felt like I was drinking a water-diluted Hershey Cocoa Powder Mix, the type used for baking. I'll give Starbucks major credit for the authentic cocoa taste but the lack of milk and creamer leaves the texture of the beverage thin. The richness of its overall flavor did not meet my expectations. As for the price, the product gives you more value for your money. At Php 115 for a tall cup, it certainly beats the small-sized drink of Cafe Xocolat, which also has the same price.

At Cafe Xocolat

Sunday mornings are usually the perfect time to drive to Katipunan Avenue and hang out at the coffee shops. There is no traffic and parking is plentiful. But today, I decided to try out the restaurant that I read about in business magazines. Cafe Xocolat, or simply Xocolat for short, is a Filipino-owned cafe/restaurant that serves, what else, chocolate products. From ice blended drinks to cakes and brownies, they always have something to offer the average chocolate addict. I've always been primarily curious about their chocolate drinks. Now, I had the chance to check them out for myself.

I bought the Xocolat Lava. It's one of their best-sellers. The title "Lava" gives justice to the richness of the chocolate drink. It tasted just like those hot coca drinks served in luxury hotels. What I can say about it is that the taste is very, very genuine as if the drink was made from freshly processed cacao beans. It's not over sweetened with sugar nor is it diluted with too much milk. The bitter-sweet taste captures the true essence of chocolate. But for a small cup (refer to picture above) priced at Php 115 it's certainly not a substitute for those expensive chocolate drinks made by multinational corporations like Coffee Bean and Starbucks. I personally haven't tried the imported counterparts of Xocolat so I can't give a conclusive comparison between Xocolat Lava and the other brands yet aside from their prices.

It's All About Flavor

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What I appreciate in any food is the intensity of its flavor. And nothing is as intense as the new product KFC cooked up last month. KFC Flavor Shots are just like their Hot Shots and Fun Shots counterparts. The only difference is that the sauce is marinated deep beneath the breading. The strong, sharp, piquant savor of the seasonings and spices leaves a great tangy aftertaste. I highly recommend the barbecue variant for those who like a smoky and spicy gastronomic experience. The sweet chili is for those who want a milder and more balanced zest yet leaves a sharp impression on their taste buds. The Flavor Shots are excellent with rice, mashed potatoes or on its own. Their exquisite tastes leave me craving for more. The only problem is that good food doesn't come cheap. At around Php 55 for a small box, a frequent supply will be bad for my wallet, not to mention my weight. So if you want intense flavor and don't mind the price to pay, then try KFC's Flavor Shots. It's food with a personality.