One Saturdate at Century Tsukiji

My annual meet up with a former work colleague from my days at CMG of Australia finally pushed through after two reschedulings.  Judith and I (plus another one) would meet every October during her vacation here in the Philippines from Dubai, where she works.  And everytime, the meet-up would be at Luk Yuen for some Chinese food.

This time around, I asked Judith if she'd like some Japanese cuisine and told her to meet me for lunch at Century Park Hotel on a Saturday, where we dined at Century Tsukiji.  This is my second time to eat at the hotel's Japanese restaurant but the first time was about five years ago during a client meeting.

L-R: Judith and I

Going inside the restaurant was like a breath of fresh air, like being transported to Japan.  The minimalist interiors were perfectly decorated with accent pieces that were easy on the eyes.  I did not notice this the first time I was here for a business meeting as I was ushered hurriedly into a private dining room.  I love the central painting of the four season in the common dining area, it's bright colors giving the otherwise neutral palette of the room warmth and life.  I nice touch to the Japanese theme is the Samurai armor on display at the entrance of the dining area and the large Japanese lanterns lined up on the high ceiling.

Love the four seasons painting in the background.

Their menu has plenty of good choices from sushi to sashimi to maki sushi, donburimono to teppanyaki, grilled to fried dishes and makunouchi bento, and more. We opted for the set menu which would be easier to choose and enjoy.

I ordered the Yakiniku Teishoku or pan-fried beef in ginger sauce, served with two kinds of appetizer, sashimi or salad, steamed rice, miso soup, Japanese pickles and fresh fruits for dessert.  The beef strips are tender, juicy and flavorful and the perfect pair to the sauteed vegetables.  Everything was delicious and filling.  The fresh fruits were a sweet ending to the meal.

Yakiniku Teishoku

Judith tried the Wakadori Teriyaki or pan-fried boneless chicken with teriyaki sauce.  Of course, the set comes with with two kinds of appetizer, sashimi or salad, steamed rice, miso soup, Japanese pickles and fresh fruits for dessert.  Delicious meal but the serving can be good for two.  She just finished half because she easily became full and took home the rest.

Wakadori Teriyaki

Service from the staff was excellent as they were attentive to the customer's need from refilling water down to taking photos of guests.

Delicious food plus good ambiance plus excellent service will make me come back again and again.

Century Tsukiji is located inside Century Park Hotel at 599 P. Ocampo St., Malate, Manila, Philippines.  For reservations or inquiry, call (02) 8528-8888 or email at reservations@centurypark.com.ph.  Visit their website www.centurypark.com for more details.

Gastronomic Adventure, Day 2

For day 2 of our Venice Piazza Food Adventure, we continued the game plan and started with appetizers, had our fill of the main courses, and ended with dessert. From the original 14 restaurants/establishments, we were down to half or 7 yummy treats to complete the challenge.

KBOP, a Korean fast food, offered a choice of either ChapChae (Glass Noodles) or Seafood & Vegetable Pancake. Both were delicious but I preferred the glass noodles.

ChapChae

Seafood & Vegetable Pancake

Little Asia Symphony of Flavors served a choice of either battered Shrimp Curls with Mango Dip or Vietnamese Spring Rolls with ground pork and sotanghon noodles which are both winners.

Shrimp Curls with Mango Dip

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Old Vine Grille (which I wrote about here previously) had as front runners for the Food Adventure their Grilled Fish Fillet with Lemon Butter Sauce, served with garlic rice and a side salad, and Chicken Barbecue with Fries and Red Beans.

Grilled Fish Fillet with Lemon Butter Sauce

Chicken Barbecue with Fries and Red Beans

As a breather, we claimed from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf our 8 oz. Hot Chai Tea Latte. Other flavors to choose from are English Breakfast, Tropical Passion, Moroccan Mint, Matcha Green Tea and Apple Pie.

Ramen Bar offered an uber-filling dish composed of Karaage and Kakuni Buns. The Karaage is fried chicken cuts while the Kakuni Buns is Japanese braised pork belly in white buns similar to pork asado siopao.

Karaage and Kakuni Buns

Figaro Coffee Company gave a choice of either a 12 oz. Iced Coffee or 8 oz. Brewed Coffee, available in decaf.

To end the night, we savored sweet but healthy treats from YoSwirls by BTC -- Original Mango Yogurt and Vanilla Chocolate Yogurt.

Vanilla Chocolate and Original Mango Yogurt

What an adventure...a real Food Adventure! From now on, we'll keep our eyes peeled for the next run of Venice Piazza Food Adventure.

The Venice Piazza Food Adventure is until March 31. Try this heavenly promo now or wait for next Food Adventure run.

Related Posts:

Gastronomic Adventure, Day 1

My First Time at Old Vine Grille

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Gastronomic Adventure, Day 1

My family and I are always looking for good food and exciting adventure that's the Venice Piazza Food Adventure was the perfect deal for us. Friends from Megaworld introduced me to the gastronomic adventure and I, on the other hand, shared it to my family the following weekend. The Food Adventure will let you sample yummy dishes from 14 restaurants/establishments in Venice Piazza, all of which can be availed within two consecutive weekend days from 4 pm - 9 pm, at a super reasonable price of P600 per person. Mechanics are fairly simple -- just wear the Food Adventure band, present the passport to the establishment upon ordering the designated dish/es, and enjoy!

Food Adventure wrist bands and passport

Since this is an adventure, we first studied the featured establishments and devised a game plan that will have the four of us finish everything within two consecutive weekend days, with each day allowing us to try equal number of appetizers, main courses, drinks and desserts. For those restaurants that offered two choices, we agreed that two will order dish #1 and the other two will order dish #2. We started on a Saturday so we continued the following Sunday.

Happy bunch on a food adventure

PHO HOA VIETNAMESE NOODLE HOUSE had their best seller Pomelo Salad -- fresh greens, julienne-cut cucumber, red bell pepper and carrots, pomelo chunks, shrimp and nuts with a generous serving of their sweet-sour vinaigrette -- as front runner for the Food Adventure.

Pomelo Salad

EMPIRE DELI & RESTAURANT offered healthy and delectable salads. The Empire Signature Salad is a simple one made of fresh green, cherry tomato, black olives, boiled egg and slices of grilled chicken. On the other hand, the Grilled Tuna Salad is a refreshing mix of greens, julienne-cut green mango, grilled tuna slices and sesame seeds.

Signature Salad

Grilled Tuna Salad

PINCHOS RESTAURANT & BAR, a fairly new establishment from the same owner as Blackwood Bistro, served a Duo of Buffalo Chicken Fillet with (Nacho) Chips and Salsa, a perfect combination.

Duo of Buffalo Chicken Fillet with Chips and Salsa

BLACKWOOD BISTRO offered their Penne Puttanesca made with tomato sauce, black olives and grated parmesan cheese, a rather heavy dish for an appetizer.

Penne Puttanesca

RED CRAB served specially created dishes for the Food Adventure -- buttery soft Dory Fillet with Honey Mustard Sauce and Fried Stuffed Bean Curd with Crab Relleno served with Garlic Chili Sauce. So yummy! Unfortunately, they're not part of the regular menu.

Dory Fillet with Honey Mustard Sauce

Fried Stuffed Bean Curd with Crab Relleno with Garlic Chili Sauce

KUSE TRADITIONAL FILIPINO CUISINE provided a choice between Lechong Kawali (with plain rice and atchara) and Chicken Relleno (with garlic rice and atchara), two dishes that were so filling that we had to rest for a few minutes before going to our next stop.

Lechon Kawali

Chicken Relleno

SOL GELATO was our sweet ending for day 1 of the Food Adventure and each of us savored a serving of any two Gelato flavors of our choice. Mine was a Ferrero-Coffee Crunch tandem and it left me with a smile on my lips.

Two Gelato Flavors -- Ferrero and Coffee Crunch for me!

Being full from our first day of yummy treats, we spent the rest of the evening strolling around Venice Piazza, burning the calories while relaxing under the stars.

The Venice Piazza Food Adventure is until March 31. Try this heavenly promo now or wait for next Food Adventure run.

Related post: Gastronomic Adventure, Day 2

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Cafe Laguna: Filipino Cuisine Made w/ Love

Whenever I go on out-of-town trips, I always make it a point to seek out a homegrown restaurant in the area that I can try. It was on my 7th trip to Cebu that I "discovered" this classy but relaxed Cafe Laguna in Ayala Center Cebu. The well-lit restaurant interiors has a garden theme that makes you feel like you are dining al fresco.

Cafe Laguna menu

Light wood and green motif of the interiors

Browsing through the menu, I noticed that they offered traditional Filipino food that were created from the recipes of the Urbina family that Lita Urbina wanted to share to everyone. My friends and I went to Cafe Laguna for merienda and so we ordered light fares to gives us energy for the afternoon's sightseeing activities.

Me looking at the menu

High school friends Gesel and Emy

My favorite noodles dish is Sotanghon Guisado and this is what I ordered, along with a refreshing glass of very Pinoy cooler, Sago at Gulaman. The Sotanghon did not fail my expectations as it is so delicious and had plenty of chicken strips and vegetables for toppings. The noodles are well cooked and seasoned just right that I did not find the need to add patis (fish sauce) to the squeezed calamansi.

Sotanghon Guisado

Sago at Gulaman

Emy ordered Adobo Manok sa Pandesal that was light yet tasty. Not the usual sandwich, it has shredded pork cooked Adobo style (with soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, black corn peppers and laurel leaf)..

Adobo Manok sa Pandesal

Gesel tried the mouth watering Manggang Hilaw with Bagoong -- thin strips of green mango, tomatoes and onions, with yummy alamang bagoong (shrimp paste) on the side. Just typing this sentence made me crave for it.

Manggang Hilaw with Bagoong

For dessert, Halo-Halo won hands down. The colorful concoction made of red beans, boiled saba bananas, kamote, sago and gulaman, pinipig, topped with shaved ice, ube (sweetened purple yum) and leche flan, was a pure delight by sight and by taste.

Halo-Halo

Cafe Laguna also serves local food at reasonable prices such as lumpia, a variety of pancit, bibingka, puto bum-bong, palitaw, kare-kare, lechon kawali, and bulalo steak, among others. View the full menu here.

As described in their website, Cafe Laguna, formerly known as Mother's Best, began as a labor of love in 1979 in a rented apartment with just ten tables. Because business went well, they eventually bought the place, renovated and expanded the carinderia to become a "place of dining" in 1991. In just three years, Cafe Laguna opened in Ayala Center Cebu and five years more, opened another one as Laguna Garden Cafe.

Cafe Laguna facade at Ayala Center Cebu

Today, the hard work and culinary genius of Lita Urbina paved the way for Cafe Laguna to achieve its dream of becoming a "showcase of Filipino cuisine." Because Cafe Laguna was a labor of love, their customers loved them back enough to help them grow branches in Cebu, Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro, Ilo-ilo, and Davao. Cafe Laguna, when are you opening in Manila?

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