Strawberry Cheesecake Frappe

It's easy to fall in love with cheesecake. Any cheesecake for that matter. But when I saw Sbux blending them in their frappuccino, honestly I doubted them.

I was wrong.

Their latest frappe is actually a special variant of strawberry and cream. The difference is the topping. You get the classic favorite topped with creamcheese instead of the regular whipped cream drizzled with strawberry syrup. It's also sprinkled with Graham cookie crumbles. Not sure why we have dark and light crumbles though. To lend color to texture I suh-pose.

Location: Starbucks

Price: 190 PhP

Rating: Mejo masaya

Hiyashi Chuka

Ramen are served warm. Usually. Then sometimes you experience the exception. Cold ramen. Hindi yung tirang cup nodols sa suking tindahan na tinago muna sa ref para wag dapuan ng langaw. 

Hiyashi chuka. Or cold noodles in English. It's best served cold, just like revenge, and, well, because of the name duh. And it will prolly be bad if you have it semi-cool or lukewarm.

You have slices of meat: chicken and pork and ham; veggies: cucumber and tomatoes; then shrimp and crabsticks; topped with a sprinkling of cheese and salmon roe--choz undine eggs ba yun or other. Iskargu! You have to mix in the cold ramen underneath while adding in the special sauce. Voila! It's kinda salad-ish but it's really refreshing to the palate.

Location: Ramen Yushoken (Alabang Molito area)

Price: 370 PhP (pricey but it's worth it)

Serving: Good for 2-3 persons sharing

Rating: Masaya

Arrabiatta

Not really a fan of Seattle's Best dahil I don't know their signature coffee. Tapos tambayan pa ng isang networking biz ang branch nila dito sa may Dela Rosa. Minsan mapapaisip ka sa dami ng nabentang droga--errr... vitamins and antioxidants--ilan kayang tasa ang narecover sa sales ni SBC.

Anyways, I had a chance to taste their Arrabiatta and I instantly became a fan. Penne, red sauce, anchovies, and parmesan. I really love the spiciness of the tomato and saltiness of the anchovies. Lakas makasushal ng dilis. Parang Bella Aldama lang ang peg!

Location: Seattle's Best Coffee

Price: 175 PhP

Rating: Sobrang Saya

Cheezy Rich

Patok pa rin pala sa takilya ang JCo. Parang NFA lang or lottohan pag milyones ang jackpot. Parang may feeding program ganyan. Naalala ko dati nakipila kami sa may bandang Greenbelt nun para bumayla ng 2 pcs at frappe. Kami pa ang nahiya nyan pagdating sa counter ha. Tapos meron pala express lane para lang sa coffee orders. Gee arr arr arr arr!

Anyways napaorder ako ng chocomint frappe last Sunday. Plus umorder pa ng additional donut. Cheezy Rich. I was hoping Cheese me Up, yung may cream cheesy goodness pero sabi no ateng counter eh 1 hour prep time daw yun. Baka chinicheese lng ako ni ate. 

So I was stuck with Cheezy Rich. Rich tlga sya dahil may filling na ng cream cheese at may actual square slice pa (cheddar? I dunno) tapos may shavings pa on top. Kung gutom ka sa cheese go. Pero may umay factor tlga ammasarrey. I'll have my Cheese me Up anytime. Willing to wait!

Location: JCo Donuts

Price: 45 PhP

Rating: Sapat

Bibimbob

"Korean? Di ako kumakain ng kimchi."

I get how people most of the time associate Korean food with kimchi cause most of their food revolve around kimchi, it being a national dish and all. Izz like saying all Japanese food is raw. Or all Pinoy food is somehow a variation of adobo. It's not.

Bibimbap is a rice dish with meat and veggies served traditionally on a stone pot. Karne, gulay, kanin at itlog. Complete meal na, pwede pa lunch, dinner o breakfast. Matutuwa si Kuya Bodgie at Ate Siena nyan. 

Yun nga lang you have to make halu halo evrathang. Kanin baboy-ish, as I'd like to describe it but it's really, really good. Very filling. Dami kong fullness. And it's only 99 PhP sa nearest SM food court.

Location: Mr. KimBob (SM Foodcourt)

Price: 99 PhP add 20 for the kimchi rice

Rating: Sobrang Saya

Mint is the new Green

"Penge nga ng Nips."

Nips talaga agad agad?! Di ba pwedeng M&Ms mint with dark choco?!

McDo BFF

Yung tipong kumakain ka ng McDo BFF meal all by yourself. Kamusta naman sa calories? Kebs. Nomnomnom.

Choz syempre best shared with the BFFs.

Rating: Masaya

Spicy Tofu

"Mild spicy lang po." Pero uberspicy pa rin ang niserve nila atengkuya. Ubos tuloy ang tubig nila sa Coleman.

I dunno how something so jologs could be something so--for lack of better word--yammeee! Explosion of flavors. Cooking Master Boy levels! *volcanic*

Location: Aling Yolly's Tapsihan near Cityland Makati

Price range: 60-150 PhP

Rating: Masarap

Lezz Pizza

When you think of pizza, ano unang naiisip mo?

Mahal. Well, hindi naman pambansang food ang pizza. Alam mo yan dahil anjan ang adobo at rice. At kelangan talaga may rice. Dahil Asian tayo. Anodaw?!

Naalala ko way way way back nung kung anu ano na lang na mga pizza jan sa tabi tabi lang ang nabibili ko. Mura lang kasi pero iisa lang ang timpla: ham at ketchup at konting keso. Solb ka na dun. Kebs na kung mejo luma o matigas ang tinapay. Laman tyan din yan. Naalala ko yung tita ko na nakitikim ng pizza na yan, "masarap sya ha pero matigas ang tinapay." Ano ba alam nya sa matigas na tinapay eh malamang pustiso na gamit nya, lahat ng pagkain matigas na sa kanya hahah.

Sa paglipas ng panahon, unti unting nagsusulputan ang mga fastfood chains. Ngunit dahil mahirap lang kaya pang ispeysyal occasion lang ang pizza. To the point na feeling ko sosyal na ako kung makapagChowking na ako choz. Dumami na rin variations: may thin o thick crust, may stuffed crust, may monster 35" pizza na di lang pangpamilya pang-isports pa, may do it yourself pizza, etc.

Habang nagkakapera eh nagkakaron ka na rin ng chance na makakain mas madalas ng pizza. Yung tipong pizza ng local fastfood jan, yan na hinahanda mo pag bertdeyan. Pero iisipin mo wala naman din pinagkaiba sa natikman mo nang pizza. Thin crust lang. Ham ketchup at cheese pa rin yan. Ilevel up mo pa ng konti ang budget mo eh makakabili ka na nung mga foreign brand na pizza, pero kelangan mo pa may "promo card" na kasama para lang makalibre ka ng isa pang box.

Ganyan naman tayong mga Pinoy. Kung san makakamura go. Kung may libre go. Hindi dahil mahirap tayo. We want to know the worth of our money. Why waste your money on something na mamantika, o maasim, o weird, o pretentious brand lang when we can have something na sulit.

"Mommy, what's sulit?" sabi nung batang tumalo na sa takilya sa Amazing Spider-Man DAW. "It's getting more than what you pay for." sabi nung Oprah of the Philippines.

Sa hinaba haba ng intro ko, hindi ako nag-eendorse ng rubbing alcohol, o sabong panlaba, o melk. Pizza nga eh di ba?!

May new product line up ang Lots'A Pizza. Lots'A? Di ba yan yung.... Yes sila nga yung nakikita mo sa mga stalls, and kiosks, and foodcourts yes. Bakit wala silang resto? Well, meron naman silang full size restos pero ang focus kasi nila is quick-serve takeout pizzas. Minsan kasi sa mga restos kaya mahal ang food eh kasi you're paying for the ambiance. Kung gusto mo lang tlga eh kumain, by all means kain. Di ka naman finoforce na magstay ka dito at sulitin mo yang PhP 3k steak mo. Budget friendly, Pinoy style. What else would you look for.

Naglaunch ng premium pizzas sila nung April. This is in partnership with Dole Philippines. So what's to expect sa premium? Rectangular shaped sya. What?! Pero pizza should always be circle. Wala naman pizza bible na nagsasuggest na bilog dapat lagi ang pizza. Fact: pizza is Italian for pie. Eh bakit ang peach mango pie rectangle naman choz. Eh bakit di na lang thin crust? Dahil may special parbaked crust sila, crispy na chewy pa. Choosy ka pa?

Three sa mga favorites sa kanila ay nalevelup to premium: Manhattan De Luxe, Hawaiian Extreme, at Pure Beef Supreme. May new flavors din sa classics like Hotdog Festiva, Hungarian Fiesta, and Garden Harvest. Pansinin mo di sila redundant sa naming convention. Lahat yan oozing sa Dole pineapples, as in malulunod ka. At di lang sa pineapples, puno talaga sya ng toppings unlike sa ibang brand jan na bilang kada tidbit. Kahit sa bestsellers nila, na circle na, punung puno rin ng toppings. Sobrang busog, sobrang solb, sobrang sulit. And maybe it's the cheese kaya di ka madaling masusuya sa paglafs nito.

Panalo sa bestsellers ang Hotdog Festiva. Mejo bexy at mahalay lang siguro sa name pero its good. Mapapatanong ka agad, Tender Juicy ba ito? But opkors. Reminiscent ng spaghetti ni mama, the familiar home-cooked Pinoy-style pasta. Anong konek ng pizza sa pasta? It's the feeling, I guess. Yung nostalgia ng lutong bahay.

Anyway, ako na ang di imaginative dahil kapag sinabi mong pineapple eh Hawaiian lang tlga ang naiimagine ko sa pizza. Di naman ako chef. Baka naman next time makagawa na sila ng adobo flakes pasta, bilang Pinoy ang target market nila. Suggestment lang naman. Di naman ako chef.

So sa next time na kumain ka ng Lots'A Pizza, ano unang maiisip mo?

Pure Beef Supreme

Hawaiian Extreme

Manhattan Deluxe

Pepperoni and Mushroom and Hotdog Festiva

Garden Harvest

#lotsapizzaletspizza