There are only a few places in Metro Manila especially in Makati City that serves Indian food and Vegan food alike so I was quite excited to discover Bollywood Treats at the lower ground floor of Century Mall. 

Unlike other stalls, it offers a very homey and simple vibe.

I think that's nice because when I'm taking a break from work, the best ambiance I'd wish for is one that is close to home.

Food

♥ Samosa (Vegan) (2 for 70 php)

Not only does Bollywood Treats offer Vegan selections, they offer them at a very low price!  Their Samosa is only 35 php per piece when you order by twos.

♥ Chicken Roti Roll (Shawarma) (60 php)

I didn't know that Indian Cuisine has its version of shawarma.  The Chicken Roti Roll is best eaten when hot and fresh.
 

♥ Non-Vegan Sample Platter (Single for 195 php)

If you want to try most items on their menu, go for their Sample Platter.  There are two versions of this: Vegan and Non-Vegan.  I chose the Non-Vegan which comes with Chicken Curry, BBQ Chicken, Beef Kebab or Beef Curry, Keema and Rice. 

Vegan/Vegeterian Menu

Baingan (Indian Eggplant) (40 php)

Looking for an affordable healthy side dish?  The Baingan is a great choice.

 

♥ Vegetarian Sample Platter (Single for 145 php)

My friends enjoyed their Vegetarian Sample Platter with Chole, Dal and Rice.



Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
With Bollywood Treats, you can now enjoy an authentic Indian, healthy, hearty and even Vegan-friendly meals.  The price is way cheaper than most meals served in the food courts along Makati.

Last Mother's Day, my siblings and I decided to treat our mom to a dinner Ziggurat Cuisine.  


It's really difficult to decide what to give to a woman who has given you her life and asking nothing in return.  She is always saying that she's already happy as things are.  Yet, we love her so much so we want to give her the world.  But, right now, we couldn't afford to treat her to a trip around the world so we the next best thing is to bring her to Ziggurat Cuisine that offers over 200 dishes from India, the Mediterranean, Africa and Middle East. 


Ziggurat Cuisine is located at Tigris Street and Durban Street near Makati Avenue.  It's unique facade really stands out.
The dining area is quite limited so aside from the long table on the side, small tables are set up with pillow seats.

Utensils are set up as soon as our orders are taken.

In honor of Mother's Day, I would like to dedicate this post to my mom.  I know everyone claim's that their mom is the best.  Well, my mom really is the best person I've ever encountered.
Most people are driven by pride, self-achievement, materialism and survival instincts - all reared towards ourselves.  But, my mom is different.  She's a giver.  She does everything for others and never (not exaggerating here!) thinks of herself.   I know I will never be as great as my mom.  (although I always strive to be).   But, I know that where I am and where I will be is because of my mom.   Because of my mom, I can positively view life with all its beauty and colors.  I've seen my mom's heart radiate through all kind of obstacles and hardships.  Her non-stop laughter, happiness and feeling of gratitude towards God and the world is unwavered by losses and gains.  And, every moment is so wonderfully bright as we enjoy working diligently, eating out, dancing, singing, watching movies, trying  new things and exploring the world.  

Food

Shurabat/Soupes/Sopas/Zuppas/Soups

♥ Canja (75 php)

The Canja is a Moroccan chicken soup with lemon and mint.  This is one of the most refreshing soups I've ever encountered.

♥ Indian Khumbi Yogurt (90 php)

The Indian Khumbi Yogurt is a creamy mushroom soup with a interesting spices: cumin, pepper, lemon and garlic.

Middle Eastern Kebabs

♥ Scallop Kebab (300 php)

The Scallop Kebab is one of the best kebabs I've ever tried.  I didn't even know you could make a kebab out of scallops.   The light butter, lemon, paprika and garlic worked wonderfully.

Rabbit Kebab (300 php)

We were all determined to try something exotic so we chose the Rabbit Kebab.  It was prepared using an early Arabian recipe.  It was heavily seasoned with paprika (something we failed to appreciate) with a hint of lemon, parsley, salt, mustard and olive oil.  It was so rubbery and difficult to chew. 

Rice and Grain

Turkish Eggplant Pilavi (100 php)

The Turkish Eggplant Pilavi  is a bowlful of long grain rice with small slices of eggplant, tomatoes and garlic.  We all loved this!

Persian Tadiq (120 php)

The Persian Tadiq is an Iranian rice with egg and crispy socarat (slightly burnt parts).  It is said to be enjoyed by Persian nobilities but I found it too plain and boring.

♥ Himalayan Mushroom Rice (100 php)

The Himalayan Mushroom Rice is a cup of premium Basmati rice with mushroom, cummin, fennel and anise.  I highly recommend this! 

Bread

Ethiopian Injera (35 php)

The Ethiopian Injera are cooked like moist pancakes and taste like sour dough. 

Speecialties from Around the Mediterranean

♥ Moussaka (150 php)

I've long been searching for the best moussaka.  I think their Moussaka is what I'm searching for!  

The Great Curries of India and Pakistan

♥ Bombay Yellow Curry Chicken (250 php)

The Bombay Yellow Curry Chicken is a spicy coconut milk and yellow curry based chicken dish spiced with tumeric, garam masala, chilies and ginger.  I loved this!  I'm going to try more indian curry from now on. 

Exotic African Delights: Northern Africa

♥ Duck Tagine M'ghdour (375 php)

The Duck Tagine M'ghdour is duck stew which has a very rich and bold flavor from the duck meat being lengthily simmered and recooked in the zesty tomato sauce.  It is also topped with egg.

Sweet Temptations

♥ Baklava (90 php)

Most baklavas I've encountered are expensive and tiny.  Their Baklava was not only generous in portion but its the best phylo pastry with honey, almonds and walnuts I have ever had!   I noticed that they don't use pistachio like the others but I loved it!

Drinks

Cold

Cameroonian Guava Shandy

The Cameroonian Guava Shandy is very smooth, bubbly and fruity.

♥ Einab Cold Arabian Flower Tea

Ladies will surely enjoy the sweet and fragrant Einab Cold Arabian Flower Tea.

Hot

♥ Indian Chai Tea

The Indian Chai Tea is a nice and soothing spiced and slightly sweet taste after-meal hot drink.


Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
I've never encountered such a small place with a huge variety of worldly cuisines like Ziggurat Cuisine.  I highly recommend this!  I hope to be back to try more of their exotic culinary wonders from around the world.

My mom doesn't like Indian Cuisine and my little sister doesn't like spicy dishes so I was surprised to my delight that everyone was in the mood to try Legend of India one random night.

Right at the heart of the restaurant district in Jupiter Makati, Legend of India has a big glittery signage making it noticeable and easy to remember by passerby.

Inside is a simple dining area with a loud TV playing Bollywood movies.  Each table is already set up with a complete table wear and candle lights too.

By the side, there's a store where you can buy ingredients, food and also order snacks and desserts.

Food

Vegetarian Appetizers

♥ Samosa (120 php)

The Samosa is a triangular crunchy puffed pasty filled with vegetables.  We loved this especially with their delicious dips: Mint Water (Green) and Tamarind Sauce (Black). 


Non-Vegetarian Appetizers

Chicken Fingers (160 php)

Forget about chicken nuggets cause this very crunchy Chicken Fingers with their amazing sauces will win over you anytime.

Vegetarian Lovers

♥ Vegetable Curry (260 php)

The Vegetable Curry is mixed cubed vegetables in delicious thick Indian curry sauce. 

♥ Palak Paneer (280 php)

The Palak Paneer is blended spinach mixed with cottage cheese.  We all loved this!  I look forward to having more paneers.


Mutton Lovers

♥ Rogan Josh (450 php)

The Rogan Josh is mutton curry.  I've always loved mutton dishes.  But, they come to me so rarely.  Between the Vegetable Curry and this, this is my clear choice. 


Rice

Chicken Biryani (350 php)

The Chicken Biryani is flavorful but not too much so you can pair it well with the other dishes.

Breads

Aloo Paratha (180 php)

The Aloo Paratha whole wheat flour bread stuffed with potato.  While I've had Roti Prata stuffed in cheese before, this is the first time I've had flat bread with potato.  Well, it works well and I don't mind having it again even if it means twice the carbs.

♥ Pudina Naan (130 php)

The Pudina Naan is flour-based flat bread topped with mint leaves.  I love this! 


Desserts

Kuffi (120 php)

The Kuffi is Indian ice cream.  When I was told by the staff that they use carabao milk, I was expecting the Kuffi to be like Arce Dairy ice cream.  But it's really different.  This one is so thick that it's more of a really sweet, rough and dense like pastillas than an ice cream.  But, it is really cool.  And, it has rose syrup on it and pistachio bits.

Green Pista (120 php)

The Green Pista is really sweet pistachio pastillas topped with pistachio bits.  I would have enjoyed this had it not been too sweetened with honey.

Indian Drinks

Sherbet Soda (120 php), Mango Lassi (120 php) and Rose Lassi (130 php)

The  Sherbet Soda or rose water soda and Rose Lassi are a bit too sweet.  But, the
Mango Lassi is perfect.


Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Legend of India is an awesome place to explore more of Indian Cuisine.  Despite having not a good impression of Indian dishes in the past, the family seemed to enjoy this dining experience and we're now ready to go further. 

A few months ago, we discovered a grand Thai restaurant called Koh Samui Thai Cuisine at the back part of Hobbies of Asia.  It's not quite visible from the road side of Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard which is probably why it is not attracting the attention it deserves. 

It has adequate parking area.  The outside is inviting too with two elephant statues and the staff was in an exquisite Thai influenced get up.

Upon entering, we couldn't help but be in awe of the majestic size of the place and its luxurious interiors.   This is certainly the most upscale Thai restaurant I've been too.  Too bad it's a conspicuously placed.

Food
As we glanced the menu and after browsing their website, we were learned that they don't only offer Thai Cuisine but they also have Singaporean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Indian, Malaysian and Filipino dishes. 

Appetizer

Thai Shrimp Chips (120 php)

We were given a complimentary sample of their Thai Shrimp Chips which kept us occupied while waiting for our orders.

Three Fortune Platter (350 php)

The Three Fortune Platter is composed of the Chicken Pandan, Poh Pia, Spanish Mackarel Cake and Salad. The Chicken Pandan was tender and juicy. We were all pleased with it. The Poh Pia is also deliciously crunchy. It's my first time to try a Spanish Mackarel Cake and I loved it.

♥ Durian Charpati (185 php)

The Charpati was recommended by our server.  She told us that this is the latest addition on their menu.  And, it also appeared to be the only Indian selection on their menu.  We chose the Durian Charpati because we all love durian.  We watched as their Chinese chef flipped the dough artistically and soon this basket was served on our table with the Durian Charpati still warm.  We're so glad we ordered this.  We all loved the soft and chewy texture and the rich and fragrant flavor of the durian.  I'll definitely order this every time I visit.

Salad

♥ Thai Style Tree Funghi Salad (220 php)

The Thai Style Tree Funghi Salad is not the typical salad.  It's filled with funghi with a zesty dressing.  We were all impressed by it.


Vegetables

Stir Fried-String Bean in Shrimp Paste (180 php)

The Stir Fried-String Bean in Shrimp Paste is a usual item in Chinese restaurants.  The taste is subtle just the way I like it.  It was gave an enjoyable crunch too.


Entree

♥ Koh Samui Golden Curry Chicken (420 php)

The Koh Samui Golden Curry Chicken is a must try!  Although I have never tried golden curry before, I instantly fell in love with the light sweet curry sauce of this dish.  The chicken was cooked precisely too.

Sweet and Sour Pork Cashew (320 php)

The Sweet and Sour Pork Cashew is another dish belonging to the Chinese cuisine. It had a nice blend that is worthy of being appreciated.


Dessert

Mango Pudding

For dessert, we were served complimentary Mango Pudding which was simple yet delightful.

Update (March 30, 2014): Passed by this place and saw this replaced by a Chinese restaurant.  How sad. =(

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
I believe that Koh Samui Thai Cuisine should re-brand itself as Asian fusion instead of mislabeling itself with Thai Cuisine.  I believe that, its lack in marketing and poor location is its weak point.  But, in terms of food, they deserve recognition.  I really liked everything we tried.  They have a good sense of delivering the right blend of spices and flavors.  The price is just right considering the ambiance it offers.  It gave a a sensual feeling of dining in a palace.  The service is excellent too.  I'd gladly visit Koh Samui again to try more of their dishes.  I'd also recommend it to anyone.