A few years back, whenever my friends would invite to treat me to a bar, I would always decline because they tend to focus more on alcoholic beverage than their pricey dishes. But now, more and more establishments are set to offer a wholesome experience for reasonable prices. One of my latest discoveries is Paprika Comfort Food + Cocktail Bar humbly settled at the second floor of RCBC Savings Bank along the corner 5th and 26th.

        It’s a cozy artsy yet place with a pinch of sophistication.

     It has soft cushioned lofts and pillows for seating and shelves with card games and frames portraying artistic works.

Food

Appetizers

Trio Dip (165 php)

       For starters, we got the Trio Dip.   It is a silver platter filled with toasted bread drizzled with balsamic vinegrette and served with three choices of dip: Spinach with Creamy Cheese, Truffle Mushroom (Yes! Mushroom bits on a pool of rich truffle oil) and Eggplant Caponata with an appetizing spicy zizzle.

Pasta

♥ Bagoong Pasta (220php)

           The Bagoong Pasta topped with crispy pork fatty liempo and zesty tomato slices is unlike any other pasta I’ve tried before.  Just a forkful of it’s tasty bagoong spiced oil based al dente cooked spaghetti got me hooked.

Over Rice

♥ Adobo Overload (305 php)

             When the Adobo Overload was served. I have to admit, I didn’t find the blackened pork chunk over adobo rice enticing. But, when I got to bite into the huge crunchy pork adobo with tender meat and succulent fats, it was like I was hypnotized by the wholesome adobo goodness as I indulged over the pork adobo meat, equally addictive , pork adobo rice and adobo mayo and a bit of adobo sauce. Damn! This is the most captivating adobo I have ever tried. I finished the whole thing and didn’t even bother to share.


             The Over Rice Roast Beef Pares are roast beef slices glazed in rich, thick, sweet and savory home made pares sauce with scrambled egg laid on a bed of garlic rice.  It is also served with a red thick and sticky chili-garlic oil with evident chili seeds. I was warned that it delivers a powerful spicy kick but when I tried it, it was just right for me.  It's cool that restaurant's now offer fun twists with the beef pares.  I was reminded of the one I tried at 12 Monkeys Music Hall & Pub.

            I didn’t get a shot of someone’s Chicken and Waffles. But, I did get to try it. It has 2 pieces of buttermilk fried chicken which had a crumby batter coating similar to a Katsu and really juicy and tender meat. I like it better when eaten with their house gravy. For staple, it comes with 3 pieces of waffles topped with maple syrup. 

Desserts

♥  WTF! (What the Fudge) (180 php)

          The  WTF! (What the Fudge) lives true to its name. That is exactly the expression you’re going to make when you take a deep teaspoon full into their small jar filled with chocolate crumble, layers of dark and white chocolate ganache and finally small cubes of coffee jelly.

Drinks

Iced Tea

Specialty Cocktails
            For alcoholic drinkers, the real fun begins after the meal as Paprika offers a whole new experience with their Specialty Cocktails.

B-52’s (285 php)

         The B-52’s is a mix of Grand Marnier, amaretto, milk, cream and cinnamon.

Smores (255 php)

            The Smores is a cute but secretly fiesty colorful dessert cocktail. Crack a piece of the graham cracker, dip it into the whippwd cream tipped with mini marshmallows and sip into its marshmallow and Bailey's blend.

Gold Mine (375 php)

        The Gold Mine with its ravishing golden color dominantly of the Johnny Walker Gold Reserve topped with apple cubes and mixed with honey, apple juice and sparkling wine promises to deliver a treasurable sensation.. It even has an added flare with sugar frost on the bottom of its glass.

Smoked Bacon Rye Sour (355 php) *you can opt it to be served on your table this way

Smoked Bacon Rye Sour (355 php)

          Find out for yourself what Smoked Bacon Rye Sour, a concoction lit with a tobbaco before being served. It has Jameson Irish Whiskey, lemon, egg white, bacom and the most important ingredient: vanilla smoke will taste like.
 

La Playa Barcelona (305 php)

        The La Playa Barcelona has some initial tartiness from the line and dalandan juice with a smooth, sweet and refreshing follow through of white wine, brandy, cherry, lychee syrup and mint leaves.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
        Paprika Comfort Food + Cocktail Bar offers a different kind of experience with its cozy, exclusive but not cramped interiors and fantastic, fun and playful comfort food and cocktails.  And, the price is quite affordable that workers in the area can enjoy its offerings as often as they want.

I'm really not the type who frequent pubs.  But since I was in the area, I agreed to dropped by 12 Monkeys Music Hall to have a quick dinner meal with some girl friends.


12 Monkeys Music Hall & Pub is located at the 5th floor of Century City Mall.  It has its own escalator up to the 4th floor and elevator or stairs to the 5th floor.  It is named 12 Monkeys Music Hall & Pub because of the 12 young owners who are distinguished in their respective fields.  Restauranteurs: Raymund Magdaluyo (of Red Crab Group and Sumo Sam) and Ivan L. Zalameda (of Beso Cucina Vinoteka) .  Musicians:  Chito Miranda (of Parokya ni Edgar) and Champ Lui Pio (of the disbanded Hale and now solo artist) DJs: GP Reyes (71 Gramercy) and DJ Keith Haw (Prive).  Show hosts: DJ Tony Toni Bueno (of Boys Night Out) and  Jinno Rufino (of ABS-CBN Sports/BTV/Solar Sports).   Entrepreneurs: JM Rodriguez (Prive),  Neil Arce (Professional poker player), Neil Paras (Big Bad Wolf) and Jerico Fernando Salonga (Vask).


The place is really grand with a high ceiling, elegant bar, tall wooden tables and chairs and cozy red lofts on the side.  There is an more private outdoor area on the back.  As it claims to be a live band-driven and DJ-driven club, it has a stage area and dim lighting.  There are also multiple large LED TV screens and red billiard pools like a typical sports bar. 

Food

Picha Pie (noticed it is spelled like Parokya ni Edgar's Song title!)

♥ The Sisig Tribute (320 php)

The Sisig Tribute has crispy pork sisig bits, chili, onions, garlic mayonnaise and a thin layer of mozzarella.  You may opt to remove the chili if you can't handle the spiciness.  This an interesting pizza variation.  Their thin crust pizza texture is excellent! 

♥ The Rock' A Feller Pizza (350 php)

The Rock' A Feller Pizza is my kind of pizza.  It's topped with baked oysters, creamed spinach, parmesan and mozzarella.  This is no ordinary seafood pizza.

♥ Ivan's Palabok Pizza (350 php)

The most creative pizza we tried is the Ivan's Palabok Pizza.  The presentation is superb!  The thin crust pizza and the palabok toppings worked wonderfully together.

Pica-Pica to Chika

♥ St. Peter's Eggs (350 php)

My top pick for the evening is the St. Peter's Eggs.  It is balut in crab fat and garlic chili butter sauce. 

Big Bird (650 php)

The Big Bird is their version of the classic buffalo wings with blue cheese and vegetable crudites.  As promised by its name, the wings are indeed huge.  The spice and sweetness is just right too.

Specials

Barbecue Feast (780 php)

The Barbecue Feast is a large long platter filled with a long steel stick of pork skewer, big chunks of pork spare ribs and chicken barbecue wings.  It is served with java rice, atchara, coleslaw and potato salad.  I love their barbecue blend.  Every barbecue assortment is very tender too. 


Rice Bowls

♥ Midnight in Pares (290 php)

The Midnight in Pares is a rice meal with braised beef (or beef brisket in Chinese cuisine) topped with shredded scrabbled eggs and green onions.  It is served with a homemade chili sauce.  This dish is quite familiar to me so I'm able to appreciate the flavor hinted by the star anise.

Crab Fat Rice (340 php)

My least favorite would be the Crab Fat Rice because it was over-shadowed by the St. Peter's Eggs.  Plus, the crispy pork belly and the crab fats sauce didn't sync that well. 


Desserts

♥ Chunky Monkey Pie (290 php)

The Chunky Monkey Pie is a banana cream and gelatin based pie topped with whipped cream and crushed peanut brittle and glazed with chunky peanut butter.  We all loved this!  It's amazingly flavorful without being too sweet.

♥ Crepe Cake (350 php)

I adore the Crepe Cake!  It's a mille feuille crepes cake with light cream filling and topped with mangoes and ice cream. If only I wasn't stuffed already, I want to have this all for myself.

Drinks

Fresh Fruit Shakes & Milkshakes

♥ Strawberry Shake (125 php) and Fresh Pineapple Shake (125 php)

This is by far the best Strawberry Shake I've had hands down.  I like that they don't scrimp on fresh strawberries.  The taste is very fresh and fruity.  The sweetness seemed natural and not bolstered artificially by sugar.  My friend who had the Fresh Pineapple Shake shared the same sentiments too.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
12 Monkeys Music Hall is the new hang out place.  Given their luxurious interiors and good music gig line up, quality food and huge portions, I was quite surprised with their affordable pricing!  So don't be intimidated by its posh facade and check this place out.  I highly recommend this place especially for Makati dwellers and workers.  It also has WiFi if that's a plus for you.