Tony Roma's Ribs Seafood Steaks is an international franchise which needs no further introduction.  Everyone knows they've got the world famous ribs!


The place has never lost its flare.  It's always there waiting for someone to crave for its ribs. 

Food

Complimentary Bread

Upon being seated, we were served their Complimentary Bread served warm with butter.

Refreshing Salads

♥ Caesar Salad (395 php)

Their Caesar Salad with generous grated parmesan cheese, fresh romaine lettuce, crunchy croutons and classic caesar dressing never fails to satisfy us.

Flatbread

Vegetable Flatbread (375 php)

The Vegetable Flatbread is great finger food to share with the group.  It is topped with zuchini, tomatoes, mushrooms, red and green bell peppers, pizza cheese, parmesan cheese and mozarella cheese.

World Famous Ribs

♥ The Original Baby Back Ribs Full Slab (1,088 php)

Of course, a visit to Tony Roma's is never complete without ordering The Original Baby Back Ribs. The original bbq sauce will simply leave you sucking for more.  The tender, savory and juicy meat is also unbeatable.  It is served with our choice of side dish: french fries...
 

Coleslaw

and Coleslaw.

Popular Combos

♥ Rib Combo with Steak (1,190 php)

I'm personally happy with just the ribs alone.  But, you could also try their Rib Combo with Steak.  The steak is seared at 550 degree farenheit so it's char-gilled on the outside and kept juicy on the inside.  It is served with our choice of side dish: baked potato and ranch style beans.

Flame-Grilled BBQ Skewers

Lunch Skewer Sampler (525 php)

The Lunch Skewer Sampler with skewers of beef, pork, chicken and fish is something new to try but, nothing special.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Tony Roma's Ribs Seafood Steaks will always be our favorite Baby Back Ribs place.  It has never let us down throughout the years.  They are consistent with everything even their marketing style of giving out a discount card of 20% on your next visit once you'll paid your bill.

El Pollo Loco has been our family favorite fast food restaurant for decades.  In terms of frequency of dining visits, this definitely tops our family list!  When we were kids, we'd dine there every time we were within the SM Megamall vicinity.  Since it opened nearer to us at SM Mall of Asia, this has been our go to restaurant whenever we are lazy to cook and looking for a cheap place to eat.


There are also many times when my mom would just crave for their flame-grilled Mexican chicken so we'll head over there stat!


Up to now, we all loved having El Pollo Loco as our secret dining place.  This place is rarely crowded so we get to enjoy, the fast service, the freedom of choosing seats and hassle-free washing of hands since there are no lines.  But in honor of the years it has satisfied our family, I thought I should at least share it here.  Prior to writing about this place, I had no idea that this is a famous franchise chain from the US.  Sadly, that is a clear indicated on how much they lack in terms of promotion right?



Food

♥ 12-pieces Chicken Combo (1095 php)

I know they have a lot of other items but our default order has always been the 12-pieces Chicken Combo which comes with 12-pieces of chicken (equivalent to 1 and half chicken) with 6 large sides, 8 tortillas and 6 salsas.   There's just something about their spiced, herby, citrusy and juicy chicken that makes us all crazy for it.

♥ 12-pieces Chicken Combo (1095 php)

So there are the inclusions... You can choose the Salsa to be hot or mild.  It's always the former for me.  It's not that spicy when you mix it with all the other ingredients you see.  You can choose from 6 side dishes: Spanish Rice, Spanish Bean, Corn Coblettes, Potato Salad, Coleslaw and Loco Fries. 

I always have my Spanish Rice and Spanish Bean so I can roll them together with my chicken bits and Spicy Salsa like this and eat it like a burrito.



Not only are their chicken healthy and affordable, they have a very enticing loyalty promo too.  We've claimed a lot of these over the years.


This is good for 5-6 persons.  Not bad right?
 
Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
We'll be back El Pollo Loco Flame-Grilled Mexican Chicken!  Not a month goes by where we don't visit you.  Thanks for keeping your quality consistent. And, I hope you add your internationally famous avocado salsa on your menu someday. 

My friends often tease me of being a serious and uptight person.  So once in awhile, I give in and let them take me to the fun places.  One night I ended up at Grilla Bar and Grill with good old friends and met a new ones too.  My friends enjoyed their drinks but as usual, I was there for food and company.
I'm really liked the spacious and upscale feel of Grilla Bar and Grill Makati.  They even have an Al Fresco balcony area.

Food

Appetizers

Chicharong Cebu (160 php)

As they say, You Only Live Once (YOLO) so we started with the deliciously crispy Chicharong Cebu.

♥ Pork BBQ and Salted Egg Triangles (185 php)

My friends were drinking so they really enjoy crunchy finger snacks like the Pork BBQ and Salted Egg Triangles while we chatted the night away.  This is an interesting dish to try.

Sisig

Tofu and Sigarilyas Sisig (145 php)

 The Tofu and Sigarilyas Sisig is a healthiest sisig option in htier menu.  It's still as salty as the regular sisig though.


Veggies

Ilocos Dinuydoy (135 php)

The Ilocos Dinuydoy has three primary ingredients: mashed squash, ampalaya and bagnet presented in a deconstructed way. 

Eggplant Torta - Poqui Poqui (145 php)

The Eggplant Torta - Poqui Poquiis the Ilocano way of eggplant torta.  I find their Ilocano dishes too salty.  Ilocano cuisine being our second native cuisine at home, I was surprised by this.  Ilocano dish is known for simplicity and bringing out the natural flavors.  Ilocanos like my mom are very frugal and appreciative of the lightest flavors. 


Entree

Family Feast

♥ Grill-A-Palayok (695 php)

The Grill-A-Palayok is a fun dish to try with a group!  You can choose your favorite type of meat and you can choose from 3 types of dips: Pork-lemongrass broth, Grilled Eggplant and Nilasing na Mangga.  I liked the latter the most.


Beef

Beef Kansi (345 php)

I took one sip of the Beef Kansi and found it too peppery and salty to be enjoyed as a soup.


Chicken

Sinampalukang  Inihaw na Manok (225 php)

The Sinampalukang  Inihaw na Manok has a nice smokey flavor alogn with the strong tangy taste.  I liked the smokey and tender inihaw na manok bits in it.

Inadobong Tilapia sa Gata at Sili (225 php)

The Inadobong Tilapia sa Gata at Sili is among the dishes I liked as well.  It was fun to eat and has a fun twist of flavors.

♥ Halo Halo Spring Rolls (135 php)

Last but definitely not the least is the Halo Halo Spring Rolls.  I liked this the most!


Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
My friends enjoyed our dining experience at Grilla Bar and Grill.  I recommend it for those who enjoy strong taste and pair their food with lots of rice and drinks to tone down the flavors and probably guilt. 

We Tsinoy Foodies were supposed to eat at KaLui but our hotel receptionist failed to book us a reservation so we headed on to Kinabuch's Grill and Bar next door.

It occupied a large area yet fully packed.  As it is Christmas season, Christmas lantern dangled from tree branches which brightened the dark venue. 

There were huts, an indoor area and also outdoor.  There's a large TV screen.  As it is a bar, there were a lot of smokers and drinkers.


For those who want some privacy and restaurant like feel, the indoor area is adequate for you.

Food
Kurt's temperament is worse when he is hungry.  And, this night he was so we had this magnified tension between us and this turned out to be the most dramatic dinner of my entire life.

Pork Dishes

♥ Sizzling Spare Ribs (220 php)

Kurt had the Sizzling Spare Ribs.  The serving arrangement was unique for us.  It was served with a bone handle and wrapped in a foil because it was immensely hot.

♥ Sizzling Spare Ribs (220 php)

This is one of the best Sizzling Spare Ribs we have ever had.  Even at his angry mood, Kurt let me try this because you just can't miss this. 

♥ Dinakdakan (170 php)

I ordered their Dinakdakan which was bits of pig ears, tongue and liver with calamansi dressing.  It was really good.  

I recall that this was the time I was dedicated to stop eating white rice and only ate red rice so I didn't order any rice.  Upon trying this, I thought it was more soothed with rice so I asked Kurt if I can have some.  And, he told me to order on my own.  But before I could react, he quickly scooped some rice from his plate and gave place it on mine.  At the same time he was teeth-grittingly and irritably said "I don't know why you have to do something to yourself to impress some guy."  When I explained to him that I just wanted to improve myself starting with my health, he calmed down and the war finally ended.


Exotic Tamilok Dishes

Tamilok (135 php)

I've tried other exotic dishes but Tamilok is the only one I didn't like.  It was slippery but gets suck on the throat that it was difficult to swallow.  It also has a tiny shell which is a bother.  It was really difficult to finish a plateful.  Good thing Kurt agreed to help me and I don't think he liked it too. 

Fruit Shakes

♥ Mango Ginger Shake (85 php)

Kurt never order drinks so I was quite surprised when he ordered the Mango Ginger Shake.  I thought he got it to make me jealous because he knows I'm intrigued by unique shakes.  Of all the fruit shake items, I would definitely choose the Mango Ginger Shake.  When this was served Kurt placed it on his side as if testing me for a few minutes and then gave it to me.  I was surprised and said, "I didn't order that.  I'm budgeting..."  And, he said "That's yours.  I know that you wanted it so I got it for you."  I don't know what he was thinking at the time as if proving how he knows me.  But, I just thanked him and enjoyed it.  

The  Mango Ginger Shake was a nice combination. What a great idea!  It was very refreshing. 

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
The food and drinks at Kinabuch's Grill and Bar is good.  It is a bit pricey compared to other joints but considering it's a bar with a nice ambiance, I guess its worth paying for.

For our first dinner at Puerto Princesa Palawan we Tsinoy Foodies decided to dine at Balinsasayaw Chicken and Restaurant Grill.



It has a bright and inviting facade which looked like a giant wooden hut.  

As soon as we stepped in, we were ushered to a table for two.  Thumbs up for being smoke free!

We had a nice cozy well-lit table with privacy dividers so you feel like you have your own hut.  There are a lot of tourists dining there. 

We noticed that the lower end part did not offer as nice of an ambiance.

Food
During our Puerto Princesa Trip, Kurt and I had already broken up so we had this weird cold war were we're together but we don't talk and don't share anything.  Knowing him for 10 years, I don't think we ever had this worse of a cold arrangement.  So we ordered our own as per his no sharing ultimatum.

Soup

♥ Balinsasayaw (Bird's Nest) (220 php/half order)

Seeing the huge serving of the Balinsasayaw (Bird's Nest), we had a truce and shared it.  Having tried bird's nest soup from Chinese restaurants and drank the Dragon Brand bottled Bird's Nest on a monthly basis when we were young, I had already formulated what to expect.  But, the Balinsasayaw (Bird's Nest) is different.  It was not very sticky nor slippery nor was it sweet.  It has the slightly rough jelly-like texture though but it was more diluted than I thought.  For the price, we both agreed that it was not bad.

Appetizer

♥ Balinsasayaw Express (135 php)

I wanted to try the Ranga-Ranga which is a spider conch or some kind of large sea snail.  The waiter suggested we try the Balinsasayaw Express because it has all sorts of seafood including the Ranga-Ranga so I did.  This dish is delicious!  The sauce has a slight spiciness which keeps it appetizing.  The soft and chewy texture of the seafood makes it enjoyable as well.  I loved the Ranga-Ranga.  Kurt was playing his cold role but I gave him some to try and waited for him to touch it before we left.  Eventually, he gave in as I was raving exaggeratedly as if endorsing it hehe. 


Set Menu

Chicken Inasal with Rice (79 php)

Kurt had the Chicken Inasal with Rice.  Since he tried my order, he couldn't resist not having me try this.  It was just okay.  It was like a hybrid of what we know as inasal and chicken barbecue.  It has sweet barbecue sauce but grilled.  It was slightly over-grilled though.  Comparing this with Ka Inato, I prefer the latter.

All photo credit goes to Kurt.  He had a new high-grade camera and he's practiced and developed better photography skills than me and that actually made me happy because he finally did something on his own.=)

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Balinsasayaw Chicken Grill and Restaurant offers a nice cozy and native ambiance that even our cold hearts melted.  The food is delicious and affordable.  I like that they have dishes for sharing and set menus.  You can also have the dishes for sharing be split into half.   

Last November 23, my two blockmates Eric and C and I, had a mini reunion.  We ate at Yoshinoya then watched the Trinoma Merry Musical Lights Show.  Well, at least I watched it while the boys were enjoying their beer.  We were supposed to eat at Hanamaruken Ramen but it hasn't opened yet.  And, it was entirely my fault so the two being close friends and all were teaming up and teasing me.  

As I've mentioned in my previous post, Eric is the nicest guy I've ever met.  He suddenly stopped teasing and said I'm the pitiful one being excited and all.  I kind of expected him to be as caring as he always was.  I really don't know how the two are such good friends because C is usually quiet and snobbish.  Although he was my seatmate on our first major subject, I was able to graduate without ever talking to him.  So I was a bit surprised and intrigued when C offered to treat us to uplift our spirits.  I let the boys lead me to where they wanted eat or DRINK and we ended up Gerry's Grill.  I haven't been there so I thought it was a good idea too.

Food
I let them order and we ended up with two variants of Sisig and some beers.

Pork

♥ Sizzling Sisig (196 php)

Although I'm not really a fan of sisig and have only eaten this popular delicacy for less than ten times in my lifetime, I find Gerry's Sizzling Sisig to be pretty good.  As good as it is, I couldn't eat much as I was still digesting our previous meal.  The boys enjoyed this with loads of rice as it was a bit salty.

C was nice enough to share some rice with me (after refusing and insisting I order my own) so I can enjoy the viands they ordered.     

Sizzling Tuna Sisig (195 php)

The Sizzling Tuna Sisig is more salty and zesty compared to its pork counterpart.  Clearly, this seemed like a healthier option but the pork had a more wholesome flavor.


Well, thanks boys for tagging me along and for the treat!  It was a long and fun night.  It was great to catch up with Eric as he shared his educational and social (courtship and relationship) learnings.  Haha!  Eric got C to share some too.  And, we got to laugh at their past mistakes and stuff haha.   As expected, times with consistent and realiable bff Eric is always fun fun fun!    As for C, thanks to this reunion and alcohol, I think we're now friends or frenemies at the very least hehe.  It's really difficult to tell with his hot and cold persona.  I'm looking forward to another reunion after a decade =D  Hopefully, we'll all be happy and successful by then.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Gerry's Grill is a nice place to chill and bond over beer.  The food and DRINKS are affordable.