You know my best buds would often make a certain "hirit" that I'm a Tsinoy because I always emphasize on being thifty.  I'd just laugh it off cause it's true.  Whenever I'm on a budget or dining alone, I'd always go for the mall's food court.  It allows you to order from one establishment to another.  It's also advisable for groups who prefer difference cuisines.

One of my favorite mall food court is the Robinsons Magnolia Food Court found on its lower ground level because it's very clean, spacious and extensive.  In fact, this area is often packed throughout mall hours unlike the restaurants on the other levels.

So after several dining experience in the Robinsons Magnolia Food Court, I present to you my top picks for budget friendly meals in no particular order.  I just categorized them per cuisine.


Vegetarian

C' Verde by Big Chill

 

Caramelized Onions and Mushroom Burger (169 php)

The Caramelized Onions and Mushroom Burger is delicious yet healthy!  The caramelized onions, slow roasted shitake mushrooms and oozing cheese makes this simply irresistible.



Thai

Pad Thai and More!

Green Chicken Curry (155 php)

The Green Chicken Curry with mild curry in coconut milk and tender chicken chunks with eggplant and green bell pepper is a sensational Thai meal. 

Australian Pies

Grandma's Recipes

 

Chicken Pie (85 php)

The Chicken Pie is wonderfully prepared.  I loved the savory chicken meat with potatoes and peas.

Apple Pie (85 php)

I enjoyed the Apple Pie with cinnamon more. =)  I just wished it had more fillings.


Mediterranean

Salt & Pepper

This is what I chose from

Ground Beef Kebab, Grilled Bell Pepper, Eggplant and Zucchini and Pesto Pasta (149 php)

Salt & Pepper offers a step by step customizable menu.  The Ground Beef Kebab was not bad.  I didn't use the super diluted yogurt dip it was served with.  But, it was tasty, tender and juicy on its own.  The Grilled Bell Pepper, Eggplant and Zucchini made eating vegetables a pleasure.  The Pesto Pasta was pretty good too.  

Turkish

Jacob's Shawarma

Check out our more intensive review of Jacob's Shawarma at their pioneer branch in Ortigas Center here.

12-Inch Beef and Lamb (200 php)

12-Inch Beef and Lamb (200 php)

Baklava (50 php)

Finally got to try their Baklava, it was really good.  It's a phylo pastry with honey and pistachio bits.  It was a bit pricey for a small bite-size though.

Italian

Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking

Just want to note that contrary to the tag line, their food like most of the food court establishments are pre-heated.  But, I still love Sbarro!  It's one of my favorite fast food. =)

It's pay as you order.  Tell them your order so they'll pre-heat it in the oven.  By default the sauce given to you will be red so indicate if you want white sauce. 

Baked Zitti with Pinwheel Pizza (129 pp)

This is a bang for the buck combo if you want pasta and pizza.

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Red (179 php)

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza White (179 php)

My classic favorites are the Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Red and White.

Sausage & Pepperoni (155 php)

Supreme Stuffed (155 php)

I loved the Supreme Stuffed because of the sesame seeds.  Another recommendable for carnivores is the Angus Beef Stuffed.

Drinks

Kumquat Green Tea (70 php) and Cha Time Roasted Milk Tea R (75 php)

Matcha Tea Latte R (90 php) and TieGuanyin Tea Latte R (90 php) TieGuanyin Tea Latte

My favorite at Cha Time is the TieGuanyin Tea Latte because it has a bold fragrant flavor.  Next to that is the Cha Time Roasted Milk Tea and Matcha Tea Latte. 

Winter Melon Alisan Tea Medium (70 php)

My favorite at Gong Cha is the Winter Melon Alisan Tea.  I don't order Wintermelon variants anywhere else but Gong Cha.  I only like this one too.

Gong Cha Milk Earl Grey Tea Medium (80 php)

Gong Cha Milk Green Tea Medium (80 php)

Cold Desserts

Dairy Queen

My current favorite is the Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich (49 php) because they now use real oreo cookies unlike before.  I also love the Oreo Blizzard (49 php/6 oz) and Regular Cone (39 php/5 oz).
 

Masatami Shave Ice

Check our previous review of Masatami Shave Ice here.


How about you?  What are your Robinsons Magnolia Food Court favorites?

I'm glad the Metro Angeles Food Tour 2014 (#MAFT2014) took the road less traveled by choosing Cottage Kitchen Cafe to try their authentic Cajun and Creole cuisine.


Even in Manila, establishments offering these southern American cuisine are quite few.  I've only tried Gumbo and Cajun Red Rock (I only tried their burger and that was ages ago).  So I'm quite ecstatic to venture more on these cuisines.

I even had to research what the difference between Cajun and Creole cuisine is.  I learned that Cajun cuisine is rich in spices (onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, paprika, thyme, file, parsley and green onions) and makes use of every part of a slaughtered animal.  Being rich in spices however, does not imply that all are spicy. On the hand, Creole cuisine is more extravagant.  It makes use of tomatoes, cream, butter, seafood and exotic herbs.  While Cajun is classified as country-style cooking, Creole is categorized as city-style cooking.
The place was dimly lit with candles on each table.  There's a bar area, a casual dining area with a good view of the stage and a more private area with curtains on the side.  The ceiling had a glass portion where you can see the clouds or dark skies with stars at night.  Diners are a mix of foreigners and locals.

Food

Appetizers & Starters

♥ Zing Wings (235 php)

If you love spicy dishes, I highly recommend the Zing Wings.  It got a pleasant spicy kick with a hint of rich herbs and spices.  The chicken skin is fun-tastically crispy and the meat was tender and juicy.

Deep Fried Potato Wedges (180 php)

For some finger food, there's the Deep Fried Potato Wedges served with thousand island dressing.

CKC's Corn Bread (100 php)

The CKC's Corn Bread is delicious!  This block is quite dense and heavy.  It is served with herbed butter.


Soups & Salad

Creole Onion Soup (180 php)

The Creole Onion Soup is a creamy heavvily spiced onion soup with cheese and crouton.  As you can see, it is very peppery.  From this point, I've acknowledged that creole and cajun cuisine seems like an acquired taste as some of my companions was overwhelmed and wary of the spiced flavors. 

Chef's Salad (250 php)

The Chef's Salad has greens, egg, ham, tomatoes and carrots with thousand island dressing.  

♥ Cajun Shrimp Salad (270 php)

We all loved the Cajun Shrimp Salad with wasabi dressing.  Every element was harmonically aligned to please the palate.

Southern Specialty Cajun and Creole Dishes

♥ Shrimp Jambalaya (450 php)

The Shrimp Jambalaya made it irresistible for me to lessen my carb intake.  Aside from delivering a really wholesome herbed and spiced flavor, it was topped with shrimps, mildly spiced sausage chunks and chopped green bell peppers.  It is served with dinner bread.

Cajun Fried Chicken and Dirty Rice 2 pcs. (300 php)

The Cajun Fried Chicken was pretty good.  It was more on the peppery side.  But, I prefer the Zing Wings over this.  I loved the Dirty Rice.  I hope they offer that separately.


Blackened Cajun Dishes

Blackened Chicken (385 php)

The Blackened Chicken is a spice and herb crusted chicken breast fillet.  As you can see it was succulent.

♥ Blackened Catfish (400 php)

Between the Blackened Catfish and the Blackened Chicken, I prefer the former.

CKC's House Special BBQ (All barbecue entries comes with coleslaw, baked beans, bread and choice of either: mashed potatoes, potato salad, fried, corn on a cob or steamed rice.)

♥ Original Baby Back Pork (575 php)

The Original Baby Back Pork is really good!  It had a sweet and savory BBQ sauce and smokey lean, tender and meaty pork meat.  This is a must try!

♥ Barbecue Beef Slab Full (800 php)

The Barbecue Beef is just a bigger and chunkier option.  Basically, it has the same barbecue sauce.


Desserts

♥ Peach Cobbler (180 php)

The Peach Cobbler was finished in a flash!  It is a pie filled with sweetened peach with hints of cinnamon.

♥ Apple Pie (180 php)

I liked the Apple Pie more than the Peach Cobbler.  But, they are equally good.  It's just a matter of preference.

Pecan Pie (180 php)

The Pecan Pie is very sweet with its rich and gooey consistency.  It had a generous amount of pecan.

♥ Specialty Cake of the Week: Peach Cheesecake (180 php)

The Peach Cheesecake served chilled was so heavenly!  This is my favorite among all the desserts we tried.


Drinks

Iced Tea

Other Metro Angeles Food Tour (#MAFT2014) Posts
Abe's Farm
Angeles Fried Chicken 
Binulo Restaurant
Historic Camalig Restaurant
La Rose Noire (factory visit) 
Mother's Cake House
Prism Lounge
Sab Bistro
Salt Restaurant (Breakfast Buffet)
Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Cottage Kitchen Cafe delivers authentic Cajun and Creole cuisine like no other.  In addition to its great dishes, the ambiance is superb and the staffs are nice.  Bring some company as dishes are in sharing portions.