My little sister has long been begging me to treat her to Akiba Cafe.  One Friday after-school night, we decided to meet at Akiba Cafe at Megamall Building A for some quality bonding time.  


Akiba Cafe is a humble cafe with a few tables and chairs.  It serves everything we love: coffee, tea, other drinks and cakes.  To enhance the Japanese feel, it has a TV that displays Japanese shows.  It also has Japanese magazines.  The place also has outlets which my sister finds very useful as she reads her medical e-books while we enjoy our beverages.  Though according to her, the venue lacks the seclusion granted by popular coffee and tea establishments so she can be comfortable while studying.  We also noticed that most customers order for take out.




Drinks
Akiba Cafe offers a wide range of beverages.  Their drinks are quite different from the rest so we were eager to try their variety. 


Hot Coffee

Tokyo Cappuccino Reg (100 php)

The Tokyo Cappuccino is the rich espresso with frothed milk on top.  This is a good cappuccino drink.  Its espresso is aromatic and the froth was perfect.

Mt. Fuji Kohi Reg (125 php)

When we saw the Mt. Fuji Kohi, we expected it to be sweet because of the chocolate syrup.  But, it turned out to be delicious!  Everything blended well together with the strong coffee taste.  


Cold Coffee

♥Tokyo Kohi Reg (110 php)

The Tokyo Kohi is a strong iced coffee drink.  If you prefer to appreciate the natural bitter-sweet taste of coffee like we do, you'll surely love this.


Hot Tea

Hakone Jasmine Tea Reg (65 php)

The Hakone Jasmine Tea is fragrant and has a strong tea taste.  My sister enjoyed this since she is a tea lover.

♥Chamomile Tea Reg (70 php)

The Chamomile Tea is very refreshing!  I suggest you order this last and I'm sure this can soothe you well.  I loved this!


Cold Tea

♥Matcha (Green Tea) Trifle Tea Large (90 php)

The Matcha (Green Tea) Trifle Tea is the best drink that I've tried in Akiba Cafe.   Akiba Cafe's salty trifle cream enhanced the taste of the Matcha.  It's just so perfectly good that I could crave for this on any day. This is the best match drink I have ever tried!

Chai Trifle Tea Large (90 php)

The Chai Trifle Tea is also a great tea drink.  This comes second to the Matcha (Green Tea) Trifle Tea.  Perhaps, all trifle tea selections are worth trying.  Have you tried the rest?

Mushroom Cheesesteak Sandwich (310 php)

Frankfurt Trio Burger (260 php)

The blending of Cheddar, Swiss and Mozzarella cheese, makes the  Frankfurt Trio Burger a sinfully delicious meal.

San Franciso Salmon Burger (265 php)

The San Francisco Salmon Burger contains CBD's homemade salmon patty with pesto mayo sauce.

Chicago Peppercorn Burger (225 php)

The  Chicago Peppercorn Burger contains pepper crust, fried onion straws and creamy steak sauce.

CBD Double Patty Burger Manila Special (235 php)

The  CBD Double Patty Burger Manila Special contains two quarter pounder 100% Angus Beef patties making it a heavy meal.

NY Bacon Cheeseburger  Manila Special (220 php)

As the name implies, the  NY Bacon Cheeseburger  Manila Special comes with bacon and cheese aside from the Angus Beef patty.

As Tsinoys, it is a Chinese Tradition to celebrate the fifteenth day of the lunar year by eating Tang Yuan (Glutinous Rice With Peanuts).  The Tang Yuan symbolizes unity within the family and is believed to grant good life.  The Tang Yuan used to be called the "Yuanxiao" which was eaten during the lantern festival and dates back to 800 years ago.


The Tang Yuan is something I wait for every year.  The Tang Yuan has a thin soft chewy outer layer of glutinous rice and tasty tiny bits of peanut and sugar within.

Kurt and I used to make our own Tang Yuan.  But this year, we decided to relieve ourselves by buying from the nearby Eng Bee Tin Store.  A box contains 20 peanut balls.  There are also other Chinese Stores in Binondo that sell these by piece.

How to Cook Tang Yuan


Step 2: Place the balls into the water and cook in low fire.


Step 3: Cook for 5-10 minutes until the Tang Yuan floats in boiling water.


Step 4: Serve and enjoy your Tang Yuan (Glutinous Rice with Peanuts)


Hope you find this How to Cook Tang Yuan: Glutinous Rice With Peanuts Recipe to be helpful!


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I enjoy Mexican food but there are hardly any establishments that serve them.  How many Mexican Restaurants in the Metro do you know of?  After our disappointment with Mexicali, I have long been searching for more Mexican Restaurants.  I'm glad to have fumbled into Orale! Tacqueria Mexicana located at The Fort Strip. Orale! Tacqueria Mexicana means Alright! Mexican Taco Shop.  


Orale! Tacqueria Mexicana has a simplistic ambiance with the influence of artistry and handicraft.  They have a large montage painting with different Mexican personalities.  We were informed that they make their sign boards by themselves.  As much as possible, they want to make everything on their own.  What I like about Orale! Tacqueria Mexicana is that their kitchen is visible to its customers so you can see your orders made from scratch.

Fresh Masa

Orale! Tacqueria Mexicana's tortillas are made from Fresh Masa (Tortilla Dough) which is composed of imported corn flour.  I also learned that their employees go to work hours before their opening time just to prepare their salsa's and other dips so you are assured that they are a fresh batch.
Orale! Tacqueria Mexicana is a casual self-service restaurant.  They have their menu written in chalk at the counter area.  You pay as you order.  
Food


Antojitos

Grilled Corn on the Cob (85 php)

For our appetizer, we had Grilled Corn on the Cob served with some lime.  The Grilled Corn on the Cob is grilled Japanese Corn spiced with some herbs.  Of course, you have to eat this by hand.  The owner Nicky told us that Mexican food is supposed to be messy.  It's part of the fun of it.  

Totopos y Salsa (85 php)

Tacos

♥ Carne Asada Tacos (Tres) (325 php)

The Carne Asada Tacos (Tres) is a three-some grilled beef tacos served with totopos and lime.  You should eat this upon being served while the Taco shells are still crunchy.  I loved this!  It's probably one of  the best tacos I've ever tried.


Burritos

♥ Lengua Burritos Grande (355 php)

The Lengua Burritos is a large perfectly rolled burrito with totopos, jalapeno and black bean dip.  was sensational!  I instantly loved it the moment my teeth sank into the soft tortilla and chewed the soft lengua and rice.  We were told that it takes them four hours to cook the lengua for it to reach that perfect texture.


Tostadas

♥ Barbacoa Tostadas (155 php)

The Barbacoa Tostadas is a bit messy to eat.  I usually avoid getting messy.  But in this case, I couldn't resist it.  It was so good.  I enjoyed the crunchy sensation followed by the taste of refried beans, meat and tomatoes.

♥ Double Cheese Quesadillas (245 php)

The Double Cheese Quesadillas is soft flour tortillas filled with two kinds of cheese topped with diced tomatoes and Jalapenos.  They use Monterey Jack cheese.  This is delicious!  I used to buy Monterey Jack cheese cubes at the supermarket and just munch on them.  I never realized that they are also delicious when melted.


Extras

Salsa Impyerno,  Guacamole and Black Beans (from left to right)

The Salsa Impyerno was initially sweet after a few seconds you'll feel a spiking spiciness linger in your tongue.  This is really spicy and quite enjoyable for me.  

Guacamole (55 php)

I love their Guacamole.  I could tell they are freshly made.


Drinks
They have a wide range of drinks.  What's noticeable about their drink selection is the imported Mexican beers.




Margaritas

Frozen Strawberry Margaritas (175 php)

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Orale! Tacqueria Mexicana offers a one of unique experience by offering a wide range of authentic Mexican dishes.  Every dish that we tried is recommendable.  Price is a bit steep but that is compensated by the large serving size and the quality of the ingredients.  Every dish is made freshly from the time you order.  You are paying for their sincere hard work in producing quality food.  I certainly don't mind paying more for that.  I'm sure that if you try it, you'll feel the same way.

Have you ever experience a hot day when you feel like the heat is sucking out all the energy out of you?  At times like those, I'd eat my favorite sweet treat of all... Ice Cream!  Sometimes, I'd just open the fridge and scoop some ice cream or grab an ice cream bar.  But, there are times at we run out of ice cream too.  In those moments, I always walk to the nearest mall to buy some Milo Soft Serve.

Milo Stall at Robinson's Place 3rd Floor

♥ Milo Soft Serve (10 php)

Update (February 5, 2014): It is still there but the quality is not the same.  It now tastes as boring as ordinary chocolate soft serves. =(  They should've just increased the price!