Hoagies has a retro diner ambiance with checkered black and white floors and red cushioned seats.  


It has adequate seating but I noticed that most of its customers order for take out.  

Food
All their sandwiches are served at 8 inches.  You may opted for white bread or wheat bread. 

Hoagie House Specials

The Rebound (160 php)

The Rebound is a hoagie with four meat balls, flavorful marinara sauce and two slices of cheese.  If you want a tangy, saucy yet meaty sandwich, you may opt for this.  

Take a Trip

Zesty Pastrami (155 php)

I had my Zesty Pastrami in wheat bread.  I was surprised that though its wheat bread, the texture is still soft and fun to chew just like their white bread.  The Zesty Pastrami is composed of large slices of peppered pastrami with veggies, cheese and delicious mustard dressing.  I enjoyed this hoagie up to the very last bit!  The pastrami is just so heavenly and its matches well with the dressing.  I recommend that you give this a try!

Wholesome Hoagies

Classic Crab (140 php)

The Classic Crab has a load-some of crab stick bits with Japanese mayonnaise  cucumbers and lettuces.  I love the contrast of textures with this hoagie.  The bread and the crab stick is so soft then the cucumber and lettuces adds some crunch to it.  The Japanese mayonnaise is so light that you can appreciate the natural sweetness of the crab stick.   

What My Friends Had
My fellow food bloggers had the hoagies below which I assure you they quite enjoyed.  

Philly's Fine Cheesesteak (195 php)

The Philly's Fine Cheesesteak  is Philadelphia's signature beef strips sauteed in onion and green bell peppers smothered with cheese sauce.  

Looking at the sign, my little sister was quite reluctant thinking its just another milk tea shop.  But, as we came in, we were all surprised that the place was spacious and quite elegant.  


They served milk teas, yogurt and meals.  Since we already ate our lunch, we simply ordered their milk teas. Their pricing is on the premium side matching those found on the malls especially since they charge separately for the toppings.  Luckily, it was my little sister's bf treat. =p

Like all other milk tea shops, you can choose your toppings and the sweetness level.

♥Paris Rose Milk Tea Tall (95 php), ♥Hokkaido Milk Tea Tall (95 php) and Passion Fruit with Perilla Tall  (80 php + 15 php)

Milk Tea Series

The Paris Rose Milk Tea Tall (95 php) had rose syrup with a strong green tea base.  The natural flowery sweetness from the paris rse syrup contrasts the green milk tea well so I really enjoyed this to the last sip.

The Hokkaido Milk Tea Tall (95 php) is also very good.  I just noticed that their black tea is not as fragrant as their green milk tea variants. 

Matcha Green Milk Tea
The Matcha Milk Tea Tall (95 php) was too milky for my taste.  I would prefer a stronger concentration for the matcha itself. 

Fruit Tea
My little sister choose the Passion Fruit with Perilla Tall  (80 php + 15 php).  She found the green tea and the citrus flavor of the passion fruit too strong for her preference so she was not able to finish her drink.  She also did not like chewing on the Perilla. 

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
TeaTap Cafe offers fragrant milk tea for tea lovers.  You can assure that the price you pay is for a quality milk tea.  A single sip with leave you a lingering flavor and scent.  I really enjoyed my drink.  I'll probably try more when I'm in the area.  I hope they open more branches so its more accessible.  Maybe on my next visit, we can try their meals too.

♥ Gyoza (150 php)

♥ Paitan (White Soup) Chicken Ramen (360 php)

♥ Hokkaido Miso Ramen (395 php)

♥ Spicy Mabo Tofu with Pork Tsukemen (395 php)

Jajamen (Japanese Pork Sauce with Dry Noodles) with Soft-Boiled Egg (395 php)

Among all our orders, the Jajamen (Japanese Pork Sauce with Dry Noodles) with Soft-Boiled Egg was out least favorite.  It is similar to the Spicy Mabo Tofu with Pork Tsukemen save for the spiciness and the tofu bits.  The soft-boiled egg was delicious but other than that, it offered nothing to impress us.


Tsinoy Foodies Other Ramen House/Shop Reviews
Akira Restaurant 
Curry Bee Japanese Curry Shop
Hanamaruken Ramen 花丸轩  
Hokkaido Ramen Santouka
Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen
Kitchitora 1
Kokoro Ramenya
Menya Genki Tonkotsu Ramen
Miso-Ten
Mitsuyado Sei-Men
Moshi Koshi 1 | Moshi Koshi 2
Rai-Rai Ken Ramen House
Ramen Bar
Ramen Cool
Ramen Ichiban-Kan
Ramen Nagi
Ramen Sora
Ramen X (Closed)
Ramen Yushoken
Ukkokei Ramen Ron
Wrong Ramen

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Although still in its soft opening phase, Kichitora of Tokyo is guaranteed to be a sure hit among ramen lovers.  If only this restaurant is near home, I'd definitely have the Paitan (White Soup) Chicken Ramen as often as I could.  This is one of the best places for ramen in the metro.  I highly recommend this!  For beer drinkers, they also offer Japanese beers.   P.S. Berylle and D, this is the best Christmas treat ever! You two are the best! =D


Tip: Order the set menu for more savings!

Cha Life Milk Tea is a new powdered milk tea mix concept.  It is a subsidiary of Rebisco.  Since its an instant drink mix, you can have it hot or cold depending on your preference.  This milk tea comes in our variant and one sachet size at the moment which can be bought at 7-11 and other supermarkets for only 7.50 php.  The serving size is more generous than its imported counterparts because it's a glassful.

Upon tasting, we were all impressed with the right blend of flavors.  We were told that its a secret mix of different tea extracts.  We can sense the chamomile tea because despite being rich in taste, it was quite cool and refreshing.  I'm amazed that it was not too sweet.  It was around 60% milk so its quite creamy, 40% tea so its flavorful and I'd say the sugar level as compared to milk tea shops is around 50%.  We enjoyed it so much we had to ask for a second cup before leaving.



With a glass of water and some ice, I was able to enjoy my milk tea while studying at home.  I feel relaxed and refreshed at the same time.  But, don't take my word for it.  Try it out for yourself.  Its very affordable anyway.  

Hanayo has a large red sign that's pretty hard to miss when passing by Recto Avenue.   It also has a banner indicating that they do deliveries too.


Although it may offer a limited space housing less than 10 tables, it does not fall short in terms of style.  I just love the color scheme.  It was also clean and well-ventilated with its ceiling fans.


It also bulletin board their customers who are mostly Koreans post at.  During my visit, I noticed that most of the customers are Korean students from the nearby universities. 



Food

♥ Galbi Jgim (135 php)

Complimentary Rice, Soup and Side Dish

Although I consider eating as a social activity, this are one of the few occasions where I had no choice but to eat alone.  I ordered the Galbi Jgim which is one of my favorite Korean dishes.  To my surprise, they gave generous servings for an affordable price.  The korean stew had huge chunks beef chunks and a large slice of radish.  It was very savory that I think this can even be good for two.  The meat was so tender too.    One order already comes with a cup of rice, soup and two side dishes or banchan : Kimchi and Spicy Korean Tofu.

♥ Dong Won Sikhae Drink (35 php)

For drinks, I ordered a canned Dong Won Sikhae Drink which is deliciously sweet and refreshing.  This reminded me of the dessert drink at Sariwon.  But, of course, this was a bit lacking in comparison to the freshly made one.  

Update: (April 10, 2013) Passed by this today and it's now closed and replaced by a new Korean restaurant named "Korean Style"which still exist until my last visit (August 19, 2016)

Update: (January 20, 2014) A friend tipped me that there is a Hanayo Grill Restaurant in Tomas Morato offering delicious Korean dinner buffet for only 550 php net.  I'm not sure if its the same establishment as I have yet to try it.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Hanayo is one of the best places to visit for an authentic and affordable Korean meal.  I highly recommend this place.  If you're not convinced check this place out and see Koreans patrons enjoying their orders.  They serve great food at great proportions at a price that's easy on the pocket.  I don't think there's anything else you can ask for.  They also sell an assortment of Korean ice creams.  Invite your friends for ice cream because they have group promos for those.