Although fast food restaurants are established in almost every corner, I'm often last in the bandwagon when it comes to their new products.  A few weeks ago, my little sisters were talking about the latest product from Mc Donald's called the Mc Spicy and urged me to try it out. 

Mc Spicy Chicken Burger (80 php)

Since I'm a huge fan of everything spicy, of course, I did!  I was very pleased that the Mc Spicy is reasonable priced at 80 php.

Mc Spicy Chicken Burger (80 php)

The Mc Spicy Chicken Burger is a basic burger with spicy chicken filler, lettuce and their special sauce.  
 

Mc Spicy Chicken Burger (80 php)

I really liked the crunchiness but it fell short on the spiciness.  But, for the price, I think this will be a good alternative to my usual order of Quarter Pounder and Cheese.  I'll still couple it with an order of Chicken Nuggets. =)

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A few months ago, we were shopping in Robinson's Place Manila which is our neighborhood mall when we spotted a new quaint Japanese fast food restaurant filled with diners called Yasu Katsu Tempura Ramen.  According to the Japanese owner, who barely speaks English, Yasu means affordable and fresh.  

The area size could only house a few tables but you could see the reserves rushing to and fro to serve as much as they could so turn over would be quick.  Though the space is limited, it is well utilized and well-decorated with traditional Japanese influence.  

Food

Tonkatsu Set (139 php)

The Tonkatsu Set is a complete meal with a generous portion of golden brown crunchy tonkatsu.  It is served with coleslaw, quality Japanese rice and Miso Soup.  The Tonkatsu is only at par with the price. 
 

♥ Gyudon (119 php)

As always, my typical must order is the Gyudon.  The Gyudon's sweetness is just right and the meat was tender.  The quality of their rice is not bad either.  Within the same price range, I'd say this comes second to Yoshinoya's Beef Bowl.  Since there's Yoshinoya is not accessible from our place, I'm definitely heading over here when craving for Gyudon.

Chicken Teriyasudon (129 php)

It was our first time to encounter a Chicken Teriyasudon so we decided to try it.  It's a sweet version of the chicken terriyaki with Japanese mayonnaise.  Since we have a low sweetness tolerance, we failed to appreciate this dish.
 

♥ Buta Kimuchidon (159 php)

My mom's favorite Japanese dish has always been the kimuchi rice so she ordered the Buta Kimuchidon which was close to that.  She loved it!  The pork strips were tender and the kimuchi had the right amount of spice to tickle and whet your appetite.

Callifornia Roll (109 php)

The California Roll is nothing special but for the price, I couldn't complain. 


The best bang for the buck to order at Yasu is their ♥ Ebi Tempura (159 php/ 5 pcs.)   My apologies for failing to a photo though.   My little sister who loves Ebi Tempura is quite satisfied with their price and quality!  She's quite pleased that she doesn't need to go to Little Tokyo to satisfy her Ebi Tempura cravings.

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 | Kitchitora 2
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
Yasu Katsu Tempura Ramen makes Japanese cuisine accessible to those on a tight budget especially for students like me. 

We've recently discovered Smoper Chicken at Bonifacio Global City.  Smoper Chicken is a chicken delivery chain established in 1989 and now has 800 branches in South Korea alone.  With so many branches, it makes one curious at how good this chicken is.   


The store is a bit tricky to spot for the first time especially if you're driving a car since its sign is behind a post and its located between 7-11 and Seattle's Best Coffee.  Finding a parking slot is another challenge. 

Although Smoper Chicken looks humble on the outside, its actually bright, spacious and cozy.

Food
The offerings at Smoper Chicken is so affordable so I bet the employees nearby feast here all the time.

Chicken

Wings Regular (175 php/3 Pieces)

Unlike other Korean fried chicken chains, their chicken is light and golden in color.  You can also opt them to be served glazed with sauce or separate sauce.  We chose the latter so we can tinker with the taste according to our preference. 

Thighs Large (290 php/5 Pieces)

The chicken are as golden as their store sign.  I've never seen fried chicken as look so golden and clean like this before.  There were no burnt marks and it looked evenly cooked.

Drumsticks Large (290 php/5 pieces)

The skin is so crunchy yet surprisingly easy to bite!  Even my little sister who doesn't eat chicken skin couldn't resist them.

Drumsticks

The chicken meat is oh so juicy that each bite was a pleasure!  And, did I mention that they chicken are so meaty and big? 

Original, Spicy and Soy-Garlic (My apologies forgot the Curry)

We had four sauces: Original, Spicy, Curry and Soy-Garlic.  I liked the Spicy and the Curry the most.

Combo Meals

3 Pcs. Fish (165 php)

We also tried the Fish which had the same batter as the Chicken.  It was also as juicy but more tender since its Fish.  This is best eaten with the Curry sauce.

Ala Carte

Surf and Turf Fish & Bulgogi (195 php)

The Fish here is bite size and the Bulgogi was tender with a slight hint of sweetness.  This meal is delicious to pair with rice.

Sidings

Samgak Kimbap (Tuna Rice Triangle) (85 php)

It's my first time to try a Samgak Kimbap which is a tuna rice triangle and I loved it.  In fact, we wanted to order more of this and the chicken one but they ran out of stock.  This is tasty, crunchy with tuna bits and nori.
 

Rice (15 php)

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Smoper Chicken is unlike other Korean fried chicken because their chicken are crunchier.  The meat is the juiciest I've had too.  I also like the separate sauce concept.  This is now my favorite Korean fried Chicken hands down!  I'll definitely come back for the chicken and to try the Patbingsoo which was unfortunately unavailable during our visit. =(

As Tsinoy Foodies, it's a major part of our lives to celebrate occasions through dining.  Whether it's a casual family dinner, a meeting with friends, birthdays or something as grand as a wedding, it takes place in a big round table over Chinese dishes served lauriat table set menu style.  

I have yet to meet a fellow Tsinoy living in the Metro who has not heard of Gloria Maris Shark's Fin Restaurant in Greenhills Shopping Center.  It's popular chinese restaurant for dimsum, hot pot and of course, the lauriat table set menu style which we Tsinoys typically refer to as pan to.


Aside from the dimsum, hot pot and usual table set up, Gloria Maris Shark's Fin Restaurant has 13 VIP rooms for a more private dining experience.  
 

And, for weddings and other occasion like my recent cousins wedding, they have a function hall with a capacity of 100 tables.

Food
A few weeks ago, I received an invite from Ms. Candy Uy Lim to try their new menu offerings.  Growing up eating the traditional lauriat offerings, I was excited to try what they have in store for us.

♥ Abalone Sashimi

First to arrive in a steamy and smoking sailboat, voyaging from the kitchen to our table, is the Abalone Sashimi.

♥ Abalone Sashimi

I love abalone, in whatever form.  And, this Abalone Sashimi is delightful as expected!  This chewy tasty sea treasure brought pure bliss to my senses. 
 

Chiu Chow Cold Cuts

I was definitely surprised when the Chiu Chow Cold Cuts was served.  It was an across border appetizer because there's a California Maki, Fried Enoki Mushrooms, Fried Battered Bacon Rolls, Roasted Duck and Lechon Macau.  This is good to try if you're bored with the traditional cold cut sampler with Jelly Fish, Century Egg, White Chicken, Asado and Suckling Pig.  But, for me I'd stick with the traditional.  It's something I look forward to in every Chinese dinner and I don't think that will ever change.

♥ 2 Tone Almond Seafood Pumpkin Soup

 The 2 Tone Almond Seafood Pumpkin Soup in a beautiful yin and yang presentation.  Every sip was glorified by its dominant sweet pumpkin taste with a fragrant light and subtle almond taste.

Prawns and Pop Rice with Strawberry Sauce

The Prawns and Pop Rice with Strawberry Sauce is a great alternative for the traditional sweet and sour dish.  My taste buds has encountered too many sweet and sour offering in the past, in various forms: fish fillet, pork and prawns too.  So, you just imagine how enlightened I was to try the Prawns and Pop Rice with Strawberry Sauce which is also on the sour side but  this time with a refreshing strawberry taste.

♥ Scallop and Shell Meat with French Beans and Radish

Next to abalone, scallop holds second to my favorite seafood dish.  I was very pleased with the Scallop and Shell Meat with French Beans and Radish.  The tender scallop, slightly chewy shell meat, crunchy french beans and soft radish cake offered a harmonious mix match of textures. 

♥ Peking Chicken Salad

Who would have thought the Peking Chicken Salad, would deliver a grand and majestic impact to the taste buds as its duck counterpart?  If emperor's have tried this, I think they'll bow down to this healthier version.  It's crispy skinned, succulent and tender meat eaten with mantou (fried buns) is delicious!   

Steamed Lapu-Lapu Fillet with Egg White

The Steamed Lapu-Lapu Fillet with Egg White is for me an epitome of a successful unity beyond multi-cultural barriers.  The Steamed Lapu-Lapu is from the Chinese, the egg white reminded of the Japanese chawan mushi and lastly, the plating looks particularly French. 

♥ Fried Crab with Salted Egg

If the usual Steamed Crab dish doesn't tempt you enough to get your hands dirty, then for sure this Fried Crab with Salted Egg will!  You'll surely feel dignified by the satisfying bold rich salty taste of duck egg complemented by the natural sea sweetness of king crab in every bite.  

Jumbo Buchi

The Jumbo Buchi is a bigger buchi with more shell yet airy contents.  Definitely an eye-catcher for gluttons, but I'm the type who looks more on the inside so I still prefer their traditional Buchi. 

Marshmallow Pastries

The Marshmallow Pastries is such a cute and spiffy surprise.  It is a gathering of molded bunny marshmallows coated in dessicated coconut sitting on a tart.  Although it was heart breaking makes this hop their way to my stomach, I have to admit that their light and fluffy texture brought a sweet ending to our feast.  Not much credit to the tart for that though.

Chilled Taho

Just when I thought the meal was over, the Chilled Taho came and was emptied by the boys in the group.

It was definitely a bountiful feast fit for a royalty!  



Well, in case, you want to compare the new menu to the traditional, here it is.  Of course, variation depends on your budget and preference.  This is the meal I had in a recent family occasion.  My classic favorites among these are the ♥ Cold Cuts Sampler, ♥ Steamed Lapu-Lapu, ♥ Peking Duck, ♥ Buchi and ♥ Mango Sago.


Tip: Gloria Maris Shark's Fin Restaurant in Greenhills Shopping Center is celebrating its 1st Year Anniversary by treating its loyal patrons to a 30% OFF (for a minimum of 1,000 php) on weekdays until July 31, 2013. For reservations please call 570-0921, 570-0923, 570-0924

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
It's great that Gloria Maris Shark's Fin Restaurant is now offering a wide selection for its clients.  I'm sure these options will be welcomed with glee by its loyal diners.  As they say, the more the merrier right?  I'm sure I'm bound to dine here again.  And, when that time comes, I'm sure glad to know that there are constantly adding new menu items so there's something I have yet to try.

I was also surprised to find out from Ms. Candy that Gloria Maris Shark's Fin Restaurant in Greenhills Shopping Center is not affiliate with the other restaurants using the same name.  They have their own offerings prepared by their numerous Hong Kong Chefs. 

When I shared about Cafe De Seoul La Salle to my family, they were ecstatic about it.  Since we're mostly women in the family, we're all suckers for cute things so we took the earliest chance we could to drop by and check it out. 

Cafe De Seoul La Salle is the first thing you see upon reaching the back part of the second floor of One Archers Place. It's easy to find but parking was a bit of a challenge.
Upon entry, we spotted cute wooden fixtures.  The tall round tables were equipped with tablets by the clear glass windows. 

The walls are decorated by photos and frames.  Interesting enough, there's a photo of the fixtures being custom made. 

There's also a part of the wall with lots of cute post its.  As we walk through the narrow path, we realized that the store space is a unique H-shaped area. 

There are mugs being sold and displayed by the counter.  It is also my first time to see drip coffee makers like the ones they use.

They have one of the widest and most attractive counters I have ever seen.  But I didn't understand the arrival and departure part.

The counter has two chillers filled with their enticing pastries and cakes.


The place is bright, clean, spacious and cool which gives a cozy and relaxing vibe to it.    There's a reliable WiFi too.


My siblings occupied the tables with tablets and played Paper Wars and other multi-player games they could download while enjoying their drinks.

If you're more on the gazing day-dreamer type, the long bar will be more of your style.

Drinks
Their drinks come in two sizes: Eco (12 oz.) and Biz (16 oz.)

After our buzzer rang, we claimed our drinks at the counter.

Coffee

Seoul Water Drip Biz (160 php)

The Seoul Water Drip is brewed using the tall drink coffee maker as displayed.  I had huge expectations for this because of the expensive price.  But, it actually tastes like the usual iced coffee. 


Blended

Mocha Biz (145 php)

Seoul Tea

Honeyquince Pear / Mogwa-Bae Biz (145 php)

The Honeyquince Pear is a bit sweet for my taste.  It had a recognizable thick and sticky consistency of honey and syrup.  It had bits of candied pear bits which you can scoop out using their special straw.

♥ Honey Chisandra / Omija Biz (145 php)

The Honey Chisandra is a refreshing mixture of citrus flavors which was complemented by the mild sweetness of honey.

Mocktails

♥ Inside Myeung Dong Biz (155 php)

The Inside Myeung Dong reminded me of a Yuja or Yuzu (Citron Tea Marmalade) drink with a light fizz.
 

Mugung Ever Red Biz (155 php)

The Mugung Ever Red is their version of a cherry Italian soda.  Not only do I like the color, but I also find the flavor just right too.

♥ Seoul Lady Biz (155 php)

An interesting drink to try is the Seoul Lady which taste like the sophisticate taste of red wine with its bubbly sensation and yet its non-alcoholic.  For those allergic to alcohol like me, this is a great alternative don't you agree?



Another tempting reason to come back is their Cafe De Seoul Reward Card which not only offers freebies when you've collected their stamps, it is also a raffle ticket to a trip to Korea.



Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Cafe De Seoul Le Salle is a cute and techie Korean cafe at One Archer's Place that's a great chill out place for all ages.  It's air-conditioned, spacious, clean, bright and well-equipped with a tablets, reliable WiFi and power supply.  Their prices are a bit high but its quite understandable since what it offers looks costly to maintain.  We wanted to try the Bing-soo which is their fame best-seller but it was not available.  With that and their reward card, we'll surely be back for it.