Dinner and Drinks in Forbestown Road, Burgos Circle (Tipsy Pig and Reserve Gastro Tavern)

I liked Tipsy Pig’s Salted Caramel Beer so much (had it when we were in their Capitol Commons branch) that I was intrigued to have some of their chow too.

We went to Tipsy Pig in BGC for some light dinner. Yes, light. I had a plateful of bacon, eggs and toast while I was waiting for Miko to pick me up, that I wasn’t my usual HANGRY self when we went out that night. :p

I had a piglet of salted caramel beer (around 120php) and Smoked Salmon Pizza (425php). I would have finished the pizza had I not been still full. Loved the smoked salmon with cream cheese. Dill isn’t my favorite herb but it really works well with salmon. The beer-crust wasn’t bad either.

Miko had the Six-Hour Beef Shank (595php) that’s beeh shank braised for six hours served with tomato-basil jus, mashed potatoes, and marrow toast. The beef tasted like a sosyal version of mechado x asado.

Tipsy Pig dishes that I’d like to have next time are Belly Goos Sisig Nachos, Jack and Coke BBQ Ribs, and Boneless Crispy Pata.

Much as we wanted to stay at Tipsy Pig for drinks, there were no available tables in the smoking area so we transferred to Reserve which is just around the block. We had several rounds of Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, cucumber mojito, and this yummy cocktail called Toblerone. A regular glass of imported beer costs around 150php. Prices are a bit higher for cocktails.

I liked the ambience– with the tall shrubs and candlelight and 90’s music (hehe). A chill spot to just drink and talk. Will see soon if we’ll get to like their food.

Tipsy Pig
02 7013719

Reserve Gastro Tavern
02 8329897

Forbestown Road, Burgos Circle,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

// listening to Constantine S01E07

 

Backyard Kitchen + Brew – UP Town Center

Belated happy birthday to my (self-proclaimed) foodie! We celebrated his 24th 34th with his closest boybuds in a place where butterbeer is served! But before I say something about the famed drink from the Harry Potter series, here are the dishes we ate at Backyard Kitchen + Brew—

Kitayama Beef Cheek and Brisket Pares served with garlic rice, chili garlic, and toyomansi. Liked this, but my heart still belongs to the pares na nabibili sa may kanto. Ako na ang jologs! :P

Uni Carbonara. The sauce is made of uni, leek, and cream. It’s topped with fish cheese flakes and tobiko or fish roe. The uni taste was too subtle for my liking. Superb creaminess of the sauce though.

Roasted Beef Salpicao. It’s roasted beef belly chunks with lots of garlic. Not so sure what spices they used, but the boys did not call it Salpicao Arabo for nothing! :D They seemed to enjoy this with Sriracha.

We had theee kinds of pizzas (Garlic Flat Breads on their menu)–

Four Cheese and Truffle (mozzarella, cheddar, ricotta and bleu with truffle oil),

Longganisa and Peppers, also with mozzarella and ricotta,

and Duck Flakes with Sriracha, has hoisin sauce and ricotta. Among the three, our favorite was the one with longganisa and peppers. We liked it so much that we had one more!

And of course, the highlight of our night– THE BUTTERBEER! It’s the bestseller among their flavored beers. Other flavors are salted caramel, macadamia, passion fruit, and strawberry. The Butterbeer tasted like cream soda with a kick- sweet, bubbly, refreshing, and intoxicating (after 3 mugs, maybe)! A really nice tasty cold treat on a warm night. Sabi nga ng boys, first time lang daw sila nag-enjoy sa bula ng beer. Nyahaha!

We also tried one of their One Drinks- The Backyard Margarita Fishbowl.

Drink it if you want this kind of bonding with your friends. Hihihi :p

They sent the birthday boy a sweet (and yummy!) surprise treat– Kitkat Brownie with Mantecado Ice Cream. Thanks to Backyard Manila for making Miko’s 24th 34th extra fun!

Backyard Kitchen + Brew has a different kind of entertainment for their customers every night. The Saturday that we went, there was a DJ that played songs from the 90’s and 2000’s. Na-emphasize lang ang generation ng buong table namin! :) They also have comedy nights and acoustic nights. Check out their Facebook page for more info.

Backyard Kitchen + Brew
Second Floor, UP Town Center,
Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City
0927 7261210
Open 11:00 AM – 1:00 AM

// listening to Get Far – Shining Star

The Rib Shack – Pilar Village, Las Piñas

Southside people, rejoice! There’s finally a go-to place for ribs in your area, apart from the usual Racks and Tony Roma’s. (Well, at least that’s where I used to eat when I was still living in BF Paranaque, saan pa ba meron?)

The Rib Shack opened its doors mid-July. It’s located at the PDC Compound in Pilar Village, just a few meters away from the Pilar Road guardhouse.

Didn’t expect lots of people to be there last Saturday because it was raining hard. Oh well. Walang ulan na makapipigil sa taong gutom na may pakay! :p

And so from Quezon City (Miko) and Makati (me), we went to Las Piñas to dine at the shack. Good to know that instead of hanging out in Town, Westgate or BF, we can go to Pilar. (Too much routine is boring!!!)

You can enjoy your meal inside or at the al fresco area. Our friend Dave wanted to spare the other customers from my ingay (pffftttt. me? noisy?) so he chose the (kinda far away) gazebo area.

We got the following for dinner and drinks!

Beer, mojito, and margarita. Drinks agad? Alcoholic kasi ‘yung nasa background. Hihihi!

Citrus Mixed Salad. Loved the citrus dressing… gusto kong kopyahin sa bahay!

Flavorful and fall-off-the-bone RIBS with garlic potato balls, buttered vegetables, and grilled corn as sides. For a SINGLE order, you get 1 side. For an IN A RELATIONSHIP ORDER, you get 2 sides. For an IT’S COMPLICATED order, you get 3. :p

Four Cheese Pizza. My favorite among all the dishes because I’m a cheese monster. Good cheeses used and crisp thin crust.

Buffalo Wings. Very saucy and moderately spicy. We’ll try the Big Bad Breast next time. (For our macros, haha!)

Fish and Chips. Flaky and tender fish in light (grease-free?) batter, yummy tartare sauce, so-so chunky chips.

Cheesecake. One of the best cheesecakes I’ve ever had. Sobrang panalo, naka-dalawang order! :p I’d buy a whole cake if it’s possible. (Paging the owner of The Rib Shack, pwede pong bumili ng isang buo?) See that brown thing on top? That’s dulce de leche.

Brownie A La Mode. Super fudgy brownie. Miko-approved. :p

Tequila Sunrise and more Mojito and more beer. Just because.

Loved our experience at The Shack. Great food, steady ambience, fast and friendly service. This place is worth going back to. (Bedan friends, let’s go? Reunion na dito? Hehe!)

Here’s their menu. Hope to see more kinds of rib dishes soon!

The Rib Shack
PDC Compound, Pilar Village, Las Piñas
0917-8411356
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// listening to Jeff Buckley – Everybody Here Wants You

A Taste of LA Café – Quezon City (My 33rd Birthday Salubong)

All I wanted for my birthday salubong was a cake with a candle on it. Last December 19, I was in Trinoma waiting for Miko to pick me up after their Christmas party. I was considering Friday’s or Jack’s Loft to welcome my 33rd birthday. But Miko had other plans.

He brought me to this old, rustic restaurant in Tomas Morato called A Taste of LA. I’ve heard about this resto from my QC friends, but I didn’t know what to expect, apart from good thin-crust pizza.

Buti na lang hindi ako nagpaka-brat and insisted on having my salubong in Trinoma because I loved the ambience of the café. Roses and candles everywhere! It’s quite romantic. Their house wine (merlot, if I’m not mistaken) was the 2nd perfect (1st si Miko, shempre) thing to set the mood. Miko had a Jack-Coke (his fave), of course.

We had the Classic Spaghetti Carbonara and Hot Pepper Shrimp Thin Crust Pizza. They used good smoky bacon in the carbonara, and the pizza was pretty damn good with its delicious and light thin crust and generous toppings of bellpeppers, olives, mushrooms, gooey cheese, and sweet and spicy shrimps.

The other interesting dishes from the menu are the Pritchon Pugon, Wood-fire Baked Manila Clams, Crunchy Beijing Prawns, and Lazy Beef Fondue. They also serve puto bumbong and bibingka all year round.

The only thing I didn’t like about my experience here was that they served my birthday cake at 12:02am. Nauna pa ako kantahan ni Miko at i-welcome sa Club 33 bago dumating ang cake. I don’t remember the name of the cake, but it’s a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache served with whipped cream and caramel. I also remember it being moist (except sa base) and rich and delectable.

Our bill was around 2,000php, including the dishes above and maybe 4 drinks. Overall, A Taste of LA Café may be an oldie, but still a goodie– like me! Hehe! Happy that I turned 33 there. :)

A Taste of LA Café
171 Roces Ave
Laging Handa, Quezon City
(02) 374-2461

// listening to – Layla Kaylif – Shakespeare In Love