Food Tripping w/ Your Best Buddy (Last Part)

food at Ippudo

The food tripping at UP Town Center with Karen Anne was followed up by a string of visits to other restaurants at various places.


Greeka Kouzina

menu

I've always wanted to try Greeka Kouzina but not sure of it's exact location in Little Baguio, San Juan. They've opened up a branch in SM Aura in Taguig but I always ended up eating elsewhere whenever I'm in the area. When they've finally put up a branch in Kapitolyo, I immediately texted Karen if she wanted to try it out with me.

interior

Greek Caesar salad

We started off with a Greek Caesar Salad w/ Baked Chicken. Goodness abounds with this salad which dressing was made from Greek yogurt. But with the addition of bacon bits and slices of sharp cheese, I fully doubt if this can be considered a healthy type of salad even with the yogurt Caesar dressing.

krasates

lamb shoulders

Karen and I decided to order two meats for us to share. She opted to get the Krasates or pork chops served with a ramekin of bleu cheese dip. And I had the Lamb Shoulders served w/ Greek-style gravy to smother over the meat. I liked the tenderness of the pork chop but the bleu cheese doesn't seem to compliment with the meat, we ended up using the gravy as a dip with so much gusto instead. I find the lamb shoulders cooked a bit tough. But the meat itself was tasty enough to let it pass. 

food we ordered at Greeka Kouzina

lamb meatball spaghetti

The meats come with a free side order. I had the Spanakorizo or Spinach Rice. I was beholden to it since I like spinach and feta cheese but Karen wasn't exactly crazy with it. What she did like was her own order of side dish, the Arni Keftedes. Lamb meatball spaghetti with parmesan and laced with the most creamiest sauce. We fought over it up to the last strand. 

Greek Yogurt and Baklava

When it comes to desserts, Karen frowned upon her Greek Yogurt. She find it a tad too sour, prompting her to ask for more honey to drizzle all over it. But I like the sour tang of it, counterpointed by the sweetness of the honey. Incidentally, a scoop of Greek yogurt was also placed atop my Baklava order. A phyllo pastry layered with pistachio, walnuts and cashew. Gritty, then the sour tang of the yogurt and the blissful sweet embrace of honey. What more can you ask for?

retreating to CBTL for some teas

D Strip Building
20 United Street
Pasig City

218-6859

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Ippudo

table setting

Who could resist the lure of bowl of ramen? Teeming with bite-y noodles and a broth bursting with flavors. Before I'm more than content with the instant ramen that I could easily do at home. Just turn on the burner, heat some water, dunk all the contents from the pack into the simmering water and you're all good. But the intricacies of flavor of a real ramen is something that I can't deny and which I sought for time and again.

long queue

cupcake w/ pink frosting

We came here weeks after Ippudo's grand opening and we're floored by the long queue. Karen became antsy waiting in line so she went to a nearby Cupcakes By Sonja stall and purchased a couple of cupcakes for us to nibble. She also brought her portable media player and showed me snippets of her favorite scenes from the first Rurouni Kenshin movie.

pink chopsticks

pork bun

chicken bun

rolled egg omelette

Karen displayed her quirky side when she asked for the pink chopstick usually accorded to kids. We did order some appetizers to go along with our main meals. I had the Ippudo Pork Bun (which was delectably smoky) while Karen had the Chicken Bun and the Dashimaki Tamago w/ Mentaiko Mayo, a rolled egg omelette we couldn't get enough of.

unagi on rice

Karata-Men

Going for a healthier route, Karen ordered the Unagi on Rice In Hot Stone Pot. The unagi glistened with its own special sauce, I tried some of it and I was captivated by it's soft, succulent meat brimming with flavor. Something to order for myself the next time I swing by.

On this visit, I'm all for the ramen experience so I had the Karaka-Men, tonkatsu broth with chashu and al dente noodles. It has a hint of spicy zing which I just love though this bowl of ramen was indeed enormous. It took me some time to finish it but definitely a superb bowl of ramen this one is.

black sesame ice cream

As Karen conceded defeat in ordering more, I still have enough stomach room for a sweet ending. And the Black Sesame Ice Cream fulfills my craving for a sweet ending.

www.ippudoph.com

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Italianni's

all smiles for the camera

Karen just recently celebrated her birthday. So we met up in Eastwood. She kept asking me relentlessly on where we should eat. Since she's craving for pizza and pasta, I invariably suggested Italianni's. We haven't been back here in ages and I'm wondering if the food still fares well.

lasagna

pork chop au poivre

truffle mushroom pizza 

I wanted something simple yet hearty so I asked for the Lasagna for Karen and I to share. Teeming with melted mozzarella and cream sauce, this is an overload of goodness pasta dish that we happily consumed.

Karen ordered the Grilled Pork Chop Au Poivre. This is a pork chop done with aplomb. Draped with marsala wine sauce, I'm liking this dish so much. Karen averse to anything green so I forked majority of the crisp-fried spinach from this plate. Spearing some of the potatoes along.

To satiate her craving for pizza, Karen also ordered the Truffle Mushroom Pizza. Very rustic looking with its imperfect oval shape, it has a delightful mix of applewood bacon, proscuitto, mushroom and mozzarella. And the arugula gave it a nutty/bitter taste that elevates the flavor of the pizza with each bite.

iced hazelnut macchiato for me and iced caramel macchiato and a free blueberry dome cake for her at Starbucks

Karen Anne and chubby me

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it in my previous posts that Karen is the one responsible for enlarging my appreciation for food. Before I met her, I'm only just content eating at fast food restaurants and eating at Chef D'Angelo and North Park already a luxury (Whatever happened to Chef D'Angelo, by the way?). With that, I'm ever grateful of her and looking forward for more gastronomic adventures with her.

www.italiannis.com.ph