Restaurant Reviews

[pnoize]

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Carlito's Way

It was our wedding anniversary and we agreed to try Carlito's Way along A.S. Fortuna. A small place, fits about 20 people or so decorated with about 4 or so posters of one of my favorite actors, Al Pacino (actually, I was expecting more. After all, this place was named after one of his movies.) As soon as we sat down, we were greeted by a waitress who was eagerly awaiting our orders.

I got the Rib Eye while my wife got the Lengua and Mushroom soup for our appetizer. The soup was served, coupled with what I believe were Skyflakes. Surprisingly, the Lengua came with a whole lot of garlic, sauce and mushrooms. Not your usual Lengua but it still tastes good, recommended to be eaten with rice.

The Rib Eye was tender and juicy, cooked to how I like it, medium rare. The gravy isn't your usual mushroom gravy but it has a hint of mint.

The place is clean and prices are ok. Get ready to spend around P 800.00 or so if you're on a date. However, my only complaint would be the parking space.

rating: 8/10

[d`monyita]

NONKI'S (japanese Restaurant at AS Fortuna)

anyway....i would still recommend the restaurant if we talk about ambiance, food and cleanliness...but not for general principles...

i would rate NONKI 3.5/5

I feel ningning that I missed this topic da. October pa ni? When did u go to Nonki's sis? Last year?

Anyways.... here is my uhhh report:

JOSH AND MATTHEW CAFE

Fulfulling the requirements of starting a new biz would inevtably bring one DOWNTOWN...sa DTI... ngayon mo... super gutom na.. so where does one eat near the pier 1? Kung takot ka na eat anywhere lang... it was either AA bbq or Josh and Matthew. Aircon man ang latter so there kami.

I had the blue marlin with thai sauce and iced tea and my cousin had the spaghetti. Ang blue marlin masarap sya... KAKAIBA ang luto. The spaghetti was lami sad. Halatang tadtad sa butter sa pag-sautee pa lang. hehehehe. The iced tea was kakaiba rin the taste...but lami.

A couple of weeks later I went there again with my sis this time and my son and I had the baby backs and my sis had the fried chicken. Both were also good. What we REALLY REALLY LIKED was this choco drink they have. Made from choco blocks daw... as in not the hershey syrup. It was really yummy!!!

Ambiance was relaxing and one could not tell that it was just a few hundred meters from the pier area. Mga kasama mo kumain dun are usually lawyers, bank officers, and mga tao na tulad kong maarte. hahahahahaha. Di bitaw oi... Im not..... scary na man to eat just anywhere gyud.

Oh and man... the CR IS VERY CLEAN!!!! Big points yan gyud kay sa downtown susme..where kaya ikaw kakita ng clean na CR......?

Pricing: Entrees vary from 80-130p. The fried chicken was 90p, the ribs were 110-nish if I remember correctly. The spaghetti was somewhere 60p and the blue marlin was 100p thereabouts. Iced tea was 40p. The choco drink na yum yum? Dont ask me the price of that one hehehehe kay the owner gave it to my son lang because it was his bday the following day and they were so lingaw with him they wanted to give him something.

Parking: No problem kay aside from the slots fronting the cafe, there is a big parking lot at the side ang entrance...sa mj cuenco(?)

I highly recommend it. I wanna have coffee there naman one of these days. Malayo lang gyud from Banawa kung yan lang ang tuyo mo hehehehehe...what with starbucks just 5 minutes away.

The score? (four "eat" out of a possible five)

[fritzhanzel8]

Guiseppe in Banilad (entry road to Ma. Luisa)

Italian restaurant

My wife and I have been there probably 10 times already. Even went there with visitors from overseas and never had a bad experience, always pleased. The service is no rush, fast, attentive and foremost neutral. It doesn't matter what you order or how you behave or are dressed, it's always a perfect neutral and attentive, friendly service. Try the seafood salad and compare it to La Tegola just down the road and you know what I mean. Pizza is good for 2, generous size portions. The prices are a bit on the steep side but still fine as long as you don't order the specials. SML is 60 pesos, pizza around 400, pasta around 350 to 400.

[iryn]

JOSH AND MATTHEW CAFE

wow reading from the review you made, i wanna try eating in that restaurant sad!
where is it located? im not familiar with the pier 1 area, although i know where AA's is, thats just accross plasa independencia dba?
i hope you can put the directions. thanks

[Junpei]

OT:
hello guys. anybody could do a review on big mao? I haven't been to alot of restos yet so I can't really compare and describe the place (I also forgot the menu). but if I were to rate it. its a 3/5. foods great. first time I tasted a different line of cuisine since I'm more of a fastfood person or the one that usually cooks at home.hehe. 12 people around 2k-2.5k. still have food left. I think.(I really don't know if this is expensive or not)

very nice thread. now I can get a glimpse of different restos here in the city

[d`monyita]

wow reading from the review you made, i wanna try eating in that restaurant sad!
where is it located? im not familiar with the pier 1 area, although i know where AA's is, thats just accross plasa independencia dba?
i hope you can put the directions. thanks

iryn if you know AA's... josh and matthew is just at the ground floor of the building beside it... kana the one with the tables na may umbrellas.

[iryn]

Big Mao

I've only eaten in big mao twice (once when my friend celebrated her debut there, so food was on buffet[cross roads] and when me and my parents ate dinner after mass[ayala])

Their food does have a different twist..a good one. They are serving chinese cuisine inclined food but one can tell that there is something new with the way they cook their dishes... unlike other chinese restaurants theyre way of cooking their food is not traditional [some of the restaurants that offer chinese traditional cooking are majestic]. The price is reasonable(prices range from 145pesos up); depending on how much is your budget when you dine out. Serving size is ment for sharing. I recommend that you try out their hotpot with scallops and their chicken in lime sauce. Food was served fast and hot. Plus they have good interiors too!

rate: 4/5

Guiseppe in Banilad (entry road to Ma. Luisa)

Italian restaurant

My wife and I have been there probably 10 times already. Even went there with visitors from overseas and never had a bad experience, always pleased. The service is no rush, fast, attentive and foremost neutral. It doesn't matter what you order or how you behave or are dressed, it's always a perfect neutral and attentive, friendly service. Try the seafood salad and compare it to La Tegola just down the road and you know what I mean. Pizza is good for 2, generous size portions. The prices are a bit on the steep side but still fine as long as you don't order the specials. SML is 60 pesos, pizza around 400, pasta around 350 to 400.

I really want to try eating there.. i heard that their food is great since the owner of that restaurant is the chef of paparazzi before (italian resto of shangrila which serves one of the best italian dishes that iv ever tasted).
Thanks for the tip. il try dining there one of these days.

[Orange77]

Would anybody like to do a review on that new resort/restaurant in mactan...Abaca? I know the price is steep but
is it worth the visit?

[d`monyita]

i think someone wrote about it here.... lemme find it... basta i read it...

super mahal there orange...hehehehe mahurot ato budget hahahahahaha

[petey78]

Abaca has a very nice ambience, open air, no a/c but naa mga ceiling fans. Their manager, Glenn, is very accomodating. If it is your first time to go, he or his staff will try their best to help you with your orders. Jason, the owner/chef is very nice too. Not only he personally (f kaya) cooks your dinner, but once he's free, he will come up to your table and talk to you. Food, their cooking is very different. Not only, you will be reading in Greek (I'm kidding), unusual lang ang iyang mga food didto. But they will explain to you what the food is about. A bit on the expensive side, at least P800 per person (apil na ang drinks sa estimate). My suggestion, go with a big group para daghan mu ma try, pag share-share nalang.

Unfortunately for now, they only serve dinner.

My ratings:

9.5/10 - food
9/10 - ambience (kinda hot for me), very peaceful sad
price? let's not talk about that... hehe...