Lifestyle: DC Super Heroes Cafe

Themed cafes and restaurants seem to be a thing nowadays but there is definitely one that  takes the Kyrptonite inspired cake -and its the newly opened DC Super Heroes Cafe! 

Finally had the time to visit one Thursday morning after shift. 

Since the mall just opened (its located on the 4th floor of the SM Fashion Hall) we were the first customers there. We sent word in advance that we would be taking photos and told the staff when we got there as well and they just let Paul shoot away, while I took videos for my Instagram stories. 

There's really a lot to see and geek over. The ambiance and design of the restaurant is just top notch! From the super hero themed murals, stained glass windows, life sized statues to the many drool inducing merchandise (some for sale). Even the comfort room is IG stories worthy, from its wall to wall covered murals of villains like the Joker and Poison Ivy. 

So this is what Paul and I ordered: 

The Belly Buster (P380.00)

Inspired by the big belly, one of the biggest fast food chains in the DC Universe. The fastfood establishment has appeared in numerous comic book titles and stories.

The burger comes with thick fries and is served with two kinds of dips. Paul is a big burger person and while I thought that the burger looked smaller in reality than in the picture, Paul said it was heavy and gave it a thumbs up. 

Baked Pepperoni Ziti (P380.00) -which is inspired from The Flash

I'm a pizza and pasta girl and their baked ziti was just so flavorful and surprisingly also very heavy. Now if you know me, you would know I'm a very picky eater so I didn't mind the jalapenos and the pureed capers-which Paul gladly took off my plate and he liked them very much. (Another reason why Paul and I make such a good team :P) 

Deep Cacao Milk Chocolate Smoothie (P190.00)

Feel the brooding mystery of Gotham City, a rich milk and chocolate smoothie with fresh cacao and deep dark chocolate topped with our signature whipped cream. 

We really liked this drink, I didn't know that it had pearls though, and being the picky eater that I am, didn't care for those either but other than that. I would definitely order this again and I think its one of their best sellers since I saw a lot of orders on the counter. 

I would probably try one of their iced teas or juices next time. Paul didn't really feel like having a smoothie and I didn't let him have a cocktail, so he just stuck with water. (maybe next time, Mamoy :P)

The place was quickly filled with customers, a section was even reserved for a children's party. So yes, if your kid is a big DC fan (and if you have the budget) this would definitely be a memorable place for a birthday party. 

Customers came in all ages, shapes and sizes. Older gentlemen in a meeting, kids with their parents, and the curious middle aged ladies who were also taking a lot of instagrammable pictures (I guess I would fall in that category?) 

Even if Paul and I were the first customers there and we had the place to ourselves for some time, we weren't able to fully explore the place :( and pretty soon it was already filled with customers (it got busy very fast) and its not like you can ask the lady sitting by the Wonder Woman mural to move so you can take a picture right?

DC Super Heroes Cafe was a great restaurant themed experience. Its a must visit if you are a DC fan, especially since there are a lot of small Easter eggs scattered throughout the restaurant, which you will just point at and be thrilled you were able to recognize it. 

Its an ideal place for a date, especially if you are both geeks. Its also a great place to hang out with friends after walking around the mall. 

Click HERE for MORE Photos! 

"Tara Kain Tayo" - Made Easier with OpenSnap

Bobby Box in Eastwood Libis (where I work) is a great place to eat for us who work the night shift. They open early (7AM) which is perfect since we get off work at 8AM. The interior is really pretty with brick walls, colorful Bobby Box art on the wall, wood paneled ceilings and even K-Pop music videos playing on a white screen for that contemporary Korean feel. 

Their meals (rice box meals) range from P109.00-P159.00 add about P20.00+ for drinks. Paul is happy that they have beer available. San Mig Light for P55.00 is a great deal! Sometimes we get funny looks when we're ordering beer at 8:00AM but remember since we work the night shift this is our 8:00PM so to speak. 

Bulgogi Box (Spicy) at P159.00 

You can't imagine how much trouble we have when we try to look for a place to eat with our nocturnal schedule. Sometimes my office mates and I would go through hours of arguments of where to eat but thanks to OpenSnap "Tara Kain Tayo" would be so much easier. 

Through OpenSnap you can search for restaurants to try out, you can search through key words like what kind of food you are looking for (pasta, burger, Japanese) or by location. You can also just search for the restaurant you are looking for.

OpenSnap is a perfect app for Foodies aside from discovering great new food finds it also serves as a platform for you to post and share your #foodporn photos! You can also review establishments you've visited to help friends decide whether this place is their next food trip. You can also search for newly opened restaurants in your area as well as what the Editor's picks and recommendations are. For us night owls there is a whole section for which establishments are open 24 Hours! 

It's an easy app to use and navigate through - no more arguing where to eat with OpenSnap  Tara! Kain tayo! 

For more restaurants and food finds, download OpenSnap app from App Store or Google Play.

Hokkaido Santouka

Because reunions with good old friends over Ramen is always a good idea - especially when you both share the same love for the Japanese culture :)

Which is how we found ourselves at Hokkaido Santouka (at the Old Promenade in Greenhills) for lunch with my best friend from Grade School :)

She was the one who recommended Hokkaido Santouka so instant plus points right there.

Unlike other Ramen Houses where there are panels to separate the customers and offer a more private dining experience, Hokkaido Santouka had a more open ambiance to it (for their Greenhills branch at least). It was rather irregularly shaped for a restaurant, having a more alley way like entry but there was a bigger space at the back. There were even those vendos with the toys in what seem like Poke-balls in them - adding to the Japanese theme of the restaurant :)

We loved that the menus had Set Meals (like the ones in the photos - it's a set meal) complete with a Matcha flavored cupcake which Paul just shoved in his mouth in one gulp. 

We had one of their set meals (which range at around P470.00-P500.00+)

Our Set Meal included: 

Small Ramen and you get to choose what flavor - we had the Shio Ramen (Salt Flavored) It's just weird that there was a date in there, Fried Salmon and Prawn and Small Rice Bowl. There were also some vegetables, a small portion of salad, warm tea and the cute Matcha flavored cupcake. 

Mixed Fruits with Purin 

Dessert was Mixed Fruits with Purin (P170.00) which my best friend Greta and Paul shared  You will recall that I'm not really a big fan of fruits and that dessert to me is only chocolate or cake :P 

Cool and Chilled Iced Tea - Sailor Moon approves. 

The Iced Tea was in a really cool presentation with blended/ literally iced tea on top :P 

It was just disappointing that their local beer was priced at P150.00 a bottle - I mean seriously -  it's local beer - we know the suggested retail price. Their Shin-Aji Ramen (P320.00) looks interesting it's cold noodle with hot dipping sauce. Might try that next time :) 

Their ramen or at least the Shio Ramen we had was good :P Might try a whole ramen bowl the next time so we can fully explore the taste - like I said earlier the date in their was weird though :P 

Molcajete - Mexican Cantina Feature

Mexican Inspired Art up on the wall of Molcajete

In our continued efforts to feature local places of business, we're happy that a Mexican Cantina + Cerveceria has opened at the commercial area near our home. Drumroll for Molcajete please! 

This is actually a really late post already since we were super busy last December with the holiday rush and what not. Despite the late post, I have to say that we really loved our visit to Molcajete (we've been there twice- the second time with Paul's sisters and their husbands) and at both times we were satisfied by the food and service. 

With a price range similar to Army Navy I definitely have no qualms in shelling out for the Mexican food here at Molcajete- I for one really loved their Meat and Cheese Quesadilla and Paul gave a thumbs up for their Buritto. 

There's something in their garlic-cheese dressing that we just love! I'm not normally a fan of Mexican food but I'll make an exception for Molcajete ^_^ 

The Cantina itself has a nice and cozy feel with Mexican inspired art hanging in the walls. As the sign says it's also a Cerveceria and they serve different Tequillas - we might try it out sometime :p 

You can find Molcajete at the Village Corner right outside Beverly Hills, on your way up to Antipolo. Will definitely be swinging by - especially when that Mexican craving kicks in! 

You can visit Molcajete at The Village Corner at Beverly Hills, Taytay Rizal. They are closed on Mondays and open on Tuesday to Sunday from 12NN-10PM and on Friday - Saturdays from 12NN-12MN. You can check out their Facebook page here and follow them on Instagram @molcajeteph

Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen

For all my fascination and admiration of Japanese Culture I'm not a big fan of their food, I really am more of a pizza, pasta, meat and potatoes kind of girl and my lack of being adventurous when it comes to trying out new food is what makes me or rather what doesn't make me a Food Blogger. 

I'm not a big fan of sushi or raw fish and I would take a pizza any time of the day over sushi. 

So it was no surprise that by the time Ramen became the "new milk tea" I still haven't tried a bowl, not one, and as I am writing this I just find that too strange considering my love affair with Japan. 

So a big "Arigato Gozaimasu" to my good friend Haru (not her real name but a nickname we gave her in High School and yes- it's Japanese) for treating us to Ikkoryu for some long over due Ramen! 

When I saw that the restaurant was awarded the 2014 Philippine Tattler Best Restaurant I was really excited. Upon entering the restaurant the interior just took my breath away it was beautiful and really had that authentic Japanese feel. There were wooden panels with Japanese characters written on them separating each table adding to that authentic Ramen House feel.

Since it was our first time to try Ramn, Haru suggested that we have the Ajitama Tonkutsu which according the Ikkoryu website is described as: "Topped with a special half boiled egg that is fully marinated with a special blended soy sauce." Can I just say that I loved that egg! It was nothing I have ever tasted- it was soft and absolutely delicious! 

For p380.00 per bowl, I would say that it's well worth it! Will definitely go back given the chance and I'm now ready and let's say more adventurous when it comes to Ramen! ITADAKIMAS! 

Kampaii Sushi Bar

So for our 9th Aniversarry, Paul and I had originally planned on attending Blogapalooza (it's the biggest Business to Blogger event with over 500 Bloggers registered) but because of Typhoon Mario the event was cancelled and suddenly Paul and I had our Saturday open with nothing to do. 

Roads were still flooded and impassable Saturday morning so we just decided to stay within the confines of our home on a mountain in order to stay safe and dry from the floods. 

Paul suggested this Japanese Restaurant near our place- like 5 minutes and I thought - hey why not? It was our anniversary and I guess it was about time we stopped eating at Pizza Hut for our anniversaries (did it for the 5th and the 8th) I'm pretty much a creature of habit, especially when it comes to food, I'm not really that adventurous when it comes to trying out new food (I stick to what I know) and for all my love of the Japanese culture, I'm not a big fan of their food. All of my aversion to trying out new food is a cause for great dismay for Paul who is the more adventurous one when it comes to food. 

Kampaii Sushi Bar is in a narrow building, upon entering the restaurant, all the tables were already filled with diners, two tables joined together to accommodate a large family, and a couple in another table. We were ushered to the second floor, which was only used when the first floor was already full. The AAC Units were turned on, the second floor had more tables and also were the Comfort Rooms were. It felt weird staying there, because it didn't really feel like a restaurant since it was just Paul and me there but then a Korean couple also took a table next to us, and the space suddenly started to feel more like a restaurant. 

We ordered their Chicken Teriyaki and Tempura meals. Paul and I both decided to come back and try their sushi and ramen which got good reviews on their social media sites and recommendations from friends. 

I was just a bit disappointed with the staff, specifically our server who can obviously use more training and here's why: I wanted to order the Tempura Bento but was instead served with a Tempura ala carte plate, so I had to order additional rice. 

Paul ordered their lunch set meal, but we weren't informed that the miso soup that came with the meal set was not available. She should have at least told us that before we ordered. 

The dessert that came with the set meal was apples with Cherry Syrup, I didn't expect to like it but it was pretty good! :) 

With my disappointment in their service said and done, I can go ahead and say that I did like their food. The batter in the tempura was good, in the first bite you can already taste the flavors of the batter. Paul's Chicken Teriyaki was pretty good too. 

We loved the presentation and the plates that they used. The ice tea was at least blended, so it's not the usual powdered type. Since it's a Sushi Bar there was a lot of different kinds of cocktails and liquor for sale (much to Paul's satisfaction) he ordered a Rum and Coke (which probably weirded out the staff since we ate at Lunch time) there are probably more patrons who order liquor in the evenings. 

Paul and I have decided to come back for the sushi and ramen and we have now decided to make a conspicuous effort to feature more local businesses. :)