Italiannis

Specialty: Italian
Location: greenbelt, glorietta, alabang, greenhills, libis, tomas morato, gateway, megamall, mall of asia, bonifacio high street, trinoma

Website: http://www.italiannis.com.ph
Telephone No.: 8564094/8563890 (Bonifacio High Street)
Price Range: php 220 - 1800 (whoah! average of php 550)
Rating: ★★★★

Ok. This one doesn't really need much of an introduction. It has branches all across the world and it serves one the most authentic Italian food you can find around. We recently got a 500 php off discount from roovin so we decided to visit this place.

Lets start with the drinks first. Costing php 170 each, each drink merits it's own review.

Watermelon Shake
Price: php 170
Rating: ★★★★

Not much to say about this drink. It's tall, pink and tastes like watermelon. It's also refreshing and light (just like Jenny the waitress said). I'm going to guess that this doesn't have any sugar in it since it doesn't taste that sweet. That's all good. I like my fruit shakes to be made out of actual fruits, hence, taste like blended fruits. Not blended artificial flavors of fruits in ice and tablespoonfuls of sugar.

Grape Shake
Price: php 170
Rating: ★★★★
It's pretty much the same as the watermelon shake except for the fact that this drink is made from grapes (Seedless. Don't worry). Also, it seems like the watermelon shake is more refreshing than this one. Not to say that the drink is bad. It tastes good. It's just too bad that the watermelon tasted better. :p

Lemon Pepper Shrimp Salad
Price: php 560
Rating: ★★★★

A new dish that has been recommended by Jenny (Our waitress. Or is that waitperson to be politically correct?). Romaine lettuce, red lollo rossa, and arugula tossed in a creamy honey dijon dressing, topped with cherry tomatoes, gorgonzola cheese and breaded lemon pepper shrimps. This actually costs more than our pasta and I'm wondering if it's worth it. I don't recognize any of those vegetables I mentioned so I can't say anything sure about the value. The shrimp is tasty and crunchy though. I'm confident enough to say it tastes good (I know this because I ate a lot of it).

Baked Ziti
Price: php 500
Rating: ★★★
Penne pasta tossed with Italian sausage and oozing creamy beef ragout then baked with romano and mozarella cheese. This dish is cheesy, flavorful and filling. Unfortunately, it tastes too much like a generic tomato pasta dish.

Conclusion
Good for romantic dinners for two (Try the Bonifacio High Street branch. Not the one at MoA). For those needing extra pep to those dinners, wine is also available. This place tends to be too expensive for parties unless your company is willing to get a package which would cost anywhere between php 450 - 650 per person. The place is down to earth and the food tastes, smells and looks Italian. The theme is pretty much consistent all through out and the service is excellent. All in all, a solid and well deserved four stars.

Cafe Bola

Cuisine: filipino food
Location: 2/f Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati
Tel #: 757-BOLA
Service charge: 10%
Opening times: 11am - 10pm
Menu Price range (meals): php 100 - 235
Rating: ★★★★★


This place is definitely one of my favorites. I don't think I've eaten anything there that I didn't like. Warm, quiet, cozy atmosphere with an in-your-face filipino taste. The architecture is very contemporary and somewhat edgy but it's accentuated with black and white still photos of old filipino films, all of which i haven't heard of before nor plan to hear about anytime soon. The place is cozy enough for two. They even have candle lit tables outside. It's definitely more comfy inside and could seat a small group of people. It's not best to be boisterous in this place as I can imagine that would tend to echo.

The Menu
Filipino dishes and pasta are the dominant items on this cafe's menu. There are few dessert items as well. Today I will be sampling thier lemon grass tea (both hot and cold) as well as their specials Adobo Flakes + Kesong Puti and Sirloin Tapa + Egg.

Lemon Grass Tea (Hot)
Price: php 44
Rating: ★★★★
Smells really really nice. The steam seems to carry the lemon grass scent straight to your olfactory nerves and give you a taste sampler before you even put the cup to your lips. The taste is exquisite. The only caveat is that you only have one cup. That's it. Unlike most hot tea from other places, you don't get a pot. You get a measly cup. An amazing tea cup nonetheless.

Lemon Grass Tea (Cold)
Price: php 50
Rating: ★★★
Unlike the hot lemon grass tea, the scent is muted on this cold refresher. The taste is almost the same, albeit cold. Personally, I think I like the Bola Iced Tea better

Adobo Flakes + Kesong Puti
Price: 154 and worth every peso
Rating: ★★★★★
My mouth is watering as I imagine every spoonful (it's not a pretty sight). Rice topped with adobo flakes and a chunk of white cheese which is most probably made from goat's milk. The smell is absolutely delightful. The flakes are light, crispy and flavorful. The cheese balances out the flavor. The rice is nice and steamy. Perfect.



Sirloin Tapa on Rice + Egg
Price: 176 and worth every peso
Rating: ★★★★★
Rice topped with thin slices of juicy mouth-watering beef topped with a sunny-side up egg done filipino style. Although the egg was quite oily, the dish more than makes up for itself because of the flavor of the beef. Delicious. Besides, fried eggs are supposed to be a bit oily. If I had more space in my stomach, I'd order another one. Another perfect score for Bola.

All in all, I would keep coming back to this place because it's one of my most favorite places to eat. Ever. I just wish they had more comfy seats.

Miscellaneous
Oh yeah, me and my girl celebrated our one year anniversary here. So hooray for us! :D. I am also introducing a new author here going by the name of wastefulspace. She will be Eat My Choice's ambassador in Cebu. Yep. 5 Posts and we are already expanding!