12/10 ♥ ♥ ♥

 

To be very, very honest, I was not convinced about the food at The Girl and The Bull. (See post here.)  I LOVED the Faux Twix - oh God, I could finish two orders by myself! - but the savories did not leave me jumping up and down with joy. 

But YES, I admire owners Gab and Thea for what they do. I mean, all I did at age 23 was eat Happy Meals and daydream about New Kids on the Block, and here they are, running a restaurant. Now, two!

12/10 is their second baby, and I have to say, arriving without any expectations, I left rather impressed!

 

 

The place is what my teenager niece would call "artsy"

 

 

There were strips of colored paper glued to the wall

 

 

And artificial plants growing out of frames

 

 

The place, in the middle of a very quiet area in Makati, was full on a Monday night, too!
These kids must be doing something right! 

 

 

12/10 was still on soft-opening when we visited. There were 12 items on the menu,
2 were not available. In our true "Love Food" group fashion, we ordered all 10.

 

 

I almost cried over how tiny the servings were. I get emotional like that.

It was later on that I realized they are meant to be in tasting portions so you can build your own little degustation, which is really a swell idea if you are not a big group of 9 clueless, hungry people.

We didn't know what to expect and ordered only 2 servings of each dish, which became 3, then later on, 4.

I know we can still handle up to 7. 

I wish the servers informed us earlier so some of us didn't have to pretend to be all kind and patient watching others go ahead while waiting for our additional orders. 

 

 

Just kidding. We love each other to bits. Love is patient, love is kind, love does not kill
thy neighbor when she is oohing and aahing ridiculously over mackerel ceviche. 

 

 

Instead, love is drowning hungry, evil thoughts in water

 

 

Or better yet, a Mai Tai! 
Don Papa rum, cointreau, lime, peanut syrup. 

 

 

The food at 12/10 made me very happy.

Not all dishes though. On my next visit I will skip these two:

 

Hijiki seaweed, candied anchovies, edamame, pink peppercorn

 

 

Chicken skin, enoki, spring onion root, sea salt, sansho, lemon

 

 

And order to my heart and stomach's content the following 8 dishes:

 

 

Mushroom salad, rocket, pickled red onion, salted egg yolk, sesame, honey 

 

 

Mackerel ceviche, sriracha, coconut, coriander oil, radish

 

 

 Raw tuna salad, kyuri, yuzu kosho, maple syrup, ebiko, shichimi, nori

 

 

Blowtorched salmon, uni, caviar, panko, nori, shiso, ponzu, sea salt

 

  

Chicken wings karaage, fish sauce caramel, tobiko, scallions

 

 

Salmon kushiyaki, truffle oil, aonori, black sesame, wasabi, curry, cornflakes

 

 

Korean fried chicken, charred eggplant, gochugang, sesame, shiso, lime

 

 

Toro onigiri, foie gras, negi, dynamite, balsamic maple syrup

 

 

Everything was wildly delicious it was hard to choose a favorite. It was wow after wow after wow.

Honestly, I could not find any fault in the dishes.

 

 

Except maybe the onigiri could do with less rice. Having said that, I still finished 
every last grain. :D

 

 

I am now a Gab-and-Thea believer 

 

 

 I think we all are.
Only good food (and great company!) can bring out these smiles!

 

 

12/10: 7635 Guijo Street, Makati City

12/10 Facebook Page

Instagram: @twelvetenph

Monday - Saturday 5pm - 11pm

 

 

Mu Noodle Bar ♥ ♥ ♥

 

Not a big fan of Chinese food (gasp!!!) and the Greenhills area, I had no idea where to bring my Ama and cousin who were visiting from Vancouver. 

 

Leslie suggested Mu Noodle Bar. I was sold when she mentioned Black Ink Hofan. 
Anything black ink is ooohhh lah lah. 

 

 

Complimentary garlic peanuts

 

 

We ordered dishes that were soft to the bite so it'll be easy for Ama. (And me who is sometimes lazy to chew. Lol.) The kitchen did a wonderful job "overcooking" the broccoli to fit our needs. 

I think we are becoming experts at this, because everything we picked - save for the oyster cake - was delicious!  *pat ourselves on the back*  :P

 

Chilled tofu with century egg and pork floss

 

 

Black Ink Hofan

 

 

X.O. Radish Cake

 

 

Fish Fillet in Coconut Sauce

 

 

Oyster Cake - will skip this next time. Or maybe I'll order it and eat only the cheese on top.
The oyster cake had more "cake" than oyster.

 

 

Broccoli with Garlic

 

 

If there is one dish you must order, it is this, the 3-Cup Chicken. I swear they must have
sprinkled some magic into this bowl of tender, juicy, sweet, gingery, savory, succulent pieces
of the most uninteresting meat to me, to make it my favorite dish at Mu. Give me this and a
hot bowl of rice and I will be as happy as a kid on Christmas Day. 

 

 

And if there is one dessert you must have at Mu, it is the Mu Milky Cup.
It's really just Kellogg's Frosties thrown on top of coconut ice cream,
but it brought me ultimate bliss. I am not exaggerating.

 

 

The Cua Pao Custard was just okay. I would trade all four pieces for another Milky Cup.

 

 

With Tabby and Ama :)

 

Mu Noodle Bar: 197 Wilson Street, San Juan. Tel: +632 4512681, +639178074057

Mu Noodle Bar Facebook Page

Cafe Shibuya ♥ ♥

 

We rarely travel this far up north, but Mom loves bread and the idea of eating a whole loaf
for dinner excites the gallbladder out of her 

 

 

I like nosing around the open kitchen where they assemble the toasts

 

 

Somebody else's mango caramel toast. I spied the kitchen staff plop a scoop of vanilla
ice cream on top. Howlymowly. I made a mental note to order this for my dessert.

 

 

Americano and Hot Chocolate

 

 

Matcha Latte for me

 

 

Sbihuya Benedict - farmers ham, deep fried poached egg, shiitake mushrooms and
homemade Japanese mayo cream sauce 

 

 

Who knew something as simple as ham and egg and mushrooms on toast could be 
so comforting. I let the soft, buttered bread soak up the gooey yolk before I soaked in
its uncomplicated beauty.

 

 

But my favorite was this Crunchy Chicken Teriyaki. I am, after all, Ms. Sweets before Ms. Jin!
The chicken was so juicy under the beautifully caramelized skin. And then, hiding under it,
the same irresistible soft, buttery, pillowy toast.

 

 

Salt and Pepper Spareribs with Mentaiko Fried Rice

 

 

Truffle Cream with Prosciutto Pasta

 

 

Mentaiko Pasta tossed with olive oil and bacon and topped with nori

 

 

As you can see, we were stuffed to the brim and tried very hard to suck in our guts and 
cover the evidence of overindulgence with our handbags, but... 

 

 

There IS always room for dessert, and the desserts at Cafe Shibuya
were shouting out to me!

 

 

I know I said I will order the mango caramel something something,
but as soon as I saw Nutella on the menu, my heart was set.
NUTELLA. My favorite thing in the world.

 

 

As each cube of chocolate hazelnut spread and vanilla ice cream-stained bread passed through
my dessert hole, my throat emitted little sighs of joy. It was a moment of complete contentment. 

 

 

And if you listened very closely, you could hear the sound of my thighs getting fatter.

I suddenly remembered Gwama's precious advice to me, "Rejoos ka na para maka-asawa ka na."

But, Gwama...

 

AMEN!!!

  

Cafe Shibuya: Ground Floor, UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City. Tel: +632 722 2237, +63947-2213836

Cafe Shibuya Facebook Page

 

Black Sheep ♥ ♥ ♥

 

This open kitchen that is the envy of all open kitchens is the first thing you see when you land at 
the W Penthouse and make your way to Manila's newest restaurant bar concept - Black Sheep

 

 

The main dining room

 

 

Request for the booth to get a lovely view of Fort Bonifacio and some of Makati

 

 

I don't know much about drinks, but the bar at Black Sheep seemed quite well-stocked

 

  

Okay, it was very impressive with over 100 single malts on the menu

 

 

I ordered a cocktail. Lol. A creamy one at that and with hint of coffee. Hahaha. :P
I loved my Russian Black Sheep (Johnnie Walker Black Label, Johnnie Walker Red,
coffee liqueur, sweet sherry, egg white, angostura bitters, cinnamon stick and cherry).
It tasted like an egg swallowed Christmas. I'd order it again. 

 

 

El Padrino (Johnnie Walker Black Label, bourbon, amaretto, sweet sherry and orange peel) 

 

 

BUT I SAID THAT, VIRGINIA WOOLF!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Look what I saw under tight security under our see-through table!  #timtan

 

 

I appreciate that Black Sheep took effort to personalize the menu by
printing out our names and date of visit. This is my photoshopped 
version. I wish to remain anonymous. Thank you!

 

 

Service was great albeit a bit obtrusive. Our server explained every course knowledgeably, left us to enjoy each dish for about 8 minutes, then came back to ask for feedback, comments and suggestions. Repeat same process for the next 5 courses.  

 

Amuse bouche of Chicken and Egg

 

 

Chicken meatball with soy and ginger, cointreau and beer foam, salmon roe

 

 

Second amuse bouche of Longganisa Ice Cream with pork flakes, crispy black rice
and vinegar jelly. This was insane!

 

 

Prawn
Steamed prawn, prawn dumpling with coconut milk and peanut, and deep fried prawn
with wheat flour wrapper and prawn head togarashi mayo.

 

 

Fresh River Eel
Three-clam soup (Manila clam, halaan, 5-year old clam), and river eel that was brought
in fresh then charcoal-grilled in the kitchen. I loved the clam soup. It was powerful.

 

 

36-Hour Pork and Free Range Chicken
Confit, truffle sand, vinegar foam, watermelon radish. More than the flavors, I liked how our 
server described this dish as our very own chicken inasal done the sosy way. I thought the 
sand was too coarse and too abundant, and the truffle and vinegar lacking in intensity. 

 

 

Kitayama Striploin
My favorite of the night. It was beautiful to my eyes and to my lips.

 

 

That black smear was squid ink mashed potato!!! Eating this simultaneously with the tender beef 
and crispy leeks was one of the highlights of my first week of 2014.

 

 

Praline
Chocolate praline mousse, chocolate cake, chocolate biscuit, hazelnuts, Malagos 65%. 
Although this shouted chocolate, and chocolate IS my favorite food group, somehow, 
I was not convinced. This was nice, but what I wanted was something wicked.

 

 

Cigar
1881 Perique, Singleton jellies. Like eating smoke with cream. I LOVED IT!!! 

 

 

Foie Gras
There were also others in the bowl, like the dulce de leche truffle (too saccharine even for me),
hopia-mani-popcorn macaron (couldn't make out the flavors), and peppermint macaron (I skipped)

 

 

Foie gras covered in white chocolate and walnuts. I have mixed feelings about this one.

 

Despite the misses, I was quite satisfied with my dinner at Black Sheep. I saw much creativity and potential and a sincere willingness to improve, especially after having been asked one million times for feedback, comments and suggestions. Lol! 

Dear Black Sheep, I suggest that when you send me a reservations confirmation text in the future, it will be at a more appropriate time than 12:05am. That's all. Thank you! 

 

Love personalized touches like this thank you note that came with the bill :)

 

Black Sheep: The Penthouse, W Fifth Avenue, corner 32nd and 5th, Bonifacio Global City. Tel: +632 4784498, +639178714388

Black Sheep Website

Black Sheep Facebook Page

Black Sheep Instagram: @blacksheepbgc