Rediscovering Sen Lek Thai Noodle

Many years ago, one of our favorite Thai food places was Sen Lek Thai Noodle. They had a restaurant in Dona Soledad. The food was really flavorful and we'd order by phone when we were lazy to go out (no Grab yet back then!).

A few weeks ago, we saw a blog feature it. They opened a place just a stone's throw away from SM Nuvali. We went to Tagaytay today with friends and took the opportunity to get take away from Sen Lek.

We were pleased to discover that it's the same Sen Lek we loved before. The branch is owned by the child of the owner. The original owners now live in Iloilo and have a branch there (if I remember correctly what we were told while waiting for our food). 

With so many of our favorite restos disappearing, this is a great find! 

Happy Sunday everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

A Southie Fave: Presko Coffee

It's been awhile since we first experienced dining at Presko Coffee. It's a cafe founded near where we live. The first time we went there was on election day in 2022. We honestly haven't been back to the actual cafe but we've been ordering almost every week. I sometimes interact with the owner through Threads. 

Anyway, we noticed they added their abot kaya meals in their Grab menu. Sweetie and I were both craving for adobo. He got the chicken adobo abot kaya meals and I got the pork gourmet adobo. We just gobbled up one Spanish bread each so we'll wait a bit before eating. It smells good though and I'm excited to eat dinner!

Well, we ordered for dinner so we didn't get any drinks. I usually get Presko latte for breakfast or the muscovado latte if I'm ordering lunch. Sweetie and Miggy are more adventurous and usually switch around what they order to drink. Anything you order there is good anyway, so you can just try anything.

 

What I haven't tried are their cakes. I usually get a cookie, but I haven't tried any of the cakes and other pastries. I normally get so full after eating what I ordered and that's why I haven't tried any of the cakes. I'll make sure to try something soon. 

If you want to try Presko, they recently opened a branch in Ensueno, Makati. It's just for take-away and I'm not sure if it's just the abot kaya meals or if they have the full menu. They also have branches in Malacanang, Manila and Caloocan. Just search for it and try it soon!

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Bag of Beans (Tagaytay)

We were pleasantly surprised to visit a "relatively new" branch of Bag of Beans. We chose the one nearest to Twin Lakes in Tagaytay and found out the Antonio and Charito Bag of Beans branch was the Twin Lakes branch. They said they moved 2 years ago.

It's been 3 years since we visited Tagaytay and wanted to visit our favorite spots. We chose Bag of Beans for brunch and so we could enjoy the view of Taal Lake. It's a bit far than other restos, but with an active volcano it's always better to keep a safe distance. 

The boys ordered fish. Sweetie got tanigue. I regret not trying it, but it smelled to delectable.

Miggy got fish and chips and he was happy to find out it wasn't the usual Dory. I also regret not trying it...

I was too busy enjoying the country breakfast plate I got. I didn't feel like eating rice at that time and thought it was a good idea to get pancakes with bacon and sausage, haha. It gave me enough fuel to finish visiting Sonya's Garden and Mahogany Market.

And we all shared a plate of carbonara to fulfill the birthday noodles tradition!

You can also buy pasalubong at Bag of Beans. We just got a bread sampler since we planned to visit Sonya's Garden bakery. On hindsight, I should have bought some raisin bread at Bag of Beans. Well, it just means there should be a next time!

P.S. It was my friend, Juned, who introduced us to Bag of Beans way back. It was only the main branch at that time. 

Tried Kettle

One of the things we do as a family is to try new restos (well new for us). We got to try Kettle early this week. I think it's been around for awhile, but it's fairly new at One Ayala. We got a bit lost since we ended up at the convention area (we went up from the basement). Luckily, a guard helped us get to the mall area (thanks Manong!). 

Sweetie was the one who researched the resto and told me and Miggy they serve American comfort food and signature buttermilk fried chicken. I had a feeling that the chicken would be huge. I chickened out and got longganisa, haha. 

Miggy was brave and got the buttermilk fried chicken with rice.

And Sweetie, experimental as usual, got the chicken po boy. 

Both the boys had leftovers and ate it for dinner (yes, the chicken was huge!). I tried the potato side dish, but found it too salty so I stuck to my longganisa. I think it was made more palatable for foreign taste buds since it tasted neutral (not sweet/not garlicky/not salty). If you're going to try Kettle, ask for their combo meals menu (we saw it online). Their iced tea was good. 

Next time we'll try the Japanese resto beside it. :)

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Tried Cochi

Cochi was on our 2025 bucket list. We finally tried it last month. We went at a non-peak hour, but had to park at another building because the elevator wasn't working (not PWD friendly, the stairs was too steep). 

Anyway, we got a seat under the tree and ordered some food for sharing. This is what we got -

Paella

Lengua

Asian Pasta

Chicken

For drinks -

Cucumber

Iced Coffee

The food was tasty. We wanted to try the cochinillo, but it was too big for us. We ordered the Asian pasta since they said it had cochinillo in it. Food was good, but we felt the servings was not enough (probably just good for 2 not 3) - or maybe matakaw lang talaga kami? I also felt the resto was too noisy.

I'm glad we got to try it, but I doubt if we'll go back to the area since it's not PWD friendly. If you're on a wheelchair, asid from not having a working elevator, the flooring was very bumpy. The "smoother" areas was blocked by scaffolding.

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The Undisclosed Location

When November was about to end, I looked at the December calendar to up our PT schedules. I was surprised to see a note for our anniversary. It just said, "Undisclosed location". I recognized Sweetie's handwriting and asked him where were we going?

I tried to crack the surprise the past few weeks, but he didn't give in. The day before he just told us we'll leave at 10 and don't wear shorts. I first thought we were going to Bulacan since Sweetie wants to try the Skyway. I also couldn't think of a place to visit there.  

Anyway, he mentioned we were going north. I immediately thought about Azadore. It's the only place up north that's on my bucket list. I kept quiet until we reached the restaurant and when I saw the resto name, I exclaimed, "I guessed right!"

I was so ecstatic because I've always wanted to dine at Azadore. It's been awhile also since I had Spanish cuisine, so I ordered paella and lengua*. Miggy got fish and chips and Sweetie got lasagna. We just shared a plate of churros for dessert since we were all so full already. The food was heavenly and I was happy we had some leftovers to bring home.

The other undisclosed location was the church where we tied the know. I blogger about it last Friday (check it out here). Ahh, it was a wonderful day to have good food and nourish our soul too. 

Thank you Sweetie for planning an amazing day for our family. Love you both forever!

*Last time I had lengua was when Titay made it many, many years ago.

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Tried Sweet Ecstasy Burger

I saw a friend's post about a delicious looking burger. I immediately asked him where it came from. He said it was from Sweet Ecstasy, the yummiest burger in town.

Since he mentioned I could get some via delivery, I planned to try it. The plan got delayed, but we finally got some today. Delivery was prompt and complete.

Sweetie and I both ordered a cheeseburger since it's our first time. He got it with grilled onions, while I chose caramelized onions. The burger was thick and oozing with sauce. Miggy got the steamed burger and requested to separate the onions.

I also got buffalo wings and fries. I've been trying out buffalo wings from different places to find which one I like best (I still miss Don Henrico's!). 

Sweetie and I liked our cheeseburger. It was pretty tasty. It runs along the line of Shake Shack's burger, thick and oozing with sauce. I added a bit of ketchup since I like my burgers with ketchup. With the added sauce it was a bit messy to eat the burger the way I do (around). 

The wings and fries were okay. It wasn't too spicy and the fries seemed interesting to eat with onions and the ecstacy sauce. I expected it to be a bit bigger though. 

I was really full by the time I finished the burger and 2 pieces of wings. I just took a few pieces of the fries since I didn't want to be too full. I burned off the calories by puttering around the garden. Conked out after, haha.

Will I have it again? Probably. My burger loyalty though still goes to Dayrit's.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Tried K-street

We're honestly holed up at home most of the time. Since I scheduled a family haircut day, we thought it would be nice to try dining at a new place. We saw an ad for a pad Thai place near us and headed there the other day. We thought it was located beside the Vietnamese place we tried. We were surprised to see a new nook of restos built before the area of the Vietnamese place. 

There were a couple of restos in the area. The pad Thai place was located on the second floor. Miggy chose the Korean place, K-street, so that's where we went. It was an odd hour and we were the only customers. The place was cozy and built for quick meals. We each ordered what we wanted to try. 

I got bulgogi, but it was strangely spicy (haha). I think they may have used a different sauce (one of the staff was new). It tasted good and I managed to finish the meal in-between gulps of strawberry lemonade. Miggy had the house special and Sweetie ordered the hickory barbecue. The meal was really filling and the good news is you can order their food via Grab or Food Panda. Maybe next time we'll try the bento meals so we can have some veggies. 

The nook of restos was interesting. We hope to try the other chicken place next time and we'll probably order from the pad Thai place one of these days (sorry, avoiding stairs for now). I wish the cafe will be open next time. Sweetie tried calling, but no one was answering. 

If you're from my `hood and want to try this place, here's the map to K-street: https://maps.app.goo.gl/XguqV46hJQZHkGNU8

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Mary Grace Now Open at SM Bicutan

One of our favorite places to eat is Mary Grace. It's where we eat whenever I have a check-up and we've dined at their other branches as well. So, we were happy to see it finally open a branch nearby.

We were on the fence where to eat brunch, but when we saw Mary Grace open we immediately decided to eat there. The branch looked very inviting. It felt like we were dining at someones home.

The staff were very kind and efficient similar to their other branches. I got the tapa, Miggy got tocino and Sweetie got a special plate. I especially liked the mango pickle this time (it came with the tapa). It wasn't as sour compared to other branches. Ah, a perfect meal.

We were so full so we skipped dessert. We just got a mini cake for takeaway before we went home. Tried the black velvet cake. It's so good! I had a reaction though. It probably has an ingredient that doesn't go well with my meds. Next time we'll ask if they add any alcohol to their cakes.

Mary Grace at SM Bicutan is open during mall hours (10am to9pm).

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Brunch

We were concerned about the announcement that we won't have electricity yesterday morning. We woke up early so we could leave in case we didn't have electricity. Neighbors complained when it didn't go off as scheduled. I told them Meralco must have pranked us, haha 

Since we were ready to go out, we decided to just have brunch at the nearby mall. Miggy wasn't up for it, so it was just Sweetie and me. I got some tapa. It was made more interesting by the pinakurat vinegar. 

Sweetie surprisingly ordered bacon and eggs! He donated some bacon to me (that's true love!).

We walked around to burn off what we ate. We wondered why there was so many people on a weekday. We didn't know it was a holiday (sorry na). We went home after picking up a couple of books at Booksale and a replacement memory card for one of our cams. 

I'm now recharged to sort again!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Dayrit's Forever!

Finally managed to go out today. Sweetie had some scheduled tests so we accompanied him. We decided to get some takeaway from our all time favorite restaurant, Dayrit's!

I remember I was a young child when my parents would bring me there. I immediately fell in love with their ginormos cheeseburger. And that's been my order for over 40 years!

I was happy to see the resto bustling with activity. We sat by the door and more people arrived waiting to be seated. We also got some local snacks. It's also our go-to place for shingling, merengue and fish crackers. Yum!

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FamBam Day at The Sundry

"The Sundry" opened awhile back and we've been curious to check out the food court style place. From the outside you could see it had a number of food stalls. We finally got to visit today and the three of us got something different.

I tried the buffalo wings from Frankie's and Taiwan milk tea from Wann Mann. Miggy got boneless chicken from Wann Mann. And Sweetie got stir fried holy basil and tofu dish from Bangkok Station. Of course, we couldn't resist getting some fries from Potato Corner.

Twas a good place to visit, although it could get very noisy when there are kids running around, plus it could get quite warm. Maybe next time we'll go on a weekday.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Chocolate Full Meal at Tsokolateria

One of our friends recommended Tsokolateria at SM Aura. It took us more than a year though to finally try it. It was a bit pricey, but I said we should finally try it (we'll just make up by cooking the rest of the week, haha). 

The resto was still empty when we arrived. It was still early for lunch, but we were hungry after our hospital chores run. I was honestly overwhelmed with the menu since everything was mouth watering.

I decided to try the pasta so we could have some variety. The staff said the truffle bacon lechon carbonara. It was sumptuous and very rich. I'm glad though the truffle flavor was just a tinge. It didn't overwhelm the cream. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the chocolate bread that came with it. I dipped it in kesong puti and it was amazing!

I just wanted iced tea, but it was unavailable. I then decided to try the frozen tsoko mallow tsokolate eh. It wasn't too sweet, but flavorful. The marshmallows they used was really good. I should have probably mixed it better. I didn't realize it had choco powder so I ended up having a sneeze fest after I finished the drink (Symbicort and YL Breathe Again to the rescue).

Miggy had the braised tocino. I was able to try a piece and I'll probably order that next time. He paired his meal with the frappe with chocnut. He said it was good too, but so heavy for the tummy.

Sweetie had the gourmet tinapa and shared the sizzling molten quezo. I didn't try the tinapa, but he likes it. The sizzling molten quezo though was really, really good. It never occurred to me that quezo de bola + tomatoes and onions would go well together. That's where I dipped my chocolate bread in and it was perfect.

It was a really good meal. Good thing we were able to burn all the calories we ate walking the in the mall. Sweetie had an errand that's why we ended up at SM Aura after our other appointment. 

I'll try to burn off more calories tomorrow. I'm scared to see my weight in the morning, haha.

#BeKind #StaySafe