Kimukatsu: Not Your Ordinary Tonkatsu

Before Charlie left Brady for good, he treated the whole team (previous, even new teammates) one last Japanese lunch at Kimukatsu located in the east wing of Shangri-la Mall.

All 6 of us that came in that afternoon were treated and attended by the staff like royalty. Most probably because we were the only people at the time.

One of the interesting things I found out while choosing what food to get was the differently-colored menus for men and women. White for the women, black for the men.

According to Kimukatsu's menu, Kimukatsu's not your ordinary tonkatsu. It is made from 25 layers of mille-feuille katsu in seven flavors.

So the 6 of us chose different flavors of kimukatsus mainly Cheese, Garlic and Black Pepper. While waiting for our mains to arrive, we dug into our unlimited cabbages and miso soups.

I had the cheese kimukatsu and it was great! The chicken was perfectly tender with a generous serving of cheese on its layers.

The rice came in this wooden container. I wish we have good rice like this everyday!

We also tried the garlic and black pepper kimukatsu that the others ordered. Garlic is actually good as well! 

I would definitely recommend these flavours to anyone who wants to try out Kimukatsu. Plus, kudos to all the staff who made us feel so special that afternoon. We felt overwhelmed with all the attention given to us, hot they were too attentive with our every needs, but it was the good kind naman. :)

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Kimukatsu
Shangri-la Plaza Mall
5/F Shangri-la Plaza Mall, Shaw Blvd cor EDSA
Wack Wack, Mandaluyong
(02) 727-0333

Kettle and Their Seriously Big Portions

Another late post.

So the Cheese and I decided to try this "American" restaurant in the east wing of Shangri-la Mall best known for their buttermilk fried chicken.

Boy were we in for a surprise. I sincerely did not expect to be handed down a towering serving of Potato and Pork Strips. Had we known we would've summoned friends from their hibernation to help us out.

The Cheese vs Potato & Pork Strips

I ended up taking it home munching it til my gums bled. There were still some left to be shared to my colleagues the next day! Grabe, it was that much.

Pork and Potato Strips. Crunchy pork belly and fresh potato strips, fried herbs, red pepper aioli. PhP339.00

When our main dish, the Buttermilk Fried Chicken (boneless!), was served our jaws dropped again (okay a bit lang). These are 2 huge chickens served with 3 corn breads on the side.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken with honey glazed cornbread, country gravy, Cajun honey. PhP519.00

How we managed to finish those humongous chicken is beyond me. But we did it. And we loved it.

My only advice when planning to eat in Kettle: don't forget to bring family or friends to share those delicious foods! You won't regret it.

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Kettle
5/F Shangri-la Plaza Mall, East Wing, Shaw Blvd
Wack Wack, Mandaluyong
(02) 654-7077

Going Organic at Green Pastures

A couple of months ago I met a friend for lunch, and knowing he's a staunch vegetarian, I suggested we try this farm-to-table, organic restaurant at Shangri-La Mall's east wing called Green Pastures. 

The place was packed when we got there but a staff managed to find two seats for us quite quickly. When we were lead to our seats though, I knew it's not gonna be a quiet corner at all. It was an open area but the acoustics was really bad (in the whole floor?) we barely can hear ourselves over the buzz of conversations around us. Nevertheless, we didn't let this dampen our organic lunch experience.

Anyway, we immediately chose our orders. The nice thing about Green Pastures that I've learned from reading other blogs is their monthly change of menu. There's a high probability that you won't be able to order the same thing you had a month ago.

I ordered Squash Blossom.

Squash Blossom - homemade burrata cheese with creamy ricotta, grape tomatoes and basil

And this awesome, AWESOME smoothie called MGM Grand. MGM as in mango, ginger and malunggay! What's even awesome-r is this photo made it to their instagram account!

My friend Steve ordered the Vegetarian Burger That Doesn't Suck and based from his reaction, I guess it really did not suck :) I forgot what smoothie he ordered but remembered him liking it as well.

PS: The fries were absolutely divine!!

Vegetarian Burger That Doesn't Suck - 100% vegetarian burger made with organic chickpea, mushroom, leeks, celery and eggplant with homemade cheddar cheese.

Thanks for the organic lunch, bud! If vegetarian food are as good as these, I could totally do it. In about a month. I think. Because I can't quit meat!

Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen

With my Brady colleagues, all 16 of us trooped inside Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen at the dashing and now almost complete Shangrila Mall East Wing to have our Christmas dinner together. 

Japanese dinner for Christmas. How apt. I couldn't think of a better place

Takowasa. Raw octopus mixed with wasabi paste (PhP120.00)

Ikano Shiokara. Sliced squid marinated with salty paste (PhP120.00)

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My officemate Josh ordered these edamame which I had a major booboo eating in. Paka-baryotic ko lang.

I ordered Ajitama Tonkotsu and boy was my stomach satisfied. Definitely worth your quid. Okay too many British films/series going on.

Ajitama Tonkotsu. Topped with a special half-boiled egg that is fully marinated with a special blended soy sauce base (PhP380)

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Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen
Shangri-la Plaza Mall
5/F Shangri-la Plaza Mall, East Wing, Shaw Blvd cor EDSA
Wack Wack, Mandaluyong

Spatzle Euro Market Cafe

A few weeks ago Ten and I ate in Spätzle to see how the food in there was. They have a nice interior and spacious location over the soshal East Wing of Shangri-La Mall.

The food might not look appealing at all based from the photo below but they're actually good. Our orders came promptly, my only gripe was my Roesti didn't come with a dollop of sourcream on it. Or maybe I was just comparing it to the Roesti I had in Marche.

Roast Chicken Sausage on Mushroom: Roast chicken stuffed with their very own sausage on a bed of spatzle

I had to ask for a serving of sour cream for this humongous Rosti.

Farmer's Breakfast: Ham, sausages & spam sauteed with mushrooms & veggies

The service was prompt so we had no problem at all on that, the food sumptuous and heavy in the belly I had to brown bag half of my rosti! I might actually come back here to try the rest of the food in their menu.

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Spatzle Euro Market Cafe

Fifth Floor, East Wing, 

Shangri-La Plaza, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City

Romy's Despedida Lunch at Maple

A few months ago (gad this is a super late post) we tried Maple, the newest addition in the [still] squeaky clean East Wing of Shangri-La Mall Plaza. 

When we came in a little before noon, there were a lot of vacant tables but after ordering our food I noticed that the place was already packed with a lot of people waiting outside!

Maple menu.

Rightfully so, a maple tree wall art. This one's a real crowd pleaser, a good spot for your selfies ;)

Dainty paper table mat. It's all in the details.

"Ink, pink, piggy's feet, give me something good to eat!" Cute! I could totally have this as a personal mantra.

I love, LOVE the Huevos Rancheros! It's not salad but it could actually pass as a very healthy meal. Who knew tortillas, cabbage and eggs could turn out to be a great combo. Well, this one definitely is.

Huevos Rancheros (Php340). A classic Mexican breakfast made with tortillas, refried beans, grilled chicken and a sunny-side up egg, topped with cheese and ranchero sauce.

Oddly, I didn't find any description for the Truffle Omelet Soufflé in Munchpunch. Too bad because this one's a true food gem.

Truffle Omelet Soufflé (Php330).

This was dessert. I'm not really a fan of puddings but I guess Maple's version is really good since Ten and Romy liked it pretty well.

Bourbon Bread Pudding (PhP220). A traditional American favourite served with a bourbon creme anglaise or a la mode.

Maple somehow failed on this order. My friend Romy was the unlucky girl to have bitten into a tin foil as she was digging into her pancake. Head over to her blog for a more detailed post of the incident.

Blueberry and Cream Cheese Pancake Tower (Php450). A tower of 6 buttermilk pancakes with alternating layers of preserved blueberries and thick cream cheese topped with blueberry compote.

Overall, the food was great but marred by the tin foil incident and add to that the seemingly slow and poor service. Despite all these, we were fair. We reckon the slow service could be attributed to staff who were still on adjustment period, still trying to sink in to their new roles. I truly hope they've already improved on this aspect because I believe in the saying if the service is good, the customer experience will be good.

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Maple

Shangri-la Plaza Mall

LG/F Shangri-la Plaza Mall, East Wing, Shaw Blvd cor EDSA

Wack Wack, Mandaluyong

Payday Lunch Series: Corazon Filipino-Hispano

I never imagined that the construction that's been going on for a while around Shangri La Mall meant a whole new wing to the original one that we have now. Though most of it were still empty and still smell of faint paint jobs, I'm sure it would be one buzzing and pretty wing to behold. Ano daw??!?

Since it was payday Friday, the payday lunch series is on!!! We excitedly walked from our building to the newest wing of Shangri La in search of a new restaurant to try. We picked Corazon. A Filipino-Spanish fusion restaurant.

The chairs, which looked a lot like candy canes, immediately caught my attention! 

One more for emphasis.

The bar inside Corazon.

Menu.

Their menu cover art is too pretty for words.

Wala lang shot. I took these shots because of the Salvador and the Ortega.

Ciudad Real. Lechon kawali on top of creamy laing. Boom!

I forgot the Spanish name of this baked oyster oops.

Corazon's Paella Negra serves 3-4 persons. That's how big it was! Not to mention delicious.

This dish, too, has escaped me. Basta yung kinilaw na tuna and pork liempo with lots and lots of vinegar, onions and peppers.

Lamb adobo topped with kesong puti. I was never a fan of lambs nor kesong puti, what a great combo :))

I forgot to mention that aside from that day being a payday Friday, it was also a despedida lunch for our friend Xan who, sadly, has to leave (us) for health reasons. *sniff*

Overall, the food did not disappoint. The service was good and, I have to hand it to the staff, quick. An observation before I end this post. I'm no interior designer but they could have done with better lighting design. The dangling lines from the mini spotlights were distracting and you could see na pinilit lang sya. I hope they do something about it for an improved overall vibes di ba. Just thinking out loud :)

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Corazon Hispano Filipino
Shangri-la Plaza Mall
4/F Shangri-la Plaza Mall, East Wing, Shaw Blvd cor EDSA
Wack Wack, Mandaluyong
(0917) 817-8298