There's this new Japanese restaurant in Makati City which serves unlimited ebi tempura and tonkatsu. They also serve other Japanese dishes a la carte and they are absolutely good! Sharing my Big Jap experience here. 

Located at the third floor of Eastwood Mall, Libis, Quezon City, this branch of Mesa had just opened recently. 

Last Christmas season, our food bloggers' group had our dinner at Mesa Eastwood together with one of Mesa's owners, Mr. Eric Dee, who gave us a warm welcome and was enthusiastic to allow us to try Mesa's best sellers and most recommended dishes. Thanks, Eric! 

Here are the dishes that we had: 

Drinks

Mango Shake and Kamias Shake. I'm a mango shake lover and their mango shake is perfect. Tastes just right, fresh, not under or overripe, not too sweet nor bland. As for the kamias shake, I am not fond of eating kamias but their kamias is worth a try. Tastes sour as expected, but is actually good. It's also worth having because you seldom get to see kamias on the menu even on other Filipino restaurants. 

Appetizer

Tinapa Roll. Surprisingly, their tinapa roll did not taste salty as how I perceived a tinapa dish to be. Generous in filling with a crunchy wrap. Works well with a secret sauce recipe called sauce number 5. 

Hito Flakes on Spoon. Crispy pulled catfish with mango salad. The flakes and sour taste of the mango with some spice give a good contrast of flavors. The catfish and green mango works well as a Filipino appetizer.

Salad

Tofu Salad. Soft bean curd topped with century egg and shrimp. Their tofu is very soft, like Japanese tofu. I love how they came up with the idea of combining tofu, shrimp, and century egg. It was really good that I managed to eat much of this. 

Crispchon

Filipinos love lechon especially when the skin is crispy. Mesa's crispchon is definitely something that they can be very proud of. The piglet is six weeks old and is massaged and marinated in milk before cooked. 

Crispchon is served in two ways: served with pandan crepes, wansoy, cucumber, leeks garnishes, and a choice of three sauces (Rikki's Choice, Garlic Mayo, Sweet Chili, Spicy Pork Liver, Wansoy Infused, Curry Mustard); and tossed in chili garlic.

Crispchon (First Way). The crispy skin is sliced off then rolled into the pandan crepe with wansoy, cucumber, leeks garnishes. Top it off with your sauce of choice. My personal favorite is the spicy pork liver.

Crispchon (Second Way). The remaining meat is then cooked in garlic. One plate is cooked in plain garlic while the other, with chili. Tastes really good and addicting for a Filipino, but I would not recommend this to those with high blood pressure. 

Vegetable

Sigarilyas. Winged beans tossed in coconut milk with shrimp. The sigarilyas tastes fresh, not much shrimp were added. Tastes good.

Laing 2 Ways. Taro leaves, pork, shrimp paste and coconut cream topped with adobo flakes, served original and crispy. The adobo flakes are a good complement to the laing. Most laings that I have tried from other restos are quite salty so I don't get to eat much, but this one isn't. It's delicious. 

Rice

Duck Basil Fried Rice. Stir fried rice with duck flakes, chili, and basil. This dish was inspired by Eric's favorite dish at the King of Thai in San Francisco. Tastes a bit spicy but good.

Baby Squid

Baby Squid in Olive Oil. Sauteed in olive oil and seasoned with garlic and laurel. This is my friend's favorite dish whenever we would dine at Mesa. The baby squid are soft but I find this one salty, though. Nothing to worry about the amount of oil because it's olive.

Meat

Garlic Chicken. Chicken tossed in honey and garlic glazed. Honey garlic chicken is one of my favorite Chinese dishes that I often cook at home. I was really happy when I found out that they have it here at Mesa. Their garlic chicken's recipe is an original by the owner's grandmother. Really delicious. The crispy breading, with the taste of garlics and that sweet honey is indulging. 

Crispy Boneless Tilapia. Served with four sauces, the crispy boneless tilapia is something you could continue to munch on. Tasty and crispy as crackers, you'll be surprised on how good this one is.

River Shrimp (Swahe) on the Rocks. I was amazed on how this was perfectly cooked. Check out my instagram video below:

Soup

Chicken Binakol. Chicken simmered in broth with young coconut and green papaya. Tastes good and the chicken is also well cooked. 

This is how our table looked like and we really had a good and hearty meal that night. 

Mandatory groupie. Thank you Aldous (Blog: Aldous Ate the World) for the invite. Special thanks to Eric as well, for your time, effort in explaining the dishes to us, and the wonderful dinner. 

My mom was craving for congee one weekday afternoon when we went shopping at SM Megamall. We tried to search for restaurants in the mall which serves congee and we ended up trying out Tuan Tuan. 

Have you ever had that long break between subjects in your college life and one of your common problems is what to do or where to stay while passing the time? Going home to have a long nap during your break isn't an option because it's far from your school and you wouldn't want to spend most of your time in traffic? Well, if you happened to be near Taft, we just discovered this new chill spot near De La Salle-College of St. Benilde which is perfect for those long breaks.

When it comes to ramen, Hokkaido Ramen Santouka has been my place to be. One Saturday night after my masters class, my sisters and I decided to have a quick dinner at their Eastwood branch. 

I always pass by Nori whenever I am in Kapitolyo but from the outside, I always thought that it was a Japanese restaurant about to open real soon. I only found out that they are already functioning through my boss who decided that we dine there for lunch (he knows I'm a blogger. Lol). 

Working in Manila could be very stressful especially due to the traffic problem that we have been experiencing lately. It's about time that we unwind with our friends and pass the time at a good bar on a weekend. Last week, we decided to try Rue Bourbon (Salcedo Branch). 

My family are very fond of Chinese dishes and as a celebration for my parents' 23rd anniversary, we decided to dine at Gloria Maris Greenhills.

Pizza has been my favorite food ever since I was in grade school; and I have also been fond of watching cooking shows and cook-offs. This week, I got invited to the grand finals of the first-ever Pizza Wars in the Philippines (and also the first Pizza Wars done outside the United States!) and I have never been more excited to attend such an event. I used to just watch these things on television, but this time, I had the chance to be part of the main event and experience it first hand.

California Pizza Kitchen opened their first restaurant in Beverly Hills in 1985. Former federal prosecutors Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax combined their passion for food with fresh high-quality ingredients to create innovative, hearth-baked pizzas such as The Original BBQ Chicken, Thai Chicken and Jamaican Jerk Chicken, cooked in an open kitchen. The restaurant gave California a place in the pizza pantheon alongside Chicago and New York. Their California twist on global flavors resonated with guests, and almost immediately, CPK became a bustling spot for business and family gatherings.

Global Restaurant Concepts Inc., a Filipino-owned company, brought the world famous brand in the Philippines. In 1998, the first CPK restaurant outside the United States opened its doors in Glorietta 3, Ayala Center, Makati City.

California Pizza Kitchen in the Philippines has begun another adventure—the Pizza Wars. Being the first location outside the United States, managed by Global Restaurant Concepts Inc., it seems well-timed that they are also the first international franchise to carry out the pizza chef competition.

CPK has been recognized as a casual dining restaurant offering interesting food selections and classic dishes brought to a whole new level. Well-known for their hearth-baked gourmet and artisan pizzas and seeing the set off of the first ever pizza challenge, really warrant them to be the pizza authority.

"The pizza chef competition inspired our cooks to be more passionate with their craft and be beyond imaginative at once. They were up for the challenge and the opportunity to be acknowledged alongside their innovation," said Archie Rodriguez, President & CEO of GRCI.

The competition started off with a store level elimination wherein the cooks presented their original creations to their team and some regular guests. Each store selected one representative for the semi-finals. From the ten entries, top 3 chefs & original recipes were chosen to move to the finals. 

And now, to share you what happened during the finals...

Held at The Bonifacio Global City branch of CPK Philippines, the place is all set for the main event. With VIPs, bloggers, and guests invited, the place is a full house. 

Ms. Luisa Del Rosario (Sr. Operations Director, Global Restaurant Concepts Inc.) welcomes the guests and gives us a brief information about the main event. It was also mentioned that if we are able to vote for the winning pizza, we would take home that pizza as well.  

Introducing our finalists: Romel Panaligan from CPK Alabang; Lea Castillones from CPK Eastwood; and John Chloe Oplejeda from CPK TriNoma.

Our finalists, creating their ultimate hand-tossed pizza.

It's fun to watch them help each other out with their pizzas in spite of the competition.

I'm pretty excited to taste those pizzas...

Spinach Artichoke Dip for our appetizer.

Wonderful view on our table with the three pizzas for us to taste.

Presenting the entries:

Steak Mushroom + Truffle Pizza by Chef Leah Castillones. Truffle sauce, mozarella, fresh mozarella, wild mushrooms, topped with grilled steak and scallions. I find this pizza indulging and the combination of truffles, steak, and mushrooms are just perfect.

The Elvis Pizza by Chef John Chloe Oplejeda. Inspired by the King of Rock & Roll’s favorite sandwich, comes a dessert pizza. Peanut sauce base, mozzarella, crispy bacon, and banana topped with candied walnuts and peanut butter gelato. The combination of the ingredients are good as well as the taste, although I think I would prefer this better as a crepe and not as a hand-tossed pizza. I find the presentation very creative as well.

Selfie with a co-blogger. :)

 

Next up! Chef Romel. 

His inspiration: His province and their garden in their backyard. Coming from Iloilo (province), he creates his Farmer's Choice pizza to help our local farmers by using their harvests as the main ingredients. 

Apparently, our judges were speechless for a moment. 

Their comments: The pizza is aromatic and it brings back memories. The pizza could make a lot of vegetarians happy; and according to Chef Laudico, "not in my wildest dreams that I thought of using pumpkin puree as a pizza base." Such creativity.

Judges' comments: It's very creative and there is a temperature contrast with the pizza which makes it unique. There is saltiness and sweetness but they recommend the pizza to have less bacon since the cheese is also salty.

Chef Romel Panaligan of CPK Alabang!

Candid moment, looking very happy as he receives the award.

Congratulations, Chef Romel Panaligan!

Of course, I wouldn't miss having a picture with the grand winner. Such a humble person.

Finally, because I voted right, I'm going home with a box of the winning pizza. Yay! :)

Interested to dine at CPK Philippines? Here is their website for more information.