Shi Lin - Greenbelt

It's almost over. My 105-day maternity leave. We are still looking for a new nanny so good luck to us. Our funds are depleting but I told myself I deserve a good meal. Something I did not prepare or cook. This is how I de-stress. Food binge.

I know it's not right and very unhealthy, especially when you're getting old and all. But my mental health is more important right now. Healthy eating can wait.

To lessen the guilt of spending too much money on food, we availed of a discount from Eatigo. Hooray! I think Eatigo and I will be good pals from now on.

We made a reservation at Shi Lin. Tapioca was so looking forward to it because it's Chinese, his favorite.

. . . the facade

We were a few minutes early for our reservation but they accommodated us right away. Although the restaurant was not full, they made all dining customers gather in this area close to the window. It's as if they wanted to say to everyone who passes by "Hey, look here! We're a full house coz our food is awesome!" They wouldn't let us transfer to another table considering we have a baby and a stroller.

If it wasn't for the Eatigo discount, I would have walked away. Like seriously! I guess this is the downside of dining when you do not pay full price. Luckily, the table behind us cleared out and I finally had room to walk and rock Pumpkin to sleep. Also, I was thankful they did not seat anybody at that table until we finished our meal. It's because they finally opened the area where we wanted to be seated originally.

Anyway, so much for that. Let's move on to the food. First to arrive on the table:

xiao long bao . . .

Tapioca approved. And so did the nanny. Though I must say, the skin was a little too thick to my liking.

. . . braised beef noodle soup

This was the nanny's order. It was super huge! We didn't expect it to be good for sharing. Tapioca liked the noodles. The beef pieces were freakin' soft and oh so tender! But then the soup was the total let down. It was on the sweet side. Also, it was served lukewarm. Unforch, we are not fans of sweet soup. But if you like the sweet kind like sukiyaki, then this one's for you.

hakaw . . .

This was just okay. Actually, I can't recall how it was. Perhaps I was busy taking care of Pumpkin when I ate them? I guess that's how forgettable these babies are. And that's bad considering I love hakaw.

. . . mapo tofu

Tapioca's choice. This was good but we had better.

shrimp and pork shaomai . . .

Aren't they pretty? I think they're the prettiest shaomai I've ever laid my eyes on. These were kinda big so you cannot eat them in one go. It had some soup inside just like xiao long bao. But, between the two? I'd still prefer the xiao long bao.

. . . salt and pepper squid

I'm not sure what happened to me but I have turned into a squid person. Every time I see squid/calamari on the menu, I just have to order it. Good thing it did not disappoint. I think it's better with fried rice but we didn't order any.

pork, salted egg & chorizo bun . . .

. . . the innards

This was super yummy. I'm not really into the bola-bola type of siopao but this was not your typical bola-bola. The meat filling was very flavorful and juicy. The salted egg wasn't overpowering. This kinda reminded me of the pan fried siopao we had from Lugang Cafe. It was Nanay's favorite so it goes to say that it reminded me of Nanay, too.

congee . . .

Jellybean's choice. This was the last to arrive. We thought they forgot about it. Once again, it came in a humongous bowl. Prolly good for 2-3 pax. No matter how good it was I knew for sure I wouldn't be able to finish it with all the other food we ordered.

Overall, we enjoyed our meal. So sulit the discount at half the price excluding drinks. It's just saddening that we can't take home the leftovers (Eatigo's terms and conditions). Well, technically we can. But if we take the leftovers home then we will have to pay them in full price. And that defeats the purpose of the discount.

I wish the waitstaff could have set our expectations. But oh well, we know better. Next time.

Or, could it be that they intentionally didn't really tell us? So we would feel guilty of having way too much uneaten food? Then we would have the urge to take it home instead and pay the full price? Whatever. Prolly just my mind playing what ifs. Lolz!!!!

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Brunch Buffet - Alfred, Makati Diamond Residences

I was lucky to find an ongoing promo for a brunch buffet at Alfred - a fine dining restaurant at Makati Diamond Residences. They were celebrating their first year anniversary and as a treat to their patrons, they were offering a weekend brunch buffet for only Php1k!!! Yes, you heard it right. Inclusive of all the drinks you want (bubblies, wines, cocktails, soft drinks, coffee, tea, you name it)! I was planning on getting a slot for Tapioca's birthday weekend but because seats were limited, we missed it. Our reservation fell in March, a month after his birthday. Nevertheless, the wait was worth it.

Let me just tell you this story. Before our gastronomic adventure, Tapioca and I went into a big fight over something I can't remember anymore. What I do remember was that it was a huge fight that I ended up crying and decided to call it a day. It was the day when we were supposed to go out for brunch. I just came home from a night shift and being confronted with such stuff, I basically just wanted to sleep. Forget about the fancy brunch. I was so upset and pissed that I decided to forego our reservation.

Tapioca, finally realized what he did and knew I was dead serious about letting go of the two thousand pesos. He apologized and we kissed and made up. But it took him a long time. The brunch buffet starts at 11am and we were still at home at 1pm. When all is said and done, we went on our way hoping and praying that they didn't give our seats away.

And they didn't. Thank God! We were more than 2 hours late. The buffet ends at 3pm which means we have an hour and a half to enjoy the spread. We missed out on the main event, though. The Jamon Serrano and Iberico. They were wiped out according to the servers. We also missed the pass around. Anyway, we were just happy to be there and eat whatever's left.

The hotel was so beautiful and elegant. I wish I could have taken more pictures. But then again we were late. What's more important was to get down to business pronto.

. . . the view of the hallway from our table

Isn't it splendid? Feels so luxurious. Like we don't belong. I'm glad Tapioca and I kinda dressed up a bit. Teehee.

table setting . . .

Very simple table setting. Look at those cutleries. So shala!

. . .Tapioca and his first plate

Tapioca immediately went for the meat.

Jellybean's first plate and first round of champagne . . .

While I had my usual appetizers. My eyes were still swollen from crying but you can tell I was happy and enjoying my meal, especially the bubbly :)

. . . Tapioca's first plate up close

Rib-eye steak, lamb chops, grilled prawn, ravioli pasta and some roasted veggies.

Jellybean's first plate . . .

Freshly made Caesar salad, some quiche and a risotto ball. I love, love the salad! I wanted to go for another round but of course I have to make room for the other good stuff.

. . . 2nd round of champagne, iced tea and water

I got a glass of ice tea because I felt I was getting buzzed too quickly. Oh well, I haven't been drinking for quite some time. Wala na practice hahahaha!

my 2nd plate . . .

Wala na rin ako practice sa buffet so these were the things I got. Just a little bit of everything. I was trying so hard to phase myself and not get overwhelmed. The buffet spread may not be as grand and extensive compared to the others. But every single dish they got I can tell was so worth it. As in. Like where can you get a ravioli stuffed with foie gras? Lamb chops, not all hotels serve lamb chops in their buffet spread. I think if you order any of these dishes a la cart it would cost more than what we paid for. So sulit talaga!

. . .  ooey goey cheesey goodness!

Please don't get me started with the cheese. It's not just the usual cheese, They've got raclette! And the server will happily bring it over to your table. No need to fall in line. Talk about excellent service with excellent cheese! Tapioca and I were so in love with the food. If only I could drink more wine.

my 3rd round of bubbly . . .

I chose a mimosa for my 3rd round. :-)

. . . the dining area

The entire place looks really posh.

my dessert plate . . .

For desert I had this trio on a plate - lemon tiramisu, bouchon and rhubarb topped with ice cream.

lechon . . .

I forgot to tell you, they got a lechon and paella station, too which Tapioca and I completely ignored. I think it's not just us who ignored it but most of the crowd. We were actually seated right next to this station and I noticed not a lot of people were going for it. A few minutes before the buffet closed, I noticed the lechon was still intact. It was looking at me and me like saying "Hello, pansinin mo naman ako." Though I was already full to the brim, I got up and got myself a small portion. I told myself, baka mapaniginipan ko pa eh and regret not trying it.
 

. . . Tapioca's dessert choice

On the other hand, Tapioca opted for ice cream.

ice cream in a fancy glass . . .

They've got chocolate, cheese and strawberry. I think these were in-house made.

. . . lemon tiramisu for Tapioca

Tapioca liked my lemon tiramisu so he got himself a serving, too. Well, Tapioca is very partial with citrusy dessert and I think that's the reason he liked this one.

. . . our happy faces

We had an awesome time at Alfred even though we only got to stay for just an hour and a half. We would love to come back and hopefully experience the whole thing from the start. Hoping they'd come out with another promo next year.

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Xin Tian Di - Dimsum Buffet

Yesterday, Tapioca and I celebrated Valentines, Chinese New Year and his birthday (all-in-one celebration) at Crowne Plaza's Cantonese restaurant called Xin Tian Di. It's never too late to celebrate, ya know. When Tapioca was finally allowed to go out of the house and do some walking, we took the chance and decided it's time to use the vouchers before they expire. I got them from Deal Grocer, one of my favorite Groupon sites in the country.

I made reservations the day before and as early as 11am we were already outside Xin Tian Di waiting for it to open.

 . . . Xin Tian Di's entrance

 Photo op from our lovely booth . . .

. . . chic and elegant

the table setting . . .

Just look at the table setting. Social. Intimidating. I feel like I don't belong. Is this really a Chinese Dimsum place? Yes, it is. A high-end Chinese Dimsum place.

. . . the condiments

Tapioca loved the sauce holders.

hot towel . . .

We asked for green tea and they served us . . .

. . . morning blossom - pearl tea

The tea smelled so nice. I checked the pot and saw this huge flower swimming inside. However, this tea did not taste or smell like a flower (I hate teas that smell like flowers. It's like drinking perfume). It was something else which we enjoyed a lot.

By the way, I thought pearl tea = bubble tea (tea with Tapioca pearls). I did some research and found out that pearl teas are the same as gunpowder tea - a type of green tea. The dried leaves of pearl tea resemble to blackpowder grains and that's how it got its name. However, in Chinese, gunpowder tea is called zhū chá or literally means "pearl tea or bead tea". (source:Wikipedia) That's tea 101 for you and me!

And then we found out they have a tea menu pala . . .

the tea menu . . .

Omg, the morning blossom tea was the most expensive of them all! Anyway, I think the price is still reasonable. We kept asking for refills and I'd lost count on how much tea we drank that day. Sulit ang bayad :-)
 

 . . . the menu

The menu consists of dimsum (steam, fried & vegetarian), noodles, congee and dessert. All items are made fresh upon order. They strictly implement a no leftover policy. You can order the dimsum per piece to avoid uneaten portions and pay additional charges.

To order, just tick the boxes of the items you like and specify how many pieces. These are the items we consumed. Warning: photo overload!

salmon taro puff . . .

Tapioca liked this. Deep fried salmon and taro paste. I think it's gross. Tasted fishy and not pleasant to the palate. Obviously, I did not like it.

. . . steamed seafood dumplings in superior stock

This we both liked. The dumpling was huge! And it's filled with shrimp and everything seafood. My only complaint is the skin breaks easily. I loved the superior stock the most.

stone fish dumplings . . .

Tastes like paper.

. . . bird's eye dumplings

Tastes like the stone fish dumpling.

abalone mushroom vegetable dumplings . . .

Another bland item.

. . . crispy spring roll

This is indeed crispy. Perfectly wrapped, super crispy and meaty on the inside. No sauce needed.

 
steamed glutinous rice dumplings stuffed with duck meat, mushrooms and egg yolk in lotus leaf . . .

This tasted like dessert because of the glutinous rice. Not bad but not good either.

. . . double-boiled congee with dried scallops

We loved it. Too bad we can't eat too much or we won't be able to try other items on the menu.

steamed crystal prawns or hakao . . .

My favorite dumpling. Xin Tian Di's hakao was just okay. I wish I ordered more of these instead of stuffing myself with bland tasting dumplings.

. . . taro puffs

I thought without the salmon and fishy taste I would come to like this. Still it tasted yucky for me. I'm sorry.

steamed xiao long pao - shanghai style . . .

I am always on the lookout for xiao long bao/pao whenever we go to a Chinese resto. However their Shanghai style failed to impress. Again, it's tasteless. Even the dipping sauce didn't help.

. . . steamed chicken feet in XO sauce

Tapioca doesn't like chicken feet so I had these. It was super soft and tender however I'm not so fond of the XO sauce. There were about 5 pieces of them and on my 3rd piece, I felt like I was being tortured. Afraid to pay extra charges so I finished them. If this was cooked adobo-style, I'd probably finished them in no time or perhaps order a second serving.

deep-fried buns with condense milk . . .

Finally. Something to cleanse my taste buds after the struggle with the chicken feet. The buns were toasty and crispy on the outside and then soft and moist on the inside. The condensed milk was perfect to dip the buns in. Yummy!

. . . glutinous pork puffs

These were okay. A little oily, though. At this point, I surrendered. I'm done. I'm moving on to desserts. Tapioca still had room for more.

steamed sio mai - japanese style . . .

. . . steamed minced beef balls with beancurd skin

steamed BBQ pork buns . . .

. . . pork buns innards

 
wanton noodle soup with roast duck . . .

The noodle soup took a long time to arrive. More than 30 minutes. As in ang tagal! I would give the service a perfect score na sana if this didn't happen. Buti na lang Tapioca enjoyed the soup. They probably had to order this from the 7 Corners downstairs kaya natagalan LOL!

Here's my dessert:

. . . sesame buchi & coffee pudding

The buchi was just okay.  The coffee pudding was amazing. I took a bite and I thought it's just ordinary gelatin. Then the coffee flavor exploded inside my mouth. It was so good!

sweet egg custard . . .

. . . sweet egg custard's innards

 Okay lang.

chocolate mantao . . .

This tasted like the deep-fried buns except it has chocolate filling inside. I still preferred the deep-fried buns with condensed milk.

. . . Jellybean & Tapioca

We're stuffed but not totally satisfied. Tapioca's game plan (order the dimsum that we've never tried before) failed because most of the dimsum tasted bleh. I still wanted to go back here but next time I know what to order. I'll make sure to keep away from the items I didn't like.

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