Hanging out at UCC: Starbucks is too mainstream

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Now is the perfect time to post my UCC review / food experience. Even I haven't updated the blog for a long time, I received continuous likes on my Facebook page. Thank you to the ones who genuinely (also humanly) liked my page! Too bad, I didn't gain likes on my latest Spaghetti Carbonara photo but the good news is.. my photo gained many likes (even with people I don't know) in my personal Facebook page.

I went to Malaysia and Singapore last November and to Baguio this year, 2015. I enjoyed my vacation a lot, that's why I procrastinated after the trip. No worries! I'll still continue to record my food journeys. I'll just post my Southeast Asian food experiences on Wednesday or within this week.

After my Baguio trip, I seldom eat at restaurants. To motivate myself to continue updating my blog, I just want to go to a cafe within Trinoma. Since going to Starbucks and Coffee Bean in a weekend means having to fall in a long line to buy an expensive coffee and act as a lookout whenever one vacates his, her or their table which is very rare, I decided to hang out, eat and drink at UCC Cafe Terrace. I ranted before how small is a cup of chamomile tea there but I thought, I'll try UCC again and I don't want to go to Starbucks and Coffee Bean looking like an idiot and social climber waiting for a vacant table, sipping iced coffee and taking selfies. I don't say that people going there are social climbers but there are too many pretentious people arrogantly ordering and hanging out there. Designer coffee is a status symbol before but now, the supposedly expensive cafe is now a "tambayan" of annoying social climbers and jejemons in weekends. If you really insist on going there in weekends, just make it earlier and hang out on stand-alone Starbucks or Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf branches. Avoid going to malls.

If I will choose a cafe to buy expensive drinks and snacks for a while, I'll go to a more sophisticated and quiet place. UCC (Ueshima Coffee Co.) is a Japanese coffee and tea manufacturer that has developed its business into canned coffees, cafes, products, etc. since its founding in 1933.

Aside from coffee, tea and Japanese food, this coffee house also serves waffles, bread, pasta, parfait and fruits. I asked the waitress first if what's there on their cocoa drink, she said it is served in a cup with whip cream on top. Since I prefer a meal with a large drink and fruits, I ordered Hot Hong Kong Milk Tea (159) and Cereal with Fruits (P229). Service charge is P34.64 (more than 8%) which makes a total of P422.64. I asked another waitress, if can I take pictures of the place, she said I'll just wait. After that, I assumed that they don't allow someone randomly taking pictures because whenever I search for UCC Trinoma, there are only a few pictures (even caught by DSLR) in Google images.

Aha! I now have an idea how to have a nice home breakfast. With a small pack of corn flakes, milk and fruits from our bayan (town), I can serve my family a merely sophisticated breakfast within a small or medium budget.

The Hot Hong Kong Milk Tea taste more like a slight bitter tea leaf but still, it's delicious but more delicious when syrup is added. As for Cereal with Fruits, the fruits are okay, the fresh milk's a good combination with cereals and raisins. I did not pour all the milk and used the remaining for dipping fruits later.

I like the ambiance because there are couches, electric sockets and a free WiFi (Although, I was using my own pocket WiFi). You don't even have to ask for the password since it is already posted on their small promo stands on the table. The wall's decorations are maps, images, all about UCC blah blah research and Japanese characters  Unlike in other coffeehouses, they have male and female comfort rooms. Plus, the women's comfort room is clean and has a bidet.

As a "tambayan", it's a nice place. It can also be a good place for doing virtual work and for studying because I don't even need a headset to minimize distractions. Like Seattle's Best, there's an indoor area for smokers. Ask first if their WiFi's working and test this out so you can decide to not hang out there if it isn't working. If you aren't planning to stay longer and want to try tasty and delicious drinks, you better try other famous milk tea places and cafes.

Staff are polite. When I entered the place, they assisted me immediately and you can ask any of them. 

Rating:

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Ginza Bairin Trinoma: A food review and Yabu comparison

I ate yesterday at the newest japanese restaurant in Trinoma. The Ginza Bairin katsu restaurant in Trinoma will give its first 100 customers a P500 gift card and it can be used on the next visit. The waiter greeted me and told me that they will give me a gift card because I was included on their first 100 tables served. Since I posted before a Yabu review in this website, I wanted to try this katsu restaurant.

The kurobuta katsu rosu set here costs 595 pesos while in Yabu as I remember it was 590 pesos for 120 grams. Hmmm... I'll wait and see if it can surpass Yabu's kurobuta set. It was Saturday and many folks dined there. As I observed the surroundings, it was good and exuded the Japanese culture appeal but Yabu's ambiance was better and larger.

But wait.. I like this area, it's like you are in a simple japanese ramen house. Because of this, I decided to stay there.

These are sauces, spices and condiments on the table. While in Yabu, the waiter will explain the ways of using these for the katsu, here in Ginza Bairin, they have a guide for these.

Himalayan salt

Katsu sauce

The menu includes the history of this restaurant, clicking these pictures will help you read further.

At last, my ordered Kurobuta Rosu Katsu set comes here:

The set includes unlimited rice, fruits, japanese pickles, cabbage and miso soup. You can also read my Yabu review so you can compare the meals. I just noticed that the pickles in Yabu is more on a reddish purple color. 

Since I ate alone, I cannot emerge the tofu and the leaves in the miso soup.

Here it is.

I asked the waitress if how many grams does this tonkatsu possess. She said it is 120 grams. 

You can watch the actual meal here:

The kurobuta katsu here looks smaller than in Yabu or it's just that Yabu's kurobuta tonkatsu is wider. By the way, the meal's very delicious and I want more. The staff and the manager were accommodating. I saw this promo:

Since I cannot connect to Ginza Bairin's WiFi, I just tried my WiFi connection, I showed the picture to the waitress and I was glad I'll have a taste of their ice cream.

This ice cream's filled with black sesame seeds. Its taste is similar to hopia mongo.

I want to have another scoop but I just thought I'll forget about it and I don't want to spend impulsively to a scoop of ice cream.

The managers asked me if the food's good and I said yes because it really tasted good and the service was good and they have the feedback form just like in Shakey's.

It happened that in terms of ambiance, condiments, service and side dishes, Yabu's better. In terms of the kurobuta, they were the same. Regarding promos, I like Ginza Bairin more. 

If you are in Trinoma, you don't need to go in SM North just to eat Tonkatsu. Ginza Bairin and yabu have the same quality food. On other aspects, it's up to you if which of the two will you choose.

Rating for Ginza Bairin: 

Ginza Bairin has three branches.
Trinoma
Level 1, Garden Restaurants
EDSA cor., North Ave., Q.C.

UP Town Center
Ground Floor, Katipunan Ave., Q.C.
+63.917.871.0041

Glorietta 2
Ground Floor (along Palm Drive)
Ayala Center, Makati City
+632.553.7350

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Hurom Juicer: An honest and actual product review

Everyone in Manila is raving about this juice cleanse diet. Known personalities promote this product. Almond milk can also be made using this Hurom slow Juicer.

Many are asking if why do you have to buy an expensive juicer instead of just eating these fruits and veggies raw?

For us especially my sister who actually bought this product, it is best to buy a quality home juicer because you can get the real juice and you can drink 10 carrots in one sitting instead of eating these one by one. It is also convenient to take out a bottle of juice instead of bringing 20 fruits and 20 veggies to your office or school. The juicer can be used in making recipes.

Click the photos to enlarge.

There are cheaper juicers out there but on this Hurom Slow Juicer review, we will see what this product can actually do that some juicers cannot. 

Here's the fancy demo. Just skip at 1:25:

My eldest sister finally bought the Hurom Slow Juicer here in Trinoma, Philippines. We will show you the actual in this 7 second video.

While juicing watermelons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL-Lu-M5Gu4

At first we put fruit slices one by one but as the time goes by, we just put 1-3 slices (depending on the size) every 2 seconds. We did not wait too long to put another one.

Here's my observation of the Hurom juicer process:

The canister-like blade's sharp side is on the inner part while anyone can freely touch the outer part without being hurt.

This will make the black spiral turn around

When fruits/veggies are going down in this part, the sharp side grinds/cuts the fruits and then the fruit's skin and ground seeds will be strained and goes out of the juicer.

 With the help of the black spiral-like thingy, the juice will flow to the glass. Simple and nice job from Hurom's research and development team.

For these 11 small apples (others aren't seen in this photo), I can make more than 500ml of juice drink.

Tip: you can slice the fruits and store it on a refrigerator until cold so you can have a cold and more delicious drink instead of slicing and juicing it first.

The bottle can hold up to 1.5 liters of liquid.

Juicing done. I can just get some of the juice and store these on my small bottle on the go.

Hurom juicer pros:

- Can juice veggies and fruits more than any other juicers

- Even broccoli and pineapple can be juiced. In case of pineapples and kiwis, another canister-like blade must be used which is included when buying hurom slow juicer

- Can buy this juicer through installment method
- Minimizes nutrients loss
- Hurom can extract the sweetness of raw apples, oranges or carrots

Hurom juicer cons:

- Way expensive around Php 14000 - Php 15000 

- Cleaning the blade is not a breeze but also not difficult. It depends on the pulp

- I hope Hurom will have a product like Jack LaLanne's power juicer where you don't need to slice fruits

Overall, investing on the best juicer is the best move to be healthy. It's better to pay Hurom slow juicer's price than spending on cheap and unhealthy foods where you'll have a disease in the future which usually begins in age group of 30s. 

Rating for this product: 

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Hanamaruken : New ramen in Trinoma

Hanamaruken 花丸軒 is now in the Philippines!

I was shopping for gifts three days ago in Trinoma. After I've done shopping, I was planning to eat at SM North. Upon, reaching for the exit, I passed by the ads standing on the middle of the hallway, I saw a ramen ad and I thought Santouka ramen will be the first quality ramen (except Ramen X) to open in Trinoma but when I looked again at the ad, it's not Santouka. I began craving for a new ramen. I went to the 2nd level, Trinoma Garden restaurants to search for this new ramen restaurant.

 I am glad that it's easy to find this ramen restaurant. It looks nice. I did not hesitate to enter the restaurant.

To enlarge photos, please click the pictures. 

While waiting, I asked the staff if when did Hanamaruken opened in Trinoma. She said it was about 3 months ago. I thought that Hanamaruken has other branches in the Philippines because it is rare that shops in Trinoma will be the first branch. I was wrong. Hanamaruken in Trinoma is the first branch of Hanamaruken outside Japan.

Even this restaurant is not that big, the decorations and interiors are simply stunning. Japanese ancient music is being played in Hanamaruken restaurant.

"Hanamaruken has over 40 branches in Japan. Osaka locals religiously line up for everyday."

Here's Hanamaruken's menu / price list:

I ordered Signature Happiness Ramen for P480 and Gyoza for P150. I felt overwhelmed that I found a nice ramen place again. While waiting for my ramen, the gyoza was served and I ate this dish immediately.

For me, the gyoza has a really good quality wrapper and meat for its price unlike others including the ones in Taisho Ramen where gyozas tend to stick with each other and the taste is somewhat salty. Hanamaruken's gyoza is a bit oily. Never mind the little bit of oiliness, important is, it's delicious and its meat and vegetables were fully stuffed inside.

Chili and soy sauce

I ate all including the green vegetable decor.I felt somewhat full after eating. Then, here comes the Signature Happiness ramen.

Cholesterol warning: Hanamaruken's Signature Happiness ramen has some lard floating

As you can see, the ramen has some lard floating but not to the point that it is disgusting to eat. The ramen actually contains 2 thin spiral condiments (naruto). On the picture below, 1/4 of this cooked spare rib is still in deep soup. :)

The noodles is not too thick. The pork can be taste on its noodles. It's like the noodles sipped the pork meat and soup. Even with some lard, the soup still tastes like pork spare rib. The two eggs were half boiled but still solid and no yolk spilled on the soup. I felt like slurping this whole bowl of ramen just like what I've did in Kichitora of Tokyo's Paitan Zenbu no Se.

Before I end this Hanamaruken review, I want to share that the two eggs (tamago) were really an additional and is usually not included in the ramen unless you requested these. Upon billing, I just remembered again that the two eggs are just additional. What I don't like is that the staff did not ask me first if I wanted eggs or not. To be honest, I also did not remember if I requested it. I just confirmed the orders before serving that's why I did not complain about it. They also did not bid goodbye or thanks to the customers exiting the restaurant.

For me, I cannot decide now which is delicious but I still choose Kichitora of Tokyo's Paitan Zenbu no Se because it has less oil and no lard's floating on that ramen. I'll definitely come back in Hanamaruken even though it's pricey because it is still nearer to my house compared to Kichitora of Tokyo. I hope Ramen Santouka will open asap in Trinoma. This is the end of my Hanamaruken restaurant review.

Rating:  
(Staff is polite but still needs additional training)

Hanamaruken Philippines
2nd Floor Garden Trinoma Mall 
(02) 720 9283 / (02) 628 1603
11:00 am - 10:00 pm

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