5 posts tagged “food”

Had lunch with dad at Kenny Rogers' Roasters in Robinson's Place today. We were looking for a good place to load up on something meaty, and since Burger King was under renovation (or completely ousted, I'm not really sure), we thought checking it out again would be nice.

Kenny Rogers' Roasters Ribs

Dad had the ribs and I had the Salisbury-meal-thing. Neither of us opted for chicken, since a couple of months back we tried it, and it was underwhelming. The chicken is significantly much smaller than it used to be during their first few years in the Philippines (it didn't help that I know what their chicken tasted like back when I visited Texas), and it also didn't taste as good.

Kenny Rogers' Roasters Salisbury Steak

It's probably been a good number of months since we'd eaten at Kenny Rogers'. The first thing we noticed was that the interiors now looked more manufactured and generic, as opposed to the homey brick-and-wood-country-cabin look it had before.

Then, they reduced the number of side-dishes. A number of my favorites, including the garlic mushrooms, were now gone. So for my part, I just had the garlic and cheese potatoes. Which was utterly tasteless. The Salisbury steak itself was unremarkable, and dad didn't like the ribs either.

Both of us missed the time when Kenny Rogers was all about great, mouth-watering chicken seasoned with herbs and roasted over fire. Now they've gone and cheapened their brand by trying to cater to the same crowd Jollibee does, sacrificing food quality. They've added fried chicken, sub sandwiches, and other crap. Truth is, I wouldn't have minded it much if they had just retained the quality, but they didn't.

For what we paid, we should have just eaten at Wendy's. Kenny Rogers' Roasters sucks.

Yesterday we happened to be on our way to Batangas, south of the capital, and we stopped over at this coffee shop along Aguinaldo Highway in Tagaytay called Bag of Beans. BoB is basically a coffee shop, bakery, and a garden restaurant all at the same time. They serve pies, steaks, and coffee. And the coffee, of course, is the focus of this particular post.

Bag of Beans Coffee Shop

We've gone past Bag of Beans many times on our previous trips through the area, so this time we decided to check it out. We parked just in front of it and checked out the shop, before heading down into the dining area. Here's the cool part: The dining area is an outdoor garden situated below the shop that you can see along the highway; it's accessible through the pathway beside the shop that leads you a little bit down the side of the hill that the shop and the highway itself is situated on.

The garden dining area is very pleasant and conducive to having a relaxed conversation over coffee or tea. You can choose between uncovered wooden tables with benches, covered booths, and tables situated right beneath blooming foliage. It's really suited to the weather; imagine yourself drinking a hot cup of coffee, with the cold air lightly blowing through the garden, kicking up some of the fallen leaves on the ground.

It was, however, drizzling, so we had to go into a covered dining area. We ordered lunch - steak and fries - and of course, coffee.

Bag of Beans' Coffee Wares

Bag of Beans serves homegrown coffee, straight out of Amadeo, Cavite. While they sell whole beans and blends of more variety at the shop, they only have the Barako and the drip varieties available á la carte. First up, I ordered their Barako coffee.

Me Cup O' BoB Coffee

The BoB Barako is a bold coffee that has a medium body, a sharp citrusy taste and earthy undertones. I just didn't like the fact that as it cooled, it started tasting more and more burnt. Not cool.

The regular Drip Coffee that BoB served me was a slightly more pleasant experience. A coffee with light body, a similar but slightly milder citrus flavor,  subtler earthy undertones, and a clean finish. It retained the same characteristics as it cooled. It's a less intense though much more pleasant experience than that of their Barako variety, if you will.

Both coffees served to me were dark roasts (gotta admit that I thought that all dark roasted coffees would have stronger flavors... figures, guess I'm still a n00b), of Liberica and Arabica beans, respectively.

I guess it's a trait of the majority of coffees produced here in the Philippines, this strong citrus flavor. It features prominently in Figaro's coffee, which serves only coffee from local producers, as well as from Starbuck's Kape Vinta Blend. I hate both of them. That's not to say it's a bad kind of coffee, I just have a preference for coffees without that certain characteristic (which is why I also don't like coffees from Sumatra and Sulawesi, albeit to a lesser degree). Despite that, I can still appreciate such coffee, as long as it doesn't taste burnt.

On the whole, the experience of dining and drinking coffee at Bag of Beans is pleasant. I would say that the coffee tastes pretty good (if you prefer the kind of coffee they serve - just OK for me), the food is good, the environment is fantastic, thus, overall, it's a winning combination.

Here are some more photos for you scope the place out.

After class today, me and my classmates headed over to Greenbelt 2 to have some dinner. We had originally intended to feed on Spanish cuisine, but we were unable to decide on which Spanish restaurant to choose.

So we went Greek instead.

The few times I tried Greek food ended with less than desirable results. First, I tried something at Gyro's in Greenbelt 1. I ordered a fillet-o-something with feta cheese and god-knows-what slathered on top of it. It was horrid. Next, I tried cooking some Chicken a la Grecque from outta a cookbook. Turned out really salty, even though I followed the instructions strictly. (FYI, I'm normally a decent cook).

So there we were at CYMA: Estiatorio. Nice white interior with subtle curves and gentle lighting.The interior was bright without being too searing or sterile, and the seats were comfortable and the temperature was cool.

We all ordered drinks, then each his and her own dish, after which we ordered a to share angel hair clam pasta (I fergit what it was called). I ordered Bristeka, which was a burger with hand-ground meat seasoned in the traditional Greek manner, with roasted potates on the side. Interestingly, they added fresh spinach as a garnishing, along with lettuce, sauteed tomatoes, onions, Greek-styled dressing, and of course, feta cheese.

I was pleasantly surprised; upon taking my first bite I immediately felt the flavor spread deliberately throughout my tongue. You can clearly taste the meat; the dressing nor the herbs were too overpowering. Those, along with the feta cheese, complemented and enriched the taste of the meat as I chewed and savored it for a few moments. Spinach  usually exudes a strong flavor with bitter undertones, but I didn't seem to notice it in this case. Over all, the Bristeka [burger] is a very good Mediterranean translation of a dish normally attributed to American cuisine, but with it's own distinct and pleasant stylings.

As for the angel-hair clam pasta... well, it was awesome.

The prices were very reasonable; slightly less expensive when compared to Italiani's, and they don't skimp on the flavor. I'm coming back to this one for sure.