#FamilySundays | CHINATOWN! (PART 2)

If you missed Part 1, click here.

We decided we'd catch a late lunch x early dinner right after shopping at Mandarin Supermarket. Yaya J and I didn't get to eat lunch so we were hungry. We passed by both Wai Ying and President's on the way to Mandarin, so after asking Cai, Didi and April, we settled for Wai Ying. The restaurant was full, and we had to wait a good ten minutes before the waiter found us a table. We waited another five minutes for them to clean it up. Really, really slow service.

Wai Ying's Take Out store next to their fast food restaurant.

The server took our orders. I wanted to see if their Roast Duck rice lived up to its reputation. Unfortunately, this was what they served me.

My pathetic-looking Roast Duck Rice. :(

I was, however, very happy with my Iced Lemon Tea.

The kids and Yaya J each got Asado Rice. A said it was "okay lang." Do they really serve their roasts cold?

Asado. Yes, that's the actual color.

RL, right before he dug in. Hehehe.

RL wasn't too excited that Yaya wanted him to clean his plate. He says he was full since he had a cake after lunch at home. A didn't think of eating his leftovers though, so that says a lot about how good (or bad) this was. She actually loves Asado. So for her to pass was a surprise.

Good thing A got an order of their Pork Siomai. This was good. Unfortunately, they made us wait another 20 minutes for the bill. Turns out, they was a shift change and the servers all disappeared as they were changing out of their uniforms. So I took my troop downstairs and paid at the counter. Sigh.

Pork Siomai.

WAI YING (this visit, 2/28/16)
Food | 3
Service | 3 
Cleanliness | 4
Wait Time | 3

April says I probably just ordered the wrong things. I dunno. Maybe. But my gauge of a good roast resto would be their roasts, of course. Will try President's next time.

Halfway through my meal, I was thinking about the Fried Siopao across the street. LOL!

Shanghai Fried Siopao. 

At P17/ piece, this was a clear winner for A.

The kids unwillingly tried the bicho-bicho with sugar. RL surprisingly loved it, and went back to get another piece.

Should have gotten fruits. They have gigantic strawberries!

We wanted to explore more, but it started raining. So we ran back to Masangkay Street to get the car, drove to Mandarin Supermarket to pick up our groceries, then went off to church.

It was an afternoon well-spent. I do not regret pushing myself to go downtown. I wonder if I should push myself a little more this Sunday? LOL.

#KEats | LUNCH DATE AT KIWA KOREAN GRILL

Mish had invited us to try out the new Korean joint over at Solaire. To tell you the truth, I was already salivating when I first saw her photos on her Instagram feed. So when she asked if I would like to drive out to check out the new grill, I didn't need any convincing. LOL!

The girls and I were excited to try out Kiwa as we are big Samgyeopsal fans, but Didi couldn't make it at the last minute (t'was her nanny's birthday off and she couldn't bring nor leave the kids). So Cai was my official lunch date for the day. Funny because we both got to the venue late (traffic was terrible!) so we were given a table of our very own! Date talaga!

Our spread for the day. 

Cai and I were excited to start the meal. I was eager to dig in as I was very hungry, but then Cai whipped out her camera and her iPhone to take a zillion photos, so I thought I would do the same thing. In case you didn't know, this Apples and Dumplings blogger is also a photo enthusiast and camera expert. She knows her camera, and I get pretty insecure around her, especially when she has to take photos of products from every angle. I swear I took about 3x my usual number during this lunch! LOL!

Ah, a blogger's gotta do what blogger's gotta do!

And then it was finally time to eat! Yay! This Pumpkin Salad was soooo good! I wanted more!

PUMPKIN SALAD
Mashed pumpkin mixed with assorted nuts, assorted seasonal vegetables,
and served with a sesame seed dressing.

The Pajeon came next. I love Pajeon! I feel a Korean meal isn't complete without it. This one was good and the dipping sauce was just right.

Haemul Pajeon
Pancake mixed with seafood, spring onion and assorted vegetables,
served with spicy soy sauce with sesame oil.

In between appetizers, we were served a special Juk or Korean Porridge and a cold Kimchi soup. The porridge was really good. I cleaned out my bowl. Hahaha!

I've never had Korean Juk, and this was really good. Mmmm...

After polishing that off, they served this awesome Gobachi - an assortment of single-serve Korean appetizers similar to that on Mish's Instagram photo.

Gobachi

Platter of Scallop Sashimi, Steamed Shrimp, Salmon Sashimi, Steamed Octopus, Marinated Tomato,
and a mini Green Mango and Korean Cheese Salad.

By the end of this round, I was stuffed! But we weren't done and the wait staff kept serving! Now if you follow me on Instagram, and if you read my posts on here, then you will know how much I love my Kimchi. The Kimchi at Kiwa is one good Kimchi! It was spicy, but really, really good. Cai and I kept picking on it with our chopsticks 'til we ate it all up!

Rolled Kimchi

This is a winner! 

Next came the iconic Korean Japchae. I am not really a fan of the Japchae, but this was good.

Japchae

Seasoned Soy Sauce-based pan fried glass noodles with beef and fried assorted vegetables.

After the appetizers (yes, those were just the appetizers!!!), we had asked to take a short break from eating. The other girls were already having their dessert, so we paused to do small talk and catch up. We also stopped grubbing to take this photo!

Group photo (c/o Tiffany) with some of the girls, from L-R after moi (Cai, Jackie, Neva, Tin, Tiffany and Mish)
Okay... we were on a sloping bridge. I may be short but I ain't that short. LOL!

Because most of the lunch crowd were leaving, we also got to pause and admire the restaurant's interiors. Kiwa has been on soft opening since December 24 of last year. They are pretty popular with the Manila and Solaire Korean crowd. Would you believe this is actually the first real Korean fine dining barbecue set-up in the Philippines? It is, in fact, the only one in Southeast Asia!

The lamp over our table... check out the ceiling fixtures!

Really, really beautiful and cozy interiors designed by a Korean firm.
Kiwa has a seating capacity of 184 - with 8 private dining rooms that can be converted into one big room that can accommodate up to 48 persons. 

Kiwa is a smoke-free Korean Grill Restaurant!
 Kiwa utilizes a state-of-the-art exhaust system under the restaurant so all the smoke from their grills goes under. It is the best technology in Korea. So when you dine at Kiwa, you will not smell like smoke and barbecue!

Then we were ready for the main dish! I should say dishes, as we were served more than one...

Time for that Samgyeopsal!

Seasoned Pork Belly for our Grilled Samgyeopsal.

Check out Kiwa's smokeless grill!
At Kiwa, the servers do all the grilling. Now that's top-notch service!

Our perfectly-grilled Pork Belly. Nommy!

Yea, it is Samgyeopsal time!

Omnomnom! My beautiful wrap before I devoured it.

I was stuffed - literally stuffed. But that wasn't the end of our special Korean meal. This was a full-course menu with very, very generous servings!

Kimchi Jjigae Bansang
Sour Kimchi broth with tofu and seafood. This was Cai's favorite!

Then they brought out the beef. This, my friends, is Kiwa's Yang Nyeom Gal Bi. It is the most tender and tastiest gal bi I have ever, ever had.

Yang Nyeom Gal Bi
Grilled marinated beef with Kiwa's special sauce.

Lives up to its name. It is Nyeom-nyeom-nyeom! Hehe.

And right when I was thinking the meal was finally over, they served us dessert (a patbingsu, bingsu or Korean shaved ice similar to our Halo-halo). But I was too busy enjoying it, I forgot to take a photo! LOL! Mind you, I was stuffed, but everything was just so good! I did manage to take a photo of their lovely, lovely cold tea. This was the plum tea. So refreshing!

Nothing like a refreshing cup of tea to wash everything down.

That was a sumptuous meal! Thank you, Mish, for always thinking of me!

Kiwa Korean Grill officially launches their restaurant on January 28 (that's tomorrow)! By then, they will have their complete menu. A full course meal would set you back approximately P3,000. Lunch sets start at P1,500. Rice sets will be in the P500-P700 range. 

I loved Kiwa so much that I am treating my folks out to a Kiwa dinner next month. I am sure my mom would love how tender their meat is, and my dad would love their big servings. Yay! I can't wait to bring them there!

Operating hours: 
SUN-THU | 9am to 12mn
FRI & SAT | 9am to 2am

KIWA KOREAN GRILL
Solaire Resort & Casino, 1 Aseana Avenue, Paranaque City
For inquiries and reservations, call (632) 888.8888.
www.kiwa.com.ph


#KiwaKoreanGrill

REMINISCING: Leona Cakes and Pastries

I had the chance to visit Cebu twice the past year. Work-related visits but nice breaks nonetheless. During these trips, I discovered Leona Cakes and Pastries - an original and Cebu-based bakery and cafe established by the Ong family in 1999. My colleagues from Becca Music (who were then assigned to Cebu, also because of work) were regulars, and spoke highly of this local bakery. I got curious and went to get coffee and a slice of their popular Blueberry Crumble loaf on my first day there.

The beginning of my affair with Leona and their Blueberry Crumble. 

Up close: Blueberry Crumble - check out that blueberry ripple and that delightful sugary crust. ♥

The next day, I made sure I had Leona on my itinerary and grabbed a slice of their Strawberry Sensation loaf. It was equally good - not too sweet, but enough to hit the spot.

Strawberry Sensation - Strawberries, strawberry ripple and a white chocolate-topped crust. So good!

I was hooked. I made sure I brought home boxes of Leona Cake Loaves for pasalubong to family and friends right after that first visit. Forget the danggit, dried pusit, the Cebu lechon and the otap, this was way, way, WAY better!

Bringing home all these boxes of happiness!

When I went back the following month, I was all too excited to introduce Leona to my brother KA (he was there with me because we were merchandising for a concert). We've been craving for Leona Cakes and Pastries ever since. We also love their Chiffon Cakes! Leona's cakes are very affordable. A chiffon slice costs less than P20.00! They also have bread, pies and refrigerated cakes on display. So far, I've only tried their apple pie, but I heard their Strawberry Shortcake is to die for, and their Red Velvet Cheesecake is the best in town.

Cakes, cakes and more cakes!
Photo from R.

R, who was based in Cebu for a while, brings home our favorite Indonesian Bread every time he's here to visit the kids. He also is obligated to bring home a loaf or two of Leona's Banana Bread, because the last time I went to Cebu, I brought these home as pasalubong for his folks, and they now require the same of him each visit. Oops. Hehe.

Indonesian Bread is LOVE! Our favorite! Thank you, R, for bringing these home! 

The thing with Leona's cakes is they do not use any preservatives. And they tell you that each time you try to take their cakes back to Manila. Their Chiffon Cakes were made to last overnight - no extensions. And that depends on the condition they're in. If it's a hot and humid day, they will discourage you from bringing it on that plane ride back home. But we don't mind, they get eaten up right away anyway. Some bread (like the Indonesian Bread my kids love - it's the closest thing to another favorite, HK's Hokkaido Milk Loaf) and pastries last about 9 days in the refrigerator. Longer in the freezer, but again, they discourage it as they do not use preservatives, and cannot guarantee freshness of product once taken on long trips. So far, we've all been successful in taking these back home to Manila. Yay! They disappear in a day or two, so no worries.

The Leona Cakes & Pastries store at the new Northwing of SM City Cebu.
Photo from R.

DID YOU KNOW? David Pomeranz once almost missed his flight back to Manila because the Boss took a sidetrip to Leona Cakes and Pastries - just to bring home a whole Mocha Chiffon Cake for his lovey, J? Well, now you know. 

Bread, anyone?
Photo from R.

That's their popular Indonesian Bread on the lowest shelf (on the left)! About P39/ loaf.
Photo from R.

Choose your cake loaf flavor! Get them sliced or by the loaf (in two sizes, too!).
Photo from R.

Chiffon Cakes in different flavors. Our favorites are Mocha and Ube. ♥
Photo from R.

I can't wait for my next Cebu visit. Meanwhile, if any of you are planning on visiting Cebu, make sure to drop by Leona's and taste the difference. You will forget about other commercial cakes, I promise. This Cebu gem should come to Manila!

I heard though that the owner isn't keen on expanding (well, away from Cebu, that is). Boo! But that's all good, I suppose. This family-owned business is something Cebu can boast of, and a treasure we can always look forward to when visiting the Queen City of the South.


LEONA CAKES AND PASTRIES
Main: 
| 65 Juan Luna Street, Mabolo, Cebu City / Tel. (+32) 233.0386
Branches:
| G/F SM City Cebu, Northwing (under Forever 21), Cebu City / Tel. (+32) 236.1015
| GQS Building, M. Cuenco Avenue, Banilad, Cebu City / Tel. (+32) 232.4450
| G/F, J Centre Mall, AS Fortuna Street, Mandaue, Cebu City