Love, Like and Neither

Last night, we tried John and Yoko in Greenbelt 5. John and Yoko is a Japanese fusion restaurant that serves a lot of original Japanese dishes such as California maki, ebi tempura, and katsudon as well as many new creations like the dragon roll and the dynamite roll, two of the dishes we tried last night. The other two dishes we ordered were salmon sashimi and seafood omelette. While the place is hip and happening with groups of people waiting outside to be seated, I myself might not be going back to dine anytime soon. Japanese food with all its simplicity, think salmon sashimi, relies largely on quality and freshness so while I am all in favor of innovation and creativity, I prefer to go back to Japanese food that is authentic and uncomplicated.

Right now, I am loving Sugi in Greenbelt, but not the one in Greenhills Shopping Centre. I went to Sugi Greenbelt a couple of weeks ago and I was impressed with the food, the service, and even the complimentary green tea. The only thing I would probably complain about was the lack of air conditioning. We had salmon sashimi, tempura maki, golden mushroom and asparagus wrapped in bacon, and sukiyaki. The salmon sashimi was the best; it was so fresh it was the kind that melted in the mouth. The noodles in the sukiyaki were cooked just right, and the soup was both savory and sweet. Wonder when I can go back there..?

I am also loving The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, particularly the White Chocolate Dream Latte. Sadly we do not have TCBTL in Hong Kong so while I am here it will be my default coffee shop rather than Starbucks.

Another discovery is the breakfast in Bizu. While their breakfast dishes are quite pricey compared to many others, (the average price of a Filipino breakfast of garlic rice, longganisa, a large slice of tomato, 2 eggs and bottomless coffee is Php 295) Bizu was able to minimize the oil in the normally greasy Filipino dishes. Bizu uses Lavazza coffee beans from Italy, so far one of the best blends I have tried. Finally, the service was unquestionably good; the people were courteous, quick and professional.

N took me to Stock Market in Bonifacio High Street last week. N and I have always shared the same taste in food, and I love him for taking me to Stock Market for their Prime Burger and Grilled Pesto Shrimp with Crab Roe Risotto. We also ordered the tomato and mozzarella cheese fondue and a pie topped with vanilla ice cream and dried pineapple shavings for dessert. The Prime Burger with a patty that was half an inch thick and very little fat was indeed prime, and the pineapple slice in the burger was a unique addition that gave it a special sweet and sour taste much like what pineapple did to Hawaiian pizza. Finally, there are no words to describe the grilled shrimp with pesto sauce; it was simply.. delectable.

Some disappointments were the pasta in my previously all-time favorite Cibo, coffee in Starbucks, noodles and dim sum in Gloria Maris Greenhills, and garlic longganisa in Contis.