food review Archives - Mindanaoan - Multi awarded CDO and New York Lifestyle Blog

Jul72014 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

HOT-STAR Philippines: Taiwan’s Large Fried Chicken in Manila @HotStarPH

So if you read somewhere that one of Taiwan's most famous chicken chop places has finally opened a branch in Manila and that for only Php110, you get a fried chicken so large that it's even bigger than your face (!!!), you just have to go try and see for yourself, right? :D That's exactly what my brother and I did when we were in Manila - we satisfied our curiosity and paid Hot-Star Philippines a visit! Hot-Star Large Fried Chicken, located at Blue Bay Walk, Macapagal Avenue corner EDSA, Pasay City, is a fastfood, sit-down restaurant that offers affordable meals. Of course, the "star" of their menu is the large fried chicken - and they weren't kidding when they said "large." Hot-Star's fried chicken is 30 cm long - big enough for 2 to 3 people to share! Placing an order is pr...

Mar242014 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Simply Penang at @Sunway_Pyramid Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Food, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mindanaoan Update, Reviews

So of course I had to hunt for nasi lemak as soon as I got settled in during my most recent trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where I was one of the Malaysia Social Media Week 2014 speakers. Never mind if it was already way past noon time and if nasi lemak is usually eaten for breakfast. I love, love, LOVE nasi lemak and, like many foodies nowadays, I absolutely do not mind eating it any time of the day. So, together with my co-speaker from the Philippines, Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet, we looked for a nice restaurant within Sunway Pyramid Mall, which was adjacent to the hotel where all of the speakers were billeted in - Sunway Pyramid Tower Hotel. We found Simply Penang. It was located near the skating rink. Anton and I took one of the tables outside so I don't have any idea ho...

Sep32012 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Classic Savory SM Cagayan de Oro

Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Consumer, Food, Reviews

I will make this Classic Savory SM CDO review short. This Mindanao lifestyle blogger ate at Classic Savory SM Cagayan de Oro last weekend. I brought along some blogger-friends and told them that Classic Savory is pretty popular in Manila. Disclosure: paid for the food and this is NOT a sponsored post. Introduced in 1950 by the Ting brothers, Classic Savory opened its 50th branch in SM City Cagayan de Oro. I have eaten at other Classic Savory restaurants but that weekend was the first time that I visited Classic Savory CDO branch. We ordered 1 whole chicken (requested the kitchen folks to chop it into bite pieces but they failed to do so), a platter of Yang Chow rice, kangkong with crispy pork belly and Classic Savory Long Life pancit guisado. The food was all right (a little bit expe...

Feb282012 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Happy Eggs Cagayan de Oro all-day breakfast place now open for business

Advocacy, Agriculture, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Announcements, ARMM, Arts, Bacolod City, Banks, Basilan, Beauty, BIMP-EAGA, Bisaya, Bislig, Blogging, Broadcasting, Bukidnon, Business, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro City, Camiguin, Campus, Caraga, Cebu City, Commentary, Compostela Valley, Consumer, Contests, Corporate, Cotabato, Culture, Davao City, Davao Del Norte, Davao del Sur, Dipolog, Education, Entertainment, Events, Fashion, Features, Festivals, Fiesta, Flights, Food, Freebies, General Santos City, Gifts, Government, Headline, Hongkong, Hotels, Humor, Iligan City, Internet, Island Garden City of Samal, Jobs, Journalism, Kaamulan Festival, Koronadal, Kuala Lumpur, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Leisure, Macau, Maguindanao, Make Money Online, Malaybalay City, Malaysia, Manila, Marawi City, Media, Mindanao, Mindanaoan Artists, Mindanaoan Update, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Movies, Music, Musings, Muslim Mindanao, Negros Occidental, News, North Cotabato, Northern Mindanao, Opinion, Ozamis, Pagadian, Personal, Personalities, Photos, Politics, Radio, Recipes, Religion, Resorts, Reviews, Sarangani, Shenzhen, Shopping, Sindangan, Singapore, Society, SoSCksargen, South Cotabato, Sports, Style, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Surigao, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Tacurong, Tangub City, Tawi Tawi, Technology, Television, Tourism, Travel, Videos, Visayas, Weddings, Weird, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Peninsula, Zamboanga Sibugay

Hi folks, may I warmly invite you all to visit the newest all-day breakfast place to open for business in Cagayan de Oro City - Happy Eggs CDO! Before anything else, please allow me to quickly offer you guys 3 reasons as to why you should come and visit Happy Eggs CDO: 1. their "silog" meals all have TWO EGGS cooked just the way you like them! (sunny side up, scrambled etc) 2. the price points are really very affordable (their baconsilog, for instance, is only Php 70! Yup, juicy and delicious bacon, a generous serving of rice and two eggs for only Php 70!) 3. they have quite the interesting menu! (where else can you find an eatery that serves dried fish such as pinikas and red sal and even pansit canton? Aaah, we all crave for BULAD sometimes, don't we? :) Plus - talk about bud...

Dec12011 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Review: Lord Byron’s Back Ribs Grill

Blogging, Cagayan de Oro City, Food, Mindanaoan Update, Opinion, Reviews

Tucked away at Aluba, Upper Macasandig, Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao, Lord Byron's Back Ribs Grill CDO is the first ever Mindanao branch of this Bacolod restaurant. I'm not sure if setting up shop at Aluba is a good decision (since it's far from the city proper and from the malls i.e. where the "action" usually is) but I'm sure of one thing --- a trip to Lord Byron's Back Ribs Grill Cagayan de Oro is worth your time, effort and money. Along with some friends from the CDO Bloggers group, I paid this CDO restaurant a visit a few days ago. I've heard good feedback about this restaurant so off we went to have dinner there. Looking for the restaurant was a bit of a challenge since it was located in a largely residential area. If you're not from Cagayan de Oro or if you're not familiar wi...

Nov172011 by Mindanaoan Irene4 Comments

Coffee Dream SM Cagayan de Oro is coffee heaven

Blogging, Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Cebu City, Consumer, Davao City, Features, Food, General Santos City, Mindanaoan Update, Northern Mindanao, Reviews, Society

I love coffee and I like staying in coffee shops. In Cebu, one of my favorite coffee shops is Coffee Dream. I often stay at their Ayala Cebu branch - the one at the 4th floor -, at their SM Cebu branch - the one within the old mall, fronting VECO - and during recent Cebu City visits, their booth at the Traveler's Lounge, also located at SM. While I know that they have branches in Mindanao (Cagayan de Oro City, Davao City and General Santos City), it's just unfortunate that I've never had the chance to visit one. Until a few days ago. Through the kindness and generosity of Sir Glenn and Miss Anna of Coffee Dream, I was able to visit Coffee Dream SM Cagayan de Oro. In fact, I was even able to bring along several blogger-friends, too! We visited the SM CDO branch of Coffee Dream on a Sa...

Nov152011 by Mindanaoan Irene2 Comments

Review: Grilled steak and other dishes at Roadhouse Cafe

Bukidnon, Food, Malaybalay City, Mindanaoan Update, Opinion, Religion, Reviews

A few days ago,I accompanied a congressman-friend of mine as he made the rounds around his jurisdiction. It has been quite a while since I've done that --- you know, accompany a politician as he attends events, speak to his constituents, deliver speeches, meet key people etc. I sort of miss it, truth be told. But I digress. What I want to share with you all today are some food shots I took and a small review about Roadhouse Cafe. Forgive the lousy texture of the photos as I merely used a digital camera for these. As you guys know, I'm more comfortable sharing food photos taken with my trusty DSLR. Anyways, Roadhouse Cafe is one of my favorite restaurants in Mindanao. My favorite dishes in Roadhouse Cafe include their baby back ribs and their pumpkin soup. I even wrote a review about ...

Nov92011 by Mindanaoan Irene2 Comments

The sweet surprise

Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Consumer, Food, Mindanaoan Update, Reviews

I love, love, LOVE chocolates, pastries, sweets and cakes. I have a major, certified sweet tooth. I think I can't last an entire week without eating anything sweet - in fact, I just ate an entire pack of meringue before writing this post! (IKR) So I make it a point to either stock up on sweets or I regularly buy from friends or from my favorite pastry shops. Right before my Public Relations and Blogging speaking engagement in Cagayan de Oro City a few days ago, I chanced upon food photos taken by a fellow blogger, Shailini. She also happens to be an amazing cook/baker! I was practically drooling over these: I think I left comments on most of the photos she posted (I think I wanted to order everything!). Anyways, fast forward after my speaking engagement, you could just imag...

Oct252011 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Review: Max’s Restaurant CDO

Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Commentary, Consumer, Food, Mindanaoan Update, Northern Mindanao, Opinion, Photos, Recipes, Reviews, Weird

I have a strange love affair with Max's Restaurant Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao branch. My family and I used to be regular customers when the Max's Restaurant CDO branch was still in Divisoria. I even wrote about one of their promos before. I also used to treat a lot of my Public Relations clients there before. I also organized a few political events in their function rooms. However, after I read this negative feedback about Max's Cagayan de Oro by a CDO Blogger, I decided to stay away, lest that I myself would experience the same poor service. What happened between Max's Restaurant and the CDO Bloggers was a shame, really. I do know that the CDO Bloggers President then already issued an official response. Not sure if Max's management issued an apology or statement. Fast forward a year...

Jul242011 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Review: Mexitalian Cuisine Cagayan de Oro City Mindanao

Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Consumer, Food, Mindanaoan Update, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao, Recipes, Reviews

If there are two things that I absolutely like, these are Mexican and Italian food. I'm a huge sucker for fajitas, quesadillas, tacos...and oh yes, yes, yes nachos! Yum! I am absolutely convinced that I can survive on nachos alone :D I love nachos so much that I made a special trip to a specific restaurant just to order nachos de salsa. I also love nachos with oozing melted cheese! Yeah, that's how crazeballs I can get when it comes to nachos :P I like pasta, too. There are days when I just crave for spaghetti, penne al arrabiatta, fettuccini with red sauce, basil and mushrooms and carbonara complete with bacon and mushrooms. Yum! So, yes, anytime I have my share of Mexican and Italian food, I know for sure it's gonna be a great day. So you could just imagine how excited I was when I he...

Feb22011 by Mindanaoan Irene6 Comments

Review: BonChon chicken – fried twice, twice as good

Food, Mindanaoan Update, Recipes, Reviews

During my most recent trip to Manila, three very good friends and I finally had the chance to visit the Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati branch of Bonchon Chicken. Now if you haven't heard of BonChon, this below might give you an idea of what you're supposed to expect: (yes, that's from the New York Times!) BonChon chicken is supposedly one of, if not the best, tasting chicken you can ever taste in your lifetime. And I must say, after that early dinner with friends, I can only agree 110%! Here's why... (more…)

Aug272010 by Mindanaoan IreneNo Comments

Cebu: Big breakfast at Ilaputi, Asiatown IT Park

Food, Mindanaoan Update, Reviews, Visayas

My brother, who runs the uber famous Philippine-based tennis blog, Tennis Guru, has been raving about this 24-hour place at Asiatown IT Park, Cebu City called ilaputi. He regularly eats breakfast at this Cebu restaurant and eventually, he has managed to convince a lot of his friends to try ilaputi Cebu as well. Well, since I'm in the Queen City of the South for a few days, I decided to ask him to take me there as well. So on a bright and sunny Thursday morning, we visited ilaputi's Asiatown IT Park branch and ordered ilaputi's "Big Breakfast." I was not disappointed. Not at all. Ilaputi Cebu Asian and fusion restaurant's big breakfast was a real treat - yummy chorizo, bacon with garlic fried rice, two (!) eggs and marinated pork with rich sauce. The delicious meal was served on a ...

Feb82010 by Mindanaoan Irene7 Comments

Mindanao eats: Mooon Cafe in Robinson’s Cagayan de Oro

Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Consumer, Features, Food, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Northern Mindanao, Personal, Reviews, Society, Style, Tourism

Mexican themed restaurant Mooon Cafe is one of my favorite eating places in Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao. Apart from the yummy food, the prices are reasonable and the ambience is pretty laid back. Whenever there's a chance, I also see to it that I bring my mom and brothers to the said restaurant in CDO and we all share fun, family bonding over hearty meals at Mooon Cafe CDO. Mooon Cafe (yes, it has three "O's"!) Cagayan de Oro branch, located at the first floor of Robinsons CDO, is the establishment's first franchised branch outside of Cebu City where they have outlets in I.T. Park and Ayala Terraces, among others. What I usually order (and what I can therefore recommend to all of you) are: for starters - quesadilla uno, campesinos (see the photo in this entry - these are good!), ca...

Nov182009 by Mindanaoan Irene5 Comments

Batchoy at Tita Annie’s Victoria Plaza Davao City Mindanao – fail!

Davao City, Food, Mindanaoan Update

Upon my mom's prodding, we decided to eat at Tita Annie's at Victoria Plaza, Bajada, Davao City in a recent trip to my hometown Davao. I was craving for batchoy at that time so I ordered the Tita Annie's special batchoy. Batchoy is basically comprised of sweet meat broth, slices of meat and pork innards, spring onions, garlic and other taste enhancers plus fresh noodles. Batchoy is usually topped off with crushed pork cracklings (chicharon). So you can just imagine my dismay when this was served to me: Not only did it taste bland, I particularly didn't like the fact that the chicharon wasn't crushed. Instead of being extra toppings, the pork skin cracklings looked as if they were "part" of the meal itself. Ayayay. Meal wasn't worth it. That was a disappointment. What abo...