Rai Rai Ken, Robinsons Galleria

The last time I visited this Japanese restaurant was a year ago. My old time favorite is the garlic, chili ramen that cost me Php180 per bowl plus 12% Vat and 10% service charge. I wasn't so giddy going back to this place today because I know it would be expensive...but for variety's sake, I visited the restaurant.

To my surprise, the Chili Garlic Ramen favorite I used to get is now just Php150. So I thought, I got a bargain. I noticed new staff as well, like a new manager.

My ramen did not taste as good for some reason. The bowl was smaller and the noodles were less compared to the one I got before. Now, I got half the egg. The taste gave a very telling difference. I didn't like the mix of pechay. It didn't use to be there. The garlic addons were not as much as before. The pork tasted like corrupted pork... it's a HUGE downgrade.

I would happily pay for Php180++ as a treat... but not pay less for less quality.

I give this restaurant 1.5. I didn't like my meal and I had to go to Le Coeur De France for an extra croissant.

Piadina, Robinsons Galleria

I used to eat here a lot because I love the chili garlic oil. However, eating there last week wasn't an exceptional experience for the price you pay.

I had pasta (my choice), piadina (tuna), iced tea and some mushroom soup for Php 230. The pasta wasn't great... the piadina tasted like regular tuna sandwich with some dying lettuce. The fairly good one was the mushroom soup... but I wasn't happy paying Php230 so I think I didn't get my money's worth.

I give this restaurant 2.5 only. First because I will not really go back here again. It's been a year or two since I last visited this restaurant before the meal I just here just recently.

The place is not particularly special. It's located in Galleria East Wing along with the less pricey restaurants like Chicken Inasal.

Piadina isn't authentic Italian as well. Their pastas were sooo common. :-(

Now, the only reason why they could even get 2.5 is because the manager was friendly and cheerful. However, just like most restaurants I go to in Philippines, the waiters are so despondent like they just stare on the ceiling and talk with their mates...

Mexicali, Robinsons Galleria

Well, I just want to make a note that I ate here again... for the lack of choices again. It's holiday today so most of the shops are closed.

It wasn't an illusion last time that they were decreasing the size of the order. My enchilada (vegetable) can be consumed in less than 10 minutes and I am a slow eater because I try to chew my food at least 20 times per bite.

I'm now looking for other places to eat...

7 Corners Crowne Plaza

I wasn't particularly happy eating at 7 Corners last week. There are few positives with more negatives.

1. Channel 7 was there. They were featuring 7 Corner's as a restaurant. I think their host is the half twin of Richard Guitierrez but since I do not watch tv, I don't know who that was.
2. They featured lamb for the month of February. I had some curry lamb, it was tasty and tender but it had a lot of bones.
3. They charge you Php270 ++ for a simple pineapple juice that I did not enjoy at all. Of course, it's a ripoff.
4. The choices in the Japanese section were not as appetizing except for the shirmp salad.
5. The deserts were the same... but I had nice small piece of blueberry cheesecake and a bowl of teppanyaki.
6. I had roast beef as I needed some animal protein... I didn't like it so much though.
7. They did serve a good variety of fruits and leafy vegetables, the problem there is that the ingredients were not prepared in a tasteful way... so if you don't know how to mix good salad dressing and ingredients, you're like eating a home meal with a 5 star bill.

So will I go to 7 Corners again? Yes next month. I try to have it once a month anyway but it's not something I look forward to because they seem to not change the menu.

Btw, they have 7 cheese selections and pizza, bread and chocolate deserts... so for sweet lovers, this is would be your heaven. I just eat here for variety and for some treat... I don't think you can eat so much sweets if you are on a diet anyway.

Cafe de Lipa, Lipa City

This is probably the cheapest cafe I have ever seen in my life. They even serve coke for Php25, same price as Ministop would charge me. This place has wifi and allows laptop users to use their power unlike other shops who would want to cover their sockets with tape so people can't use the electricity. Recently, I have been seeing a lot of people having their meetings here. It's quite refreshing there's a small shop like this in Lipa. The bathroom is really kept clean as well. I'd recommend you visit it.

Next Door, Home Depot, Mandaluyong

Well this is just another chinese restaurant that has too spicy chili sauce. The price is reasonable I should say and they do serve cold beer with frozen glass. I would recommend that you try this out. It's simple and it's for the family. I should give this place a 3 to 3.5 only because I think chinese food is really quite oily. Also, chinese food seems to taste the same despite the name of the dish.

This place is really like North Park...

Mexicali, Robinsons Galleria

I am a fan of this franchise until recently when I got quite distasteful behavior from the cashier -- a woman, with long hair, seems chinese and about 5 ft 3 inches tall. I made my usual order and because I got too curious about how to make my vegetarian enchiladas, I went to the counter to view the preparation process. Then this cashier looked at me. I saw it but since I didn't need anything, I kinda ignored her. Then she said, "Yes may I help you?" (despite having people in front of her ready to order). So I simply said, "Oh just checking my order". She said, "It's *being* prepared and yes we will serve all orders at the same time." It would have been a neutral statement hadn't been that she was not smirking.

From that incident, for some reason, when I got my meal, I kinda felt like I got fewer vegetables, less cheese, less rice. This is probably how my perception was changed after that surprising customer service.

So, will I go to Mexicali again? Probably only when I have no other choice.

I am sorry if I would be too strict. However, customer service needs to be consistent or the total dining experience is just ruined. There used to be another cashier, a very short, perky woman who would always smile at you. I have not seen her for weeks. I would have preferred to be attended by her.

This restaurant is still a 3 to be fair. Perhaps that woman just had a bad day. However, I doubt if I will go to Mexicali as happily as I would before.

Almon Marina, Megamall

I like this place. I got a pumpkin soup at a very reasonable price of just Php 60, mango shake at Php 65 and a lamb kebab which I think cost about Php 170. This price was really pretty reasonable and very tasty. I would back of course. I give this small restaurant a 3.5 to 4.

The preparation of the food was pretty slow because there was really a lot of customers yesterday evening. I believe it was Valentine's Day.

So Almon Marina has a whole lot of food choices. Old/young, vegetarians/meat eaters, cake lovers would find this place quite satisfying. The food quality is great and considering the good price, I give a 4 out of 5. The food servers are taught well on customer service and they are quite polite.

I suggest you visit it. If ever I go back to Megamall, I'd really consider dropping by here.

Gloria Jean's Coffee, Shangrila Mall EDSA


I get 10% discount on all Gloria Jeans stores. Some stores are nicer than other some are really shabby. However, the one in Shangrila is quite decent.

These days, people say that coffee is good for you. It is true for me to some extent. It does give extra energy and increased short term memory.

So would you rather go for Gloria Jeans or Starbucks coffee?

I believe Gloria Jeans coffee has nicer blend. However, it's very sweet. I still prefer Starbucks. However, I would only be satisfied with a perfectly blended Starbucks Frap.

Do I recommend Gloria Jeans? Yes. It's relatively cheaper than Starbucks and Coffee Bean and you'd know it's good quality. I would also recommend their Oatmeal cookie. It's filling and tasty.

How about customer service? I'd say they are trained well.

How about going back to Gloria Jeans in Shangrila? Well, I can go to Gloria Jeans Robinsons Galleria all the time because it's much closer to where I live so I won't particularly go back to Gloria Jeans Shangrila.

I give this coffee shop 3. It's good for taking a break and has a much cheaper price.

Figaro, Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas Center, Pasig City


Really, I have an issue here with customer service. Note that I have not been to any other Figaro store but the one in Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

This store has "shocking" customer service. Waiters would complain if there are customers trying to order while they so happened to be on their breaks. They would also wait for other waiters to clean up. And worst, if you stand there looking at food choices and would try to order some, they would not address you unless you make eye contact and gestures that you want to buy. The coffee here is NOT special at all. The only reason why I went here is the wifi...

The score for this coffee shop is 1.5... all because of the location and wifi. Otherwise, please just go to another coffee shop.

ChickPea, Robinsons Mall, Ortigas Center, Pasig City

I met 2 owners of ChickPea yesterday. One is Neil and the other is I think Jaime? I am not sure as we didn't talk so much. I had 2 ChickPea meals that's why I met Neil and the other owner on different times. This joint is a small shop in Robinsons Galleria. It serves no meat, healthy food - salads, wraps, sandwiches.

I ordered Falafel with Alioli twice. However, I realized, I can't eat garbanzos or chickpeas so I have not visited ChickPea since yesterday. I might visit them again tomorrow or Monday to see if they have meals that I can eat.

The owners of this small joint are graduating students of Ateneo. I'm glad to see very entrepreneurial people in the Philippines. I hope their venture inspires more people to make money and provide value to other people.

I'd recommend this food joint (as I think it is) because it serves healthy foods. The price is just right at Php75 to Php80. However, I think they might not attract people who would like to eat more filling meals for that price. They are located in a quite expensive location.

So if you are up to a healthy meal, try ChickPea.

Mexicali, Robinson Galleria, Ortigas Center

I have been to Mexicalli a lot lately, specifically that branch in Robinsons Galleria. Mexicali in this location, is located on the ground floor of the mall, near the East wing. It's just right in front of the parking lot if you are entering from the entrance from Crowne Plaza Hotel.

I started liking the Vegetarian Buritto. It's actually my treat since I decided to control my food intake lately.

The vegetarian buritto can be bought for only Php 125, just that you have to pay extra for some service charge so normally, I would pay around Php130 for 1 meal. Not bad.

The food is prepared quickly, served hot. It has tortilla chips and tomato side dish as appetizer. Of course, this part I give away as I can't eat tomatoes.

The buritto itself is very filling. It has rice, beans, grilled vegetables like eggplant and zuccini I think. You may add some garlic sauce or chili sauce if you like. However, the mixture is already quite tasty that I don't bother adding extra sauces.

Today, I went out with my brother and he like the Chicken Enchilada that he ordered. He got it for Php153, including all charges.

So I give this restaurant 3.5 to 4. The service is good and acceptable. The place is neat and clean and you get what you pay for. The restrooms are inside the mall. This branch is quite small so no provision for rest rooms.
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