By now, many people might have already heard of the foodfest that is Banchetto, and if you haven’t, then head down to Ortigas Center this Friday–or any Friday, really–and go straight to what will always be known to me as Emerald Avenue, a.k.a. F. Ortigas Jr. Road. The madness starts at 12 midnight and runs all the way until 11 a.m. the next day. Alternatively, you can also go to Robinsons Forum, EDSA corner Pioneer Street, where Banchetto takes place every Tuesday and Friday, from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m.

So we finally made our way to Banchetto last night, which was a pretty overwhelming experience if you haven’t ever had the chance to push, squeeze, and stomp your way through a tightly packed crowd, so be prepared to do battle. A large number of people instantly turn up at midnight, and the onslaught continued even as we left the place at 2:30 a.m. When you arrive, you might want to place your order at the stall that sells the famous monster burger a.k.a. the flame-grilled half-pound of beefy heaven, because the orders pile up really quickly.

And speaking of the burger, this may be one of the stars of Banchetto, but make sure you do a whole circuit of the place as well to check out what else is available. There are sausages, Filipino dishes, desserts, pasta, grilled anything on a barbecue stick, even a whole squid–basically anything you can imagine. So make sure to leave any cumbersome items behind (you need your hands free to carry all the food!) and bring your appetite.

The search for good beef is always a difficult one, since a lot of steak places like serving really thin slices of beef. Thankfully, GoodFellas Steaks and Burgers in Kamuning, which opened just this April, bucks this trend and offers meat eaters a particularly fine selection of steaks, burgers, sandwiches, and other dishes. If you’re going here by car, there are a few parking slots right in front of the restaurant, as well as along the side of the building.

GoodFellas is nice and homey inside, with the typical dark wood interior preferred by most steak places. The theme: Behind the counter you can see the kitchen, which you can eye in anticipation of your meal.

TJ ordered the Pat and Geno’s Sandwich (PhP220 solo, P270 with yummy fries and a drink), GoodFellas’ version of the Philly cheesesteak. This particular sandwich was stuffed with caramelized onions, cheese, and shredded lean beef, and is a pretty good take on the famous cheesesteak.

I had the GoodFellas House Steak (PhP325). Originally, I was eyeing a burger, but I’ll just have to go back for that soon. The steak was thick and juicy, and isn’t your ordinary slab of beef that you can get in most restaurants. The mashed potatoes were perfectly smooth and the gravy, which I assume to be beef-based, was tasty, too. I can probably only complain about the mixed vegetables, since a lot of restaurants seem to define it as a mixture of corn, carrots, and peas. It would be nice to see it changed up a little, with broccoli, beans, and cauliflower.

But I digress. It would be worthwhile to check out all the other dishes, which feature some pork and fish, as well as the selection of side dishes that the menu says are good for sharing. All in all, GoodFellas is a great place for enthusiastic carnivores; they have Angus and Wagyu beef available as well, in case you want to know.

GoodFellas Steaks and Burgers
Address: 36 T. Gener cor. K-1st, Kamuning
Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Tel. no. 413-3187/964-5385
E-mail: goodfellassteaksandburgers@yahoo.com
Facebook: GoodFellas Steaks and Burgers

Lunch today was at Chicken Charlie along N.S. Amoranto Street, the former Retiro, in Quezon City. We first caught glimpses of it a few months ago while the restaurant was still under construction and being fans of fried chicken, we were looking forward to checking it out once it opened. Good thing we finally had the chance to do so today, and we thought we were nearly unable to, because a vehicle was initially parked right in front of the restaurant. Parking space is scant here, with the nearby spots reserved for neighboring restaurants like Tasty Dumplings.

At 1 p.m., the place was packed, which really isn’t hard to do because Chicken Charlie’s quite a small space, with two tables on one side of the room and a counter on the other side that seats four. We ordered two Charlies Bowls (a magnificent PhP59 each) and a small tray of fries (PhP45) then settled down to wait, but the food didn’t take all that long to come out.

The fries were more like chunky little wedges, and were neither salty nor greasy. You’d do well to wait a few minutes to eat them, however; they’re piping hot.

We were particularly in love with the Charlies Bowl, a bowl of rice topped with chopped chicken. At first bite, it tasted a bit too salty, but all you really need to do is mix it around a bit to distribute the flavor. The chicken appeared to be marinated in their soy garlic sauce, and the whole thing was just tasty and satisfying; you wouldn’t think that bowl would be enough for lunch, but we assure you that it’s more than sufficient.

Chicken Charlie’s a new, small restaurant, but it looks like they’re already doing brisk business in the area. The people at the counter advise customers to place orders over the phone so they wouldn’t have to wait.

We’ll leave you with the photo below to check out the prices and their description of their food–with which we wholeheartedly agree.

Chicken Charlie
Address: 592a N.S. Amoranto St. Cor. Banawe St. Quezon City
Tel. no. 742-3333
Hours: Monday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Website: www.chickencharlie.net

Spotted in Cubao, Quezon City.

Tonight’s dinner: KFC’s Supreme Bowl Chinese Imperial. At the drive thru window, however, there was a sign proudly proclaiming the limited release of their California Maki Twister (PhP79). “Wonder what that tastes like,” I told TJ, who then told me to order one and try it out like the brave trooper that he is. It sounds like a horrendous creation. Chicken is fine by itself, as well as California maki, but together? The combination would make a lot of heads explode.

However, we were pleasantly surprised by the wrap, which contained chicken, mango, cucumber, and mayo, the latter three being the typical ingredients for your basic California maki; blessedly, there wasn’t any rice at all. The taste has a fascinating Japanese dish-like quality to it–or at least something as Japanese as, say, Tokyo Tokyo, or any similar food places. The important thing to remember here is that the KFC California Maki Twister is not weird at all, and makes for a pretty filling and satisfying snack

Spotted somewhere in Sampaloc, Manila.

UP Village is home to so many interesting restaurants and establishments, and one of the newest eating places you can check out there is Kiss the Cook. This homey restaurant opened just two months ago and it caught my eye just last week while driving along Maginhawa Street. Inside, Kiss the Cook is like a gallery currently featuring the work of different artists, and the furniture’s quite interesting as well. For dinner, we had

a liter of lemongrass juice (a stunning P80)

cream dory with Oriental-type sauce with rice, which was nice and flavorful.

Bolognese Done Right, with a nice amount of meat in the sauce. I wouldn’t personally call it the best bolognese I’ve ever tasted, although it’s a pretty good one.

and panna cotta with diced mango and honey, very light and sweet.

It was a fairly satisfying dinner all in all, although they didn’t have the dish I originally wanted. I think the entire place could still stand to gain a bit of character though, and the atmosphere felt a bit…bare, if that’s the right word. It would definitely be worth checking out again in a couple more months.

Everybody has fallen in love with Japanese cinema, and fortunately for aficionados of Japanese films, July is Philippine-Japan Friendship Month, and to celebrate it, the Japan Foundation in Manila, the Embassy of Japan, the Shangri-La Mall, and the UP Film Institute are holding Eiga Sai (“film festival”) 2010. Below is the screening schedule of the festival.

July 1
7 p.m. – Always Sunset on Third Street 2 (invitational)

July 2
2 p.m. – Fourteen
4:30 p.m. – How to Become Myself
7 p.m. – I Just Didn’t Do It

July 3
2 p.m. – Glasses
4:30 p.m. – The Battery Future in Our Hands
7 p.m. – The Bandage Club

July 4
1:30 p.m. – Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor, Miyori in the Sacred Forest
4:30 p.m. – I Just Didn’t Do It
7 p.m. – Tokyo Tower: Mom & Me, and Sometimes Dad

July 5
2 p.m. – Fourteen
4:30 p.m. – I Just Didn’t Do It

July 6
2 p.m. – Glasses
4:30 p.m. – The Bandage Club

July 7
2 p.m. – How to Become Myself
4:30 p.m. – The Battery Future in Our Hands
7 p.m. – Always Sunset on Third Street 2

July 8
2 p.m. – Fourteen
4:30 p.m. – Tokyo Tower: Mom & Me, and Sometimes Dad

July 9
2 p.m. – The Bandage Club
4:30 p.m. – Always Sunset on Third Street 2
7 p.m. – Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor, Miyori in the Sacred Forest

July 10
2 p.m. – How to Become Myself
4:30 p.m. – The Battery Future in Our Hands
7 p.m. – Always Sunset on Third Street 2

July 11
1:30 p.m. – Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor, Miyori in the Sacred Forest
4:30 p.m. – Glasses
7 p.m. – Tokyo Tower: Mom & Me, and Sometimes Dad

The fun doesn’t end in July, of course. After the July 1 to 11 screenings at the Shangri-La Mall Cineplex, the movies will also be shown on the following dates and locations.

For Mother’s Day, I decided to take my mother to one of Marikina City’s most delicious secrets: Isabelo’s, a charming little restaurant tucked away–well, I won’t be giving away the secret. I heard about Isabelo’s a year ago and have always been intrigued by it, especially because finding it seems akin to a treasure hunt. You don’t just walk into Isabelo’s. You have to either e-mail or call to place your order, and only after confirming your order will you be able to get the directions to the restaurant.

My reservation at Isabelo’s was pretty last minute, so I was happy that the restaurant was able to accommodate me and my mother anyway. My original order of Seared Tuna with Mango Salsa, however, was not. Portia, the chef and owner of Isabelo’s, informed me that Isabelo’s likes to serve food extremely fresh, and tuna bought so late in the day will, expectedly, not be. So I ordered an alternative menu and, with the map in my lap, my mother and I went on our way.

The directions were simple enough; getting over the location once we got there wasn’t. There are no arrows around pointing you to Isabelo’s, and definitely no signs telling you you’ve arrived. All you will see is a gate that bears no hints of the fairy-lit outdoor eating area it conceals.

The look of the whole restaurant was fairly whimsical, and consisted mainly of outdoor seating, although there is a screened-in area a little further in the back. Some tables were positioned underneath trees, and others, like the table we had, were located on little huts on raised platforms. Since it was nighttime, the whole place was illuminated by fairy lights, candles, and lanterns.

After marveling at how pretty the place looked, we then proceeded to marvel at the food we were served. Since we had placed our order well before we got there, everything was practically ready in a flash. The first to arrive on our table: Spinach Artichoke Dip.

Portia told us this was something we absolutely shouldn’t miss–and with good reason. The dip was a little bowl of hot cheesy heaven. If you gobble up the bread, you can just spoon the dip into your mouth or order more bread, whatever rocks your socks. Our next orders soon arrived: Pinoy Tuscan Salad and Greens w/ Roasted Vegetables, Walnuts & Orange Vinaigrette.

Of the two, I have to say I loved the Tuscan more, mainly because I have a great fondness for tomatoes and basil. But the salad was also great and incredible hefty, and we didn’t think we could take any more eating until the salmon and the carbonara arrived.

The two slabs of salmon were drizzled with oil and topped with quite a handful of herbs was incredibly flavorful; however, I would have liked to see salmon fillets used since they’re thick and free of fishbones. The carbonara was deliciously creamy and plentiful, and eating it for a few minutes didn’t seem to leave a dent in the serving! After the meal, Portia herself came to each table to share a little bit about how the restaurant started, and she also asked where we were from. Apparently, Isabelo’s is also a secret among Mariqueños, since most of the tables served throughout its two years played host to folks from Makati, Parañaque, and other cities in Metro Manila, with Mariqueños making up a fraction of its diners.

Isabelo’s is definitely one of those restaurants that deserve all the praises it gets, and hopefully, it will continue to delight more people for a long, long time. Some people have suggested that the restaurant move someplace more crowded and accessible like a mall, but that will just spoil the charm of Isabelo’s and the idea that a truly good meal is worth a trip. Besides, its intimate setting is part of what make it such an excellent find.

Cinemanila International Film Festival 2009 is going to be held in Market! Market! Cinemas, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig this year, and since some people I know have griped at how the Cinemanila website doesn’t have a complete page with screening schedules, I have taken it upon myself to organize the screening schedules here.

October 16, 2009

October 17, 2009

October 18, 2009

October 19, 2009

October 20, 2009

October 21, 2009

October 22, 2009

October 23, 2009

October 24, 2009

October 25, 2009