Brewology: a new third wave coffeeshop in Mother Ignacia, QC.

Coffee in Brewology is made with the utmost regard to quality of the ingredients and exacting standardsfor preparation. While the place is a bona fide third wave cafe, it doesn't intimidate the average drinker who just wants a cup of good old caffeine. 

During our visit, we not only got a chance to taste their offerings; we also had a cupping experience. We had to sniff out the different kinds of ground coffee laid out for us; then we had to guess the kind of taste it gave off. We were even given a tasting chart to help us determine the kind and blend of the coffee. During this experience, I noticed that they only used the best and freshest imported ingredients. I was able to guess the variants of coffee involved after sniffing the brews. Oh, the beans for the coffee shop were provided by Crema and Cream, a startup offering high quality coffee beans to different coffeeshops in the area. 

We then tried their dishes. We first had the Chicken and Spiced Honey, which was in essence a waffle sandwich with fried chicken, Asian coleslaw, and spiced honey. The tangy and peppery taste was pretty good, although the servings could have been more.

Beef Bulgogi Tapa was a mix of spicy kimchi rice, sunny side up egg, and tender beef bulgogi with a taste caramlized sauce. I considered this as the best dish in the house. The mix of sweet beef easily complemented the spicy rice. The spiciness was also at par with my taste.

Pulled Pork and Cheddar Sandwich was less remarkable due to the thin pork and cheddar filling. It was generously served though. 

The breakfast pasta was remarkable for its excellent texture and taste. The pasta was not soggy compared to those cooked by other cafes.

Waffogato was a simple dessert composed of baked waffle and vanilla ice cream. It is what it is: simple. I didn't find anything so special with it. Minimalist.

Smores Brownies were a chunky helping of chocolate goodness with roasted marshmallows on top akin to real smores. These had an excellent texture and a good, sweet taste.

Chocolate chip brownies were milder at the taste department. It boasted of a mocha-like flavor compared to the smores.

Smores Waffle was a bit dry for the palate; but the marshmallows and grahams were generously topped. 

Matcha Cheesecake was a slightly bitter cheesecake dish that was pretty tall in size. I liked the mix of sweet cheese and the acrid taste of matcha, though.

The drinks I tried were:

Butterbeer. Brewology had their own version. I'd say it was excellent. This was a non-caffeinated non-coffee drink made with milk and other secret ingredients. It reminded me of a rootbeer float, though. 

H.O.E or Heaven on Earth was simply the best coffee drink/dessert in the cafe. It was an amalgamation of whipped cream, coffee jelly, cold brew, and their mocha pudding. It can be mixed as a drink or eaten as a dessert, depending on the customer's preference.  I drank it instead. It had a strong mocha flavor accentuated by the coffee jelly and the pudding. It truly was a unique coffee experience. 

In sum, Brewology is no frills coffee shop with a lot to offer than just coffee.

Beef X Burgers at UP Town Center

Burgers are big yes for me! With Beef X, I expected the best, since I already ate here a few times already. However, my expectations fell a bit flat.

Beef X was formerly known as BIG B burgers. This joint has been around for quite a while. However, they recently opened their UP Town Center branch. The branch served the same burgers as with the others; however, the prices here are way higher!

We had their appetizers called the Saktong Fries and the Poutine ng Ina Mo. These were fries with their own special toppings. One came in cheese and the other had a special sauce. Good thing these were tasty. 

We had their Pink Potion with feelings. This was a juice drink with food coloring that was mixed as it was served to us. The waiter even performed a litany in front of us as we described our feelings to him.

We got to try out 3 of their burgers, namely the Pizza Burger, the standard Beef Bacon Burger, and the Waffle Bun Burger. The Pizza Burger, being their newest creation is a unique twist on the burger. The top bun is shaped like pizza, with mozzarella cheese toppings and baked pepperoni. The burger patty itself is a chunky beef amalgamation with their special Beef X white sauce. There is a generous helping of cheese and lettuce inside. The patty itself had bacon bits which was filled when it was grilled in the kitchen.

The second was the Beef Bacon patty. This is the standard burger. It had the same specs with the pizza burger except that the patty was smaller; and the buns were plain. One had to pay extra to make the patties thicker. 

We had their Waffle Burger. It was the best dish in their menu so far. The Waffle patties were filled with syrup; and these blended well with the patty. It reminded of the Sausage mcmuffin of a famous brand; except that this one was served all day round. I liked the interplay of sweet flavors and the beefy patties. 

The problem with the patties, though, was that it was dry and tad too thin. It didn't look that good on pictures, and the texture wasn't that remarkable. While it did bind well and wasn't soggy; the patties were not that top notch compared to what we expected from an established burger joint. The quality deteriorated a bit. 

However, I believe that this restaurant can improve their burgers in the future. Here's to hoping that they will do.

Game Over PH: an arcade themed bar and restaurant

I never thought that a place where video games, alcohol, and food would actually exist. Now, we have Game Over, a restaurant slash computer shop slash boardgame place slash inuman place. This is the first of its kind in the heart of Quezon City. Upon I arriving, I immediately tried out their Family Computer, Nintendo 64, and Arcade machine upon arrival. 

Come dinner time, I had three bottles of Heineken and a generous helping of some of their best selling dishes. I first tried out their appetizers such as the Beef Nachos and the Spicy Chicken Skin. The latter had a kick due to high-level spiciness; while the Beef Nachos were composed of generous helpings of tortilla chips with a load of cheese and beef. Not bad. 

We then tried their Sisig Pizza. This thin crust selection had sisig and sunny-side up egg toppings on the typical mozzarella. It was quite tasty, yet not too unique or special. After this, however, the dishes became saltier. It started with the Creamy Salmon Pesto Pasta. This was composed of pesto pasta with a slice of stir fried salmon. The salmon was quite salty for my taste.  This was followed by the Salmon Parsillade Rice Topping. It shared the same taste with the pasta, save for the noodles.

We were also treated to a helping of their famous meat dishes such as the Yakiniku Beef Rice Toppings and the Game Over Ribs. The meat  of the former dish was not quite tender; and I had a hard time chewing it. As for the ribs, it was quite soft; but the dish was way too salty for beef ribs. I appreciate the fact that it came with roasted corn and a tasty sauce.

The burgers and salpicao were brimming with flavor; however the salpicao had the same hard-textured meat. The burgers were quite tasty; and it came with a good helping of crisscut fries. I think the burger took the night away.

The flawed viand, however, was compensated with tasty dessert treats. We had the Tiraccino or the Tiramisu Cappuccino. It was a pudding style dessert that had a mocha flavored based and a creamy texture. The Molten Lava Cake was a chocolate cake with a hot filling. Both were quite sweet and appetizing even after a long night of eating.

Game Over is a mixed bag for me. While it has great ambiance, the food still needs some improvement.