Me Love You Long Time: Southeast Asian specialties at affordable prices

The line: "Me love you long time" came from Stanley Kubrick's iconic film called Full Metal Jacket, which was released in the 90's. This film was what the owners of the restaurant of its namesake had in mind when they started the venture. The interiors feature a makeshift downtown cafe akin to the ones found in Ho Chi Minh, complete with the street signs and all. The restaurant began in a food park, then moved to a secluded spot in Tomas Morato. 

The street signs of different countries.

The iconic line from Full Metal Jacket

The food features an array of Southeast Asian favorites. We were able to try a good number of their menu items, plus their dessert. The dish range from 200-300 pesos per dish. I'd say that the serving size and the taste were sufficient for the price. 

We tried the Thai Papaya Salad. This was a mix of green papaya, cucumber, onions, lettuce and vinegar rolled into a salad. This reminded me of our own pickled vegetables called atchara; hence, the taste was not so unique as I expected it to be. Nevertheless, it was still palatable.

The Vietnamese Spicy Chicken Wings were a tad salty and spicy at the same time. I appreciated the spiciness; yet I preferred a lesser degree of saltiness. To me, the overall taste was ruined by the excess salt. It was still tender, though.

The Fresh Spring Rolls were composed of shrimp, bacon, lettuce, and cilantro with a vegetable filling wrapped in a thin dumpling wrapper. It came with peanut sauce. The silantro was quite overpowering due to the quantity, yet it gave a minty flavor to the dish. The peanut sauce added consistency and texture to a light dish.

The Thai Tom Yum was a steaming hot sweet and sour soup were large prawns were boiled. The sauce was mixed with coconut milk for that peppery taste. While the dish servings were not so large, I still liked the broth for the spicy/sour mix. 

The Cebuano Ngo Hiong was Southern Philippine Specialty. There were fried spring rolls with leeks and other vegetable fillings. It was served hot and came with a tangy vinegar sauce. It had a bitter, salty taste.

My favorite for the night, the Chicken Satay, came with a generous helping of Sweet Peanut Sauce. The satay was grilled to a golden brown color. The meat was soft and tender, plus the sauce gave it a lot of flavor. The excessive peanut sauce was forgivable due to the excellent mix of tastes.

We also had the Indonesian Chicken Curry, which was a generously topped serving of chicken with curry sauce plus a few extra ingredients such as colored noodles, eggs, peppers, and bay leaf. The taste was similar to one I usually have at home. I must commend them for making it taste homey.

The entire array of the dishes

We also had the Beef Rendang. This was a very underwhelming dish due to the scant quantity of beef and excess amounts of potatoes. I must say that it tasted well even if the quantity was disappointing. It had a fiery kick due to the fresh chili slices on top.

The wall motifs of Vietnam

Another shot.

For dessert, we had their sticky rice with mango. It reminded me of Kakanin due to the way the rice was prepared. The mango served to accentuate the familar flavor of smoked rice. 

We also had their Turon Ala Mode, a mix of fried banana rolls and their homemade basil ice cream. I must say that this was the better dessert since I loved bananas and ice cream. The sweet and light basil flavor was complemented by the strong banana touch.

Me Love You Long Time has a wonderful variety of Asian dishes; but I hope that the restaurant can perform better. There is a lot of potential in their food; yet their offerings need much more improvement.

The restaurant is located at Second Floor, POs Building, Tomas Morato Avenue Corner Scout Madriñan Street, Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

Taco Bell's new Crunchy Core Burrito: an explosion of meaty and cheesy flavors

I was invited by Ms. Sol of Certified Bloggers to Taco Bell in Cyber Place Cubao. As one of their newest branches, the place boasts of a spacious second floor with enough seating for over 120 people. The place was also well lit. 

Just last week, I got a taste of Taco Bell's new product: the Crunchy Core Burrito. As one of their new flagship products, this overload of cheese and other premium ingredients is highly loaded with a mix of everything a traditional burrito has and more. 

The Crunchy Core Burrito has a melted cheese center which is particularly a blend of three cheese sauce and nacho cheese sauce wrapped in their signature flour tortilla in the first layer. The second layer is composed of a melange of tender beef chunks, Mexican rice, sour cream, and their special tomato sauce wrapped in another flour tortilla. This double layered burrito is the epitome of a cheese burrito and a traditional burrito in one. 

The Cheesy Core Burrito is available at Php 139 ala carte with a Php 179 price tag for their combo with nacho chips and drinks.

As I bit into the humongous burrito, I found this to be a good commercial-level Mexican dish. Not super remarkable, but rather unique in its own special way. The mix of Taco Bell's signature ingredients played their parts in giving a good, if not excellent, Mexican experience. There was an interplay of delightful cheesy and tomato flavors that gave the dish a sweet and pleasant taste. The beef was also tender and juicy. Hence, I'd say that while the Burrito was not the best, it had its own distinct taste. I'd say that for its price, the serving was pretty decent. The chips that came with the dish were generously served; but I couldn't help but compare them to commercial flavored chips. As I wash the burrito down with cool iced tea, I enjoyed the meal despite its imperfections.

You can visit Taco Bell at its official websit at tacobell.com.ph or follow them at fb.com/tacobellPHL.

A cross-section of the burrito

The burrito and chips combo

The servings were decent.

A waiter with Taco Bell's newest burrito

Samples for every one

The generous amount of nachos.

A party pack box for the bloggers

The well-lit counter

Taco Bell's combos

The storefront

Another shot

The drinks

Sports Barbers: Dapper, trendy and old-school at the same time!

I have never tried a haircut from higher-end men's barbershop. However, when I saw Sports Barbers in Sm North, I immediately felt curious as to what premium barbershops can offer aside from the usual cut.

According to their representative, Sports Barbers is a brand that is complete with style and elegance for men. This is simply perfect for a generation who has upped the ante when it comes to male grooming. With more radical and new trends in male fashion such as the man-bun, the pompadour, and full-on beards, there is no denying that men have become much more distinctive in their tastes.

Given this new trend, traditional barbershops with their simplistic methods and rustic interiors have given way to classier ones. Sports Barbers is one of those who have seen and fulfilled the demand for a higher level of male grooming when it comes to maintaining their hair. However, Sports Barbers still adheres to the straightforwardness of traditional barbershops with a higher emphasis on style. No barbershop has been more accessible and stylish for today's men than Sports Barbers. It retains the accessibility of the neighborhood barbershop while being a mecca for those who crave excellence in their grooming services.

A testament to their success is the fact that they opened their 12th branch in SM North Edsa just last year.

The ambience and service of this esteemed establishment demonstrates a remarkable flexibility when to comes fulfilling customer requests from trendy styles to classic cuts. This is simply an affirmation of inherent masculine values—adventure, straightforwardness, humor, and good looks. The brand's stylist-barbers can ensure that men come out looking much more dapper than they ever wished for.

According to their CEO, Sports Barbers aims to create a synergy between old-school Filipino barbershop ideals with Western hair stylistics for the maximization of an excellent appearance.

Try it out. Visit Sports Barbers Barbershop at UP Town Center, SM Clark, Ayala Fairview Terraces, SM Mall of Asia, SM Bacoor, SM Bicutan, SM Southmall, SM Cebu, SM Bacolod, Eastwood Citywalk, SM San Pablo, SM San Lazaro and SM North Edsa. You may also like Facebook.com/sportsbarbersph and follow Twitter.com/sbbarbershop and Instagram.com/sbbarbershop.

Jipan: a Japanese bakery with excellent viands for your Japanese cravings!

I had a great time exploring Jipan. This high end Japanese bakery has what it takes to present itself as a uniquely styled restaurant chain in the area. We tried some of their delectable creations. These included:

The Seafood Okonomiyaki, lastly, was a round of pancake topped with sliced cabbage, squid, and brown sauce. It had a salty and bitter taste that was complemented with wonderful dish presentation. I'm not a fan of Okonomiyaki; but I like the pancake's texture and generous topping of cabbage.

Bread for take-out.

Their danish varieties.

JiPan Poppers . The dish was a unique twist on potato balls filled with cream cheese, tempura and crabstick bits, and their special sauce. I like the fact that the dish was light on the taste and not too big on the size.

The oh so delectable cheesecake menu.

Their excellent selection of freshly baked pastries.

The Dynamite Roll, on the other hand, was composed of california maki topped with Tamago, Tempura slices, shrimp and crab bits, cucumber, and kewpie. This was the epitome of the sushi dishes they had to offer. It was truly an overload in itself.

The Spicy Tuna Salad, on the other hand, reminded me of Rice Krispies. This uniquely styled dish was composed of ground fried tuna bits complete with the breading. It came with an especially spicy sauce. I loved the dish's texture and spicy taste.

Jipan is located at G/F Robinson's Magnolia.