For our next food feature, we tried out Lugang Café at SM Mall of Asia!

Lugang Café is a Shanghai-based Bellagio restaurant, which is known to be the epitome of elegance and style. Being the first branch outside China, Lugang Café is already taking the culinary world by storm, having already garnered nationwide recognition such as the highly prestigious Philippine Tatler’s 100 Best Restaurant Awards.

Lugang Café is no ordinary Chinese restaurant. It offers a posh and contemporary feel. It gives a warm surrounding that makes you feel comfortable and at the same time enjoy your meal.

Steamed Pork Xiao Ling Bao, a steamed bun from Shanghai origins, is traditionally steamed in small bamboo baskets. It is often referred to as soup dumplings.

Traditionally the Xiao Long Bao is a kind of dim sum or snack item, as well as a kind of xiaochi or “small eat”. The buns are served hot in the bamboo baskets in which they were steamed. The buns are usually dipped in Chinkiang vinegar with ginger slivers. They are traditionally served with a clear soup.

Then we had Stir-Fry Beef With Chili Peppers. It is not one of the house specialties, but it is certainly a must try! With well-tenderized meat and the taste of spices with every bite, this meal can take you to the heavens.

And last, we had Mixed Mushroom With X.O Sauce, which is actually a good dish for those who want to trim down their consumption of meat or for those who are health-conscious.

There is definitely a whole lot more to try out next time! Bottomline, it is indeed a place of clean and authentic Chinese food - that makes you want to come back for more.

Binondo is not stranger to food establishments, while Don Bei is no stranger to food bloggers and tourists since much have been already said about this humble little diner.

The place is surrounded with utmost simplicity, no fancy lights, no designs, but don’t let that be the judgment of the food they serve. 

Dong Bei Dumplings is known for their dumplings, whether fried or steamed. You get to choose what to put inside your dumplings. You have a range of kutchai and cabbage, to mixed pork and vegetables or plain pork, to shrimp. We tried steamed pork dumplings which go in 14 pieces for P100.

Their dumplings are made fresh everyday. Yes, dumplings are made fresh from the dough to the filling. They even make the dumplings at the eating area, so you get to see how they do these tasty delights. 

The dumplings go with a special vinegar with soy sauce and garlic, which is diluted in water, that gives each dumpling a distinct flavor. If you want to spice things up a bit, you can add chili.

We also ordered kutchai or dumplings with chives, but with noodle soup this time. It may taste a bit bland for some people, but the noodles are soft and you can really tell its freshness. The chives, on the other hand, gives the meal texture. The simplicity it provides makes this as a comfort food.

Make sure to visit Dong Bei Dumplings at 642 Yuchengo St., Binondo, Manila. We assure you, they do not disappoint.

After a short haitus, the Eat and Run crew is now back on their feet to feature food spots across the Metro!

For our comeback, we visited the newly opened Brgr Project branch at Taft - Vito Cruz, at the ground floor of the Grand Towers.

At the Burger Project, you can create and customize your own burger. There are more than 50,000 combinations, so it is pretty certain that what you create is unique and very much your own!

There is no fixed menu but there is a checklist for you to fill up and you get to choose what stuff you put on your burger and removing those condiments or toppings you dislike.

Basic patties cost at P99 each and you can stack them to the maximum of three patties per burger. Isn’t that overwhelming and cool at the same time? Aside from all-meat, you can go veg as they have choices for their vegan customers. They have oatmeal bread and tofu patties available.

If you’re in a hurry, you can try their designer burgers. These burgers are already prepared for you and you no longer have to decide what to put on your burger. These burgers are pre-selected by Chef Edward Bugia.

Make sure to visit the Brgr Project at Taft. They are open daily at 11 AM to 12 MN.  They also have a branch at 122 Maginhawa St., Teachers’ Village, QC.

For the next feature, the crew went to Alabang Town Center, not just for them to have another food stakeout, but also to be able to attend our first meet-up!

Since we were craving for desserts, we decided to check out Banapple: Pies and Cheesecakes.

This store is not just a home for desserts, but to sumptuous and affordable meals that will surely have your stomach filled with greatness.

The place has standard lighting with themes of avant-garde and an ordinary cafe look but what makes this place different is the food and the quality of service that they offer to their customers.

This Cheese & Mushroom Pie that costs P75 is certainly appetizing. You can choose to have it with a sidedish of potato salad. Their pies come in huge servings so it is advisable that you have a buddy along to share it with you.

On the other hand, Pasta Verde is dedicated for people who are health-conscious, or for those who want to try out something out of the ordinary. With the pasta cooked al-dente and served with bread, eating this dish will feel like you’re at Rome. It is equally delicious with the standards of pasta overseas. Highly-recommended for pasta-lovers.

Banapple will leave you with this impression that what they serve and what they are able to provide is always good, and these things will definitely keep you coming back for more.

After a short hiatus, the Eat and Run crew is now back on their feet and shows the latest food feature.

Katsu is an abbreviation of the word “katsuretsu,” which means cutlet. It generally refers to a piece of meat that is breaded and deep-fried. The dish was introduced to the Japanese culture in the late 19th century during the Meiji period when Japan adapted the Western influence.

In the beginning, beef was used; however, due to the more popular choice of meat in the 1900s, pork was adapted, eventually giving birth to other dishes such as tonkatsu, (“ton” is Japanese for “pork”).

In Yabu, they take the art of making katsu very seriously from the choice of ingredients to the way they prepare and cook the katsus even enlisting the services of popular Tokyo tonkasu restaurant Chef Kazuya Takeda of Takeshin Bunten to train their chefs.

Each order of tonkatsu came with a bowl of sesame seeds and a wooden mortar to ground them.

After grounding the sesame seeds, you then add tonkatsu sauce (Japanese Worcestershire sauce with apple puree) to finish off the sauce. After all that sauce ceremony, its time for the true test, eating time.

When you are served our Yabu Katsu, you can tell the difference right away - the katsu is so crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, you can slice it with chopsticks.

The secret lies in the fresh, quality ingredients, and our method of cooking:

The coating is made from fresh panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) everyday in our restaurant, ensuring that the bread flakes are long, light and crispy. 

The cabbage that is served on the side is without dressing, you can add either the vinaigrette or sesame dressing provided on the condiment tray. The cabbage salad is also refillable, so eat and munch to your heart or more appropriately your tummies content

For non pork eaters, they have chicken as well as some seafood like scallops, shrimps and oysters.  

After going to the Pyromusical competition held at the SM Mall of Asia, the crew had dinner at The French Baker, which is known for serving quality breads and bake-shop items, that a lot of people enjoyed to consume.

According the aforementioned’s website, “The French Baker has built its success out of its Founder and President Johnlu G. Koa’s vision for innovation: to take the idea of the neighborhood bakery to the next level, allowing every Filipino to enjoy freshly-baked, high-quality, and affordable breads.” 

We ordered carbonara fettucini, that has a creamy milky sauce with bacon strips and bread. The fettucini embraces the sauce that gives you a fulfilling feel of every spoonful of pasta.

On the other hand, a newly offered dish, lasagna verde definitely doesn’t disappoint. It has spinach, vegetables and herbs that gives the meal its distinct aroma and taste. For your enjoyment, it is topped with a lot of cheese and bread. This dish is perfect for those people who have a strict diet or to those who just want to have a taste of a vegetarian lasagna.

The house-famous hamburger steak has creamy mashed potato and mixed vegetables as side dish. What makes this different compared to other hamburger steaks is that the burger was steamed not grilled.