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.

Take a refreshing break from the busy roads of Taft in this small cafe located at Vito Cruz. Upon entering Cafe Noriter, your eyes will instantly be given a treat due to the quirky colors of the establishment. Cafe Noriter exemplifies a coffee shop of character and aesthetic appeal. The funky walls with easy lighting is matched with bursts of colorful decorations here and there such as the hand decorated white cups that are displayed on racks as well as hung from the ceiling.

The word ‘Noriter’ means playground in Korea which perfectly explains the playfulness of the place. The decorations give this coffee shop tons of personality and the customers even get a hand in contributing the designs.

Just like any other cafe, Cafe Noriter offers a range from blended coffee to tea, and from pastries to desserts. What makes it unique is the ambiance of the cafe which soothes you after a long stressful day.

Anything on the menu is practically good and at the same time affordable. The crew enjoyed the banana split and iced coffee.

HOW TO GET THERE: Take a public transit en route to Taft, drop by at Vito Cruz and proceed to the building of Tapa King. Noriter is at the 2nd floor of the Tapa King Building.

Kung Hei Fat Choi to our Chinese readers and foodies! For the next feature, the crew went to Binondo. Established in 1594, the Binondo Chinatown is known as the oldest Chinatown in the world.

Binondo was created by Spanish Governor Luis Pérez Dasmariñas as a permanent settlement for Chinese immigrants, called the sangleys, who converted to Catholicism. It is located across historical Intramuros, where most of the Spanish resided.

The Spanish Dominican fathers made Binondo their parish and succeeded in converting many of the residents to Catholicism. Binondo soon became the place where Chinese immigrants converted to Catholicism, intermarried with indigenous Filipino women and had children, who became the Chinese mestizo community. 

For our Binondo food feature, we had a taste of The Original Savory Restaurant, which was established way back 1950 by the four Ting Brothers.

The four Ting brothers started a small panciteria in Quiapo. The panciteria served only the lomi at first. After the World War II, they decided to expand their menu to serve more Filipino and Chinese dishes to their loyal customers.

The Ting brothers developed a special recipe for the fried chicken and gravy that became popular not only with the Chinese community, but to the Filipino families as well. 

After 60 years, theOriginal Savory’s first branch located at the foot of Jones Bridge still continues to serve the old recipes passed on by the forefathers, maintaining the flavor that elevated its fried chicken to an emulated status.

We had the tasty Savory Chicken served with their signature gravy. The meatiness and the juiciness of the chicken keep you coming back for more, and the gravy certainly compliments its great taste.

We had chicken with the traditional Chinese fried rice, called the Yang Chow Fried Rice. It goes well with anything on the menu.

If you love Iced Tea, you better try Savory’s signature Lemon Iced Tea. It is certainly sweet and sour at the same time, giving a taste of both worlds.

The Original Savory currently has 9 branches across the Metro. You can check their Facebook page here.

A comfortable place with great food doesn’t come along easy nowadays. But if you are in search for Italian food at Metro Manila, you must drop by at The Old Spaghetti House.

Upon entering The Old Spaghetti House, one enters inside a different world. The restaurant is lit with dim lights, booths are lined along the walls, stained glass lamps hover above the tables, and antique furniture pieces are showcased all over the walls.

Living by their motto of “Treasures Waiting to be Discovered,” their menu is certainly a treasure waiting to be discovered.

Spaghetti meals are priced between P80.00 to P170.00. The Average check is P150.00 - 180.00. The cornerstone of The Old Spaghetti House philosphy is to offer outstanding value to everyone. Quality of food, service and ambiance are to be kept high at all times while maintaining moderate to inexpensive pricing.

If you’re not for pasta, The Old Spaghetti House also offer rice meals for you to enjoy.