Manila's top secret buffet place [you wish!]

when my mother-in-law, told me we were going to have dinner in a buffet place which charged only P195 per head for adults, i wasn't sure what to think.  you won't find a decent place serving buffet for that low a price even here in davao.  the cheapest here is atleast P270++ per person.  so when dinner time came, i convinced myself not to expect anything and prepare for what might be a night of gastronomic disappointment.

i happily realized that my fears were unfounded as soon as we stepped into the restaurant.

 

The buffet table was filled with unexpectedly good mostly chinese fare.  and the variety was surprising!  from the more common ones like sweet and sour pork, yang chow fried rice, and pancit canton to oyster cakes, a tofu dish, steamed lapu-lapu in soy sauce.  they also had siomai, congee and bird's nest soup and even japanese chopstick-food like sushi and maki rolls complete with wasabi and kikoman.  and mind you the california maki's orange-colored roe was real [sorry, i don't know what they are called].  there was also green mango with bagoong, i thought it out of place, but many seemed to like it there.

and the dessert spread was not bad either, from fresh fruits to filipino desserts like buko pandan to chinese buchi.  i 'met' and tasted for the first time steamed egg  in a cup, i found it strange that it was in the dessert area because it was not sweet at all.  but i liked it anyway.

of course, there is a but.  with a price like that you can't expect the ambiance you get from a pricy restaurant.  you can't expect an abundance of space, nor can you expect to be able to eat in peace with soft music in the background.  we shared the place with a big group which was celebrating somebody's birthday.  of course they sang and accompanied it with a birthday cake and loud cheering and clapping as the celebrant blew the candle.  on the other side of our table was a group of co-workers probably in an impromptu after work dinner escapade, so they also contributed to the noise.  and of course add to that the other sounds you expect to hear in a busy chinese restaurant.

well, obviously it's not really a secret dining destination.  the place was filled to the brim when we arrived.  Luckily, a big group was just starting to leave so we managed to get a big round table fast.  we were 18 in all [yes, the hubby's side of the family is a big one, we weren't even complete that night] so we were kinda scattered into different tables.  we spent only P3kplus that night which really amazed us as we rang up more than double that amount in the past nights.

i would normally advise you to go there early as buffet places usually fill up easily and the quality and freshness of the food usually deteriorates by the hour, not to mention the quantity and variety.  But here it is happily different, they constantly refill all dishes and they serve them freshly prepared until an hour before closing.  so don't worry about the traffic or being late, you're sure to get good food when you arrive.

Tramway Tea House 
76 Sct.Alcaraz Street Cor. Banawe Street, Quezon City
[02]411-1565 / 410-3717
Opens from 11:30 am - 2:30 pm, 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

welcome home!

okay, the pancake house did not originate in davao but i can't help but write about it.  i don't know why but it is one of the places i like to eat and hang-out in especially when i have to go at it alone.  the food rates are not that affordable i know but the homey-ness of the place and it's bright clean interiors just make me feel right at home.  and the food selection si so varied that studying their well-made menu is one of the things i love doing before i make my order.  there's always something interesting and new to try.

but being the segurista and predictable diner, most times, i order the same thing 99% of the time.  a refillable cup of brewed coffee and my favorite [for years now] - the chicken asparagus sandwich.  until just recently [read: yesterday and today] i ended up ordering this combo, even if i intend to try something else once they hand me the menu.

yesterday afternoon, as i was not that hungry, i wanted something less filling.  i ordered the classic medley which is 2 pancakes with butter and syrup, a side order of sausages and a cup of brewed coffee.  i was careful to just put a couple of drops of syrup but i smothered on the whipped butter.  every bite was a sweet, creamy, fluffy forkful of comfort.  sure, i could make tastier pancakes with bisquick mix, but the magic of Pancake House is this:  you get what you expect.  from the pictures in the menu, to the way the food looks when it is served to you, to that first bite that you make, to the last drop of strong, freshly brewed coffee.  it is consistent, just like home.  until today that is....

today was sadly different, i had to go to SM after fetching my daughter from school.  it was 4pm and my first and only meal was a quick brunch.  i was hungry and my daughter wanted pasta.  we went straight to Pancake House   and i ordered white-sauce pasta for her [i forgot what they called it], it had shiitake mushrooms, asparagus and bacon.  i ordered a taco for myself and the usual strong coffee.  to cut my story short, only the coffee was good.  the pasta was bland and tasteless and the taco filling was 90% garnish and just 10% meat [more of meat paste, actually].

for the first time i was disappointed in my 'home away from home'.  but, no permanent harm done.  the magic is still there, i guess i'll just stick to my good old reliable chicken asparagus sandwich till the next time i'm brave enough to try something else. =P

 [that man is sitting in my favorite booth.  see me in the mirror?]

 my beloved sandwich


Pancake House
2nd Level, SM City
Davao


note:  all pictures were taken a few months ago, during a more satisfying visit.

virtually losing weight

since eating is a major part of my happiness, i have had to try all kinds of diets back when having a great body mattered. from the three day diet, to the cabbage soup diet, to the no rice diet. all these diets had one common thing in particular. they all drove me to such anger, i was ready to kill anybody who crossed me. so i decided to count calories one day and wrote everything i ate in a notebook. i managed to fill up 3 notebooks [i think] but it was the best thing i ever did for my body. i finally achieved a dream: look fit and trim and wear the clothes i wanted to wear.

after my first baby, i did not try to get back to the pre-baby body. nothing motivated me, not even the sight of all those women who so have-it-together. you know, the ones who have toddlers in tow but still look like they came right out of a fashion magazine page. i saw one such 'hot momma' in my little girl's school today, i wanted to rip her head right off. =P

anyway, a few days ago, while i was reading a blog i happened to click on, it was about grungy mommies [ this one got my radar blinking on overdrive], i came accross a link about tracking your calories. and since then i was hooked. it's precisely the reason why i have not been blogging.

fitday.com, i was happy to discover did not only automatically compute my calorie intake but it showed me graphs of my nutrition or the lack of it, activity level and calories burned, and more. call me weird but i finally found something to motivate me to lose all the weight and get moving.

so i'm on my 5th day today, and so far, i am happy with what i've been posting. i'm taking it slow but with direction. and i'm being realistic. there is a downside though, it takes a while for each entry to be uploaded. and not all the food i eat is in its database. but tonight i found redemption. i was able to finish with my inputs faster by opening multiple tabs and working on the different pages one after the other. and checking out calorie equivalents is a breeze if i just google the ones they don't have.

so if you are like me, a person who finds satisfaction and motivation in a planned, methodical, and detailed weight-loss regimen, fitday.com is for you. i'm sure the simple, clean and straightforward interface will excite you. do i hear "obsessive-compulsive" just yet? =P

here's to finally finding my motivation! bottoms-up the diet cola!