Farm to Table at Green Pastures

It's rare that I enjoy eating vegetables more than my share of protein and carbs but that's what happened when I had dinner at Green Pastures.

Green Pastures has a farm to table concept, curating the best local ingredients that our farmers grow and raise here in the Philippines.

Pinoy Egg (125php)

Five minute free range duck eggs wrapped in housemade longanisa over fiddlehead fern salad

Duck You (185php)

Duck fat fries, duck skin chicharon, duck confit

Farmhouse Salad (550php)

Shredded kale, chopped romaine, konbu roast chicken, malagos goat cheese, hard-boiled eggs, dinelli bacon, corn, avocado, grape tomatoes, honey mustard dill vinaigrette

Crab Meat & Sea Urchin Pasta (525php)

Lemon, chives, spaghetti

Roast Organic Chicken (595php)

Konbu brine, lemon, grilled asparagus

What's good and exciting about Green Pastures is that the menu changes depending on the season, making every dining experience different.

Green Pastures is located at the 4/F, Shangri-la Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong. For more information, call 654-3219 / 0922 633-4687 or click here. 

Everything Truffle at Umami Burger

I love burgers and heard a lot of good things about Umami Burger so it was a must try when I was in San Francisco.

Umami Burger offers freshly ground, premium beef patties that are infused with secret ingredients that have umami (a flavor that falls outside salty, sweet, bitter, and sour) properties. Umami induces salivation and a sensation of furriness on the tongue, stimulating the throat, the roof, and the back of the mouth.  

Umami Burger has full bar service and wait staff, concepts not common for most burger joints.

Umami's Bar Menu

I had a hard time narrowing down my choice as I wanted to try a lot of things on the menu!!! In the end, my meal consisted of The Royale Burger with a side of truffle fries and root beer.

Abita Root Beer

Bottled root beer is the best!

Truffle Em' Thin Fries

Fries are topped with truffle cheese and truffle salt.  Sad that they scrimped on truffle.

The Royale 

Beef patty topped with braised short rib, roasted garlic aioli, and truffle cheese.

Just look at that beautiful chunk of meat! The patties at Umami Burger are always cooked medium rare just the way I like it! Flavors were spot on and the melt-in-your-mouth ribs tied the Royale Burger beautifully. 

Umami Burger has multiple branches in California, Florida, and New York. For more information, click here.

Diners in San Francisco

I love diner food so I made sure to have my fill of classic greasy Americana that these late night joints offered when I was in San Francisco.

I'm glad to have had the chance to visit the iconic Fog City Diner at Embarcadero before it went on a serious remodel. It has now reopened minus its neon lights and black & white tiles which is sad because I loved it the way it was.

Mac & Cheese

Bacon Burger

Lori's Diner,  located at the heart of Union Square, reminded me of Pop Tate's Chock'lit Shoppe from the Archies. 

Food certainly didn't look appetizing but it sure was filling. I have to admit though that Lori's Diner was my least favorite among the diners I tried.

Buffalo Wings

Lori's Garden Salad

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Reuben Sandwich

Chicken Fried Steak

Lori's Signature Burger

Vanilla Milkshake

Hot Chocolate

We also went for snacks at Mels Drive-in which has many locations in California. Some might recognize this diner because there are replicas of Mel's Drive-in at Universal Studios theme parks worldwide. 

Photo Credit: http://www.melsdrive-in.com/

Mel's Drive-in also gets a failing mark in presentation just like most diners but food, I promise, tasted better than it looked.

 Cheese Fries

Short Rib Sliders

The Famous Melburger

Chicken Salad Sandwich

Spaghetti & Meat Balls

Cheeseburger

Fog City is located at 1300 Battery St, San Francisco, California 94111, United States. For more information click here.
Lori's Diner has multiple branches in San Francisco. For more information, click here.
Mels Drive-in has multiple branches in California. For more information, click here.

Keeping Fresh at In-N-Out

A trip to the West Coast isn't complete without visiting In-N-Out. Lucky for us, there's an In-N-Out branch at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

Fisherman's Wharf branch

In-N-Out appears to have a very basic menu, but you can click here to learn more about their not-so-secret menu.

Everything tastes 100 times better with fresh ingredients and this is exactly the reason why In-N-Out has an almost cult-like following. It has managed to keep its ingredients fresh and has avoided using preservatives unlike most burger joints.

Our Tray

Cheeseburger

Perfectly Toasted Bun + 100% pure American Beef Patty  + American Cheese + Fresh Vegetables = Burger Heaven

Double-Double Cheeseburger

Double Beef Patty + Double Cheese = Double Happiness

Animal Style Fries from the Not-So-Secret Menu

Hand Cut Potatoes + Special Spread with Pickles and Onions = Best Fast Food Fries 

For the best bang for your burger buck, In-N-Out is it!

In-N-Out has locations in Northern California, Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah & Texas. For more information, click here.

A Break in Lotteria

I needed a break from eating traditional Korean cuisine after a couple of days in South Korea. I headed to Lotteria in Myeongdong.

Lotteria is a fast food chain serving burgers, fries, and fried chicken. Exactly what I needed!!!

Fries

Not the best fries I've had but I didn't care.  

BBQ & Spicy Sauce

Fried Wings

The chicken had very crispy skin and was also juicy inside. The BBQ and spicy dips made it a winner.

Bulgogi Burger

Very sweet and lacked flavor. Should have ordered the popular shrimp burger.

Of course, Lotteria will not compare to the more popular chains but it's worth a visit for those who want to experience American fast food with a Korean twist. 

Lotteria has multiple branches in South Korea. For more information, click here. 

Steak and and Fries at L' Entrecote

I've always wanted to try L'Entrecote and it took a deal from a local coupon site for plans to finally push through. 

In French, entrecote means a premium cut of beef used for steaks which is why entrecote is a word that is commonly used in Europe for restaurants that feature steak dishes. 

It's no different here in Manila with L'Entrecote serving US steak in secret herb butter sauce as its house specialty.

Thanks to the online deal, our 3 course meal with wine at L'Entrecote only cost 595php per person.

Complimentary Bread

Red Wine

House Salad with Dressing and Walnuts

Fresh and crisp. My favorite element, of course, was the walnuts.

Unlimited L'Entrecote Fries

Anything fried is addictive to eat and this was no different. Made from real potatoes.

US Prime Choice L'Entrecote Steak Topped with the Special, Secret Herb  Butter Sauce

Steak was properly cooked but it didn't have the wow factor. The much hyped secret herb sauce also left me underwhelmed as it didn't help in highlighting the meat.

Raspberry Iced Vacherin Cake

Loved the nutty half of the cake but not the raspberry part which was sour.

I left L'Entrecote feeling mildly satisfied but I'm sure I would have felt differently without the deal.

L'Entrecote is located at Unit A, Bellagio 2, Burgos Circle, Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. For more information, click here.