0 Dinner at Pizza Hut Bistro

February 23, 2012 – Dinner time. Me and my Grumpy decided to get a late night dinner. We can’t decide where, but we eventually got our feet in Gateway Mall, Cubao. This is the most accessible and easiest place for us with the good help of LRT.

Since it was already closing time, we didn’t bother to check out other restaurants. We immediately got ourselves a seat in Pizza Hut Bistro. I was excited to get a taste of my favorite pasta – Aglio Olio and my Grumpy on his penne in cream & tomato pasta. There were only a few tables occupied that time since it was almost closing time.

Here’s what we got:

Aglio Olio Pasta

My all-time favorite Aglio Olio of Pizza Hut was a boo that time. I dunno, but maybe it because it was already almost closing time that their cooks are anxious to go home. See from the photo that it has still some liquid with it. Tsk. And because of this, the taste was also affected.. Sad..

This one’s my 2nd favorite. My Grumpy loves this sooo much that he orders this everytime we’re in Pizza Hut Bistro.

Tuscani Roast Beef Pizza

This pizza is really good. My Grumpy didn’t like that it has mayonaise on top. But I thought, it was just right. The sourness of mayonaise was just enough to compliment the taste of the beef and cheese.

Bottomless Mountain Dew & Shirly Temple

I still love this place and their food.

Aglio Olio – Php 109.00

Penne Pasta – Php 159.00

Tuscani Pizza – Php 349.00

Bottomless Mountain Dew – Php 79.00

Shirly Temple – Php 150.00

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Total: Php 846.00

My own rating:

Food : 4 out of 5

Service : 4 out of 5

Ambiance : 4 out of 5

Price : 4 out 5

Pizza Hut Bistro

Location: GF Gateway Mall, Araneta Center, Cubao QC Philippines

Website: Here

Contact: (02) 911-11-11

Love,

1 Pizza Hut's Aglio Olio Pasta

I have tried this twice now and I always end up wanting for second serving. Spaghetti pasta's cooked al dente. Full of two types of garlic - sauteed garlic and crunchy garlic bits. Bits and pieces of anchovies which is giving the pasta its perfect saltiness. And a hint of spiciness from its red chili flakes which I love, so much! 

This tops my list. I just hope Pizza Hut will not remove it from their menu. Perfect seasoning with the great blend of garlic texture. This is definitely worth trying and going back. Ciao!

1 Starbucks' Spam Classic, Egg and Cheese on Cornmeal Bread

I have an early errand to do one morning aside from meeting a friend that day, so I decided to grab a coffee while waiting for her. While I was waiting for my coffee, this sandwich caught my attention. It just look so yummy and was very hard to resist. The next thing I know is I have it on my tray with my coffee. 

Creamy scrambled egg layered with melted American cheddar cheese on artisan cornmeal bread. Simply described but really mouthwatering. I just love 'et! 

1 Bellini's : In Cubao Expo

We don't usually celebrate Chinese New Year with my family. We have no single drop of Chinese blood so this not on our vocabulary. Last night, my husband told me that there's a fireworks display in Cubao area in celebration of this. Since we usually go out to dine, aside from this is the most accessible place for us, just one ride in LRT, we went ahead after attending mass. 

Cubao was super jam-packed. We're supposed to have dinner at Hap Chan but there also a lot of customers waiting to be seated. We walked around and landed in Cubao Expo. I've been interested in this place. You know, I grew up to be a Cubao kid. Cubao - SM, Ali Mall and COD are my playground when I was a kid. This is the only shopping place I knew before. lol! We walked around the Cubao Expo and found some really interesting places to eat. There, I also saw the vntage Valentino shoes brand which is from Marikina. Oh, while walking around this place, I felt like it was 20yrs ago.. 

We decided to have dinner at Bellini's. An Italian restaurant opened on July 1999. Quite an establishment already here but its our first time to visit last night. This is the best kept secret of Cubao Expo, they say. I was so amazed with this place. Really, really, super amazed. The place really looks good. It feels like you are are in the ancient time in an Italian restaurant. Painted walls and ceilings, all showcasing Italian places and scenes. And hey, their waiters are also Italian-speaking. Beat that! Our waiter recommended their Aglio Olio e Peperoncino. This is not actually part of the menu but since I had a hard time deciding what to order, he recommended this instead. So I ordered for this which didn't disappoint me. I love it! 

Spaghetti  with typical garlic with olive oil with the tradition of Peperoncino chili

Blue Marlin Alla Griglia - Grilled fish with butter sauce

Ai Frutti de Mare

Rigatoni Cocinghiale Penne Selvaggi - Really good sauce.
This is also not part of the menu

You can also buy cheese from them!

This place and food is awesome! A bit pricey but its all worth of your every penny. After we finished our food, we were served with their complimentary shot of red wine which was personally made by the owner - Mr. Bellini himself, tastes like sweet grape juice with a bit of alcohol. 

Bellini's is located in Cubao Expo (formerly Marikina Shoe Expo). Go and try this awesome place! =)

0 Bruno Mars Concert

It says in the ticket that the show will start at 8pm. Since we didn’t get the tickets for reserved seats, we tried to be early. Let me tell you remember what happened on a timeline mode. =)

6pm : We arrived in Araneta around this time. There were a lot of people lining up already waiting to be able to come in. The place was so busy. Lots of Security Guards, men in blue shirt with the word ‘Marshall’ printed on the back.. The ticket counter was busy too. I think the concert management decided to sell some more standing room only tickets due to demands of the people. We lined up, patiently waiting…

6:15pm : The woman in front of us started to check her bag. Then her pockets. Looking so nervous and scared, she started panicking. She told her daughter that she can’t find her ticket. The daughter started to get worried also. They looked and looked on all of their bags and pockets, but no concert ticket appeared. Then they called the marshall. They told him what happened. Not sure what they talked about  coz I’m busy tweeting. LOL Then the mother and daughter disappeared. I think, they were not able to find their tickets and just decided to go home. Sad..

6:30pm : The line started moving. And we can see people starting to get inside with all smiles in their face. Then our turn. We were so excited. I did not let go of my husband’s hands as I was afraid that I might lost him in the crowd.

6:40pm : We got our seats. Right in front of the stage. Super nice! We took a seat and then just looked around with people busy choosing where they wanna be seated. Hotdogs, bottled water, popcorn, french fries and pizza are available for the people while waiting. Even shades with flashing lights in different colors were being sold. No, we didn’t but anything.

7pm: I was busy taking pictures. My husband went to the comfort room and when came back, he got us Jamaican Patty – our favorite! So yum. But since they were fresh from the oven, it was so hard to eat them as they were super dooper hot. Beatles songs were being played while waiting for the show to start.

7:15pm: I called the bottled water vendor and got two.

7:30pm : There’s this girl who’s in a completely backless top roaming around looking for available seats. Up and down, left and right.. She’s pretty by the way.

8pm : People started to show their excitement. Clapping, shouting and all other things that can get the attention of the organizer to start the show. A few celebrities were also spotted: Jinky Pacquiao with her Mom and Sister, Valerie Concepcion with her daughter, Kris Aquino, Vice Ganda, Raymond Guttierez (not really sure if its Raymond or Richard though) and many more.

8:10pm : Juris, previously with MYMP came out of the stage. She got a very nice face in screen. She sang two songs. Good voice, too.

8:25pm : Michael Copon and some dancers came out. I would say, I thought we were in the wrong show. LOL Well, he’s just doing the front acts before the main show. This guy’s hot! Handsome, moreno-looking, tall. He is the Blue Ranger in the Power Rangermovie – interesting! I was all smiles when he was singing. He requested for a girl to come up in stage andthe rest is history. All the kilig moments you can think of. I can say, he knows how to excite the crowd and he’s good. Hahaha!

8:45pm : No Bruno Mars yet. Beatles songs started to play again. People were getting impatient. There were a long dead stage moments. People shouting, clapping their hands, shouting Bruno’s name, etc.. Me, I am getting impatient too..

9:10pm : Crowd went wild. Bruno Mars is on stage already. This is all I can say, O.M.G.! He’s really good. The expensive tickets are all worth it. Me and my husband enjoyed it so much. Bruno sang most of the crowd’s favorite songs: Billionaire, Marry you, Grenade, Nothing On You, Just The Way You Are and many many more. hey were a couple of times where we had to stand and dance. Haha!

10:10pm : He announces his last song.. After singing, he said ‘I’m a Filipino. I promise to coma back soon. I wanna see the same faces again!’ People got wild again, shouting ‘More! We want more!’ But he went ahead.. I saw everybody standing. No one sat after Bruno left the stage. People were still shouting.. No one is sitting. Everybody was hoping Bruno will back on stage and sing another song.

10:20pm : And… he’s back, on stage! he changed his top already. He gave in to the people’s request for another song. But he gave more. He did a song and dance number. Super nice!!

10:35pm : Show is over. Everybody’s happy. We really enjoyed it. Every penny spent to the get the tickets, was all worth it.

0 The Red Crab Experience

To celebrate our 1st new year as husband and wife, we decided to check-in in one of the hotels in Manila and then have a very good dinner date. Yes, we love to eat. And yes, we do still stay in a hotel kahit na mag-asawa na kami. But don’t get me wrong, okay? I said, hotel, not motel. Ayt?

We chose the Gateway Mall in Cubao, Quezon City since it has been ages since the last pasyal namin doon. Initially, plan was to go to our favorite Burgoo. And I dragged my husband to still look for some other place.. And we saw The Red Crab Cafe.

The menu was displayed right at the cafe’s door. So we checked out the prices and it seems affordable naman. LOL. So, we got in. We were welcomed by a so-so waiter. The place is so clean. There were only a few customer that time. A couple and a family of four only, actually. We ordered Beef Rendang and Szechuan Crab. When you order the crab, you will be given the choice between a male or female crab. If you want more crab fat (aligue), I suggest go for the female crab, but if you want more meat, get the male.

The food was great. Super!! If you’re wondering how we ate the crab, they gave us “crab crackers” which we used to crack open the pincers. They also gave us something to pick the pincers with. Were we scared that the sauce might drip onto our clothes? No. Bibs were placed around us by the staff to make sure that we enjoyed our meal without the shame of crab sauce dripping all over the front of our clothes.

Don’t worry, even with the crab crackers and the metal crab picker, they do encourage you to use your hands when eating the crab. Hahaha!

When it’s time to get the tab, it was the most surprising and shocking part of our new year celebration. For a szechuan crab (male – 900g), beef rendang, 2 plain rice, 1 strawberry iced tea (bottomless) and 1 mineral water, it was shockingly Php 2,100.00++. Yes! That ‘s the price of what we ate. Haha! But even if it’s a bit expensive, it’s all worth it. No regrets. We got a new favorite restaurant. Yey! We will definetely go back and will save extra moolah before going there. LOL

Rating:

Place: 9/10

Service: 9/10

Food: 9/10

Price: 7/10

Shempre lumabas pagka kuripot ko. Haha! But this was a very good experience. Another 1st with my husband.