Everyday is a Different Story

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Patricia Eats: The Burger Lab

Never play with your food.

It was always a rule at the dining table. I've lost count how many times parents and elders remind the young ones, or how strangers and fellow diners frown upon little children toying with the food on their plates. But at The Burger Lab, I think it is well encouraged to have a little fun with your meal.

Our office recently relocated to Five E-com in MOA Complex. Not that it's a big deal, but we're at the gastronomically-friendly side of the area. With half of the mall being renovated and lunch staples are closed, it's either we bring baon to work or look for new places to eat in.

I was on a quest to find good burgers. Lo and behold, there's a new burger place in the Prism Plaza (Two E-com). I've only heard of its name, but after checking out social media and of course Looloo and Zomato, I was convinced I should try it. A few days ago, I was able to convince Eunice and Efren too. Yay!

The Burger Lab is actually a bar. But there's more on the menu beyond alcohol. I carefully reviewed the menu on Zomato. There are several ways you can get a burger, from a plain "Sad Burger" to the most adventurous one like the "The Cardiac Burger". The menu is easy to look at - the name of the burger, the ingredients and of course the price. Price ranges from Php170 to Php360.

Eunice's Cheese-Stuffed Burger (Php230); effin' oozing with cheese!

Efren got a Pizza Burger. With extra bacon. The love affair of meat and guys. Lol. Medyo nainggit ako sa mozzarella cheese. Costs Php225 before the bacon. He then asked for ketchup, and whoa. It came in a syringe.

I got this Smoked Gun Burger (Php270), because between a spicy chicken burger (Buffalo Soldier Burger) and one with barbecue sauce, barbecue wins for me. The coolness factor with this one was it came in a glass cover, smoking, then revealed my burger. It was a good burger, the patty was really juicy and the coleslaw was just the right amount of tang. Although I'd prefer to order this next time with the barbecue sauce in a separate container. It was too much for me - but it was still good that I want to order it again next time.

We also had milkshakes (Php120) - what burger meal would be complete without milkshakes? I got a classic vanilla milkshake, which is usually my test for good or bad milkshakes. The others got chocolate milkshakes. I personally liked the creamy vanilla flavor, but the fact that their blend still had chunks of ice in it doesn't make me want to recommend this to anyone. It's pretty good though, an insect dove in my drink and enjoyed it.

Efren also ordered chicken wings (Php195). Weird as it is, it was supposed to be an appetizer but was served after we were finished with our burgers and almost done with our milkshakes. One order's about 6 pieces, so it was enough for the three of us. It was not that spicy as I was expecting it to be, and it the ranch dip really complemented the wings.

I'd give this restaurant 4 stars (out of 5). If it weren't for the milkshake-stealing insect and the late chicken wings, I'd give the Burger Lab a perfect 5 stars. But, things happen. And I'd try to remember to ask the server to separate the sauces next time.

The Burger Lab is located at 4/F Prism Plaza, Two E-com Building, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City

Contact Number: 832-5838

Open 2pm - 10pm (Monday - Friday); 2pm - 2am (Saturday)

Monday, July 27, 2015

OOTD: Kumpares Order Of The Day.

It's one of those days of craving. Random, weird cravings. In between juggling out of town trips, work and watching Star Cinema's You're My Boss over and over again, my tummy demanded pares. Warm, tender beef pares.

Too bad I don't live in Retiro. Retiro, pares heaven. Ugh. So, Google search. Wooooot! Kumpares has a branch in Muntinlupa!

Kumpares is not a huge fast food chain player. It is not your typical air conditioned, comfy seating, easy to find fast food place. I could say it is a notch higher than your neighborhood carinderia, but hey, that's what makes pares, pares. The best ones are served in the places that looks like they blend in with your neighborhood. And Kumpares is homey enough to give you that lutong bahay ambiance.

The menu is made of classic pares dishes like beef pares and mami as well as adventurous ones like chicken nuggets and bagnet. It's really a bang for your buck, meals start at Php55 depending on what pares you'll order. Each meal comes with unlimited garlic rice, which by the way tastes good.

One #pataygutomweekend with Nix, JR and Darwin led us to eating at Kumpares at 1 in the morning. (Thanks, Darwin!) Service was quite fast, prolly because we're the only customers there. I ordered a classic beef pares. It was okay. I didn't expect it to be the likes of Jonas' and Pares Mami House, but for Php55, it was worth it. I had 1.5 servings of rice. Lol.

Darwin got the beef-chicken-pork pares, Nix got beef pares and JR was adventurous with chicken nuggest pares. Masaya naman kami sa inorder namin.

Would I go back to Kumpares? Yes. I'd like to try the other pares combos. Especially if I get another post-midnight craving. And I would definitely want to try their barbecue. :)

What's your order of the day?

Kumpares is open 24/7 (except Holidays) and has branches all over Metro Manila and in nearby provinces. Click here to view a branch near you.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Colors and Festivity: Pahiyas 2015

I didn’t really sign up for an adventure. I just wanted to go out with my friends and buy langgonisang lucban. Then I realized I wanted to see why people are talking about the Pahiyas Festival. I was raised to embrace my Tagalog heritage (Quezon and Laguna) but never in my life have I witnessed Lucban’s Pahiyas Festival.

The original plan was to climb up the steps of Kamay niHesus. After that? Bahala na.

My friend Nix and I did a little research – people offering tours and packages during the Pahiyas Festival goes from Php1,000 to a little over Php2,000. It seemed a pretty good idea but the meeting point was somewhere in Pasay or Cubao, places far from where we are. You see, living in Alabang and a stone’s throw away from Laguna and SLEX has its advantages. This should be one of them.

We asked around the rate of renting our own van. Assuming this plan will be cheaper since we’re already in the south. Van rentals ranged from Php3,000 to Php6,500. We figured we’d just get more people to join us to split the costs. (Thank you JR and Darwin for joining the adventure!)

Having our own transportation also gave us the liberty to plan an itinerary that we want. We included going to the underground cemetery in Nagcarlan, take a dip in Taytay Falls in Majayjay and even stop at Liliw to buy footwear. It seemed like it was all well planned.

We agreed to leave Alabang at 5AM, but we really left past 6. We wanted to leave early to catch the morning mass at Lucban. Running late, we proceeded with the plan to go straight to Kamay ni Hesus. We took the Calamba-Los Banos-Victoria-Bay-Nagcarlan-Majayjay-Lucban route. We should have taken the detour to Luisiana after Majayjay to get straight to Kamay ni Hesus but the route is too far to go back so we decided to explore on our own. (Traveler tip: Going to Kamay ni Hesus is easy but during the Pahiyas Festival, do not take the Sto. Tomas route as traffic will be heavy in most of Quezon’s towns going to Lucban.)

photo by Jei Torres of BBPM Coverage

A few kilometers into the town of Lucban, traffic enforcers and marshals blocked the road to the town proper. This made us decide to park the van somewhere and take a tricycle to town (Php10/person). We would have walked but it started to rain. The tricycle driver was kind enough to tell us how to go to the Grotto (Locals’ term for Kamay ni Hesus) after dropping us off at the San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Parish Church. We just lit a few candles, offered prayers and went our way.

Langgonisang Lucban Pizza (Php150) photo by @jesmille

Following the tricycle driver’s instructions, we started walking to the other side of town (landmark: Southern Luzon State University or SLSU to locals), where we could get another tricycle which will take us to the Grotto. It was 11am, it was humid and the smell of langgonisang Lucban is not helping. While walking, we spotted a vendor of langgonisa rice meals but we didn’t buy that. We bought the Langgonisang Lucban Pizza - which is not bad, I must say. The store didn’t look festive to me – there was no decors whatsoever. I asked. Every year, the route of the parade is changed – and only those included in the route are tasked to decorate their houses with crops, fruits, vegetables and kiping. Kiping is a brightly colored leaf-shaped wafer made of rice paste. (I actually thought kiping is a suman.) No colorful kipings = not the parade route.

photo by Jei Torres of BBPM Coverage

The tricycle ride from SLSU to Grotto was about 5-10minutes. Entrance to the Grotto is free. There were a lot of people inside the park. I’m not sure if that’s the usual crowd or because of the festival.

Depending on your stamina and determination, climbing up the steps could take from 15 minutes to an hour (?). But. It’s. Worth. It. (Traveler tip: bring a bottle of water on your way up, especially if you’re climbing mid-day, like we did. There are no vendors on top of the hill, except for an ice cream vendor, so you’ll really feel thirsty when you’re up there.)

We decided to head back to town and figure out where we’ll eat lunch. Luckily, Nix’s lolo has a house in town. We were treated to lunch in their house. Quezon staples: pancit habhab and hardinera. Then the usual Pinoy food. We decided to forget the original itinerary and waited for the parade. JAVIER AND I WANNA SEE CARABAOS!

photo by Jei Torres of BBPM Coverage

Going around town was nice - the colorful kiping-decorated houses indeed made this festival the most colorful I've ever seen. After the parade, it was time to buy pasalubongs before heading home. #WhenInQuezon, don't forget to buy a couple dozens of langgonisang Lucban, as well as noodles for pancit habhab and broas (lady fingers). Although not originally from Lucban, you'll see stores selling the well-known Rodillas Yema Cake. While it is still relatively cheap (compared to online sellers' prices), I must warn you that carrying a box or two of this delicate dessert is a bit worrisome during a festival - it's crowded and hot. If you must, go ahead and buy puto flan/leche puto as well.
Will I go through all the hassle again of walking for a day in Lucban for Pahiyas? HELL YES I WILL. Photos below will tell you about the awesome time we had. (All photos are mine unless where credited.)