Queue Music: Skyline - Mowe If I were to choose one favorite spot in the Philippines, I'd say Coron in a heartbeat. Its clear blue waters and pristine beaches explains why this place left a mark in my heart. Coron still has one of the richest aquatic ecosystem. There are a lot of snorkeling spots where you can see the different kinds of corals and fish. You will definitely appreciate the beauty of the place more when you get to see the underwater world. ;) Aside from snorkeling spots, Coron also has a lot of good beaches where you can just relax and enjoy the sun. They also have the World's Cleanest Lake - Kayangan! I swear Kayangan would be my forever favorite place. I instantly fell in love with it the first time I saw it - the clear blue water, the peaceful environment, everything. It was just so magical for me. My visit last October was my 3rd consecutive visit in 3 years and I don't regret doing it. Every visit is different from each one. There are new learnings, experiences and people you meet that makes it memorable each time. All my tours were arranged by Nice in Paradise Tours. I have been a loyal customer to this company because they are truly reliable. They pick-up the guests on time (OK, not always but at least they make up for it by being extra approachable and kind). I think that amongst all agencies, Nice in Paradise has the best set of tour packages. Just recently, they added Coron Highlights in their packages. For P1800 (joined tour), you get to see the must-see places in Coron. This tour, was by far, the best tour I've ever been to! All my favorites in one day, how sweet is that! For my past 2 visits, I decided to stay in Sunz En Coron. Though this resort was a bit far from the town proper, transportation was not a problem. The resort management got it figured out for you. Just let them know where you're headed and they'll be the one to call a tricycle for you; best part was it being free. The only thing you probably have to think about is your way back to the hotel but it wouldn't even cause you too much trouble because the fares are relatively cheap. You just have to pay P10-15 for each person and you're ready to go! If you have questions on absolutely anything about the trip to Coron, please do not hesitate to hit me up through a comment or an email! :) PS: This is not a sponsored post.
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Fireside is the sister company of "Kettle". It had very limited food choices on their menu, probably just the same menu as Kettle, only it was changed a bit to make it more asian (or IDK) and others were named differently. Since I was a bit disappointed with the menu, I went for the basics - Buttermilk Chicken and Pasta (Mac & Cheese).
The Buttermilk Chicken (P549), which was made popular by Kettle, was better with Fireside. I wonder if it was because of its cheaper price, everything else tasted 98% the same. It came with cajun honey, gravy and cornbread donuts. It tasted like normal fried chicken to me but would honestly say that the cajun honey made it a bit more interesting than any other fried chicken meal/dish.
We also tried the Smoked Mac and Cheese (P229). The description on the menu said it was topped with bacon bits, but could hardly see any. Maybe it's underneath the burnt top? :D
Nevertheless, I still liked their Smoked Mac and Cheese. It was oozing with cheesiness and I liked it so much. It was flavourful but was just right, it surprisingly complemented the fried chicken. What I don't like about it is the burnt top. It eliminates the excitement because I'm not fond of eating burnt cheese because it removes the flavour, too!
Though very similar to Kettle, I still liked Fireside more. It was cheaper, can you blame me? :D
I was excited when I heard that we will have a Bloggers' Anniversary special at Wingman Collective. I have tried Wingman once and was looking forward to going back again. I haven't had the chance because the branch near my place was too exclusive, it's hard for me to easily swing by.
We were greeted by appetizers when we came. We had Onion Rings (P150) and Parmesan Cheese Curly Twists (P175). I liked the Curly Twists better but that was maybe because it had parmesan cheese on it and I like anything with parmesan at any given day, at any given time!
Among the classic favorites, I must say that this Classic Buffalo Wings still stood out. You can choose the level of spiciness depending on your tastebuds but had to go with the safe one so we tried medium.
I also liked the Garlic Parmesan Wings but wasn't able to take a photo of it because I got too busy devouring the flavor! HEHE.
Moroccan Chermoula had an exotic mix of North African spices that made it taste really strong. I wanted to pair it with rice too but wasn't able to order because it was also the start of Quiz Night. Yup, they hold quiz nights! It's not trending in Manila but at least we know one that does! If you have up to 8 players in the team, head to their Acacia Branch every Thursdays to play!
Game master is the non-Filipino owner (forgot the name though, woops). So expect the questions to be mixed with a lot of International questions, probably those you have not even heard or come across before. I am admittedly bad with trivia questions especially those International ones. If I remember correctly, I was only able to answer 3 out of the 30 questions! HAHAHA.
LOL. Those were just the questions I was able to confidently answer. There was also one round where we had to watch a clip from a movie and guess the title. I wasn't able to answer ANY OF IT! I'm not really fond of watching movies so I wouldn't really be able to contribute much. HAHAHA. While the game was going intense, the newest addition to the Wing Menu was delivered to our table.
Man, it looked intense! Hellfire, as it was named, certainly looked hellfire to me! It was made with Carolina Reaper and Wingman's secret spice and served with cold yogurt to soothe your tongue after taking a bite. I am in love with anything spicy but this one's just too hot for me to handle and can only finish 1/3 of the half dozen.
Fun fact: Wingman knows that this is one spicy dish. They know no one would dare eat it alone so they have this HellFire Challenge in the house! If you're up for a challenge, why not???
Things got pretty intense with the combination of Hellfire and Quiz Night so it was about time we moved to the Beer Pong table to somehow calm down. We were group by 2's and was happy to land a spot on the final round. I am no good when it comes to 'double bounce' shots which made our opponent win. Double bounce shots means insta-win because they can easily finish all their glasses. In this game, you just need 3 double bounce shots and you're done! WOAH.
To finish off the night, I ordered Tiger and Brownie Ala Mode and got to try their Black Bean Burrito (P215). It was the perfect mix to make me feel better being a loser that night!
Wingman was actually the perfect venue for us to have a get-together and celebrate our greatness ;) Alex and Claude, named after the owners, is located at the G/F of the F1 Hotel building (beside hungry hound and across Skinny Mike's). They cater as a one-stop shop to everything nice, healthy and random in the very busy city. They offer various products - from organic food, snacks, ice cream, drinks to buffet lunches, birthday party venues, meeting venues to a mini shop for the kids (or kids at heart) to home tiles. But since I came here to try their organic food, I was only able to capture food-related areas. It's funny how I landed to this store and how I thought of trying out their organic food. I'm not really into those kinds of fad diet but was curious so gave it a go. They have lunch buffets that cost around P299/person and comes with 1 free drink (either unli soda or coffee). Considering the price, I would say that they had the right amount of options for their buffet selection. They had fried rice, fresh lumpia, chapchae, roasted chicken, salad bar, siomai, spaghetti and pata tim. I wasn't very much into pigging out when I went so I just tried a few.
Of course, I went back for more food. But still the same set - chapchae, salad and chicken. I heard the Fresh Lumpia was also good and you get to choose how you make it because it is "create your own"!
They have lots of other food options that's not part of the buffet selection. They offer fresh juices, organic chips and ready-to-eat meals. So whether you are in a hurry or not, healthy or not, you can still visit their place!
Pitmaster's Smokehouse BBQ is one of the many new restaurants in the not-so quiet neighborhood of Kapitolyo. Established in 2016, what started as an ihaw-ihaw concept by Chef Raffy Sunico and Ben Donato, is now now more than ready to make their noise in East Capitol Drive.
With their big parking space that can extend up to the road, you'd surely be drawn to try it out. East Capitol Drive has been on it's busiest since the rise of different restaurants for different kinds of foodies and the main concern would always have to be the parking slot. We were starving the time we visited the area and found that this place had more than enough slots to keep our car safe so decided to give it a try.
The restaurant itself was just as inviting as it was named. I have a thing for cozy/homey places so this setting/setup is a plus. It felt as if I wouldn't mind waiting for 10-20mins before getting seated or getting my order (but yeah, only for 10-20 mins. LOL). But it was also a good thing we came early, we really did not have to wait long!
Their menu was interesting but felt very meat-heavy for me so I had a hard time deciding which ones to try first. It was a breather for me that they also offered soups and salads so decided to try it as a starter.
Pit Caesar Salad (P240) was healthy and sinful at the same time. The smoked bacon strips did not help that I wanted to start light but wouldn't regret having it to go with my greens!!! The poached egg on top of my salad was my favorite, too! It was perfection!!!
Chicken Skin (P145). I'm not a huge fan of anything sweet for food that's supposed to be savory or salty but was a huge fan of chicken skin so decided to get one too. It was sweet chili as it was described and was really sooo good, it made me start the night early by getting myself a beer paddle.
Since we started out early with a beer paddle on our table, we decided to stuff ourselves with more food. Our table was packed with everything - best sellers to the overlooked ones.
Pit Platter (P1500) | I loved everything about this platter, except maybe the smoked corriander chicken that was fully covered with charcoal. HAHA. I must say this platter was worth our every penny because it was loaded with all the smoked specialties of Pitmaster's.
I liked the ribs because it was soft and flavourful. It came with 3 different homemade sauces that were created through the mastery of smoking and blending of unique spices - Apple, East Side and Hazelnut. Of course I just had to try everything on my ribs but caught my heart beating for East Side. It tasted like the classic barbecue sauce - sweet and tangy. It blended well with the ribs and I liked it so much but would love to have it spiced up a bit. I like anything spicy and it is not close to mild spicy so would love to try that one out too (when they create one). Apple and Hazelnut were both just sweet, maybe just a little too much for my tastebuds.
Pitmaster's was more than just a smokehouse, it was also a good place to have beer. What's the best pair for Smokehouse bbq, anyway? I'd say beer.
They have different flavours of beers - Brown Sugar Cinnamon, Salted Caramel, Hazelnut and Banana for their classic flavors; Toasted Marshmallow for their premium. I wanted to try everything out of curiosity but was sure that I wouldn't be able to finish 5 glasses so I was glad when I found out that they had a beer paddle!!!! You can get it for P250 and be able to taste the 4 classic flavors! Just add P20 and you can include Toasted Marshmallow on your paddle. I realized I wasn't a fan of flavoured beers but at the same time surprised I liked Toasted Marshmallow beer so much. It was top of all the flavours I tasted that night and would surely come back for it! It has this toasty taste on top of the very light beer. IT WAS REALLY GOOD!
Pitmaster's is open from 11AM to 12MN!!! So whether you're looking for a place to have a scrumptious lunch or dinner or a night out place, Pitmaster's can definitely be your place to be in East Side Capitol!
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Reann | 27 MNL
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