Harbour City, Centrio

Ayala Centrio recently opened its newest fast food chain called Harbour City located at the 2nd floor just right beside Hukad.

As their slogan says "We bring Hongkong to your table", Harbour City brings its customers to a new and different way of dining. From pushing food carts around and from the clapping of each crew to get another crew's attention gives us Cagayanons an unusual dining experience. We were actually confused on how to get our order the first time. The crew who led us to our table did not quite explain that there will be pushing carts around that will be getting our order. The clapping can be annoying too at times. I've been to Hongkong though but I haven't witnessed such scenario. Maybe this is just how it is when dining in Hongkong food chains.

Their menu is limited only to a variety of dumplings (see picture below). They will not give you a separate menu immediately like those of a chinese reataurant. So better check their menu first outside before dining.

When we went there last June 27, there were a lot of people on the waiting list. Even so we didn't wait that long. Wait time was just around 5-10 minutes and there was already an available table for us. Another observation that I have here is that aside from the fast pace, you can't really stay here for long to chat with friends since there are people outside waiting for their turn to dine. I wouldn't recommend it for groupies though who would like to stay long and chat. I recommend this to people who want to dine instantly and will leave after dining.

Now for the food, Boo and I ordered their rice toppings. We were given an order sheet that lists all our orders.  The crew takes the sheet and record what you've ordered. This guy over here is the one serving the rice toppings. 

We got our drinks from another push cart.

The Siomai's are on this push cart.

Pork Siomai

Quail Egg Siomai

While you can get dumplings and spring rolls from this push cart.

Vegetable Spring Rolls

Basically the push carts just roam around to give customers their orders. You can get as many dumplings and siomai as you like. So here's us on our Harbour City moment.

In total, we paid Php450.02 for the entire meal. Not bad though. The food was just right for our hungry tummies.

So here's my review:

Value for money: 9/10

Ambiance: 8/10

Food Presentation: 8/10

Taste: 7/10

Customer Service: 6/10

xoxo,

lheyvens <3

Tonkatsu by Terazawa

We dig in to our Tonkatsu cravings at the last week of May when Elena, Maezy and I had our after-work bonding session. This is another gastronomic experience for Boo and I. Tonkatsu by Terazawa is located just right beside Italiannis at the Ground floor of Centrio, Ayala.

I'd say the ambiance gives you a feel of Japanese cuisine. Tables are usually good for four people but can be arranged if you're dining with the family. We got the ones at the side as we want to sit at the cusioned sofa. Here's Maezy and Elena.

And Boo and I.

We also got our complimentary tea while waiting for our order.

Tonkatsu sets start at Php 295 and above with unlimited sidedishes. 

Elena got the basic Tonkatsu dish at Php295. 

I got the Pork Katsudon at Php375 

while Boo got the Chicken Katsudon at Php330. 

These sets have unlimited sidedishes as well. Sidedishes are the following:

Misou soup

Sidedish of the day

Cabbage

The condiments:

Now how to enjoy your Tonkatsu is as easy as 1,2,3.

1. On this mixing plate, add salt, add tagarashi if you want a spicy sauce or you can skip that step if you want the sweet sauce. You mix the condiments here.

2. On the Tonkatsu, grind the sesame seeds into the meat.

This is the traditional way of eating Tonkatsu.

For the cabbage, choose between their salad dressing - sweet or sour.

We paid Php1089.29 in total.

So far we had our stomachs full and indeed their Tonkatsu sets make a balanced meal.

So here's my review:

Value for money: 7/10

Ambiance: 8/10

Food Presentation: 8/10

Taste: 8/10

Customer Service: 10/10

xoxo,

lheyvens <3

Make Your Own Havaianas 2014 #myohcdo2014

Another year has come for another MYOH event in the city. This year marks its 7th MYOH event and it has been a yearly tradition for all havaianaticos like me. This is still my 2nd year of joining the event and I'm looking forward to joining again next year. This year's theme takes us to Mardigra in Brazil. Here's the link to my MYOHCDO2013 last year.

For those who don't know what MYOH means, it simply means Make Your Own Havaianas. This event gives you the chance to use your creativity in creating your own havaianas slipper by mixing and matching colorful soles, straps and pins. For those who want to be on the safe side, you can go for their commemorative pair which is by the way a limited edition. It is only sold on every MYOH event and it comes with different designs each year.

Seafood Craze at Redtail Shrimps and More

CDO recently had a new seafood restaurant called Redtail Shrimps & More located at Papa Juanitos Square which opened last April 24, 2014. It is similar to The Boiling Point in Manila where customers eat using their hands and seafood is placed inside a bag.

So I know everyone has been curious about this new seafood restaurant, let's begin with the steps on how you would order your favorite seafood in Redtail. They call it "Pick your catch". As what Redtail says, Their fresh catch is boiled, dredged in one of their special sauces for full maximum flavor and served with corn.

So here are the steps!

Step 1: Pick your catch. Select from the variety of seafood according to your preference. 

Summer Beach Essentials

Summer is here and the hotness of the weather is overwhelming. This is the time of the year where we usually take time to schedule ourselves for a day at the beach or an afternoon at the swimming pool to beat the hot weather.

So if you are out for a quick summer getaway, here are some of my Ultimate Summer Essentials when packing for my trip. You might find this very helpful when packing for your trip as well. I feel that every girl should have this survival kit for a fun-filled summer getaway may it be to the beach or at the pool.

So let's start with the sun shade essentials. 

Here I have a cute light brown hat that will perfectly compliment any summer getup. This will protect your hair from the heat of the sun. I got this from Gaisano for only Php250.

Little Miss Funnel Cake Different Varieties

The last time I've been here was last year and was not able to come back again. Just recently my CCPs and I got the chance to get our dessert here and this time I've tried another flavor of their funnel cakes.

Tokyo Bubble Tea Restaurant

Centrio opened another Japanese Restaurant a few months ago - Tokyo Bubble Tea, located at the 3rd floor near the Cinemas. I've been meaning to dine here from the time it opened but haven't really tried it because I'm not quite sure of what to order. I wanted to ask my friends first on what they have tried that tastes delicious simply because I don't want to spend my money on a not so delish food.

So when Elena came with us during lunch, she suggested us to try Tokyo Bubble Tea. She's fond of Japanese and Korean food so I know she has a lot of suggestions on what food to try.