dekaphobe.com | Food, Travel, and Lifestyle Blog

One of the things I love about working in Pasig City is its city government's utmost effort in making the city as green as possible. From the funding of the KILUS Foundation (the organization behind the tetra pack bags or "Zesto" bags) to the E-jeepneys roaming around Ortigas Business District, Pasig City now implements "No to Plastic Bags" to food establishments. Since I started going solo on this project, I was used to buying takeaways for lunch. I went to KFC to buy lunch and my take away lunch looks like this: Moreover, KFC doesn't provide straws too. One morning, I went to 7-11 near the office and bought lasagna. And my take away brunch looks like this: Yep, no plastic bag either. Kudos to the food establishments for being obedient. :) Thumbs (and toes) up to Pasig City! I hope other cities will emulate you.

As promised, I will share with you my experience in Paradizoo Theme Farm and Zoo. Paradizoo is a theme park and farm zoo located in Mendez, Cavite. Paradizoo belongs to the Zoomanity group which also includes Residence Inn in Tagaytay and Zoobic Safari. Paradizoo is more of a farm than a regular zoo, so expect it to be more like Farmville come to life. Paradizoo Map The entrance fee is Php 90, but if you want to visit Residence Inn after Paradizoo, you may pay Php 249. Residence Inn is 15 minutes away from Paradizoo. A guide will orient you on the map (picture above) and you'll be free to walk around the area. This cute pony will welcome you upon entrance. You may take a picture with this cutie pie first. :) Let me share with you some pictures I've taken in Paradizoo: A quote from Mahatma Gandhi. This goat's just so adorable. One would think that it was posing for my camera. This is the first time I saw camels in real life. And

Update: Casa Xocolat relocated to Ground Floor, SMRC Building, Katipunan Avenue Corner B. Gonzales Street, Loyola Heights, Quezon City On any of our food trips, the PEx food club usually goes to another place for coffee and dessert if both are not available in the resto that we tried. After our dinner at Grilled Tomato, we went to Casa Xocolat, which is only a few meters away from Grilled Tomato. Casa Xocolat is an old house that is converted into a cafe, or chocolate shop (for a lack of a better term). The place is mostly al fresco, though there is an indoor area also. True to its name, Casa Xocolat offers mainly chocolate cakes and drinks, but they also serve pasta, panini, and salad. Am I dead? It seems like I'm in heaven Seeing a counter-full of delicious cakes made me dizzy because I can't choose which one to order! I ordered That Xocolat Cake (Php 95 per slice) share with my partner in crime. That Xocolat Cake (and my camera reflecting on the

Note: This establishment is already closed. PEx Food Club was planning to try this Dutch place near Katipunan. However, it was closed so we had to find a Plan B, which brought us to Grilled Tomato . the indoor area Grilled Tomato is a small Persian resto located near Miriam and Ateneo. Personally, I thought the name is kinda awkward, it sounded like a burger resto or an Italian resto at first. The place has alfresco and indoor areas. From the indoor area, one has to go outside to order. The place reminded me of Uncle Moe's, another Persian resto located in Ortigas. I ordered 2 pcs Beef Kebab (Php 110), extra pita (Php 10), and one of their specialties, Milo Overload (Php 70). Beef Kebab Beef Kebab is served with butter rice, grilled tomato, and iced tea. Milo Overload There is nothing special about the Milo Overload. It's just iced chocolate topped with cream and more Milo. A fellow food club member ordered Kebab Gyro (Php 60). Kebab Gy

PEx Food Club met once again for another food trip and we went to Binondo this time. And one of our stops is Wan Chai Tea House . Wan Chai Tea House is one of the oldest restaurants in Binondo. Our food trip organizer, Kenny, wouldn't let us miss this restaurant. Wan Chai has several branches around the metro and Binondo is the main branch. My apologies in advance since I wasn't able to take note of the names of everything we ordered. I tried my best to remember some items though. Kenny ordered for us. Wan Chai tea Wan Chai is a tea house so tea should not be missing. Here are the dim sums we tried: Hakaw Hakaw (Php 80) is a shrimp dumpling. I had to use two forks to transfer it from to my plate. Nevertheless, it's still yummy! Steamed Lumpia A personal favorite is Steamed Lumpia (Php 70). I love the sweet sauce! Fried Raddish Cake We also had Fried Raddish Cake (Php 60). We were hesitant at first but it doesn't taste like rad

My friend and I are about to leave Tagaytay but before we did, I requested that we eat dinner at Bag of Beans. The dining area The cafe is mainly al fresco though there is a closed area for big groups. There are also cabana-like areas if you like some privacy. The ambiance is cozy and romantic, it's a perfect date place sans the usual Tagaytay view. Bag of Beans is a bakery and cafe which offers delicious comfort food (think Banapple in Tagaytay). I ordered one of the main courses, Chicken ala Kiev with Mashed Potato (Php 350), and my friend got Lasagna (Php 195). Chicken ala Kiev with Mashed Potato Lasagna Both dishes are overwhelming in size, and very delicious too! The Chicken Kiev is not too dry for me the lasagna is a bit sweet, which I prefer. For the drinks, I got myself Kapeng Barako (Php 90) and my friend got Mocha Frappe (Php 110). Kapeng Barako Mocha Frappe The Kapeng Barako is a hit! I love the Bag of Beans mug. I wish I go

I went to Tagaytay recently for a quick getaway with my partner in crime. One thing that we didn't miss was the (legendary) Bulalo. Having spent the morning in Paradizoo (will do a separate blog post about it), we were kinda hungry when we reached Mendez Crossing. So we accidentally discovered Diner's Restaurant , which is known for its bulalo. I haven't heard of Diner's before but I'm familiar with Josephine's and Leslie's. An order of bulalo costs Php 400, which is good for 3 to 5 persons. True enough, the bulalo is a bomb! The meat is so tender! I could really say that Diner's Bulalo is the best! Hands down to the legend! ----------------------------------------- Diner's Restaurant (near Jollibee and Shopmore) Aguinaldo Highway Mendez Crossing West Tagaytay City

Let me share with you one of my favorite poems. An excerpt is on my blog description (see above) Please excuse the gruesome details, but if you'll reflect on this, it makes perfect sense. Las Ruinas del Corazon --Eric Gamalinda Juana the Mad married the handsomest man in Spain and that was the end of it, because when you marry a man more beautiful than you, they say you pretty much lost control of the situation. Did she ever listen? No. When he was away annexing more kingdoms, she had horrible dreams of him being cut and blown away, or spread on the rack, or sleeping with exotic women. She prayed to the twin guardians of the Alhambra, Saint Ursula and Saint Susana, to send him home and make him stay forever. And they answered her prayers, and killed Philip the Handsome at twenty-eight. Juana the Mad was beside herself with grief, and she wrapped his body in oils and lavender, and laid him out in a casket of lead, and built a marble effigy of the young

Photo from beyondhollywood.com  I was really skeptical about watching this film because I was discouraged beforehand since I was told that it was only a remake. However, a choosy movie watcher (Papa) told me the movie is great, so I was finally convinced to watch it. The movie is about an ape, Caesar, who was born to an experimental ape who was killed during a rampage when it felt it was threatened. Caesar was raised by a scientist, Will Rodman (James Franco), who discovered that Caesar inherited extraordinary intelligence from its mother. Caesar grew up showing human-like intelligence, which made Will decide to try the experimental drug to his father, who is suffering from dementia. Circumstances led to Caesar being admitted to a primate facility, with employees mistreating the apes in the facility. This led Caesar to create a revolution with the other primates in the facility. Photo from beyondhollywood.com Overall, the movie is great. Both the story and the effects

Note: This branch is already closed.   Yummy! I'm a certified dessert freak, I really am. And frozen yogurt is on top of my list (okay, second to ice cream). Pre-blogging days, I did a frozen yogurt streak, eating and trying out different froyo shops every single day and I'm planning to do it again soon. :) One of the creamiest froyo I've tried (and a personal favorite) is Red Mango. I always try to stop myself from eating Red Mango whenever I pass by it. Most of the time, I can't help it! Last time, I ordered 4oz Original Froyo (Php 80) with 3 toppings (Php 40): banana, chocolate syrup, and cheesecake. But most of the time, I just want my froyo with chocolate syrup and cheesecake. I would always go back to the same creamy goodness of Red Mango froyo. I love the dine-in dish too. Red Mango, more branches, please! ----------------------------------------- Red Mango SM Megamall Upper Ground Floor Building A EDSA cor Julia Vargas Avenue Manda

I haven't seen my college friends lately and since a friend is getting transferred somewhere a little farther where Sambokojin branches are located, we decided to meet at Sambo Kojin Yakiniku Smokeless Grill.  Sambokojin is a Yakiniku-style, eat-all-you-can restaurant. Yakiniku means "grilled meat" in Japanese. It is one of the newest restaurants in the Triple V group, which also owns Dad's, Kamayan, Saisaki, and Something Fishy. I went to Sambokojin a few months ago to do a food review for my company's food club and I must say that I loved the whole experience that I brought my college friends with me this time. I called Sambokojin that afternoon to reserve a table. This is a must-do for everyone, and you must arrive between 6:00pm and 6:15pm to secure your reservations. Luckily, my friend and I arrived before 6:00pm. While waiting for others to arrive, we got a few slices of meat to grill. The meats are marinated to different sauces like Bu