dekaphobe.com | Food, Travel, and Lifestyle Blog

If there’s one person that has a penchant for delicious, gourmet meal, that’s mom. For someone who cooks up a meticulous meal for the family, it’s no wonder why she has discerning taste buds. With this, there’s surely no other venue where she can indulge and celebrate her love for good food other than Marriott Café. Bring the whole family for Sunday Brunch, where it offers an upscale but a cozy venue to enjoy a promise of bigger, better, and heavier selections for brunch. And not to mention, everything gourmet! With 17 stations including Cru Steakhouse and chocolate room for only P2,500 net per head, Marriott Café got everything what a family would crave for from the healthiest greens, house-made pasta, savory steaks, to well-crafted cocktails.

Since I was only able to read three books last February , I got back on track last March and was able to read 4 books! Now, my real problem is: I'm running out of books to read for this year! Yes, this could really be a problem when you take a book challenge seriously. If you have book suggestions, please feel free to post a comment since I might need more titles until December. :) To continue my book challenge, I'm sharing with you my March books: 8. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini The first novel written by Time's one-time most influential people in the world, Khaled Hosseini, tells the story of Amir, an Afghan who migrated to the States to escape the war. He remembers his childhood friend, Hassan, the son of their servant Ali. He remembers the boy who sacrificed everything--even his honor, to keep Amir happy. But Amir sees Hassan is competing for his father's affections and he does things to keep him away. He tries to forget Hassan, but a

Note: Komoro Soba has been rebranded to Komoro Japanese Dining One of the best ways to bond with a good friend is through food - AMEN, most especially when it's a treat. :) One of my closest friends in the world, Marion and I love Japanese food, so we tried this Japanese restaurant called Komoro Soba . Komoro Soba kitchen Komoro Soba looks fancy at first (for me), but I got surprised how affordable it was when we checked the menu.

I was again invited by TLC-Discovery Channel to witness the TLC Final Chowdown last April 22, 2012, at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall. The event was hosted by Ramon Bautista and Erika Liporo. Mike Chan (of Sabado Boys) kept us entertained with his live performance. Mike Chan Before the actual chowdown, the audience was asked to participate in 4 mini-challenges from the partner restos: Gong Cha (500 mL Milk Tea with Pearls), Sbarro (2 slices of Great White Pizza), Napa Bar and Restaurant (Salad and Buffalo Wings) and Gerry's Grill (Tuna Sisig and Rice). There were no time limits for the mini-challenges. Awesome prizes like GCs and other items were given to the mini-challenge winners. 

Note: Isabelo Garden Restaurant has been rebranded to Rustic Mornings by Isabelo  The PEx Gluttony Society took a while before our food trip to Isabelo Garden Restaurant became a reality. However, the wait was worth it, and that's putting it mildly. Named after the street where it is located, Isabelo Garden Restaurant is a private dining restaurant tucked inside Marikina City. The owner, Portia Dee Baluyut, opened her grandmother's home garden to serve delicious and mouth-watering dishes. Take note that a reservation and a down payment of Php 1000 are required to dine here. (Thanks to Ray for taking care of this for our group). Pre-ordering is also required for the entrees but the dessert may be ordered on-the-spot. :)

An award! Yey! Firstly, I would like to thank Bee of Before I Turn 25 for The Versatile Blogger Award. :) I posted something similar last February , and it's quite nice to take a break and do something like this. :) The rules of this award are the following: 1. Thank the blogger who gave you the award. Don't forget to link his/her blog. 2. Post 7 random things about you. 3. Give the award to 15 other bloggers you love and let them know you gave them this award.

After our dinner at Johnny Chow , my friend and I went to Serenitea. My friend loves milk tea  but I don't, but I still agreed as long as there is a non-milk tea drink on the menu. Serenitea is a milk tea shop that opened around four years ago at Little Baguio, San Juan. It currently has more than 10 branches and still growing. They use a "teapresso machine" in steeping the tea.

After watching The Sound of Music , my friend and I were starving so we walked around Newport Mall to look for somewhere to try while we're there. We found ourselves at Johnny Chow , an Asian fusion restaurant with a very interesting ambiance. Guess who? The servers wear colored wigs (which is kinda cosplay-ish) welcomed us warmly. We opted to seat outside the resto so I wasn't able to take pictures of the interiors. What makes this resto unique is the chairs. Each chair has its own personality. Some of the faces, as I've observed, were Asian stars.

It's payday lunch out! My friends and I found ourselves craving Japanese food so we went to the nearest Japanese restaurant from our workplace: Kimono Ken . Kimono Ken has been offering delicious but affordable authentic Japanese treats for almost ten years. This has also been our place for bonding with office mates (but I was not too keen on Japanese food back then). What I like about Kimono Ken is that they have servings for sharing. 

Homegrown restaurant chain Gerry’s Grill has opened a second branch in Singapore; a year after opening its first Asian branch at the upscale Marina Bay Sands Resort Hotel. The new restaurant located at Cuppage Road is Gerry’s third branch abroad and is the first Filipino mainstream restaurant in the Lion City. Gerry’s has two outlets in the U.S.

The second movie I've got to watch in the cinema this year: The Hunger Games. I've been waiting for the movie version since I got to read the whole trilogy almost two years ago. The Hunger Games is an annual tradition of a country called Panem, where a girl and a boy tribute from each of the 12 districts, from ages 12 to 18, fight to their death within the arena. Only one tribute will win and bring honor to his or her home district.

I purchased a voucher from Metrodeal a few months ago for The Old Manila Coffee House , but it took a while before I got to use it since they won't allow me to use it for lunch. Whether the reservations were already full or they simply don't allow it, I didn't know. Good thing I was meeting someone that evening so I finally got to use it. The Old Manila Coffee House is one of the hidden restos at Robinson's Galleria Sports Loop. I would always pass this place whenever I visit Slammers , and it would always get me curious. Coffee always has this appeal to me, you know.  The place is like a room inside an ancestral house, complete with a mini-grandfather clock that bells every hour. It is not usually crowded, and like myself, most customers are here for business meetings.

I've always been a fan of Sound of Music . Though I don't usually have the patience to sit down and watch any three-hour movie, I'd patiently sit down and play the VCD (the Julie Andrews film) at home and I would always feel happier after watching the film.  I got so giddy when I found out about the Filipino production of The Sound of Music, and even giddier when it was extended. The venue of the musical is at Newport Performing Arts Theatre at Resorts World Manila, Pasay City.

Discovery Channel's TLC invited me for a bloggers' night to re-launch TLC Chowdown, an eating contest inspired by one of the TLC shows (and one of my favorite foodie shows), "Man Vs. Food". If you aren't too familiar with "Man Vs. Food", it's a reality TV series where the host (Adam Richman) explores different cities to try the eating challenge a local restaurant has to offer. Eating challenges may range from huge servings or extremely spicy foods. The TLC Chowdown started last January 7, 2012 and will end on April 15, 2012, wherein a challenger needs to undergo at least one of the following challenges from these participating restaurants: SBARRO CHALLENGE: THE GREAT WHITE PIZZA CHALLENGE - The challenger needs to eat 18 INCHES (4 pounds) White Pizza within 15 minutes or pay Php 551 GERRY'S GRILL CHALLENGE: PLATTER MEAL CHALLENGE -  The challenger needs to eat Crispy Pata, Rice, Sisig and Pinaputok na Cream Dory in 10 minutes or pay