dekaphobe.com | Food, Travel, and Lifestyle Blog

I love fried chicken, in whatever shape or form. I'm one of the those people who really don't care about which chicken part I get as long as I get my fried chicken treat.  I was invited last week to the preview of the soon-to-be newest Fried Chicken place in town - Birdhouse at the Food Hall in Uptown Mall BGC.  An original concept by the Relish Group, the wonderful people behind Wee Nam Kee , Kumori Japanese Bakery and Osaka Ohsho , Birdhouse intends to redefine fried chicken by serving different sauces, aside from our beloved gravy.  In Birdhouse, the ordering process is simple: get an order form an choose your meal from Barnyard A to E , your choice of sauce (Peach BBQ, Green Goddess, Truffle Ketchup, Garlic Ranch and Milk Gravy), your sides (Coleslaw, Garlic Fries, Elote Corn, Dirty Rice or Mac and Cheese), your drink, and dessert. Barnyard A (Php 165) has Birdhouse Chicken Tenders, Dirty Rice, one sauce, and crispy chicken skin. B

Steaks and milkshakes for a meal is never a bad idea, as agreed by the people behind the new restaurant concept, Sear Steak Scullery at Banawe Quezon City.  Sear Steak Scullery opened two months ago by the same people behind Megawatt and Red Baron Ribs and Steaks.   As told by Joyce Esteban, one of the owners, Sear is the upscale version of Red Baron, with more expensive selections of steaks and a variety of seafood dishes in the menu.  We started with pan de sal with cilantro butter, a bowl of mushroom soup as the Soup of the Day  (Php 99 for single, Php 185 for duo), Classic Caesar (Php 235 for single, Php 345 for duo) and Miso-Vinaigrette Salad (Php 193 for single, Php 303 for duo). Miso-Vinaigrette Salad Classic Caesar

Starting August 19, customers can feel nostalgia as McDonald’s introduces two good old-fashioned desserts. These great-tasting and affordable treats will make customers reminisce happy memories and keep them craving for more.  Remember the sweet pies and other baked goods that mom or grandma used to make? Or the feeling of going home after school and getting that sweet merienda fix? Customers can look back at those sweet moments with the new Banana Crème Pie Sundae . This indulgent treat is made with layers of rich vanilla soft serve with fine graham crumbs and is topped with banana crème pie-flavored sauce. 

May 2020 Update: The Olive Treat has been renamed to The Broken Oven and has added more delicious stuff. Please check their Facebook Page  and Instagram Page  to order.  My weekend brunch was made special by delivery by The Olive Treat , a venture by Marco Olives serving heirloom recipes to be shared with family and friends.  I got to try the Stuffed Iberico Chicken (Php 500) and the Birthday Spaghetti (Php 900/pyrex). Stuffed Iberico Chicken

I love Okonomiyaki, but the good-tasting Okonomiyaki are quite rare in Manila until Dohtonbori opened here in the Philippines.  Dohtonbori is an Okonomiyaki chain from Japan, specializing in cook-at-your-table service. You may cook your own food but a staff will be more than willing to cook the food for you. We started with Omelette Yakisoba (Php 290), a stir-fried noodle dish with veggies and pork wrapped in omelette. 

A well-loved dish worldwide, pasta is a versatile meal that is full of flavorful possibilities. Shakey's is best known for its Thin-Crust pizza and Awesome Twosome Chicken 'N' Mojos yet their loyal Guests also return time and again for its wide selection of pasta dishes. This August, everyone's favorite fun, family, pizza restaurant is having a Pasta Festival by celebrating this well-loved dish and launching two new menu offerings: the Shrimp Aglio Olio and the Chicken and Mushroom Pesto . Also, Shakey's is launching a new appetizer, the Mozzarella Cheese Sticks.

A few weeks ago, my friends and I went for late dinner at Livestock Restaurant located at Jardin de Zenaida in Quezon City.  Livestock is a Filipino restaurant serving one of the best Crispy Pata in the metro, so we didn't miss that but we tried other hardcore dishes as well.  Let me warn you first that this is not a healthy food review. We had the Livestock Caesar Salad (Php 250). Livestock Caesar Salad It is the traditional Caesar Salad topped with crispy pork belly. We somehow tried to incorporate some veggies to our meal, but we do love our pork.  Because we love our pork, we also ordered the Livestock Crackling Pork Belly (Php 320 for 300g, Php 520 for 500g and Php 945 for 1kg). Livestock Crackling Pork Belly

It's never too late to celebrate. :) And to celebrate this blog's 5th anniversary, I will be giving away some prizes. The first giveaway is from Megawatt in Quezon City. Barely a year old, Megawatt has been making waves throughout social media and mass media for using renewable energy in their restaurant. Megawatt serves hand-tossed and thin crust pizzas, burritos, burgers and sandwiches. [ All Powered Up at Megawatt in Gilmore ] Megawatt also serves Fried Lasagna, Fried Chicken and rice meals.  GIVEAWAY

Here's a new breakfast item you should add to your table every morning: Dipasupil Longanisa from Baguio.  This product line was started by a couple, Policarpio & Patricia Dipasupil in their meat stall in Baguio City Market back in the 1950's. They created 2 varieties: de Hamon and de Recado. De Hamon and De Recado Dipasupil Longanisa is all natural, with no extenders, fillers, sodium nitrite, food coloring or MSG. The longanisa are vacuum-packed and made in small batches to ensure quality and freshness.

ZenFone 3 Laser and ZenFone 3 Max will arrive together with the ZenFone 3 smartphones series in the Philippines this August The Zenfone 3 family just got bigger and bolder! ASUS Philippines confirms the arrival of its newest addition to the ZenFone 3 smartphone series, the ZenFone 3 Laser and ZenFone3 Max together with the three phones slated to launch in August in the country.                             Conceived with sophistication and affordability in mind, these two products have outdone their previous predecessors with sophisticated design, a world-class camera, reliable performance, and unparalleled, lasting longevity. Beauty and Elegance Inside Out The ZenFone 3 Laser and Zenfone 3 Max features a 13MP camera with the latest Sony IMX214 sensor that captures stunning photos without any lag. The ZenFone 3 Laser in particular is able to achieve focus in just 0.03 seconds, and its laser has an operational range of 1.5, twice compared to other smartphones

Note: This restaurant is already closed.  Applebee's Grill and Bar has opened its 2nd branch in the Philippines in Eastwood City Libis last July 4th which also happens to be the Independence Day celebration in the United States.  Applebee's is one of the world's largest casual dining brands, with more than 2000 locations in 49 states and 15 countries.  This place is amazing for lunch and dinner with family and friends as well as a drinking spot after work hours with colleagues and barkada.  My foodie friends and I got to try some of their dishes and drinks.  For appetizers, we had the Sriracha Shrimp (Php 445), Wonton Taco (Php 225), and Double Crunch Bone-in Wings Honey BBQ Flavor (Php 395). Sriracha Shrimp Wonton Taco Double Crunch Bone-in Wings

It is not a secret that I love breakfast. Though I'm not exactly a morning person, I believe that a day should be started with a delicious breakfast, will it be a rice meal, a bowl of cereal, a piece of fruit or bread. For me, I prefer omelettes paired bacon or franks and breads to start my day.  Kumori Japanese Bakery has recently introduced new items to make our morning brighter: the Coffee Pan, Wholemeal Muesli and the Tukimi Bun.  Wholemeal Muesli The Wholemeal Muesli (Php 50) is a huge soft rolls made from wholemeal grains, a healthy and quite filling option for a simple breakfast. Tukimi Bun

Note: This location is already closed.  Searching for places that serve healthy, affordable and delicious seems like a challenge if you are actively trying to keep away from the easiest route like fast food and junk food. I was glad to visit Chimara Feel Good Kitchen in UP Town Center one weekend for an early dinner with friends.  Chimara, owned by the Taters Group, aims to promote healthy eating without sacrificing the flavors, hence you feel good and healthier.  Chimara serves both Cold&Fresh, which can be served as wrap or salad and Hot&Savory, which can be served as panini, pasta or with rice.  Under the Cold&Fresh, we tried the Pepper Maple Chicken Salad (Php 230), while under Hot&Savory, we had the Faux Beef Salpicao Pasta (Php 180), Tofu Cheese Pesto Pasta (Php 180) and Soy Ginger Chicken Rice (Php 190). Pepper Maple Chicken Salad The Pepper Maple Chicken Salad is more the sweet side, with maple-marinated grilled ch

One of the exciting things that I did during my first trip to the United States is the White House Tour.  Most people don't know that The White House is open for public tours. However, only the East Wing Tour can be requested by the public while the West Wing Tour is by invitation only.  White House tours are free of charge, however, getting slots can be tricky. For US citizens, White House tours can be scheduled through their congressional representatives. For foreigners (non-US citizens), you may contact your country's embassy in Washington DC to request a tour.  at the park, while lining up to have the tour Tours can be scheduled for as early as three months ahead but as late as 21 days ahead. We got a Saturday schedule at 11:30am, and we were asked to be at the visitors' entrance 15 minutes before our scheduled time.  We left our things inside the car and brought only the permitted items: passport (for me), government ID (for the boyfie),