dekaphobe.com | Food, Travel, and Lifestyle Blog

My first attempt to dine at Mamou 3.0 wasn't successful: my friend who called for reservations received a confusing text message that was supposed to ask us if we wanted to reserve for the first or second sitting for dinner. Long story short, we went to another restaurant serving ribs instead.  This second attempt was a better experience, although I wasn't sure if my friends walked in or reserved for a table beforehand.  We started with the famous Lorenzo's Truffle Cream Pasta (Php 395). We followed it with Grilled Salmon Steak (Php 595) and a single Angus Ribeye USDA Prime Grade Steak (Php 1990). The steak comes with two choices of sides. We had white steak rice and baked mashed potatoes for our sides.  Lorenzo's Truffle Cream Pasta I found Lorenzo's Truffle Cream Pasta delicious but I prefer a creamier pasta with a stronger truffle flavor. However, I love that it the pasta they use is spaghettini, because I like thin pasta. 

When I went back to Manila for vacation, I was looking forward to try not only restaurants that I haven't visited before, but also food stalls that serve interesting food. And one type of food that I'm always interested in is ice cream. That's why when I saw Elait , it wasn't difficult to choose this place to eat dessert.  I have a deep appreciation for made-to-order ice cream (such as the now-closed Kool Kids Ice Cream ), and Elait does exactly that and more. Aside from creating rolled ice cream from scratch, Elait creates social impact by employing people from the deaf community in the country. In fact, there are sign language guides in the shop to help you communicate with the staff properly.  Learn sign language while waiting for your ice cream :)

My friend Lovelee and I met up for a cozy dinner at Vanderlust Bistro + Patisserie in Tomas Morato area. This small restaurant was inspired by the owners' travels to Europe, hence the diverse European offerings - from savory dishes to the desserts.  The ground floor serves as the bar and cafe while the mezzanine floor is mostly used as the dining area. While waiting for my friend, I ordered a Latte (Php 120 for piccolo, Php 140 for medio).  Latte As soon as my friend arrived, we ordered appetizers: Arancini Al Margherita (Php 138 for 3 pcs, Php 248 for 6 pcs) and Jamon Serrano Croquettes (Php 138 for 4 pcs, Php 248 for 8 pcs).  Arancini Al Margherita