Before and Afters
A Chilly Morning it is!
It's been raining non-stop here in the Metro and other parts of the Philippines so I guess a good, warm post would be suitable today. Just wanted to share with you good eats I had last Sunday. I slept in the whole day, I kept on waking but my body just suddenly curled and my hands reached for the blanket and there I am, sleeping like a log. I officially woke up around 5:30 in the afternoon and was craving for pasta and buffalo wings but as we were in the car my sister decided that she wanted to have grilled meat from a Korean Grill Restaurant. So we happily hopped to Hwa Ro Ro in Timog. And it was the beginning of another food coma episode.
We got seated immediately, which was funny in our little human world at buffets, we get seated than we immediately stand up from our seats and head to the buffet spread! I guess if we are so into saving time, maybe we should just be directed immediately to the buffet and once we got our food than be directed to our table. My own little weird contemplation...
So there we were, all tasks were given to each person to maximize the "efficiency"of our food flow. one was designated to get all the raw meat for the grilling, one was to get the sauces, the other one was tasked to get the utensils and beverages and I was the one assigned to get the cooked food from the spread. Everything looked good but not everything was warm. I mean you would assume this fried chicken in a spicy sauce would be at least warm. But soups, rice and the Bulgogi was all in warmers.
My shameful photo of Jap Chae and this chicken I told you that was not in warmers.. It was very chewy and a tad dry. Guess its been out there for a few hours. No one will ever know how long its been out there, not even HACCP!
Jap Chae was pretty good. I seemed to grow fond of it the more we go into eating!
We did notice though (or maybe we are just big eaters) but the grill was quite small. It would be great for 2 people but for 4 this is very small. It kind of ruins the moment when you are very hungry and then you just stare at the grill, patiently waiting for somewhat looks thin before but now is thick strips of meat slowly cooking.
I also had issues with the ventilation. I really hate restaurants where in you go in smelling like your favourite perfume and go out smelling like you were the one on the grill! Every spice in the marinade is now on your clothes, your hair and your skin! Hwa Ro Ro unfortunately had very poor ventilation for the smoke from the grill. I'd honestly would like to smell like cigarettes from a club than smell like smoke from food. eek. I hope they get better ventilation. (thats just me, hey if you like smelling like sam gyeop sal I salute you!)
Yes finally cooked meat! Our favourites our the Sam gyeop sal, Kalbi, and these sliced into cubes thin pieces of meat. The marinated meats were too overpowering and too salty to our taste. I guess its been over marinating (if there is such a thing).
The Bulgogi was really good too. The sweetness and the saltiness was just perfect. I loved it with my steaming rice!
There were so much more offerings on the buffet spread but all of us were contented with just the meats and a few sides we got. That is the best strategy to get your 400 pesos worth per person!
I was surprised with their Kimchi. I really liked it. I could take the spiciness and it still retained that freshness from the cabbage. I would come back for the Kimchi and Bulgogi alone. Well, maybe the Kalbi as well...
After 4 Mountainous plates of beef and pork we waved the white flag. After having a meat steam facial I think I left the place wanting to have a shower immediately. In the car we all smelled like Beef short ribs. This is now my biggest concern for the place. I will go back if they install better exhaust fans!
We headed to Afters Espresso and Desserts at Tomas Morato.
Loved the place. Never seen a review of the place so I was excited cause I didn't know what to expect. I was drawn immediately to the gelatos. Always my favourite position is leaning on a glass pastry case and eyes googling on what to order.
our gelatos came in first. We got the Ferrero, Salted Caramel and Mango Sorbet. Ferrero and Salted Caramel were delicious. The Mango Sorbet was quite sour.
My only issue was the gelatos were too soft and before they even made it to pour table they were already melted. I noticed that when we were tasting the flavours they were not that cold. maybe a hiccup from the chiller..?
The Panna Cotta was okay. Clearly I have had better panna cotta's but for the price it was fair. The cream on top was quite of a hassle before we got to dig in the panna cotta the cream was all over the table. Too messy for my messy being!
Nez ordered the Brazilian coffee, presented by the barista as shown in the photo. The art of coffee using a dripper? I think. The black coffee was pretty good. You could really taste that depth of the roasting from the beans. Its rare to get a good cup of coffee under 200 pesos.
Quite nice cake and with a promise of lava oozing out the middle. Would also be great if there was an option to put a scoop of gelato on top for an ala mode feel.
Yey for baristas who Latte Art! Just makes you feel more special! I had the Peppermint Cafe mocha. It was really good. Just perfect to end that greasy meal I just scoffed down.
Afters has so much to offer so I will definitely be back. It's a great place to hang out. My friend Gelo, who is the Head Barista at Hotel Celeste has this thing on Instagram with the hashtag #stopbadcoffee so put down those watered down coffees from those mass producing, low labour paying coffee houses and go to a place like Afters where coffee is made by someone who is passionate about coffee and is handmade with love!
I rate Hwa Ro Ro 3 stars and Afters Espresso and Desserts 4 Stars!
Hwa Ro Ro
Toodles and have a great week ahead!
It's been raining non-stop here in the Metro and other parts of the Philippines so I guess a good, warm post would be suitable today. Just wanted to share with you good eats I had last Sunday. I slept in the whole day, I kept on waking but my body just suddenly curled and my hands reached for the blanket and there I am, sleeping like a log. I officially woke up around 5:30 in the afternoon and was craving for pasta and buffalo wings but as we were in the car my sister decided that she wanted to have grilled meat from a Korean Grill Restaurant. So we happily hopped to Hwa Ro Ro in Timog. And it was the beginning of another food coma episode.
We got seated immediately, which was funny in our little human world at buffets, we get seated than we immediately stand up from our seats and head to the buffet spread! I guess if we are so into saving time, maybe we should just be directed immediately to the buffet and once we got our food than be directed to our table. My own little weird contemplation...
So there we were, all tasks were given to each person to maximize the "efficiency"of our food flow. one was designated to get all the raw meat for the grilling, one was to get the sauces, the other one was tasked to get the utensils and beverages and I was the one assigned to get the cooked food from the spread. Everything looked good but not everything was warm. I mean you would assume this fried chicken in a spicy sauce would be at least warm. But soups, rice and the Bulgogi was all in warmers.
My shameful photo of Jap Chae and this chicken I told you that was not in warmers.. It was very chewy and a tad dry. Guess its been out there for a few hours. No one will ever know how long its been out there, not even HACCP!
Jap Chae was pretty good. I seemed to grow fond of it the more we go into eating!
We did notice though (or maybe we are just big eaters) but the grill was quite small. It would be great for 2 people but for 4 this is very small. It kind of ruins the moment when you are very hungry and then you just stare at the grill, patiently waiting for somewhat looks thin before but now is thick strips of meat slowly cooking.
I also had issues with the ventilation. I really hate restaurants where in you go in smelling like your favourite perfume and go out smelling like you were the one on the grill! Every spice in the marinade is now on your clothes, your hair and your skin! Hwa Ro Ro unfortunately had very poor ventilation for the smoke from the grill. I'd honestly would like to smell like cigarettes from a club than smell like smoke from food. eek. I hope they get better ventilation. (thats just me, hey if you like smelling like sam gyeop sal I salute you!)
Yes finally cooked meat! Our favourites our the Sam gyeop sal, Kalbi, and these sliced into cubes thin pieces of meat. The marinated meats were too overpowering and too salty to our taste. I guess its been over marinating (if there is such a thing).
The Bulgogi was really good too. The sweetness and the saltiness was just perfect. I loved it with my steaming rice!
 |
| Grilling food is hard work I tell yah! |
There were so much more offerings on the buffet spread but all of us were contented with just the meats and a few sides we got. That is the best strategy to get your 400 pesos worth per person!
I was surprised with their Kimchi. I really liked it. I could take the spiciness and it still retained that freshness from the cabbage. I would come back for the Kimchi and Bulgogi alone. Well, maybe the Kalbi as well...
After 4 Mountainous plates of beef and pork we waved the white flag. After having a meat steam facial I think I left the place wanting to have a shower immediately. In the car we all smelled like Beef short ribs. This is now my biggest concern for the place. I will go back if they install better exhaust fans!
We headed to Afters Espresso and Desserts at Tomas Morato.
Loved the place. Never seen a review of the place so I was excited cause I didn't know what to expect. I was drawn immediately to the gelatos. Always my favourite position is leaning on a glass pastry case and eyes googling on what to order.
our gelatos came in first. We got the Ferrero, Salted Caramel and Mango Sorbet. Ferrero and Salted Caramel were delicious. The Mango Sorbet was quite sour.
My only issue was the gelatos were too soft and before they even made it to pour table they were already melted. I noticed that when we were tasting the flavours they were not that cold. maybe a hiccup from the chiller..?
The Panna Cotta was okay. Clearly I have had better panna cotta's but for the price it was fair. The cream on top was quite of a hassle before we got to dig in the panna cotta the cream was all over the table. Too messy for my messy being!
Nez ordered the Brazilian coffee, presented by the barista as shown in the photo. The art of coffee using a dripper? I think. The black coffee was pretty good. You could really taste that depth of the roasting from the beans. Its rare to get a good cup of coffee under 200 pesos.
 |
| Molten Chocolate Cake |
Yey for baristas who Latte Art! Just makes you feel more special! I had the Peppermint Cafe mocha. It was really good. Just perfect to end that greasy meal I just scoffed down.
Afters has so much to offer so I will definitely be back. It's a great place to hang out. My friend Gelo, who is the Head Barista at Hotel Celeste has this thing on Instagram with the hashtag #stopbadcoffee so put down those watered down coffees from those mass producing, low labour paying coffee houses and go to a place like Afters where coffee is made by someone who is passionate about coffee and is handmade with love!
I rate Hwa Ro Ro 3 stars and Afters Espresso and Desserts 4 Stars!
Hwa Ro Ro
76 Scout Tobias Street, Timog, South Triangle, Quezon City
Afters Espresso and Desserts
20 Lansbergh Place, Tomas Morato Avenue Corner Scout Castor, Sacred Heart, Quezon City
Toodles and have a great week ahead!
oh ow everything looks so good!
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked the post! :)
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