Different flavors of Meat Skewers in one Eat City

Business diversification is now the "in" thing not only for big conglomerates like Ayala and San Miguel, but also for mid to high-scale entrepreneurs. Such is the case for Anthem Group's Eat City restaurant. This is their first venture into the food business, after being in the retail industry for quite some time. 

Eat City is a casual restaurant tucked at the corner of Two Serendra, facing McKinley Parkway Street just before you cross over to Market! Market! It opened last October 2016, and has since expanded to SM North EDSA's The Block for its second branch. Eat City's food concept brings several flavors of meat skewers into one restaurant, at a very affordable price.

Apart from meat skewers, Eat City's menu also has soups, salads, sandwiches, all-time favorites (lechon kawali, beef tapa, pork tonkatsu, and spicy pork sisig), add-ons (onion rings, potato wedges, rice), and drinks. Their dishes are straight-forward, simple to eat food, which is why they're big on online food delivery site Food Panda. 

For our first time at Eat City, we decided to get all flavors of their Skewers by the Stick, which consists of two sticks per order. Each flavor has its partner sauce, which adds to the taste of the meat. They have the following flavors to choose from:

• Bangkok beef satay with peanut sauce (Php170)
• Manileno chicken inasal with spicy vinegar sauce (Php160)
• Mediterranean chicken with garlic mayo sauce (Php160)
• Mexican pepper chicken with garlic mayo sauce (Php170)
• Texas pork bbq with barbecue sauce (Php180)
• Tokyo chicken yakitori with yakitori sauce (Php175)
• Korean beef kalbi with Korean sauce (Php175)

These skewers were all tender and juicy. I didn't have a hard time removing the meat out from the sticks, which signifies that it wasn't overcooked. If I were to rank all seven, Korean, Manileno, and Bangkok skewers would be my top three, while Mexican and Mediterranean would be my bottom two. Sauce or no sauce, most of the skewers are tasty on its own. 

We also got a Kimchi Rice (Php50) and Japanese Fried Rice (Php50) to go with the meat skewers. I had the Japanese rice, which had veggies and seafoods in it. It tasted so good, albeit it can use lesser salt to be perfect. The Kimchi rice, on the other hand, wasn't bad as well. 

For drinks, we had the House Blend Iced Tea (Php80) and Lemon Mint (Php110), which were great refreshments after the very filling meal. 

Overall, I can say that I'll surely be back at Eat City if I want my share of comfort food and inexpensive meal. Although the restaurant is a bit small, I think the interiors were nicely done. I would recommend this for those living in condos, as it's easy to eat and clean up. It's great for potluck parties as well, or simply just food for pasalubong to your family. Go, check it out!

Eat City - Serendra

Ground Floor, Serendra, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

Open daily, 11am-10pm

Eat City - SM North EDSA

Basement, The Block, SM City North EDSA, Quezon City

Open daily, 10am-10pm

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Travel spontaneously without breaking the bank — here's a travel hack for you

Travel junkies, rejoice! I'm here to share a cool travel hack for spontaneous travelers like me. You see, I was able to book a MNL-HKG-MNL roundtrip airfare via Philippine Airlines for less than Php7,000 (originally Php17,000++), just three days before the departure date, and for travel on peak days of Holy Week. Read further to find out more.

STANDBY PASSENGERS

By now, most of us would already know that airlines intentionally overbook their flights for maximum revenues (thanks to the recent United Airlines issue), because they know that not everyone who has a confirmed booking will show up. Naturally, it's not always rainbows and butterflies for them. There would be flights that are not fully booked. So what do airlines do? Unknown to the general public, available seats are offered to standby passengers who are mostly airline employees and their relatives. Wouldn't it be great if these last minute available seats are offered to all of us?

CAPE APP IS BORN

Here's why Filipino Founder and CEO Lyle Jover created the Cape app together with his team of Pinoys and foreigners. His goal is to make traveling fun and inexpensive, and standby seats to be reachable by more people. The Cape app is now available for free download on iOS, but will soon make its debut on Android as well. Among the destinations it currently offers are flights to/from Manila, South Korea, Tokyo, Singapore, Kalibo, Cebu, Ho Chi Minh, and Hong Kong -- all flown via Philippine Airlines. They're also preparing to launch flights in Europe and Latin America, as well as new features in a few weeks/months.

In a gist, Cape app shows you available flights for the next seven days, and be on the waitlist until standby seats are either confirmed or cancelled 12-24 hours before the departure time. Confirmation of your booking will depend on the number of last-minute seat availability of a flight. You will only be charged via credit card once the flight is confirmed. Depending on how many people have booked the same flight, Cape allows to bid for a fixed price to get you on top of the waitlist, ahead of everybody else.  On the average, prices are cheaper by about 50%, but still depends on seasonality.

ARE YOU READY TO STANDBY FOR A FLIGHT?

Step 1. Download the Cape app and register for an account. It's currently by invite only, but don't worry here's a link you can use -- this is limited only, so hurry!

Step 2. Select your destination and whether you'd like to see One Way or Round Trip schedules, then hit Search. Note that your booking will still be per way even if you select Round Trip.

Step 3. Select your preferred schedule on the next screen. It will show you how many percentage chance you have to successfully get into the flight. 

Step 4. Review the flight details and agree with the terms and conditions, then click Reserve. You will see that the flight status is Pending. You can still cancel the reservation for free up to three hours after reserving, but with a small fee of $5 if you're on top of the waitlist. 

Step 5. Some people may also book the same flight as yours at a higher price. In that case, you will be demoted to the second or third in line. When this happens, you can either stay put to wait and see if you'll still get in, or you can bid for a higher amount to jump up the waitlist. You will see that the Bid button is enabled.

Step 6. Within 12-24 hours before the flight, your booking status will change to either Confirmed or Bumped Off. Once confirmed, just go to the airport and check-in using the electronic pass on your phone.

IS CAPE FOR YOU?

Cape is best for passengers who have a free-hand in managing their schedules. Your mindset should be open to the possibility of either making it or not to the flight, and even staying longer in the country you're going to, just in case a flight back is not immediately available. Cape is still on beta and has 20,000 registered users. Are you ready to have a chance to fly? 

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Tasteless Food Group's Kushikatsu Daruma Brings Osaka Closer to Home

Kushikatsu Daruma ("kushi" meaning skewers and "katsu" meaning deep-fried cutlet of meat) draws its origin from Osaka, Japan. It has been successfully brought into Manila by the Tasteless Food Group, one of the fastest-rising food experts in the country, with Hey Handsome, Le Petit Souffle, Hanamaruken Ramen, Freezer Burn, and Ping Pong Diplomacy under its helm. 

Located at the second floor, al fresco area of Uptown Place Mall BGC, Kushikatsu Daruma can easily stimulate one's curiosity with its seemingly naughty character holding skewers, and its multitude of interior signages that shout "no double dipping!"

Kushikatsu Daruma's menu isn't complicated at all. Around 80% of its food items are varieties of meat, vegetables, and seafoods -- deep-fried, battered, and in skewers, of course -- and the rest are side dishes and beverages. Prices are very affordable with each stick going as low as Php39 each.

The ambiance of this restaurant is cool and relaxing, and not intimidating at all. Its interiors are simple, yet classier and more comfortable feel than that of its originating country. I like that it has dividers that give a bit of privacy when dining. 

Whether eating in groups or alone, you can find your perfect spot inside. One can either choose to sit on regular wooden chairs or watch the cooks dish off your orders at the bar counter. Another thing that I like about this restaurant is the availability of power sockets lying around different parts of the restaurant, giving you a hint that this is a good meeting place. Its acoustics are not the best, but you can discuss and talk clearly without having to shout.

I dined in with a friend for a quick catch up and mentoring session on a Friday night. Lucky were we that we got in ahead of others and found a well-lit and cold spot to chitchat about career and life updates. We were given this complimentary bowl of radish and carrots -- you may choose to make this as an appetizer or a palette cleanser later on as in-betweens while eating katsu.

On the table is a container of light tonkatsu sauce, which is basically the universal sauce for both the appetizer and kushikatsu. This is what's being pertained to by the "no double dipping" reminders posted around the restaurant, since one would easily be tempted to re-dip an already-bitten katsu. Of course, this is prohibited due to hygienic measures, and other Japanese traditions that the restaurant wants to preserve.

For a meal for two, we ordered the Beginner Level (Php480), which is composed of a total of nine sticks of the following: 

• Classic Kushikatsu (beef) - the best for me
• Prawn - good, too!
• Chicken with Garlic
• Chikuwa (Fish Cake) - I could taste the fish cake, but not much
• Tsukene (Chicken Meat Balls) - good, but can be more tender
• Tonkatsu (Pork Loin)
• Leeks
• Potato
• Camembert Cheese

An Advanced Level (Php480) is also available with a total of eleven sticks, a combination of beef, chicken heart, chicken and pork intestines, chicken gizzard, garlic, gyoza, lady finger, white onion, leeks, and pork loin.

Since the set only had one stick of each, we got an extra stick of Classic Kushikatsu (Php39) and Prawn (Php39), so each of us can have our own share of those. We also got one stick each of Japanese Oyster (Php129), which is from the Specials list that also includes Foie Gras (Php199). What makes the meat, vegetables, and seafood tasty with or without the sauce is the fact that they're deep-fried in beef oil. 

As Pinoys, there's no complete meal without rice. We got one bowl each of Chahan Rice (Php150), which is a Japanese fried rice with myriads of other ingredients like scrambled eggs, garlic, onion, etc. It tastes so good, I can eat it even without anything else.

On the side, we ordered an ala carte of Yakiniku Beef (Php190), which is a perfect complementary dish to the dry katsu that we had. This one was stir-fried and seasoned well, leaving the beef perfectly cooked without appearing to be rubbery. 

And since my friend had a challenging week, he also ordered an ice cold Beer No. 1 (Php120). There are lots of non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks available, with price points as low as Php55 for sodas and as high as Php340 for cocktails. 

When all the sticks have been consumed, there's a cylinder container where you can put those in. In the end, our total bill for two summed up to around Php1,500, which is not bad for the quantity and quality of food that we ate.

When dining at Kushikatsu Daruma, one must remember that this is a 'kushikatsu' restaurant; hence, the food items are mostly battered and deep-fried, cooked the same way. Please don't demand for too much food variety, as it may lose focus on its main concept. I must admit that existing food selection will eventually become passe. The challenge is for them to continuously think of new items to add to the menu, as is with any restaurant. 

Kushikatsu Daruma is open from lunch time to wee hours (2AM) to cater to office workers, shoppers, and partyholics who needs drown out the alcohol in their bodies with fried food.

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Can't Stop the Feeling with Magnum Red Velvet

"Nothing I can see but you when you dance, dance, dance; Feeling good, good, creeping up on you so just dance, dance, dance; I can't stop the feeling!" -- is this song familiar to you? You're right, it's by Justin Timberlake, and this is how Magnum Red Velvet makes me feel. All because it aids the summer heat!

As many people would know, red velvet is usually made of cocoa mixed with red food flavoring -- and by cocoa, it's essentially very similar to chocolates. I'm honestly not fond of chocolates. But I don't know why, red velvet desserts never fail to make me salivate. Is it because of the color? Or is it the cream cheese that makes the difference? Whatever that may be, Magnum has definitely done a good job with their all-new flavor inspired by the red velvet cake.

The new Magnum Red Velvet is one of two flavors under the Magnum White Range. It is crafted with decadent red velvet ice cream, a rich cream cheese flavored swirl, and wrapped in an exclusive white Belgian chocolate with cream cheese flavor. The other variant from this range is the Magnum White Almond, which is the same decadent white chocolate ice cream bar we all know and love, in a fresh new look.

Both Magnum White Range flavors are in line with Magnum's #NeverStopPlaying campaign, a sophisticated homage to the life less complicated, a reminder to find fun in everyday life, and a delicious invitation to take a break to enjoy life’s little indulgences.

Magnum's way of embodying the #NeverStopPlaying attitude is through fashion and lifestyle. They have partnered with world-renowned bag-maker Aránaz, eyewear curator Sunnies Studios, and noted clothing designer to Manila’s most fashionable set Boom Sason.

What better way to jump into the bandwagon than through an online activity, which will allow all of us to win exclusive pieces from the #NeverStopPlaying Fashion Collection starting April 16. Simply head on to www.magnumfliptoplay.com to flip to play using your smartphone. Play as much as you can daily and increase your chances to take home one of 25 Sunnies his and hers #NeverStopPlaying kits, 6 one-of- a-kind Arānaz pieces, and 6 custom-fit Boom Sason designer pieces from the Magnum collection.

Magnum White Almond and Magnum Red Velvet are available in all leading supermarkets and convenience stores nationwide.

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