Chi's Brick Oven Kitchen - Aguirre Ave., BF Homes, Pque.

my wife and her best friend were planning to meet a balikbayan classmate of theirs. and since all of us were staying in south of the metro, i suggested that we go back and try the pizza and pasta of chi's brick oven kitchen in bf homes.

the first time we went was last month, and we only tried their mango ice box dessert and got their puchon (pugon lechon) to go.

while my wife and her friends were swapping stories, i ordered the pizza chips for our starter. it's pizza dough with olive oil brushed on it and topped with parmesan and a pimiento dip.

this is a great appetizer.

for our main course, i ordered 2 kinds of pasta; the rigatoni in 3-cheese sauce

and the chorizo alfredo



the serving size of their pasta is enough to feed 2-3 persons.





i also ordered 2 kinds of pizza, the chicken bacon mushroom melt

and the salmon pizza

both pizzas were 12" and had 8 slices each. the crust was cooked just right and both tasted great! the prices of their pizzas range from P160-220.

we were so full from the meal that we didn't order dessert, just coffee and tea but we were given a plate of their brick oven chocolate cake by apple tirona (the owner) to try and share.

their brick oven chocolate cake was the best that i've tried so far. it was like a choco lava cake, the outside was a bit crunchy and the inside was moist and melted chocolate flowed out as soon as the it was sliced. it was topped with vanilla ice cream and maraschino cherry.

another dessert of theirs is the mango ice box cake, which i mentioned that we tried the first time we went.

the place is nice, quaint and cozy. it could fit about 25-30 persons. when we got there, there was a group of about 12 which had a long table.

here you'll see the wooden trays that they use when serving their pizza.

they also have separate smoking area which has its own aircondition unit and exhaust fan.

the main attraction of the place is the open kitchen where you could see the brick oven. they use dried sampaloc logs to fire up the oven.

i wasn't able to take a photo, but they also have a small open air area for children to paly in while waiting for the food to come or while their parents are having fun telling stories with their friends.

the place is owned by chi and apple tirona. both had their own careers prior to opening the restaurant. and one day, they decided to leave their careers and start up a pizza-pasta place.

kudos to both of them!

so, when you're in the south of the metro, check out the place. it's an alternative to those expensive italian restaurants.

Jatujak Thai Food - SM Megamall

some say that after you've been to another place, you tend to look for the food of that place. in my case i was in bangkok last january with our other managers for a tourism event and my tongue was still looking for that thai taste.

and since my wife wasn't able to join my on my trip, i decided that we have dinner at the new branch of Jatujak Thai restaurant, located at the ground level, bldg A of SM Megamall. it's located right beside the vietnamese resto, lemon grass, which is also a great place to eat. where there are 2 japanese restos too.


we ordered the tofu salad, which had some lettuce leaves, julliened carrots, bean sprouts, peanuts and a nice blend of sweet and spicy dressing.


we also ordered the grilled squid, which was tender

and the chicken satay in peanut sauce, which had a dip that was tasted very good. the dip was some sort of cucumber in vinegar but the vinegar wasn't too sour.

i also ordered the thai iced tea for drink

and for dessert, we had the Thai version of halo-halo. i think it's called ruhmvit. please correct me if i'm wrong.

our dinner cost us about P800.

the food tasted great and their menu is quite affordable.

this is their 3rd branch. the first one opened in the block of SM City North and the 2nd is in Mall of Asia.

the waiter said that the restaurants are owned by filipinos and that their chef is thai, who oversees all 3 kitchens.

i told him, if he gets the chance, to ask their chef or the owners if the name of their restaurants came from a name of a park in bangkok, the chatuchak park, where they have their weekend market.