YUSHOKEN

Ever since I can remember whenever I hear the words "delicious ramen", it is always synonymous to the two noodle big wigs: UKOKKEI RAMEN RON and YUSHOKEN. It never fails! If I try to rave about my favorite UKOKKEI, somebody would always try to interrupt and say "You should try the one in Molito called YUSHOKEN. It's much better than that!"

REALLY now?

Besides the awesomeness of the noodles in YUSHOKEN, I also heard about the strict rules when dining in the restaurant that sounded like commandments:

-- You should never take home the Ramen.
-- You should never share your Ramen.

-- You should only use chopsticks and never use fork when eating your Ramen.

Now THAT just got me more intrigued. However, I still have one more gripe: YUSHOKEN is so far! Would a sip of their rich broth enough for the long drive to Muntinlupa?

Be that as it may, even if it could become another "Ramen Nazi" haven and that the distance was VERY undesirable, I was still curious of YUSHOKEN. My all time favorite has always been the Tan Tan Mien of UKOKKEI RAMEN RON and they said that YUSHOKEN could cook up another mean bowl of this spicy noodles.

So it was finally settled. We will be going to YUSHOKEN. Finally I will be crossing that name out in my Ramen bucket list (yes I have such thing). How did it fare up to us? Did it live up to the hype?

Read down and see if you'll agree!

YUSHOKEN!!

It was a full house that Saturday night in YUSHOKEN! I was not able to check if they accepted reservations but usually restaurants don't have it during weekends.

YUSHOKEN has a looooong space that was more like a model's runway for the booth and counter. 

TBS BLUE CORNER (SIZZLING EXPRESS ATB)

While we were planning our weekend staycation trip to SEDA NUVALI, the Chinese Adonis said that if we don't have anything planned with the BP Group, maybe we could go to his favorite "Bulaluhan" place for lunch. Since my husband rarely makes requests unless it's something he really, really, really, wanted, I told him that even if there WERE plans, we will still be going to his little bulaluhan house.

So off we drove over to TBS BLUE CORNER (SIZZLING EXPRESS ATB)! Now I don't know what's the meaning of "ATB" but I guess it's too tiresome for them  to add the letter "P" for "At Iba Pa!"

The Adonis warned however that TBS BLUE CORNER was not air-conditioned and was more like an eatery, aka "turo-turo" (point your desired food). Of course, I didn't mind. As long as the place was safe, (somehow) clean, and served delicious food, I'm there!

Of course, the same could not be said for the little lords.

When we got TBS BLUE CORNER, they immediately started complaining about everything! They fretted over the dust, the heat, the flies, the crowd, and even the utensils used. It was even so embarrassing that they chose to vocally express themselves, therefore attracting more unneeded attention!  To give them the benefit of the doubt though, it WAS hot and I could just imagine how uncomfortable they were so they just blamed their discomfort over everything they see. But later on, they got a whiff of what's coming for lunch that they quieted down.

Of course, no matter how much dust, heat, and crowds there are, when your hungry stomach calls out, you listen! Thank gulay that TBS BLUE CORNER was able to silence deliciously our tummies!

Even if there were some dust on the side. He he he he he he!

 

TBS BLUE CORNER (SIZZLING EXPRESS ATB)!!

 

 

This open air "carinderia" style restaurant is actually very famous with foodies who are in search of cheap but delicious food in the Sta. Rosa Market Area. 

SEDA NUVALI STAYCATION (PART TWO)

It was day two of our SEDA NUVALI family staycation to celebrate dear Aning's birthday and we know that we have a loooong day ahead of us.

A long day of pictures and posing I mean.

He he he he he! Kidding!

Or am I?

VILLAGE TAVERN (AGAIN)

One Sunday, ERICJAZ FOODIES met up with BGP Marian and Manong Fred because my friend was deeply craving for one of her favorite salads!

And the venue for tonight: VILLAGE TAVERN!

VILLAGE TAVERN is brought to us by BISTRO GROUP and is a popular venue for night-outs in BGC.

SEDA NUVALI STAYCATION (PART ONE)

One of my oldest and closest friends in this lifetime is my College BB (Best Bud) Anne. Yup we go waaaaaaay back at a time we were both single, carefree, dreamy, and thin!

Being the special lady that she is, no ordinary dinner out is acceptable when she turns the big 4-0. With that, we immediately planned for a weekend getaway for the BP GROUP and families! Yes! Wouldn't that be something?! Nothing is indeed more fun for us than being together because everyone just has a blast with each other. The kiddies were all playing that time but when they heard of having another trip together, they were ecstatic!

Of course, the next question was this: Where to?

Aning's dream vacation is to go on a Baguio trip with everyone. But since that is not possible with our schedules now (but it will be soon) we thought of going somewhere nearby that is affordable and would have many activities for the children.

And with that, we got an instant answer....

SEDA NUVALI!!!!!

We woke up the early morning of Saturday because we wanted to avoid traffic and to start immediately our weekend of fun!

THE YAPPY BUNCH will take over Nuvali this weekend. Wohoo!

OUR ANNIVERSARY DINNER AT LUSSO

It was our 12th Anniversary last April and if memory serves me right, there would not be fireworks nor outrageous surprises. Heck, it would even be a rarity if he remembers it at all!!!

But this year he did and thankfully it is without the help of younger selves  from 12 years ago to greet us!

The Chinese Adonis fetched me from the office and when I got in the car, he proudly (or rather cockily) handed me these bouquet of red roses! My favorite!

Yeyyyy!!! I hope this is a yearly thing!

Some may snort at flowers for special occasions dismissing it as wasteful. But for me it's my one vice. I could never get enough of it! I would always bury my face into a bunch of fresh flowers and take in its fragrant beauty. Even if it would dry up and wither soon flowers would always give me a loving and warm memory!!!!

GARDEN CAFE AT VALLE VERDE COUNTRY CLUB

This summer, the YAPPY BUNCH was so grateful to Kuya Jay and his wife Karen for always inviting and treating us to VALLE VERDE COUNTRY CLUB. I'm sure you've noticed by now that the little lords are so addicted to swimming and could spend hours in the pool. Actually that is the main reason why we could go on staycations because the boys love spending hours in the water. Truth be told though, we don't mind if we'll be checking in to a simple inn. 

As long as there's a clean and vast pool, we're sold!

So that's why we're really thankful that VALLE VERDE COUNTRY CLUB suddenly sprouted into our lives because we will get to swim on a regular basis and we don't have to spend hotel rates for it! In fact, we're free!!! Wohooo!

Photo from the net

Of course, besides the pool, we love the food at GARDEN CAFE. It's very affordable and delicious. They have a great selection in the menu so there's definitely something new to try every week when we're there.

And yes, just in case you didn't catch that, we hope to be at VALLE VERDE COUNTRY club every week! Yowza!

GARDEN CAFE in VALLE VERDE COUNTRY CLUB!

The restaurant at VALLE VERDE COUNTRY CLUB is actually open air. 

KULINARYA KITCHEN

Last summer, THE YAPPY BUNCH went to Power Plant Mall to catch the last showing of THE AVENGERS - AGE OF ULTRON. Now normally we don't go out with the kids on a weekday but the Yubhub and I have perfectly acceptable reasons why we stayed out ultra late that Wednesday:

1)  There was no school.

2) It was THE AVENGERS - AGE OF ULTRON first day of showing.

3) It was THE AVENGERS. Period.

See?? We're not so bad parents!! Every Marvel geek would agree that you cannot make THE AVENGERS wait. I mean that would be an acceptable argument in all courts. He he he he he!

Anyway, before our movie we were decided where to eat. Usually we would go to our favorite KENNY ROGERS or PEPPER LUNCH but this is an AVENGERS night we're talking about. Something a bit more special should be in order.

And that's why we ended up in KULINARYA KITCHEN.

Yes. Seriously.

You dare to question the MIGHTY JAZMIN????

:)

KULINARYA KITCHEN!

 

 I was running late from work but the little lords entertained themselves while waiting for me.

Dear Andrei tinkered with his new plane that he bought from the money he earned "working" at my Dad's office.

 

Mati passed the time by reading the menu.

That's my boy!!!!! YEP! That's what I would normally do too! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

BUDDY'S (YUB'S BIRTHDAY MARCH 2015)

When the Chinese Adonis celebrated his week-long birthday celebration last March 2015, I knew that we CANNOT not include his favorite BUDDY'S in the agenda.

It's automatic now really!

You could say that BUDDY'S is somehow part of the ERICJAZ FOODIES history: We have been eating here when we were just going out then, and it is still a popular choice for THE YAPPY BUNCH now. It's one of our default restaurants obviously. Sometimes we get tired of it for awhile (like we do with some people) but then we go back to it so repentant and HUNGRY.

BWA HA HA HA HA HA!

 

Now that happened to us exactly during the Chinese Adonis' birthday week. At first we thought, "BUDDY'S again?" But after one whiff of our favorite comfort food, we started ordering this one, another, plus this too, until we were too full to move.

Of course with BUDDY'S, we always expect gluttony and nothing less! He he he he!

 

BUDDY'S in Makati City!!!!

And YEP! They deliver!

In BUDDY'S, there's always a fiesta with their decors made of pahiyas!

The look of BUDDY'S in Manila is very much the same with what they have in Lucban, Quezon province, the place where it originated. 

Yep! They have it right down to the chairs with wooden sunflowers. 

THE CHINESE ADONIS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS (MARCH 2015)

It's the Chinese Adonis' 38th birthday and if you have been a follower of our silly little foodie blog, you would see that we usually have a week long celebration of it!

(If you're confused, yes, the Chinese Adonis is older than me by 8 years. I am after all, ahem, 30 years old! Tee hee!)

To tell you more about the Chinese Adonis, he is a very simple man who would rather laugh quietly at the sidelines. No need for flashy over the top celebrations for him. As long as we eat at his favorite restaurants and his family is happy, then he is happy. He is ALWAYS contented for some weird reason.

For the Chinese Adonis' birthday week however, it fell during the last quarter examination period of the little lords. I asked him if he wanted to still go out and celebrate his birthday after Mati and Andrei have finished studying. My ever devoted husband answered that he would rather stay home and help his sons study for the exams (since I always get home late).

With that I realized, the Chinese Adonis may be the one celebrating his birthday this week but it is the little lords and I who are constantly being gifted by his love and dedication as a husband and father (naks!).

(Belated) HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the dearest Chinese Adonis, Yub, Daddy, and Mark Anthony! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!! 

"I'm simple, lovable, and PAPA-ble!"

The birthday celebrant (last March)!!!!

OUR INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION FOR 2015

      

 

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY PHILIPPINES FROM ERICJAZ FOODIES AND THE LITTLE LORDS!

Every year THE YAPPY BUNCH goes out on a Manila day tour to celebrate the Philippine Independence Holiday. Although we usually schedule regular outings in the area to check out the museums or tourist spots, it's nice that we have a marked day every year to always do so, lest we forget. It's actually a pretty fun tradition and I hope that it's something my boys and I do till they have their own families.

Here we are last 2013... 

and last year in 2014...

This year, I invited my BP Group to join in on the fun and experience this nationalistic tradition that we have come to really enjoy and love. 

The result? 

CRAZY loads of fun with our Filipino history!!!! The Katipuneros of yesteryears would have been a bit proud. 

Read on and check out our annual ERICJAZ FOODIES INDEPENDENCE DAY celebration! 

BUFFALO WILD WINGS PART DEUX

Last Summer, THE YAPPY BUNCH made the most out of summer vacation and went out almost everyday to go on food trips. One of our must-stops is a much-awaited dinner in BUFFALO WILD WINGS in Capitol Commons --  one of the newest American Franchises that has invaded our country!

FINALLY Ariel happened to me... este... BUFFALO WILD WINGS happened to us!

The last time we had dinner here as a family was when we took home buckets of their delicious chicken wings in our US vacation last year. We thought we had to go back to the land of milk and honey to be able to get a taste of this favorite with beer and cocktails. So happy that BUFFALO WILD WINGS finally opened a branch in Capitol Commons that it certainly did not take long before we dragged the little lords back here!

 

BUFFALO WILD WINGS!!!!

 

We went to BUFFALO WILD WINGS on a weekday and there was fairly a number of wing lovers feasting at their tables!

HANAMARUKEN RAMEN

This early on let me apologize that this blog post is waaaaaay overdue. Really! I'm scanning my photo albums deleting some of my scandalous pictures with Thor, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Robert Pattinson (????) when I encountered my date with the Chinese Adonis in HANAMARUKEN RAMEN last year!

I know! Why just now right????

I remembered that this was a superkalifragalistic delicious meal but sad to say, it was never repeated. Probably due to the opening of RAMEN NAGI, IPPUDO, TAMPOPO, or IKKORYU FUKUOKA that we never got around making a return to this Ramen house that made us ultra happy.

Well maybe it was a sign that led me to deleting those steamy pictures with Thor, Benedict, and Robert (?????!) because these pictures serve as a reminder for us to go back to HANAMARUKEN RAMEN and pig out on its awesome goodness!

Maybe it is also a sign that I shouldn't erase those pictures!! Well because if I didn't have a heart to ignore an old dinner date album with my Yubhub, surely I could still alot some space for my hot memories with my former loves.....

Tee to the Hee! Thou shall NOT always believe in what I say.

:P

HANAMARUKEN RAMEN!

It was a packed house that night in HANAMARUKEN in Trinoma but we were still so willing to wait for our turn!

ORANGE WHISK RESTAURANT AND PATISSERIE

One Saturday night, the Chinese Adonis and I ventured into the South to meet up with my BGP Marian and Manong Fred. I'm sure by now you'd know that, via my repetitive whining, we don't normally travel far from our comfort zones of Mandaluyong, Makati, and Ortigas. But this night was going to be an exemption. We have been reading a lot of raves about this new restaurant that got hungry foodies (like me) to travel far and wide to get a taste of their delicious fusion food. And based on many reviews, they all go home full and ultra satisfied that it got the curiosity of my big forehead and bulging tummy. Turns out, me and my Best Gal Pal were thinking of the same thing that we set a date to drive out to this nook that got many in the South hooked...

ORANGE WHISK RESTAURANT AND PATISSERIE!

There are actually 2 branches of ORANGE WHISK in Paranaque and we went to the one in Betterliving which opened last June of 2013!!! They have another one in  BF Homes which has been serving hungry diners starting January of 2015.

MR. SUNMOON SEAFOOD HOUSE (MY 2015 BIRTHDAY)

After THE YAPPY BUNCH's weekend staycation at HYATT, CITY OF DREAMS, we drove over to San Juan to meet with my family as I will be giving them a birthday treat. There was really no other place we had in mind than MR. SUN MOON (formerly SUN MOON GARDEN) because it has been and always be my family's favorite when it comes to Chinese food. My siblings and I practically grew up there because we celebrated all our special occasions over hot bowls of lomi and sizzling saucy grub.

So for my special 40th lunch, since we were running late, I told my sister to go ahead and order what they liked. I guess they took my "advise" deep into their hearts and stomachs because they really ordered EVERYTHING that they have been craving for in MR. SUN MOON even if we have all "old age" tummy capacity. He he he he he he!

Not to worry though because if there's take home leftover food that we don't mind having the next day, it's MR. SUN MOON dishes. Every spoonful is indeed a trip down our family memory lane. And now, my 40th birthday celebrations will be a part of it! 
I know, I know, that your eyes (and brain) are already be fed up with my 40th bday yaddah yaddah, but this is the last I promise. 

Until of course, the Chinese Adonis' birthday celebrations which is coming right up! Tee Hee!!!

MR. SUNMOON SEAFOOD HOUSE!

 

MR. SUNMOON is located in front of Wagyu Stone House grill in Greenhills shopping centre and is beside a gas station.

The restaurant has a limited space and with several tables. Good thing that I haven't slapped butts with other diners when it is a full house. 

NOT that I mind if it's WWF Champion Roman Reigns. Har de har har!

OUTBACK BLUE BAY WALK

When I had my week long birthday celebration earlier this year, OUTBACK PHILIPPINES was so kind to invite THE YAPPY BUNCH to treat us out for dinner. The timing was so perfect too because we were having a wonderful staycation at HYATT, CITY OF DREAMS  and the OUTBACK branch we were planning to go to was so near to us!

Talk about food fate! We were so meant to have tender and juicy steaks that weekend.

And we all have OUTBACK BLUE BAY WALK to thank for!

Plus my Mom and Dad since there wouldn't be a birthday treat if they didn't "create" me. Tee hee!

OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE!

We went to OUTBACK'S newest branch in the Philippines located in Blue Bay Walk!

O KITCHEN

During our HYATT CITY OF DREAMS staycation, we were looking for a place to eat in the Boulevard, the mall that is connected to the hotel. There were too many choices for us actually that the Chinese Adonis and I got a bit confused.

Our solution? Let the little lords choose for us! He he he he he! 

That would have been a very good plan but even Mati and Andrei were not sporting a unified front that lunchtime. My little man was craving for Korean while the bunso wants some Filipino food.

I know that usually we go for the choice of picky eater Andrei. But for now, we thought that we should try being good parents and be fair.

We'll make a decision after their trial by combat! HA!

Oh I'm kidding. We just made them do jack en poy (aka rocks, scissors, paper). 

"Jack en poy, hale hale hoy! Sino matalo siyang unggoy!"

Mati won that day so we directly went to O KITCHEN that was located near the escalator.  It has been quite a while since we had Korean food so this was a good choice for us. 

O KITCHEN!

A CHILI'S BABY SHOWER

CHILI'S would always have a special place in my puny little heart because it is the venue where I first laid eyes on the Chinese Adonis via a blind date. 16 grueling years later, we are married with 2 smart and handsome boys and we still go to CHILI'S to reminisce or just celebrate something special.

It is very timely and appropriate though that when we gave  a surprise baby shower to Joan, the wife of THE FOOD ALPHABET, the venue was in CHILI'S Greenhills. Once more, something added up to the specialness of the "place where it all started". And this time, it is to celebrate friendship, food, and THE KTG!

CHILI'S, serving delicious heaping platters of food and the culprit to ERICJAZ FOODIES most unforgettable moments. This time, I'm sure it would be for KTG too!!!

From chili's website

CHILI'S PHILIPPINES!!!! 

  

The KTG were there up and early to surprise Joan with our simple, but glutton-worthy, baby shower.

 

We were lucky because we will get to taste the  SWEET, SMOKY, and HOT menu which was available for a limited time only in CHILI'S PHILIPPINES!!! Rush over to your nearest CHILI'S branch now because these gems will be available up to June 28, 2015 ONLY!!!!!!!!!!!!