Last week, SM invited some bloggers over at The Podium and SM Megamall for a food crawl. It's not often that I find myself in those two malls, so I knew from the very start that I was going to be in for a treat.
Ça Va
First stop is Ça Va located beside Bake Cheese Tarts, across Starbucks on the ground floor. It's this lovely creperie-slash-floral-atelier and is probably one of the (if not, most) aesthetically pleasing restaurants in Podium. Here, they greet everyone with "Ça Va" (sah-vah) which is French for "How are you?"
"Hide away for a day and frolic in your feelings. Surrounded by botanicals that will never judge, only sit next to you, just like truest friends would do. You're invited to our secret garden and we'll be happy to whip up a tasty crepe, a cup of coffee, or even a bowl of comfort food to suit your mood. So tell us, Ça Va?"
Here, we tasted some of their bestselling crepes - from I'm Chori to Scampo Escaper to Run Forest Run. The prices of their crepes range from Php 250 to Php 450.
I'm Chori (P410)
chorizo pamplona, caramelized onions, gruyere apple slaw
Run Forest Run (P350)
forest ham, egg, emmenthal
Scampi Escaper (P370)
shrimps, bechamel, shitake mushrooms, fried capers, parmesan
Motorino
Stop #2 is Motorino. I've heard of this place before, but like Ca Va, I've never actually tried it. Motorino is all about my favorite carbs - pizza and pasta (the main culprits as to why I can never lose weight. haha) Motorino serves traditional Neopolitan Pizza made from the best ingredients.. and the price points aren't bad too! I mean if you're looking to take your significant other on a budgeted but still romantic night out, Motorino is definitely a place you should consider. They have a dinner date promo for only Php 995+ which includes a bottle of red or white wine, an antipasti, a bowl of pasta, and a whole pizza. Not bad if you ask me. ;)
P.S. The promo's available from 5pm to 8pm daily.
Cocina Peruvia
I've been to Cocina Peruvia probably four or five times last year and let me tell you, this place does not get old. Aside from the awesome view and its colorful interiors, Cocina Peruvia actually has a pretty kickass menu. We started off with the Patacones Salmon which is small bites of salmon on top of fried banana, parmesan cheese, mayo mix, and sofrito sauce. It's actually one of the best dishes I've tried here, unfortunately, everyone else thought so, too, because this one ran out pretty fast. Haha. And because of that, I was left with the Anticuchos de Corazon de Vaca - a dish I was honestly hesitant to try. Why, you ask? Well, because it's beef heart and I don't think I've ever eaten any animal's heart before. I eventually gave in and to my surprise, it's actually really good. Especially with the chimichurri and aji anticucho sauce! Cocina Peruvia also had us taste their newest Parilla Platter served with a side of fries, beans, and chorizo rice for only Php 1050!
Check out more of their dishes here.
Las Flores
I'm sorry, but I have to say it - Las Flores was the best restaurant we visited that day. I think we spent the most time here because everything took a while to prepare, but no one cared, because every single thing that came out from the kitchen was muy delicioso! I'm drooling just thinking about it! For those who don't know, Las Flores is a concept by Bistronomia, the same group behind restaurants like Tomatito, Rambla, La Lola, and Tapas y Pintxos.
For Valentine's, they promoted a special degustacion menu on Instagram which I immediately sent to my fiancé, but got snubbed. LOL.
Terry's
Our final stop at The Podium was Terry's. Here, they offer a fusion of Spanish and Filipino inspired dishes with an excellent selection of wines and other premium ingredients. To tell you the truth, I wasn't actually planning on eating anything at Terry's. I was 100% contented with just taking photos of whatever they'll serve.. but that failed pretty quickly. First thing they brought out is Sangria, which they said goes really well with the chorizo (Chorizo Terry on Piggy Back), so I just had to try it. Hihi. Aside from those, they also served us the Finest White Asparagus of Navarra and Picatostes de Chocolate (Terry's version of churros; made with French bread).
There's a lot in store for you at The Podium Mall, as you can see from the diverse selection of dishes we got to try there that afternoon. Next stop, Megamall!
For the SM Megamall crawl, the goal was to go to six other restaurants, unfortunately, I had another event so I was only able to visit three - Fat Fook, Mey Lin, and Hogs and Cattle. What I missed: Tuan Tuan, DC Cafe, and Little Flour.
Fat Fook
Fat Fook opened its first branch in 2016 and has grown so much since. They offer authentic Taiwanese cuisine and are best known for their xiao long bao, chicken chops, and Taiwanese beef noodles. When they brought out their Wintermelon Milk Tea, everyone got all excited, so I take it their drinks are also pretty popular?
I had a couple of their Salted Egg Shrimps because anything salted egg, I have to try. They also served us some Tikoy Sticks which was perfect for the Chinese New Year.
Mey Lin
Another Chinese restaurant we visited is Mey Lin. Here, I had my fill of dumplings and Three Cups Chicken, even though I was already full from the last SIX restaurants. Can I help it if they're so good?? Though to tell you the truth, I didn't expect any less from Mey Lin because they've been around since 1985. It was just unfortunate that they didn't serve us any noodles since apparently the restaurant "relives the ancient art of La Mian (in Chinese, meaning pulled noodles)". Oh well, I guess that's a good reason to go back. ;)
What to try: their Patatim (served with Cuapao), Three Cups Chicken, Oyster Omelette, Steamed Fish Fillet, Kuchay Dumplings, and Fried Dumplings.
Hogs & Cattle
Last but not the least, Hogs and Cattle Premium. Here, they have an amazing eat-all-you-can offering for only Php 899. What do you get? Your choice of salad, pasta, rice or mashed potato, and choice of steak. And yes, all of this is unlimited, but you have to get one round of everything first. After you finished your first round, you can choose which dish/es you want more of.
Choice of salad: Caesar or Italian
Choice of pasta: Shrimp Aglio Oglio, Angel Hair Puttanesca, Pesto, or Truffle Mushroom
Choice of carbs: Rice or Mashed Potato
Choice of Steak: Wagyu, Rib-Eye, or Sirloin
Aside from that, they also have a Magic 10 promo where for every nine orders of Php 899 Premium Wagyu Dry Aged Feast All You Can, you get one feast promo for free!
This is the perfect place to go to if you want to pig out on a budget, especially if you love, love steaks! I've actually tried this before at their MOA branch though I think they have a different line-up now since I don't remember having to eat pasta back then. Still a good value though!
Huge thanks to the SM Team for setting this up! Can't wait for the next one! ;)
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