The Urban Farm: Fresh, Unique and Delicious!

I'm all in for health food. I'm all the more in if it's healthy and delicious. The Urban Farm's concept is relatively new since they emphasize that they only use organic vegetables and grass fed animals. When I visited the place with my friend, we were talking about how the restaurant was formed because the owners had an organic farm. The menu consisted mainly of meat and vegetable entrees, fresh shakes, pastas, pastries and snacks. I was really satisfied with my visit there since I could pretty much say that it's one of the best lunches I had in a long time.

In our visit, these are the items that we ordered: 2 fresh fruit shakes (strawberry and grapes), roast chicken (good for two), salmon flakes pasta and a piece of lemon bar.

Roast chicken with black rice

Strawberry shake

Salmon flakes pasta

I was very very satisfied and full with what we ordered considering that I was very hungry prior to our lunch. The food tasted fresh and the flavors were alive. There was not a hint of greasiness even in the roast chicken, and the shakes were made from actual fruits and not powdered flavorings. I was also satisfied with the paste because even when it was written "salmon flakes" in the menu, what we really got were "salmon chunks" and we were really happy. The lemon bar also tasted fresh and homemade. I was not able to take a picture of it, sorry! The ambiance is really nice because their motif is light green and white and it's very refreshing to the eyes. Do visit the place while it's still new! By the way, price ranges of food are from 150-400 pesos each. Shakes vary from 70-100 pesos. For me, it's a great deal considering that I enjoyed the food very much.

It isn't readable but the quote there said, "Laugh so hard that even sorrow smiles at you". Nice, huh? :)

I don't usually write about restaurants that I don't like, so you'd probably get it by now that I highly recommend you to try The Urban Farm in BF Homes, President's Ave! This one is just across Tahanan Village, Paranaque. What other healthy restaurants would you recommend? Leave a comment below!

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Caffe Bene in SM BF Homes Paranaque - Unique Korean-Inspired Cafe

Err. That's me! :)

Caffe Bene is not your typical American or French Cafe. At first glance, though it has the usual coffee frappes and lattes that the Starbucks or Coffee Bean has, there are a few interesting additions to its menu. 

It looks real but I'm not sure...

I read in Wikipedia that Caffe Bene's pioneer branch is located in Seoul, Korea which is rightfully so because the place has been frequented by the Korean population residing in the Philippines. At first glance, the interior of the cafe looked bland and cold (gray and brown color combination), but when we went further inside, it looked really neat! In one wall, there are shelves arranged in a very artsy way while there's a pretty roster of lights above a large table. There's even an odd (but nice) looking tree located at the middle of the shelves. It looked like a mini-library that I wanted to have in my own home. The place somehow induces you to stay and be productive in your paperwork, if that's what you're supposed to do.

This is the cold Misugaru, but I recommend it hot! :)

Looking at the menu, we can see a variety of coffee and non-coffee based hot and cold drinks, gelatto, waffles and pastries. The most popular drink is the one very unique to this cafe which is the "Misugaru" drink. Misugaru is a non-coffee based drink consisting of different kinds of seeds and beans such as black sesame, brown rice, etc. It tastes very unique and pleasing for me since it's not to sweet and it has a pleasing aroma. I recommend it hot! :)

I enjoyed my stay in this cafe, I hope you do too! Caffe Bene is located at Ground floor, SM BF Homes Paranaque.

If you like to mix your own Misugaru (fun experiment!), I recommend this Misugaru Mix from Amazon :) it says that it's a perfect combination with milk whether hot or cold.

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Ritchie's Diner: All-American Favorites in BF Homes Paranaque

Look at their menu! It even has an adorable painting
of Hollywood's famous personalities :)

Ritchie's Diner is one of my favorite places to eat in BF Homes Paranaque. I have never frequented any other restaurant as much as Ritchie's Diner. I like them so much so I decided to promote them by making a blog post. Here are the reasons why I love Ritchie's Diner:

1. Their menu is so diverse

I will bet that you will have a difficult time choosing what you want from this restaurant because you can choose from several items from their menu--from starters, salads, soups, pastas, entrees, name it--they have it! Never once did I come across an instance that something is not available or out of stock in their menu so I am very satisfied that there are many options to choose from. You can even eat breakfast meals during the evening! What more can you ask for?

The triple treat platter. Yumyum!

2. Everything tastes great

I think that I liked almost everything that I ordered from Ritchie's Diner. My favorite however would be the appetizer platters which are usually good for 3 people. It has the starter favorites which are the fish tacos, nachos, smothered fries, and the like. I am literally drooling while typing this. The entrees are also worth-mentioning. They have ribs, fried chicken, salisbury steak, chili, all served with generous amounts of rice. There are also several pastas and desserts. 

The 50's diner feel. Credit: http://zomato.com

3. The ambiance reminds me of some kind of a 50's American diner

This is an ambiance which I find charming a reminiscent of Baguio's popular 50's Diner. They have those leather covered, steel-bordered chairs, hanging lights, large mirrored walls, and waiters are dressed just like how you see in vintage movies. They also have 2 flat-screen TVs to watch movies (which are also good conversation starters) and their playlist is comprised of the best hits from the past--think Beatles, George Harrison, Beach Boys, etc.

4. The staff are friendly and accommodating

There's this one waiter who is very friendly to us each time we visit the diner. He always served with a smile and his attitude towards his work impressed me. We would always have humorous small talks with him and we even asked who Ritchie was. I won't tell who he is, you have to visit this diner to find out. Hahaha. 

Fried ice cream and another type of appetizer platter, I forgot the name...

Milkshakes! My favorite :)

Average prices range from: 150-400 pesos per meal

Food options are: Burgers, pastas, sandwiches, meat entrees, shakes, sundaes, salads--basically those you see in American diners and a few Filipino breakfast meals

Caesar's Salad

Cheese Flautas: another one of the favorites :)

That wraps it up! I love going to this restaurant and I'm always excited to try something new from their menu. If you're a fan of the retro, vintage-style all-American types of restaurants, visiting Ritchie's Diner in BF Homes will definitely be a pleasant experience.

Also see:

Annyeong-Haseyo Chang Teo! Affordable Korean Restaurant in Paranaque City

First Time to Try Project Pie, Try It Too!

Check out these great finds from Amazon!

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Annyeong-Haseyo Chang Teo! Affordable Korean Restaurant in Paranaque City

If you asked me what my favorite cuisine is, I wouldn't immediately say "Korean" because I know for certain that Koreans love sweet and spicy food. I don't really like the sweet taste on my meals (I'd prefer them with desserts), but eating in Chang Teo BF Homes Aguirre Avenue is always a great experience. I've eaten in Chang Teo three times over a span of 2 months already, so I can probably say that it's well on my top lists of favorite restaurants along Aguirre Avenue. Chang Teo is located just beside Tea Talk of Aguirre Avenue, with a yellow and subtle sign.

Credit: http://www.zomato.com/photos/pv-res-6308363-r_NTg5NDc0NzQ1NT

Parking: The restaurant parking on its facade only had 3 slots so if there are several guests eating, you can expect parking somewhere near along the side of the road. I think this is okay because parking is really a general problem along Aguirre Avenue, knowing that people crowd here for family dinners and barkada meetups.

I took my family for my mom's birthday dinner here!

Ambiance: If you're looking for a fine dining ambiance, this restaurant won't really make the cut. The furniture and even the place itself looked aged and there are some days where there is no air conditioning. I noticed that majorly Korean families and friends go here for a satisfying dinner, those types who couldn't really care much about how the restaurant looks like. Generally I think the restaurant is well-kept despite being old looking.

Service: The servers are young Filipinas who are respectful and responsive, though there are some instances where you have to remind them to give your requests such as house tea, extra utensils or whatnot. Generally they are kind and will take your picture or cook your Samgyupsal if you don't want to cook it by yourself.

Cooking the Samgyupsal

The hotpot soup also tastes great!

Kimchi soup with the other appetizers. Both of them were delish, BTW.

Food: Hands down for the food because it was only the instance (so far)  where I genuinely appreciated Korean cooking. We ordered the famous Samgyupsal, which are pork strips cooking in a skillet in front of your table. The Samgyupsal also comes with free fresh lettuce which you can wrap around your pork. But wait, there's more! The Samgyupsal also came with free appetizers and when they run out you can always ask for more. The appetizers are also varied (sauteed mongo bean sprouts, tofu, Kimchi, egg cubes, etc.) and it can make you full just like the actual short orders. We have ordered several soups already including their famous Kimchi soup, hotpots, etc. All I can say is that everything is delicious!

Price: Not only is the food something to rave about, the price is something to rave about as well. My friends went out for an afterwork dinner and we got quite full after eating Samgyupsal with rice, appetizers and soup. I was pleased to find out that each of us paid only 130 pesos. That's quite a lot for 130 pesos and I was really happy. On average, you will end up sharing 100-250 pesos per person. Quite affordable, huh?

I highly recommend this restaurant if your visiting the South Metro! What other Korean restaurants can you  recommend?

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Drinking Tea is Tea-rrific! Benefits of Drinking Tea

Oolong Tea. Ohhhhlooong. Hahaha

I used to dislike drinking tea except for the regular iced tea. I used to cringe at its bitter taste and pass up the chances when restaurants offer their house tea. However, I noticed that I was gaining weight throughout the holiday season and I was looking for ways to lose weight aside from exercise. I was bored one day and decided to type the keyword "Lose weight" in Youtube and found this amazingly funny and interesting video:

The girl in the video inspired me to drink tea regularly so after researching, I bought a box of Oolong and Green tea. I found out that these are the benefits of drinking tea:

1. Tea helps in overall metabolism. Drinking tea a little while after your meals is a good way of speeding up the metabolic process. It also blocks too much fat absorption.

2. Drinking tea helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. If your family has a history of heart problems, maybe drinking tea regularly will prevent you from having them.

3. Tea is loaded with antioxidants which help battle and prevent cancer cells from multiplying.

4. Tea keeps us hydrated and hydration consequently gives us brighter and supple skin.

5. Tea has no calories and makes us feel more calm after drinking.

If you do some research, you'd find out that tea has tons of benefits that I wasn't able to mention here. I drink tea regularly in the morning and occasionally during the afternoon after meals, but if you're the type who is sensitive to caffeine (like me), you may not want to drink it at night. I officially love tea more than coffee now. Sometimes for taste I put honey, calamansi, or lemon but generally I love the plain tea so I don't do it that often. I encourage everyone to skip the frappes and the cappuccinos (yes, and skip the calories!) and get yourself a good ol' cup of tea. 

Do you love drinking tea? Why or why not?

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