All Time Favorites at Shakey's

My unwavering love for their thin crust pizza made Shakey’s one of my all time favorite pizza parlors.  For years now, the quality of their food has never changed, at least in my opinion.  Add to that the superb customer experience I always get from them whenever I visit.  I may have fallen in love with other pizza restaurants, but Shakey’s still has a spot on my list.

Thin Crust Belly Buster Pizza is one of my all time favorites.  Packed with 11 kinds of toppings, Italian sausage, beef, pepperoni, ham, salami, cheddar cheese, salami bits, mushrooms, red and green bell pepper, onions, and black olives.  A bite of this ultimately satisfying pizza will send a burst of flavor inside your mouth, while its crunchy thin crust only adds delight to the experience.

Thin Crust Belly Buster Pizza

When dining alone or whenever I am with a just a couple of friends, I usually opt for their Wholesome Combos.  Their Bunch of Lunch or Hero, Salad and Chicken Combo are my usual choices. An extra order of their creamy mushroom soup is always a must.

Bunch of Lunch Combo

Spaghetti, chicken, mojos, and a slice of pizza.  Bunch of Lunch is one filling meal where you can have a taste of the good things that Shakey's offers.

Hero, Salad, and Chicken Combo

Half a Hero sandwich, salad, and chicken. If I don't want to get fully loaded, this combo meal is perfect for me.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Their Mushroom Soup was surprisingly delicious, a meal without it would be incomplete.

If in the event that I am in a company of more than three, it is rather practical to order for their Monster Deals.  The last time I visited, I was with three of my friends and we feasted on the deal which consists of Angus Steak Pizza ( our personal choice ), chicken, mojos, a platter of spaghetti, garlic bread, and a pitcher of cola.

Angus Steakhouse Pizza

I've already written about Shakey's Angus Steakhouse Pizza, and up to this day, I still enjoy this variant.  However, there are times when it can be a bit salty, so I always request for them to go a little easy on the seasoning for my order. 

Chicken and Mojos

I have gone crazy over Shakey's chicken and mojos way back and up to now, I still have incessant cravings from time to time.  

Spaghetti Platter

Their spaghetti may not look appetizing at all, but it is one of my favorite store bought spaghetti as it reminds me of the one my sister cooks at home.  There's a fine balance between sweet and sour flavor in the sauce which blends perfectly with the al dente pasta.

Garlic Bread

Their good old spaghetti would be very very lonely without these yummy pieces of garlic bread.  The bread was perfectly crunchy and generously smothered with garlic butter.  I can eat this alone if only it is sprinkled with Parmesan cheese on top.

Several Shakey’s are near in my area, but their branch in P. Tuazon Cubao, Quezon City is the one I frequent to for guaranteed fast and good service. Shakey's is and will always be an all time classic favorite, I hope they won't change the good quality of their food and the good customer service.

Shakey's - P.Tuazon Cubao
P. Tuazon Blvd. cor. 10th Ave., Brgy. Socorro
Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone Number: (63 2) 9120331, (63 2) 912-0156
Website: https://www.shakeyspizza.ph/

An Invite to Desserts Gone Raw! at Sugarleaf

Sugarleaf... foods that nourish, one of today's innovative healthy-eats restaurants invites everyone as they present us "Desserts Gone Raw: A Food Preparation" workshop on August 6, 2011 from 2pm to 6pm together with Bali-certified raw chef and professional educator, Asha Peri.

This event aims to let the participants learn the basic of raw food, specifically dessert preparation and be knowledgeable about the healthy benefits of raw as well as low-glycemic diet - not only for diabetics.

Asha Peri's Mango Berry Cheesecake

Asha Peri will demonstrate how to prepare her delectable menu including lemon berry cheesecake, chocolate and mango tartlets, raw chocolate crunch bars, fruit crepe roll ups and more. 

Asha Peri's Raw Crepes

 “I am happy to team up with Sugarleaf as we share the same advocacy of spreading the value of wellness and promoting a healthy sustainable lifestyle to more people.” shares raw vegan Chef Asha Peri who obtained her certification from renowned raw food educator Elaina Love of Pure Joy Planet Culinary Academy.

Chef and Professional Educator, Asha Peri

Take advantage of the introductory rate of P1,500/person.  Student, couple, group and senior citizen discounts apply.  Early reservations recommended as seats are limited.  Call, SMS Angelo on 0917 8039 055 or email angelo@sugarleafph.com. 

Sugarleaf will be having three-part country- and cuisine-themed workshops with Asha in the fourth quarter of 2011.  Check Sugarleaf's calendar of events and workshops on their website www.sugarleafph.com. 

Indeed, healthy is the new cool.  I hope to see you all there!

Sugarleaf is located at the G/F Health Cube Building, 226 Wilson Street, West Greenhills in San Juan (between Kink Cakes and BDO).  Tel 385 0387.  Open Mondays to Saturdays 8am to 10pm and Sundays from 8am to 2pm.  Follow us on Twitter @sugarleafph

*photo credits to Sugarleaf

HAPADOG Japanese-Style Hotdogs

They are rocking Mercato Centrale’s Midnight Mercato with their Japanese-style Hotdogs, and now Hapadog’s first branch located in Sm North Edsa’s Sky Garden is making a wave.  First time I visited their branch, I was already smitten not just by the minimalist yet classic look of their store but by the interesting line up in their menu.  

Presented with tempting choices, we cannot decide as to what signature hotdogs we should choose.  One of their friendly food attendants come in to the rescue by offering us their Hapa Meals which consist of Half Hapadog of our choice, Korokke Balls, and Lychee Iced Tea for only 115php.  We saw on the table near us how big their hotdogs were, and so we decided that this Hapa Meals would be perfect for us.  

Hapadog is one mean meaty hotdog nestled on a soft bun with caramelized onion, wasabi mayo, hapa sauce on top, sprinkled with nori flakes and spring onion.  I was able to try 2 more variants but their Hapadog favors my palate.  I love the garlicky flavor of the hotdog that blends well with the caramelized onion, plus the nori flakes and the wasabi mayo gives it a Japanese flavor kick that is delightful to the palate.

Hapadog (whole 155php / half a hapa 75php)

One of their best sellers, Temp-tation Dog tasted like tempura, only better.  Meaty hotdog deep fried in a tempura batter with grated daikon, tempura sauce, and spring onion.  It was an instant hit to our group.

Temp-tation Dog (whole 175php/ half a hapa 85php)

Korokke Dog is a combination of meaty hotdog, mashed potato, tonkatsu sauce, Japanese mayo, and nori flakes.  This one was also good, the meaty taste of the hotdog was tempered by the taste of the mashed potato and it made it all the more filling to the tummy.

Korokke Dog (whole 165php / half a hapa 85php)

Korokke are lovely croquettes which got me munching on and on and on.  Customers get to choose between beef or sea food croquettes, I haven’t tried the sea food but I adore the beef variant.

Korokke (Beef 65php / creamy seafood 95php)

Their Lychee Iced Tea was remarkably good.  Not too sweet, and unlike other restaurants Lychee flavored drinks, this one got a real Lychee floating on it.

Lychee Iced Tea

Aside from their signature hotdogs and side dishes, they also offer Hapa Gyozas.  We have tried their beef gyoza which was so good I actually craved for more. I love the sauce that comes with it but try it with the mayo that comes with the korokke balls, it was equally superb.

Beef Gyoza

We also got to sample their Prawn Gyoza and we loved it just the same.  The prawn was so tasty and its flavor further illuminates as I dipped it into its sauce.

Prawn Gyoza

We were already full but their Hapa Rice was tempting enough so we tried their Donburi and we never regretted it.  I love how the flavor of the ingredients blends well with the noodle, rice, and the breaded pork.  Nice thing about their Hapa Rice is that you get to choose whether you want to have chicken, pork, beef, or sea food with a very slight difference in the price. Aside from Donburi, Japanese Curry and Cream Stew Hapa Rice are also available.

Donburi

Karen, one of the owners, took time to visit our group while we were dining to check if we are enjoying the food, and when we told her that we are celebrating a friend’s birthday, she was kind enough to treat each one of us with a shot of their magnificent drinks.  The birthday celebrant got a flaming shot named Hot Fuji Apple Pie which smells like heaven hinting of cinnamon.  It was such a wonderful treat.

The price leans on a higher point of the scale but considering Hapadog’s good food and awesome service, I think it’s worth all the money we have spent.  I could rave how good their foods are, but what warms my heart the most was the awesome customer service they provided us.  

Truth be told, I rarely go to SM North because of its proximity to where I reside, except for some visit to one of my favorite Filipino Restaurants, Recipes I normally would just eat out somewhere in Ortigas, Eastwood, and Makati.  Now, I think I would be frequenting the area because Hapadog is one restaurant I would surely go back to. 

HAPADOG

SM North EDSA Mall, Sky Garden, Quezon City, Philippines

Website   

http://www.hapa-dog.com

http://www.hapadog.com.ph