Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant at Diamond Hotel Philippines

The first time I dined at Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant of Diamond Hotel Philippines was during the time when we tried the Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can with fellow foodies.  The experience was legendary and from then on, I have been meaning to revisit Yurakuen and try their ala carte dishes. If I was floored with my teppanyaki experience, there isn't a snowball chance in the desert that I wouldn't like Yurakuen's other dishes.

When I finally got the chance to revisit Yurakuen, it steeled my resolve that they are one of the best Japanese restaurants in Manila, at least in my book, but I am confident a lot will agree. 

Located inside Diamond Hotel Philippines in Manila, dining at Yurakuen Japanese Restaurant feels like dining in a small paradise.  Their signature cherry blossom glass tree sits pontifically in the middle of the dining area that gives the restaurant an elegant feel to it.  The roof to floor glass walls serves as a thin line that separate the dining area to the beautiful garden surrounding the restaurant.  

Mochiko Potato Chip Chocolate Mochi

One of the reasons why I love going to weekend markets is the endless possibilities of discovering great food finds.  In the past years that I have been going to Mercato Centrale, one of the food finds that really love and patronize up to this day is Mochiko.  Despite being introduced to different Mochi stores sprouting all over Manila, truth be told, I still keep coming back to the tried and tested Mochiko.

There are a lot of things about Mochiko to be loved, but one that illuminate is their creativity in coming up with different flavors.  I've been crazy with their azuki, caramel, and black sesame variants and I was floored when they released their chocnut and cookie dough flavors.  And during the holiday season, I was introduced to their new flavor, Potato Chip Chocolate Mochi. 

Who would have thought, right?  Sheer genius.

This new flavor by Mochiko is a beautiful collaboration with Risa Chocolate which is also known in every food fairs and weekend markets in Manila.  Risa Chocolate provides the chocolate covered potato chips while FIC Ice cream provides the delectable ice cream.

California Pizza Kitchen at Bonifacio High Street

To mark its 10th store in the Philippines, California Pizza Kitchen (CPK Phlippines) celebrate it with newly revamped interiors and new additions to the menu.  Handled by Global Restaurants Concept Inc., California Pizza Kitchen opened its door to cater to its patrons located at The Fort, Bonifacio Global City.

Since it's first branch that opened in 1998 at Glorietta, California Pizza Kitchen still is among the pizza restaurant chains that dishes out great tasting pizza that Filipino love.  During the opening of it's 10th store, we were able to try some of the new additions to the menu and experience great ambiance at CPK.

Suggestive of California ambiance, CPK's interior boasts of laid back and comfortable feat where diners could enjoy their meals and relax.  I wasn't able to capture photos of their The Fort branch because the place was so jam packed during my visit so I'll just reserved that on my future posts when I get to visit them again sometime soon. Menawhile, here are the dishes we enjoyed during the launching.