Catching Up At Torch Restaurant

"Torch is one of Manila's favorite all-day dining restaurants and watering holes that offers a wide range of food that crosses different cuisines. Known for its international fusion cuisine, Torch blazes with a delectable and affordable selection of Japanese, Italian, and American favorites cooked in playful ways that keep loyal patrons coming back for more.

The restaurant's unbeatable signature dishes are the crispy-thin gourment pizzas, oven-baked sushi, and sizzling marbled angus steaks. All these and more delicious eats and comfort food dishes are enjoyed in a relaxing and casual setting, making Torch a destination perfect for dates, families, and friends--from morning until late night."

My best friend Angela and I had some lot of catching up to do, since she's from Manila and I'm from Bulacan pa. So we decided to have lunch first at Torch before heading to the movie house. This is actually my second time here with Angela; the first time I've been here was with our other two best friend, Kacy and Alyssa. 

This Torch branch is located in Trinoma, 2nd floor Garden side. They still have 5 other branches open, check the last part of my post to see the location of their other branches. 

This inviting wine rack will welcome you as you enter the restaurant.

The place is spacious and the interior is very relaxing in the eyes because of the artificial decorative green grass. 

What I love about Torch is not only do they offer the usual American food like burgers and steaks, but also got variety of cuisine to choose from.

Here's their menu:

And here's what we got:

A free appetizer from them, Fried Pasta stick or whatever you may call it. What a cutie, right?

It tastes just plain pasta and slighty salty

For Angela, she had the Truffle Fries and Torch's Signature Roll (Yes naman, on diet si Beks!)

Truffle Fries , ₱249.95 (Wow, thanks for the ₱.05 change. Kidding hahaha)

Crispy potato fries tossed in a truffle oil and served with their very own Torch signature dressing.

I'm solidly a fan of fries. I actually dreamt of laying in a sea of fries. LOL. Anyway, so this I must say, is  a goody-good one. But I still like the regular fries one better. This tastes a little bit sour but kebs na din. I loved the dip, kinda taste like ranch dressing?

Torch's Signature Roll, ₱399.95

Sushi rolls filled with soft-shell crab, ebi tempura, unagi, tamago, and Japanese cucumber, topped with fresh wakame seaweed, kani and ripe mangoes

So basically it's a pack of seafood. Chos. Sadly not a big fan of sushi rolls but I still eat sushi naman. This actually tastes great. Angela got full already after munching on four rolls, I think?

And this is what I had:

US Angus Tenderloin Salpicao Medallion, ₱579.95
Yellow Tail Merlot, ₱150.00/glass

Medallions of Certified U.S. Angus Beef, wrapped with bacon, and served with garlic parsley rice and sauteed mixed vegetables

I'm such a big lover of steak so whenever we dine in a restaurant that serves steaks, the search is over--Steak won my tummy right away. Hahaha. Paired it with Merlot pa, ay heaven! Very Tita ang wine sa lunch. Hahaha. Just so you know, I'm not the only one who had wine ha. I wasn't able to take a picture of Angela's drink, but what she ordered was Yellow Tail Chardonnay. Back to the steak--not only is this just the usual steak that I order, it has a twist--wrapped in a bacon and is served in a marble plate with a candle below it which let it sizzle for a while. So whew, win-win tummy I got here! I had my steak done in a medium rare so it's chewy and more juicy-fied. Actually, this is what I also ordered the first time we tried Torch.

For those who's on the same page with me when it comes to the love for food, you must, must, must try Torch! I have yet to try their other dishes. Their food may be a bit pricey, but it's worth your penny; especially if it's for your tummy. ;)

Torch Restaurant

TORCH GREENHILLS
63 Connecticut Street, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila
477-3771
Sun to Tue - 7:00 am to 12:00 mn
Wed to Sat - 7:00 am to 3:00 am

TORCH KATIPUNAN
Ground Floor UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City
287-8675
Sun to Thu - 10:00 am to 11:00 pm
Fri to Sat - 10:00 am to 12:00 am

TORCH TRINOMA
2nd Level Garden Restaurants, Trinoma, ESDA cor. North Ave., Quezon City
730-4102
Sun to Sat - 10:00 am to 11:00 pm

TORCH GREENBELT
Level 1, Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati City
751-6213
Sun to Tue - 10:00 am to 12:00 mn
Wed to Sat - 10:00 am to 3:00 am

TORCH CIRCUIT MAKATI

TORCH MOLITO ALABANG
Call 772-0626

TORCH BGC
Call 772-2027

Follow/Like their sites at:

Facebook: Torch Restaurant
Twitter: Torch Restaurant

Instagram: @torchresto

Me Ke Aloha, Johnny Kahuku’s Hawaiian Shrimp House!

Makou kaulana o koʻu kaikuwahine,Ghelleny, ka lā hānau maʻaneʻi ma Johnny Kahuku’s Hawaiian Shrimp House’s Hawaiian Shrimp House. Translation: We celebrated my sister's birthday, Ghelleny, here at Johnny Kahuku’s Hawaiian Shrimp House. Thank you Google translation for that. Hahaha.

After our family attended the church service in CCF here in Eastwood, we watched a movie first then decided where to have dinner for Ghelleny's birthday celebration. She's now 15, yay! Our first plan was in Sambokojin, but my sister wasn't able to bring her ID so no free buffet for the birthday celebrant. Aw. So my Mom suggested we find another restaurant instead. We were torn between the Red Crab and Johnny Kahuku, 'cause they're just beside each other and at the same time both a seafood restaurant. And since Johnny Kahuku is under the mother company of the Red Crab Group of Restaurants, and fresh from our sight--really gives a Hawaiian vibe, we decided to gave it a shot. 

I wasn't able to take a picture of the place. :( So let me just describe it to you. Hehe. The moment we entered the restaurant, you could really feel the Hawaiian vibe. Interiors were remarkably vibrant and lively, which gives a cheerful and inviting mood; very tropic indeed. I love the way their wall decors with a very big "Aloha" and "Surf Zone" were done with Hawaiian tribal designs! They also have this big Tiki mask logo facing outside the restaurant which I think saying "Aloha!" 

BTW, they got piles of menu--which is good and bad. Good 'cause you have a lot of food to choose from, and bad 'cause you can't order and digest it all. Huhu. 

For starters, we had the Tropical Tuna Salad, ₱390.00

Mixed Micro Greens topped with Seared Ahi Tuna, Watermelon, Edamame, fruits in Season, and drizzled with Sesame Miso dressing

The salad was real neat. Loved the crispyness of the greens together with the dressing!

And since I am craving for sashimi during this time, I requested the parentals to order me this Salmon Poke, ₱365.00

Fresh Salmon Sashimi topped with fresh seaweeds, roasted pineapple, lemons and drizzled with ginger Shoyu dressing

All mine! Bwahaha. I really did enjoyed this but I think it was a bit over priced for the serving. But the taste was a killer! So I'll still order this when I go back here. 

And for our main course, we had this yummerz Singaporean Chili Crab (3pcs-300grams), ₱1099.00 

Slow Cooked Crab, with garlic and sweet chili sauce; and two fried bao aside

The sweet chili sauce is. the. BOMB. You could really taste the sweet sauce of it being kicked off with spicyness--which terrifically blended well. Really did love the baos as well! 

On the other hand, we also got the Garlic Overload (3pcs-300grams), ₱1099.00 

Deep fried Crabs, with bits of golden garlic, chillies, salted black beans, and garlic egg noodles below the crabs; topped with garlic egg noodles

 Being a garlic lover, I can say that this is my favorite out of all we ordered. Even though it's fried, the crab's fat oozing out of its shell is the real MVP here!  The way the crabs were fried, ughh so delish!

Also tried the Combination BBQ Platter 2, ₱989.00 

Beef short ribs (grilled and fried), Shrimp Kahuku, Mochiko Chicken, with Hawaiian rice, and Macaroni salad

Wasn't able to appreciate well this platter 'cause my main focus during this time is on the crabs. Haha. But nevertheless, the ribs were quite chewable naman, the shrimps were great (hello, garlic lover me), the chicken is a must try--for it's very tasty, the rice is okay, and the macaroni salad is really tasty too. We weren't able to order na din a dessert 'cause we really are full na. But we did get to taste their Kahuku Dirty Chocolate Brownie, a free treat from them because of Ghelleny's birthday. I must say, their brownies were to die for! Alongside with a vanilla ice cream, ugh mouthwatering. 

So overall, our dining experience here is a stomach buster--in a satisfying way. Happy tummy, indeed. It's like we ate in a buffet restaurant too. We really had a pleasant and worthy birthday celebration feast here. The staffs were very accommodating and friendly. The ambiance is very relaxing and at the same time like being transported in a while to Hawaii. 

Recommending you all to try Johnny Kahuku’s Hawaiian Shrimp House as well for I will absolutely be back here to try more of their dishes!

And for those wondering what Me Ke Aloha means, it's "With love". 

Johnny Kahuku’s Hawaiian Shrimp House

First Branch:

2nd Level Newport Mall, Andrews Avenue Newport City, Pasay, 1301 Metro Manila 

Monday-Sunday 11am-12mn

Second Branch:

Ground Floor, Eastwood Mall, Libis, Quezon City

Monday-Sunday 10am-10pm

Contact them at:

(063) 856-0087

Email: johnnykahuku.ph@gmail.com

Follow/Like their sites at:

Facebook: Johnny Kahuku’s Hawaiian Shrimp House

Instagram: @johnnykahuku

Cafe de Blas: A Cup Beyond The Rest

I've been hearing good reviews on how nice the ambiance and the food of Cafe de Blas is, and at the same time bad reviews that their food are a bit price-y. Well that led me to be really intrigued on what this shop is up about. 'Twas my first time here accompanied with my loves, Mollyn and Keziah. 

But please bear with me 'cause I was not ready on blogging about Cafe de Blas--for this food trip was also just a biglaan. So mejo kulang kulang 'tong post ko. Well actually I took this shots for my Instagram feed only, but I really wanted to put a glow on my blog again so I decided to make post about the coffee shop. 

You can never go wrong with the garden friendly type of this coffee shop. It never gets old. Definitely loving the ambiance of it.

Seating in a spot like this brick and wood arched garden gate feels like you're in an English garden even though it's just a wallpaper. Way too relaxing.

Not only is this shop reminding us on how beautiful the old-fashion style is, but also gave me a thumbs up on how well they mixed up putting up modern style like this DIY-ed lighting, light bulb in a mason jar.

Being a coffee lover, this is the first thing my eyes laid on when we entered Cafe de Blas. Loving the Coffee-O-Logy wallpaper! 

Due to our hungriness (hungry as a bear), I forgot to take a picture of the menu. Sorry, my bad. But hey, you can't blame me for being just a human. A human who's hungry af. Hehe. Anyways, these are what we ordered. Forgive me for also forgetting the prices of what we ordered. Talk about being old and famished. Chos! Oh just bear with me guys. Haha.

First off, coffee-s. Yaaas. All for the love of coffee-s. Here's what we ordered. Mine is an Iced Caramel Macchiato, while Keziah and Mollyn's are frappucinos (Forgot what kind of frapp it is). 

The drinks were okay. Much better than the ETC drinks. Sorry guys but still a Starbucks lover here.

And for our food, quoting aside a funny line, "There is no 'WE' in 'FOOD'." Cue-ing Ariana Grande's song, 'Greedy'. LOL.

Mollyn's (Yes, diet sya!):

The salad was good, but the serving is bad. Very nakaka-bitin.

Keziah's (She's really into burgers, 'ya know):

The burger was superb. The patty was juicy and big. So yes, kudos to this.

And mine's... (Who's strictly on a serious diet):

Definitely giving the pasta a thumbs up with pinky finger!

Not. Who says I'm on a diet? Hahaha. Here's what I really ordered:

Loving the atsara and buro aside, I think?

I know, I know. Carbs on carbs on carbs. Whatever! As long as me and my tummy is happy, nothing can stop us from loving food even reading and hearing the word carbs is making me feel guilty. Haha.  

All in all, the food was delish but not satisfying enough to provide what a regular tummy needed to be fed on. Plus the price is really not proportioned to the serving size of their food. Peace! The coffee is also a thumbs up, but almost as same amount with the Starbucks drinks which is a price-y too. My friends and I did enjoy our stay here, though Mollyn got bitin with her salad. Imagine me on her shoes pa, right? Hahaha. 

Hmmm. Yes I'll absolutely be back here. I have yet still to try their pastries. Ugh, sorry I wasn't able to take a picture of that too. But looking at their pastries, it's an eye catching. So for my next trip here, I'll certainly order that one up. 

Cafe de Blas 

Blas Ople Diversion Road, Bulihan, Malolos, Bulacan

Monday-Sunday: 10am-11pm

Contact them at:

(044) 931 3090

Follow/Like their sites at:

Facebook: Cafe de Blas

Instagram: @cafedeblas