Ippon Yarri

I'm calling all foodtrippers with an overheated love for Japanese cuisine, i just discovered a wonderful one located at Lima Square, Lipa City. - the one that made me forget about Tokyo-Tokyo - oh, wait, you gotta exclude Tokyo-Tokyo's Shitake burger there! -
So, everyone, welcome to:

 Ipponyarri Japanese Restaurant.
 
 一本槍
What's that again?
一本  is the symbol for ippon which literally means one full point; then this 槍 is for yarri which according to Atty. B means spear.
 And according to my google friend, it's an idiom for, one great effort.
 by the way, happy birthday, Chinnie! Thanks for posing ala-Japanese.
And thank you to our Japanese-looking boss who patiently detailed each of the menu for us, and of course, for this wonderful treat!

Let's see what's inside:

 As you enter the resto, you will be greeted with files of Japanese reads, should i say, Manga?

and this thing hanging on the corridor's wall. I think this is a list of their "special menu" for the day.

 I was trying to capture the corner of the resto where you can eat in seiza-style. Hihi.

Now, let's see the food worth chowing:

 

 

We were served with mixed vegetables and tea right after we gave our orders. And yes, you don't have to bother to go to the washroom to wash your hands. They got wet towels for each guest. (i'm just thinking if it's hygienic, but for the sake of first-time experience, i used it!)

Atty. B got this noddle soup which comes with nori seaweeds, bean sprouts, meat topped with leeks. hey, i love that wooden ramen ladle!

This is grilled Sanma or Pacific Saury. This elongated fish tastes like our very own tulingan, only that, it's tastier. It was always a question to me how Japanese manage to eat something like this without using spoon and fork. And now i know!

This one is tufo. I'm not sure if this is the old and well-known Japanese dish, agedashi tofu.
but i skipped trying this one since there's still lots in our fridge! 

I suddenly missed grade school days with this bowl of soy beans, or utaw. We used to grow this in our grade school gardening subject. But this one was bigger than what we usually get from our market, and yummier. 

Chinnie had this chicken bento menu. It looks like chicken karaage. This was served with some appetizer, a bowl of rice, miso soup and a glass of green tea;

the appetizer: a slice of tea egg, a small portion of tomato based-pasta and some dried seaweeds.

The miso soup: It tastes like the one in Tokyo-Tokyo, only that it's richer in flavor.

And here goes the colorful mixed sushi with pickled ginger. Let me check if i can recall what's in the plate: the two wrapped in nori are fish egg and sea urchin. then the ones in thumb-length pillows of rice are with raw fishes, i think salmon and tuna, squid, crab stick and chicken egg on top. I think Japanese mouth are quite big if they consider this bite size!
 
And this one, my favorite, the one that perfectly fitted my picky (?) taste buds (and mouth): tuna sashimi with fresh umi budo (or sea grapes, a kind of seaweed) and radish. The tuna tastes so fresh and sweet while the umi budo's salty and it has this crunchy effect, it felt like having to pop plastic balloons inside your mouth (i do not know if i described it correctly, though) and the radish, it served as the one that balanced the taste of the tuna and the saltiness of the seaweeds. Opps, do not forget to dip this in soy sauce with wasabi. Combine these four in your mouth and you'll surely can't deny heaven.  

oh. this! this is rice wine in ceramic pot. Just like any alcohol, it's best served when cold.

And my cherry-blossom love affair with these eye-candy Japanese food ended with a glass of iced-cold coffee. Solved! 

 Bye, Mr. Japanese Man. I'm dying to see you again soonest!

Ippon Yarri Japanese Restaurant

Lima Square, Malvar, Batangas City

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Figaro Cafe

It's Sunday noon and everyone knows that the best way to spend it is with people blessed with so much positivity, and when you talk about optimism, that calls for my friend, Engr. Karen P. Almarez!

 And we had our noon talk at Figaro Cafe, where you'll find their figaro classic design;

and very accommodating yet polite outlet crews. They even gave us a foldable figaro fan which says, You know coffee. It's free for every single receipt purchase of P350.00 from March 15 - May 15, 2012. So grab your summer fan now!

Like other coffee shops, they also got their magazines and newspapers corner!

 

The staircase leading to the plain 2nd floor will give you a taste of artful designs hanging on the wall.

and the food, i think it's never plain. we just had our lunch so we're still full when we got there, we just wanted to have a taste:

We wanted to try their grilled eggplant gourmet sandwich (P139) and pesto pasta (P179) but sadly, both weren't available.

So we had Pasta Arrabbiata (P179).

Imagine stewed fresh tomatoes sauteed in olive oil with herbs and spices then sprinkled with parmesan cheese. That is Figaro's Arrabbiata pasta!

and their Mediterranean Strawberry Cheesecake (P135)

Karen said: it's so creamy, Ate! 

I said: this is the warm strawberry icecream version!

For drinks: Karen had Cappuccino Frost (P135). She said she loved it!

While i tried their Raspberry Milk Tea with Yakult (P90), for the sake of finding out what's with the craziness over milk tea. My verdict? Well, i don't think anyone can beat Chowking's Nai Cha. =P 

Anyway, for milk tea lovers, Figaro Lipa offers four more promising Milk Tea Craze flavors:

 

 Strawberry Milk Tea with Yakult (P90); Taro PuddingMilk Tea (P89), Strawberry Lemon Iced Tea (P75), Taro Pudding Chiller Feast (P100)

 

Next time, i'm going to starve myself and try all these!

i like this line i captured from their wall, Always fresh. 

Figaro Cafe - Lipa Branch is located at Ayala Hi-way, Lipa City Batangas Philippines 4200

They are open 9AM-12MN during Sun-Thurs and 8AM-1AM during Fri-Sat.

Call them at (043) 757 6346 and check their FB account Figaro.Lipa

http://www.figarocoffee.com/

 

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Cafe78

What do you do when a friend suffers from a heart busted into pieces? Uh-oh! Well, a good friend would surely offer comfort. And you go for tight hugs, reassuring words, you give your best listening ears, and of course, some soul-soothing chows for the stomach.

So after stuffing our slightly starving stomach with, i must say, surprisingly good food from Kuya Clyde’s Ihaw-ihaw. Actually, i was not really expecting any heaven food from them, but this time, i need to commend their pork sisig with egg for satisfying my taste buds that night. Alright, back to what i really want to discuss, after late dinner, we looked for a 24-hour serving coffee shop and ended up at Cafe78 located along Hotel Ni Mang Jose.

 

Ok. Call me judgmental. But since i moved in here at Metro Lipa, i have always deemed Cafe78 as one of those ordinary trying hard cafes serving coffee drinks for the sake of being called as one. BUT I WAS WRONG.

  

They definitely proven me wrong. Since, we were still kinda full, we just had something fancy to drink. We had Dark Temptation (for PhP 145), Mocha Blend (for PhP 125) and Oreo Cream Blended (for PhP 135). I had the Dark Temptation, which almost made me forget that i was with a teary-eyed friend. So far, this has been the best tasting blended beverage from all the drinks i have tried here in Batangas. I also had a sip from Ayen's and Anch's, and i could say that what's written in the menu won't disappoint customers' fancy taste buds!

 

 Next time, i'll surely try the other items in their menu list. And yes, their menu is pasted in their tables, so one doesn't have to bother calling the service crew for the menu.

  And the place. They got this very cozy place, small but well-maximized.

 

We occupied the upper part,  and we just so love it. With the nice couches and stools, it's just like bonding with friends at home. And since it was so late, and it was just the three of us fooling around the cafe, we had the luxury of choosing whether to just watch the tv, read some travel and fashion magazines or just like what we had enjoyed, deaf our ears with lonely tunes! 

 

And if the whole thing is boring you, (well, i was never bored, but just in case) you can peep from the window and you can have a view of people having their good times with a beer or two at Metro Bar.

 Well, i could say that this Cafe78 experience will definitely not be the last. I'll be back, again and again to EXPERIENCE THE REAL TASTE OF BATANGAS COFFEE! But then, at the end of the day, no fancy glass of drinks would be enjoyable enough without the love of my two dearest girlfriends, Ayen and Anch! Iloveyougirls!
 


Cafe 78 is located at Ayala HiWay, Brgy Balintawak, 4217 Lipa City
Contact them at 437846038
Check their FB account @CAFE78 LIPA CITY

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HOT & COLD CAFE

They say, they are MORE THAN JUST COFFEE.  Well, my visits proved that they are not just into pretty marketing line-lies. From their classy-moderne interior to the list of their Latino-inspired foodies, one would surely give a two thumbs up!

These are some of their items that i have tried:

 

 Lemon Tetrazinni 

(don't be surprised with its sour taste!) 

Penne and Cheese

(the bread highly compliments the pasta flavor. YUM!)

and my most favorite of all, which photo is missing (???), is their Kim's Scampi Pasta. I and Ayen, in one of our girlfriend talks over dinner, forgot about "what's in a confused heart" when we got our taste of its flavorful sauce! 

In another visit, we went loca over their chicken: 

Chicken Florentine

Spicy Chicken Wings

(tasteful to the bones!)

 and their Super Burger served with potato wedges.
(Try this and you'll forget about Burger King. Ok, just maybe. Since there's no more BK here in Batangas)

Their strawberry and cream shake was my first taste of HOT&COLD. Sadly, i didn't like it that much.  I guess not just for cold nights of december! But it's huge!

and this one, i really can't remember. I think some espresso or cappuccino. 

Hot and Cold Cafe
Brgy. Kumintang Batangas City, Philippines
Phone  +639274744465
Email  hotandcoldcafe@live.com
Facebook Page HOT&COLD

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Britz Buffet

So, it's already August. And we knew we just had to do some bits and pieces of catching up with our busy lives and have some sweet hugs and,our favorite, aside from writing to the last of our functioning brain cell, have a taste of heaven food. 

And the gang, my siblings via "dugong-advo", Karen, Jane, Bem, Izus and Izan (Sorry, MArnee, Neneth and Meynard, i guess you three were busier than a bee, next time, promise you'll find time)  tried the recently opened resto located adjacent to the Holy Trinity Parish Church.

So, everyone, welcome to BRITZ Buffet Function Hall. 

(Sorry, we weren't able to take nice pictures of the place) 

As you may noticed, the dining place seems to be semi-Mediterranean. So neat and classy. Perfect for fine dining and family dinners. Actually, with our kinda- eclectic personalities, we find it hard to fit in. haha. 

 

but the nicest thing that they have here, is their veranda, it's like watching the busy city lights from a peaceful place. The bar is also located here where you can sip your fancy drinks while listening to some live music. Oh,i can only imagine. SoOo relaxing.

Oops, let me give you some food photos:

As appetizer, we had this salad with balsamic vinegar.

 Karen and I were kinda starving already. So felt like eating rice. And the viands we chose: pork sisig and yeee, all-time favorite, Kare-Kare!

  We also tried their pasta served with toasted bread. i love the penne!

  and for the sweets, they gave us free leche plan! 

I really enjoyed the night, i just hope that next time i can experience chillin out in their veranda! 

Britz is located at Pallocan West Batangas City

They open from 6PM -  9PM 

Phone Number 723-2531
Email britz@hotmail.com / britzbuffet@gmail.com

Check their FB @ BRITZ FANPAGE

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