Borough at The Podium Mall

Borough at the Podium Mall is so close to my parent's place yet I've only been here three times (including this dinner date with my sister).  

Gavino's Japanese Donuts

I'm a sucker for sweets especially donuts.  Here's a quick roundup of my first encounter with Gavino's Japanese Donuts at SM Megamall.

Balboa at Shangri-La's East Wing

Aside from December, June and September are the busiest months for us because birthdays of our immediate families all fall under these months.  We started the June festivities with a birthday dinner for my dad at Balboa in Shangri-La's east wing.

those books are real!  love the floor tiles!

Ristras Mexican Grill

When we visited Chicago and California several years ago, we fell in love with Chipotle Mexican Grill.  So we were really excited when Ristras Mexican Grill opened in San Juan in 2009.  They have a similar set up wherein you would line up at the counter, choose if you wanted a burrito, taco etc, pick your filling - steak, chicken, pork etc.  At Ristras, the other ingredients are laid out on the counter and the server assembles your order and delivers it at your table after.  

Last month, we were in the San Juan area for an errand.  As we were driving around during a heavy downpour, we spotted an empty parking space at Ristras.  It has been a while since we've dined there so we couldn't decide on what we wanted.  The only thing we agreed on was that we didn't feel like eating beans and anything too heavy.  The servers were very patient with us and answered all our questions (plus aside from us, only one other table was occupied).  We settled on the Steak Soft Tacos and Chicken Quesadilla.   

Screamers Italian Ice

When I spotted the ultra colorful Screamers Italian Ice stall, I automatically assumed that it was another ice cream kiosk.  I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that they were serving gourmet frozen desserts made primarily of fruits plus it was dairy free, cholesterol free and fat free.

Chatime Eats

I was at my parents place last week and we just wanted to stay in for dinner.  We were thinking of having food delivered but our top picks weren't available or would take more than an hour for the food to arrive.  Dad was getting hungry already so I was open to just getting anything from the fastfood joints downstairs.  Good thing my sister suggested that we check out the food offerings at the newly opened Chatime branch a few blocks away.  

Hotel Kimberly Tagaytay

A few months ago, Hotel Kimberly in Tagaytay was our little playground for one weekend.  With about 20 of us from mom's side of the family, we explored and maximized the hotel's amenities which my sister wrote about here.