celebraTINg exisTENce: Italian Food

0 Comments

EKSENA SA UPTC:

Tin: Gusto ko ng La Lola, meron pala silang product na may matcha ice cream eh.
Mama: Sige, subukan natin 'yung Mama Lou's muna. Malapit lang naman sa La Lola 'yon.

We were 15th in line when we went there. 15th?! Are you kidding me?! I mean like I haven't eaten a decent meal the whole day because we were insanely busy and I'll be waiting for another 45 minutes to 1 hour before we get a seat????? But it's rare that my mother suggests a restaurant 'cause it's usually me who chooses where we eat so okay, willing to wait. Hahaha. Arte lang. Hindi ako nag hysterical dun. Ano magagawa ko e ang daming tao.

15th in line. Calmly gave the receptionist (kung ano man tawag sa kanya) my cellphone number. Went to Mercado to buy some groceries. After around 40 minutes, the receptionist called and told us that our table was ready e nakapila pa kami sa counter para magbayad... buti na lang walang topak kapatid ko, binigay ko lang pambayad sa kanya tapos pumunta na kami ng nanay ko sa Mama Lou's.

SO AFTER NG MAHABA RIN NA INTRO KO AT BACK STORY, KASING HABA NG PAGHIHINTAY NAMIN,

IS MAMA LOU'S WORTH THE WAIT?

The first thing I noticed was the parmesan bottle. Parang ako, patay ka. Ubos ka. Hahaha.

But the food we ordered were flavorful and delicious on their own that there was no need to put additional parmesan cheese on them.

After ordering, we were served this bread and tomato dip. This was the first time I tried a tomato dip for my bread in an Italian restaurant because it's usually vinaigrette and olive oil but I liked this too. MABUBUHAY AKO SA ITALY, GUISE. :))))

Mozzarella Sticks
180.00

I loved this paired with the sauce.

I wanted to try other dishes especially those I haven't tried eating yet but since I was with my mother and sister, we stuck with our usual orders.

Large Pepperoni Pizza
P 395.00

Yep, our usual order is pepperoni pizza because my sister's picky with her food. For me, this is easily one of the best thin crust pepperoni pizzas I've tried. This is coming from someone who orders pepperoni pizza in almost all restaurants she's eating at ah.

You know (if you've read some of my previous reviews) that I suck at describing the taste of my food but when I say it's good then it's good. Haha!! Edi wow, noh?

The next time we'll go here, I'll definitely order Mama Lou's Special pizza - that was the order of those seated beside us and it got me so curious. Ang kulit kasi ng itsura tas mukha namang enjoy sila. Haha.

Spaghetti Meatballs
P 295.00

This took a looooooong time before it was served to us. I almost cancelled this order since nabusog na kami sa pizza but when I followed-up, the waitress told us that ilalabas na raw in two to three minutes, so okay, we waited. And again, glad we didn't cancel and glad we waited. The noodle was cooked just right - al dente. The sauce was sour but sour in a good Italian pasta way. Do you get what I mean? Hahaha! Gosh sobrang hirap mag-explain plsssss. :))))

The place was really busy but infairness to the staffs, the service was still good. They were attentive and courteous. They were also constantly refilling our drinks even if we weren't asking for any. It was just kind of hard for the kitchen to catch up with the orders because there were a lot of people that night so forgiven ang na-late na spaghetti, masarap naman.

Overall, I'd say that Mama Lou's is worth the wait. With great food and serving that's good for its price, mothers undoubtedly know best. Hehe.

Next time na si La Lola, hindi ko na kinaya mag-round two kahit na matcha ice cream pa 'yon.

0 Comments

0 Comments

There's really something with this kind of concept that even if pizza isn't considered a new food offering, the way of ordering piques one's curiosity. For experience purposes ganyan.

I can't even count how many months have passed since this Project Pie post was put in my backlogs. Travel series (LAKAS TALAGA MAKA TRAVEL HAHAHAHA) consumes so much of my blogging time that food posts are often neglected these past months. Sana talaga 'yung mismong pagkain at pag gastos ang ma-neglect, huhuhu jubese ko na lalo plssss. :)))

ANYWAYYYY...

DESIGN BUILD EAT
#5 + Pepperoni

You're free to choose any toppings that you'd like and pay a fixed price of P 285.00 per pizza.

You have two options: order by number or build your own from scratch.

My default project pie order is #5 which consists of Mozzarella, Ricotta, Gorgonzola, Cracked Black Pepper, Olive Oil, Garlic, Fresh Chopped Basil and I just add some toppings.

I don't like my pizza overstuffed which explains my preference (most of the time lang, hindi all the time) for pepperoni or five cheese variants even if there are "more interesting" pizza flavors available.

As for the drinks, it's P 65.00 for a choice of sodas, juices and iced tea.

For P 65.00, you get a refillable drink of any of the above choices but I prefer Sweet Peach.It reminded me of Texas Chicken's Iced Tea in KLIA 2.

P 285.00 with more toppings though it still looks under-stuffed compared with the pizza creations of other customers.

You can never go wrong with pizza combinations. Joke. :)) Syempre, iisipin mo rin kung aling ingredients 'yung bagay sa'yo at sa panglasa mo kaya ganyan lang. hahaha. Ang defensive. hahaha.

#5 + Chicken + Pepperoni+ Bacon plus additional of blue cheese and pesto cheeses. 'Yan na pinaka-adventurous ko, noh!!

Dessert

Banana Nutella
P 145.00

I don't like eating cinnamon so even if I like the combination of Nutella and Banana. I didn't come to like this so much.

Best eaten while hot.

Overall, dining in Project Pie is recommendable and enjoyable.

1. Good food. Sige, sasabihan mo bang hindi ka masarap mag-create ng pizza? Hehe. Aside from it's your choices of toppings, all ingredients are of high-quality. Hindi lang siya basta-basta magtuturo ka dun tas bahala na sa lasa. Flavorful naman lahat lalo 'yung cheese.

2. You're free to make your visit as sulit as possible with refillable drinks and combination of any (pwede ngang all) toppings.

0 Comments

I don't know if it's Banapple's marketing strategy, or if most of my friends are just coincidentally craving for Banapple these days, or it's my Instagram posts kasi nakikita nila kaya gusto din nila kumain dun.

Anyhow, Banapple Pies and Cheesecakes has seven pasta dishes in their menu all of which I have tasted in the past weeks so here's my top five.

I got the descriptions from Banapple's page. :) I think for a person with "normal" appetite, an order of any of these dishes will be enough for two.

Penne Bolognese
P 200.00

An aromatic meat sauce, blended with Italian herbs and spices, drizzled with luscious olive oil

Lasagna Roll-Ups
P 210.00

Herbed cream and Parmesan cheeses fill al dente lasagna wide strips, are rolled up, and smothered with classic tomato meat

I was torn between this lasagna and penne for my first choice because I love how different Banapple's lasagna from the others I've tasted. Nasa labas kasi 'yung meat and the fillings are herbed cream and parmesan cheese kaso for a serving kase, meron lang dalawa so mukhang mas marami 'yung Penne. Pero for the taste siguro, pwede rin 'to mag first. Bet 'yung filling talaga.

White Chocolate Truffle Blueberry Cheesecake
P 135.00/slice

This is now my favorite cake in Banapple.

The simple blueberry cheesecake used to be my first and banoffee pie my second pero mas favorite ko na nga 'yung isa.

Pasta Verde
P 200.00

A rich blend of chopped basil, olive oil, and pecans, served with al dente penne pasta.

Okay naman din 'to kaso naparami 'yung oil. Sana balanced lang 'yung leaves (leaves ba talaga. hahahaha) saka 'yung oil para well-distributed 'yung pesto sauce hindi 'yung ibang penne, walang lasa.

Baked Creamy Cheesy Penne
P 215.00

A well-loved dish of luscious white cheese sauce and meaty tomato sauce, with al dente penne pasta and sauteed Hungarian sausage.

This is my fourth because it was too creamy for me. Okay naman siya at first especially with the mozzarella cheese topping pero pag nagtagal na, umay na.

Trio of Sausages Fettucine
P 215.00
Protein-packed pasta of crumbled chorizo, garlic longganisa, and Hungarian sausage, tossed in garlic, Parmesan cheese, and a very light cream sauce

Hindi lang talaga ko mahilig sa white sauce pero mas okay pa rin 'to compare sa dalawang hindi ko na sinali dito sa post because of the ingredients. Bagay naman ang chorizo, garlic longganisa at Hungarian sausage na lasa.

SAYA FACTOR:
9/10

Bakit may -1? There are times kasi medyo mabagal 'yung service nila. :)