Sweet Nothings | Food, Travel, & Lifestyle Blog

Here's one of the series of my late night dinner dates with Mark. Our late night dinner dates usually happen whenever I work overtime. My dad would never really allow me to go home late all by myself even if I bring a car and so working overtime is really not an option for me. So whenever overtime work is needed, Mark would always be there, since his shift ends at 10pm, (or should I say I would always ask Mark) to fetch me up, have some late dinner, and accompany me home. :p

From Makati we went to the Araneta Center and was eying on Mang Inasal but it was already their closing time. Luckily North Park, which is just a few walks away from Mang Inasal, is open for 24 hours.

We were greeted by the waiting staff who also ushered us to our seats. It was almost midnight and there weren't a lot of diners that time so our orders were promptly served.

Our drinks were served first. Mark got their Pineapple shake and I got their Lychee shake and totally forgot that I have a sore throat. :p I wasn't able to keep the receipt and so prices indicated here were taken from North Park's site. :)

Lychee Shake and Pineapple Shake - Php 100.10 each

Mark was still on a diet that time and wanted to have North Park's China Chicken, which was unfortunately out of stock, so he just settled for dimsums. There weren't any beef siomai in North Park and Mark didn't want their shrimp dumplings so he opted for the Shark's Fin siomai. Since he is allowed to eat fish, he got 2 orders. :p

Mark and I went out last Saturday to watch Breaking Dawn. It was around lunch time when we got to the Gateway mall, and so after we got our tickets for the 2:10pm showing, we headed straight to the coliseum grounds to find something to eat.

We were too lazy to walk (or I guess too hungry :p) so we settled for the first restaurant that we saw. We were greeted by the friendly waiting staff when we entered Gloria Maris, who handed us the menu as we were seated. I can't remember having dined at Gloria Maris, so I'm considering this as my first time. :)

Our drinks were served a few minutes after we placed our orders. I wasn't able to bring my digicam, good thing my camera phone come in handy. :)

Watermelon Shake and Fresh Orange Juice - Php 78.00 each

Mark wasn't that hungry so he settled for noodles and some siomai, while I wanted to have rice so I had a rice meal and dumplings. :p Mark's beef brisket with tendon noodle soup was served first. The soup looked appetizing. The soup has a generous amount of beef and some white chunks, which I initially thought were slabs of fat. :p

Beef Brisket with Tendon Noodle Soup - Php 198.00

Mark enjoyed his dish. He said that he can actually taste the beef just by merely sipping the soup. He also loved the tendons. He said that eating tendons are like eating fat without actually having to worry about the those extra bulges.

Beef Brisket with Tendon Noodle Soup - Php 198.00

My roast duck was served next. The duck was served with steamed white rice, some steamed pechay, and slices of century egg. The roast duck was yummy and I thought was a lot tastier than roast chickens. Its skin was crispy and the duck meat was tender and juicy. The sauce, which I also loved, had this distinct Chinese taste which I'm guessing was from star anis. It also came with a sweet and tangy dip which I also enjoyed. :)

Roast Duck with Rice - Php 248.00

We were almost done with our main dishes when we figured that our dimsums were still not served. The waiting staff went straight to the kitchen when we called his attention. And yes, I guessed it right, he actually forgot about the dimsums. I just found it kinda weird how he forgot that dimsums are usually served first. :p

We didn't want the usual pork siomai and hakaw dimsums so we went adventurous that time and tried their Japanese siomai and sharksfin dumpling.

Japanese Siomai - Php 98.00

The Japanese siomai had crab meat, pork, and some tuna wrapped in nori and topped with minced carrots. I would have enjoyed this dish if not for the nori wrapper which made the siomai taste a little fishy. That steamed nori was just not a hit for me. With the gooey feel and fishy taste, I nearly puked on my first bite!

Sharksfin Dumpling - Php 98.00

The sharksfin dumpling wasn't also a show stopper as it was kind of dry. But I preferred it more than the Japanese siomai. :p I was not that satisfied with my dumplings so I only had one and gave the rest to Mark.

GLORIA MARIS, ARANETA CENTER

4th Floor, Gateway Mall, Araneta Center
Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila
Philippines
(02) 332-5067

Since we were still early for the movie, I thought of buying some Christmas gifts first. On our way, I thought of checking the movie tickets and was shocked to see that our tickets were for the 12:10pm showing, and it was already past 1pm, oh great! So there, we just decided to buy tickets for a later schedule and just have some desserts to kill time. :)

I insisted that we have our desserts at Starbucks since I was also collecting some stickers for their planner. I got two stickers for these frappes. Yay! :p

Venti Java Chip Frappuccino - Php 175.00 and Venti Dark Mocha Frappuccino - Php 185.00

Mark was still choosing among the tasty treats, while I already knew what I want--the triple decker cheesecake with snickers! *drools* The cheesecake was loaded with chunks of Snickers in a chocolate cookie crust. Each layer has its distinct taste, the bottom layer was the usual cream cheese, the second layer has caramel and cream cheese, and the top layer has chocolate and cream cheese. It was also topped with a chocolate fudge icing and roasted chopped peanuts.

Triple Decker Cheesecake with Snickers - Php 130.00

I know my health condition requires me to cut down on my sweets intake, but this cheesecake just has all the good things which I so love: peanuts, caramel, and chocolate. Really something to die for! :p

Mark still can't decide what to have so I suggested that he try the butterscotch twirl. I've already tried this before and fell in love with it. The pastry was light and flaky and stuffed with cinnamon and creamy vanilla. It was also topped with roasted pecans and drizzles of butterscotch sauce and white chocolate. I know how high Mark's standards are when it comes to pastries and breads, and I'm sure that this will definitely meet his standards. And yes, he also loved it as I did. :p

Pecan Butterscotch Twirl - Php 85.00

STARBUCKS COFFEE, GATEWAY

Upper Ground Floor, Gateway Mall
Araneta Center, Cubao
Quezon City, Metro Manila
Philippines
(02) 421-1076

The movie ended around early evening and got us all hungry so we decided to have dinner as well. Mark wanted grilled chicken but knew that I was not into World Chicken that time because I just had one the day before, so he suggested that we dine at Reyes Barbecue. :)

Boneless Quarter Chicken Barbecue Meal - 109.00

Mark got their chicken barbecue while I had pork. :p As always, we were again satisfied by Reyes Barbecue meals. Aside from the delicious grilled delicacies, their java rice, atchara, and their famous peanut sauce were also a hit for both of us. :)

2-pc Pork Barbecue Meal - Php 98.00

The service in Gateway's branch was not impeccable though. Yes it's good that they serve their dishes fresh from the grill which roughly takes around 5-10 minutes, but their staff should be more attentive in getting the correct orders and relaying them to the cooks. The server actually gave me the wrong chicken part and still argued that it was what I ordered, even if the receipt says she's wrong. :| Good thing she apologized but I still hate that I had to wait for my food for 15 minutes more.

REYES BARBECUE, GATEWAY