Ah. Nothing beats reviewing an Italian restaurant as my first post after a very long blog hiatus. You see, this food blog has been a constant temptation to my diet, and I really felt I needed to lose weight. It was only recently when I already got into the habit of running that I trusted myself to blog about food again. Besides, I just couldn’t say no to Italian food!

Sicilian Scampi by kutitots, on Flickr

L’Incontro is a cozy Italian restaurant located along Reposo Street in Makati City. Tina Pamintuan, its new owner since March 2010, has refashioned the 10-year-old restaurant with a fusion of the old and the new. From the contemporary interiors to the fresh menu, L’Incontro now aims for their customers to have an authentic “Italian dining table experience.”

Since we’ve always lived far from Makati (Quezon City before, and now, Cainta), we haven’t had the chance to visit L’Incontro before the change of management. And, to be honest, I didn’t know what to expect when I first got the invite to review the restaurant and its new menu. I just know I liked Italian food — its spices and its use of tomatoes. The most I was expecting was having pizza and a variety of pasta and sauces, but I was pleasantly surprised with what Corporate Chef Tina Pamintuan had in store of us! Read more…

Fried Lasagna Rolls by kutitots, on Flickr

Situated in a little nook by the bay, Unit 8 Cafe is a new hang-out place oldies and yuppies alike will enjoy. I’ll tell you why further into this review, because first and foremost, Unit 8 Cafe is a restaurant—serving a new, delectable and refreshing menu that you wouldn’t want to miss.

A couple of weeks ago, Marc and I were fortunate to be invited to try out Unit 8 Cafe and see (and taste) for ourselves what it has to offer. The travel from Antipolo to the Mall of Asia took its toll on me, and I was already a bit cranky (not to mention, hungry) when we got there a little after 1pm. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I was certainly hoping that the food was worth it.

I wasn’t disappointed. Read more…

Pinipig polvoron by kutitots, on Flickr

My sister is an avid fan of polvoron. Back in elementary, she and her tutor used to make loads of polvoron during their breaks. And me, being the elder sister with no patience for cooking at that time (lucky for my husband, it’s the other way around now!), just enjoyed eating whatever she and her tutor came up with. We used to put an entire bite-size piece into our mouths, then threaten our babysitter of talking with our mouths full of polvoron—and get a telling off from our parents if they caught us.

Every now and then I still crave for that home-made polvoron—the recipe of which my sister forgot to take note of—so you can just imagine how excited I was when House of Polvoron (HOP) approached me to try out their specialty polvoron! Read more…

Dried Beef Sirloin Tapa by kutitots, on Flickr

I was never keen eating at The Fort. Marc and I would only make an effort going there if we had a meeting or a meet-up with friends, but The Fort really isn’t one of the usual places where we have our weekly dates. Other than being cheapskates, we aren’t really the type who would try expensive food that we aren’t even sure we would enjoy. So when we received an invite for a complimentary breakfast at 1771 Sentro, we figured it was a good opportunity to try out something new without feeling so bad if we happen not to like it. Besides, Marc and I signed up to join a fun run to be held at The Fort this July—we were looking for a good place to gorge ourselves after the event.

Well, off-hand I can say that waking up to try breakfast at 1771 Sentro was worth it. Let me tell you why… Read more…

Gigi’s Custaroons by kutitots, on Flickr

From a simple baking hobby, to a full-fledged business. Gigi Gaerlan started this unique pastry eight holidays ago as a Christmas gift to her friends and relatives, who in turn started ordering from her to give to their friends—friends of friends eventually ordering from Gigi as well. And that’s when it started. Gigi’s Custaroons is now a booming home-based business.

When Gigi first approached me about her Custaroons through my personal blog, I have to admit the product piqued my curiosity. Two desserts I love—leche flan (custard) and macaroons—combined in one cupcake-sized pastry. I knew the Custaroons would be thorn in my diet (I was imagining my boxing coach frowning in disapproval as I replied to Gigi expressing my interest), but I just had to try it. Read more…