Gayuma ni Maria: A Sweet and Spicy Experience

Heavenly and sinful. Naughty and nice. Sweet and spicy. These seemingly contrasting words describe Gayuma ni Maria, all rolled into one interesting restaurant. In a nondescript street in Quezon City stands a charming house that has been converted into this enchanting restaurant. The street is easy to find but the place is trickier to spot due to its inconspicuous façade.

I’ve read about Gayuma ni Maria in a number of articles and know that they’re famous for their menu’s sexy and clever play on words and their take on comfort food favorites. I know, sexy and comforting in one package, hard to believe. You’ll easily get what I mean once you read what we ordered.

T's Frazzled Cook Birthday Celebration and My First Civet Coffee Experience

It seems destination restaurants have sprawled around the metro in the last couple of years. These off-the-beaten path eateries offer something special other than food and somewhere to eat. It could be a unique location, rare delicacy, authentic cuisine, kitschy decorations, mood-altering food or doubling as an art gallery (like this restaurant in my previous post). For me, the thrill is in the discovery of something new and the overall dining experience.

One of Frazzled Cook's tables.

The Frazzled Cook hits a few of the destination restaurant offerings I've mentioned. Their location is an ancestral house in a residential area in Mandaluyong City. Their kitschy decoration consists of books, magazines, mismatched chairs and dining tables, antique chandeliers, old postcards and a group of chinese lucky charm cats. The rare delicacy they're offering is Civet coffee or Coffee Alamid as it is known in the Philippines. Sounds interesting, right?

A piece of Taiwan in Ortigas

One of the things I look forward to on a regular work day is my dinner break. Fortunately for me, my Ortigas office is just a short walking-distance from two major malls, a few minutes drive from a couple of other malls, and the sprawling neighborhood restaurants in Kapitolyo just a quick drive away.

Shi Lin is one of those restaurants I go back to again and again after I discovered it. Their interiors may be modern but they serve traditional Taiwanese fare, and even their background music is authentic! It reminds me of the times my mom plays her cassette tapes of Chinese songs.

Xiao Long Pao

Their specialty is Xiao Long Pao( Shi Lin spells Pao as Bao. As someone who's of Chinese descent, I'm used to the Pao pronunciation, so that's what I'll use throughout this post.)

A piece of France in Makati

Tucked away in a side street, in an area known for Manila's version of a flea market in Bangkal is Le Bistro D' Agathe. It's a quaint French bistro and art gallery by chef and owner, Patrice.

Wall art outside the bistro.

We accidentally found this bistro on a flea market excursion in Bangkal. We were going to have lunch at Fat Michael's, but found out that it has closed and Le Bistro D' Agathe has taken over it's location. The paintings on the wall caught my attention and as the sign says, it's also an art gallery. Interesting. We told ourselves we'll come back some other time since it was closed that late afternoon.

On the early evening we returned, the bistro is open and we're the first customers for the night. Inside, the place is dimly lit and cozy. The interiors are simple, probably for patrons to give more attention to the artworks on the wall. The place is small. With only a few tables and chairs, it's a perfect venue for a romantic date.