Kirin Chinese Dining – Delivery of the Great Flavors of Chinese Dishes

Kirin Chinese Dining specializes in, you guessed it, Chinese dishes, flavors, twists, and surprises.  I wasn’t surprised when I saw their menu at Quick Delivery’s website at how many the choices are!  And not only that, there’s a whole section dedicated for each of our favorite seafood (Lapu-lapu, Prawns, etc).  So there’s really no “SEAFOOD” category on the menu, because each one is its own category.  See for yourself (click here).

 ABOUT THE DELIVERY

Kirin, with special arrangements with Quick Delivery, doesn’t accept deliveries between 3PM – 6PM.  That means you can order before 3PM if you plan to order Kirin for dinner, order before 3PM and request your order to be delivered after 6 so that they can prepare your food ahead of time.  Delivery is still with 60-90minutes from 6PM but at least they have your order priority once the gate opens for delivery.

Another thing, if you are outside the city where Kirin is (Bonifacio High – Taguig City), you are charged P250 for delivery fee plus the 10% delivery.  How to compute for your final bill, incase you’re curious:

SUM OF ALL ORDERS + 10% of SUM +P250 delivery = FINAL BILL

Example:

1000 + 100 + 250 = P1,350

WHAT WE ORDERED

Nothing fancy, we ordered a couple of dishes we know (Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet, and Stir Fried Beef & Broccoli in Oyster Sauce) and 1 that’s new to us (Steamed Spareribs with Taosi).

I wanted to have a photo that has anything “Kirin” in it, like a napkin with logo, or anything at all, but there was nothing.  Perhaps that’s something they can improve on in the future.  Branding in food packages, even the ones ordered to go, or the ones delivered, is important for brand recognition.

Steamed Spareribs with Taosi P98  

The sweet and a bit salty taste is familiar, yet the texture is new.  I’ve never had spareribs served like little dumplings.  Mario wasn’t a fan of this dish.  I wasn’t that excited but I didn’t hate it either.  It was normal and the price is fair so for P98, I think it was a good dish to try.  Note though, that because it’s spareribs, each little ball had 1 big bone!

Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet P260  

First thing that welcomed me when I opened the package was the unmistakable sweet aroma coming from this dish.  It made such an impact on me that made me really want to try it first.  I wasn’t disappointed.  I LOVE how the fish was so moist inside and how each piece was cut and how big each cut was indicates the size of the fish they used here.  These are wonderfully huge and moist fish fillets.  The sauce was favoring sour a little bit, than sweet but it works perfectly for the dish.  I would love to know how they cook these so I can try it on my own, but I’d be happy to order this dish again from them anytime!

Stir Fried Beef & Broccoli in Oyster Sauce P280  

I can taste the freshness of every ingredient on this one. Yes, the beef was thin and the sauce was well seasoned, but what I loved was the fact that there were broccolis everywhere!  These are crunchy broccolis, not overcooked and there were so many of them!  I think the dish could use some salt but Mario says that it’s ok for him, so I guess it’s just me.

Overall

It’s been a while since I’ve had really good luck with the food I’ve tried from restaurants, but this streak of good dishes just means that they know how to cook and they do it well.

DELIVERY:

Quick Delivery:  http://www.quickdelivery.ph/

Delivery Hotline: 2121212

Order Online: http://www.quickdelivery.ph

Delivery Call Back: Text your landline number or text <ORDER> to (0918)2121212 and they will call you back.

Order Time:  Open 24 hours

Delivery Time: 10AM to 10:00PM

* GC provided by QD for blogging review purposes but the whole article

is 100% the opinion of the writer and was not influenced by the company.

Café Via Mare – You’ll Be Ordering for More

My husband brags that Café Via Mare serves the one of the best, if not the best, Filipino meals he has ever tasted, and, for the love of who knows what, I’ve never dined at Café Via Mare.  Good thing there’s Quick Delivery because they also deliver for Café Via Mare so now I have no excuse not to try the much raved resto.

About our Quick Delivery Experience

No hiccups this time.  Everything from the ordering process (I texted them my order and they called me up a few minutes after), upto the delivery (just in time).  Remember that for deliveries made outside the city where the restaurant is located, it will take 60-90minutes.

What We Ordered

This time, Mario chose most of what we ordered – Beef Kaldereta, Dinuguan at Puto, Bibingka with Laguna Cheese and Salted Duck Egg.  I only added Sugpo sa Gata.  Oh my… when everything arrived, they were warm to the touch and as soon as I open the containers, I had to fight real hard against the temptation to taste each one even before taking photos.  Yes, I fought through the tempting smell and took some before photos.

Beef Kaldereta P385.00  (Beef stewed in rich tomato sauce.)

This was exquisite!  I didn’t know it came with rice and lumpiang togue (vegetable spring roll – or should I say beansprout spring roll?).  What I didn’t know definitely did not hurt!  The way the Kaldereta was wrapped in foil reminded me of my Kazam Kebab experience which was also uber pleasant!  Back to Café Via Mare…  The beef was super tender and the sauce it was swimming in was flavorful.  It’s just the way you imagine how Beef Kaldereta may be served in paradise.  ^_^  Even without the lumpiang togue, I think the dish is worth every peso.

Sugpo sa Gata P360.00  (Prawns stewed in coconut cream with squash and string beans.)

I really don’t know how to stop over-raving about Café Via Mare dishes we ordered that day and it sure won’t stop with this dish.  For 360, there were 3 huge prawns cooked perfectly!  They were juicy in the inside, the meat part didn’t stick to the outside thin shell, and they were deliciously sweet as prawns should be.  The vegetables, as can be clearly seen in the photos, are fresh and not overcooked.  The string beans are the greenest green I’ve ever seen them cooked!  Mario’s preference in squash is that they’re a little overcooked so that he can mash them easily and mix them with rice.  Well, we all know that’s really not how they should come out if they’re properly cooked.  A properly cooked squash should still retain its shape, and is solid enough to not give easily in a bite.  It had the right salinity, I didn’t have to add salt (even though I love really salty food), and Mario didn’t complain about saltiness (he can’t stand salty food).  So it was just perfect.  You’ll see in the photos that the container for the Sugpo sa Gata is just the same size as their bibingka, even so, this is still an order worth every peso.

 

Dinuguan At Puto P175.00  (Hearty pork blood stew with steamed rice cakes.)

If I had to rank everything we ordered, Beef Kaldereta and Diniguan would be fighting for the same spot.  I’ve sampled many different versions of dinuguan (of course my Mom and Manang make the best  ^_^), but compared to other restaurants (paid Dinuguan – ^_^), Cafe Via Mare’s version would probably outrank many of them.  I ate the sili (yes, I eat those hot little green mosters) and they (got 2 in our order) were crunchy, really fresh and really hot!  I love how the way they cook the vegetables and still keep them fresh.  The puto we got were sweet, soft, and filling.

Bibinka with Laguna Cheese and Salted Duck Egg P115 

Typical Bibingka but the wonderful thing about it is that the salted duck egg isn’t just the one you see in the middle.  So almost every bite has a fair size duck egg piece and cheese.  You don’t have to fight over the right to get the center piece.

It came in a foil pack so it was warmer than the other dishes that we received that night.

Overall

I am now a believer.  Café Via Mare does have the proper “goods” to win any Filipino food battle (if there was any).  I’d love to see their store in Greenbelt I soon because my father said that he was among the original architects and designers to design the place.  I’m not sure if they changed it since then but still worth a visit.  If you’re too lazy to go where they are, just text or call-up Quick Delivery  for your order!

Contact Information:

Cafe Via Mare website: http://www.viamare.com.ph/

GREENBELT 1
Paseo de Roxas Makati City
Tel. No. 815-1918
Telefax No. 893-2306

*** refer to the website for other branches

DELIVERY:

Quick Delivery:  http://www.quickdelivery.ph/

Delivery Hotline: 2121212

Order Online: http://www.quickdelivery.ph

Delivery Call Back: Text your landline number or text <ORDER> to (0918)2121212 and they will call you back.

Order Time:  Open 24 hours

Delivery Time: 10AM to 10:00PM

* GC provided by QD for blogging purposes but the whole article

is 100% the opinion of the writer and was not influenced by the company.

Cello’s Doughnuts and Dips – Unique Doughnuts Galore!

If you love doughnuts but you’re tired of the usual flavors or glaze, you may want to try Cello’s Doughnuts and Dips.  Thanks to our friends at Quick Delivery for Cello’s Doughnuts & Dips, we discovered that there’s more to doughnuts than meets the eye… ^_^;

About our Quick Delivery Experience

Cello’s Doughnuts & Dips has 4 branches in Metro Manila (Katipunan, Taft, SM North EDSA and ATC), and because I live in the south area (Parañaque), my order would be coming from their ATC branch.  Take note that their ATC branch is not a full bakery/shop so some of the products on the Quick Delivery menu may not be available.  For sure, what they have are their Singles and Cocktail doughnuts.  I had to sort it out with the representative over several call backs.  I wish the Cello’s Doughnuts and Dips ATC menu on the quick delivery website would reflect only the products that they can have delivered from that branch.  It took 2 hours from my initial call with the Quick Delivery representative until my order arrived because we had to revise my order several times due to the availability (or unavailability) of most of the doughnut flavors.

About our Cello’s Doughnuts and Dips Experience

I love the wonderful orange color and the cute little dots on the boxes and paper wrap the doughnuts came in.  And their menu was equally engaging!  I love just imagining how their Snicker Stuffed Doughnut looks like and tastes like!  I love going through every one of their products on the menu but it wasn’t just meant to be, because the ATC branch limits our choices to their Singles flavor and the Cocktail.

What We Ordered

I really wasn’t sure which flavors I was going to receive because in the end, I just told them to bring whatever they still have available because they don’t have enough doughnuts left in the ATC branch for my GC.  So here’s what we got:

Singles P30/each or Singles Box of 6 P165.00 

Flavors:  Cheese, Oreo, Chocolate, and Strawberry

My favorite was the OREO doughnut, but all of them were perfect!  They’re not too sweet, they’re just right!  They also priced their product perfectly but if you’re still looking to save money and you’re buying for a group, then it’s best that you get their Singles Box of 6 which saves you 2.50php per doughnut or 15php in total.

Cocktail Box of 15 P180  (Mini-doughnuts with your choice of doughnut glaze.)

Flavors:  Assorted

I always love minis of things because you get to taste a lot of different flavors for the price of a few regular sized ones.  This is one of those box of minis that I would re-order in a heartbeat.  The mini doughnuts were around a third of the size of the regular doughnuts but their 1 full doughnut in terms of flavor.  The variety kept me excited and between me and Mario, this Cocktail Box was gone in a flash.  We just kept “tasting” (also known as eating… ^_^) and “tasting” and “tasting” some more.  Before we knew it, mini doughnuts aren’t there anymore!

Cheese

Oreo

Chocolate

Strawberry

Overall

I love love love how the box of doughnuts (especially the cocktail) was not boring at all!  I love tasting all the flavors that were new to me and they weren’t sugary at all!  I just wish that the stuffed doughnuts, letter doughnuts and the dips (pillows, etc) would be available to us, people from the South.

Contact Information:

Katipunan: 0920-9614293
Mon – Sat: 7 am – 10 pm
Sun: 7 am – 8 pm

Taft: 521-6236 / 0929-5641274
Mon – Sun: 7 am – 8 pm

Sky Garden, SM North EDSA: 492-3529
Mall Hours

Alabang Town Center: 512-8410
Mall Hours

Davao (082) 282-1960
Mon – Sat: 8:30 am – 9 pm
Sun: 11 am – 7 pm

Website:  http://www.cellosdoughnuts.com/

DELIVERY:

Quick Delivery:  http://www.quickdelivery.ph/

Delivery Hotline: 2121212

Order Online: http://www.quickdelivery.ph

Delivery Call Back: Text your landline number or text <ORDER> to (0918)2121212 and they will call you back.

Order Time:  Open 24 hours

Delivery Time: 10AM to 10:00PM

* GC provided by QD for blogging purposes but the whole article
is 100% the opinion of the writer and was not influenced by the company.

Pia y Damaso – Rizal’s Literary Characters – Foodie-lized

It’s time for some interesting sounding desserts that takes me back to the novel I was required to read in school and eventually come to love, Noli Me Tangere.

The QD Delivery Experience

I used their SMS ordering system and sent the details of my order to 09182121212.  Someone from QD called me up in 5-10 minutes after I sent the message.  Because my SMS was detailed, she only needed to confirm my order, delivery address, and give me the ETA.  For orders that are outside the city where the restaurant is, it’s usually 60-90minutes and I was alright with that.  I ordered around 5:15pm and it arrived at 6:30pm, and it came all the way from Greenhills!  Not bad!  Bravo!

The Pia y Damaso Experience

There is an extensive choice of salads, starters, seafood dishes, beef and game, pork, and dessert!  It’s easy to get lost but it’s not really overwhelming.  The descriptions are all so detailed and it’s tempting to order just everything if given the chance.  Their menu is mixed Spanish and Filipino, the classics we love, given a new interesting twist, and some really new ones (at least for me they’re new).

What We Ordered

Clam Chowder P180  (bacon, celery, baby clams, potato noodles and milk)

I love clam chowder (I love anything chowder for that matter)!  It was creamy (as all chowders should be, otherwise it will be called soup – correct me if I’m wrong).  I preferred eating it with rice though (did I just weirded you out with that?).  ^_^

Chicken Pastel P290  (baked chicken breast, chorizo, bacon, potatoes, carrots & peas with a flaky crisco crust)

I never had Chicken Pastel with a sort-of pie crust but I’m not complaining!  This one, I admit, may not be priced right especially with the serving size it came in.  That said, the chicken was FLAVORFUL (yes, it’s necessary to capitalize every letter).  The chicken meat tasted like it’s been marinating in its sauce for years!  I simply do not know how they cook these to perfection but that’s also probably one of the reasons they’re confident they have the pricing right.

Camarron Cocido P380   (seared prawns and seafood thermidor with scallop, fish, mussels, squid, potato and gratineed cheese sourdough crumbs)

A little pricey, for just 2 prawns… but it’s not just prawns!  It’s scallop, fish, mussels, squid, and yes, potato and cheese sourdough crumbs, plus excellent cooking skills!  The seafood thermidor (usually cooked with lobster meat), has a subtle yet unmistakably prawn taste although the texture gives away its other seafood ingredients.  It’s creamy, the prawns were cooked excellently, they remained moist and sweet.

Brazo ni Dona Vicki P100  (Chewy meringue roulade with fresh butter curd)

This is a treat for Mario and he’s really a self proclaimed expert on Brazo desserts (one of his favorite desserts).  Mario commented that he has tasted sweeter versions than this one (FYI, he likes everything sweet – even adobo), but for me, I think that it’s just the perfect sweetness.  The meringue embraced the whole roll of white marshmallow-like goodness and the perfect texture and taste for the curd filling.  It was exquisite!  Oh, by the way, almost all desserts on the menu have been playfully named after characters in Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere.  Dona Vicki, incase you’ve forgotten, is actually Dona Victorina “de de Espadana”, the pretentious Filipina who prefers to be associated with the Spanish people and would always wear heavy make-up.  I would imagine that the meringue is like her really thick make-up that cakes and cracks all over her face because of how thick it is.  ^_^;

Overall
I enjoyed everything we tasted but would love if the serving size just upgrades even by a little bit.  Then again, the hardwork, precision, and cooking skills they put in each of these dishes are reflected on how flavorful each one turned out.  I would love to try their other dessert dishes – the Guni-Guni, Ibarra’s Kiss, Sisa’s Dementia, etc.  ^_^  I think this will help kids love reading the novel too, as they understand and remember the classic characters more with every sweet bite.

Restaurant Location:

UNIT 2-053 Greenbelt 5

Ayala Center, Makati

Telephone:  729-5511

Email:  kaffedamaso@yahoo.com

DELIVERY:

Quick Delivery:  http://www.quickdelivery.ph/

Delivery Hotline: 2121212

Order Online: http://www.quickdelivery.ph

Delivery Call Back: Text your landline number or text <ORDER> to (0918)2121212 and they will call you back.

Order Time:  Open 24 hours

Delivery Time: 10AM to 10:00PM

* GC provided by QD for blogging purposes but the whole article

is 100% the opinion of the writer and was not influenced by the company.

Empanada Mas – A Must Empanada Experience!

We received another GC from our friends at Quick Delivery.  We decided to go snack time and I think we absolutely had fun with the yummy choice of getting Empanada Mas empanadas!

About the Quick Delivery Experience
I ordered around 2PM (or rather texted them my order) and after a few minutes, they called me back to confirm the order.  Yes, texting them is the way to go if you don’t have a landline and you don’t want to spend your own phone credits by calling them on your cellphone.  Going back to the call, I said that I was going to pay via Gift Certificate, I’m not sure if the person who handled my call was a new guy, but he had to confirm from his supervisor (I’m not sure what he needed to confirm).  Anyway, he got my GC code and all was well (estimated delivery time is 60-90minutes).

Around 3PM, QD called me again saying one of my orders (Ham & Cheese Jalapeno Empanada) was not available, so I just replaced that with another order.  Then, around 3:20 (it’s been more than 60 minutes since my order), QD called me up again to say the Fritas was not available, so I replaced it yet again with another order.  Around 20 minutes later (order was coming from BF Homes and we’re at Moonwalk Paranaque), thank goodness the restaurant was near our place or else it would probably take another hour if it came from a different city.

All in all, it was a little bit frustrating by the time I got the 3nd call about the 2nd order that’s not available (you’re still able to follow the story so far? ^_^).  In my past experience, I would know during my first call (or at least on the 2nd call) which items are not available and which ones are.  This time, they were a bit less organized than the other experiences.  And by far, this is the longest time we’ve had to wait for our order, compared to our first few QD experiences even though the restaurants those times were located even farther than Empanada Mas.  Well, in anycase, better late than never?  At least the empanadas were warm when we received them.

About Empanada Mas

I love how they kept their menu simple and focused on their specialty, empanadas.  They had all the right combinations and no misses.  Their prices are also very affordable and their options make sure that there’s something for everybody.

What We Ordered

Everything fit in 2 boxes.  At first I thought it would have been better if they gave us a code which ones which.  We had to cut into the big ones to find out which one is pork, chicken, etc.  Until this day (although there were color coded dots on each empanada) we’re not sure which one was chicken and which one was pork (yes, we all tried to unravel the mystery to no avail).  With the Empanaditas, it was easy to figure out, but we made it into such a game and it was really fun.  It was like, the old fish bowl lucky draw thing.  Close your eyes, get one, and bite!  The surprise is finding out the flavor after you bite!  And again, there’s really no danger in doing that because every one of them was delicious, no matter the flavor.  But for those who would like to know, we’re very sure that the green dot for the small ones means cream cheese.  The green dot for the empanada, means spinach.  Here are the photos, enjoy!

The Empanadas  (available in boxes of 6 or 12 and you can put assorted flavors in a box)

Chicken P27.00 (The original, generations-old recipe. Lightly seasoned strips of chicken breast, potatoes, green peas and raisins.)
Pork P27.00 (The original, generations-old recipe. Lightly seasoned ground pork, potatoes and raisins.)
Chorizo P30.00

Upto this day, as I said, we’re not sure which one is pork and which one is chicken (maybe you can help us out with this).  But we have a fairly good idea which ones are the chorizo filled empanada (I hope we’re right).  The only thing we had going with chorizo is that it should be a little bit spicier than the other 2.  It didn’t really matter because we weren’t allergic to anything and also, all of them were soooooooo yummy!  So I’ll just present the photos for those 3 together.

Spinach with Cream Cheese P30.00 (Fresh spinach leaves flavored with a seasoned cream cheese dressing.)

Ah, yes, unmistakably green and flavorful.  Remember that I wasn’t a big spinach fan until the Va Bene experience, so now I’ve just loved spinach and everything “spinachy”.  This really blew me and my mom away!  Instant favorite for us veggie lovers and I really didn’t expect spinach to be used as empanada filling.  Combining the green goodness with cream cheese was genius!

The Empanaditas  (Available in boxes of 6 or 12 and can be assorted falvors)

Cheddar Cheese ( Box of 30 pieces  P190.00,  Box of 60 pieces P380.00,  Dozen  P76.00,  Half Dozen  P38.00, Per Piece  P7.00)

Semi-Sweet Chocolate (Box of 30 pcs.  P190.00,  Box of 60 pcs. P380.00,  Dozen  P76.00,  Half Dozen  P38.00, Per Piece  P7.00)

Cream Cheese & Chives (Box of 30 pcs.  P200.00,  Box of 60 pcs. P400.00,  Dozen  P80.00,  Half Dozen  P40.00, Per piece  P8.00) A creamy blend of cream cheese, garlic and chives.

Peanut Butter Fudge (Box of 30 pcs.  P200.00,  Box of 60 pcs. P400.00,  Dozen  P80.00,  Half Dozen  P40.00, Per Piece  P8.00) This classic combination of creamy peanut butter and semi-sweet chocolate will remind you of a favorite childhood candy.

Here are the photos!  Enjoy! (because we certainly did!)

Cheddar Cheese

Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Peanut Butter Fudge

I wasn't able to take a photo of Cream Cheese but that was what my brother was looking for (and has found) in this photo. It has a green dot and it was his favorite out of the bunch.

Overall

I would definitely order from Empanada Mas again! And again! And again!  I wish next time the Jalapeno is available because I would really want to try that.  Their empanada bread was sweet, yet not overwhelming the flavors inside, it wasn’t too thick and too thin, it was perfect.  The filling inside is really worth every peso.  Again, I would definitely order Empanada Mas especially the empenaditas and bring them to one of our family adventures.  I’d put them in a container and have everyone just draw which one they want to eat without choosing, so that every bite is a surprise!  Oh what fun!

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Store Branches:

Makati Supermart, Alabang Town Center — in front of Cashier #4(Mon-Sun 9am-9pm)
Food Park, The Enterprise Center, Ayala Ave. Makati City(Mon-Fri 7:30am-7:30pm)
Ground Floor, The Pergola Mall (Robinson’s Supermarket), Aguirre Ave. BF Homes, Sucat Parañaque(Mon-Sun 10am-10pm)
Fiesta Market (Near Razon’s & Fruitas), Market Market Mall, The Fort, Taguig City(Mon-Sun 10am-10pm)

DELIVERY:

Quick Delivery:  http://www.quickdelivery.ph/

Delivery Hotline: 2121212

Order Online: http://www.quickdelivery.ph

Delivery Call Back: Text your landline number or text <ORDER> to (0918)2121212 and they will call you back.

Order Time:  Open 24 hours

Delivery Time: 10AM to 10:00PM

* GC provided by QD for blogging purposes but the whole article

is 100% the opinion of the writer and was not influenced by the company.