Venice Piazza Night Market: The Ultimate Budget Food Trip!

Last night, I took my last final exams for the term.  It was difficult than expected but it was a relief that the finals week was finally over.   What better way to celebrate than to have a food trip!  So I went straight to Venice Piazza Night Market to join Kurt and other bloggers in a night of food feast, live music and other festivities.  

Venice Piazza Blogger's Night courtesy of Venice Piazza Night Market,Fruitas and Boardwalk

There was also a bar specially for the event.  Most of the bloggers enjoyed themselves alcoholic beverages but we don't drink so we savored ourselves with food.

There were a lot of food and drink stalls.  I was surprised that most of the dishes were at an average price of only 70 php.   That's extremely cheap.  If it were in my school area in our Makati campus or Taft campus, that price would only fetch you a fairly decent drink.  So its really a bargain!  People working and living aaround McKinley Hill are so lucky they have a food place like this nearby.  

Let me give you a quick tour.  

These are the stalls having drinks as their specialty:  

Ai Tea

Fruitas and Black Pearl are classic, tried and tested brands which all of us are familiar with so if you don't want to risk then you're safe with these.  Ai Tea is a new tea brand exclusive only at Venice Piazza Night Market.  I tried a shot glass of their Thai Tea.  It was good but I still prefer Milk Tea.  I really liked Zuper Zhots "Shirley Mix Story" drink the most.  For a long time, I've loved the four seasons drink but this drink is even better.  It's deliciously tasty and very smooth to the throat as though it was only water.  It was not too strong or too sweet at all.  I wish I could describe the taste more in words but I can't so you have to taste it for yourself.  I assure you, you won't regret it!=)

Zuper Zhots

As expected, there are more food stalls.  I bet you can eat here everyday and never get tired with all the variety.  Here are the food stalls:

Polland Hopia

If you love Chinese food like we do, I highly recommend you try out Polland's Baked Chicken.  All the bloggers were impressed with this dish.  The rest of their food are delicious too.  For the quality of the food they serve, I'm shocked that their price is only 60-75 php.  The owner was also there energetic throughout the night, giving FREE samplers to passersby.  She is confident with the quality and pricing of her food. The crowd seemed to be convinced too.  

Mexikanto

If you enjoy Mexican flavors then I recommend you try out Mexikanto.  For an affordable price, they offer your favorite Mexican snacks like Tacos, Burritos, Nachos, Quesadillas and more.  I'm a bit picky when it comes to Mexican dishes but I really liked their version of it.

Kbop Diner

Want to taste delicious Korean dishes that fits your budget?  Check out Kbop diner!  We tried their Bibimbap and Korean Dumpling and we both agreed it's pretty good.  If you're very hungry, I dare you to try out Order All You Can Breakfast only for 189 php.  

Treasure Oven

Treasure Oven offers dishes like Chicken Fillet, Fish Fillet with Tartar Sauce, Baked Macaroni and I think it was Carbonara.  I tried the Carbonara with salami and olives because it looked interesting.  It was okay.  The creamy white sauce was contrasted by the olives.  

Simply Deliciouso

Simply Deliciouso offers the best enchilada we've ever tasted hands down!  I never thought an enchilada could taste that good.  You guys should try it!  The owners are husband and wife foreigners and are really nice.=)  Kurt wants to add that their flautas though a bit spicy is really good too!

Kurt tried the Shawarma but he didn't like it.  When I tasted it, I instantly knew why.  It was chunky and meaty but it was overcooked and burned so it had a bitter taste.  On some chunks that were cooked just right, the flavor was good.  I think it deserves another chance.

Jacqueline Anne's Catering Services

Update: I brought home their food and my brother said it was good! My brother was always hard to please when it comes to food so I was surprised that he liked it.=)

Z's Sausage

I saw a lot of crowd surrounding Z's Sausage but I never got to try it out because of the long line.=(  I have a hunch that it's delicious!

Duday Ihaw2

When it was already 1:30 a.m., we all wanted to go home but Kurt was missing.  I searched for him over the booths and found him at Duday's happily eating "Isaw".  It was quite rare for me to eat "Isaw" because my stomach cannot stand dirty food.  So I was also happy to be able to eat "Isaw" there because it was safe, clean and delicious.=D


We also tried the Carlo's Kitchen.  We ordered the  beef steak with mushroom sauce and the crispy liempo.  It is best paired with their fried rice.  The store owner insisted we try out the crispy liempo so we did and it was one of a kind!  Amazing! It was so crispy all throughout even the meat in it!  Better than Chicharon in my opinion.


For snacks and desserts, you can visit these stalls:

Simply Sweets by Mommy Lei

We recently, wrote about Medchef by Hasset Go.( see separate entry)  Well, Mommy Lei is actually Chef Hasset's mother and baking mentor.  I bought some cream puffs (3 for 100 php) and she gave as a few slices of cakes to take home.  I'll write about that once I've tried them out.=)

We were given samplers of the Brazo Bars Original Flavor and I liked it.  I wanted my family to try it out so we also bought a box of flavored Brazo bars (50 php/bar) from Supreme Brazo Bars by Cez Lopez.  Perhaps, I'll review them too.


There are also merchandise stalls in case you want to shop.  There's a clothing and perfume stalls.  

That's it for now.  Please await my next post on our food tasting and food pics.=)

Matsuri Eat all you can Japanese Cuisine at Tomas Morato

Last January, we were able to avail the Ensogo Promo of 50% off on Dinner all you can at Matsuri for only 295 php for each person.  As we have read in a newspaper article, the operated by the son of the Triple V restaurant owner so we were eager to try it out.  We were supposed to buy for many for my birthday but when I was about to purchase only two coupons were left.

On February 10, 2011, we decided to use the voucher.  We made our reservations at 6:00 p.m. and arrived on time.  We were asked for our vouchers upon being seated since they have to verify them first.  After being verified, we were given their Eat-all-you can menu.  This style was similar to Red Kimonos style of eat-all-you can.  It was ala-carte style with limited choices.

Salmon Sashimi

Aspara Kani Maki

Philadelphia Roll

Crazy Maki 

Chawan Mushi

Ushi Ebi Tempura

Sanma

Miso Soup

We begun by ordering appetizers Salmon Sashimi, Makimonos : Crazy Maki, Aspara Kani Maki  and Philadelphia Roll. The Salmon Sashimi was naturally sweet and freshly sliced.  I loved it!  (Kurt doesn't eat anything raw but we ordered this twice=p)The Makimonos were not that special but worth trying.  We then ordered Miso Soup.  I liked it because it had mushrooms aside from tofu and seaweeds.  Of course, let's not forget everyone's all-time favorite Ushi Ebi Tempura.  It was better than most out there so we ordered this twice.  Then we ordered Chawan Mushi (steamed egg).  Their version was topped with green onions and bits of mushrooms.  Usually, when Japanese Resturants serve Sanma (Seasoned Pacific Saury/Mackarel), customers expect it to be a little to expensive for its price.  So we were quite surprised that it was included in the menu.  This was the most disappointing dish for the night.  It was only a local fish called "Gigi".  It was mostly bitter because the intestine were uncleaned.

Kamameshi Mix

Tofu Steak

Chicken Teriyaki with Asian Pesto

Salmon Teppanyaki

Seafood Teppanyaki

Yakitori Teriyaki

Tartufo Spaghetti

Our Mix Kameshi came together with the tofu steak.  This marked the beginning of our sweetened dish adventure.  The Kamameshi rice had the usual ingredients and used authentic japanese rice which was short and sticky.  But it was overpowered by sugary sweetness.  The Tofu Steak had some cripsy batter on top and had a sweet soy-based sauce with mushrooms.  We thought the Chicken Teriyaki with Asian Pesto sounded unique so we had to try it out.  It was good.  The sweetness of the Teriyaki sauce was balanced out by a hint of asian pesto.  We then tried the Salmon Teppanyaki and Seafood Teppanyaki.  It was the usual teppanyaki but a little sweeter.  They were also a bit overcooked and dry.  They have failed to draw out the unique taste of the Salmon fish which we were longing for.   Next came the Yakitori Teriyaki.  It was chicken grilled with teriyaki sauce.  It was not too sweet and the chicken was tender.  At this point we were already full and all the Teppanyaki and Robatayaki dishes has already maxed out our sugar limit for the day so we decided to order just one last dish before desert.  Wondering why a pasta dish is included in the menu, we tried the Tartufo Spaghetti.  It tasted like ordinary carbonara.

Chocolate Ice Cream

Muscovado and Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

For dessert, we ordered Muscovado and Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee and Chocolate and Mango Ice Cream.  The Brulee actually tasted like leche flan with a hint of vanilla.  Although I usually like desserts, it did not appeal to my taste. 


Overall, the service was good.  Two waiters served us with out most attention.  They also made their recommendations and advised us on what to order.  The food came out fast except for our last orders.  But it was understandable since a large group of  people came and they became more busy.  We also noticed that they were attentive with our empty plates.  But they were very strict in terms of their no left  over policy since they do not collect our plates until we ate the vegetable side dishes.    We were also quite disappointed that some of the dishes in the menu were unavailable like the Manhattan Panko Roll and the Creamy Chicken Ragout.  


    This was our first time to use a voucher and it was worth it.  In fact, we couldn't believe that we don't have to pay for anything extra that we confirmed it with the waiter before we left.  


Matsuri 
233 Tomas Morato extension corner E. Lopez Street
Quezon City
(02) 376-6351