Going Cosmopolitan at John and Yoko

I usually avoid going to Ayala, unless someone volunteers to drive for me (and search for a much coveted parking slot) or unless I'm meeting my girl friends from UP, who are all well worth braving the Ayala traffic for. Last Saturday was one of those moments when friendship beckons amongst the Makati weekend crowd, and I was too much of a weakling (and a good friend, I hope) to resist. 

Our Saturday affair was thankfully not one of those times where the indecision about where to eat forces us to walk aimlessly and waste twenty minutes of our time ping pong-ing the words, "where do we eat?" and "up to you" amongst ourselves. I guess I have my good friend Emy to thank,  as she sent me rather insistent text messages to get my fat ass to John and Yoko the soonest possible time or risk her wrath. 

John and Yoko is an upscale Filipino owned restaurant serving modern Japanese cuisine.  It boasts of bringing to life the slightly overused concept of East meets West, by serving Japanese food tinged with Western influence. Allow me to post this well written excerpt from their menu:

"John is from the West while Yoko comes from the East. As John is bold, modern, and fresh, Yoko is guarded, conservative and traditional. He is sunset while she is sunrise or the dawn of a new day! In essence, johnandyoko is a successful union of the two worlds. It is union where the new embraces the old and the innovative features the authentic."

The restaurant was dimly lit, with bare black ceilings and  patterned walls. It looked very modern and industrial, without losing the casual vibe. 

For starters, we had New York Fried Maki, which was rice rolled in tempura-batter-coated-Nori and stuffed with mango, cucumber and unagi. You have to put the whole thing in your mouth to experience the burst of flavor and amazing mixture of textures of this maki variant. The crispiness of tempura batter, the sticky familiarity of rice, the firmness of unagi, the pleasant sweetness of fresh mangoes and the crunchiness of cucumber all blended perfectly well to make one bombshell of a maki. 

My Weekend in Photos

I wish I had more weekends like this. 

Saturday

Met with workmates at Greenbelt to plan for our upcoming Singaporean holiday. Speaking of which, can somebody please be a sweetheart and recommend a decent bed and breakfast/guest house in SG? No fancy hotels, please. We are just humble backpackers on a shoestring budget.

Starbucks and Fuzion at Greenbelt.

Engaged in retail therapy by scouring Landmark for bargain finds. Don't you just love Landmark's collection of quaint and quirky stuff?

The simplest things make me happy.

Random buys: 1) silver lace and pearl accessory, 2) Max Factor Pan Stick, 3) In2It powder foundation, 4) key chain with a Cinderella shoe that doubles as a bag hook 5) white ear bones for my earphones, and 6) a red voodoo doll. I also bought some gift items for Christmas, but I cannot post the photos here for obvious reasons.

Also, home improvement stuff for my rented room in Makati. My need to declutter is increasing in geometric proportions.

Only Php 150 each (approximately $ 3)! 

Did some catching up with some of my awesome friends from college. Had dinner at John and Yoko and desserts at Mr. Jones. 

This is my definition of a good time.

Sunday

My mom's 54th birthday! I treated her and my sibs to lunch and gave her some Royce chocolates for the occasion.  Unfortunately, my dad was not around for work reasons, but my mom had a Berry Banapple Birthday this year nevertheless.  

I super love you, Mama! May you be blessed always!

They really rock my world, these little blessings I get (like having the weekends off)!  Hope your weekend was as awesome as mine. Please stay tuned for food reviews! 

Spicing Up the Day at Legend of India

I have been told not only once that I am pretty good at making people hungry. I'm terrible at describing food, but because I talk about food with passion, people can't help but get hungry when they are around me. The boyfriend, I guess, is the most heavily influenced by my eating habits. When we met, he wouldn't go beyond the usual Filipino or Chinese dish. You should see him now though! Who would have thought that he would willingly pay for spicy Indian food on a regular day some seven years ago?

We had a date (oh yes, a date, finally!) a couple of Saturdays ago (I know, procrastination!). We bought new kicks for his beloved DSLR, Iroh (he looks more handsome with his new Sigma 28-200mm f3.5-5.6 lens on) and had  late lunch at Legend of India.

To start with, I must say I had a difficult time choosing what to order. The place was far from shabby (it was marketed as a fine dining restaurant, after all), but their menu needs a major, major overhaul (no descriptions, no photos and with handwritten changes, seriously) The waiters and waitresses were not particularly helpful either, as they had a hard time describing most of the dishes when asked. After a sweeping look at the menu, I just decided to order their version of some familiar Indian dishes.

While waiting for our appetizer, a complimentary bowl of Mixed Chevro was served. From the looks and tastes of it, Mixed Chevro is a combination of Indian nuts, crackers and dried fruits. The burst of flavor when you put a handful of this in your mouth is delightful, but I didn't eat too much because I didn't want to feel full halfway through the meal. 

Mixed Chevro. Feel free to munch as you wait.

For starters, we ordered Chicken Samosa, which is a triangular shaped pastry stuffed with chicken, potatoes and spices. It was kind of dry and plain tasting when eaten alone, but it reaches a whole new level of goodness when dipped in the complimentary mint and tamarind sauce.

Chicken Samosa at 160Php

The boyfriend is a mutton man. Whenever we eat Mediterranean or Indian cuisine, he almost always chooses mutton as the main dish. We wanted to share a viand, as all servings were good for 2-3 people and there were just the two of us. We agreed on Mutton Masala, which is mutton mixed with egg and mild spices. The meat was tender and flavorful, and the sauce was mildly spicy and thick, but not unpleasantly so.

Mutton Masala at 450 Php

The boyfriend wanted basmati rice and I wanted bread, so in the end we ordered both and shared. I chose plain Naan, which is leavened, oven-baked flatbread. I would have to say that I really prefer naan over rice when eating saucy Indian dishes, especially when it's warm and freshly baked.

Plain Naan at Php 100

For dessert, we had Kulfi, which is Indian ice cream sprinkled with nuts and spices. The kulfi was dense, sweet and creamy, but not unpleasantly overpowering. It's actually quite difficult to describe, kind of like a combination of ice drops, pastillas and our local sorbetes.

Kulfi at Php 120

Expect to spend approximately Php 500 ($13) per person when you dine here. Legend of India is located at 114-B Jupiter St., Bel-Air II, Makati City. They have some parking space in front, which you can use for free. If you have tried their food, do share your experience with me!