Tikim12: X.O Kitchen (Bel-air II, Makati)

X.O Kitchen seemed like a new restaurant to me in the few times that me and Evan passed by Jupiter street. Since our first choice of dinner "Mickey's Delicatessen" was already closed :(, the bright lights and big windows of X.O Kitchen attracted me to try out the place.

X.O kitchen seems a high class restaurant from outside

First thing I asked Evan, "what is X.O sauce"? Neither of us knew about anything about the sauce except that it is served in Chinese restuarants. Here is a definition by Rhonda Parkinson of about.com

 "X.O Sauce -->  is a flavor-packed sauce made with dried shrimp and scallops and spicy seasonings, including chile and garlic. The exact origins of X.O Sauce are unknown, although it is said to have originated in Hong Kong, where it is served as a table condiment at higher-end restaurants. In cooking, X.O sauce is used in stir-fries, particularly seafood dishes."

The restaurant offers a lot of food variety; I just think that the X.O sauce was not given justice as it was not highlighted in their menu. Food was served quickly [except fot the Ferrero butchi] and in small serving. We were both a bit dissappointed with the serving size and the food tasted "normal --- nothing special about it".
We ordered the following for dinner:

Egg Chinese Sausage Rice Meal P120

X.O Kitchen Special Beef P230

Asparagus with Oyster Sauce P120

From my dining experience here, all i could remember was the little serving we had! I guess the price compensates with the quantity of food. I ordered Egg Chinese Sausage Rice Meal which costs only 120; I was excited at first but disappointment took over when I saw how little meat/Chinese Sausage there is in the meal :( I also think that the restaurant uses some kind of flavoring because even if there is not much meat in my rice meal, the food was so tasty! In fairness with the X.O special beef, I like this better than my original order. The beef brisket was tender and it highlights the X.O component in its sauce :)

Buchi Combinations with various chocolate filling

Ferrero Buchi: Hot warm and a new kind of buchi

For dessert, me and Evan got intrigued with their specialty buchi combinations so we decided to give Ferrero buchi a taste. When it arrived (it took a while for it to cook so I suggest you order this at the beginning, not after eating your main meals), I excitedly took a bite..hmmm...warm..the chocolate has melted with the buchi was fried..can't really describe it properly since   I am not a fan of chocolates but you might like it! Give it a try! Let us know what you think of X.O Kitchen :)


Quality: 3/5
Price: 3/5
Ambiance: 3/5


X.O Kitchen
134 Jupiter Street,
Bel-air 2, Makati City
Telephone: 519-1238

reference: 
X.O sauce - Glossary of Chinese Ingredients and cooking terms, Rhonda Parkinson, http://chinesefood.about.com/od/glossary/g/xosauce.htm (June 2011) 
X.O sauce - Picture, Chokeedee, http://www.google.com.ph/imgres?imgurl=http://www.chokdeedimsum.com/menu-pics/xo-sauce.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.chokdeedimsum.com/en/menu.php&usg=__FNB_7sDJNKCs8DTBYyzQgyL_JZU=&h=600&w=400&sz=138&hl=tl&start=5&sig2=stBHZ_UpbMxEEVyJWhD_sA&zoom=1&tbnid=xUhnWV0xChH0MM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=90&ei=e4XvTauGJI6-vgPSxN2VCQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dx.o%2Bsauce%26um%3D1%26hl%3Dtl%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D624%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1 (June 2011)

Tikim11: Siomai at Chocfull of nuts (Greenhills, San Juan)

Chocfull of Nuts

Tasty with toyomansi

Walking and shopping around Greenhills can be quite a challenge. It does not stop in finding a parking slot. So when your stomach starts to growl, tame the beast inside with some siomai of Chocfull of nuts!
I suggest you head to the Shoppesville area, 2nd level near Kamiseta, and order some home-made siomai ^.^

I love the siomai here. It's homemade, steamed fresh, not full of pork fats, and I think there is not a hint of MSG in it. To top that of, the price is good; 3 pieces for only 39php! When you put some toyomansi (soy sauce + calamansi) on your siomai, the combination is perfect ---hot siomai with a bit of saltiness and sour elements from
the calamansi!

By the way, the kiosk is also known for its cuapao's; my mom likes to take out those so it must be good!


Taste 4/5
Price 4/5
Ambiance 3/5


Chocfull of Nuts
2nd level, unit 39, Shopsville, Greenhills Shopping Center,
Ortigas Ave; Greenhills,
San Juan, Metro Manila
Telephone: 632-7243784