Tikim 64:Back to back with Toribox and Eat My GF (Little Baguio, San Juan)

I feel like celebrating today because my internship hours is finished and I can finally process my diploma! For this occasion, I ate 2 things that I really like: Katsu and Potatoes! If you know where Serenitea in Greenhills area is, you'll notice that the street has been offering more hole-in-the-wall choices than before! One of the newest addition is Toribox Cafe!

Toribox Cafe

Toribox cafe has really nice interiors and it gives some sort of Japanese vibe with its comfortable seating and wall decors. This is actually a good date place because its quaint and "hidden"! You'll have a chance to have a great talk over katsu and coffee!

Comfortable seating

Wall furnishing

They have a nice menu where it has pictures for easier ordering! I immediately ordered their frozen ice-tea 'coz I was so thirsty when I got there. Oh! I can't help but feature their condiments organizer...I really like the garden feel of it! I hope they put on a katsu sauce bottle in there and Japanese chili powder so it would complete the idea of a Japanese Katsu cafe.

Their menu

Frozen brewed Iced tea P65.00

Toribox's condiment organizer

For the main course, I ended up ordering a cheese chicken katsu! Katsu sauce is served on the side and I suggest you try eating it with the sauce! The dish is okay, just need more cheese to it or even better have some actual cheese sauce because this is just a fried chicken fillet with Quickmelt on top of it.

Cheese chicken Katsu P195.00

Up close

My date, Evan, got a Mapo Katsu! It has spicy tofu (tokwa) with minced pork. Reminds me of curry! Evan, a tofu lover noticed that their tofu isn't soft like the white ones in Miso soups. I suggest they use the Japanese tofu not tokwa to again be authentic in their Japanese cuisine.

Mapo Katsu chicken P195.00

After dinner, I was craving for some french fries and what a great way to end the night than eat garlic fries! hahaha Just need to eat a strong mint to remove garlic breath! (LoL). Walk a few steps from Toribox, and you'll see Eat my GF!

Eat my GF!

The theme inside the restaurant is very sporty with orange dominating the furniture color. I think it'll be a nice hang-out place for guys!

Baseball sporty feel

Choose from their burgers to hotdogs to their various take on garlic fries! I always order a large virgin chips for P195.00 when I pass by the area, unfortunately I was very excited to eat the chips that I forgot to take a picture! Well, it's for you to find out!

Menu

The celebration night was a success! I get happy when I eat my favorites :) If you are a kastu fan, head over to Toribox! You'll be carried away with their nice ambiance that's friendly to the wallet; a suggested date place for me!  And for french fries lovers, I am happy to give a shout out to Eat my GF!

Toribox
Quality: 3.5/5
Taste: 3.5/5
Ambiance: 5/5

Eat my GF

Quality: 3.5/5
Taste: 3.5/5
Ambiance: 3.5/5

Tori box  and Eat my GF

403 F.Calderob St; Corner J.Abad St; little Baguio San Juan

Tikim 56: Double date at Ninyo's (Katipunan, Quezon City)

Ninyo was included in Spot.ph's top 10 most romantic restaurants (2nd placer) and in its top 10 must-try wine bars (5th placer). For a double-date, I wanted to bring my friends to Ninyo so they can try out a Japanese-French fusion cuisine. It was raining when we went there,  so the alfresco dining was a no-no. If it wasn't raining, I'd choose to dine here because of its lovely ambiance.

Indoor dining at Ninyo's

Alfresco dining; perfect for dates!

Alfresco Dining 

I just have to share this; the tables in Ninyo were old sewing tables with no machine! For a fashion design student, it really amused me!

Sewing tables!!!

Wondering what's is today's specialty?

Chef's recommendation

Here goes the food! 

For appetizer, ordered this baked sushi style prawn rolls served with salad greens for everyone on the table. One should get 1 roll each but I ended up eating 2 rolls (I got Evan's share) and Hanna and Lance ended up sharing because they were afraid that they might not finish their main entrees. I really like these prawn rolls because they were cooked. The rolls have caviars on top, which blends well with the prawn meet and baked seaweed.

4 rolls of these oven baked sushi style prawn rolls

Oven baked sushi style prawn roll P495

I like tasting French onion soup, so when I saw a Miso-based onion soup...I thought that this is a must try because it combined 2 soups that I love to order: Miso soup and French onion. The soup was in a small coffee cup, a bit pricey but once in a while it's okay to splurge on food. Taste wise, it is kind of subtle and sweet
because of the Miso-base. For the french flair, onion slices were evident and generous cheese completed its essence of its name.

French Onion Miso Based P295

Check out the cheese

Before the table's main entrees, we were served with lime sorbet to clear up the tastebuds. I wish they had this for dessert!

Lime Sorbet

For the main entrees, the table ordered the following:
Lance chose a Chargrilled U.S  hanging tender steak salad with Yuzu sesame-thai chili dressing in mixed greens and seasonal fruits. This combination of meat (protein) and greens is perfect for the health conscious person.

Chargrilled U.S hanging tender steak salad.P325

For me, I chose a Shitake mushroom udon since I am a fan of anything mushroom. Even if i am a rice eater, I had no regrets in ordering a pasta dish because the noodles were really flavorful. I also like the fact that
it's healthy dinner.

Shitake Mushroon Udon P420

Hanna went for the Ebi tempura soba. She got surprised when it was served because it was placed in a really big plate that was actually good for 2 persons.. She ended up sharing the tempura to us because it was heavy. Evan said that is the MOST delicious tempura that he ever tasted because these babies were wrapped in fish then fried with tempura batter. This is something to try on your next Ninyo visit!

MUST TRY: Ebi tempura soba P595

Evan went for a meat entree. He ordered a U.S hanging tender steak served with wine sauce with buttered seasonal vegetables and pumpkin risoni. True to its name, the meat was really tender, its also easy to slice and just goes well with pumpkin risoni. I didn't know what risoni is, its my first time to taste this and it's like risotto but  more creamy.

U.S hanging tender steak P650

To finish the awesome dinner, we ordered dessert. 
If you like vanilla ice-cream then this dessert is for you! It is like eating vanilla ice-cream in jelly form. The seasonal fruits however were not as inviting to eat because they are more of a decoration than actual food that you can eat.

Vanilla bean-infused panna cotta P200

Up close

Mango pavlova is a actually meringue that tastes like marshmallows. It is crispy on the outside but light and fluffy in theinside, topped with vanilla ice cream and fresh Mango. 

Mango Pavlova P245

Price is a bit steep but for special occasions, Ninyo is a must go to!

Happy customers!

Taste: 5/5

Quality: 5/5

Ambiance: 4/5

Ninyo Fusion Cuisine

Address: Esteban Abada Street (behind Katipunan), Loyola Heights, Quezon City

Telephone: 426-0301/ 0917-5385813

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NINYO-Fusion-Cuisine-Wine-Lounge/212177541624