Manila Special: Zao Vietnamese Cafe

Restaurant: Zao Vietnamese Cafe
Branch: Eastwood City
Restaurant Type: Casual Dining
Food: Vietnamese
Mode of Payment: Cash/Card

Ir's already 10am and we were still at Ciege's condo in Eastwood! We were flying light as we literally are hearing our stomachs grumbling. hehehe. But what's great about Ciege's condo is that there's restaurants open 24/7.

With burnt out faces, we stroll around Eastwood looking for a good place to eat. We found Zao Vietnamese Cafe at a corner space of Eastwood looking very amiable. When we entered, we were greeted with warm smiles by the staff. Iced water was then served( we must looked very parched that time, hehehe) which I gulped half way at one sip. wheeeew. It was really humid that day. We then were asked for our orders. We ordered the Homestyle Braised Pork and Curried Chicken. I had a glass of refillable Tamarind Juice(Price: 95php) which I consumed a whooping 5 glass servings (not including the in-between refills)! hahahaha.

Homestyle Braised Pork(Price: 225php) has a hint of sweetness and the tender pork was good. Spare ribs and quail egg simmered in caramelized soy glaze.

Curried Chicken(Price: 265php) was a little light for me.I followed Chef Anton's (Kris Aquino's Fave Thai Chef) advice on how to eat curry which was to eat Curry Dish first before anything else to enjoy the full curry flavor which I did, but Zao's curried chicken was really light. The chicken was tender though which was good. Zao's Curried Chicken is simmered in red curry sauce with sweet potatoes, eggplant and mushroom.

With our stomachs full and the great service, we were happy!

Lemon Grass!

Restaurant: Lemon Grass

Address: The Terraces Ayala Center Cebu

Food: Vietnamese, Thai

Restaurant Type: Casual Dining

Mode of Payment: Cash/Card

After iLearners Inc. Ocular in Sibonga, Shake, Pao, Greg and I went to the Terraces to meet Edd. I bought 1/2 kilo of chicharon from Carcar on our way home, which 1/4 kilo was devoured by the 4 of us on our way back to the city. We arrived at Ayala Center Cebu at around 830pm and all of us were starving! Since the 4( Shake, Pao, Greg and I) of us can barely have our minds working because of hunger, Edd chose where to dine, Lemon Grass!

I love Thai food but I am not a big fan of Lemon Grass : |

That was my 7th time dining at Lemon Grass, first time was during their opening years ago and 5 times were treats from officemates and friends and 7th was that night Edd chose to dine there.

For our appetizer, we had Po Piah Todd (Deep Fried Thai Spring Rolls, Price: 135php) . This dish made me crave for Thai Street food which I never miss to eat when am in Thailand. Lemon Grass's Version of Thai Spring roll almost had the same taste with the street spring rolls I had in Khao San Road but original Thai street spring rolls sold at 25baht per serving tastes better, but have to fly to Thailand to get that though! LOL. Poh Piah Todd is made of shrimp, pork, mushroom, veggie and mung bean noodles.

5 of us shared the Binagoongan Rice (Price: 130php) served in a triangular bowl which had made a mess on the table everytime we scoop rice into our plate. Hahaha. Thinking about it, the right way to get rice from that bowl is to place the bowl on top of your plate then scoop the rice into your plate to avoid the messy situation. Binagoongan Rice is made of Jasmine Rice cooked in pork cubes and fermented shrimp paste with roasted nuts, topped with cilantro, egg strips and green mango strips. Though I barely noticed tasting nuts on it.

Pad Thai(Price: 195php)! Lemon Grass's Pad Thai was actually good, it just lacked the spicy sweet taste of the authentic Pad Thai. And it was a little bit salty too, which I and Pao noticed. Probably too much fish sauce. Mildly spiced Rice noodles with shrimps and chicken bits topped with roasted nuts, herbs and sprouts. and the sprouts were crunchy and fresh, yum!

Chicken Green Curry (Price: 220.00php). This green cury is spicier than "SIAM's (Thai resto in Ayala)" green Curry. Surprisingly for me, eggplant actually complemented well with the taste of the curry. hehe.

House drink! hehe. Citrus and Herbs Lemonade (Price: 185 per pitcher serves 4-5)! Green and sunny lemons, cucumber and mint leaves! A very light and refreshing drink! Ahhhhh!