Burgoo

Burgoo, Gateway Mall

2/F Gateway Mal, Aurora Blvd., Araneta Center, Cubao

Quezon City, Metro Manila

Philippines

(02) 913-6112

                       

Burgoo Time

My very special someone and I live 377 km apart from each other and since it's our special day of the month and getting to be with him (which is rare) is somewhat a special occasion already, we gave up our usual and/or practical dining destination (fastfoods!) and decided to eat somewhere a little less typical. And this is just a brief review of our dining experience at Burgoo.

I spotted an old friend at the restaurant's entrance who was then working at the place. We greeted each other and talked a bit until I finally asked her about the menu. She gave us a coupon for a free boneless buffalo wings and said we could claim it along with any purchase from their menu. Awesome. Free food is definitely just awesome.

The Food - It's Good.

We ordered their Burgoo Kebabs which price ranges from 325.00 - 425.00. It was a choice of skewered pork, chicken, or both, marinated in their special blend of Kebab sauce. Served with grilled onions, red and green bell pepper. 

Burgoo Chicken Kebabs 

And of course, since there will be a free plateful of buffalo wings, we ordered their kebab that's only worth 325.00. Luckily, the serving was generous so  it was just right for the both of us.

Boneless Buffalo Wings

The Service

We had no problem with the service, the food arrived for 15 - 20 minutes and we weren't bored waiting because they have this paper covered table wherein they provide you with crayons so you can draw on it. It was cool! We definitely enjoyed doodling. Perfect for children :-)

The Ambiance

The place is definitely nice, you can see the kitchen from the dinning area which shows how clean they prepare the food, and as I mentioned a while ago, it's quite fun drawing on the tables and you won't get accounted for it. Lol.

To sum it all up, Burgoo is pretty much a nice place to dine in. Its good food, great service and relaxing, stress-free ambiance will definitely be worth it. I can't wait to come back and taste the rest of their dishes.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church

P. Torres St., Poblacion,
Lipa City, Batangas
Philippines 


About the Place:

The Carmel monastery is a very famous destination to pilgrims. On January 24, 1991, the monastery was miraculously showered with rose petals. The showering of petals occurred not only once but several times. What many people don't know is that the miracle at Mt. Carmel in Lipa City goes beyond petal showers and can be traced back to decades earlier.

Excerpt from The Poor Traveler blog:

The Apparition of 1948

On September 12, 1948, at five in the afternoon, nun Teresita Castillo was at the garden when she saw a vine shake and heard a female voice speak to her: “Fear not my child. Kiss the ground. Whatever I tell you to do, you must do. For fifteen consecutive days, come to visit me here in this spot. Eat some grass, my child.”

Castillo followed what she was told. The next day,  again at 5pm, she returned to the site. As she was saying the Hail Mary — right when she was at the phrase “full of grace” — the vine shook again and a lady in pure white with a cloth belt and a white veil that reached her feet, stepping on what looked like clouds, appeared before her. A golden rosary was said to be hanging from the lady’s right hand. The lady told her to have that spot in the garden blessed. Castillo shared the lady’s wishes with the Mother Priores Ma. Cecilia de Jesus, who then asked Lipa’s auxiliary bishop, Most Reverend Alfredo Obviar to heed the request. It was the start of the many miracles that took place at the Carmel Monastery including the very first shower of rose petals on September 14.

On September 27, 1948, the lady introduced herself as the Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace. She allegedly appeared to Castillo 19 times.

Of course, not everyone is convinced. Controversies surrounded the events in 1948. After investigation, the Local Church ruled negatively. The Church declared: “We, the undersigned Archbishops and bishops, constituting for the purpose a special Commission, having attentively examined and reviewed the evidence and testimonies collected in the course of repeated, long and careful investigations, have reached the unanimous conclusion and hereby officially declare that the above mentioned evidence and testimonies exclude any supernatural intervention in the reported extraordinary happenings- including the shower of petals – at the Carmel of Lipa.”

 All materials related to the apparitions were ordered to be destroyed — including Teresita’s and the Mother Prioress’ diaries. The statue, which the Lady asked to be built, was spared when the nuns at the covent kept it away. The Mother Prioress and the Bishop were released of their jobs, and Castillo left the convent. The convent was sealed and no one inside was allowed to communicate with anyone outside.

The committee of bishops who decided on the matter appeared unanimous in ruling that the Lipa miracles were not supernatural. Some of them, however, confessed that they had been coerced to sign the negative results because of the threat of excommunication.

Regardless, many devotees — especially those who claim to have experienced the shower of petals — believe that the happenings in 1948 were miraculous and heavenly.

Cafe Lidia

Café Lidia

64 Calderon St., Calumpang
Marikina City, Metro Manila
Philippines 

Email: café_lidia@yahoo.com 

Cafe Lidia is open from 10:30 am to 11 pm from Mondays to Saturdays and from 3 pm to 11 pm on Sundays. 

 

About The Place:


Your feet will surely be honored to take you to a town made popular by its shoes, not just to "take a hike" but also to "take a bite".

I am talking about the city of Marikina. I just love how interesting this city is and I feel like I missed half of my life as a Marikeño when only recently that I discovered this particular cafe.

Café Lidia is just one of the hidden treasures of the Marikeños, but I heard it has already made a big impact to the city, and became so much popular now even to non-Marikeños. It is located along the narrow street of Calderon in Calumpang, Marikina City. It was our Uncle Phil who first brought us to the place. On our way there, I wasn't really that excited. I wasn't expecting much about the place but by the time we got there, I already sensed that an awesome dining experience is bound to happen. 

And so it did, courtesy of our Uncle Phil. :-)

Cafe Lidia looked absolutely like a perfect place for dates, birthdays, family get-togethers and other events that's why I told myself that I'm definitely gonna spend my birthday at that cafe with my family and other relatives. But that wasn't exactly what happened. The thing is, I could no longer wait until my actual birthday, so I ended up taking them to the place earlier than expected; It was the third day of June, and my birthday was not until the 12th of June but the cafe seemed to keep haunting me in a hungry way. I was craving BIG TIME! Therefore, I've decided to invite them out and throw myself a simple, pre birthday celebration. We all dragged ourselves off our homes to attend the Sunday mass and went to the cafe afterwards.

The Cafe had a very interesting interior, I couldn't help but to look around. I didn't mind looking like an ignorant little girl because the place was so captivating in way. I appreciated the atmosphere. There were fascinating vintage and modern pieces displayed. The cafe was also equipped with earth-toned furniture and the lighting was dim but appropriate and classy. It was mixture of old fashioned, fresh and modern look that definitely gave an appeal to our eyesight.

Finally! The FOOD!

The food was incredible. Cafe Lidia offers a wide array of appetizers, pasta dishes, rice meals, desserts, coffee and beverages on their menu. We enjoyed munching on their specialties and will surely come back for more Cafe Lidia experience. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone and I'm pretty sure the food will absolutely bring some sort of excitement to your taste buds as well.  
 

ENTREES:

 Grilled Pork Belly

This is my personal favorite! I just love how tender, tasty and juicy grilled pork was. It was my brother who ordered this dish but I couldn't help but ask for a little piece from his plate. I was delighted.

 

Beef Salpicao

 

 Crispy Fried Boneless Chicken

Caught-in-the-act! I ordered their Crispy Fried Boneless Chicken and I couldn't wait for my brother to take a formal, untouched picture of the dish first. I just couldn't resist to try it out ASAP. It was so crispy-licious. But sort of wished I picked the Grilled Pork Belly instead.

 Parmesan Crusted Fish Fillet

 Sandwiches: (Served with French Fries)

 Cheeseburger

Clubhouse

PIZZA: 
12" thin crust pizza

The Service:

I was indeed satisfied by the cafe's service even from our point of entrance. The waiters were warm and friendly, not to mention the consistent smile on their faces. They were even standing attentively on their designated places all the while, ready to attend to our every need. Talk about special treatment!

And another thing I like about this cafe is, despite the classy ambiance and satisfying service, it is quite pocket friendly. I only paid around 3,500 PHP when I was expecting a lot more than that.
It's quite reasonable for 12 hungry persons.

The Restrooms/Parking Area:

A clean and well functional restroom plays a very important role to any restaurant. In this case, Cafe Lidia gets an A+. Although they still need to work on their parking area since the cafe is along the typical street where private homes are aligned and residents wander around, there isn't much space for many cars.

Over all, Cafe Lidia gets the spotlight!

You can reserve tables and inquire through 6477606.

THE MAP!

Let's TravelEat's Rating: