Box Park Manila

Weekends call for food trips with your loves. And last Saturday was made more special because I got the spend it with one of my closest friends since high school!

Since she's staying in Novaliches, Box Park sounded like a good and accessible place to hang and eat. I've read a lot of hype about the place and my tastebuds had me curious to try their offerings. I particularly craved for the Churros.

We got there quite early (3:30 PM), as most of the stores are still closed or have just opened and not yet catering to orders. >.<

     

 

We went around the stalls and ordered what we fancied. Me and the hubby tried the Bacon Cheese Burger (Php 160) from Boxyard 101 and the Beans and Bullets (Php 155) from Colonel Franks. I was so eager to order from Cajita, unfortunately, they had just opened shop, so the oil still needed to reach the proper temperature needed to fry the churros. I was told that they would accept orders by 4:30 PM. I got 2 orders of the 4-pc churros (Php 99 ea) with chocolate dip.

Kate, Jay and Kurt ordered the T-Bone Steak (Php 170) from Boxyard 101, The Cheesy Bacon Fries (Php 150) and Chili Cheese Fries (Php 150) from The Fry Guys, Quesodilla (Php 95) from Plaza de Taqueria and Nacho Supreme (Php 140) from Porkfolio.

The Bacon Cheese Burger was nice, and hubby liked it because the meat was flavorful. I also agreed with his sentiment on this. My only dislike was that there was just too many sesame seeds on the bun.

 

The Cheesy Bacon Fries was packed with flavor and also you get a bit of entertainment when this is served. The mozzarella cheese topping will be melted in front of you, using a handheld torch.

As amusing as it is, you might need to eat your fries fast, since it becomes soggy a few minutes after the cheese is melted.

The Beans and Bullets was a very sad item... Hubby said the hotdog/sausage tasted like longganisa. I strongly disagreed since it was really flavorless for me. To add to the disappointment, the chili con carne also lacked in flavor...

The Nachos and Steak were just average in taste. The Quesodilla is another sad story. The filling was just too thin and tasted like The Sandwich Guys' Grilled Cheese Sandwich...

Last but not least, the Churros from Cajita. Me and hubby have already tried a bunch of churros places, and we probably know a good from a bad one. Our current favorites are the ones from Churreria La Lola and Don Churros. Reading about Cajita made me look forward to trying it, the result, disappointment...

To start of, the churros was quite heavy as opposed to the light batter from La Lola. It was also not generously rolled into sugar. To add to it, the chocolate dip was bland, it was too diluted and close to losing any trace of chocolate. In all honesty, we would rather have Don's Original Churros from Fisher Mall than this. I also computed the cost of having La Lola vs Cajita, and La Lola would actually come out to be cheaper, given the size and quality of what you'll get. Our verdict, not going back here again.

 

It's just a shame that we weren't able to try The Pie Guys, Ozawa, Kazam, and Mr. Diggins since we were already done when they started to open shop.

I couldn't really figure out all the hype and praises about the place since we all found nothing special in it. Oh well, to each his own.

BOX PARK MANILA

73 Block 2 Lot 28 Congressional Ave., Tandang Sora, Quezon City

Churreria La Lola

Me and the hubby battled through the SM Megamall 3-day sale traffic for some tech accessories shopping and of course, to finally get a taste of Lola!

Being that it was the weekend of the 3-day sale, La Lola had quite a line. It did not matter since we really wanted to try their churros and Xuxos.

We ordered a Large Churros Classico (Php 195) with a large Hot Chocolate (Php 100) and a Nutella-stuffed Xuxos (Php 120).

          

The Churros was served fresh, hot of the fryer! It was crunchy on the outside and was soft on the inside. Their hot chocolate dip was spot-on! It wasn't too sweet, nor too bitter, and the consistency was just right. It paired perfectly with the classic churros. This would probably be ranked as my 2nd favorite churros ( I still love the one from Mercato), based on both taste and price. Now, the Nutella-stuffed Xuxos is a whole different story. It was oozing with Nutella, and I fell in-love with in on the first bite! It was sinfully addicting and I could just care less about all the extra calories that it gave me. Also, no-sharing for this yummy baby.

Taste-wise, we loved La Lola's Classic Churros and Xuxos. However, we did found it just a bit more expensive than other places that served churros (i.e., Dulcinea, Don Churros), because you have to purchase the hot chocolate dip separately. They do offer the Chocochurro (chocolate dipped churros), but it is also priced a-lot more than the classic churros.

Overall, it was a great experience. I do hope they eventually come up with a pricing that offers the classis churros and hot chocolate as a bundle. :)

Churreria La Lola

Second Floor, Mega Atrium, SM Megamall, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City

Lower Ground Floor, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell, Makati City

Fourth Floor, SM Aura Premier, C5 Corner 26th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

Ground Floor, UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City

Ground Floor, Serendra, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

Going Loca for Alqueria!

I'm a fan of Spanish food, specially of Paella, Salpicao, Conchinillo, and of course, Churros!!

Just my luck that Alqueria is holding various promos for the month of August:

  

So last night (Wednesday), we made it a point to have dinner here.

Since Kyle will be coming from Makati, I went ahead to Alqueria so I could avail of the 50% off promo on the Churros con Chocolate. Being lovers of this yummy dessert, I ordered the 10 pieces Churros con Chocolate (Php 114).

Alqueria's Churros are made fresh upon order, so it takes around 5-10 minutes serving time. Their chocolate dip is made from Valor chocolates. The churros was sprinkled liberally with cinnamon sugar and had a nice crunch. The Valor chocolate  dip was just a palate pleaser. I am definitely in-love with their churros!



For Tapas, I ordered the Chicharones (Php 260), and for our main dish, I got the Paella del Carne in medium size (Php715, before discount). The Paella takes about 20-25 minutes of serving time, yes, perfection takes time. ;)

     

Their version of Chicharones takes on a different form. It is more like a bagnet. Chunks of pork belly, deep fried to skin-crackling perfection! It's served with a side of vinegar (I forgot to asked what sauce was poured over it). With every bite, you get that wonderful crunch, and that succulent, flavorful, fatty part of the belly was just divine or plain sinful. It was a bit too overwhelming for two people tho.

Another item that Alqueria has been known for is their Paellas, and I can say that it definitely takes the cake! The Paella del Carne, as the name suggests, is an all meat paella loaded with chorizo, chicken, smoked bacon and pork-spareribs. It was flavorful! Every bite felt like an explosion of flavors in my mouth. I specially loved the smokiness of the thick-cut bacon pieces. We were only able to finish half of the Paella and the Chicharones, both items are good to share for 3 - 4 hungry people.

The Churros, on the otherhand, were totally wiped out, hehe.

We definitely loved our dining experience! The food was great and the attendants were really very accommodating and polite. They made our experience extra special.

Kudos Alqueria! Will be seeing you again soon!

Alqueria Restaurante Y Chocolateria

Third Floor, Mega Fashion Hall, SM Megamall, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City; 02 2469069 ext:100