Michi Photostory

I’m a Filipino so I love Filipino cuisine. Of course, it is very important that we should love our own dishes. Even though I love Filipino foods, there are dishes that I don’t know how to cook or some I tried but I don’t like the result. And because of that, I visit different restaurants so I can order food that I don’t usually cook at home.

One of our go-to restaurants when it comes to Filipino dishes is Kanin Club. We’ve been here for the nth time already so I decided to compile my old blog posts in one article.

March 22, 2013 Dinner at Kanin Club 

The first time we ate in Kanin Club was four years ago, we’re not satisfied with our order so we never dare to try it again but two weeks ago we revisited this restaurant. We had our dinner here because my mom wanted Filipino food.

We ordered Sizzling Squid P210, Sigarilyas Express P140, and Crispy Dinuguan P244. To my surprise, we all enjoyed the food and we even ordered extra rice. Hehe! No doubt that crispy dinuguan is their signature dish.


April 20, 2015 Lunch at Kanin Club 

If we are in Paseo de Sta Rosa, Kanin Club is our go-to restaurant because I love their crispy dinuguan. I ordered crispy dinuguan + ginataan na gulay when we went back last December 2013. I did not like the ginataan gulay but my husband liked it.


Last March, we ate at Kanin Club before going to Nurture Wellness Village. It was an early lunch so the place was not packed yet. We ordered Crispy Dinuguan P260, Sigarilyas Express P150, Kare-Kare P350 and Pork BBQ P110. I love Kanin Club because the price is very reasonable and the serving is good for 2 to 3 persons. So we took home our leftovers for dinner. 
April 19, 2016 Dinner at Kanin Club

My husband has a business trip in Cebu and this time, we’ll join his trip so we can also have a summer vacation. It’s been a while since we had a family trip, most of the time overnight lang. So to save money, I used my Mabuhay Miles to book our ticket. My husband called PAL reservations to book our ticket and off we went to Philippine Airlines to pay and get our ticket. They moved their office to Westgate Center from Petron Station. 

It's almost 7PM so we decided to eat our dinner in Westgate, we don't frequent this place because there is a parking fee of PHP20. I have no idea na marami pala kainan dito, I though Contis lang. That's where we ate last year.

We ate at Kanin Club and we ordered our all-time favorite which is Crispy Dinuguan P290 and Pork BBQ P125 for my son. I did not enjoy my crispy dinuguan, nasobrahan yata sa pagkacrispy at ang hirap ichew.


We also tried the Turon KC ala mode P150 and Leche Flan P85. We were surprised to see the dessert, ganun kalaki yung turon. Kanin Club’s turon has ube jam, sweet coconut strips, monggo beans, and banana. One slice is already enough, it is like eating halo-halo without the ice and milk. 

It was also our first time to see a Leche Flan topped with Macapuno. My son likes plain leche flan so he removed all the coconut strips. Their leche flan is not sweet and we prefer sweet leche flan. 

March 3, 2020 Lunch at Kanin Club

It’s been years since the last time that we ate at Kanin Club so when I saw this in Makati Ayala Triangle, ito na agad kinainan namin. As usual, hindi mawawala ang Crispy Dinuguan sa order namin. We ordered Crispy Dinuguan P380, Bistek Pinoy P280 and Plain Rice P132 (3 cups). 



Medyo mahal na yung crispy dinuguan kasi yung last time na kain namin, wala pa sa PHP300. It is really nice to have a blog kasi may price watch list ako. Hehehe! As always, we were satisfied with our food. Care to share your favorite in Kanin Club.

When I started working, Makati Medical Center is my go-to hospital if I need check-up or laboratory, para hindi na ko lalayo pa. After work, I just walked to the hospital before going home. Things changed when I resigned from my work and moved to South Luzon area. It took me almost a decade before going back to this hospital.

We frequent Makati Medical Center since last year because of my in-law’s confinement. I was surprised when I saw Makati Medical Center, ang laki na ng pinagbago niya. There are so many restaurants and food stalls where you can eat, drink or even buy take-outs or pasalubong if may dadalawin din kayo sa hospital. Parang St. Lukes BGC din pala siya na madami restaurants and ang problem mo lang is budget kung dito ka lagi kakain.

Read: St Lukes BGC Restaurants

Makati Medical Center Restaurants

Ground Floor

Cafe France
Dairy Queen
Cafe Mary Grace
Pizza Hut
Seattle’s Best

First Floor 

Burger King
Floating Island Restaurant
Krispy Kreme
Lavazza and Bakeshop

Second Floor 

Tapa King
Mini Stop

Third Floor 

Buco Loco
Go Salad
Dimsum ‘n Dumplings
Fruitas
Lulu Belle
Pancake House
Kitchen City Express
Country Style
El Nacho
Potato Corner
Turks
Wendy’s

Just this week, we went back to Makati Medical Center for my laboratory test. I need to undergo some test and unfortunately, wala siya sa probinsiya so we searched kung saan may ganoong test and Makati Medical Center is one of the choices.

We liked the service of Makati Medical Center, parang asikasong-asikaso ka talaga from the time you enter and until you leave the hospital. Nacocompare ko siya nung naoperahan si hubby sa St Lukes BGC, parang hindi naman ganun ang service. I’m not saying na hindi okay service sa St Lukes BGC kasi good naman experience namin, pero sobrang alaga nga lang sa Makati Med. You can settle your bills inside your room, hinahatid ka hanggang sakayan and pati pillows nga pinauuwi sayo.

Anyway, we were in the hospital as early as 7:30AM and I waited for 8AM so I can get approval from my HMO. But I was advised that I need to schedule my ultrasound first before they can process it. Ganun pala dito, in other hospitals kasi approval muna bago nila i-schedule or gagawin.

So I went to the laboratory to make an appointment, I don’t have a record yet so I have to register. At first, they are giving me next day schedule but I asked them if they can give me slot today and the staff asked me kung nakafasting na ba ko? And I said “Yes”. Fortunately, she gave me an 11AM slot, so more or less three hours of fasting pa.

Burger King

Imagine, hindi pa ko pwede kumain tapos ang mga nakapaligid sa akin puro kainan but I have no choice, ayaw ko na bumalik pa. So while waiting I went to Burger King to buy some snacks for my two boys. Nakikiamoy na lang ko ng food, pero at least pwede ako uminom ng water. In some test kasi pati water bawal uminom.

Floating Island Restaurant

After 3 hours of waiting, my labtest is done and I can finally eat. We had lunch at Floating Island Restaurant, a Filipino restaurant inside Makati Medical Center. Upon seated, they immediately gave us the menu, they have a lot of choices so I just looked for the Menu of the Day that I’ve seen outside. Meron dun blackboard where you can see the “Menu of the Day”.




We ordered Bangus Belly with Ampalaya over Rice P185+, Pininyahang Manok sa Gata over Rice P185+ and Pork BBQ with Garlic Fried Rice P195+. Food taste is good, each serving is more than enough to fill your stomach. Service is fast and good too.

I love crepe so I feel happy whenever I see crepe in the buffet spread whether in a hotel or restaurant. Several years ago, I tried cooking it at home kaso nakakasawa din, for a family of three ang hirap ubusin nung crepe batter. Even though I like crepe, I rarely buy this dessert lalo na pag nagtitipid, skip na ang dessert kung kakain kami sa labas. Hehehe!

But of all the crepe that I ate, there are two crepe stores that stuck in my mind, the Crazy Crepes in Boracay and Dipper Dan Cafe in Tokyo Japan. Here in the Philippines, I always see Cafe Breton but since I’m not a coffee person, deadma lang ko sa mga Cafe. My husband had tried this restaurant before and sarap na sarap siya sa crepe so he suggested na i-try namin minsan.


I guess, few years ago na yun and it was only last weekend that we finally paid a visit. From Mall of Asia, we decided to eat merienda at Cafe Breton before going home. I always see this Cafe whenever we visit Dayrit’s Burger and Roast Beef House, as in magkatabi lang sila.

Read: Lunch at Dayrit's Burger and Roast Beef House 

It was merienda time and we were the only customers when we arrived. The staff immediately gave us the menu and we asked for their best sellers. We choose one savory and one dessert crepe. My husband ordered Galette Paysanne P350, yun yung kinain na rin niya dati and I ordered Le Magnifique P265. We just asked for an additional plate for my son so we can share the food.


I haven’t tried a savory crepe so this was the first time that I tasted it and msarap naman pala. The Galette Paysanne has whole Hungarian sausage, sunny side up egg, onions, strips of asparagus and white cheese sauce. Now I knew, why my husband like this. San kaya nila nabibili yung sausage?


When I saw the Le Magnifique, I was hoping that it is not sweet kasi parang ang daming chocolate. But I was glad that it is not overly sweet. I love it. My son prefers this than the savory crepe and kulang na lang i-lick niya yung plate para masimot niya talaga. It is a combination of banana, chocohazelnut spread, whipped cream, almonds, and chocolate syrup. They have a crepe with ice cream but I prefer whipped cream.


After eating two crepes, gutom pa kami so we ordered Breton Mozzarella Burger P285. A simple beef burger with sauteed onions, mushrooms and mozzarella. When they served the burger, I was looking for the mozzarella, surprise pala siya. We also enjoyed this burger.


Aside from crepes, Cafe Breton also serves pasta, sandwiches, salads, and all-day breakfast. The price is not cheap especially for a dessert but you can order different crepes and share para matry yung ibang flavor though according to their menu, their serving is good for one. The food is good and as of this writing, I’m craving for their food. Good thing that Cafe Breton has several branches so we can visit Alabang, Sta. Rosa, and Tagaytay branch.

September 2019

Naexperience ko na mag-overnight sa Emergency Room ng Philippine Lung Center last week. Isang gabi lang pero ramdam ko yung pagod, antok at gutom. Sobrang busy sa ER so kahit gusto mo umidlip, hindi mo magawa. Nakakagutom magbantay pero wala ka naman mabilhan ng food dahil 7-11 lang naman ang alam ko na bukas sa Lung Center.


So after ng shift ko sa pagbabantay, nagbrunch kami ni hubby sa Cafe Breton. My default order is always Galette Paysanne. Buti na lang hindi pa sila nag-increase ng price. We immediately went home after brunch so I have more time to sleep bago umuwi from school ang aking anak.

January 2020

We took advantage of the vacation leave of my husband so we applied for Japan Visas. If you remember my post, we went to World Travel Expo last October and availed the 50% Japan Visa Processing. There is an expiration date for the voucher so we need to use it before the end of January. Sayang naman ang bayad namin if hindi namin magagamit. To make the long story short, our Japan Visas were approved and this time multiple entry for 5 years so to celebrate we had lunch at Cafe Breton.

As usual, we ordered our favorite Galette Paysanne P350, Le Magnifique P265, and Breton Mozarella Burger P285. And because nabitin kami sa Le Magnifique, I ordered La Viva Pinay. La Viva Pinay P220 is a crepe with mango, ice cream, and chocolate sauce. This crepe is just okay because the mango is not that sweet so the taste of this crepe depends on the sweetness of the mango. We finished everything naman, mas masarap nga lang kung matamis yung mango.






Cafe Breton 
Unit 3 Mega Center Bldg.
Paseo de Magallanes
Magallanes Village,
Makati City

I think it is a sign of aging when I don’t feel excited anymore on my birthday. I find it weird but it feels like an ordinary day to me and it is not that fun when I have to plan or decide for my own birthday celebration. Mas iniisip ko pa yung birthday ng anak ko. But of course, it is my special day so I want to celebrate it with my family or close friends.

When August month came, I was thinking if I will have a birthday staycation or buffet celebration. My birthday falls on a weekday and just like last year, tumapat pa sa coding so hindi na naman kami makakaalis. We have two holidays this August so we can have a long weekend vacation but there were unexpected expenses; we bought new furniture in the house and my MIL had an operation so my husband shared on the bill.


So I thought our lunch at Las Flores was already my birthday celebration but my husband reserved seats at The Pantry of Dusit Thani Manila Hotel for my post-birthday celebration. We normally eat at the usual buffet restaurant to take advantage of the birthday promo but for a change, we’re going to eat at the hotel.

Lunch at The Pantry 

On our way to the Dusit Thani Hotel, my husband received a call, the staff was just confirming our reservation. We arrived past 11AM and parking was full already, there was valet parking but we decided to park elsewhere. There is a parking area just in front of the hotel so we did not have any problem. I always saw Dusit when I was still working in Makati and I was in college years when I first and last visited the hotel so ang dami na nagbago.


Since we were so early, we went to the mall first so I could buy white shorts for my son’s Cheers and Yells Competition. When we went back, we just waited at the "The Pantry Grab & Go" area, hindi pa talaga sila nagpapasok and they started calling the diners past 12NN na. So finally, it is buffet time.




The Pantry is an all-day dining restaurant of Dusit Thani Manila Hotel and it is quite new, three years pa lang itong restaurant. It boasts on its farm-to-fork fare, they get organic and locally produced ingredients from Tagaytay to create their International dishes. I was excited to try their restaurant but when I checked their buffet spread, I was a little bit disappointed. The rate was P2,150 and it was lunch time so of course, I was expecting more food options and live cooking stations. Pero mas marami pa yung breakfast buffet that we've experienced at Cafe Ilang Ilang, Circles and Spiral.

Read: Spiral at Sofitel Philippines Plaza Manila
Cafe Ilang Ilang at The Manila Hotel
Circles at Makati Shangri la Hotel

The Pantry serves International dishes such as Indian, Italian, Filipino and Pan-Asian cuisines. They have a bread station, a fresh station for salad, fruits, and sushi,a  beverage station, a dessert station, a seafood station, and a carving station. Though there are several stations, don’t expect a lot of choices, like sa cold cuts and cheese, 3 choices lang.

Watch the video here.






Honestly, I was sad when I saw their buffet spread because I’m a meat lover so I was looking forward to the carving station, but I only saw lechon, pork loin for ramen, and beef brisket. Actually, lechon and baked salmon saved my day. Nahappy na ko ng slight kasi at least nandun yung dalawang favorite ko. The beef brisket is dry so I did not enjoy it.






Well, if you are a seafood lover you will enjoy this restaurant because there are big wok of shrimps, crabs, and seashells. It is not for display, you can grab that seafood. My husband was very much satisfied with his seafood diet.


They have a lot of choices for dessert and my son’s favorite is churros. My favorite is their homemade ice cream and DIY Halo-Halo. My husband prefers fruits kaso naubusan siya nung mango so he asked kung pwede magpaslice and the staff said, for display lang daw yun. So my husband said okay and went back to our table without mango.

Next time fruits muna para di maubusan.

My son celebrated his 8th birthday at EDSA Shangri-la Hotel and had a blast. If you still remember my post, he mentioned that we need to visit other Shangri-la hotels so he can earn more badges. So when I saw the Wonderful Weekends Promo of Makati Shangri-la, I immediately bookmarked it. I asked him if he wanted to spend his 9th birthday at Shangri-la and he said yes. 


Since my husband has an erratic schedule we did not book early. Five days before our trip, my husband called the hotel and was advised that there was no promo rate due to high occupancy. We already promised our son that we would spend his birthday in Shangri-la so we still booked the wonderful weekend at regular rate kahit mabigat sa bulsa.  



When I received the confirmation, I immediately read the details and I saw the registration link. When we stayed in EDSA Shangri-la, we just registered on the day of our stay but in Makati Shangri-la, there is a link where you need to register. There are FREE activities for kids and adults. 

For 4-12 years old kids. 

1. Cookie Decorating Class 
2. Cupcake Decorating Class 
3. Wonderful Weekend Collage 

For Adults 

1. Yoga 
2. Definition Bootcamp 
3. Core and Body Conditioning 
4. Spinning 
5. Zumba

I only registered for my son. My husband and I did not want to do any activity kasi staycation nga, papagurin ko pa ba sarili ko. Lol But if you ask me now, I will join one activity because it is one of my goals this year, “to be fit and healthy”. If you have the budget, you can also register their PAID activities like Wine Tasting and Date Night at Sage Bespoke Grill. 


Fast forward to our trip, we were there as early as 9AM. If you stay in Shangri-la, make sure you have enough budget or credit limit because I noticed that the deposit amount is x2 of the room rate. Check-in time is 10AM but they gave us our room key as early as 9:15AM so when we went to our room, wala pa yung welcome fruits. Hinabol na lang. 



While checking the room, I saw the note “Makati Shangri-la’s Ballroom will be the venue of local TV network’s annual ball”. Now I know, why there are a high occupancy and no promo rate, wrong timing pala ang pag-book namin, nandun ang mga celebrities. 

Watch the video here. 


Here is the Deluxe room, there is Tipi tent that is too small for us so pangbata lang talaga siya. Sa liit kong ito, masikip siya sa akin or mali yata pagkabuild because I saw some pictures kasya pati daddy e. 

The mini fridge is so cute, ang sarap iuwi but you can only take home the snacks and drinks. There is a separate mini bar for adults but of course, you need to pay for the drinks and snacks. 




We liked the bathroom because there is bathtub + bath salt. +1 lagi pang may bathtub ang bathroom. There is a bidet and emergency phone inside the bathroom. They also have room slippers for the kids but it is too small for my son. 



The hotel is just a few minutes walk from Glorietta so we had our lunch there. After lunch, we went to the pool. There are two swimming pools, one for adult and one for kids. There is no one assisting us so we went to the staff to ask for towels. When we experienced that, I remember what my friend said, “Ayoko sa Makati Shangri-la, di okay ang service dun, nagkakandarapa sila sa pag-asikaso sa foreigner pero sa amin, hindi man lang mabigyan ng towel”. I was sad to hear about his experience but I was thinking baka isolated incident lang yun but I was wrong, it happened to us. 



It is true that nobody cares to give us towels, kami pa lalapit pero kapag foreigner and celebrities ang dumating. Super asikaso, may bitbit na agad na towel and iaassist pa sa pagkuha ng beddings at aayusin ang pwesto nila bago umupo o humiga. We went to the pool twice and kami talaga lumalapit sa staff. May discrimination ba? We did not experience that in Shangri-la Mactan and EDSA Shangri-la, once the staffs see you they will immediately give you a towel, sa Mactan nga maski lilipat kami ng pwesto, mag-offer pa sila na buhatin bitbit mo sa lilipatan mo. 



Anyway, let’s move on. My son attended the activities for kids, there are only 3 activities unlike in EDSA Shangri-la na 9 activities ang meron. The class started late because they did not know where are they going to hold the class. Maybe because of the Star Magic Ball, nagkagulo na sa venue. My son ate the cupcake that he designed, buti na lang nakunan ko pa. But the staff was generous to give him another cupcake. 

After the class, we went back to our room. We have P1,200 F&B credit so we decided to eat our dinner in the hotel, box office din kasi pila sa elevator sa dami ng artista. We ordered as early as 5:30PM and we were advised that it would take 45 minutes and we said okay. Forty-five minutes came and no food yet, so we followed up. After numerous follow-ups, our food came at 7:17PM. Almost two hours of waiting and when you check the food, kulang sa presentation yung sinigang. Take note, the hotel’s foods and drinks are not cheap pero ito na yun. 


While eating, the doorbell rang and they gave us a complimentary cake for my son. When my husband reserved the room, the staff asked him kung may occasion daw ba? And he said, yes, my son’s birthday, why? The staff said, "surprise na lang daw". They totally forgot about the birthday surprise for my son, naremind lang sila nung may nakausap na supervisor si hubby and tinanong siya kung may problem ba. Of course, he said "wala pa yung dinner namin and namention niya na may birthday surprise daw pero wala pala". Then after a few minutes, dumating na ang dinner and cake. Thank you! 


The following morning, we woke up early so we could eat our complimentary buffet breakfast at Circles. They have a buffet corner for kids but more on sweets. As expected, they offer a sumptuous buffet spread, and they have different stations that serve different flavors and cuisines. Of course, I chose Filipino cuisine. 



We had our lunch outside and when we went back to the hotel, my husband called me “Hon, bilisan mo si Daniel Matsunaga pauwi na”. I’ve been seeing a lot of celebrities in the hallway, pool, lobby, restaurant, and elevator. As in everywhere, we go, meron artista pero deadma lang. Pero iba pala pag crush mo so nagpapicture ako. Ang hirap pala magpicture sa artista, mabilisan. Good thing, dalawang pindot asawa ko kung hindi blurred ang kuha. Hehehe! Si Jericho Rosales lang talaga ang di ko naabutan, nagkakasalisi kami. 

Anyway, my son joined the last activity before we check-out. We took home the cookies that he designed, I forgot the flavor but it was yummy. 


It took me a long time to blog about our staycation because I was a little bit disappointed with the service. The service was not that bad but since we tried other Shangri-la hotels we are expecting Shangri-la hospitality. We are expecting that they will serve and treat all guests equally and they will make sure that your stay will be worth it. 

Read: Shangri-la Mactan Resort and Spa 
EDSA Shangri-la Hotel 
Shangri-la Hotel Jakarta 

Wonderful Weekend Inclusions 

- buffet breakfast for two adults and two kids under 12 years old. 
- F&B credit worth P1,200 nett per day (cumulative and non-refundable) 
- one set of complimentary weekend minibar for kids 
- tipi tent play area for kids inside the room 
- confirmed early check-in at 10AM 
- late check-out at 4PM 
- access to kid’s activities within the hotel. 
- second room for the same family at fifty percent discount.