Gluttons

I love impromptu.  I am the kind of person that doesn’t plan for the future at all.  I live each day as it comes.  Based on experience, the best events are mostly spur of the moment.

I learned over FB that a very good friend, who will now be known in my blog as NC, is back in the country for a vacay.  And since I was supposed to meet a mutual friend, I decided to give her a call.  Luckily, she was within the area so we agreed that I’d pick her up.  Unfortunately, when I called our friend to tell him that we were on our way to his house, he had to back out so the two of us were left without a backup plan.  And since I am in the business of touring people around, I decided to bring NC to a little known but oh so extraordinary Italian restaurant in Marikina.

Café Lidia is great place if you want a dose of Italian cuisine without breaking the bank.  It is located in a Calumpang Marikina residential area.  Ambiance is great without being prohibitive especially to those who would like to come in their shorts and slippers.  I am no expert food critic but I can confidently say that everyone I brought to Café Lidia loved the food.  The food appeals to the eyes, the palate, most especially the wallet.  We ordered my all-time favorites buffalo wings and mixed seafood pasta.

During the meal, I mentioned to NC that there is another great place I know within the area that serves Japanese food.  She wanted to check the place out but since we were already full, we decided that we’d just have ramen or something really light.  She just wanted to see what I was raving about.  So off we went.

Tamagoya is a tiny Japanese fast food in Masinag, Antipolo, a step and a half away from Marikina.  It has two floors, each could only sit around 15 people at a time.  I love the interior because it does not look cramped though small.  Talk about Japanese minimalism.  Lighting is impeccable and the colors are rich, even for a color-blind like yours truly, with piped in Japanese music that added to the authentic feel of the place.  And the food is simply great, although it offers a limited menu, mostly rice toppings and ramen.  We ordered Chuka Soba and Gyoza.

We were already really full but we were not done yet.  I told NC that I could not write a blog about it because we only tried two restaurants and a food trip, as for me, should at least be about three.  So I decided to bring her to another restaurant that specializes on desserts.  we decided to cap the night with coffee and cake.

Café Feliz is another quaint restaurant in the Rancho Estate Marikina neighborhood.  Although it offers other dishes, I personally only like its pastries.  We tried its own version of another all-time favorite sans rival and it did not disappoint.  The cake was crunchy, just the way I like it, with the right amount of sweetness.  It was also carefully plated to our delight.  We did not even want to eat it because it was just totally cute.

Picking up from my favorite movie Eat, Pray, Love, we did not worry about getting muffin tops.  That night, it was EAT, EAT, EAT.


Map of Tamagoya (right-click and open link in new tab for a bigger image)