Take a bite, it's alright

Introducing: (Fa)KAGAT
   ...or (Pha)KAGAT...or KAGAT...or Diner's Club...or... ay basta...

We are a group of friends gathered in love for food. Well, to be honest, I'm more in love with the company than I am with finding the food. The food just happens to be a happy by-product of hanging out these guys.

missing the two who went off to check out bread

I've been lucky to have experienced breaking bread with most of these people on previous occassions. But I have never gone out with them in a group this big. Most of the time our gatherings were a small-ish group of 3 or 5 or 8. A few nights ago, we were a whopping dozen.

This is not the inaugural gathering of (Fa)KAGAT. I kind of missed that one. Then again, a lot of us missed it. The original (Fa)KAGAT movers were still feeling a little clique-ish when they started hahahaha... But they have since learned from their mistake and now know that good food is only as good as the company you keep.

Which is why they need me... um.. us. ;)

The task of organizing the Feb gathering fell to Joe, who seemed to be the most experienced at food gatherings anyway. His recommendation was a quant little Kapampangan cuisine place on the fringes of the Makati Business District, Villa Cafe. Unfortunately, I didn't get to take a picture of the frontage, but it wasn't all that hard to spot. Just look for the big yellow(?) sign that said, "VILLA".

Because I'm so bad with directions, and terrified of parking, I made sure I got there early. It paid off because I was the first to arrive and got to park right smack in front of the establishment. Joe was right behind me and we kicked off this food fest with the complimentary starter bread and dip. Errr... I don't remember what the dip was (I think it was tinapa or something) but I do know that I was hungry and it was good. :)

early birds

bread and dip

We had a bit of time to kill since we were a full 30 minutes early so the staff was kind enough to show me the second floor even though it was closed. It serves both as an extension of the dining area and a potential function room for more private parties. I believe it can comfortably hold around 12 people to a maximum of maybe 20. They even have a second kitchen up there, for the exclusive use of the reserving group. I found that cool.

the second floor

Meanwhile, the kitchen downstairs was an open kitchen so you could see what your food is going through. Not that I looked, really. I was too busy socializing. 

kitchen confidential

pots and pans and things

The restaurant was quite simple in terms of ambience and decor. It felt too simple to be fine dining, yet a tad more elegant than casual fare. But I will say that the place had a nice comfortable feel to it. It's a place that encourages good conversations while eating. Which probably explains all the laughter at our table. It's rare that a table of 12 can carry on with just a single topic of discussion. Most times you'd have about 2 or 3 going on at the same time. But by and large, what was said on one end of the table was heard by the other. Or maybe that was just because we talked loud. Either way, I had a great time. Being at Villa kind of felt like being at home, except with fancier cutlery. Seeing as the place was decorated with personal pictures and knick knacks, I think that may have been what they were going for.

the cozy setting

the way up

the menu with built-in scribbles

Because we were a big group, we had to pre-order our meal. Thank you Joe for handling that as well.

dinner is served

My favorite was actually the Kampangan pizza. I love thin crust pizzas and this was just wonderful. It was thin and crunchy, but also soft to bite at the same time. I shamelessly took two slices for myself. Hahahaha...

longganisa on a pizza!

The lengua was my second favorite. Something about sausages in a dish that automatically make it better for me. I'm a little kid that way. :D

Pastel de Lengua

I'm a bit of a bangus snob so the relleno was just so so. To me, bangus is best served grilled, with a side dip of bagoong, calamansi and crushed sili. Nothing quite compares to that. It's my ultimate comfort food.

Villa's Rellenung Bangus

And what is a Filipino gathering without good ol' crispy pata? Except this was with a twist, being cooked with just the hint of kare kare sauce. It was delicious, a blend of the best things about two different dishes in one.

with or without the kare kare sauce, it's pretty good

Then we come to dessert. Hopelessly full yet needing to eat more we shared one slice each of two different cakes. Yes, we made a good-for-one cake slice last for at 12 people. We did that by taking really teeny, tiny bites. Hahahaha...

Dulce de Tsokulati

lechemon - ang mamon na may lecheflan. yuuumm.

Long after the last morsel of food was put away, long after we forget the taste of the food we had, we'll always have the memory of laughter and fun shared with friends. Which is really what matters most anyway.

ang saya. :)

Since I can't remember what (Fa)KAGAT actually stands for, I think I shall just refer to this group as "Chicken". ;) (you had to have been there...)


Villa Cafe is located at 7427 B Glory Building, Yakal St. San Antonio Village. Tel No. (632)4782659, http://www.villacafe.biz/. We ordered about 2-3 servigs of the main dish and spent approximately Php600 per person. The camaraderie: priceless.

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The food of Frazzled Cook

My food posts are always late. Goes to show you that although I enjoy eating, I am not a foodie. Either that or I'm just really tamad. Anyway, this particular visit happened months ago. As in months ago. But, late though it may be, here it is.

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After the great success of Marcia Adams, which was followed by a smaller, purpose-driven ocular in Tagaytay that led to Breakfast at Antonio's, I once more coerced Joe into joining me on another food adventure. Although he really got the raw end of the deal because I made him take responsibility on where we would go. Again. *cue evil laugh*

That night the trip led us along the twists and turns of the side streets of Mandaluyong where, hidden like a true treasure, was the cuisine of (a) Frazzled Cook.

the sign

I'm not sure why a restaurant would name itself like that. It conjures up images of a kitchen in disarray and harried attempts to feed hungry mouths. Not very appetizing. But name aside, The Frazzled Cook wasn't frazzled at all. In fact, when you step inside, you instantly feel a relaxed, homey welcome. The interiors takes off from that same design philosophy you see in so many restaurants now: the coordinated mismatch (not the official term, I made that up. hahaha), where furnitures don't match but seem to still artistically blend together. Personally, I find this kind of decorating very hard to do since it's way too easy to turn the place into a holy mess. Thankfully, the execution here was quite tasteful.

an actual dining area (the owners had dinner there that night)

the main dining area

We were seated by the corner of the restaurant which also happened to house the most ridiculously large collection of fortune cats I'd ever seen! Shelf upon shelf of golden, waving cats. Hahahaha.. It was quite a site to behold. Especially because a great majority of them were actually in motion! Not quite in unison, but definitely enough for you to notice. And to make you laugh.

meow to the nth power

if I wave my arm, will I be lucky too?

Joe had the foresight of calling the restaurant ahead to pre-order one of their best-seller pizzas, the Pizza Caprese, to minimize our waiting time, as well as to serve as an appetizer. Forgive my poor memory, but I think it came with a side of garlic chili oil which you would drizzle on the pizza for added flavor. But either way, I remember the pizza being delicious. I will  have to say that it was my favorite for the night.

lovely thin, crunchy crust with delicious cheese

the cute little pitcher contained the garlic chili oil

For the main dish I decided to splurge and went for the rack of lamb. I was a little disappointed though that it turned out a bit tough and was difficult to slice off the bone. I can be very thorough when I eat, leaving a very clean bone behind. But I couldn't do that with this one and I found that very frustrating. The meat was tasty though, but I didn't quite enjoy the eating experience as I would have wanted to. When I come back, I'm likely going to try something else off their menu. Just for variety.

rack of lamb with cottage potatoes and mint & herb reduction

(nadadala ako sa ganda ng title. hahaha!)

A really cute touch I found was their cutlery. It had Hello Kitty on it! Hahahaha.. I'm honestly not a Hello Kitty fan, but it was cute to suddenly discover your spoon had a design etched on it. You could hardly tell, unless the spoon is hit by the light properly. But when we discovered it Joe and I spent quite a bit of time trying to capture the image with our cameras. Thank goodness for macro focus.

can you see the kitty?

kitty up close

After dinner I decided to walk around the restaurant and try to capture some of the more interesting knick knacks that constituted their decor. Since the place was quite full I couldn't really get to some of the better spots and had to make do with where I could reach, without annoying some innocent patron.

they've got whoozits and whatzits galore

you want, thingamabobs? they've got plenty

postcards and things

Then, as with all things and all places, we took pictures of ourselves. :)

Yo! Joe!

people who like to eat

picture permutation #1

picture permutation #2

I suppose dessert at Frazzled Cook would have been great too, but we wanted to live up to being food trippers that night. So, on our way home, we detoured off into Bicutan stop at The Cake Planet and Cafe. I don't remember what I ate, but this is what the cakes looked like:

I took so long taking this picture Francis got mad at me na

A perfectly delicious, tho imperfect cake

enjoying the cake

 And guess who followed us to dessert!!!

the cat waves again!

All eating done on location at The Frazzled Cook, 916 Luna Mencias St., Bgy Addition Hills, Mandaluyong City. Tel No. (632)7825980 or (632) 7253354,  http://www.thefrazzledcook.com/ and The Cake Planet and Cafe at #91 Don Soledad Ave., Better Living Subd., Paranaque. Tel No. (632) 6212857. You can find The Cake Planet on Facebook.

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