π Breakfast and Pies Fail, It should be called Tinaπ instead

Today's siblings lunch brought us all the way to Maginhawa Street (or I think more accurately Malingap) because I wanted to bring Sofia to see the doctor so we decided to eat nearby instead.

While there are several foodie recommended places near the area,
I've heard a lot about π Breakfast and Pies, so I dragged my siblings to try it.

I love breakfast, so any place that serves it all day,
has my vote --- until they lose it that is!

Pie is owned by the same owner as Pino which I visited before.
We were told to sit outside because the air conditioned area was full.

It was the same place we sat in when we visited Pino. You can read about that here.

We ordered our normal breakfast favorites and we had quite a hard time ordering for Sofia because her first choice of waffles and Chicken was out of stock, and when I asked if I could order Spam on the side for her (which they offer on the menu - but not as a side) they said no, so clearly, they are trained to follow rules and be in flexible, rather than go the extra mile for customer service.

While we were waiting, we looked at the pies, breads and pastries.

These are supposedly the pies they are famous for.
We were planning to order some to try...

But it was the breads and pastries that intrigued me as
we were waiting for our order, because everything
sounded good, and looked so cheap!

Our top picks to try before we saw it was the Dulce de Leche Spanish Bread,
and the Milo Pastel. 

In the end, we opted to try the Dulce de Leche Spanish Bread (Php25),
and the regular Spanish Bread (Php15) which turned out to be so much better.

Another surprise favorite was the Ricotta Ensaymada (Php25) which was
so soft and fluffy, and generously topped with cheese and  a few ricotta bits.

I also ordered a Molongo Cappuccino to go with it,
but I wasn't really impressed.

At Php70 for a single serve coffee capsule, I could make a much better
Nespresso Cappuccino at half the price. 

Breakfast only went downhill from there.

Ady and I both wanted Eggs Benny. It's a good thing we decided to share.

Worst Poached Eggs EVER! Does it look like a hard boiled egg to you?

It was so bad, Ady said that the Eggs Benny of Kanto is so much better,
and that doesn't even count as a real restaurant!

You can read my post on Kanto here.

I ordered Chocolate Cookie Dough which was cheap for (Php145),
but then it looked and tasted so bad even Sofia would not eat it.

Good thing she also had a side order of shoestring potatoes (Php45)
so she wasn't totally with no food.

Ady and I also ordered the Ultimate Bacon Rice (Php385) which I think
was overpriced given that it was severely under seasoned, (eggs included)
 and who would think you can get bacon wrong!?!

They served the bacon with some bacon jam, and call me ignorant, but I really didn't get how you're supposed to eat it with the bacon slab and the rice? Were we supposed to mix it all in?

I tried eating it with the Ricotta Ensaymada, and it was okay,
but the Esnaymada was still much better without it.

Timmy had the Wagyu Beef Sirloin Tapa (Php245) with Kimchi Rice
and I think he thought the Kimchi Rice could have had more bite.

Over-all, the breakfast was really such a disappointment that I am not sure my siblings will ever trust me to choose where we will eat again, hahaha, while they remember this. It was so bad, Ady, the dessert queen, refused to even try their pies!

Good thing I found a few things I liked, so it wasn't a totally wasted trip.

I was able to buy Spanish Bread and Ricotta Ensaymada for breakfast at work tomorrow. As I mentioned in my title, they really should just change their name to Tinaπ instead. just saying.

π Breakfast and Pies

39 Malingap, Teachers Vill QC
Open Daily 7am-10pm
Call 2121212 for Delivery
Call 4411773 for Reservations & Pickups

P365 TE Day 334

One of the finished Stained Glass windows of The Sagrada Familia 

Travel Bite: The Sagrada Familia is a large Roman Catholic Church in Barcelona that is the work of Antoni Gaudi. Unfortunately, the Church stands unfinished, but despite that, it's considered a UNESCO World Heritage site and was consecrated by Pope Benedict as a minor Basilica in 2010.

Location: Barcelona, Spain
Date Photo Taken: August 2009 

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of Nov 15: 280

P365 TE Running Points: 904 out of 945 as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

P365 TE Day 333

Port Vell

Travel Bite: Port Vell is a waterfront harbor in Barcelona built as part of the Urban Renewal Program in 1992 prior to the Olympics. What used to be old rundown warehouses is a nice place to walk from La Rambla to the beaches.


Location: Barcelona, Spain
Date Photo Taken: August 2009 

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of Nov 15: 280

P365 TE Running Points: 901 out of 942 as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

Cafe Lidia, another great Hole in the Wall discovery in Marikina

Last weekend, we had an early lunch at Cafe Lidia, a hole in the wall place I've never heard of in Marikina, which was introduced to us by Man, one of my friends who were treating us to lunch to celebrate the birthdays of Chips and Man.

Thanks for the birthday treat and for our new hole in the wall discovery.

Due to our busy schedules, we met for early lunch on a Sunday (so in my mind, we were going for brunch).

That said, I was really excited to try their coffee especially when the
menu had pictures of latte art. I just ordered the normal cappuccino.

Their coffee was good enough not to need any sweetener,
so you could see the little piggy even after I finished my coffee.

Thanks so much Ninang Faith for buying Sofia's mini-
croissants :)

For lunch, Sofia had the Boneless Crispy Fried Chicken and it was so good.

I forgot to take a picture of my Salpicao, but Chipsy
ordered the same thing. The beef was tender, the serving
was generous, but it was a bit sweet.

I was able to take a picture of everyone else's food though.
I tried the Pizza and I thought it wasn't worth the calories, but I had it cold.

It must have been pretty good out of the oven because Tim ordered this
Pizza and finished it all by himself. Hahaha. just saying.

Tiana ordered the Waldorf salad and I was snacking on
the candied walnuts for dessert, but it had too much mayo.

Group picture before Man had to leave.

We missed you Kim, Frank and kids.

It was another matchy matchy kind of day for us.

Sof escaping to play with Viele after she ate her lunch.

Spot the difference. Ninang ng bayan with her two inaanaks.

I didn't realize we were staying at the same place for coffee,
but I couldn't order again because I already had my coffee fix.
They warn that the white mocha is sweet, and so is the hazelnut cappuccino,
so I found the normal cappuccino to be the best.

Coffee prices are quite reasonable.

The ambiance of Cafe Lidia has a sort of homey meshed with retro feel.

They have an inner garden where there's a pseudo wishing well.
Thanks Ninang Faith for the photos.

They also have a swing where we took some pics.
In the top one, everybody say "ASHI!!!" 

Thanks again Chipsy and Man for your birthday treat, in addition to that, we discovered another hole in the wall which has the potential to be a favorite. just saying.

If you decide to try Cafe Lidia, you may also want to visit our other favorite Marikina Foodie destinations. You can read my post on that here.

Cafe Lidia

64 Calderon Street 

Calumpang, Marikina

http://www.cafe-lidia.com/

P365 TE Day 332

How they prepare Paella in Spain

Travel Bite: You can't come to Spain and NOT eat Paella. No need to say more.

Location: Barcelona, Spain
Date Photo Taken: August 2009 

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of Nov 15: 280

P365 TE Running Points: 899 out of 939 (as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

My Top Picks from Breakfast at Antonio's

I was lucky enough to spend half of last week in Tagaytay for work.

This was our view from our hotel room.

Aside from achieving what we set out to accomplish on the work front, it was also a good break for everyone.

Fortunate to be part of this great team of leaders, waiting to be seated
so we could have dinner at Breakfast at Antonio's.

I've been to Antonio's before, you can read about it here and while I enjoyed it, I wasn't as impressed with the food as the real Antonio's, which you can also read about here. It was only in my recent visits (because we went twice! yes! it was that good!) that I discovered that perhaps I was just not ordering the right thing.

Since servings are known to be quite generous, four of us decided to order different dishes to share among us.

We ordered Fresh Corned Beef with scalloped potatoes.
I think this was normal, and if you actually crave for corned beef,
you can go to Old Swiss Inn which is just beside our office.

Then we ordered two servings of tapa, because everyone was raving about
it, but I found it to be normal. A disadvantage to having a mom who makes
great tapa. 

Then we also ordered Homemade Chorizo which I loved.
Burst of flavor in every bite. Serving was super generous too.

Now, I wouldn't be known in the office as the "Panggitna (food for sharing) Champ" if I didn't order something for the everyone to share... so I did.

My choice was the Portobello Mushroom Wheat Toast topped with Foie Gras
and served with two eggs. It was the bomb! 

This is what my Sampler Plate looked like after everything was allocated.

The Portobello Mushroom toast with Foie Gras was the best!
Perfect for 4 pax to share because it's really indulgent.

We capped off the meal with a slice of Salted Caramel Cheesecake
(to share!). It went really well with the decaf americano.

Luckily, on our last day in Tagaytay, our Bulalo lunch was upgraded to
Breakfast at Antonio's. Here's the wonderful team I work with,
photo bomber waiter not included.

This time around, I only found 1 person to share with, and I focused only
on my two favorite dishes. The Chorizo and the Portobello Foie Gras toast.

This dish is definitely brings my view of Breakfast at Antonio's
to the same level as the famous original restaurant! just saying.

Breakfast at Antonio's

Aguinaldo Highway, 

Bagong Tubig, Tagaytay 4120

Phone:(046) 413 0975

Reservations not accepted