For the past nine months, Eat To Your Heart's Content has posted only a few food articles - Haagen Dazs' Bids Farewell and Minnie's Sweet Creations were posted in August 2012. Bacolod City was my focus in October so I published articles about Piaya and Pendy's while my last post was in January 2013 featuring Marciano's Restaurant in Greenbelt 3. A grand total of five posts in nine months does not mean I have not been savoring various dining destinations.
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| Eat To Your Heart's Content continues the pursuit of discovering deliriously delicious dining destinations |
Over the past several months, I have been munching my way around the metro. I have been to Grand Momma's Kitchen and got cozy in their homey ambiance, satiate myself with sumptuous bites after bites of Vanilla Cupcake Bakery's mouthwatering cupcakes in various hues, enjoyed Bono Artisanal Gelato despite the cool weather since December 2012 and jumped with joy when Cupcakes by Sonja opened this summer at the New Glorietta wing. All these and so much more shall be posted in the coming days and weeks to come here at Eat To Your Heart's Content.
So why the very few articles for the past nine months? I had numerous technical problems - mega slow internet connection since June 2012 (i really do not know why) and problems with my laptop which eventually was too much to handle (sorry I didn't have the heart to throw it on the floor and crash it with my bare fists). Not knowing that my external hard drive was carrying a virus from my day job, I plugged it in my laptop and the rest as they say is history. As the saying goes sh!# happens, well it happened in a very chaotic manner which affected my pursuit of writing delicious discoveries and sharing it here! These unfortunate circumstances did not mean I stopped searching for deliriously delicious dining discoveries though. The hunt is never-ending! A daunting task but someone (wink) has got to do it!
So why the very few articles for the past nine months? I had numerous technical problems - mega slow internet connection since June 2012 (i really do not know why) and problems with my laptop which eventually was too much to handle (sorry I didn't have the heart to throw it on the floor and crash it with my bare fists). Not knowing that my external hard drive was carrying a virus from my day job, I plugged it in my laptop and the rest as they say is history. As the saying goes sh!# happens, well it happened in a very chaotic manner which affected my pursuit of writing delicious discoveries and sharing it here! These unfortunate circumstances did not mean I stopped searching for deliriously delicious dining discoveries though. The hunt is never-ending! A daunting task but someone (wink) has got to do it!
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| Life Is Sweet Year 3 coming this July 2013 |
So for anyone out there who regularly checks this little food blog, I sincerely apologize for the very few posts for the last nine months, but I assure you, you will truly enjoy each restaurant destination I will bring to you in the coming weeks and months. Don't forget, July is just around the corner and Eat To Your Heart's Content will celebrate its Third Year with Life is Sweet. I have been scouring the Metro and some parts of our beautiful archipelago to bring you the sweetest treats for our annual ritual.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves as it's still the month of May and I am positive many of you celebrated Mother's Day. For those who did not want to join the crowd, either celebrated it ahead of time or after May 12. Allow me to share with you one of my Mother's Day treat for my dearest mom. Yes it's one, since I prepared numerous treats for her - one day is not enough to make her feel special.
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| Barbara's Restaurant in Intramuros, Manila |
Being an old soul, my mom is in her early 70s, I was certain she would enjoy good ol' Filipino food and a touch of Philippine Culture. So for this special treat, we headed to Barbara's Restaurant in Intramuros.
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| An elegant staircase at Barbara's Restaurant |
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| Intricately designed wooden main door at Barbara's Restaurant |
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| Dining room at Barbara's Restaurant lights up with beautiful chandeliers |
It was an exciting dinner date with my mom. We arrived early, before 7pm but when we arrived, some tables were already occupied. Perhaps other guests arrived as early as 630pm the moment the dinner buffet opens. Upon entering the ballroom, I felt instantly transformed by the setting. Old charm was upon us! From the dark wooden stairs, a huge and thick wooden door to the intricate designs of each wooden chair and wooden ceiling. Chandeliers were everywhere and the table setting was adorned with a bouquet of flowers as the centerpiece and each hand napkins were beautifully folded and placed in the water glass.
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| Grilled Fish served at Barbara's Restaurant |
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| Grilled Chicken, one of the main dishes at Barbara's Restaurant dinner buffet |
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| Pinakbet ala Barbara's Restaurant |
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| Flavorful Pancit, the noodle dish served at the dinner buffet |
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| Desserts at Barbara's Restaurant |
As for the buffet table, it had a modest offering of Filipino dishes and desserts. Main dishes were Grilled Tuna and Grilled Chicken which you can pair with Pinakbet where the sauce is created using tomato sauce. Egg Misua soup, Salad with a choice of Lollo Rosso, Ice Berg Lettuce and fresh red tomatoes. Pancit and white rice were also available. There were three kinds of desserts which I truly enjoyed - Sweetened Saba Banana with Sesame Seeds, Gelatine with diced apples and pineapple chunks and my favorite - Sweetened Cassava (kamoteng kahoy).
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| Tinikling performed as part of the Cultural show at Barbara's Restaurant |
As for the highlight of the evening, the Cultural Show featured local talents dressed in native Philippine costumes and danced a variety of well-loved traditional Pinoy dances including Tinikling (a well-known traditional Filipino dance using bamboo poles as the picture suggests).
I could see in my mom's face her sheer delight during our dinner date. She loved the food, the cultural show that reminded of her childhood and the atmosphere of the golden Fil-Spanish era long gone. To this day, my mom continue to share her delight for the staff of Barbara's Restaurant who constantly assisted her whenever she would come back to and from the buffet table.
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| Barbara's Restaurant in Intramuros, Manila |
Barbara's Restaurant offers Lunch Buffet (Php395+) with acoustic entertainment and Dinner Buffet (Php495+) with cultural show. The latter is available from Mondays to Saturdays, dinner starts at 630pm and cultural performance starts at 715pm.
Where did you celebrate Mother's Day? If you're still searching for ideas, continue to check Eat To Your Heart's Content as I share with you more dining destinations that I am sure you, your mom and the rest of your family or even barkada (peers) will enjoy!
Hope you continue to check out Eat To Your Heart's Content for deliriously delicious dining discoveries. You may also want to check my travel blog Savvy Sojourns which is still on its soft launch. As I always say, Live Well, Laugh Often, Eat To Your Heart's Content!
SECTION : BON APPETITE!
BARBARA'S RESTAURANT
Plaza San Luis Complex
Pie Rivera is a food columnist of Republic of 7107 Island Travel Magazine. For subscriptions to the magazine, you may email them at subscription@7107magazine.ph.
Feel free to email me at eattoyourheartscontent@gmail.com - I love to hear from you.
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All photos in this site were captured by Pie Rivera unless otherwise stated.
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