Shi Lin Restaurant's Steamed Goodness

Forced my brother to pose in front of Shi Lin

"SHI LIN is an authentic Taiwanese Restaurant which specializes in Dumplings, Buns, and noodles- hand made, fresh everyday!" as stated on their page.

I love open kitchens because I get to peek at the food preparation.

I eat at their Fort branch almost every other weekend and I always, ALWAYS get their Xiao Long Bao. It's their best seller out of all their dumplings. This post will focus on some of their steamed offers. Xiao Long Bao is a steamed dumpling filled with hot broth and traditionally pork. Beware! If you eat it like a siaomai (I intentionally spelled it like this bec. this is how it was on their menu) then expect it to burst and have the broth spill all over you. There is a way to properly eat it. 1.) Be sure not to break the skin when picking it up and dipping into the sauce with chopsticks 2.) Bite into the skin creating a small hole to suck the broth. You can then add more sauce into it.

Left: Xiao Long Bao (P165/6 pcs. or P275/10 pcs.) | Right: Mushroom and Vegetable Dumpling (P175/6 pcs.)

They were prepared in xiaolong which are small steaming baskets made of bamboo and this gave a feeling of authenticity to the dining experience. The Mushroom and Vegetable dumpling had spinach and was very tasty. You mix your own sauce using soy sauce, vinegar, and shredded ginger according to your preference. All their dumplings go well with the sauce. Ask for extra ginger!

                       Shrimp and Pork Dumplings (P165/6 pcs.) 

The Shrimp and Pork Dumplings were good too but I mostly only tasted the pork part. There was also Shrimp and Pork Siaomai on the menu and I learnt that the difference was that the siaomai had the shrimp exposed on top of the wrapper while the dumpling kind had it already mixed in with the pork. I guess I'm not a picky eater because I liked everything I ever ordered so far... or maybe everything is just really too good not to like? All their dumplings rest on steamed cloth to prevent them from sticking to the bamboo and then bursting.

Oh my gosh. Look at her buns. Red Bean Bun (P108)

I had to have something for dessert. These are red bean but they had taro buns/dumplings too. I tried to not let these look like boobs in my shot! lol. I mentioned boobs already so you might imagine boobs when you look at the photo on the right. Anywaaaay, these were deliciously soft and delicate! They serve it super hot so be careful when biting into it. Don't be like my brother who burnt his tongue when he put half of it immediately into his mouth =))

Casual vibes. First floor of the restaurant.

It's pretty casual so you can wear your shorts and t-shirts and you won't be judged. They also serve coffee! Check out the photo below to see their coffee and tea items for sale.

These aren't for our regular 3-in-one and lipton tea bags. lol. 

Wow! You're almost at the end of my post! If you'd love to try Xiao Long Bao, Shi Lin also has branches in Power Plant Mall, The Podium, ATC, and Lucky Chinatown Mall. I also highly recommend these:

• Fried Rice w/ Pork Chop and Egg (P238)- Good for two! YOU MUST TRY THE RICE!!!
• Cool Almond Jelly with Lychee (P108)- so simple yet super yummy and refreshing.
• Pork Bun (P125)- Their siopao tastes sosyal. :))
• Japanese Cucumber (P120)- I'm trying to recreate this at home bec. I think it's just apple cider vinegar, garlic, and cucumber. Tastes so good though.

Location: Global Commercenter Bldg. 4th ave. Cor. 31st St. Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

Open 11:30 -15:00 ; 17:30 - 22:00

Contact number: 0917 7408567/ 859 7012

[Inna Paredes is a BS Tourism student at the University of the Philippines Asian Institute of Tourism who's favorite past time is watching Youtube beauty and fashion guru videos. When she isn't buried in books, she's out discovering food places with her friends and family. This girl is always, ALWAYS ready for dessert and derives great pleasure from eating gelato and dark chocolate.]

Treat yourselves this Halloween to Gillian Gail Dessert Buffet!

It's nearing Halloween and what is Halloween without candy? (Answer: Not Halloween) Spoil your sweet tooth with unlimited Dessert! From snicker-doodles to Panna cotta, have as much as you can handle. I can handle a lot so this type of buffet is super sulit!

Photo source

Gillian Gail Dessert Buffet just opened in June 2014. The interiors are cutesy and comfortable with light blue & white painted walls and playfully decorated counters. The place is good to de-stress with desserts and friends. (Stressed is desserts spelled backwards!! Mind=blown)

Dessert Buffet

Php 299 (with unlimited drinks - coffee, tea, or house blend iced tea)

Php 399 (with unlimited drinks and Rice topping & sauce - salmon/chicken)

*Prices inclusive of VAT and service charge

Priced at P299-P399, you can stay and eat for a maximum of 3 hours. Just get up if you know your time is up because they didn't remind us about our time when we ate there which I think is pretty nice of them. They serve more than just desserts. Nachos, tea and coffee are included in the buffet  to cleanse your palate. Anti-sawa.                                                               

             

Dessert table was clean and colored by different types of desserts. (c) Xinnia Fadirugao for these two photos.

Service was good. The staff were nice and didn't get tired serving our tea and coffee. They'll present to you a menu where you can order the listed "chilled" or "to be prepared" desserts (inc. fried palitaw, macarons, panna cotta, crepes, and more) In this buffet, left-overs are a no-no. It's a good thing to practice because wasted food is wasted money. So remember to order only what you think you can finish. Bawal takaw-mata.

I didn't take photos of my own :( A plate of sweet  (c) Allie Dizon

*drool* My favorites include their cakes and cupcakes. Realize that a slice of cake costs P50+ somewhere and here, you can devour a whole round of cake if you can. I took advantage of this and had 3-4 slices of different flavored cakes. The pink blob in the photo was a rice crispy treat (If I remember correctly) covered in strawberry chocolate. Fruits were also available but it wasn't the right time and place to act all healthy.

Sugar for your consumption (c) Allie Dizon

Unlimited ice cream!!! If you think they have Magnum because of the photo on the freezer, then you got your hopes up. They had Cornetto and Selecta ice cream to be decorated by your choice of toppings (sprinkles, marshmallows, gummies).

Quality

I'm being super honest here. There were hits and misses. Not everything was top quality delicious but most of the ones I tasted were pretty good and delightful! I loved their cakes the most but didn't like their macarons. For a bargain price of P299, it was well worth the variety of desserts you get to taste and the overall pleasurable experience. I have yet to try their rice toppings.

Gillian Gail Dessert Buffet announced on their Facebook something special for Halloween on October 31st! Get in the Halloween spirit by dressing up and surrounding yourself with all their sweet goodies!

Location: 3rd floor The Oracle Hotel and Residences, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City

Open from 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Contact number: 502 3033

[Inna Paredes is a BS Tourism student at the University of the Philippines Asian Institute of Tourism who's favorite past time is watching Youtube beauty and fashion guru videos. When she isn't buried in books, she's out discovering food places with her friends and family. This girl is always, ALWAYS ready for dessert and derives great pleasure from eating gelato and dark chocolate.]

Kashmir Deli's Shawarma (Falafel and Chicken)

Kashmir Deli is a tiny Indian food place located in San Antonio Plaza Makati between Isogi and the stairway leading to National Bookstore.

It gets crowded when eight people are inside.

I saw their website  and got confused because most of the food on their online menu were not available in the place we went to so I thought it was a different resto with the same name. Turns out that the one in San Antonio is just their mini store where people mostly order for  take-out. Hence, the deli part of the name. You can get their frozen food here too. The place is small but still comfortable to eat in Because there are mini couches and magazines to read. The food on display were ready to be deep-fried or heated up so you quickly get your food once you order.

Kashmir Deli Counter

I have not tried everything on their menu yet but I swear on their shawarmas! I always get the falafel one because it's very flavorful and filling. Falafel is a deep-fried middle-eastern food made of ground chickpeas and spices. Their pita bread / wrap is good too! Falafel is vegetarian but I'm not so sure if it's still healthy because it's been deep-fried. Their shawarmas come with lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. You can always ask for more servings if you want or add unlimited white or spicy red sauce too! The white one is garlic-yoghurt.(I think ... or they might have used mayo). One order is already very satisfying.

One order has 3 falafel balls and lots of vegetables. (P160) Extra pita wrap (P15)

They also have chicken, beef, or vegetable shawarmas which are all yummy! You can request to have the vegetables served separately.

Half of the chicken of the chicken shawarma (P160)

For dessert, they have Gulab Jamun for P25 / pc. It's an Indian dessert of fried milk dough drenched in sweet syrup. It tasted pretty ordinary but I liked it since I like anything sweet after all. I can describe it as wet chiffon cake lol. I liked the honey syrup and pistachio bits. They also sell mango chutney.

Gulab Jamun photo is from  here . Mango chutney in a jar (P120) 

Kashmir Deli address: San Antonio Plaza Arcade,

50 Mckinley Road, Forbes Park, Makati

Kashmir branches: Ermita, Makati and Rustan's

Indian, Middle Eastern, Malaysian, Arabian Cuisine

11 am-10pm

[Inna Paredes is a BS Tourism student at the University of the Philippines Asian Institute of Tourism who's favorite past time is watching Youtube beauty and fashion guru videos. When she isn't buried in books, she's out discovering food places with her friends and family. This girl is always, ALWAYS ready for dessert and derives great pleasure from eating gelato and dark chocolate.]