The Foodinista: Burgers

Carnivale, S Maison Conrad Pasay City (CLOSED)

Friday, April 28, 2017

Carnivale

I was invited together with other bloggers and influencers to attend Carnivale's media event last January. I got so excited when I was invited to this event cause i've been eyeing for the hippy nostalgic concept of the restaurant which did really caught my attention that makes me want to visit.

Carnivale is a circus whimsical themed restaurant located in Conrad Hotel's S Maison Mall, 2nd Floor. The interior looks like a circus specifically designed with vintage marquee lights that gives the feeling that you are in a carousel.

Carnivale is a creation of Chef Mikel Zaguirre - the same master behind the famous Locavore, Empingao and Taqueria 101 Fame. Carnivale's main inspiration according to Chef Kel are our childhood greasy favorites like burgers, fries, and nuggets. He wants to create a play in the food's character - of its texture and temperature which just suits how Carnivale would want its image to be presented.

During the event we were greeted by Sous Chef Patrick who explained how their burgers and patties are made and all the process they go through to create these remarkable dishes.

Sous Chef Patrick

Their cashier area looks like a circus ticket booth, fineeee it is too adorable. Props to the man who conceptualize this restaurant and took every detail seriously. Their bill trays even have stuffed toy animals attached to it. Pinch me!

Some of us were also given a chance to spin our own cotton candies during the event and we were all like kids watching our candies being spinned inside the machine. <3 Such a nostalgic moment!

On the normal days though it's priced at P60 per cotton candy and when I visited Carnivale the 2nd time around I keep seeing kids persuading their parents to go to the cotton candy cart, halt for a moment and just watch their candies be made.

And Oh! Their menu looks like Tarot Cards too so if you have a hard time choosing which one to order just take a pick and you're good to go! Haha!

Food Line Up the Event

For our Starter we were served to try the French Onion Croquettas. It's made of french onion jam, tri-color nacho chip crust, red onion mayonnaise, gratinated gruyere cheese and sriracha. I really love how the gruyerre cheese was incorporated to this dish that added a saltiness to it. The mix of sweet and sour taste were the dominant flavors which i'm not much a fan of so i'm giving it a 3.5/5. Just a plus point for it being easy to eat!

French Onion Croquettas P280

The Sosy Fries

Salted Egg Fries P220

Oh gosh! I really love these two fries. I still can't even decide which one is my favorite cause both tastes so good. The Salted Egg Fries is a twice fried fried potato frites, season with salted egg powder, pepper and garnished with pickled onions on top. I had mixed feelings on this cause of the pickled onion. During the event I didn't like it cause the fries absorbed too much of its flavor, the fries tasted too sour and became less crispy. But when I came back and ordered it again, I LOVED IT. I thought the salted egg powder was too much but when eaten with the pickled onion it give you a balance of sweet and salty.

Truffle Fries P220

Truffle Fries - House made twice fried potatoes frites glazed with truffle dressing and shaved parmesan. I love this too. Everything seasoned with truffle tastes delicious to me lol so when I saw this on the menu I knew I just had to order it and gladly it didn't disappoint!
What makes their fries different from others would probably be it's CRISPINESS. Regardless if you had your fries sitting their for more than 20 min. it'll still be CRISPY AF!

Wangus Burger P360

Now the BURGER. It was an easy decision to order this again cause it's the cheapest on their menu but aside from that it seems to be the most familiar so if you don't want to try something new this is the one to try. Carnivale's meats are freshly grounded and their patties are hand-made daily! They use a vacuum to to pack it before storage so that it won't dry up in the fridge.

Cut in Half

This is the WANGUS BURGER it is made of butter toasted brioche bun, sous vide angus beef, two hour tomato confit, gratinated yellow cheddar and onion relish. It was a GREAT decision to order this. My boyfriend and I shared one burger and asked for it to be cut in half. It was surprisingly filling and the serving is big. The meat was so tender and juicy - THIS IS A MUST TRY!!!

Ferrero Burger P380

For dessert, it's a FERRERO BURGER. Dang! Wasn't ready for this. It came to our table shining, shimmering, splendid. LOL. My jaw drop when it came out and I was literally just looking at it for a couple of minutes. It was so beautiful. The gold edible glitter gave it a sparkle it was almost not edible and too pretty to eat.

The Ferrero burger is made of gold dust giant profiterole, sugar kracklin, dark chocolate and kahlua ganache, toasted almond flakes, Nutella ice cream and dark chocolate bits.

I'm rating it a 3.5/5 for the reason that the presentation looked too beautiful but it didn't taste like it. Adding the almonds was a mistake it didn't went well with the other ingredients included. Everything was good except for that one ingredient that ruined it all. Though I love the Nutella ice cream and it didn't melt quickly. Still a must try for people who love desserts like me! It's a bit too pricey for a dessert that i'd rather order 2 Wangus than order this, I think they have to adjust the prices of their desserts.

Restaurant

Overall, I had a fun experience attending the event and going back the 2nd time around was worth it. I will definitely come back for the fries. I just wish they'll have burgers in smaller servings and cheaper price. This is a place I would love to dine with my family. It feels so surreal that the ambiance and the food combined altogether will just make you reminisce the best times of your childhood life.

Burgers

Sweet Ecstasy, Jupiter Makati

Monday, February 13, 2017

The Double P265

Burger Ecstasy located in Jupiter St. is another fave burger joint of mine! This is my second visit already and I went back cause of the chill ambiance and good food. A perfect place to hang out with my best buds and my boyfriend that keeps me going back!

Sweet Ecstasy Store Hours

Their menu is simple and straightforward. They only have 3 types of burger to choose from: The Hamburger, Cheeseburger and The Double. They also have Flavoured Chicken Wings (Soy Honey, Sriracha Lime, Thai Red Curry, Honey BBQ), Fries, Onion Rings, Milkshakes and even Adult Milkshakes.

The interior is very Cubao Expo vibers with all those vintage posters and industrials designs. Lakas maka-indie!

The Double Cheeseburger

Cheeseburger | The Double (Cheeseburger) for P265

The cheeseburgers are a classic. No fancy no frills burger but super satisfactory. I love the thickness of the patty which makes the P265 so sulit but the buns were a little too oily for me. You can change the buns to lettuce by the way for a healthier option. The patty tastes so good in every bite, it is so flavorful. The melted cheddar cheese in between the patties made it an even better combination. Their burgers are made with 100% beef and no fillers.

My only comment here is that it's too pricey for the size which is a little bitin than your usual burger but we both had a great time munching on it! I like how filling it is yet didn't end up bloating me.

honest-to-goodness comfort food

Ecstasy Fries P130

Ecstasy Fries P130

The fries reminded me a lot of Wendy's Thick Cut Potato Fries. This one is made with real potatoes, sprinkled with salt, topped with their 'secret' ecstasy sauce (A little sweet and has the same texture with Mayo) melted cheddar and sauteed onions. Nomnom!

Matcha Milkshake P185

Green Tea Milkshake P185
Ahhh My favorite! Love anything with green tea and I must say this one easily became a part of my top 10 milkshake favorites. The milkshake has a very good consistency. I like that's it's not too heavy to drink and filling despite being made with real ice cream. It's not too sweet as well which is one of the characteristics why milkshakes aren't really my fave but this one has no umay factor at all!