The Foodinista: Taft

Tabletaft Boardgame Cafe, University Mall

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

TableTaft is a brand new and insanely fun hangout place in Taft. Students in the Taft area can now experience a fun filled and stress relieving good time with friends and classmates with their extensive collection of over 150 modern designer boardgames! Compliment your gaming sessions with their snacks, rice bowls, pastas, and milkshakes that will surely satisfy your cravings while you play.

Tabletaft Boardgame Cafe, University Mall

TableTaft is located at the 2nd Floor of University Mall in Malate, Manila literally just beside LRT Vito Cruz Station and just a few steps away from DLSU South Gate. It's a pretty spacious boardgame cafe that can cater up to 70 people.

I'm really not new to the current era of modern boardgames, but the ones I've gone to before are located at Makati, Quezon City and Pasig. Finally, I'm glad that a new boardgame cafe has opened in the Manila area that's really accessible due to it being right next to an LRT Station and a main road where different buses and jeepneys pass by.

Interior (Old photo during their soft opening)

The cafe has a very homey, light, and minimalistic vibe. The white brick wall on one side of the cafe gives the place a very clean yet classy and modern look.

I'm fascinated with the level of details they put into the design and intricacies of the cafe. They even have a few giant Monopoly inspired "property cards" hanging on one side of the cafe where they changed the properties from the original game into different intersections of Taft Avenue such as P. Ocampo, Pedro Gil, and Kalaw. On the opposite wall is a chalk mural of different icons and characters from various classic and modern boardgames.

Chalkboard Graffiti

For first timers, they have a list of boardgames for first time players. Here, they recommend different boardgames for different types of game mechanics such as cooperative games, luck-based games, friendship over/bluffing games, party games, and competitive strategy games. This is a great way of introducing the modern era of boardgames to beginners. But if you prefer a more personal approach, they have a full-time game coach to help you choose games and even teach you and guide you through the games.

Hall of Fame

150+ Board Games

FOOD

Jalapeño Poppers

Their Jalapeño Poppers is the perfect finger food if you want to enjoy your meal without being too messy. I surprisingly liked it despite not being a fan of Jalapeños, or anything spicy to be honest. It has the right amount of spiciness and wasn't too intimidating.

I appreciate that most of the food they serve here are made with the thought of "playing while eating" in mind. They make sure the food can be eaten without messing up the games.

Jalapeño Poppers

Beef Salpicao

TableTaft's Beef Salpicao is one of my favorites! The meat is tender, very buttery and sautéed perfectly. I usually mix the rice bowl first so that the I can spread the butter evenly. It's not dry and even the mushrooms were well-seasoned. <3

Beef Salpicao

Crispy Mushroom Pasta
The most sulit P150 I've spent for a pasta dish. A penne pasta lathered in white sauce topped with bits of crispy oyster mushroom with a side of garlic bread. The sauce has a creamy buttery taste which I find a little too much when I finish the whole plate. I would prefer if the mushrooms were bigger instead of the mushroom bits which I think will add more flavor to the dish.
One of the TableTaft's MUST-TRY Pasta Dish!

Crispy Mushroom Pasta

Salsa Verde Fish Fillet

Dory fish topped with white cream sauce mixed with chopped kangkong. Perfect for those who want a light yet filling rice bowl. :)

Salsa Verde Fish Fillet

Chicken Teriyaki

Chicken thigh drizzled in savory special teriyaki sauce sprinkled with sesame seeds.

MUST-ORDER!

This is one of TableTaft's best-selling dish and according to them some students keep coming back for this. <3 Teriyaki's aren't my thing cause i'm not a fan of sweet-savory food but their version of Teriyaki has the perfect balance of sweet and salty that makes it bearable for me to eat. The chicken was pretty tender too, I loved it!

Chicken Teriyaki

DRINKS & DESSERTS

SPECIAL BREWED ICED TEA P50

Iced tea has been a staple drink in many fast food chains and restaurants especially in the Philippines. With the number of restaurants creating their own version of this much loved drink it became pretty challenging for me to look for the best one. When I discovered Tabletaft's Special Brewed Iced Tea it was love at first sip! It's very light and has a distinct leafy taste that makes it refreshing and unique among other Iced Teas i've tried. Definitely one of the best in town!

Special Brewed Iced Tea

ICED COFFEE

Iced Coffee

MILO DINO

Milo Dino

S'MORES MILKSHAKE

S'mores Milkshake

OREO COFFE JELLY
It's simple yet very tasty. I love the fact that it contains different things that I like such as the slight bitterness of the coffee jelly, the crunchy Oreo bits and the sweet cream poured all over.

Coffee Jelly

APPLE TURON A LA MODE
I heard from friends that this is the dessert than turns into everyone's favorite when visiting Tabletaft.
I find the taste and texture interesting when the hot apple turon is eaten with the cold vanilla ice cream on top. The contrast really spikes my tastebuds! It's also interesting how they changed the typical banana turon and instead made it with a sweet apple filling.

Apple Turon A La Mode

Students in the area can spend their breaks here whether long or short ones. It's a great place to hang out and chill with your classmates or to reunite with old friends over great food choices to compliment a fun filled boardgame session. :) Their growing collection of 150+ boardgames is more than enough for both casual players and hardcore strategists, and I'm really excited to try all their games! First time players will definitely want to come back and spend more breaks here to try and play their entire collection, and of course to try other items from the menu.

TableTaft's current operating hours is 11am – 9pm from Mondays to Wednesdays and 11am - 10pm on Thursdays to Saturdays.

Board Game

Deck MNL Board Game Cafe, Taft (CLOSED)

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Poutine Fries

Deck MNL Boardgame Cafe is one of the most recently opened board game cafe in Taft. There are already three in the area namely, Cranium; Tabletaft and Deck MNL. This one is smaller compared to the others and can cater up to 40 pax or less. They don't have a minimum order required to be able to play so one can enjoy playing already spending P100 or less. Their food is pretty affordable but the games they offer are actually fewer and less challenging which consists mostly of party games.

If you are a first-timer, I recommend this to you since most of their board games needs no strategy, no -brainer, very easy and fun!

What makes this different would probably the seating arrangement. Be ready to take off your shoes as you have to sit on the floor cause they don't have chairs in the restaurant. Though it's still comfortable since they have a lot of pillows, it's comfier and has this cozy vibe which is very attractive for students who just wants to chill and play!

Deck MNL Games

Deck MNL Menu

I went here with my boyfriend and we've tried the following:

Bacon Mozarella P125

I ordered the Bacon Mozarella for P125 which didn't impress me so much. I enjoyed the fries because of the truffle oil they add to it, the bacon was crispy but nothing was special on this particular dish.

I recommend you to try their POUTINE for P140 which I find pretty affordable for the quality. Poutine's are fries topped with gravy and cheese and sometimes ground meat, in this case they only topped it with gravy and cheese. I could say it's my favorite on their menu, it was delicious and satisfied my poutine craving. <3

I've also tried their Chicken Fingers w/ Tartar Sauce for P120 wasn't that satisfied with it cause it was to dry for me but it's filling which makes it acceptable.

For my beverage, I ordered the BUTTERCUP Milkshake for P180. I really loved it cause it's milky & creamy! But I guess others won't like it cause medyo paasa yung name ng drink. The milkshake's flavor is Vanilla but the Oreo and Peanut buttercup is just a topping. Nevertheless, I liked it :)

BUTTERCUP P180

The boyfie ordered the Spicy Buttered Chicken. It was okay. Overall their food is okay. I can't say it's super good but it's pretty cheap. I think if you're a student and just want a filling meal for lunch or dinner, okay na sila. But if you really want to spend a long time here playing and want a good meal, this isn't really the place. Anyway, they just recently opened so I i'm sure their just testing the waters as of the moment :)

SPICY BUTTERED CHICKEN P120

KUDOS to their staff btw and the owner, they are all very friendly and accommodating! <3

bokain bistro

Gokain Bistro: University Mall, Taft

Monday, October 10, 2016

Gokain Bistro

Gokain Bistro is a newly opened Korean Restaurant in Taft located specifically at University Mall. I honestly got quite excited when I first heard about them opening cause I got curious if they will be serving authentic Korean Cuisine. They just had their opening last September and the owners were so nice so I just had to pay a visit.

Whenever there's a newly opened restaurant in the Taft, I get so excited and also jealous haha, cause during our time around 2-3 years ago, there were very few good restaurants to choose from. Most of them are also quite far in Lasalle Main so I have to walk a few meters just to have a good lunch.

Gokain Bistro Restaurant

'Go Kain' which means "Let's Eat" is owned by Harry Lee who is a fresh graduate student in De La Salle College of Saint Benilde. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Culinary and so decided to open his own restaurant. A lot of Korean Student studies in Taft too which makes it a great idea to open up one. According to Harry, the idea of the restaurants names actually originated from "Ko Kain" which means "Korean Kain" but then it sounded like "Cocaine" which the building didn't allow so they made it Go Kain instead. Hahaha!

Go Kain Restaurant Interior

The restaurant has this industrial korean street vibe which makes it interesting. We visited around 3pm in the afternoon on a Saturday so don't be surprised why it seems like we're the only ones visiting. Good thing we came on that time so I was able to make chika with Harry! Haha!

Gokain Interior

I am always fond of Koreans cause they're so friendly. They can be approached easily and they open up instantly. They're super friendly talaga! No surprise magaan ang loob ko sakanila. Just a side kwento, I've had a class back in college where 90% of the students were Korean and I got to know all of them easily so it's not surprising why Harry & I became friends in an instant! Haha! I was even able to add him on Facebook.

Go Kain Menu

Anyway, this is their menu. (Check the photo above) I find the food quite pricey if I'll be speaking in behalf of the students. P190 for a lunch meal is quite hefty especially most student which only has a budget ranging only from P100 to P150. But if one is looking for an authentic or a semi-authentic Korean dish, then I would suggest you try Go Kain!

Go Kain is the closest thing you'd get to an Authentic Korean dish because the chefs are actual Koreans. Unlike some Hole in the Wall Korean Restaurants, they just know the ingredients and create their own take on the Korean Dish but they don't really know the process of creating it.

Samgyup Kimchi Bokkeum

I ordered the Samyup Kimchi Bokkeum which consists of Fried Prok, Kimchi, Rice, Fried Egg, Salad with Garlic Vinaigrette and Macaroni Salad with Sweet Creamy Mayo Sauce for P190. It tasted so freakin authentic which made me dance happily while I eat it! I even had this quick flashback of our recent Korea trip, I missed it so bad!

Gokain Bistro Samgyup Kimchi Bokkeum

I just have to commend how the rice was cooked. They used Japanese Rice and it was cooked so well even my friend who is a legit RICE Addict went back during dinner time just because of their rice. LOL. Every viand paired with a hot perfectly cooked rice will taste good would you agree? This is one of them!

Samgyup Kimchi Bokkeum

The fried pork was okay though. It was tender but didn't make any impact on me. The only thing I didn't like would be the Garlic Vinaigrette, it has this awkward onion-ish after taste that didn't go well with the dish.

GOKAIN

I still enjoyed the overall experience though cause I was eating on a mini stainless frying pan which became my plate. This is a norm in Korea. They even eat ramen on pots and their utensils are maid of stainless ware even the drinking glasses. Feel na feel ko ang pagkaKorean ko because of it. LOL.

The servers were also very attentive and they can speak english well!

Go try and visit Gokain when you drop by Taft Area!

GOKAIN

Buffalo Wings

Exile on Main St. Restaurant, Taft Review

Thursday, August 04, 2016

Exile

Exile on Main St. is one of my favorite restaurants in Vito Cruz, Taft. Apparently, despite the many restaurants in the area there are only few restaurants worth going back for. I've already been here more than 5 times and I usually eat out with friends when I come here. It's a hole-in-the-wall restaurant - not so easy to find but a lot of students know this place especially if you study in Taft. What keeps me going back here is the ambiance, it's a very chill venue to hang out with friends, drink beer after a stressful day in school - then just eat good food!

Exile on Main St.

There's a smoking area outside. The interior is quite fancy which has a hipster indie vibe to it. Tables and Utensils are hanging upside down. I also see that most decors are music related, I guess the owner's are fan of Local Music. There are also few board games that can be played here.

Exile On Main St.

FOOD

Now onto the food. What I usually order would be the following:

* Chicks-Shall-Fly (Buffalo Wings)

P205 for 12 pieces / P125 for 6 pieces

Flavours:

Escape to China - Wings in Savory, Soy Coating with a tinge of spicy finish

This is kind of my favourite flavour among others cause it's basic and simple, tasty. Slightly sweet but the soy flavour dominated the overall goodness of the chicken.

Escape to Texas - Wings coated in thick slow cooked tomato based sauce with a smokey Barbeque Hum

This flavour reminds me of sweet and sour sauce? There's a barbeque taste as well but I didn't love it as much. Mild Spicyness.

Exile on Main St. Buffalo Wings

* The White Stripes

For P155, this is a very sulit pasta.

Pasta with Fennel Sausages, made in-house, and tossed in roasted garlic and basil cream sauce

- This is the only pasta I order at Exile. I don't change orders anymore cause it's their best seller. It's like a better version of a carbonara. Home made feels, plus the sauce has the right amount of saltiness. Hoping they can add more sauce to make it more delectable.

The White Strips - Exile on Main St.

* Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

P65 Single Scoop ; P120 Double Scoop ; P175 Triple Scoop

The mother of all ice creams.

"We first made small batches of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream jus to try things out, and when our customers couldn't get enough of the lovin' we decided to churn out bigger batches and, after a few years, develop more flavors. Buth with this one, only whole milk, pure cream, eggs and natural Madagascar Vanilla Beans take center stage, which is why it remains closest to our hearts and bellies. You can ask for a drizzling of caramel, but we like it."

Ooooh! At first I was hesistant to order this ice cream cause I thought desserts aren't their specialty, but I was astounded when I had a taste of their Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. It was superb! I love it and I will keep coming back for it. I may even go their just for the ice cream. LOVE LOVE LOVE! The distinct taste of the Madagascar Vanilla Bean makes me crave for more!

Vanilla bean Ice Cream - Exile on Main St.

* Calamansi Iced Tea P35/ Single Serving ; P85 Bottomless

This is my fave! I order this all the time and they even ran out of it. The sweet and sourness of the iced tea make me crave for it. Perfect pang-alis umay for the Pasta and Chicken!

Overall Rating: 4.5./ 5
Why not a perfect score?
Hmm, let's just say I hope they add more flavor to their wings. I hope they'll add garlic parmesan or something saltier compared to their existing flavors. I love them but if there will be more options, it'll be perfect.

Pages

The Foodinista

Tabletaft Boardgame Cafe, University Mall

Deck MNL Board Game Cafe, Taft (CLOSED)

Gokain Bistro: University Mall, Taft

Exile on Main St. Restaurant, Taft Review