Flame It! – Best Burger In Cebu

Years ago, while driving home, me and my wife chanced upon this “Flame It!”grill-as-you-order burger place along Escario St. beside Golden Peak in Cebu. We knew the place was just starting and polishing the service and the place itself … smoke at times filled the small place (due to broken exhaust fans, crowded seats, limited catsup dispensers etc. But we were not really bothered with the shortcomings … the patty is not oily and never fatty. It is rightly juicy, meaty and tasteful; the burger bun with sesame seeds is nothing like it in town … soft, rich and aromatic. Their burger is just heavenly delicious … this is how burgers should be!

Flame Burger Meal

Today, they have improved on everything and is conquering the huge market of grilled burger-loving  customers like us.

They have outlets in Ayala Center Cebu (4th level); Escario, corner Tojong St.; A.S. Fortuna St., Mandaue City; Paseo, F.Cabahug St., Mabolo.

Aside from the burgers (Flame burger with/without cheese, Half pounder w/ cheese, and double cheeseburger); sausages, dressings, shakes, drinks, pasta and desserts, the house specialty includes: Tuna Burger, Special Hotdog, Cheese Steak Sanwhich, Classic Sirloin Steak, shrimp burger and a lot more. Price? resonable.

Who would not love a real thick, meaty, juicy burger grilled as you order right in front of you with tongues of flames playing over the heavenly patty. For us, the one-night-let’s-try-dinner has turned into a habit since then. We found the best!

(see recent post on 25 August 2008: Flame It …. where’s “that” patty? )

Margherita’s-Pizza, Pasta, Panini and More

I often pass the AC Cortes Avenue in Mandaue City and always see this sign, “Margherita’s”, but every time, I never had the chance to stop, until one weekend.

From a wide variety of food choices in their menu (Italian), we tried their seafood pasta and the house’s specialty, Margherita Pizza. The food is definitely tasty and delicious. The pasta cooked al dente with the aroma from the herb; the thin crust pizza, crispy and fresh from the oven. The price? reasonable.

The place is very accessible with enough parking space. 

Location: Candelaria Arcade, AC Cortes Avenue (corner SB Cabahug St.), beside BPI Bank. Tel# (032)422-3159.

Magical Sunset 1

Sundown. 

No sunset is ever the same. It is always uniquely marvelous.

Sunset. Mactan, Cebu. Philippines

Always different, but everytime, it has the same magical way of touching lives drawing one to marvel and ponder.  Seeing another sunset (or another sunrise) is a blessing in itself.  There is life in it’s sight.

Ma Mon Luk

R. Ma Mon Luk, the man behind the famous siopao and chicken mami! They refer to him as the inventor of chicken mami! and I’m a believer.

Right in the heart of Quiapo, Manila (along Quezon Blvd) stands the R.Ma Mon Luk Restaurant or Ma-Mon-Luk (pronounced, Mah-moon-look), as popularly called.  They still have a branch along Quezon Avenue, Quezon City near Banawe St, Quezon City.

Introduced by my father to the place years ago, I grew up with it (perhaps not really the same way my father and his buddies did in their university (U.S.T.) days in Manila … that was the era of the still famous Ma Mon Luk).

Waiters in short-sleeved white polo, black pants and cap(?) with pens clipped on the ears; marble tables, china wares, traditional chinese siopao steamer; “to go” or “take out” siopao wrapped in brown paper bags (better than plastic and styrofoam that end in sewerage canals (causing flooded streets), Pasig River and Manila Bay); special siopao sauce in plastic dispensers; fill-all-you-can “mami” soup; cold tap water served in two glasses at a time with your orders; extra-”mami” soup (though you did’nt order for one) with your ordered “mami” … this is the sight that you’re at the right place …     

Regular and Special Siopao

 

Tip: My father has a special urge to change the chef’s recipe for the “mami”. He fondly squirts a significant amount of siopao sauce into the ”mami” soup (ewe! or is it? ),stirs it until it turns appetizingly brown.  At times, he squirts the siopaosauce right into the spoonful of soup before slurping it down his throat (yes, that familiar sound, which only means, he’s really enjoying the food).  

Ma Mon Luk

Weird as it may sound, but I swear with my two hands up, after I tried my father’s concoction for the mami soup … my chicken mami is taken to a next level. It does put a twist in the soup’s taste … and I will grow old with it.  

Now, I’m missing my special chicken mami and special siopao …. just don’t forget my extra bowl of mami soup and two classes of cold water full of ice cubes … 

… and … I’m not passing my siopao sauce! 

(“siopao”-meat bun; “mami”-pork stock with noodles, fried garlic, spring onions, meat strips, chinese spices.)

Quiapo through Google Earth

Ice Skating in the Philippines?

Manila, Philippines

Ice Skating in the Philippines? You’re right!

SM-Mall of Asia. Philippines

We do have it for years now (the newest craze is a big Oceanarium in the same vicinity… did I hear it’s bigger than that in Singapore? … i’m not really sure, but it sure is a great place).

We can now do some “ice skating” (… i haven’t tried it though) inside the biggest shopping mall in the Philippines, the SM-Mall of Asia (SM-MOA). They even offer training sessions and in fact already produced champions in several International Competitions. The Mall has a lot to offer! From a great variety of food choices (international and local cuisines), view of the Manila Bay and sunset, shopping, 3D and THX theaters, bum-around-places, tech gadgets, groceries etc.  A day is not enough to enjoy the place!

Located at the reclamation area (within Pasay City). It’s a few minutes ride from the airports, Makati, Pasay and Manila. To get there, take a taxi cab (about Php100.00), jeepney or bus ride (at least Php20.00) along Ayala, Buendia or Roxas Boulevard.

Guide: From the Airport: Get a taxi cab. Take Uniwide Mall (along Roxas Boulevard) route to SM-MOA. From Makati, take either EDSA or Buendia Road (it depends where you are closest). It’s either: @EDSA, straight to Roxas Boulevard then to Uniwide Mall along Roxas Blvd. then LEFT turn to the street right before Uniwide Mall access road to Reclamation Area. Straight ahead is SM-MOA;or, @ Buendia Avenue, straight ahead, crossing Roxas Blvd. directly to SM-MOA.

Tip: Always prepare you’re loose change (Php50.00 and Php20.00)