The Armchair Critic

Last week, I accompanied my nephew, Kyle Imao to Pancake House in Trinoma. Kyle is one of the kiddie cooks in ABS-CBN's top-rating Junior MasterChef Pinoy edition. As of this writing, he is part of the Lucky Seven. I didn't consider it a task to chaperone Kyle because 1) I like hanging out with this twelve year old and 2) I love eating at Pancake House. An added bonus, I also got to see other Junior MasterChef contestants Miko, Caitlin and Jobim.

From Left to Right: Miko, Caitlin, Jobim and Kyle

The four kiddie cooks were presented to the press and fellow food bloggers. I was one proud aunt as I watched Kyle, whom I've always known to be quiet and shy, answer the interview questions with aplomb. His confidence and discipline has really increased, thanks to his positive experiences in the show.

Question and answer portion

When asked who he considered to be his biggest threat in the competition, he replied, "Miko, because he is a very good cook and he is also very good in plating." When asked the same question, Miko answered that his biggest competition is Kyle for almost the same reasons. Mutual admiration society? But truly, it was gratifying to watch the kids' camaraderie and friendship even if in the show they test their cooking skills against each other.

Kyle and Jobim

A few things haven't changed in Pancake House. They still have those big movie posters, they still serve my favorite fried chicken and everything is still orange. But they have something new that you have got to try.

Chef Adrian Azurin of Pancake House and Ms. Kathy Solis of ABS-CBN

Pancake House now serves dishes inspired by the young kiddie cooks. Chef Adrian Azurin, who also started cooking at a very young age, presented the dishes to us. He explained how he watches Pinoy Junior MasterChef (aired every Saturday after Wansapanataym and every Sunday after Goin' Bulilit) looking for dishes that would fit the Pancake House menu. Of course, the dishes created by the Junior MasterChefs couldn't be replicated exactly because of the availability of ingredients and the cooking process, but he assures us that each JMC-inspired dish is a culinary masterpiece. Just like what the kiddie cooks produce in the Junior MasterChef kitchen.

Pancake House and ABS-CBN staff with the four Junior MasterChef contestants

Six Junior MasterChef meals are available at all Pancake House branches. Chef Azurin said that more dishes inspired by the Junior MasterChefs will be served until end of March 2012.

Cabbage Lumpia in Coconut Breading (P175)

Rice in Ampalaya Silog (P235)

If you've ever felt really hungry after watching Junior MasterChef on TV, rush to the Pancake House nearest you and have a healthy plate of Cabbage Lumpia in Coconut Breading or a fully loaded meal of Baby Back Ribs served with Warm Bacon Potato Salad and Corn on the Cob. So next time you see the Junior MasterChefs on TV, you can say you've tasted their cooking.

I think these two guys ordered the same things from the extensive menu.

Public Disclosure: As I mentioned, I happened to escort Kyle at the food event featured above. Since I have a food blog, I asked the public relations staff present in the event if I could write about it. I also mentioned that since Kyle is my nephew, my write-up would feature how I experienced this event with him. I was given permission to do so.

I will have to make a confession. I pass by a branch or two of The Old Spaghetti House everyday and I often ignored it. In my mind, I lumped it with the "in" restaurants of my college days - Whistle Stop and Choo-Choo Junction - nothing new to offer. So TOSH was never in our list of restaurants to eat at.

Yesterday, there was a thread in our scrapping e-group about TOSH. Members usually in lurker mode came out of the woodwork to declare that TOSH is a good place to eat. When someone mentioned cheesecakes from The Cheesecake Factory, USA, I knew I had to give it a try. I am a cheesecake fanatic and next to Veniero's, I love the cheesecakes at The Cheesecake Factory.

While chatting on YM with Nita, she said we should eat at TOSH. And before we knew it, we had a date to raid Au's newly arrived balikbayan box and have late dinner at TOSH that very same day.

We went to TOSH St. Esguerra Avenue. The restaurant was quaintly decorated with hanging copper lamps and faux brick walls. An appetizing aroma drifted from the kitchen. There is a blackboard where a menu written in chalk hangs. I always love reading these chalkboards declaring the day's special. I always feel that there is something new to be discovered that is not in the regular menu. Today, the announcement is only about fresh fruit juices.

After the prerequsite "I was here" picture taking, Au ordered the Pasta Negra (pasta in squid ink sauce and crispy squid - Php95.00). This is what we were told was cooking in the kitchen when we walked in. (Amoy pa lang, panalo na.) When I was in college, my dormmate told me that spaghetti is not a good date food because it was messy to eat. And when you're trying to impress someone on a first date, messy isn't what you want to be. Now Pasta Negra definitely isn't date food, unless you are actually trying to scare away your date with black lips and teeth. But in this case the the Pasta Negra is worth the risk. Au declares it to be delicious.



I ordered the Pesto with Grilled Chicken (Php120) because Nina recommended it and because hubby rarely makes it at home. The pesto is quite tasty and I enjoy it. So do Au and Nita. (Note to self: buy fresh basil leaves and have hubby make pesto at home. Hmmm....do we stil have EVOO?)


Nita ordered the Gambas (Php165), the sauce of which had me begging for extra garlic bread to mop it up. I ate it like a bruschetta, lots of tomatoes and chili, if you please. We suspect though that the shrimps are not fresh as they are not firm to the bite.


Nita asked for dessert - Cheesecake with Blueberry (Php145) and Creme Brulee Royal (Php80) - to be served at the same time.



When Nita orders food, she orders alot because she wants to have a taste of everything. Au calls it takaw-mata. I call it grazing. Which is a good thing too because Au and I eat like cows. LOL. The grass always greener on someone else's plate.


Would you belive we ordered extra Pesto Pasta without the chicken? We liked the first plate so much we just had to have more. Sadly, it wasn't as good as the first. We think it's the grilled chicken that accounted for the difference in taste.

While Nita can eat dessert between bites of the main course, I always save the best for last. The cheesecake is, as expected, a much smaller slice than in Cheesecake Factory, and the blueberry came from the can, but it was still good. Velvety smooth and creamy the way I like it, it slides cleanly onto my fork, direct into my waiting mouth where it melts in a burst of cream cheese goodness.

The Creme Brulee comes in three flavors - regular, chocolate and citrus. Nita likes her Creme Brulee soft and creamy. Like Amelie, I like to crack the caramelized sugar on top. Sadly though, I think the chef was in a bit of a rush because not all the sugar was caramelized. We all agreed we liked the chocolate custard the best.

Our verdict? Why don't we let the plates speak for themselves?


And finally, the bill. Ignore Nita's facial expression. The meal didn't really break the bank. In fact, the cost of eating at TOSH is very very reasonable (especially since she paid for it. Thanks Nita.)

Yes, that's what my four year old daughter asked me when we were at Heaven 'n Eggs in Tomas Morato. We were finally able to snag a parking space right in front of the restaurant. Parking space is always a premium in Morato.

The restaurant is bright and sunshiney. The pale blue walls with cloud paintings helped give that illusion. My daughters had fun counting the number of angels hanging from the ceilings. My son had a kick out of the waiters who were wearing wings.

The menu is quite extensive, but as the name indicates, this is a place where you could get eggs, primarily. Cooked any which way - scrambled, sunny-side up, poached, baked. With it's waffles and pancakes, it's actually an all-day breakfast place.

I knew the kids won't be eating much so we ordered them the regular waffles. Not being adventurous eaters, they frown on fruits like blueberries or peaches on their food. My son (the predictable) had the kid's meal of chicken and spaghetti. My husband was intrigued by the Germany vs. Brazil item on the menu. It's a tribute to the FIFA contenders, with German sausages and barbecue cooked churarosco style. Since I have this thing about Eggs Benedicts, I had to order their version with crabs and salmon on a bagel. We also ordered Pinoy Nachos - crispy lumpia wrappers with adobo flakes, cheese and mangoes.

When we arrived, we heard the table to next to us following up their order. Half their group was already halfway through their meal. The other half's order had yet to arrive. I looked around and the place wasn't even full. I wondered what they ordered for it to take so long.

Anyway, the waffles were the first to arrive, which was fine as I had time to supervise the girls' eating. Then my Eggs Benedict came. I had a kick from the crab and the salmon but the bagel ruined the experience for me. It was tough and hard to cut with a knife. I ended up breaking pieces of it by hand to mop up the egg yolk on my plate. I know, I know, bagels are supposed to be tough and chewy. But they are best served hot and fresh from the grill or toaster. Mine were quite cold when they arrived thus the difficulty.

I had almost finished my eggs when my son's kiddie meal arrived. There was no sign of my husband's order yet. The other table finally got what looked like poached eggs. It took that long to poach an egg? My husband checked the time and it had been more than thirty minutes since we had given our orders. His eyes are now starting to glaze over. He had already followed up with the waiter but they didn't give him any feedback at all. Finally he told the waiter to just cancel his order and asked me if I minded his leaving and eating at the restaurant next door. I could see he was already very upset so I let him go. This is one instance where heaven can't wait.

A few minutes after he had walked out, the waiter arrived with his food. I asked what took them so long and that my husband had already left to get his food elsewhere. The waiter looked panicked and I took pity on him so I called my husband back on his cellphone. He had already ordered at the other place but he came back.

The Germany vs Brazil was quite good. The barbecue was tender and succulent. Unfortunately, my husband couldn't take more than two bites because he wasn't hungry anymore. Nalipasan na ng gutom. I ended up picking his plate.

The waiters were very apologetic and they gave us free pancakes. As an apology, it wasn't much because it was the cheapest on the menu and I had brazenly asked for free dessert. (Hey, it wasn't the best dining experience we ever had, after all.) Besides, the girls couldn't even finish their waffle so no one was really interested in the pancakes.

I can't say that I'm going back to eat at Heaven 'n Eggs again. The whole dining experience wasn't quite so heavenly and the food was expensive. A can of Coke costs P55.00 without VAT. Not even the Eggs Benedict was worth going back to. Next time I have a craving for eggs, I'll just make clarified butter, get some fresh milk and break out the eggs. At home - where service is at it's finest.