3 Things Why We Love Honolulu Hong Kong Cafe Manila at SM Aura

Honolulu HK Café is now here in Manila! With two branches, SM Aura as the first outpost that opened January this year, followed by Robinsons Place Ermita last April. Isn't that a good news? No need to schedule and fly if you want to have the taste of Hong Kong!

Last week, me and my daughter had our first gastronomic lunch adventure together with our KTG family. 

There are 3 things that we really love about Honolulu HK Café SM Aura Premier

1. THE AMBIENCE

When dining in to any café, my ANG foodie family always wanted a spacious place, not because we are big, but because we want some space. Do you get it? We need some relaxing time by having good meal together. And capping it having our milk tea and dessert in a clean, comfortable and commodious place. 

At SM Aura café branch, the place has a bright and cozy atmosphere.  One side of the wall has yellow slanting stripes while the other side is my super favorite, the wall of Hong Kong city . I have never been to Hong Kong, but I already heard so much about its rich culture.

2. THE SERVICE

It feels good when you are treated well by the staff around the dining area. It makes the dining experience more enjoyable. With Honolulu HK Café's staffs, they're all friendly and alert attending to the customer's needs.  

3. THE FOOD

Honolulu HK Café is the first and the original Cha Chaan Teng or tea restaurant in Hong Kong since 1940. They have been serving their unique East-meets-West comfort food over the past decades. Very well known with its signature flaky crusty egg tarts. ‘modern’ pastries, buns, Hong Kong-style fried noodles and is recognized as one of the most representative signature brands of the unique ‘Hong Kong Café’ dining concept. If you'll get a chance to visit Hong Kong, don't miss to visit their café. After 70 years of development and growth, Honolulu has become an attraction for visiting gourmets from all over the world looking for that unique Hong Kong Café taste.

Deep Fried Prawn with Salted Egg Yolk @P488

Let me start with my number one personal favorite. The Deep Fried Prawn with Salted Egg Yolk is not the typical dish from other restaurants. It has a distinct taste that outstand the rest. It's just a bite-sized dish but the flavor totally rocks my world. I remember like this prawn melts in my mouth. 

Even my foodie daughter loved it so much. Like, "Mom, can I have some more please?" her line that I can only hear from her when she really like something.

Stir Fried Flat Rice Noodles with Beef @Php 268

Yes, this is my second favorite. I really enjoy every crunchy sprouts together with the flavorful flat noodles and tender beef that is so perfect for my taste buds. Even my sister tasted it and loved it as well.

Curry Fish Ball @P198

I sometimes buy fish balls from the local market and I noticed that it's usually round and flat even already cooked. Now, here's the legit fish ball that I can truly enjoy. 

Deep Fried Spareribs with Garlic @P288

Chinese Sausage and Wind-Dried Meat in Casserole @P198

Hong Kong Curry in Casserole, BEEF Curry @P328

This is my ultimate favorite in the house! I must admit that I'm not a real fan of curry, but, I now announce my love  for curry has grown deeper because of this amazing dish.  The curry flavor was just right while the beef's tenderness made everything perfect in this hot pot. Better have this with plain rice and that's a strong suggestion. If you're not in the mood for beef, you can order the curry version of chicken, pork chop or seafood. Just choose.

So don't forget to include this in your order slip. It's the dish the you shouldn't miss!

Coffee Bo Lo Bun @P60

Here's another thing, I am not a coffee lover, but now a certified Coffee Bo Lo Bun lover! See how foodie adventures can do, change someone's preferences. Once you slice it, you'll surely pick up the crumbs on your plate.

Crusty BBQ Pork Bun @P60

Honolulu Egg Tart @P50

I believe that this egg tart was made with extreme care. By the look of it, the soft and the thin layers of the crust put together with the moist egg cream, super mouthwatering! 

Honolulu HK Café serves its own blend of Honolulu coffee and Hong Kong 'stocking' milk tea. I ordered the pure milk tea. It's authentic!

Our overall experience at Honolulu HK Cafe Manila at SM Aura was awesome! Just don't forget to take note of my favorites, you will not regret about it! With this video, you'll not see any real food at all because we already finished everything!

If you enjoyed this post please like Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/adae2remember/ Follow my Instagram https://www.instagram.com/adae2remember/

Enjoy the famous Egg Tart and other Cha Chaan Teng delights now!

SM Aura Premier
Lower Ground Floor, SM Aura Premier, C5 Road Corner 26th Street
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

Robinsons Place Manila
Level 1, Pedro Gil Wing
Ermita, Manila https://www.facebook.com/honoluluhkcafeph/

YEAR IV OF THE CHOICE : Now is your chance to vote for your FAVORITES!

Foodies out there, you can show your love and support your favorites...Take this chance to vote for your own choice. 

In the first six months of this year alone, over 500 new restaurants opened … and that’s only all over Metro Manila!

Every month, every week, and almost every day it seems, there’s a new restaurant opening its doors. There are a lot of great new dining choices, side by side with the perennials, the classics that we grew up with.

As food bloggers, writers, and members of the F&B industry, we’re always very curious about the crowd favorites. The popular vote, if you will.  What are the beloved favorites? Let the voice of the people be heard!

Vote for your CHOICE here: https://awesm.pl/TheChoice2018

About The Awards

Together, Our Awesome Planet, the country’s #1 food blog and one of the Top 50 travel blogs in the world;  the Blogger and Influencer Collective known as the KTG (Kain Tulog Gang); and the prestigious World Food Expo (WOFEX), have partnered to conduct the People’s Choice for their Favorite Food, Restaurants, Hotels, and Chefs …. or simply, “The Choice”.

We conducted an intense first round of voting among ourselves, and our resulting Finalist Lists have made us very pleased:  we feel it’s a very diverse and fair representation of all our favorites from many diverse categories.

However, we’d like to emphasize that this is NOT a “Best of…” list. Taste, after all, is subjective. This is a vote for YOUR FAVORITES.

You can vote right now: https://awesm.pl/TheChoice2018

The Choice 2018 voting will be for two weeks starting on July 15, Sunday and ends on July 30, Monday. Awarding Ceremonies will be at the SMX Mall of Asia on Saturday, August 4, 2018, from 2pm to 5pm.

The Survey Parameters

1. For the Favorite New Restaurant category, our coverage period includes restaurants that opened between July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018.

2. There are 40 questions in this survey and answering this survey should take only around 10-15 minutes. It is best to give a definitive answer to each question and feel free to skip if you can’t decide.

3. All answers are treated as confidential and final once you click on the submit button.

4. One survey response for one person only.

5. Please give us your name and email address for our random validation of the survey responses.

Here’s the link to the survey:  https://awesm.pl/TheChoice2018

The Hall of Fame Awardees

Consecutive Winners in their respective categories in 2015, 2016, and 2017, the following establishments have now been elevated to The Choice Hall of Fame, and thus, will not be eligible for further awards this year and in the years ahead. Congratulations to the Hall of Famers!!!

Food Favorites

Fast Food Burger: Burger King

Gourmet Burger : 8 Cuts

Fried Chicken : KFC

Sisig : Gerry’s Gril

BBQ : Aristocrat

Hotdog/Sausage : S&R

Ramen : Ramen Nagi

Donut : Krispy Kreme

Ensaymada : Mary Grace

Frozen Dessert : Dairy Queen

Pastries/Cakes: Conti’s

Coffee :  Starbucks

Restaurant Favorites

Chinese : Gloria Maris

Thai : People’s Palace

Korean : Bulgogi Brothers

Mexican : El Chupacabra

Fine Dining : Antonio’s

24/7 Dining : North Park

Family Dining : Chili’s

Hotel Buffet: Spiral

Fast Food : Jollibee

Vote NOW!

BENCH CAFE : The Opening Day Experience

Growing up, Bench clothing & fashion shop has already been doing its business since my teen days. Then comes their salon and barber shop.  And now, they recently opened their café! So enterprising!
 

Yesterday, BENCH CAFE opened its doors and welcomed more than hundreds of guests on it's first day. Starting with generous act, the first 100 customers received amazing gifts from Bench Café.  The first 10 received 1 year supply of BENCH/TO, the next 20 received 6 months while the next 30 customers received 3 months supply of BENCH/TO.

 

Marie Manalo, 1st customer in line

 

To my surprised, the very first customer in line happened to be my cousin who saw my post thru my facebook page Adae To Remember. So happy to see her yesterday with her prize!

 

The truth is... early morning, she sent me a Facebook message with her photo on top. Thanking me for the post that I made on my page. She decided to go to BENCH Café to line up and try her luck. So blessed, she got there first in line.

By the way, my daughter and I also received our 3 months BENCH/TO supply. We made it to the next 30 customers!

Chef Carlo Miguel, despite his busyness during the day, still managed to strike a pose with us for a documentary shot. Hahahaha!

Good thing, before leaving the café, Mr. Ben Chan, the owner of BENCH arrived. Got a chance to have a photo with him after placing his order for lunch. Been seeing him around, but only took this opportunity to have a picture with him holding our coupons.

With this, we can avail of our FREE BENCH/TO with every purchase of  BENCH/TO meal. Customer is entitled to 1 BENCH/TO of their other choice per week. If not claimed, Freebie will be forfeited.
 

 

The time we reached the café, we were already on the 47th and 48th number. That made us included at the last 30 customers to get the 3 months supply of BENCH/TO every week. The next customers after number 50 will still receive coupons too.

 

We also met these guys ahead from our line. They were supposed to be seated already but two of their friends walked around and they missed their slot earlier. That's the thing with organized system. Because you will be seated once you are complete with your group.

 

  

Let's go to our LUNCH!

 



I ordered Bagnet Kare kare with Bagoong, Tortang Talong with Bench Salsa, Atsara and Ifugao rice. WINNER! I'm a super fan of Kare kare and Bench Café just nailed it! Your complete meal in one tray!

The Tortang Talong may look so simple, but it's so good! Stuffed with savory meat inside. I so love it! Abi, our young foodie also enjoyed it because it's her favorite viand at home. 

 

 

 

Abi's pick for the day was the TOSILOG. Served with generous amount of red meat as how she calls tocino. Guess what, her fork still flew to my bagnet kare kare plate. Her first time to appreciate the Kare kare sauce. Not too strong of peanut taste, I guess that's what made her appreciate the sauce and of course the Bagnet.

 

 

What's for dessert? We had White Halo halo Coconut Bingsu with Macapuno, garbanzos, caramelized banana, leche flan, nata de coco and coconut ice cream.

 

You know, after doing your shopping from the ground floor, you just need to take few steps to the second floor to relax and enjoy a meal or two. Then after your meal, you just need to open the other door to continue your shopping and go straight up to the 3rd floor! Isn't it the kind of life?

 

BENCH CAFE is like your kind of classy karinderya! No smokes around or vehicles blowing their horns and lots of people walking around while you eat. The ambiance here's so relaxing with not so dim lights and plants wall  décor. Love their concepts!

  

BENCH CAFE
2nd Floor Bench Flagship Store
9th Avenue corner Lane O.
 Bonifacio Global City,
Taguig, Metro Manila

 

Operating Hours

11:00am – 10:00pm (Mon-Fri)

11:00am – 11:00pm (Sat-Sun)



A Weekend To Remember At F1 Hotel Manila with Gastronomic Days Experience of LuzViMinda

A weekend well spent with my family is something I could always treasure! But this time, our weekend was made extra- ordinary because we got to spend it with our extended foodie family, The KTG ( Kain Tulog Gang). The growing bunch of foodies gathered once again to experience F1 Hotel's LuzViMinda feasting that is now on it's 5th year.

F All-Day Dining, where the launch was held recently, will be continuously delivering the advocacy of LuzViMinda, showcasing Filipino dishes, adding the twist of today’s modern culinary artistry, but living the traditional essence of classical cuisine.

Visit F1 Hotel Manila from June 9 to 30 to experience a gastronomic fusion for only Php1,699 for lunch or dinner buffet.

I could say that this annual tradition of F1 Hotel's LUZVIMINDA is their simple way of celebrating Philippines Independence Day (month). And I could also recommend to Filipino people to celebrate our independence here at F1 Hotel. We can take a break from our foreign food cravings and give LUZVIMINDA a chance to bring you the taste from the three different parts of the Philippines.

 

 

This is The Ang Foodie Family's (TAFF) first visit to F1 Hotel. We love hotels and we definitely love dining and trying the hotel restaurants.  And TO EAT TOGETHER is our simplest way to bond.

 

As most of you know, we are the family who explore food together. It's so timely for the annual Filipino Feast LuzViminda 5 with a theme of Gastronomical Fusion, three amazing chefs where invited to showcase their talents to give some twist to the heritage Filipino dishes. 

 

Chef Mikel Zaguirre for Luzon, Chef Dennis Uy for Visayas and Chef Kalel Chan for Mindanao

We got so excited to try all the dishes from the buffet tables.  Everything looked so delish, that I could not even imagine how I could manage to taste them all.  Well, of course, I have to do my usual thing... Always put just a little bit of everything.

 

 

 

But as early as now, I want to share with you our best TAFF FIVE favorites! From Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

 

 

LUZON



Crispy Pata Roulade
TAFF Favorite #1

 

The Crispy Pata that "melts in your mouth"! Like, this is a friendly dish for kids even for the kids at heart. So tender that you'll need no effort to chew it. Imagine that!

 

TAFF almost tried everything from Luzon line up, it was all good! But this Crispy Pata is our most unforgettable pick.

“It’s an honor to do Filipino food and uplift Filipino cuisine,” said Zaguirre

 

Thanks to Chef Mikel Zaguirre, who represents Luzon.  Each item was inspired by an heirloom dish which was meticulously crafted by research and adjusted a little bit to adapt the modern palate, added Zaguirre. Unleashing creativity by presenting classical cuisine in a modern setting has what challenged him the most.

 

 

VISAYAS





Cochinillo de Cebu
TAFF Favorite #2 



TAFF are lechon lovers.  I found pleasure for lechon  and it all started when I first tasted the lechon from Cebu, since then my standard of lechon stayed that way. If it's not a Cebu lechon, it's nothing but a second rate trying hard...ah sounds familiar? Yes, if you'll give me lechon it must be Cebu's Best Lechon!

 

And this Cochinillo de Cebu, is now my New Best Lechon! I can't resist its juicy and tasty meat plus the oh so crunchy sinful skin. I think I've eaten more amount of this than any other food on the table. But I'm also warning you, you can not enjoy this baby without RICE please! Or EXTRA RICE PLEASE!

Humba Cebuano
TAFF Favorite #3

 

Yes, I love to eat, but guess what? I can also cook! And one of my babies favorite viand is Adobo. I have tried cooking it with different twist and they always appreciate it. Now it's my time to taste somebody else's version. Chef Dennis Uy's Humba is a winner!

“Sharing our cuisine by giving back to guests & clientele is what food is all about,” said Uy.

 

Staging as the featured chef for Visayas, Dennis Uy’s technique is about blending flavors and getting inspiration from his travel around the archipelago – cooking in most traditional way and plating it contemporarily. Cochinillo de Cebu and Pork Humba are just some of Chef Dennis’ masterpieces we should look forward to not only for the month of June if possible...

 

 

MINDANAO

Sweet Potato Ukoy
TAFF Favorite #4

Ukoy, as one of my top meryende is also best as ulam (viand) too.  Just dip it with a special suka (vinegar) and everything is a history!

 

Just can't get enough of this so crispy and crunchy yet still flavorful in it's own way.

 

“You should try everything, as we (with his team) started from experimental stage, plus the time devoted to research & development trying these dishes, are the things that make these worthy,” when asked what to anticipate from his creations.

So good to know that even though he’s not a Mindanao native, Kalel Chan accepted wholeheartedly the challenge of showing us an array of sumptuous dishes from Mindanao. With his passion for food, Chan started out by studying the classical Mindanao cuisine, reached out to some of his friends for research, and injected his modern way of cooking.



Nilasing Na Mangga

After all the main courses, I decided to try the Nilasing na Mangga.  This is one of the most famous street foods in Manila.  You can see it in most public places like outside the schools or market place. Eating it with a little spread of bagoong (shrimp paste) is truly a delight!



Sinuglaw

 



Grilled Bagaybay On Oyster

Oh no, was not able to try it but it did caught my attention.  See the light brown thing on top of the oyster? That's bagaybay or Tuna sperm that was grilled.

 

Purple Maja Blanca and Cheese
TAFF Favorite #5

Creamy maja blanca and cheese. Corn and cheese together.

It's a perfect combination!
 

 

with Chef Decker, F1 Executive Chef and with guest Chef Kalel

And that's it for the TAFF gastronomic lunch experience at LuzViMInda!

 

But wait, there's more!

 

Scroll it down and you'll see!

F1 Hotel Manila is located in the heart of Bonifacio Global City.

I love their spacious rooms!

We stayed in a suite, big enough for the three of us!

 

 

And look at this welcome plate waiting for us!

We found it on the center table upon our entrance to our room!

A real Filipino hospitality!

 

Now, dinner is served!

 

A special dinner to remember. The Kain Tulog Gang did not only shared the food together. The famous Videoke session also completed the night plus some chit chat!

 

Take a look and be amazed with the common yet uncommon dishes! 

 

Bacon & Cheese Lumpia

What a beautiful starter! And I'm a first timer! I only know the bacon and cheese in a sandwich or croissant. Now wrapped with lumpia wrapper, so brilliant!



Dinuguan Vol au Vent

Not all Filipino's has the heart for dinuguan  (pork blood stew).  But some nationalities finds it odd yet interesting to try this one. I myself am super a fan of my Aunt's home-cooked version.

This Dinuguan Vol au Vent is the most sophisticated twist of dinuguan that I've ever seen and tasted. It's served as appetizer like tart. So, i'll call it the simple way as bloody tart! Hahahahahaha! I love it!



Kalabasa Gratin

Mr. Ang's favorite vegetable. I saw him filled his plate with this creamy but healthy option.



Salt and Pepper Bangus



Chicken Piyanggang Skewer



Longganisa - stuffed Lechon Belly

You see the skin? Yes, it's crunchy! And the red thing in the middle is the longganisa, stuffed inside the lechon belly. And yes, where is diet? That's  my question to myself too. If this kind of food is just within your reach, why not grab it?

Thanks to Aging's Food Delight for the special KTG suman cake!

 

Suman Espesyal w/Ube Leche Flan

  

 

The dinner party will not be complete without refreshments and cocktails!
Cheers to my favorite Nilasing na Manga!   Filipino celebration will not be happy and complete without the Videoke session!



Yogo & Cream singing their love song



Jaz so serious finding her song while Eric chills for a photo op hahahaha!

The KTG
Kain Tulog Gang

Cheers to more KTG dining and staycation experience!

Come and enjoy our Filipino dishes. Don't miss the dates. 
 It's so worth it to have a taste of LuzViMinda!

 

F1 Hotel Manila
32nd St. BGC Taguig City

For reservations and inquiries
call 908-7888
visit the website www.f1hotelmanila.com