Foodcoma with FoodPanda's #EatnGreet

When the world offers you free food, you say yes. And that's exactly what I did when FoodPanda invited me to their #EatNGreet event.

FoodPanda is an amazing and on-demand food delivery service here in the Philippines. I literally order food from them at least twice a week, so I was super happy when they invited me to their event. I was told by them that they wanted me to partake in their #EatnGreet event, a food crawl inspired by foodpanda's old Good Food Tour where we'd be able to have a fun food experience while discovering the best tastes in town. The #EatnGreet took place in Malate, Manila with our first stop being at Ang Bistro Sa Remedios. As I walked into the restaurant I was greeted by the sound of live music and vibrant filipino inspired decor all around. We were seated at a long table where all our foodpanda goodies were placed at our seats. Thankfully I was able to share this experience with a couple of my friends, Kych, Dass, Ace & Angela, and about 20 other foodies.

While we waited patiently for our entrees we were entertained by the live music of the restaurant and some presentations by foodpanda to explain to us the origin's of the event and the history of the restaurants we were visiting that day. We were their to also celebrate the 40th anniversary of the LJC Restaurant Group. The company's founder, Larry J Cruz was a journalist and information man that took a gamble with his career when he opened his first restaurant Cafe Adriatico in 1979. This cafe that begun the LJC Restaurant Group is also considered to have been the restaurant that begun the bistro culture in the country and is a renowned food landmark in Remedios Circle. Over the years the company has grown, opening multiple themed restaurants that have redefined the casual filipino dining experience, like the three restaurants we were visiting that day. We were also warned to make plenty of room in our tummy's because we were about to eat.

As the first entrees started flowing, I was just excited to finally dig in. I had gone into this event with an empty stomach, so I was more than ready. They began with serving us Bagnet, a traditional Ilocano dish, that's basically like Bacon Lechon Kawali (deep fried pork belly) and it was delicious and very crispy. Anything that's like bacon is usually delicious, if you don't agree, we can't be friends. We were then served calamari and their house salad. The dressing to their salad was Apple Cider Vinegar, something I have never really seen done before and it actually complimented their salad really well. Then followed by other filipino dishes that I was not familiar with, Sugpu Sal Aligue (Prawns in crab fat and coconut milk) and a Kapampangan dish called Gulay Magalang. The prawns were as big as my hand and were also super tasty and juicy. The Gulay Magalang reminded me so much of pinakbet, one of my favorite vegetable dishes, I enjoyed it, especially the squash. We were then served two of my favorite filipino dishes, BiStik & Oxtail KareKare. This was my first time ever trying Oxtail, for some reason it had always intimidated me, but once I took a bite I realized there wasn't much to be intimidated by, it was just like a nice piece of tender beef and it complimented the savoury peanut sauce stew. I definitely enjoyed the food of Ang Bistro Sa Remedios because I had been craving traditional filipino food for so long. Ever since I started living in Manila on my own I very rarely get to eat filipino food since I don't know how to cook it myself, so I really appreciated their dishes. Their dishes definitely reminded you of a home cooked meal, just elevated and perfected. We finally ended the meal with an infamous filipino dessert staple, Halo-Halo. Ya'll this must've been the BIGGEST halo-halo I've seen in my whole life, and get this we finished 2 of them. Talk about takaw.

Our next stop was to LJC's flagship restaurant, Cafe Adriatico. We took a quick walk down the street and was greeted by a quaint little establishment. You could tell as you walked in that the building itself held so much history, with stained glass decor and dimmed lighting it really set a mood for the whole restaurant. We made our way upstairs, as they closed off the whole upper level just for us. We were then seated again at a very long table, all of us staying in our small little groups that had formed at the last restaurant. We were then introduced to the head chef of Cafe Adriatico, he explained every dish to us as it came out. Cafe Adriatico specializes in Spanish-Mediterranean and filipino dishes. We were first served their house salad, then a classic filipino staple, Palabok. Next we were served a traditional spanish dish, Beef Stew. The beef was so tender and the vegetables complimented the stew very nicely as well, I've always been a fan of this dish and is usually something I do order at Spanish restaurants. Next we were served their version of pork adobo with rice, Lola Ising Adobo Rice. I always love seeing places recreate and elevate this traditional recipe, it's always fun to see their creative take. Then we were served Chicken A La Keiv, that was my personal favorite from their menu. When you bit into it there was this nice buttery flavor that filled your mouth and you could never go wrong with a side of mashed potatoes. For dessert they served us berry milkshake and a cappuccino cheesecake. The cheesecake was very rich and had a hint of a chocolatey taste to it. I definitely loved that at this restaurant everyone was able to bond more with one another, the atmosphere of the place seemed to really bring everyone together. As we all left Cafe Adriatico, I was more than full. Who knew taking small bites of every dish would make me feel like I ate every single full dish itself. We all agreed that we hoped that the last stop would be some sort of pastry or dessert shop because none of us could do another meal. Our wishes came true as we walked across the stree to our last destination on the #EatNGreet, the Polka Dot Bakery. The place was super cute and dainty, and the owner was very accommodating and friendly. He gave us each a plate of their delicious pastries and desserts. This was more than we all bargained for. To be honest, we were all surprised we were all getting our own plates. Each plate had a slice of Choco Sans Rival, Apple Pie, Salted Caramel Cake, Asado Roll, Pan De Sal, Empanadita Tuna, Empanadita Pork, Pan De Nini with Canadian Ham and Ensaymada. Out of all these pastries my absolute favorite was hands down the Apple Pie and the only one I finished. American girls and their apple pies, yaknow? I went home from this event definitely suffering from a food coma, a good experience, new friends, food panda vouchers and ensaymada. I'm so happy I was able to join Foodpanda at their #EatNGreet event. My personal favorite was Bistro Remedios, but I highly recommend all three of these establishments. You're in for an elevated bistro experience at any of these LJC establishments. So if you're ever in Malate, you should make a visit to one of these restaurants, or all three since they're conveniently all walking distance from one another. So check 'em out!