The Island Explorer

I was in the A. Venue Mall for the past three days because of an event in the Events Hall adjacent to it. So I didn't waste time meeting in the hotel, where we stayed and instead, went to the restaurants that I hadn't been too. First up is Focaccia. When I heard that Focaccia "copied" my favorite C Italian Panizza, I was immediately attracted to the restaurant that became my first stop. So when I entered, I immediately asked for their panizzas, which they called Pizza Rolls, which is good, because it explained to the mass market how it's to be eaten. For those who don't know how to eat the panizza, you basically roll the thin crust pizza after putting toppings of arugula and alfalfa sprouts. Then, you dip it in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Eat it in one bite and then roll another one. My colleagues tasted it the first time and they had fun rolling. Now for the critique. Of course, I expected C Italian to be better, and that was what I got. I got the Pancett

The word is out, it's the newest kid on the block. When someone tipped me about this bright new restaurant on High Street, I simply couldn't resist. The next thing I knew, I ended up in this much talked about resto after a week of opening. The name, appropriate for the times, the Stock Market. As you can see above, the place is indeed charming. I love the brightness, the white and green scheme. It was a refreshing place. Owned by Del Monte and managed by the group who operates TOSH, I was again excited to try good food. We came in late, almost 10PM for dinner. The menu was short and items were quite pricey. To start, we ordered this flatbread pizza with arugula and smoked salmon. It was surprised that it came out tiny, just good for one. the crust was thin, but not that crispy. The smoked salmon was good though, and who could go wrong with the nutty flavor of the arugula. The first entree was the Smothered Pork Chops with Mashed Sweet Potatoes. I was drawn to this dish because

A. Venue is definitely the next food spot to conquer. It's just a shame that whenever I go there, the place seems desperate for customers. The restaurants, all new, fight for diners as they enter the Makati Avenue mall. There are a few places I would prioritize to try after seeing their menus. Artina Gallery Cafe is one of them. I knew I had to visit the place. It was an art gallery slash restaurant. Again, the good marketing strategy of making it more than just a restaurant. They even named it so close to art but the gallery concept uplifted the ambience, even though the place was small and not that high end. It was a good place to have a meal with friends, not really a date place. So, after a meeting, we decided to finally try this out for lunch. It had the most customers in A. Venue at that time. Here were the orders: Let's start with pasta. This is the Linguini with Seafood in Spanish Saffron and Cream Sauce (P290). The linguini was aldente to begin with. There were fish ch