Dining Snippets: The Nook Café x Oyasumi Ramen x Cheesecakes by Guy
THE NOOK CAFÉ
CHEESE POTATO FRIES (P110)
A mention of anything Potter-related is enough to get me excited; which is why hearing about the Harry Potter-themed The Nook Café made me ecstatic. As it’s situated along Maginhawa, it would only take a comfortable car ride to get to it from my place. The tricky part is beating the queue to get the ‘coveted’ seats in the attic, or at least a table inside due to its extremely limited seating.
It opens at 1pm but I strongly advise interested diners to start queuing up before 12:30pm. Take note that it’s a standalone shop so you won’t have a choice but to queue under the heat of the sun. Small as it may be, it doesn’t skimp on experience. Packed with boardgames and Harry Potter merchandise, you’re guaranteed an afternoon of sheer fun. See that small door under the stairs? You can actually squeeze inside it to see what living in the cupboard under the stairs feels like!
BEEF AND MUSHROOM (P150)
For the food items we’ve sampled, most are affordably priced, but were very mediocre. The Cheese Potato Fries lacked in crunch; while the Beef and Mushroom pasta went overboard with its peppery flavor.
BUTTERBEER (P100/P150)
Who cares about mediocre food when the Butterbeer’s done right? It has the perfect blend of carbonation and caramel. Forgo the P100 Harry-sized one, and opt for the P150 Hagrid-sized one! (We actually had two Hagrid-sized ones each! I swear, the sore throat afterwards is worth it!
The Nook Café
164-A Maginhawa St., Sikatuna Village, QC
Date of Visit: June 25, 2016 with Jolly Aganon and Lisa Manila
OYASUMI RAMEN
We’ve been spoiled with too many international franchises of ramen restaurants that flood most of the malls in the Metro; that unique local ramen concepts bring a much welcome change in taste. Take Oyasumi Ramen for example, it has crazy ramen variants such as the La Paz (an ode to the Filipino La Paz Batchoy) and Tomato, with customizable noodle variants such as garlic, squid, and black pepper.
IEKEI (P350), BLACK PEPPER (P370), GYOZA (P150)
Its ramen bowls come are priced considerably cheaper than its franchise counterparts. At less than P400/bowl, you get a hefty serving of ramen, inclusive of aji tamago, and a choice of a customized noodle variant. To be honest, the broth wasn’t as tasty as I’m accustomed to. I’m more inclined to favoring broths that pack a powerful flavor (such as Mendokoro Ramenba's and Ramen Nagi's). The Iekei seems to be its purest ramen; a tonkotsu shoyu broth accented by chicken oil. The garlic noodles are the suggested pair for this bowl.
On the other hand, the Black Pepper lends a tastier experience. The squid noodles are the suggested pair for this bowl; yet I failed to identify any trace of it. There was a silver lining to the fact that I found the broth to be quite underwhelming as the restaurant offers to turn your left over broth in an interesting cheesy risotto for just P60! Definitely worth trying!
Oyasumi Ramen
308 P Guevarra St cor Seaview St., San Juan
Date of Visit: June 1, 2016 with Lily Chua
CHEESECAKES BY GUY
CARROT CAKE (P120)
One lazy afternoon, my mom and I decided to lounge in Cheesecakes by Guy in Eastwood Mall. I opted for a pairing of its Carrot Cake and a cup of Americano. As a cheesecake café, I expected the cream cheese frosting to be on its A-game; sadly it lacked in tartness and in creaminess. On the other hand, my mom’s Affogato came with a scoop of cheesecake ice cream which was definitely legit stuff! It possessed the qualities that I found lacking in the carrot cake’s frosting!
Cheesecakes by Guy
2F Eastwood Mall, Libis, Quezon City
Date of Visit: June 18, 2016 with Lily Chua
