Manna Korea Garden

This time we tried Manna Korea Garden this is located near Min Sok Restaurant. Its also another 'hole-in-the-wall" Korean restaurant.

What I like about discovering hole-in-the-wall restaurants, it makes your trip worth it. Most often the owners personally assist you. The one seen on the photo is actually the owner. She speaks little English, but she smiles and smiles as she nods her head.

I can't remember the names of the dishes we ordered. Aside from the fact the menu was in Korean, I just let my friends to do the ordering since I was sooo hungry already at that time.  Again, thankful to their refillable appetizers, it was served fast. 

What I find interesting about Korean cuisine is it has a lot of condiments / side dish then the idea of cooking your own meats. In that way, you don't have to blame the chef of cooking your meat too long or too raw.  Though this becomes a disadvantage if you are already hungry, seeing your food cook in front of you makes the cooking longer than you think. hee hee. Overall, I still love the idea.

Manna Korea Garden is located at 5650 Don Pedro Street, Makati City. Tel Nos (63-2) 897.8552, (63-2) 897.6799, (63-917) 525.6150. To get there, from Rockwell Powerplant's main street, turn right to Kalayaan. From Kalayaan, turn right on Don Pedro Street. The landmark of knowing which Don Pedro Street is when you see Ministop store. (Its after Grilla restaurant. If you reached the traffic light, you've passed it already). From Don Pedro Street, go straight until you see Manna Garden signage on your left.

Min Sok Restaurant

We discovered Min Sok Restaurant when I was craving for Korean food. I just googled on the net which Korean resto to go to around Makati. With the knowledge that there are a lot of Korean restos around P.Burgos / Makati Avenue area, we picked Min Sok.  It was even challenging to reach this place. Definitely a hole-in-a-wall restaurant!

A typical me when I visit an unfamiliar cuisine, I ask what the locals eat. The waitress recommended to us Bossam Jeiongsik and a noodle Nakji Myeon. When our orders came -- Whoa! the Bossam Jeiongsik  was a big serving. All the small bites (appetizers) are even refillable, even the veggies but am not sure about the pork. Even the soup was included.  We noticed in 2 other tables, this is the only thing they ordered plus beer.  

For the Nakji Myeon noodle order, the spicy level of it was just too much for us. Recommended only for high-level spicy taste buds.

A plus for this place is the Korean owner personally showed us how to go about in mixing and eating the food.  Basically get the leafy veggie, add in the pork, the paste, and any of the small dishes. Wrap it like a bun, then bite.

I enjoyed experimenting, for every leaf,  mixing and matching.  Each taste would come out differently combining the spices and the small bites. I realized the paste makes up for everything.

Minsok Restuarant is located at 5655 Don Pedro 23 Street corner Jacobo Street, Poblacion Makati. Tel No: (632) 895.95.86. Operating Hours: Monday to Sunday from 10:30 am to 10:30 pm.  To get there, from Rockwell Powerplant's main street, turn right to Kalayaan. From Kalayaan, turn right on Don Pedro Street. The landmark of knowing which Don Pedro street is, when you see Ministop store. (Its after Grilla restaurant. If you reached the traffic light, you've passed it already). From Don Pedro Street, go straight until you see Min Sok signage. The Min Sok is located at the corner.

BO's Coffee

BOs Coffee originated in Cebu, Philippines. I like hanging around their shops since its usually not crowded. I also find their coffee good and knowing that they source their beans locally, I would like to support it.   

I like the idea that if you dine in, they serve your coffee in mugs. Less trash.  They also serve breakfast-all-day meals and I find the price reasonable.  Plus, the shop  provides free wifi access and free use of their electrical outlet without electrical charge. 


I usually go to their Newport City branch. They even have a meeting room that you can rent with 10 to 20 pax sitting capacity. If I am not mistaken, Newport City branch is open 24-hours or closes early AM.   

Oh they have the best mango cake! Its light, not too sweet and can taste the mango.  I can eat 2 slices in 1-sitting. Though this is not available all-year-round. One thing I noticed about BOs coffee, their desserts changes. I assume its because of the season.

This year, they are turning 15 years with 50 stores located nationwide. They also launched Bo's Coffee 15 and 50 promo. The promo runs every Tuesday and Thursday until July 21, 2011.  From 10:00 am to 3:00 pm (Php15.00 for brewed coffee);  From 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm and 12 mn to 4 am (Php50.00 for all Froccino flavors). 

Love your country, support Philippine business!

You can follow them in facebook http://www.facebook.com/boscoffeeclub and subscribe in their blogs http://blog.boscoffee.com. To check their official website, visit  http://www.boscoffee.com. For inquiries, you can email them inquiries@boscoffee.com