Next Review: Mesa, The Atrium, Megamall
Hi guys! Sorry, won’t be able to update my blog this week coz it’s finals week. Hoe Noe. But my next review is definitely gonna be Mesa. Yum yum! 
Pray for me. Thanks!
A la Diane
*Because it was my good friend Dianne Catolos’ birthday yesterday, I thought it was apt to blog about a restaurant with almost the same name. Hehe. Happy Birthday Yanyan! *
My childhood memories would not be complete without the thoughts of Sunday lunch with my family. One of our favorite places to eat was A la Diane. It used to be located in the National Bookstore building in Quezon Avenue. Even when my family transferred houses, we would go all the way from Antipolo just to eat lunch there. So yes, you can imagine how attached we were to their food. When National Bookstore was renovated, A la Diane transferred to another location. It was a little out of the way, so we stopped going there.
Fast forward to today. I kept on wondering if A la Diane was still open. A few keystrokes here, a few google searches there, I found out its whereabouts.
My heart started to race as the familiar smell of home cooking hit my nostrils. A la Diane had a different look now. Much more homey and light. Very Casual. It looked like someone’s dining room, expanded. It had a loft, so it could accommodate more customers.
The Loft
The waitresses were a bit friendly, though it would have been better if they smiled more, and if they were more ‘showbiz’.
Homegrown. That’s the perfect word to describe their menu. The food they serve are those that you expect mom to cook on weekends.
They serve breakfast all day. That’s for those who a) miss their breakfast at home and b)just like breakfast food. They serve Pork /Chicken Tocino (Php100/105), Pork/Chicken Longganiza (Php90), Daing na bangus(Php110) and Beef Tapa (P105). All breakfast meals are served with rice and a side dish of vegetables.
I ordered my usual Beef Tapa. And it tasted oh-so-familiar. Oh my! I have never tasted tapa like that. That’s the way I like my tapa, a bit buttery.
Beef Tapa. Yum!
They also serve other rice meals like Beef with Mushrooms (Php140), Pot Roast Beef (Php145) and Adobo Flakes (Php120).
Adobo Flakes
A la Diane also has a variety of sweets. They have jars of biscuits (chocolate chip cookies, butter cookies, lengua de gato, etc). Too bad they didn’t sell their famous truffles anymore. They were to die for.
They also have a variety of home-baked cakes. They all look so good! Their classic Apple Streusel Pie with butterscotch (P300/small; P700/big) sauce is a definite must try! They also sell Chocolate Icebox Cake (P300-400), Chocolate Cheesecake (P60/slice) and their Moist Chocolate Cake (P60/slice).
Visit A la Diane if you want to experience meals cooked by momma.
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A la Diane is located at Sto. Domingo St. cor. Sta. Catalina St., Quezon City. You can contact them at (632) 712-8914.
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First post, Johnny Rockets.
This is my first SERIOUS attempt to blog about something I really like – trying out new places to eat and stay, all well within the budget. I’m gonna try to update this at least once a week. Hopefully, this’ll not be my last attempt to blog. 
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During my pre-teen years, I was hooked on Saved by the Bell, Sweet Valley books(Kids, Twins, High, Junior High,etc)-
and Archie Comics. Besides Archie and the Gang, one thing I remember about the
Archie Comics is the Chok’lit Shoppe – the diner owned and run by Pop Tate – where Archie and his friends always hung out. I always wondered what it would be like to hang out in a diner, since I didn’t know of any here in Manila – until a few months ago.
My friend and I checked out the new Eastwood City Mall and saw a DINER just around the corner. A diner. In Manila. Hurrah.
Stepping into Johnny Rockets was like stepping into an Archie comic strip. Everything about the diner was reminiscient of a diner from circa 1950. Very vintage. You can almost see jocks hanging out with their cheerleader girlfriends while sporting their letterman jackets. The floor tiles were black and white, they had pop cap chairs, booths.
The Diner
They had a jukebox on one corner. A WORKING jukebox. AWESOME. The song list was of the greatest 50′s-60′s hits (No Chris Brown, Rihanna songs. Sorry. ). It was one peso per song. It was such a new experience, waiting for my song to play.
Jukebox. P1 = 1 song
The crew’s uniforms reminded me so much of Pop Tate’s own uniform – an apron draped over a white shirt and a tie. The crew was very friendly, always wearing smiles, always said thank you and welcome and was ever-willing to serve their customers. Oh, and they dance too! Every hour or so, just wait.
Their menu was that of a typical American diner – Fries, Onion Rings, Burgers and of course, Milkshakes. Because, as Jughead would say, “What’s a burger without a milkshake?”
Their starters (fries, onion rings, side salads) ranged from P150 – P265. They had milkshakes in chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. They also had Deluxe Shakes and Malts like Oreo Cookies and Cream and Choco Banana. Their shakes were priced at around P265.
Mouth-watering Cheesy Fries.
Johnny Rockets prides its burger patties to be full “1/3 pound of fresh, never frozen 100% pure ground beef, seasoned and grilled to order”. If you’re not a beef eater, you can substitute your beef patty for a turkey one. Their burger meals all come with ALL YOU CAN EAT FRIES (YES!).
YUM!
I find the price a bit steep, for burgers and fries. But besides that, overall, I’d say that Johnny Rockets will be here to stay a long, long, long time.
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Johnny Rockets is located at the G/F of Eastwood City Mall in Eastwood City, Quezon City. For more information about their menu, log on to http://www.johnnyrockets.com.
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*note to self : must get a good camera soon.
