So… Antipolo has long been promoted as a creative hub in the Province of Rizal, hosting the likes of the Pintô Art Museum, and art collectives like the ARTipolo Group, Inc. This may also explain why major Antipolo destinations are sold as art spaces that offer add-ons… such as restaurants or cafés or whatever.

@outragemag #CrescentMoon as #restaurant that wants to be an #artspace in #LGBT #Antipolo, #RizalProvince ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

And here, the Crescent Moon Cafe and Studio Pottery easily comes to mind as a Southeast Asian restaurant that’s also a pottery store and art space with creative workshops.

How was the place for us?

Una, the place isn’t easily accessible to those without private vehicles. So… from this alone, you already know the target market of this place.

Ikalawa, the actual venue is… artsy. There are various buildings here – e.g. one houses paintings that are also for sale, and another houses pottery outputs also for sale. So if you arrived early, or if the orders take too long, you can tour the area to check the art pieces on display.

Ikatlo, the staff’s okay naman, able to offer help as needed – e.g. sundo while touring another building when our food was about to be served already

Ika-apat, how was the food?

• We started with the Gado Gado (₱470, mixed spring vegetables with tempeh and peanut sauce) that may have been refreshing, but… the serving was quite small.
• The Beef Rendang (₱640) was actually good, properly blending the flavors of lemongrass, ginger, galangal, turmeric and chili for a savory, spicy and sweetish offering. Too bad the serving’s quite small considering the asking price.
• The Lemongrass Pork Belly (₱500) was delish, malasa (tasty) without the overpowering taste of any particular ingredient (not even the lemongrass).

As FYI: this is not a cheap place, seemingly emphasizing the “art is for rich people” mantra. A serving of rice, for instance, costs ₱55, which should actually already pay for one kilo of rice if bought in some marketplace. The coffee, too, was disappointing, served quite cold (not even lukewarm), making you feel you just wasted ₱135.

So…

1. Art-wise, this place is worth checking out. They may not have as big a collection as, say, Pintô Art Museum, but… what’s there is okay enough.
2. Those workshops may also be of interest to some, particularly for those interested in pottery. Plus you can buy pottery goods here, so yeah, a quick check may not be bad at all.
3. Food-wise, however, we found this place wanting. The flavors we expected weren’t there… at least for most of those served to us. Considering the asking prices (and those reviews), the expectations were high. Too high, they weren’t met.

But off we go in search of more lafang venues.

Crescent Moon Cafe and Studio Pottery is located along Sapang Buho Rd., Brgy. Dalig, Antipolo. For more information, contact +63282345724, or email crescentmooncafeantipolo@gmail.com.

One of the reasons why Thai food is good is its consistency – i.e. you may be in Bangkok, eating off those house-turned-restos to serve lunch-going employees in residential area-based offices; or in an eatery off the main tourist roads of Pattaya; or ordering from ambulant food vendors somewhere in Phuket… but the food tastes similar somehow. Yep, there would be slight differences (perhaps due to availability of goods, contexts of the actual locations, and so on), but a Pad Thai is a Pad Thai is a Pad Thai.

@outragemag #LGBT checking Pad Thai Express’s treatment of #Thai cuisine as #fastfood ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

This trait, this consistency, is what’s tricky when Thai recipes are prepared outside of Thailand. Because it makes it extremely easy to detect what claims to be Thai food, but doesn’t taste like Thai food at all.

Anyway… we checked one of the branches of Pad Thai Express, this chain of Thai restos all over Mero Manila. How was it for us?

Una, there are many branches of this business already, so you’re bound to find one that’s accessible to you. The one we visited is located inside Pilar Village in Las Piñas City, which has its own private security, meaning you may be mandated to leave an ID just to visit.

Ikalawa, the actual place isn’t grand… but it more than suffices since: it’s clean naman, has enough seats, and the air-conditioning was working during our visit. May parking pa nga eh.

Ikatlo, attentive ang staff – e.g. an admin officer was there when we visited, and she shared info pa on the owners, their branches, and so on. With small restos, kindness of staff matters as this always leaves a good impression.

Ika-apat, how was the food?

• The ₱220 Thai Green Papaya Salad didn’t taste like som tam at all, as if some key ingredients were left out in the making of the sauce.
• The ₱370 supposedly highly-recommended Shrimp Tom Yum was okay naman… albeit the soup was on the watery side. At least malaman naman siya, with the shrimps not rubbery, so you know care was given in preparing this.
• The ₱225 Satay Chicken was… somewhat overcooked, so it was chewy, so that it tasted like BBQ bought from some street vendor (sorry…).
• The ₱345 Mixed Pad Thai was okay, though not something you’d write home about. Similar to the som tam, it tasted like a key ingredient was left out, so – while it’s supposed to be sweet, sour, salty, and savory with a hint of spice and nuts – this one wasn’t all that.

Yung gist, the name of the business ought to tell you the approach to Thai food here – i.e. “express”. This isn’t necessarily bad. But at least it’s a reminder to lower your expectations when here.

But off we go to search for more lafang venues.

Pad Thai Express – Pilar Village, Las Piñas Branch is located at Unit 4B of PDC Commercial, Pilar Rd., Las Piñas City, 1740 Metro Manila.

Tag-init, for many Filipinos, means finding the perfect halo-halo. You can just grab one from those street vendors; almost always, they’re the best. But for those without access to those off-the-street halo-halo vendors, the next best versions would be those from supposed halo-halo specialists… such as Street Halo-Halo Milky Ice, which – like Icebergs and Razon’s – eyes to be known for giving this Pinoy dessert a twist.

@outragemag #LGBT checking a #halohalo ‘specialist’ in #Manila to compare it with #Chowking, #Razons, and those from #streetvendors ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

Kumusta naman ang experience sa Street Halo-Halo Milky Ice?

Una, this biz actually has sit-down venues – e.g. the one we checked in Santa Ana in the City of Manila. But exactly because they have to pay for a dining venue, they don’t just offer halo-halo, but also so-so Mexican food. At least the space isn’t bad naman, and allows you to enjoy your halo-halo away from the humidity outside.

Ikalawa, slight maingay ang staff – e.g. when taking orders from foodpanda, or when chatting with each other. Promise, disturbing siya.

Ikatlo, kumusta ang halo-halo and the Mexican snack? More particularly, we tried the ₱150 ube halo-halo and the ₱200 taco?

1. With the halo-halo, the winning element is supposed to be the shaved ice since timplado na, so may additional lasa. However… the shaved ice used here may not be lumpy as the one in Chowking, but it not as smooth as Razon’s either.
2. If eating at Razon’s, you know there’s not a lot of sahog. But here, even if you do get more, nothing was memorable.
3. Lasa-wise, the halo-halo was quite bland… even with all the sahog and all.
4. The three pieces of tacos were so-so, tasting more like some inuman venue’s beef nachos than anything else. Overloaded with fake-tasting cheese, this appears like someone’s false idea of what Mexican food really is.

If, in the past, we craved for halo-halo during summer when the heat becomes intolerable, nowadays, that halo-halo craving is now what’s normal. Climate change is real, for real. So Street Halo-Halo Milky Ice has a captured market na. But if you can find others pa rin… like those selling halo-halo in street corners, try them as well. You’re bound to be pleased more for less the price.

So off we go for more lafang venue search…

Street Halo-Halo Milky Ice is located at 2241 Syquia St., Santa Ana, City of Manila, Metro Manila.