Steaks aren’t Pinoy staple food, aminin na natin. And so it’s understandable that many may see thousand-peso priced items as impractical. But the popularity of steaks may also be the reason why there’s now a handful of not-that-expensive steak places that offer steaks for only around ₱400 to ₱500, including the likes of Escobar’s, Blake’s and Sizzling Plate. We can argue about the quality, but… the option to eat steaks cheaply is there na, thanks to these venues.

Steak to One is among the not-shabby affordable steak restos.

@outragemag Looking for affordable #steak? In #paranaque, we #LGBT checked the offerings of #steaktooneph ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

Una, the venue we checked is located in BF Homes in Parañaque City, which is this village that’s only conveniently accessible to those with private vehicles. Be prepared to be asked to leave IDs at the guard house.

Ikalawa, the actual place is okay naman; airy, not dilapidated furniture, malinis, and so on.

Ikatlo, the workers were okay rin; they were attentive without being intrusive. And – this is worth highlighting ha – mabilis ang service, so that you get your orders sooner than you expect.

Ika-apat, how was the food?

We grabbed two steaks: one is an item in their Pamatay Series, the ₱699 Local Ribeye that comes with a small serving of pasta (we chose marinara) and bone marrow; and the other is ₱499 Porterhouse that comes with two side dishes (we asked for French fries and two eggs cooked sunny side up).

Taste-wise, the steaks were okay, though more salt and pepper could have bettered them. The issue – if it can be considered that – is the approach to steaks of Steak to One. Particularly: as if to make their steaks look bigger than they are, you will be served with a wide but thinly-sliced piece of meat. Malapad na manipis. The implication is seen in the doneness of the meat – i.e. because the meat is too thin, it cooks too easily. You order medium rare but you’d end up getting well done.

The side dishes were okay naman – e.g. maasim-asim na pasta, crispy fries, and properly cooked eggs.

In a gist: you don’t have to empty your bank account to eat steaks since there are now a handful of venues that offer not-bad slabs of meat at affordable prices. Consider Steak to One among your options… of course after considering its limitations.

Off we go in search of more lafangan venues…

Steak to One – Parañaque is located at BF Homes, 200 Aguirre Ave, Parañaque City, Metro Manila. For more information, contact 0921 989 9203 or email since2016@steaktooneph.com.

That it’s hard to find good – and let’s qualify this, affordable – Japanese restaurants in Metro Manila is a given. Too often we get sanitized venues that may claim to offer “authentic Japanese cuisine”, but really just serve watery ramens or about-to-expire sushis or badly-prepared sashimis.

One weekend, a chance visit to Tanay in the province of Rizal led us to this supposedly highly-recommended Japanese restaurant called Tanto, and so we checked.

@outragemag Heard there's an okay #Japanese restaurant in #tanayrizal, so we #LGBT checked #Tanto ♬ original sound – Outrage Magazine

Una, the place is hard to access. No public transport was seen here; people dining in the venue had motorcycles or cars. Buti na lang there’s enough parking; that is, the entire highway is the parking space.

Ikalawa, the actual place is… so-so. The place is clean, at least, but there’s nothing special here – i.e. you just have wooden tables and wooden chairs a la karinderya.

Also, most restaurants in Tanay are open-air, allowing diners to view the mountain ranges. The view from Tanto, however, isn’t that pretty.

You may also encounter issues with some facilities – e.g. no water in the toilets, and no bidet in the male toilet.

Ikatlo, the personnel naman were okay. Some issues: the recommendations weren’t good (e.g. the food ordered), service was slow (e.g. chili powder had to be requested repeatedly), and so on.

Ika-apat, with the food, this place was a hit and miss. The tantanmen ramen (₱359) I ordered, for instance, was a big disappointment. It didn’t taste like tantanmen at all; just a tasteless noodle soup masquerading as tantanmen. The chili powder didn’t help since it wasn’t even spicy.

But at least the miso ramen (₱329) was okay, said Arthur. It DID taste like miso, even if we agreed that there wasn’t a lot of sabaw, soup, served.

Also, at least we agreed on the gyoza; those were better-than-okay. The wrapper didn’t disintegrate, and the well-seasoned meat was malasa, tasty, and not overcooked nor undercooked.

BTW: there’s no service water here; instead, we were told that what they have isn’t safe to drink so we may as well order bottled water (₱50). That’s profiteering for sure.

Gist: The prices here are higher than those in Little Tokyo in Makati City, so you’d actually expect more. But with so-so offering and so-so service, suggesting for people to intentionally go to it is hard. I’d say: check when you’re in the area… though when there, you may also just want to check the other restaurants there.

So off we go for more lafangan reviews…

Tanto Tastes of Asia is located along Marcos Highway, Sitio Malapapaya, Brgy. Sampaloc, Tanay, Rizal. For more information, contact 09611434875.

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.