Naci Comfort Food & Dessert Bar

Naci is a restaurant located in our neighborhood and so we decided to eat here for Che's birthday. We were given the private room which was great because our group was creating such a ruckus. I must admit, we were really loud although I don't remember why we were laughing so much.

We started with Junior crabcakes @ Php 210. The crabcakes were really crunchy and just ok.

Kani Mango Salad @ Php 160. The salad was priced right. It was an average Kani Salad that one gets in a Japanese resto. The vermicelli noodles was a nice touch but it lost its crunchiness when we mixed it with the salad.

Lengua @ Php 320. I liked this dish. The lengua was not overcooked and had a nice bite to it. I would have preferred it to be creamier though so that the sauce does not run all over my plate.

Nadine's Adobo Canneloni @ Php280. We had mixed reviews over this dish. The flavor was there and it tasted good but the sauce didn't ooze out when we placed it into our plates. Maybe the bechamel sauce was overcooked. The bread was chewy too.

Longganisa & Green Grapes Pasta @Php 220. The sourness of the green grapes balanced the sweetness of the longannisa sauce. I wish we were given a choice of noodles. I would have preferred spaghettini noodles instead of the linguine.

I don't remember the name of this caramel cake. It was really delicious. It wasn't sweet at all.

Raspberry cheesecake @ Php 145. We had mixed reviews over this cake. I liked it but some of my friends said that one ingredient overpowered the dish. Maybe the sour cream???

The XS moms in the private room of NACI.

The birthday girl, Cheryl Whang. We gave her an orange cake from Bellini's and Malted Milk Ice Cream from Carmen's Best.

Now, for more photo ops. The service staff were really great not only with serving the dishes but also with taking our photos. They asked if they could do close-ups and knew how to take photos from an Iphone.

On our way out, we decided to have more photos while getting free taste of their cookies and chocolate barks. Actually, we could have done away with ordering dessert with our meal since there was a wide array of desserts to taste for free. I'll go back for their chocolate barks.

More photos while waiting for our last minute buys from their dessert counter.

The birthday girl showing what we decided to buy for our kids, i.e. cookies and brownies. Our family should really love us to the max because when we have our girl lunches we almost always bring home some goodies for them to taste.

Overall, Naci is a nice place to hang out with friends. The food and desserts are good and the service staff were very attentive. I suggest that you order the coffee pod though because our brewed coffee was so watered down. We complained to the waiter but he said that there was nothing he could do because the coffee was premeasured. Since they are so close to Xavier School, maybe they can buy their coffee from the school which sells Batangas ground and bean coffee. The proceeds from the sales of the coffee goes to the XS Educational Trust Fund. A win-win situation, don't you think?

Naci Comfort Food & Dessert Bar
2/F Fox Square Bldg.
Connecticut St.
Greenhills
(02) 726-7266

Borough Restaurant

Since my son had an all-nighter at Fiamma and came home in the wee hours of Saturday morning, we decided to do brunch at Borough as Part 2 of my birthday celebration. Why not? I lived in NYC for nearly 15 years before moving back to the Philippines and so I was curious how this resto would represent the food and vibes of the city that I love. When we entered the restaurant, I was shocked. I didn't expect to see cemented floors and a dimly lit place. One place came to mind, Elaine's restaurant located in the Upper East Side which was frequented by Woody Allen. Elaine's was only two blocks from our apt. and so we would have drinks there before the place became famous. Other than that, maybe Borough tried to replicate the Jazz bars in the Village.

My son ordered the dishes since he frequents this place. He said that they have large servings and so 3 dishes will be good enough for us.

Rothko Caesar Salad @ Php 210. This was just ok. The toast was dipped in egg much like French Toast then topped with shredded cheese and broiled until the cheese melted.

 Grilled Portobello Burger @ Php 330. This was served in a wooden tray with no side sauces. I really liked this dish. It was seasoned well and didn't need any sauces to enhance its flavor.

 Cheese Injected Portobello Pita Pocket @ Php 340. I absolutely loved this dish. The Portobello mushroom and Monterey cheese were breaded together and then deep fried. Zucchini slices were added to the pita with some type of lemon flavored aoili sauce. This was served with very thin slices of potatoes with skin.

Mom's Milk and Cookies @ Php 220. My son's all time favorite. Today we got chocolate chip cookies, gingerbread cookies and cranberry/oatmeal cookies. One dips the cookies in vanilla milk.

 We will definitely come back to try the other dishes especially the pumpkin ravioli. We used our discount coupons from Deal Grocer. What I liked about this restaurant was not only the food but that the noise from the other tables did not carry over. There was another couple seated next to us and the group of girls in the next booth. But we didn't even hear any of their conversations.

Borough Restaurant
The Podium, Ortigas Center