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Peanut Butter Love

I've been hearing raves about Peanut Butter Company (PB Co.) ever since it opened, but it is quite far from where we live. It took me some time to gain enough patience to brave the traffic going to SM North Edsa.

It was our parents' wedding anniversary and syoti Raphael's first month, so we decided to celebrate in Peanut Butter Company. PB Co. specializes in take-out pasta and sandwiches that use their gourmet peanut butter. I was a bit surprised that the place discourages dine-in guests because of the few dine-in tables available and the way the sandwiches/pasta are served (in take-out wrappers and containers).

It is a cross between Oliver's Sandwiches, a coffee shop and an Iron Chef episode with Peanut Butter as the main ingredient. We had fun because the food is quite unique and yummy. We have our own preferences but we all agree that the Sesame Peanut Butter was the best. :)

Sizzlin' Pepper Steak - Pinoy Version of Pepper Lunch, Singapore

So after trying Five Cows and Toast Box in Trinoma, I would suggest that you try out Sizzling Pepper Steak! This is a fun restaurant inspired by Pepper Lunch in Singapore (or was it a rip off? check out Nina's post). The restaurant visionary behind Peri Peri Chicken and Tokyo Cafe in MOA (which we love), opened the first branch of Sizzling Pepper Steak in Trinoma. The resto uses a cow icon that resembles Teriyaki Boy.

Trinoma is huge and navigating your way around the mall could be a challenge. When you see La Maison, go down one more level and you should see Sizzling Pepper Steak along the rows of restaurant in level M1. You got to try it.

Hamburg Steak | Soup, Salad and Kiddie Meal | Sizzling Pepper Specials, Japanese | Sizzling Pepper Rice | How does it work? | Desserts

The best sellers in the house are the Hamburg Steak and the Sizzling Pepper Rice. What makes the restaurant unique is the "expediently fast patented hot plate system" for cooking the meat. It uses an oval sizzling plate for cooking the meat on the spot. We liked the pepper rice variation but find the hamburger steak ordinary. I was surprised that the meat of the hamburger was still soft even if I overcooked one side of the meat.

Toast Box opens in Trinoma!

Finally, Toast Box opens in Manila! I'm so excited because ever since My Kaya Addiction post a year ago, I have been waiting for these Kaya chains from Singapore to open here in Manila. Toast Box is a sister company of Bread Talk and their first store opens in Trinoma in the Main Lobby (beside Gourdo's). I think they just opened last September 1 in Trinoma and the second branch will be in Robinsons Manila.

This is definitely something worth driving all the way to Trinoma. Congratulations to Trinoma for their grand opening today! It is a lot better now but still as crowded as Mall of Asia on a weekend or public holiday. You just have to put up with the crazy parking design.

I liked the Toast Box kaya toast because of its different flavors like the honey kaya. Ya Kun Kaya Toast is the most popular one in Singapore and I wonder if they will open here. Can you see the mountain of butter they use for the kaya toast?

Drinks and Main Dishes | Toast Box Set

Five Cows Birthday

Five Cows Resto and Ice Cream Bar, 4th Floor Trinoma

We decided to take a day off on my birthday and spend it with the family in Trinoma. I was dying to try the ice cream concoctions in Five Cows, one of the hottest restaurants in Trinoma. Despite our earlier Trinoma misadventures, Trinoma is starting to show that it has more to offer even for people who live in Makati or Manila. It was now pleasant to shop around after 3 months of operation and the parking is still confusing but the security guards are more helpful.

We celebrated my birthday in La Maison, a French Casual Dining Restaurant originally based in Cebu and enjoyed the desserts at Five Cows Resto and Ice Cream Bar. On hindsight, we should have eaten our main course in Five Cows to avoid the disappointing lunch at La Maison. After lunch, we treated Aidan to a Time Zone entertainment where he rode a horse, plane, train, mini ferris wheel, and various cars. We also did a little bit of shopping for a white chic polo which I wore for the Olay White Radiance Launch last night at Decagon.

Thanks for all those who greeted via text and email! It actually sucks to be 33 and realize that I'm getting old. I just realized it when I attended the Olay white radiance event and most of the girls who attended are in the 18-20 age range.

Trinoma Misadventures

Trinoma, Triangle North of Manila, "soft" opened last 16th of May 2007. The much-awaited opening of an Ayala Mall outside Makati was disappointing. The misadventure started with a game of "Find a Parking Spot" where guards were there to confuse you so you get to tour the mall and you don't get a parking space immediately. Don't just park in the open space parking outside the mall, because you will miss on all the fun in playing the game. The fee for playing the game is P30 for the first 4 hours :) Most of the malls that opened which includes Mall of Asia and Serendra, usually have free parking on their first 2 weeks but not Trinoma.

After you get your parking spot, the architects created a maze disguised as a mall which is not characteristic of an Ayala Mall but more of a Robinson's Galleria Mall. Good luck in finding the shops or resto you want to go to but I'm glad that customer service is available, if you find the information counters. The main lobby area (pictured above) is well landscaped but nothing really to rave about. Don't you think there's so much vertical beams around the mall? There is also a road block in the maze where you will have to find your way to enter the mall if you are caught having dinner outside the Main Lobby area after 9pm. Another good luck in finding your way back to your parking.

I was just having fun at this post because "soft" opening for Trinoma means stay away from this mall until the dust settles. I've checked out the list of restaurants and shop in the hope of finding something uniquely Trinoma but there was none. Let me know if you find something interesting in Trinoma that is worth raving about. I live in the Malate area so it was not worth the hassle to go to Trinoma. We should have just eaten in SM's The Block which have more interesting restaurants and shops.

Check out the rest of our Trinoma Misadventures....