Mom and Tina's

SHE says...

We’ve been hearing nothing but good reviews from various blogs and friends about this café located along Libis. With all the buzz going around, our curiosity led us to trying out Mom and Tina’s. So one Friday night, Itoy decided to bring me to Mom & Tina’s (surprise daw, but I ended up guessing the place!).

The home café exuded a relaxing tone brought about by the sofas, the freshly baked goodies, and the lightings. It was like being in an All-American living room, kulang nalang ang fireplace. =)

And now it was time to order. I got really confused with what to order as everything in the menu seemed to whisper “yummy” or “delicious”! But then being the carnivore that I am, I ended up ordering their steak. (it was actually a battle between the roast beef and the steak)

The Verdict!

• Steak: The steak came along with gravy, buttered vegetables, and fries. The steak was just right to satisfy my hunger, so Itoy ended up munching my fries. =) Although good, I found their steak to be normal, nothing really “special” about it. It wouldn’t be that one dish I would keep on coming back for in Mom and Tina’s. The steak’s impact wasn’t as immense as how "Everything at Steak" or "Myron’s" has left me. I then regretted not ordering any of their pastas. I envied seeing a very satisfied Itoy with a big smirk on his face, thanks to his spinach lasagna…. I’ll definitely come back to Mom and Tina’s for this dish (or maybe the shepherd’s pie…. =))
• Strawberry Trifle: Now this ice cream cake I enjoyed. =) It reminded me of the strawberry shortcake my Aunt usually orders in Makati. It was just right—not too sweet but not too bland, although I would’ve enjoyed it more if there were more strawberries in it! For 60bucks, the dessert was all worth it. I will definitely be coming back to Mom and Tina’s for this treat-in-a-cup. =)
• Cupcakes: We decided to bring home 6 pieces of cupcakes for mom (which I ended up eating on my own). We tried the banana chocolate cupcake and the plain chocolate cupcake. Between the two, I enjoyed the banana chocolate cupcake more. I loved how the flavors of the banana cake and the chocolate icing blended and just became.. well, icing on top of the cake =) As their cupcakes are more on the sweet side, I think it is a must-try for everybody who has a sweet tooth (not a sweet cavity, as this may definitely cause the cavity!).

To personify Mom and Tina’s:

“Mom and Tina’s is like my human pillow who can whip me up with the most fantastic desserts any sweet tooth will love!”

HE says...

Mom and Tina's is a bakeshop cafe that serves meals aside from pastries and their famous ice cream cakes. The ambiance of the cafe has an American country house feel thats cozy and homey.
I ordered the Chicken Spinach Lasagna (P105) and Angel ordered the Ribeye steak (P245). The pasta was delicious (I believe Angel will agree with me on this), but I think thin chicken strips would have worked better than the ground chicken, even Angel thought it was ground pork and not chicken! But hey, we aren't experts!
We had ice cream cake cups for dessert, I had the Toblerone Hazelnut Torte (P75) while Angel had the Strawberry Trifle (P60), and I believe that Angel had the better deal.

The only downside of the place, in my perspective is that I wish they had a list of the available desserts instead of asking the customers to check out the freezers along the wall just because the waiter hasn't memorized the list of the desserts they serve.

Bottom line is its a nice place to hangout and chat with a few friends/ relatives/ loved ones over ice cream cups or pastries :)

Mom and Tina's is located along Libis, opposite Tiendesitas.

Secret Recipe!

SHE says...

It was funny how we stumbled upon Secret Recipe. We were supposed to have dinner at Conti’s in Serendra (a must recommend in this resto would be their Chicken a la Kiev! - but that's for another post!), but being number 18 in their priority list did not entice us to wait for our turn…. We were too damn hungry to even just think of going around before our tables get ready in Conti’s.

- in the middle of this event was something not very enjoyable to talk about. Imagine two MUCHO hungry, hot-headed people who traveled all the way to the Fort (hey, it’s not a joke if you go through the traffic in c-5) just to get a bite of those oh so delicious conti’s food but at the end of it all…  hmm, not a very good sight indeed.-

… And then there was Secret Recipe. We were THIS close to going to Conti’s in Greenhills just to answer our appetite for their muy delicioso food. But on the way there, we stumbled upon Secret Recipe while waiting for the traffic light’s go signal and decided that our hunger could not wait any longer.

Secret Recipe is a café franchise from Malaysia. It specializes on its cheesecakes, which I can definitely say is one of the best in the country today. I ordered their chicken cordon bleu, but as a “tambok kami” tradition goes, in the middle of the dinner, we exchanged our food. And between my food (cordon bleu) and Itoy’s (Chicken with Tumeric Sauce), I can say that he ordered the yummier dish. =)

The Chicken Cordon Bleu (and their rice too) can be described in one word: peppery. When you get through the breading, you will see nothing but black spices around the chicken. It was actually very tasty, but it was just too “nakakasuya” when you get in the middle of the food. But Itoy’s food…. YUMMY MAN! The yellow sauce reminiscent of curry was the bomb! I’m not really a fan of curry but this one is definitely a must-try when you get there. =)

And of course, we just had to try the cheesecake for dessert. IT WAS HEAVENLY. This definitely made our “journey” to the Fort worth it! It was just like eating the clouds but with a cheesy-chocolatey flavor in it. =)

I will definitely recommend their cheesecakes for dessert. To personify Secret Recipe,

“Secret Recipe is my new found friend that bakes really really good cheesecakes!”

HE says... Its a gourmet cheesecake shop with good food to start off before you enjoy their cheesecake for dessert. For me this place was more a dessert place than a real resto because of the short menu list of entrees, 4 to be exact. they also serve soup, salad and noodle dishes. I ordered the roast chicken with tumeric sauce. it was served with a siding of fries and buttered veggies, but im very Filipino so i ordered rice to go with it. hehe! The dish i ordered was really good! as expected of one of their bestsellers! Even if everything was peppered with a vengeance (even the rice!) , it wasn't really peppery spicy in fact it the taste was peppered to perfection!

For dessert angel and i tried one of their cheesecakes (i forget which one!). the texture and the taste was fantastic, the cheese part of the cake literally melts in your mouth!

The ambiance struck me as industrial (high ceiling, mirrors, pillars/ columns in the middle of the eating area) with a touch of goth (candelabras and black and white frames) Price-wise its approx 400 a head for a main dish, a drink and a slice of cheesecake. reasonable for those dinner dates with your love ones :)




Bottom line its a good option to try out as a dinner place or a desert place.


Secret recipes is located in the ground floor of 32nd and 5th building beside mcdonalds at the corner of 32nd and 5th ave in the fort bonifacio compound.

Welcome to tambok kami

Tambok kami means "we're fat" in a mix of cebuano and tagalog. Angel and Itoy love to eat, and because they love to eat, Itoy is fat! haha!!
This blog is a he said/ she said take on the places where Itoy and Angel share their love for food.

Stay awhile and look around, we hope you like what you see and read!

DISCLAIMER: Both Angel and Itoy are not certified food critiques, but are definitely certified food lovers!