Duo Steakhouse and Wine Bar

How is everyone doing today? I hope you're doing well on this rainy day. As you would know the most common and on demand jobs here in the Philippines is working as a Customer Support. Luckily for me, I found the most awesome job in the country, unfortunately I am not allowed to tell you where that is. I wouldn't be boasting this if it wasn't true. Well, the reason why I had to mention that is because our salary distribution is during dates 6 and 21 every month. Today was one of the most amazing days of my life. I got to spend it with my family. 

After shift, I met up with my family to spend some time bonding which ofcourse involves FOOD, DRINKS and COFFEE. I work in Market Market Taguig city, so obviously it's near Serendra Piazza. Since I get out at 3pm, we wanted to take some time to stroll to the nearest fine dining restaurants that we can find in the area. We walked pass every restaurant that we can find and finally they've decided to try out Duo Steakhouse and Wine Bar, It was infront of Power Books and beside Contis. 

At first we took a look at the menu and made sure that there were steaks which is very important because of my brother who loves steaks. (But then again it says in the name of the resto "STEAKHOUSE" "obviously") So we went inside, I love how Oliver greeted us with a nice smile and immediately took some menu books before he can seat us. Together with his manager named Ver they fixed a table for 7 and they were very accomodating and cheerful. They had clean uniforms and they looked very pleasing.

Upon entering, we found the place clean and neat. It was elegant but not that fancy. Old fashioned style of restaurant, had a Filipino vibe in it. My mom loves brown so she loves the chairs the table settings and everything was very adorable. Silverware and glasswares were clean and shiny. I also loved their ceilings it was simple but very classy, the place looked big because of their high ceilings. I think they have a 2nd floor but I wasn't able to see (maybe some other time). 

I wasn't able to ask where the name of the restaurant originated but I have read from their Facebook that "Duo means a combination of two, it's a combination of excellent food and impeccable service, to provide you the perfect dining experience in a comfortable setting." You can enjoy different selections such as seafoods, chicken, steaks and if you're a vegetarian they offer freshly cooked vegetables, salads, desserts and a long list of Wine selections. 

We were pleased to have a good service from Ver who was patient enough to bare with us in taking our orders. That's really a two thumbs up service. 

While waiting for our orders, they served us each individual with our own butter and some warm bread which was really good because we didn't had the chance to order some appetizer like salads and etc. 

ORDERS:

Pizza Pasta Chicken platter - The platter says it all, Pizza, Chicken and Pasta. Served in a huge round plate. Plating wise was fine, clean and neat. They had like 8 squares of pizza, topped with cheese and tomatoes and you can taste the oregano, I think it was a Margharitta Pizza. The pasta was like lasagna but had a different taste in it, it had more spicy, I think they added some cumin and a little italian seasoning and a little spicy, I'm guessing that was because of powdered chili. The chicken was to die for! I love their chicken, so as for my family, they ate all of the chicken fingers they served us. It was tender and juicy in the inside, but even though the batter wasn't that crispy it was tasty and delicious. It wasn't greasy nor salty it just tasted right. 

Chicken Kebabs, Lamb Spareribs and Beef Platter - I've been saying this to most of my blogs, we love steaks and lamb! We are red meat lovers! NO JOKE! Served in a large round plate as well, plating was ok. There was also a gravy/sauce/salad cup in the middle of the plate. Anyways, Chicken kebabs were a little dry and the veggies were saggy. The beef was amazing, it reminded me and my siblings when my mom use to pressure cook beef and just add tomato paste and onion! It was yummy! You wouldn't believe how delicious and juicy and tender the beef would be by just adding 2 ingredients. I love the beef. The LAMB! oh GOD! It was like "the main event of a program"! It was tender, the greasy goodness (for me it's good fat! haha!), delicious and most of all it was fresh! ("hindi maanta" as my mom would say). I love the salad with sour cream, carrots and cucumber and if I'm not mistaken I tasted a little celery in it. Please combine that with the Lamb and BOOM, fireworks inside your mouth! You guys got to try those! I promise it will be the best thing you ever ate! Next time I'll be there I will surely order this platter again! TRUST ME GUYS, it's worth it!If you're planning to dine in with Duo, please do order this one! My two thumbs up dish!

Steak and Chicken - Ok! Now here's my brother's order since we had to order some steaks for the family we decided to go for the combination of chicken and steak matched with mashed potatoes (his favorite side dish) and buttered veggies. We ordered 2 of these one for my brother and one for my little sister. They served it on a regular dinner plate, plating was at an angle, I think it's more than 200g of serving all in all which is normal since it's two dishes in one plate. At first look you can see black pepper corns and some onion seeds mixed. I love the taste of gravy and the tenderness and juicyness of the meat. The chicken was perfectly pan seared and the steak was medium rare! Belissimo! It was not gooey at all, it was grilled just the way we wanted. Vegetables were crispy and al dente. It's a good thing that it wasn't the typical mixed veggies that some serve (carrots, corns and broccoli). I love the idea that they added asparagus and baby corns. We ate them all! GOOD JOB guys! The mashed Potato was just fine. Nothing spectacular about it, we had to combine with gravy to add a little taste to it. 

Lasagna Bolognese - Now here's a dish you don't have everyday. I love the concept of their baked lasagne! I mean it's enough that we eat spahgetti bolognese, but lasagne with bolognese sauce? Cmon! Why not try them. (oh! and btw it's my mom's choice! Way to go mom!) For those of you who don't know what bolognese sauce is, it's a meat sauce that (obviously) originated from Bologna, Italy. It started out as just a simple dish which is Ragu alla bolognese. They had different techniques in cooking this dish, which fortunately for me/us (young culinarians) learned it the easy way (lucky us!). The dish was served in a baking dish, served hot and garnished with parsley leaf. You can see the colors of red and green and the melted cheese (uh lala!). Beef was perfectly seasoned, onion, some of italian seasoning, I tasted a little cumin as well, carrots, celery and slices of bell peppers and onions. One plate of this and you can be full in no time! 

Fettucine with Chicken and Hungarian Sausage  - You think you had enough pasta? This dish has great combinations of flavors. Served in a pasta bowl and servings are good for two (but we had to share for 7 since we ordered a couple of dishes). Had some shitake mushrooms, garlic seasoned chicken and the flavorful hungarian sausage. For some will think that the flavors are too much but it was balanced by tarragon leaves and grated mozzarella cheese. Not bad. Not bad at all. 

Mango Smoothie - Icy, nutricious and sweet is what I'd describe this smoothie. Blended smoothly and served in a tall shake glass! The mango was fresh and sweet. Fresh whip cream and topped with red cherry! 

Watermelon Smoothie - Bro's pick. It was sweet but I can taste the luck of watermelon in it. A little more of the watermelon would make it a real watermelon smoothie. No whip cream but they topped it with red cherry. 

After munching to all the dishes we ate, we took the bill and me and my sister divided the bill. YEP! Gave tips for good service. We didn't get the chance to order desserts since we planned on getting them at Starbucks, inside Fully Booked. And of course buy some books to read. We like how everything was served and we didn't wait that long for our orders. They were friendly and nice. I like that. Thanks Ver for a job well done! "You have definitely provided us with impeccable service and perfect dining experience in a comfortable setting." Fat Girl invaded Duo Steakhouse and Wine Bar! Nice! Til next time guys! 

Kwais Miya Miya! 

Eat Happy Everyone!

Love,

Zielle a.k.a Fat Girl

Duo Steakhouse and Wine Bar

Ground Floor, Serendra Piazza, 

Bonifacio Global City

856-1200, 856-1300, 909-5210, 0915 813 6686

www.duo.com.ph

Bigby's

Fat Girl's Recipe: MENUDO

A lot of my friends are asking how to cook menudo. Well first off, menudo is a very colorful dish because of the different colored vegetables not to mention the hotdog. So here it goes hope everyone likes it. 




 MENUDO

 Ingredients: 

MENUDO

1/2 kilo Pork Belly 
1/4 kilo Chicken Liver 
3 pcs. Jumbo hotdog, sliced 
3 Cloves Garlic, minced 
2 medium sized Red Onion, diced 
2 medium sized Tomatoes, cubes 
5 medium sized Potatoes, cubes 
2 pcs. Carrots, cubes 
4 small Green Bell Peppers, cubes 
1 small pack Frozen Peas 


 4 c Water 
1/2 c soy sauce 
1/3 c oyster sauce 
3 tbsp. Tomato Paste 
2 tbsp. Sugar 
Salt and Pepper 


Procedure: 
1. Saute garlic and onion until golden brown,add the pork and let it cook. 
2. Once the pork is cooked, add the tomatoes. 
3. After adding the tomatoes, add the potatoes and carrots. Let it cook for a few minutes. Then add the hotdogs. 
4. Once the potatoes and carrots are half cooked add the hotdog and chicken liver. Let it cook for a few minutes. 
5. Add the rest of the ingredients except the bell pepper And peas. Let it simmer for 3 minutes. 
6. Lastly, add the bell pepper and peas. Let it simmer until all ingredients are cooked evenly. 


 READY TO SERVE!!!



Eat HAPPY Everyone!!
Kwaizz miya miya!!




Yours Truly,
Zielle a.k.a Fat Girl

New Year's Eve! Yellow 2012!

Before the golden sun sets, 

old calender is destroyed, 

And mobile networks get jammed, 

For last year's words belong to last year's language 

And next year's words await another voice. 

And to make an end is to make a beginning.Happy New Year!

13 round fruits, water, salt, mirror for reflection of wealth, grain of rice, 12 green candles, fish,coins, ginataan, ube, cotton, bills and dragon for 2012.mom's yearly ritual... Hehehehe.

we are all in yellow... lucky colors for 2012 are yellow and green

New Year's Resolution for my blog:

1. Write more food blogs for 2012.

2. Explore different cuisine like indian, moroccan and etc.

3. Try Exotic food. Frogs,rats, snakes and etc.

Eat HAPPY Everyone!!

Kwaizz miya miya!!

Yours Truly,

Zielle a.k.a Fat Girl

Christmas 2011! We are in green...

In this Christmas,

In the daytime if the sun shines pray all your expectations come true,

At night when the moon comes out we all shall receive blessings from the heaven,

Then if the rain falls hope it would wash all the pain and sorrow we had this year..

Happy Christmas Everyone.!!!

 my cousins and aunts posing for the camera after opening presents...

 Grilled pork liempo, grilled T-bone, Grilled Chicken, Leche Flan, Salad, Strawberry Cake, Choco Fudge, and Hotdog

 Nephew (Drei) and Niece (Jada)

Cousin (Daze and Cris)

Eat HAPPY Everyone!!

Kwaizz miya miya!!

Yours Truly,

Zielle a.k.a Fat Girl

It's My Ninang's Birthday!!!

Chocolate Cake P286.00 - was ordered from Goldilocks, lucky for us it was freshly baked, moist in the inside, chocolaty and it's so delicious. *sigh*

It Novermber 27 and It's the best Godmother's birthday! We went to Binangonan to celebrate my Godmother or in Filipino it's Ninang's Birthday. It's a very special day for her, since her daughter, Ate Michelle is not home to celebrate it with her or us, we make sure she's never alone and make it very special for her. i love her. 
  

This is my ninang and my mother...

The bffs took a picture with my ninang's gift, a soft and yellow comforter..

 yes! there's me and my family... eating and posing for the camera...

 T-bone steaks - grilled to perfection.. peppery and tasty! 

Marinated with vinegar, sprite, salt, pepper and a little bit of Lemon Juice. 

 Grilled Porkchops - My mom marinated them, with sprite, salt and pepper, soy sauce, vinegar and kalamansi.

Grilled Chicken - same with the pork marinade. 

 

 Fruta de Crema - (I love saying that Fruta de Crema! hahahaha.. ok guys say it with me FRUTA DE CREMA!!!) if you are a gelatin addict and a lover then this is the dessert you like. in some cases this would have a sponge or a butter cake with filling, but in this case it is made of gelatin with different fruit flavors. 

Grilled Hotdogs - I learned this from my cousin, when grilling hotdogs you have to brush it with  mixed oil, ketchup, soy sauce, salt and pepper.

 Puto (Steamed Rice Cake) and Kutchinta (Brown Rice Cake) - both are steamed rice, but with Puto it's  more of a thick rice and with Kutchinta it's more refine and smooth. 

 fresh fruts, Watermelon, Melon and Pomelo

 Fruit Salad - Cream and Condensed Milk. Whole Kennel Corn and fruits. 

This is me with my Ninang's Cake heheh! YEP! 

So we spent the night bonding and share a lot of laughs and had our stomach full of course...


Eat HAPPY Everyone!!
Kwaizz miya miya!!


Yours Truly,
Zielle a.k.a Fat Girl

Falls off the Bone

I love steaks... I love them!

I usually tell my boy friend that I’m craving for steaks even though we had it like a day before or something like that. I actually say that all that time just so he could agree. After his shift, we met at SM MOA to have dinner then went RACKS.

RACKS is known for their tender and “fall of the bone” steaks. They have this technique in grilling them. I don’t know how you do it but it really tastes good. Their best sellers are the Baby Back Ribs that starts off with P500.00++. Their Hickory Smoked flavored Chicken that starts of at P169.00, is also known. Grown-up or kids also loves coming back for their Mac and Cheese – P55.00.  I’ve been in this restaurant a couple of times.

These are some of their services ;Takes Reservations ,Walk-Ins Welcome, Good For Groups, Good For Kids, Take Out, Delivery, Waiter Service and Outdoor Seating. They accept credit cards, Visa, Mastercard or American Express.

I love the bright white base architecture. I like the touch of greens and yellows. The chairs and tables are made of wood, they’re very soft and neat looking. I like how they made a concept of exposing their brick oven, so that customers will be able to see how their steaks are grilled.  MOA branch can use little bit of cleaning. But I don’t blame them there were really a lot of diners during that time so, there wasn’t really enough time to sweep the floors or wipe it up.

The receptionist was nice and was able to assist us in getting a seat. But was not able to introduce us to any servers, she just hand the menu and that’s it. Then after a while, a guy went to us and introduces himself, and his name is Sherwin.

Since it’s a steak house and all the incredible sauces or basting sauce for all the steaks are very juicy and messy and not to mention all the servers are wearing white, our server had a few spots on his clothes which I believe came from the steaks. He wasn’t able to recommend any dishes for us so we really had to choose on our own.

But once m and my boyfriend picked a dish we liked he was able to explain what was in it and what are our options which is a big thing because usually as soon as we get our orders done, they just write it down and just leave. That’s it!  He did a good job in explaining and repeating our orders..

My boyfriend had the bottomless Ice Tea – P80.00++. It was cute because the served it in a beer mug, so at first we thought it was a beer but it really wasn’t so that’s cute. And I had the Pink Lemonade - P80.00++, as mentioned I like big serving, unfortunately for this one there wasn’t really any option to have it bottomless and it was not enough.

For our appetizer we had the Buffalo Wings – P207.00 (3 pcs). It’s not that spicy. It has a very light color. It wasn’t that warm either. I like the mild taste, a little bland for my taste but it’s still ok. I would recommend offering this to kids.

          My boyfriend had the Baby Back Ribs – P425.00 (Half Slab), served with corn bread, a choice of side dish which in his case he had the Asian Slaw, Mac & Cheese and steamed rice. The Asian Slaw was a bit dry but tasty and delicious. Mac & Cheese is to die for. And the baby back ribs was so tender and soft! He finished the whole thing.

          I wanted a real steak. I diet – killer steak. I ordered the Beef Ribs – P316.00 (Quarter Slab) – served with corn bread and your choice of side dishes. I had the Potato Salad and Mac & Cheese. I loved the Potato salad. Not too warm and not too cold. I like the taste very Italian. I really liked the ribs. It’s very soft and very tender. I could have another one if I was asked to.

So.. here's the deal.. if you're looking for a hot and super delicious and of course affordable steaks you can always visit RACKS. i enjoyed it.. and surely you will to. Hope you enjoyed...Thanks for reading.. 

Eat HAPPY Everyone!!

Kwaizz miya miya!!

Yours Truly,

Zielle a.k.a Fat Girl

Racks

116 Ground Floor, Entertainment Mall, SM Mall of Asia Pasay

556-4787

http://www.facebook.com/pages/RACKS/340692778900