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

Marciano's Pizza Pasta Steaks

It's my Uncle's birthday and the original plan was to eat at Chili's Greenbelt 5 but unfortunately and the usual, we've waited for almost 30 minutes. So since we were all hungry we decided to eat to a different restaurant. 

We went to Greenbelt 3 and storlled until we picked a place to eat. And We saw "Marciano's : Pizza Pasta Steaks". It was intimidating at first but once we looked at the menu and saw Pizza and Pasta, we knew the kids and ofcourse Me would love the place. 

The reception was very welcoming and very accommodating. She called a few of her crew and fixed us a long table. We were 16 and with the place that big, they were able to put together a long table. Good JOB! 

Marciano's was inspired by the greatest Italian-American boxer who proved that dreams do come true.The fine dining restaurant had a black vintage looking theme. Very intimate and classic. They had a TV which shows an Elizabeth Taylor Movie. Those beautiful black cushion with silver frame was so comfy to sit on. Floors were clean. I love the idea of chandeliers (which looked a little dirty but not that obvious) and red curtains (which had a few spider webs) that they use to avoid looking at other tables,though I don't know why they just had them on one side. The plates were a bit off though, I think those were ceramic plates, they were heavy but they looked dirty (I don't know if it's because it's been used dozens of times or the light was too dark that they were not really giving out the color). Their centerpieces were not really that exciting. It's just a vase with a red liquid where they just light up a candle and it's done. The silverware were clean and their glasses were typical. 

When it comes to clothing, servers wear black, I don't know if there was a manager coz we haven't met one. I always say this, if you see that there are a few guests inside, it's a proper etiquette to greet each guest and ask how's the food and asks for some feedback. But that didn't happen. Some of the servers were aloof and never put up a smile on us which I think is a big NO! NO!

There were no restrooms inside so if you guys want to use the restroom, you can ask the servers were to go. 

So we sat down, Bugsy Siegel gave us some menu books. He was very patient, knowing that we were 16, he was patient and kind to wait for us until we've decided. He was able to recommend some of their specialties and knew what we wanted even though we were in total chaos. While looking at the menu, I noticed that their food items have creative names inspired by old Hollywood glam. I find that adorable and funny at the same time. 

ORDERS:

SALADS:

Caesar Salad - P  228.00 - Plating was in those cute bowls which I adore. The salad had Huge leaves of Romaine Lettuce (which were too big to fit in your mouth), croutons and caesar dressing and parmesan cheese. Nothing too special about it. It's a normal salad. I like the croutons though. 

Marciano's Signature - P 289.00 - This is by far the best salad I've ever tasted, the combination of  sherry vinegar, a little splash of Balsamic and provolone cheese and the saltiness of prosciutto, candied walnuts and pears are just to die for! I love this salad you guys need to have this! My two-thumbs up salad! A must try!

Autumn in New York - P 288.00 - I am not a fan of Honey Balsamic dressing it's too sour for me. This salad had shrimp, squid and grapes and romaine lettuce. Grapes were sweet and squid and shrimp were tender and easy to bite into. Not a  bad combination, it's the dressing that ticks me off!

If you order a salad, I suggest you to ask them to cut the leaves into bite sizes because the one we had were huge. But then you can always cut these leaves with your dinner knife. 
STEAKS:

Goldman Sachs - P 1,788.00 - It's a platter of Shrimp, steaks, Baked Mussles, Potato wedges and roasted vegetables (Zucchini, leeks and bell peppers).The steak was tender, the shrimp was flavorful (but it wasn't fresh), Baked mussels were huge and baked just right, vegetables were al dente I haven't tried roasted leeks, they're very tasty. Potato wedges was a bit salty. Presentation was ok. Nothing too fancy.

T- Bone - P918.00 - The T-bone steak was too boring! There were nothing that amazed me with this dish. It was a typical steak matched with mashed potato. Yes, it was tender and obviously my brother preferred a medium rare but it was boring. I wasn't satisfied or happy with the mashed potato because it was too dry so we had to add their steak sauce onto the mashed potatoes and it tasted a little better. Plating was ok, there were not a lot of colors in this dish except for the asparagus which popped a green color from the dish. I won't be ordering this dish again.

PIZZAS:

Bendel's Margherita Pizza - P 308.00 - They have the thinest crust I've ever seen. It's so thin that I call it "The crispy Pizza!". My family is a big fan of Margherita Pizza. Simple yet tasty flavors when combined. I love the mozzarella Cheese and tomato. Presentation is normal. Served in a big round plate. 

Adam Sandler Four Cheese - P 388.00 - With Pomodoro, Gorgonzola, provolone and mozzarella. Not a bad combination for cheeses. Normal. Good. Topped with thinly sliced basil leaves. 

PASTAS:
Joe Dimaggio Beef Stroganoff - P 328.00 - The beef was tender and the creamy sauce was flavorsome. I liked this pasta, if there's something to recommend this would be the dish! I love the simple plating, colors and flavor from the bellpeppers and the thin slices of beef. There was a certain taste of the dish that made this dish my two-thumbs-up of the day! 

Studio 54 Shrimp and Italian Sausage - P328.00 - They said this was one of their best sellers so we had to have it.Spaghetti with Olive oil, shrimp and sausages basically. I wasn't that pleased with this dish, but I guess if you want a healthy and simple meal you should order this one. 

Central Park Carbonara - P 288.00 - It's a normal carbonara, it tastes good. The bacon bits were amazing. The pasta was al dente, the creamy sauce was ok and flavorful. It's a typical Carbonara dish. 

BEVERAGES:

Mango Shake - P158.00 

Watermelon Shake - P158.00

Strawberry, Banana and Lychee - P188.00

 I would like to thank our two servers Bugsy Seigal and Reese who are very patient with me and my family. Two thumbs up to Ms. Reese for wearing high heals while carrying those heavy plates and knowing she has a model type of body! She definitely could use a raise! Nice job there! 
All in all it was ok. I like Marciano's Pasta and Pizza dishes. I'm glad I was able to dine in this restaurant. Very elegant and classic. A little too pricey for a small serving. I'd give them 3 stars out of 5. 
My uncle was happy. Thanks to Marciano crew for singing a happy birthday to my uncle. It was obvious that you guys don't really sing or offer those things but I'm very glad you guys made an effort! Thank You!

Happy Birthday Tiyo Nardo!

 We love you! 

Eat HAPPY Everyone!!
Kwaizz miya miya!!


Yours Truly,
Zielle a.k.a Fat Girl




Marciano's : Pizza Pasta Steaks
2nd Level, Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati
7290467
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marcianos/149716768261?sk=info