After Office Gelato Heaven at Casa Italia Cafe in BGC

Had dinner with blogger friends the other day at Casa Italia Cafe over at Burgos Circle in Bonifacio Global City. It's rarely new, one of two stores of which the other one is in SM North Edsa. As the name says, Casa Italia serves Italian comfort food. It's a franchise from Singapore with Italian roots, so the store is more modern rather than plain rustic. I was expecting a woodsy, dark, oak barrel laden restaurant much like what the Godfather movies portray but I saw a different one when we arrived. Let me take you around!

The Interiors

The place tickled my fancy. It was colorful, very modern and fresh. I could tell they heavily invested in the interiors as some of the pieces were also Italian. The tables, the seating, plus one or more feature walls was reminiscent of an American Italian Diner if I were in the states. This area is pretty crowded with different restaurants and they need to stand out, I think they really did. It's cozy, relaxed, not too uptight when you want to dine and unwind with friends. You don't need to wear a tie or heels to fit in. The staff were all warm and accommodating so we weren't intimidated even if the space was huge! 

This is the ground floor where you can order your freshly made Gelato. They also have other things on the menu which you can take. They have dining areas here and upstairs.

They do what the Italians do. They have a section selling freshly baked breads and pastries, plus really good espresso, and just about the regular coffee flavors you need to get throughout the day.

The Gelato section is crazy. My jaw dropped just by seeing the sheer collection of flavors that they do. The usual favorites are the Green Mango, Avocado, Philippine Mango, Strawberry and Formaggi (Cheese). Aside from the sweet ones, they serve real deal Gelato with Whiskey, Cocktails that's got the same amount of alcohol content as the thing itself. This is part of their after office hours series, a smart idea for those who would like to unwind and just literally "chill".

If you see the jars on the bottom right side of this photo, they actually serve you Gelato with unlimited toppings. You can help yourself to any of the items here - which would make it a dream by any standards.

The second floor has a larger dining space, all in all it could fit around 50-60 people. They've got it maintained well too as it's very clean and pretty!

The Food

They serve Italian staples, more of comfort food for you and me. They cook quite good, they serve it hot so make sure you have room for carbs as you order them. The serving size is big but can be also shared if you are not much of an eater.

This is their Carbonara. I love the huge slice of Bacon on top, it makes the whole thing legit. The sauce was a little runny probably because of pasta water as it was just taken out of the kitchen. They didn't season it that much probably because they want you to work a little. There's a salt and pepper shaker in every table so you can adjust to your taste.

Their Bolognese was so good. I had to for myself way to the dish of my friend to get to taste this. Theirs is not too sour, a thing that I like when they use tomatoes for sauces. I'd have this to share.

You can't complete a meal without dessert so I had their Green Mango Gelato!

See anything unusual? Look closely on the topping. That's actually Shrimp Paste. Filipinos love Green Mango with Bagoong (local name) so they whipped this up for kicks and the recipe was approved in their main office. This is super good, you would have to try this when you step into their store!

For protein lovers, this Roasted Chicken was divine! They used herbs and put in potatoes on the bottom, probably spent quite some time in the oven to reach this point. Don't forget the lovely gravy, we actually did and  we were sorry we ate all the chicken on the plate ha-ha!

For drinks, Casa Italia Cafe actually serves locally crafted beers plus imported ones like what you see above. I like the Katipunan Indio Pale Ale and Hoegaarden. They even have a happy hour, get them beers cold while spending a bit less than the ones compared in other bars in the same area!

For those who love Gelato but still want to get a kick, they've got Johnnie Walker Black Label and other cocktails made into Gelato form. Now you can have your lovely frozen treat and get that kick you need for casual drinking. A pretty smart idea for those who just left the office and want to spend time here rather than braving the Makati/EDSA traffic. 

Casa Italia Cafe is located near Burgos Circle in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. They've got piping hot hearty meals, refreshing drinks and a whole lot of Gelato flavors to choose from. After work, invite your friends and family so you can enjoy, unwind and indulge yourself because you deserve it. You've done your job, let Casa Italia take you to Italy right in the heart of BGC.

For more information about their restaurant:

Casa Italia Cafe Philippines

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Visit their official website

http://www.casaitalia.com.ph/

Shakey's Opens New Store in Bonifacio Stopover

A few days ago, we visited the new Shakey's branch in Bonifacio Stopover. It's the commercial space located at the corner of 31st and 2nd Avenue in Bonifacio Global City. It's also called BGC Stopover Pavilion and houses some of the newest restaurants in this side of Taguig. Aside from that, Shakey's is taking your ordering experience to a new level as they introduce the new Shakey's App which is now available in App Store and Google Play. Check out this video I made on how you can use it to order.

You can still order the classic way though, yeap! Dial 77777 and they can get you what you want, what you love in the Shakey's menu. Might I suggest the Philly Cheese Steak Pizza while you're at it. There are also several meal packages so if you're with friends or family, you'll save a lot but won't compromise taste. Shakey's has good food and finally, they've also devised a way to make anybody send their loved ones some good ol family treats because people, especially the OFW's can now order online and send it to the addresses of anyone here in the Philippines where their delivery service is available. If you don't like to go through installing the app, you can visit https://www.shakeyspizza.ph/ and do the same. But remember, when you use the app, you also have the chance to have the digital version of the Shakey's Supercard so you can get perks and freebies when you want it, where you want it! Or you can tie up your existing one and get points together. 

I had the Cucumber Cooler Shake, Fried Chicken, Mojos, Pizza, Carbonara and Spaghetti. Loved every bit of it so I always go back to the same place almost every week with friends and family. It's Shakey's time!

For more information about their stores:

Shakeys PH

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Visit their official website

http://www.shakeyspizza.ph/

SuperdryStore Opens in Central Square BGC

One of my favorite stores in the world, SUPERDRY!

I was one fortunate guy to have been able to work beside a Superdry store when I was still in the corporate world. If you only knew how much I held back on buying everything from that store, you would think I'm crazy. It's like when they thought of building this, they already knew what I want in my wardrobe, not to mention the bags... oh don't get me started!

Okay, so I cried myself to sleep not getting all the bags and shirts from this store. The good news is, they've built another SuperdryStore at the 2nd Floor of Central Square in Bonifacio Global City. I was like a kid in a candy store when they released their  Autumn-Winter 2014 collection. They concentrated on a more biker look for the female form and came out with paneled Biker Super Skinny Jeans and the Super Long Biker Jacket to go with it. For the men, they came out with their more classic yet edgy designs of SD Gym Equipment, Copper Label Goods, Copper Label Selvedge and the new OrangeDry Denim which had really good cuts.

Really good rubber printed shirts, glittered for the girls, plus that gym bag, bonnet and socks. See what I mean when I said want the bags?

I love the white reverse printed shirt and the usual embossed printed one on the bottom right. The knitted sweaters with different designs looks so cool.

These shirts, I wanted to take them all home. I like how they put in hard work in printing shirts like these, none of those cheap looking ones that have half meant rubberized prints on them.

The color choices are a plenty too!

Ladies, you won't run out of choices in Superdry because these shirts can go to the galaxies, pick up stars and glitters all over and put it on you with these pieces.

See the messenger bag on the back? The white one?  I want that T_T

The jeans they have are also something that I would regularly have in my closet. The weathered, rugged look just fits me well. I often even do that to my non rugged pants and adapt them style wise.

The rain won't be a problem with these jackets, it's even going to keep you sweating because of the material they used but they never sacrifice style if you see this!

They're great bag makers. Somehow, I felt they really take time choosing the bags they have on the store, like pre selecting them. It's a bit pricey but totally worth it.

I don't think these are the new ones on their collection, I think I've seen these on the other stores, but still they are classics. I want those moccasin looking boots on the bottom right. It looks comfy! 

If you see that Gray and Green colored bag on the back, there's a Black and Orange version of that. I obsessed with it in the Eastwood branch and had them keep it for me for a few months. It's a whole set, then when I couldn't find it on the display anymore, I panicked and rushed inside the store. I only bought one and left the two other bags and saved for it. It made me crazy haha!

There were a few men and women trying to secure this faux leather gym bag because it just looks so awesome. I wanted this myself but decided to pass on it. I still want it though, I day dream about it together with the other bags I want from their store.

DJ Callum David provided music for the venue. The store is really nice especially the small touches like this lighting fixtures made of mason jars. I wanted this for my own room but they didn't sell it ha!

The women's footwear that's got mettallic components and the men's boots in military style is also part of this collection but I didn't see them that evening. Even if that's the case, I dig this new A/W collection because of their attention to texture, detail and quality that's always present in any SUPERDRY product that's displayed on their store. I wish SSI and SUPERDRY all the best in this new store and wish they cater to more Filipinos that would love all their new designs, awesome colors and Japanese aestheticism for the upper class street wear loving people. The quality is legit, and I won't be leaving this brand for years. SUPERDRY is me. They can quote me on that. 

For more information about their stores:

Superdry Philippines

Like them on Facebook


Visit their official website

http://www.superdry.com/