Introducing the A-List Manila Characters

I brought up the idea of the blog with my friends, and they liked it. Of course, to protect their identities, and in true A-List NY fashion, they will be taking the personas of the A-List people.

Manila Derek is a 10th generation oligarch.

Manila Austin works for a company bringing in expensive laptops, phones, tablets, and mp3 players.

Danny is, well, Danny!

I'm sorry guys, I'm really not good at coming up with a storyline for the characters in A-List Manila. But these are the personas of my friends, I will try to improve on the characters pretty soon as the blog and story-telling progresses.

Had merienda with Derek today at Go Gourmet by the Plaza in Rustan's. I often stay here while waiting for Danny to finish at Rustan's and to my surprise, they now offer free wi-fi! Love!

I love this coffee-shop more than the others sprouting in the Metro, and their latest offering just sealed the deal for me. I ordered a Cherry and Berry Pie:

Derek, on the other hand, ordered Caviar Pie:

The Caviar Pie inspired Derek how to prepare it for our Christmas Party. I did tell him that the presence of the onions in the cream cheese is the same recipe for the Caviar Pie being sold in Makati Shangri-la. Guess what?! The dessert was only PhP 50.00, and the Caviar Pie was PhP 170.00. It's so cheap!

After Danny finished, and after a little window-shopping in Rustan's (and a little shopping on the side in Glorietta 5), we met up with Austin and Richie for dinner at Heaven and Eggs, in Glorietta 5.

I started eating ahead of everyone, since I wanted to try their Unlimited Steak offer, for PhP 799.00++. The steak wasn't bad. They made a mean medium rare, and the steak was soft to the slice. Had to put a little pepper and salt in the gravy, and the mashed potatoes, as observed by Austin were from actual potatoes 'coz the skins were still in them.

Here's the steak I ordered with a slice cut off already:

I ended up having 3 servings of steak.

Derek and Austin split a Jeproks Slammer, which was a sampler platter of Filipino breakfast fare. The picture is just half of the platter, as the waiter had split it for Austin and Derek already. This was the bestseller meal for the evening, as everybody ended up tasting snippets of the meal.

Danny, so dismayed with his order, ended up eating a predominantly rice dish of Nasi Goreng. We helped him out by giving him some of our ulam. Obviously, the Nasi Goreng is just a plate of rice good for 2, and not an actual Nasi Goreng which should be a complete meal in itself already.

Another great evening with A-List Manila. Will keep all of you posted for more of our dining and shopping adventures!