What I have tried (together with friends) so far in Halo's menu are:

(a) Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Olives - this one I highly recommend. I like how the tomatoes and olives blended and created a slightly sour sauce which suited my taste bud very well.

(b) Spaghetti with malunggay pesto - this dish is for the brave and adventurous. Although the malunggay sauce may look like your regular pesto, there's more than slight difference in the taste since it is impossible to totally remove the bitter taste of the malunggay. Hey, but this is really healthy! Remember that malunggay is a better source of vitamin C than citrus fruits. :D

(c) Veggie Medley Lettuce Wraps - a little salty for my taste but still good. Look forward to discovering the taste of banana and ginger combined.

(d) Chicken Pastel - hmmm... this is different from the usual pastel dish because this one is not baked. It was okay. Still healthy, I guess, because it uses white meat (chicken skin not included).

(e) Wheat Grass Cold Tea - a drink that you MUST try when you eat at Halo. The wheat grass they use is freshly cut from the plant box they keep outside of the café.

(f) Eggplant & Cheese Wholewheat Tortilla - I think the wholewheat tortilla made the difference in this appetizer. And the eggplant? The eggplant always goes well with anything!

(g) Tuna Steak - one of the best-tasting in the menu. Loved the way it was cooked.

(h) Tarragon Tea - a highly recommended after meal beverage. Halo uses a mixture of fresh and dried tarragon leaves. You will enjoy its natural sweet flavor and fragrant aroma. I think it has a calming effect on the drinker because when I had a cup at Halo, I was able to sleep immediately when I got home. Maybe I should start growing tarragon in my backyard. :D

Here's a peek at some of the food we tried:

(1) veggie medley lettuce wraps (2) vegetarian burger

(3) eggplant and cheese wholewheat tortilla (4) spaghetti with malunggay pesto

(5) wheatgrass cold tea (6) wheatglass plant box

Food prices range from fifty pesos to a little more than a hundred pesos. Really affordable. :)

For a list of Halo Cafe's offering, click here.

A few snapshots of Halo's interior:

Anyway, on the last day of April, my colleagues/friends at the office decided to push trough with our plan of dining together at Adarna Food & Culture. It was also a farewell dinner for Conrad as it was his last day at the company. That was my third time at Adarna, and like my previous visits, it was again an enjoyable experience. This restaurant really keeps on surprising me and my taste bud. :D

There were thirteen of us who dined at Adarna. Butch, the waiter assigned to serve us, ushered us to our reserved table near the piano (we really specified that our table be by the piano because we planned to sing some songs after eating). Everybody instantly liked the homey ambiance. We ordered several platters of Batanes yellow rice, dilis, piassok, sigarilyas salad, Adobong Batangas ala Adarna, Pochero, Tapa served with a very interesting dip, and Gising-Gising. It was a delightful dinner; every bite a moment to relish. Personally, I have never imagined that sigarilyas (winged bean) could taste that good. The salad was one of the groups favorite. Piassok was a sure hit, of course---the beef melts in your mouth. This dish is a must-try at Adarna. Everything is a must-try at Adarna! ;)

The Group (from left: Che, Avi , Yme, Chris, Tet, Leng-leng, Gemma & Alan, MJ, Obet, Conrad, Sir Jojo, and Sir Jay) Just finishing our cups of coffee, tea and hot choco. Thanks to Chef Giney for this photo.

Adarna Food & Culture is open until 10:30 in the evening. But we were enjoying the place, the company of each other and the singing that we somehow lost track of time. It was half past eleven when we left; many thanks to Ms. Beth and Chef Giney for allowing us to stay that long.

Here are some more pictures:

Jamming time! Yeah, we weren't "that ready" for a night of music (`yan may baon talagang songbook :D )

Havin' some good time.

Another group photo, taken just before we left Adarna.