Pan de Amerikana, So Much More Than A Bakery

When you hear of "Pan de Amerikana", you'll guess that it's a bakery.  Well that's true.  But their main branch in Marikina is so much more than just a bakery.  It's a cozy restaurant too.  My high school classmate's brother is one of the owners of this unique establishment.

First off, the pandesal alone is one big reason why people buy here on a daily basis.  They tag their pandesal as 1950's pandesal.  They bake their own wheat pandesal and the size is enormous for it's very affordable price of P4.00 per piece.   It's best eaten hot which they always have a fresh new batch newly baked from their chimney-like cement oven... just the way bread was baked in the olden days.

I'd suggest you'd buy your take-out pandesal after dining for a whole Pan de Amerikana experience.   The restaurant is semi self-service.   You order your food at the entrance where the counter is, proceed inside and find a place to seat, and they'll serve it in a few minutes.

While you're waiting, you can play.  Yes , play!  The uniqueness of this restaurant is that chess enthusiasts will go gaga over this restaurant.  All the tables have chessboards imprinted and embedded on every table and chess pieces are available at the front where you can play a friendly game of chess at the convenience in your own table.   Would you like to add difficulty to your game ?  A lifesize chess board can be found at the far end of the restaurant.    These huge pieces require you to physically pick each one up when moving them.  There's a huge stop clock at the side too.  If you want a wider perspective, there's an elevated platform you could get up on to see the entire chess board.    They also have some wooden sungka gamesets and darts if you'd like to play alone.

The place is also reminiscent of a tranquil sanctuary with a pond full of fishes, a bridge, memorabilia, a gorgeous landscape, lots of beautiful and hanging plants, miniature windmills, a transparent waterfall wall and a balcony for children to play and see the exterior as if the restaurant were a fortress.   There's also a stage with a huge flatscreen TV and extra huge high-powered fans for proper ventilation.   The entire restaurant also offers free wifi.

On one side of the main interior are pictures of Filipino celebrities of the '60's and '70's with some "then and now" pictures of them side by side.    A display board at the entrance shows pictures of several famous people who have visited Pan de Amerikana.  There are also a lot of vintage statues and antiques scattered throughout the restaurant.   

The food on their menu is mostly Filipino with the myriad variations of the "log" family (tapsilog, longsilog etc).  They also have eat all you can buffets during certain days of the week.   Of course, you can order fresh pandesal with filling straight from their oven.   They also offer some "kakanins" like palitao and kutsinta.

Overall, this place is a must see and visit Marikina attraction.   The ambiance is one that will take your mind off the busy metro and relax and unwind feeling the calmness of the restaurants surroundings.   

You can have breakfast as early as 6am.  As for dinner though, you better go early since they close at 6pm.    Pan de Amerikana is located at 92 Ordonez St.  You can reach them at 475-2398 or 0917 530-8824 or visit their website at http://pandeamerikana.multiply.com/

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X Men Origins Pre-Screening at SM City Marikina

A block screening of the movie X Men Origins: Wolverine, sponsored by the Parish Finance Council (PFC), will be shown on April 29, 2009 at SM City Marikina Cinema 5, 7:00pm and Cinema 6 at 7:30pm.  

This is a fund raising project of PFC for the major renovation of the 2nd floor of the St Paul of the Cross Parish Pastoral Center.  Tickets are avaialble at the parish office.   For inquiries, please call 490-7973.

Delicious Puto And Kutsinta

I've heard about Rocha's delicious puto and kutsinta from my tita who has been ordering from them for years.   My tita said that I'd be lucky if I passed by their store and they were open.  Reason is that they close store when all their puto and kutsinta are sold out.  And take note, these tasty goodies get sold out as early as mid- afternoon.

It was only this morning that I got to taste it and I have to say their tagline is true.  It is delicious !

Their puto at first looks like kutsinta because of the color.  But even if it doesn't look like the standard white-colored puto, it really is puto with cheese on top sporting a different shade of color.

They sell a box of puto for P99. and each box contains 48 pieces.   The best thing I like about their puto is that it's very soft and chewy.   Unlike some brands of puto I've tasted which are hard and lumpy, this kind can melt in your mouth (if you can resist not chewing it up at first bite).

The Original Rocha's Delicious Puto and Kutsinta accepts made to order for all occasions.  

You can reach them at 941-1519 for reservations.  Their locatedacross the Children's Clinic along E. Mendoza street in Sto. Nino around the paliparan area.

Manila Doctors Hospital Now Open in Marikina

To add to the myriad of hospitals in Marikina City is the Manila Doctors Hospital.  They have branches scattered around the metro and are usually found inside malls for patient's convenience.

Their newest branch is located at the 2nd floor of the Blue Wave Mall, Marquinton Place called the Manila Doctors Hospital Ambulatory and Diagnostic Clinic.

They offer labaratory services (CBC, urinalysis, stool examination, FBS, BUN, creatinine, pregnancy test and gram stain), heart care services (ECG, 2d Echo, Holter, Stress Test, abmulatory BP Monitoring) and X-ray services (General ultrasound and chest x-ray).

With more than 50 years of experience in providing excellent and affordable health care service, Manila Doctors Hospital stands proud of being a premiere healthcare institution providing comprehensive and holistic patient care and development.

Their clinic hours are 11:00am to 9:00pm on mondays to thursdays and 10:10am to 10:00pm from friday to sunday.  You can reach them at 369-3976 or email at adc.marikina@maniladoctors.com.ph

Francis Magalona To Be Buried at Loyola Marikina

Francis Magalona, who recently died of leukemia, is a deep loss to the Filipino nation.  A rap artist, actor, director, producer, composer and photographer among others, he always instilled and portrayed nationalism in his works.

He is survived by his wife Pia and 8 children.

His remains are currently at the Christ The King church in Green Meadows, Quezon City.  He will be brought to Loyola Memorial in Marikina City for his final burial on March 11, 2009.

May Francis' soul rest in peace.

SM City Marikina 3 Day Sale

SM City Marikina will be holing a 3-day mall-wide sale on March 13, 14 and 15, 2009. Up to 50% discounts on selected items will be up for grabs.

Too bad I'll be out of town during the sale. Hope you get a good bargain and happy shopping !

Ice Cream On a Hot Sunny Day

I remember that when I was in high school, there was a Magnolia ice cream parlor along Shoe Avenue adjacent to the Marikina Sports Center.  They served all kinds of ice cream, popsicles and frozen desserts.  Their banana split was one of my favorites.  I've never seen another ice cream parlor in Marikina ever since.

That's why I was surprised to discover an ice cream parlor across the Riverbanks mall called "Ice Cream House - Sa Riverbanks".

I haven't tried it yet but it any store dedicated to desserts like these is already tempting and favorable in my book.   In addition to ice cream, they also serve pizza and coffee.  With summer now here and each day is a hot and sunny day, this is a cool way to relieve yourself of the weather.

"Ice Cream House - Sa Riverbanks" is located across Country Style at the Riverbanks Mall.   It's at the ground floor of the call center building and along RCBC and the Security Bank ATM.

Biksa Coffee

I discovered this coffee shop in a strange way.  I was having my car fixed at Rey's Electric Automotive Shop at the corner of Gil Fernando.   While I was waiting for the car to be serviced, I walked around the corner and was surprised to see a coffee shop.  The exterior looked like it was a coffee shop of a hotel but in the heart of a residential area.   And it was a break too from the busy streets of Gil Fernando Ave.

I finally got to try them out a month later with my blogger friends.   The inside is cozy.  The interiors are so well decorated like an elegant sala of a modern day mansion, that you'll forget that this is just behind a bank, a school, a car repair shop and the houses surrounding the area.   There are pieces of furniture like comfty sofas,  elegant lights and lamps, high-dangling curtains, artistic wall-mounted frames and their unique love seat with matching pillows perfectly fit for two.   Lighting is just right to relax the eyes.  This is all what you'll see the moment you step in.  And we haven't yet talked about their food and drinks.

I ordered a cafe mocha.  They call their servings "Executive" and "Tycoon", representing "Medium" and "Large" respectively.  In a way, it's like a self-gratifying notion of whether you want to be an executive or tycoon for the day.   Their tycoon serving is huge.  I was served a big mug of cafe mocha with a generous topping of whipped cream and a dash of chocolate that entirely covered my drink.  I have to say it was a tasty mix.   My girlfriend ordered mint tea and we were both surprised that instead of given a cup of hot water and tea bag, she was served an entire teapot of Moroccan Mint green tea.   That was a delightful surprise since it was obviously more than a regular cup of tea.

Aside from cold and hot variations of tea and coffee blends, they also offer desserts like slices of cakes and pastries.

Did I mention that they have free WIFI and it's really fast ?   It's another reason to stay and enjoy your drink and food.

The first time I saw their name, I was thinking what heritage or culture does the name "Biksa" come from.  I learned through a TV feature that they're called Biksa Coffee, so when someone asks you where you are in Tagalog, you'd reply "Sa Biksa Coffee ako", which when heard in another manner can translate to "sabik sa coffee ako" (I am fond of coffee).

If you do pass by the area, I suggest you try them out.   I heard that they're open till 1 or 2 am.

Biksa Coffee is located at 18 Gil Fernando Avenue corder Dragon Street (just behind BDO). 

For more information, visit their website at http://biksacoffee.com

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