FOODIE FRIDAY : Falling Madly In Love with Mad Mark's

I am carnivorous. I love meat so it goes without saying that a place that serves reasonably priced steak is somewhere I feel most at home. 

My cousin Ken has raved about Mad Mark's so when he got his first salary, the whole family grabbed dinner at their branch in Glorietta 5. The second time I ate at Glorietta was after a so-so gym session at Gold's Gym, and the third time was special... because we ate for free!!!

Ken won GC's from pepper.ph

We were there a little before 11 am, place was pretty isolated save for a couple dining at one corner. We had time to take photos of the place without feeling embarrassed. Place was decorated with framed photos with trivia information on items on their menu and its ingredients. The place was small, could probably seat not more than 40 people comfortably but it was cozy and well-lit.

ohh that huge Nutella jar!

A clipboard holds their menu, the first couple of times we were here, their menu was nothing fancy, black and white on a bond paper. But they have since upgraded. The menu now is colored and laminated. 

 

STEP 1. Choose a dish & serving size

We each ordered a regular steak. 

STEP 2. State your preferred doneness

We both wanted our steak to be medium well

STEP 3. Choose a sauce

We are in love with the Bootstrap steak sauce

STEP 4. Finish it with side dishes

Mine had smashed potato and house salad  while Ken chose rice and bacon potato salad.

Since we still have money to spare, we also ordered a happy camper sandwich, cajun fries and a pitcher of Iced tea.

First to be served was the iced tea. I like their iced tea. I know that it is not just Nestea jazzed up with calamansi. It was a bit too sweet though... but I'm okay with sweet. 

Did we really order food enough for 3 people?
I think they were right to assume. 

Service was relatively fast, but maybe because there was no one else to attend to. Next came our Happy Camper sandwich (it was HUGE!!!) and cajun fries.

this is just my portion of the sandwich.
Ken got the other half.

Figured I can not just stuff this in my mouth.
Enter fork and knife.

salty carbs! complimented our sandwich well. 

I am not sure what their dressing is for the Happy Camper Sandwich, but I did taste a hint of curry. The crunchy roll was generously stuffed with diced chicken pieces and smothered with caramelized onion and slices of bell pepper. The half sandwich that I ate was enough to make me full. I did not eat much of the fries because I know I have to save some tummy room for my steak. 

For the main event... Drum roll please. 

My steak! That thing wrapped in foil is my smashed potato. I have expected my steak a little less done than this, but it was still ok. I did not have to use an awful lot of force to cut it. I requested for additional sauce since they used to give like a quarter of a jigger for free upon request. But now they charge ( i think it was 15 pesos) for half a jigger. I am not one to risk experiencing any sauce-related unhappiness for a minimal amount so I paid for my sauce. 

and this is Ken's steak:

I remember them being more generous with bacon for the potato salad. 

I was not able to finish my smashed potato because I was already feeling nauseous. But Mad Mark's boasts of its home made ice cream and that is something that I will not let pass. 

Double scoop ice cream cost 160 pesos, but you can choose different flavors.  I took Madagascar Vanilla Bean and Strawberries and cream. I think Ken chose the half baked madagascar and another flavor that was not on the menu. I think their Ice cream flavors vary from day to day. So it is best to check the menu board. 

I have forgotten how the ice cream tastes though, I guess it is time to pay them a visit again. But maybe this time, I will drop by their Kapitolyo branch. Because I heard the prices are cheaper there... now that we really need to pay for everything. Except probably when Ken gets to win more vouchers. 

FOODIE FRIDAY : Jameson's Gelato

Went to the Great Luxe Sale last June 1 at SMX. Got me 2 dresses, an insulated lunch kit, a few pairs of boxer shorts and a new sweet favorite. I saw this:

At the corner of the bazaar was a freezer and a beside it a stall that was selling fresh lemonade. I am not a huge fan of ice cream, but since they were offering free samples, I went to try it. I was with my cousin and each got a tiny ice cream sample. He tried the lemon, I tried the cappuccino. The lemon was really nice, but I opted to buy the pistachio. It was soooo good. I felt like I was eating pistachio nuts from the shell itself. It was so creamy and with just the right amount of sweetness. I kept saying "ang sarap" with every little scoop I ate.

We stayed in the bazaar area for a little over 3 hours, not because there was a huge selection, but because we were waiting for my cousin's mom who will pay for the thing he needed to buy. When I learned that we were about to leave, I rushed to Jameson's corner again. I told myself I would not leave the place without having another serving. 

The guys manning the booth were kind enough to let me sample almost all the flavors! I bought 1 scoop of the white one with chocolate swirls ( i asked what it is called but it was something I can not pronounce) and 1 scoop of cappuccino. 

Each scoop costs 100 pesos, looking back now, of all the items I purchased that day, it was the ice cream that was the priciest. But I am not complaining, it was worth it! Just found out now that they have a branch in Robinson's Otis. 

Now excuse me while I try to google where Otis is.