SanMig Food Ave, Magsaysay: Fast and Affordable Dining Alternative

SanMig Food Ave, Magsaysay 
Fast and Affordable Dining Alternative 

SanMig Magsaysay is one of the branches of a fast
growing convenience stores chain in Naga City that
opened several branches at a very short period of time.

 





So we rewarded our little cookie monster
with a milk- cookie dunking snacks after
behaving well  during a dental treatment.

 

He settled for a Chocomilk,

 

…and a pack of Chips Ahoy, which he has taste- test 
proven as an awesome combination in the past,





…while my wife ordered a Pan de Coco,



…and had a Bavarian cream filled Mister Donut.



We shared their delicious
steamed siomai dumplings,



…and of course their buy 1 take 1 of our 
favorite sodas,  Pepsi Max and Pepsi Cola. 

 



Just like 7- Eleven and Ministop, we found the store
a cheap but good coffee shop alternative, to my son’s
favorite leisure activity; milk cookie- dunking snacks.   



 

With another store existing in Panganiban Drive and two other  
 stores opening soon in CBD 2 and Concepcion, budget dining 
comes 24/7 easy and accessible anywhere in in Maogmang Lugar.

Airspace Magsaysay: Good Food, Small Servings, Failed Concept

Airspace Magsaysay 
Good Food, Small Servings, Failed Concept

I may have expected too much from the new 
Airspace restaurant in Magsaysay Avenue,



…so it came as a disappointment when
I visited the restaurant for the first time.



Being an aeronautical themed restaurant, I was
expecting a hangar- like dining area, with aviation
related decors, similar to some grand aero/space
inspired restaurants abroad with the same concept.

 
Link: TRIPADVISOR







The restaurant looked bare.



Except for the awesome name and impressive signages,



...there was nothing to remind the diners
that this is an aviation themed restaurant.



The multicolored paper planes
hanging by the glass walls,



…and the aviator’s map carelessly
pasted on the wall did not help,



…and made the place appear like
an antiseptic kindergarten classroom.



We ordered our all time favorite Fish and Chips.
It was served in a wax paper topped wooden tray
with the fries and a small bowl of aoli in the side.



The fish was a little bit oily and needed some more time
to drain. The crust was perfectly crispy and very juicy
inside, but had a slightly bitter raw flour- like aftertaste.



It had one of the best tasting fries we ever had though.



The Clubhouse Sandwich  was also an overstatement.
It was in reality, a very delicious, oversized ham and cheese
sandwich but too small to be tagged as a club house variety.



It was great tasting healthy whole wheat bread sandwich,
served with generous amount of fresh and crunchy veggies.
The sandwich must be renamed to avoid over- expectation.



The Pork Short Plate was also very delicious.
It was made tasty grilled thick cut bacon strips
served with generous mound of fried rice.



The Chicken Short Plate that had perfectly
grilled, very delicious, tender bite size skinless
chicken nuggets was also  served the same way.



The letdown in what they call short plate dishes
is not because it is short of flavor, but they seemed
to have run short of meat as the servings are small
and appeared like the food is being rationed.



We loved the perfectly grilled  Wright Pork Belly as it was chewy, 
yet tender and very tasty. Dedicating the dish to famous aviation icons
like the Wright Brothers, I expected a least one or two huge slabs  
of pork chop, and for such distinguished names in aviation, they 
deserve much more than an undersized thinly sliced piece of meat



Being an aviation themed American restaurant, I was
expecting huge food servings befitting the illustrious theme.
The restaurant serves good food, but because of the rather
small food servings, it fails to live up to its grand trade mark.



A daunting brand that is Airspace deserves a competent interior
designer to update the bare interiors to something appropriate 
 with the grand aviation theme. If not possible, a less pretentious
 branding and a more diffident marketing would do the trick.

The Carmen Hotel: A Soft Opening Preview

The Carmen Hotel
A Soft Opening Preview

I was a speaker in a medical round table discussion and got
 to see the newly opened Carmen Hotel for the very first time.

 

The lobby was sleek and modern,

 

 

…with the part of the restaurant walled
off as it was still under construction.

 

They have three meeting venues   
named after Naga City’s iconic streets.



...Abella,

 

…Barlin,

 

…and Colgante,

 

Since their in house restaurant was not open
yet, the food was catered by Bob Marlin.

 

Sky Lounge bar was still under construction
but the roof deck was already usable,

 

...that offers a view a scenic view if Naga City,

  

 

 

and of the spectacular sunset.

 

The swimming pool was still being constructed.

 

I got a chance to peek in to
some of their Suite Rooms

 

…and they were gorgeous.

 

The Carmen Hotel,

 

…once completed is one fabulous hotel
to watch out for in Maogmang Lugar.

Read on the link below for related post:

Carmen Hotel's Baba Social Dining : A Beautiful Restaurant To Watch For in Naga