When Ivan Man Dy talks, everyone listens. Or eats cupcakes on the sidelines.

A little less than a month ago, I found myself browsing Ivan Man Dy’s Old Manila Walks, that street touring site that guides people around historic Manila. On impulse, I checked out the month’s scheduled tours and that April 24 event (“Special Free Culinary Event: From Binondo to Bonifacio Global City!”) caught my eye: first, because it mentioned BGC where my office is located, and second, because it was free. I dug deeper and found out that it was part of BGC’s Passion Fest 2010, that event I missed the previous year, so I stopped hesitating and bugged Jen to join me food-trip around Serendra, Bonifacio High Street, and the Fort Strip. And food-trip we did, with a bunch of bloggers I was surprised to see, as well!

Red Velvet Vixen.

Vanilla Sunshine.

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes.

Choco Cream Pie.

Chocolate Overload.

First stop was Cupcakes by Sonja; they had these mini versions of the cupcakes they’re known for, and the group devoured every last bit. It was a nice way to kick off the tour, since it was about a couple of hours after lunch (and I was still full from the roast chicken I had at Bugong). My favorite cupcake from the tour? Choco Cream Pie.

Sabaw! Pho with meatball, flank and tendon.

Heepon.

Fried Spring Rolls.

Next stop was Zao Vietnamese Bistro at Serendra; this early, I was beginning to wonder why in damnation did I join this tour: I work only a block away from these restaurants and I could try them anytime I wanted to at my convenience. Then I realized that joining the tour was for the best: despite having tried different restaurants and new experiences recently, I’ve been too comfortable with Bugong, KFC, and Brothers Burger for lunch at the office. I’m a perfect sample of this food tour’s target market: someone willing to try out new food and works at the BGC commercial area.

The familiar platter.

Flying bottles and cheering bloggers!

Next stop was T.G.I. Friday’s, and unsurprisingly, they served us sampler platters. It was really, really good, as usual. I love frequenting Friday’s for finger food and milkshakes (oh come on, at least I think milkshakes can sometimes be more exciting than alcohol).

Az battles Mother Nature.

Luckily for Jen, she got her yogurt fix at Yoh-gurt Froz.

The next stop was Yoh-gurt Froz at Hobbes & Landes High Street, where we had our much-awaited frozen yogurt for dessert. It was a hot afternoon, and the dessert was a definite must-eat given the weather. Or maybe not. Maybe it’d be a real treat if we had frozen yogurt to eat the whole day. Yes, that’d be heaven, alright.

Pasta sa Pasto.

Pizza!

Unfortunately, we were running late for another late afternoon engagement so we had to end the tour at Pasto (while the rest of the group visited the Establishment after); food was great, as it usually is at the Italian food joint. I was glad that our table had plenty of shrimps on our pasta and pizza; I’m a shrimp-lover and I don’t think I could ever have too many shrimps in a day.

It was a great experience, despite my office just being around the corner. At least I know now that there are a lot of places better than my usual lunch destinations around BGC (Shiok, anyone?).

Who’s the man? Ivan’s the man. Thanks for the great tour!

Pasto at Eastwood City Walk.

There was a time a few years back when we had to hang out at Pasto (El Pueblo branch) almost everyday because one of our friends worked at the Ortigas business district. I remember ordering coffee then, but I realized I’ve never ever tried their pasta. So for dinner, I decided to visit the Eastwood branch for my two-week spaghetti diet.

Pasto’s Polpette (“spaghetti with Italian meatballs in our homemade tomato sauce”) sounded as basic as it could get, which was what I wanted, so I gave it a try. It was worth 215 bucks plus their service charge.

Pasto's Polpette.

Now, it’s not that I’m faulting Pasto for something I’m about to say, but I think I have to point out that I eat a lot, thus I like huge servings for my meals. And so when my food was finally plopped down on my table, I already knew it wasn’t going to be enough. (Okay, maybe I’ll fault Pasto; after all, I don’t see what makes it so different from other restaurants in the same area.)

However, what the meal lacks in volume, it kind of makes up for in taste. It was good, and I guess what makes this one special are the meatballs: they’re just so damned tender that I thought it was going to break up in mouth without me having to chew it down. But it was good. Really, really good. And they had five of those on my plate.

The tomato sauce wasn’t that thrilling; I dare say that Fazoli’s sauce was better (and when it comes down to it, a lot cheaper, too). Not thrilling, but good, nonetheless.

I also ordered a ripe mango fruit shake to complete the experience (115 pesos plus service charge).

Mango Frullati.

The verdict. Not worth the price. Sure, the spaghetti was good, but you could get something better (in taste and volume) at some other (uh, cheaper) place. For all this, I give Pasto’s Polpette a 5 out of 10.

For more than 200 bucks, you could do better.

(The Spaghetti Journal is a two-week long hunt for the best good old spaghetti recipe at the Fort Bonifacio area and Eastwood City, where the author works and lives, respectively.)