Kusinang Munti: review

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Kusinang Munti (translates directly to Small Kitchen) is one of the few Filipino restaurants in the whole of UK. Typically it serves buffet food. I, personally, am not a fan of buffet type restaurants, because I lose out (Lugi ako!). I don't eat really eat a lot (depends on food if it's sushi or shrimp) and it's more of Takaw-tingin, meaning when you're deciding what to eat and you see there's a lot of good food you like so you put on your plate, but suddenly you can't finish all of them because you're full already! 

But I figured out what I would get, it would be their chicken wings and rice and fries and prawn crackers. If I wanted something with sauce, it would be their Kare Kare and Bagoong. Lately I've grown to love love LOVE Kare Kare. I'd just make my meal up with their dessert of Maja Blanca or Leche Flan. Their Guinataang is also worth a try.

One of their dishes off the menu tray would be the Chicharon Bulaklak, which I will talk about later.

We've been here for a lot of different occasions, or simply just for dinner, since it is quite near to us. We've been here with Filipino artists from Manila, like Tirso Cruz III and Ara Mina. The most significant would be Dad's despedida, in a way our despedida, which was prepared for us by Filipino community leaders.

They also have plasma TV's on their walls, if you feel like watching tv channels from the Philippines. Or if you are in the mood, it's time for some karaoke! Typically what Filipinos do best - eat and sing. Enjoy!

Kusinang Munti,

913 Garratt Ln, 

Tooting, 

London SW17 0LT

www.kusinangmunti.co.uk/

Millie's Cookies

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Definitely one of my favorite cookies in London. After the whole day One Filipino event, I met up for brunch with a good friend of mine from High school who was in town for the event. We went at Westfield and ended up at Millie's cookies.

I like them because they're soft and sweet, just how I like them. I'm used to eating Millie's cookies because someone always brings them to meetings at the embassy. Since I was trying not to eat too much chocolate, I tried the Oatmeal & Raisin and Raspberry & White cookies. If I had to choose chocolate, I would pick White Chocolate and Milk Chocolate cookies.

To top off my sweet tooth craving, I ordered a Vanilla Milkshake. Yum!

Millie's cookies at Westfield London, White City, also has a nice sit down area, to enjoy all of Millie's cookies goodness!

Genie's Restaurant (restaurant)

Mostly the food served here is Thai. But we get served something off the menu. Chicken barbeque is one of my favorites they serve for us. They also served pansit (noodles) and fried rice. Always good and filling. Sarap! I remember celebrating my mom's birthday here in 2010 I think. It was a tuesday so it was just us and a few good close friends. Good times....

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The spiral staircase is really a nice touch to this restaurant. There is a big enough space in between steps so as to be careful when going up and down. The upstairs can be reserved for special occasions, like we once did for a Kapihan. One sunday, there was a dialogue among Filipino community leaders in regards to migration and Filipino diaspora. We were served coffee and porridge, or Arroz Caldo as we Filipinos like it.

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It's a really cozy place where a lot of locals go to. Neighbours come here to catch up for dinner and a glass of wine. There's also a piano here, not sure if you can recognise it from the picture. But if I remember correctly, there's a jazz pianist on the evenings of Friday's and Saturday's, which locals sing along to and dance along to as well. 

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As you can see, the bar is full of different kinds of drinks. So you can find definitely something to suit your taste. 

For a Filipino-owned restaurant in London, this is definitely one that I enjoy going back to. Though they don't serve Filipino food, the  ambiance and food are still worth a visit.

Genie's Restaurant,

6 Portland Road,

Holland Park,
London,W11 4LA

Restaurant blues

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Aside from wanting to eat where food is great, another thing to consider is the ambiance of the restaurant. Just like this Thai restaurant in Imperial Wharf, where the place seems so fancy and the waiting staff were just so accommodating. I enjoy that about restaurants, plus we spend more time talking than actually eating sometimes. Lol.

Here in the Philippines, you'll find a lot of good restaurants here with a nice ambiance. I'm just gonna take it one restaurant at a time.

Chinatown, London

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Chinese New Year in Chinatown, 2012. I definitely spent a lot of dinners here. Not because I'm chinese, but because it was close enough to the Philippine Embassy and most of my Filipino friends craved for rice and cheap dinner, thus here we were!

I remember Crispy Duck, Wong Kei, Hung's, Kung's, Yung's, Cafe C & R, Golden Pagoda, Golden Jade, Mr Wu, Loong Fung Restaurant, Leong's Legends I & II, Harbor City.

There were also Japanese restaurants (Misato), Korean, Vietnamese (the Vietnamese restaurant) and obviously the Oriental 'fusion' restaurants.

The stand outs were the pubs, Costa, Pizza Express and the other Italian restaurant, which I never went in to eat.

Definitely a lot of good moments here, and I'd definitely be back for dinner one day.