Duck and Buvette at Shangri-La Mall

Because we arrived at Shangri-La a little past 12noon, we decided to look for a place to eat. Duck and Buvette is on our "to try" restaurant list and finally decided to try it out.

It's a good place to dine with your kids because they have kids' menu and the place is cozy enough for them to feel at home. I wouldn't suggest this to people who prefers to have a quiet ambiance because the table arrangements are quite near each other. 

Since there was only the two of us eating and there were so many dishes to try, we decided to order soup, pasta, and main dish.

Bistro French Onion Soup Php 230.00

We had this split to two so our tummies could accommodate other dishes. The onion is not too strong but is prominent enough to be tasted together with the beef broth. What actually caught my taste buds was the bread with cheese that was on top of the soup.

Farmhouse French Bean Pasta Php 280.00

At first look, you may think that this pasta dish may not taste good because it looks too healthy and somewhat dry. After tasting it, the feta cheese mixed well with the pasta and complemented the other toppings. This is perfect for those who are on a diet, especially vegetarians.

Slow Braised Beef Burgundy Php 620.00

This was the highlight of our meal and comes with a bowl of rice. This dish is not recommended for those people on diet. The beef is very very tender and the sauce is literally to die for! No wonder it comes with a BIG bowl of rice because a cup will not be enough. To be honest, ordering only this is already enough for the both of us. At first glance at the menu, this dish may seem pricey but the generous serving enabled us to take it home and had it for dinner and even lunch the following day!

Overall, we loved our experience at Duck and Buvette and will definitely be coming back to try more of their dishes - maybe their duck dishes because it's their specialty! How was you Duck and Buvette experience and what are your favorite dishes? Share it with us too so we could try it too!

Duck and Buvette is located at the 2nd Floor Main Wing of Shangri-La Plaza Mall.

Lanna

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Nursing Rooms in Metro Manila Malls

Pumping milk is a challenging task for breastfeeding moms at the same time, this is rewarding because you provide your little one with the best nutrition he/she can have.

I was never concerned with nursing stations until I needed one. Below are some of the nursing areas in different malls that I have been to:

TriNoMa

It was a good thing that one of the nearest malls in our area is TriNoMa and they do have a family lounge where kids can play and moms can feed/express milk.

Since my husband and I go malling on weekdays, I never had a problem of having to wait because there is always an available cubicle in the nursing area. It's very much different though during weekends as the 3 nursing cubicles are usually full.

Below is a photo of a nursing cubicle and you could see that the area is spacious. They make sure that moms are very relaxed by providing comfortable chair with ottoman.

Chair with ottoman

Ledge with socket for pumping mothers

For pumping mothers, you need not worry as there is also a socket provided so you could save your battery.

Ayala Mall (Glorietta) Makati

I wasn't able to get a photo of their nursing room because it was fully occupied as we went on a Sunday. I was informed by the staff though that they had 2 nursing cubicles that are available for breastfeeding moms in their family lounge. For a big mall, I think they need to put more nursing rooms to accommodate the growing population of nursing mothers.

Rustan's Makati

I find this quite odd because their nursing room is a shared space with the rest of the nursing mothers compared to the others who had separate cubicles.

When you open the sliding door, you could see sofas that are arranged in a u-shape leaving a big space in the center for strollers to be parked. In addition, a diaper changing area is made available inside the  room.

A good thing about this is you get to know and talk with the fellow nursing moms. If you're not the outgoing type and prefers to nurse discreetly, this setup might not be favorable for you.

Shangri-La Mall

If I'm not mistaken (correct me if I'm wrong mommies!), the only nursing room is located inside Rustan's Department Store near the baby/kid's section. I haven't had the chance to actually use it because when we went there two weeks ago (May 18, 2015), the staff said that the Nursing Room is "broken" and temporarily, they have converted one of the fitting rooms by the children's section to be a nursing room. I commend them for designing the fitting room to make it look like a nursery (too bad I wasn't able to take a photo of it). But I do hope that they fix their nursing room soon because only 1 mom is allowed inside the fitting room. I ended pumping inside the car that Monday afternoon because somebody else was using the nursing room. 

Do share with us photos of various nursing rooms and malls that you have been to moms! But, don't be discouraged whenever there are no nursing rooms available, let's remember that it is our right to feed our little one wherever and whenever they need it. Let's normalize breastfeeding! :)

Have a happy and blessed mid-week!

Lanna
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Teddy's Bigger Burgers Philippines [Menu and Actual Food Photos]

I was one of the privileged few to try out Hawaii's number one burger here in the Philippines before it officially opens on August 23, 2014. If you are a fan of burgers, I can tell now that you are missing half of your life if you don't try out Teddy's Bigger Burger! Before anything else, please be informed that on the opening day on August 23, 2014, you can get a one year supply of burgers from Teddy's!

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Spatzle: Euro Market Cafe (Shangrila Mall East Wing)

After walking around Shangrila's new east wing, we decided to try out a new restaurant called "Spatzle". From the outside, it has this rustic feel which is the "in" theme nowadays in the restaurant industry. This one though made sure that  everything is well thought of, from the utensil organizer on your table to the hand sanitizer and even their table napkins are in theme. I love their tables as well and no back aches when I sat on their chair.

Utensil organizer

Hand sanitizer

Rustic texture of their tables. 

Service was also good as there was a waiter stationed near our table. Here's their menu:

Unique dessert list

The Food
I was able to eat a little bit of everything just to get a taste of each as we ordered one dish per person.

Pork Chops & Crispy Apples | Php 325.00

I wasn't able to eat the apple but my sister said that it went well with the pork chop. This isn't the first restaurant that I've tried serving pork chop with apples. The pork chop was okay. Nothing that couldn't be done at home.

Roesti Haus Burger | Php 350.00

 My mom got this. We had a hard time finishing this dish because the burger was super dry (not the brand hehe). It was okay when eaten with gravy on it but it was still dry. I will put my 'Roesti' comments on the extra solo roesti dish we ordered.

Roast Chicken Sausage on Mushroom Spätzle | Php 295.00

 My brother got this. He said that he liked it but I didn't and this dish was dry as well. It doesn't look appetizing too! The chicken was white meat and sadly, I wasn't able to taste whatever sauce it has when I tasted it. It's that dry.

Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Roesti | Php 370.00

Now this is my order. You can imagine the disappointment when this dish was served. I have no complaints with the smoked salmon. It's the kind of smoked salmon I can buy in supermarkets. It was good. The problem was the tiny serving. There was just 2 strips of smoked salmon and a whole plate of Roesti with egg. Very expensive for such a small serving.

Homemade Italian Meatballs | Php 298.00

 My dad got this. There were 1 or 2 small meatballs inside that bowl. He said that he liked the sauce but I still prefer Sbarro's tomato sauce. It was a bit dry as well.

Chicken and fresh mushrooms in cream | Php 320.00

My wife got this dish and this was I think one of the best dishes for the night. It might be because it was saucy else it would've been dry as well. I didn't notice anything special. in this dish as well.

Roesti Classic with Sour Cream and Lemon Wedge | Php 160.00

Roesti is a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes. Almost all the dishes we ordered came with roesti so my sister who ordered the pork chop with apples ordered this extra order. This might be the only dish that is not dry. Yes, it was really crispy but it was swimming in oil! All of our roesti were like that. My brother and I usually get headaches when the food is very oily and we did have one after our meal here.

The Drinks

Mint Lemonade | Php 125.00

This drink is good and I recommend it. Refreshing and cool, I can imagine drinking this on a summer porch facing the beach.

Spätz Haus Iced Tea | Php 80.00

I usually ask first if the iced tea they serve is house blended or powdered. They said that it was house blended. I ordered. Didin't like it. Lacks taste.

Conclusion
Based on the furniture they used and the accessories inside the restaurant, I'm pretty sure that they have put a lot of thought in this. Sadly, the food did not do justice to how they look like. In general, most of the food were dry and bland. To put things into a better perspective, it's like putting your food in the ref and reheating it the next day. Not sure if that is what they do to improve serving time needed or maybe they are just in the soft opening stages? I'm not coming back anytime soon but I was glad to have tried it. Having traveled to Europe particularly in Switzerland where rösti and spätzle are famous for, it might have upgraded my standards one notch higher.

This made me miss Magyar more. Sad that it closed down already. :(

Spatzle Euro Market Cafe 
5/F East Wing, Shangri-La Plaza Mall,

Cheftonio
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Shangri-La Mall's New East Wing - Directory & Photos

Braved Shangri-La mall despite their parking being under construction. Didn't have a hard time today because I think the other parking building is now open. Last time I went to Shangri-la mall was just a month ago and I don't think I saw the east wing that time.

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