Venice Piazza Night Market: The Ultimate Budget Food Trip!

Last night, I took my last final exams for the term.  It was difficult than expected but it was a relief that the finals week was finally over.   What better way to celebrate than to have a food trip!  So I went straight to Venice Piazza Night Market to join Kurt and other bloggers in a night of food feast, live music and other festivities.  

Venice Piazza Blogger's Night courtesy of Venice Piazza Night Market,Fruitas and Boardwalk

There was also a bar specially for the event.  Most of the bloggers enjoyed themselves alcoholic beverages but we don't drink so we savored ourselves with food.

There were a lot of food and drink stalls.  I was surprised that most of the dishes were at an average price of only 70 php.   That's extremely cheap.  If it were in my school area in our Makati campus or Taft campus, that price would only fetch you a fairly decent drink.  So its really a bargain!  People working and living aaround McKinley Hill are so lucky they have a food place like this nearby.  

Let me give you a quick tour.  

These are the stalls having drinks as their specialty:  

Ai Tea

Fruitas and Black Pearl are classic, tried and tested brands which all of us are familiar with so if you don't want to risk then you're safe with these.  Ai Tea is a new tea brand exclusive only at Venice Piazza Night Market.  I tried a shot glass of their Thai Tea.  It was good but I still prefer Milk Tea.  I really liked Zuper Zhots "Shirley Mix Story" drink the most.  For a long time, I've loved the four seasons drink but this drink is even better.  It's deliciously tasty and very smooth to the throat as though it was only water.  It was not too strong or too sweet at all.  I wish I could describe the taste more in words but I can't so you have to taste it for yourself.  I assure you, you won't regret it!=)

Zuper Zhots

As expected, there are more food stalls.  I bet you can eat here everyday and never get tired with all the variety.  Here are the food stalls:

Polland Hopia

If you love Chinese food like we do, I highly recommend you try out Polland's Baked Chicken.  All the bloggers were impressed with this dish.  The rest of their food are delicious too.  For the quality of the food they serve, I'm shocked that their price is only 60-75 php.  The owner was also there energetic throughout the night, giving FREE samplers to passersby.  She is confident with the quality and pricing of her food. The crowd seemed to be convinced too.  

Mexikanto

If you enjoy Mexican flavors then I recommend you try out Mexikanto.  For an affordable price, they offer your favorite Mexican snacks like Tacos, Burritos, Nachos, Quesadillas and more.  I'm a bit picky when it comes to Mexican dishes but I really liked their version of it.

Kbop Diner

Want to taste delicious Korean dishes that fits your budget?  Check out Kbop diner!  We tried their Bibimbap and Korean Dumpling and we both agreed it's pretty good.  If you're very hungry, I dare you to try out Order All You Can Breakfast only for 189 php.  

Treasure Oven

Treasure Oven offers dishes like Chicken Fillet, Fish Fillet with Tartar Sauce, Baked Macaroni and I think it was Carbonara.  I tried the Carbonara with salami and olives because it looked interesting.  It was okay.  The creamy white sauce was contrasted by the olives.  

Simply Deliciouso

Simply Deliciouso offers the best enchilada we've ever tasted hands down!  I never thought an enchilada could taste that good.  You guys should try it!  The owners are husband and wife foreigners and are really nice.=)  Kurt wants to add that their flautas though a bit spicy is really good too!

Kurt tried the Shawarma but he didn't like it.  When I tasted it, I instantly knew why.  It was chunky and meaty but it was overcooked and burned so it had a bitter taste.  On some chunks that were cooked just right, the flavor was good.  I think it deserves another chance.

Jacqueline Anne's Catering Services

Update: I brought home their food and my brother said it was good! My brother was always hard to please when it comes to food so I was surprised that he liked it.=)

Z's Sausage

I saw a lot of crowd surrounding Z's Sausage but I never got to try it out because of the long line.=(  I have a hunch that it's delicious!

Duday Ihaw2

When it was already 1:30 a.m., we all wanted to go home but Kurt was missing.  I searched for him over the booths and found him at Duday's happily eating "Isaw".  It was quite rare for me to eat "Isaw" because my stomach cannot stand dirty food.  So I was also happy to be able to eat "Isaw" there because it was safe, clean and delicious.=D


We also tried the Carlo's Kitchen.  We ordered the  beef steak with mushroom sauce and the crispy liempo.  It is best paired with their fried rice.  The store owner insisted we try out the crispy liempo so we did and it was one of a kind!  Amazing! It was so crispy all throughout even the meat in it!  Better than Chicharon in my opinion.


For snacks and desserts, you can visit these stalls:

Simply Sweets by Mommy Lei

We recently, wrote about Medchef by Hasset Go.( see separate entry)  Well, Mommy Lei is actually Chef Hasset's mother and baking mentor.  I bought some cream puffs (3 for 100 php) and she gave as a few slices of cakes to take home.  I'll write about that once I've tried them out.=)

We were given samplers of the Brazo Bars Original Flavor and I liked it.  I wanted my family to try it out so we also bought a box of flavored Brazo bars (50 php/bar) from Supreme Brazo Bars by Cez Lopez.  Perhaps, I'll review them too.


There are also merchandise stalls in case you want to shop.  There's a clothing and perfume stalls.  

That's it for now.  Please await my next post on our food tasting and food pics.=)

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf CBTL's New Single Serve Beverage System

I recently wrote about FREE CBTL cup of hot coffee or tea (see separate entry).  So I printed my coupon and presented it to CBTL Fort Bonifacio Branch. 

CBTL Single Serve Beverage System

 *photo from CBTL Official Fan page

I ordered the English Passion hot tea.  Once I surrendered my coupon, I was told to wait a few minutes.  Once my name was called, I was instructed on how to use their new "CBTL Single Serve Beverage System".  

The steps were simple.  There were three buttons.  The top is for espresso, the next is for latte and the third is for hot tea.

I simple dropped the capsule *photo from CBTL Official Fan page

I dropped my capsule, pressed the hot tea button and after a few seconds the cup was filling until it was full.  The server took the cup placed the lid and handed it to me.  I took my first sip and was amazed at how much it tasted like the England Passion I once tasted before.  I opened the lid and saw the same tea leaf bits as I noticed in my previous CBTL teas.  Pretty neat huh?

Each machine cost 13,750 php.  We were told that they will soon offer it on installment basis.  We checked the capsules cost 400 php per box. 

CBTL Single Serve Beverage System

Capsules

If you are too lazy to go out and want quality coffee or tea.  Well, this is a good and affordable option.   This product is very tempting indeed.

Our Lazer Xtreme at Market! Market! Experience and Guide Tips

When we were young, my cousins and I used to play lazer tag often at Shangri-La Mall's Q-Zar and Megamall's Laser Quest. I remember, I even asked Santa for a Lazer Challenge toy set but he never gave me one=( I really loved playing it as a kid. So I really had to convince Kurt to play with me because everyone else thinks its too childish for my age. After years of persuasion and Cash Cash Pinoy (I already purchased in advance!), I finally got Kurt to try it >:) Kurt was surprised I bought for 4 games hehehe!

So one summer day, we had the long commute from Taft to Market! Market! in Taguig. First we had to take Pedro Gil to Guadalupe Jeep (14 php) then from Guadalupe to Gate-3 (10 php). We then found Lazer Xtreme at the 4th floor.

 

Personel Collecting Tickets to the Orientation Room

       Upon entry, we went to the counter to get our game tickets for the next game.  We placed our belongings at their locker (200 php refundable deposit required).   Then we entered the orientation room.  We were squeezed in with a group of call center agents.  We were the only first timers in the group.  When we watched the introductory video, I then realized that lazer tag was not how I recalled it. There was a rule that no running was allowed. I don't recall such policy when I was young...

Orientation during our 3rd Game

      From the video here are the basic we learned:

• No running, no climbing, no lying nor crawling on the floor, no covering of opponents’ pack sensors, no physical contact,no rude language and based on the video you can't duck either
• You may be aimed at the front (200 points), back (150 points), shoulder (50 points) (also learned after our 3rd game that you could also get hit in the phasor or your gun)
• You can destroy a base (200 points)
• Game lasts for 15 minutes
• You get disarmed for 3 secs. where you get hit 
• You need to hold the gun with 2 hands or it won't work (Usually those with low scores commit this mistake)

Selecting out gears

Stacy Gearing up

Kurt Gearing up

Everyone in the Gear Room

We were then asked to gear up. Kurt and I chose the color RED.  Soon, the door to the game room opened and we were given 10 seconds to secure our safe spot.  We thought we were divided into 2 teams as the guide said. But as the game started, I was being shot by my own team mates. What was going on? When the scores were showed, we soon found out that there were 3 teams: 11 GREENS, 7 REDS and 4 PINKS. The pinks had the highest score. That's when we figured that they were not friendly fire but actually pinks. How ignorant could we be right? But somehow it felt weird that the teams were a bit uneven.

After the first round, I still didn't understand a lot of things:

• Whose base is whose?  I guess I was accustomed to the game play wherein each team has their own base and they have to defend their own base.  I guess there is no such system here.  There were only 4 bases regardless of the number of teams.
• I always get hit but I can't find who is hitting me.  (We found out after our 4th game that if you are above, you can easily shoot players below like sitting ducks and if you are below your laser beam can't reach those on top)
• Why do some players vest change color?  (We realized after our 3rd game that the vest color changes to the color of the attacker when a player is disarmed)
• How come I was hit twice before being disarmed? (We realized after our 2nd game that sometimes when you get hit at one part of your vest the others still light up and can get hit at before you get disarmed and Kurt says that the vest and gun vibrates if you get hit at but I don't feel it at all)

After skipping one game round and having cold ice tea from the snack bar, we decided to play again. This time we were playing with kids and their dads and we lost. We knew the color rule this time but we lacked team work and navigation. Kurt wanted to move, I didn't. The family trio kept on ambushing us lol=p There was also a little boy who had the vest until his little shoes, he was too cute to shoot but his vest light was always off though.

      

On the third game, there were 4 teams composing of kids to teenagers mostly chinese.  BLUE (5 players), RED (6 players), PINK (5 players), CYAN (Kurt and me).  We still lacked coordination.  The REDS were ambushing us in the lower middle while the the PINKS and BLUES target us from the upper left and upper right grounds.  We were like sitting ducks in an open field.  Defenseless and always disarmed.  But we learned something during the game, if you shoot players consecutively, your phasor makes sound remarks like " Well Done or Good Job".  Here's our score cards showing how much of a loser we were.  As usual though, Kurt had a way higher score than me. In this game we were beaten by a little kid who ran around fast.

  

Kurt's Scorecard as Flash

Stacy's Scorecard as Archer

On our last game, we were squeezed in with a group of 15 high school students.  We were divided into two teams:  PINK for the 8 girls including me and BLUE for the 9 guys including Kurt.  During this game, I was in a solo flight.  I was always on the move.  I roamed around several times up and down.   After learning from the 3rd game that even phasors could get hit, I abandoned my old tactic of hiding and shooting with only my phasor exposed.  We felt that of all games we played, this game had the most even distribution.  My score also got higher after all the other rounds we've played.  After a few minutes wait, we were given our scorecards.  I noticed my card has "Mine Tagged You 4".  So I asked what does it mean.  We were told that there are random spots in the game where there are sensor mines and if you come across such, you will get disarmed even if no one hits you. 

Kurt's Scorecard as Lithos

Stacy's Scorecard as Falcon

We realized that game play and team distribution has a lot to do with the game.  The strategy of placing yourself above or below also has its ups and downs.  Like if you are below, you are like sitting ducks from those above but if you are above, players can easily see you and ambush you.  

The guns now are lighter and I could see actually see the lazer beams.  The Lazer Xtreme venue is cool to have two levels to play with.  It was very safe and easily visible even in the dark. 

During the game, I have to admit, I sometimes accidentally clashed in with other players.  (Guess that's what the rules were for) When I was a little kid I recalled the Q-Zar or Lazer Quest grounds to be bigger.   Perhaps because it only had a two teams and only a few player capacity.  But it was okay since confrontations is a practice of reflex.  ts a race towards the trigger and whoever gets disarmed loses though sometimes both of you get disarmed and its a draw.

Overall, the game was fun.  Although, paint ball was more challenging because of the bullet restriction (you'd conserve your ammo or drain your cash).  For a trigger happy and pain-sensitive player like me who is on a tight budget, lazer tag is the best option.  Lazer Xtreme game rates: 170 php on weedays and 190 php on weekends.  We will probably come back for more!   They have a new branch at Alabang Town Center (ATC).  Any idea if its bigger?  If it is we will probably try it out despite the distance=)

While we were there, there was also a party going on in the function room.  Perhaps for kids, having a party at Lazer Xtreme is an awesome and unique idea too.  Think about it... You can shoot your peers and tease them about it haha! 

Need more tips?  Check out: Silkenhut's Lazer Xtreme Experience

LazerXtreme

4/F Market! Market!

Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City

856-6467 or 69

http://www.lazerxtreme.com.ph