Cafe Lidia @ Marikina

Cafe Lidia

   I have dined in Cafe Lidia a couple of times already but this is the first time Crave Hits visited the said place. We went there last Thursday because Kris TV sparked Geraldine's curiosity. I was shocked to see the waitlisted people because last time I was here it was not this crowded even on Saturdays. I can even hear the people murmuring about how they want to try the food Kris tried. If there is Bieber Fever, there is Kris Aquino Magic. She is like Midas. Everything she touches or endorses turns into gold.

   Anyway, enough of her and back to Cafe Lidia. The waiting list was pretty organized. The girl by the door knows exactly who the next customer is. Luckily we did not have to wait long for our turn. Cafe Lidia has nice wooden interiors. It really has that Filipino place vibe although they serve mostly Italian dishes.

MENU:

Appetizers, Salad Sandwiches

Pasta (In Olive Oil and In Tomato Sauce)

Baked Pasta and Pasta in Cream Sauce, Pizza

Entree (Chicken, Beef and Pork)

Seafood Entree, Beverages, Dessert

PASTA:

PASTA ALA LIDIA

Pasta ala Lidia - Php195

   Geraldine chose everything we ate. She ordered this olive oil based pasta which I am not really fond of but I did not argue anyway. She said she asked for this because it has the name "Lidia" on it so maybe it is a specialty. This pasta is actually good if you are a fan of olives and olive oil, which we both are not. LOL. Though we both are not fans of this pasta the taste actually grew on us and we started to like it eventually. We were close to eating it all up until the pizza came. If you like olive oil based pasta this is a must try for you. What I love about it? The pasta was al dente and coated with flavors.

PIZZA:

HOUSE SPECIAL PIZZA

House Special Pizza - Php 240

Pat eating the pizza

   Their House Special Pizza is a CRAVE HIT! It is a thin crust pizza filled with your usual meat in pizzas plus bell peppers and pineapples. And it is quite heavy for the tummy. Great food. Must try!

ENTREE:

TUNA SALPICAO

Tuna Salpicao - Php170

   Honestly, I was too engrossed with the pizza that I did not pay much attention to the salpicao. The girl said that it was one of their bestsellers but I did not like it much which is why I devoured more on the pizza. I was expecting more flavors from it but I did not get that. So for now, this is a miss.

Cravers @ Cafe Lidia

Cravers @ Cafe Lidia

DESSERT:

Grand Ma's Chocolate Cake

Grand Ma's Chocolate Cake

   Now this is the star of the show. Geraldine and I were supposed to get a sansrival and a red velvet. Problem is, we wanted to get cakes that we can share. I do not like sansrival because it has nuts and it has a weird texture for me. Meanwhile, she is tired of eating red velvet. 

   We both compromised and ordered this beautiful chocolate cake. If you look at it nothing really special. Moist chocolate cake with caramel fillings in between the layers. Most restaurants and bakeshops offer this kind of cake so I was not really enthusiastic about it. But when I had my first taste of it. OMG. I could not get enough of it. We both fell in love with this amazing chocolate cake. The caramel was soooo sweet but not too sweet that you'll stop after a few mouthfuls. This is undoubtedly, definitely, surely a CRAVE HIT. No words can describe how good it was. One of the best chocolate cakes I have ever had in my life. 

Cakes

Indoor Waterfalls

   It was a great dining experience. After we ate we took a few pictures around the restaurant. It really looked like a house. The second floor was closed that day but it is also nice upstairs. They have quite a few beautiful paintings mounted on the walls there. Needless to say, we were both engorged when we left Cafe Lidia. Since Kris Aquino visited and gave this place a thumbs up, you should probably go too. Share your experiences with us and tell us if it is a Crave Hit or not. :)

Cafe Lidia

64 Calderon St.

Calumpang, Marikina City

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cafe-Lidia/138852266155246

California Pizza Kitchen's National Pizza Day

08.15.2013 - California Pizza Kitchen declared it as National Pizza Day which means that if you buy any regular pizza, you get another one for free! Your choices for the free pizza are Untraditional Cheese, Garlic Chicken, Hawaiian, Wild Mushroom and Caprese.

We went to CPK Eastwood since it is the nearest branch for us. When we got there of course it was jam packed. We were told that we can sit outside but as soon as a table is free we can go inside. We were willing to wait in the name of free pizza so we sat and waited outside. After a few minutes of deciding what to eat, we ordered The Original BBQ Chicken and Garlic Chicken for our freebie. Their serving time was 40 minutes to 1 hour so we just sat down and waited patiently. Meanwhile, Geraldine took some pictures to kill time. 

Here is the menu

CPK put up a tent outside for those who are ordering pizza for take out.

After about 30 minutes we were able to get seated inside the restaurant. The place was really small compared to their other branches. No wonder a lot of people were waiting outside.

Now here comes the disappointing part. As mentioned earlier we were told that our food will be ready in 40 to 1 hour. After an hour Geraldine was already being a little bit impatient. However I decided to cut them some slack because I figured it must be really a very very busy day with all these customers. Besides, their servers were really nice. They were all still smiling even though it was a very difficult day. It was also that branch's first National Pizza Day. A waiter even gave an order to the wrong table and only realized it after a few minutes. Lucky him, the girls at the table did not touch the food yet. A Chinese mom beside us was also getting pissed already and ranting to her son "how long does it take to make my pizza?" She has been there before us so I get why she is getting all worked up.

However, after an hour and a half has passed I started to be a little bit irritated. Different waiters/waitresses would approach us and ask what our order was to follow up. Don't they have a record of all those orders somewhere??? Five different people followed up on our orders but still no pizza. Geraldine ordered fries because she was starving already. The fries, which by the way are not good, was served in less than five minutes. Finally I snapped so I called a waiter and asked him how many more hours until they serve the pizzas because we have been there for almost two hours. And of course, he asked us again what we ordered. My voice was a little loud already because I was really pissed. I think I even scared the really nice girl who took our orders. After about two more minutes they served the much awaited dinner for the day. 

Homemade Fries - Php95

They served the Garlic Chicken first. When I had my first bite I was even more disappointed that the pizza was not hot. How come Pizza Hut delivers HOT pizzas while CPK serves cold ones for dine in?? I did not even bother to ask them anymore. It was sad because this was actually a good tasting pizza. If you would ask me, this is actually a HIT if it was served with the right temperature considering we waited for almost two hours.

Garlic Chicken

Next up is The Original BBQ Chicken Pizza. Same thing. It wasn't hot. I really don't get why. This was really disappointing considering that this is CPK's best because of that BBQ flavor, giving the pizza a smoky and sweet taste. Nevertheless this is still a HIT. CPK undoubtedly serves great tasting pizza.

The Original BBQ Chicken (Regular) - Php375

While we were eating another family was also complaining already about how much longer would they have to wait. The dad even asked the waitress, "Miss ilang oras pa? Sabihin mo lang" in a sarcastic manner. A waiter also approached us and apologized for serving our food late. 

I really do hope that CPK Eastwood improves their system most specially during National Pizza Day. They should have anticipated the number of people coming in that day and devised a plan to handle everything. Maybe they can offer on-the-house appetizers for their guests.

Despite all the problems we encountered that day I would like to commend their staff for being very customer friendly. From the beginning of our stay until we left the restaurant they were still smiling and very attentive.

California Pizza Kitchen is a must try! Pizza lover or not you will love everything they have to offer. What about you? What was your experience during National Pizza Day? Share it with us :)

California Pizza Kitchen

G/F Eastwood Mall Veranda

Libis, Quezon City

http://www.cpk.com.ph/

https://www.facebook.com/CPKPhilippines