Mother’s Day Date At Nono’s (May 10, 2017)

Mama and I were treated to home style cooking last Wednesday thanks to the folks at Nono’s and ARC! My mom was very amused because in all my years in blogging, this is the first ever Mother’s Day treat she has gotten from my blogging. I mean like she does have a healthy supply of makeup and skincare all year round, but nothing beats a scrumptious meal and a break from the usual grind.

You see, despite what my mother’s “detractors” have wanted to say all these years, my mother is a hardworking homemaker and landlord who wakes up at 3AM. She’s busy with cooking, cleaning the house, managing the renovations and home matters. I really have no idea how people can allege that she’s faking her hardworking mom status when she really is a hardworking mom. I got my work ethic from her and will never be this hardworking had I not seen the concrete example she has set. Perhaps she just manages to look so presentable and pretty despite her busy schedule and people just can’t take it? Don’t her hmp that’s all I can say.

Okaaay going back, for the first time in history, the place is near! This is at Phase 1 of UP Town Center, near Merkado supermarket. This restaurant is big so it’ll be hard to miss.

The place is about home style food, because the restaurant’s mom, Chef Baba Ibazeta-Benedicto, dreamt of having a restaurant that served treats reminiscent of her childhood favorites at home.

We got to sample the best that the restaurant has to offer because there was no set menu for the day for bloggers (usually when we blog about resto’s there’s a set menu). My mom is currently allergic to tomatoes, ginger, star anise, and shellfish, but this post will show that we were able to enjoy quite a bountiful selection of dishes despite her allergies. This doesn’t always happen because she’s often limited to just like 1-2 menu items at a time when we eat out because of all her allergies. Though it’s worth noting that her allergies are +1 so as long as she doesn’t ingest the foods directly, she’ll be OK. If your allergies are worse, then perhaps more consultation will be needed while ordering.

Going back we got to try their Fried Kesong Puti with Candied Walnuts (Php325). You should try this and witness the cheese when it’s still sizzling!

They also serve a hearty French Onion Soup (Php225). And there is a generous helping of cheese! What diet?! WHAAAT DIET?!!!

This resto will now be on the list of my top go-to places at UP Town because they serve tapa!!! TAPAAAA!!! And they also hav a good assortment of Filipino breakfast favorites in their menu!!! So much feeeeels (is it obvious I really like tapa?)

And we also got to try their uber popular Mac & Cheese (Php395). This is gold. It may sound pricey relative to the size fo the dish you’re seeing, but they did not scrimp at any point in this dish. The cheeses are generously infused that this doesn’t taste like cheese spread at any point. It tastes like authentic cheese. It’s creamy, cheesy, but not too overwhelming. I feel that it’s easy to make mac&cheese cheesy, but it’s not easy to not make it too overwhelming. They nailed it. Mom approved. 15/10 moms recommend.

My brother is still prolly all kilig about their mega chicken platter (Php565). The whole platter is jsust waay too gooooood. The fries have a special kick to them. The chicken they serve is boneless so what you see is already what you get. My family was sooo happy about this.

They are veeeery veeeery famous for their Mac & Cheese. I know it may sound pricey, but this is real cheese goodness right here. I see plenty of places serve Mac & Cheese for cheap, but usually it tastes like cheese sauce and doesn’t have real cheese. This one here is a symphony of carefully selected cheeses for an authentic and tasty dish that’s not too overwhelming.

And of course we had to try the cakes! Chef Baba is the famous lady behind Classic Confections, so of course there had to be cake at this establishment, too. They let us try their Lemon Torte and their famous Nono’s Chocoate cake. I personally was never a fan of chocolate, but this chocolate cake is interesting because of all the caramel crunch bits showered on it. I’m not interested in chocolate cakes, but I’d say that this is a good chocolate cake. I also tried the Lemon Torte and I loved it! I loooove lemon based desserts so I knew it’d be my favorite before I even tried it.

The best part of all is mama was sooo happy about the whole treat. Not having to cook dinner was a real treat for her. She was also genuinely amazed that despite all her allergies she was able to feast on so many dishes, very nicely done dishes at that.

Be sure to treat your mom to somewhere special this Mother’s Day!

Thank you so much again ARC for the flowers for my mom. She felt really special receiving them!!!

Thank you so much to my baby @dollupmari’s @arcpublicrelations family for the Mother’s Day roses. ???And also for the very scrumptious Mother’s Day treat at @nonos.ph with matching takeout for @artisanleviathan and @marianeperez. ???The best gift any mother can receive for Mother’s Day is a break from the usual backbreaking chores, so having really good food to bring home to my family takes the cake (no pun intended). ???May God bless all of us mothers to always be strong, patient, and to have the wisdom to guide our children to righteousness. ?????? #ProudMom #MothersDay

A post shared by Meda Perez (@meda_perez) on May 11, 2017 at 11:29pm PDT