Happy Garden Cafe - Makati

It's a new year and everyone is looking to have a healthy start to the year. Aside from working out and doing exercise, we all look for healthy alternative for our everyday intake. One good way is to start eating more vegetables and fruits start lessening gluten and meat intake. For the health conscious ones, there's a new place called Happy Garden Cafe in Makati which offers a wide array of healthy food. Last January 26, we had our first taste of this place. Overall, it was a great one maybe because the place wasn't so crowded. Moreover, the homeyness of the place just makes one to bask in the overall relaxing mood.  You can find below my review of the establishment. Food. 3.5/5 They have quite an expansive array of healthy food on their menu ranging from appetizers to entrées to desserts. For our food excursion, we decided to order the signature Truffle Mushroom Pizza, the Humble Korean (Cauliflower Rice), the Fortified Roasted Chicken and the Pure-Harvest Salad. As this was my friends' dinner (I already ate prior to going here), we first indulged in the salad. The salad, full of lettuce, cinnamon-soaked diced potatoes, dried berries and nuts. The salad was great!  I next tried the Chicken. It totally deflated my enthusiasm because the chicken was a bit under-cooked. It was late when we realized we could've asked for it to be changed, or at least cooked properly. The saving grace was the pizza which is so succulent you can really taste how good the mushroom used was. Double thumbs up. However, the pizza was so small in proportion to its price (I'll get to that later).  I didn't try the Humble Korean Rice Bowl because its main component is beef.  Ambiance. 4/5 Though located in a more obscure section of the city, the restaurant is spacious and very neat. There are numerous tables to choose from so you can choose where you can comfortably sit. There are also some books (not sure if you can read them though). It is a great place to hang out in with great friends. You can just chill here and talk over things like life and what not. The total garden vibe is negated by the plastic flowers and plants flanking the place. Understandably so, it would be very costly to have actual plants in place.   Manager/Staff. 4/5 The Manager is very warm, amiable and accommodating. Upon entering the establishment, she already made us feel at home as we settle down. Her knowledge of the restaurant's menu is commendable. Moreover, she accommodated our every demand and answered our every question.  Price. 3/5 Okay, I have to admit, I was a bit taken aback by the prices. Whereas I understand that vegetables are quite expensive in the city I can't quite contain my surprise. The Pizza, for example, is good for two at most and costs PHP 615.00. I think the prices are too steep but I guess one must pay a price for every "healthy" endeavor. On top of the pricey food, they charge 10% service charge. Oh well, such is life.

It's a new year and everyone is looking to have a healthy start to the year. Aside from working out and doing exercise, we all look for healthy alternative for our everyday intake. One good way is to start eating more vegetables and fruits start lessening gluten and meat intake. For the health conscious ones, there's a new place called Happy Garden Cafe in Makati which offers a wide array of healthy food. Last January 26, we had our first taste of this place. Overall, it was a great one maybe because the place wasn't so crowded. Moreover, the homeyness of the place just makes one to bask in the overall relaxing mood.  You can find below my review of the establishment. Food. 3.5/5 They have quite an expansive array of healthy food on their menu ranging from appetizers to entrées to desserts. For our food excursion, we decided to order the signature Truffle Mushroom Pizza, the Humble Korean (Cauliflower Rice), the Fortified Roasted Chicken and the Pure-Harvest... read more

I love this place! A great resto to dine on a stressful day. Food is superb and the free popcorn as an appetizer makes a hungry tummy happy! :)

So hungry after a well deserved spa treatment, I went to HGC to satisfy my craving for pasta. I certainly was not disappointed! I tried ELEVATED--described in the menu as freshly Made spaghetti tossed in garlic and olive oil. being a pasta fan, P325 is value for Money. The dish is tasty, the spaghetti al dente and light. The service is also elevated :) Allen was attentive without being intrusive. I was alone and he knew when I needed him. He saw me coughing and offered me water. He gave me free popcorn which by the way is also a plus. He offered lamb ham, but politely turned him down after tasting because I'm no lamb fan. In the end, I requested for a menu. I need to bring my friends here for quality time. The ambience is wonderful. It's no kind of place .

This place looks bright, dainty, and spacious, with enough green-white-brown in its overall look. It felt like the restaurant has been curated by a wedding caterer. Half of the space has been set up to accommodate a bridal shower; the layout and details were lovely. The remaining half was occupied by us and other diners. Tables are adequately spaced so the restaurant didn't feel buzzy - you won't overhear other people's conversations. They served complimentary popcorn - nothing fancy but it whetted our appetite. The Fig Salad, their bestseller, had a unique and lovely taste - earthy and milky. It had an overall bitter note which was enjoyed in the beginning; eventually, we felt that perhaps the chef may have over-sauteed the figs because the dish got intolerably bitter towards the end. The figs weren't soft and chewy; they were tough, similar to sun-dried tomatoes that haven't been rehydrated enough. We loved the Spinach Aglio Olio - the noodles had an interesting bite and the dish was laden with a good amount of toasty garlic. The Truffle Pizza was, sadly, a huge disappointment. We don't understand how the dough has been worked but the crust was unbelievably tough and rubbery. Using our hands to eat, we felt like we were peeling beef jerky with our mouths and hands. Something was just not right about the texture of the crust. They could improve on the pizza toppings, too, which tasted average. They have a wobbly table (we were originally seated there) that can easily be a hazard to customers. A mere resting of elbows on the surface lifted the other end and nearly threw off a vase and candle. Fortunately, our orders haven't arrived and we were able to move to a different spot.