Reader's Question: How do you determine ratings for each restaurant?

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I have to be honest, I am not a food blogger at heart. I am a fashion and beauty blogger TURNED food and travel blogger because I would like to channel my love and passion for eating and travelling, hence the "about me" section says it all.

For the past few weeks, I have been in the roll in publishing restaurant reviews and I received a comment about a particular restaurant that I have made my review on. The comment-er basically asked how I will be able to rate high-end restaurants if I gave a high rating to a non high-end restaurant. I have my ways in doing reviews and ratings and I follow a very strategic way on how I do this.

Basically, I have four (4) categories for restaurants:

1. Fast Food - as we all know, fast food restaurant emphasizes on the speed of service. These types of restaurant do not offer full table service and their meals are usually served in disposable plates and cutlery. Examples of fast food restaurants are KFC, McDonald's, Jollibee, etc.

2. Fast Casual - just like fast food, they usually do not offer full table service but the difference is that they offer non-disposable plates and cutlery. The quality of food and prices tend to be higher than those of a conventional fast food restaurant but may be lower than casual dining. Examples are Bon Chon, Teriyaki Boy, 50s Diner, RA MEN OH, etc.

3. Casual Dining - this is the type of restaurant that serves moderately-priced food in a casual ambiance. in this category, I also add in some of the casual buffet-style dining like Dad's, Kamay Kainan, Kamayan, etc.

4. Fine Dining - this is the type wherein they offer full service with specific dedicated meal courses. The wait staff is usually highly trained and often wears more formal attire. Food portions are visually appealing and they have certain rules of dining which visitors are generally expected to follow often including a dress code. Examples are Heat (in EDSA Shangri-La Hotel), Spiral (in Sofitel Manila), Annabel's (which we do not own, by the way), etc.

I know that it may be a little confusing to some of you but the reason why I do this is that I want to be able to cover all types of restaurants and to give them the rating, that I think, they deserve and not minding whether they are a high-end restaurant or a non high-end restaurant.

I hope this helps you to determine how I do my reviews and ratings.

RA MEN OH [RESTAUTANT REVIEW]

Ramen Oh, which means The King of Ramen in english, is a Japanese restaurant situated in the bustling streets of Katipunan Avenue. Only a month old, Ramen Oh is not your typical Japanese restaurant as it has a lot of things to offer.

Being someone who grew up eating Japanese cuisine, I think I am a bit of a "Japanese food expert" which made me very excited to try out the newest restaurant in Katip.

As we choose our meal in their menu, we were offered a cold iced tea and hot tea. Bottomless iced tea is only Php45.00 while the hot tea is FREE!

To start off, we had Gyoza (Php79.00) which is basically a pan-fried Japanese dumpling filled with ground pork, onion leeks, garlic, ginger, which are all mixed with sake, soy sauce, and sesame oil to marry all the flavors together.

What I particularly like about Ramen Oh's gyoza is that it is cooked just right. Unlike others, this gyoza is not too greasy which just right for my liking as an appetizer meal.

Another appetizer meal we had was the tofu steak. Priced at Php99.00, this breaded tofu with ground pork and shiitake mushroom has won my heart as soon as I have tasted it! The tofu is cooked just right, fried perfectly as so it is not too greasy, and the toppings compliments it well which makes this dish a great appetizer meal as well.

Choosing between the two (2) appetizers we've had, I would go for the tofu steak. But don't get me wrong, gyozas are my favorite as well.

For my ramen selection, I opted for the master's mix which consists of an egg, beef strips, green leeks, black pepper, with a base of shoyu soup. The leeks very much contradict the beef flavor as it helps marry all the flavors together. What I liked most about this ramen is that even though beef is its main ingredient, it is not too greasy. This comes in two (2) sizes, buddy (photo shown above) goes for Php99.00 while supera costs Php190.00.

For my rice meal, I chose the chicken katsudon which is basically a breaded chicken with egg, onions, pepper, and sweet soy. The pepper, I think, plays a great role in this dish, as it contradicts the sweetness that the sweet soy brings. The rice that comes with it, I believe, is japonica rice which makes this dish extra special. As the sweet soy goes down and mixes its flavor with the rice, it all goes well and delicious inside your mouth as you chew each element in this dish.

This is priced at Php145.00 only.

POSITIVE POINTS:

> I cannot stress enough how affordable their meals are! For such a delicious and hefty amount of meal, the pricing on their meals are worth it.
> Customer service is superb! The staff are very friendly, accommodating, and is always ready to provide your needs.
> Ambiance is perfect may it be for the whole barkada or for the family, this restaurant lives up to the expectations of their customers in terms of the whole look/theme of their restaurant.
> Location is great! Being a few steps away from the Loyola schools, namely my alma mater Miriam College and Ateneo de Manila University, it is good that this is accessible both by big and small vehicles.

NEGATIVE POINTS:

> They need more signs as so their customers can easily spot their restaurant. As per the head chef, they already got a permit to post a sign in the main road of Katipunan which is good news already.
> This is not really a negative point but more of an "improvement comment". I honestly feel that this restaurant will be successful in the next coming months which means they would be needing to move to a bigger space. I can't wait until they transfer to their next location some time May 2013, which is just basically beside it (since the space beside them is bigger).

OVERALL:

All in all, I give this restaurant a 5-star rating (under the category of fast casual)! At first, I was honestly a bit iffy thinking what their price range for food was, but seeing their menu, I was really shocked to see that their meals are very affordable! The food is great, and I cannot stress that enough in this post (which means you all NEED to try it for yourselves). Lastly, being a family person and a college student, the overall ambiance and location of this restaurant is great!

Will I come back to try out more of their food offerings? Definitely YES!

MORE PHOTOS:

A 180degrees video covering the whole restaurant will be up in my Youtube channel soon

Minimalist and very zen-like wall decor

SEGUE: Pop Shakes will be their "sister-company" that will open some time February-March, offering milk teas and yummy dessert food! So after eating at Ramen Oh, transfer to Pop Shakes for your sweet cravings!

The very friendly ate (whom I should have asked the name of) who was assigned to serve our table. She's very friendly, even my daughter enjoyed playing a little peek-a-boo with her!

With the accommodating and bubbly Chef Sonny, their head chef!

Thank you so much for having me Jeremy, Ms. Kym, and Chef Sonny! This will definitely not be the last time that I will be eating at RA MEN OH!

DISCLAIMER: I am not, in any way, affiliated with RA MEN OH. This review were from my own words and is 100% unbiased. For questions on how I do my reviews, please refer to my PRIVACY POLICY.

RA MEN OH
2F J & R Concon Centre,
91 R. Alvero St., Loyola Heights,
Quezon City (behind Shakey's Katipunan) 
Mon - Sat: 11:00 am - 9:00 pm 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RaMenOh
Twitter: @RA_MEN_OH

50's Diner Baguio City [Restaurant Review]

All I can say is WOW! We went to 50's Diner as a first timer, not knowing what to expect in terms of the taste and pricing of their food. From the sign outside, you can immediately tell that the restaurant is 50s themed (as the name implies also).

Their menu features American all-time favorite comfort food that's perfect for any meal time, from breakfast to drinking sessions at night.

We went here for to eat breakfast and so I ordered Fresh egg with hotdog and bacon, hot cocoa tablea and for my daughter, I ordered pancakes.

Upon arrival, we all got surprised with the serving as it is HUGE! It's great for sharing if you have low appetite, but for someone like me who has a not-so-big nor too-small appetite, the serving size was perfectly okay.

For the price, it was definitely worth it! The taste was fantastic and the food serving is great (comparing it to the price of the meal). I really wish they have this in Manila, but in the meantime, this is a good reason to go to Baguio!

50's Diner Baguio City
92 Upper General Luna Road, 
Corner Brent Road, 
Baguio City, Philippines