Burzillian Nation: Monster Burger in Sta. Rosa Laguna

With tight competition among burger joints in Metro Manila, you wouldn't think about going to a province to enjoy a good, affordable burger. Amid the line of car wash/repair shops and other automotive services in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, there's an obscure but good burger place. The restaurant is aptly named Burzillian Nation because it is quite known for its giant, sinful burgers.

Ratings:
Food: 4/5, generous serving, great taste.
Place: 3/5, if you're not familiar with the area, you might miss it. It's near an auto shop, and emission testing center but the restaurant itself is homey and looks to be a fine place to a hangout with friends.
Prices: 5/5, very affordable prices given the generous serving
Service: 4/5, it wasn't crowded when we went so we got good service

The Food
The most popular burger here is, of course, the Giant Burzilla Burger (Php 450). It is so big that it can be shared by four people. We were not that hungry when we went here so we just asked the waiter that aside from the Giant Burzilla Burger , what their bestsellers are. In the end, we ordered CBM Deluxe (Php 150), Hellboy Jerome (Php 150), Fresh Fries (Php 75), and a pitcher of House Blended Red Tea (Php 85).

CBM Deluxe (Cheese Bacon Mushroom) is overflowing with bacon bits, mushrooms, vegetables, and of course, a thick burger patty. The bun is large and has a texture of pandesal. The Hellboy Jerome burger, on the other hand is their spicy kind. It has the same thick burger patty, chili con carne, and jalapeno. Because of the loose meat like bacon and chili con carne, both burgers are sloppy but in a good way, and they come with potato strings for sides. The burgers are great overall because of its great taste, affordability and big serving.

CBM Deluxe

Hellboy Jerome burger

The Fresh Fries are cut larger than the usual ones. It came in a creative pot-like container and with a dip.

Fresh Fries

House Blended Red Tea

There are also a lot of other dishes they server. They have pasta, wraps, rice meals, sausages, and salads. I have already set my sights on the Pan-Seared Bulalo in our next visit.

UPDATE - Nov 2015:

We've now tried Pan-Seared Bulalo and it was heaven. This could be the reason why we would keep on visiting this place in the future. The beef is tender and what I liked most about it is the gravy. The gravy tastes like the steak sauce that comes with the sizzling plates in mall food courts but is thicker and richer. I also liked the sides of minced carrots, green peas and corn kernels.

Pan-seared Bulalo

We also tried Burzillian Nation Bacon and Egg Burger. It is topped with a sunny side up which would be a messy way to eat it but in a good way. 

Bacon and Egg Burger

The Place
Despite the colorful banner along the road, people who are not familiar with the area might have a hard time locating this restaurant because the area it is in is lined with automotive shops.

The restaurant itself looks bare maybe because it is still fairly new. What I liked is the menu drawn with colored chalks on a blackboard.

Tips for Wandering Peasants

• starve yourself before going here so you can try their Giant Burzilla burger
• check out the Location section below for directions on how to locate the place

Location

Here's a detailed directions to this place for those who are not familiar with Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
1. From South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), take Sta. Rosa Exit
2. Take Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road going to Paseo de Sta. Rosa. Go straight down this road and you will see McDonald's on your side of the road, and Petron on the other side.
3. Drive straight until you see Hyundai Sta. Rosa on the other side of the road. Burzillian Nation is directly in front of this.


Useful Links and Info
Facebook page
Menu

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Nuvali: Evoliving in Sta. Rosa Laguna

If you are looking for a break from the bustling city life, or you're fed up of the mall crowds during your weekend leisures, you might as well head south to Sta. Rosa, Laguna, and enjoy nature's cool fresh air in Nuvali. 

Ratings:
Place: 5/5, relaxing place, you can spend a day without spending a cent by setting a picnic on the grass around the man-made lake, jog around the place, or bring your own bicycle for a scenic bike ride.
Food: 4/5, there are many restaurants in the area, no fast food though :p
Activities: 5/5, lots of activities to do here for kids and adults

Activities
Nuvali is famous for its man-made lake. Around this lake, there already are a number of activities you can enjoy. There are two areas: Solenad 1 and Solenad 2, both offer various activities to your liking.

Koi Feeding/Watching
You can see the people gathered around the pier. This is where the Koi watching/feeding happens.You can buy fish feeds for a very cheap price of PHP 15.00. Koi feeding is very fun and relaxing activity. You can see these fat colorful fishes cramped and jostling each other in the area where you throw the feeds. No wonder these Kois are fat. Fish feeding is perhaps the most popular attraction here in Nuvali.

Boat Ride

For PHP 30.00 per person, you can already enjoy a boat ride on the lake. The boat will take you to a tour around the lake, in which you will pass under a bridge and a fountain. It is a short ride but I'm sure the kids, even grandmas and grandpas will enjoy it.

This is one of the most popular attractions here in Nuvali. Though it is a short 10-15 minute ride, it sure is  a pleasurable experience for a meager sum of PHP 30.00.

Biking

Bike rental is PHP 60.00 per person. There are bike lanes around the area, and you can explore Nuvali's all four corners while taking in the fresh air. If you are a bicycle hobbyist, you can bring your own bike instead. Bikers are a common sight here in Nuvali.

Picnic

Pack that picnic basket and head under the trees beside the lake. You can spend the whole day here hanging out with friends and family, eat a snack, play games. All this while having the boat riders wave at you. Just make sure you cleanup your trash afterwards.

Time for a picnic.

Shopping and Dining

Lots of restaurants to choose from. My personal favorites are Buffalo Wings n Things, and the Purple Oven Bakery at Solenad 2. Several retail stores, and a Robinsons Supermarket are also available in the strip mall in Solenad 2. If you're planning to shop here, you can find the list of their stores and restaurants here.

Sports and Outdoor Activities

If you're looking for an adrenaline rush, Republic Wake Park is in Nuvali Road but is already in the area of Calamba, Laguna. Prices are reasonable, which you can check out here.
There are also many wide open spaces in Nuvali and you can just go jogging, walk around or just take your camera out for some photo shoot.
For the kids and kids at heart, there's this train that goes around Solenad 1.

Enjoy the cool fresh breeze as you jog along these paths.

Start A Career

One Evotech and Two Evotech are home to BPO offices here in Nuvali. The biggest companies I see here are IBM and Convergys. So, if you're planning a quiet suburban life, you can settle here and work in one of these companies in Nuvali.

Events

We watched a gig of Freestyle here once. Nuvali hosts a variety of events from gigs, open air cinemas, sports, outdoor activities, etc. You can check out the upcoming events here.

Tips for Wandering Peasants:

• There are many free activities that you can do in this place like biking (with your own bike, of course), hang out under the shade of the trees by the lake, bring your own picnic basket, or just watch those Koi by the pier.
• If ever you're coming down from Tagaytay by way of Sta. Rosa, you might as well stop by Nuvali for a side trip and enjoy the last sights of greenery before heading out to the highway to Manila 

Turn right to Tagaytay.

Book a stay at Seda Hotel Nuvali.

Location

Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road, Nuvali Solenad, Santa Rosa, Laguna.

Useful Links and Info

Nuvali website
Solenad Nuvai Facebook page
Seda Hotel website
Rates of activities (as of June 2015)

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Tristian's Cafe: Coffee, Pastries and Ice Cream

Someone I know said that the best blueberry cheesecake he ever tasted was here at Tristian's Cafe. He sounded so convincing that when we passed by Paseo de Sta. Rosa in Laguna, we had to try for ourselves.

Ratings:
Food: 3/5, the food here are average but they sure are a welcome break from the pastries and beverage we get at the more popular coffee houses.
Place: 4/5, it was not crowded each time we visited so it's good
Service: 3/5, average

The Food
As strongly recommended by someone we know, we had to try the blueberry cheesecake here. Their blueberry cheesecake may have the heaviest amount of cheese on any cheesecake I have eaten. For me, I have to agree that it's good, but it's not the best. What I liked about it is that it's not that sweet, its serving is quite big and of course, it's overloaded with cheese

They also have other pastries like the walnut cake below. Their food serving here is kinda bigger than the other cafes but it comes with a price because for a coffee shop located in the suburbs, the food here are a little expensive.

For the hot summer weather, you can hangout at this place and order some ice cream or frappe. Their ice creams are softer than the normal ones, and are a lot creamier.

enjoy cold frappe with pastries

creamy ice cream!

French Macarons

Beverages

Choose from an assortment of hot and cold beverages. There are the usual hot coffee, frappes, and fruit-flavored smoothies.

Mango Smoothie	Choco Blend	Capuccino

Strawberry Smoothie

The Place

If you want to enjoy coffee without the crowd, go to this shop. There's not once, every time we pass by this place, that I've seen all the tables filled. It's not that the food here ain't good. Probably, it's more because of the price. The place has a classy feel into it, though, especially the lamps and the paintings.

Tips for Wandering Peasants

• if you want to try their ice cream, there are cheaper ice creams on their menu and surprisingly, those are the ones that came with a cone. Probably not as rich-tasting as the ones we tried, though.
• prices here are kinda steep for a coffee shop located in the suburbs, so share a cake when necessary
• try this shop, it's nice to veer away from the popular coffee shops once in a while. No crowd here :)

Location

Unit 6-7 G , Ground Flr Laguna Central Bldg 1 , Brgy Don Jose, Santa Rosa, Laguna

From Sta. Rosa Exit in SLEX, turn right heading to Paseo de Sta Rosa. Tristian's is located on the ground floor of Shopwise.

Useful Links and Info

Facebook page 

Contact number: 0917 887 6227

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