By Paulyne L. Fermin Sunday is fiercely family day for my brood of four.  We attend church, eat out , watch a movie or engage in other bonding activities. Lately, dining out has been a challenge. We are tired of the usual options. Although the kids are quite picky eaters, they are ready to try other flavors. Here are three restaurants we sampled in the last month: Authentic Thai Offerings at Nara Thai The restaurant has humble beginnings in Thailand where the original concept was to elevate the taste and presentation of its wildly popular street food.  Now that it has opened in Manila, its owners insist on staying true to its core cuisine.  CEO Sheila Romero shares, “We are proud to say that all the food in the restaurant is cooked exactly the way it is served in Bangkok. Ingredients are flown in regularly ; there are no shortcuts to the recipes. Filipinos can now enjoy authentic, unadulterated Thai flavors.” Thai cuisine is known for its flavorful menu, which most often tends to be spicy.  With the exception of my 14-year-old son, all three of us are not too fond of fiery food.  To make ordering easy for guests like us, the menu has symbols to notify if the food is vegetarian, spicy, contains peanut, has pork or is recommended.  For starters we had crispy prawn cake which got the kids excited about the food. This was followed by pad thai noodles, pandan chicken (another hit with the kids), fried soft shell crab with garlic (crunchy and sweet) and fried prawns in garlic (succulent and flavorful).  I like that the seafood was served in generous portions and were the perfect mains to the bagoong rice. Just to tickle our tastebuds, we also ordered and enjoyed the tom yung goong (prawns in spicy lemongrass soup) which had sour, sweet and spicy notes to it. To end the family’s first gastronomic foray at a Thai restaurant, we had mango and sticky rice with coconut milk which was utterly satisfying and delicious… so we had one more. Average bill for family of four : P2200 Teriyaki (Oh) Boy! At the helm of  Teriyaki Boy’s 16 metro-wide branches is COO John  Amante. “Guests keep coming back to our stores because we offer not just one specialty but all kinds of Japanese fares like rolls, sushi and  sashimi, ramen, teppanyaki, tempura, tonkatsu and teriyaki based dishes. What separates us? Quality service and excellent food at affordable prices!” We love Japanese food and had a most enjoyable time dining in Teriyaki Boy.  No fail favorites include gyoza or potstickers which are steamed and seared with a tangy dipping sauce, california roll and philly cheese steak rolls (both cost less than P100) and the chicken teriyaki (big portion and juicy).  Everything fried and battered gets major points from us so we  liked the pork tonkatsu (crispy on the outside,  tender pork meat inside with a side of shredded cabbage) and tofu steak which is breaded tofu wrapped in beef strips with teriyaki sauce.  I could not resist ordering the asupara bacon maki which is asparagus wrapped in honey-glazed bacon and seared. Great way to make the kids eat vegetables!  What’s more surprising is we had a Japanese feast for less than P1500. Great deal don’t you think? Meet the Meat at Sizzlin’ Steak Teriyaki Boy restaurants allow for a cross-over to Sizzlin’ Steak and that’s where we had lunch last weekend.  The family purposely had a small breakfast to prepare for our carnivorous fete.  In Sizzlin’ Steak, the meet is served on hot plates with paper liners on the side. The guests then choose from four kinds of sauces to pour on the meat to allow it to cook some more. We’ve eaten here thrice before and our favorites are beef tapa , salpicao and rib eye steak. (The steak cuts only sell for P600.) Tried, tested and gone too soon are the  cheezy corn soup, cheesy nachos, and beef fajitas . For a sweet ending , I recommend you try  the s’mores (graham crackers served with roasted marshamallows on a hot skillet).  So if your family is feeling extra hungry, this steak-sauce-and-sizzle joint is a must-stop for you! Average bill for four : P1200   Until our next dining adventure!