Foodie Manila

First and foremost, Happy New Year dear readers! I can’t believe that its almost 3 years now and my blog is still going strong.

I am always on the look out for not only new places to try but good places to eat at. Although this might not be entirely be a new place it certainly is new to me. Yabu definitely excites me. With promises of deep fried pork or chicken with the Katsu sauce and authentic Japanese rice, I was eager to troop down to Megamall on a Saturday afternoon for this.

» Read the rest of this entry «

As most of you know peeling garlic is one of worst tasks one can do in the kitchen! But fret no-more! Look what I found! I’m pretty sure you are thanking me right about now.

» Read the rest of this entry «

So Jamba Juice finally opened in Manila and it took awhile considering how Americanized we are. The place was pretty new and in the nice part of Manila. Basically Jamba Juice serves up different kinds of smoothies with different “shots” for energy, immunity, etc. They combine different fruits and the franchise is actually quite famous in the US.

» Read the rest of this entry «

Yakitori (焼き鳥/やきとり/ヤキト), or grilled chicken is now open at the fort Burgos Circle. From the same people who brought you Ramen Bar, comes to you one of the most authentic japanese yakiniku restaurants.

When I saw the restaurant from outside, everything was quite simple and yet almost the entire restaurant was full. We were glad to be seated quickly and the service was polite and efficient.

Upon seating, the servers will hand you a piece of paper and you basically tick off which one you want to try and customize your whole dining experience.

I was quite excited and yet overwhelmed with all the choices. I quickly asked for the best-sellers and was quickly prepared.

» Read the rest of this entry «

I received a package at the office the other day. It was 3 boxes of donuts! Being that it was the Christmas season it wasn’t a complete surprise that someone sent something to us. It could’ve been one of our clients. But what did surprise me was it was J.CO donuts! I’ve always liked J.CO donuts! Having offices in KL and Singapore I’ve tasted these bad boys before. What I liked about them were the unusual and yet simple flavors they had. I knew I was going to have a blast sharing these with the rest of the office.

» Read the rest of this entry «

I know what you are thinking, “its been awhile” and I admit it has. Work has drastically increased and my diagnosed illness has been working overtime with my mood swings in a very non productive way. I think I might go back to my meds again. But anyhow, I’m in Malaysia again! I am finding myself frequenting this country more and more and falling in love with it more and more. Last time I was here I featured some dishes from Yut Kee, Bee Chiang Hee, The Loaf, and much much more. But I think I lacked out some of the more interesting places. I can ramble on and on about Nasi Lemak, Chicken Chop, Maggi Mee, Mee Goreng, etc. but ever wondered what Malaysian home cooking was? I mean as a Filipino looking in I wonder now, is our home cooking quite different from the usual restaurants we frequent. I mean with such great food places all over Kuala Lumpur, one would never think about home cooking! But I was very fortunate that my boss, who just got engaged btw you’ve probably seen his meme proposal on 9gag, had someone prepare a home cooked meal for us. Thanks Tim.

» Read the rest of this entry «

Its been getting colder lately. The wind smells a little different and you just know that Christmas season will soon be here! I love this kind of weather! You can wear those jackets that you’ve been keeping in your closet and those scarves that you bought but never knew when to use except when in another country. But before this turns into a fashion post, there are far more better things I love that comes with cooler weather. It makes sense now to drink warm drinks! Warm coffee being one of my favorites, but even more so Hot Chocolate. I mean c’mon, who doesn’t love hot chocolate?

The other week, I gave a talk about blogging and marketing at a recent convention (yes it’s because of my day job) and aside from actually meeting Bo Sanchez, (who spoke before me btw!) came a nice care package after. Inside the box were a lot of various food items and this can of Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate powder was in it. I decided to try it with my favorite milk, and I knew this was going to be a staple with me for a very long time!

» Read the rest of this entry «

I’m a huge fan of breakfast. Not only do I think it’s the most important meal of the day, I think it’s also the best tasting. You cannot go wrong with any breakfast meal. From our traditional SILOGs (i.e. Tapsilog, Tocilog, Longsilog, Hotsilog, etc) to the more foreign continental bacon and eggs, pancakes, and waffles, to the more asian like Kaya Toast and Teh Tarik at the local Kopi Tiam, breakfast is really my favorite meal of the day. When I was in Singapore, I would adore the early morning walk to the local Kopi Tiam to get my fix of Kopi or Teh Tarik, Kaya toast, and soft boiled eggs. I ate this non-stop for the 2 weeks I was there. Yes I was indeed happy. When I was in Malaysia, I would wander off to the local Buharry or Mamak and order any kind of Mee they had and or Rojak or Roti and cold Milo and I was also happy. Now, why can’t we have something similar in Manila?

Flapjacks is indeed a breakfast place! Serving breakfast the whole day, along with other regular dishes, I appreciate that they have a branch open in Greenhills. After a quick run around the area, I would settle in to get my fix of Pancakes, Sausages, Bacon, and eggs. The thought alone would get me through my 5km run!

» Read the rest of this entry «

I’ve never been a big fan of cakes. It was something I enjoyed eating but somehow I never craved for it. Maybe because of the abundance of it during my childhood years was the culprit that I just lost all taste for it. We would have Sara Lee buttercake as dessert from dinner or one of the many remnants of cakes from Tita Heny’s bakeshop. She would bring a box load and ask us to sample the cakes and let her know which ones we liked best. Thus, cake was never something we were short off in the house. But aside from the many cakes we would have, my mom would also dabble occasionally from the traditional chiffon towards one of the best treats in the house strawberry shortcake. (Which I absolutely enjoy making as well!)

So imagine my pleasure when one of my readers decided to send over her very own cake creations. Tinka Zosa sent me an email asking if I would like to have some cake with her. And I mean c’mon who says no to cake? We exchanged a few emails and decided to meet one sunny Wednesday.

» Read the rest of this entry «

Science and Food has long been intertwined. From the very first man who decided to hold raw meat over an open flame gastronomy was born. Elements Gastrolounge seeks to mold together two things that the greenbelt area is known for, good food and good drinks. Drawing from the inspiration of a basement laboratory, the lounge offers your not-so-common barchow with a unique twist. The personality of the owners really shine through as each dish is signature and quite unique and equally good. But if you think Food is all they offer then you have to sit down and chillout for a few hours. As unique as the food was, the drinks were even more unique. Some of them served in test tubes with a test tube holder, some in beakers, truly sticking with the theme. Elements Gastrolounge is a place where you come for the food, but stay for the drinks.

» Read the rest of this entry «