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 «

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 «

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 «

One of the perks of being a food blogger is when readers send over some of the stuff they make and let me try it. The other day, Lyschelle from Retox Ice Cream emailed me asking if I wanted to try out their concoctions of alcohol infused ice cream, and its ice cream, who would say no to ice cream. I quickly agreed and she had her partner send it over.

» Read the rest of this entry «

With the milk tea business growing and booming, a sudden growth of milk tea shops all over the metro has indeed sprouted up. Although some are exceptionally good, there are a bunch of those that make you even wonder why it’s even called milktea. Luckily Teatap at P.Guevarra cor. Wilson at San Juan is one of those places that you could somewhat call a real milktea place.

» Read the rest of this entry «

As most of you know (or do not know for that matter), it has been the ghost month this past few weeks. For the superstitious Chinese, there are different implications regarding the ghost month. But for the us looking in, it is quite fascinating. Usually falling during the Mid-Autumn festival, several different folklore is associated with Ghost month and the mid autumn festival as well as the tradition of eating/giving mooncakes during this period. Time for the Filipino to look into something quite different happening in my own backyard.

» Read the rest of this entry «

No. I am not a pro-blogger. I do not make a living purely from my blogs. I have been blessed with enough readership to be considered somewhat influential, but I still blog about food and restaurants because of my mad love for eating and food. Therefore as much as I can, I watch what I eat. No I don’t count calories. My pants and belt would attest to that. I watch what I eat in terms of its yummy-ness! If there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout this journey to food nirvana, is that make every bite worth it. Don’t get me wrong, not everything expensive is good, and vice-versa. I still love my Chickenjoy. I still love my occasional isaw. You would actually catch me ordering the occasional ice scramble should a vendor be passing by.

Being saddled with a desk job, lunch everyday is a constant test to one’s tastebuds and wallets. Trying to find the best place to eat for the best price is sometimes an oxymoron that one cannot just achieve. But the other day, a group called ALMOST GOURMET, sent over food. PREPARED FOOD!

» Read the rest of this entry «