Restaurant reviews
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Life is short, week 12 of 52
Status report: 3 full days of migraines, 2 tylenol and 1 ibuprofen for breakfast. Cooking my liver in not fun ways. 1. Catching up with a friend and getting into new habits for good. What I’ve realized a lot from my (not Filipino at all) American friends is that they do well enough alone. Checking in every so often is more than sufficient, and consistency is rare. But I digress. My friend has been through emotional upheaval one after the other, and I’m glad he’s (almost) out of the last one. He got me into an app called HabitShare, and is influencing me to do better for myself. I’ve clocked…
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Life is short, week 10 of 52
Status check: 3 days of insomnia versus 6, not bad. Tylenol is a godsend. 1. Going on a day out of silly things. Sister and mom and I went to just go out. Ran into a friend I haven’t seen in like 6 years and his mom, who I also adore. It was such a comforting thing to know they’re almost exactly the same. I got a hug too which is a great plus in this weird situation. 2. Great conversations. The past week has been, to put it lightly, an enlightening experience into human interaction. In very good and also horrible ways. There are still some good humans out…
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Quick thoughts: Cafe Seoulhwa’s bingsu
I am not a girl that goes to BGC (Bonifacio Global City) often. It is, in today’s traffic, three hours away from where I work/live. This was confirmed when I tagged along my sister and her friends’ monthly dinner thing a couple of weeks ago. We had checked beforehand how long it would take as we didn’t exactly know where the place was (it was the suggestion of their friend that lived in Taguig). We went to Cafe Seoulhwa for their bingsu, according to Google, a shaved ice dessert with toppings. For 90s kids who grew up in the Philippines, Ice Monster type things. We ordered two bingsus, the Mango…
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Bread and Bakers Munoz, Puerto Princesa’s Chaolong (almost) in Quezon City
It is no secret that I am a fan of Puerto Princesa (as evidenced by the post here) and the food. Fresh, cheap and uncomplicated, it’s easy there. Everything is mostly a tricycle ride away. I could go on and on about what I love about the place, but that is not the point of this post, but the chaolong. I discovered chaolong on my 3rd(?) visit to Puerto Princesa. I had gone to other Vietnamese joints previously (Saigon) and raved about it, but on the third, we went to local favorite Bona’s, who serve the most local version of the beef noodle soup. It is not fancy. It’s mostly…
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Your Local: Unexpectedly familiar
The website for Your Local says “A new take on familiar flavors.” I would like to agree. While a couple weeks ago was my first visit to the joint, the place felt recognizable, while being fresh. I had heard of Your Local before, you can’t help but, if you read food blogs and local websites like I do. And my confession of the day is, while I am a voracious eater, trooping to Makati isn’t really my cup of tea. I take great reviews of restaurants down south, and file them away for other times, when I know I’m meeting friends from the south, or for when I can drag…
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Duck and Buvette: Comfortingly good.
When a former colleague asked to take us to dinner for a celebration of a year well done, I had to look for a place in the Shangrila area. It couldn’t be too weird, as our colleague is notorious for being picky, and it couldn’t be too far because we only had a limited amount of time. I had settled with Duck and Buvette because the reviews were good, and not being very familiar with French food or any version of it, it was something we had to try. For something we all weren’t familiar with, the style of cooking at Duck and Buvette (or at least the dishes we…
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Patio Vera: Gorgeous area, menu hit and miss
I can’t take credit for finding Patio Vera, as it was the significant other that found it and made reservations the first time we went there. I was awed. The place was gorgeous. It’s set in an outdoor patio, with an all white room that’s airconditioned for those who want their dinner a bit brighter. Filled with vintage knick knacks, I was openmouthed the whole time I was waiting for our food to arrive, and how do you not, with this all around you: The menu is fairly simple, nice Filipino favorites with a sprinkling of other cuisine. It is divided in simple categories of soup, salad, and main ingredients…
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Let me sin again: Ramen Nagi’s Butao King
Ramen Nagi is a lot of people’s favorite from the ramen joints out there. It’s one of the more interactive ones, where you pick the richness of the broth, the garlic strength, noodle firmness, and individually pick add ons from the menu. I’ve heard about the place a long time, and I only had the time to go there last week, with a friend I haven’t hung out with in forever. I picked the most basic broth, the Original King (P390, with P50 for add ons like egg or mushrooms), as I have heard that the spicy Red King was a burn on the mouth. While I like a bit…
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Mitsuyado Sei-Men’s Double Cheese Ramen: Yay for cheese (but not for traditionalists)
When my sister and I found ourselves in Makati last month, we knew we had to try the cheese tsukemen (a variety of ramen in which the noodles arrive separately, cold or at room temperature, along a bowl of intense broth into which the noodles are meant to be dipped) in a place famous for it in Jupiter street. So we headed to Mitsuyado Sei-Men for this: The double cheese tsukemen (Large, P380), which comes sprinkled with parmesan cheese that you pour cheese sauce over before you dip it in broth. Being as it was already 3 pm and we weren’t really hungry at that point, we decided to split and have a…
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Comfort food without the regret at Kettle, Edsa Shangri-la Mall
I have to admit, I was skeptical about Kettle. When I read about the joint, I kept reading about their fried chicken, and was like, “really, fried chicken? I could get a bucket of Chickenjoy for one order at that place.” However, when a few friends and I went there to have a light lunch, I was fortunately proved wrong. Here is their famous buttermilk chicken (P519): The serving is good for 2-3 people, and served with gravy, honey, and corn bread. It was great. The skin crispy, the meat juicy, the serving large, and the gravy + honey combo made weird sense. We were four people sharing this…
