A Taste of Home: Limbaga 77

Being away from home for a month made me miss our local cuisine tenfold. Just thinking about how a single whiff of sinigang would make me drool drives me crazy. And it was an easy decision for us to pick Limbaga 77 for dinner after a long trip abroad. 

Hello, Limbaga 77.

Limbaga 77 is a homey Filipino restaurant tucked inside the semi-residential area of Tomas Morato. It has been one of the highly rated restaurants in the area by Zomato users and it definitely made me excited to try some of its bestsellers. 

Promo Alert: Choi Garden at 50% Off

Choi Garden has this chaotic and rather stressful dining ambiance. It feels as if one gets transported to Hong Kong with its efficient yet cold (no smile) service. But its mouthwatering Roast Pork and Peking Duck are just too good to say no to. And its constant partnership with credit cards makes it a lot easier for us to say yes to dinner at Choi Garden. 

Hello again, Choi Garden. 

Choi Garden partnered with American Express (issued by BDO) this month till December 13, 2019 where cardholders can get 50% off your bill with a minimum order of PHP5,000 and maximum order of PHP10,000, Mondays to Fridays for lunch and dinner. 

First Bite: Shangri-La Finest Chinese Cuisine

Celebrating Chinese New Year has been deeply ingrained in our culture. We'd see non-Chinese families also welcoming the Lunar new year by feasting on Chinese delicacies,  cheering during the Dragon Dance and elaborate fireworks displays and handing ampaos to the little ones. Such strong obervance led to the said celebration to be declared a special non-working holiday since 2012. And there is no better way to spend this day than to indulge in some classic Chinese favorites.

Hello, Shangri-La Finest Chinese Cuisine.

First Bite: UMU Japanese Restaurant, Dusit Thani

I hardly visit Makati on a weeknight as I try my best to avoid wrinkles caused by stress and road rage. But this whole I-will-not-go-to-Makati is often forgotten when the words "free food" is in the picture. Oh gluttony, no wonder you’re part of the seven capital sins. Anyway, R invited me to join him, his parents and some of their company’s VPs for dinner at Dusit Thani. And since we’re talking about good food, I quickly said yes.

Hello, UMA!

UMA is Dusit Thani’s Japanese restaurant tucked inside the ground floor of the fancy looking hotel. We were welcomed by wait staff donned in kimonos and they quickly ushered us inside the huge restaurant. 

It is well decorated and every corner looks very Japanese. 

We spotted private dining rooms with Japanese sliding doors, a Japanese stone garden and lovely orchids on our way to our teppan table.

The teppan area is a bit cramped so make sure that you have done your business before sitting down. 

First served was our fish appetizer on some salty clear sauce. It didn’t really leave much impression except that the fish was rather chewy because of its skin.

The ginormous California Maki was served next and it made me wonder if I was just hungry but it was pretty good. The Japanese rice was delectable and wasn’t the type that would make you think if you were munching on rice or paste. 

The mango, kani and other ingredients also delighted my tastebuds. 

When in Cebu: Crimson Resort and Spa, Mactan

Since it’s Thursday, time for a throwback post! Okay, I just missed out on this entry which truly deserves to be posted.

Hello, Crimson Resort and Spa Mactan! (Whew, that’s a mouthful!)

It was quite a trip from Bantayan Island to Crimson, Mactan. It took us roughly 4 hours just to go back to Cebu City and another 40 minutes or so to Mactan. We were weary from the hot ferry ride and crowded bus trip. And we were famished too since we skipped lunch. But this made us look forward to our stay. True enough, we were so delighted to see our room and the spacious bathroom (which was 6 times bigger than the bathroom in Kota Beach, Bantayan Island).

After freshening up a bit, we decided to head down to the beach area but sadly, it was already closed. So we just took a quick dip in the crowded pool (there was a Korean-Chinese event during our stay and the resort was PACKED).

While lounging, our tummies reminded us that we haven’t had a meal since 10am. And since it was happy hour, R and I ordered Mango Shake (I recall it was around PHP150 per glass) and a plate of Tuna Tataki (PHP220).

The mango shake was sour. Perhaps it was no longer in season. We also noticed the shortage of buko in the island. Bananas too! We heard that a huge company bought most of these fruits hence the shortage.