Take 2: Porto's

Give me a P! An O! An R! A T! An O! An S! Put them all together and what does it spell? Porto’s!!! I have been reunited with my all-time favorite love… Porto’s! But I was even more pleasantly surprised when we passed by a Porto’s branch I have never been to before and it was… bigger. *twirls*

 

Hello, Porto’s! It has been a while, a long while.

 

We went to the Porto’s branch in Downey and despite the fact that the place will be closing in about half an hour, the place was still very busy and packed with hungry customers, all willing to wait just to savor the yummy breads and pastries of this well-loved bakery.

 

N and I patiently waited in line while stretching our necks to see which ones to buy. Actually, I did most of the stretching as N had his tummy set for dinner.

2011: A Gluttonous Year

Disclaimer: Yet another random blog but is surely something from the bottom of my heart (and tummy).

I can’t believe that today is the end of 2011 and awesome 2012 will begin. So many things happened to me this year and I do not regret any of it. I have experienced a lot and visited so many different places this year and met awesome people who are as passionate as I am when it comes to food and exploring Manila.

To end the year, I’d like to highlight some things that made this year extra special.

Intramuros

Oh how I love this place! The Old Manila feel plus the numerous kalesa makes this place an ideal dating and hangout place for me. I remember touring a not-so tourist here and I was the one who ended up enjoying it more. It was like a blast from the past. Educational, fun and truly memorable.

Binondo

I have mentioned before that I have never been to Binondo till June 19, 2011. It was a rainy, rather, stormy day when we decided to explore Binondo in search for some warm soup. We went to Ying-Ying, a popular Chinese (well, almost every food establishment there is Chinese) restaurant in Chinatown. The congee was bland but the experience was… delicious. (Okay, perhaps that sounded a bit wrong.) Now I always find myself in Binondo searching for food; may it be exotic dishes like Soup #5 or ice cream from the Chinese supermarket or the got-almost-everything Korean mart. Plus, this was the place where I got my first kalesa ride!!!

L.A. Food Find Favorite: Porto's Bakery

“I need to buy some potato balls” was what our family friend said. Potato balls? Baby potatoes… those you bake and dip with butter? Apparently not. It was so much better.

After a quick stop at Ross, TJ Maxx, Nordstrom, and Staple, our friend asked us if we could drop by Porto’s on our way back home. Since we were clueless what that is, we said, “Sure!”

We were greeted by brown interiors and furniture (what’s with cafés and the color brown?) and I can’t help but notice that there was also a party store on the second floor.

*Confused* I wasn’t sure if I could check the pastries first before lining up (for people might think that I was cutting in line) or if I should patiently wait for my turn, take my time browse through the different mouthwatering sweets and savory dishes. Anyway, with the help of my dear (how I wish it was longer) neck, I was able to find something I fancy (plus the famous Porto’s Potato Balls). I called out to my mom and pointed out the Triple Chocolate Mousse while my sister stared at her so eagerly and pointed with her mouth the Chocolate Éclair and Tiramisu. Since we heard that the Cheese Rolls were popular too, we ordered 3 of that as well.

 

We hurriedly went back home to try the goodies.