Love at First Bite: Ya Chou

I love manthou. I often order some when I see it on the menu or grab a plateful at Chinese buffet. Just thin‌king about these freshly steamed buns smothered with butter makes me drool for hours. And I'm so thankful to discover a shop that allows me to have my favorite snack anytime I want. 

Hello, Ya Chou. 

Ya Chou is a small shop in Quezon City that specializes in Taiwanese delicacies like dumplings, peanut balls, radish cake, sausages and machang. Being in the food business for over two decades, Ya Chou has gained loyal patrons who would drop by its store to grab hold of its sweet and savory products. 

All About Serenitea's Cookie Brûlée Series

I have been drinking too much milk tea these past weeks to the point of planning to do some serious boba detox. But just when I thought I could finally start, Serenitea launched its crème brûlée line.  

Hello, Serenitea. 

Serenitea has been one of my favorite milk tea brands ever since my first sip of its Hokkaido Milk tea back in 2011. And despite the influx of so many boba shops opening in Manila, Serenitea remains to be one of my top 3! 

Gone Too Soon: Poulet Manille

The deep blue interiors of this organic chicken place caught my interest when it opened in SM Aura. But I hardly see diners whenever I pass by the place. It made me think if the food’s not worth it. It could be either mediocre or expensive food. But after reading a few reviews and seeing the menu, I felt that I have to visit this place. Truffle chicken at less than PHP500 with 4 side dishes? Not bad at all.

Hello, Poulet Manille.

We got to the place around 6:30 pm and the place was empty as usual. We sat down and ordered Poulet’s Truffle Chicken (PHP498, half | PHP798, whole) with Fragrant Jasmine Rice and Creamy MashedPotatoes for sides, Cream of Wild Spinach as additional side dish, Norwegian King Salmon (PHP690) and Watermelon Ginger (PHP125).

No, you are not counting wrong. They lessened the sides per order (from four to two for a half order) and made the price steeper. (Insert frowning face here.)

Service was quick though and after a couple of minutes, my mom’s Watermelon Ginger was served.

It had a refreshing and slightly sweet taste of watermelon. The bits of ginger made it even more interesting and in a way, rejuvenating.

The mains were served soon after.

The Norwegian salmon was delectable. By just looking at it, you could tell that it is a good dish. It was soft and juicy with the outer part having a light crunch. It was on the salty side but it was well complemented by the spinach and lemon risotto. It had that nice tangy flavor that is best paired with seafood like salmon.