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!!!

KitKat gone Japanese

I love Japan. Anime. Kawaii fashion. Oh-so-yummy food. And… KitKat in Green Tea, Melon, and Strawberry flavors???

 

As a certified Japanese wannabe, the highlight of my 3 week vacation in US was not my stay in L.A. or Florida but my Narita stopover. I had so much fun planking, running around, laughing, and panic buying.

I bought some Japanese ice cream (duo flavor in a cone), a clock (yes, I’m an impulse buyer), several key chains screaming “I Love Japan” and so much more. 

While buying practically everything I find appealing, I noticed a pile of KitKat boxes in different colors. Green Tea? Strawberry? Melon? *Happiness.

Drunk with Pandesal: The Bread Bag Pandesal Bar

Pandesal. What could be so special about it anyway? It is just… pandesal. Bread. Pandesal. Round messy-to-eat bread. I hope that you won’t think that I dislike it as I prefer it as my Sunday morning breakfast. It’s just that I was wondering what made it, well, special. One gloomy Thursday afternoon, a small quaint café showed me how special pandesal could be.

 

After “window” shopping for a big project, my colleagues and I stopped by The Bread Bag Pandesal Bar. Who knew that there’s a “bar” for pandesal?

 

We entered the place and practically loved everything we saw—from the scribbles on the glass outside to the chalkboard menu, up to the tape used to seal the cups.

Moshi Moshi: Moshi Koshi Noodle Boss

My boss has been telling me about this new Japanese restaurant called Moshi Koshi and how good the food was but for some reason, every time I plan to visit that place, something happens—my sister will be crying her eyes out because of our ex-pet Kermit the hermit crab, traffic, or something else that seemed to be bizarre. But come Christmas, one of my wishes came true.

Konnichiwa, Moshi Koshi Noodle Boss!

 

The place was empty when we arrived. I guess people were too busy lining up to watch the MMFF movies. (I watched Segunda Mano which turned out to be comedic!)

 

Just like a fast food chain, you have to approach the counter and order there. I ordered Kaki-age Udon (PHP140), Ebi Tempura Teishoku (PHP185), Chicken Teriyaki Bento (PHP220) and Japanese ice cream—Coffee and Green Tea (PHP55 each). Really affordable for Japanese food, right?

 

The service was also quick. First served was the ChickenTeriyaki Bento. I was planning to have it for myself but apparently, my sister wanted it. It was served with miso soup and four side dishes, one of which was shredded chicken that seemed to be more like chicken spread (and made me crave for bread).

It was the sweet and slightly oily type of chicken teriyaki. The meat was tender and well cooked. My sister also enjoyed the sidings (and she usually ignores these little things). For a price of PHP220, it really was worth every penny (uh, cent… uhm, peso).

 

Next served was the Ebi Tempura Teishoku which came with miso soup and one siding—potato salad. The ebi tempura was not the oily and 80% bread crumbs type. The shrimps used were fresh as well. The sauce that accompanied the dish was quite sweet. I was looking for a bit of ginger taste but I’m not sure if it was very mild or if it was not there at all. It would have been nice to have ginger to add some spice.

My mom loved the kakiage udon. It was a bit sweet because of some vegetables and the broth itself. The udon was really thick and filling. I could manage to only eat one string at a time. It was a bit oily for me though. Nonetheless, it was a good dish especially during the cold and rainy days.

The highlight of my visit though was the dessert. I wasn’t really expecting much from the ice cream as Moshi Koshi’s a noodle place but the ice cream, especially the coffee flavor, was really… really good!

 

I loved the texture of the coffee ice cream. It was very smooth and it was almost like gelato. It was creamy and had that coffee taste without the bitterness of it.

 

The green tea flavor on the other hand was not as smooth as coffee. It was a bit grainy for me. But, tea lovers out there, I’m sure that you’ll enjoy this. The tea taste was very strong yet, just like the coffee flavor, it was not bitter. Ice cream love!!!

I will definitely go back to try the other dishes and of course, another round of ice cream.

Moshi Koshi is located at #431 Shaw Boulevard, corner Ideal St., Mandaluyong City. It is right across the Goldilocks plant and Puregold Shaw.

Not Just A Bakeshop: Jipan

Oh soft croissant bread stuffed with gooey chocolate filling… where did you go? That bread was the reason why I used to frequent JiPan, a Japanese inspired bread shop located at Glorietta and Megamall. When they stopped selling the bread I love the most, I was heartbroken and decided to go somewhere else till one night, we were reunited.

I never noticed that JiPan also offers savory dishes aside from bread. They have breakfast to dinner meals that are reasonably priced and some of them sound tempting. So, one night, during our last minute shopping spree, we decided to have dinner there.

 

My sister was not in the mood to eat dinner so she just ordered Corn Soup (PHP130) while my mom decided to go for the Chicken Teriyaki Set (PHP230) while I went for the Seafood Teppanyaki (PHP240) and Zaru Soba (PHP180). I also ordered Papaya Shake (just to avoid possible indigestion).

Arabian Night: World Class Persian Kebab

For some odd reason, I craved for shawarma in the middle of the night. I even told my mom that I plan to go to some place one night just to satisfy my begging taste buds but since it was almost 11pm that time, she didn’t allow me to go out at all. Thus, my craving lasted for two days. Luckily, a friend was planning to have a mini shawarma dinner (and I had no idea why) and I thanked the food gods for it. 

One Friday night, I found myself standing in front of the World Class Persian Kebab. I heard from some people that this place serves really good kebab. I’ve known them as foodies so I trust their taste.

As we entered the place, the first thing that registered to my mind was a carinderia type of place as it was not a pretty sight at all. We decided to dine at the second floor and the set up there was much better. It looked more… Arabian.

The menu was quite extensive. There were different kebabs and other Mediterranean dishes and very affordable as well. I have this knack though of unknowingly ordering one of the pricey dishes available. At least this time, it was still very much affordable. 

 

I-Feel-Elite-Sunday: Bistecca

My friends and I have this tradition of having dinners to celebrate all kinds of occasions—Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s, and yes, even Halloween. This year, since we all felt that so many things were worth celebrating and that we were on our “feeling rich” mode, we decided to go all out.

 

I want steak! I do not care where we were going to have dinner as long as the restaurant serves steak. I was thinking of Mamou but my friend suggested that we go for Bistecca. I was intrigued by the Truffle Fries everyone has been raving about so I agreed. 

We had a 6PM reservation and still full from our heavy lunch and movie snacks, we entered at 6:15 (we got scared that they might cancel our reservation!) and sat down to check the menu. 

 

Pricey. 

The steaks are priced at PHP250-450 per 100g. We ordered The Bistecca 122 and the smallest cut available that night was 1.1kg making our steak worth PHP3,245. We also ordered the famous Truffle Fries (PHP220) and Spicy Caesar Salad (PHP295). I resisted the temptation of ordering an alcoholic drink and ordered a fruit shake instead.

Exotic Food Trip Stop: Abe Restaurant

If you checked my previous entries, you’d know that I like, uh, love exotic dishes! Blame Balaw Balaw for turning me into a normal-people-do-not-consider-this-as-food freak. I fell in love with exotic dishes ever since I tried Uok. I just can’t describe how happy I was every time I discover a yummy exotic dish. I just can’t.*Big smile here*

Part of our Fear Factor Exotic Food Trip itinerary was Abe just so we’d feel a bit more… posh after jumping from one place to another in Binondo. 

Ai shite iru Wani-sama: A Shiro Shiro Crocodile Meat Love Story

Crocodile meat. I was sold with those two words alone. T's friend J truly has a way with words… and coupons. She managed to score some really great coupons from Cash Cash Pinoy. Instead of paying PHP1,240, we get to dine for only PHP250 each (the coupon was worth PHP499 and it was good for two).

It was one gloomy Saturday but it did not stop us from going to Manila to eat… crocodile meat!

With a big signage plastered (or was it painted?) outside Boulevard Mansion, we were able to find Shiro Shiro right away. 

Breakfast Lovers Haven: Agahan

I love breakfast. In fact, I love it so much that I do not mind eating it for lunch or dinner (given that it was freshly cooked). Garlic rice, tapa, scrambled eggs, sunny side up, hot chocolate, boneless bangus, pancakes, I could just go on and on and on but I’m too afraid that I might end up eating my keyboard.

 

I got an invite from Adee Caluag to check her first ever business venture, Agahan. The name itself was enough to convince me to pay the new restaurant a visit. 

Cute interiors. A big smile was plastered on my face when Adee said that the color combinations were inspired by Real Living. 

While checking the menu, my friend asked who Nico, Joanne and Ligaya were. Apparently, 2 of them were crew members (or one was supposed to be a crew member) while Ligaya (or Gay actually) is Adee’s sister. I find it brilliant that the owner thought of naming the staff’s creations with their names. It gave them a sense of ownership and a happier work environment.

My date with Five Guys!

Writing this entry made me realize that I practically ate nothing but burgers in the States. But, I just have to try this one as I heard that this was the favorite of Obama. Yeah!
 

It was our first day in Florida when we decided to go shopping for a bit. So off we go to this big outlet mall carrying Nike, Adidas, Skechers, Converse, Forever21, Payless and so much more.

Our last meal then was a 6am breakfast at IHOP, a diner famous for their pancakes. Since we were trying to save money for the chocolate sale on the first of November, we opted to have lunch at the food court. There my mom saw Five Guys. She shared with us how it was the favorite burger of Obama and that she tried it in Washington (I think).

Fine. Let’s try the President’s favorite burger chain. We were too hungry to argue or look for another restaurant or food stall anyway.