Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Hey Mister... Kabab!

Clueless of where to go to while waiting for our other friend, A and I found ourselves circling\ around Pearl Drive.

Japanese?

Nah.
Filipino?
Not feeling like it.
Argh! I’m too hungry, let’s go to Mister Kabab!

 That was how my friend and I ended up in the homey Mister Kabab.
The place was pretty much empty compared to the first time I went there with some colleagues. Perhaps it was because it was a Saturday and the restaurant’s regular customers are students from the university nearby.
I was too hungry that day for someone who had breakfast twice. I ordered Special Chicken Chelo Kabab (PHP150), Keema with Eggplant (PHP90), and Yogurt with Fresh Fruits (PHP66). My friend on the other hand settled for Special Beef Chelo Kabab (PHP155).
The service was quite prompt but they served my yogurt before my main dish(es). I had to ask them to serve it later. (Perhaps it’s actually an appetizer?)

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Japanese 101: Oishii aisukurimu!

I just had the best chiffon bread (so far) this morning and I’d love to buy some more of it but the problem was… I bought it in JAPAN. Yes, I am still not over my very short stop at Narita Airport and I realized that I have not posted anything Japan-related yet and it made me remember the oh so good ice cream I had while waiting for my flight back to my one and only love… Manila. 

For some reason, it was EXTREMELY warm inside the Narita Airport. Perhaps my long-sleeved top meant for the fall season and the fact that I was speed walking while frantically looking for Uniqlo were partly at fault. Anyway, I was turning into a walking tomato and that made me decide to go back to Gate # I forgot and pout till my mouth hurts as I found out that the Uniqlo store was nowhere near where I was. 

Restaurant Discovery: The Café


Last Friday was perhaps the lightest day of my career life… so far. 

After our morning client presentation, one of our AEs offered to buy us lunch. *Happiness!*

She did not inform us where she will be treating us so we kept on guessing and guessing. There were happy thoughts of us having lunch at Yakimix or at this posh Japanese restaurant (or so what one of my colleagues said). Then we realized that we were in front of the wrong building.
Oh, hello The Café.
We saw our AE in front of a packed quaint-looking restaurant called The Café. (Packed means good right?) We waited for 2 minutes for some seats to free up but since we were too hungry to wait any further, as staring at some hungry diners smile while chewing their food was plain torture, we decided to eat outside. (There were a few tables outside the restaurant just in front of the parking area.)

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Chatime all over again...

Just when I thought I was over going to milk tea places, I discovered something that blew me away. Fine, it was a bit of an exaggeration but it definitely made me smile from one ear to the other.

“Do you want some Chatime?” is perhaps one of my favorite office questions. It also reminds me how blessed I am to have great colleagues who LOVE food.

This time, I ordered Chocolate Mousse (PHP85, small; PHP95, large) and had exactly the same specifics as one of my officemates who convinced me to try it.
We ordered via City Delivery and I was surprised that it will take Chatime Pioneer 50-60 minutes to deliver our drinks (to think that our office is just 5 minutes away). But we love 
Chatime so much so it didn’t really matter as long as they deliver our drinks cold.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Chapter 2: I’ve Fallen for you, Pages Deli!


It has been a week since I last ate at Pages Deli and I still can’t forget the oh-so-great Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breast with Tomato Vinaigrette.

I told my sister how much I enjoyed my dinner at Pages Deli and she got so excited with my mouthwatering story that she needed to check the place out herself.

Sunday came and my sister saw it as an opportunity for her to ask our mom to eat lunch at Page’s Deli. It was perfect as we were planning to attend mass at 6PM anyway. My mom gave in and picked us up after her very long meeting (we thought that we were about to faint while waiting for her).

Finally, lunch time.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Let’s Salsa!

We were planning to go to Hollywood but for some reason, we ended up in Santa Monica. And boy, was I glad.  

“Hello Santa Monica!” we said while being greeted by the cold breeze coming from the beach nearby. 
We were tired from all the walking and the intense heat from Beverly Hills when we decided to move to Hollywood to grab lunch and roam around the Walk of Fame. However, the GPS failed us and we ended up in chilly Santa Monica. 

Our grumbling tummies did not let us roam around further and we found ourselves warm and comfy inside La Salsa, one of the many food places in the area. 

They have a pretty good array of Mexican comfort food from tacos, nachos, to burritos. I had my eyes on the taco salad but for some reason, I decided to go for Tacos La Salsa ($5.85) instead thinking that it was a heavier meal. My aunts decided to go for the Taco Salad ($5.25) and the Three Pepper Fajita ($8.49).
What I loved about the place was that there were several dips available. There were avocado, salsa, and even mango dips. It was a feast!!!


Monday, November 21, 2011

It’s Always Sunny in Kapitolyo

One of the perks of working for media is that you get to know the latest updates and happenings. I’m super happy that I am part of the team that handles Yummy. 
I got all giddy happy when my boss told me to save space for some fluffy pancakes as we will have our brainstorming at Milky & Sunny, one of the newest and cutest restaurants in Barangay Kapitolyo, a growing foodie favorite destination. I feel so blessed that I live just 3 minutes away from it (and it already includes a bit of traffic).
When we arrived, the server immediately greeted my boss as they remembered her from the night before. Good memory. :) I won’t forget their names as well—Mai and Precious (My Precious).
While checking the menu, the server gave us water and patiently waited for us to finalize our orders.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Gone French in Hollywood: The French Crepe Co.

I always loved crepes but I never considered it as a possible lunch especially when dear tummy grumbles like there’s no tomorrow.

It was one sunny but chilly day in Hollywood when we decided to do a bit of museum hopping. We arrived a bit past 12NN and we were hungry. Unwilling to eat at McDonalds, we searched for a better option.
I wanted to eat at this bistro place but my mom and sister wanted to eat something else which was not on the bistro’s menu. But since we were extremely hungry, we decided to eat at a promising place named The French Crepe Co. (which was just across the bistro).
Fine, since I was not the one going to pay anyway.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Delizioso! C' Italian Dining

The morning after arriving from Florida-Texas-Japan (too many connecting flights so I’m not really sure which one to mention), I had yet another food trip. This time, an out of town food trip… for the second time this year.

A friend invited me to a Pampanga food trip and I got excited with the thought of eating lots of exotic dishes (as for some reason, I have started to be fascinated and addicted to trying weird and plain exotic delicacies). 

However, Mother Nature was against my goal of eating a lot of bugs that day. It was one gloomy Friday. My friend suggested that we go to this place where the guests eat in nipa huts but that idea was deemed "not feasible" since it was raining. T.T

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Celebrating New Chapters at Pages Deli

I used to ignore this place till I started to read good reviews about it. I wanted to try it myself but I don’t like eating alone in nice restaurants. Then a friend wanted to have dinner to celebrate her birthday. Perfect!
“Let’s meet at Shangri-la!”

“Sure! But where? (Thinking it has to be somewhere new or at least a place we have never been to before) Uhm, how about Pages Deli? Or Lemon Grass?”

“Pages Deli. See you there!”

That was how my friend and I decided to have dinner at Pages Deli. 

Sunday, November 13, 2011

L.A. Food Find Favorite: Kyochon

Hey, Bonch—Kyochon? Same offering, different names… confused.
 
After a very short Chinatown trip, my mom, sister and I decided to have lunch at our new favorite place, Glendale Galleria. With grumbling tummies, we patiently waited for the bus and off to shopping wonderland.
Since we were stingy that day, we decided to avoid restaurants and headed towards the food court instead. There were a lot of choices but the two restaurants/food concessionaires that stood out were Panda Express (since I love pandas) and Kyochon. 

Friday, November 11, 2011

Last Day Lunch with Manny Pacquiao

…’s favorite restaurant in Chinatown, L.A.. To make more sense, I ate at Manny Pacquiao’s favorite Chinese restaurant! *POW* (Okay, perhaps the pow didn’t help make me sound cooler.)
On our last day in L.A., our family friend treated us to a Chinese restaurant somewhere in Chinatown. She said that our very own PacMan frequents that place. 
 
Upon entering the restaurant, the claim “PacMan frequents the place” was confirmed in more ways than one. 
Ordering was quite difficult due to language barrier. We were not the ones who ordered the dishes but I felt my aunt’s frustration while conversing with the person who waited for us. It was a happy ending though as after 15 minutes of describing and pointing, the order was made. 

What's so special about 11-11-11?

I would have never thought that the number 11 will make me so happy this year. 

I’m sure that most of you saw several posts about 11-11-11. Some would go like this, “Happy 11-11-11!!!” or “Don’t forget your 11 wishes at 11:11am and 11:11pm this 11-11-11”.

So what’s so special about 11-11-11? 

For one, it is one nice date to remember. You could tell your grandchildren, “Kids, during 11-11-11, I was at… doing… eating…” Hey, it sounds like a cute story to tell.

But for some of us, 11-11-11 means… ULTIMATE PEPERO DAY. (Pepero huwaat?)
Familiar with Pocky of Japan? Well,  Pepero is the Korean version of Pocky. 
Pepero Doughnut from Mister Donut, Korea

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Bazaar Alert: Moonlit Bazaar at the Rockwell Tent

I could seriously feel the Christmas joy and my wallet’s sorrow now.

While walking to a mall near our office to buy some reading materials (needed for work), I suddenly remembered something… it’s the season to collect Starbucks stickers! I must sacrifice eating junk food and cut my chocolate allowance to save up for my daily Zen Tea/Black Tea and Christmas Frappuccino. 

Also, I remembered that I saw something along EDSA that made my heart skip a beat… BAZAAR. Yes, as a proud bazaar stalker, this made me super happy. I missed the SuperSale Bazaar because I was not feeling well and it was raining hard but I will definitely not miss this one. I just can’t!

Wondering what bazaar I’m talking about? Look down.
*Bliss*

This will be my first time to visit this bazaar and I can’t wait to find new fashion favorites. 

The Moonlit Bazaar is open from 12NN to 12MN on November 11-13, 2011, December 2- 4, 2011, and December 9-11, 2011.

See you there! :)

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

L.A. Food Find Favorite: Thai Chicken Barbeque

My aunt picked us up at the Glendale Galleria after a brief shopping spree and decided to bring us to this Thai restaurant that specializes in grilled chicken.
Hungry and cold, we got so excited after hearing the word chicken. 
The place was like a diner and it made me smile like crazy for somehow, I got to check one off my list.
First thing I noticed when we sat down was the pretty flowers. It somehow made me forget I was hungry for a minute or so.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Ultimate Taste Test 7.0

Christmas sure is early this year. Another food event is on its way soon… very soon.

The organizers behind the mouthwatering Ultimate Taste Test will hold yet another UTT this coming November 17, 2011 from 7PM to 10PM at Mercato Centrale, Bonifacio Global City
Not familiar with the UTT? 

It is a one day (or night) food event where 50 concessionaires will battle it out and be the crowd's favorite as each purveyor gets scored by 1000 foodies. 

Also, this is a chance for food lovers to be a food critic for a night, discover new favorites and meet fellow food enthusiasts.

Food Event Alert: Calle Bistro on November 12, 2011

I could definitely feel the Christmas breeze, love and food as early as… now. Fashion bazaars, Pre-Christmas events, and food bazaars are all spreading Christmas love.

I just love checking my email and newsfeed for I’m bound to find something to do during the weekends. This time, what caught my eye was Calle Bistro, a food event happening this November 12, 2011 at Eastwood Citywalk 2 from 6PM to 3AM.
Organized by the UP Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants or UP JPIA, Calle Bistro is a food sale that targets to bring together different kinds of cuisine—local and foreign catering to yuppies and food lovers in general allowing them to relax, socialize and discover new food finds and flavors. This event is also perfect for those who wanted to have their products (or new products for those who have been around for a while now) out in the market.