oh, the (food) places you go

two months in the philippines and i've eaten and drank more than my share of mouth-watering grub and drinks from restaurants, cafes, family gatherings and weddings. today while i take a break from studying and waiting for the next meal to come around, i'm going to delight you with the places i've been. i'm not going to include the home-cooked meals at family gatherings because those are too delectable and deserve a whole other blog entry. (also not included: boracay food trips)

Taaleña in Tagaytay
the restaurant was empty apart from a few other patrons; most likely due to the fact that we went there for lunch on a non-holiday monday. notable dishes include the ever-popular sisig and grilled liempo. i don't remember if we ordered bulalo, but i remember we took this picture:

it's not everyday we get a photo of the "young-at-heart" AND Nald! everyone, this is like seeing a leprechaun riding a unicorn under a double rainbow.

North Park (Alabang Town Center)

our go-to for fast Chinese food. service is fast and the food is above average and affordable. overall, good value for your money. notable dishes include yang chow fried rice, nanking beef noodle soup, shanghai chicken and spicy garlic squid. food coma.

Recipes (Greenbelt)

delicious filipino food. front and center is their gising-gising (green beans in spicy coconut milk) and crispy tilapia. so simple. so good. (don't order the beefsteak though. it's a bit of a let down.)

Army Navy (Alabang)

slightly schitzophrenic american/mexican hybrid pseudo-fast food joint whose burgers and tacos were ok. they have burritos, too, but i didn't try them. go here for the shakes (they have ube and mango.) and the crispy fries. also, i've been told the fried chicken was scrumptious and it did look like it. food envy.

Banapple (Ayala Triangle)

it was lunchtime rush and we had to wait for a table inside the tiny air-conditioned dining area. it was hot and humid and people were wearing long-sleeved shirts. if you were one of them, yes, i was judging you. however, all that went away when i saw their dessert display case. (currently drooling while thinking about all those slices of cake) you and me, cake. you and me. their main dishes were to-die-for as well especially the crispy fried dipped-in-batter porkchop with gravy and fried rice and some corn on the side. (so, you know, you don't feel so bad for all that deep fried goodness.) but if you have barely any time and patience to wait for a table at their tiny yet charming restaurant, i suggest you get a slice of cake or apple crumble pie and a cup of iced latte to go. 

and, oh yeah, banapple is opening at ayala town center. bonus!

Mom and Tina's (Makati)

we were still too full from the banapple lunch, so dinner at mom and tina's was "light." did i get chicken imbutido (meatloaf)? i remembering ordering a japanese style mango salad. there was also a chicken pot pie. we also got two kinds of dessert. so much for light eating. we did walk really far to our parking spot so at least the calories from the salad were burned right away.

Yakimix (The Podium, Ortigas Center)
japanese buffet with tabletop grills. lots of desserts to choose from including cake from goldilocks and ice cream from selecta. one of the cheaper buffets around and for the variety of dishes to choose from, i would say this is a good value. they don't replenish their sushi selection fast enough so if you see the unagi or spicy tuna come out, go for it.

Krazy Garlik (Greenbelt 5)

what would make a gab session with your high school friends even more appetizing? an order of garlic chicken bbq pizza and clam linguine. the garlic on the pizza was sliced thinly and toasted just right that you don't even mind you're probably eating enough for your breath to be smelled from a mile away. garlic lovers, here's your restaurant. 

*this was also the day i discovered that when ordering a green tea frappuccino from starbucks, i should have my barista replace the sugar syrup with hazelnut. my friend and soon-to-be the best chef in manila Marie suggested this must-try addition.  

Banana Leaf (Greenbelt)

there were no plates on the tables! shock! horror! are you guys this busy?! it is friday night, but still. turns out, there were no plates, just banana leaves. you eat on them. aaah, i get it - banana leaf. blonde moment aside, this fusion southeast asian restaurant deserves a second (or third or fourth) try. their menu was extensive and covered malaysian, singaporean, chinese, and thai cuisine. we ordered something from each page of their menu, and we finished it all. notable dishes include: banana leaf wrapped chicken, coconut fried rice and the mildly sweet chicken curry. maybe next time we'd order the roti as well.

woosh...and just like that, empty plates

New Orleans (Bonifacio Global City)

i hope you don't get our server who is probably a culinary school student on-the-job training.

me: can we have water?

server stares intently at the three empty glasses, wondering how on earth he's gonna be able to carry all these glassware in one go.

my aunt: maybe you just bring us the pitcher.

server walks away and comes back a few minutes later with a full pitcher of ice cold water. he then placed the pitcher gingerly on the table, smiled, and WALKED AWAY. we all stared at each other and just laughed.

me: i guess we pour this one ourselves. (so we did)

now about the food: cajun cuisine with a filipino twist. knowing another server there is definitely beneficial since he told us which ones to get and how much would be enough for the four of us. oh yeah, and did i mention unlimited amounts of grilled corn? notable dishes: spicy chicken skins, rockefeller oysters, and tres leches for dessert. (i don't know how that fits in with the cajun theme but what the heck, it was still good.)

so when we were finished with dessert, i asked for another glass. assuming i didn't need to specify that it should already be filled with water, our lovely server came back with - you guessed it - an empty glass. but he placed it down so gently like it's the holy grail of glasses and he did it with a smile, so i didn't even think about getting irritated. it was just extremely funny. i just asked for more water for everyone. when he returned, he was holding the pitcher. but he did something different. he poured the water himself. no one had to tell him. you are learning, grasshopper.

new orlean's version of tres leches...doesn't quite look like one but delicious nonetheless

Pig Out (Nuvali)

bonding time with my favorite childhood friends - my cousins. lunch and a whole afternoon of talking and window shopping was not enough. everything we ordered except for the peri peri chicken was outstanding. notable dishes: lechon kawali (seasoned really well), grilled tuna belly, garlic fried rice. their frozen fruit and veggie shakes were refreshing and surprisingly healthy. try the chico shake, cucumber shake and the one with celery.

Serenitea (Nuvali)

for milk tea (boba) fans. i didn't quite taste the difference from other places, but one good thing about this place is you can request for a lot less sugary syrup to put in your milk tea.

Kanin Club (Westgate, Alabang)

i had such high expectations of this place, and they were all met. (well, the tofu/mushroom dish and the crispy liempo were lacking in flavor and can be easily replicated at home.) you would think with a name like "kanin club" they would serve rice in bowls topped with entrees. not the case. in fact, none of their dishes were served like that. "so, they cook rice in ways you haven't seen before?" you might ask. nope, not really. they just make their main dishes so delectable that you would ask for seconds (or thirds) on rice. if you're on a diet, you shouldn't come here. but i warn you that you'd be missing a whole lot. that and i will deny you as my friend. notable dishes include: crispy dinuguan (made from coagulated blood; only try it if you're adventurous and for the novelty), beef pochero (substituting ham for the chorizo was a palatable choice; even with just the sauce on rice, it was already mouthwatering), tinapa rice. also a few words on the KC turon: a twist on the everyday street food. kanin club put ube jalaya, macapuno, red mongo bean paste and bananas inside a lumpia wrapper, pan fried, and served it with mango ice cream. love it! i would go back just to order this. well, two of this and the pochero.

the KC turon: LOVE IT

Omakase (Alabang Town Center)

lunch break with Tal: japanese style! after running an errand and still wanting to show off my manila driving skills, we headed for lunch at the soon-to-be relocated omakase. typical japanese restaurant. get their orange passion fruit tea as it goes really well with the dishes. notable dish: omakase fries (hand-cut fries topped with tender beef, onions, mushrooms, mangoes and dressing)

Amici (Alabang Town Center)

pizza, pasta and gelato. for years it has been a landmark near the don bosco campus in makati. after a buyout from jollibee corp amici now has a few branches in metro manila. at this point this pattern has emerged: bonding time for my family always involve food and lots of it. two wood-fired pizzas, two pasta mains, and two gelato desserts later, i learned a little bit more about my cousin's crazy student, her husband's tour of the lord of the rings site in new zealand (takeaway: a bit underwhelming), and my other cousin's near-future life plans. i also learned that my cousin Carleen still knows a bit of italian (she ordered in italian complete with accent) and that the server actually understood her. AMAZING! she was also reading off the menu but she said the numbers like a boss. notable dishes: pizza margherita, peach walnut crunch gelato cake, and their version of brazo de mercedes (custard flavored gelato inside).

now i'm done writing about food, and look, it's only one hour 'til dinner time!