Home-Cooked Asian Food

Sometimes when I consume too much meat, or fried foods, or eat out too often, my body craves for a healthy night in. So for a detox night, we cooked some Filipino Pancit Sotanghon Guisado and Thai Green Vegetable Curry. It was a vegetarian night that was satisfying, comforting, delicious, and healthy all at the same time.

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Restaurant Week, Stop #4: Gustavus

For our last stop for Restaurant Week, we tried a new place which is walking distance from home. I love neighborhood restaurants because they are inviting, casual, and all about serving great, comfort foods. Gustavus can easily qualify as a good city neighborhood restaurant. Thanks to Restaurant Week, I'm curious to go back and try out more selections from the menu.

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Restaurant Week, Stop #3: People's Palace

Hands down, my favorite restaurant here in Manila is People's Palace. My parents and I eat there at least once a week. And if we don't eat there in a week, it's because we're out of town. The ingredients are fresh, the flavors are full, the ambiance is pleasant, and the service is excellent. This restaurant makes me less homesick for San Francisco because it feels like a great restaurant in San Francisco. Actually, sometimes there are more Caucasians here than in restaurants in SF. I think People's can rival with the best SF Asian restaurants, like The Slanted Door.

The menu for Restaurant Week was off the menu selections. Everything was so enjoyable! We had a variety of six orders to share. Of all the four places we ate at for week, this place was definitely my favorite because of the wine selection and the execution of the foods.

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Restaurant Week, Stop #2: Sala Bistro

Reviewing the menus for Restaurant Week, we decided to try out Sala Bistro next. We have enjoyed our visits to this restaurant, so we knew the meal would be satisfactory. For the most part, the meal was pretty good, but overall the flavors of the meal lacked basic seasonings. I will go back to this restaurant in the future, though, because they have a fun menu selection with some really tasty offerings.

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Starting Off Restaurant Week with Spices

Many cities around the world these days have "Restaurant Weeks" which typically lower the prices of dining to encourage locals and tourists to dine out. If I'm in a city which hosts Restaurant Week, I always try to take advantage of it and eat out as often as I can in that one week. It's a great way to try new restaurants, too!

Restaurant Week was hosted here in Manila. It was an even better deal than those in the states because it had a Wine and Dine theme thanks to Wine Depot. For 999PHP or less (that's under $23 USD), you can enjoy a three course meal with at least one glass of wine!

We went to four restaurants in the course of the week. The first was Spices at the Peninsula Hotel in Makati. It was a great start to the week. The food was memorable and the three wines were generously poured!

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Taiwanese Fruits

Since moving to Asia one of the things I've enjoyed the most is the wider selection of fruits! I loved growing up in the states, and I'll always consider San Francisco and the Bay Area as my hometown. But, boy, the fruits in the states are so boring! Apples, pears (which are the same texture as apples), berries, bananas, plums, grapes, whatever else - it's always the same scene at groceries and farmers markets. Here in the Asia, I've seen such an incredibly variety which changes each season! Mangosteens, chicos, custard apples, star apples, plantains, pomelos, jackfruits, durian, and on and on.

So whenever I travel to a new foreign city, I love tasting the local fruits. In Taipei we were treated to some of the tastiest Taiwanese fruits. I'm so impressed with Taiwan's agriculture - they are producing some of the best, sweetest, and freshest fruits I've ever tried.

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Taipei's Specialty: Pineapple Cakes

Each country has their signature foods. Adobo in the Philippines, sushi in Japan, pastas in Italy, burgers in the U.S. In Taiwan, one of their known specialties is pineapple cake. Don't think about a typical pineapple cake, like an upsidedown pineapple cake. It's not at all a "cake" but rather like a pastry. The shortbread crust wraps around jellied pineapple. When it's served room temperature, it's soft and crumbly. When it's served straight from the fridge, it's chewy and just as delicious. It is my current obsession. I've increased my exercise time so I can eat a couple of these each day everyday.

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Bellini Pasta Pasta

My parents and I have become frequent patrons of Q Square Mall in Taipei, mainly because the hotel we have stayed at is located right next door. We have thoroughly enjoyed the Shabu Shabu restaurant, so we decided to give another restaurant a chance.

Thanks to a great video in front of the restaurant promoting the menu selections, we quickly decided to try out Bellini Pasta Pasta. Its concept is Tokyo Italian. I love the Japanese influence on Italian cuisine! And this restaurant executed it very well. Everything we ordered came out fresh, hot, and delicious!

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I Can Live at Din Tai Fung

Din Tai Fung has quickly become one of my all time favorite restaurants. The food comes out of the kitchen so fresh. The ingredients, preparation, and presentation are so quality. You can eat the foods over and over again. And, it's a cheap eats place!

I could seriously live here and just eat their entire menu. They really have the best xiao long bao (steamed pork dumplings) I've ever had. Taipei's branches also taste far superior to the other locations around the world, too. The dumplings are amazingly thin and full of quality flavor. How can I have xiao long bao anywhere else now??

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Shin Yeh 101

Whenever I travel to a different city, I always look to try the local cuisine. I feel you can get a better understanding about a culture and its people in doing so. On this trip, we were graciously hosted by Hungry in Taipei and family at Shin Yeh 101, located on the 85th floor of Taipei 101.

What a gorgeous day to dine up there! The view was perfect. The atmosphere of the restaurant, the taste, the presentation, and the quality of the food are all elements for success.

The quality and freshness of ingredients really makes a dish stand out. All of the dishes we ate were superb because we could taste the freshness and purity of all the ingredients.

If not at Taipei 101, I will definitely go back to Shin Yehs other locations to enjoy more of their menu selections.

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Visiting a Market in Taipei

Aside from eating local cuisine on a trip, one of my favorite travel activities is visiting local markets. I find local markets as educational as visiting local museums. You can really learn so much about a culture by exploring their foods. Hungry in Taipei and family generously gave us their time and took us to this fantastic local indoor market in Taipei. What great selections of fresh and prepared foods!

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Birthday Meals in Hong Kong

Most of my family trips have been planned at the very last minute. Luckily my schedule allows me to have such spontaneity in my life. So, to fully celebrate my mom's birthday, my dad and I planned a last minute trip to Hong Kong and Taipei.

For her actual birthday, we planned to be in Hong Kong to eat. Instead of going to a fancy restaurant, we chose to stay casual and enjoy a couple of our favorite Hong Kong establishments. For lunch, we ate at Sen-Ryo - I can eat sushi here for days. Then for dinner, we ate at Hip Katsu. They've been pretty consistent with their quality and crispiness. Finally, to end the night, my best friend introduced us to Sweet Dynasty for dessert. Overall, I think my mom's birthday was a pretty successful day and a great start to the trip.

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