Ramen Craving - Totally Fulfilled!

When I'm in Asia for a few months at a time, I tend to crave for things I can't get. Earlier in the year it was Mexican food - a carnitas burrito to be exact. This time around, it was for authentic Japanese ramen. Unfortunately in Manila there isn't anything authentic, or even fresh. So I patiently waited..

The wait was soo worth it! I usually get my ramen craving fulfilled in the Bay Area, either at Ryowa or Santa Ramen. Because I went straight to Las Vegas instead of the Bay, I eagerly wanted to taste the ramen of Monta - Raku's new ramen place.

Wow. This is the best tonkotsu ramen I've eaten so far. The broth was so deliciously rich and porky. The noodles were just right and cooked to a great chewy texture. This was the perfect bowl of ramen, and it complete fulfilled my ramen craving!

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Jetlagging

Pardon my absence for the next couple of days. I'm currently in the states and fighting jetlag. I have some great finds to feature, including a Thanksgiving meal on the Las Vegas strip and a new neighborhood Korean restaurant! See you back here in a couple of days!

I Love Hotel Restaurants

My brothers and I definitely have had the privilege of staying at nice, quality hotels thanks to my parents. And at these hotels, the food is always authentic and memorable. In fact, some of my best meals have been in hotel restaurants.

My family also trusts that these hotels have higher standards when it comes to ordering meat products, and the rest of the ingredients are also usually quality, too. Here in Manila that tends to be true. So I have no hesitation ordering meat dishes at the Shangri-La Makati.

I enjoy all the restaurants at the Shangri-La Makati. One of my favorites is Inagiku, their Japanese restaurant. They have fresh, quality sushi and a great selection hot dishes.

I also really wanted to go here because it was one of my last meals in Manila before my next trip - so I was totally craving for uni. Uni is so cheap here that I definitely try to take advantage of it. Uni is something I order before I leave Asia and as soon as I arrive in Asia - it's that good.

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Japanese Cuisine - The Hot Dishes

In this past year of living here in Manila, my parents and I have found about a handful or so of restaurants that are repeatable. And when I say repeatable, I mean we go back to these restaurants once a week (People's Palace) or once every other week or so (every other restaurant we really enjoy). We totally become regulars. The atmosphere, the quality of the food, the presentation, the service, and, of course, the taste of the food are all worthy of us becoming regular customers.

One of these restaurants is Mogu. When we crave a little sushi, or sukiyaki, or even Japanese style pizza this is where we go. So for a night of hot Japanese dishes, we came here for a dinner that guaranteed good food.

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Lunch at Home

When I'm at home and it's lunch time, I just want something fast and simple. So, more often than not, I make a sandwich. It's light, healthy, and satisfying.

I use whatever is in the fridge or pantry. Fortunately, there's usually jamon serrano in the fridge. As for condiments, I love Japanese mayonnaise (it's so much better than regular mayo - there's a touch of tangy, sweetness that's so unique) and some chili sauce for a little kick. Plus, some fresh herbs, like basil, further liven up the sandwich.

Paired with my sandwich is usually a salad or some atsara (pickled vegetables).

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Chef's Table at The Fort

Despite being in Asia for most of this year, I still get really homesick for the Bay Area. I miss my friends, the beers, the bars, the restaurants... So when I find restaurants where it feels like it belongs in San Francisco, all my emotions of being homesick quickly disappear.

At Chef's Table, I felt like I was back in the Bay, and yet the type of food is better here than any I've encountered in the Bay Area. Chef Bruce Lim is a food television personality on the Asian Food Channel. I'll admit - I came into his restaurant with a bias to really like him. I mean, the guy wears San Francisco Giants jerseys on his TV show. (Go Giants!! - Yes, I'll be on a World Series high for awhile.)

His food, the presentation, the atmosphere of the restaurants, and his cocktail menu are all so refreshing and contemporary. It all beautifully shows diners that Filipino food can really successfully be modernized and in a nice restaurant setting. I like his concept of the chef's table. The kitchen is completely open to see the chefs working. I loved seeing the chefs pay attention to our table and when to fire up our next courses.

As for his cocktail menu.. I've totally been missing good quality mixed drinks. I've gone to too many restaurants and bars here where the drinks are painfully watered down or simply tastes like juice. I guess you can argue that I should just order liquor straight up. But there's so much fun ordering cocktails in which the flavors contrast and balance out in each refreshing sip. And finally here at his restaurant, the cocktail menu does just that. There's so much creativity in his menu!

After our complete and satisfying dinner, we're definitely coming back to try out the rest of the menu and his cocktail list. This place can definitely shine in the metropolitan cities states. It's great to know that there are quality and fresh places like this here in Manila.

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At Least the Wine was Great..

Since I started drinking wines with my mom, I always look for food pairings to enhance both the wine and the food. Here in Manila we've gone to a few food and wine pairing events. Our first event, the food was good but the wine wasn't memorable. In our second event, the wine and the food were excellent. In our most recent event, the wine was delicious but, wow, the food was such a fail!

After tasting a Grant Burge port, my parents and I started tasting his other wines. All have been excellent so far. So when we heard that the winemaker himself, Grant Burge, was going to be here in Manila, we excitedly went to his dinner. The food was catered at the Old Manila restaurant in the Peninsula Hotel. A nice restaurant in a nice hotel - should be a good food night, too, right? Not at all. The restaurant was just the setting, while the food was all banquet food using frozen quality food. Plus, the servers and the managers kept defending the food thinking we didn't know what we were talking about. Salmon should not be watery, crumbly, and horrible like it was. I love salmon - when it's fresh and edible.

The night was only great because the wines were all so delicious, and I ended up drinking on a half empty stomach.

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Afternoon Tea Nostalgia

One of my all-time favorite food memories as a child was my monthly visit with my mom up to San Francisco for afternoon tea at the Rotunda in Neiman Marcus in Union Square. Eating by the window to see all of Union Square was such a treat! I loved the whole occasion of dressing up for the day and eating a fancy, girly meal with just my mom. The mini sandwiches and mini desserts were so much fun, too!

So every time I get the opportunity to have an afternoon tea, I always look back at those memories fondly. I also place that as my benchmark of what a good afternoon tea (in terms of atmosphere, setting, and food) should be like.

For a local afternoon tea, my parents and I visited the Makati Shangri-La. The atmosphere and setting of the Lobby Lounge is beautiful. The live orchestra, the tall windows, and the high ceiling makes for a pleasant surrounding. The food is decent, but nothing like my memories from San Francisco.

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Beef (Cheeks) Stew

Whether I'm in a city that is filled with great restaurants or a city that has only a handful of good restaurants, eating at home always produces some of the most memorable meals. On one particular night, we made use of some Wagyu Beef Cheeks and braised and stewed it. Then, we whipped up a couple of potato recipes. I also stirred together our homemade Caesar Salad for some of that vegetable balance. Lastly, paired the meal with a couple (or few) glasses of quality Cab. What a dinner!

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Home-Cooked Italian Pastas

My style of cooking is to challenge myself to not use any recipe and cook with whatever is in the fridge, freezer, and pantry. I guess that's why pastas have become my specialty - because we always have dry pasta, onions, and tomatoes in the kitchen. So to whip up a quick meal, I made a couple of pastas with the ingredients we had in the fridge. Half hour later, Buon Appetito!

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Home-Cooked Spanish Cuisine!

While I love eating and discovering all cuisines from around the world, there are a few cuisines that have remained my favorites through the years. One of these favorites is Spanish food. It is one of the ultimate comfort foods.
With a bottle of Rioja, my mom made her Spanish specialties: Pote Gallego and Paella. If I didn't care about my weight, I totally could eat her paella almost every single day.

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Banana-Que

A classic Filipino street food find! It's a banana coated with brown sugar, and then shallow-fried. They are typically on skewers when sold by street vendors. It's best eaten freshly made because you get that crisp from the hardened sugar coating. This is definitely one of the best ways to eat bananas and plantains!

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