Have a Foodie Holiday!

The holidays in New York City! One of the best activities to do in the city is to walk around, enjoy the city, and admire the window displays.

One of this season's special window displays is at Barney's. If you are a fan of celebrity chefs, you must check this out!!

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The New York Palace

Coming from Manila, I was already dreading the thought of a freezing cold winter in the East Coast. And yet, in this below freezing conditions, I am having one of the best holiday vacations! I love this snow!

Like with all our vacations to New York City for the past 15 years, we stayed at The New York Palace. Unfortunately, it has not changed much in 15 years. Why "unfortunately"? Because it needs a huge update and renovation. It's starting to feel really old and outdated, especially compared to all the new hotels constantly popping up.

In any case, we still had a great stay during the long Christmas weekend. I will always have a love affair with Manhattan.

Here are some pictures of The Palace and of the scene around the hotel during the crazy day after Christmas blizzard.

Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!! I wish you all a food-filled celebration! I'll be back after the holiday weekend with updates from my current east coast food adventures! Until then, check out my Facebook and Twitter pages with my daily mobile pictures.
Happy Eating to all and to all a Good Night!

Holsteins - Shakes & Buns

A new hotel on the Las Vegas Strip means there are new restaurants to try out! At The Cosmopolitan hotel the first restaurant I tried out was Holsteins - Shakes & Buns.

There were hits and misses throughout the meal, but the main star (the burger) shined. There were missing factors in the restaurant (as it just opened a few days ago), such as some beers on draft and the coffee not being hot enough (it wasn't even steaming). Our two orders of "Tiny Buns" were not completely satisfying - as in, it did not "wow" us. The appetizers are a fun list. That's definitely something I'd like to come back for. As for the burgers, it definitely satisfied our burger craving. I know I can come back here the next time I'm craving for a quality burger.

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Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.

The New Restaurants at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas!

On December 15, the newest hotel on the Las Vegas strip, The Cosmopolitan, officially opened its doors. As soon as I came back from San Francisco, I eagerly toured the new restaurants of the hotel. More and more celebrity chefs are coming here to Las Vegas!

Here are some of the restaurants and food related places in The Cosmopolitan. I can't wait to try out a few of these, particularly both of Chef Jose Andres' restaurants!

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Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.

Wayfare Tavern - One of the Year's Best New Restaurants!

Even though I've been living in Manila for this past year, I still keep up to date with the latest food/restaurant news in San Francisco - thanks to the San Francisco Chronicle and Twitter.

So when I heard about Tyler Florence's Wayfare Tavern, I knew that this was one of the first restaurants I had to try when I went back to the Bay Area. It lives up to all the hype! I'll proclaim it to be one of the best new restaurants of the year.

I absolutely love the whole "tavern" theme which is present all throughout the details - from the decoration to the table setting. The service is excellent and so friendly - totally reflective of the top. Chef Florence is more than a celebrity chef - he's a true chef/restaurateur/artist.

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Check out my Flickr album if you can't see my slideshow here.

Revisiting A New Favorite Restaurant

Before moving to Asia earlier this year, I found a new favorite restaurant here in the Bay Area, and right near my hometown, too! Since it's a new favorite, I had to come here again (twice in two weeks) during my recent visits back to the Bay. Howie's Artisan Pizza competes with some of the best pizza in the San Francisco area - yes, I'd even say those up in the city, like Pizzeria Delfina. From starters, pizzas, to dessert - they are all five star and so reflective of the love Chef Howard puts in all his food.

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Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.

Chicken Kara-age... At Home!

I loove chicken kara-age (Japanese style fried chicken)! So when my brother said he'll make it at home for dinner, I was excited! Meals at home keep getting better and better!

He made a complete meal with lots of vegetables. Ever since I traveled to Thailand in February, I'm always looking for more vegetables with my meal. His chicken kara-age was soo good! And I'm not saying that because he's my brother.... Actually, we all love joking each other so I normally wouldn't say that, haha... But really, such a fantastic dinner at home!

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Visiting Home!

I'm off to my next trip... home! I'm visiting my hometown of San Francisco and the Bay Area for a few days this week, and again for all of next week! I'm excited to hit up my favorite restaurants and the new ones that have opened up this year.

I'll have updated posts this weekend before heading back to SF for the following week. While I'm out, I'll be posting up mobile pictures on my Facebook and Twitter pages!

It's the food that you grow up with that are the most comforting and welcoming. I can't wait to reunite with some of my favorite foods!

Thanksgiving in Vegas

Thanksgiving in America! I flew into the states on Thanksgiving day - which meant dinner was my Thanksgiving feast. Because we were in transit for over 24 hours, we obviously had no time for a home-cooked meal. So, being in Las Vegas, we went to the Strip!

Several restaurants were advertising special menus, including Wolfgang Puck's restaurants. So we went to his Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill at the MGM Grand Hotel. I chose his 3 course Thanksgiving menu. It was all so generous! I totally took home what I couldn't finish. The white turkey meat made for some great sandwiches for the next couple of days. The best part of the meal was definitely dessert - the lightest and creamiest pumpkin pie I've ever eaten! I want to go back to his restaurant to enjoy his classic Chinese Chicken Salad and more of Sherry Yard's desserts.

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Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.

Linguine alle Vongole at Home

I love when a night's dinner menu is created spontaneously in a grocery because of the freshness of the day's ingredients. Walking through Whole Foods can be so inspiring. At the seafood counter, we saw there were some great looking fresh Manila clams. We had to get it. It was so fresh (as in, if you hit the shell a little, the muscle would move inside) that we had to eat it for dinner that night. So what to make with fresh clams? Linguine alle Vongole!

With a tomato, some garlic, parsley, and delicious white wine, the clams were tossed in and steamed to open. Then we mixed in the cooked linguine. The result: A flavorful pasta with dimensions of flavor from the clam juice and the white wine.

To cap the meal, we enjoyed a cheese course, thanks to the great cheese selection at Whole Foods. And, of course, it was paired with some port which is a fantastic way to balance and heighten the experience of a cheese plate.

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Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.

Neighborhood Korean Restaurant

About a month ago I watched a National Geographic special about the customs and traditions of Korean cuisine. There's a balance to the meal - that yin and yang. The food consist of a colorful and bountiful display. And the flavors play with all your taste perceptions - salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy.

I needed to eat some quality Korean food after seeing this show! So for one of our first meals here in Las Vegas, we tried a new Korean restaurant right in our neighborhood. I love it when there's a great restaurant so close to home!

Soyo Korean Barstaurant is such a fun place to get quality and authentic Korean cuisine! Just note, the portions are huge! Even if it's in the "Tapas" section of the menu, it's actually entree sized. The prices are really reasonable, too. I can't wait to go back to try more of their menu selections.

Place your cursor above "Notes" to read a little more about each picture.

Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.