Weekend eats in Singapore

Back in Singapore for another weekend getaway.  This time around I was introducing the city to a couple of my closest friends.  We stayed at my friend's hotel in the Central Business District, the Westin Hotel, as she was in town for work.  It's a quieter area to stay, but like almost everything in Singapore, it's clean and safe.

CBD is walking distance to Chinatown and the Marina Bay areas.  Over the course of the weekend, we enjoyed bites all around the districts of the city - Marina Bay, Clarke Quay, Chinatown, and Orchard Road - the usual areas that first timers should check out.  We tasted a mix of local and Western dishes.  Tiger beers, chicken wings, chili crabs, and oyster omelettes for the local side; and fries, pizzas, and wine for the Western side of the plate (more on that in my next posts).  For now, here are some of the local bites and neighborhood treats from the weekend.

Friday afternoon beer

Kyoto's Kitchen in Nishiki Market

Kyoto bound from Osaka.  And it's so easy by train.  Depending on the train you take, the ride from Osaka station to Kyoto Station can range from 20-45 minutes.

In planning the day trip to Kyoto, temples and shrines were naturally on the itinerary as this is the city to take in the sights and nature's beauty.  When the day arrived, it was soo cold.  We decided to focus on our main purpose, the food market.  The other sights in Kyoto will have to wait for our next visit.

The Nishiki Market is a five block long shopping street filled with over a hundred shops and restaurants.  It's known as "Kyoto's Kitchen," as the shops specialize in everything food related.  Generations of families have been running these shops since it first opened in 1310 when it started as a fish wholesale district.  Today, they sell fresh seafood, produce, snacks, kitchenware, and all these local specialities.  It's a place for locals to shop for their meals, and for tourists to taken in the local foods and atmosphere.

The market is almost ridiculously crowded with people.  There were a number of times when I felt like a was floating in a sea of people who were crammed to every inch of my body.  But as crowded as it was, it was almost...pleasant.  Strange, right?  But I think that's just Japan for you.  The people aren't as rude, they don't smell..and maybe the cold air helped to filter out the potential grossness from the crowds.  In any case, this is definitely a market to check out if you have interest in local culture and food.

The start of Nishiki Market

Mercado de San Miguel in Madrid

In the center of Madrid, next to Plaza Mayor, is another one of the capital's oldest markets, Mercado de San Miguel.  Built in 1916, the market renovated to incorporate modernism against the cast-iron architecture.  This is a traditional market for the 21st century and it bills itself as a culinary cultural centre.

33 food purveyors offer products to take home and/or consume on the premises.  In the center of the mercado are bar tables to leisurely enjoy the food and beverages sold at the market.  During day time hours, fresh ingredients like fish, meat, and fruits are sold.  At night, tapas, beer, and wine are the highlights of the market.

Mercado de San Miguel and Mercado de San Antón are a couple of the best places for food lovers in Madrid, both for locals and for tourists.  They highlight quality ingredients to take home, as well as traditional and modern tapas to enjoy on the spot.  Markets are really the place to live and learn the ways of the locals.

Mercado de San Miguel

Modern with traditional

The entrance

Mercado de San Antón in Madrid

After falling in love with markets in San Sebastian and Valencia, I was more than ready for markets in Spain's capital.

The first of the two markets (the second will be featured in my next post) is Mercado de San Antón.  A market literally around the corner from our hotel in the Chueca barrio.  It's a district full of boutique shops and neighborhood restaurants and bars.

The mercado is an three-story indoor market featuring farm fresh local produce.  The building and market was constructed in 1945, one of the oldest markets in the city.  In 2011, the government commissioned to renovate the market to bring it into the 21st century.  It's now one of the places to buy food while savoring it on the spot as well.

The market is full of delis, bakeries, butchers, fishmongers, etc on the first floor.  On the second floor there are tapas vendors, Greek cuisine, Italian cuisine, fresh seafood, desserts, and, of course, a wine bar.  On the third floor is a restaurant both indoors and with a roof terrace.  This is a place you can keep coming back to for lunch, merienda, and dinner.  In fact in the few nights were based in Madrid, we enjoyed three meals here.  The second floor is my favorite of the three.  You get to choose a variety of foods and enjoy it family style on bar height tables.  Seriously, Madrileños know how to eat well.

Mercado de San Antón

3 floors of food and eating

Touring like a local in Valencia's markets

And back to the focus of our trip - markets!  Valencia has one of the best markets in Spain.  Coming from La Boqueria in Barcelona, I was ready for other markets less known.  Mercat Central, or Central Mercado or Central Market, is one of the oldest running food markets in Europe.

La Boqueria is so famous and talked about consistently, but I actually prefer Valencia's market.  There are less ready to eat foods compared to La Boqueria, but there are far far less tourists and crowds.  The market is so clean and well-lit with natural sky lights.  On top of that, the vendors are incredibly friendly and so happy to explain their products and how to properly utilize them.  This is the best place to get a feel of local life and local living in Valencia.

In another part of town, L'Eixample, Mercado de Colón is a former market built in 1916.  In 2003 the space was renovated to house boutique shops and cafés, with a lower floor containing a cafetería, wine shop, deli, and spaces for events.  It is a perfect stop for an afternoon drink and snack.  The deli below also has some great ingredients to take away and cook at home, if you happen to have a kitchen where you are staying.

Mercat Central

La Boqueria in Barcelona

Back in Barcelona.  Last time, we were classic tourists walking through all of Gaudi's masterpieces throughout the city.  The city was quieter just ten years ago.  Now the city is crammed with tourists from all over the world.

For any food lover, La Boqueria is a standard.  It's one of the world's most known food markets and is definitely impressive.  It overflows with fresh produce, meats, fishes, and foods to eat on the spot.  All the products are high quality and worthy of this world class market.

Go early, you'll walk among locals and those in the food industry.  Go later in the morning and early afternoon, you'll walk among hoards of tourists.  My advice is to go early and plan on eating your way around the market as you feast your eyes on all the goods.

Bombarded with fresh produce, local goods, and colors

Graham Street Market in Central Hong Kong

Amidst the bustling modern financial buildings in Hong Kong’s Central district lies the historical Graham Street Market, between Queen’s Road and Hollywood Road.  This wet market has been a Hong Kong landmark for 160 years.  It still houses vendors generations old.  Meats, seafood’s, high quality vegetables, dry goods, and all sort of local consumables can be found in this street and its side streets.

Catch this market while you can - the city plans to redevelop the area in the coming years and move the market stalls into indoor markets.

If you can't see the slide show, check out my Flickr album: Market HK

Food Tripping in Bangkok

Back in Bangkok!  One of my favorite food cities in the world.  And this time, I'm on a food tour!

Pinoy Eats World has been expanding their global tours, and I was lucky enough to be around to catch this one.  In comparison to my past trips to Thailand, this was mostly casual and filled with markets and local joints.  I love that you can go back to this city multiple times and it can always be a different kind of trip - luxurious and pampered, casual, historical, architectural, Hangover Part II.. take your pick.

In these next two weeks and in these next four updates, I'll be showing you the markets, the local eats, and a couple of the nicer restaurants we were taken to over the course of a weekend trip.

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First up, markets and street eats!

When I was younger, touring cities included museums, churches, department stores, and restaurants.  These days when I travel, I tend to bypass the churches, temples, and pagodas.  If I really need a filler for time, then I'll look into museums.  If I'm in a shopping mood (which doesn't happen frequently), then I'll check out the department stores.

Instead, I love focusing my trips on the local foods and drinks.  Markets, food halls, cooking classes, and local restaurants and bars.  These are my museums and my cultural tours.

On this trip, we were taken to 4 markets, including 2 food markets and a night market.

Jatujak (or Chatuchak) Market.  If you're into outdoor markets full of everything from A-Z, this is your place.  Get ready to bargain!... But for me, I just came from the states where I filled my luggage with clothes from Gilt.com and Zappos.com (shameless plug promoting a couple of my favorite online shopping sites.), so shopping wasn't on my mind for the weekend.

Or Tor Kor Market, one of the cities nicest food markets, right next to Jatujak.  I first went here a couple years ago prior to a cooking class.  I'm so impressed with how this is such a clean dry & wet market.  If I lived in Bangkok, I'd buy a lot of my fruits and produce here for my weekly meals.  You can also stop for a bite, which I highly recommend.  These vendors are using the freshest ingredients straight from this market.

Amphawa Floating Market.  Located near the Gulf of Thailand, it's a bit of a drive from the city.  We enjoyed an afternoon leisurely strolling by each of the vendors, nibbling on local treats, and taking in the sights of locals and tourists.  I love seeing the food boats - that's way cooler than the food trucks in the states!  Each little wooden boat had their own specialty - papaya salad, grilled seafood, fried rice, noodles, etc.  If you have an extra afternoon or night, and you want to visit this afternoon floating market, it stays open through the early morning on weekends as well.  You can also grab a boat at night to enjoy the river and the fireflies whizzing around.

Soi 38 Night Market.  In Thai culture, you have frequent mini meals throughout the day.  That means you have a dinner part 1 followed by a dinner part 2 later in the evening.  So when in Bangkok, eat all the time.  After a big meal, we were taken to Soi 38 for more savory bites and some memorable sticky rice and coconut milk with mango.  I love watching the vendors cook up your orders in high heat, so quickly, and with such passion.

Thais love their food, and it's always such a pleasure to dine with them in their country.

If you can't see the slideshow, check out my Flickr album: Market/Street Eats

Italy is Eataly!

The most anticipated destination for our family trip to New York City was Eataly. Established by Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich, Joe Bastianich, and Oscar Farinetti. These Italian-loving geniuses creating one of the coolest food markets! It's a market for fresh ingredients (fruits, vegetables, seafood, meats), for fun Italian goodies (homemade nutella!), for a snack (some salumi and wine in the afternoon - why not!), for a variety of meals (pizzas, pastas, seafood, vegetables), for drinking (beers, wines, espressos), for desserts (gelato and panetonne!), and so much more.

This place was like our Disneyland, our "happiest place on earth". In the course of a week, we visited Eataly four times to shop and to eat. I highly highly recommend this place if you love food, especially Italian food!

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

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!

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

Mt. Pulag Weekend

A couple weeks after our Sorsogon trip, my cousins and I took another trip in Luzon. This time we drove up north to Baguio and to Mt. Pulag.
Our Itinerary:
Day One
Drove from Manila to Baguio (about 5 hours).
Checked into our hotel and slept.
Day Two
Met our group at the Baguio Cathedral at 4am.
Drove up in Jeepneys to Mt. Pulag, with a breakfast stop along the way.
Hiked up from 2400m to 2700m.
Camped for the night.
Day Three
Hiked up to the summit (2900m) at 3am.
Watched the sunrise at the summit.
Breakfast at the campgrounds.
Hiked down and drove down to Baguio.
Showered.
Slept.
Day Four
Baguio Market.
Lunch Buffet.
Drove back to Manila.

Camp Food
Dinner
My cousins cooking up a storm (in the rain) for dinner! Pasta, Salpicao (Stir-Fried Garlic Beef), and Steamed Rice.

Breakfast
Pancakes & Bacon!

This is a slideshow of pictures I took during the whole weekend:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

This is a slideshow of pictures taken at the Baguio Market:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Mekong Delta Tour: Day Three

On the last day of our tour, we were taken to one of the floating markets.  It was such a fascinating sight to see and to compare it to the land markets.  Floating markets are solely dry markets, in that they sell only fruits and vegetables.  Land markets are both wet and dry, in that they also sell seafood and meats.

Here is a slide show of pictures from the floating market and the land market that we visited on our last day's tour.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Mekong Delta Tour: Day Two - The Food!

We woke up the next day eager for the continuation of our tour and for more great eats.

Floating Restaurant
This lady was heading towards the floating houses around lunchtime.

Chau Doc Market
From the previous day, our guide learned that we enjoyed visiting local markets. We stopped by the Chau Doc Market before leaving the town. They had a huge variety of goods and they filled the streets.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip. We searched the place to take a picture of local French bread. When we found this location, we took pictures of her and her bread, much to her delight.

Lunch Stop
On the drive down to Can Tho, we stopped by a town halfway along the drive for a traditional Vietnamese hot pot lunch. It was a kind of place that Anthony Bourdain would go to.

Lemon Soda
A nice, cold refreshing glass of lemon juice with soda to contrast the heat of the hot pot.

Vietnamese Hot Pot
The broth is made from fish paste. It was an all seafood pot with white fish, shrimps, and squid. The fresh vegetables provided more flavors, freshness, and crisp textures. We were also given rice noodles instead of rice. I really enjoyed this dish!

Lemongrass and Turmeric Chicken
Aside from our generous serving of hot pot, we were also given this dish. It was nicely seasoned and flavored. A great dish to eat with a bowl of rice.

Coconut Juice Jello
A refreshing and light end to the meal.

Coffee Break
Across the street from our hotel was a restaurant and coffee house, Hop Pho. Since we arrived in the early afternoon, we took an iced coffee break before thinking about dinner. Another successful glass of Vietnamese Iced Coffee.

Nam Bo
This was our last night in Vietnam, so the decision of where to eat for dinner was important to us. We decided on this place because of the atmosphere and the menu. Next door was a restaurant with a similar and cheaper menu, but the atmosphere wasn't as welcoming. Nam Bo is a two story restaurant with a French colonial villa interior. We were fortunate to grab a seat on the outside balcony to enjoy the night time river view. Overall, the meal was so enjoyable and a great last dinner in Vietnam.

The Beer Pairing
Dai Viet Via Den. Vietnamese Black Beer. It's decent. It was a nice change from the lighter beers, but the flavor was still mild. The crispness was refreshing and paired well with the foods.

Sweet and Sour Fish Soup with Tamarind
A delicious warm start to the meal. Sweet and sour soup is another Vietnamese specialty. I loved the okra and the fresh white fish.

Fried Rolls, Can Tho Style
The wrapper made this dish different from the standard rice paper used for fried rolls. Nicely fried and crispy!

Fried Frogs Legs
This was fried like fish and chips. Another fun plate!

Pork in Claypot with Coconut Juice
This was a comfort-dish served with steamed rice.

Vanilla Ice Cream with Baileys

Bananas Flambee
Great presentation! The server poured the liquor into the ladle, then lit it at our table. Fun!

Cho Ben Thanh

One of the must-see places in Saigon is the Ben Thanh Market, or the Cho Ben Thanh ("cho" meaning "market"). During the day time, the indoor market is filled with vendors selling everyday items like clothes, souvenirs, and food. At night, the indoor market closes, and the night market on the side streets open up with food stalls, tons of food stalls.

The Clock Tower
The main entrance and clock tower of the Cho Ben Thanh.

Inside the Market
We went on a weekday before the lunch time, and it was already this crowded.














The Night Market
This is a popular place to eat for locals and tourists.



Hai Lua
We chose to eat at this place in the night market because we saw a table that had a beautifully presented deep fried fish. I felt like Anthony Bourdain eating here (He actually did eat in one of these food stalls). TV Producers - My food traveling resume is developing. I'm ready for my own food show!
All the food stalls in this night market were similarly "decorated" with plastic chairs. Actually, all throughout the country, the local food stalls all have plastic chairs.

Bia Ba Ba Ba
Beer 333. I read about this beer in a New York Times article prior to this trip. It wrote about Vietnam's developing beer scene, and it mentioned this beer. It's a light local brew that is refreshing with the hot weather. It also pairs pretty well with Vietnamese food. Because of the heat, the beer gets warm so fast. When it gets warm, a bitter taste develops. In southeast Asia, I noticed that some local places give ice with beer. For me, this was a huuge no-no, especially growing up in Northern California where some fantastic brews are made. However, I gave it a shot. And, I have to admit that with some southeast Asian lagers, ice can be added. It mellows the bitterness and brings out the malt flavor.

Grilled Pork with Rice Noodles
A fun appetizer! The pork was nicely grilled, and the rice noodles were different from what I expected. Instead of long noodles, they were like thin, netted, sponges. Delicious!

Deep Fried Snapper
Look at that presentation! We ate the whole thing - from head to tail, and all the bones.

Fresh Greens and Rice Noodles
Along with the fish came this plate to balance the dish. After going to Thailand, I now love mixing hot foods with fresh vegetables. It's a delicious balance for health and for texture and taste.


Sticky Rice
For dessert, we stopped by a sticky rice vendor. She gave a small scoop of each color/flavor and then poured some sweet coconut milk on top. A tasty and fun ending for our first night's meal.