Yesterday’s brunch consisted of sweet and savoury cream cheese, delicious bagels and laughs over random conversations with new friends. The get-together happened in LES Bagels at the Podium, the most recently opened branch of the New York inspired deli and bakery, and my most recent favorite discovery. Their first branch opened in 2013 in Mckinley Hill, Taguig, but I was only able to try it for the first time yesterday. What a shame.
DRIVE BY – TACO SHOP
As part of my Aguirre resto sweep, I decided to try out the Drive By – Taco Shop. It’s a very small eating place located beside a huge G-Spot (car place that’s also a resto grill) so you might not immediately notice it while driving along Aguirre. It can only seat around eight people inside, and the rest of its tables are outside.
Yesterday I tried out a Korean restaurant called Masarap Korean Grill. It was so unusual hearing a Korean place called Masarap, but when my sister invited me to try it out, she got me at Korean food (my second favorite cuisine) and bang for buck.
The restaurant is located along Aguirre Avenue in BF Homes. In the line of restaurants in this area, you most likely won’t choose this place as a first option because of its nondescript exterior. From outside you wouldn’t even be sure if it was a restaurant or a place to buy meat, because the first thing you see is the meat cutting section. You might not also see the sign immediately, but once you see Pan De Manila, the restaurant’s to the left.
This is Sur Yong Su, the restaurant owner. Once I entered and whipped out my camera, I turned to him and he said “Me,” and was ready for his shot. He can speak very little English but his staff of two people in front are Filipinos.
I have a new papak (meal without rice) favorite. Usually when my family and I drink together, we like to make papak on whatever we can find at home: cheese, jalapeno, cold cuts, nuts, chips, kinilaw, or some dip with crackers. It’s usually how we bond after a long day of work or when someone’s in need of a drink. So when I tried the Spicy Ilonggo Chorizo by Bite& Co., I was so excited to take it home because I knew my family would enjoy it as much as I did.
This chorizo recipe used to be one of those items you’d have at a friend’s house, enjoy it so much, but can’t have it anywhere else because it’s your friend’s lola’s secret family recipe that can’t be bought. Luckily it’s now available to the world, and you can take it home and have as much Chorizo as you want!
Tricia Espino, who makes and runs Bite & Co. from her home, now shares with everyone a long time family Chorizo recipe that originated from her Wawa (lola). It was a family merienda staple that their grandmother used to serve them with toasted pan de sal and quesong puti.
My friends and I wanted to find a new drinking place around the BF area and after doing a little research, I found Fat Butchik’s to be one of the new places mentioned on Spot.ph. After looking through different photos and the prices, we were convinced to pay it a visit.
Fat Butchik’s
The restaurant is located at the rooftop of one of the buildings along El Grande. When I got there I found it to be so south, like a really chill, laid back and a comfortable place to drink. It was really cool that night, the guy singing was good, and the setup was simple but pretty. The smoke coming from the grill smelled delicious so it got me extra excited to eat.
Of all the ramen places I’ve tried in Manila, I have to say my favourite ramen house is Ramen Nagi. Don’t get me wrong, I do have other favourites, but every time I think of eating ramen, this restaurant is the number one place that pops into mind. I guess what makes it appeal to me the most (aside from the fact that it’s delicious) is one, it sort of reminds me of Ichiran from Japan; two, I like that we are given the option to sort of customize our ramen (from noodle hardness, strength of flavour, choice of greens, part of the meat, spice level and others)—they give you a sheet for this with options; three, the waiters in the two branches I’ve eaten in (SM Aura and Mall of Asia) are extra nice and are willing to help you with your dish; and four, you are given extra garlic to add to your ramen in case you want more. Aside from the food, the add ons make the whole dining experience from me, and with Ramen Nagi I am always pleased with the meal as a whole.
When ordering, I always pick the Butao King and have them prepare everything normal/medium/the chef’s recommendation. I probably make the spice level a bit higher then just add more chili powder to the bowl after giving it a taste and gauging the spice of the ramen. I also like adding the garlic myself because sometimes they overdo it in the kitchen and I end up getting tired of the taste easily, so with this setup at least I can add just enough.
I haven’t tried their Black King or Red King which I heard are also best sellers of the restaurant, but I plan on doing so on my next visit. If only they had a branch closer to the south!
On other ramen notes:
I haven’t tried Mendokoro and Santouka, two of the famous favourites I often hear. Mendokoro I hear is the best for a lot of people, and once I do get to try it you can count on a post for that.
Also, I heard UCC has delicious ramen not known to a lot of people. Is it true that they no longer have it in their menu?
Others that I do enjoy are Ippudo and Ukokkei. And when I’m just desperate for any kind of ramen, Ramen Kuroda!
Until next time #danielaeats!
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Hamada has been in Baguio Country Club for years now but since it was my first time to try it last weekend, I want to show you bits of our meal in case you (like me), are late to the party.
We got two complementary appetizers, one crunchy maki and a simple salad.
I am home and missing Baguio’s cold air. It wasn’t too cold during the day so you could still put on some shorts or a dress and top it with a shawl or sweater, and the nights were cool and got us putting on some pants and two to three layers to keep us warm. I don’t remember the last time I had to layer for warmth but I sure did miss it.
During our three day stay, we had consumables at the Country Club so we ate most of our meals there, but we tried to insert a meal outside the club so I could get a taste of something different.
Ketchup Food Community
The last time I was in Baguio was probably sometime before 2009. I usually go with my family and relatives and we have our usual Barrio Fiesta and home (villa) cooked meals. This time I went with friends, and they insisted I try this Ketchup Community. Of course I thought it was some restaurant that served a bunch of dishes with ketchup different ways or had some sort of specialty ketchup, but it’s actually a small community with four to six restaurants in it—none of them, relating to ketchup. The restaurants I remember are Happy Tummy, Rancho and Canto.
Canto is known for its ribs so that’s where we went, but because someone also recommended we try the sisig from Rancho, Anton ordered it and had it brought to Canto. The Ketchup Community is fairly small so you can sit in any of the restaurants and order from another. They’ll serve it to you where you’re seated.
Continue reading “#danielaeats: ketchup food community and baguio craft brewery”
Forgive me for going a little photo crazy in this post; it’s hard not to shoot a lot when you’re in Cafe Voila where everything’s Instagrammable–from the unique miniature figurines, brightly coloured Balinese lamps, multi-colored goblets, recycled placemats, and beautifully printed material on the couches and pillows, to their well curated food presentations, utensils and kitchenware. The place feels very homey and artistic, a very comfortable place to enjoy a good meal with the cold breeze of Tagaytay.
I’ve shared a few accounts before on La Union food, but during my last trip I was able to try some new dishes so I’m making an updated post for it here. I love to eat while I’m there, but while I indulge myself with my LU staples, I also try to explore new places and dishes in the area.
Flotsam and Jetsam’s Grilled Dorado Fish
It was my first time to try this dish in Flotsam and I was so happy I opted for the fish instead of my usual meat. The Dorado or Mahi-Mahi might look small, but it actually got me full and I didn’t have to order pica pica after (which was my initial plan thinking this wasn’t going to be enough). The fish was grilled right and was very tasty, and a side sauce, which added extra flavour to it, accompanied it. I’m just wondering if I was supposed to get fries with it or if they really took it out since other Dorado meals I’ve seen in Flotsam have fries.
daniela medalla 