Mes Aliments Preférés: 100 of My Favorite Gastronomic Treats

I was so inspired by Ari Bancale’s blog on his favorite food, omgirl45’s passion for food and Melvyn Isidro’s new look of Cheesecake Melliza that I’ve decided to do my very own food blog. Contrary to my previous post, I have not included a French dish because I have never eaten an authentic French dish myself (sad truth, I ate at a pizzeria, at a McDonald’s joint, and ate Secretariat and hotel food in Paris!). One of the perks of a protocol officer is to sample local hotels’ specialties as well as dishes from around the world. I have included my town’s (Sta. Maria, Bulacan) specialties and some of the home-cooked meals I’ve devoured. Those in bold are must-try’s. (MOA means the Mall of Asia). So in random order, let’s dig in and start the fiesta:

1. Lava cake at Plato Platina (MOA and Blue Wave Macapagal): scorching hot fudge brownie with freezing cold vanilla ice cream on top, simply romantic

2. Paella of our Socials Director Mr. Raymond Toledo

3. Buttered fan clams of Dencio’s

4. Spicy seafood jambalaya of Gumbo’s (MOA and The Block)

5. Everything as in everything at Hussein’s (Serendra, Bonifacio High Street): I never liked Arabic food until Hussein’s.

6. Sushi and maki at Nambantei’s (Greenbelt 3)

7. Hainanese chicken at the Heritage Hotel

8. Ilustrado Restaurant’s bagnet: just visit your doctor afterwards hehe

9. Aling Nene’s barbeque (Makati): fave pulutan

10. Reyes barbeque (Timog Avenue, MOA): WINNER!

11. Yellow Cab anchovies pizza

12. Rai-rai Ken’s sushi on a bed of “lato” seaweed (only at Rai-rai Ken SM City Cebu)

13. Tapsilog Queen at Tapa King

14. Rainbow salad at the Rainbow Connection (Malate): a dieter’s treat

15. Tom yang soup at Dusit Thani (Glorietta)

16. Noodles at Li Li Restaurant (Hyatt Hotel and Casino)

17. Sweet and our pork with kangkong with bagoong at Chowking

18. The Shangri-la Makati breakfast: feast like a king

19. Ensaymada and coffee at The Manila Diamond Hotel lobby!

20. Country breakfast at Pancake House

21. Bibingka at Bibingkahan sa Dos (Sta. Rosa, Marilao Bulacan)

22. Green mangoes with bagoong at the Mall of Asia

23. Chicken tocino super meal at Jollibee

24. The good ol’ BigMac at McDonald’s

25. Jollibee Chickenjoy: I just had one today

26. Bud-bud meals and Nightclubbero meal at Bakahan at Manukan (Roxas Boulevard corner Buendia)

27. Oysters at Marina (Timog Ave and PICC Complex)

28. Korean beef stew rice at Chiggy’s (Remedios and MOA): heavenlymeeh’s treat

29. Mojo potatoes at Shakey’s

30. Hamburger at Manila Hotel

31. Beef misono at Tokyo Tokyo

32. “Sipa” at Wok-In (Adriatico Malate and Makati Park Square 2 )

33. Jonas pares (Sampaloc, Manila)

34. Salads at Antonio’s (Tagaytay): posh and sosi

35. Tawilis breakfast at Taal Vista Hotel (Tagaytay)

36. Steak at Tagaytay Highlands: you’ll be askin for more

37. Bangus fiesta platter at Bangus Restaurant (MOA)

38. Sandwich wrap at Piadina (Ayala malls)

39. Popcorn and lemonade at Musclebeach (Ayala malls)

40. Shabu-shabu at a local restaurant in Sabae, Fukui prefecture in Japan

41. Caesar salad with seaweed at Albert restaurant in Tokyo

42. McDonald’s burger with wasabi mayo in Japan

43. Malate street shawarma ni Manang (Nakpil St.)

44. Spicy Norwegian salmon maki at Teriyaki Boy

45. Suman with Tsokolate “Eh” breakfast at Café Adriatico (Malate): sumptuous delight but so expensive

46. Salzburger knuckle, a dessert, at the Mandarin Oriental (Makati): the weirdest dessert I’ve tasted

47. Chocolate cake ay Circle’s Shangri-la Makati

48. Vietnamese spring rolls of the Vietnamese Embassy: catch it at the International Bazaar Foundation at the PICC Forum on November 25.

49. Soft roll bread of the Asian Development Bank Canteen (Ortigas)

50. Grillades at Sutokil (Mactan, Cebu): PARADISE!

51. Churittos and the Manila’s longest buffet at Spirals (Sofitel Philippine Plaza, PICC Complex)

52. Paella at Casa Armas (Malate and Greenbelt 3)

53. Whopper at Burger King: kailangan pa bang imemorize yan?

54. Longganisa from Vigan, Lucban and Cebu: you can find them all at Hot Café (Roxas Boulevard fronting the US Embassy)

55. Malaysian laksa and nasi “mani”: hehe

56. Potato salad at Almon Marina (Park Square 2 Makati and MOA)

57. Julie’s bibingka and puto bumbong (Sta. Maria, Bulacan): limited engagement only

58. Bon’s, Jennie’s, Daboy’s pork chicharon (Sta. Maria Bulacan): guilty pleasures just watch out for your cholesterol count

59. Baguette of Delifrance: I don’t know if this is French!

60. Congee, tofu and lumpiang toge at the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy Canteen (Marilao, Bulacan): especially on a rainy day

61. Tita Virginia’s (mom of Arvy and Venice Olarte) kare-kare: forget your diet!

62. Russian embassy’s caviar in Fita biscuits: very expensive

63. Samurai crepe of the Mandarin Hotel: always a treat at a Singaporean Embassy reception

64. Goldilock’s fresh lumpia

65. UST Hospital’s strawberry jelly: I want lots of it during breakfast

66. UST’s parking lot hamburger: now extinct

67. Aling Oying’s lumpiang shanghai, tocino and nilagang baka (Sta Maria, Bulacan): my weekend getaway

68. Kuya Rolly’s (my collegue) Bicol Express: a lunch treat!

69. Pretzel’s at Auntie Anne’s

70. Beef and tuna turnovers at Brownie’s

71. Cheesecake Melliza’s carrot cake and cheese cakes (Glorietta 4): simply heaven

72. Cinnabon cinnamon bread

73. Smokey’s taco dog (The Philippine Heart Center)

74. Rockefeller oysters at Bubba Gump (Greenbelt 3)

75. Curry, curry and curry at Prince of Jaipur (MOA, The Fort)

76. More curry, more curry and more curry at Bollywood (Greenbelt 3)

77. Mixed tempura of Haiku (Greenbelt 3)

78. Fajitas of Soul Food (then Greenbelt 3)

79. Whatever we ate at Burgoo’s (MOA)

80. Eng Bee Tin and Echague hopia

81. Buttered/a la pobre shrimps at Taste Asia

82. Lobster bisque of Manila Hotel

83. Chocolate desserts at Max Brener (Greenbelt 3)

84. Java chip frapuccino and Belgian waffles at Starbuck’s

85. Café mocha and croissants at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

86. Brewed coffee and choco honey dipped donuts at Dunkin Donuts

87. Coney dog and rootbeer at A & W restaurants: are these still around?

88. Crispy kangkong of Dencio’s (Harbor Square): hope you remember this Ari J

89. Pork sinigang at Mang Inasal (Harbor Square): comfort food, I ate this during my break-up

90. Bizu’s canapés with cottage cheese: Malacanang treat

91. Iranian pistachios: Christmas treat

92. Australian fish and chips

93. Krispy Kreme donuts; sige na nga!

94. Mozart chocolates from Austria: with pistachios/walnut at the center

95. Hawaiian macadamian nut chocolates

96. Makati Shang-rila’s moon cake: limited engagement only

97. Manhattan’s $1 and $2 dollar street hotdog

98. Kimchi at Kaya Restaurant

99. Inang Nene’s carabao adobo: an All Saint’s Day treat, I miss this!

100. Eurobake’s inipit and ensaymada (Malolos, Bulacan)

Photo credits: Melvyn Isidro of Cheesecake Melliza, Glorietta 4

Cuisine Française

I'm back at my french class and our lesson last Monday was aliments francais (French food) What I don't like about the French language is that everything has a gender (yes, as in everything, as in le poulet (chicken) is masculine, la salade (salad) is feminine, and you can't guess the gender as in Espanol, you have to consult your good old dictionnaire). There is even a French bureau which primary responsiblity is to assign if a word/object is indeed a male or female ( the latest being the computer (l'ordinateur as masculine). The class was divided into to groups and we were tasked to do either a diet menu, a vegetarian menu or a gourmet menu. Being a protocol officer, I took advantage of this "kaartehan" and came up with this invention:

Menu pour homme qui fait regime pour maigrir

(Menu for a person who wants to lose weight)

• Entree Salade de Radis avec Vinaigrette d'Olive (Radish Salad With Olive Vinaigrette)
• Soupe Consomme a L'oignon (Onion Consomme)
• Plat Principal (Main Course) Thon Grillade avec Riz Rouge et Tofu (Grilled Tuna with Red Rice and Tofu, sosyal!)
• Fromage (Cheese) Yaourt aux Kiwis (Yoghurt with Kiwis, my initial reaction was why in the world would a yoghurt based dish be included here, the French are so weird!)
• Dessert Compote De Banane sans Sucre (Boiled Bananas in Sugar-free sauce, in Tagalog: minatamis na saba pero wag gagamit na asukal yun lang yun!)

I don't know if I'll enjoy such treat but we pulled it off. The French are really soooo weird!

Can a Heart Still Break Once it Stopped Beating?

I know you’ll never get to read this. But I wanna write this anyway. I can’t believe it’s been a year. Our simple joys of museum hopping last year has been turned into a Boracay getaway this year. Our simple lunch at the outskirts of Intramuros Parian has turned into a grand celebration at a posh Boracay joint.

Everything changed since. Your thoughts has never changed though. You’re still the person I knew sans the kuripot lifestyle. I’ve always want to travel with you but the idea never prospered. We both know the reason what’s keeping us from running away.

It’s been a year since Louie’s birthday. You should see her, full of life and hope. Is there a possibility you’ll meet her again? I still remember how we laugh at the Happy Birthday Louie spiel in the parlor games. These are all part of our past. The history that has been haunting me in my dreams every night.

Am I over you? Can a heart still break once it stopped beating?

The Magic That is Kapamilya Deal or No Deal

I was writing this just as I finished watching Kampamilya Deal or No Deal where Jerhan Mama-o, a Muslim, won 2 million and became it’s seventh millionaire during tonight’s episode.

I remember hearing my flatmates (my flat has 4 floors) clapping to the beat as Ms. Kris Aquino’s 26K grooving to the game show’s theme while the briefcases are being brought down. The claps were in two sets depending on households if they subscribe to cable television or not (the claps of the cable subscribers including moi were a bit delayed haha).
I remember that time when we were all excited on the premiere of the new show including my ex screaming to the top of our lungs “NO DEAL” while comfortably watching primetime television last year. I remember when my mom, dad, bro and sis can’t seem to understand the mechanics of the show that they ought to watch GMA 7’s Captain Barbell instead. It’s a good thing we had 4 television sets. These were the times when I was stuck in Bulacan, unable to work because of you know what happened, strapped to a rocking chair all day trying my luck on being the next text partner.

I remember texting everyone “NO DEAL” expecting that they’re watching the same show. I didn’t really like Ms. Kris Aquino. I find her too frank and so comfortable with her contestants that sometimes she tends to offend them. And the real spectacle was how revealing her gown went thus far. Good thing she’s out of GKNB. In spite of all of these KDOND has been part of my daily routine especially in the brink of self-pity and feeling of worthlessness.

Back to tonight’s episode, I became inspired of how the contestant became so confident that the 2M is in his briefcase. I wept while jumping when the briefcase was opened knowing he truly deserves it because of his faith. Indeed God is Great (Allah or whatever he is called in 99 names and more). As Ms. Aquino revealed that they are nearing the defunct of the show, I believe in her statement that they continue to inspire the Filipino people as clearly depicted in this episode particularly in bridging the gap between the clash of faiths.

I would like to commend Ms. Aquino, the staff and crew of KDOND, Endemol and ABS-CBN for a job well done. Continue to raise the standards of prime time television especially in this era of game show scam speculations and stiff ratings competition. I would also like to thank you for being with me through the tough times. Bravo!

Full Circle

It's been three months since I last posted anything. I was so busy with the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting during the last week of July and early August. I stopped going to the gym because of that Conference and my Eclipse gym membership hasn't been renewed since. This is my blog's 1st year anniversary and I'm sharing this with my new friends in Multiply. I also handled the visit of the Foreign Minister of North Korea which is coinciding the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting. I became so interested in them that I also watched the National Geographic special about them, how they revere their Great Leader and all. And I tell you being with this guys is so incredible. We exposed the North Koreans to the culture of our country and treated them to Tagaytay Highlands.

In the last 3 months I've been through a lot of partying ang shopping just to keep me busy. I'm addicted to Zara Man clothes and invaded their branch at the Mall of Asia since they opened last 17 August. My deskwork has been piling up and everything seems to normalize once again.

I think I've reached the full circle. Everything comes back to where it once began, with the hope of a brighter tomorrow