Monday, December 5, 2011

Konnichiwa!:D





Hello!
We were in two countries in the last four months. M was there for work, and I got to tag along! Lucky me!
 I have fallen in love with the "Land of the Rising Sun." It is so enchanting, I understand now why some people gush about this lovely country.
M was excited to see Fuji-san, while I was thrilled to be witnessing the "koyo" (fall season).
We got both wishes and more!:)




On our first night, we went to this ramen bar, just a block away from our hotel along Prince Dori. It was a tiny and busy place, with only bar stools for chairs and one lone counter for a table. It was a ramen BAR, but of course!:) The staff who assisted us outside the outlet didn't understand much English, but did understood that  1.) we were hungry 2.) we wanted to try good Japanese food. She suggested we order the bestseller on the list ( heaven knows how we understood it was the bestseller!oh, I also remember the nodding and the thumbs up sign! :D)


thick, al dente ramen



Shio-based Ramen, with cured pork, leeks and an egg.
YUM! First meal in Japan was a hit!

The next morning, M had to attend a conference, and I had to look for breakfast on my own. Of course, I mustered enough courage to ask the front desk where the nearest McDonald's was! Good thing it was only two blocks away! Yey!



The McGriddle
- mapled flavored pancake sandwich with an egg, bacon and cheese.
Divine!
It was not easy ordering at Mcdonald's though, because not all knew how to speak in English. Good thing one crew member understood me and saved me from hunger!



I walked around Chiyoda-ku, exploring the The Walking Map provided by the hotel of nearby tourist spots. By 3 p.m., I took my lunch fro the nearby Family Mart and had some convenience store ramen. All I can say is it was awful. Never again!




Good thing I bought this chocolate mallow cookie

to erase the memory of that ramen.



That evening, M had dinner with the delegates, so I explored the nearby fastfood joints.


Iwamoto-q's Tempura Bento meal.
I loved the freshness of the shrimp and the fluffy rice.
 

I went to a nearby Family Mart for my dessert

Azuki Mochi



and the Blueberry yogurt by Meiji.



This was my lunch the next day, I just got some
Onigiri (rice balls) at Family Mart. I got one stuffed
with fish roe. Slimy but yum. I must say, I love rice balls!

Later on, it rained harder. I was invited by M's boss to join the dinner for later.
Embarrasing as it was to join the delegates, I gratefully obliged.
Dinner was at Shiba Tofu-ya Ukai, a Zagat-rated tofu specialty restaurant.
Fancy.


Sake

Candied yams


Pan fried Tofu with a teriyaki-like sauce.

Sashimi


Soft tofu in soya milk. Slightly salted. The odd one among them.

Grilled salmon

I wasn't able to finish the whole set. All good, but everyone got busy with activities.




The next day, we plotted to have breakfast at Tsukiji, but I failed to see
that it was CLOSED.ON. SUNDAYS. Boo to me for not reading up on that.

We were so hungry because we thought we were having breakfast at Tsukiji, we got into a Family Mart along the area and got these for me.


Warm lemon tea and a doughnut. The Japanese love their sweets :) 




Speaking of sweets, we entered Hama-rikyu Gardens since it was a stone's throw away from Tsukiji Fish Market. Inside was a lovely tea gazebo, and we tried their tea special of green matcha and sweets for a traditional tea ceremony. Love!




Lunch was at Sushi no Midori Sohonten. Will post pics at the latter portion, when I took them on the second visit. Yes, it was that good  that we had to visit again:)




At dinner time, after hopping from one train to another, and experiencing the lovely Shibuya area, we had dinner near Hachiko station. We ate at this simple ramen bar. I had a chicken noodle soup, and M had curry. The Japanese LOVE curry, we learned.





This beautiful bento dish was what we had for lunch during the Mount Fuji tour. It was a delight to the senses, this array. Almost everything in Japan was beautiful. Even my lunch! Awww.



M and I experienced the lights at Ginza and had some more
dessert and tea at a nearby Starbucks. :P


Hello, Green Tea Latte!


Now, here is the Sushi No Midori meal that we had on our last night in Tokyo.  
Thanks to various Japan blogsites, we were able to try this delectable feast!
Oishi!:D

Chawan Mushu

Me thinks this was made for the gods!
It was a steaming cup of savory egg custard soup with tiny pieces of shrimp that had settled at the bottom.
So good! This my first time to try it!

Various sushi rolls

The popular Ponzu- teriyaki marinated eel over a rice ball. Nom nom.



Yum.




I was especially entertained by this lovely handful of rustic toothpicks.


The lovely end to a lovely meal-Tiramisu.




Arigato gozaimasu, Japan!
Until we meet again. I really hope we meet again.




Saturday, September 10, 2011

Island Paradise


We were whisked to Boracay last month for M's office outing. We were so excited for the beach and the food!

Because there were meals provided by the hotel where stayed in, we didn't have to food trip all the time. For those times we could though, we tried our best to have the stuff I've been reading in other blogs.

For our first stop, we had lunch at Manana Restaurant, a Mexican restaurant that I read at Dessert Comes First and Our Awesome Planet which serves the most wonderful burritos. It was packed full when we arrived, and we had to wait for a table outside. Well, we waited by the beach so it wasn't so bad. :) Anyways, I must agree (and the husband heartily agrees), that the food was awesome!



M ordered this super good Avocado Shake.Perfect for the beach breeze!



Burritos



Hard-shell Tacos


The Burritos and Tacos were delicious! The tortillas were obviously freshly made, so it was all gooey and sticky with the cheese and the filling. Yuum. The Tacos were just as good. Save for the corn grits, everything was perfect! Our first meal in the island was a success. No picture of us two in the resto though, so boo!


The next meals were all sponsored by the office, so we had meals at the hotel. Our next food trip was for an afternoon snack the next day- a very long walk to JOnah's at Station 1 for the infamous milkshakes! M had a Mango Milk and I,

a Mango Lemon

This photo was taken with the Instagram. That's my smile and my hand :)



In the evening, we had dinner at The Sandbar so we could also watch the Fire or Poi Dancers. Food was okay. But the burger we had at Nigi Nigi Noo Noo was yuuuuum! Fat, juicy, old-fashioned burgers, they were only P180! Soooo good!


We weren't able to get our hands on some of Real Coffee's Calamansi cupcakes.
Maybe next time. And I will definitely make sure that I will make it my first stop.

Have a nice Sunday!:)

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Food Porn


I was checking out clothing (for a change! :P) on Team Manila, and I found this amazing food video on their blog by Rick Mereki. Food porn at its best= lovely shots +gorgeous hunk!


Click on this link! Enjoy :)

Friday, August 12, 2011

Garlic and all things nice :)


I almost always cook with garlic. Save for desserts, and maybe soup, I can't imagine food without it. The onion may be forgotten, but never this white bulb.

We were in the Pasay area at lunch time, and hunted for good food at the gigantic (at least, for my feet) SM Mall of Asia. Facing the bay, we headed in Abe's for some Filipino fare and rice.

And true enough, my garlic-loving heart was happy here. M ordered a seafood dish and I ordered meat. Was hungry!




Sinuteng Baby Squid
Squid cooked in olive oil and garlic, they were really tender and melted in the mouth like some seafood custard. Sigh.

Mutton Lamb Adobo

This is really flavorful and tender. Cooked to perfection, I had noticed only a hint of gamey aroma, a pleasant one at that. M loves goat meat. Maybe someday I will try this at home. And maybe, just maybe I will be successful.

All these and glorious, white, steaming rice.

So good! Abe's. I miss you :)

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Sour Trip



Discovered at Food Court of the SM Hypermart Pasig is this Philippine
favorite combination of sour green mangoes and bagoong ( a fermented shrimp paste).
Dubbed as the Mango-ong, it is clean and crisp at P20.



Mango-ong


Now, I can have a sidewalk style sliced manggang hilaw, and not be afraid of germs. Yipee!



Friday, July 29, 2011

Of Brick Walls and Pasta Trios


My Mom and I like two other things other than food-- and those are hardwood and bricks. This place we went to last night was a lovely, rustic and romantic Italian restaurant called L'Opera Ristorante Italiano at The Fort Strip, with walls warmed up by bricks. I was staring at the brick arches and walls from the loft, and I forgot to take a photo. Imagine that.


But I did not forget the grub. M was in the mood for splurging on a Friday night.



Minestra con Granchi
This was his soup- the Minestra con Granchi or simply Crab Soup in a tomato base. He liked it, and I could see big chunks of crabmeat on top of the soup.



Please forgive me for the mobile phone shots. I ran out of batteries. Sigh.
This photo doesn't do justice to my Minestrone Soup. It was so good. Earthy.
It was enough to fill me up. But the night was young.


Trittico della Casa

And because this was an Italian restaurant, I thought it was necessary to order pasta. We ordered the Trittico della Casa, a special selection of three pastas of our choice. So, the merry pinpointing began, where we ordered one from each category (Vegetable, Meat, Fish and Seafood).


They were good, but I am not going to do that again. It was excessive and not right. We couldn't enjoy each flavor on its own. Not again. But among the three, what stood out was the strong and pungent Penne Funghi Porcini ( under the Vegetable category, leftmost)). The sauce consisted of a thick and creamy Porcini mushroom cream sauce. Good. The other two flavors were the basic Ragu Toscano ( Meat sauce) and the Vongole Bianco (Seafood). They were good too.


Tagliata di Manzo con Fegato D’oca in Salsa Tartufata con Spinaci e Asparagus

But this one stole the show. Steak, medium well. Split into two.
Melts in the mouth. Salty, buttery. Enough said.
I only wish my camera was fully charged.

Their service is also good. Highly attentive waiters. :D

Bon appetit!



Friday, February 18, 2011

Hearty Eating

I did not intend to make this a Valentine post.

But what do you do when you've eaten a heart-shaped burger? Yes, you take a picture and show it off! Haha :D

M and I were out yesterday. I tagged along his work, and had a yummy meal after! We dropped by Serendra on our way home and felt like trying this burger place we've so wanted to try for so long.

When we arrived at Murray & D'Vine Bar and Restaurant, we saw that the burgers were heart shaped for the season. Cute! After 10 minutes, our burgers arrived. This is his burger-







Spicy Burger with Bleu Cheese (P390).
The beef was too spicy for me. But I think the bleu cheese added
that much need sharp texture in the patty.
Big burger, at least for me.



I had the Sampler Slider.(P348)
I could have gotten any flavor from the menu to mix up among the 3 sandwiches.
Instead, I got two Veggie burgers, and one beef burger.

The veggie patties were made of corn and carrots shreds.
It's got good flavor. A little spicy. But I kept staring at the corn.
Hmmm.


It was a heart-y meal.

Happy Friday!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Decadence on the Day of Hearts



How was your Valentine's Day? M and I had the usual celebration. I prepared a bacon breakfast for him, which is an essential ingredient for most special day celebrations at our home. I made a cute cut-out heart greeting for him, too. He was nursing a flu, and had to work too. But he did come home early so we could get a table at one of our favorite restos to date- the Blackwood Bistro. Blackwood Bistro is located at the Venice Piazza in McKinley Hill, Taguig City. We were also lucky to dine al fresco, with outdoor entertainment provided by the mall showcasing an Opera Night for the evening. Lovely.

But yes, we've dined at Blackwood Bistro before, and we were pleasantly surprised that their dishes were delicious! To date, we've sampled five dishes, and all were good- kudos to the Buffalo Crab Claws (of which I wasn't able to take a picture of,boo!).

For this evening, we ordered the following---



Crab and Mango Salad

This lovely salad was filled with generous amounts of greens,
mangoes, strawberries, and lumps of crab meat. Yes, fresh juicy crab meat.


Baked Oysters

M's favorite appetizer, and this dish doesn't disappoint.
The oyster meat was large and juicy and smothered with a cheese-butter sauce.



Braised Lamb Shanks

Tender and earthy lamb shanks,
most probably slow cooked in a rich sauce
and accompanied by some roasted garlic, caramelized onions
and mashed potatoes.

Now for the piece de resistance. M ordered some dessert, and while he was poring through the dessert menu, the waiter suddenly bursts out and convincingly entices us to order their Valentine offering of Foie Gras, which was not on the menu. I hesitate, and the waiter continues on about it being so rich and sweet and good, and that the dish came with a glass of wine. We both looked at him, then we looked at each other, and let him get us some of that Foie Gras. While waiting, M and I were puzzled how Foie Gras can be dessert. Giggling, we had to confirm with each other that foie gras was liver. But yes, we both agreed that we were "seduced" by the waiter to try it. After a while, this arrives,



Foie Gras

Yes it was rich, and sensuous, if I may say so.
The soft goose liver was seared in butter. It came with a piece of toast, dressed with a blueberry compote, chocolate sauce and clotted cream.
The calories!
Oh, but this dish was playing on a different level. We were eating food for the gods, so to speak.
It was so decadent, I just couldn't resist staring at it.
We are never the same. :D

But yes, we just had dinner outside for Valentine's Day. I am just so glad I am able to spend this day with my love.

Later on he hands me a large, long box.
He gave me flowers.

Thanks babe.

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's day, too!