Pho Hoa

This had always been one of our go-to restaurants whenever we find ourselves dinnerless late in the evening. The branch at Wilson St. accepts orders till 1am. Nowadays, this has become our go-to resto for healthy food any time of the day. Almost always, i order the seafood pho. I am also a big fan of the fried spring rolls, although I know I should switch to the fresh version.

The Vietnamese coffee is acceptable, but nothing quite like those found in the streets of Ho Chi Minh.

Morato branch

Mr. G's order

Fresh spring rolls

Fried spring rolls

Vietnamese coffee

Aubergine

Surf and Turf

King Crab Cannelloni

We finally got to try the much raved about restaurant, Aubergine, at 32nd and 12th Bldg. in The Fort. My personal review is mixed. The food was good but nothing to crow about. I ordered the king crab cannelloni while Mr. G tried the surf and turf. The crabmeat was flavorful but I didn't care much about it being wrapped in wonton. And had I known about their serving sizes, I would have opted for something more substantial. Mr. G had a different story. He enjoyed his surf and turf, and the Cabernet Sauvignon even more so.

Tiramisu

I was glad I ordered dessert because the deconstructed tiramisu was memorable. It paired well with the fantastic cafe americano. There are other interesting items on the menu so I'm sure I'll give this one a second chance.

A Valentine's Day

Clean, modern interiors

Mr. G and I avoid going out on Valentine's Day because of the traffic and crowds. But we had been bingeing the past couple of days so we decided to go out for a run at The Fort.

Miso Soup

Edsa traffic wasn't too bad and we found parking easy enough, which was a surprise. I'm still trying to get back to my old running form so all I could manage was a 6K run. While waiting for Mr. G, I decided to go to Rox to buy board shorts for our visit to CamSur (I found a great one on sale for only P600).

Sashimi Sampler

Pork teriyaki

Since we were craving for Japanese, we drove to Teriyaki Boy in Promenade but parking was really bad. I suggested a new Japanese restaurant in Annapolis called Bistro Miyake. It turned out to be perfect. The food was good, especially the gindara teriyaki (which I failed to take a photo of because I was too eager to get a taste). Service was friendly. What more, wi-fi was free.

Copper Grill

Apologies for being remiss in updating this blog. I've been busy writing articles for travel magazines and I've just started talks with a publisher about my second book.

Just a quick note to say that Mr. G and I discovered a new restaurant near our place that's perfect for the late hours we keep. It's called Copper Grill. Service is quite slow and I do hope they improve on that but the food is quite good and very affordable. I must confess, however, that I go there mainly for the barbecue. Mr. G overheard guests saying it is owned by a member of the Aristocrat clan.

Su Zhou Dimsum

So, apparently, this restaurant has quite a following. It has a new branch, actually a counter, in Greenhills Promenade beside Sizzling Pepper Steak. I was craving for beef pepper rice so I went to order but decided to get something else for Mr. G because he's not into the pepper steak thing. Since he loves siopao, I got him a bola-bola and an asado, plus the steamed beef with garlic rice topping.

I didn't get to have a taste of Mr. G's dinner but, judging by the sounds he was making, he had a very satisfying meal.

Su Zhou Dimsum
A. Mabini cor. Araullo Street
Mandaluyong City
Tel (02) 721-6105

Ground Floor Food Court
Promenade Greenhills
San Juan
Tel (02) 744-3846

Bugsy's

Mr. G and I were headed for Barcino to pick up the credit card he left behind and for dinner but, when he got his card back, we decided we wanted to try something new. We opted for Bugsy's in the same building. I wasn't entirely pleased with the spaghetti and meatballs because the meatballs were tough but the chicken tenders were great. Just the right acidity to make the lips pucker.

Bugsy's is located at Unit C-105 City Golf Plaza, Julia Vargas Avenue, Pasig City with telephone number 489-4985.

The 12-course, 5-hour long lunch at Bale Dutung

Yes, I'm a survivor of the cholesterol-rich but pleasure-laden lunch at Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung.

The meal was unabashedly decadent from start to end.


It began with an appetizer of Skyflakes crackers with three kinds of dip: sauteed crabfat, balo balo (a beginner's buro, I am told, made of fermented rice) and pesto. Claude's wife, Mary Ann, suggested we try combining the pesto and crabfat, which was great at cutting away the wickedness of fat.

Pako

Lumpiang ubod

Cold sotanghon

The cold sotanghon and pako (fern) salad followed, the former surprisingly light and the latter refreshingly tart with its drizzle of vinaigrette.



I loved Claude's version of chicken inasal, marinated in boiled lemongrass. It was served with a small lump of crabfat rice. The chicken meat was moist and flavorful, and went great dipped in aslam albu, vinegar that Claude himself prepares.



What followed turned out to be my favorite among all the appetizers, the crisp fried catfish with balao balao wrapped in mustasa leaves. The crunch of the catfish mixed splendidly with the creamy consistency of the balao balao. It was a poetic bite.

The meal crested in terms of decadence even before the lechon (roasted pig) was served when out came what Claude called “The Bone Collector”, a casserole pot filled with bone marrow cooked adobo-style. Plastic gloves were given out to hold the bone in place and a straw for easier enjoyment of the marrow. I would have preferred to smear the marrow on some country bread tp cut away the richness but that would have sated me too quickly that I would have no space left for the lechon.

Whole Lechon

Lechon Skin

Pritchon

Sinigang

Grilled ribs

Asado

And of course, the lechon was what I came here for. It was served five ways: the skin, which can certainly hold its own even without sauce; pritchon, which was my favorite, the strands of meat cooked to a crisp like pork floss; sinigang, using kamias as souring agent; grilled ribs, a close match to the skin for second place; and, finally, asado.

Paradiso

Claude was not about to close the meal in a hush. In fact, he took it a notch higher by combining sugar and fat. He served two desserts: tibok-tibok, soft and velvety and generously topped with latik, and Paradiso, a brulee of macapuno, halayang ube and pastillas balls on a bed of silken panna cotta-like cream made of carabao’s milk.

KKK

I had the chance to try this restaurant when one of my nieces celebrated her birthday this month. It's located in SM City Annex. The resto serves good Pinoy bar chow. I particularly loved their binagoongang baboy.

Arya One More Time

A delayed post.

Sometime this December, Mr. G and I went back to Arya for dinner. This time, I had dessert. I chose their date cake. Served warm and sitting on a bed of honey, it was moist and delicate. It hit all the right spots.

Jalapeño

I love Mexican food, be it the authentic kind or the Tex-Mex variety. It's one of those things I crave for every once in a while but never really get to indulge in as often as I'd like because Mr. G is not particularly fond of it. I still mourn the decline of Tia Maria's. I miss their flautas, pizza and falling-of-the-bone pork ribs.

Nachos with baked jalapeno cheese dip (P150)

I had been planning this visit to Ortigas Home Depot for some time because I heard it's a burgeoning foodie's haven and I wanted to go to this particular restaurant, Jalapeño Cantina Mexicana, because I'd been hearing good reviews.

Steak and cheese quesadilla (P240)

The nachos with cheese dip wasn't bad but the Mexican nachos was better. We ordered two kinds of quesadilla, steak and cheese and chicken and cheese. Everything was smothered in cheese as expected but I wasn't fond of the brand they use. It tasted like the local cheese whiz. I wanted something with more tang.

Mr. G ordered grilled Cajun pork chops (P210). I didn't get to taste it but I can only surmise that it was good because he wiped his plate clean.

I was craving for the sweet-piquant taste of buffalo wings so I ordered from Buffalo Wings 'N Things next door. I didn't get the lip-puckering sourness that I expected.

Healthy Shabu Shabu

Waiting for the waiter to pour stock into the hot pot

Mr. G was craving for Spanish but the Spanish place near Oyster Bar in Powerplant has closed down. I thought he would drag me to The Fort or elsewhere for a paella. Instead, he settled for shabu shabu.

Waiting for the stock (called dashi) to boil

I'm of the belief that eating at a shabu shabu restaurant is less about the food and more about the experience. But I always wondered whether I did things right (more about that later).

There were controls on the table to regulate the amount of heat

It didn't take long before the broth was in full boil

I flavored the broth with ginger, scallions, bird's eye chili, and shrimp paste

Mr. G ordered a mix of meat (US Angus) and seafood (group B on the menu, the one with prawns, salmon, scallops and green mussels). I opted for the same combination but with a different meat (beef tenderloin).

The ponzu, which I poured into the broth

Our orders came with the standard serving of greens, tofu, kani, corn, shiitake mushroom, udon noodles, squid and chicken balls, and egg.

According to my research, we did most things right, except for the ponzu, which is usually used as a dipping sauce. You can season it to taste with the serving of scallions, chilli, and ginger, and even combine the egg with the dip to make a more unctuous sauce.

You can then fish the meat and veggies out of the broth and dip it in the sauce. Oh well. Next time.

Packo's Grill

Laing - Not bad but nothing special

Tortang talong

This is one of our go-to places for a late dinner because it's very near where we work, it closes late, and the food isn't bad, not to mention affordable.

Rellenong pusit

The rellenong pusit is our perennial favorite. We usually pair it with either tortang giniling or tortang talong.

Murray & D'Vine

Mr. G's Kobe burger

My wagyu burger

We wanted to try out Chelsea Place but it was about to close by the time we made it to Serendra. By then, we were so famished we were ready to try just about anything. Gourmet burgers seemed like a good idea so we tried out Murray & D'Vine. Mr. G ordered the Kobe beef burger while I chose the Wagyu variety. We split each in half so we can have a taste of both. Mr. G's made the better choice but we both agree that we've tasted better burgers.