RE-IGNITING FLAME AT DISCOVERY PRIMEA MAKATI

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RAIN'S BIRTHDAY PART 1: A FAIRMONT MAKATI STAYCATION

          I've been to Fairmont Hotel's Spectrum quite a number of times in the past, and I can safely say it's one of the best hotel buffets in Metro Manila. They constantly think of themes to keep their guests on their toes, and the kitchen staff  from the entrees to the pastries, always rise to the challenge in coming up with ideas to match the selected motif. 

      Though I consider myself I fan of the hotel's food and service, I had yet to see their accommodations, Of course, this is the prestigious Fairmont name we were talking about, so I had a pretty good idea that it was nothing short of amazing, but it's really different when you see it for yourself. 

      So the weekend before Rain's Birthday. we were invited to experience a Staycation at Fairmont Hotel, which was perfect treat for my little girl in anticipation for her big day!  

71 GRAMERCY: RISING ABOVE THE REST

   This marks my first collaboration with Eugene Constantino, the food blogger more famously known as "Hefty Foodie", whom I feel is perhaps one of.. if not THE BEST Food Photographer out there today. The "collaboration" is actually a result of my DSLR conking out on me, and Eugene selflessly volunteering to provide me pictures for my blog. Thanks so much buddy! You saved my ass!

       I'm not much of a drinker, and I don't like going out at night. I've said time and time again that it usually takes a promise of great food or an epic movie. I was graciously invited to join my fellow bloggers at 71 Gramercy to see the metro's hottest night spot, and I politely declined. Yes, I know people are lining up to get in, and here I am, offered to get a tour of the place, and I say no. 

    The thing is, running the show as the General Manager is the stunning Chef Cecille Chang of Silk Road fame (In my opinion, the best Thai Restaurant in the metro). And if you have met Chef Cecille before, you know that this is a woman that you do not say no to. 

    A couple of days before the event, I got a call from Chef. In her sweet voice, she asked me, "Hi Richie! Are you busy? Can you talk?". "Of course Chef, how may I help you?", I replied. All of a sudden, the sugar coated tone was lost, and she responded with a fiery, "Why aren't you joining us for dinner at 71 Gramercy? I want you and Rina there! It's not the same without you!". 

   Let me just say, when someone like Chef Cecille wants you to go to her restaurant, YOU GO TO HER RESTAURANT. The mere fact that she bothered to call meant a lot to me, so I promptly cancelled my plans for that day, and decided I'd be going to 71 Gramercy. 

    And I'm glad I did. I was expecting it to be a night of drinking, which is why I wasn't really too keen on going in the first place. But then I soon discovered that we would be tasting the menu that 71 Gramercy's Executive Chef, Carlo Miguel has prepared. 

BLOGGERS GONE WILD AT CHIHUAHUA MEXICAN GRILL & MARGARITA BAR ~RinaZ

Things weren't always what they seemed that night..

         Richie's hyper-acidity prevents him from enjoying Tomato based dishes, which is why Mexican restaurants are usually our last option. But when we were invited to have dinner over at the Greenbelt branch of Chihuahua Mexican Grill and Margarita Bar with our other blogger friends, there was no way we could say no.

          Truthfully, I was the more excited one! It has been a while since I had a glass of margarita and so I was really kind of looking forward to it!

ON OUR WAY TO STOCKTON PLACE

        This was one of those restaurants wherein Richie really really really regretted not being able to make it. It was all because on one photo:



        A picture can paint a thousand words. But this photo made Richie speechless sulk in his work desk for the whole night. Hehehe... But we’ll get back to that later...

SEEK YOUR SOLACE IN ONE GREENBELT HOTEL

           I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I left my job of six years a couple of weeks ago. Though I'll definitely miss the people that I worked with, One of my biggest regrets would be not making the most out of the amazing places to eat along Arnaiz Avenue. There were several excellent restaurant in the neighborhood, such as Nihon Bashi Tei, The Cheese Steak Shop, and Hai Shin Lou, all of which I had the pleasure of dining at more than once.  

         I would sometimes think to myself how nice it would be to be able to afford to dine at every single one of these restaurants one by one before I left. One of those restaurants was Solace Wine and Dine at One Greenbelt Hotel.

      Someone upstairs must have been listening, because just a few days removed from my last day of work, I found myself walking through the doors of Solace. 

MOTHER KNOWS BEST: LUCIA RISTORANTE IN HOTEL CELESTE

            *Cue in Jeopardy Music*

      Contestant Number 1: I'll take "Unlucky Food Blogger Problems" for $500, Alex.

       Alex Trebek: The Answers are, Authentic Italian Tomato based Spaghetti, Gooey Lasagna, and Crisp Pizzas.

       Contestant Number 2 *Buzz*: "Food that the Pickiest Eater In The World Can't Eat!".

        Alex: Correct! 

          Yes, it's the sad truth. My hyper acidity makes eating those beloved Italian classics quite difficult for me. But some nights I can't help myself and be a little naughty. And my dinner at Lucia Ristorante at Celeste Hotel in Makati, was one of those nights.

HAYOP NA DEGUSTACION AT PEPITA'S KITCHEN!

Serious na si Food Reviews Manila and Chef Sharwin Tee

               Though my blog is already on it's third year, It wasn't until my second year of blogging that I decided to begin accepting invitations from establishments to sample what their dining experience had to offer. Since then, Rina and I have been fortunate enough to have taken part in many amazing dinners. There are a select few that stood out more than the others, and one of those dinners was my 14 Course Lechon Degustation by Pepita's Kitchen. 

          Did you ever watch the movie "Seven" by David Fincher, starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Gweneyth Paltrow? The scene where the obese man was being force fed with food as a punishment for his alleged, "Gluttony"? If you take away the psychopath pointing the gun to the man's head, that was sort of how I describe that evening. 

         No one was forcing anyone to eat, but all these mouthwatering dishes kept flying out of the kitchen, it would have been a crime in itself to NOT eat them.. Stomach lining be damned. 

         Even though I only actually knew a handful of people there, Rina and I had such a wonderful time. So, when given the opportunity to go back, how on Earth do you say no to that? 

         Easy. You don't. 

         This is our HAYOP NA DEGUSTATION EXPERIENCE at Pepita's Kitchen. 

THE CHEESE STEAK SHOP: THE NEW STUFF!

             Not content with being known as one of the best places to get some of the best classic Cheese Steaks in town, the Cheese Steak Shop has whipped up some new items to their menu that'll keep your mouth watering! 

    But what could they have done to provide something new to the straight forward melted cheese steak sandwich? 

     I zoomed to Cheese Steak Shop's Amorosolo Branch in Makati to find out!    

FILIPINO COMFORT FOOD.. NAMNAM STYLE!

       Late last year, during the "Sneak Eat" of BurgerBar to be exact, I bumped into Moment Group Co-Owner Jon Syjuco, a friend of mine since high school. Despite the burger madness that was going on, he graciously gave me a little tour of what was happening just a few feet below from us. Even though BurgerBar had yet to open its doors to the public, the Moment Group already had another ace up its sleeve, in the form of "Namnam, Filipino Comfort".  

        I will be the first to admit that outside of "Liempo", I've never been a huge fan of Filipino Cuisine. Which probably explains why I wasn't really too ecstatic about visiting Namnam Comfort Filipino restaurant at Greenbelt a month or so ago. I honestly had no expectations, and figured that it would be just another one of those Filipino restaurants that serves classic Pinoy food that we all know and love. 

       

        Little did I know that I would be walking into a restaurant that I now consider one of my favorites!

RAFFLES HOTEL LONG BAR: POWER LUNCH DONE RIGHT

         

        Earlier this year, a few food blogger friends of mine and I were invited to Spectrum at Raffles Hotel. Unfortunately, Rina couldn't join me, so I had to handle my own photography.. And you know what happens when I do that. As expected, the photos were putrid, and I didn't feel It would do justice to the beauty of Spectrum for me to use it. Thankfully, Rina saved my ass (yet again), and went to the place and took new photographs so I'll be posting about Spectrum soon.

        But before I get into that, I wanted to share with you a Power Lunch that we had over at Spectrum's neighboring restaurant.. The Long Bar.

WELCOME BACK, CPK VINTAGE PIZZAS! BY RINAZ

I still remember the first time I ate in California Pizza Kitchen. It was a certain number of years ago when they had their branch at the bridgeway of Shanrgi-La Plaza. Yep! It was that long ago! And the very first pizza of theirs that I tasted was the wonder that is Peking Duck Pizza! And I fell in love!

CPK has been continuously innovating and experimenting one-of-a-kind pizza flavours (which is awesome) but somewhere along the way, our favorite Peking Duck Pizza faded from the menu to make room for the newbies. Awwww! So imagine our surprise and delight when CPK brought back this beloved Peking Duck pizza and 4 more pizzas and are re-introducing them as their Vintage Pizzas! And upon tasting their new old vintage pizzas, I can’t help but add more of their pizzas on my list of favourites! 

Richie couldn't resist trying the pizzas himself, he skipped out from work for during his lunch break, just to drop by CPK in Greenbelt!

HOTEL HOTSPOTS: RESTO-GO-ROUND AT INTERCONTINENTAL MANILA!

              Dining at a hotel has an air of exclusivity. If you tell someone you're going to have dinner at a hotel, and more often than not, their response will be "Sosyal!". And of course, it's totally warranted. Even the thought of a few hours of parking at a hotel would make one consider a trip to the ATM before pulling your car out. 

          But what if I told you that you could enjoy a sumptuous feast at not one, not two, but THREE first class restaurants in a luxurious hotel, without having to stop by the blood bank to earn some extra cash? 

           Have you heard of Intercontinental Manila's Resto-Go-Round?

SMOKING HOT BarBQ: GLOBAL FILIPINO CUISINE AT GREENBELT 3!

             I'll admit that i'm not the biggest fan of Filipino Food. Whenever we go to a Pinoy resto, my default order is Inihaw na Liempo (Grilled Pork Belly) and i'm good to go! But I had an eerie feeling that Smokin' Hot BBQ, the new Filipino restaurant by The Bistro Group, would be definitely something worth checking out.

       Going to Smoking Hot BBQ was a little bit bittersweet for me because it meant having to finally come to terms with the closing of fish and co.'s Greenbelt Branch.. A personal favorite of mine. Imagine how I felt.. The restaurant that serves the best fish and chips in town is being replaced by another whose cuisine i'm not too fond of. Hurts, right? 

         Nevertheless I decided to put my faith in Chef Josh Boutwood, and trust that he would do amazing things with Filipino Food.

       And boy, was I right.

A MITSUYADO SEI-MEN GIVEAWAY :)

It's not everyday that someone gets photobombed by one of their "blogger idols"

        For someone who keeps saying, "I'm not too big on Japanese Food", it's funny that I'm writing about the fifth Japanese restaurant that I've visited in the first four months of 2013. I can't explain it, but there just seems to be something about that cuisine that serendipitously finds me sitting in front of a plate or a bowl, and enjoying a dish that I could have sworn I wouldn't care for just days earlier.   

     But this time it was different. This time, I was a man on a mission. I had a couple of opportunities in the past to visit Mitsuyado Sei-men along Jupiter Street in Makati, but scheduling conflicts would constantly keep us apart. 

     Finally, I had my date with destiny just before Holy Week, when Rina and I got together with some friends to finally try some of their new dishes. But I had my eyes set on the one dish that many have been talking about.. The Double Cheese Tsukemen. 

A G'DAY FOR OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE'S LUNCH SPECIALS!

                It's been years since I had been to Outback Steakhouse. As in, I can't remember the last time I was there. I think it could have been during my college days, when my then-girlfriend and we would sneak out of class, and take an LRT Ride to Robinson's Place Ermita to watch a movie. I would then try to impress my ex by taking her to Outback. Unfortunately, since I was still on student allowance, she and I had to split a "Jackaroo Chop" (And when I say "split", I was fine with giving her all the meat as long as she gave me all the fat hehe)  

           I've always loved the food, but for some reason, I had never gotten around to making a return (Which is weird because, although i'm not exactly Mr. Megabucks either, I'm fairly certain that I can afford more than just half a Pork Chop by now hehe). 

          When an opportunity came along to try Outback's New Lunch Specials, I felt like a giddy college kid once again! 

SECOND STOP AT THE CHEESESTEAK SHOP

         A few months ago, I was absolutely heartbroken when I found out that The Cheese Steak Shop would be closing the doors of their branch along Arnaiz Avenue - The same street wherein I work. Although it still was quite a bit of a walk to get there, the mere thought of being unable to visit their restaurant for some of their mouthwatering Cheese Steaks nearly brought tears to my eyes. I had heard that they would be moving to a new branch at The Fort.

        The Cheese Steak Shop would be my "Go-to" place whenever I need I need a quick solution to a client dropping by, and we need a no frills, yet impressive meal for them to dine on while they're in our office. You wouldn't think a simple sandwich would be so well received, but then again, their Cheese Steak isn't just a "simple sandwich".

       Last year, when I heard they were moving, I decided to make the walk to the Cheese Steak Shop to say one last goodbye. With a heavy heart, I ordered my Bacon Cheese Steak (Default), and let out a deep sigh. I couldn't take it any more, so I as I was standing at the counter, I couldn't help but share my feelings with the cashier. 

      I said, "I can't believe you guys are moving to The Fort! It's so far away from my office! I really don't want you guys to leave!" Jokingly, I even offered, "Let me talk to your boss! I'll convince her to let you guys stay!". 

     She smiled and said, "Actually Sir, we're just moving to another branch in Amorsolo Avenue. When you get to the stoplight of Amorsolo and Arnaiz, just turn right. Go a few meters down, and you're there!". 

     All of a sudden it hit me. The new location is actually nearer to my office then this branch was. 

     So naturally my next response was, "Can I help you pack?"

THE UNFORGETTABLE KULINARYA KITCHEN - RINAZ

     "Where am I going again?" I probably asked Richie for the Nth time over the weekend. With my Momnesia fully intact and active, I have a hard time keeping up with our calendar. I was to have lunch with some of our friends at a restaurant in Powerplant Mall, Rockwell. Honestly I have never heard of the place we were going to dine in. Not because it's not a good place but plainly because of my lack of knowledge in the restaurant world. That's Richie's forte. I was just expecting it to be a posh place since the restaurants in Rockwell more or less cater to the A class. (Usually, That's my impression hehe)

THERE'S GELATO, AND THERE'S BONO ARTISANAL GELATO

             I'm an ice cream guy, through and through. There's nothing like a refreshing scoop of Ice Cream to help beat the Philippine heat. Whether it's a simple Pinipig Crunch or a bar of Magnum, papatulan ko yan. 

        I've been quite pleased with the Gelato places that have been popping up around the metro. I do have a few favorites that I would go to whenever I get the chance. I honestly felt that these Gelato makers were easily among the best I've ever tried. Whenever someone would ask me where to get some good ice cream, I would rattle off names of Gelato places and the flavors that they should get without batting an eyelash. 

        That was until I visited Bono Artisanal Gelato and realized everything I thought I knew about Gelato was wrong. 

MORE FROM MOMO CAFE - BY RINAZ

This marks the first time someone apart from me (Richie)

 shall be writing for one of our food posts!

I wouldn't exactly call her a "Guest Blogger" because this is technically her blog too, but this is the very first time my wife, Rina is taking the reins not just as photograher, but as writer as well! 

I hope you enjoy her first food adventure!

            We have been to Momo two times last year. I remember I was still pregnant at that time. I vividly remembered that night because Richie was late, because he had just came straight from work. This was in Eastwood branch and I was with my cousins. I ordered for him the Roasted Beef Fingers, which I was sure he would enjoy. Unfortunately, it only was only when he arrived that we saw that they had bacon slabs in the menu. 

       It would be safe to say that he was not pleased. 

        The second time we went, was to finally try the bacon dish that had eluded him, which we both enjoyed.  

        Recently, we were fortunate enough to taste their other dishes this time at their branch in Ayala Triangle. Unfortunately, Richie had work so of course, Mrs. Not So Pickiest Eater (me) was the one to represent.