ONE QUESTION: SUP? CHOW

        I've been meaning to visit "Sup? Chow", the brainchild of Chef Francis Lim for quite some time now, but scheduling a visit was always a challenge. One fateful night, the stars aligned and I was able to visit the Modern Asian Cuisine Restaurant for an epic meal that I'll never forget!

Sup? Chow Modern Asian Cuisine

Unit 203, 2F, Antel Corporate Center, 

121 Valero Street, Salcedo Village 

Makati City, Metro Manila 1209

Like Sup? Chow on Facebook

DISCOVERING U HOTELS IN MAKATI

       The city of Makati seems to be synonymous with an upscale lifestyle. Even when it comes to hotels, some of the finest and lavish names from around the world have settled in the country's premiere business district. However, there are a few hotels that have sprouted up in the outskirts of Makati, that proved that comfortable accommodations need not be expensive. One such hotel is making a mark for its artistic look and feel, while simultaneously wowing their customers with phenomenal food... U Hotels Makati.

DISCOVERING DISCOVERY PRIMEA

         I'm always excited when my family and I schedule a Staycation at a swanky hotel. And let me tell you, When it comes to luxury and elegance in the hotel world, one would be hard pressed to find something better than Discovery Primea. 

      From its service, accommodations, facilities and most importantly its food, Discovery Primea shows how Filipino hospitality is taken to the highest echelon of world class standards, making it stand toe to toe with some of the most illustrious brand names in the world.   

10 RONIN WILL RISE AGAIN

            When I began the blog, my intention was to be able to visit the smaller restaurants that needed help with marketing. Social Media was pretty new at the time, so anything you could get on the internet had a chance of being a big help to small businesses. As much as it worked out that way, I also had the good fortune of becoming friendly with the larger establishments, such as international hotel and restaurant chains.  

             As much as I appreciate being in the good graces of these industry Titans, I do make it a point to make sure I never overlook the small hidden gems of the hospitality industry that doesn't have the marketing machinery to keep up with the big boys. 

        One such gem I discovered was 10 Ronin, a Filipino Japanese Fusion restaurant located at the outskirts of Makati.  

LE PETIT SOUFFLE: SOUFFLE SO GOOD!

     (I love food blogging and the opportunities that it has brought into my life, but I really don't want to be one of those guys, wherein it's the only thing going on in my life. Let's face it, i'm not getting any younger, and I need to think about my daughter as well, so forgive me for the decreased frequency of my new posts!)

        For the past couple of months, I've been meaning to drop by the restaurant that has been the talk of the town.. Let Petit Souffle' at Century City Mall in Makati. Unfortunately, your friendly neighborhood Picky Eater has been quite a busy man. I've actually have been working on starting a business that I intend to share with all of you soon.

    Anyway, I finally was able to make time to visit Le Petit Souffle with a few of my blogger friends. My other buddies that have been there already have raved about it, so I was looking forward to what this little place had to offer!

THE SECRET'S OUT: LAZY BASTARD IN MAKATI

       Romeo and Juliet. Jack and Rose. Cersei and Jamie (?). Kanye and Kanye. Sorry, I meant, Kanye and Kim. And then there's Richie and Rina.. err.. Richie and Bacon.  

      For the past few weeks, I've been getting tagged on Instagram and Facebook with a picture of a neon light in a restaurant that proudly sports my lifelong motto.. "Long Live Bacon". Everyone that tagged me was very adamant that I had to try the restaurant in which that light calls home, Lazy Bastard. 

     Upon hearing about this place, I immediately did what any normal human being would do - Log on to Google and do a quick search for information on the restaurant. Unfortunately, apart from your usual food directory websites, there weren't very many blogs that have featured Lazy Bastard yet, in fact just one to be exact - a testament to the restaurant being fairly new. 

   So one fine day, I found myself with a few hours to kill in Makati, I contacted my friend Hefty Foodie to ask if he was in the area and if he would like to join me in unveiling one of Makati's best kept secrets... Friends, let me tell you about this Lazy Bastard I know..

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. 

MOTORINO PIZZA: FROM NEW YORK TO MANILA

       I am proud to say that I was able to check off experiencing Authentic New York Style Pizza from my bucket list during my visit to New York in 2012. Since then, we have tried numerous pizza specialist in the metro, all very good in their own right. 

    

       But there was one New York Style Pizza place in particular that opened its doors earlier this year, that I can safely say, was the closest to bringing me back to the Big Apple, and allowed me to relive my short fling with their world famous pizza... Motorino's Pizzeria Neopolitana.

RECESS BY CHEF CHRIS: MY FAVORITE SUBJECT!

          Since he opened "My Kitchen" in the Manila area a few years back, the name of Chef Chris Locher has been synonymous with incredible food. Although I must admit that I had not yet been able to visit it yet, it was most definitely in my Bucket List of places to try. 

          I had heard that Chef Chris had opened a new concept restaurant in the more accessible Makati area called "Recess" (Incidentally, my favorite subject in school, and the only one in which I had perfect attendance), I knew my title of "Food Blogger" was at stake if I didn't go out of my way and visit it right away. Especially when I found out that the menu was comprised of Chef Chris's take on "Comfort Food".

  

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!