SOMETHING BIG IS COOKING UP IN MANILA: APPLEBEE'S! - RINA

        My first memory of Applebee's was in New Jersey when we met up with my Aunt Eva and Uncle Tony. It was late at night and it was still open, and there were a lot of customers still hanging out and having a great time watching a football game.(See my post here) This was way back in 2013. And now, fast forward to 2 years after, Applebee's is finally opening here in the Philippines! In the heart of Bonifacio Global City, Taguig!

COME TOGETHER: SALO AT THE FORT STRIP!

          A couple of years ago, the sister company of the company I was then working for opened a new office at The Fort Strip. The office itself was quite stunning, and my friends from there were excited for the move. However, the common problem they all had was where to eat. 

      Don't get me wrong.. The Fort Strip has numerous choices to dine at, and most of them offer some very delicious fare. Early Bird Breakfast Club is one suggestion that comes to mind. Burger Avenue is another. Racks is also another good choice. I joked to my boss that I would like to apply for a transfer, with the restaurants nearby as the sole basis. But the problem is, as tasty as the choices undoubtedly are, you can imagine that eating in restaurants around The Fort Strip would eventually take its toll on one's wallet.

   Thankfully, earlier this year, a new restaurant opened that not offers not only comforting Filipino classics at great prices. I was excited to check out what my friends had been raving about when I visited Salo!

   

NANBANTEI OF TOKYO UNIQUE YAKITORIS AND NEW COCKTAIL DRINKS

       Nanbantei of Tokyo is not your usual Japanese restaurant because it specializes in Yakitori. Apparently, in Japan, employees / businessmen often visited Yakitori-ya places (yakitori stands or restaurants) to relax and de-stress after a long day of work. And Nanbantei of Tokyo had been one of those famous Yakitor-ya in Japan. It has been in Bonifacio High Street and Greenbelt for quite sometime now, and I almost feel ashamed to admit that I haven't been there yet. 

         So, while Richie was off at the land of the free, I was told that they were unveiling some new unique Yakitori's and cocktail drinks.. I thought it was the perfect time to finally pay Nanbantei of Tokyo a visit! 

A DELECTABLE STROLL DOWN SILK ROAD

                I won't lie to you.. Being a blogger certainly does have it's privileges. But to me, all the free food and hotel perks that I have had the pleasure of enjoying comes only second to being able to meet some inspiring people behind the business, that I am proud to call a friend. 

         One of those people is Chef Cecille Chang. 

         I first met Chef Cecille when a fellow blogger, Shen's Addiction (congrats btw Shen!), invited Rina and I to try Thai Bistro, which at that time, had just opened. My first impression of her, was that she isn't your sterotypical Chef that stays in the kitchen in her Chef Whites, with her hair up, as she stirs pots and pans. True to her nickname, "Chef in Stilettos", Chef Cecille cooks amazing food, and knows how to look fabulous while doing so. 

       More than anything, it was how incredibly down to Earth she is that endeared her to Rina and I. She sat down with us as we ate, and we swapped stories, just like we had known each other for ages. And we loved how she was unafraid to speak her mind with her firm, yet fair opinion. 

      But make no mistake about it- Chef Cecille knows her food, especially when it comes to the complex art of Thai food. She proved that with her work at Thai at Silk, and reaffirmed that with Thai Bistro. It is one thing to know how to cook Thai food.. But it's another to take it to the next level. Which is what Chef Cecille does with every dish she makes. 

  

      It is in her latest "Baby", Silk Road, that she puts a definitive stamp on being the leading name in Thai Cuisine in the country today. Easily one of my best dining experience in 2013. 

        

URBN BAR & KITCHEN'S NEW BAR CHOW!

Spotted!!! (Literally) : Richie ready to party!

       People who know me and Richie (especially Richie) would probably be confused if they saw us at one of the most happening bars in the metro today. For the second time, The Pickiest Eater was again spotted at URBN Bar without a drink in his hand for one main and very obvious reason: NEW BAR CHOWS!

URBN has new beautiful additions to their already awesome menu!

THE RAMEN CRAZE CONTINUES AT IKKORYU FUKUOKA RAMEN! - RINAZ

              I’m sorry but I can never memorize the name of this place hehehe. But as hard it is for me to remember the name (sorry all my memory brain cells was sucked out of me during labor hehe), the interior is quite unforgettable with it’s tall wood fences with black Japanese characters written all over them. I believe they were poems. Or was it a story? Anyway it was quite a unique ambiance. 

SMOPER CHICKEN: THE KOREAN CHICKEN CRAZE CONTINUES

           I still remember when Rina and I first got bitten by the Korean Chicken craze. The lines for the popular twice fried wings were ridiculously long, yet we braved it. And funnily enough, we continued to do so, until we eventually got sick of it. 

         Truthfully, when all was said and done, 90% of the goodness came from the crispiness of the skin. I found the meat itself lacking in flavor, which is why I stuck to the wings and stayed away from other cuts, such as the drumsticks, chops, or even my beloved thigh. 

         Though my taste buds enjoyed the skin of the Soy Garlic, I couldn't help but think that the chicken meat itself could use some sort of a diping sauce.   

       Years later (Possibly due to a chicken overload), my love for Korean Twice Fried Chicken has tempered. I don't look for it the way I used to. 

      That all changed the moment I walked into Smoper Chicken  

SHAWARMA GUYS AT THE FORT STRIP!

             Truthfully, I'm not a very huge fan of Mediterranean food. I feel that sometimes, the ingredients they used is a bit too far out for my simple, Joe Shmoe Palate. But I do have to admit, I'm a fan of a good Shawarma. I pick out the tomatoes, and cucumbers and whatever vegetable they may have thrown in there (Or request it with no veggies hehe), drizzle my meat packed wrap in the garlic sauce, and BAM, i'm good to go (Did that sound weird?). 

       One time a few years back, I was having dinner at my parent's place. My mom (who loves experimenting with recipes), made a deconstructed Vegetable Shawarma, filled with egg plant, yellow peppers and the like (I say "deconstructed" because you wrap it yourself). Truthfully, when mixed with the garlic sauce she made, it was actually quite good. If there is anyone who is aware that I am a Picky Eater, it's the woman who raised me and had to deal with my picky-ness first hand, so she also prepared a plate of liempo for me to devour, just to make sure I don't complain. 

      As I was watching them wrapping up their shawarmas in the pita bread (she also set aside some grilled chicken breast strips for those who wanted more protein in their shawarma), I realized I was missing out on the fun. The steaming Pitas were too irresistible to pass up, so I decided I wanted to make a shawarma. I had already put a small pile of liempo on to my plate, so I was getting a little guilty (just a little) about double carb-ing my meal.. A chicken breast-veggie shawarma, and liempo with rice? You can't have liempo without rice, can you? You could very well lose your Filipino citizenship! 

      Torn between wanting to make myself a shawarma and eating my liempo, a had a moment of Zen, and did the unthinkable: I made a Liempo Shawarma.  And it was incredible. How incredible? Well.. My companions for the evening.. meaning my brother, my wife, and yes, even my mom saw what I was doing. And guess what? There was loads of chicken breast and veggies leftover that night.. and not a single piece of liempo. 

       I called my creation "Inihaw na Shawarma", and realized that there was so much possible concoctions one could come up with, using that classic Mediterranean wrap. The closest thing I had ever seen to creativity with a shawarma, was when a popular Mediterranean restaurant gave you an option to add french fries into it (Quite good though). But how about a shawarma for the everyman.. the guy that doesn't eat too much veggies.. the guy whose taste buds has been far too influenced by the Western culture.. A guy like me? 

     Enter Shawarma Guys.

BREAKFAST, INTERRUPTED AT MALCOM'S DELI

            Even though I don't get a chance to have it on a daily basis, I am always on the lookout for a great place to have breakfast. I know it's considered the most important meal of the day, but when you're expected to be at the office by 10am everyday, it's pretty tough to make time for a morning meal. 

            I've heard of Malcom's Place, because their burgers are supposed to be stuff of legend. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to try it just yet. When I was told that their sister restaurant, Malcom's Deli at the Fort, was serving a Breakfast menu for us to sample, there's no way I was going to say no to that! 

A NIGHT OUT AT URBN BAR & KITCHEN

             I am a notorious introvert. The only way you could get me to go out past 7 or 8pm, is if there was a promise of amazing food or a much awaited event movie (Possibly based on a comic book). Other than that, in my house, the lights are out by 10pm. The only time in my life that I would willingly go out at night was during my college days, when my sister introduced me to the awesomeness of rock bands such as Wolfgang, Razorback and Advent Call.. And even then it didn't last very long. 

       Call me an old fogey, but I don't enjoy the concept of "clubbing" at all. I don't drink, and I don't smoke. I have a disdain for loud booming music. 
And because of that, I will admit that URBN Bar and Kitchen is a place that would not have caught my attention on the onset. 

     But thankfully, my eyes and taste buds discovered that this place was much more than just a place for these young whippersnappers to unwind with a few drinks. 

RACKS RIBS: FALL OF THE BONE GOODNESS - RINAZ

         “Ang swerte ni Rina!” (Rina’s so lucky!) Richie frustratingly tells my sister last week. “Since I have work, she’s going to have lunch with a few blogger friends to cover Rack’s new Pork Belly dish!” I can understand how frustrating this can be for Richie. You hear bacon / liempo / and other pork dishes, you immediately think “Richie!”.  To a point that friends and acquaintances often tag him to any photo or meme about bacon in facebook. 

         And the funny part is he’s loving it!

EARLY BIRD BREAKFAST CLUB GIVEAWAY!

Yes, I am indeed holding a jar of bacon. 

           I could safely say that my love for breakfast food - particularly bacon- has reached legendary status. I get tagged on Facebook or mentioned on Twitter about bacon related subjects on a near-daily basis, by friends and complete strangers. And you know what's funny? I read every single one of those posts like it was a Greek epic. 

       Imagine how I felt when I found out that a restaurant dedicated to serving breakfast food opened up at The Fort Strip. Probably the same way you felt.. I must go there STAT! (Sorry, Rina was just watching Grey's Anatomy last night)

      Upon hearing that The Early Bird Breakfast Club had recently opened its doors, I got the feeling that this restaurant was conceptualized specifically for someone like me. I am the embodiment of an "Early Bird", with waking up early not being a problem for me. I am also notoriously "Antukin".. By around 10pm i'm constantly yawning and dazed, which is precisely why you'd probably never see me at a bar or one of them so called "Super Clubs" (I'm an old Fogey, I know). Whenever Rina and I dine out, it's usually on a Saturday or Sunday morning (Not so traffic and you're guaranteed parking.. makes perfect sense, right?).

       In other words, I truly am the Ultimate "Early Bird" (No double entendre, promise). 

ROCK THE KASBAH.. FOR BRUNCH!

            When I told Rina that we'd be going to Kasbah to try their Moroccan Brunch menu, she replied with an excited "Great! What kind of dishes do they serve in Morocco? I opened my mouth, expecting to rattle off names of exotic dishes- then I realized something. I had no clue what Moroccan food was all about. Was it Curry based? No that would be leaning towards Indian food. Would they be serving Kebabs and Shawarmas? Wouldn't that be more of Persian fare? But Morocco is in Africa, not in Asia! 

          I didn't realize how deep in thought I was, until Rina said to me, after noticing my mouth had been agape for a bit longer than normal, "Para kang nag-hang!".

           

             So began my first step in the education on the flavors Moroccan food had to offer through their brunch dishes. But something I wasn't expecting to happen, was that my short trip to Kasbah would also give me, not only an authentic taste of their food, but of their country and culture as well.

THE STORY OF THE LAMB BURGER & THE CAKE CLUB PART II

          We were having so much fun with the other bloggers, we didn't realize that what was supposed to be a Brunch experience at Cake Club had spilled over to lunch time. We were enjoying the ambiance so much, that time definitely flew by. Given the time, Melanie, who handles the Public Relations of Cake Club and Diamond Hotel, asked if we wanted to sample the lunch menu. 

     All the bloggers stopped and pointed to each other saying, "Umm.. Ikaw.." followed by another saying "Ikaw bahala..". Obviously the WANT was there.. But believe it or not, Shy type din kami mga blogger.. hehe.. 

      So after some SERIOUS arm twisting, we finally relented and said "Why not?". (Actually, it went closer to something like.. "Umm.. No it's ok.. ikaw.. You.. If you want, I'm ok.. it's up to you.. OH GOD YES PLEASE!!!") 

BANAPPLE... ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING

      During the early years of my blog, I posted my visit to Banapple. Though I enjoyed the food, its one of the entries whose photography I am not proud of, simply because it was taken during our pre-blog, pre-DSLR days, with Rina using her trusty iPhone 3. Just like Italianni's, Flapjacks, Ma Maison, and The Stock Market Cafe, I marked Banapple as one of the places that I needed to return to and take better pictures. 

     Banapple is one of my places on Earth, and their food deserved a second entry.