FALLING IN LOVE WITH LEMURIA

Lemuria, I'm about to rock your world

       Even when we were just Boyfriend and Girlfriend, Rina and I would never go with the Valentine's Day crowd. Our mentality is, since we're a part of each other's life on a daily basis, every day is Valentine's Day (cheesy I know, so sue me). We go out to eat almost every weekend anyway, so its no big deal. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a hopeless romantic at heart - I've never failed to send flowers, chocolate or something else on Valentine's day, just to make sure she knows I'm not taking her for granted. 

     Since winning the title of "Mr. MyFoodTrip" last December, I had yet to avail of any of the cool prizes. The prize package included Spa Treatment at Blue Water Day Spa, and a session at Philippe Salon. However, the prize I was most excited about, was the Gift Certificate to the Lemuria Gourmet Restaurant.

     I had first heard of Lemuria from the myfoodtrip website - but admittedly, prior to that, I had no idea what or where it was. Leslie from myfoodtrip mentioned to me that she was anxious for me to try their food, and what I thought of it.Also, when i mentioned to my sister Raquel that a dinner package there was one of the prizes I won, she totally freaked out! She hadn't been there yet, but it was on her list of "Dream Restaurants" she planned to go to (making food-related lists is a family trait).

     We were supposed to go there for our wedding anniversary last January 6, but then since we had my whole birthday shebang, I thought it would be best to save it for a Valentine's day date. But the offer could not be availed on Valentine's day itself (or even the day before), so we went to Lemuria for lunch, one weekend early.

WE'LL EAT BENEATH THE MANGO TREE BISTRO

The title is spin on a line from a Jack Johnson song, in case it didn't make sense to you.

       Although we don't cook, Rina and I are big Gordon Ramsey fans. His confidence (or arrogance, depending how you look at it) when it comes to food preparation is really impressive. At first, I refused to watch Hells Kitchen because I was thinking I didn't want to see some British jackass screaming at the poor contestants, so I started with The UK version of Kitchen Nightmares that was being show on ETC (They don't anymore, bummer), where he was much more calmer. After every episode, I'd be more and more impressed with the man. My brother Ryan gave me a copy of few episodes of Kitchen Nightmares US, that I made Rina watch, and almost instantly she was hooked (She can't resist a show with a "makeover" portion). After that, anything Gordon Ramsey was on, we were watching it. 

     All of a sudden, Anyone who can call someone a "Donkey" with such conviction is OK in my book.

  
    My brother, also a Gordon Ramsay fan, and the person you go to when you want an episode of anything that was shown on television,  gave us a copy of the first few episodes of the TV Show "Ramsay's Best Restaurant". It was a different type of a contest this time, that I found very interesting. Instead of the contest being a battle between amateur and aspiring chefs, this was now an all out war between established restaurants in the UK that wanted the title of "Ramsay's Best Restaurant".

    One of the places that was in contention for the title, was a huge Thai restaurant, "Mango Tree" in London. The Mango Tree was a huge snazzy place that ran like a well oiled machine, although they did bump into some problems with their kitchen and service, particularly with their Signature Dish, the Grilled Chicken (I'm guessing that wasn't the Thai Name for it). I don't want to give out any spoilers, but I highly recommend you to check out the series if you get a chance. Regardless of the outcome though, the Mango Tree still go glowing reviews from Ramsay.

   After watching episode after episode of such great places getting glowing reviews from the great Chef himself, you can imagine how ecstatic I was to find out that one of those restaurants opened here in Manila, in the form of "Mango Tree Bistro".

THE SUN WAH EXPEDITION

No idea where I am, and honestly, a little bit scared.

       I've always wanted to go on those Popular Binondo "Food Walks", but I really hate walking. Maybe if it was a "Food Ride", I might have gone on it a long time ago. Chinese is among my favorite cuisines, so the thought of hopping from restaurant to restaurant trying out new dimsum and other oriental dishes would be close to the equivalent of taking a child to Toy's R Us. My boss would take clients to a famous restaurant in Binondo and, it was pretty terrific. He would order weird stuff, like turtle soup, or frog legs, but as long as I had sweet and sour pork, I was good to go.

     Love Birds Chaikka and Don decided to treat us to a family dinner at one of their favorite Authentic Chinese hole-in-the-wall spots, "Sun Wah". I had never heard of this place, but again, once you put the words "free" and "food" into one sentence, it's quite likely I'm there (umm.. unless of course, it's free courtesy of the establishment looking for a good review.. hehe.. defensive, much?). 

     I'm lucky to have a wife who knows me so well, knew that I would have one concern about going to Binondo. You see, I don't go to that part of town very often, but every time I do, I always seem to encounter one of my biggest fears - rats. 

    Yes, I am deathly afraid of rats. I would easily go up against any other creature you put against me - Snakes, Spiders.. maybe even a Basilisk or a  Hungarian Horntail. Just do NOT show me anything related to rats. I haven't even watched Stuart Little, or Ratatouille. You can imagine my scream of fright inside the cinema when that big ugly rodent in "Prince Caspian" jumped out. It's safe to say that I missed half the movie. Oh, and the last scene of the movie "Wanted"? The rats with the bombs? I stayed in the restroom until Rina texted me that the scene was over. You get the picture.

     So she brought it up to Don. Don replied, "Ok lang, walang daga. Pero may dalawang baboy lang sa baba." (It's ok, there are no rats. But there are two pigs downstairs.") We're kinda used to Don saying crazy things like this, so he doesn't surprise us anymore. You can only imagine our surprise to find out that he was telling the truth.

        There were two pigs sleeping in front of the entrance of the restaurant. I don't think Chinese Restaurants gets any more authentic than this.

I SAW RED AT BUGSY'S

The O-Desk Christmas Bash

        Rina has the most intriguing job. She works with a whole bunch of people, but the thing is, they don't see each other, because they all work from home. It's actually pretty cool, and she's enjoying it, because she gets to spend more time with Schatzi. I think it's the perfect set up, because since we both want to have a baby soon, this way she doesn't have to worry so much about traveling back and forth from the house to the office. If I worked from home, I probably wouldn't get anything done, except catch up on series and sleep. Of course, if someday this blog starts earning for me, I'll have that luxury, but until that day comes, it's off to the every day drive to Makati for me.

    Since everyone works from home, you can imagine that their Christmas party wasn't your usual office yuletide celebration. It was actually a lot like a chat room "eyeball" (Although I've never actually been to one, I imagine thats what it would be like) Rina had a blast because a lot of them have become her "chat mates". She's gotten to know a few of them rather well, especially when they share the same shift and she doesn't have so much customers. Even though I don't usually go to Rina's office parties (cuz of my shyness), I went when I found out it was "Bugsy's" (I'm so easy).The temptress that is Rina, knew exactly what my weakness would be and said, "If you go with me, you can blog about the food of Bugsy's - FOR FREE."

    In that one sentence, she said two things that appealed to me. "Food" and "Free". So i gave her a deep sigh, and replied, "Fine, I'll go, but only because I can't stand to be apart from you, even for two minutes..", which was met with a slight rolling of her eyes, and a triumphant smile.

THE MYSTERIES OF THE AYALA TRIANGLE: BRING OUT THE WEE NAM KEE

Just as I was starting to feel good about myself beside these two shorter girls,

Thomas comes in and decides to stand right behind me. Thanks Man.

       During the Christmas vacation, my college friends and I set up a get together for the holidays. Nothing too fancy, just lunch at a nice restaurant where we could catch up with one another. I haven't kept up with very many people from college, but for some reason, my friendship with Abby, Karen, Thomas and Krystal has endured the test of time (*tear*). In fact, I'm proud to say that it was none other than I, that introduced Karen to her future hubby, Ted (Of course Ted deserves a little credit too for getting her to say "yes"). I wanted to make our lunch to be something I could add to my blog, preferably a place that I hadn't been to before. 

        Since I had started my "Ayala Triangle Series" with Bon Chon Chicken, I thought it would be nice to add to that, as opposed to the usual mall restaurants we tend to drift to whenever we make plans to go out. Karen had already eaten in BFAST so since I had been hearing rave reviews about Wee Nam Kee, I felt that would be the next best place to go to. But unfortunately, I had just told Thomas to meet me at BFAST, thinking he was still on the road and on his way. Apparently, he go there ahead of all of us, so decided to get us a table. It was only after I called him back to tell him we're changing venues to Wee Nam Kee did I find that out. 

     Although it was obviously an awkward situation for him, luckily for me, Thomas is suave in his own way. He took a big gulp of his glass of water, stood up and said to the waiter attending to him in his deep baritone, "Masarap ang tubig ninyo, ha?" (Your water tastes great!), then casually walked out of the door and made his way to Wee Nam Kee. In fairness to the waiter, he courteously answered, "Thank you, Sir.", proud of his.. Umm.. Purified water provided by "Aqua Pure".

THE CROSSROADS..

‎50 years from now, when I reach the crossroads of my life, 

which road will I take? 

 

THE MERCATO CENTRALE CHRONICLES: DAY TWO

My version of a "Bouquet'

     My Mercato Centrale Chronicles continued with a Sunday visit. Rina got out of work by noon, so we sped to BGC and got there a little before 1pm. Since they close at 2pm, I knew I had my work cut out for me. We were both starving, but of course, if there was anyone who could do this, it was me. 

    First thing I noticed on my second day, that I didn't during my first, was the live performer. There was a guy doing an acoustic set and.. well.. he was kinda awful. And though his singing wasn't very easy on the ears. the smell of the food all around me was easy on the nose, and helped drown out his warbling. But then at the end of the day, I realized it really didn't matter who sang. They could've had U2 there as their special guest and I wouldn't have noticed because I was so focused on the food. 

     If you've been to Mercato Centrale, you know what I'm talking about. 

THE BIG BAD BLOGGER THEORY

  
    When I first started "The Pickiest Eater In The World" Blog, I never once thought about making it into anything more than me, giving my honest opinion of places to eat, to anyone willing to listen. 

       I'll be honest with you.. I was initially hesitant to tell people I have a blog, simply because.. well.. in movies and TV, having a blog is always depicted as being so geeky. Whenever Rina would mention it to someone, I would get slightly embarrassed. Then friends started telling me how much they enjoy reading what I write. It made them laugh, and more importantly, it made them hungry. I decided to embrace my inner (and outer) geek and just say, "What the hell, I'm doing this." 

THE MERCATO CENTRALE CHRONICLES: DAY ONE

(The night before we went to Mercato Centrale) 

Rina: I feel so sick, I don't think I can go out tonight. 

Richie: That's fine, stay home and rest. So you can't go to Mercato tomorrow?

Rina: I can.

Richie: What? I thought you were sick?

Rina: Ah basta.

      Considering our love for food (and Rina's love for Tiangge Shopping), it comes to no surprise that Rina and I enjoy going to weekend markets. When Rina and I lived in Ortigas, we would go to Banchetto along Emerald Avenue almost every weekend. Then when we moved in Makati, (and whenever Rina would wake up in time for it), we would frequent the Legazpi Sunday Market. I enjoyed both, but truth be told, The Legazpi Market was more my thing - probably because it was less congested, and, I'm not exactly a night person (Banchetto is a night market). My only problem with the Legazpi Market, was that I foundnd the stuff they had there a bit too pricey.

      It's been a while since I've been to either, so when I heard about "Mercato Centrale", the weekend market that opened in Bonifacio Global City late last year, I was eager to check it out. I had heard so many wonderful things about it, and an eclectic selection of food stands, that I knew I had to set a date for Rina and I go. 

     With Rina's work, we can never seem to match our schedules, and since i'm not going without her (I'm not allowed to, not to mention that every time I try to cover a place on my own without her, my pictures look crappy) the earliest date we managed to set was a Saturday in the second week of January. 

      Friday night, my friends from work decided to go on a spur or the moment trip to Banchetto. Looking back, especially since it was a Pay Day weekend, I guess that wasn't exactly the brightest of ideas. We got to Emerald avenue at around 11:40PM, and it was like People Power on the streets. This was not the Banchetto I would go to two years ago.. I guess things really picked up for them. But the thing was, tents were still being set up, and I was assuming they were an hour away from serving any food - and that's not including the long wait I was anticipating at the queue.

       I'm a little bit claustrophobic, so i feel kinda uneasy with large crowds, so I was thinking of calling it a night. And two other factors were on my mind - The first was, Rina wasn't feeling too well, so I thought maybe I should go home already. The second was - I REALLY wanted to go to Mercato Centrale in the morning.. and If I stay up too late, I might not wake up in time for it. 

      So in the end, I had two choices. Wait it out at Banchetto, or go home to prepare for Mercato Centrale. 

      I made the right choice. 

THE FLYING PIG HAS LANDED!

 I'm a "Flying Pig".. get it? A "Flying Pig?... never mind..

         So I'm sure by now, you all know I won the online contest of myfoodtrip.com, right? Meaning, yes, you lucky devil you, are reading the actual written works of Mr. Myfoodtrip 2010, himself. Please.. try to control yourself. (from hurling?) hehe..

       A few days after the winners were announced, I got an email from the lovely Leslie of myfoodtrip.com, congratulating me and as well as coordinating the pick up of my prize. My options were to either have someone pick it up, have them send it through "Snail Mail", or if I would be picking it up. Rina wanted me to pick it up so she could take pictures, ya know, for memories sake. I thought it would be a cool thing to blog about as well. Of course, I asked permission first from Leslie if I picked it up in person, if they'd allow Rina to cover it for my blog, which she of course said was no problem. So Leslie and I set a date to meet over at Eastwood so I could pick up my prize. 

     Picking our meeting place for me was easy. What kind of carnivore wouldn't be drawn to a restaurant with a name like "The Flying Pig"?