THE SUNDAY STROLL TO EAT WELL

Now that Rakenrol is finally in the theaters,

 it's back to regular programming for The Pickiest Eater In The World!

Thanks for bearing with me for the past week as I skipped the usual food entries in order to write up about the movie

 (which I hope you all watched by the way).

        I have always considered myself a "Chinese Food Junkie". Having Chinese food as the cuisine that I have posted most about it all the proof you'll need to know that it's true. And even though I had just come from an amazing dining experience known as "Zong", I still chose yet another Chinese restaurant to go to for our next adventure.

   To be honest, it wasn't our first choice. It wasn't even our second. We were in the Bonifacio Global City area on a fine Sunday morning, and our first choice was to use a voucher from a restaurant I had purchased (You'll see that post soon.. It's awesome). So we moved to another restaurant in the area, but apparently it doesn't open until 3pm, which I found to be ridiculous, but oh well. 

     On any other weekend, we would have ended up in Mercato Centrale again, but SNR was having their member's sale, so parking around the area was insane. Besides, as much as I love the place, I needed new material for my blog. 

      As I was driving around the area, I remembered my cousin Paolo telling me about "Eat Well", and that I would love their Sweet and Sour Pork.

Words cannot express how much I love Sweet and Sour pork. I hear the words "Sweet and Sour" and I turn around on instinct, thinking that someone is speaking to me. The best one I've had, is actually a home made one made by the Yaya of my cousin Raf.. a phenomenal cook. Up there would easily be the version of Harbor City in Cebu. I could go on and on if I wanted to hehe..

    Since I wanted to try the Caramelized Porkloin of Zong, I deliberately refrained from ordering the Sweet and Sour Pork (Although I definitely plan on going back to try it).. Which was probably one of the most heart wrenching decisions of my life.

   A week later, there I was, STILL dreaming of Sweet and Sour pork, and since we were in the neighborhood, I thought it would be a good time to give Eat Well a go. 

THE LIST OF RAKENROL CINEMAS!

Watch Rakenrol 

at a theater nearest you!!

SHUTTLING SCHEDULE

SEPT.21-27,'11

RAKENROL SHOWING ON SEPTEMBER 21!

      With its long awaited September 21 play date just around the corner, the excitement surrounding the nationwide release of Quark Henares’ “Rakenrol” is reaching an all time high. Even before the movie landed its final release date, the fan buzz for the film had been amazing. Already having garnered acclaim overseas, Rakenrol blew the jam packed audience away with its humor, wit, and heart, during its highly anticipated premiere night as the closing film during the 2011 Cinemalaya Film Festival. 

THE REDEMPTION ZONG

                I've said it before and I'll say it again.. "The Pickiest Eater" is actually a collaboration of two people: Me and my wife Rina. We both love eating, but she handles all the photography, while I take care of the words. She loves going to these adventures together, and leaves the selection of where and what to eat all to me. During our last trip together at Nature Trails, I ordered her the Baked Fried Chicken, which she wasn't a fan of. I promised I would make it up to her on our next adventure.


          You have to understand that I take these food trips with Rina very seriously. I take pride in being able to study a  restaurant's menu, and figuring out which dish sounds the best for me (I often get calls in the middle of the day from friends saying "I'm here at *Name of Restaurant* what should I order?"). I really wanted to redeem myself for ordering that dish that she didn't like, so I decided to break out the big guns.


       On our way home from Nature Trails, I told Rina, "Next time we go out, I'm taking you to Zong". 

ANSWERING THE CALL OF NATURE TRAILS CAFE

        For the long weekend last August, I planned a trip to a resort in Cavite for Rina and I. However, due to the unpredictable weather, my mom thought it wouldn't be the best idea for Rina to go on a long road trip (She's on her 8th month of pregnancy!). Given her expertise in the use of a rubber slipper in lieu of a shuriken, I have accepted the fact that I should never EVER argue with my mother, so we decided not to risk it. I still did want to take Rina somewhere a bit further than our usual Greenbelt-Eastwood routine, so we headed off to Solenad, Nuvali in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. 

     I had heard about about a restaurant there that Bikers would frequent during their rides, called "Nature Trails". After making sure that it wasn't a Vegan place that exclusively sold Granola Bars and Tofu for lunch, Rina and I decided it give it a go. 

SANGO THE BURGER MASTER

         Practically every weekday lunch, Me and my Giant Joel usually have the same routine. One of us calls the other up by around 12 noon, and say, "Game?" and if the other isn't busy, we head on out of the office for lunch. We usually get into a conversation about work or something during our noontime stroll, and without even thinking or talking about it, we find ourselves in "Walter Mart" Pasong Tamo. When we're in Walter Mart, the default (and most reliable) restaurant to eat at is definitely Pancake House, but we try to change things us sometimes by going to Max's and The Old Spaghetti House as well (Of course this was before we discovered Kitch' Cafe was just nearby). 

      Joel has always been mentioning that he'd like to go to try passing by Sango, the Japanese Burger joint one time. With two of the past three weeks being crazy busy in the office, I thought we would have enough time to walk to Mile Long to give "The Burger Master" a shot (It's not actually that far, I'm just lazy).

NO WORK & ALL PLAY AT KITCH' CAFE!

"It was a million tiny things, that when you added it all up,

 meant we were meant to be together..."

          Since we've moved our office to Arnaiz Ave, I've been talking about how much I miss the food choices near the area of Palanca Street. Sure, I've got perhaps the country's best Ramen restaurant a few steps away, but as much as I love a steaming bowl of Miso Char Siu, the REAL me still looks for some of the regular food that I've come to know and love. 

      Sometimes I look for a good old fashioned greasy burger loaded with bacon and melted cheese. Maybe some beef tapa with a generous lining of fat, and a scoop of rice. Or if I don't want my meal too heavy, perhaps I could go for a unique type of pasta that isn't tomato based for a change. And then i'd end it all off with a rich, yet not too sweet slice of cheesecake, drizzled with nutella sauce.. and I want all of this, walking distance from my office.

   Now tell me, Is that too much too ask for?  

    Enter: Kitch Cafe. 

UKOKKEI RAMEN RON & THE RAMEN NAZI

Time to get their Tantanmen on

            Again, I will repeat, that I'm not really that big on Japanese Food. Which would explain why, in the one year and one month of it's existence, The Pickiest Eater In The World has only featured two Japanese restaurants, which technically don't really count because : 

              A) John & Yoko is more of a "Japanese Fusion" Restaurant

              B) Yakimix is a smokeless grill place where you pretty much just 

                  cook bacon..

              C) And Yakimix's buffet food is a mix of Chinese and Japanese cusines

      A TV Commercial director and fellow foodie (Also the only person I know who has actually tried "Butter Beer") I work with, Direk Paolo Dy, visited our new office one day. As I showed him around, I grumbled that I'm going to miss having the restaurants in C. Palanca to choose from. Then he said, "Well at least you're just down the street from " Ukokkei"!". I stared at him blankly, and then he looked at me, all baffled and replied, "You DO know what  Ukokkei  is, right?". I told him, that I wasn't really into Japanese food, but he would have none of it. As a client, Direk Pao is a joy to work with, because he's one of those laid back directors that is easy to talk to and always seems to be in a good mood. So when he gave me an intense look, and told me in a firm tone, "One of these days we are going.", I knew I was in the presence of a man who takes his Ramen seriously. 

       A few months later, lo and behold, Direk Pao treated me and some of the PostManila peeps  for a job well done on one of his projects. Take one good guess. 

FIRST STOP AT THE CHEESE STEAK SHOP!

        Earlier this year, the company I work for moved offices.. From the relatively quiet C. Palanca Street in in Legaspi Village, Makati. We are now located along the bustling Arnaiz Avenue. I enjoyed working (and for a time, living) in C. Palanca street, because everything you needed was walking distance. Need to go the grocery? Go to Rustan's want to catch a movie? Go to Greenbelt. Need a place to eat? Well, apart from the obvious restaurants at Greenbelt, there were a few gems scattered around the area, such as Bob's, Plantation, and even Gustavus. 

     Arnaiz Avenue has an eclectic choice of restaurants to choose from, but they are just a bit more expensive than C. Palanca's offerings (Palanca has a Mang Inasal). I've been to a few, but I realized I haven't featured any just yet. On a day that I was ticked off at my cellular network provider for screwing me over (They have since rectified the situation), my friend, Rain offered to go with me grab a bite to eat so I could cool my head (Ahh, the healing powers of food). As we strolled along down Arnaiz Avenue, I continued to bitch about my situation with my cellular network. All of a sudden Rain stopped in her tracks to say that  she remembered that she had just seen a place called "The Cheese Steak Shop" newly opened just down the road from my office. 

     And just like that, everything was right again in the world. 

I'M ON A WOODEN HORSE.. STEAK HOUSE!

My audition for the role of the next Old Spice Guy didn't go so well

            I'm a very lazy guy, that struggles to get himself out of bed or away from the computer when at home. I'm a homebody that prefers a large order of pizza and a good movie or series marathon, as opposed to a partying at bars and clubs all night. I've noticed most of my posts have been either Eastwood or Makati (I live in Pasig and I work in Makati), so I decided to expand my horizons just a little bit, and explore what lurks in Alabang (I told ya just a little bit). 

    When Rina told me that her friends were planning a get together down South, I jumped at the chance to go on a food trip with them. At first we were planning somewhere in BF Homes Paranaque, but when I realized that the get together was scheduled on a Harry Potter weekend, I thought it would be best to have lunch somewhere in Alabang Town Center, so that Rina and I could go straight to their cinemas right after. I was able to get some great seats via SureSeats.com for the 4:30pm showing (And it's a good thing I did, because the line was ridiculous and by 1pm, they were only selling tickets for the last full show!), leaving me with only one problem.. where to eat at ATC. 

     It's a nice mall and all.. More like a tidied up Glorietta in Makati, but the choices of restaurants aren't anything out of the ordinary. I didn't want to make that rare trip to Alabang, and just eat at Pepper Lunch, Yellow Cab or Italianni's again (Their concession stands are more interesting then their actual restaurants). I resolved that since we went all this way, our meal had to be something different. 

    Rina's friend Lia, who is a resident of the South and has joined us in many adventures in the past, always boasted that once we visited Alabang or any of her "Territories", she would be the one who would play hostess. It was funny because once we got there, she herself found herself a little lost in the labyrinth that is Alabang Town Center. 

  Then came Rina's friend Aiko, who herself is a citizen of the South. She suggested a restaurant that I haven't reviewed yet, and we decided on that. However, I was a little bit uneasy because I knew there were other branches of that said restaurant in Makati and MOA as well, so I really wouldn't be maximizing my trip. But at that point I was just so exhausted from walking I was thisclose to picking the nearest BBQ stand and just going with it. 

   The place she took us to was actually across from the Alabang Town Center, and as we got closer, Aiko pointed out a Steak House, which was right beside the diner she initially suggested. 

 Since I had never heard of this place before, I knew I had found the restaurant I went down to the South for. 

      The Wooden Horse Steak House.