SMILE AND SAY... SANDWICHEESE!

          Are you one of those people that can't have a meal without rice?  Rina and her sister Chaikka, as well as a lot of my officemates absolutely refuse to have lunch or dinner without it. Me, on the other hand, I'm completely ok with a sandwich or burger for lunch. Maybe it's my fondness for bread that helps create a sense of satisfaction in my meals with a sandwich in lieu of rice, because sometimes, I actually even prefer it to a rice meal. I'm always on the lookout for a good sandwich, which is why I was immediately drawn to places such as Chuck's Deli, The Cheese Steak Shop and Elbert's Cheese Steaks.  

      I found out that one of my (and it seems everyone's) favorite restaurants, Bannaple, spawned a younger sibling right beside its first Katipunan branch, called "Sandwicheese", and I was immediately intrigued.  

       So last Saturday, after we took Baby Rain to the doctor for her check up, my tummy started grumbling. I told Rina that I wanted to check out Sandwicheese. 


      Because she was taking care of Rain whilst we were in the car, she wasn't really paying attention and she said, "Yes, yes, I want to go there." I asked her if she heard what I said because she was distracted with Rain and she said, "All I heard was 'Cheese'".

THE PICKIEST EATER ANDROID APP!

              After getting all excited about it only to have it not function correctly when i finally completed it, I finally finished the First Official Pickiest Eater App for Android! I'm using a Galaxy S2 so I haven't made one for iPhone yet, but who knows, maybe some day.


        The App features a RSS Feed to my blog. Flckr account (skip that, because im still working on it). Vimeo Account, Twitter and Facebook page!


       I've tried it myself and it works fine, but I did notice that it takes awhile to load, so please be patient. If new bug fixes come along, I'll update the app as well. 


       Disclaimer: The app works fine on my phone, but like I said, it takes a bit long. If you think the app is screwing up your phone or something, delete it immediately. 
    
       But like I said, on my phone it works fine :)  

       Android Users can download the App here: 

http://174.142.192.87/builds/00054/54238/apps/ThePickiestEater.apk

           Please let me know what you think!

THE SOLE OF MR. ROCKEFELLER

             A few years ago, (way before my blogging days) my boss brought my to a restaurant at Greenbelt for a meeting, called "Rockefeller". The place featured oysters and ribs, among many other things. I don't recall what dish I ordered that day, meaning it wasn't very memorable to me. But what did ingrain into my psychosis for years to come was the dish that my boss ordered: The Alaskan Sole Fillet with Garlic Noodles. 


       Early last year, I thought they had closed up shop already, because I saw the doors being boarded up. Thankfully, I saw from my friends at En Route that they actually just did a little renovation (and I suspect, new management). 

         A couple of weeks ago, Rina took me to work so she could run some errands as well, so I decided to invite her to lunch at Greenbelt, together lunch buddies, My Giant Joel and the Lovely Donna. I hadn't visited the place in over a year, so I was ready to be reunited with my Sole Filet.

BABY RAIN'S FIRST DAY OUT! MAKANMAKAN: ASIAN FOOD VILLAGE

In case you're new to my Blog, I just wanted to let you know that as of today (January 30, 2012), The first ever Pickiest Eater In The World Contest Giveaway is underway, and you can find out the details on how to join by clicking out the post HERE. Get a chance to win Gift Certificates for P5,000.00 worth of services from CATHY VALENCIA SKIN AND BODY CENTER! Guys, if you need pogi points with your girls, this could be your chance! (Unless you wanna use it yourself of course.. Umm.. We're not here to judge)

        So it was Chaikka's (Rina's sister) birthday last Saturday, so she and Rina had planned a family outing at Manila Ocean park, mainly because my Father In Law has a fascination for Marine life. Apart from it being Chaikka's birthday celebration, this day also marked the first time Baby Rain would be going on a Baby's day out, so Rina and I were doubly excited.

      Rina and I have agreed that we wouldn't be taking Rain out to public so much while she's an infant, however this was a special case because it was her Ninang's birthday, and since we would ALL be out, Rina wasn't too comfortable with the thought of leaving Rain at home knowing Chaikka wouldn't be nearby in case of any (god forbid) emergencies (Chaikka and my dad in law lives in the same village we do).

                 
       Naturally, they asked me where we could eat around that area, and I immediately suggested "Makanmakan: Asian Food Village", which I had been hearing some very good things about. Lucky for me, my in laws were up for it.

     In fact, this lunch was extra memorable for me, because It reaffirmed that choosing Rina as my wife, was the best decision I had ever made. Not just just because she's so amazing.. but because her family and I get along so well.. 

   How well? Well let's just put it this way.. I find it hard to believe that I would find another family that would order three types of Pork Spareribs for lunch. 

    See what I mean? Destiny. 

THE MOUTH OF THE SOUTH: SODERNO AT MOLITO

In case you're new to my Blog, I just wanted to let you know that as of today (January 26, 2012), The first ever Pickiest Eater In The World Contest Giveaway is underway, and you can find out the details on how to join by clicking out the post HERE. Get a chance to win Gift Certificates for P5,000.00 worth of services from CATHY VALENCIA SKIN AND BODY CENTER! Guys, if you need pogi points with your girls, this could be your chance! (Unless you wanna use it yourself of course.. Umm.. We're not here to judge)

                Though my long awaited trip to P.F. Chang's would have been the main event to a normal man, but not to me. P.F. Chang's was only Phase 1 of my plan for that Saturday. The second phase got set into motion later that evening, when we made our way to Soderno at Molito in Alabang. 

           Though I've been to Soderno's siblings, Mercato Centrale and Distrito numerous times, this would be the very first time I would be visiting the Southern incarnation.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR AT P.F. CHANG'S PHILIPPINES!

In case you're new to my Blog, I just wanted to let you know that as of today (January 19, 2012), The first ever Pickiest Eater In The World Contest Giveaway is underway, and you can find out the details on how to join by clicking out the post HERE. Get a chance to win Gift Certificates for P5,000.00 worth of services from CATHY VALENCIA SKIN AND BODY CENTER! Guys, if you need pogi points with your girls, this could be your chance! (Unless you wanna use it yourself of course.. Umm.. We're not here to judge)

The only reason why she looks so tall is cuz she's wearing heels. 

And umm.. I'm wearing "flats". 

              My sister Raquel and I made plans during the Christmas break for me to visit her over at the South. I hadn't been to Alabang since my trip to The Wooden Horse Steak House so I thought it would be fun to find a place to eat over at the other side of the metro. At first I was targeting one of those hole in the wall restaurants around BF, but I found out through Rina's friend that there was a restaurant that was opening in Alabang Town Center (Not at The Fort, as I originally heard through the grapevine) - one that I had seen and heard about quite often, but never got to try. Wouldn't it be a cool way to celebrate the Chinese New Year weekend at the newly opened P.F. Chang's? 

       And as a lover of the Chinese Cuisine, I swore to myself that as soon as P.F. Chang's opens its doors in the Philippines, I owed it to myself to finally get a taste of what the fuss is all about. So on January 19th, 2012, P.F. Chang's finally opened for business at Alabang Town Center. 

       Two days later, I found myself speeding down South Super Highway on my way to Alabang. 

CRASHING THE STOCK MARKET CAFE!

         In case you're new to my Blog, I just wanted to let you know that as of today (January 19, 2012), The first ever Pickiest Eater In The World Contest Giveaway is underway, and you can find out the details on how to join by clicking out the post HERE. Get a chance to win Gift Certificates for P5,000.00 worth of services from CATHY VALENCIA SKIN AND BODY CENTER! Guys, if you need pogi points with your girls, this could be your chance! (Unless you wanna use it yourself of course.. Umm.. We're not here to judge)

        Just before the Christmas break began, my lunch buddies, (My giant) Joel and the lovely Donna couldn't figure out what to do for lunch (Which is becoming more and more of a problem these days). Since the Christmas season was looming upon us, the last days at the office were a little bit slower than the usual, so everyone in general was feeling lax. Joel asked if we wanted to go out for lunch for a change. The last time we went out, we ended up in Ma Maison, which wasn't so bad, but a member of the Bistro Group of Restaurants, the group that slighted me a couple of years ago. 

         To us, "going crazy" for lunch means driving off for a quick lunch at the nearby Greenbelt. This time, however, Greenbelt wasn't going to cut it for us anymore. Joel suggested we head off to Bonifacio High Street foar a change. 

          After strolling a little around High Street we realized that the restaurant choices around that area isn't something you can't find around Makati Business District. Fridays, Brother's Burgers, Italianni's.. There was one restaurant that I knew was there that I hadn't tried yet.. Stock Market Cafe.

          We checked out the menu and decided on there.. Not knowing I was about to be in for a big surprise. 

THE PICKIEST EATER IN THE WORLD'S 2012 CONTEST GIVEAWAY!

Yes, This is what I wear to work. Thank you Mrs. Mosuela for the pic!

       As I've mentioned in my New Year's post, 2011 has been a wonderful year for me and my family. The most notable achievements were of course, the worry-free pregnancy of my wife, Rina, and the safe birth of my daughter Rain. That's pretty much all I could ask for from God, but thankfully he didn't stop there.


       In the blog front, our site was selected as a Finalist in the Philippine Blog Awards, The Pickiest Eater site has hit an all time high in terms of hits per day, and just a few days ago, we finally hit 900 "likes" on Facebook. So as you can imagine, things have also been going quite well.


     Sometime in December, a regular visitor of the Pickiest Eater Facebook page, "Perris Will" mentioned that I should hold a giveaway for my readers. I actually held something similar a couple of months ago with the help of my Myfoodtrip family, and we gave away passes to the movie, "Rakenrol". I mentioned that I did intend to host another give away very soon, as a Thank You to everyone that has helped make 2011 a banner year for The Pickiest Eater In The world. 


     So here we are, my Blog's first solo Contest Giveaway!

THE KITCHEN KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR

               As I've mentioned in the past, ever since my company moved its office from the convenient Palanca St. to their further out Arnaiz Avenue, I've been on a never ending quest to find some great places to eat. The area is actually packed with a wide array of choices, but some of the nearby places aren't as price friendly as that of Palanca (I'm talking about you, La Regalade). Palanca had places around it for every budget. Broke? The dependable "Mang Inasal" is just a few steps away. Want a place with nice ambiance without spending too much? You could be at the reasonably priced, yet classy places like Bob's and The Plantation in a matter of seconds. Worst case scenario? Head on over to Greenbelt, just a couple of blocks down the road.


        Lunch time isn't such a big deal for us, because we have Makati Cinema Square and Waltermart nearby. It's nowhere near the vicinity of Greenbelt in terms of food choices (and cleanliness) but both do have a respectable selection of restaurants (Try Aida's chicken if you haven't yet). 

         The problem is dinner.   


        When 7 to 8pm hits, we're all so exhausted, the thought of having to go out again just sounds too taxing, and you start to looking for food delivery instead. You have to understand that in my line of work, while everyone else is on their way home, 8pm to us could just be the height the action. So Sometimes we don't even eat until midnight. It's easy for me to just dial McDonald's or something, but a lot of my office mates need a decent rice meal to get them through the night.. That won't cost them an arm and a leg. 

       
        That's when we discovered "Kitchen Knight'. 

BACON. IT'S MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES.

Nuff' Said.