THIRD ANNIVERSARY/ RINA'S BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY: YABU THE HOUSE OF KATSU!!

                      Greetings dearest friends! Our humble little Pickiest Eater In The World Blog will turn Three years old on June 25, and I have decided to begin the festivities early by holding the first of my giveaways a bit earlier.. to coincide with my wife's birthday, which is today, May 22! 

              I'm starting out by giving away P1,500 worth of GC's from Yabu: The House of Katsu to one lucky reader! 

QUICK PICK: YELLOW CAB'S MRS. HUDSON PIZZA

                I've declared my love for pizza on my blog very many times, with Yellow Cab's Manhattan Meat Lovers being high on my list of favorites. Unfortunately, due to my Hyper Acidity, Pizza to me is, like Kryptonite to Superman. Anything with tomato sauce has a crippling effect on me.. crippling in the sense that I'm practically stuck to in the bathroom all day (Totally worth it though). 

             In celebration of their 12th year and the opening of their 100th Store, Yellow Cab recently released a "Sauceless Pizza", which they were kind enough to have delivered to my door step (Love you guys). The absence of the tomato sauce was the go signal I needed to go wild on a dish I love so much. But naturally, I was also curious about what exactly was on that pizza. Without further ado, I lifted up the lid and discovered for myself.

         Prosciutto. On a Yellow Cab Pizza. 

          Whoever Mrs. Hudson is, I wish I sat beside her during Senior Year Calculus, because she's gotta be a GENIUS. 

A NIGHT AT RASTRO, BURGOS CIRCLE BY RINAZ

         "Boy, I missed this!" I thought to myself as I took another sip of my Guavatini.

          It's been X number of years since I went for a night out with my gal pals. And going to Rastro just reminded me how much I missed going out and having drinks. (Disclaimer: I only got super wasted one time during my friend Lia's birthday hehehe) Before Rastro, my favorite cocktail drink was frozen margarita. It still is. But my list of favorite drinks has just been expanded by Rastro!

BROTZEIT OPENS AT EDSA SHANGRILA MALL

One of my best friends in High School, Thomas, was a German national. His father was an expat, and his mother was a home maker, and they settled in and made the Philippines, Cebu in particular, their second home. During my High School days, it was usually me that was doing the hosting of sleepovers, but there were a couple of times that I crashed at Thomas' house after a night of.. umm.. As much as I would love to say "hard partying with some hot chicks", it was more like "A super cool night of Dungeons and Dragons".

Something I always looked forward to, was breakfast in Thomas' house. Thomas' mother, always made sure that despite the fact they were living in a country so different from their birthplace in so many ways, their original culture would not be forgotten by her son. And she did so in simple ways - one was their food.

Sure, after hanging out with us, Thomas got the hang of eating rice with every meal, but at home, when his mom would prepare breakfast, It would be the good old fashioned German way. I was treated to an array of sliced sausages that I had never tried before, different types of breads, and a whole slew of cheeses to choose from, all served up on wooden boards. That was a mere glimpse of how amazing German Cuisine could be, but ever since then, their food kept me enthralled.

There aren't very many German restaurants to choose from here, so hearing about Brotzeit German Beir Bar & Restaurant opening in Manila brought music to my ears.

(Cue in "99 Luft Balloons" here.. Sorry that's the only German song I can think of right now).

HOTEL HOTSPOTS: RESTO-GO-ROUND AT INTERCONTINENTAL MANILA!

              Dining at a hotel has an air of exclusivity. If you tell someone you're going to have dinner at a hotel, and more often than not, their response will be "Sosyal!". And of course, it's totally warranted. Even the thought of a few hours of parking at a hotel would make one consider a trip to the ATM before pulling your car out. 

          But what if I told you that you could enjoy a sumptuous feast at not one, not two, but THREE first class restaurants in a luxurious hotel, without having to stop by the blood bank to earn some extra cash? 

           Have you heard of Intercontinental Manila's Resto-Go-Round?

HOTEL HOTSPOTS: DIMSUM ALL YOU CAN AT LI LI IN HYATT HOTEL & CASINO MANILA

           In case the 24 entries weren't enough to clue you in, i'm going to go on the record now and say that I LOVE Chinese food. If you ask me one of my all time favorite restaurants, I'd easily tell you that it's Harbor City in Cebu.. A simple restaurant known for its Dimsum. 

           I'm always on the look out for amazing places to get some Siomai, Steamed Spareribs and Spring Rolls. So when I got the chanceto try the Dimsum Eat All You Can of Li Li at Hyatt Hotel and Casino, I knew that was one opportunity I couldn't miss. 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Baby Rain's simple gift to her mommy on Mother's day :) 

Happy Mother's Day to all you amazing mothers out there! 

As they say.. 

"The Hardest Job In The World, Is also the Best Job in the World" 

Funny Story... Baby Rain doesn't recognize herself as the Baby in the last picture so she throws a fit everytime she sees it, because she gets jealous of the thought of Rina hugging another baby hehe

SMOKING HOT BarBQ: GLOBAL FILIPINO CUISINE AT GREENBELT 3!

             I'll admit that i'm not the biggest fan of Filipino Food. Whenever we go to a Pinoy resto, my default order is Inihaw na Liempo (Grilled Pork Belly) and i'm good to go! But I had an eerie feeling that Smokin' Hot BBQ, the new Filipino restaurant by The Bistro Group, would be definitely something worth checking out.

       Going to Smoking Hot BBQ was a little bit bittersweet for me because it meant having to finally come to terms with the closing of fish and co.'s Greenbelt Branch.. A personal favorite of mine. Imagine how I felt.. The restaurant that serves the best fish and chips in town is being replaced by another whose cuisine i'm not too fond of. Hurts, right? 

         Nevertheless I decided to put my faith in Chef Josh Boutwood, and trust that he would do amazing things with Filipino Food.

       And boy, was I right.

CUPCAKES BY SONJA AT GLORIETTA!

      "A red velvet cupcake?".

      Those were exactly my thoughts when a friend of mine, Zee, mentioned about this tiny wonderful cupcake shop in Serendra sometime in 2006. Until now, due to my lack of knowledge in anything culinary, I still don't know what flavor / ingredient red velvet really is. Aaaanyway, I'm getting off track. This shop was probably the daintiest shop I have ever seen at that time. It was just so pretty that I felt so ugly in it! And it wasn't just the shop that was pretty. It was their cupcakes too! I know I took photos during my first visit but I can't remember where I put them. I'm sure it's long gone :( Sniff...

This was the first shop I have ever been in that exclusively sold cupcakes, and the Red Velvet Vixen was the first ever Red Velvet treat I devoured. So just like the rest of Manila, I was hooked! Cupcakes by Sonja was amazing! The taste you get from each bite is truly a pleasure in the mouth! (Confession: I thought this whole time it was pronounced "Sonya" hehehehe *blush*) As for the price, at first I found it a bit steep but after tasting the cupcakes, it all started to make sense.

THE MITSUYADO SEI-MEN GC WINNER IS....

               I'm so sorry for the long wait! Been busy with work and stuff.. but fear not, the two winners of the GC's form Mitsuyado Sei-men shall be announced NOW!