RAISE YOUR GLASS TO TOAST: ASIAN KITCHEN AT AYALA MALLS THE 30TH

With my sister, Raqs!

             When I first heard about the new restaurant called, "Toast", I immediately assumed it was a breakfast restaurant. Here I was, ready for some bacon and eggs, but instead I was left spellbound by the creative Asian dishes that broke the norm of tradition.

MAGICAL MALAYSIA AT HEAT, EDSA SHANGRI-LA ~RinaZ

        I haven't been to Malaysia (truly Asia) but I am quite familiar with their cuisine. But I haven't truly been a fan until today, when we got to experience a taste of some amazing Malaysian favorites at EDSA Shangri-La's HEAT

MY SINGAPORE FOOD STREET OPENS IN MEGAMALL - RINAZ

Sorry I can't do silly poses like Richie does thus this is my cover photo hehe

        As far as my poor memory can remember, the first time I had Singaporean cuisine was when we were in Singapore last 2010. I have been hearing about the wonder that is Hainanese Chicken Rice and how much of a “must-try” Singaporean dish it was. So during our trip there we made sure that we get to try it. And I’m glad we did!

        Thankfully, Singaporean restaurants are slowly emerging here in the Metro, and a recent that just launched was My Singapore Food Street (Formerly Orchard Road) in Megamall. Thankfully, Richie again had work so it was me again who ended up trying their scrumptious Singaporean meals! (I’m kidding hun! Of course it’s more fun when we’re together. But you have to control yourself from eating the food first before I take a picture!)

WHEN IN CEBU: SPICE FUSION

Spice Fusion-ing like a boss

           Before I left for Cebu, I got in touch with the Cebu based food blogger known as the "Babe For Food", to ask for suggestions of places that I should check out when I get to Cebu. She gave me a concise and extremely thorough list, that included some very interesting suggestions. Something that she strongly recommended, was the restaurant "Spice Fusion". I kept it under my radar, because I'm a big fan of South East Asian Fusion, which is something that Spice Fusion boasts. But with the short amount of time I was there, I wasn't certain what places I'd be able to visit.

      I was at Cebu for a day, when my mom's good friend asked me where I planned on going. Naturally I said the usual staples, Harbor City, Zubuchon, and Sunburst. 

     She had just brought us an entire from Farley's Special Lechon (which my mom likes more than Zubuchon), so I was aware that she knew a thing or two about food, So when I asked her for a suggestion, she said very emphatically, "Spice Fusion!".  


   So two people whose taste I trust when it comes to food gave a resounding recommendation to Spice Fusion, so I knew they must have something good going on.  
  
  So I left the beach, and decided to take Rina and Baby Rain out on a date to Cebu City, with our first stop.. Spice Fusion!

CHICKEN OVERLOAD: THE CHICKEN RICE SHOP!

         What's your stand on Hainanese Chicken? With its subdued flavors and bland appearance, a few of my friends see it as nothing more than a glorified piece of boiled chicken. Me? Surprisingly, I actually really like it. Perhaps it's because the chicken, when you get the right part seems fatty enough for my standards. Maybe it's the ginger sauce that I love mixing it with. Or it could be the chicken rice itself.. because when it's done right, one cup is never enough. 

            One Sunday morning, I was pondering on where to eat for "Brunch" before we headed off to my parent's place for the actual "Lunch". Since my mom does the cooking and no one has the guts to complain, we usually eat around 1pm or even later, so I thought having a light brunch at around 11am would be a wise move. 


       I remembered passing by the recently opened restaurant, "The Chicken Rice Shop" during our trip to Sandwicheese the week earlier, so I thought of giving that a try. 


       And just like that, any thoughts of a "light brunch" was thrown out the window. 

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. 

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. 

BANG FOR THE BUCK: HAINANESE DELIGHTS

          Rina and I have a tradition, where we go on what she calls a "Parlor Date" (but naturally I call it a "Barber Date"), where I get a P100 haircut and she gets a P100 pedicure. Unfortunately for my wife, fate threw a monkey wrench in her plans, because the resident Pedicurist, hadn't arrived yet. So instead, she decided to do a little window shopping (You never know when you'll need an extra window *rim shot*). 
   
       Word of advice, never fiddle with an electronic device or anything that will distract you when getting a haircut. Otherwise you just mind look up at the mirror suddenly and not recognize the person looking back at you. I know the barber asked me if I wanted to trim my bangs a bit, but don't recall ever giving him the go-signal to lop a big chunk off (Darn you Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter!).

        Anyways, not happy with my hair, Rina went with me to go shopping for a new bonnet and a few other things we would need for Christmas. As we were about to leave, I asked Rina to call up our helper to let her know that we would be on our way home so she could prepare our lunch. Since the holidays was coming, I wanted to tighten our belts for the mean time and not eat out so much. However, as we made our way to the escalator I got distracted by a sign of a store a few feet in front of us.

       Hainanese Delights.

      I stopped in my tracks and said, "Rina.. Put down the phone."

JAPANESE-WESTERN FUSION AT MA MAISON

            Just so you guys know, I don't live in Greenbelt. I know I have a lot of posts from Greenbelt, but that's due to three reasons: The first being I lived two blocks away from it for two years, the second is because I've worked in that area for the past five years, and lastly, Greenbelt 3 Cinemas is our default movie theater of choice when Rina and I watch a movie, so it's more convenient to eat there before a movie (The fourth reason is I'm actually lazy to go looking for anywhere else). That being said, during a stroll along the area with some officemates, I noticed a new restaurant had opened up, named "Ma Maison". 

          From the name alone, I couldn't figure out what cuisine they were serving. I knew "Maison" was French (isn't it?) but the word "Ma" before it, threw in a for a loop. And there were some Asian characters that confused me even more. Further inquiries helped me discover that Ma Maison is actually a Japanese-Western Fusion restaurant. 

        One fine working day, when My Giant Joel and my friend, the lovely Donna got sick of the usual suspects for lunch, we decided to go to Greenbelt for something different for lunch. And it helped that we had just gotten our 13 month bonus (May it Rest In Peace.. Sniff).  

THE CHIC-BOY MADNESS

           The weeks before Rina gave birth to our beautiful daughter, Renee' Amelie aka Rain, we would have to go for her check ups with her doctor in QC. Naturally, we would eat out immediately after, which is how we ended up going to "Kanzhu Hand Pulled Noodles" (I'm still craving for their Lamb Dumplings) and "Size Matters" (I still need to try their "Breakfast In Bed" with an English Muffin). We usually head out to QC by 8am so we can be at the Doc's office by around 9am. It gets really packed, so we try to make it a point to get there as early as possible, just to make sure our lunch plans don't get hassled. Unfortunately during this trip, the doctor texted Rina after we had left already, saying that it would be best for us to get to her office by 12noon instead of 9am, throwing a monkey wrench in our lunch plans. 


      Instead, to pass the time, we decided to visit my grandfather who happens to live in QC as well. We then decided to head off to the doctor's office by 11:30, to get there, "Early". Unfortunately, all her other patients were thinking the same thing, so technically we were already late. The receptionist told us we would be waiting for roughly around an hour and a half or so, and advised us to get some lunch nearby and wait for her text. 


     With my growling stomach starting to alarm the other patients in the room, we headed downstairs where we saw the huge sign directly in front of our doctor's building.. "Chic-Boy". 

THE ART OF KANZHU HAND PULLED NOODLES

        It was a rainy Saturday morning when Rina and I drove to Quezon City for her doctor's appointment. I don't go to QC very much anymore.. which is sad because I spent four years living in my grandfather's house before moving to our place in Antipolo. We lived near the Timog-Tomas Morato area, and even back then, it was lined with a number of restaurants, with the more popular ones being Mario's, Dulcinea, and Anabel's. 

     Nowadays, the area is loaded with an eclectic selection of restaurants to choose from. It's a little bit annoying knowing that there are hundreds of these wonderful restaurants for me to try, but most of them weren't there when I was living just a few blocks away from them. 

      One such restaurant, is Kanzhu Hand Pulled Noodles. I hadn't been to that area since my visit to Penpen, so I was fortunate to find out about this restaurant from the Group Buying site, CashCashPinoy. 

    Forgive me for sharing yet another adventure from a Chinese restaurant, but I wanted to use my voucher before it expired.

 Besides, I couldn't resist the allure of authentic "Hand pulled noodles".

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 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". 

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).

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. 

A RAINY VISIT TO ZAO VIETNAMESE BISTRO

Believe it or not, this was shot in the early afternoon, yet it was so dark..

      I'm going to do a magic trick for ya.. Quick! Think of the first Vietnamese Restaurant here in Manila that pops up into your brain! Lemme guess.. "Pho Hoa", right? Yeah, I thought so. If not, was it Pho Bac? or Pho 24? (If you thought up of any other restaurant, leave the name on my comment box please?) My point being, choices for Vietnamese food here in Manila aren't exactly easy to come by, unlike, say, Chinese or Japanese. 

    Zao Vietnamese Bistro was one of those restaurants that somehow flew under my radar. In fact, if it wasn't for their Barbecue Platter deal on Groupon Philippines, I wouldn't have even known they existed- Which is strange because, their two branches are located in Eastwood and Serendra - two places that I frequent quite often. 

   So on a gloomy Monday morning, Rina and I braved the rains and trooped over to Eastwood once again, to make sure we use our ZAO voucher before it expires!  

A GOOD DAY FOR GOOD EARTH

Life is good :)

           Having lived in Makati for two years, I used to frequent Greenbelt a lot (hence the large amount of Makati (17) and  Greenbelt (7) posts in my blog) so i was a little bit surprised when I saw a Groupon deal for "Good Earth" in Greenbelt 3. For the life of my, I couldn't recall ever seeing a Good Earth restaurant there. A few friends of mine that I had asked said they think they recall seeing a restaurant of that name there, but wasn't entirely sure. 


       The name "Good Earth" though rang some bells, because it's a Chinese restaurant, and for some reason, names of Chinese restaurants seem to stick in the inner recesses of my brain. At any rate, I thought it was a great opportunity to try the place, and with a deal like P199 for a Chinese food Buffet? That's a pretty hard deal to pass up. 

SINGAPORE DAY 2: ONE NIGHT AT MAKANSUTRA GLUTTONS BAY

"Glutton's Bay" could very well have been my birthplace.

          I was so sleepy during our Duck Tour drive around the city, that I can safely say that I can't really remember a lot of the things our tour guide said. I can't recall the story of the war memorial, nor do I remember the name of the tallest hotel in Singapore. But what was clear as day, was that he said, "Food Lovers, you can't leave Singapore without going to Makansutra."


        Just like Food Republic, Makansutra was among the many recommendations that my friends suggested to me when i asked for place to eat in Singapore. According to our guide, Makansutra is a popular food center that features a collection of the best "Hawkers" in the country. He had me at "Food Center'.

       This post marks the first time I'm going to be doing a "Video Review". I'm a bit new to this sort of thing so you're going to have to forgive me if it's not any good hehe.. See the video here:

THE PICKIEST EATER VISITS MAKANSUTRA SINGAPORE! 

from richiez168 on Vimeo.

SINGAPORE DAY 1: I HAVE PLEDGED MY ALLEGIANCE TO FOOD REPUBLIC !

I'm applying for citizenship as we speak

      As soon as Rina, Chaikka and I hopped down from our Duck Tour Amphibian craft, we entered one of the Towers of the perplexing Suntec City Mall. As I mentioned during my first visit there just a few hours earlier, the place is really hard to figure out, not just for a tourist, but for a human being in general, so I didn't want to go on any more long walks. Being the notorious sleepyhead that I am, I actually just really wanted to go back to our "hotel" to rest for an hour or so before we head off for our next stop. Rina and Chai though, understandably, wanted to go around to possibly do a little shopping. 

    So there I was, in a foreign country, completely drained of all energy at four in the afternoon, due to my being awake since two in the morning. As I entered the mall doorway, I was trying to think where I could muster up the strength to troll around the busy shopping mall. 

    And Just like that, I saw the huge sign that would light a fire under me, and give me the strength I needed to carry on (*tear*).

   In big bold letters, the sign said, "FOOD REPUBLIC". 

 (*Snappy Salute*)

SINGAPORE DAY 1: FIRST STOP - CHEN FU JI NOODLE HOUSE!

Bring it on, Singapore!

         Since we were traveling to a country we were unfamiliar with, for the first time in my life, I found myself totally lost when Rina and Chaikka asked me, "Where are we going to eat?". All I knew was that we had to be at "The Singapore Flyer" by 1:30pm to start our tour. Where that was, and how long it would take to get there, I had absolutely no clue. I asked our receptionist Charmaine, (who after our 15 minute English dialogue, ended our conversation with a very Filipino, "Salamat po, ingat po kayo!") what would be the best place to grab something to eat before we went to the Flyer. She suggested going to Sun Tec City Mall, because we would find a lot of choices there, and we could easy grab a cab en route to the flyer. 

    As mentioned in my earlier post, everything you've heard about Singapore is true. It's sparkling clean, it my four days there, not once did I find myself caught in any form of traffic, and whether you're commuting or driving, there's a strong sense of discipline among its people.

      We got to Sun Tec City Mall at around 11:30am, and started going around, trying to find a place to eat. I wasn't really impressed with the choices, especially since Charmaine made it seem like it would be a food paradise. (I would later find out that she wasn't lying, but that's a whole other post) Since were were pressed for time, we couldn't explore the mall, so I had to make a choice right away. 

     With the clock ticking, and my wife and her sister's stomach growling, I decided to go with Chen Fu Ji Noodle House - The restaurant with the best tasting noodles I would try in my short stay in Singapore.