I SALUTE THE SINGAPORE FOOD REPUBLIC IN BGC!

          During my trip to Singapore in 2011 with my pregnant Rina and her sister Chaikka, we stumbled upon perhaps the most amazing food court I had ever seen, called Food Republic. Though the Singapore Food Republic located at Bonifacio Global City has nothing to do with that epic food court, they do share the same ideals: 

         Serving to their customers the most authentic, and the best in Singaporean food.  

EPICUREAN SINGAPOREAN FOOD FESTIVAL AT CIRCLES, MAKATI SHANGRI-LA!

         It was my first time ever to crack open a crab. And it was good!

      Interestingly, I was able to get an awesome sneak peak at another wonderful food festival in Makati Shangrila Manila involving great authentic Singaporean dishes!

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!)

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. 

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."

SINGAPORE DAY 3: THE PHANTOM OF THE FOOD OPERA

Constipation is not fun. (kidding)

        After getting rained out in Sentosa, we took a Shuttle bus from the Imbiah Station to take the token trip to Orchard Road. Just like Sentosa, I honestly don't get the big deal about Orchard Road, and why it's a "must see for every tourist". Then again, it could be the bitterness of my wallet talking. I mean, it's got all these High End shops and all, but nothing anything you can't find in Greenbelt 5. (Sorry Fashionistas of the world, but I'm totally clueless about these things, so I mean no offense.)

       As you saw in my Sentosa post, i took pix with almost every statue I could find in Resorts world.. So maybe I shouldn't be one to judge when I saw people taking pictures in front of a Dolce and Gabbana or a Louis Vuitton. 

    To me however, the true awesomeness of Orchard Road is not found on the surface, but four levels below the famed street. At Basement Four of Ion Orchard Mall, is a gastronomic paradise that every food lover should not miss.. Food Opera. 

SINGAPORE DAY 1: MY FIRST TIME AT A VICTORIA (FOOD) COURT

Instead of "Shhhh".. the girl in their logo goes "Buurrrrpp..."

        After our Night Safari trip, we got home at around 10:30 pm. Rina, Chaikka and I were totally exhausted, but starving at the same time. In the end, our hunger prevailed (As it usually does) and we decided to shake off the fatigue and trek down the mean streets of Geylang for some thing to eat. 

     In my opinion though, the so-called "Mean Streets of Geylang", looks closer to Makati's Legazpi Village than it does to Tondo, which was my first perception of it when I was told that I would be staying in Singapore's "Red Light District". I imagine any gangs that would come our way would look more "Sharks and Jets" from "West Side Story" than they would "Blood" and "Crips", but that's just me. 

     Throughout my entire stay there, we were never even approached by a street urchin (in fact I never even saw one) or pimp or prostitute (wait, should I be insulted? Do I not look rich even for them!?). 

      Before we left the hotel, I asked our hotel receptionist for her opinion on where to eat, and she said, at this hour, our best options would to walk out the street and to pick from the places we're open. I said the only thing I wanted to be sure of, was the place was clean. She said with a smile, that should be the least of our concerns, because Singapore has a very strict health code or something, which was good to hear. 

     Practically everyone who had given me advice about Singapore before my trip, told me that you can basically choose any restaurant on the street, and expect an awesome experience. I had no doubt in my mind that the food would be good, but I'm just a bit finicky with cleanliness. I'll be honest with you - when people told me to go to the Hawker places of Singapore, images of  rat infested local carenderias entered my mind. But our Filipina receptionist even assured me, "It's cleaner than the food  courts of SM".

     So there we were, walking down the streets of Geylang, watching guys oogle middle aged women in low cut blouses, but running away the moment the girl makes eye contact with them, when I saw a sign that caught my attention. Perhaps there was an air of familiarity with the name that intrigued me.. 

        Victoria Food Court.

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.

SOMS ENCHANTED EVENING

If you want "Authentic Thai Foods", go to Soms. Remember, not "Food". "Foods".

       My trip to The Mango Tree Bistro made me want to revisit an old favorite of Rina and I. Perhaps the only place we think of when we crave for Thai food, mainly because it's really cheap and, truth be told, pretty darn kick ass. While The Mango Tree Bistro gives you a sophisticated and authentic Thai dining experience at an upscale rate, Som's cuts through all those "unnecessary" luxuries, and gives you no frills, delicious Thai food. 

      My first few Som's experiences were rather interesting. Their dining area was actually the side of the road, across the front of the restaurant. As it was very possible that a waitress could get run over by a passing car while crossing the street to serve her customers Pad Thai.

       Som's didn't have much in terms of ambiance, but what they did have, was excellent Thai food, at a very good price. I had heard about Som's "modernization, and I for one was elated at the thought of finally being able to enjoy Som's food with the benefit of air conditioning, or watching my waitress turn into roadkill.  

     One night, Rina and her BFF Lia made plans to have dinner. Lia had promised Rina and I that once she started at her new job, she would treat us to dinner at Som's, since we took her to lunch at Bob's one time. 

     Since she had been at her job for a few weeks now, and I was running low on things to post, I thought it was high time for the lovely Lia to pay up!

OUT OF THE TOAST BOX

 

Talk about Great Expectations

       If you are reading this post sometime between March 2-5, then that means I am now in Singapore with my wife Rina, her sister Chaikka, and hopefully her boyfriend Don. At this very moment, I am probably feasting on some chicken rice, or riding a roller coaster in Universal Studios, or having pictures taken at the Merlion statue (I wonder if i'm allowed to eat that hehe).

       In honor of my trip, I'm posting my two visits to the Singapore based "Toast Box", the newest coffee shop from the people who brought you the very awesome, "Bread Talk". I'm a big fan of Bread Talk, (especially their Cheese Floss), so hearing that they were the brains behind this operation got me all giddy. 

     One of my Bosses at work, Miss Menchu, had been here already, and she suggested I try a few things. Unfortunately, she and I have the complete opposite tastes when it comes to food (I'm a firm believer that bacon should be a part of everyone's diet, while she can live on salads and tofu and all that gunk), so i wasn't sure what to expect from her suggestions. 

    Nevertheless, Rina and I trooped over to Greenbelt 5 (I'm there a lot, I know) to get us a taste of some of Singapore's finest food. (Not to mention, to meet up with our friends Ted and Karen as well).

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 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 KOGI BULGOGI INCIDENT

Not to be mistaken for..

          The first time I saw the sign for Kogi Bulgogi in Eastwood some time last year, when the restaurant itself was still under construction. I went with Rina to meet up some of her high school friends at The Coffee Bean, which was on the ground floor of the next building (across the new Eastwood Plaza). While Rina was sipping on her favorite "Frozen White Chocolate Dream" while swapping stories with her friends, I was looking out the window for a place to eat.

           Rina says I have an uncanny ability of spotting signs on the road of new menu items from fast food places, so with my eagle eyes, I scanned the area and saw the "Kogi" sign. Instantly it caught my attention. Not because i'm such a Korean food lover (I'm not, In fact apart from Kalbi, Bulgogi and Bibimbap, I don't know any other Korean dishes) but because "Kogi" is the name of a very popular Korean BBQ food truck in LA, that I've been dying to try ever since i've heard of it! In fact, my Ninang Pochay in L.A. got me a shirt!

...The original.

         As soon as I saw it, I sprinted to the second floor of the other building, leaving Rina and her baffled friends behind. I was heartbroken (not to mention exhausted) when i got there and realized it was just another Korean Restaurant that ripped off the logo. And though they removed the "flame" from their logo now, I can assure you that their logo on the "Under Construction Tarp" had it, making it look nearly exactly like the Kogi BBQ truck logo (I can't find the pic I took, darn it).

          Since I couldn't forgive their earlier attempt at deceit, It took me a while before I finally agreed to try the place. It was only when I realized that they removed the flame from the logo that I decided I'll try it. And when we took Schatzi out to Eastwood, it was the best time to go on our first Korean adventure. 

      

RYAN'S BIG NIGHT AT CRYSTAL JADE

Finally!

       
                 Apart from American BBQ's I would have to say that Chinese food is one of my favorite cuisines.  Considering I already have six entrees on it, more than any other cuisine out there, is proof enough.I've had quite a few people suggest the acclaimed restaurant "Crystal Jade" to me, but I never made any plans to go just yet, because when Rina and I would plan our next foodtrip, we would deliberately avoid going for Chinese so we could expand our (my) horizons a little bit (Every time I would die a little inside, though). 

             A couple of weeks ago, Rina and I went to Greenhills to look for my Halloween Costume (stay tuned), I planned out where we were going to it (as usual). Since I wanted to go to a place that wasn't located in Eastwood or Makati, we decided to go to this place in Quezon City that Rina had been wanting to go back to for quite some time. After looking around, we drove out of the parking lot building and we drove past Crystal Jade. I was quite surprised that their wasn't much people - which made me suspect, since it was around 3pm, maybe it was closed. But at the same, time i couldn't help but think that It would've been the perfect opportunity to have tried what everyone has been saying is a superb restaurant (Especially when iI was disappointed with the place we ended up going to - will be posting that in a few weeks).


            A few days ago, my sister Raquel called me up making sure I kept my Saturday night free, because we will be having dinner out to celebrate my brother's being done with his culinary course. Of course, I never miss out on having dinner with the family, so i was ecstatic. 

            I could have sworn I felt a tear roll down my cheek when I asked her where we'd be eating, and she replied, "Crystal Jade".

                                   

A DAY IN THE LIFE PART 3: THE YAKIMIX INVASION

Come to daddy!

           One fine day in the office, I saw Audrey, a friend of mine from the office, researching on "Yakimix". What started her interest, I have no clue, but when I heard her talking about going to visit the recently opened Greenbelt Branch, I knew I wanted in.

             I'm usually not a fan of those places where you have to grill your own food, because the smell gets all over your clothes, and when I pay to eat in a restaurant, I expect THEM to do all the work. Otherwise I should've just eaten at home.

             Its difficult to make definite plans with my office friends because we never really get off work at the same time. There's always someone with a client that's still there when everyone else is ready to go. We set a night for everyone to go, and said that if everyone is free, we would go.

  

           During that night, we were waiting around for our respective clients to leave, someone realized that almost everyone was done with their tasks, and it was just about the time to go home.

           Finally, our dream to invade Yakimix would become a reality.