IN THE SPOTLIGHT: PAPARAZZI AT EDSA SHANGRI-LA HOTEL

           My appreciation for Italian cuisine has grown over the course of my being a blogger. Being hyper acidic, I would normally associate tomato, my number one enemy, with Italian Food. Think about it. The most recognized dishes from Italy - Pizza, Spaghetti. Lasagna - the basic ingredient when traditionally done is tomato. 

       However, I discovered that as I continued my relentless exploration of Italian Dishes, their cuisine is incredibly versatile. There are so many other entrees that aren't heavy handed with the tomato sauce, and they taste remarkable. 

      Rina and I were invited to dine at Paparazzi one evening for a romantic dinner, and I was surprised to find that in our entire five course meal, there was only one dish that utilized tomato in it.

    With Italian Chef Marco Ghezzi at the helm, it's no wonder that Paparazzi is perhaps the closest to Italy as you can get here in the Philippines. 

Costa Coffee Opens its Third Branch in BGC!

        London has landed in Bonifacio Global City! Yes, dear readers! The number 1 coffee chain in London has opened its third branch just along the 32nd street of Bonifacio Global City!

        It's Costa Coffee!!! Located at the ground floor of One World Plaza. The people working in BGC will really be thrilled to have London style coffee so close to them now.

Food Trip with the Canon Powershot G7X

        Though we’ve only had our Canon Powershot G7X for a couple of months now, I can safely say it’s been a godsend. Having a camera so compact yet with high quality photo and video capabilities has been a pleasure to bring around. In fact, we’d rather bring this with us most of the time compared to our old DSLR because of how light it is. It’s a perfect case of small but powerful. (Like me!)

        The other day I took my little family out to a nice lunch at Maisen because I really wanted my wife Rina to try it. So off we went to Greenbelt with our daughter and our Canon Powershot G7X in tow.

LET THE HUNGER GAMES BEGIN: DYCE N DINE!

          When I was a kid, I was totally into board games. Name it, I had it. Snakes and Ladders, Parcheesi, Sorry, Monopoly, Game of Life, and my all time favorite, Clue. Back in the day, playing any of those games were relatively simple. It usually involved the rolling of dice, perhaps a few cards, and moving of tokens around the board.

       Today, Board Games aren't what they used to be. Admittedly, it's gotten a whole lot more complex, but the level of fun has also been taken to new heights. Game play has become wackier and far out, with objectives becoming more challenging than ever. With board games emerging as an alternative source of entertainment, venues have been sprouting up around the metro, catering to barakadas looking for a place to play a few rounds. Not only do these board game cafes serve as a venue to some serious gaming, 

    The latest Board Game Cafe that I visit just happened to be Dyce N Dyne, which is perhaps one of the hottest hangout spots in the restaurant scene today!

HANGING LOOSE AT JOHNNY KAHUKU'S HAWAIIAN SHRIMP HOUSE

         I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this before, but I lived in Hawaii for a year when I was a child, and was fortunate to go back there in 1998. It truly is one of the most magical places on Earth. I distinctly remember going down from the plane and being greeted by an incredibly beautiful woman in a coconut shell bra and a grass skirt, before she placed a necklace made of flowers around my neck. (You can imagine how excited I was to tell all my friends that "I got Lei'd when I was in Hawaii!")

  However, something that I regret not really being able to do in Hawaii, was go on a food trip. In 1998, I was a 21 year old warm blooded male with only one thing on my mind, and I can assure you it wasn't the food. In fact, aside from Denny's, Zippy's and Tony Roma's, I can't think of where else we ate at during our week long stay there.   

      Though Johnny Kahuku's isn't a Hawaiian brand name, it does its best to bring the feel of the Polynesian paradise into our shores. And boy did we have a phenomenal time exploring their menu!

HANGING OUT WITH THE HALAL GUYS AT SM FOOD HALL!

        I have a confession to make. I wasn't excited about The Halal Guys coming to Manila.

         I mean, sure, I liked the thought of finally being able to try the dishes that thousands of New Yorkers line up for every day, but since pork is such a prominent part of my diet, I wasn't quite convinced on how much I would actually enjoy it. 

        As luck would have it, I was invited to the special taste test of the very first branch of The Halal Guys here in Manila. This was an incredible opportunity because only a select few foodies were invited to be the first to try The Halal Guys in the Philippines and for some reason, I was one of them hehe... 

     Anyway,  Rina and I went to the very first "The Halal Guys" outlet in the Philippines, located at SM Mega Food Hall. Like I said, I honestly had no expectations whatsoever, right?

    So I dug into my plate of Gyro Over Rice, scooped up some of the beef bits smothered in The Halal Guys trademark white sauce, with a spoonful of rice and nonchalantly chucked my pork-free dish into my mouth. 

   And just like that, I stopped mid-sentence and looked straight at Rina, and said to her, "Holy $***."

FIRING UP THE TEPPANYAKI TABLE AT YURAKUEN

       Despite the distance from my place, I always look forward to dining at Diamond Hotel. Although I admittedly had only been to Corniche, I had heard the stories of their amazing Japanese restaurant, Yurakuen. For some reason, I was under the impression that the Japanese entrees of Corniche was basically what you would find at Yurakuen (Kinda makes sense since it's the same hotel, right?). Considering I was actually quite pleased with what I've tried at Corniche, I never really found an urgency to try Yurakuen. 

  However, my friend, The Hefty Foodie swore that wasn't the case, and when he had the opportunity to invite me to experience a dinner at Yurakuen's Teppanyaki table, there was no way I was going to say no to that! 

BURGER KING'S NEW ENDORSER AND THE NEW ANGRY WHOPPER!

        Earlier this September, Burger King reminded us of the importance of grilling. And their widely loved grilled burgers remind us what makes Burger King burgers so special! And why they were the winner for The Choice 2015's Favorite Fast Food Burger!

TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT WITH THE CANON POWERSHOT G7 X!

        As you all may know, in this blog, it’s my wife who does the photos. I don’t really know how to work the DSLR camera with the huge flash. So in events when my wife can’t join, I sweat bullets, worried if I would be able to take decent food shots. So I have to rely on my awesome photographer to help me with the settings of the camera. 

CEBU'S FAMOUS KUYA J'S, NOW IN MEGAMALL!

        Kuya J was actually a former simple eatery in the streets of Cebu city. It’s one of those hole-in-the-wall restaurant that people just kept going back for because of their delicious and satisfying Filipino dishes. It was so popular that here it is now, operating in Megamall! And it is endorsed by the famous award-winning drama actor in the Philippines, (and also was Rina’s crush), Mr. Jericho Rosales.