Food Mayhem

Polland's

2009-02-23T19:42:00.006+08:00

We stopped at a lot of food places during our Manila
walkabout last Saturday sampling a variety of colorful
and quite tasty culinary delights!

One of the establishments we went through was
named Polland, curiously enough.

The entrance to Polland had a very nice old style door knob.

Inside, the place was very comfortable and nice with old world
Chinese sensibilities blended in with modern tastes.

Some terra cota replicas, Chinese boxes, and some candles.

Johnny and I had some assorted seafoods and rice.
Johnny also tried out the empanada.

This one is the typical empanada. The ones with the red dots is the vegetarian empanada.

Camwhoring while eating.

Click on the thumbnails for a bigger image!

Fat Larrie Sunday Experience

2009-01-27T07:47:00.004+08:00

The Komikeros gathered in San Pablo City last Sunday and, as is our tradition during these gatherings, we headed off to Fat Larrie's for lunch.

Fat Larrie's is located at the top of the long stairs in front
of Bonifacio's Statue overlooking Sampaloc Lake.

Fat Larrie's has always been our source for good food and low prices but it seems we were to be disappointed that day as far as the good food and service is concerned.

We arrived at 12 noon and proceeded to order our favorite dishes.

After 10 minutes the waiter approached some of our group to inform us that our dish is not available. For those in the restaurant business, you will know that 10 minutes is a very long time to take to ascertain that the item ordered is not available. Being in good spirits however we decided to let it slide and just get something else.

Another ten minutes later, the waiter returns to tell me that my second choice is also not available. Does it really take that long to find out if it's there or not?

Finally, I find something they do have but it takes an hour and a half to get to me.

It had no taste which was quite unusual for Fat Larrie's.

What further irritated us was that the food some of us ordered hasn't even arrived yet and the bill already has.

We decided we're going to avoid Fat Larrie's for a while because of this experience.

Salad

2008-10-10T19:47:00.004+08:00

I've never been a big fan of leafy greens.

I'm actually a bit better now since I actually eat a few here and there but nearly enough of the recommended dietary standard. When I was younger I absolutely will not eat anything that had vegetables in it.

If it had meat, I'd just eat the meat and leave everything else.

If there's one thing I've learned however is that men are visual creatures and the following salad served at Red Box during their last even actually enticed me to try it out.

Score one point for you, Red Box!

Food

2008-10-08T22:44:00.004+08:00

It's amazing how food can be a feast for the taste buds as well as the eyes.

Take this particular serving, for example. Isn't it just eye catching?

The ones on the upper left corner are tomatoes, the ones on the upper right corner are cucumber, the ones on the lower left corner are green mangoes (yes, there was bagoong present), and the one on the lower left corner was...well, I'm not really sure what they were.

I think they're radishes.

Click on the thumbnail for a bigger picture.

Red Box Food!

2008-10-07T21:17:00.003+08:00

Attended the Red Box Party for Bloggers last night.

Aside from videoke, another reason to go to Red Box is for the Nintendo Wii. Yep, you read it right. Call up (02) 757-6188 for more information about their special rates and promos. I hear they're going to start offering it by next week.

Anyway, one of the reasons why I love attending any Red Box sponsored events is that they always serve good food and this event was no exception.

My favorite was the Roasted Pork with Chilli Sauce.

Not so hot as to set your head on fire but definitely enough to get your sweat glands going. It was perfect! I wonder if they have these things catered or they get it from their own kitchen. I hope it's the latter so I can order it again when the gang goes for videoke one of these days.

Food for the Soul

2008-10-06T16:50:00.001+08:00

Hey, guys! I'm helping promote a benefit concert entitled "MP3: Musikang Pinoy Plus, Palabas!" to benefit victims of cancer happening this October 26, 2008 at 3:00 PM at the Philamlife Theater, UN Avenue, Ermita, Manila.

Performers include Coke Bolipata (violinist), Alexis Edralin (soprano, leukemia survivor), Renato Lucas (cellist), and classical musicians from the alumni of the Philippine Highschool of the Arts (PHSA); Anino Shadowplay.

Orchestra Php 800.00
Balcony Php 500.00

Your attendance will mean a lot.

For ticket sales and more information please get in touch with the organizers at their e-mail address: mp3benefit (at) gmail (dot) com.

Please help spread the word about the concert. It's going to be very much appreciated!

Siopao Asado

2008-10-03T23:38:00.002+08:00

I'm working late and I'm feeling a bit hungry.

Maybe I'll go down in a bit, to the convenience store at the corner, and buy a siopao asado and a can of soda to wash it down with.

Perfect midnight snack!

Gerry's Tuna Spaghetti

2008-09-29T03:19:00.003+08:00

Dropped by last Sunday at good buddy Gerry Alanguilan's place at San Pablo, Laguna last Sunday together with a few pals and had a blast reminiscing.

It was a potluck date of sorts and I brought roasted chicken from Andok's, James brought some imbutido, Zara had some kinilaw na hipon, but the winner of the day (at least as far as our taste buds were concerned) was Gerry's tuna spaghetti.

Lunch was a feast and we had some lambanog afterwards. As perfect as a Sunday could be.

Click on the thumbnail for a bigger image.

Fat Larrie's

2008-07-06T19:28:00.002+08:00

Fat Larrie's is a steak house we frequent when lunch time hits during our monthly Komikero meetings...and for good reason!

Most of their specialty steaks (sirloin, tenderloin, t-bone, tuna, etc.) can be had for something like under Php 150.00. The rest of their menu is reasonably priced as well and is quite tasty.

The place can be a bit cramped and hot sometimes, especially if you're coming for lunch but if you're not too fussy, Fat Larrie's is definitely worth a try.

Soup

2008-06-25T09:39:00.005+08:00

I recently joined an feeding program for a far-flung elementary school in Binalonan, Pangasinan.

We served goto, a home-made style soup, to the kids, their siblings, and parents.

After the families were filled and satisfied, we got a chance to taste the soup ourselves and I must say that it's one of the best goto I've tasted ever!

Inquiries revealed that the soup in question was made by one of the local town counselors who apparently is quite a kitchen whiz.

No wonder the kids came back for seconds and thirds.

Green Ice Tea

2008-06-19T22:04:00.004+08:00

There was this Japanese fast food restaurant (I forgot the name) in Walter Mart Makati that I used to frequent some years ago.

The food was nothing spectacular. It's not bad either.

Certainly nothing you can't get from your other Japanese themed fast food at your local mall. There were two things that I liked about it, however.

One, the food was relatively cheap as compared to other similarly themed establishments. Second was that my son loved going to the place if only to get some Green Ice Tea along with one of his all time favorites, kani sushi.

They've been closed for some time now and we miss the place.

The Main Dish

2008-06-15T21:02:00.004+08:00

Often times (as is with the case with specialty restaurants nowadays) food is not only a delight for your taste buds and your nose but also a feast for your eyes as well.

The establishment takes great pride not only on how their dish tastes but how appealingly they're presented. We find ourselves eating at a particular food place not just for the place's culinary delight but for the overall experience.

Just check out this photograph I took during the Blogger Food Tour at Trinoma.

Several bloggers (including this one, of course) is busy taking snapshots of the dishes before digging in.

Click on the thumbnail for a bigger image.

May the Fork be with you

2008-06-08T12:17:00.003+08:00

A photograph of a fork at a Korean restaurant.

Click on the thumbnail for a bigger image.

Mangan

2008-06-07T23:07:00.005+08:00

Old pic from my hard drive. Taken from my stock photos of the Blogger Food Tour.

Click on the thumbnail for a bigger image.

REVIEW: Reyes Barbecue

2008-06-06T16:56:00.006+08:00

Reyes Barbecue is one of my favorite establishment because they serve one of the best tasting (and relatively inexpensive) squid meal in town. Squid being one of my favorite seafoods aside from Talaba.

There's a branch located at Greenbelt 1, near where I live and I make it a point to visit their establishment at least once a week.

I also highly recommend their porkchop, liempo, and boneless bangus.

There's this rather tasty side dish that accompanies each meal that is a mix of tomatoes, onions, and eggplant with a dash of chilli, I believe.

Check it out when you get the chance.

More Talaba

2008-06-03T23:41:00.002+08:00

Just because I love the damn thing so much, here's one more pic.

Click on the thumbnail for a bigger image.

Trinoma Food Tour

2008-06-02T18:24:00.000+08:00

Some snapshot of the food they served us for the Trinoma Food Tour
before we were unleashed on the mall's various restaurants.

Click on the thumbnails for a bigger image.

Talaba

2008-06-01T23:44:00.000+08:00

Talaba, or oysters as they're known, is actually one of my favorite seafoods.

A lot of people don't really like the site, smell, and texture of talaba. Not that you can blame them of course.

I spent part of my childhood in Bacolod where there's a place near the reclamation area where they serve chicken inasal with talaba. I remember taking a trip down the area with my folks once every week or two to sample some chicken and talaba.

It's one of the memories of my youth that I treasure.

I haven't been to Bacolod for more than 10 years now but the site of talaba always brings me home...figuratively of course.

REVIEW: Capricciosa's

2008-04-29T22:50:00.001+08:00

Lunch hour usually finds Jonas and myself adventuring through Makati for good food.

I've always been a sucker for yummy fare and having like-minded friends around makes hunting for interesting new flavors quite an experience. Greenbelt hosts a variety of restaurants and we were in the mood for something warm, heavy and Italian.

So, with that in mind, we hauled our collective asses to Capriccioca's.

Jonas ordered a Rosemary Chicken, one of the resto's best healthy bets. My order, however, turned out to be more interesting.

Behold! Rice Croquettes Ala Capricciosa!

This innocent ball of rice must not deceive you.

Although it looks weird enough to jump from its pool of steaming tomato and some unidentified chopped...something (but nonetheless yummy) sauce, it's actually quite delectable and filling.

With a name like Rice Croquettes I thought I was going to get a dainty little side dish. A crumbly little something to sprinkle over the as yet untried Capricciosa soup.

Instead I got this monstrosity.

Dainty, it ain't!

You could imagine our surprise as this was served.

Whatever we were talking about was abruptly forgotten as we gaped in shock and awe.

Recovering more quickly than I could ever hope to, Jonas grabbed a nearby steak knife and drove it right into what we thought was straight out of a Killer Tomato movie.

It never moved or chewed up knife and hand, thank God!

It did let out a bit of steam and blubbered creamy mozzarella cheese!

Drawn and quartered, it's a rice ball lightly fried with a LOT of yummy cheese inside.

What I usually do is ladle some of the soup over the rice crocquette. Eventually, the thick, creamy soup would mix with the tomato sauce and cheese from the rice for a really filling combo. Don't forget to enjoy the warm, toasty buttered bread with the soup either! I don't exactly know what vegetables are in the soup but, whatever they are, I'm sure to order this again.

You would think the serving's just right for a light lunch but, combined with the soup, it's a really heavy filling meal. So much so that I had to have the stuff i couldn't finish wrapped to take home.

It's perfect for hearty long lunches with friends on cold rainy days though.

Bon apetit!

Strawberries?

2008-04-12T23:42:00.001+08:00

I encountered these...berries, for lack of a better word for them, during one of our monthly Komikero Meetings over at San Pablo, Laguna.

It was being sold by a guy in a bicycle with a sidecar converted to a sort of sari-sari store on wheels!

They actually look like very strawberries only much, much smaller. They're being sold per glass-full and eaten with some salt. Fellow Komikero, Johnny Danganan told me what they're called but, for the life of me, can't remember the name now.

They actually taste a bit sour which is jarring since one expects them to be sweet since they look so much like strawberries.

Once you get over your initial surprise however, they are quite a tasty treat.

FOOD TRIP: Davao

2008-03-30T08:37:00.000+08:00

Davao is the largest city in Mindanao in the Philippines and is touted as it's "most beautiful and live-able city".

I for one can certainly vouch for the scenery.

I took a much needed vacation in Davao late last year and I must say that I had quite a wonderful time. The place was peppered with eat-all-you-can buffets which delighted me no end because I love sea foods (which Davao has plenty of...and FRESH to boot!).

Best of all, all these culinary delights was inexpensive going at a mere Php 100.00 on average (which is approximately US$ 2.50).

I'm planning to go back one of these days just to experience the whole thing again.

REVIEW: Bread Talks

2008-03-29T00:18:00.000+08:00

Bread Talks, quite frankly, was a disappointment.

Whenever I pass by any of their many establishments scattered in the metro, the sweet aroma of freshly baked confections always greet my nose. So, I was actually quite excited starting the Blogger Food Tour with Bread Talks with visions of delicious bread about to be sampled by my eager palette dancing in my head.

My hopes were dashed with what they offered us however: bread…with cheese.

That’s the best you can come up with!?

“What do you call this?” I inquired.

“Earthquake Toast, sir” the lady serving us the stuff replied.

I’m sure the establishment has tastier offerings but I can’t, for the life of me, understand why they didn’t come up with something more brilliant than bread with cheese. You’d think they’d exert more effort to put their best foot forward.

Based on the Earthquake Toast we were served, Bread Talks didn’t exactly rock my world, I’m sorry to say.

REVIEW: Mann Hann

2008-03-27T23:58:00.000+08:00

One of the food establishments we encountered during the Blogger Food Tour at Trinoma was Mann Hann owned by the Chua Family and this restaurant was one of the reasons I hated the 5-10 minute window we were alloted to sample what each resto had to offer.

What I immediately noticed was that the place had a nice ambiance (relaxing and laid back...perfect for a Sunday afternoon food binge with the family) and the food was presented very well.

But the proof of the pie is in the eating, as they say...and eat we did (and HOW!).

I only got to sample the Crispy Pata and the Spare Ribs but man were they good. The Crispy Pata was crispy without being too oily and the Spare Ribs was most excellent.

All I can say is that you guys have got to try it.