This is a compilation of random food trips I had with J in a short span of time LOL. We went to Quezon City, Pasig, Manila and scouted near his Galleon office in Mandaluyong for simple filling meals and to try some restaurants (like the first 2) that we haven't tried before. There are some improvement areas but when you're too thrilled with just being able to see your partner for more time than usual, you tend to choose to notice the good stuff around you and enjoy those little precious moments you have. One particular restaurant reminds me of an amusing conversation about wishbones haha. Let me just take you on a food trip around Metro Manila right now while I reminisce and reconnect with my writing muse =)
We went to the newly opened Caution Hot! Spicy Noodle House near Maginhawa Street in Quezon City.
I love the interiors and how you can just enjoy even a solo meal in your own chosen corner.
The instructions were simple - create your own noodles and extinguish it with drinks. Burn your tongue if you wish at your own risk. =) Try the Szechuan pepper one haha I dare you for one that has a bite.
I was glad they had good soya milk. I haven't been able to find that many with that fresh taste like the soya milk I had in Taiwan but theirs was good (close to the one we had at that vegetarian restaurant in Binondo).
J ordered a vegetarian version being more experimental and all.
He had Oolong Tea with Grass Jelly. I liked mine but secretly wished they put grass jelly too in the soya milk like the one I had at the Maxwell Center in Singapore ;)
Mine was beef. I was transported to Taiwan, the Philippines and Hong Kong for this dish.
The Taiwanese beef slices were a nice touch - thin and soft. For the burn, I went with mild so that I can still eat a lot of things haha.
I absolutely love these pork dumplings, even craving them as I write this now.
The board said you can put it in the soup and eat it with the noodle dish.
I, on the other hand, prefered my dumplings dry and dripping with BOTH sauces hehe. If the burn of your noodles is not enough then this could be add some fire to that.
We liked it so much that we ordered another one haha. I liked the Pork Dumplings better than the Kuchay-Pork Dumplings.
They didn't have the shaved ice at that time so we got the Bao Bing. It has grass jelly, peaches, lychee and three scoops of vanilla ice cream over ice. All in all, our total bill was around P700 for 2 big bowls of noodle soup, 2 orders of dumplings, 2 drinks and 1 dessert at Caution Hot!
J told me about the new restaurant owned by Grace Lee and Paolo Bediones Hoolala Korean Chicken House in Ortigas. I was actually more thrilled that it was a Korean Chicken (maybe with beer so Chimek) place. Grace Lee was actually dining just a few tables away with her parents (I'm assuming) and talking in Korean. The place was a bit dark when we came and it looked more like a cafeteria.
The prices were pretty cheap (student price), there was parking in front and the food was not bad. It's just walking distance from Jang Ga Nae ;) Not a lot of places have kimchi fried rice, unlimited pickled radish and that chicken sauce for fried chicken hehe.
We headed out to Intramuros one weekend lunch for the Ilustrado Restaurant. I find it weird that they close early (like 5 or 6 p.m.) so noon is probably the best time to go here. Honestly, I had a fond memory of this place and been wanting to go back for a few years now. Back in college, we had this Alternative Class Day and we went here to eat adobong balut (yummy!) and sampaguita ice cream. Sadly, there's no more balut in the menu now...
We were served bread with pate on the house. The service was a bit slow since there were only about 2 waiters going around for the entire restaurant.
We ordered the bisque which came in super mini cups. It was a bit too salty for me.
I loved the Adobong Bagnet (and a Prawn) with Taba ng Talangka (crab fat) and atsara (pickled papaya). It did look pricey (almost P500) because of the small size but I would come back for this dish because it just had my kind of sweet and salty. It goes super well with rice, which is a staple in this country. Haha.
J is busy with the office a lot (even weekends) so I kidnapped him one night for a quick dinner hahaha. We just walked to Robinsons Forum Pioneer and went to our friend's chicken place SingSarap Garlic Chicken for a light meal.
It's located at the food court on the top floor and perfect for a work lunch.
We ordered the Oriental BBQ meal hehe.
It's been a while since I had palabok so I ordered that..
The chicken was truly sarsarap hehehe. Next time I'd like to try the other flavors with rice.
Finally, J took me to the stalls near the supermarket to show me his recent find Bob's Burger. He knows I like Korean food
and I was telling him about the yummy Korean kimchi tuna rice burger I had in Busan (which we didn't have time to buy when he was in Seoul with me).
He found this all by himself
and ate this for 2 days straight! Hahaha. The owner was really nice too, gave us a lot of toppings and remembered him LOL.
Restaurant Details:
Caution Hot! Spicy Noodle House
Magiting Street, UP Teacher's Village,
Quezon City
Hoolala Korean Chicken House
#7 Amber Square, Eskriva Drive,
Ortigas, Pasig
Ilustrado Restaurant
744 Calle Real Del Palacio
Intramuros, Manila
(02) 527-2345
Singsarap Garlic Chicken
3/F Food Loft Area, Forum Robinsons Mall,
EDSA cor. Pioneer Street, Mandaluyong
Bob's Burger
Robinsons Forum Pioneer
near supermarket
