Ding Qua Qua Moments in Cebu

On my recent trip to the Queen City of the South, I promised myself a whole lot of eating in dimsums. So far here in Manila, I haven't tried a dimsum place worth coming back to. I've always been a regular eater at Ding Qua Qua dimsum house located in JY Square Mall. It's a cozy place with good and inexpensive food. I've always done the dimsum buffet with lines of different siomai's, unending supply of steamed rice, crispy spring rolls and mountains of dessert as well as some other food items like chicken feet, beef with broccoli and the list goes on. My mouth waters just at the thought of it. I find myself yearning for another dimsum feast. That is going to be one of my quests here in Manila. To find a dimsum place worth comparing to those that I've eaten in Cebu. I had fun! The steamed rice was heaven and the siomai's were great. I stuffed my face full of dimsum knowing that I did not know when the next return would be. Nothing beats dimsum in Cebu! But hey, who knows, I might discover a great dimsum place here. To the next adventure...

Bananas & Hazelnut Crepe from EastWest Cafe

I have missed this! We have a long standing affair of good times together and I had the chance to once again sample its delights when I flew back to Ceb for a couple of days. Days I might add where really not enough. Met with good friends and had coffee and this delicious crepe. It’s crepe generously spread with hazelnut spread then on the top of the folded crepe is a dollop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, a ring of sliced bananas, almonds and a drizzle of butterscotch to finish this delectable treat. Only at EastWest Café! I miss you once again my bananas & hazelnut!!! Hope to see you soon…

A Foodie Apology

My apologies for not updating often...I have been on hiatus but I hope to relieve this sometime next month...

thanks for the patience dear readers...

Food on the Spot: “Tinubong” from Ilocos

As a foodie, one must be open to exotic and funny dishes to make our taste buds have more history and more experience. I am always open to different foods from different regions and different cuisines. So this one time, an officemate of mine brought something from the Ilocos region of the Philippines and delivered it to my tummy. Friend Ands, brought “Tinubong”. It is a “kakanin” that is stored inside a bamboo. So you have sticky rice sweetened with sugar or molasses and stored or cooked inside a bamboo stick. This is pretty authentic and I was even amazed. It is my first time to see and eat something like this. The only way that you could get to the sticky rice inside was to bang the stick against a wall or crack it open in another way, Then you split up the bamboo and then get the delicious and moist sticky rice inside. So delish actually that the very next day, friend Ands bought another 3 sticks and we all ended up eating it at the office. Thanks friend Ands for sharing this delicious Filipino dish from Ilocos...

Resto on Feature: Som's Noodle House

Finally after much searching and planning, friend BV and I found Som's Noodle House at the back of Rockwell. It is situated in Alger St. and is not really hard to find. You just need to follow the trail of lots of people and cars and you will find it instantly. No waiter to take down your order here, you actually need to go down to the cashier's area and just order what you want. It is a very hole in the wall place and it is situated in a subdivision actually. The seats there were just monobloc chairs under big picnic umbrellas. A hole-in-the-wall place but I would not exactly say that it's still a secret. Not when fellow bloggers have already praised the resto too. So its not a secret anymore but its a good find here in Makati

For our main course, we ordered of course beef with green curry. The servings were good that it was actually good for 2 people and the price not that expensive. I loved the beef with green curry and will try the red curry next time. Another dish that we ordered was Pad Thai. Now, this dish I love. I was introduced to this dish a while back in Cebu by LemonGrass, this nice resto which I think was a fusion of Vietnamese and Thai dishes. Som's pad thai was a plateful and it had big chicken bits, generous helping of bean sprouts and of course the nuts but the taste was not really that good compared to the one that I tasted in LemonGrass but still it was not bad considering the cheap price and the serving. We also had of course the main staple, bagoong rice complete with servings of green mango, omelette and the meat. The meat was quite dry but otherwise the bagoong rice was a big enough portion for both of us.

Still not bad for a total bill of PHP 360.00. Split into 2 thats around PHP 180.00/each. Not bad and I loved their beef green curry.

Binondo Up Close: The Fried Siopao & Eng Bee Tin delicacies

Yes I have Chinese roots and so I love everything that is Chinese especially their food and that is the reason that ever since January I have been back and forth in Binondo with my mother. We just love it. I had scoured the net for blogs that were featuring Binondo foods and there were many who wrote about it. They mostly tried out the Old Manila Walks with Ivan Dy and were taken to really good places.

Upon reading up on some bloggers, I made a list and that included Fried Siopao to try. This is going to be the first in my series of features on Binondo Food. I just can't get enough of it. Cheap and good! Those are the key words. As the mom and I were walking around, I spotted a little opening in a small shop where it was being mobbed with people. They were busy buying fried siopao. Yes, it is not steamed people but fried so that it has a crisp brown bottom and it was field with delicious Asado inside. We hurriedly grabbed 2 pcs to try out and also we had to buy some of their Machang as it was only PhP35.00 compared to the ones in Eng Bee Tin at a higher price. So I couldn't wait to taste it hence I ended up eating it at the street while walking and was it so good! I wanted to have another one but restricted myself to just 1 piece since we were going to eat again.

After much walking the mom and I ended up checking out the Mezzanine cafe on the top of Eng Bee Tin at Ongpin Street. It is a cafe where all the proceeds will actually go the volunteer firefighters of Binondo. We ordered fried wanton, shrimp and pork siomai and Asado (violet) siopao. Yummy! It was supposed to be for snacks but it filled us up big time. And of course, the obligatory visit to the deli store of Eng Bee Tin for some take home chinese deli. We bought hopia, kiamoy, strawberry tikoys and went home feeling so sated and with the promise of again coming back. I can't seem to stop going to Binondo and we actually even saw Judy Ann there doing a shooting of sorts.

Can't wait for the next visit and for my next food feature. Also, don't forget in the scene is the much celebrated purple fire trucks of Binondo!!!

Post Christmas Celebration at Mommy Z & Daddy J's house: Another French cuisine experience...

Last December 28, Mommy Z & Daddy J hosted another small dinner for me at their quaint and comfy house together with cousin J, cousin I and his girlfriend M. Another dinner party filled with mouth-watering dishes, abundant red wine, excellent dessert and good conversation. I just came from our high school reunion the night before and was kind of tired that I welcomed the intimate family gathering that night. For the food, I was so excited that I could not wait to get to their house. I knew lamb was going to be the main course since I had mentioned to them that I wanted to eat lamb so they kindly accommodated my request and I love them for it. Especially Mommy Z for cooking away in the kitchen. The table was a sight to behold.

For the antipasti, Mommy Z just assembled an Italian dish – Prosciutto with Melon Balls. Slivers of prosciutto arranged around the plate and in the center was a small pile of melon balls. Quite simply delicious. On the salad side was my all time favorite and Mommy Z made it as per my request (I just love Mommy Z). The salad were medium sized prawns drenched in olive oil, basil, lemon and spices to create that Lemony Shrimp Salad.

For the fish course Mommy Z baked tuna and paired it with 2 kinds of sauces: green pepper sauce and the mustard sauce. The verdict-the mustard sauce pretty much hit it on the spot as the better pairing for the baked tuna fish. And for the main course, leg of lamb with its drippings as sauce. When I had lamb here in Manila, I noticed this aftertaste that was not unpleasant that stuck in my mouth, but with Mommy Z's lamb I loved every taste of it. Juicy, no evident aftertaste and so tasty. Later on she told me that it was Australian lamb from their butcher. Yummy!! Should I go on or are you guys already salivating. :) There has to be a vegetable side dish to every dinner and we had the usual glazed vegetables as accompaniment to our hearty dinner.

But wait, I am not finished yet. Dessert comes in the form of my much missed and much loved dessert which brings back memories of childhood days when all our family was present and we were having dinner or lunch at Daddy J & Mommy Z's house and we, children at that time were playing on the grounds and sneaking in and out to demolish the dessert that Mommy Z usually made. It was one of my favorites, Chocolate and Vanilla Mousse. The taste was everything that I remembered it to be and that night was a reunion for my tastebuds as well. Mommy Z also brought out her homemade bread which she usually baked for us. Again another memory of my childhood and I was content. Cousin I and J were content as well.

Daddy J and Mommy Z: thank you so much for hosting that dinner for me because it was such a trip down gastronomic and memory lane. I look forward to the next dinner...hopefully soon and I'm bringing Z with me.