Too Soon to be 2011

Wow, this year went by so fast. I am so not ready for 2011.

This year was about direction and learning, as probably all of my years are. But I had fun. I learned a lot about the field that I want to get into (and hopefully, I’m in it). It’s amazing how the world offers so much learning even after you’re done with school.

No major traveling happened but I got to explore two new countries. This brings me to 24 countries visited in my lifetime. I am seriously tempted to consider Macau and Hong Kong countries, but I wouldn’t be happy with that. I shall wait and make my age equal to the countries I visited in 2011.

I’m glad I got to meet new people this year, a whole lot of them really. The GMCI people are just lovely and from where I work now, people are great. I’ve come to meet a lot of bloggers too, which I’m grateful. Just excuse my being timid in events sometimes because I am a bit shy around people I just met. But I am chatty, believe me. :P

My family and friends are the best. Love them to bits.

Well, because I can’t do anything about 2011 approaching, I’m hoping to publish Europe entries in January and February, after I’m done with what I currently have on hand. I wish to learn more new things and meet (and bond) with wonderful people. I’d like to see more foreign places and I do hope to try on more food.

I’m blessed, that part I acknowledge and I’m very thankful.

Here’s to more adventures, excitements and successes. Great things shall happen to us all.

Happy New Year everyone! Cheers!

The Buzz About Army Navy

Tucked in non-descript but still very busy by day street of Dela Rosa in Makati, Army Navy is said to house one of the delicious burgers in town. I am not really fond of eating burgers but my meat-eater companion is, and since Army Navy offers burritos, which I’m quite fond of, I was game.

Double Burger (Php 185) – this food composed of two quarter pound beef patties with lettuce, tomato slice, onions, mayonnaise sandwiched in sesame buns. This food right here is a half a kilo worth of meat. Of course that did not scare my meat-eater companion. The burger was good, really juicy and tender. It was well worth the price. What I don’t quite like about it is that you have to add another Php 25 for the cheese. Additional bacon is Php 25. 

Freedom Fries (Php 60) – I don’t think I know why these fries were called such. This has almost the same taste as McDonald’s Twister Fries but a bit stronger in flavour. Also, these fries were thinly sliced and a bit more toasted.

Chicken Burrito (Php 135) – the burrito tasted a little bland for me but then I ate my leftover the day after and it tasted better (meaning more flavour). I am not sure but maybe the ingredients were not widely spread. And as always, I prefer my burrito with more chicken. But this was also good enough to try.

The iced tea was good, by the way. It was brewed and at Php 55, it was well worth the price. They also offer the triple quarter pound beef patties called Bully Boy Burger at Php 235. It is quite scary. Wouldn’t eating that much meat cause a heart attack? Service, by the way, was efficient and I liked it.

Army Navy Burger & Burrito

Retail Space 1B Dela Rosa Tower 1

Solaris Building Dela Rosa St. Makati City

(63 2) 8363333

Royce’ Nama Chocolates

I’ve been sick for a month now. A little bit over a week ago, I received a phone call from someone who was asking if I was still coughing… and I was. 

But my enabler took no effort into prohibiting me to eat these, case in point, he was the one who bought these chocolates. Haha. It was such a great surprise, I loved it.

They were milk chocolates that came in 20 rectangles. They were covered in dark chocolate powder that was balanced out by the soft milky chocolate inside. The chocolates were on the sweet side, like there were caramel inside but surprisingly, they maintain to be such a delight to the palette. I did not get tired of eating the chocolates, on the contrary, the chocolates are highly addicting. The taste just spreads around the tongue which was really good.

When buying, Royce’ will wrap the chocolates inside a bag with dry ice to maintain the consistency of the chocolates as they do easily melt. It will last up to 5 hours, just enough for you to get the chocolates into your fridge (or someone else’s).

Now I’m off to go grab a bite. :)

Royce’

4/F Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center
Lopez Drive, Barangay Poblacion
Makati City

(63 2) 4925051

Merry Christmas! :)

Have a meaningful one! :)

Last Year’s Duo Christmas Dinner

In a few hours, it will be Christmas. There is something about being grown up and being jaded but try as I may, Christmas remains to be my favourite holiday. And now that I don’t have to go to downtown (read: Binondo) every single day, I haven’t experienced the horrible holiday traffic at all.

This was actually last year’s Christmas dinner. I have loved Duo since they opened. The Tessie Tomas Salad has always been a favourite of mine. But for that Christmas eve, the restaurant has put together a 5-course dinner for their patrons.

As compared to eating in hotels’ restaurants during this time of the year, when prices double all of a sudden during the eves (both for Christmas and New Year) availing of the set dinner at Php 1,100 (plus 10% service charge), I say, is a pretty good deal. 

In our case, I didn’t order the set because I seriously wanted to order Tessie Tomas Salad (small - Php 485, large – Php 750). The salad is composed of a set of greens with tiger prawns, marinated salmon, parmesan cheese, shitake mushrooms, sundried tomatoes topped (and tossed in?!) with creamy balsamic dressing. The combination of these ingredients is sure to confuse and please your taste buds all at the same time. You just have to taste it to believe it.

For my main course, I had Peppered Steak in Creamy Cognac Sauce (Php 730). I do not normally like medium-well steaks (I prefer mine just medium) but this was really cooked to perfection. The meat was tender and moist, and overwhelming with flavours. It was just really begging to be eaten, loved it.

As for the set, my meat-eater companion was the one who availed of it. We actually split the peppered steak and the sea bass for us to try both main courses. Check out the line-up below:

Pan-fried Goose liver and Baked Duck Confit in filo pastry (in raspberry sauce with mesclun salad tossed in French creamy dressing – didn’t expect for this to appear in a wrapped-lumpiang-shanghai kind of way, but it worked. It was a good mix in the mouth and the raspberry flavour gave such a good play in the taste of the entire dish.

Cream of Chestnut Soup – I could not remember anything special about this but hearing the word “chestnut” instantly converts a dish into a Christmas one. But then again, I remembered it being a good enough soup to gorge in.

Dalandan Sherbet – now this was supposed to be served to us, but Duo didn’t do so. I guess they forgot, and we did too.

Baked Leek and Shitake crusted Chilean Seabass in lobster lemongrass sauce served with truffle angel hair and asparagus – ah, ze zeabass. Hahaha. This dish had enough creaminess into it that enhanced the flavour of the fish. The seabass was cooked just right, almost in a melt-in-your-mouth kind of way. Throwing in the angel hair pasta and asparagus was a delightful mix of good flavours. 

Dark and White Chocolate Cake with strawberry filling – by this time, we were both quite full. The cake was moist, the flavours were rich and it came with a hint of mint leaves on top which added another edge on the flavours.

Service that night was less than acceptable, I'm afraid. How come they are always that way during the holidays (same was the case when I had my New Year's Eve dinner here in 2008). They even failed to serve the sherbet. Tsk tsk. We totally forgot as well as I was in a hurry because I have to be home for noche buena that night.

I hope they improve though because service can overshadow the quality of food, no matter how good it was.

So, where are you spending your Christmas or New Year’s Eve?!

Duo

Serendra Piazza Taguig City

(63 2) 8561200; (63 2) 8561300

Punta Bulata Negros Occidental

What’s a trip outside Manila without a visit to the beach? Beats me.

Punta Bulata is a resort around 160 km South of Bacolod City (roughly three hours away by land, because it is somewhat off-the-beaten path), which has a 1 km stretch of white sand beach. During low tide, the sea goes way past the break water, 500 meters from the shore. Amazing huh?

We were lucky to have the entire resort all to ourselves. No one else was checked in as it was a weekday. The resort was serene, their restaurant did not have much food choices and nothing really remarkable as well, but the servers and staff’s friendliness and warmth made up for it.

The Rooms:

There are two kinds of accommodations. The one is a boutique hotel that is three-storey high and with twelve rooms.

The other batch includes the cabanas and casitas which I didn’t really see much of. I only saw the beach cabana which is at a separate building from the boutique rooms. The cabanas have nipa huts as roofs. I think this is a good place to stay, very tropical, you can absolutely feel that you are on vacation. Judging by the photos in their website, Hillside A Superior looks interesting.

Budget permitting, I suggest staying at Room 21, a room that is quite spacious. This was where we stayed for a night. It has the nicest view of the Sulu Sea. What really made me love the room so much was the king size bed, and how soft the sheets were. It’s almost like I didn’t want to leave the bed anymore. It’s priced at Php 3750 (plus 12% VAT and 10% SC, but call just to make sure) for two people with breakfast. Pretty good deal considering the warm and excellent service.

The bathroom was spacious as well, too bad the jacuzzi wasn’t working. They should have that fixed. But I loved that the bathroom was airy and has white walls, a tropical ambiance indeed.

As for the resort, I suggest to indulge in an afternoon of swimming (plus booze, if you prefer it that way) in their infinity pool. I guarantee an absolutely amazing view during sunsets.

I have to admire the beach for being clear. With that, live fish and sea grass can be found even at the shallowest part of the water. The beach was inviting and I bet snorkeling would be a lot of fun.

The main thing that can be done here is go for a daytrip to Danjugan Island which is 10 minutes away from the resort by boat. It’s Php 1,500 per head including food for lunch, snacks, boat transfers, trekking guide, snorkeling guide, use of kayak and binoculars for bird watching. Throw in another Php 1,000 to see the world from underwater. Make sure to call ahead if you decide to go as we did not. We were not able to see the marine sanctuary in this part of the island.

I had one of my best days in Punta Bulata. We were sitting by the pool as we watched the world go by. It was beautiful, breathtaking if you may, and I really won’t mind coming back.

 

Punta Bulata

White Beach Resort & Spa

Brgy. Elihan, Cauayan Municipality, Sipalay Negros Occidental

(63 34) 4335160 / 4730235

+639209003558

Business Inn’s Beef Medallion

Business Inn is one of the popular places to stay in Bacolod. It is so because of its location, right along the main road, Lacson Street, in the downtown area of the city.

We didn’t stay but we were treated out for dinner. S ordered the Beef Medallion which he claims to be his favourite. I asked for a bite. As I was slicing a part of the meat for me to consume, I was pleasantly surprised. The meat was so tender. The Beef Medallion was topped by creamed mushroom which tasted really good. It was like chicken and gravy but way better. It was flavourful. The creaminess and the richness of the taste lingered in my mouth, it was wonderful. It made me think of whether to have another bite because I wanted to experience the tenderness of the meat or still savour what’s left of the taste in my mouth.

It was the usual laid-back crowd, families having dinner mainly. Quiet and relaxed as everyone was enjoying their meals or coffee. If only for this, I say, Business Inn is worth a visit.

Café Biz

Business Inn

28 South Lacson Street, Bacolod City Negros Occidental

(63 34) 4338877

El Ideal: Humble and Tasty Food!

A humble place just outside Bacolod City and a few minutes drive from the airport. El Ideal is said to house the tastiest and unique Guapple Pie. It is located in Silay City, where the ancestral houses are located. Unfortunately, due to the city’s too much partying the night before (Philippine’s Independence Day is also their Feast day as well, and no, I am not kidding about the too much partying part), managers of the ancestral homes weren’t able to open for business, thus the photos I have are only the facades.

Luckily, I researched and El Ideal was on my list to try. We drove ourselves to the place and we snooped around and see what the others were ordering. I noticed a lot were ordering fresh lumpia among others. It’s a self-service kind of establishment so we lined-up as we checked out what food were on display.

Guapple pie (Php 35 / slice) – it was only the correct thing to do, to order the specialty of the house. It is called such because it is a combination of both guava and apple fruits. The taste? Surprisingly good. The crust has the right crispness which went well with the mashed fruits filling. There was also a hint of cinnamon somewhere which complemented the pie well. I loved that for a pie, it wasn’t too sweet at all. This is good because I could’ve finished the entire slice without getting sick of it. But then I wanted to try something else and my stomach can only take so much.

Mais con Jielo (Php 40) – I was disappointed with this. It wasn’t just that it was ordinary, it was lacking in milk which is bad because there wasn’t much ingredients in it to begin with. 

Leche flan (Php 38) – this had an almost gelatin-like consistency and a very smooth texture. It was layered with a bit of burnt sugar which added a hint of bitterness to the dessert and a very good combination with the milk. One of the best leche flans ever (no bubbles, no rough parts).

Fresh lumpia (Php 30) – El Ideal’s patrons were ordering this so we had to try. Beside the usual lumpia ingredients, it had a lot of garlic than usual and mashed boiled eggs. This was served cold and I’m not really a fan of cold food (save for salads and desserts of course). But it tasted  great though because of the combination of the spices. Had this been warm, I would’ve loved it.

Arrozcaldo (Php 55) – now here’s a winner. Their version was hot and was just oozing with flavour. The serving was generous especially for the price. I loved that there was a lot of garlic in it.

These food, my dears, were consumed for snacks. We have ordered food as if there was no tomorrow. This humble establishment is certainly worth a visit. I suggest to do this after you tire yourselves out checking out the ancestral homes in the area.

El Ideal

118 Rizal St. Silay City Negros Occidental

(63 34) 4954430

Bascon Café

Bascon Café is a dessert place. As the sugar capital of the Philippines, Bacolod City has never run out of producing sweets or putting up establishments that offer dessert. Bascon Café is one of them.

The place offers a very wind-down atmosphere; it’s a place to hang out with friends to exchange stories and what have you’s. The place also offers free wi-fi so for the internet addicts out there (such as myself), this place is for you.

We ordered coffee. I had cappuccino. I love how establishments in Bacolod have muscovado sugar as a default condiment. It certainly is healthier than taking in the chemically processed white sugar. I rarely put sugar in my coffee, I prefer it with just the cream or milk, but when I do, I put only a little of it. I’m trying not to gain too much weight and I actually prefer the bitter taste. Although this cappuccino was nowhere near bitter, it was quite good, especially combined with the slices of cake we ordered. Aside from that, it was affordable too. It was just Php 56.

Sadly, the cakes were to sweet form my palette. Calea cakes are certainly better. We ordered these cakes on the photo (Sansrival Mocha (Php 70) and Baba Small (Php 100)) but I could barely remember the taste save for how sweet they were. Good thing that nothing in Bacolod was overly priced.

I suggest to try their other pastries (as they offer breads) and other coffee concoction as this place for me is a really good and affordable alternative for Starbucks (yes, the city has one Starbucks but with how expensive their coffees are, I wonder if they make money in Bacolod?).

Bascon Café

205 Ascalon Bldg., 27th Lacson St.,

Mandalagan and C.L. Montelibano St., Bacolod City

Best Chicken Inasal: Manokan Country

Bacolod City is the best place to get the popular Chicken Inasal. Inasal is said to mean “grilled”, and how it is different from “barbecue” is the marinade that is used. With Inasal, a concocted vinegar is used instead of barbecue sauce.

While in Bacolod, it is a must to eat at Manokan Country. This place houses a lot of eateries, mainly offering Chicken Inasal. Think of it as Dampa (a market area where seafood can be bought, then choose among several restaurants around the area to cook according to the customer’s specifications), only instead of seafood, there are chicken inasal all over. Eateries in Manokan Country also offer oysters (but as to how chickens and oysters are combined in one place, I have no idea). I didn’t try the oysters though (my stomach gets weird when I eat oysters at night time). 

I was really excited because I love eating chicken and the press release was that the taste of Manila’s inasal doesn’t even come close.

There’s so much truth to it. I’ve ordered the thigh part which is called paa. I prepared my own concoction of sauce (soy sauce, vinegar, calamansi and a tiny bit of chili) to perfectly go with it. I also ordered garlic rice and I was ready to eat with my two bare hands.

Eating inasal chicken has never been this much bliss. We ate at Nena’s Beth (not sure what that means) and the chicken was served warm (hot, if you may) and was oozing with a very appetizing scent. It was very tender yet solid enough that it was easy on the tongue (unlike some that would break into crumbs). It was full of flavour. The scrumptious meat was irresistible that I actually had to order for another one. It was another round of juiciness and flavourful bits of heaven.

I assure you that your Php100 will go a long way. I can’t recall the exact price but for a part of a chicken served shouldn’t cost beyond Php70 (yes, even the meatiest part like the breast and thighs). Some grilled street food are also available in the same area such as pig’s intestine and pork barbecue.

If you’re the type who likes rice, this place is for you as you will tend to order so much of it because the inasal chicken is best to enjoy with rice. They have this oil (which I have no idea what’s it composed of) to mix with your rice which enhances the flavour of the inasal when eaten with it. It was good but very sinful. I advise those with high-blood tendency to stay away from it.

The memories just kept rushing in as I wrote this. I do hope to come back soon because that good of a chicken shouldn’t be tried just once in a lifetime.

Nena's Beth

Manokan Country (across SM Bacolod)
Bacolod City, Philippines