I thought of making a food post in my other blog, but earlier today, my sister suggested that I make a separate blog just for food. And since I plan to keep taking pictures of and trying new dishes, and I plan to actually start cooking this year (watch out, world!), I thought that this was a good idea.
So, hello, everyone! Here I am, starting the new year (albeit 15 days into 2014) with a new blog dedicated solely to one of my many passions: food.
A disclaimer: I am, by no means, a connoisseur of any kind. Neither am I qualified (at least in my opinion) to write proper reviews. But I do love food and I do love trying out new dishes and cuisines. Plus, for the first time in my life, I'm really making a commitment to make my culinary genius of a mother proud by learning how to cook.
For my first entry, I thought of writing about some of my favorite things to eat last year. They must have really been "top of mind", as we say in advertising, because these are the only ones I remember.
(Also, these were the only ones whose pictures were still in my phone's camera roll. Cop-out excuse, I know. Sorry! I'll do better this year.)
1) Burger Bar (Greenbelt)'s 4-Cheese Chuck:
Parmesan patty, with cheddar, gruyere, mozzarella, arugula, and garlic aioli. A melt-in-your-mouth explosion of goodness.
2) Mitsuyado Sei-Men (Jupiter St.)'s Double Cheese Tsukemen:
Combining two of my favorite things in the world — cheese and ramen — in a way that strangely makes total sense.
3) Hokkaido Ramen Santouka (Glorietta)'s Char Siu Ramen
Flavor-packed soy broth boiled for hours to perfection, soft and textured handmade noodles, juicy pork cuts... what more can one ask for?
4) Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant (Shangri-La Mall)'s Cheese Spätzle:
The German version of pasta with a creamy sauce consisting of assorted kinds of cheese, plus crispy onion rings on top. A balance of textures and flavors.
5) Mamou (Powerplant Mall)'s Lorenzo's Truffle Cream Pasta:
2013 was a truffle-filled year for me. Even if I had already eaten this dish in previous years, I rediscovered how amazing it was thanks to how much love I had for truffle that year. As of now, I still haven't found a truffle pasta that can rival this one.
6) Jade Cuisine (Shanghai)'s Xiao Long Bao:
When I had a work assignment in Shanghai last August, I made it a point to order my favorite dumplings while I was there. Talk about a party in my mouth. One whole order just for me!
7) Orchard Road (Singapore) Hawker Center's Roasted Duck with Noodles:
Until today, I can't forget how this tastes. The amazingly savory sauce, how tender the duck was, the softness of the noodles — everything about it was to die for. I'm still looking for a restaurant in Manila that serves something like this.
8) The Farm Restaurant (Alabang)'s Double Cheeseburger:
All the ingredients of all the dishes in this restaurant are organic. The beef patty is tender and flavorful; the cheese doesn't only play mind games with your palate, but it's all over the burger without melting into a gooey mess.
9) Ramen Yushoken (Alabang)'s Shoyu Ramen:
What can I say? Right now, this has to be my favorite shoyu-based ramen (Hokkaido Ramen Santouka's is just half a notch lower). It wins several thumbs ups from me for its silky broth, melt-in-your-mouth noodles, and flavor-filled pork strips.
10) Saramsam (Ilocos Norte)'s Longganisa Pizza:
A delightful twist to everyone's favorite pizza, featuring native ingredients, such as Ilocano Longganisa. Cheesy, meaty, with that sausage-y, smokey punch of flavor from the longganisa.
And on to something equally memorable, for an entirely opposite reason, here's the most disappointing meal I had for 2013. Disappointing, only because I expected so much from the restaurant and because this dish was pretty pricey but it didn't deliver in terms of flavor.
Grace Park (Rockwell)'s Fettuccine's Truffle Cream Pasta with Organic Egg:
For a PhP 550 dish, I expected great things from it. Firstly, service was pretty bad; it took more than an hour to serve appetizers and another thirty minutes before the entrées arrived. Secondly, this pasta was so flat in terms of flavor. The sauce was bland, I could barely taste the truffle oil, there was no balance of flavors. A far cry from my favorite truffle pasta (mentioned earlier) from its sister restaurant, Mamou.
There we have it! Looking forward to more food coma-inducing adventures in 2014 — and now, in the kitchen as well.
Stay tuned for more entries in the future (and in the near future, a better template for this blog!).
This made me hungry!
ReplyDeleteI love your initials! Hahaha! And yeah, me, too! Already thinking about lunch!
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