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#Trending in Food

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We've nearly approached the halfway mark of 2017, and I realized that I hadn't blogged here in almost six months. For those who may have thought that I simply lost interest in cooking, eating out, or reviewing anything food-related, fret not; my Instagram still sees a lot of foodie action, and recently, I co-wrote an article on spot.ph with my brother.

Anyway, since almost half the year is over, I decided to do something different. Instead of your typical restaurant/dish review or cooking how-to, I decided to compile a list of Metro Manila food trends from late 2016 to early 2017. This list is purely based on my own personal observation and experiences, so it may or may not be relatable to all.

With this said, let's get started. (Why do I sound like a vlogger?)

1) Cheese Overload

From pasta cooked in cheese, to cheese scraping, to restaurants devoted to the pure love of cheese, and the invasion of Japanese cheese tarts, cheeseaholics — like yours truly! — can satisfy their cheese cravings pretty much anywhere.

Melt Grilled Cheesery, located in Uptown Mall, BGC, is a restaurant hopelessly devoted to cheese.

From Lava, to Kumori, to Pablo's Cheese Tarts, Manila is experiencing quite the invasion.

What's better than pasta with cheese? Pasta cooked in cheese!
Parmigiano in Molito, Alabang, is one of those restaurants that offers this.

2) More Health-Conscious Eating

On the flip side, there are more restaurants that offer healthier alternatives to their dishes, and more people have generally shifted to a healthier way of eating. From diet meal plans, to vegan versions of dishes, to DIY breakfasts, to farm-to-table organic fare, there are more options nowadays for the health junkie.

DIY your own healthy breakfast with mixed fruits and chia seeds.

Earth Kitchen, with branches along White Plains and in BGC, serves only farm-to-table organic dishes. Most of their menu items can also be translated into vegetarian and vegan counterparts.

3) The Rise of Food Parks

Almost everywhere you turn, you will see a food park; if it hasn't been operational for several weeks now, then there's a new one under construction. Despite the erratic weather we have (it's either unbearably hot or raining), people mysteriously flock over to these food parks for the social experience that it is, for the social media mileage they may get out of their posts, and, of course, for the variety of food that they can choose from.


A recent food park that I went to is called The Truck Park, located along Mayor Gil Fernando Avenue in Marikina. From grilled dishes, to Mexican favorites, to American comfort food, to sausage sandwiches, this food park (like many others) caters to a wide range of diners and foodies.

4) For Brunching #TitasOfManila

 Brunch has become a trend in itself the last few years, and many restaurants have adapted to this. Offering hearty meals for that brunching window, titas-at-heart now have many Instagram-worthy restaurants and dishes to choose from.


Meeting your fellow titas at 9am? You don't need to go out of town to do so. Restaurants like Rustic Mornings in Marikina have that ambiance any tita would love, with brunch fare to satisfy your palate as you and your beshies chitchat for hours.

5) The Poke that outlasted Pokémon

That interactive game may have lasted for only a few months, but thanks to Hawaiians, poke bowls have found their place in Manileños' hearts these past few months. And of course they would. Combining sushi, which many of us love, with a heaping bowl of sticky rice, resulting in an explosion of textures and flavor? It's perfection.


Salmon or tuna is usually the star of each bowl. Sushi Nori is one such restaurant that serves a variety of poke bowls.

If I were to add a few more (though I don't have pictures for them), they would be:
  • Artisanal coffee shops
  • Salted egg potato chips (and permutations of it, i.e. salted egg fried chicken)
  • Ube as an emerging global flavor (move over, green tea!)

Any other food trends that you may have noticed? Feel free to leave a comment!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Watercolor x Food

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Hello, dear reader! I hope you're still out there. I'm still eating, still living, but haven't gotten to post anything food-related recently.

Part of it is because I haven't been able to cook as often as I used to. Sundays are normally my day, but as of late, my Sundays have been revolving around races, training sessions, family time, work, and of course, worship services. Sometimes I'm just so tired that I just help out with meal preps that had been planned in advance; other times, I'm just a mere consumer of whatever is served on the table.

I have plans, though, to reunite with the kitchen. I still want to master more savory dishes, as well as desserts. I keep putting off my blueberry cheesecake conquest, but I'm hoping that sooner rather than later, I'll be able to tick that item off my newbie to-do list.

But... while cooking has been MIA from my life recently, I've picked up a long-dead hobby of mine. I used to love drawing (as well as writing) more than the average little girl, even if I never went to art school. I've only taken two art classes in my entire life.

Anyway, thanks to the recent influx of destressers like adult coloring books, slowly but surely, I've been rebuilding my art arsenal: from nothing to two sets of watercolor paints, four drawing books, three different types of coloring pencils (one just for watercoloring), and various drawing pens and paintbrushes — all in a span of a month and a half.

I've been trying to get back to doodling, lettering, and painting (which has always been a struggle of mine). After attempting various styles, I've stumbled upon one that I quite enjoy because it's both challenging and a passion of mine:

Painting food!

 It's tricky because there are so many textures and colors in food. In the past three days, I've crumpled countless sheets of paper because of imprecise shading or blending "techniques" (trust me; I don't have any). But these five that I came up with are satisfactory enough for posting, haha!

(Disclaimer: I'm still in the process of basing my paintings off pictures, as is the case with many beginners. In time, I hope to be more "original" and create from images in my head.)

My first one: truffle pasta with portobello mushrooms on a clichéd checkered tablecloth

My second one: an attempt at a sushi tray. Not the most even sushi tray in existence and the wasabi needs serious improvement.

My third one: steak with baby tomatoes and potatoes, asparagus, and gravy. I kind of like how the asparagus turned out, for some reason.

My fourth one: a breakfast plate consisting of eggs, bacon, sausages, and potato wedges.

My most recent one: pizza, because who doesn't love a good gooey slice of pizza? The pepperoni and stringy cheese could use more work, though.

I was attempting to do another one (vongole, which is my mom's favorite pasta dish), but I chucked it; I'm not proud of the detailing on the clams, because I bought a really cheap fine detail brush. It has since split (whenever I wet it and press it down on the paint) after using it for only a month, and I can no longer make accurate strokes.

(Letterers and watercolor artists out there, if you could point me to a good place to source good quality fine detail brushes, I'd be really grateful!)

However, I'm excited to try painting other dishes! I know that there's much to improve on in terms of detailing, but I'm trying to be brave enough to post my works for accountability purposes and to see if I'm actually improving. Let me know, also, if you have suggestions for potential subjects in the near future.

And please stay tuned for (hopefully) more cooking posts and restaurant reviews (which I've also been failing to maintain; I hope to make up for this soon)! Catch you all again soon!

Filed Under: What I Want to Learn

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Now that I've finally decided to fulfill a New Year's Resolution by starting to cook (here's what happened last Sunday when my sister and I cooked dinner for the family), there are so many things I need and want to learn. It also helps that people have been so encouraging and supportive, and offering recipes left and right.

Here are some of the things that I think I'd like to try making in the near (hopefully!) future:


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