Just a few minutes ago, I was trying to count how many close friends I’ve made in my entire life. And guess what, I came up with just a little more than 15; half of them coming from FEU – East Asia College where I spent seven long years. I must admit, I am choosy with friends. I don’t know, I must be weird. :)

This post is  special to me since this is the first time that I didn’t pay for the meals that I ate and I’m blogging about. Hahaha! But what makes it more memorable to me is that this post was a spin-off of my lunch date with my super-close-friend-almost-sister, Rhen.

Rhen used to be my partner in the Executive Director’s Office; a friend, an adviser, and a mother rolled into one. I think we spent roughly five years sitting side-by-side behind our intimidating desk at EDO, giving us enough time to know each other’s life stories from cover to cover. This is the reason why her face is plastered all over my Friendster account, and I’m her daughter Elise’s honorary aunt. Ahahaha! When Rhen moved to the Asian Development Bank, she regaled me with stories about its grand library that has a Starbucks in it, its cafeteria with intercontinental cuisines, and its over-kill security measures. So you can understand my excitement when she asked me to have lunch with her at no less than ADB’s Executive Dining Room! Read more »

Posted: November 21st, 2008 under Restaurant Reviews.
Comments: 2

My love affair with crepes started at Trocadero, courtesy of a poker-faced crepe man whose name I never knew because I speak zero French at that time. I ate my first crepe while gazing at the majestic Eiffel Tower, my fingers freezing in Parisian winter. But despite being in awe, my taste buds didn’t miss the delectable flavors of strawberry and chocolate enveloped in freshly made crepe. From that time on, until I left our little apartment along rue Daru, I always have my daily dose of crepe from my beloved crepe man.

When I came back here in Manila, I sampled quite a number of crepe stands/restos in search for crepes that tastes like those of the poker-faced crepe man. Unfortunately, nothing came near…not until I went to Boracay and discovered Crepes St. Michel.

Crepes St. Michel is owned by a Swiss-French couple who went to Boracay, fell in love with the island, and decided to put up a small business in Station 2. I was so delighted to see that the plate where the crepe is cooked is exactly the same as that of the crepe stands in Paris. I was told that those plates were really brought in from Europe, as with some of the ingredients for making the crepe. I was so happy to have found crepes that are comparable to those of my beloved Parisian crepe man, whom I shall buy from again…soon. This time, I’ll make it a point to get his name. :)

Here are some pictures taken during our crepe hunt in Boracay:

Posted: November 4th, 2008 under Restaurant Reviews.
Comments: none

This is one entry you shouldn’t miss if you’re a food addict. Seriously.

Do you know of that particular stress that comes to you every year when your spouse’s birthday is just around the corner? When you’re like so dead set on finding a really good restaurant for his/her birthday and you feel like you just can’t go wrong; not on this particular day of all days, at least. Gosh, I’ve had that oh-so-familiar stress since 1997, the year I met my husband. Sigh. Smile. Whatever.

I must have read close to 30 food and travel blogs, forums on datable places, secret hideaways, and the likes, in my search of a really special resto for my favorite pet, Papa Mike. My research keeps on pointing on one particular restaurant — Vieux Chalet, a Swiss restaurant nestled in Taktak, Antipolo. Read more »

Posted: May 25th, 2008 under Philippines, Restaurant Reviews.
Comments: 1

Katipunan Avenue in Loyola Heights QC has a certain pull on me…to the point of nostalgia. I spent my idle summers in high school at the Ateneo as a Summer Enrichment Program student, my college days in Miriam, and my graduate school days in UP Diliman. I even worked in Ateneo upon graduation, frequented its grade school pool for a time, and every now and then, I still put on my running shoes in the evening to run on the Ateneo grounds. Now, that’s quite a number of reasons to feel attached to this lively road, isn’t it?

The many years I’ve spent along Katipunan gave me the opportunity to sample its many restos…from the hole in the wall carinderias to the fine dining restaurants. Name a Katipunan resto and I’ll tell you my favorite dish there, price included, plus a running commentary. Hihihi!

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Posted: April 7th, 2008 under Restaurant Reviews.
Comments: 4

Finally, my mom gets to celebrate her birthday! It’s business as usual for the whole metropolis now that it’s Easter, and our family headed straight to Conti’s Pastry Shop and Restaurant.

We were originally set to visit the Conti’s branch in Serendra since my officemate, Jasmine, requested me to specifically blog about the said branch since it’s near her place and she always wanted to try it. However, when I was searching the net for its specific address, I chanced upon three different blogs/comments saying that the service on that branch is horrible. And so, not wanting to possibly ruin my mom’s birthday, I looked for another branch and was pleasantly surprised to know that they have  four branches in all. I chose the one at Greenhills so I can shop at Greenhills Shopping Center right after.

Our unassuming waiter, Gian, took our orders accurately and I requested him to serve the salad early. The Caesar Salad came after two minutes and we literally cleaned off the plate faster than than you can say Ceasar! Hihihi. We found the salad a bit salty than usual, and a little over-priced for P145 since the serving is rather small. We had to order extra sauce at P25 since there isn’t enough sauce. Overall, it’s your usual Ceasar Salad… great to start your meal with.

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Posted: March 24th, 2008 under Restaurant Reviews.
Comments: 3