it's about time!

wow

seeing that my last post was a year ago from yesterday... about time i wrote a new post. teehee!

there have been so many changes both welcome and unwelcome but some things will never change. like how i am still on the prowl for excellent dining experiences in the metro. :)

1. Benjarong

2. Felix
3. Allan's Grill

Creme Brulee of Felix

These are my top 3 restaurants for the first half of 2009 :)

1. Benjarong: If ever you happen to apply for a Japanese Visa at one of the travel agencies in Dusit Hotel, you might as well drop by Benjarong. Because I trust the taste of Lori, ( of dessertcomesfirst fame; her blog is on my bookmarks tab) I took a chance and had a luxurious but solitary lunch in this Thai restaurant. Only two tables were occupied on my visit but they were generous enough to call in the kulintang or native thai instrument-player to play for their 6 guests.

As with any Thai resto, I ordered the pad thai, tom yum goong soup, and fried catfish and green mango salad. Somehow I judge a restaurant's authenticity by their pad thai. This one was quite disappointing. And although the chef probably was Thai OR trained under one (it was a thai hotel) I thought the pad thai was disappointing. The noodles were gooey and the peanuts overpowered the dish.

The saving graceS were the soup and the salad. The soup was served in a sterling silver bowl and could probably serve two. I of course had to finish everything since who brings home soup?

The salad was equally delicious and tasty with just the right amount of green mango slivers to offset the catfish's errr fishy taste?

So if you feel like having a quiet Thai lunch or dinner with a dedicated server, try Benjarong.

2. Felix

Felix at Greenbelt 5 is another one of Chef Florabel Co's creations. I took a chance (again) on this restaurant and followed a Chinese family who was noisily chatting about how great the food was here. I tailed them and found myself on a couch seat. Yey!

Servers are excellent and attentive, plus they look kinda chic. Walang baduy :) haha

I think if you eat in a fine dining restaurant, you should at least get a bread basket or some appetizer on the house. For instance, potato chips from Cibo or pate and melba chips from Melo's? Felix was generous enough to provide for yummy and hot poppy seed bread with butter, and a dip of green and red peppers with garlic and oil. Interesting...

The fresh orange juice was delightful as well, with natural pulp and even some orange rinds at the bottom of the glass. It was a verrrry tall glass too :)

Upon the waiter's recommendation, I got the Digo salad which was a prawn, pomelo, and walnut salad. This was excellent! With just the right amount of citrus dressing and cilantro, I wiped my plate clean and got excited for my main.

Pasta ala KC was not bad, but not exceptional either. A note to diners, the menu is filled with dishes named after people. So they have Marion as dessert but you've got to read through and find out that it is a mango cake. Similarly, KC was a linguine pesto dish with grilled vegetables and feta cheese. And unlike Cibo which seems to scrimp on grilled vegetables or toppings for their pastas, Pasta ala KC was packed with vegetables, pesto, and pine nuts. A bit bland, but nothing that a dash or two of salt didn't mend.

Because I did not want to miss on dessert, I had to leave some noodles and save precious gastric space for creme brulee! I was elated to see 3 ceramic spoons of creme with freshly burnt brown sugar! Ibig sabihin, bagong luto at hindi lang galing sa ref :) i kinda licked each spoon dry because it was delish! Topped with tiny strawberries, a pineapple chunk, and a tiny grape, that creme brulee made me happeeee :)

Some people wonder how I can eat alone and I think why not? You don't have to share your food or worry how you have to split the bill. Eating alone gives you precious time alone plus, you can eat all you want and not worry about keeping your stomach in.

Try Felix!!!

3. Allan's Grill

Beware of the emos in Cubao ex. But if you are in the area of cubao or araneta center, and happen to be wearing slippers or shorts, you can easily blend in the crowd at Allan's Grill. They serve a variety of food but I've come back for their pork barbeque thrice in one week. It's something you can get dangerously addicted to, dangerous because of that pork fat...

So pack your lipitor, cholesterol meds, or what have you and try their barbeque. It's best with garlic rice and coke, or if you want, some ice cold beer.

Breakfast? Anyone?

Review: 5 out of 5 stars
Restaurant: Apartment 1B

Unlike my sister's recent exploits with ox brain (Uck) (See rapacop.multiply.com) my not-so-adventurous tastebuds led me back to Apartment 1B in Makati. With some mornings left unoccupied, I skipped a morning class of Body Balance for some Eggs Benedict.

I had eaten here last year with little Caelum and Blue and thought the place was real pretty, cozy, and child-friendly. We were seated on the second floor right smack in front of the flat screen which was tuned to the Disney Channel. Did they know we were coming? :o) Because of that tv, we were able to enjoy our dishes and have the luxury of dessert with Caelum busy and all. That was dinner. It was okay.

My comfort food has always been breakfast fare. Anything with eggs, I like. And so I had been reading that this place was famous for its eggs benedict. Off I went and found it without a hitch. At 10 in the morning, 5 out of the 7 tables on the first floor were occupied. I was seated quickly enough at a table near the bar. I asked the waiter their specialty and he pointed out the eggs. For an egg dish, P510 may seem steep but it is huge. (see photo) Decked on two bagels are eggs, smoked salmon, spinach and some hollandaise. Second best were the super tasty herbed potatoes with onions as sidings. With a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice and the latest InStyle, I was giggling in my seat.

I found that I could only finish half so when I got my check the server effortlessly said, "No problem, we can wrap this up for you." (ang galeng mag-eengleesh, didjawantthatinabag?)

With free wi-fi, cool piped-in music, great service, I'll definitely return and maybe try the omelet or the EB this time with Canadian ham. 5 out of 5 stars for me!

Location: LP Leviste corner Sedeno Streets Salcedo Village, Makati

Eenie Meenie Miny Mo!

The quest for the best water bottle started quite early. There were spills, spills, and more spills. The essential criteria involved spillage, insulator support, ease of opening, and most recently, safety (BPA-free).

I've come up with 4 bottles to compare:

1. Foogo by Thermos
2. Insulator Straw Cup by Playtex
3. Juice Box by Rubbermaid
4. Sigg 0.3 L Bottle

I was happily surprised to see the Foogo in the children's section of Rustan's Department Store. I had been reading about it in ZRecs as one of the newer products which were BPA-free. As the second priciest among the four, I had high expectations from this bottle. On the package, it read "keeps liquids cold for 6 hours" and "easy to assemble". Unfortunately, I've found that it takes a lot of time and a keen eye to ensure it doesn't spill. The pieces are difficult to remove for washing and when filled with water and shaken upside down, some drops manage to escape from the spout. I do love though the heavy duty look as well as the soft spout which resists Caelum's gigil bites.

Moving on to the sipster, it pretty much gets a low score for me because of its straw. Again, Caelum likes biting straws and this one pretty much broke down too soon. This poses a choking hazard so I had to trim off a little of the torn edges. As for keeping liquids cold, it scores a measly 1 out of 5 for me. Another drawback of this bottle is that it quickly gathers dirt in its insides. This "libag" forms in the bottles crevices, straw openings, and what have you so every now and then, I have to take out my Dr. Brown's special brush tiny enough to get to those places. No one wants to drink from a filthy bottle now, right?

I have to say, the Rubbermaid juice box is my second best choice among the four. I just grabbed this in the department store, curious that a lot of the students in Caelum's preschool, plus my students had this as their bottle. It takes a little effort to flip up the straw at the beginning but Caelum was able to manage eventually. Plus, it is the cheapest and there are no spills. Also, somehow he manages to drink a lot of water when he's using this. Go figure.

Last but definitely not the least is the Sigg bottle. While I was in shopping glee at Whole Foods in Chicago, I saw their children's section and saw these super cool-looking water bottles. At $16 without tax, it is very pricey. But I think it fits all my criteria for the best bottle. Its spout turns to open, it has a nice red dome cover that snaps shut. The spout is solid white too so you know when it gets dirty. No spills here too and though it's not as insulated as the Foogo, it is BPA-free. It is quite durable but gets dents naturally if you drop it on cement.

Which bottles have you tried???

Don't. Think. Twice.

Simply, mac.

I am endlessly surprised at how many people can survive not knowing what a mac/apple is. Nothing gives me more fun than convincing a friend to switch to mac. Just like the line we apple users love to say, "Once you go mac, you never go back." Of course we can never take away the near-infinite powers of the PC with its larger database of programs and hardware support. Apple has to keep up with the competition that Windows throws its way. For me though, ownership of a mac trumps having 3 mega PCs any day.

I'd like to consider myself a slightly higher-than-average user. In my household, I've fixed and bugged my way out of installing, networking, and printing hell. I started from Logo to RUN commands from 5.1 floppies to playing CD-ROMs of Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? I do love this technology. I used to do Typing Tutor when I was bored and defragging my PC made me happy (seeing all those colored squares). mIRC was lots of fun and I couldn't wait to hear the "Cuckoo" or was it "Uh-ooh" message alert of my ICQ.

So upon news that I would be FINALLY getting my own laptop, I had to think twice in choosing which which which to purchase! I only knew two people then who owned a mac; my sister (with her iBook) and my college barkada (with his Powerbook). Rap's iBook was really pretty, no one then manufactured white notebooks so hers was eye candy. Nick's powerbook was made of titanium thus, scratch-proof, sleek, and had that oh-so-sophisticated-looking OS. (those big bouncing icons were so cool!)

Windows notebooks on the other hand were just, errr, ubiquitous. Since they were everywhere,there were no compatibility problems with file sharing, or hardware connections like special cords for projectors. Plus, lots of programs are exclusive ONLY to Windows. I mean until now, I use Picasa which is still not available for Mac. But like I said, my choice was the Powerbook. So off I went to SFO, armed with my cousin's education discount, to get my 12 in, G4 Powerbook and my pink ipod mini. Wheee! That was in '04. Fast forward to '08, and I, thankfully, still am typing on my silver keypad. :)

BUY a MAC because:

1. number 1 would have to be because it's just so much prettier! :) loko lang.
number 1 is it's VIRUS-FREE. I hate the word VIRUS. As well as CRASH,
IMGKULOT, and RESTART. I guarantee you, I've never encountered a virus
with all my web usage. No need for silly downloads of Norton, McAfee, Kaspersky, and what have you.

2. they're constantly updating. And I mean Steve Jobs (my idol) and his crew. I
am always amazed with his annual presentations (WWDC) always neat, clear,
and concise. Whether it be aesthetics (Mac Air, hello?) or OS (Snow Leopard),
they're always thinking of something new!

3. great programs which are really cool: iMovie and iTunes, and Windows programs which
work equally well like Photoshop and Comic Life, Tomato for torrents, and even Microsoft Office. YahooMessenger is cool too :) I can do webphone calls just literally talking to my screen. No speakers or mic necessary!

4. most hardware are plug and play. I have this bad habit of losing my CD installers and so it was great to have HP printer support, automatic.

5. Wifi is a breeze too! Reminded me of the time when Rap and I saw this teen and her mom struggling to connect to the net in Starbucks Pplant. We approached them with the intention of helping the teen but ended up being befuddled as well with the "Network Diagnostics" of Windows. She was a freshie in Ateneo trying to register for classes. We had to SOS the barista and left the mom and daughter sheepishly. (Gee, thanks ha. I bet that's what she was saying...)

5. Just overall, lesser problems, greater productivity, and cooler apps.

Over the years though, I've gotten used to the absence of the DEL key and the right click button (for those not using a mighty mouse), and the configuration of Word. I'm sure my new mac converts (Angeli, Fin, and Kariza) will get used to it too. :)

I'm not planning on dumping my good 'ol PC downstairs what with its huge CPU, fat monitor, and safe mode startups now and then. But with the new iMac around (no ginormous CPU, no octopus of wires, just a beauty) it sure is tempting........ :o)

Angel's Kitchen

Review: 2 out of 5 stars

Sunday lunch brought us to Angel's Kitchen. Right along Connecticut street, it was a convenient place to have a quick lunch right after the 12 pm mass at Santuario de San Jose. Toting a Mcdo Spaghetti for the little one, we were greeted by a waitress who eyed the Mcdo bag in my hand suspiciously. After asking for a table for 3, she pointed to the bag and said, "I'm sorry bawal ho yan." I smiled and said, "para sa anak ko" which was promptly replied with a "Kami ho yung papagalitan."

It was a bad start to begin with plus, Caelum started whining and acting up even after he ate his spaghetti (which we ate at a bench outside the restaurant). I don't even know why I didn't bother talking to management... Sometimes, when trying new restos, we bring a familiar food for Caelum just in case there's nothing that my picky eater will agree to chomp.

Blue opted for the ostrich salpicao which I did not try, while I quickly chose the callos for my order. Seeing that we were seated right in front of the cashier, I put on a frown and gulped away my food while Blue was left to chase Caelum around the restaurant. Seeing the interactions of the owner and who I presumed to be the daughter, with the servers, I thought that they were either under stress or were truly prickly and unfriendly people. Not once did I see a smile when we glanced at each other.

The food was alright, I got a big bowl of callos while Blue got a generous serving of salpicao as well. Unable to get any starters or desserts, it would be unfair for me to judge them overall but price-wise from what I saw on the menu, this restaurant would not fall under affordable. Although selection is wide (beef, chicken, pork, seafood) most dishes are at least P300.

Just for being a toddler-unfriendly place, Angel's Kitchen does not warrant a second visit for me.

Coron is cool!

We had out last summer holiday last may 30 in Palawan. Given only two whole days to explore our island, we managed to fit in a safari and an unforgettable experience on our own private island. Being the OC mother that I am when traveling with Caelum, I spent some nights sleeping at 2 or 3 in the morning researching on where to go and what to do. This post will then be about the choices I made and some tips on traveling with a preschooler. :o)

1. HOME- our home for 3 days and 2 nights was El Rio y Mar. It is situated on an island rich with marine life generous with mountain views and clear blue waters.

Traveling with Caelum proves to be a daunting task what with all the equipment he needs (sterilizer, yes I still bring this and yes he still uses the bottle BUT with sippy spouts. his formula, accessories you might think are added luggage but essential for him: SPF, mosquito repellent lotion, raincoat, security pillow, the list is endless) Back to the first choice... maybe with Blue we could've taken the cheaper alternative and stayed at 1500 peso a night accommodations, but Caelum does have some needs. So El Rio it was. Home was our own cedar cabin with a spacious walk in closet, equally roomy bathroom (without the tub), 2 twins to make a king bed, plus a pull out bed supposedly for Caelum. Very pretty indeed with high ceilings, a ref, tv (without cable) and dvd player, coffee/tea facilities, and tiny A/C that one afternoon was not enough to cool the entire cabin. The resort's center is the infinity pool which was remarkably clean. I was happy to note that it had a wading pool for children which was spacious enough for Caelum to splash in. It sits right next to the resort's only restaurant where they serve ALL meals (no room service I surmised). Accommodations for 2 adults and 1 child for 2 nights was Php23000. This includes transportation from the airport to the resort as well as full-board meals (3 meals) and welcome drinks. Servings at the restaurant are huuuuge too.
Palawan is clean and green, and friendly to mama earth. Jetskiing was disallowed since it was not enviro-friendly with its gas emissions and possible collisions with corals. Our cabin used solar panels instead of electric heaters and lighting was aided by lots of windows for sunlight to stream in. Animals abound not only in the water but also IN the cabin (moths, thankfully no mosquitoes, the occasional ceiling lizard) and right outside it (birds, a monitor lizard near the trees).
The staff are friendly and courteous though some were too shy... although most are willing to help with a smile. They also offer water sports and activities such as windsurfing, banana boat, wakeboarding, and island hopping. We had a lovely Kayak ride where I saw some sea urchins, jumping fish, corals, and unique jellyfish creatures. I skeptically signed us up for the Calauit Island Tour thinking Caelum wouldn't get too excited with animals since he preferred transportation (boating, riding something) over wildlife. Thankfully, it turned out to be a memorable experience. :)

2. AIRLINE- Thinking it would be more convenient for El Rio y Mar to arrange our flight, I happily let them book for us with SeaAir. Unfortunately, I did not foresee the hassle they were going to give us by bumping our departing flight from 7:10 AM to 11:30 AM. Also, they mysteriously moved our return flight from 2:40 to 1:30 PM. These really were an inconvenience since we had less time to explore and enjoy! Presently, I see no other alternative since Asian Spirit flights arrive at weird times as well. Bummer!

3. ACTIVITIES
a. swimming- Caelum is a water baby. He was ecstatic the moment he dipped his toe in the pool. Kudos to El Rio for having a nice pool, maintained well, and as I said with ample space for the waders.
b. Calauit Island Tour- for US$48 per person, you can feed giraffes, see zebras, deer, and other animals freely roaming this wildlife reserve. Takes about 90 minutes for the boat ride but worth the trip.
c. kayaking- clear blue waters let you see corals and marine life while you row
d. island hopping- in our case, one island hop. Isla Walang Lang-aw (island without trees) is tiny, uninhabited, shell/stone abounding, beautiful island, naturally available for swimming, snorkeling, and sunbathing. We had a great time exploring its sides and secrets.

VERDICT:
1. good choice in 1 and 3, choose better with 2 next time.
2. 3 days is NOT ENOUGH to explore Coron. Gee, we didn't even get to go to the city. Only means of transportation is by boat which takes long so book at least 5 days.

TIPS:
1. bring sunscreen and especially BUG LOTION and pajamas and long sleeves for night time. Mosquitoes are HUGE and shamelessly bite you on any exposed area. Good thing we brought our special scent-free bug lotion.
2. bring mineral water, squeeze it wherever you can in your luggage. 1 VIVA mineral water cost Php 110. So, stock up. Can't blame 'em though since everything, I mean EVERYTHING must've been brought in through banca.
3. have snacks and drinks on hand (better bring baon)
4. bring an umbrella or a raincoat (weather is weird)
5. bring your underwater camera and adapters (for outlets)

Myron's Place

Review: 1 out of 5 stars
Restaurant: Myron's Place, Greenbelt 5

Last Saturday night, Blue and I tried out Myron's Place at the new G5. I've had two okay experiences at the other Myron's Restaurant at Powerplant so thought this would be easy-breezy. As a part of a family that favors seafood over meat, I'd pick prawns and oysters any day over lambchomps and turkey. But, I do get my meat cravings and satisfy them once in a while. As kids, we used to go to Melo's (whoopee!) for special occasions where I would be happy to tell the waiter I'd like a 6 oz. black angus cooked medium well thank-you-very-much. Truth be told, I am sad to see Melo's in Wilson go. I did love their mango jubilee and their Caesar salad. Recently, I've been very happy with Katre's angus and thus, don't bother much trying out the wagyu's and kobe's littered around Manila.

SO, we were doing fine with our brown bread and soups (mushroom cappuccino for me, pumpkin soup for blue) when my steak plate came and ooooh, I instantly noticed that it didn't look good at all. First of all, the Bianca cut (smallest slice available for rib eye) in front of me was almost dark brown/black that I could taste its dry quality just from the look of it. True enough, it was arid as errr, day old bread and unforgivingly tough. Lo and behold, when I peeked under the slab, there was a much thinner slice of steak that looked way better. A bonus perhaps? Quickly realizing they just undercut my share, I asked the waitress and she confirmed it for me. A mistake indeed.

For a fine-dining restaurant that has steak as part of its name, their rib eye is a shame! (oh it rhymes) I was too disappointed to point out to them that:

1) my steak was cooked "well-done"
2) a bug in Blue's strawberry shake should have warranted a gratis meal
3) instead of discreetly adding the "bonus" slice (which actually was cooked better) they should've given me a totally new one

I've learned my lesson and will trust Katre to fulfill my carniverous craving. Or maybe try Prime 22 or Elbert's Steakroom...