Category: ISLANDHOPPER

Snazzy interiors. Unique takes on oysters. These are the top 2 reasons for trying Oyster Boy. The menu gives a dizzying array of interesting ways to do oyster. Unfortunately, they didn’t offer a sampler platter, so we had to make excruciatingly tough choices. We settled on a Japanese palate theme and ordered the Fresh Oyster with Wasabi Cocktail Sauce (150 pesos for 6 pieces/275p for 12) — it’s the bomb with the wasabi hitting the g-spot of your nostrils. The Oyster Tempura is great too. These two do not erase freshly blanched oysters as my no. 1 favorite version, but they are interestingly fresh, delicious takes. Love them. Match them with lato salad, a counterpoint of buffalo wings (like I said, my husband is compelled to try every wing in the city). The oyster cake is pretty good, but not if you’re expecting it to match Singapore hawker standards.

The Columns, Buendia Makati with branches at dela Costa, Makati and Wilson, San Juan.

After a meeting at RCBC Tower, (digression: somebody ought to give a Lifetime Achievement Award to the designer of RCBC’s parking spaces for the Worst Parking Design Ever.) I was all set to cross over to McDonald’s but I turned around and saw the New Bombay signage beckoning me. Like a subject hypnotized, I walked over to Columns across Buendia. The first time I dined at New Bombay, it was still called New Bombay Canteen and it was in a hole in the wall of Citiland in Buendia. And the last time was in its branch in Dela Costa St. This spiffy, new version is much more posh than the canteen I knew. And I noticed the prices are also higher. I realized that dining alone, it would not be the cheap meal I was hoping to have so I tried to order a maximum of 3 dishes even though I wanted to try different appetizers. I ordered the butter naan (P60 for 2 huge pieces), flatbread delicately coated with butter, but so flavorful you can eat it alone, the malai kofta — rolled, mashed potato with cottage cheese gravy(P160), and the chicken curry (P140).

So the question is: is it as good as I remember it to be? And the answer is: Yes! Yes! Yes! Maybe even better. I remember loving the naan, and this time, I love it even more, I think I’m going to develop a new addiction. Forgive me if I throw all objectivity and literary restraint out the window, but this review will be full of superlatives, and some moans thrown in. Because that was how I felt in the restaurant. I wasn’t particularly hungry so this is not a case of being famished so everything tastes good. It was just really good. My eyes were rolling and my head was shaking with disbelief that it was just so darn good.

Back in my old life, I had this phrase, mapapamura ka sa sarap. When I would rave about something and couldn’t find the right term to express my ecstasy, I would rely on expletives to articulate my emotions. The food was so good I had to strain really hard to stop myself from swearing. So good that the restaurant should have a sign that says, it is a crime to eat here alone. So good that because I was dining alone, I just had to call a number of my friends to tell them the food was so good. So good the only reason I didn’t finish the servings good for two is that the server was looking at me funny, so I took the leftovers home. So good I forgot to order the dessert, gulabjamun. So good, I can’t wait to go back. So good while I was driving home, I called a friend to tell him the food was soooo good.

Did I tell you the food was good?

And for those who are reading this saying, I hate Indian food. Well, good. That means there’s more for us who love it.

160 San Rafel St. Mandaluyong City, just off Boni Ave.

Coming into the garage slash open air dining area, we see a funkified 60s era A-type house. Sitting down on our monobloc chairs, we glimpsed through the window grills a beige quilted and studded bar reminiscent of Tony Ferrer movies. Music blared from the blasted speakers. Natural air-conditioning is provided by the Mandaluyong atmosphere. It was shabby, not quite chic.

The place gave us the vibe of an usapang lasing inception:

– Pare, ang sarap ng crispy tenga ng lola mo.
– Yeah, dude, ibenta natin ‘to.
– I know, let’s put up a restaurant.
tinininnininin…. (time lapse sound effect)
a month and a trip to dti later, a restobar is born.

So based on aesthetics alone, the expectations have been lowered. The laminated menu showed a collection that liberally stretched the theme street food. It also contained a line that says, “Anybody can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last.” Hmmm, cheesy. We were also skeptical that there was a chef manning the kitchen. Like I said, our expectations were low.

Turns out that our initial judgments were unfair. There really was a chef in the kitchen, if the quality of food is an indication. The winning dish was the salt and peppered crispy tenga, (PhP110) deep fried to perfection, crispy but not too much that it is dried and burned. And the mango salad that went with it was tangy and quite different from the usual salad.

We made sure we ordered the street food themed dishes. The quail egg tempura, (P70) fortunately, did not have that food coloring rich tukneneng orange shade. Of course, cholesterol-laden eggs are always good, but what made it better was the accompanying sauces – the sinamak vinegar and the soy mirin glaze.

Our main dish was the street style barbecue platter (P180), which combined various chicken parts like the ass, kidney, intestine (isaw), and blood (betamax). Though, I am not particularly averse to visceral meats, I wasn’t expecting much from this dish. Again, I was wrong. Each item from the sampler was flavorful, owing again to the chef’s expertise. Of course, I’ve always been a fan of chicken ass, but I was afraid I wouldn’t like the betamax and the kidney. The kidney actually tasted like liver, only tougher. And the betamax also tasted like kidney, only softer. The peanut sauce was the twist that made the platter a good order.

Considering that we were famished when we got there (it was friday and we had tried unsuccessfully getting into a couple of restos without reservations before moving to lime.) and that we did not have rice, we got pretty stuffed and had to bring home a doggy bag. Even though we were stuffed, we still asked about dessert but they did not have the scramble we wanted. A sign that we had to stop eating because we’ve had our fill. A pretty good fill. Next time we come back, they better have the scramble.

Cuisine: Chinese
Location: Usually beside a Pure Gold Supermarket. Branches at Paranaque, Las Pinas, Commonwealth, Mabalacat, E. Rodriguez Quezon City

This is not a default choice for me. Chinese food usually is not. But chinese food gives my husband comfort, especially when there’s dimsum.

In this visit, however, we skipped the dimsum and went for the basics. Just too lazy to cook.

The steamed fish with garlic, eggplant, and noodles is a complete meal in itself. Tasty. We supplemented that with sauteed spinach with garlic.

Warning: no signs claiming that they don’t use MSG. So, assume this is Aji-No-Moto laden.

I know, I know, this is my 2 hundred millionth post for the day. What’s gotten into me? Well, I need to empty my pc of photos and so I am pressured to blog about those photos now. Plus, I’m going on a 2-day internet withdrawal rehab in Batangas so I need to get these posted. I promise this is the last one for the day.

I just really want to talk about the Creative Spiritual Journaling Workshop that I attended last Saturday. I almost passed up on this one, since I didn’t really think that half a day would be enough to get me creative, much less spiritual. I am glad I changed my mind.

The workshop was conducted by trainer Mae Legaspi and Patsy Paterno, the Pa in Papemelroti. Mae shared some background information on journaling, focusing on its benefits. I admit I was taking mental notes because I dream of someday offering workshops to help others discover the joy of journaling. Writing about the events of my life has enriched the experiences, and reading about them years after has shown me how much I have grown up and discovered about myself. But the journaling I’m used to is more about writing. This workshop showed how I can take my journaling to a higher, more creative, more powerful level.

I love Patsy’s joy and passion as she enthusiastically described how this activity can be a joint creative process between God and journaler. How this is more than just doing art or mere journaling, but it is really a way to hear His message loudly and clearly, and to capture and remember these messages.

Even if you’re not there for the spiritual stuff, there was still much to learn about journaling and about creative and practical journaling techniques. And Patsy is not into buying expensive materials. She showed us how to use ordinary stuff like clear tape from divisoria, magazine clippings, and other scrap materials to collage and create artful pages. Some of the samples she showed were astoundingly beautiful. And it does not take a da Vinci to create similar pages.

But I think what I inspired and elated me most was the way that this workshop has recharged my hunger for the Word. Lately, I have been struggling to keep up the passion I used to have to read His Word. I’ve been distracted by shiny objects and worldly pursuits. And this afternoon revealed to me that reading His Word need not be a drudgery. It is a blessing. And adding art into it makes it fun and creative.

After the workshop I found myself again eager to get into the Word and excited to hear in my heart God’s leading. I have yet to start doing the creative journaling, but I feel the juices coming. I’ve taken my Prang watercolor off its dusty storage, and I know I’m going to discover more about myself, my thoughts, my dreams, my creativity, my life, and my God.

Washington St. Makati City

Pictures at: http://islandhopper.multiply.com/photos/album/25

No, that’s not really the name of the place. I’m not even sure it has a name. That’s what my husband and I call this not-even-a-hole-in-the-wall “sidewalk cafe” along Washington St. in Makati, very close to the corner of Pasay Road. It’s where my husband takes me to remove any vestige of colegiala in me.

When my friend Tisha and I went there last week, I was surprised to see that the place did not escape the clutches of inflation. What used to be a 35 peso meal of lechon kawali (see glorious, golden, crispy crackled skin in picture), rice, and broth is now 55 pesos. Gasp. It’s 45 pesos without the rice and soup. And it’s one of the best, most delicious ways to spend your 55 bucks. Unless of course, Booksale repeats their 5peso book promos. But back to the food.

The tokwa’t baboy (P50) can put to shame other finer dining places. Sarap! I also liked the pares (P45) that Tisha ordered.

For germophobes like me, there is a fear factor element to dining here, but hey, we only live (and get amoebiasis) once. Plus parking is not a problem; in fact, you can eat inches away from where your car is parked.

Westgate Center, Alabang

Sisterly bonding in a restaurant we’re trying for the first time. Nice way to start the afternoon.

Pretty good looking restaurant. Rockstar parking right in front of it. Loved the floor tiles. And now, let’s talk about the food.

First, they serve free vegetable atsara (in picture). My sister and I are not big on pickles so we didn’t really eat much of it. But I tried it, and if I were a pickle person, I think I would have liked it.

The Lumpia Mais (P150) was hands-down my favorite among the dishes served. Corn, shrimps, and onion wrapped in rice paper, deep friend, and served with a lovely sweet-sour-spicy chili dip. It was served as an appetizer though we had it with the rest of the meal. But I can see this working as a merienda dish as well.

The Bamboo Rice (P145) was delicious when hot, but was too filling and too flavorful (with shrimp and chicken) to go with all the other flavor-rich dishes. We had enough for left-overs.

The menu’s quite extensive so it was really hard to make a final choice among the meat and seafood dishes. We were tempted to order more, but we resisted. It was a good thing we focused on the Spareribs Adobo (P365) which was served with steamed white rice. Yes, more rice! The 3 pieces of spare ribs deceived me into thinking we could finish this. But again, the serving’s too generous for 2 females with small appetites (snicker).

The gising-gising is a great looking vegetable dish of minced kangkong stalks in coconut cream. It looked spicy but was actually yawningly boring.

No space for desserts and had bags of leftovers to take home. My sister and I rated the food at 3.5, but the homey ambiance and the attentive and friendly service upped their score to a 4.

More pictures here: http://islandhopper.multiply.com/photos/album/24/24

1025 C. Ayala St. corner Arellano St., Malate, Manila (near De La Salle – CSB Angelo King Building)

My friend Alvin told me about this resto, where College of St. Benilde Hotel and Restaurant students take their practicum. When I googled it, I was led to Awesome Planet’s site where I found not just a review of the place but a heatedexchange of comments. Some students did not understand the concept of constructive criticism.

A few weeks back, I was at DLSU-Manila and so I decided to give this controversial place a try. I took a semi-long, mega-sunny, ultra-hot walk to the place. 3 pedestrian directions, a nice glowing tan, and 8.25 gallons of sweat later, I, Mc-steaming, got there. I was never that happy for the invention of air-conditioning.

Big tables are squeezed into a cozy room and the place seemed to be packed. I was afraid that since I was dining alone, they’d ask me to move to the outdoor tables. The al fresco option had zero appeal to me. I was so glad they let me have one of the big round tables inside.

I heard that the resto theme changes every year, and this year’s batch 14 was offering international cuisine, which is a fancy and quite misleading way of saying that they don’t really have a theme.

The Mushroom and Asparagus Soup (P40) was delicious in a Campbellesque kind of way. But I had no issues with that. Campbell soup is comfort food for me. The asparagus flavor was too subtle though for my tastebuds to capture it, if it’s there at all. I was sipping my soup leisurely because I really wanted to stay in that airconditioned oasis for a long time before I stepped out into the Sahara again. But the server (a student doing practicum) seemed to be in a rush to serve the food and she served the entree even before I was halfway through my soup. That was a bummer because that meant my main dish was cooling down before I was ready to eat it.

The Roast Beef in Mushroom Sauce at P95 was well-priced. And the price was the only thing going for it. Because it was tough and chewy, and I couldn’t believe that was sirloin. Sure, the price was on the low side, but I’ve tried good, tender local sirloin before.

The other sour note to my Solomon dining experience was the kitchen noise. The kitchen was partially open, and over the usual cooking and chopping noises, the students were also very noisy carousing and joking around. Not pleasant.

The only saving grace is the Tiramisu (P65). Though this was not the best I’ve had and I had to follow up before it was served, I found it was pretty good.

I understand that this is ran by chefs in training so maybe we have to give them a little latitude. But I’ll wait for batch 15 before I come back.

Summary: Long hot walk, cozy place, a menu with no personality, amateurish service, low prices, tough meat, and a dessert to save the day.

Rockwell, Makati

I loved:
-my husband’s Pepper Rice (loved the pepper flavor)
-my Shimofuri Pepper Steak (just the right tenderness) P570 ala carte, P645 with rice and drink
-instructional videos

I liked the:
-steak sauces – I like the garlic soy sauce more than the honey brown sauce, but they’re both good.
-bright interiors
-helpful service
-bean sprouts and carrots with my dish

I didn’t like the:
-salmon – it wasn’t bad, but it was ordinary and on the dry side (P275 ala carte, P312 plus drink)
-way we smelled after the meal
-sticker shock given the fastfood ambience, but given the quality of the steak, it’s forgivable

I super loved:
-Daniel Craig, whom my eyes feasted on after dinner. Nothing to do with Pepper Lunch, but he was the most scrumptious thing on that night’s menu. Argh, how can white jeans look so good on a guy?

Building D, San Miguel by the Bay, Mall of Asia

I’ve been egging hubbalicious to take me to Hooters. I have fond memories of their chicken wings that I had in the US. Finally, one night after picking me up from DLSU, he took me there.

A lot of good things going for the place. Ample parking space on a weeknight. Spacious restaurant; and we got a booth. Pretty fast service. And the addictively delicious Fried Pickles (P200). The onion dip that goes with it was also good.

Of course, we had to have the wings. (P800 for 20 pcs.) My husband has tried the flavor categorized as hot, and he said it wasn’t hot at all, so we ordered the hottest, the 911. Good tasting wings. Hot and spicy, but not too hot to handle. In fact, the first bite wasn’t hot at all, but as you have more and more wings, the insides of your mouth just start feeling the bite. I can’t remember if they matched the US version, but I thought they were pretty good. The only turn off was that the blue cheese dip and celery sticks (P95) were not part of the price, had to be ordered separately, and were not extraordinarily good.

The resto’s major weakness is the presentation of food; very poor. The wings were served in ugly brown plastic plates that did nothing to make the wings look good. The oysters (P295 for 6 sorry pieces) looked sad and lost in a huge platter of ice, and tasted even sadder.

I wish I could say that the feminist in me was upset about the objectification of women by having scantily clad servers. But I have students who go to school with much less cloth on them. So, I just shut up and enjoyed my wings.