Jul 22, 2016

hk: kam's roast goose

kam's roast goose hails from the family who owns yung kee, which used to be the best roasted goose in hongkong, well based on the reviews i've read. yung kee has become pricey and let's say commercialized so i steered away from it. and since kam recently got its michelin star, i thought it would be the better alternative to yung kee and it would probably taste the same.



oh gheez, what can i say. it was such a disappointment. it was so chewy and i had to consume half a goose. oh yeah! they said they ran out of smaller portions and i can just buy half a goose, really??? haha maybe it's a marketing plot. i got there close to opening time how can they not have smaller portions. but i digress, i was really disappointed. and the meat is floating in the juices. i dunno if the juices came separately or because the goose were chopped too early/while it is still hot.



and i'm not sure if they gave me the wrong noodles but i ordered the signature noodles which was highly recommended and it was meh. at this point, i was really dismayed i finished my meal early and took everything to go. well i guess i don't have to sum it all up, you get the drift. 



kam's roast goose
po wah commercial centre
226 hennessy road, wanchai


May 23, 2016

hk: yat lok

this was my first meal in hongkong. i was sick but i had to ensure i tried yat lok since i am not sure of their business hours during the chinese new year so it was at the top of my list.

this is the best roasted goose on earth! haha...ok fine i'm not sure about that. but this roasted goose is hard to beat. it's highly rated (michelin starred) and anthony bourdain also concurs. the meat is flavorful and so tender and the skin is crispy. ahhh...i still dream about it.




yat lok
g/f 34-38, stanley street
central

Apr 23, 2016

kl:fuego

before anything else, here's the gorgeous view from fuego. 



i am enamored with the petronas towers, i don't know why. i find it really gorgeous. so this was an impromptu dinner, fuego is one of the restos in troika. it's the most casual place and sits on a terrace part of the building. so checkout the weather before going and make reservations to get a good seat. 



the salad was quite refreshing, couldn't figure out what was the dressing something like a yuzu-soy based dressing, but i reckon it is not since this is a south american/latin resto.



stuffed jalapenos, my oh my, why was this bloody hot. there weren't any seeds and yet it was spicy. are jalapenos really like that? i mean i'm used to the pickled ones being spicy but those have seeds.



fuego guacamole, it's chunky has a nice punch of garlic and all the herbs and spices. definitely freshly made. unfortunately the veggie chips don't carry the guacamole well. they should just use plain tortilla chips.


ribs...i forgot the exact name. this was very flavorful and tender. can you see them off the bone already?


potato pancake aka rosti can't remember if this is complimentary, like a free side for the ribs. the problem with this one is, the potatoes inside are still raw but the outside is just perfectly crispy.

the food is good, price is is a bit steep, you can have a similar meal in a random resto at the mall but nothing beats the view.



fuego
the troika, persiaran klcc
kuala lumpur 

Apr 19, 2016

kl:the counter

the counter is a burger joint. you basically customize your burger from the type of patty to the size, cheese, bread and fillings. surprisingly the sauce is served separately, as you can see in the picture below.  i find my onions too big and raw, i thought they were like caramelized onions. i ordered a brioche bun because i like my bread soft and rich. 


this is the sad part, my onion rings. i wish i just ordered fries or sweet potato fries which they did pretty well. surprisingly, in other reviews i saw the onion rings golden brown and crunchy not like this one. i guess we should have complained!


overall, it's still a great burger experience but the it comes with a hefty price tag as well.



the counter
pavilion mall
bukit bintang, kuala lumpur

Apr 18, 2016

maginhawa eats

caution, hot! spicy noodle house. this is actually along magiting street off maginhawa, across mini stop. expect a line and if you're lucky you get to wait inside otherwise it's gonna be outside along the busy road. the broth is flavorful and very filling it's the best bang for your buck, we actually just split one order since i find the serving too big. we also ordered dumplings which i forgot to take a picture of. 




sancho churreria, we had a churro craving and luckily sancho was nearby. it's light and not oily at all. compared to la lola i think this is overpriced at 85PHP if i'm not mistaken.




caution, hot! spicy noodle house
magiting street
teacher's village, diliman qc


sancho churreria
maginhawa street 
teacher's village, diliman qc

Apr 16, 2016

rita's italian ice

rita's is a us franchise. they sell frozen custard and italian ice. it's meant to be shared regardless of the size haha. this one is a gelati which is alternating layers of frozen custard and italian ice. i think this is the best if you want to try both. the italian ice cuts the richness of the custard.  the custard is smooth and the ice is fine. the ice has great flavors they don't taste too artificial for me :D...i like the mango and strawberry. 






rita's italian ice
v mall greenhills
up town center

Apr 15, 2016

milkcow

there used to be a long queue for milkcow, after a couple of months i finally got a chance to try it. it's smooth, milky and just the right sweetness. it's made from organic milk if i'm not mistaken. has a hefty pricetag but it's a worthy splurge. there are a lot of toppings/variants to choose from but i prefer the plain one with just honey.




milkcow
the gardens mall

Apr 1, 2016

al diwan

there's a handful of middle eastern restaurants in cyberjaya and al diwan is one of my favorites. i forgot if this was lime and cucumber but it's quite refreshing.




lamb mandi? this is lamb something, it's actually a huge serving and can feed two people or one hungry person :D. the lamb is flavorful, no gamey aftertaste and extremely tender.





al diwan
shaftsbury
cyberjaya, selangor

Mar 23, 2016

ramen nagi takes the top spot on my ramen list

oh well, i now have to recant my blog post on ippudo being the best ramen ever. ramen nagi also known as butao ramen in hk overtakes ippudo in my ramen list. i don't know if it's the variety of flavors or maybe because i can customize my ramen and not make it cloyingly rich but ramen nagi is now my favorite ramen. look at those perfectly cooked eggs...i'm salivating right now.



black king with tamago on the side






ramen nagi
various branches in metro manila

Mar 22, 2016

wholesome table


wanted something light for dinner and we decided to try wholesome table. sorry for the bad photos, there's poor lighting in the resto.



freebie bread rolls



mushroom fritters. it tasted bland for me, even the tomato sauce base didn't even provide a contrast of flavors.



burrata - because a friend raved about it. it was nice but not mindblowing.



spinach and feta dip? i forgot what this was it has sundried tomatoes if i'm not mistaken. basically a healthier version of those creamy dips and we ordered it with vegetable crudite because we really just want something light!


the menu didn't really excite me unlike my favorite green pastures and chef robby goco was a consultant for their menu as well. but food is good enough. 




wholesome table
bhs central
bgc, taguig

Mar 18, 2016

ooma japanese rice bar

i've been hearing great reviews about chef bruce ricketts' restos and the closest and most accessible for me is ooma which opened up in sm megmall.



soy sauce baster for your sushi...kinda difficult to use since their sushi are mostly fancy with sauces on top and i like mixing my sauce with lotsa wasabi.



tempura roll? forgot the name.


i also forgot the name of this one but it's probably kani something roll.





gyoza that seems to be broiled on top...nothing really special though i like this more than the typical gyoza.



hanger steak with sweet potato puree and truffle?...ugh i forgot the official name but this is sooooo good. this was really heaven. tender steak, crunchy mini potato chips drizzled with truffle oil. i can have this over and over again =).



ooma
sm megamall
fashion hall
mandaluyong, metro manila

Feb 20, 2016

todd english food hall

since i wasn't able to try it in nyc i was glad they opened up in manila.


the famous ferris wheel with cupcakes, it actually moves hehe. i like the ambiance of the place, very sleek and bright.





my iced tea, had to take a picture because it was so small haha and costs like almost a 100 i think. but hello this is todd english! haha.



greek salad - light and refreshing


vongole - lots of clams. pretty good.



burger - i don't know how it fares this was my dad's hehe. but the fries were lonely.



gyoza - the menu is quite odd or maybe because it's a food hall and they're supposed to serve all sorts of things. this is pan fried gyoza you can choose pan fried or steamed. we chose the one with curry it was suprisingly good.


flatbread pizza - nicely done. nothing to shout about though. my parents liked this because it's not cheesy.


surprisingly, todd's is quite affordable. though i'm the only one who had drinks and we got the senior citizen discount the amount we paid was comparable to the meal we had in mann hann, i was really surprised. so this can be a to go to place whenever in sm aura.


todd english food hall
sm aura

fireside by kettle

because we dunno where to eat c and i settled for another "kettle."

hot crab and artichoke dip. it was good not the usual cheesy spinach artichoke dip.



mac and cheese? oh gheez i can't remember haha. probably decent since i cannot remember anything about it.


because c loves meat, i dunno how she can keep her uber thin physique and yet eat meats and not veggies. well same as green pastures still fails in comparison with resto 101. the pork is not that tender and flavorful.




fireside by kettle
sm megamall fashion hall

pino resto bar

gheez, this has been around for the longest time and a stone's throw away from our house and yet i only tried it recently.

sisig tacos - my gulay ang dami hahaha...and we were just two persons. this was sick! the cheese is sooo good and the sisig is meaty not the cloyingly fatty parts which makes it perfect.




crispy kare kare - urgh the pork is so fatty and the sauce is so sweet. bleh!.




crispy hito - ummm nothing to shout about but it was oily it had this oily flavor i mean if you look at it it's not oily but when you eat it has that cloyingly oily taste dunno what's the reason why some dishes end up that way. the sides of eggplant and tomatoes was not enough to counteract that cloying feeling.




pino resto and bar
malingap street
up teachers village, qc

va bene pasta deli

i've wanted to try this place for the longest time, finally they opened up at a much accessible location.


some freebie tostini with some checca like sauce with parmesan.


arugula salad - loved the dressing and caramelized apples



polipo - the octopus is very tender but i think the dressing in the arugula salad would have been better on this one. the lemon dressing was too light and this needed a pop of flavor.


black ink tagliorini - where do i start? the first time they served this it was too salty and we only complained after sometime but they replaced it. my problem with this dish is the pasta. it's gummy and doughy at the same time. i cannot describe it. but given this is a fresh pasta i expect it to be smooth and with the right snap so to speak. i've made fresh pasta before and it should be comparable to the dried ones but much better. am i making any sense? basically i had issues with the texture of the pasta.


pappardelle? - i'm not a 100% sure but it looks like it. the pasta is much better the flavors are ok but the meat is not that tender should have the fall of the bone texture and this one wasn't.



i'm quite disappointed with the place. i know it was full and busy but the quality isn't really up to par. and to think this has great reviews.



va bene
central square building
bhs, bgc taguig


green pastures part deux

i love green pastures, if it's not that obvious here's another post from different outings.

finally got to try duck fries!!! after so many tries. love the crunchy duck skin bits haha. i wish the vinegar was more tart it would give a nice contrast.


i forgot what salad this was...look at the shavings of cheese =) though i am not a fan of the seeded tomatoes.



cauliflower rice with angus beef tapa is love.




another salad this one looks like it has feta and grapes perfect combination.


osso bucco tagliatelle...yummy.



oh well, cinnamon doesn't sit well with me and this dish is apple with cinnamon butter porkchops me thinks. this was rather tough, resto 101 still sets a high bar when it comes to porkchops.




green pastures
shangri-la plaza