bohol: alona kew resort

i read somewhere about the restos in alona beach. it's on the other side of panglao. we had a pit stop here because our boat had technical difficulties so we opted to eat here. i only remembered one place and unfortunately it only opens at night. so we opted for the alona kew resort resto.

can you guess what this is?

it's supposed to be pasta milanese. but the truth is it's breaded pork chop on top of spaghetti noodles topped with heated del monte sauce. i was craving for italian and this is what i got? damn i was too dismayed at 165PHP i'd savor jolly spaghetti anytime.

here are the other food items we got. there was nothing to rave about except for jol's steamed snapper.






these were the only things we were happy about.fresh fruit shakes.




alona kew resort
alona beach, panglao,bohol

bohol: dumaluan resto

we got to the resort early evening so we had no choice but dine at their resto. here are the stuff we got for dinner.


calamares - so so. would have been more tender and fresh. the batter wasn't impressive either


bistek tagalog - didn't try this one they said it was too chewy



another chili chicken dish - i like the spiciness but i've thought of other ways on how this could have been improved


steamed black lapu-lapu - this was a great dish. the fish was fresh and cooked right. the sauce was well seasoned.


bam-i - i also liked this dish. it was well seasoned. the ingredients were cooked right, the veggies were crisp and the meat and seafood were tender.


this wasn't a horrific dinner since i had a couple of favorites. up next is the worst meal we ever had.


dumaluan resort restaurant
bolod beach, panglao, bohol

cebu: golden cowrie

i finally had the chance to go somewhere in the philippines aside from my usual luzon destinations. so this is my first post on my cebu-bohol vacation.

we were totally clueless on our day trip in cebu. we did not plan ahead on what we were supposed to do and where we were supposed to eat. i wanted to try this famous bbq place in cebu but i have no idea where that is. we asked the hotel and they gave a couple of restos to try.

still dumbfounded by dinner time, we were all thinking might as well try a korean resto because they are everywhere. then we were advised by the taxi driver to go to salinas drive where a lot of great restos were. so when we got there we were just cruising along the street when i saw golden cowrie and remembered it was on the list we got from the hotel (which i left in the room btw hehe). they serve good ol' filipino food.

minutes after we arrived the place was jampacked with a long waiting line. so i guess this is really a good place to eat at. the best thing other than the quality of food, are the prices, they were so affordable and you cannot beat the unlimited rice scooped out of wooden buckets with a coconut shell ladle. here are "some" of the food items we got.


baked scallops - cheesy and garlicky yummy!



cebu lechon - still as flavorful as it should be. bad thing is the skin wasn't crisp at all :(


sweet chilli chicken - same as recipe's general chicken


budbud with chocolate - all along i thought budbud is made out of a particular grain...but no it's just suman pala.

we ordered other food items, pictures of which are not worth sharing hehe. but they all tasted great. good thing we had a lovely dinner to remember in cebu.



golden cowrie
salinas drive
lahug, cebu

coffee bean breakfast

this was an unplanned breakfast. i honestly wouldn't opt for coffee bean as a breakfast place. anyway, since i've read about their breakfasts in some posts i might as well try them.

i love salmon so i opted for the scambled eggs with salmon. the meal comes with tea or coffee.


i realized that i am really not that keen on smoked salmon. but since their smoked salmon didn't have that uber fishy taste, it was bearable. the eggs were soft, not too dry but could have been more fluffy and moist. the bread is great. i loved the foccacia. it was well seasoned, you can taste the herbs and it was soft and yet well toasted so you had that perfect bite.

still, i'd rather go to ucc for some french toasts =).


coffee bean and tea leaf
tordesillas st. salcedo village
trinoma
greenbelt 3

is the meatlover in me back?

i have lessened eating red meat in the past couple of years. this is because of my blood type diet. just search it on the net and you'll understand why. the only thing that breaks this diet is when there's lamb and during the holiday season because i couldn't resist lechon kawali and my mom's caldereta.

anyway, last year, the food fad was wagyu. i didn't pay much attention because i was refraining from eating meat and truth be told it really feels heavy and unhealthy whenever i eat meat. however, i just couldn't resist the temptation of kobe beef when a colleague had me try some. this beef was brought in from japan. and yes, she vouched it's authentic kobe because no other wagyu she has tried tasted this great.

and now, i am dreaming of kobe. scoured the internet looking for a place that sells authentic kobe. they said tsukiji carries it, but i found out they only serve ohmi wagyu. ohmi comes second to kobe but still isn't kobe.

i found sugi offering kobe at 2500 PHP (not sure if this is an upated price list) but it's teppanyaki. so this means, i will be restricted to thin slices of kobe? that ain't fun. a more substantive offering comes from madison grill, american style kobe at 2850 PHP. but then that ain't kobe right? because it's american hehe. american kobe is wagyu and black angus crossed bred to create beef that is better than USDA prime. the thing is, if you're shelling out mucho dinero you wanna be happy with what you're getting. i'd rather have something that i know ain't kobe but comes close to kobe rather than being lied to. the key here is making sure that i'll be getting a well marbled steak which ensures the tenderness and flavor of the meat because i like my steak medium well. so it should still be tender and buttery even if it's cooked and not have that uber pinkish color.

gheez, now i'm torn. there are several steak places i have wanted to try before but i don't think they'll compare with getting a kobe or wagyu at the very least. there's duo which i want to try especially the classic combination of steak and foie gras, tagaytay highlands because lori's rib-eye just looks oh so yummy. elbert's is also famous for high quality steaks. they only serve USDA certified and i just found out that in the japanese marbling system, USDA prime steaks are at 5-6 while kobe beef rates 12 - what a huge difference right?

oh well, the problem is not just where to eat but also who to eat it with. i doubt that i would want to finish off a 3K steak all by myself. so foodie friends, lemme me know if you are up for the challenge.

TOASTy

toastbox is a singaporean chain which offers kaya toasts and kopi and other singapore food items. i was awake for more than 24 hours already and was itching to get home when i heard my stomach grumbling. i wanted to eat something light and toastbox just popped in my head.

i finally settled with one of their new toasts which has mahu or pork floss (i love pork floss).



the bread was well toasted, it has strips of cucumber, mayo and pork floss. but i don't think it's worth my 55 PHP. also, the iced tea was overpriced at 65 PHP. if you're thinking about the value for your money then i don't think you'll get it here. but i will be coming back because i ought to try their singaporean noodles.


toastbox
trinoma lobby

new orleans bourbon steak and seafood

read about new orleans a couple of times already. so i placed it on my list of restos to try. i was inspired to try it out when i read sakai's post on it. i wanted to try the beignets so badly and of course judge the famous ribs.

i got the shrimp ettoufee with beignets. if you check out sakai's pic and mine. you will see the difference. i didn't have the mushrooms and the crunchy green garnish on top. why oh why? plus, the dish wasn't really remarkable. it tasted like sauteed onions and bell pepper with cream. the beignets tasted like biscuits from texas chicken. it was ok, i haven't tried beignets before so i wouldn't know the best way it should be prepared.

now we go to the new orleans baby back ribs. wanted to try the cajun but c was not fond of spicy food so we settled for this.

my oh my, the ribs was tough. had a hard time slicing them. i imagine them 'racks like' - meat falling of the bones. where is that??? aren't they supposed to be an expert on ribs and shouldn't their ribs be cooked into perfection? oh well, the lack of vat was sufficient enough for me not to complain. but this unfortunately, was a miss.


new orleans
bonifacio high street
global city , taguig