kanin club

i can probably say that this is the best meal i've had back in manila. always wanted to eat at kanin club but it's way down south, good thing they opened a branch at the ayala technohub...how convenient! here's the stuff we got.

sinigang na sinangag or sinangag na sinigang, this dish really confuses me, i can't remember which is which. basically fried rice which is based on sinigang a filipino sour soup dish. there are pork belly slices underneath the tower of crispy kangkong. i loved this dish!!!!

crispy dinuguan, crispy pork pieces cooked in blood stew. another sure winner! perfect with plain rice, yes you need plain rice to appreciate this more.

binukadkad na tilapia, a not so unique dish. you can find a similar dish in other restos and i think others to this better. a very straight forward way of preparing tilapia butterflied and then deep fried so you can't go wrong with this as well if you want a fried fish dish.

the meal was great, had them with good friends so nothing can go better than that. i cannot list down the prices coz i didn't pay for it ;). but they are definitely affordable, i don't think a dish went beyond PHP300. good and affordable filipino food with a twist.

kanin club

ayala technohub, qc

westgate mall

sta. rosa

agave mexican cantina

before everything else, i would like to greet everyone a belated happy new year =). here's to an amazing and abundant year ahead of us.

i was on holidays in manila for two weeks and boy it felt good to be back. well it's good that i can gear away from all my household chores and happy that someone else is doing my laundry and ironing ;). as soon as i landed i had myself a palabok-chicken joy meal, i had to pass on jolly spaghetti this time around. a couple of hours later, i started ticking off my must try list.

first stop was agave. read a lot of good reviews and since i have been craving for mexican food this was the perfect choice. the nearest to me was at the sky garden at sm north edsa. here are the items we got.

queso fundido (PHP 300++) supposed to be a mexican version of a spinach artichoke dip. this one has melted cheese, chorizo, spinach and artichoke with grilled bread, fried flour tortilla and corn chips. i was pretty disappointed with this. the artichoke was chewy, the cheese doesn't have the silky melted texture i was thinking similar to chilli's skillet queso. if you check out the online menu the platter has blue corn chips which i didn't get. i liked the grilled flavor of the bread but somehow something was off the oil didn't look that appealing considering it just looks like plain vegetable oil doused over the bread...think minola basted on your bread...aaack!

do you still remember miggy's? they serve good chimichagas which is my mom's favorite. however, it was far from agave's chimichanga (PHP300++). agave's version is rolled and it was not plain meat inside, loads of rice if you ask me. it was mexican rice with chicken pieces and that was it. i didn't even notice the cheese. though i liked the crisp tortilla and the salsa and sour cream on top. i really wish it had more chicken inside. if you remember miggy's their chimichangas are stuffed with cheese, corn and chicken as plain as that. you'd really be stuffed with all the protein. and not being a rice lover this added to my displeasure.

not only was i disappointed with the dishes, which probably were just misses but the service was uber slow. and this was around a time that only 3-4 tables were occupied. the meal wasn't that bad but i really expected more. maybe my orders were just misses. anyway, i would still try it again but maybe at a different branch.

agave mexican cantina

sky garden sm north

penang: eden seafood village

went to batu ferringhi in penang, which is their famous beach area. for more local fare we initially decided to eat at long beach food center. upon arrival we realized it was too crowded and smelly, not good for freshly bathe tourists who plan to go to hard rock afterwards.

so i've decided to eat at eden seafood village, which i've read reviews and recommendations of. eden village is like a dampa restaurant. the prices of the dishes are based on the weight of the seafood, particularly fish and shellfish. other food items have fixed prices. so here are the stuff we got.

steamed red tilapia (1.15kg @ 51.75 RM), honestly, we got this one because it was the cheapest hehe. we knew we'd burn more money afterwards so we were a bit cautious on how much we're gonna order. you can never really go wrong with a simple steamed fish unless the seafood is not fresh. this one is definitely fresh, it was jumping out of the basket when the aunti took it from the tank.

baked white prawn (RM52.50) - what could go wrong with with some cheesy baked shrimps? however, wish that the shrimps were more meaty.

squid dry chilli (RM32) - a common method of cooking is with dried chilli, loads of them. this one is peppery and buttery. really good and perfect with rice. the squid was really tender.

beancurd claypot with minced chicken (RM20) - i'd rather call this mapo tofu because it tastes and looks like it. i was expecting the real beancurd claypot. this was good we all loved it, being tofu lovers that we are. but it was kinda oily.

hand pulled noodles in xo sauce (RM20) - a recommendation since it's supposed to be a special. however, i find nothing special about this. the noodles are not springy nearly soggy, so i don't know how this one is hand pulled. they didn't scrimped on the ingredients though so that's a plus. the flavor, nothing really spectacular very low key. but this was a huge plate/serving of noodles.

overall, it was great meal. no misses or utterly disappointing dish. costs roughly 40RM per person. i reckon this is relatively expensive for malaysia prices. but this is a touristy place with cultural shows during dinner time which we were able to see, not that it was impressive. but still food was good, the place might need to get renovations to be more updated.

eden seafood village

batu ferringhi

penang, malaysia

penang: tho yuen

was able to spend a long weekend in penang last week. i am not sure if they call penang the food capital of malaysia. but everyone would just rave about penang food. they said you get the best of every malaysian dish in penang well maybe not all especially when it comes to bak kut teh which is best had in klang and the cendol best had in melaka.

anyway, we arrived in penang after lunch time so consequently we were starving. i've got my penang lonely planet guide and had the must try places already tagged. decided to eat at tho yuen, a chinese resto which is walking distance from the place we were staying at.

here's the food we got.

dumpling soup, the auntie decided for us, she even decided how many pieces we get. it's not like they have a fixed size for orders i guess. the stuffing the traditional pork stuffing i know - with water chestnuts. perfect for our grumbling tummies.

roasted chicken - initially wanted steamed chicken but they ran out of it. flavorful, tender and perfectly cooked.




crispy noodles - they've got a variety of noodles. we opted for this. it was good. the noodles are thin, crispy and flavorful. better devour this immediately when served so you can appreciate the crispy texture.

all of these plus rice and chinese tea costs around 72RM, shared among 7 people (yeah the servings were huge) it was a good meal. ok, maybe because we were hungry. but really, the place was packed at 2PM. can you believe that? anyway, you might consider this when out in penang.

tho yuen

jalan campbell

penang

miele guide

let's see how i fare based on the miele guide.

Malaysia's Top 5 restaurants 2009/2010:

1. Sage Restaurant & Wine Bar, Kuala Lumpur - should probably try this place when i go shopping
2. Senses Restaurant, Kuala Lumpur
3. Neroteca, Kuala Lumpur - i'll eat here when i get the panini craving next door to my friend's place
4. Frangipani Restaurant & Bar, Kuala Lumpur
5. El Cerdo, Kuala Lumpur - eaten here
   

Philippines Top 5 restaurants 2009/2010:

1. Antonio's, Cavite (No. 17 in Asia's Top 20) - not impressed
2. Aubergine, Manila (No. 18 in Asia's Top 20) - loved it!!! this is the best for me.
3. Mamou, Manila - tried it loved the breads, the steak was yummy and i heart the truffle pasta
4. Abe, Manila - eaten here
5. Sala Restaurant, Manila - have yet to try this i already ate at sala bistro :)

kl: sushi zanmai

fruit of my japanese craving....a trip to the gardens to eat at another japanese resto which i've read good reviews of. as far as i know, sushi zanmai is also managed by the group who owns rakuzen, so i was pretty complacent with this place.

we got chuka wakame, seasoned seaweed (RM3.80), has this refreshing flavor of the sea slightly salty with a hint of sesame which was just perfect.

sanshoku hana salmon (RM9.80) got great reviews. salmon with shrimp roe, wasabi flying fish roe and black caviar. what can i say? the salmon was extremely fresh. had this melt in your mouth texture.

softshell crab maki (RM6) is softshell crab becoming a japanese staple for me? i really don't know. this one has skinny crabs hehe i'm sure that's not the proper word to describe it. given the choice i would choose sugi anytime, but for the price? i think it's worth it.

as if these rolls were not enough, we got the stamina roll (RM12.8) too. omelette sushi roll topped with eel. unagi i heart. another jap staple for me. this one is so filling and so worth your buck.

for more carbs =), we also got yakisoba. topped with bonito shavings, i also liked this one. probably the best yakisoba i've tried by far. the small serving goes for RM8.80.

and of course i had to pair these up with a great drink. if i remember it correctly this is a honeydew green tea shake =)

good food, great ambiance...no wonder you'd often see a long queue outside.




sushi zanmai
midvalley the gardens
kuala lumpur

kl: super noodle house

this resto is listed in malaysia's best eats. hard to miss since it's at the entrance of sungei wang, one of the famous malls in kl. what i love about this place aside from the great dimsum is, hongkong chili garlic oil. in other words it's the pinas version of chilli garlic oil. i've mentioned a couple of times already that they serve an asado like sauce and hot sauce for their dimsum here in malaysia which is not really apt if you ask me.

anyway, i'll just post the pictures of my previous eats as well as my friends's eats. prices of the noodles range from 7-10RM while the dimsum is around 5RM, pretty pricey for malaysian standards but same prices in pinas. i have no picture for the super yummy siu pao but they really have one of the nicest char siu pork buns i've tried. moist and soft that i could gobble 2-3 buns and for me that's a record because i don't like asado siopao.

dumpling soup

congee topped with fried bread

roasted pork noodle

hargau/hakao - a dimsum staple

crystal vegetable and pork dumpling - something like that...my friends say this is better than the siumai. haven't tried the siumai but i like this one too.

chicken feet another staple, the last time i ordered it, it wasn't as tender and as falling off the bones as it should be.

friend taro with chicken - do not order this! nuf' said.

i usually eat at this place during off hours like an early lunch at 11 am or a snack at 5pm. during those times i get great quality dimsum, all hot and all available. last time i've eaten there during lunch hour, the dimsum is cooked by batch and you have limited choices on which ever is left/available. i recommend this for pinoys working here in kl. but for those who live in manila, you can get great dimsum in a lot of our chinese restos there except for the charsiu bun of course, i have yet to find a chinese resto in manila that serves a similar siopao other than kowloon. and of course, i don't think there's a roasted pork with dry noodles noodles in manila...as far as i can remember ;).

super noodle house

at the entrance of sungei wang

jalan sultan ismail cor bukit bintang