My NYC Bagel Exploit

Prior to leaving for NYC I know already that my maintaining under ketosis and keeping a keto diet is doomed.  That is why I gave my delicious in-ketosis body a break.  I ate what is supposed to be eaten in NYC! 

Since being given by fate the opportunity to revisit NYC which for me is such a stupendous blessing, not eating the classic NYC staple could therefore be deemed like a mortal sin.

Because of this, I obliged and dragged myself on eating the classic New York bagel.  They say that NYC bagel is strangely incomparable because of the water chemistry of this urban zone.  And what seem to be remarkable with my bagel-eating exploit is that I did not go to the usual, popular, well-published, most-recommended and tourist-infested café or store that offers the best bagel in NYC.  Besides, every New Yorker seem to have their respective strong opinion on who serves the best NYC bagel.

there must be something in the water…

 I then instead chose a guileless, un-fussy and archetypal type of a deli and mini-grocery store.  At one quiet neighborhood in Brooklyn, there sits and operates Longevity Natural Gourmet Market.  And to complete the complex puzzle of my NYC adventure, I decided to be a traditionalist on this exploit.  This prompted me to order for a no-frills kind of a bagel.  I simply ordered a classic variety with cream cheese on it.

 Longevity’s bagel has no food coloring, not fancy and thankfully was the traditional kind of a bagel.  It nevertheless was impressively squishy inside and remarkably crisp crust on the outside, which clearly defines the classic kind of an NYC bagel. It is soft-on-the-inside and lacquered-on-the-outside!

inside longevity natural gourmet market with people doing their own respective business

a mandatory selfie inside longevity

yum!

This is to confirm then that bagels in this part of the globe are indeed unmatched and should really be something to be gratified with.  Now I can really say that I am and was indeed in New York City.  And a piece of bagel made it further complete.

Yami! kakaiba pramis!

The Food at Apartment 1B

A friend learned that I dined at Apartment 1B of The Henry Hotel and suspected that the food must have been no good that is why I did not write or post about it in this blog.  But since now that I am writing about it, it only means that I indeed enjoyed the food that they served us.

The selfish in me actually wanted the restaurant of The Henry Hotel to be a secret, but since friends learned that I dined there with Nengkoy and family, might as well spill the sumptuous beans! 

apartment 1b got some delicious secret…

beef burger with australian cheddar cheese and bacon

whole wheat spaghetti with grilled veggies (my personal favorite)

baby back ribs with honey bourbon sauce

croque madame! 

main course number 1: white toblerone cheesecake with rapberry coulis

main course number 2: carrot cake 

with nengkoy (of course)

I have nothing bad to say about the warm service, the appealing food and the relaxing ambiance.  The food at Henry Hotel actually was a big positive surprise!  I never expected it to be so good.  Their well-presented dishes were amazingly fine and delicious.

I have nothing but alluring and charming praises for the food served at Apartment 1B.  I will surely be back!

Angcharap!

Khaoniao Mamuang: Best Thai Dessert

I can no longer count the number of times that I have posted in this blog that my favorite course in an entire meal would be the dessert.  The confectionery course has always been my main course!

When I was in Bangkok with my mom and sisters, we of course got to try Thai dishes.  I have always revered how uniquely sensual and remarkably palatable Thai dishes are.  But still, it is a simple dessert among all the striking Thai dishes that really makes my modest and artless taste buds happy.

I love Khaoniao Mamuang.  Don’t be fooled by how the words were spelled and how should it be read.  The best Thai dessert for me is simply known as Mango Sticky Rice!

I adore this dessert for it is uncomplicated, simple and straightforward!  No lavish implements are needed for its presentation; no rare, pricey and uncommon ingredient is need; no knotty and confusing procedures are required for its preparation; and, no intricate and confusing way of eating and enjoying it.  Yet the taste is so heavenly! 

mango sticky rice in the past are simply sold by street vendors of bangkok, but now it is conveniently available in groceries and supermarkets…

a night in bangkok…

It was my fifth time in Bangkok about a week ago.  I may have failed to revisit some the beautiful and spectacular tourist spots of the city, but I never failed to eat, savor and enjoy the divine and blissful Khaoniao Mamuang!

Uulit ulitin talaga…

Jamie’s Italian Bangkok

One epicurean highlight of me, my sisters’ and my mother’s adventure in Bangkok was the opportunity to dine at Jamie’s Italian.  It is a popular worldwide chain of Italian restaurants conceived and run by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.  Thanks to cable TV my family knows who Jamie Oliver is.

This chain of restaurants has recently been in the news in which about a dozen of its branches scattered around the world are reportedly beleaguered and will soon be closing.  It is so ironic that it has yet to open a branch in Manila, yet branches in other spots on the planet are already closing.

So before Jamie’s Italian would completely dissolve and utterly disappear from the face of earth, me, Nengkoy and my sisters took the chance to savor some of its dishes.  My family love watching cable TV cooking shows (including that of Jamie Oliver’s) and now that there is an opportunity, we will no longer forever wonder how a popular celebrity chef’s creation actually taste like.

These are what we ordered…

Soup of the Day… pumpkin soup! This surprisingly passed the palate of Nengkoy whom I consider to be an authority when it comes to pumpkin soups.

Meatball Pappadelle (free-range pork & fennel meatballs in ‘nduja tomato sauce with olives, herby breadcrumbs, rocket and parmesan) this is sooo good…

Spaghetti Alla Norma (a classic sicilian pasta dish or aubergine, chilli & basil in rich tomato sauce) it’s vegetarian yet my personal favorite! 

Truffle Shuffle (white sauce, truffled salami, fontal, balsamic onions, free-range egg & black truffle) super savory!

Epic Chocolate Brownie (with proper chocolate sauce, salted caramel ice cream and caramelised popcorn) super yummy!

And after enjoying all these savory dishes, I wonder why a significant number of Jamie’s Italian branches around the planet are in the brink of closure.  Maybe it’s because taste buds of people around the world has mutated, regressed and had a relapse that it can no longer fathom, appreciate and recognize what good food is.

Good to know that the Bangkok branch stays strong and dynamic.  This is considering the fact that Thai people seem to be one of the most discriminating in terms of flavor, taste and palatal experience.  With the luscious taste and flavors we experienced at Jamie’s Italian Bangkok located at Siam Discovery, I hope that this chain remain for a long period of time for others with discerning taste to enjoy. 

me and nengkoy… enjoyed the food so much!

Parang ako ang kasarapan!

A Fruity Twisted My Brain

I was not longing for Ruby Roman Grapes, the most expensive grapes in the world.  I was never looking for Ackee, one of the rarest fruits on the planet.  And not once did I crave for Cherimoya which according to Mark Twain is the most delicious fruit known to men.

I was only yearning to try a Miracle Berry and experience for myself the magic and oddity it does to my taste buds.

twisted!

And this yearning has finally been resolved when Chef Clark Soliman, a co-employee, learned about my hankering.  He’s got a Miracle Berry plant in his backyard in Pampanga.  Chef Clark when he visited my office actually gave me a handful of this amazing berry.

I right away tested it.  I ordered the nearest restaurant from my office to deliver me a chopped calamansi (a very sour citrus fruit abundant here in the Philippines).  I munched into the miracle berry as soon as my chopped calamansi has been delivered.  And after a couple of minutes, I was supping, lapping and sucking on what supposed to be the sourest citrus fruit on the planet.  But my discernment was different, my taste buds were telling me that I was supping on the sweetest and most delicious honey orange in the universe!

from notorious sourness to heavenly sweetness

Miracle Berry indeed tricked and deceived my precious taste buds!  I never knew that my brain could further be twisted by such a mere fruit.  It’s fun! Find one and be twisted by the effect of Miracle Berry.
Tikman nyo! Kaaliw!

Unexpected Hunger Buster Burger

Guests entering a restaurant three minutes before it closes is technically okay.  But this situation is one of the most hated circumstances by that of the waiters and cooks.  This is especially true when the kitchen has started to do its cleaning and sanitizing.  Cooks would not have the choice but to gloomily re-grease their pots, pans and griddle and degrease it again later on when all orders of the oblivious close-to-being-late customer has been dispatched.

This is exactly what I did!  And in the above scenario, I was the customer.  Since it’s almost closing time, I expected that my orders would be nothing spectacular.  I was actually expecting the food to be unmeticulous, negligent and haphazard.

But all my worrying expectations were all false!  I was served, what could be considered one of the best gourmet burgers in Manila!  Congratulations to Hunger Buster.  This burger joint located at the 2^nd floor of University Mall in Taft Avenue gave me what I never expected.

yum!

It was so delicious, I wanted to drag other folks dining at a nearby restaurant and tell them “what the hell are you doing in that measly resto when an awesome gourmet burger joint in Manila is just under your freakin’ nose!?”

It was the type of burger that I love.  Hunger Buster provides disposable plastic hand gloves because their burger is a gloriously messy creation.  All elements I wanted for a burger was there: tender and flavorful meat, crispy bits of savory bacon, provocatively dripping greasy juices and gooey cheese!  And despite the dripping juices, the soft and tasty bun never turned sad and soggy.  For me it was one surprising burger!

I will definitely be back at Hunger Buster and on that time, I will step in 2 minutes before it closes! Hahaha!

An-ekspekted and sarap!

A Slice of Oz Pizza

I am more of a burger person than a pizza person.  I more enjoy the juicy-ness of a beef as compared to the gooey-ness of a mozzarella cheese.  I can’t actually remember when I boast or wrote about a pizza.  Maybe it’s because my pizza experiences has always been a letdown.  However, when I chomped on a slice in a pizza joint in Castro Street, I promised myself that I have to write about it.

It’s Oz Pizza.  After grasping the LGBT vibe and feel of Castro streets in San Francisco, I decided to have pizza for lunch.  This was because of a pregnant lady with a young kid gleefully munching on a big box of pizza slices at the patio table of Oz Pizza.  Water falls came down from my oral cavity while seeing them do colossal bites and enormous chomping of their pizza.

the castro

oz pizza counter

a slice of heaven

Since I am not a pizza person, and there were too many varieties to choose from, I asked the mild and smiling attendant for a recommendation.  He endorsed the Combo, which I supposed is a mix of all toppings in their menu.  I gladly obliged.  And on my first bite, I realized that the attendant knew what he is endorsing.  The crust was chewy and crispy at the same time, which I personally prefer.  The toppings, which by the way is so generous, were all tasty and flavorful.  That slice was one spectacular treat!

Though there is nothing to praise about the interiors of the eatery, the wonderful taste and impressive quality of their pizza however compensates for all this drag.  I am not a pizza person but if Oz Pizza will be the one offered to me, I will gladly drop a sumptuous burger for it.

Yum yum…

Just Myself at Stinking Rose

One downside of being a solo traveler, which I realized during my San Francisco CA solo expedition, is that I am to eat alone.  Good thing I am living by myself in Manila, thus, the impact of eating solo in a foreign country is not disturbing if compared to those who are so used to sharing a thought and their food with someone else during a meal.

Because of this glitch, I avoided fancy restaurants and during meal periods I can be found in a communal table of a food court, an indie coffee shop or in a park munching a dish I bought from a food stall or food truck.

nice interiors…

crispy baby romaine, grana & croutons

main event!

main course! hahaha!

will be back!

But when my college best friend Marie (now based in Los Angeles) recommended that I should try and dine at Stinking Rose, I never had a second thought. One late lunch period, I navigated the streets of SF and proceeded to Columbus Avenue where the Italian restaurant is located.

The receptionist upon knowing that I am dining “just myself”, she was smart and gentle enough to assign me to a good and strategic table (a corner by the window) which seem intended really for solo diners.

I ordered a 3-course Prix Fixe Dinner bundle.  For the main course I settled with the one recommended by the waiter, the Forty Clove Garlic Chicken.  And when the food was served, I totally forgot about the glitches and hurdles of dining solo in a fancy or busy restaurant.

On a bright side of this experience, since my mind would not be diverted or side-tracked from this gustatory encounter, I actually was able to indeed levy the quality and taste of the food that was served at Stinking Rose.  I was more focus and conscious about the palatal attributes of the food I was devouring.  And my verdict about Stinking Rose?  Let me just say that my super friend Marie cares for my palatal satisfaction.  She indeed gave me an excellent recommendation!

havin’ a blast!

I may forget that I dined solo at Stinking Rose but the gustatory experience I had with this Italian restaurant shall be remembered for a very long time.

Salamat Marie…

Stregato Gelateria: A Gem in Balanga Bataan

It is starting to become a habit that every time I and my colleagues got to spend an overnight weekend adventure out-of-town, we would first have to dine in a well-liked or budding restaurant or coffee shop. Part of the adventure is to scout and google the nicest food joint that our destination can brag about.  And when we have chosen one, we would agree that before proceeding to our final destination to check-in we would have a detour by having either a breakfast, a brunch or a lunch in our chosen eatery.

On our way to Las Casas De Filipinas De Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan for an overnight weekend, I and my colleagues stopped over the agricultural city of Balanga in Bataan.  We had lunch at Stregato Geleteria, a cute and charming Italian-inspired diner right in the middle of the city (right beside The Plaza Hotel and at the ground floor of Galeria Victoria Mall).

cute!

Stregato Gelateria was one surprising restaurant.  First timers like us easily fell in love with the interiors and ambiance of the place.  And surprisingly, the service was pretty quick and the food were superb!

I particularly ordered the Slow-Cooked Roasted Pork Belly.  And that was indeed a winner!

slow-cooked roast pork! yum!

All of us agree that another impressive thing about the food is that the serving-size were just perfect.  The portion was not too much neither too little for its reasonable price.  Their prices were actually not reasonable because it’s unreasonably low!  With an endearing ambiance and flavorful food, Stregato Gelateria is definitely comparable and in the level of pricey diners and coffee shops here in Manila.

And since our tummy were not too full nor felt shortchanged we decided to order two slices of cakes – the mindboggling Ferrero cake and the marvelous Mango Crème Brulee cake.  One Tagalog word for their desserts… sarap!

cakes cakes cakes!

a reason to come back

mga batang bagac!

All of us further agreed that Stregato Gelateria is a gem of a restaurant in Balanga, Bataan.  If given the chance to be back in this beautiful old province, I will definitely not miss eating at Sregator Gelateria.

Sarap sa Ingles… dilisyus (parang ako)!