I’VE always been fond of Japanese food, and even as I consider myself a mere dabbler in the culinary arts, a dilettante if you will, I feel that Japanese cuisine is among the most fascinating in the world. So, sucker for Japanese food that I am, I accepted an invitation to dine at Mizu Restaurant, at the main level of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
Chef Ken Imamura prepared a special sampler menu for our party, showcasing the delicious Japanese dishes available at Mizu.
We started with a spicy tuna roll, which people might recognize as tekka maki. It’s different from the regular tekka maki though, being a bit spicier. It also tastes great: there’s no fishy smell and the nori (pressed algae sheets) has no rubbery taste. Obviously, Mizu uses the best ingredients. This particular dish would probably be a great introduction to Japanese food for people who’ve always been afraid to try it.
It was followed by cha soba juri salada, a dish made from green tea noodles topped with fresh tiger prawns and red bell pepper dressing. Don’t be surprised when you take your first mouthful: this dish is served cold, but it actually tastes great.
The strips of red bell pepper and ginger enhance the taste of the dressing. An explosion of sweet, tart and slightly spicy flavors fill the mouth with a unique taste seldom found in ordinary noodle dishes.
Nankin manju fukaheri-an was served next. The pureed pumpkin and the puffed rice coating gave contrasting textures, with the asparagus adding a bit of crunch to the dish. The scallops and shark’s fin sauce provided extra life to the already enjoyable concoction.
Three dishes came all at the same time, making it difficult to determine which was the main course. Individually though, each dish presented a different aspect of Japanese cuisine: grilled food, deep-fried dishes and soup.
The grilled ika, or squid, came wrapped in foil and was served with aromatic mushrooms. Unlike the usual grilled squid most Pinoys are used to, Mizu’s ika yaki is saucy. The squid’s flavor is retained, and overall, the dish is subtly reminiscent of adobong nokus.
Ebi tempura lovers will definitely enjoy Mizu’s ebi yuba age. Instead of being coated in batter, tiger prawns are wrapped in tofu sheets and then deep-fried. Different, but just as satisfying.
Besides being a lover of Japanese food, I also enjoy beef dishes; put the two together and you can be sure that sukiyaki is among my top ten favorite dishes.
Mizu’s sukiyaki, made from high-grade sirloin in sukiyaki sauce combined with enoki mushrooms and fresh vegetables then simmered in an iron pot, is an absolute must-try. The sirloin was very tender, the mushrooms, vegetables and noodles cooked perfectly. I almost didn’t want to stop eating.
We had tempura ice cream for dessert. The concept of fried ice cream may seem weird to some, but it’s really very simple.
The ice cream is wrapped in pastry then deep-fried for a few seconds, giving it a very crisp outer covering. Bite through the crisp crust and you’ll be rewarded with a soft and cold mouthful of bliss. Think of it as Mizu’s version of cake ala mode.
“Mizu” means “water” in Japanese. Mizu the restaurant in its own way seems to evoke the finer qualities of this particular element. The restaurant’s interiors instill a sense of calm in the diner, much like a placid pond deep in the middle of a forest.
The food at Mizu, on the other hand, can be likened to water’s many forms. The cha soba juri salada may be a thunderstorm, bursting with flavor yet ending up with a sense of serenity very few dishes can give. The grilled ika and ebi yuba age are as fantastic as the seas and oceans they came from, the tempura ice cream as refreshing as a mountain stream, and the sukiyaki, as impressive as a beautiful waterfall.
This is what makes Japanese food very fascinating, the subtleties and complexities of each dish teasing and pleasing one’s taste buds. And with Mizu’s insistence on making everything as perfect as it can be, the experience of feasting on Japanese cuisine is made even more fascinating.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The House of Chicken
EVER so often, one comes across a gem of a place that serves as a great hangout.
Iamik’s Chicken and Beer House, about 40 meters down the corner of F. Cabahug and Tres Borces Sts., is one such place. It’s an old house, converted into a dining place that serves cheap beer and mouth-watering chicken dishes. Additionally, an acoustic group plays on weekends, although on occasion, musicians do play during weekdays.
Guests can also sing with the band, so long as the band is familiar with the song, or is good enough to improvise.
Interiors are pretty simple: the décor is native inspired, and booths are found at either side, with a couple of tables and chairs down the center. The booths at Iamik’s are not what you’d find at most restaurants, though.
Guests sit on native, woven mats integrated into the floor while a low platform serves as a table. Think of it as a blend of native Filipino and the Japanese or Korean style of dining. Not surprisingly, Iamik’s is a big hit among Japanese and Korean students residing in the neighborhood.
No hard liquor is served at the restaurant, only local beer, but the prices are among the lowest you’d find in Cebu. The place also offers an all-you-can-drink promo on weekends. Of course, soft drinks and fruit juices are available for the non-drinkers.
Food is pretty great, as long as you’re fond of poultry, fowl, or chicken. Among the favorites at Iamik’s is what they call “Chicken Fight,” with three levels of spiciness. Round 1 is spicy, Round 2 is spicier, with Round 3 the spiciest, although those fond of spicy foods (like me!) might find even Chicken Fight Round 3 a bit tame for their taste.
Other dishes worth a taste are the “Chicken Boholano” (resembling the popular halang-halang), the fantastic chicken sisig, “Adidas” or chicken feet, and the breaded chicken fillet. The best seller at the resto-bar is, without a doubt, the chicken skin chicharon. It is a great complement to beer, although those who have high cholesterol levels should be careful, as chicken skin is said to be high in this.
As a specialty house, Iamik’s does pretty well, with a ton of satisfying chicken-based dishes on their menu. As a drinking place, it also does the job with inexpensive beer. As a music hall, it does okay, too, as the bands they have (while only amateurs) give a hundred percent in performing.
While Iamik’s Chicken and Beer House may not be a place to see and be seen, it’s definitely the place to go to if you want to grab a satisfying chicken meal, and at the same time knock off a few brown bottles with some good friends.
Iamik’s Chicken and Beer House, about 40 meters down the corner of F. Cabahug and Tres Borces Sts., is one such place. It’s an old house, converted into a dining place that serves cheap beer and mouth-watering chicken dishes. Additionally, an acoustic group plays on weekends, although on occasion, musicians do play during weekdays.
Guests can also sing with the band, so long as the band is familiar with the song, or is good enough to improvise.
Interiors are pretty simple: the décor is native inspired, and booths are found at either side, with a couple of tables and chairs down the center. The booths at Iamik’s are not what you’d find at most restaurants, though.
Guests sit on native, woven mats integrated into the floor while a low platform serves as a table. Think of it as a blend of native Filipino and the Japanese or Korean style of dining. Not surprisingly, Iamik’s is a big hit among Japanese and Korean students residing in the neighborhood.
No hard liquor is served at the restaurant, only local beer, but the prices are among the lowest you’d find in Cebu. The place also offers an all-you-can-drink promo on weekends. Of course, soft drinks and fruit juices are available for the non-drinkers.
Food is pretty great, as long as you’re fond of poultry, fowl, or chicken. Among the favorites at Iamik’s is what they call “Chicken Fight,” with three levels of spiciness. Round 1 is spicy, Round 2 is spicier, with Round 3 the spiciest, although those fond of spicy foods (like me!) might find even Chicken Fight Round 3 a bit tame for their taste.
Other dishes worth a taste are the “Chicken Boholano” (resembling the popular halang-halang), the fantastic chicken sisig, “Adidas” or chicken feet, and the breaded chicken fillet. The best seller at the resto-bar is, without a doubt, the chicken skin chicharon. It is a great complement to beer, although those who have high cholesterol levels should be careful, as chicken skin is said to be high in this.
As a specialty house, Iamik’s does pretty well, with a ton of satisfying chicken-based dishes on their menu. As a drinking place, it also does the job with inexpensive beer. As a music hall, it does okay, too, as the bands they have (while only amateurs) give a hundred percent in performing.
While Iamik’s Chicken and Beer House may not be a place to see and be seen, it’s definitely the place to go to if you want to grab a satisfying chicken meal, and at the same time knock off a few brown bottles with some good friends.
Truly Pinoy
For most people, Pinoy food isn’t really a big deal. I mean, that’s what you eat at home, right? But when it’s culinary icon Chef Gene Gonzalez (you know, the guy in the ice cream commercial) cooking the food, you just gotta stop what you’re doing and grab a bite of his food. Ongoing until the twenty-first of June, Marco Polo Plaza’s Pinoy! Pinoy! Food festival showcases several of Chef Gene’s recipes, some of which I was able to sample last Monday.
Chef Gene’s sisig terrine is his take on the favorite Capampangan dish so loved by drinkers and drunkards. In this case though, the sisig takes on the form of a terrine, which is sosyal-speak for meatloaf. It’s served cold, though, which probably won’t make it a good pulutan, but does really well as an appetizer. If you’re a sucker for manggang hilaw, then Chef Gene’s mangga sa cerveza is a must-try. The half-ripe mangoes give a sharp bite, but the beer sort of deactivates the tartness of the fruit, cooling the mouth. Think “achara” and you have the general idea of how it tastes like.
The tinolang manok, or nilat-an in Cebuano, is comforting in its simplicity. Chicken soup, native-style, is what it is, with sili leaves and the addition of bilo-bilo or flour balls, much like the flour balls you find in binignit. Chef Gene’s chicken soup seems to prove true the saying “chicken soup is good for what ails you,” as I was feeling a bit queasy that day; a few sips of the tinolang manok rejuvenated me greatly.
Cebu not being a rice-producing province, frogs’ legs are something I have not had for a long time. I was delighted to find it on the menu, and was the first to dig into the serving platter. The turmeric gives it a yellowish tint, and adds a light, spicy taste to the frogs’ legs. While my preference for frogs’ legs run to the more garlicky version, with sliced chili peppers, Chef Gene’s frogs’ legs adobo satisfied my craving for this dish otherwise unobtainable in Cebu. Those with Fear Factor tendencies should definitely have a taste.
The adobo del diablo is more or less what the Tagalogs call “adobong matanda.” It’s dry and a bit chewy, because it’s supposed to keep for at least a few weeks. During the olden times, it was stored in a clay pot and buried underground to keep cool. It’s different from the saucy adobo most of us know, but no less tasty.
Another simple yet delicious dish that day was Chef Gene’s crispy pata con bihon. Simply put, it’s rice noodles topped with deep-fried pork leg. Imagine two tasty Pinoy dishes put together and you’ve got it.
For dessert, there was a dessert plate with halo-halo, shaved ice with preserved fruits and milk, Capampangan leche flan, which is the Pinoy version of crème brulee, and my favorite, the mantecado ice cream.
While Cebu has a couple of really good Pinoy restaurants, that shouldn’t stop anyone from going up Nivel and sampling Chef Gene’s food. Once you’ve gotten a taste of Chef Gene’s cooking, you’ll never take Pinoy food for granted ever again.
Chef Gene’s sisig terrine is his take on the favorite Capampangan dish so loved by drinkers and drunkards. In this case though, the sisig takes on the form of a terrine, which is sosyal-speak for meatloaf. It’s served cold, though, which probably won’t make it a good pulutan, but does really well as an appetizer. If you’re a sucker for manggang hilaw, then Chef Gene’s mangga sa cerveza is a must-try. The half-ripe mangoes give a sharp bite, but the beer sort of deactivates the tartness of the fruit, cooling the mouth. Think “achara” and you have the general idea of how it tastes like.
The tinolang manok, or nilat-an in Cebuano, is comforting in its simplicity. Chicken soup, native-style, is what it is, with sili leaves and the addition of bilo-bilo or flour balls, much like the flour balls you find in binignit. Chef Gene’s chicken soup seems to prove true the saying “chicken soup is good for what ails you,” as I was feeling a bit queasy that day; a few sips of the tinolang manok rejuvenated me greatly.
Cebu not being a rice-producing province, frogs’ legs are something I have not had for a long time. I was delighted to find it on the menu, and was the first to dig into the serving platter. The turmeric gives it a yellowish tint, and adds a light, spicy taste to the frogs’ legs. While my preference for frogs’ legs run to the more garlicky version, with sliced chili peppers, Chef Gene’s frogs’ legs adobo satisfied my craving for this dish otherwise unobtainable in Cebu. Those with Fear Factor tendencies should definitely have a taste.
The adobo del diablo is more or less what the Tagalogs call “adobong matanda.” It’s dry and a bit chewy, because it’s supposed to keep for at least a few weeks. During the olden times, it was stored in a clay pot and buried underground to keep cool. It’s different from the saucy adobo most of us know, but no less tasty.
Another simple yet delicious dish that day was Chef Gene’s crispy pata con bihon. Simply put, it’s rice noodles topped with deep-fried pork leg. Imagine two tasty Pinoy dishes put together and you’ve got it.
For dessert, there was a dessert plate with halo-halo, shaved ice with preserved fruits and milk, Capampangan leche flan, which is the Pinoy version of crème brulee, and my favorite, the mantecado ice cream.
While Cebu has a couple of really good Pinoy restaurants, that shouldn’t stop anyone from going up Nivel and sampling Chef Gene’s food. Once you’ve gotten a taste of Chef Gene’s cooking, you’ll never take Pinoy food for granted ever again.
Maya: A re-education
This isn’t your average Mexican restaurant. Enter Maya Taqueria and Tequila Lounge, at the Crossroads Arcade in Banilad, with an open mind, because dining at Maya becomes a re-learning of sorts. There are no Mexican dishes that we Pinoys have gotten used to. Missing are the items which some “foodies” say are the real thing, like tacos with grated cheese and ground meat of unknown origin (Is it beef or pork? Can you tell?), and enchiladas and burritos that taste the same as everyone else’s “authentic Mexican food.” You won’t even find a single sombrero in the place; Maya isn’t about ambience dictating authenticity.
Maya is about food, and the fun that goes along with discovering new flavors; when was the last time you had a guacamole that actually tasted like avocado, tinged with citrus? With little chunks you can chew? Or a refreshing salsa that’s sweet, sour and hot, filling your mouth with a coolness that slowly gives way to a zingy heat that lingers? It’s all about the flavor in Maya.
Even the tacos are different. You get a choice of roast pork that tastes like your lola’s adobo, shredded chicken with a smoky tomato-chipotle sauce, fillets of grilled fish, or Angus flank steak, with coriander and salsa in a soft corn tortilla. It doesn’t have any grated cheese, cheese does not a taco make, anyway. Don’t forget to squeeze a few drops of kalamansi on your taco, too. The taste will engulf your mouth with an explosion of flavors that will change the way you look at a taco.
You will also learn: Pinoy and Mexican cuisine are a lot alike. In fact, some dishes are identical. For one, empanadas, a stuffed pastry Pinoys love, are also a Mexican dish. Albondigas (read: meatballs) are mainstays of both Mexican and Pinoy cuisine, and yes, you can get them both at Maya.
Rice, which Pinoys love, is also a staple in Mexico, evidenced by the dishes that make use it, such as frijoles y arroz (beans and rice) and burritos. While Pinoys don’t really eat burritos often, other dishes at Maya such as the Chechac and Pescado Veracruz may convince you of the similiarity of Pinoy and Mexican food.
The Chechac is a rice dish with braised fish, coconut, bananas, tomatoes, lime and achiote, or achuete in our language. In looks, it resembles rice submerged in afritada; in taste, it will remind you of arroz a la cubana, which is very familiar to the Pinoy palate. Similarly, the Pescado Veracruz, a fish dish, undergoes a very Pinoy way of cooking, wrapped in banana leaves. It’s the same way most Pinoys would cook a fish on the beach. And what about the very Pinoy leche flan for dessert?
More importantly, prices are Maya are very reasonable. You can dine there without having to tighten your belt till the next payday. Factor in the quality of the food, the beautiful interiors, and the excellent service and you’ll find that you’re getting mucho bang for your peso.
As far as authenticity goes, everyone has their ideas about authentic Mexican food. In my opinion, Maya sets the benchmark for Mexican food in Cebu, and probably even in Manila. As for the ninety or so kinds of tequila available at Maya, well, that’s best saved for another article.
Maya is about food, and the fun that goes along with discovering new flavors; when was the last time you had a guacamole that actually tasted like avocado, tinged with citrus? With little chunks you can chew? Or a refreshing salsa that’s sweet, sour and hot, filling your mouth with a coolness that slowly gives way to a zingy heat that lingers? It’s all about the flavor in Maya.
Even the tacos are different. You get a choice of roast pork that tastes like your lola’s adobo, shredded chicken with a smoky tomato-chipotle sauce, fillets of grilled fish, or Angus flank steak, with coriander and salsa in a soft corn tortilla. It doesn’t have any grated cheese, cheese does not a taco make, anyway. Don’t forget to squeeze a few drops of kalamansi on your taco, too. The taste will engulf your mouth with an explosion of flavors that will change the way you look at a taco.
You will also learn: Pinoy and Mexican cuisine are a lot alike. In fact, some dishes are identical. For one, empanadas, a stuffed pastry Pinoys love, are also a Mexican dish. Albondigas (read: meatballs) are mainstays of both Mexican and Pinoy cuisine, and yes, you can get them both at Maya.
Rice, which Pinoys love, is also a staple in Mexico, evidenced by the dishes that make use it, such as frijoles y arroz (beans and rice) and burritos. While Pinoys don’t really eat burritos often, other dishes at Maya such as the Chechac and Pescado Veracruz may convince you of the similiarity of Pinoy and Mexican food.
The Chechac is a rice dish with braised fish, coconut, bananas, tomatoes, lime and achiote, or achuete in our language. In looks, it resembles rice submerged in afritada; in taste, it will remind you of arroz a la cubana, which is very familiar to the Pinoy palate. Similarly, the Pescado Veracruz, a fish dish, undergoes a very Pinoy way of cooking, wrapped in banana leaves. It’s the same way most Pinoys would cook a fish on the beach. And what about the very Pinoy leche flan for dessert?
More importantly, prices are Maya are very reasonable. You can dine there without having to tighten your belt till the next payday. Factor in the quality of the food, the beautiful interiors, and the excellent service and you’ll find that you’re getting mucho bang for your peso.
As far as authenticity goes, everyone has their ideas about authentic Mexican food. In my opinion, Maya sets the benchmark for Mexican food in Cebu, and probably even in Manila. As for the ninety or so kinds of tequila available at Maya, well, that’s best saved for another article.
Fuzhou feast
Once upon a time, a scholar was traveling, with his food contained in a clay jar used for storing wine. One day, he warmed his food beside a monastery with high walls. A monk living in the monastery smelled the food warming and jumped over the wall to look for the source of the smell. It was originally called “A Buddhist monk jumps over the wall” but over the years came to be known as “Buddha jumps over the wall”.
Cebuanos don’t need to jump over the wall to have a taste of this soup; all they have to do is head over to Tea of Spring at Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa and feast on the dishes specially prepared by Chefs Tacky Zheng and Yang Jianxi, who flew over from Fujian province in China to share their culinary prowess with us, in Tea of Spring’s Fuzhou Food Festival, ongoing from August 8 to 16.
With ingredients such as quail’s eggs, noodles, abalone, scallops, shark’s fin and sea cucumber, one would expect the taste of “Buddha jumps over the wall” to be quite exotic. Not so, as the flavor of the soup is actually quite subtle. It’s neither sour, nor spicy, nor sweet, but a combination of flavors and textures that there is only one way to describe it: very delicious.
Aside from “Buddha jumps over the wall”, some recognizable Chinese dishes are also available, but with special touches from Chef Tacky and Chef Yang. The double-boiled minced meat dumpling and fishball soup might be mistaken in looks for the common pancit molo, but that’s where the similarity ends. The soup has pork dumplings as well as fishballs, but the fishball is bigger than a golf ball, and when you bite or cut into it, you’ll discover that it’s stuffed with minced pork.
The wok-fried egg noodles looks like, yes, pancit, but again, the two Fujian chefs make this somewhat common dish taste heavenly. Dessert can be pretty surprising, as most Pinoys usually have birds’ nest soup before the meal. In this case, the birds’ nest soup was served as a dessert, and warm at that. The most surprising thing is that this particular kind of birds’ nest soup had grated, toasted coconut, making it taste like binignit!
Most of us have pretty much taken Chinese food for granted, but for those seeking new horizons in dining, a visit to Tea of Spring this coming week should be in order. James Hilton, in his book “Lost Horizon” described Shangri-La as mystical yet harmonious. With the dishes at Tea of Spring, the author’s vision of paradise on earth is reflected, and like the inhabitants of the mythical Shangri-La, diners at Tea of Spring may want to stay for good.
Cebuanos don’t need to jump over the wall to have a taste of this soup; all they have to do is head over to Tea of Spring at Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa and feast on the dishes specially prepared by Chefs Tacky Zheng and Yang Jianxi, who flew over from Fujian province in China to share their culinary prowess with us, in Tea of Spring’s Fuzhou Food Festival, ongoing from August 8 to 16.
With ingredients such as quail’s eggs, noodles, abalone, scallops, shark’s fin and sea cucumber, one would expect the taste of “Buddha jumps over the wall” to be quite exotic. Not so, as the flavor of the soup is actually quite subtle. It’s neither sour, nor spicy, nor sweet, but a combination of flavors and textures that there is only one way to describe it: very delicious.
Aside from “Buddha jumps over the wall”, some recognizable Chinese dishes are also available, but with special touches from Chef Tacky and Chef Yang. The double-boiled minced meat dumpling and fishball soup might be mistaken in looks for the common pancit molo, but that’s where the similarity ends. The soup has pork dumplings as well as fishballs, but the fishball is bigger than a golf ball, and when you bite or cut into it, you’ll discover that it’s stuffed with minced pork.
The wok-fried egg noodles looks like, yes, pancit, but again, the two Fujian chefs make this somewhat common dish taste heavenly. Dessert can be pretty surprising, as most Pinoys usually have birds’ nest soup before the meal. In this case, the birds’ nest soup was served as a dessert, and warm at that. The most surprising thing is that this particular kind of birds’ nest soup had grated, toasted coconut, making it taste like binignit!
Most of us have pretty much taken Chinese food for granted, but for those seeking new horizons in dining, a visit to Tea of Spring this coming week should be in order. James Hilton, in his book “Lost Horizon” described Shangri-La as mystical yet harmonious. With the dishes at Tea of Spring, the author’s vision of paradise on earth is reflected, and like the inhabitants of the mythical Shangri-La, diners at Tea of Spring may want to stay for good.
Eating well
Some people eat to live. Others live to eat. For me, it’s a no-brainer. Eating is, without a doubt, one of life’s true joys. It doesn’t really matter where I’m eating: at home, at a fancy restaurant, or a hole-in-the-wall. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it: I enjoy eating a stick of local tempura the same way I enjoy a serving of Japanese tempura at any of the city’s better Japanese restaurants. Which is to say, with much gusto. If the food is good, then I will enjoy it. Period.
We should also never confuse the phrase “eating well” with “eating expensive food” because these are two entirely different things. You can eat expensive food, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll actually enjoy it. Expensive food isn’t always delicious, mind you. It’s all relative: a gourmet will definitely appreciate the subtle nuances of foie gras, but a construction worker may not find it to his liking. To him, it may taste too fatty, too lardy or just plain weird.
Then there’s this myth that hotels and expensive restaurants always serve excellent food. In my opinion, that’s all it is: a myth. I’ve been to some expensive hotels and restaurants where the food won’t pass muster, simple dishes like afritadang manok, tinolang manok, calderetang kambing and pancit lomi, dishes that have been perfected by the cooks at lowly carinderias all over the country. On the other hand, there are those hotels and restaurants that offer fantastic versions of simple dishes like barbecued pork (Shangri-La’s Tides restaurant), lamb chops (Waterfront’s La Gondola) and cheeseburgers (Marriott’s Garden Café).
Of course, you don’t need a lot of money to enjoy eating. There are always the less expensive but equally noteworthy food outlets. For Chinese food, I’d go for Ding Qua Qua with their reasonably-priced buffet. The tapsilog at Pandora’s Box deserves special mention, as well as Fidel’s fried chicken.
Never let anyone tell you that enjoying food comes with a price. Simply put, eating well is all about enjoying a meal to the fullest, whatever it is. And if you spend peanuts on a meal that’s fit for a king, then good for you, and don’t forget to tell me where the restaurant is.
We should also never confuse the phrase “eating well” with “eating expensive food” because these are two entirely different things. You can eat expensive food, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll actually enjoy it. Expensive food isn’t always delicious, mind you. It’s all relative: a gourmet will definitely appreciate the subtle nuances of foie gras, but a construction worker may not find it to his liking. To him, it may taste too fatty, too lardy or just plain weird.
Then there’s this myth that hotels and expensive restaurants always serve excellent food. In my opinion, that’s all it is: a myth. I’ve been to some expensive hotels and restaurants where the food won’t pass muster, simple dishes like afritadang manok, tinolang manok, calderetang kambing and pancit lomi, dishes that have been perfected by the cooks at lowly carinderias all over the country. On the other hand, there are those hotels and restaurants that offer fantastic versions of simple dishes like barbecued pork (Shangri-La’s Tides restaurant), lamb chops (Waterfront’s La Gondola) and cheeseburgers (Marriott’s Garden Café).
Of course, you don’t need a lot of money to enjoy eating. There are always the less expensive but equally noteworthy food outlets. For Chinese food, I’d go for Ding Qua Qua with their reasonably-priced buffet. The tapsilog at Pandora’s Box deserves special mention, as well as Fidel’s fried chicken.
Never let anyone tell you that enjoying food comes with a price. Simply put, eating well is all about enjoying a meal to the fullest, whatever it is. And if you spend peanuts on a meal that’s fit for a king, then good for you, and don’t forget to tell me where the restaurant is.
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