Foodtrip: Bali

Going to Bali was an on-and-off trip for me. For four consecutive years, Bali has been in my radar but always took the backseat when pit up against another country. To me, Bali is one of those places so easily accessible that I often end up choosing to fly to a different destination year after year. So was the case that when I finally booked a flight, it didn't occur to me that I was actually going until about a week before the trip. I barely did my research, not really sure where I wanted to go...but for one, I knew what I wanted to do, eat.

We had an evening flight, and so we arrived in Denpasar International Airport roughly almost midnight. The first conversation I had with my host was:

Host: Sisstah! So what you wanna do in Bali?
Me: I'm not sure, but I want to try local dishes—
Brother: She has a list of food on our itinerary!
Host: Really!? (Proceeds to laugh) Okay okay, tell me what you wanna eat
Me: (Got the itinerary that I made and skipped to the bottom part of the page where I wrote just a list of local dishes that I wanted to taste.) 
Ayam Bakar Taliwang (grilled chicken)     Gulai Otak (brain curry)

Pepes (herbal packet)                             Beef Rendang (rendang)

Soto Betawi (Jakarta soup)                     Babi Guling (lechon)

Nasi Ayam Campur                                 Mie Goreng (fried noodles)

Martabak Manis (sweet martabak)
Brother: (Asks our host) Can we have dinner before going to your house?
Host: Let's start with Nasi Ayam!

In the end, I wasn't able to cover all grounds, but it was a good start.

The cover page on top is what I ate in Parachute Cafe in Canggu. The place was beautiful with a real parachute as canopy to those who wish to dine al fresco.

German Unson Heritage House B&B, Silay

Transforming heritage houses around Silay into Bed & Breakfasts, a cafe, restaurant, museum, or events place is the direction I'm rooting for Negros when it comes to tourism. Personally, as someone who grew up in Negros and has explored other areas with a similar vibe as a tourist, coming home I can see a different perspective, and its greatest draw is striking that beautiful balance of being a quaint city yet has substantial facilities for comfort. Having a character that can make you say you're in a completely different place, yet your longing for the familiar is readily available within reach...like an internet connection or western dishes. The German Unson Heritage House is one of the pioneers when it comes to making use of their ancestral house as a usable public space. Slowly, other heritage houses are following their footsteps, and hopefully this will spring forth a tourism industry that can reach an international market because there is undeniable potential to make it happen.  

A family-owned business, they add a personal touch as the host and cook are the granddaughters of German Unson. Chell, one of the granddaughters and proprietress of the B&B, explained that the last relative who lived in the house passed away in 2009, and for a time the old house was abandoned until they decided to restore and repurpose the house to avoid dilapidation...since the National Historical Commission basically provides no financial aid whatsoever after slapping their plaques on the walls. Her sister, being an interior designer and with the help of family funding, slowly took in the task and made the space into a B&B that can accommodate an intimate amount of guests. There are four rooms that can be rented in total, each with its own distinct character and named after those who resided in those rooms, living or otherwise. Prices range between 2000-2500 per room that's good for two, but can accommodate up to four with an additional 300-500/pax with breakfast. If you're keen on detail, one thing you should look at are the ceiling of each room as they present different patterns, as well as the tiles and windows. The furniture used are also the original ones, save for some furbishing that needed update for use.

Caffeined By Artesania at Makati

Amazingly, this gem in the heart of Makati was introduced to us by a couchsurfer. Unknown to a lot of locals, this showroom/restaurant/cafe quietly sits on the second floor of an artsy building made with concrete and rust-treated steel. It didn't take long before my brother decided to celebrate his 35th birthday here. Without much planned for the day, we ended up staying here from lunch down to their closing just so we can accommodate guests who couldn't make it for lunch, as a result we ended up tasting almost the entire menu. The place was so cozy that while I decided to leave after our lunch, some of our friends chose to stay in for the entire eight-hour duration of the party. The place is so low-key that we had the place to ourselves practically the whole day, save for dinner when a couple came in to dine. 

The place if full of artsy vibes done about by their custom furniture and specially crafted tableware. Their restaurant is apparently also their showroom as they have industrial designers who can custom-make seats and tables for you. All are locally made and is predominantly made out of wood. Their colors are neutrals and kinda reminds me of Scandinavian designs with a pinoy twist.  

2016 Birthday Series

My birthday celebration marathon started a few days before my actual birthday. It started with a series of unfortunate events on our supposed eventful trip to Legazpi City. How badly did it go? It began with a cancelled flight a few hours before the trip. The rest of the story will be told on another post though because I want to focus on my getting-a-year-older-day rather than the trip.

My birthday was on a Wednesday, so the weekend before we left for Legazpi, Albay where me and a couple of friends went out on the ATV trail up Mt. Mayon. We left Saturday then went home by Sunday. I remember sleeping practically most hours of Monday, while on Tuesday I went out with college friends for a 3-hour Videoke/Karaoke/KTV/Singalong night at Song Hits in Metrowalk, Ortigas. Prior to our rendezvous I watched the movie Kingslave: Final Fantasy XV because I miss playing the series so much, but I have no choice but to settle for video clips and the movie due to poverty. The movie was far better than the FF: Spirits Within, but seemed more like an extended prologue for the game than a stand alone story. Urrrrghhh! It made me want to play the game and explore the world and get my hands to bringing down those Behemoths. My last FF game was Final Fantasy XII...so...so...long ago.

Phoenix Cruise at Halong Bay

A little over two years back I went on a Halong Bay cruise, two years later the memory that stood out the most is not the view, it's the food.

For a little over a hundred dollars to experience all that I did, it felt a more than a bargain. It was worth more than what I had assumed. We paid $155.00 for a 2D-1N stay on a small cruise ship around Halong Bay; this included hotel pick-up, accommodation, a tour, kayaking across one island to another, and food─THE FOOD─urgh, so so good. T-T It was one of the few occasions that I totally enjoyed eating more vegetables than meat.

My 25th Weekend Birthday Bash

My Orange Cheesecake birthday cake with 25 candles! Thanks Petunias! Photo c/o Francis

I celebrated my 24^th birthday with my family at Shangri-la’s HEAT. The price I had to pay the rest of the year was the price my parents had to pay for our meal that night, really really expensive. On my 25th, to celebrate the year ahead and compensate as reward for the terrible year I had to endure, I made it a point to really maximize the long weekend I was granted in the best way I know how, eat. In a span of four days I managed to eat in seven different places (Sa Kanto, The Village Tavern, The Cake Club, of course my lovely CBTL, Mercato, Slice, and Yakimix respectively.) And just so you know, we paid a lot more for a single meal at Heat than the seven places I ate in last week. This year, I’m celebrating my silver year, my quarter-life, my year of recuperation, and my incubation period before finally deciding where in life I should be. I've made my choice, but right now it’s still in the maturing process, thus I’m silent about the matter. The fact that if I live long enough, I will be thirty soon, and the pressure to make it in life is a struggle for someone under the process of experiencing a self-assessed quarter-life-crisis. Yes, I’m still working on that article.

Commune at Salcedo

My brother asked me to come with him to Salcedo Village to shop at the weekend market last Saturday, so I thought I'd search for an interesting cafe while I'm at it since I don't come to the area often. This is what I found, an interestingly small cafe that's fairly new named Commune. Based on their Facebook page, they opened last April 22 of this year. As a word, "commune" means communicate intimately; but as a noun, it means "a place where you have great coffee." 

Rustic Mornings by Isabelo

When dealing with breakfast--by that I mean the time of day wherein you eat the meal early in the morning and not the tapsilog you eat at 4 pm--it's best to be mentally aware that you have the rest of the day ahead to burn the calories you're about to take, thus you shouldn't hold back. Apparently on this faithful day we needed all the energy we could get for our day ahead at Pinto Museum because we didn't know what was coming.

We arrived starving...the kind wherein we ate popcorn for dinner the night before and a glass of water that morning before heading out to the resto. I say, when you're hungry and lack the proper brain protein, you tend to say funny things. Such was the case of my friend Cesca, who, was so frustrated with the heavy glass pitcher that she suddenly blurted, "Kainis, ambigat...pwede ko ba siyang basagin para gumaan?"

Of course, it would've been rude not to laugh at her suggestion, because we are those kind of friends.

The selection was good, the kind wherein you want to order at least three dishes just to satisfy your urge to try everything that sounds good. Thus, it is advisable to come with lots of friends for that very reason...but we apparently, unfortunately, all craved for waffles that morning. Dammit.

I must sit here next time!!!

The opposite view from where we sat.

We sat at the far corner because it was packed when we got there.

Getting there, our only landmark was the Shoe Museum...but we were there for breakfast so we skipped the museum and found ourselves in front of a big blue gate with a Rustic Mornings logo tarp attached to it. One look and you get the impression that the one who runs the place is an artist to a certain degree. This is apparently true when I read an article in llovermarikina that the owner used to be in advertising...either in creatives or in accounts, she gave up the field to pursue a greater love. And based on personal experiences, advertising people know what they want--they visualize it and make it happen, either on their own or ask people to do it for them. I can see that they know where they're going with their branding and it makes sense, very much. The place is filled with knickknacks and thinggymagiggles, but the thing that I do believe stood out were the multitude of perfume bottles stuck in corners or dangled on up. Art pieces were also consistently found throughout the venue.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that what I'm looking for in a restaurant these days is the interior and the ambiance, food is turning out to be secondary. I'm starting to scout out places worth hanging in and taking pictures, the taste of the food I can always tolerate as I'm learning to appreciate all kinds of flavors except really bad and soulless food. Anyway...

Rustic Mornings deliver a good ambiance with oldies tracks that were tastefully selected to aid aimless conversations. It's another one of those places that I am both thankful and envious of ever existing. There are a lot of tables available with ample distances; it gives you a feeling of privacy and exclusivity especially with a very homey setup. I love love love the interior of their resto...it clearly defines their term for rustic mornings. There's a lot of blue and white involved...and notice how they did the tiles on the floor? 

Their menu has a good layout, but their utensils were quite heavy that you need both hands to share your food with the person across the table. Each set of chairs and tables slightly differ from one another but is lovely to look at as a whole. It's that kind of thing that nothing makes sense that's why it makes sense altogether.

Waffles, Buffalo Chicken Strips, and Salad  (Php250.00)

Frothy Lemon Iced Tea (Php50.00)

Filipino Breakfast Tray: Beef Tapa (Php235.00)

Sausage Spaghetti bathing in olive oil (Php200.00)

Thanks for the chocolate Kat! :)

Crispy Waffle (Php150.00)

Food...they say their crispy waffles are the best sellers. I have no argument because they are good--light and crispy. Unlike other waffles that stretches out when pulled, this one can be heard crunching when sliced. Their homemade syrup was also so good that I had to drown my waffle with it on every bite.

The rice meals were also satisfying especially with the free-range eggs as made obvious by the almost-orange color of the yolk...it's just that I wasn't so crazy about their fried rice...could barely taste the garlic and the "friedness" of the rice. The meat was so-so...I describe it as home cooking--comfort food would be an appropriate term for it--you know, with a motherly touch on the taste.

ARGHHHHH! I missed on dessert because I was so stuffed by the time I ate a meal-and-a-half that I'd want to go back there someday soon. I'm thinking of dining in earlier than brunch as people do tend to come in groups so you're left to whatever seat is available by then. I'm still bitter I didn't get to eat indoors.

Open everyday, from 8am until 4pm.

#11 Isabelo Mendoza St. San Roque, 

Marikina City

*Disclaimer: some photos are by Cesca C.

Coffee: Kazuki Yamamoto

Epic latte art

Kazuki Yamamoto works in  Café 10g at Osaka and his latte art completely undermines those cappuccino swirls in your local cafe. 

I don't know how he does it, but if you ever get a hold of a barista with this skill level, a word of advice: don't EVER let him go...and invite me over that I may challenge him/her by making me a 3D latte art of the Acropolis. 

Better add Café 10g to your must-go-to destinations for all you coffee lovers and latte art fans out there.

Giraffe flavored cafe latte anyone?

Coffee people peeking into our world.

Just chillin'

"Hope you don't choke on my fur balls!"

"Oh nooo! are you gonna drink me?"

You can find the rest of his latte art in this site: https://twitter.com/george_10g/media/grid

SM Aura Premier and Paul Boulangerie Café

Since the construction of the building I knew at once it was trouble, and my fears became horror when I found out that it was an SM mall. Despite the fact that I appreciate SM to an extent for bringing in foreign brands and affordable retails, I can’t help but feel biased when it comes to the feel of shopping in their malls, not to mention their ways of dealing business. Always: miles of plain white walls, boring fluorescent lighting, bad flooring, unclean finishes, unimaginative detailing, and chuck full of people. From where I see it, the huge chunk of boot-shaped wall covered the intricate cityscape BGC had tastefully planned out; always big, but never grand. Now, SM Aura is not part of BGC but of Taguig, so it totally makes sense why they were able to smack the mall right along C5 and mammoth their structure right in front of Ayala Territory. I've also come across articles of it being a green architecture, its name Aura coming from the combination of Gold (Au) and Radium (Ra), and the pending case they have with BCDA…other than that, it’s causing me a lot of inconvenience.

During construction, months of traffic jams along C5 were bad with trucks occupying a whole section of the road. A few days before the opening of the mall, the traffic jams began piling up along the intersections of 26^th Street, Mc Kinley Parkway and C5…plus with the new cumbersome rerouting system of BGC, cars clog in all exit and entry points to the area while leaving the rest of it inaccessible. I hate what BGC is fast becoming, a concentration of bystanders and jammed cars. I hope they’ll resolve such issues ASAP. As in!

With so many people, comparable to the horde in Cubao, I lost interest of taking pictures or even staying long in the mall for that matter. Sarah Jessica Parker was no longer there when I arrived anyway, so the only point of going there was one thing alone, makiki-osiyoso.

SM Aura…well, the stores are pretty (a notch classier than other SM stores)  and I like what I’m seeing except the mall itself. True to its nature, it’s a heaping block of white with unfinished sections. I know, it’s in progress, but I can clearly see it was rushed; uneven flooring and messy paint jobs. They were not keen on hiding their excitement of opening the mall and the haste was made obvious as roughly 60% of the mall is tarpaulined with different versions of Coming Soon statements. The thing reminded me of SM Annex in Q.C. with its long straight hall and boutiques on both sides of the building. Plants on the Sky Park are dying from shock of being transplanted in the concrete environment. People from all walks of life flock in droves with cameras to document their experience and update their profiles. Shops are using the term “soft opening” to disguise their impromptu debut. As a supposed high-end luxury SM Mall, people certainly are not intimidated with stepping in and walking around in their slippers. With a possible fail in their effort to market the mall as an exclusive since it’s right beside a colony of informal settlers and with a common mentality that it’s an SM mall, I don’t know where it will stand on the months ahead especially with the major renovation on going in Market! Market! and the upcoming Shangri-la next year. I suppose the sure winner will be us, the customers, who will benefit from all the rivalry.

"Ang eksena niya parang pinaghalong high end 

na middle class with a hint of masa."

                                                   -Francis N.

I can't wait to try more of their creations. <3

I have crappy handling skills, thus I seldom buy take-out.

Lemon Tart (Php.150.00)

An additional note, Paul Boulangerie Café is something to look forward to in completion as a single bite of their butter croissant made me a fan. The one on the photo is actually a Lemon Tartlet as the croissant never made it home, I devoured it within a few steps after leaving the counter. It was so good that I cannot compare it to any other croissants I've eaten before…it was perfect bliss. The tart…well the filling was all over the box by the time I got home so it didn't look pretty eat, but I do commend it as having a nice crumbly crust and a zestful-custardy-velvety filling. It’s as sour as you imagine lemons to be, but in a good way. I am definitely coming back as soon as they finish the better half of their café.

I shall probably return with a better outlook when the commotion has settled and 90% of the stores open.

*Update#1

I finally made it home with a piece of butter croissant intact, so I took a photo of it just make my claims more convincing.

Butter Croissant (Php.65.00) 

Look at the golden brown color and the how well the layers tuned out.

Fruit Filled-Donut (Php.95.00)

The donut was a little sad to eat...though there's actually more filling than what it looks like, it's not something I would go for a second time. 

Maybe it's me...maybe it's the donut...but it's just what it is. 

And good news! I asked the girl behind the counter when their cakes will be available because I'm not so into their tarts, she said the restaurant will be done either late July or early August. Weeeee! <3

**Update#2 (January 20, 2014)

So apparently the girl behind the counter had no idea that her employer would push back the date to December...and so here I am, back for more croissants--finally! And I liked the interior with blacks and elegant fabrics, plus the use of simple lines--so tasteful and classy! I like it--though I don't feel right at home since quirky-rustic cafes is more of my thing. Still, bread and pastries are always a good thing. And on a side note...I love their menu!!! The layout and photographs I mean, the choices are limited but fine. 

Paul's Hot Coca was my favorite-tasting thing of the bunch.
It was the saving grace of their bland waffle and crepe.
This was sinfully thick and made from good cocoa. Try it!

Their cakes are crazy Php350 a slice! So they don't put a price tag on, so I was surprised when I found out.
It was good though, with many layers and complexities as they mix the cake with many flavors and textures.
Still, my knees weakened at the price. I tasted the one on the rightmost corner--the pistachio-rose-raspberry-thing. 

This waffle sprinkled with powdered sugar was underwhelming.
It was an awkward-tasting thing that lacked "ummmf!" But it is cheap. Php 140 I think?
But just so you know, I don't know the standards of waffles, just not a personal favorite this one.

This was their afternoon tea that is a good starter set for first-time diners.
The cake felt like it was flourless because it was gooey, but not like a brownie
sort of gooey. The macarons were soft and puffy and lightly flavored.
You get the smaller sizes in the set, but the typical ones are pretty big.
And the tea can be shared with cheapskate friends!

I had to edit this photo a lot, but it still turned out as boring as it tasted. :(
The Plain Crepe was also quite cheap, Php120 if I recall right. Just order
the hot cocoa with it to balance the blandness. 

Quite frankly, I prefer their breads to their pastries. Except for their sour apple strudel. 

The Croque-monsieur was really good, including the salad. The price made
me want to flip the table though. So my friend ordered, and I ate my part from her.
The ham was sweet, the bread was soft, the cheese was gooey--yummeh!

The creme brulee was amazingly cheap in a sense that the three of us had
to share it and force ourselves into not wasting the dish. It was average in taste though.
I think it was around Php200...?

I.H.O.P.

Blueberry Pancakes with about seven pieces of fresh blueberries in them.

The International House of Pancakes may have opened its doors for less than a year, but already the word has spread and the queues just keep coming. It took a while before I found enough determination to stay in line and wait for my turn. Of course the only thing that will make me stay is that if I'm with someone who's willing to wait as much. We were number 13, and it took a little over thirty minutes of standing out on the sidewalk together with other hungry customers before our group was called. A tip would be to come with a friend or two as the lady said that bigger tables take longer to clear out as groups of six or more tend to linger more than couples. True enough, those number 14, 15, 16, and 17 got their tables a little earlier than we did. By the time we sat on our table it was around 9 p.m. just in time for a 9:30 dinner! 

And by the look of the pictures, I was obviously starving and uninspired to care what the photo looks like. So, this is all I could offer.

Waiting out for roughly forty minutes.

Unlimited syrup! Yey! The Butter Pecan easily stood out.

To the artist who did this layout: BAD!

To the client who approved this layout: BAAAAD!

The server was aware enough that their menu was chaotic and confusing. I agreed. She said with a sigh that they were working on it every night. Well, I'm glad they are. It was a sad thing to stare at; especially when you've been standing out for a long time, hungry, and in need of nutrients. The choices just blur out and you will tend to point out the prettiest photo on the menu. You will be disoriented and you will miss out on the word "or", mistaking it as "and", and assume that you will be getting both sausages and bacon as compensation for your effort. When the food arrived, roughly twenty-minutes later, the first thing I noticed was the plate; it was big, so your food doesn't look as big--in fact it was almost sad when you realize that it isn't as huge as imagined. As a side note though, one order was a "light meal" for two people, but a lot for one, and perfect for one-and-a-half person. 

Interior-wise, I say there's a bit of error in its layout as to why lines extend out front and cannot accommodate a good capacity. It was crowded and the acoustic was as terrible as most restaurants these days--I remember my companions just saying yes to whatever our server was saying because there was a lot of background noise joining in the conversation. What I did find useful though was the location of their toilet, right on the landing of the staircase, maximizing a supposed dead space.

The CR I was talking about...

The crowded interior I was talking about...

The big plate-small-looking food I was talking about...

The food I'll be taking about...

The food they serve is one of those non-pretentious-and-done-right kinda things. In other words, it's comfort food. Fatty, smothered in cheese or with cream, deep-fried, and in all ways American...it's guilty pleasure. Honestly though, it's nothing to die for, and I'm not that willing to stand wait for over an hour the next time. The first bite was the best because I was starving then, but the succeeding bites got better, then it became good, until I realize I was sleepy and needed to finish the food so that we could leave in consideration to those waiting out at 11 P.M. Hopefully for an early midnight snack, not dinner. But if the there's no queue and if I'm with good friends, I'll most probably drop by again because they have great hash. 


W Global Center, 
30th St. corner 9th Avenue 
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig