Xiao Long Pao at Su Zhou

Su Zhou's Xiao Long Pao

February 21, 2012: More than four years after my first Xiao Long Pao (Xiao Long Bao on other Chinese menus), I finally learned how to eat one properly, i.e., without soup dripping on my chin! :]

Xiao Long Pao is a dumpling with soup inside, so eating it involves gently teasing a dumpling onto a spoon without breaking, poking a hole at the side, and draining the soup onto the spoon or into your mouth, before actually taking a bite. I wish I had learned this sooner, it would have saved me from a lot of messy dinners! 

There are several places in Manila where you can get this, but I've only been to Su Zhou in Malate (they have another one in Binondo). It's a small, nondescript place along Mabini Street, but the place is always filled with groups of Chinese diners, which I take as a sign that it serves good Chinese food. (Actually, this was the exact reason why my friends and I entered this place way back in 2007!)

Oh, and Su Zhou serves the best tasting soy milk I've tried anywhere, too! :]

Pan Seared Fish Wrapped in Bacon at Faustina's

After the results of the medical boards came out last night, our family had a small celebratory dinner at Faustina's, a cozy but really nice restaurant just outside the UPLB campus.

I was thinking of getting their Silindro Ribs again, or maybe a lamb steak, but I wasn't in the mood for a big hunk of meat so I chose their Pan Seared Fish Wrapped in Bacon. It was served with ranch dip,  rice and a small side of salad.



Before I say  anything about how the food was, can we just agree first that this salad looks very pretty? :]

My New Chill Place: Toast Box

My sister told me once, that I had too many favorites! Favorite mo din yan? Ang dami mong favorite! Lahat na lang favorite mo!  HAHAHA.

And now, I have a new favorite place to hang out in Manila. Toast Box!

Two words: YUAN YANG.

Yuan Yang is milk tea with coffee. Some coffee shops call it dirty chai. My friend T brought home a buttload of the instant stuff (Lipton Black Kiss) from Singapore to our apartment, and gracefully told us to just get some whenever we want to. I think he ended up regretting that because I was so enamored with the stuff that I'd make a cup (or two) every morning! :P

So when I found out they had authentic Yuan Yang at ToastBox, I knew I'd be spending some time there. ;)

ToastBox Yuan Yang, 85php

Also love their Kaya Toast and French Toast! And if you're thinking it's just terribly overpriced bread (ehem, like me initially), the toast comes with kopi or teh, and TWO soft boiled eggs. A reasonable amount of food for 125-140 pesos. ;)

ToastBox Kaya Toast + Iced Milk Tea
Excuse me sir where are my EGGGGGZ?

Photos taken with my phone, edited with Pixlr-o-matic and Lightbox. Those photo editing app developers know sorcery I am so sure!

---

Toast Box, Robinsons Place - Manila

G/F, Robinsons Place Manila, Adriatico St

Manila, Metro Manila

Philippines

(0922) 801-9303

Let's Drown in Chocolate at Maitre Chocolatier Boutique Cafe

Had dinner at Ayala Triangle two weeks ago (tried the 288php dinner buffet at Bfast by Chef Laudico but I forgot my camera in the car mwehehe), and because we really didn't feel like having dessert at Banapple, we cruised along Jupiter St. looking for someplace to satisfy our craving for sweets.

Maitre Chocolatier caught our eyes, and although I didn't want to go in at first because I was turned off by the cartolina cut-outs of hearts and cupids (I judge books by their covers, remember?  Hahaha.), we decided to go in. Needless to say, I ate my words, and downed it with lots of chocolate!

Johnny Steams Yankee Burger

Last Friday, my friend D drove us to Mercato because my friends are awesome and have made it their mission to keep me distracted from the boards and to keep my tummy food-filled and butterfly-free.

I think I just found my favorite burger.

Johnny Steams Yankee Burger

I found Johnny Steams a few months ago, and I was hooked when I tried their Chili Cheese Burger. Super yummy!!!

Around three weeks back I was so depressed when I thought they were no longer at Midnight Mercato. Turns out I just didn't see them because they didn't have their huge tarp. Hehehe.

Tried the highly recommended Yankee Burger this time, and my first impression was: Maaaan, this burger is weird. It smelled like a peanut butter sandwich. It had bacon. And there was cheese and peanut butter dripping down the sides, making the burger look like a breakfast experiment gone horribly wrong. I was scared to take a bite, but wow, when I did, I was amazed at how well everything went together. Nyamnyamnyam. CHOMP!

I'm calling it the Ironic Burger. Beef patty cooked right + everything else that can give you a heart attack! :P

Weeks Before the Boards, Mostly in Food Photos

With the medical boards so very very near, last week I decided to pick up my lazy ass and haul myself and my medical reviewers to Manila for some serious studying. There were times I wished I could do a Sheldon-Cooper-Flash-moment -- go to the Grand Canyons, scream my head off, and go back as zen as the Dalai Lama -- because putting on a show of calm and serenity when I'm really a bunch of nerves inside was driving me over the edge, but I'm better now hahaha. Thank you I Wrote This For You for averting a near-psychotic-break. ;)

Anyway, let's move on to happier things, i.e., what I ate last week. Haha.

Monday Snack

Potato Corner's Wasabi Fries
Yes it's a hideous shade of green, that's really how it looks like.

Tuesday Dinner

Army Navy Steak Tacos
Because it's Taco Tuesday!!!

Wednesday Brunch

Beef Brisket Sandwich + Full Leaf Brewed English Breakfast
I actually liked this sandwich :D

Wednesday Post-Dinner

CBTL's Iced Chai Tea Latte
I still think Seattle's Best has the best chai. ;)

Friday Brunch

Turkey and Chicken Ham with Egg White and Emmenthal Cheese
That's not even the full name, that's just what I remember.

Friday Dinner

I went back to Mercato for the first time this year! 

My last was during Ultimate Taste Test 7.0 and it feels like eons ago. 

Eating on the sidewalk. Because all the chairs were
taken. Even the sidewalk was full! Grabe lang.

Wagyu Paella + Cheesestick Dynamite + My Thighs. Lol.

Day-old chick.
First time to eat these. Haha. Not bad, but not really my thing either.
I don't even eat balut because I can see the form of the chick.

For dessert! HAHAHA.

Papa Roti's Phrata with Condensed Milk
Huge serving of roti, I hope it came with a larger serving of milk. :D

The only photo with my face in it was lomo-fied to give my face a bit of color, people have been telling me I look sick. I am not. Haha I just don't have my time out in the sun, and I don't feel like putting on makeup most of the time, because prettifying for a book feels a bit sad hahaha. :P

Army Navy Taco Tuesdays

I know where I'm eating this Tuesday: at Army Navy! :)

I fell in love with Army Navy the first time I ate there (in Tagaytay, wassup hahaha)-- loved their burgers and their Freedom Fries and their Libertea! I also liked it that I could have a huge heap of jalapeno peppers added to my burger for only 15 bucks. :D The only downside is that Army Navy food is generally pricey, usually more than 300php for a full meal, and that's just burgers, fries and a drink. I guess Freedom and Liberty come at a high price? ;)

Last Tuesday I discovered that they had Taco Tuesdays! Buy a taco and get a regular sized Libertea for free! Their iced tea is one of my favorite ones, so yay, instant 55php savings! :)

How can you resist a banner like that? Hahaha.

They had chicken, steak and beef tacos. I got the steak. 

Army Navy Steak Tacos. Yummers.

At first I had misgivings about the serving size but trust me, it's substantial! And they're really yummy. Our food wasn't served with utensils so we had to eat with our hands. I guess we could have asked for forks and knives, but eating with bare hands is fun! ;) Anyway that explains the lack of photos after this one. Hehehe.

Mission Accomplished? You bet. ;) For this visit anyway. My friend and I had an awful experience on our next visit. Nasty employee, but that's another story, and it's not mine to tell. I'd still go back this Tuesday to have another taco. Har. Unpleasant people generally don't stop me from getting my happy food. :D

Oarhouse Christmas

I seriously missed this place. This was my go-to place during internship for comfort food, cocktails, a place for catching up or celebrating, for everything! I have quite a number of good memories in this place, and one of the things I miss most about living in Malate is having The Oarhouse Pub just a few minutes away.

My internship block still had some money left from our third place win in the research forum, so we decided to have dinner and drinks before some of my blockmates started residency. I wasn't able to make it to the dinner, because my travel time from Los Banos was a whopping four hours! Holiday traffic is terrible!

My usual order: the spaghetti! Their spaghetti with meatballs (or in this case, ground beef) is one of my favorite spaghettis in this life. Simple fare, but really delicious. Very homey. :)

Elbi Eats: Mi Bonitos Restaurant

Because the goal of this blog is really to make all of you hungryyyy. Hahaha. If the photos look familiar, that's because this was my birthday dinner. :D

This is a lazy post, so mostly just photos. In the words of Ayla, this is a Mema Monday: mema-post lang. Hahaha.

Let's get your stomach rumbling, shall we?

Bacon Croquettes
I couldn't really taste the bacon, but it's potato,
and potatoes are looove. 

Chili Wings.
My order! Yes, again. I have food loyalty. Haha.

Grilled Squid
I was surprised to find several small pieces of squid instead of a
single huge squid.

Grilled Tenderloin Steak

Everything On It Pizza
Talk about topping overload! It even has eggplant.

Buffalo Wings

Spaghetti with Meatballs
Last minute order, because no birthday dinner is complete
without noodlez. For long life. Except the noodles
were kinda short. Hahahaha!

That is all. Thank you. Bow. Goodbye. :D

--

For more about Bonitos, refer to my previous post or visit their Facebook page. :)

Not Just a Place for Happy Tummies: Another Soderno Weekend

I am inlove with Soderno. Primarily because it is so near and I have issues with long distance relationships. Okay, that last line was a lie, because my motto is "will travel for food." (You can make me COMMUTE all the way from Laguna to Taguig just for dinner!) But proximity is a definite plus which brings me back to: I'm in love with Soderno!

Dropped by Soderno Friday night just to see how it looked:

Welcome to Soderno. Night time edition. :P

Theo & Philo Artisan Chocolates

I've been antsing to buy these for a few weeks now. Finally got to grab some at Soderno last Saturday!

Another Place for Happy Tummies: Soderno at Molito

I am a huge fan of both Midnight Mercato and Mercato Centrale. Recently though, as I have been living in Laguna again since August, my trips to Mercato have been huge pains in the bum and in the wallet. (My pamasahe alone costs at least 300php and cumulative travel time is around 5 to 6 hours back and forth!)

I was thrilled when they launched Soderno. It's still not next-door, but at least it's closer to home! Miki, Maits and I chose to go Saturday morning, because we didn't feel like body bumping and competing with everyone for seats.

Welcome to Soderno. 

Elbi Eats: Faustina's

Mom took me out for lunch at Faustina's today and fell in love the moment I laid eyes on the menu.

Gluttony: Ultimate Taste Test 7.0

I am was a UTT virgin. Now I can't figure out why I missed out on the fun all those years. ;)

11-11-11

Banchetto's lantern event got cancelled, but we still celebrated 11-11-11. I know it's just a date, but you have to take every opportunity to celebrate! :)

Starbucks Smores and Other Failures

My friend R told me to be careful of calories now that I'm always at Starbucks again. So today I decided to get iced tea instead of the peppermint mocha which is essentially one shot of espresso plus milk and sugar and whipped cream. Hehehe.

But the line was long so I found myself standing a long time in front of the pastry display. 

For some reason I came to the conclusion that I was entitled to a pastry since the tea was only 95 bucks (versus a grande mocha which was 165 pesos). So I got their smores which looked more like a tart than well, smores, because I am a girl and the gold stars got to me. Darn you hormones! Hehehe. Total bill: 165!

It was only when I got to my table that I realized my reason for not getting a mocha was not really the price but the calories HAHAHA and now I have a pastry greaaaaat.

Apparently, gold stars are the key to my heart. Maybe I didn't get
enough gold stars when I was in kindergarten hahaha.

These two cost just as much as a grande red cup! I tell ya the
red cup beverages are gold!

I still say it was a TART not smores. It wasn't even that good too. Nakakaumay. (How do you say that in english?) I'd only buy that again if there were four or five of us sharing, because I can only handle one bite. :/

Anyway, operation expensive coffee was a failure today (maybe because I didn't actually buy coffee LOL). I had to leave early due to um, bathroom needs. Hahaha. And my laptop is back from repair (the hinge broke) so I don't know how I'm supposed to study now. I can't stop rewatching Hart of Dixie episodes because Rachel Bilson is a sweetheart even if she dresses all wrong for a medical practice and Wilson Bethel as a hot hot hot bad boy with a sensitive streak is irresistible. :D

Sorry if I'm blogging about Starbucks and TV shows again, there is simply nothing else going on in my life right now. What a sad sad life hahaha. Tomorrow I'll be in Banchetto for that thing with the lanterns maybe something interesting will happen then. Like I make a wish "please give me a hot guy" and then a hot guy actually comes up to me to say hello! HAHAHA, I really feel ditzy at the moment I am so sorreh.

Motivation

It is so hard to study alone. Bow.

Seriously, in my 7 years of Intarmed (a medicine program straight from high school in UP) I have never studied alone. This is a challenge for me, and one with very serious consequences! 

So I went to Starbucks, because I have come to realize that my productivity is directly proportional to the price of my coffee. LOL. It's like my subconscious is pushing me to read more pages to get my money's worth. Bwahaha.

It didn't hurt that the red cups are back. I love peppermint mocha! Enough not to think about the 165 pesos I spent for a grande cup. Hahaha it's like drinking GOLD!

Peppermint mocha.
I missed you so. <3

Anyhoo, studying in Starbucks Calamba (aka Jejebucks) was pleasant enough. Noisier than Starbucks Adri/ UN Av/ Valero where the usual crowd is law + med students, but a lot quieter than my favorite local coffee shop which unfortunately for me, is also the favorite hangout of college kids from UPLB (wow I really feel old, I call college students KIDS hahaha). 

My Starbucks days have started again, and I think getting that planner will be a breeze this year. SEVENTEEN ONLY? Hahaha! Too bad I've got my eyes set on another planner, maybe I'll just give it away as a gift. :D

--

Today I also learned going to a coffee shop alone = boys. Hehehe. Kaya lang, COLLEGE DUDES. Mga tsong, may gatas pa kayo sa labi! But fine, better than the old foreigners in Figaro. HAHAHA.

AAAAAAAH!

I swear I will never lose weight while living in this house no matter how many times I go to Zumba class. There's just way too much food. Too much TEMPTING food!

Especially now that we just got back from Cagayan de Oro (and my dad went on succeeding trips to Iloilo and Davao before that) we have too many delicacies either given by relatives or bought for pasalubong but ended up on our table anyway! Hahaha.

On our table, at this very moment, we have mango biscocho made by Trappists (monks) in Guimaras which I swear are super yummy, piaya, otap, pastel, digestives with milk chocolate from Marks and Spencer, chocolate slices from red ribbon, muffins from Goldilocks and cookies from my aunt. All of them are open and tempting me to eat them!!! In our fridge we have mint kitkats and chocolate mint patties, a fact I am ALWAYS aware of even if I can't see them. Earlier today we also had a plateful of ham from Cagayan de Oro which I tell you tastes like bacon, crabs and jumbo prawns, all of which are gone now. Hahaha.

I KNOW RIGHT! Intense. I have to lock myself in my room so I won't eat hahaha FML.

Anyway just a short crazy post because all this controlling my urges to eat is driving me nuts! Nakakainis my dad's entire family is super thin even when they eat like there's no tomorrow all the time, and I happened to get my mom's genes when it comes to metabolism. If you place me side by side with my cousins from my dad's side I am fat, when you place me side by side with my cousins on my mom's side HAHAHA I am sexayyyy!

Photoblog: Chocolate Explosion at Max Brenner

Photoblog/ Review: MARU