Travel: Quick Coffee Fix in Butuan

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Travel + Food: Singapore

We planned this trip a week before so there wasn't really much "planning". Besides, all I wanted was to eat Hainanese Chicken. I didn't even desire to visit Universal Studios, Night Safari, or any other famous spot. All I had in mind was food, glorious food.

Since we didn't go to most of the famous spots, this entry will consist mainly of food. This will be more of a photo blog.

PS

I will only post my favorite dishes from the whole trip.

Hainanes Chicken at Chin-Chin Restaurant, Purvis St.

Chicken BBQ from one of the stalls in Newton Food Center

Grilled Shrimp from one of the stalls in Newton Food Center

Unagi Don at HY California, Marina Bay

Yakisoba Noodle at HY California, Marina Bay

Prime Wagyu Beef Sirloin Steak at HY California, Marina Bay

By far the best Brownie Ala Mode ever made at HY California, Marina Bay

Teriyaki Wagyu Burger Steat at HY California, Marina Bay

U.S. Pork Spare Rib at HY California, Marina Bay

Okay, so those aren't all mine. I took a picture of everything I tasted and loved. I know I said I went to Singapore for Hainanese Chicken, but that Brownie Ala Mode was made in heaven. It is honestly & sincerely  the best I have ever tasted. I've had my share of that dessert and this particular style of preparing it makes me forget my name.


I have failed myself in taking tourist-y shots during this trip because of the bad weather and upon our third day, I got into an accident. Here are a few of our photos in Singapore.

Food: Ramen Nagi, Greenbelt III

Short intro:
Call me weird, but I'm not really into Japanese food. Before this night, I've tasted Ramen once. I've always dreamed of exploring Japan, but I'm not sure I'm into their food. It's probably my salty taste.

So anyway, my brother insisted on eating here because apparently, it's highly recommended by his friends. Not liking Japanese food, it's my first time to encounter the table sharing concept they have. I googled about it and found this out:

Table sharing is a common practice in busy restaurants in Japan. In Japanese culture, being invited to a person's home to share a meal is rather uncommon and indicates a close relationship. However, sharing a table in public with strangers is just a routine occurrence with no special meaning. It is an example of how Japanese concepts of personal place are adapted to crowded urban living conditions.

- Wikipedia

Now, let's talk food.

My order

Original King (Butao)
P390
"Luscious signature tonkotsu pork-broth"
Award-winning tonkotsu pork broth prepared in the traditional, mark-wateringly rich, fresh and aromatic; special handcrafted noodles and classic Nagi pork chaschu.

Damn! Now I'm gonna have to explain to everybody why I suddenly shifted to I-have-nothing-to-eat-at-a-Japanese-restaurant to let's-eat-Ramen-please!! I loved it so much I couldn't stop thinking about it!  Although I'm probably going to shift from pork belly to shoulder.

Red King (Akao)
P410
"The ultimate in savory spiciness"
A striking blend of garlic, chili oil and cayenne pepper in a velvet broth; topped by a tempting ball of miso-infused minced pork and select Nagi cayenne,  with tender caschu. 

Gyoza
P190
Juicy meat and vegetables seasoned with Japanese spices wrapped in Nagi's special dough and served on a sizzling hot plate with a delightful blend of soy sauce and mayo

Okay, I eat gyoza. To me it's just like dumpling. Well it is dumpling. Whatever. But I love it.

To sum it all up, my experience in Ramen Nagi has indeed changed my mind about Japanese food. It still does not fall into my favorite cuisine, but at least there's something I will order. I cannot wait for my next Ramen Nagi visit.

Ramen Nagi branches:

• Greenbelt 3
• SM Aura
• SM Mall of Asia
• Robinsons Place Manila
• SM City North Edsa
• Robinsons Magnolia

Food: Cyma Greek Taverna

Having lunch outside of the house is relatively an unusual thing for me these days due to my current status that's why I always look forward to these kinds of invites. My mom planned another bonding day and bonding day always turns out to be pig out day.

Cyma Caesar Salad

To Share: P380

Kale, romaine lettuce, grated parmigiano, vine-ripened tomato wedges, kalamata olives croutons. Lemon Ceasar dressing.  

People close to me know that I'm not much of a vegetable kind of girl, but Caesar Salad is one of the very few veggie dishes I eat. Cyma's Caesar salad is not like your traditional Caesar Salad but it tastes good in its own way. I think I finished half of this to-share order.

Hirino Brizola (Grilled Pork Chops)
P550 
3/4 inch thick, tender, bone in. Served with your choice of side.

As always, rice on the side. I had a hard time finishing both chops because I was full from the salad, but nevertheless, the chops were great. It was as good as the photo.

Cyma Lamb Chops
Porterhouse
Greek Roasted - braised then broiled with lemon, oregano garlic, kefalotiri cheese, mustard, paprika. Served with roasted vegetables and natural jus.  

Greek Clams
To share: P550
White wine, lemon, parsley, parmesan, EVOO, angel hair. 

 My favorite part. I'm also not much of a pasta eater but I always eat this one. Given that its seafood, it doesn't have the stench taste. It's all damn good. Being full with salad and my chops, I was only able to eat a few of this goodness but it doesn't make it any less better than most clam pastas.

There are a lot of Cyma branches in Manila and if I made you crave for such dishes, you could visit the branch closest to your home.

Cyma branches (as per Munchpunch):

1. Greenbelt 2
2. Shangri-La Plaza Mall
3. TriNoma 
4. Eastwood Mall
5. Ayala Center - Cebu
6. Boracay
7. Robinsons Place - Manila
8. Robinsons Magnolia

Thoughts: Bialetti Cafe

Bialetti Cafe
Diliman 44 Matino Cor. Matahimik St., Barangay Malaya, Quezon City, Matahimik Street, Diliman, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Bialetti Cafe opened some time when I was in college - probably around 2009? I'm sorry I'm not really sure... but the reason I've been there since day one is because it's a few steps away from Monica's house. I remember grabbing coffee from Bialetti before we head to school together.

It's the first time I'm ever going to blog about it because there was something that made a mark on me today. When I ordered my Iced Mocha, their staff served it on my table and asked me to taste it immediately so she could alter my drink in case there's something I want to be added/changed. After tasting it, I told her that it was already okay, but a little more milk would make it even better. She then went back inside and brought me my extra milk.

I mean, isn't it nice? You don't really get this kind of service from other coffee shops...at least not from where I usually go. This is the first time this happened to me after years of patronage because I used to order their Cookies & Cream drink and it's blended so there's pretty much nothing they can do in case I say I want more milk in my drink.

Aside from the fact that it's so close to Nika's place, we keep on hanging out here because it's not as crowded as the more popular coffee shops, and fortunately for us, we always have parking.

Additional Information:

There is a restaurant connected to the cafe and is owned by the same owner - I haven't really tried the food there yet but if you're thinking of chilling with your friends over coffee all day and your tummies beging looking for food, this would be a perfect place for you to try out.

Food: Racks

As mentioned on my previous entry, I've decided to create a series of blogs about my favorites. Racks, claiming to have the best ribs in town, is actually my personal favorite "ribs in town". 

Rab and I always choose to eat at Racks (whichever branch is the closest from where we are) when we both crave for ribs. Their tag line for their ribs is: "Flame Grilled - Falls Off the Bone". As a frequent Racks eater, I would agree to this a million times.

Racks Baby Ribs

Half Slab

Side Dish: 2 cups of rice

P480

We would always order Racks Baby Ribs. Just like any other restaurant, they set their tables with spoon, fork, and a knife. Western people, if I'm not mistaken, they eat using knives and forks. As a proud Filipino, I am used to using spoon and fork. Usually, I would still use the given knife because other restaurants slightly fail on serving a really tender set of ribs. With Racks, you wouldn't really need the knife to slice a piece. It literally falls off the bone. About the taste, I would give it a score of 90, and the remaining 10 would go to their sauce that goes really well with it; so they still get a score of 100 from me. 

Aside from great food, most Racks branches we've been to have really great service. They'd always tell you that it will be served within 15 minutes, and most of the time, our order would arrive in less than 15 minutes. In addition, you need not ask for water for their staff automatically serves glasses of water to be followed by a pitcher. 

We've eaten at Racks Megamall, SM North, and Magallanes, but this certain dine in was at their Timog branch. You can check out all their other branches here at their Munchpunch page.

Food: Cafe Breton

Throughout my short blogging hiatus, I still kept on reading famous blogs and noticed how most of them have very organized entries. I'm not trying to be as good as these people, but I thought it would be better for my own (personal) blog if I would create categories. I came up with Favorites Edition and would think of other terms/names for other entries I am to write.

Cafe Breton is considered as one of my favorites and I visit any branch at least once a month. I always crave for their crepes. I don't order coffee there that much because I am such a Starbucks person, and also because in my opinion, they have something better in store for me.

Butter and Sugar Crepe with extra fresh cream

P88 + P43 

They have a lot more choices for crepes but this really captured my heart. I believe it is the cheapest because it's somewhat plain, but I love how it tastes perfectly. I always order extra fresh cream because without it, it's really really plain. It's not too sweet, and it is exactly what I am looking for in a crepe. When I was in college, we had a crepe stand in our cafeteria and I always ordered something too sweet and that's probably why I prefer just the right amount of sweet. I'm sorry, make that the perfect amount of sweet. During my first few months of Butter and Sugar Crepe addiction, I order two extra fresh creams until I decided to stick with just one. I don't pour the cream on my crepe - I cut a small piece and then dip it on the cream. Uh, perf.

Banana Fruit Slush

P105 

As mentioned above, I don't order coffee that much unless I really need one. I always order their Banana Slush. It's obviously made of fresh bananas, but it doesn't have milk. You can order the Banana Shake if you want milk to be added. I prefer the slush over the shake because sometimes, the milk and sugar overpowers the taste of the banana. I like it fresh-er.

My favorite Cafe Breton branches are:
Greenbelt 3
Tomas Morato
Techno Hub

There are a lot more branches like TriNoma, Westgate Center, Podium, SM Mall of Asia, Robinsons Midtown, and The Hub.

Go and visit the branches closest to you!

Food: Monday's Feast

My godmother's leaving early morning today to go back to the States, so we had dinner last night. I was very delighted to know that we were eating at Relish. I cannot forget how tasty their steak is so I ordered their Rib-Eye Steak again.

As usual, I ordered rice as my side dish. Although I wasn't able to finish the rice because the steak was just too heavy, it doesn't mean that it wasn't good. It was very tasty - it wasn't too salty but it wasn't bitter. So much steak-goodness in every bite.

Who doesn't like Kebab?

Obviously, this dish is grilled. It wasn't dry at all, and just like my steak, it was hella good.

This Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder went really well with the aioli dip. If you haven't tried any dish with aioli on the side, aioli is a dip that's made of garlic, olive, eggs, and seasonings. I tried the kebab and steak with it too. Relish probably has one of the best aioli dips I've ever tasted.

My personal favorite Callos is from Conti's, but Relish Special Callos is indeed, special. It's best mixed with Tabasco to have a little extra kick. I ordered Callos for the sole reason that my mom wanted me to enjoy it for her, since she's not here right now.

The Beef Salpicao was good, but I liked the Pork Salpicao better last night. I think it has something to do with the beef. Nevertheless, it was still delicious.