Table for Three, Please.

Blu Kouzina’s a bit out of the way. But it is worth the travel. The place is run by Greek couple Effie and Dennis Tsakiris, with the wife running the front of the house and the husband, the kitchen. And you really feel they are on top of everything, to the point of micro-managing. At …read »

My friend G amuses me. We were out for dinner in Singapore and throughout the day he was quite conscious of avoiding meat as it was a Lenten Friday; a day of abstinence for guilty Filipino Catholics. He was really worried; not thinking about how even more decadent our seafood binges were. I, for one, …read »

The original purpose of my trip to Singapore was to watch a concert. And then it got cancelled a week before the concert date. Airline bookings had already been made so I still decided to push through. So on this particular trip to Singapore I just made it key purpose to eat. Primarily to seek …read »

On the last weekend my sister was in town, my family decided to travel to the North for quality time together.  Before heading back to Manila, we made our way to Pampanga to visit Bale Dutung (home of Claude and Mary Ann Tayag) for some home cooked Filipino food and met up with some friends …read »

In a recent trip to Davao a friend brought me to this place one afternoon for merienda. It was a charming nook. A quirky little French bistro with plum colored walls filled with these beautiful engravings and curious goods (scented soap, cans of pate) for sale. I liked the contemporary wicker furniture and the dim, …read »

I am back in hong Kong for a quick business trip and some R&R with the family.  I arrived a few days earlier than the rest, so I decided to take advantage of the situation and check out two Michelin star restaurant Cuisine Cuisine. Cuisine Cuisine is located at the Mira Hotel in busy Tsim …read »

The Oboza ancestral house was built around 1929; these days it is (sadly) considered unusual to see a structure of this age maintained in pristine condition, much less even standing. It may even be the last ancestral home along Davao’s Rizal St. Original Art deco wooden arcs and beams, pictures and keepsakes; even the garden …read »

Greek style salad. It was a rainy afternoon when we decided to call Ty Coz for a dinner booking. But after several failed attempts to get somebody to pickup we decided to just walk a few blocks up Pasteur Street from our hotel. It wasn’t the easiest place to find, though, so when we got …read »

Ho Chi Minh is a very walkable city. If one wanted to, one could go around District 1 and cover everything in a day. But we were there to take it easy and enjoy the city (never mind the humidity). I made a list of establishments to seek out before leaving Manila but only ended …read »

Coffee culture. Notice the coffee/tea pairing. Vietnam is the third largest producer of coffee in the world. But when it comes to producing Robusta variety beans they’re number one. Trung Nguyen, the country’s biggest coffee company, has done a “Jollibee” in that even the Nescafe brand falls behind retail sales nationwide. There is not a …read »

The wife and I spent several days over the Christmas break last year in Chiang Mai and decided to spend New Year’s eve over Bangkok before going back home to Manila. I forgot I had these pictures so here they are in this post. These were taken on new year’s day. The night before was …read »

Lacock Village with the Red Lion Insignia in the foreground. Public Houses or Pubs are quite a common sight around the United Kingdom.  Pubs are basically establishments that serve liquor including Cask Ales and Draught Beers, Food and, even dessert.  C and I visited quite a few during our visit but one of the standouts …read »

As far as the eye can see. The wife and I managed to squeeze in a weekend trip to Cagayan de Oro to get some adrenaline in our systems. CDO is quite famous for its eco/adventure oriented activities such as whitewater rafting and caving/spelunking. On this particular day we were out for some ziplining in …read »

Earlier this year, C and I sat down to plan our family vacation to the United Kingdom. C was in charge of our daily itinerary and I was put to task to look for hotels and of course, where to eat. Normally, I try to look for restaurants that highlight local flavors, not touristy and …read »

Flipping perfectly golden brown spheres! The Japanese are known for their perfection, to say the least, with just about anything. Including their takoyaki. I first had a taste of Gindaco’s takoyakis several years back walking around the Mongkok night market and was hooked since then. I was hungry, I saw a queue and then lined …read »