Ninyo Fusion Cuisine

The holidays were a bit cray cray for me, in a good way. Been neglecting taking photos of food, been to K.K.K. Revolutionizing Filipino Food(the best kare-kare[beef tripe in peanut sauce, and veggies eaten with shrimp paste] ever!) and Peri Peri Charcoal Chicken(their hot sauce!! it's El Pollo Loco a gazillion times better) and both were fantastic. Alas, no photos, the food was that fucking awesome, I deliberately did not take photos. But this one, I have to post, had our anniversary dinner at Ninyo Fusion Cuisine, it reminded me of Sonya's Garden which is perfect because we had our wedding reception there three years ago. :) Ninyo serves French-Japanese fusion, which is not at all pretentious and it kinda hits home for me. The service was spot on, the food is simply divine. While enjoying our meal in silence, smiling to myself, my husband said "This totally makes me want to clap." Too good to be true, and may I add, it's also pretty affordable. :)
complimentary bread. the butter has a hint of pimiento. it was fine.amuse bouche - wasabi fried oyster with balsamic citrus mayo. I rarely eat oysters, but this one is so awesome, sweet and succulent, not greasy and yes, that is a mound of rock salt.shiitake confit salad with ponzu dressing, tofu strips and fruits. Perfectly balanced salad, the grilled shiitake is so good, I want to lick the dressing off my plate.calamansi sorbet - palate cleanser, refreshing and not too tart.chargrilled tiger prawns in spicy red pepper sauce with japanese paella and buttered edamame. oh wow, what can I say, prawns are perfectly cooked, the paella is so divine, buttery with a little wasabi kick. though I'd like my spicy red pepper sauce a little bit spicier.duo of U.S. hanging tender steak on pumpkin risoni with red wine sauce and buttered veggies and honey glazed grilled salmon on wasabi mashed potato, grilled asparagus and demi dried tomato. whew. that steak was good but the risoni is just so fucking great. wasabi mash is quite nice not too intense. just wow.burnt cream with butterscotch floss.complimentary mango pavlova. Thank you Ninyo! :)

Duck Sauce - Barbra Streisand Official Video

2010 you were awesome, 2011, bring it!!

La Piadina

La Piadina: Margherita pizza. your regular tomato and cheese pie and basil, simply yummy, and a great crust, thin, chewy and crisp. Not really into the meat lovers/everything on it kind, less is more! always loved the 3M ham and cheese pizza hahahaLa Piadina: Pasta Arabiatta. they did not hesitate on the chili oil, quite nice. a good, cheaper version of Cibo. The bread was kinda sad though.lunch at home: Vigan longganisa(garlic native sausage), sunny side up(the wet runny yolk is divine) and sinangag(stir fried rice with loads of garlic). breakfast of champions and the best cure for a hangover, I kid you not.

Zombified

Yep. First week of work, pretty much zombified. another day, another nickel!
dinner at home: fried pork cutlets with calamansi and honey "glaze". the recipe calls for chicken fillets but this worked quite well also. the lime is not too acidic and the honey not too cloying.tomatokick: caramelized onion burger. i put caramelized onions in all of my burgers, so yeah, this is nice. sure hope the wedges could be more than six.mom's house: pasta with tuna, garlic in EVOO.a fucking no brainer.

Magoo's

Almon Marina: pastrami sandwich. Homemade potato chips. My fave sandwich of all. The hot mustard and fresh veggies makes this a most balanced, perfect sandwich.Greenwich: pepperoni. was sick since monday, so I'm on a strict pizza diet. Cheap pizza is one of my comfort foods.Magoo's: famous combination. pepperoni, italian sausage, olives, green pepper, mushrooms. I really don't mind olives in my pizza. Yep. sick week=pizza week and yes, I finished the damn thing.

Bi Bim Naengmyon (Cold Mixed Noodles)

made some bibim naengmyon (cold mixed noodles) real easy--mix gochujang(used the ready made sauce for dak gochujang boekum/braised chicken stew) for a milder flavor, sesame oil, brown sugar, honey and rice wine vinegar(substituted a teensy amount of apple cider vinegar) throw in some soba, carrots, cucumber and top with an egg. Sweet, tangy, nutty, there's also a lingering heat that is a real nice contrast to the crunchy veggies.

the kids are alright.

North Korea attacks South Korea with artillery

This is NOT good. Considering the in flux of Koreans here (you know, them studying English)do you think they would just drop everything and go home?

Holy Fuck - Red Lights

Hipster kittehs

UCC Cafe Terrace

lunch: tapsilog. short for TAPa(cured beef strips), SInangag(fried rice with garlic and itLOG(sunny side up egg). Eaten usally during breakfast, I prefer it during lunch, or after a boozing session. Our homemade tapsilog has the most perfect tapa--all sweet, sour, juicy, garlicky and crispy round the edges, a nice, runny egg and sinangag that been cooked in tapa leftover oil.UCC cafe terrace: tonkatsu sandwich. now this is great tonkatsu--great crunch, juicy inside, and a sauce that is not too overpowering. fresh cucumber/potato salad there and about 1,2,3...11 pieces of fries--absurd serving, like some little kid's leftovers.Tomato Kick: wasabi chicken burger. Hubby says it's meh. I like wasabi in my japanese but not in western shit. These chips are great though, I always find a hard time looking for Oishi wasabi chips.

Burgoo

seafood caesar salad--calamari, cajun shrimp popcorn basically on top of a caesar salad. This is really filling.fries, ribs, cajun shrimp and sausage and corn. fries are real good-not the frozen pre-cut ones, ribs are fall-off the bone tender but I wanted more sauce, shrimp was juicy and really flavorful.supreme pizza--italian sausage, pepperoni, peppers, mushrooms, onion and real mozzarella--crust was real chewy and crispy BUT the water from the cheese made the pie soggy which made me sad. You gotta do a little re-heating to awaken that lovely crust again.

Happy Birthday Bjork!!

Stupid Chinese(food)

Huey Ying: fish fillet in oyster sauce. looks good, yeah but bland as fuck. really can't tell if it's real fish.Huey Ying: fish fillet in sweet and sour sauce. same shit, different sauce, this actually tastes better.Not pictured was the garlic kangkong(chinese water spinach) which is really good after eating this crap. Had to eat the fish fillet with some chili oil to liven it up, but alas, it was futile.
breakfast: pospas/congee with tons of garlic bits, pepper and the ubiquitous calamansi(native lime). Never fails to hit the spot.

DEFTONES IN MANILA FOOLS!!

FEBRUARY 12, 2011

Jónsi - Go Do

sending <3 to Iceland!!

CARIBOU - Odessa

Dirty Ice Cream

Dinelli's hot hungarian sausage and smoked cheese of sorts with mustard in french bread--sausage was cooked in racks barbecue sauce, garlic and butter.turbo dirty ice cream, a staple street food/dessert here in cookies and cream, cheese and strawberry in a most wonderful and the biggest apa(sugar) cone at that. In ice cream standards, this is like what gelato tastes like in hell I assume, really bland and almost like a sorbet, no cream/milk etc at all. The grittier it is, the better.the french baker: steak sandwich-- done teriyaki/yakiniku style. Really good at the first few bites but struggled to finish this, so rich it kinda made me sick but the bread is awesome. Ugh, still feeling sick cos of the grease, my nape feels like there's a ton of bricks on it. When I was a kid, I would order the chicken ala king in this pastry shell all the time, their danish and croissants are cheap yet really good.

Hipster Kitty

Adarna Food and Culture

Tokwa rebosado - fried tofu patties with fresh tomato salsa. Really fresh and piping hot, the salsa is refreshing as it counters the greasiness.
Ensaladang bukid--grilled eggplant, string beans, okra and tomatoes with ginisang bagoong(shrimp paste sauteed in garlic, onion and tomatoes). Greaat with rice, ask for more shrimp paste cos this is on the sweet side. Bicol Express--pork cooked in coconut milk stuffed in fried green chillies with coconut milk/curry sauce and shrimp. thought it would be spicy, considering it's cooked inside a pepper, could use a little more heat.the star of show, Piassok--a Sulu dish of beef chunks cooked slowly in smoked coconut cream and ten spices till tender - buttered, grilled and sliced just before serving. Melt in your mouth goodness, it's like a mild curry with that hint of smokiness, not too overpowering, really GOOD.Kesong Puti and Langka Fry--carabao cheese and home-sweetened langka (jackfruit) in a crisp wrapper with mango cream sauce. Too decadent, I prefer kesong puti on my pandesal bread, the langka was yummy though.

Kimpura

midnight snack: omelette with onion and glazed ham sandwich (love the cheapo burger bun) with tons of tabasco, my hubby cooked this :)Tomatokick: pesto pizza--glorious mounds of homemade pesto--with tons of garlic. Posted the last bitten slice of this before, now behold its whole awesomeness.Kimpura:tekka maki. just okay. not the best tuna meat. ugh, mediocrity at its best.Kimpura: chirashi--generous serving of raw fish--sashimi on top of vinegared rice-- very beautiful but I was afraid to eat it--consisted of shrimp, tuna, squid, sea cucumber, pickled veggies and some indiscernible fish. The rice was a tad too sweet.

Trick or Treat

Went trick or treating every year until I was 14, yes, for SHAME. Now, it's my kid's turn, so YAY!! Who doesn't love candy?? HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Luk Foo

In true birthday fashion, I opted for a chinese lauriat. I don't know but this seemed perfect cos it's been raining and this calls for comfort, soul food. Luk Foo Cantonese Restaurant is just so underrated, they should expand their branches outside those Puregold warehouse groceries. The food is surprisingly good and there are many dishes that won't disappoint. I've dined here a good number of times and Luk Foo always brings out the quality and the quantity. Too good to be true, so just savor it.assorted cold cuts--crabsticks, asado, chicken, roast beef, century egg, pickled veggies, and pickled jellyfish!! hoisin sauce just makes everything taste good.fish fillet in cheese and butter sauce. This might not look much in its goopy goodness, but the crispy fish--subtle and smooth sauce just WOW.Yang Chow fried rice--the best in town, I swear.birthday noodles aka pansit. simple, soul food. The veggies are crisp not wilted, everything just came together perfectly. Eat this while piping hot! and how can one not like qwek qwek(quail egg deep fried in orange batter)?roast chicken. meh, this was okay.broccoli with mushrooms in oyster sauce. This might look rich, but this cleansed my palate with earthy, clean flavors. Super fresh, I love munching on this one.Salt and Pepper spareribs and squid. Both are fried to perfection. This is the star of our lauriat. The garlic/chili bits are so addicting. Everyone should order this.Mapo Tofu. not spicy at all, what gives?? :(shrimp balls. Deep fried goodness and like the size of a tennis ball, I thought it just contained a single shrimp and some extenders. Boy was I wrong.Shrimp ball cross section. Minced shrimp inside--so juicy and hot, really dense. Simply awesome. This made me smile.