Starbucks Philippines Offers New Breakfast Sandwiches this September 16

Starting this September 16, new food items will be available at all Starbucks Philippines stores nationwide, including 4 new scrumptious Breakfast Sandwiches which everyone will surely like and crave for, namely: 1. SPAM® Black Pepper, Egg and Cheddar on New York Bagel; 2. Bacon, Egg and Cheddar on English Muffin; 3. Slow Roasted Ham, Egg White and Emmenthal Cheese on Italian Roll; 4. Vegetable Fritata on Dark Ciabatta Bread.

BACON, EGG AND CHEDDAR ON ENGLISH MUFFIN. It’s back and it’s better! This mouthwatering breakfast sandwich is packed with flavorful slices of smoked and honey cured bacon, creamed egg and cheddar cheese on a soft English muffin. Take a pause in your morning hustle to savor this classic comfort food. Retail Price (₱115)

SPAM® BLACK PEPPER, EGG AND CHEDDAR ON NEW YORK BAGEL. This sandwich is so hard to resist. When you combine a slice of SPAM® Black Pepper, creamy scrambled egg with tomatoes and layer it with melted American Cheddar cheese on New York bagel, you have a sandwich that is so simple yet so mouthwatering. Delicious! Retail Price (₱115)

SLOW ROASTED HAM, EGG WHITE AND EMMENTHAL CHEESE ON ITALIAN ROLL. If you want a flavorful sandwich but with less fat, this savory breakfast sandwich is for you. It is made with slices of slow roasted ham, Emmenthal cheese and scrambled egg white on a toasty warmed Italian Roll. Retail Price (₱115)

VEGETABLE FRITTATA ON DARK CIABATTA BREAD. This warm and toasty dark ciabatta bread is filled with an egg white frittata stuffed with fresh mushrooms, and spinach. A vegetarian delight! Retail Price (₱115)

Personally excited to try out the Bacon, Egg and Cheddar, but also thrilled to try everything! :)

Niner Ichi Nana and The Hungry Hound present The City Series

The tandem of Chef Mikko Reyes and Erwan Heussaff of The Hungry Hound and Niner Ichi Nana (conveniently located at The Globe Tower, The Fort) works to their advantage as great dishes are partnered with great cocktails, which will surely captivate and pique your curiosity.

Last May, they launched "THE CITY SERIES," featuring food and cocktails from different cities around the world. Kicking off the series with SEOUL, Mikko and Erwan prepared Korean influenced food and cocktails. Last June 19, I was invited at Niner Ichi Nana to sample yet another great concoction of the duo, with Peru as a sequel to famed The City Series.

Admittedly, I do not know what the food in Peru tastes like. Heck, what only came to my mind when I heard I was tasting Peruvian food was only my dream of visiting the World Heritage Site that is Machu Picchu, located in Peru. It was my first time to try out Peruvian food, which came across to me as a mix of European, Middle-eastern and Asian influences. 



So as my taste buds was as good as tabula rasa, I let the food and my mouth do the whole soiree. I ordered the Papas Rellenas Sorpresa, which is stuffed potato croqueta + foie gras mayonesa de aji + dry aged steak bits. I love how the dish came together, with ingredients I love (foie gras, steak and potatoes). This is something I would crave for, once in a while.



Together with the Papas, I tried the Piura for my cocktail. It's made of Rum, Blended Whiskey, House Aji Honey, Lime Juice, Grape Puree and Vanilla Syrup. The drink was perfect. It's not too strong, but you can still taste the distinct tastes in the blend which balances the liquors.



The Anticuchos is the dish I was debating to get instead of the Papas Sorpresa, unfortunately the latter won. After seeing that it is with "beef heart" made me think twice. Contrary to my original hesitation, I realized that I should always follow my gut instinct. It turned out to be something I liked. The sous vide shortrib and the beef heart were tasty, you could not tell the difference between the meat and the heart. It was served with white corn salsa and parsley lime emulsion.



Another famous must try drink is the Pisco Sour which is made of pisco, lime, agave syrup, chili bitters, angostura bitters, and ginger perfumed egg white. It may sound complicated, but once you taste it, you would not mind what is in it, or you would like to know how to make it on your own. It is something both aesthetically appealing and tastes really well.



The Hungry Hound is a stylish place for old-fashioned cooking, featuring English classics done differently. The place maintains a casual vibe with the new "freestyle" gastro pub menu, featuring traditional dishes with a modern edge. "I am always excited to try new things. But we are not trying to reinvent food here Chef Mikko says. "It is really up to each chef to see how to create a special dish with its own identity," he adds.

Meanwhile, Erwan explains that the concept behind Niner is inspired by cocktail bars from eras past, the concept of artisanal cocktails that are well prepared and properly portioned. "We also make quote a bit of Bespoke cocktails depending on the whims of our customers, based on our daily infusions and our market fresh produce. Just sit by the bar and have the bartenders make something for you," says Heussaff.

The Hungry Hound and Niner Ichi Nana are located at the ground floor of The Globe Tower, 32nd Street corner 7th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. For Reservations, call +63917 876 9999.

P.S. Thanks to Flo and Erwan for the warm hospitality and invite.

Therese in the Philippines: Gaucho Cocina y Vinos Argentinos

I spent my last birthday in the Philippines with my family, and I chose to try Gaucho for my birthday dinner. I hadn't heard a lot about this restaurant before we went there, but I knew that they served Argentinian food (based on their name) and so I wanted to try that.

The restaurant is located in the al fresco area of Robinson's Magnolia. I liked that the lighting wasn't so bright (although sometimes that's not ideal for taking pictures especially if you don't have a nice enough camera) because it created a good ambiance. It could also be because it was December (this is such a late post, I know) so they dimmed the lights down a bit and they also put Christmas lights.

Complimentary bread basket (I'm not sure if this came with the Locro or if it's really complimentary)

Locro || 320 PhP

A traditional beef stew with hominy and white beans

Falda a la Cruz (US Beef Shortplate) || 550 PhP

Served with Chimichurri Sauce, assorted organic pickles and unlimited steamed or garlic rice

I wasn't able to take down the name of this dish, sorry >.< 

Complimentary birthday cake slice

They gave me a slice of cake because it was my birthday! Yay! I assumed that it was the Chocotorta (Layered chocolate biscuit with dulce de leche cream cheese) from the looks of it, but I could be mistaken.

We loved the food! The soup was creamy and I broke the bread up into little pieces to act as croutons just so I would have something else to chew on. I think the meat that we ordered were cooked just right. It wasn't dry and it was tender. The sauce also complemented the meat, in my opinion. I just wasn't a big fan of the organic pickles. We also liked the roasted (?) garlic. Originally, we didn't want to eat it because we've never had it like that, but my mom said that it's delicious so we all tried it and yes, it was delicious. I'd love to go back and try their other dishes. I also want to try their wines, because there should be a reason why they have "Vinos Argentinos" (Argentinian wines) in their name. Gotta save up for that though, as wines (especially imported ones) tend to be pricier.

Have you been to Gaucho? How was your experience?

Location: 3rd Floor Al Fresco, The Park at Robinsons Magnolia (Aurora Boulevard, Quezon City)
Contact details: + 63 2 654 3148
Operating hours: Mon-Sun 11:00-2:00
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/gauchomanila

Therese in the Philippines: My Kitchen by Chef Chris

Oops, I hadn't realized that this post has been in the drafts for quite some time now. I know that there have probably been a lot of changes (food, prices, etc.) since I last visited but I still decided to post this in case anyone wanted to try this restaurant.

I first tried Chef Chris' creations at his previous restaurant, C Italian Cuisine in Pampanga. I remember feeling that their food was a little pricey (I was only in high school back then, and only relied on my allowance to get me by XD) but that it was really, really good. My friends and I especially liked the panizza, and for good reason, since that was their specialty.

Complimentary

Oasis Salad | 540 PhP
a blend of artichokes hearts, roasted peppers, capers, caramelized
onion, sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, arugula and romaine lettuce

Mussels

The Original Verena | 790 PhP
    tomato and white truffle oil enhanced cheese sauce
topped with scallop, prawns and sun dried tomatoes

Lemon and Lime Cheesecake | 320 PhP
baked cheese cake with almond crust
finely crusted with sugar crust sweet lemon lime sauce and almond

Mocha Latte | 120 PhP

We were lucky enough to see Chef Chris himself walking around the restaurant asking the diners about their dining experience. I like the fact that he interacts with customers and how down-to-earth he seems.

Location: 1032-34 Belen Street San Fernando de Paco, Manila
Operating Hours: Mon-Sun 7:00-22:30
Contact details: +63 2 521 2371 | Facebook

Tiffy in Nagoya: Unagi Hasshou うなぎ八勝

Tiffy in Nagoya: Unagi Hasshou うなぎ八勝

There's so much I haven't written yet (Nigeria, more of Korea, yadiyadiya) but I just want to share my favorite local food in Nagoya: hitsumabushi ひつまぶし

今までまだブログしていないことが沢山あるけど（ナイジェリア、韓国の旅行など）、一番好きな名古屋名物のひつまぶしを紹介したいと思います。

tororo hitsumabushi ・とろろひつまぶし・ PHP 1414・ JPY 3200 

It's basically fried eel. Fried so that it's just the right amount of crunchy. I wasn't able to take a picture of the whole tray because it was HUGE but it comes with broth and some seasonings (wasabi, seaweed, spring onions). I ordered the one that comes with tororo (for an extra 400 yen) because I love the taste and texture of sticky gooey yam.

I didn't know how to eat it at first so I just watched my boyfriend eating it first. It's really up to you how you want to eat it but if you want to maximize the whole experience, here's my guide to eating hitsumabushi:

1. Use the smaller bowl (not shown in the photo) and put a portion of unagi and rice from the bigger bowl. Eat it as it is to have a taste of the original flavor
2. Get another portion and put in whatever seasonings you want in. On my next serving, I put in some seaweed, lots of wasabi and poured in some of the broth
3. My third portion had me mixing the tororo in (sooooo good and sooooo healthy!)
4. Go crazy

Whenever I'm in Nagoya I go to Unagi Hasshou because it just serves great quality eel that I don't mind how expensive it is.

Photo from a random guy from the interwebz: anton

うなぎ 八勝（はっしょう）
名古屋市守山区上志段味東谷２１０９－１４６
０５２－７３６－４８７５

Discovering the wonders of Canadian wines

"Canada boasts of high-quality grapes, excellent growing conditions, and investments in world-class wineries that have contributed to the growing success of Canadian wines both at home and abroad," said Canadian Ambassador Neil Reeder, in his opening remarks during the wine cocktail reception he hosted for food media and representatives from the beverage industry last night.

Featuring a selection of premium Canadian wines at the Makati Shangri-la Sage restaurant and bar, he added that "as we bring Canadian wines closer to the Philippines, we are proud that Canada is garnering well-deserved attention as a wine producing country." The reception gave guests exclusive access to a selection of red and white wines.

"Wine consumption in the Philippines has shown reasonable growth over the past years. From red to white to sparkling to ice, Canada offers premium wine products that can certainly address the Filipinos' growing appreciation for wine," Ambassador Reeder added.

The wine producing regions of Canada enjoy an ideal climate for the slow maturing of grapes which results in the right balance of acidity and sweetness. They said that ninety-seven percent of the Canadian wines are produced in Ontario and British Columbia. And consumers can be confident of the quality and authenticity of the origin through the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA), which is a government-sanctioned regulatory system.

While the bottles are not yet available in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Malaysia are already enjoying the availability of Canadian wine. It is expected though that the availability of these wines in the Philippines is in the not too distant future.

Tiffany in Korea: Gobong Samgyetang 고봉삼계탕

Tiffany in Korea: Gobong Samgyetang

Amidst finals month, field work in Nigeria, job-hunting, and various reports for different stuff, I found the time (indulged) to come to Korea to attend my friend's wedding. I also started writing a more personal (random) blog with friends I met in Japan. 

It's only our second day here and already I feel right at home. After arriving at the airport, we headed for information to ask about where to get wifi. It's around 400 PHP a day to rent one and we felt that it would be very convenient (and affordable) to be connected (GOOGLE MAPS YES). 

We headed to Hotel President where I'm sharing a room with my Chinese friend, Xiao Xiao. It was perfect having her with us because apparently, so many Chinese work in Korea and everywhere we've been, she's our point person speaking to the different people (wifi person etc) in Chinese. She was also the only one who looked up good places to go to so when she suggested Gobong Samgyetang for dinner, we all just said LET'S GO! 

The restaurant is near exit 5 of Euljiro Station. Just go to the direction of Starbucks, turn left, see Fridays and it's by your right side.

Samgyetang (Php 590)

They are known for their samgyetang, a soup dish with a whole chicken stuffed with rice. It has different healthy herbs like ginseng. When we told Yuri, our Korean friend, the next day about having samgyetang, she also informed us that it's very nutritious and high in calories (good calories, yay?).

Just ordering samgyetang should be enough for you. We also ordered chijimi, which I thought wasn't good at all and sort of regretted ordering.

Gobong Samgyetang 고봉삼계탕

199-13 Euljiro 2(i)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul

Therese in the Philippines: Torch Restaurant

I know that Torch has been open for quite a few years now, but I was only able to try it during one of my visits back home last year.

It's hard to see the sign if you're coming from the other side

There's a smiley face on the wasabi! So cute!

White Truffle Sausage Panizza | 429.95 PhP
    Grilled Italian sausages drizzled with white truffle oil on a fresh, oven-baked panizza topped with mozzarella cheese

Cream Cheese Salmon Roll | 339.95 PhP
    Deep-fried crispy sushi roll filled with salmon and cream cheese, topped with bonito flakes and served with unagi sauce and Japanese mayonnaise

Lychee shake | PhP

Chicken Cannelloni | 494.95 PhP
    Golden fry cannelloni stuffed with chicken and mozzarella poured with arrabbiata alfredo sauce

Salpicao Medallion | 479.95 PhP
    Medallions of Certified Angus Beef, wrapped with bacon and served with garlic parsley rice and sauteed French beans

Torch's Signature Roll | 399.95 PhP
    Sushi roll filled with soft-shell crab, ebi tempura, unary, tamago, and Japanese cucumber, topped with fresh wakame seaweed, kani and ripe mangoes

Steak Fondue | 879.95 PhP
    Melt-in-your-mouth Ribeye Meltique Beef, done your way. Comes with five different sauces from five different countries

Steak Fondue | 879.95 PhP
    Melt-in-your-mouth Ribeye Meltique Beef, done your way. Comes with five different sauces from five different countries

Bread Pudding | 149.95 PhP

Panna Cotta with Fresh Fruits | 179.95 PhP

New York Cheesecake

We loved the Salpicao Medallion because the meat was soft and it was done just right. We also loved the Steak Fondue because the beef really melts in your mouth. The fondue was a new and interesting way to eat food. I say that because we normally don't think of fondue and steak together, and it's a fun way to bond with your friends. I just wish there was more meat. Heehee. For dessert, the New York Cheesecake wasn't on the menu but we saw it on the display shelf so we ordered a slice. I wasn't able to take note of the amount though. It was suuper good that we even brought home another slice to eat the next day. I love how they also serve it with blueberry so that if you're also into blueberry cheesecake, just slather (can I say that?) that on top and voila, instant blueberry cheesecake!

Address: 63 Connecticut St. Greenhills, San Juan, 1208
Operating Hours: Mon-Tues: 7:00-0:00, Wed-Sat: 7:00-3:00, Sun: 7:00-0:00
Contact Number: (02)-477-3771
Facebook page: Torch Restaurant

Exploring Shangri-la's East Wing: Epicurious & Foodless Plate: Foodstagramming for a Cause.

If you haven't dropped by Shangri-la Plaza's new wing yet, you're missing out on a lot of interesting eats. I've only eaten at Kettle, Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen, and Epicurious but I'm itching to try Green Pastures, Spaetzle and Chops. Soon.

But let's talk about Epicurious, a deli-restaurant hybrid.

You can pick and choose from their selection of breads, cold cuts, cheeses, marinated meats, etc... and have them serve the food to you. Apart from the above, they also stock various kitchenware, cooking ingredients, etc. Their engaging staff helped us pick out some items for our dinner. One of them suggested frying the cold cuts which isn't normally done, but it turned out great!

Clockwise from top: Chorizo Pamplona Spicy, Chorizo Pamplona Spicy (Fried), Jamon Serrano, Jamon Serrano (Fried), Manchego Cheese. Not in photo, Veramonte Riserva Merlot and Sourdough Bread. (P1,950)

Our appetizer was that beautiful platter above accompanied by a Merlot and some bread. The fried cold cuts were sooooo good, definitely a unique take on what you can do with deli meats. (Fry 'em with egg and garlic rice for a stepped up silog.) The spicy chorizo particularly was a winner.

Clockwise from top: Rib-Eye Steak (P1.75 per gram), Rosemary Chicken (P.6 per gram), and Kansas Pork Belly (P.65 per gram). Not in photo Chicken Schnitzel (P.6 per gram).

The mains were a bit disappointing as their plating was rather unceremonious --whatever meat you had them cook along with a serving of rice. No garnishes to make the dish look visually appealing. The "steak rice" (P75 per order) was also pretty disappointing: it's basically just butter, Worcestershire sauce and corn. As for the meats, we had mixed feelings in our table but altogether the food wasn't bad considering the reasonable pricing!

Overall, Epicurious still needs to work out some kinks but has great potential. They've just opened after all. It's definitely worth a visit after a month or two.

Props: Wonderful ambiance, friendly staff, decent selection of cold cuts and cheeses.
Slops: Incomplete pricing, sparse plating of "mains".

EPICURIOUS
East Wing, Lower Ground Level.
Shangri-la Plaza.
02-5707741
epicuriousmanila@gmail.com

I also wanted to take the time to share this advocacy that I support - Love Food Don't Waste from Healthy Options! Did you know that Metro Manila wastes up to 2,000 tons of food daily. That's crazy considering the people who could have benefited from all that food! Let's do our part in making sure the food we buy/order gets consumed in full.

Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "I grew up in a household where we had finish our meals." or "We always eat our leftovers." I'm like that too. That's why Healthy Options is making it easy for us to help reduce food wastage through their Foodless Plate initiative. Basically, just take a photo of an empty plate after your meal, include the #foodlessplate hashtag in your post, tag Healthy Options and post to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram; and Healthy Options will make a donation to Hands on Manila's Eat to Feed program. (Full instructions in below infographic)

 

My #foodlessplate from EPICURIOUS

For more information on how you or your household can help reduce food waste visit www.healthyoptions.com.ph or like them on Facebook.

Until next time,
Ozy