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