Kazy Garlik

Where do you want to eat? Anywhere. What cuisine do you want? Any. It's one of the hardest decision to make...where to satisfy your hunger. Especially if you're with people who are kinda picky when it comes to food. And there are a lot who, when you've already decided, they just tell you "I don't like it there!" "Uhm....ok.....so, where do you want to eat?" Then they would say "Anywhere but there." I know you can relate one way or another! But I have good news for you! Thank God for Krazy Garlik!

To tantalize your taste buds, we had a totally diverse meal when we ate there. We had Spinach and Cream Cheese Fritters for appetizer and it's really mouth watering! For the rice, we had Hara Kiri ---> spicy rice with shrimp, octopus and bacon....kanin na ulam pa! We also had Mushroom Mitsui as well as their famous Crispy Pata (the best Crispy Pata I ever had!). They also serve pizza and pasta...I'll try them out next time.

Krazy Garlik is one of the restaurants of the Bistro Group who is also the group of TGIF, Fish & Co., Italianni's, and Flapjack's. When I heard that it's part of the Bistro Group, my expectations were high and I did not get disappointed. This is the place where you can have all kinds of cuisine in one restaurant. So, when you can't decide where to eat, Krazy Garlik is the next place to hang out. They have branches at Greenbelt 5 and Resorts World.

Sandwich Galore at Mercato Centrale

We are always on the go these days and a lot of times, we eat while we work. And most of the time, fast food stuffs aren't as healthy as home cooked meal and eating with one hand is quite hard to do. It's a good thing that someone invented sandwiches! You get a meal in the palm of your hand. However, most sandwiches are associated, especially by Filipinos, as a snack item because it's just two slices of bread with meat or spread inside. But, my sandwich perspective became different when I went to Mercato Centrale at Bonifacio  Global City, Taguig.

To give you a brief background on Mercato Centrale, it is a food bazaar every Saturday and Sunday from 7:00am to 12:00nn. It was launched last November 21, 2010 and you'd be able to see all kinds of food that you won't know where to start eating! Anyway, going back to the sandwich business, I was able to find some intriguing sandwiches there and here goes...


Smokehouse Sandwich

This is one of the reasons I went to Mercato Centrale....it is my friend's booth. They have a variety of gourmet smoked sandwiches that's like no other. I personally like their Smoked Miso Tofu Sandwich and Smoked Pulled Pork Cumin Sandwich. Their price range from P145-P185...though prices seemed high but their sandwiches are big enough that can already be equated to a full meal. You can choose between white bread or whole wheat loaf bread. You can also upsize your meal by adding P75 for a cup of Peppermint Iced Tea and Rosemary Potatoes. So, roughly P260, you get a full healthy meal better than fast food sandwiches.

Pan De Bagnet

Who would have thought that you can use Bagnet (deep fried pork belly) as a filling in a sandwich? Beside my friend's booth, a Kapampangan family served the so called Pan De Bagnet. At first, I wasn't paying attention to it but people keep on coming back for it that it struck my curiosity. Then lo and behold, when I saw the mouthwatering bagnet in their toaster, I finally bought one to have a taste. My P150 Pan De Bagnet was like heaven! It was so delicious that I forgot that it's P150...I mean it's really worth paying that amount! I never thought that bagnet could be this good as a sandwich filling. They also have Lechon Tortilla where in they wrap the lechon flakes in Pita Bread with Kimchi. The next time I will go there, I gotta try it. I'm sure I won't get disappointed with it.

Johnny Steams

At Esprit De Noel Bazaar, I was offered to try their burger. And I was like, what's so special about it? I was told that their burgers were steamed and they put peanut butter in it. How does a steam burger with peanut butter taste like? I'm sure you'd say that it's weird and yucky. But NO...it was one of the best burgers I ate my whole life! They call it Yankee Burger, a young Stephenian entrepreneur invented this healthy stuff. I honestly don't like peanut butter at all and my concept of burger must have dripping oil with it. However, Yankee Burger totally changed my point of view on burgers. The price is at P125 with a generous cut of burger patty and some veggies. They will be at Mercato Centrale on the 2nd weekend of December 2010.

Wanna go on a higher level of food tripping? Well, Mercato Centrale is a place where all sorts of new food concepts can be found and where your tastebuds will surely be satisfied!

Gold Leaf Chilled Tea

As we all know, there are a whole lot of beverage coming out these days. Among them, I personally like drinking iced tea. And, since I'm always on the go, I have to take those powdered iced teas or instant pet bottled iced teas. However, I know that this is not healthy because these iced teas are mostly water and sugar. Until I discovered Gold Leaf Chilled Tea.

Since Gold Leaf is one of the trusted tea brands in the metro, I told myself I better try it. I was able to taste them this week and I was speechless because they are really GOOD! I thought they would be bitter but NO they are actually sweet just the way I like it. The tea flavor was not compromised and it tastes like a freshly brewed iced tea. They have 2 flavors: Chilled Green Tea Concentrate and Chilled Tea Concentrate. It's hard to tell which one is better because both of them tastes great! It is available in Unimart at SRP P125.00 for a 500ml bottle. It can serve around 14-15 glasses. Just pour about 2 ounces of Gold Leaf Chilled Tea Concentrate in a 500ml glass, fill it up with water, stir and enjoy the drink (I like my iced tea strong so I pour a little over than 2 ounces). That simple! You can also adjust the taste by adding more water or the Chilled Tea. More or less, it's just P9 per glass...way cheaper than the pet bottled iced teas! Not only that, I am also assured that what I'm drinking is somethng healthy.

Bagoong Club

Tomas Morato is known as a food strip in Quezon City...however, it becomes too crowded especially during lunch or dinner time. There are times when you want to eat good food with nice ambiance at a reasonable price and just somewhere near that area. Along Sct. Lazcano St. stands Bagoong Club. If you're not familiar with the Scout Area, you won't be able to find it easily. But in order to reach this place, if you're coming from E. Rodriguez St, turn right at Starbucks (California Berry should be in front of you, and to your left is Alfredo's). Just go straight and Bagoong Club is on your right (a restaurant that looks like an ancestral house).

Of course, as the name of the restaurant indicates, it is Filipino cuisine. Since the best bagoong, most of the time, came from the Ilocos region, most of the food has a touch of Ilocano cuisine. Their best sellers are Dinakdakang Lechon (pork strips with mayonaise and chili), Bopis na Binusog sa Pusit (pork heart with chopped squid), Poque Poque (an omelette with eggplant, tomato, and bagoong), and of course their Bagoong Rice. To end the meal, you have to try their Queso de Bola Cheesecake and their Pastillas de Leche Cheesecake.

Well, for a Filipino food with a different twist, I highly recommend Bagoong Club on your next Food Trip. And for the price, roughly arounnd P300 per head...but remember, you pay for the cozy and homey ambiance too!

Serenitea

Stressed at work? And need a break? Don't want to think about anything and just have a good time? A place where you can have a clear mind and good snack food with a twist is Serenitea. It's a small cafe around the corner of N. Roxas cor. Banawe in QC where they serve Milk Teas. I highly recommend their Hokkaido Milk Tea. It's one of their best sellers. You might think that since it's a milk tea, it would be sweet but the good news is, you can actually control the sugar content! You can also choose from pearls (tapioca) to nata de coco as toppings for the Milk Tea but the best and perfect topping is the Egg Pudding. The price range for their milk tea is from P75 (tall size) to P95 (size of venti). Although it's quite expensive but it's worth it!

They also serve some snacks such as the corn in a cob (P50) and chicken chops with crispy basil leaves (P65) and it's already good for 2. The snacks and the milk tea complement each other...so don't just order a drink. By the way, they close early so grab your milk tea before 9pm. Serenitea also has a branch in San Juan (V. Cruz cor. J. Abad Santos) and BF Homes Paranaque.

Stackers

There are a lot of burger place around the metro and they're not just your ordinary fastfood burger but BURGER! You have Brother's Burger, Wham Burgers, Charlie's etc. These burger places serve big burgers that can be equated to one full meal. The pricing is also higher than the fast food burgers.

I'm not really a burger fan but there's one burger place that I will go back to when I go to Eastwood City. The name of the restaurant is Stackers. It is located at the Eastwood Citywalk beside the new Eastwood Mall. Compared to the other burgers I've eaten, this one's the best! You can really taste the mouth watering beef in the patty unlike some other burger patties, you eat more of the oil than the patty. And the bun, it just looks hard but it is so soft that it complements the whole stack! I'll have to admit, one is not enough even if it's that big! For appetizer, try their mozzarella sticks and dip it in their salsa...I SO LOVE THE SALSA!

For the price, it's kinda high but for me, it's worth paying because you pay for the real thing. No regrets! The next time I crave for burgers, Stackers will now be my first choice to go on a Food Trip!

Pangasinan

If you want the BEST Bangus (Milkfish) in town drive up north to Pangasinan. A five hour road trip and at the same time, food trip. Pangasinan is known for its beaches and fine seafood cuisine. However, you can just go there and have a food trip then go to other nearby provinces such as Ilocos or Baguio

I was privileged to be there with our supervisor who is a local there. And, he knows where the best restaurants are. One is Silverio's at Dagupan. It is located along the national highway to La Union. They serve mostly, seafood and other Ilocano dishes. And of course, their freshly grilled Bangus is their specialty...I actually finished a whole! Even if it does not have any marination, the fish is so tasty!

Another restaurant where we ate was Jan-Mariquin at the town of Lingayen. They cook the so-called "one set" perfectly. I know you're wondering what that "one set" means. It's actually a soup with one whole goat...of course chopped goat meat plus the head (goat is like their pork or beef in their area) and it's good for 5-7 people. I know that goat stinks but I was amazed to taste it in their restaurant because the stinky smell was removed.

Lastly, Matutina. This is the more famous restaurant in Pangasinan. They have a branch in Urdaneta and also the original at Bonuan Tondaligan, Dagupan. Even the former president went there to eat. Of course, their specialty, boneless grilled Bangus. We also ordered the Kilawing Bangus and I think that's the best Kilawing Bangus I ever tasted!

As you can see, we had Bangus almost everyday and I love it because it's a guilt free food trip! No wonder why Bangus is our National Fish...you just can't resist it!