Tipsy Pig

Catching up with good friends usually involves some cold drinks at your favorite watering hole. To go with your drinks are usually greasy, fatty bar grub which starts to taste pretty good after couple of bottles down. However, at Tipsy Pig, they have put their own twist on bar chow by elevating them into dishes that doesn't require you to be tipsy just for you to think they taste delicious. 

No drinking session is complete without some sisig. However, Tipsy Pig has made the classic sisig into something that's a bit more sophisticated compared to its usual sizzling platter presentation. The Belly Good Sisig Tacos has crispy pork belly made into sisig, wrapped in tortilla with asian soy garlic sauce. I love the texture contrast of the creamy sisig with the crunchy deep fried pork belly on top. For me, the best part of sisig are the crunchy skin parts and these tacos really highlight that amazing texture. The sweet asian soy garlic sauce (which reminded me of peking duck sauce) surprisingly worked really well with the sisig, and was balanced by the acidity of the kalamansi. If you're going to try one thing in Tipsy Pig, I highly recommend this.

Bar grub is usually finger food, and things can get pretty messy when it comes to The Dirty Mexicana. When you enter the restaurant, the first thing you'll notice is this mountain of yellow and bright pink nachos which seems to be on every table. It's overloaded with 3 kinds of cheese, beef, pulled pork, jalapeno, pico de gallo and sour cream. The serving was so huge that we were already so full from eating and yet we felt like we've barely made a dent in it. Believe it or not, there were already four of us sharing this, and we didn't even get to finish it. It's the perfect thing to munch on while catching up with friends, and is also probably enough to feed your whole barkada.  

We were supposed to go restaurant hopping, and just have appetizers at Tipsy Pig but we got so full that we ended up wrapping up our meal there with some Lava cake. It's molten chocolate cake oozing with warm chocolate ganache topped with vanilla ice cream. I loved how moist tthe cake is and how fudgy the center was without being too sweet. 

Tipsy Pig is definitely worth going to if you're looking for some good food to munch on with friends. However, it's better to make reservations because their tables are usually reserved from 9pm onwards which will force you to have to cut your dinner short if you just walk in before 9pm. 

Ramen Nagi: Black is King

My first ever Ramen Nagi experience was at their Robinsons Magnolia branch. It was that first taste that started my love affair with ramen. I remember back then, my idea of ramen was just the just-add-hot-water instant ramen noodles you could get in groceries and convenient stores. Now, ramen has become part of the Filipino dining culture as a gourmet dish. With so many Japanese restaurants popping up everywhere with their own versions of this noodle dish, it takes a lot of creativity to really make your ramen stand out above the rest. 

I was fortunate enough to have been recently invited to the first anniversary of Ramen Nagi's Magnolia branch where at the same time, they were also showcasing their best-seller, the Black King. Like most people, I was quite intimidated when I heard about this dish. While most strive for a colorful food presentation, Ramen Nagi serves you this big bowl of jet black soup. However, being adventurous when it comes to your food does pay off because one slurp of this squid ink infused pork broth is enough to get you hooked. It has the same rich flavor of their original pork tonkotsu broth, but has deeper, earthy taste because of the squid ink and toasted garlic. It's topped with tender slices of pork, mushrooms, and a ball of ground meat, but I just had to add some seaweed and tamago because I love its sweet, smokey, creamy egg yolk mixing into the broth. I love how it's a modern take on a classic dish without compromising the traditional ramen taste that we all know and love.

As Ramen Nagi Magnolia celebrates its first anniversary, it's giving us a chance to enjoy this well-loved ramen for only Php 100! That's right, you can have the Black King ramen for only Php 100 for every order worth Php 1,200 from August 10 to 14! You can also win bowls of free Black King by dining at their Robinsons Magnolia branch from August 10 to 14, taking a selfie, and posting on your instagram account with the #ramennagianniv.