Farmacy

We all know the movie cliché of a heartbroken person eating a big tub of ice cream all by herself/himself. I guess there are just some moments when the only cure for whatever we're feeling is ice cream. When that happens, go straight to Farmacy.

Of course, Farmacy, which is an ice cream shop, isn't just a place to go to when you're sad. In fact, it's a great place to hit up with friends for dessert. While they sell ice cream, this place is nothing like your typical ice cream parlor that screams cuteness. You can tell by its aesthetic that the place is very grown-up. The vintage-inspired decor, antique medicine cabinet, and long dessert bar suits their sophisticated ice cream concoctions.

My favorite sundae that we tried was the Pick Me Up which is hazelnut, vanilla, and coffee ice cream, almond toffee, chocolate sauce, & a shot of espresso. I loved all of the ice cream flavors in this sundae, and I couldn't get enough of the crunch of the almond toffee. You pour the espresso shot on the sundae and the bitterness and warmth of the coffee is a nice contrast to the sweetness and coldness of the ice cream. It also gives the sundae a pretty potent kick.

Speaking of kick, something unique is Farmacy After Dark which is their selection of cocktails topped with ice cream or sorbet. We had the Frozen Mojito which is Calamansi-Kaffir Sorbet, Manille, and Don Papa Rum.

For your daily recommended allowance of ice cream, make sure to get it from the Farmacy.

Why I Haven't Been Blogging

Hello, 2016! Yes, my blog is still active although it might have seemed otherwise considering my last post was way back in September 2015. My lack of posts has mainly been because of two reasons. One, I've been so busy with work. During the later half of the year, I found myself juggling technically four jobs. I have 2 day jobs which are quite related to each other, my hosting gigs, and my food business. It just seemed impossible to squeeze a blog post in when there were days when I could barely catch a breather. The second reason is that I basically found myself in a rut. Yes, I love food so much but when you have to document every meal and describe every dish all the time, it can easily feel more of a burden. I wanted to take a break from that and be able to enjoy dinner dates with my boyfriend without having to take a picture of our food first.

However, now that I've recharged during the Christmas break, I've been feeling motivated to start blogging again. The new year is a great opportunity to start fresh, and I definitely want to do something new with my blog. For the past year, I have been mainly focused on food posts, but now, I want to transition my blog to be more of a lifestyle blog. As much as I love talking about food, I also want to share with you other things I'm passionate about. For example, I bet not a lot of people know that I also love reading self-help books on organization and personal finance. I also love watching Youtube videos on beauty and make-up, and checking Pinterest for interior design ideas. I just feel like there's so much more that I can share with you other than food (which I will still be posting about), and I'm so excited to write about all of those.

Earlier, as I was driving home from work, my mind was so busy thinking of all the topics I could write about and it felt so good because I honestly haven't felt that inspired about blogging in such a long time. Thank you to everyone who followed my blog in 2015! I look forward to sharing more of myself and my passions with you this 2016!

Denise

Eighteen Bistro

My friends and I recently decided to meet up in the Tomas Morato area on the condition that we try a restaurant we haven't all been to before. As the food blogger, they left it to me to do the research on new must-try places, and the promise of honest to goodness French and Italian food swayed me to suggest Eighteen Bistro.

Upon entering the restaurant, the first impression you'll get is how small the place is. It can only seat about eighteen people, but it only takes a few more seconds of looking around the place to slowly change your perspective from small to cozy. From the classic dark wood furniture mixed with industrial steel light fixtures, to framed inspirational quotes against a wall of liquor, the place is a snug place perfect for a romantic dinner or for having an intimate meal with close friends and family.

One glance at their menu, and I instantly knew I would love the place. I love how the place is semi-casual but their menu is so classy that you feel like you're in a fine dining restaurant. Seeing words like Moscato jus, potato terrine, and feuilletine crunch almost made me want to order with a French accent.

However, my love for Italian food will always triumph so I went for one of their best-sellers, the Chicken Parmigiana. This is a dish that's composed of all things that I love -- chicken, cheese, and tomatoes, and yet I've been let down too many times by mediocre versions of it where the chicken is usually dry, is drowning in tomatoes which makes the crust soggy, and worst is topped with cheap, salty cheese that just overpowers everything. Eighteen Bistro's version though, is hands down the best Chicken Parmigiana I've had. The chicken which is served on a bed of mushroom rice pilaf is absolutely moist and tender that you can cut through it like a hot knife cutting through butter. I love how the tomato stew is spooned on top of the chicken rather than underneath because it keeps the beautiful golden crust crunchy. Then, it's topped with a generous amount of really good mozzarella cheese and finished with fresh basil. It was so delicious I literally couldn't stop thinking about it days after.

Martin also had one of their best-sellers, the Spicy Portobello and Cream Cheese pasta. While mushrooms and cream are a classic combination when it comes to pasta, I love how they put a twist to it by using cream cheese for that slight tangy flavor which contrasts well with the earthiness of the portobellos. The spiciness from the cayenne pepper cuts through the richness of the cream which lets you have as much as you want. 

As if the food wasn't great enough, we were pleasantly surprised when we were offered Php18 cocktails. Yes, eighteen pesos. If I'm not mistaken, you can have their cocktail of the day from 6-9pm for only Php18. Who were we to resists such a good deal so we had their Mai Tai which was so refreshing you wouldn't think it's a cocktail until it suddenly sneaks up on you.

I could think of eighteen reasons why I love Eighteen Bistro, but I'm pretty sure the ones I've mentioned above are enough to convince you to go check them out.

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.

Hanamaruken Ramen

After months of curiosity about Hanamaruken Ramen, one cold, rainy date night was the perfect opportunity to try their Signature Happiness Ramen. 

Now, the obvious thing that separates this from any other bowl of ramen would definitely have to be the slow-braised custom cut soft bone pork rib on top. While other ramens are topped with thin slices of pork, with this, you are spoiled with a huge chunk of meat that's so tender all you need is a soft bite to tear it apart. It's so delicious I remember thinking to myself that I would actually eat that pork with rice. It has a sweet, barbecue-like glaze which slowly bleeds into the broth, making the soup even more flavorful as you're eating it. However, even without the pork rib, the shoyu tonkotsu broth can confidently stand on its own. When the ramen arrived to our table, the first thing I did (aside from take pictures) was taste the broth. One slurp was all it took and I instantly understood why it seemed inevitable for people to not post pictures of this ramen on Instagram. The broth is so rich and flavorful, but still has a very clean taste.

Martin and I just shared the ramen because we knew we wouldn't be able to finish a bowl each, but we did order some Gyoza on the side. Their gyoza did not disappoint as well. I loved the crispiness of the pan-fried side while the rest of the wrapper was soft and chewy. When you bite into it, what greets your palette is the brightness of the garlic and greens, which makes it the perfect pairing to the heavy ramen. 

On the bowl of the ramen, there's a piece of seaweed which according to our server reads something like, "Happiness coming your way." This rainy season, while the winds and rains are on their way, we can all take comfort in the fact that so is happiness when we eat a bowl of ramen on a cold, rainy day.

Eating at a Korean Restaurant in a Motel

Now, before you get any crazy ideas as to why I was at a motel, let me be clear that I was there solely for the food. I went to Cavite with my boyfriend Martin, and his mom. On our way home, his Uncle said that he's heard that this particular Korean restaurant is good. However, some people are hesitant about trying it because of its location. No one wants to risk being seen coming in and out of that place for fear that he or she might be mistakenly judged for being there other than to eat some Korean food. 

The inside of the restaurant, much like its exterior is modest. No fancy decor aside from the the walls having various pictures of Korean food I was unfamiliar with. The names of the dishes underneath the pictures weren't much help either since they were in Korean. It's the kind of place where judging from your first impression, your dining experience can either go very bad or very well. I, of course, hoped for the latter, and the several groups of Korean men dining there were very encouraging. If Koreans are actually eating there, the food must be authentic and good. 

Since we were quite overwhelmed by their extensive menu, we decided to go for something familiar -- shabu-shabu. While waiting for our order, we were served a beautiful spread of complimentary appetizers in small plates called Banchan. The appetizers were mainly vegetables that were either a spicy pickled dish or lightly sautéd with a sweet flavor. One thing you'll notice is that crispness is key with these dishes. The vegetables still have a nice crunch when you bite into them despite being pickled, and even those sautéd were not overcooked. I've always seen and known about Banchan whenever I watch travel shows, and I always wondered why it seems to be the favorite part of the meal of anyone who enjoys Korean food. After trying it for myself, I now understand why. Let's just say once you try really good Banchan, you'll find yourself salivating for some pickled radishes.

Then came out a humungous platter of towering food, filled with the bounties of both land and sea. We were presented with this glorious plate of seafood, beef, vegetables and even processed food. The fun thing about shabu-shabu is that you cook your own food table side. The broth was simple enough that it could be flavored with whatever you put in it. The crabs, shrimps and squid were so fresh and delicious that their flavors were what you could predominantly taste. With so many ingredients floating in the pot, you would think that those tastes would just clash with each other. However, the broth still had a mild, clean flavor, allowing you to eat way more than you thought you could. While we were eating, a Korean man came out from the kitchen into the dining area, and the red liquid splatters on his shirt give away that he was the one cooking. He acknowledged us and shyly smiled as we tried to communicate to him that his food was delicious. Having the Korean owner cook the food himself definitely assured us that the food was indeed authentic.

Although we initially had reservations about eating at this Korean restaurant that I don't even know the name of because I can't read their Korean signage, I had two important realizations from this dining experience. First, Korean food is good. I mean, really good. Before this, Korean food to me was simply kimchi and bibimbap, and yet the Banchan alone opened my mind to the complex flavor profile of Korean cuisine. Second, in the same way that one must not judge a book by its cover, one must not also judge food based on the restaurant's logistics. If you want to find good food, don't be afraid to try hole in the wall places. In our case, even if it's in a motel by the side of the road.