gelato...

strawberry gelato with macaron on the side, a simple pleasure and a divine indulgence, don't you agree?

Xin Tian Ti - the new place for authentic unlimited dimsum

I'm not ashamed to buy deals online, especially for restaurants.
when deal grocer offered theirs, it was indeed a good deal you must not miss.

for only 688 (deal price) you can eat all the dimsum you want
xin tian ti's system works like this. instead of a buffet setup they have
checklists. now tick all the stuff you want and they will serve them in one go.
btw the dumplings are ordered by the piece and they are steamed per order.
while stuff like spareribs and squid come in a small plate.

the menu consists of
yang chow fried rice
fish congee
meatball congee
fried noodles
roast duck noodle (last time it was overcooked)

steamed Spareribs
steamed Squid

the must tries:
hakao (with generous shrimp and the wrapper is paper thin)
stonefish dumpling
bird's eye dumpling
xiao long pao (soup dumpling)
fried teochow wantons
special dumpling soup

other stuff
vegetarian spring rolls

dessert
coffee pudding (really good)
malay cake (nothing malay about it they use sponge cake)
buchi
snow balls (very good)

Xintianti is located at the Crowne Plaza Hotel
Robinson's Corporate Center Ortigas

MOMO is mo yummy

I've been noticing Momo every time I pass through Ayala Triangle but I've never tried it, until one December evening when the place was packing them in.

One gaze at the menu and I was surprised, I thought everything was pricey, but it was ok and everything's good to share but we were hungry so we ordered and ordered.

First up is soup - Herb Pumpkin Cream (150) with lots of bacon and real bacon, mind you, not the bacon bits that's imitation meat and served in a plastic bottle. The soup was so-so but it soothed the hungry tummy of 2 people who waited 45 minutes just to get a table.

roasted beef for two

Next, we ordered their Slow Roasted Roast Beef Fingers, (400+)
the beef was tender and it had generous amounts of squid rings and mashed potatoes. The beef tasted like stew. It's like stew and steak in one. It was good value for the money and filling at the same time.

fish and chips... yummy

We also had Fish and Chips, humongous beer battered fish. Also had a choice between ketchup and malt vinegar as sauces. Good, good, good but not as perfect as Mamou's.

I've heard horror stories of Momo but I was wrong. Momo is delish!
A word of advice though: don't eat alone at Momo, the food is indeed good for sharing.

A quick reunion at the Plantation

Located at C. Palanca Street, you can find the Plantation tucked in among the concrete jungle of Legaspi Village, Makati. On that street that screams Gweilos and The Balcony (formerly Bistro 101), Plantation holds in own with its menu of great food served at popular prices.

That January night we had a mini reunion of ad agency mates. My boy Siegfried who came home for a vacation after another 2 year stint at DDB Bahrain and Qatar is missing pork, really bad.

I ordered the Mediterranean Porkchops (195), their must try dish, Two big chops with sauce on the side and rice pilaf. Served at my table it was wafting with an inviting smell, calling me to"eat me at once." It was delicious, the pork was grilled perfectly and the sauce is just enough, I wanted more of the rice, though. My friends had chicken parmesan or parmigiana although I'm not a big fan of tomato-based dishes, They too were raving about it.

We also had nachos. and double orders of wedges, now the wedges were the bomb! ansarap
Beer was Buy one Take one before 10. So we helped ourselves with extra orders to last us til midnight.

hello 2013

got a new job, and my blog is sporting a new look.
let's see what's cooking in 2013. can't assure everyone that i'll be here everyday but i'll still write about food and travels