Foodie Alert: 50% off at Dusit Thani Basix Extended!

Enjoy Dusit Thani Hotel's Basix Buffet at half off with your Citibank credit card.
Their promo is valid from Monday to Sunday for a minimum of 3 diners and a maximum of 12 per card.  I've been to Basix a couple of times and they have great food selections from Japanese favorites to Indian. Even the dessert is top-notch, they even have a cotton candy machine. Plus bottomless sodas, beer, and red wine.

Here are the discounted prices (Up to Jan. 16):
Lunch P 725
Dinner P 850
Sunday Lunch Buffet P 925

Crispy Pork Bagnet from Basix Buffet

From Nov. 15 -  Jan 16, 2014
Extended until March 31, 2014

This promo is extended but they have raised their prices :(
New prices for March 31
Lunch Buffet 1550 775
Dinner Buffet  1800  900 
Sunday Lunch 2050  1025


Please contact Basix to resereve
T: +63 (2) 238 8888
E-mail: dtmn.basix@dusit.com

To know more visit their site.

https://www.citibank.com.ph/gcb/promos/cards/1311_dining_dusit.htm

Xin Tian Di dimsum buffet new items

Just recently we were back at Xin Tian Di because we can't get enough of their stuff.
I'm happy to find that the menu has new items and some of the weird stuff have been phased out like the Malay Cake that literally tastes like sweet sponge cake.

The ordering system: by the piece, they cook per order
My tip: skip the super filling items like noodles and rice.
And order the good stuff like hakaw and deep fried shrimp dumplings

Check out the photos to appreciate. Enjoy!

 XinTianDi is located at
4/F Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila
Ortigas Ave. QC
(02)6337222 loc 7240 to reserve

don't miss this Steamed Seafood Dumpling with Superior soup

Chili Wantons

vegetarian spring rolls, this time i'll pass

 more choices for the ravenous eater

bland flied rice, needs mo salt

hakaw yummy

They call this Ampalaya Roll but its just painted pastry with chocolate inside

Lomaikai or Ma chang sticky glutinous rice with meat

Left to right: Chocolate dumplings, coffee jelly, birds eye dumplings,

 fried hakaw, hakaw, chili dumpling, spring roll, etc.

Pig out on these Deep Fried Shrimp Dumplings, really good

Ramen Diaries: Kenji Tei Greenbelt 5

My uncle has a theory about BF Paranaque being the launchpad of established dining places in Manila. And I can't agree more.The legendary Conti's started here. Kenji Tei started as a small ramen house that rocked the ramen revolution.
 
They now have a place at Greenbelt 5 that has really nice interiors. The menu has other entrees aside from ramen. 

Appetizers:
Cheese Gyoza  (house specialty)
Imagine deep fried gyoza with cheese and cheese inside? Instead of shoyu you dip it in mayo with hot sauce. This one's really good, the gyoza skin is a bit thick though and best enjoyed hot.

Miso Butter Corn Php 258
We were a bit overwhelmed by the butter in the ramen.
There's just something about this dish that is quite off.

Gomoku Shio. This one is simple, memorable and good piping hot.
The egg is quite off, making it look like mami. Php 268

Here's their menu
http://www.zomato.com/manila/kenji-tei-ramen-house-greenbelt-makati-city/menu

Kenji Tei Ramen House: 3/F, Greenbelt 5, Legazpi Village, Makati.
2 spoons (4 spoons for the cheese gyoza!)

Rating
Zero Spoons - Not coming back
One Spoon - Something's wrong here
Two Spoons - Average Joe
Three Spoons - Good but can do better
Four Spoons - Yummy, la
Five Spoons - Where have you been all my life?

Ramen Diaries: Ukkokei Ramen Ron

Being one of the most hyped ramen in the Philippines, Ukkokei had its own share of  urban legend (or sad truth) The story goes like this, an influential governement guy comes in this place before closing, insists on his order of ramen but had his order refused by the badass Japanese chef (No soup for you!) Then there were reports of... Ukkokei being closed down a few days (tax problems, they say) Well, now they have re-opened and new branches have sprouted all over the place. In fact, there's a new one at the Fort.

What is Ukkokei? Native manok!

Tacky menu design

Their Menu

I was at Ukkokei Ramen Ron some nights ago and I can't believe out of the awesome ramen choices, I ordered the most lame. (Hand slapping head)

sensei will haduken you if you still order when its closing time

The crew tries to give good service

Perhaps you might have read my other entry about Hokkaido Ramen Santouka,
where they had the creamy delicious Shio ramen. http://kainmanila.blogspot.com/2013/10/ramen-santouka-hokkaido-legendary-ramen.html

Ukkokei's version (Shio P300) is quite average and it tasted like noodles in chicken soup.

Ukkokei Shio

But we also ordered the corny and buttery Miso Butter Corn (P 360) and this was very good, better than the overly cheesed version of Kenji-Tei. There's still a bit of "umay" but butter in soup is good.

Miso Buttah Corn

We also ordered the Chahan (Flied Rice) and the Gyoza. Their gyoza is like Voldermort,
it tastes so ordinary and to say its not good is something that should not be named (shh)

My sister had the bestseller Tantanmen. I had a taste of her oily soup. It was... ok, ok, good. (no arm twisting here) I heard they only limit this to 20 - 40 bowls a night.

Spoon Rating

3 spoons
(Hey it's just me, but you can comment/ disagree below)
I'll probably go back to try other stuff.

Rating
Zero Spoons - Not coming back
One Spoon - Something's wrong here
Two Spoons - Average Joe
Three Spoons - Good but can do better
Four Spoons - Yummy, la
Five Spoons - Where have you been all my life?

Butterbeer and Starbucks Christmas brews

Image grabbed from Wattpad.com

So I get dragged to Starbucks to try Butter Beer.
Butter Beer for all us muggles out there, is one of the concoctions in the world Harry Potter. (Harry Patah as said by Dumbledore)

But apparently Butter Beer is a secret recipe at Starbucks according to one Facebook post.
You can actually order it as a custom drink and when we went to Starbucks, apparently there were already two guys who ordered it for the day.

here's the recipe from via DaleBacar.com

A Crème Frappuccino base, made with whole milk (not skim or 2%, which will mess up the consistency)3 pumps of caramel syrup3 pumps of toffee nut syrupTop with caramel drizzle

There's even a more consistent recipe 

There is also a hot alternative to the drink (as there is with the "real" butterbeer):

Whole milk steamerCaramel syrup (2 pumps for a tall, 3 for grande, 4 for venti)Toffee nut syrup (2 pumps for a tall, 3 for grande, 4 for venti)Cinnamon Dolce syrup (2 pumps for a tall, 3 for grande, 4 for venti)Top with whipped cream and salted caramel bitsOptional: 1 shot of espresso (2 for a grande or venti)

The Barista instead referred us to order this:

1 Venti Caramel cream frappucino

3 squirts/pumps of toffee nut syrup

According to Harry Potter Wiki
Butterbeer is a popular wizarding beverage described as tasting "a little bit like less-sickly butterscotch

 Here's the end result:

This drink is so evil (and full of that cannot-be-named calories)

This is sooo sweet. I can feel it Avada Kedavra-ing my tooth. 
I'm can't stand... the... sweetness.... Must.. stick... to... Peppermint Mocha Latte. 

Whoever thought of this. Good marketing stratergy for Starbucks. Bravo!
But drink at your own risk

Help Haiyan victims, support these restaurants

I commend Yabu for doing the Dine for a cause event yesterday. Giving all their profit to the victims of the typhoon Haiyan. Haiyan is locally known as Yolanda has damaged a big part of the Visayas region, mainly Samar, Leyte, Ormoc and Tacloban plus other towns. Judging from the Facebook pic with long snaking lines waiting to be served in the restaurant, the event was a success.

Photo grabbed from Yabu's FB page.

Moving on, there are other restaurants who have pledged to donate their earnings to the Philippine Red Cross. Let's support these restos. Here's a jpeg I grabbed from FB and also posted in Mr. Anton Diaz's ourawesomeplanet.com.

Photo courtesy of ourawesomeplanet.

Even places like the Triple V group are doing their share

I sincerely hope that relief goods and help personally reach the people. There is just too much bickering in social media that you don't know who to believe anymore. But despite some shortcomings of the government I think they are doing their job, its just the damage is just too overwhelming and spread to different areas.

No food for now

With respect to the victims of Typhoon Yolanda, I think it is improper to keep writing about good food when so many people are going hungry. Let us help the victims of the typhoon by doing the best we can to help, donating time and volunteering is the best. All I am hoping for is for that "help" to reach the people. Let us help each other out.  Bangon Pilipinas!

My blog will be back in a few days/ weeks/ months...(?)

C

Chef Batali's Pizzeria Mozza at Marina Bay Sands

Celebrity Chef Mario Batali has 2 restos at Marina Bay Sands,
one serving pizza which is Pizzeria Mozza and one serving pasta and other fine dining dishes called Osteria. We were looking forward to try the Pizzeria Mozza, which serves pizzas that bear the recipes of the clog-wearing cheffy bear.

Osteria Mozza on the left, Pizzeria Mozza on the right

Pizzeria Mozza menu

 I guess Batali really wanted you to try both his restaurants because this place only serves pizzas, salads, panini and some small plate specials. You have to go to the other side to try his pastas and other stuff. And I thought you could cross order...

For our antipasti, they recommended this Zucchini Sardines, and Squash Blossoms, which we really enjoyed. This is a creative way to enjoy your vegetables, by deep frying it.

For our pizzas, we had ta hard time deciding which to order. The entrees were quite uncommon for us Pinoys who were contented on Hawaiian and Pepperoni pizzas.
There were so many that I didn't even know could fit in a pizza dough (burata, squash blossoms, fingerling potatoes? and God forbid... Speck!)

Margherita with tomato and basil

Fennel sausage, panna, red onion & scallions

The crust was good, chewy but not hard, there's a tiny bit of crisp with every bite.
The Margherita pizza, which was highly recommended also gets solid thumbs up for me.
These pizzas are worth the trip to Marina Bay Sands, but I'm still hoping they'd allow the cross-ordering of pastas from Osteria. The experience would've been more than stellar.

Don't miss this!
Bravo Batali!

Spoon rating
4 out of 5

Rating
Zero Spoons - Not coming back
One Spoon - Something's wrong here
Two Spoons - Average Joe
Three Spoons - Good but can do better
Four Spoons - Yummy, la
Five Spoons - Where have you been all my life?

Osteria &; Pizzeria Mozza

2 Bayfront Ave #B1-42/46
The Shoppes @ Marina Bay Sands Singapore
Tel: +65 6688 8522

Thanks again John

C' Italian Dining

Going here was a long drive from Manila.
This was after all, one of the must-try places when you visit Clark because this is where the famous Panizza started. 
They now have a branch in Ortigas, but the one in Angeles City
definitely is worth a visit.

Despite a pricey menu, the place is packing them in, tourist or not,
there's so much stuff in the menu besides the panizza that's meant to savored by your tummy. And after minutes of waiting, we had a table near this dungeon/ wine cellar, which was a bit creepy.

So we transferred to outside, where its alfresco dining.

Panizza Angelico

Aglio Olio?

Risotto Kristina

Spoon Rating 4

Rating
Zero Spoons - Not coming back
One Spoon - Something's wrong here
Two Spoons - Average Joe
Three Spoons - Good but can do better
Four Spoons - Yummy, la
Five Spoons - Where have you been all my life?

The Manila Hotel Champagne Room

Dinner rolls and pate with cranberry sauce

I'm not going to write anything pretentious about this place.
If you want to impress your date or her parents and you've got moolah to burn.
Bring them over.

We were here during a weekday with horrendous traffic.
Celebrating my Uncle's Birthday, I was surprised that the old
Champagne room has been refurbished.

With Chandeliers, Victorian-inspired love seats, crystal palm trees, cheesy yellow curtains
and a French Mediterranean menu to boot, the place does not fail to wow.
And if not for the modern touches, I would've felt I was lost in the movie set
of Casablanca. (Play it again, Sam)

Oyen-baked Seabass

chocolates for dessert

After enjoying the rolls and pate, it was mushroom soup, then Sorbet was served.

Main course was a an oven-baked Chilean sea bass on mushroom potato-ragout and lobster-tomato-herb vinaigrette. 

They served the skin crispy and the juicy melt-in-your mouth Sea Bass
was a spot on. Its not perfect, but who can argue with a good sea bass?
Too bad the camera 360 app on my Android phone wasn't able to elevate the dish to the upper echelons of Instagram haha.

Lucky you there's Golden Fortune Part 2 (or How to eat shabu shabu)

Ber months bring in colder nights, perfert for hotpot during the nighttime.
If you're looking for a hotpot/ shabu shabu that's open til late at night, Golden Fortune is it.
Starting from 9:00 pm, their hotpot/shabu-shabu menu is slashed from 30 - 50% off.

Beef set about Php 500, dumplings are ordered extra

If you haven't tried easting hot pot, this is how it's done.
1) Choose your soup. There's plain chicken stock and the spicier sate.
Or you can have half plain, half sate in one pot.

2) Choose your ingredients, a hotpot usually consists of meat (beef, mutton, pork, chicken, seafood, dumplings, veggies and noodles)

3) Mix your sauce. You get diced garlic, leeks, light soy sauce, peanut, chili sauce, diced chili.

4) Wait for the soup to boil. Or you can dump in the ingredients (veggies and sliced beef last, because they cook easily)

5) Eat. Or you can do it Korean style, wait for the soup to boil and just dip your beef in your ladle/ chopsticks til it cooks in the soup. (Not a recommended way to cook dumplings, coz you might get it raw)

Golden Fortune's menu has a lot of stuff
but I recommend getting the sliced fat beef, shrimp dumplings, tofu skin, taro, cheese balls (yep squid balls with cheese inside). And you're a happy camper.

Enjoy!

Golden Fortune
G/F Peace Hotel, 1283 Soler St. Binondo, Manila (02) 244-2777

Spoon Rating
3

Rating
Zero Spoons - Not coming back
One Spoon - Something's wrong here
Two Spoons - Average Joe
Three Spoons - Good but can do better
Four Spoons - Yummy, la
Five Spoons - Where have you been all my life?