Seafood Paluto Feast at Pier One Cebu

 Every time I'm in Cebu, I always crave for fresh seafood in the Cebu City area. Somehow, my Cebuano friends draw blanks when I ask for recommendations, so I always end up at Pier One in Park Mall because it's the only branch in the Philippines that has a Paluto section with fresh seafood. Plus, since my brother was with me this time, I knew he would appreciate the food.

Surprise Singapore Day 1: Tower Club + Chili Crab

So goes Day 1 of my Singapore Surprise trip... After we checked in at Scarlet Hotel, I wanted to get some business done before the pleasure, so first on the agenda was a business lunch with my banker to get some updates.

I asked for directions on where we were to meet, but instead she sent Barry and his Benz to pick us up and take us to our destination.

Barry, is a private driver whose card reads "Have Barry, Will Travel. He gives great tips on where to go after my lunch meeting, and I pick up his card just in case I want to feel snooty and get chauffered around Singapore.

Sunday Stovetop: Shrimp Scampi Pasta with Feta & Olives

Shrimp Scampi Pasta w Feta & Olives

Last Sunday I realized how much I had missed whipping up something in my kitchen. My S-i-L called me up and requested I make my Shrimp Scampi for a get together at her place, and I was all excited to be able to flex my cooking muscles. Here's the recipe, it's super easy and I'm sure you guys will love it as much as everyone at the party.

To make the Scampi you need several ingredients available on most supermarkets, nothing fancy over here... but I do have a secret weapon. I'm also not very keen on actual portioning since I usually eyeball things, so it's up to you how much or little you wanna add on some of the herbs.

 

Shrimp

To make Scampi, first you need some... well, scampi, otherwise known as Shrimp. I like to buy the shell-on kind so that the flavors are still intact. You need to peel them but you can use the shells and head as seasoning for another dish. Or for "Ginisa". Buy about half a kilo to a kilo, depends how generous you want to be with the shrimp.

Chinese Restos to Celebrate Kung Hei Fat Choi

Chinese culture and cuisine is tightly linked with Filipino heritage and history. Hence, we celebrate Chinese New Year with as much jubilation and anticipation as the mainlanders do. Where to go get a super Lauriat meal, or some dim sim in the area? Here are ToT's picks for the ultimate Kung Hei Fat Choi celebration meal:

Choi Garden

My family's Chinese kitchen extension where we dine on a weekly basis. Food is authentic HK cuisine because of the 8 chefs which specialize in dimsum, roasts, soups, sauce, etcetc. Call in beforehand to reserve the Fried Chicken or the Lechon Kawali. My pick over Gloria Maris anytime. Here are my favorite dishes at Choi.

 Summer Palace

The ultimate Chinese restaurant for celebrations & special occasions. I love the Cereal Prawn, the Taro covered duck, and their excuisite seafood. Worth dressing up and feeling very Joy Luck Club for. If you can let go of some semblance of control and let the restaurant manager Nancy order for your party, you will be in good hands.

Eat Well Delicious Kitchen

 The go-to for easy Chinese food, casual ambiance, and pork chop that rivals Delicious in HK. I like the Wanton Noodle Soup as well as pork siumai as big as golf balls.

Xiang Chuan Restaurant

If you want to try something new without breaking the bank, look for this secret Hunan restaurant in Makati that serves up authentic spicy and saucy Hunan food. Nothing fancy, everything spicy!

Din Tai Fung, Hong Kong

If you're willing to fly for good food. Din Tai Fung is the ambassador of Xiao Long Bao, or soup dumpling. The crab version is better than anything in this world. 

Luk Fu Tea House, Hong Kong

They don't serve Xiao Long Bao, but they do have traditional yum cha/dim sum served in a pre-colonial setting right in Central HK.

Yun Kee, Hong Kong

If you want a real Kung Hei Fat Choi meal in HK, I would recommend Yun Kee if  only for their aromatic century eggs, and roasted goose. You can even bring home the Century Eggs for travel!

And if the Manila and Hong Kong restaurants just won't do it for you... I guess there's no where else to go but China!

Kung Hei Fat Choi.... I mean, Choy! Choi!

These Are a Few of my Favorite (Choi) Things

 Since Chinese New Year is coming up, I'd like to refresh ToT with a "Favorite Things" post on my favorite Chinese restaurant: Choi Garden

 Choi Garden is where our family dines when we can't think of anywhere else to go, aside from Cyma for some Mediterranean food. We have tried a lot of dishes, and think that their flavors and dishes are spot on. No need to hit up Hong Kong. They have almost everything you need here and more. 

 One of our favorite things to order is their Shabu-Shabu, or hot pot, which is basically a big bowl of broth and meats & seafoods with vegetables and noodles that you can cook for flavor. Traditionally. Shabu-Shabu involves only dipping the meat onto the soup for flavor, but for most Filipinos, we also use the broth as soup and use the meats to flavor the soup. Different strokes for different folks.

Paluto at Pier One, Cebu

I'm not a big fan of Pier One, nor do I remember the last time I was in one since I finished highschool, but if you are in Cebu, this is one of the best places to have a Paluto (cooked-to-order) experience. They have the same reconstituted container ambiance, but they also have aquariums of fresh seafood which you can personally pick and have cooked to your fancy.

 No Cebuano restaurant would be complete without the bowl of condiments to make your own sawsawan (sauce) for dipping your seafood. And a lot of seafood there is...

Sumptous Chinese Spread at Shangri-La's Summer Palace

If you can't go to Hong Kong to get authentic Chinese cuisine, bring Hong Kong to your tummy via Summer Palace, my family's favorite restaurant for fine Chinese food with elegant ambiance. Ever since I was a kid, I remembered celebrating our special occasions at Summer Palace. When I grew up and began working, a lot of our lunches would be dimsum in this much-loved restaurant.

Though we frequent Choi Garden more because it's more relaxed and their Shabu-Shabu menu is fantastic, Summer Palace is the perfect lunch location. Plus all Shangri-La hotels have impeccable Chinese restaurants, and Summer Palace is really in a league of its own.

One of my favorite spots for dining is the Crystal Room, which is right in the center of the restaurant, enclosed by Chinese etched rosewood enveloping diners for more privacy.

Haute & Healthy at Seasons 52

Key Lime Pie, Mocha Macchiato, Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie with Double Gingersnap Crust, in a shot glass and less than 300 calories each? That's what I, and Seasons 52 Fresh Grill, call "Mini Indulgences".

 After my best friend's yacht wedding, I took a nap to kill the jetlag and woke up feeling hungry for some fresh flavors. Since I stayed at the Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, we decided to hit up Seasons 52 Fresh Grill & Wine Bar, a brand new branch in the Orange County from its homebase of Florida.

 Magic in the Menu

Seasons 52 is best known for its seasonal menu, which changes every season to highlight the produce and fresh catch from local farmers' markets. Alongside that, each one of its dishes is only 475 calories and below, which reflects their motto of "A fresh dining experience that celebrates living well."

EuroCruise 2010: Munching on Octopus at Antonini's, Mykonos

Next stop on the EuroCruise lineup is the tourist-favorite Greek island of Mykonos, infamous for its bright Mediterranean sun, endless beach parties, and enigmatic blue & white buildings.

A tiny 33 square miles, Mykonos is one of the smallest islands in the Cyclades group and is inhabited by only 5000 locals, yet gets flocked by over 900,000 visitors a year. Bars, nightclubs, and beaches...  Think Santorini, but not on a mountain. Ahh... ToT Heaven!

As I was walking towards Chora, or center of Mykonos, I spotted a man by the shallow water, literally, spanking a live octopus on the rocks, paralyzing the tentacles and readying it for consumption. Bro and I looked at each other; we knew what we were having for lunch!

Meatless Meals Since 'Arrivederci Carne' Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday probably did not expect this from me. After willingly accepting the challenge of eliminating meat, beef, poultry, lamb and pork from my diet, I found an alternative and refreshing way to find pleasure in eating. What can I say? I thought it would be hard, but I find myself nonchalantly picking out the chicharon (pork rind) from my Palabok, or the bacon bits in my Caesar salad, or the beef strips in my Jap Chae (Korean Glass Noodles).

Because of this, I feel I must give up something else to make up for the lack of actual sacrifice and hardship of becoming pescetarian. Oh, I forgot I gave another thing up. DONE!

So these have been my meals these past 3 weeks...

Dinners at Homes

 Last week we had back to back dinners at home, one at our place and another for my mom's BFF at her lovely home. But let me warn you, the images below are not an accurate representation of our home cooked meals. Ok fine, save for the steak and the occasional lobster and food, we don't really pull out the good china. 

Since childhood, my family always valued good food whether made from scratch or restaurant bought. And probably like every other Filipino family, food is the ultimate form of courtesy, affection, and usual overcompensation device for such  issues as lack of attention (as a child), lack of entertainment (at a party, unless it's karaoke), or lack of subject matter (just keep your mouth full so you don't have to speak!)

My much loved aunt from Chicago arrived with a nice big box of pasalubong for the entire family: an entire case of Maine lobsters!!! Being seafood addicts, we welcomed this wholeheartedly. My mother insisted, it must be surf n turf night!

Scuba ala Sogod Bay

Inexcusable, I know. After an almost two week hiatus from ToT I come back (hopefully) banging out post after post, since I'm recovering from a flu with some more clarity in my head literally from the flushing of congestion as well as the recapturing of some alone time. I haven't been boring, I've just been lazy. I promise I'll work on the procrastination bone.

So a few weeks back I went on an impromptu vaca for one of the numerous September long weekends and did what I love to do: scuba!!! Everyone who's known me this past year can attest that I am gaga over scuba diving and all the technical gadgetry involving it. Save for the everpresent freckles and occasional jellyfish stings, scuba has literally changed my life, just like yoga. It gives me two things: one, the chance to explore yet another part of the world, this time not involving a plane, train or sneakers; the other, the opportunity to get to meet the delicious plethora of seafood that I absolutely adore seeing on my dining table. Hey, my stomach thinks first, I'm just being honest :) So my long weekend destination of choice: Sogod Bay. Sogod wha?!? Yes, its not really on the diving map just yet, as more accessible places like Anilao and Puerto Galera and more famous finds like Tubbataha and Apo Reef, are more on the list of dive locations. But the dive crew is always on the lookout for the next best thing, so we were lucky when A got in touch with his dive guide from Palau who recently moved back to his motherland to start anew in the hidden gem that is Sogod Bay.

Choi Coma

Chinese food always has a certain appeal to it. From haute chinois locations to fastfood moo shoo, everyone craves for Chinese at one time or another. Be it dim sum or peking duck or salted fish fried rice, Chinese food is almost always tasty. The plethora of flavors, spices and concoctions are so intricate yet complex that the balance must be established to make sure that it is truly authentic.

Most celebratory events for our family involve Chinese food. Lately, our resto of choice is Choi Garden, owned by, duh, Mr. Choi. Mr. Choi was a previous partner of the Gloria Maris restaurant group which has branches from here to there. After some disagreements and undisclosed issues, Mr. Choi decided to separate from the conglomerate and set up shop in Annapolis Greenhills. Not one to get in between drama, we went where our tongues salivated more. We have been willing and hungry Choi chompers since then.

Since the parentals were out on a safari, I played matron and decided to order set D. Set D is supposedly good for 12 people. Our party was for 9. But when you take into account that 6 out of 9 are all males, with 3 being my oversized brothers and the rest my brother's equally hungry friends, it was evident we needed more food.

Do I even have to elaborate on the authenticity and flavor of these dishes? Can you just take my word for it?