BITTER HERB

I still can't forget the first time I have tasted the famous chicken at Manang's Chicken . Since my dining experience there have always been good, then I was confident to bring my kid with me at Manang's Chicken even if I have a tight budget.  One boring Saturday, my 4-year old kid and I decided to check out the new Wilcon City Center along Visayas Avenue.  We always pass by that establishment, but never been there so I guess it is about time to check it out. I know that they have an arcade and Manang's Chicken there so everything was already planned. I let my kid play first before having late snack/early dinner at Manang's Chicken. The huge logo and screaming red interior made this restaurant hard to miss...even from afar. It was surprising that Wilcon was not that crowded and it was on a Saturday...I think mainly because the mall is less accessible than its nearby competitors like Savemore, Cherry and Circle C.  If you have a car, then it would be easier...bu...

CHICBOY: is the common term used by many Filipinos to a guy who has many girlfriends derived from two words "chicks" meaning girls and "boy" which refers to the dude.  This term is now often affiliated with the Pinoy Restaurant CHIC-BOY (chicken at baboy). Whoever gave that name to the restaurant is really smart because it is very Filipino and it clearly indicates what its specialties are.  CHIC-BOY's closest competitor is Mang Inasal since they both offer almost the same menu having Chicken Inasal as one of their specialties.  Me and my kid got stuck at Munoz when it rained one Saturday night so I decided to have dinner first while we wait for the rain to subside. The first restaurant that you will see when you enter Jackman Mall is Chic-Boy and beside that is Mang Inasal. I was torn where to eat, but I decided to go for Chic-Boy when I saw their ad on Spaghetti worth P44 only because my kid loves Spag.  What I also like about Chic-Boy is that they have ...

My friend Rico has been bragging to me the new restaurant of his brother Ang Mo Kio even before it has opened. When I was surfing for new vouchers at Ensogo, I saw this   great deal on Ang Mo Kio: Pay only P250 for P500 worth of food and drinks. So I decided to buy a voucher so I can check out if their food was really good. My workplace is just walking distance from Ang Mo Kio, which is located at the 3rd floor of Podium Mall in Ortigas Center. I invited my former colleague to join me for lunch since the voucher was about to expire. She's really a nice person so I decided to treat her and was also excited to taste Singaporean food. I have never been to Singapore (what a loser!), but I have eaten at different Asian fusion restaurants so the food there was not that alien to me.  I was looking for dishes that would amount to P500 so that I won't have to pay extra because if you exceed the amount of the voucher, they would charge you tax and service charge. I decided ...

I was tempted to buy a voucher when I saw the promo of Fat Boy's Pizza! Imagine paying just half the price for two supersize 14-inch pizzas worth P590. It is like buy one and take one in pizzas and being a pizza lover, that definitely is a good deal! I checked out the website of  Fat Boy's Pizza so I can see my choices on pizzas. The pictures on the website and the voucher ad made the pizza look scrumptious and really make me want to take a bite right away. The branch I chose was SM City North EDSA Food Court because that is closer to my place. There are also seats there where I can eat the pizza because some branches are just stalls where you end up eating the pizza standing up. It was the last day of the promo and I was pressured to use the voucher. It was raining hard all day, but thankfully it stopped for awhile, so me and my kid decided to go to SM City after Church. I texted my mom to meet us there  so she can share the pizza with us. After buying some stuff for my k...

If you think all I can do is eat since I write food reviews most of the time, then you are wrong. Most of the people I know who are passionate about food/eating are also good cooks/chefs. Maybe because they want to please themselves by cooking up something delicious for them. I actually can't remember how I learned how to cook since no one taught me. I think it came out naturally because I love food and enjoy watching people cook. I am such a sucker for cooking and food shows like Top Chef, Rocco's Dinner Party, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and Will Work for Food.  My first featured recipe is the Ginataang Hipon with Kangkong at Sitaw (English: Shrimp with Water Spinach and String Beans in Coconut Milk).  Ingredients: 1 tbsp cooking oil 2 cups water 1/2 kilo shrimp (cleaned) 1 tbsp ginger (minced) 1 onion (minced) 3 cloves garlic (minced) kangkong leaves (remove the stem) sitaw (cut 1-inch long) 2 siling haba Knorr Ginataang Gulay (it would be better to use...