Meiji Black After all the fancy-schmancy trappings of Valentine's, all I really want is... Meiji Black chocolate! People close to me know that I prefer entrees to desserts anytime, but this one I can't resist. I like it because it's simple, uncomplicated, not overwhelmingly black or sweet and priced very affordably in our local convenience store.Of course I couldn't quite forget the divine block of Royce chocolate I tasted back in Tokyo. Japanese chocolates simply does it for me when reawakening my taste buds for the delightfully indulgent. But I ... Continue Reading...

QueensResto. I've always wanted to try good Indian food in Manila. Though I've done so in one of those hole-in-th-wall eateries along U.N. Avenue (beside those rows of Indian groceries), I've been on the look-out for a fine dining establishment representative of the continent. Admittedly, there are gazillions of Chinese, Japanese and (ulk!) Korean restos in the city and only a few Indian. So imagine my relief when I got invited "on coverage" to a cocktail party at Queens in Jupiter St. Makati City. The complete name is Queens Crystal Garden Restaurant, ... Continue Reading...

Balut. I should have blogged about this more than a month ago during our first culinary trip to Pampanga but somehow the pictures got lost in my archives. At the Nepo Mart in Angeles City, I saw several carts of street food which is perhaps one of the biggest to be gathered in one place I'd seen. What's good about these stalls is that people flock to them like flies because they're cheap, they can ease your hunger pangs for a few pesos and some people seem to believe that the dirtier, the better (these places just have pails of water to wash the dishes, ... Continue Reading...