a little bit about travel, a little bit about food, a lot of everything in between; as seen, tasted and experienced by different points of view..
First of all, congratulations ReiMart! Everyone, this is his 3rd degree. Graduating from UP, you get a sablay every graduation. He has 3 now. That’s why I dedicate him the song Hari ng Sablay. LOL and to celebrate this event, we drove to Marco Polo …
On the heels of that recent post, we’re going to review another restaurant known to serve Xiao Long Bao. Located at 3F Mega D of SM Megamall, Lugang Café is a Chinese restaurant aiming to serve the best Taiwanese cuisine. This is the first branch …
I remember the very first time I had Xiao Long Bao, I ate the whole dumpling without consuming the (hot) broth first. So yeah, not reading instructions, and I had no choice but to burn my tongue and throat with the scalding soup inside the dumpling. Couldn’t help but tear up on that one, too. Lesson learned from 8 maybe 9 years ago (sheesh, that suddenly made me feel so old!).
Years after that unfortunate incident, I got to try it again in Vancouver and couldn’t really remember the soup from the dumpling, maybe because of the sheer amount of food me and poeticnook had *ugh* So I tried again with Din Tai Fung this time, located at G/F SM Megamall, with the hopes of liking this dish at all. I ordered their cold appetizer dish, Chicken Scallions, to start. And I really liked it! For a single order, they had two rolls of cold chicken, cut in 4 pieces, and donned with a very generous garnish of chopped scallions. Yum!
Maybe it was the hot soup that made its mark on me, but I really think proper Xiao Long Bao have like at least half of its filling liquid, making the wonton wrapper sag a little at the bottom, trying to contain all the liquid in. So I was a bit disappointed when I poked the dumpling, the soup that oozed from it was not overflowing. It was literally barely there. I mean, look at this sad, sad XLB. I really had to squeeze at it and push it to the side so I can see the little broth it had inside. Sadness. The taste of the filling was good though, such a waste. The broth tasted good too, there just wasn’t enough to make it quite a treat.
Verdict: 2/5
Considering they are best known for their XLBs, I was quite disappointed with their dish. The only saving grace for this restaurant was the appetizer I ordered. I loved the Chicken Scallions so much, I didn’t notice I had scallions on my teeth the whole time! I keep wondering if I smiled at all during the walk from the restaurant to the office. Yikes! The servers were friendly and attentive. It gets really busy during peak hours, so stay away during those hours, there’s a long line of chairs in the waiting section.
I’ve wanted to try this resto for a while because it was featured at drives, diners and dives but it required a bus or a train ride to get there so my lazy self scratched it off my list. Last month however my cousin told …
Before writing this review, let me say this out right to save you the time, Tenya Tempura Tendon what? What’s this restaurant and what did I get there? I literally couldn’t remember a thing. So I had to backtrack my Instagram account (didn’t find anything …
Aaaaand we have another Japanese restaurant to review: Osaka Ohsho: House of Gyoza. According to online reviews of other foodies not like me (LOL), they serve the best gyoza in town. I recently dined in Ippudo and had a phenomenal time with their ramen (which …
I’ve come to develop a fascination with Japanese cuisine by watching a lot of animé shows. One thing I’ve noticed there is how they showcase ramen. It doesn’t seem to change, whatever show I’m watching. Served on a simple ramen stand or small restaurant with wooden chairs and tables. Shout one order of ramen and that funny looking old man who’s best known for his ramen does his magic, glistening broth, firm noodles, delightful toppings, and what’s even crazier is how one bowl solves every problem there is in the world (yeah maybe they went a little overboard there, haha). I’m really excited now to find such a place in Japan and just try it for myself! Ugh.
But for now, restaurants like Ippudo in 3F Fashion Hall in Megamall will have to do. I arrived early for lunch as usual to avoid the crowd, and it’s such a nice time to visit, because all the servers are very attentive to your needs. Like there’s always a 3:1 ratio. They were quick to give me my house tea and glass of cold water, just in case I change my mind halfway in enjoying my ramen. And every time an order comes from the kitchen, they shout it out and I jump a little. I wrote that naively in the comments section, and what do you know, my server went to my table and explained how it was the culture in Japan. Of course. See? Attentive.
I ordered the Karaka Special Ramen, with deliciously spicy tonkatsu broth, extra hard noodles, amazing pork belly slices, the epitome of soft boiled egg, sheets of seaweed, and spring onion greens. And I can’t stress enough how I can’t find a single thing to criticize in that bowl (oh wait, I remember saying, this egg doesn’t look soft boiled and it doesn’t have that earthy color after supposedly being soaked in broth – but when I halved it, that egg was to die for, yes I ate everything bad I said about it).
I almost forgot about my appetizer – Ippudo’s Hakata Style Gyoza which also deserves a place in the high rollers. Hailing from Hakata, another region in Southern Japan according to research, they have perfected making their plump gyoza on cast iron, making the bottom part so crispy you’d think they fried it. The filling is very satisfying with its subtle taste.
Verdict: 4/5
So yeah, I finished everything. And going back to that phenomenon I was talking about at the start of this review.. Did it solve all my problems? No, but it sure did make me forget about them for a good while. I still believe the best ramen can be found in Japan, so I’m putting a huge difference in scores when I put 5 on that some unassuming ramen stand.. But while that’s still in the future, can we go back here please?!
There’s this Indian restaurant I pass by everyday going to work in Vancouver. I remember not breathing when I walk in front of it because of the pungent smell coming from their kitchen. And I can just imagine how their stock room looks like. I’d …
Terry’s Selection is a hidden treasure tucked away in the lower level of Podium Mall. If it weren’t for poeticnook’s searching prowess, we wouldn’t be able to find this restaurant at all. It was even my first time going at the lower level of this …
When I first saw this in Podium, I remembered that character from New Girl sitcom. I like his character because he’s funny and relatable even if he had really quirky pet peeves. So yes, I think I’m already biased with this one. Anyway, I’ve always wanted to try this but I guess I never had the chance to, until now.
Schmidt’s Gourmet Hotdogs is located on the 5th floor of Podium Mall (yes, you will see a lot of reviews coming from here and SM Megamall, because both are in close proximity of my office, so suck it up). I wouldn’t qualify it as a restaurant, it’s more like a glorified stand, really. Their kitchen is quite small and it’s just beside the counter, and their chairs and tables for dine-in customers are on the hallway. But the other restaurants beside it (there are at least 5 more), had the same set up, so I guess they were trying to go for an al fresco dining style, although they are inside the mall. Kudos to the glass ceiling, I’ll give them that.
When I asked for their best seller, they recommended the Coney Island Chillidog. I was torn between The Juilus (which had bacon) and this one, but since they recommended it, I went with that. The Coney Island Chillidog had a hotdog on a regular bun, with flavourful ground beef, sour cream, cheese sauce, and sliced jalapeños as toppings. I paired it with their house blend iced tea which is really refreshing! I couldn’t make out the fruity after taste it had. It went well with the hotdog, too.
Verdict: 3/5
Wasn’t a fan of the bun especially after hearing other reviews, I was a bit disappointed about it. I was expecting it to be crisp outside and soft in the inside. I think it was pedestrian or am I being too harsh, because it’s just a bun, hello. I liked the hotdog, maybe they could start offering hotdogs minus the bun! Could go back and try that other ‘dog, The Julius because bacon! And will order XL iced tea and another to go!
