Underwood Liverwurst

My favourite commercial liver spread, the one with the red devil on the label--Underwood!  I see this brand sporadically at grocery stores, and maybe there were years when I didn't even see it at all.  I'm glad it's still around; it's the gold standard that I remember since childhood.

The Great American Burger Joint

Last week, I was alone for lunch at The Great American Burger Joint at their branch in the SM Super Center in Pasig (this is along c5).  Their patty isn't quite like what the rest of the local burger stores have--theirs is slightly peppery and carries an unmistakable punch to the palate.  Bread is soft, almost cotton like.  Very good, I must say.  I'd venture as far as to call this a true no-nonsense burger.  I'll make sure Monique and the rest of the burger committee get to try this one.  Prices are reasonable, with P250 you can have a good hearty meal.  I'll be back!

Mom's Haus of Mushrooms

If you have a cholesterol problem and are still have a craving for pork chicharon, why not try faux chicharon?  This is probably the closest taste and texture you can get to copying pork chicharon and it's supposed to be a healthy alternative--crispy mushroom chips from Mom's Haus of Mushrooms, a pack of which I was able to find at Robinson's Supermarket (around P200 a pack).  I picked out the garlic flavored version, but would have wanted it to have a little more garlic punch.  Note that it's a bit harder on the jaw line though, so I'm a bit sure you won't be eating too much.

Singapore Chicken Rice

At the very end of the food court at the ground floor of the BA-Lepanto building along Paseo Roxas you can find the stall marked with a generic "Singapore Chicken Rice" signage.  I was in Makati for an early morning meeting, so I walked in their stall to sample their stuff.  They had no rice available yet, so I had to make do with a bowl of noodles topped with chicken.  Well, it was a hot meal for P120; I had expected a better tasting chicken recipe.

Wescobee Honey

Monique's new find, Wescobee wild honey, has a marvelous invention--a special no-drip spout that makes it so easy to get honey!

Ha Yuan

After our Sunday lunch in Mantaro, Gwammy asked that we pass by Ha Yuan to buy some fresh tofu cakes.  I used to frequent their store along West Avenue, but Kong reminded me that they were now located at a new address along Mother Ignacia St. near Timog Avenue.  Their tofu and tokwa blocks are still the freshest ones this side of the city.

The carinderia style food counter is still around.  They have plenty of Chinese dishes cooked home-style, and you can have your fill for around P200 per head.  The maki-mi and cuapao used to be the highlights of many an afternoon merienda at their West Avenue store, and judging from the number of diners, I would assume that the quality of their food items has been pretty consistent over the years.

The lighting inside the restaurant, however, is pretty dark for me, and could well use a couple of strategically placed pin lights.  As you can see in the pictures below, the room decor brings you back to the Hong Kong or Shanghai of some seventy or eighty years past.  Could be a bit creepy for the uninitiated, but it's interesting for those who remember the fun eating in the Chinatown area in the sixties and seventies.

Freightliner

* photo from freightlinerinspiraton.com

Freightliner recently introduced the Inspiration Truck that is billed as the first truck with licensed autonomous vehicle technology.  It's the future of trucking, rolled out today.  Front and side radar scanner act with several cameras in order to avoid collisions.  Data is fed onto an onboard computer that links speed control, braking and steering.  Less road accidents, better fuel efficiency and more information for drivers.  I want a whole fleet!

Recipes

Mathilda, my research assistant, immigrated to Canada several years ago.  She popped back into Manila with her two kids and we met with our old office mates Cely and Betchay for dinner at the Recipes restaurant in Robinson's Ermita.   The food was simple but good!

Pancit canton, crispy tilapia with sweet sour sauce, kare-kare,  tofu, laing and lechon kawali made up our menu.  Everything was tasty and prepared fresh.  Not bad at all, if you are up for home style cooking for around P400 per person.  The only negative thing going for the place was that the air-conditioning system seemed to be very weak when we were there; the management had several cooling fans brought in but the temperature wasn't that great. 

Baretta

* from dailymail.co.uk

Keep your eye on the sparrow!  Baretta was our weekly dose of tough cop action.  Robert Blake brought in lots of muscle to the detective badge, and his affinity with his pet cockatoo was sometimes the butt of our classroom jokes.  It's a pity that in real life, Robert Blake had to face uxoricide charges.

Vinamit

Becca came home from holiday in Saigon with some Vinamit products.  I love these crispy langka chips!  You can tell that it's real fruit, dehydrated and made into crunchy treats.

Discovery Primea

I felt good as I entered the lobby of Discovery Primea, along Ayala Avenue.  It's not pretentious; it has its own sense of style--elegant, without the sadistic opulence that some hotel lobbies tend to display.  The hotel sits on the lot where the old Gil-Armi Apartments used to be; the higher levels of the building are residential condominiums.

The rooms have generous space, and are well laid-out.  Neutral shades of beige and brown. Good views of Ayala Avenue and Urdaneta Village/Bel-Air (until I strolled on their balcony, I never realized that this view was actually relaxing).  Easy access to the Makati Commercial Center.  Priced reasonably, around US$200 up per room night.  Complete dining, exercise and relaxation facilities.

Flame

The Flame is located at the 16th floor of the Discovery Primea Hotel.  The chandelier (pictured above) greets you as you enter; in my mind I thought it looked like a swirling fire, a good match for the name of the restaurant.  We scheduled a lunch meeting there with some bankers, and it was a pleasant event for all of us.

The menu has a little bit of everything--soup & salad, meats, fish and poultry.  I started my meal with some soft-shell crab tempura with some greens.  I am a fan of soft-shell crabs, the flavors are subtle but still make me feel like I'm on a seafood high.  The salad pairing made the dish even better.  While my beef main dish was good, I'd still say that the highlight of the lunch was the soft-shell crab tempura.

Service is excellent.  The restaurant is not that busy, which makes it perfect for intimate discussions.   I'd say that meals can go from around P1,000 to P2,000 depending on what you're having, which is wide enough a range to choose from.

30th St. Park

I feel that Manila lacks public parks.  The few spaces devoted to greenery are ill-kept and worn.  If I were a billionaire philanthropist, I'd acquire city properties to turn into permanent parks.  Although I have my misgivings about the master-planning at Fort Bonifacio Global City (why no underground pedestrian walkways?), I must give credit where credit is due--they created some public parks!  Nice patches of restful greens in the middle of the Taguig concrete jungle.

Fat Daddy's Smokehouse

A BCG lunch meeting with some of my good banker friends was supposed to have been set for The Bowery, but seeing that their air-conditioning system was slightly off that day, I decided to look around for another alternative in the area.  We found Fat Daddy's Smoke House some 50 meters into the Burgos Circle, and we decided to try it out.

We started off with chicken nuggets as an appetizer, and I just couldn't resist trying their caramel popcorn milkshake (yes, it's topped with popcorn!) which was an unexpected delight.

Angus skirt and smoked pork ribs was the choice for most of us, and we came out feeling tightening at our waistlines.  The verdict?  We were satisfied, pretty much a good meal for around P800 per person.