1. It's the best reason to eat at Spiral. Where else in the country, or even the world, can you get all-you-can-eat foie gras? The quality was not top notch of course, but it was adequate. This is a clear case of quantity winning over quality. The foie was a little veiny but still creamy, and it had that slightly gamey flavor that I love. And being sliced in bite-sized pieces meant that there were more seared surfaces.
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| Foie gras and apricot compote at Spiral concept restaurant at Hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila. 4/5 |
2. Why are the desserts at Spiral always so horribly, disappointingly bad? The chocolate soufflé thingy looked promising, but it was dry, tasteless and dense as a rock, and that orange syrup was a big joke. After taking a bite, I returned it to the dessert counter and hung around warning complete strangers not to eat those monstrosities. They really pissed me off.
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| Chocolate horror at Spiral concept restaurant at Hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila. 0/5 |
3. I had always wanted to eat at Zucchini's, but it's very expensive. (Ha! This from someone who recently spent US$270 on a single meal.) So when I saw their rib eye steak on DealGrocer for just Php850, I bought it. I would recommend this restaurant for its elegant yet relaxing ambience and very competent service, but sadly, the bland steak didn't meet my expectations. Maybe next time I'll order something else.
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| Certified Angus Beef rib eye at Zucchini's Quezon City. 3/5 |
4. The xialongbao at Crystal Jade were butt-ugly, no doubt about it. But the taste was surprisingly passable. The skin lacked that telltale bounce that characterizes a perfect XLB (refer to this), but thankfully it wasn't mushy. And the filling was not bad at all. I wonder when we'll finally be able to get really good XLB in the Philippines.
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| Xiaolongbao at Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao in Greenhills, San Juan City. 3.75/5 |
5. Now this was pretty good! Crystal Jade's la mian was quite memorable. The noodles had that wonderful springy texture and the soup/ gravy/ sauce/ whatever was nutty, spicy, sweet, salty, unctuous yum-yum. Pop and I took it home and it was still nice after reheating. I would go back to Crystal Jade for this.
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| Sichuan-style la mian at Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao in Greenhills, San Juan City. 4.5/5 |
6. If you have an uncontrollable, incapacitating craving for Hainanese chicken rice, this will do. The chicken at Sing was flavorful but not as fatty as the real HCR-- which could turn out to be a good thing, actually. The rice did not suck and the chili sauce, the trademark of a genuine HCR master, had that hand-made quality about it.
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| Hainanese chicken rice at Sing Hainanese Chicken House, Shangri-la Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong City. 3.75/5 |
7. The best mango torte in the metro is at a Petron gasoline station. Cuerva's mango torte is sheer perfection. That crust-- just thinking about it is torture! My friend BebehMomeh says that it reminds her of Violet Crumble. I am drooling all over my keyboard again.
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| Mango torte by Cuerva Bakeshop, Petron Service Station, EDSA, Makati City. 5/5 |
8. And the best sans rival in the metro is at the same Petron gasoline station. Homaygad, I am dying inside as I'm typing this. Sorry for the fugly pictures, but they taste so much better than they look anyway.
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| Sans rival by Cuerva Bakeshop, Petron Service Station, EDSA, Makati City. 5/5 |
9. Say it with me: "Haagen-Dazs mini ice cream cake." Sounds wonderful, right? It would have been-- it's Haagen-Dazs, after all-- but the presentation was a teeny bit sloppy. OK, I'm a nitpicker. Anyhoo, it tasted great.
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| Vanilla ice cream with cinnamon drops and white chocolate coating mini cake by Haagen Dazs. 4.5/5 |
10. Bunny Rabbit used to avoid the restaurant FishBar Boracay like the plague, but it turned out that their seafood platter was the big surprise of the year. Their signature beer-battered fish and chips, calamari, croquettes and shrimp ukoy (fritters) came in pretty generous portions. Everything was crispy-moist and delicious. That vinegar with the sliced chilies was downright addicting. And the tartare sauce and cole slaw brought me back to the '80s.
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| Seafood platter at FishBar Boracay, D'Mall, Boracay Island. 4.25/5 |
Crap, I just made myself hungry.
Spiral at Hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila
Zucchini's
Cuerva Bakeshop
Haagen-Dazs
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