fab food faves

for a few years that i worked sa pinas - 98 to 01 - plus a few more years after that na wala akong ginawa kungdi maglakwatsa, i found a few unforgettable things sa paligid-ligid. particularly about food within the makati area dahil ito lang yata ang alam na gimikan ng mga office mates kong mga sosyal (totoong sosyal kasi talagang may mga pera) whose idea of dining out does not include a trip to the golden arches or the jolly winged insect.

they introduced me to a few of these stuff but there are a few i discovered myself. i suggest you try some, if not all of them, while you’re in pinas. pag ako nga umuuwi i make it a point na balikan even a few of these. medyo pricy nga lang but i guarantee you, it’s worth every centavo you’ll spend.

Death by Chocolate. Yup, you heard it right. Death by Chocolate. Dahil talagang sa sarap, you’ll feel like you’re at heaven’s gates na. It’s an ice cream cake made of probably the best chocolate in the world. You can get this divine dessert sa Bennigan’s, an Irish resto at the 3rd level of Glorietta – 1, 2 or whatever – basta yong wing papuntang Landmark. Medyo mahal ang food doon sa resto kaya pag pumupunta ako, nakakain na ako somewhere else. Magdi-dessert lang talaga. Last time na dumaan ako dito was in 2005 and one serving already costs 150++ if i'm not mistaken.

Figaro’s Carrot Cake. I’m not really a fan of carrots. Parang… yucks, di naman ako si Bugs Bunny ah! But when I tasted this sucker, I found out that health food can also be deliziouzzz!. Super sarap po sya (do I sound like an endorser? Hmmm, bayaran nyo ako Figaro!). And what’s good is that Figaro has now grown from just a few branches to almost everywhere. Yon nga lang, dahil top seller yata talaga nila ito, madalas wala na akong mabili lalo na kung hapon na.

Carl’s cheeseburger. kung nasa glorietta rin lang ako, i'd rather stay away from burger houses where you can get serious hearing problem from screaming kids and overly mechanical “good morning sir, welcome to achuchuchu” ng mga crew. that's why since 2000 nang magbukas ang Carl’s sa atin with their first shop sa Glorietta (pa rin!), don ako pupunta whenever i want a big, yummy burger. How would you top a charcoal-grilled patty over crispy fresh veggies and yummy cheese? Hmmm… sarraaappp!

Fetuccini Alfredo. Nope, it’s not in Alfredo’s restaurant, it’s Friday’s. Yeah, Thank God it’s Friday? Sure Italiannis and Don Henrico’s are tops when it comes to Pasta. Pero pagdating sa fetuccini, Friday's does it a little better. Siguro dahil sa sauce. Kasi, anybody can do a perfectly firm pasta but not the same creamy, tangy, tasty sauce na hindi nakakasuya. Price? Medyo mahal pero ok lang. Hindi ka mapapa-thank God it’s Friday!

Sisig sa Gerry’s. Sigurado ako, tanungin mo ang mga manginginom, if they’ve been to Gerry’s Grill, ito ang favorite nila, second lang ang Gambas! And this one got me too kahit noon ayaw ko ng mga ganitong food. Anything na may mga lamang-loob is already too exotic for me. But since I tasted this, lagi ko syang inoorder. Tuwa nga minsan yong mga kasama ko kasi nag-order ako nitong sisig, akala mag-iinuman kami. But what did I order with the sisig? Rice! Kain ang ginawa namin, hindi inom! YUM-O sabi nga ni Rachael Ray!

Mule by Smirnoff. Ok, hindi ito pagkain. It’s a drink. Pero napunta na rin lang sa inuman ang usapan, let me mention this one. Para sa mga tulad kong hindi talaga makayanan ang hard drinks, even beer, eto ang sagot sa mga night outs ninyo. I don’t know if you can call this beer or hard drink. Basta nakakalasing siya. But what’s good about it is that habang iniinom mo sya, hindi magkakanda-ngiwi ang mukha mo na para kang cartoon character. In fact, you’ll enjoy sipping it. Kasi parang apple cider lang siya with ginger ale minus the tanginess. So tungga ka lang ng tungga. But when time comes na kailangan mo ng malasing, don’t worry, malakas siyang tumama! Kaya nga Mule ang name eh!

Pizza by CPK. Ok, Pizza Hut is good. Sbarro is even better. And thanks Greenwich for making pizza so affordable to common Pinoy (dati yon ha, pero ngayon, expensive na rin sya!). But if you really want proper pizza, go to California Pizza Kitchen. Sa Glorietta pa rin sya, directly opposite Makati Shang. Dahil ang pasta nila, parang Domino’s. Hindi reeking with oil like the others. At ang toppings, talagang fresh kung fresh. Sarap kung sarap talaga.

Blueberry Cheesecake ng Pizza Hut. O sige, nabanggit ko rin lang ang Pizza Hut - and not for their pizza - pero meron namang isang super sarap sa menu nila. Yong kanilang blueberry cheesecake. This is tops. Pinong-pino yong cheesecake, parang M&M - melts in your mouth. At yong Blueberry nila, parang freshly made. Ewan kung galing sa mga bottled preserves but I doubt it kasi masarap talaga.

Crabmeat Sandwich ng Oliver’s. This is one of my faves. Crabmeat! Sarap. But Oliver’s does it better than the other sandwich houses i've had my lunch or meriendas. Mas malinamnam yong crabmeat nila. Iba siguro ang variety. Ang alam ko, they import it from Korea pa yata, I’m not sure. Basta ang alam ko, yong half-foot sandwich nila, hindi ako nahihirapang ubusin!

And finally – T-Bone steak ng Chili’s. Yup! Kahit sa Pinas, in their first outlet sa Greenhills, I already fell for their T-bone. Ugali ko kasi na pag-serve ng steak, before putting anything – sauce, pepper, catsup, whatever – titikman ko yong meat itself. And among all the steak houses na na-try ko, (pati ba naman yong mga stall sa mga foodcourt ng malls - kaya mo yon?) walang ihahabol sa Chili’s. Ang problema ko lang dito is the serving. Monstrous! Too much for somebody like me na very oriental ang capacity sa food.

O ayan, baka naman gusto nyong i-treat ang mga sarili nyo or your loved ones pag nasa bakasyon kayo. Tutal christmas time na, marami sa inyo ang magbabakasyon. Try to experience some real dining. You deserve it. Ha? Mahal? Eh magtatalon kaya yong mga dolyares sa bulsa nyo no!!!!

(hmmm... bayaran kaya ako ng mga in-endorse ko dito? hehehe)

note: i wrote this a couple of years ago and it was based, as i said earlier, on my stint in makati back in 98 until 01... so i'm not sure if all of these places/food still exist or if they are still tops after a gazillion other food places opened since then.