Whether you’re a tourist planning a trip to the Philippines or a balikbayan who wants good Filipino food in Manila, here are my top 3 restaurants that you should add to your ‘must eat’ list.

Manam

Filipino meals are eaten family style and that means sharing a lot of food. But when you’re alone that makes it difficult. That’s where Manam comes in. All their food come in 3 sizes. Small for 1-2 pax, Med for 3-4 and large for 5-6. 

For classic Filipino dishes with a twist Manam is the place to go to. They have the usual Filipino favorites like kare kare, crispy pata, adobo but my favorites are their unique dishes with Filipino flavor. 

Next to adobo, sisig is one of the most popular Filipino dishes. It’s made from parts of the pig’s head and liver. There are so many variations to sisig but my favorite is Manam’s version which is a good introduction to those who are wary of trying it. Even the late Anthony Bourdain said, “”I think sisig is perfectly positioned to win the hearts and minds of the world as a whole.” 

Another favorite which I always order is their sizzling corned beef belly kansi, tender corned beef chunks in a sour gravy, their take on Bacolod kansi. It tastes similar to sinigang. Just the sauce with a bowl of rice and you’re all set.

I’m not a big fan of veggies but at Manam I have 2 favorite veggie dishes. They are the Gising Gising, winged bean in coconut milk and Adobong Bulaklak ng Kalabasa. This isn’t always available because of the scarcity of squash flowers. But you must try this dish cooked with adobo sauce, fried tofu and tinapa (smoked fish) flakes. It’s a big change from the usual fried and stuffed squash flowers.

Manam has several good desserts but my favorite is the leche flan made with coconut milk. It’s super creamy but lighter than the ones made with regular milk.

Manam must order

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• crispy sisig, corned beef kansi, adobong bulaklak ng kalabasa, gata leche flan
• baby squid in olive oil & garlic
• short ribs and watermelon sinigang
• lamb adobo
• overloaded garlic bangus belly
• gising gising (winged beans in coconut milk)

Grace Park

Though Grace Park isn’t technically a Filipino restaurant they have unique regional dishes which everyone should try. Most of the Filipino dishes are come from the province of Bacolod, the hometown of chef and owner Margarita Forés, Asia’s best female chef of 2016.

Pitaw are sugarcane rice field birds and a delicacy in Bacolod. These small birds are cooked adobo style then fried to a crisp. Each bite is packed full of flavor and a delight to eat with the garlic butter brown rice.

Lechon is the quintessential Filipino party food. I’ve tried several lechons but this is the first lechon I know of that has a whole bottle of beer nestled in a bed of lemongrass inside the pig as it is cooked. The bottle cap of the beer is pierced and as the heat increases the bottle expands and the beer seeps out and flavors the meat. The result is an extremely flavorful lechon with very crispy skin. The pig is organic and flown in from Bacolod. You can have this lechon on Sundays at Grace Park or you can order a whole lechon in advance.

River eel cooked in coconut milk is another dish unique to Grace Park. The fish is very fine and perfect with the sauce and rice of course.

My most favorite dessert in Grace Park is their hot cassava cake with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. It’s light, gooey, sweet with a touch of salty.

Avocado is usually eaten in savory dishes but in the Philippines we eat avocado as dessert like ice cream, fruit shakes or simply mashed with condensed milk. When in season Grace Park makes avocado into a delectable pie.

Grace Park must order

• Pitaw, river eel, cassava, avocado pie
• buttered chicken
• pinisik na manok (chicken cooked with classic lemongrass & leeks with truffle paste)

Lampara

Lampara is the newest restaurant in this list and is owned by two young chefs, RJ Ramos and Alphonse Sotero. Their cuisine is Neo-Filipino and has Chinese, Spanish and Filipino influences

They have big potential from the initial dishes I tried on their menu. The food is not fussy and full of flavor. Among my favorites are the crispy duck leg with adobo sauce and garlic. It comes with a fabulous liver mousse empanada with a perfect flaky crust.

Tanigue fish is usually sliced crosswise and most often cooked until firm. They managed to cook the fillet perfectly with just simple garnish and citrus soy sauce that it almost tasted like sea bass. Their desserts are delicious too.

The restaurant is still a work in progress but I see a very good future for them. 

Lampara must order

• duck leg, tanigue
• rice cups, ensalada and short ribs for the appetizers
• chicken inasal, veal steak
• yema tsokolate and sticky rice for dessert

Also check out:

Sarsa – sizzling kansi, isaw & inasal

Reyes Barbecue – Filipino style pork bbq with java rice

Wooden Spoon – very affordable Filipino food in a mall (Rockwell).

Recipes – another mall favorite

Kanin Club – I used to love this place but I haven’t been back in a long time.

Bangus – This restaurant has been in Greenhills for decades. They specialize in bangus or milkfish.

Fely J – another classic Filipino restaurant

MANAM FORT 

4th Ave., 27th St. G/F Net Park Bldg. Bonifacio Global City (they have several branches around the city)

Landline: 02 332 9390

Manam’s menu

Grace Park

G/F One Rockwell, Rockwell Drive, Rockwell Center Makati

Cellphone: 0939-934-7223

Grace Park’s menu

Lampara

5883 Enriquez street, Poblacion, Makati

Cellphone: 0917-173-5883

Our first stop was at NG AH SIO Bak Kut Teh 黄亚细肉骨茶 which is famous for Bak Kut Teh or pork rib soup, a Singaporean heritage dish. 

Before the soup arrived we enjoyed the sweetish stewed beancurd sheet. If you’ve never tried this then you must order it. 

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You tiao or Chinese donuts are usually served with congee or soy milk. I’ve never had it with soup before and it was so perfect dunked into bak kut teh. It soaks up the soup and when you eat it there’s still a hint of crispy edges. 

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Do you see the whole cloves of garlic in the soup? It’s just one of the many ingredients that make the peppery soup taste so good. The flavor is quite strong and a bit spicy but eating it with you tiao definitely tempers the taste. If you want to have authentic bak kut teh then go to Ng Ah Sio. They’ve been serving this since the 1950s.

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For Peranakan cuisine the place to go is One Michelin starred Candlenut headed by Chef Malcom Lee. Peranakan or Nonya cuisine is a mix of Chinese, Malay and Indonesian influences. 

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The kropek and dip were so addicting. 

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Some dishes tasted very familiar while some like buah keluak took some getting used to. My favorite was the wagyu beef rib rendang. Everything was really well cooked and delicious. 

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It’s no surprise that my most favorite part of lunch were the desserts. I’ve had chendol, a dessert made with flour jelly, coconut milk and gula melaka (palm sugar), before but Chef Malcolm’s version was so sophisticated and tastier than any I’ve tried. 

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I didn’t think I would like Buah Keluak ice cream with Valrona chocolate, chili and chocolate espuma but the flavors were so intense and it’s perfect for dark chocolate lover like me. 

These two restaurants were just the beginning of my Singapore food experience. I had so much fun exploring hawker centers as well as more Michelin starred restaurants. I’m so thankful to the Singapore Tourism Board for bringing me back to Singapore for an excellent food trip. Check here for my first time with STB five years ago. 

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If you’ve heard about Denlim’s Kitchen then you also know that’s it’s very hard to make a reservation. Since his private kitchen is open on weekends only it’s booked 6 months and more in advance. When my cousin asked me if I wanted to join her and her college friends to eat at Den Lim’s Kitchen I immediately said yes. I didn’t ask when or if I knew any of her friends. I just wanted to go.

The trip took 2 1/2 hours from Manila but it didn’t feel like it because I chatted with new friends in the van non-stop. It was easy to find since Waze knew Denlim’s Kitchen very well.

When we first entered I was surprised how big and airy the place was. From the pictures I saw online I always thought the place was small and cramped. I just loved the homey yet industrial feel of the place. There was no air-conditioning but luckily there was a nice cool breeze that evening and I didn’t once bring out my fan.

<Tp: Bring your own white or fluorescent pen if you want to leave your mark anywhere in the place.

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I asked Chef Den how he got started cooking. He told me in college he had 4 roommates and they each had their own assignment in the apartment. Since he hated cleaning he volunteered to take care of the food. In the beginning his job was just reheating food and then he started to experiment cooking. He had a knack for it and eventually became the chef he is today.

<Ijust love his chopping board!

<Iknew it was going to be a 7 course dinner (not counting the bread and dessert) so I had to pace myself. They only offered soft drinks so you can  bring your own bottle. I stuck with water.

The starter didn’t look like much until you took a bite. Fresh mushrooms (shiitake, abalone, golden and button) were sautéed and simmered in marinara sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese. The flavors were very umami and it was very hard to stop.

<Tey bake their own bread and served it with bangus paté which was made with bangus (milkfish that I suspect was smoked), capers and olive oil. The simple combination was utterly delicious. I loved it so much I immediately asked if it was for sale. It was and a few of us bought it.

<Ihad the bangus paté with crusty crunchy bread for dinner the next day and it was fantastic.

<Te salad had a pleasing dressing made with yogurt and sour cream, thinly sliced apples, singkamas, raisins, walnuts and a drizzle of honey. What made this salad special was crunch from pinipig (toasted rice). That was the first time I’ve had salad with pinipig.

<Tey transferred the leftovers from the salad into a bowl.

<Oe of the aspects of Den Lim’s cooking that I like best are the layers of flavors of his food. I’ve eaten a lot of gambas before so I wasn’t expecting much from this but as soon as I ate a piece of perfectly cooked succulent shrimp I was instantly impressed. At first bite I tasted the usual flavors of garlic, paprika, a little citrus then came a subtle slow heat. I wanted to eat more but I this was just the beginning.

<Eeryone can cook salmon at home but I assure you it won’t taste like this. The salmon had a Japanese flavor to it. It had soy sauce and just a touch of sweetness.  We were instructed to take a piece of salmon and some whipped dill cream cheese and eat it together. Boom! The combination of sweet, salty, creamy and cheesy was extraordinary. For something that looked so simple it was  everyone’s favorite dish of the night.

<Tis pasta dish was named after the chef’s beloved partner, Corrito who helped out during dinner. I love pasta without tomato or cream sauce that’s full of flavor. The secret was boiling the spaghettini in the chef’s secret master brine made with wine, stock and all kinds of flavor bombs. Perfectly timed seafood with roasted tomatoes definitely pulled the whole dish together. I was so full after this.

<Cef Den explained how he cooked the beef shank for 6 hours. I was also mesmerized with his plating. He took a whole tray of grilled white corn (malagkit kind) placed it around the beef and poured melted butter over it. He then spooned hot gravy over the beef and sprinkled it with garlic. It was super tender but lacking in taste for me. I was too full and shy to ask for some Knorr liquid seasoning which would taste awesome with the beef and a plate of garlic rice.

Caveman’s Shank<H barely nudged the meat and it came apart. You can watch the video with audio on my Facebook or Instagram page.

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I definitely couldn’t eat another bite but I tried a small piece oven baked pork without wrapping it in lettuce leaf with a tomato, ampalaya (bitter gourd) and buro (fermented rice). The flavor of the pork was very good unfortunately the skin was hard.

<Cef Den showed us how to eat the lechon.

They didn’t serve dessert before until many people asked for it. This Queso de bola cheesecake came from Teaspoon Cafe in Pampanga.

<Tank you so much to birthday celebrant Jannette who treated us for dinner.

<<Ihighly recommend Denlim’s Kitchen but be sure to go hungry and pace yourself. There’s a lot of good food to eat. Try to reserve as early as you can and figure out who to invite later on since they only accept one group per dinner. They accept a minimum of 12 to 24 people. Our meal cost P1,750 per head.

DENLIM’S KITCHEN<
an Fernando, PampangaFacebook<
nstagram: denlimskitchen<
elephone: +63 45 435-0067, +63917- 880-8552

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I’ve never been to Hokkaido and I used to envy all those winter pictures I see on social media. Last July my 2 college friends and I went to see the popular summer flowers in Hokkaido. One day I hope to go during winter.

We took Japan Airlines just because it was the cheapest at the time. I was pleasantly surprised how roomy the seat and space was in economy. Another thing that delighted us was the quantity of food they served. For lunch we were served an entree with two appetizers, salad, bread, chocolate chip cookie, rice crackers and Haagen-Daz ice cream for dessert. How cool is that! 

Upon arrival at Narita we had to take the free shuttle bus to terminal 3 which is one of their domestic airports for our flight to Sapporo. My friend told me to buy some snacks because we might get hungry since there was no food on the flight so I bought my favorite hardboiled eggs from Lawson’s inside the terminal. My friends also bought sandwiches and onigiri.

Terminal 3 has a nice food court. There weren’t that many choices but I was happy that my favorite udon was there. I’ve never tried Miyatake Sanuki Udon before but it was good! It was the same format as other udon places, select a bowl of hot or cold udon then choose from a variety of cooked tempura. 

I chose something new to me, the Citrus Sudachi Udon, which to my surprise was cold udon. The broth was clean and citrusy and perfect for summer. I chose my usual chikuwa (fish roll similar to fish ball) and super sweet sweet potato. 

My friend Jenny had the kitsune udon. Kitsune is sweet fried tofu pouch.

Vivian doesn’t know what she ordered and she enjoyed it. Ps she’s super duper skinny. 

Upon arrival at Chitose Airport we took the JR Airport Express train which took us to Sapporo station in 36 minutes and cost ¥1,070 one way. We were late in booking our hotel and JR Tower was fully booked so I chose Hotel Gracery which was right across Sapporo station. I loved the location. It was about 5 minutes walk to Sapporo station so it was super convenient when we took short trips out of town. We even met our bus tour group at the station. I highly suggest you stay near the station your first time in Sapporo. There were 5-6 department stores and a ton of eating options at the station. There was a Bake (cheese tarts) and Little Mermaid Bakery at the station among other important things. 

I booked a triple room with 3 single beds. It was a tight fit but they managed to squeeze in small side table on both ends of the room. How tight was it? When I stand up to go to the bathroom my face is just a few inches from the wall. Once I stood up too fast and actually hit the wall. On the positive side the duvet was thick and luxurious. The pillows were a standard polyfill and a firm buckwheat. We all had very good sleep. 

We had 3 full size luggages and 2 hand carry and it fit in our petite room. We just had to take turns opening our luggage.

The small room wasn’t lacking in amenities. There was a small ref, hot water pot, air filter, ironing board, safe and a tv. 

2 hooks by the entrance made up the entire closet. 

No counter space in the bathroom so I utilized my hanging toiletry bag. 

The small bathroom had complete amenities like Shiseido face soap, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, hair dryer, fabric spray (for your clothes to smell nice and clean everyday) and everything else you could possibly need. 

I used all these and they were nice products. 

For an additional $10 we added daily breakfast buffet in the hotel. It was worth it! 

Nice of the hotel to provide take-out coffee. 

The restaurant had a nice selection of Western and Asian dishes which rotated every two days. 

OMG look!!! Remember the shirts I gave away for my anniversary? I’m pretty sure she’s from HK. What are the chances she’ll have breakfast with Shoot First Eat Later? LOL

My daily drink was their iced coffee. They also have strawberry and carrot smoothies as well as fermented milk (tasted like Yakult) and perilla juice everyday. 

How cute are these bottle handles? We tried to look for them in ¥100 stores but didn’t see it. 

So these were what I ate everyday (one plate a day ha!). After trying several dishes my favorites were the saury fish in soy sauce, karaage (fried chicken) and fried potato cakes. 

The fried potato cakes were coated with a sweetish soy based sauce and had chewy mochi like texture that’s why I liked them so much. My friends preferred to eat good Japanese white rice. 

This entry took me 3 weeks to complete Lol. I hope to finish blogging about my entire trip. Wish me luck!!

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Do you know I had to look at my first anniversary post just to check how many years I’ve been blogging.  In case you’re wondering why I don’t have posts for my 6th and 7th years they were erased when my blog got hacked. 

I’m sorry that I haven’t been posting as much. I remember my first couple of years I made it a point to post everyday! I can’t believe it now. Anyway I will try my best to post more often but the easiest way to see what I’m eating or where I’m traveling is through Instagram (@shootfirsteatlater), Twitter (@shootfirteat) and Facebook (shootfirsteatlater1). If you’re looking for particular country posts try searching hashtags like #shootfirsteatlaterHK2014 (just change the year), #shootfirsteatlaternewzealand, #shootfirsteatlatersouthafrica, #shootfirsteatlaterosaka, #shootfirsteatlatertokyo and many others. Also check out #shootfirsteatlatermatcha. 

As my way of saying thanks to all my readers I’m giving away 6 Shoot First Eat Later t-shirts made by Bossini not for me but it was just perfect for my blog right? I was hoping to give away 8 or more but I didn’t realize I gave a lot away to friends and employees. These are ladies shirts that are a little on the loose fit. I have 3 mediums, 2 large and 1 xl. Join the raffle below and hopefully you will be one of the winners. Good luck and thanks for all your support. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

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When you enter the restaurant the first thing that will draw your eyes is their first branch of Workshop Bespoke Bakery. Let your eyes wander and mouth water as you look at all their amazing goodies. Most restaurants are strong on food and weak on dessert. With this branch you can be guaranteed that both will be strong thanks to young papa P lookalike Chef Noel who’s in charge of the food and Chefs Miko and Kristine who are behind the Workshop and all the desserts. 

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How can anyone choose from all these pastries when I want to try all of them! 
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The coconut cream cake was yummy! It’s like eating a soft and dense macaroon (not macaron). It also keeps well in the refrigerator because I forgot to finish it and it tasted just as good 4 days later. 
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The golden antique fan actually works and is a nice touch to the decor of the bakery.

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I’ve tried the Spam Cheese Muffin and it’s very, very moist and tasted more like cake than a muffin. It was a sweet muffin though and not a savory one like I expected and wished. 

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I really liked the olive ciabatta which I paired with deli ham for my lunch the next day. When heated in a panini maker it was very light and crisp. I have my eye on the bacon & egg danish which I bet would be great for breakfast. 

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You’re next matcha sablé!!! Chefs Miko and Kristine please make a cheesy savory sablé too! I bought one container at b patisserie in SF and it was really good. 

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Another sweet I really enjoyed were these Aussie inspired Caramel Slices that were gooey and topped with good quality dark chocolate and a sprinkling of Maldon salt to cut the sweetness of the caramel layer. Perfect with coffee. 

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The lights were from Boys Town, stools and display stand were from Negros according to Chef Miko. Nice! 

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For our pre-opening tasting we had to choose from this menu. Trust me it was so hard to choose when there’s only 2 of you in the table. As usual I wanted to try everything.

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A+ plus for presentation and it tasted quite interesting too. 

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My matcha latte was strong and sweet. 

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If I didn’t have to try so much food I would have easily finished this delicious cheesy spread with hidden veggies that I didn’t even notice. Kudos to their own house made bread. 

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The soup was thick and creamy and as you can see cheesy too. 

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Not only does the pasta look amazing it tasted so good too! You definitely must try this. It was very tasty without being too rich. 

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Our waiter, Ben, was so good in explaining and mixing each dish. 

The next three rice dishes are what Le Souffle is all about. Different rice mixtures covered with fluffy scrambled eggs and a puffed egg topping. We each had our own favorites. My friend loved the subtle flavors of the squid ink rice while I liked the more aggressively flavored chicken ratatouille rice. My friend’s hubby joined us and polished off all our leftovers. He liked the spicy Japanese beef curry rice the best. 

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After a lengthy rest I was ready to try the open faced sandwich. The bread, spread and peaches were all fantastic. The foie gras was unfortunately under seasoned but I’m sure it will be better next time. What a pretty dish! 

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With so many pastries to choose from my favorite words Manchego and cheesecake jumped out to me. I’ve never had the combination before and let me tell you it was yummy. The Manchego wasn’t as strong as I expected but it gave the cheesecake a different flavor profile that made me smile. If you love cheesecake then you must try this. 

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Chocolate lovers should try this layered dessert. It’s best to eat all the layers together because they all complement each other for one terrific dessert. 

Welcome to my ‘hood Le Petit Souffle! I’m sure I’ll see you a lot in the coming year. Can’t wait to try everything on the menu and at the Workshop. 

Le Petit Souffle
Level 2 SM Mega Fashion Hall Building D
Facebook
Instagram: lepetitsouffleph

I finally got to try Rambla, a popular Spanish restaurant in Rockwell. I reserved through the Booky app on my phone and got P100 of the bill and best of all, free dessert. It was my first time to try it and it was very easy. I usually just use the app to look for a restaurant’s phone number or address. And no they didn’t sponsor this post. 

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I was surprised that they had a very reasonable set lunch menu. Yes, it’s reasonable if you compare it with their regular menu. You choose one appetizer and one main dish. Dessert and wine are extra. 

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The best appetizer we had was the bikini sandwich which was really just a ham and cheese sandwich using really quality ingredients like Jamon Iberico, tetilla cheese and some truffle oil. It tasted almost as good as the first time I had bikini sandwich at Tapas 24 in Barcelona. 

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If you like gnocchi then you will love these soft, pillowy dumplings made with ricotta cheese and simply dressed with mushrooms, rosemary and hazelnuts.

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The potato tortilla is one of the most popular dishes in Spain. Rambla had a pretty good version. Instead of sliced they used potato cubes and it was quite wet and very tasty.

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We chose two paellas and one chicken as our entrees for the three of us. The servings were pretty big and I would say enough for 5 people. 

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Both paellas had really good flavor and texture but both were extremely salty. We told this to our server but they never offered to replace it so we just ate a little and I took the rest home. I added plain rice to the paella and I enjoyed it more. 

The smoked salmon on the paella negra made it even saltier. I think plain salmon would work better for this dish. 

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Skip the ordinary chicken. I would like to try their burger next time. 

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I would never have ordered the cheesecake but since it was the free dessert we didn’t have any choice. Oh boy, it was so good! It was a cross between light Japanese cheesecake and the dense American version. The texture was velvety soft and simply sublime. It was one of the best restaurant cheesecakes I’ve ever eaten. 

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We’re missing one friend from our regular Tuesday group lunch. 

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Teishoku means set-menu dining and it’s perfect for Filipinos whose meals usually include rice, meat or fish, rice and soup. At Yayoi their sets include miso soup, a bowl of Japanese white rice, and a couple of sides consisting of vegetables and tsukemono or Japanese pickles. Yayoi was established in Japan 130 years ago and they now have over 300 outlets all over Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, Australia and now the Philippine. Their first branch is at SM Megamall building B.

What sets this restaurant apart are the tablets installed in each seat and table where you order from. Just go through the pictures and select whatever you want and wait for your food to be delivered.

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My friends and I tried 5 kinds of teishoku. They were all very good! All the dinnerware, serveware and a majority of the ingredients come from Japan. The first one we tried was breaded chicken steak which was very, very moist and juicy for chicken. It had a sweet and sour sauce and a topping of special Yayoi tartar sauce. I’m sure kids will love this. The rice was so yummy.  All the entrees can be ordered a la carte and the price is only P1oo less than the set so I suggest going with the set unless you want to order extra dishes to share.

For the person who can’t decide what to order I highly recommend the mix toji teishoku which includes breaded pork loin, fried shrimp and sukiyaki beef simmered in special sauce and egg. It’s surprising that you get all that for only P425 which I think is an amazing deal.

Hitsumaboshi is Nagoya style grilled eel on rice. It’s served with dashi broth and you can eat it 3 ways. The first is to eat the eel and rice as is. Next you can sprinkle the condiments, spring onion and wasabi on it. Lastly you can pour the dashi broth on your rice and eel. I suggest you try all the ways.

Look at that gorgeous eel. Super delicious!!!

The one that stood out for me was the salted mackerel. I’ve had this in numerous Japanese restaurants but I’ve never had one this big. It was big enough to share. The fish was quite tender and flaky and very flavorful.

My favorite next to the fish was the sukiyaki which arrived on the table bubbling. This one I will order a la carte next time because there was udon and shirataki noodles in it so I don’t need the rice. Plus there’s also the broth which thankfully wasn’t overly sweet. The best part was the generous amount of beef. After I shared some with my friends I still had several slices left. I finally found a good place whenever I crave for sukiyaki.

I don’t know what kind of pickles this was but it’s so umami that I suggest you pour the whole thing on your rice and enjoy. The spinach was my favorite since tasted like it was drenched in sesame paste. I ate two servings of the spinach.

I was most excited for the matcha warabi mochi which I discovered and loved in Osaka. It’s supposed to be soft, wobbly and a bit like jelly. Unfortunately this one was hard and nowhere near all the warabi mochi I’ve ever eaten in Japan and Hong Kong. I think an adjustment in the recipe is needed.

Ohagi is like our own suman but with red bean paste inside and azuki red beans outside.

Right now they have one branch in SM Megamall but will be opening more outlets around the city soon. I highly recommend you try their food right away. I hope they maintain the same high quality food I ate before they opened to the public. If they do I’m sure they will be a huge success.

Check out Yayoi’s full menu below. (click the arrows)
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Yayoi Japanese Teishoku Restaurant
3rd Floor SM Megamall Building B
Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City
website
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Instagram: Yayoiph

Sandra and I have a lot of common friends but I don’t personally know her. Our friend Arlene wanted me to try Sandra’s crabs so I went to her house for lunch. Little did I know my host was a Chinese Martha Stewart. Just look at her plating and even the rice wrapped in banana leaves.

She calls this Chili Coconut Curry Crab but it is so much more than that.

The crab was cooked in creamy coconut sauce and it had a little heat and tons of flavor from the abundant garlic, shallots, ginger, lemongrass and whatever secret ingredients in it.

The best part was the extra bowl of sauce she brought out.

You will definitely eat a lot of rice with the crab and sauce. Super delicious!!!

While I was still gorging on crab and rice Sandra stood up and said she’ll get dessert. I  thought she would open a box and bring out some pastries. When I turned around there she was in flambéing bananas for the crepe. I just had to ask if she made the ice cream too! So many months later I can still remember the whole meal clearly.

To order Sandra’s Chili Coconut Curry Crab call 2 days in advance:
Sandra Ngsuy
cellphone: 0917-8168016
market price, pick up is near Greenhills

Another crab you must try is from Ley’s Kitchen in Pasig City. Angel Ley is from a foodie family that’s why she cooks so well. Among the food she offers the most popular are her crabs, Garlic Butter and Coco Curry Crab.

I loved both kinds but my favorite was the coconut curry crab. The curry wasn’t very strong just enough to flavor the rich coconut sauce and bring out the sweetness of the crab.

I diligently picked out the crabmeat and ate it with fried rice and lots of coconut gravy. It was heavenly!!

I brought a tray of Garlic Crab to my friend’s house and they all loved it too. It was so buttery and very, very finger licking good from the generous amount of garlic.

Ley’s Kitchen
cellphone: 0917-8486689
Instagram: angelsley
market price, pick up in Pasig City

I suggest you try Sandra’s and Angel’s crabs. Both are fantastic and will surely shine in your party. Although both have similar coconut based crabs they have a different flavor profile so I suggest you try both so you can decide which is your favorite.

I knew that they only had outdoor seating and that means no air-conditioning so I purposely went on a cool, cloudy afternoon a couple of weeks ago.  I went at 2:00 pm and found the small restaurant in the middle of the parking lot all boarded up. I didn’t know they opened at 4 pm. Luckily there was a lone employee who I begged to feed me since I was already hungry. She was so nice and agreed to cook for me as long as I paid the exact amount. No problem! 

Their chef, Balam Nazar, is from Mexico City and everything on the brief menu is housemade under his supervision. Well, everything except for the not so crisp tortilla chips they serve with the tacos. 

I had the pork carnitas on a soft warm corn tortilla that’s cooked upon order. The super tender smokey shredded pork was incredible! It was very flavorful in a subtle way. There was no strong spices just smooth meaty goodness. On my next visit I will try the the Hongo (fresh mushroom) quesadilla and pollo taco. This is the type of food I want to eat again and again. 

Lo De Alberto
City Golf Plaza, Doña Julia Vargas Ave, Pasig
telephone: 0942-6396771
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