Adventures of the Happy Tummy

Fiesta ! That's the first word that hit me when we saw buddy's . We passed the place a few times already and wondered what the super mega lighted place is. It was featured in Jessica Soho's tv program that was why it confirmed our guesses that it IS a restaurant worth visiting. This is the perfect place to bring your balikbayan aunts & cousins. Once you catch sight of the establishment, you'll be transported to Lucban, Quezon in all its Pahiyas glory.  It was always in my checklist to visit their fiesta but this as close that I can get for now. And it's also in Quezon... city, hehe, not the province. At least it's near my place & I get to taste the food. And they come cheap! At p150/head, your wallet will be very happy too!   Decors are aplenty - the rice paper lantern goes all the way UP & all the way DOWN! Notice the last picture? You'll get to sneak a peek of the counter - the place looks like a fastfood with everyone coming & goin...

Night out with the family is always delectable. It does not necessarily mean expensive nor cheap, but we try to aim for the mid-class establishments so my parents won't feel intimidated & scold us for spending too much. The other night we found found ourselves in the open-air floor of TriNoMa mall  in QC & were so mesmerized with the lighted trees we just had to stay for dinner. So off we picked from the rows of promising establishments & voted for the one whose menu serves more meat. Plus, it has an interesting welcome: a life-sized COW.  My sibs & I were excited to order. My brother was asking the waiter if he could have the eat-all-you-can grilled-in-front-of-you beef inside. Unfortunately, we had to try that some other time for you have to stay outdoors for the grill... nevermind. We started with the   French Style Onion Soup.  Really gooey & cheesy soup infused with a heady dose of wine. I find it aromatically div...

Yes, baby, it's MNL ! My writer, photography enthusiast, food writer friend, Anson Yu , had his very first photo exhibit last October 2010 at La Regalade entitled: "MNL". It featured his best works on the stories that make up Manila: from Divisoria to Intramuros and back to Binondo. I missed the opening night because we were assigned to Iloilo (there's another story there) but thankfully, they extended the run way until November. So I invited some pals & grabbed the chance to show off that I "know" someone whose creativity is being featured & celebrated at an upscale French bistro. La Regalade means "succulent treat" and we have heard good reviews on the place.  It's also French, meaning, we were right to expect it to be on the pricey side. My pals and I were on a tight budget due to the upcoming gift-giving season, so we opted to have dinner at a mall nearby & hop over to the chi-chi establishment for some classy sweet...

Sad way to end the day, I thought. Coming home on a weekday way into the night when everyone in the family are all sound asleep. Aching body from all that physical activity during Fashion Week. I raided our makeshift pantry & found instant noodles calling out to me: "Cook me, cook me, quick!" And so my eyes, not satisfied with just noodles, dunked a few frozen crab sticks into the hot hot water together with the noodle pack.  The result is a satisfying late-night meal of hot (instant) seafood broth, (instant) noodles & defrosted crabsticks... & my tummy was happy =)