Vietnam Food Trip

Out of the three countries that I have visited in this trip, I enjoyed Vietnam so much because of the food. I mean, come on, it's hard to miss because every nook and cranny in Ho Chi Minh City has a roadside stall that serves food and drink. Take note, these stalls don't serve the same thing because each stall has its own specialty. Although I also enjoyed Thai food as well, having Vietnamese food gave me warm and fuzzy feelings. Haha. To further diversify my choices, I did not limit myself to roadside stalls because I ate at restaurants too.

In jest, I forgot to take photos of some of the stuff I ate. Here are some of my personal favorites:

Bun cha from a shop in Bui Vien Street named, well, Bun Cha
(55,000 VND = 2.50 USD = 113 PHP)

Bun cha is a Northern Vietnamese specialty which became my instant favorite-slash-pho substitute. It is a beef patty with rice noodles on the side. To eat it, you have to dunk the noodles on the sauce that is served along the beef patty. It's up to you if you'll also dip the veggies on the sauce or it eat separately. Other great Northern Vietnamese dishes are also served in Bun Cha, located along Bui Vien Street.

Grilled scallops with kaffir lime dip from a stall in Bui Vien Street
(120,000 VND = 5.50 USD = 247 PHP)

Scallops for 247 bucks? I kid you not. It's best paired with Saigon Bia. Sarap!

Barbecued pork from a Ben Thanh Market stall 
(55,000 VND = 2.50 USD = 113 PHP)

After attending a Vietnamese mass in Notre Dame, we passed along Ben Thanh Market on the way back to the hotel. We asked for the bestseller and the server pointed to the barbecued pork on the menu. It didn't disappoint. Although it was expensive (since Ben Thanh is technically a tourist spot), it was so worth it. Even the dip is heavenly.

Fresh spring rolls at a hostel restaurant along Bui Vien Street
(35,000 VND = 1.60 USD = 72 PHP)

Vietnam is popular for their spring rolls so what is a trip to Vietnam without even trying the real thing? I tried both the fresh and fried versions and it's really good. It's actually way better than those being served at popular Manila-based Vietnamese restaurants.

I failed to take photos of banh mi, banh xeo, and the mothership of Vietnamese cuisine, pho. After this trip, my standards for Vietnamese food in the Philippines skyrocketed. Haha. But yeah, seriously speaking, this is one of the best food trips that I have ever done. I personally recommend a food walk for foodies who will go to Ho Chi Minh City.

What other Vietnamese dishes have you tried? Let me know in the comments section below. :)

Little Things That Make Me Happy (Internship Edition)

Since I'm a dork whose life revolves around the hospital for now, I have turned into some sort of a freak of nature...like I have my head up my ass. Although I have this anal retentive vibe going on right now, I'm still the idiot that gets giddy over little things. Here are some of the internship related things that make me pull my head out of my sphincter once in a while:

1. Tisanes Herbal Thai Tea Drink from K2

Image from Amazon. 

I first tasted this when I went on a solo adventure in Orchard Road in Singapore three years ago. The ginormous can intrigued me so I decided to try it out for myself and boy, it tasted good! Fast forward to 2013, I was glad that I saw that K2 Drugstore (across QMMC) started selling this. The pharmacy assistants already know that it's what I came for. Hrhr. Although it's a bit sweet for my liking, it remains a good pick me upper for extremely annoying duty days.

2. Beef Tapa from Dimsum House

Photo from Startin' A New Life Too

Beef tapa or cured beef is a popular Filipino breakfast staple usually served with egg and fried rice. This is also served in Dimsum House, a cafeteria (?!) across QMMC wherein most of the nurses, doctors and hospital staff hang out. I think their beef tapa is one of the tastiest there is so I order this most of the time whenever I have breakfast on a from status. Who doesn't feel good when there's yummy food in front of you?

3. Chillax Duties Without Stage Moms/Anxious Relatives/Difficult Patients

Don't you just love it when you're on pre-duty or on duty with a reasonable amount of patients sans the stage moms, anxious relatives and difficult patients? I understand where they come from but personally, I think these kinds of people are a roadblock in giving the patients the appropriate treatment because you also attend to them. Although it is practically impossible for a duty to go on without those three, there are those days that they actually didn't swing by. Those days are just priceless.

4. Industrious and Efficient People

If you know me very well, you'd know my pet peeve on the job are lazy people. I mean, seriously, what the hell are you doing here if you're just going to sit around and won't do work?! GTFO and wipe Preparation H on your ass, please. Industrious and efficient people on the job are heaven sent, I tell you. Luckily, I haven't had a "lazy partner experience" or a "lazy nurse experience". Yet. Mrhrhr.

5. When the LRT 1 isn't crowded

Image from GMA News

No explanations necessary.

So there. These are the little things that make me happy while I'm cooped up during my internship. Now excuse me while I go back to my anal retentive self. :P

BRGR: The BRGR Project

I seriously love burgers. Whenever I'm at a fast food joint, I usually order a burger value meal. My friend, Lorenz even tagged me as the "Babaeng Burger" because he noticed I love eating any burger even if it is peddled by hawkers in the sidewalk. And when Leo, a classmate from med school, told me about the annual cook-off in his hometown in California, my mouth would nearly froth whenever I hear his description of how the Americans would cook their burger and what stuff they put on it.

Since we don't have those cook-offs, I developed some sort of fondness of trying out new burger joints. My brother knows a lot of places in the Taft-Vito Cruz area and he would suggest those to me. He was the one who told us about Zark's Burger. And now, his latest suggestion is BRGR: The BRGR Project, located at the first floor of The Grand Towers, along Pablo Ocampo St. (formerly Vito Cruz St.).

It's a burger joint that's known to its loyal patrons as the "Make Your Own Burger" place. Pretty nifty, huh?

I went there with my brother and my sisters on a fine morning. The store just opened up and it's not that crowded. We were given sheets of paper wherein we could tick the boxes of the ingredients that we want to include in our burger. Akala ko entrance exam. Lels.

If You're Not Really On A Budget...

...you could try Mr Punch Restaurant and Winebar in the Mint Museum of Toys at Seah Street, behind the Raffles Hotel.

My Ate Richie and Kuya Joseph had their solemnization (wedding) here and I really don't know the cost. It looks sharp in here so I guess it kind of falls into the not-so-light-on-the-pocket category. But whatevs, the food is great and I think their contact person (whose name I forgot...again!) did a wonderful job in organizing and coordinating the staff. In short, sulit ang bayad. That's why I had to like their Facebook page and share it to you guys! :)

Friar's at Universal Studios Singapore

Spending S$12 (Php330) for a chicken wrap, crisscut potato fries and drinks seems ridiculous for me so I had to categorize this here. However, you will not regret buying it when your teeth sinks into the soft dough that holds the crunchy veggies and the flavorful chicken inside it. I underestimated the power of the chicken wrap. My cousin, Gomer does not eat vegetables but when he tasted the wrap, he did not mind the greens inside it. Auntie Guritte said that it's that good if Gomer ate the veggies. Not only it's delicious, it's also a heavy but healthy lunch that's enough to keep you filled until your next meal.

Edit: For a not-so-light-on-the-pocket-but-totally-worth-it pasalubong, go for Garrett Popcorn. I already made a review here in one of my previous entries. Prices range from S$4 (Php134) for a small bag to a whopping S$320 (Php10,7970) for a 6.5 gallon can. We usually buy the 1 or 2 gallon tin can to take home to the PH because the popcorn can stay crunchy for up to a month when unopened and can last for 1 week after it's opened. They had a promo for S$25 (Php843) wherein there are two small tin cans were sold along with the popcorn.

These are my top two recommendations. Let me also direct you to a tea party at TWG, steak feast at CUT by Wolfgang Puck, sossy dinner at Capella para ubos ang pera. Loljk. These are just the most popular fine dining restaurants in Singapore that's worthy to mention since it has high reviews among the travel blogs and travel websites.

Eating in Singapore...On A Budget

In relation to the "Hopefully I'll be able to whip out and entry or two" post, here are some of my recommendations about the best places to eat when in Singapore in a budget. This post is also in response to a couple of emails I got from Pam and Sandy. I already reviewed IKEA Restaurant so here goes the new batch of recommendations:

Maxwell Food Center

This is located in Chinatown, near the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum. After checking out all of the souvenir shops and splurged almost all of your Singapore Dollars, Maxwell Food Centre is the place to be. There are lots of food to choose from over a hundred stalls. This is the biggest hawker center I've been to. Food prices depend on the serving size but from the food that we ordered, it only ranges from S$2-10 (Php67-337). The drinks do not go higher than S$5. Must try dishes are the Hainanese Chicken Rice, Kuay Teow, Chicken Satay and Oyster Cake. Mind you, the servings are huge enough for sharing. Before ordering, ask the Uncle or Auntie that's manning the store about the serving sizes so you won't load up that much.

This place is also famous because Anthony Bourdain of the "No Reservations" fame visited this place. Among the stalls he visited is the Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake and the Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice. These stalls are among the most popular so when you drop by to visit, just be patient with the queue.

Wuerstelstand

Also in Chinatown, stands "The Last Sausage Kiosk Before The Equator" wherein they serve authentic German sausages that's made by an Austrian chef named, Erich Sollbock. For as low as S$1.50 (Php50), you can have a frankfurter that goes heavy in your stomach. Not only that, they also sell Austrian style bread. I forgot how much it costs but I liked the onion bread because it's soft and tasty. You can find it at Trengganu Street, corner Sago Street. If you are in doubt, go look for a place that has a lot of Austrians and you'll know you're in the right place. May araw na medyo masungit si Chef pero keri lang naman, magpakabait ka na lang. Haha. To know more, check out Chef Sollbock's blog.

Casa Roces On A Whim

My med school is just a stone's throw away from Malacanang Palace and I've been hearing about this great place called Casa Roces. I never dared to set foot in it because I heard that it was expensive. However, due to a surge of stress hormones caused by the graduation pictorial last October 24, Ice, Tope and I decided to eat out and try food at this place.

Then again, I don't have a decent camera with me so the pictures I borrowed are properly tagged with respect to their owners.

Photo from the Casa Roces Facebook page c/o Marc Anthony Vitug

The house in itself is historical, having survived the World War II and a lot of typhoons. Just a glimpse at the entrance is enough to take you back in time. I love the portraits and decor in the lobby, especially this one above the piano:

"You are not alone"

It's somewhat creepy in a ghostly sort of way but just think that it's like an affirmation of the old couple's portrait at the left side of the photo.

Batam, Indonesia Side Trip

Taken from my May 14, 2012 entry about our April 4, 2012 trip to Batam. I think I'm in the mood to sing Ingatlah Hari Ini by Indonesian pop group, Project Pop. :)

My sister and I were supposed to go to Bintan, Indonesia but we chose to go to Batam because it is not that expensive. As mentioned previously, we had to maximize our money so we can visit Indonesia and watch Wicked. :) 

Since we do not know anyone who can take us around, Charmaine and I signed up for a tour for only S$69. Not bad actually, you'd be getting a basic tour of the town, you'd get to have free lunch and transportation costs are already shouldered. And really, you couldn't go to another country for only Php 2,336 so I'd consider it as a steal.

Most people wouldn't be interested in this tour because it's more of a cultural thing. Like I said before, you'd only get to truly appreciate a country if you experience it's culture and tradition, so off we went. Lena, our tour guide is a very informative person because she fills us in with all the details about the places we're going. We didn't take too much pictures because we wanted to enjoy the place.

Small details first:

• Batam is an hour behind Singapore. Indonesia rests on 3 different time zones, according to Lena.
• It belongs to a group of islands calles Kepulauan Riau.
• Majority of the population here do not speak English. Bonus points for you if you know Bahasa Melayu, since they have the same words.

Zark's Burger Madness

I've seen that Facebook photo in which there is a crazy queue in front of the Archer's Nook Building in Taft Avenue. I asked my brother, Christopher, about it. He then told me about this great burger place called Zark's Burger. With every description of each burger he tried, I grew excited. I can feel the LDLs sticking to my arteries. Hrhr. And it's decided, we're going to try it! And it's a pretty good timing that our sister, Ate Richie is on a holiday.

Just reading the description for each burger already clogs my arteries. Loljk. Here's the menu and see for yourself:

It's divided into the Minor League and Major League Burgers. Simply put, Minor League Burgers do not include fries and drinks while the Major League is inclusive of fries and drinks. 

Shawarma Snack Center

Note: So sorry for the not-so-good quality of the photos. I just used my camera phone which is not really apt for low light conditions. :)

There are a lot of hole-in-the-wall Middle Eastern restaurants around Malate but Shawarma Snack Center definitely stands out. It was my older sister, Richelle, who introduced me to this place. It has two outlets on each side of the road, one is the fancy restaurant on the left side (if you're coming from Robinson's Place Manila) and the other one is the canteen-style restaurant on the right. The fancy restaurant also offers Mediterranean dishes. We always eat on the canteen-style restaurant because of the more laid back atmosphere.

The Fancy Restaurant on the left

The Canteen-Type Restaurant on the right

Some Middle Eastern artifacts on the canteen

Best Liempo I Ever Tasted

From my July 8, 2012 post. Gutom ulit! :P

Liempo or pork belly is a staple in the Filipino cuisine. I personally like this especially when there's just the right amount of fat in between the meat. I know that this is not friendly to your blood vessels but if eaten in moderation and accompanied by proper exercise, it's alright.

But sometimes, typical preparations make me veer away from eating this. However, this changed when I tasted Floating Island's Crispy Liempo in Sweet and Spicy Sauce.

It's actually a value meal bundled with everything, complete with entree, main course, drinks and dessert. All for 255 pesos.

The whole shebang

Cheesy Mushroom Soup

Banana Pudding

Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet voted this as the Best Hospital Restaurant. That I have to agree with. The place is clean, staff is courteous, food is great and most importantly, it's worth every cent that you paid for. They mostly serve Filipino dishes that would surely satisfy your cravings. This place surely makes you want to drag yourself to this hospital even if you don't want to. After a stress inducing vaccine or anxiety attack provoking medical exam, treat yourself to whatever Floating Island has to offer and your woes would surely be gone.

Visit them at:

Makati Medical Center
2 Amorsolo St. corner Dela Rosa St., Legaspi Village
Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines

IKEA Restaurant Rocks!

From my June 19, 2012 entry. I must have been hungry during this time.

I love to eat. Really. Take a look at my fat ass, it shows. Anyway, when it comes to food, I dare to try something different because I find it fun to tickle my taste buds with food that I haven't tasted before. I also try to eat at different places so that I know where to go when I feel like stress eating. Lol.

I also like to experience different set ups when it comes to food and this is why IKEA's restaurant and cafe got my attention.

My sister Charmaine and I set off to Alexandra Road to try out at IKEA because Ate Richie likes it there so much. When you reach the restaurant, you'll notice that the place is packed but there are enough tables and seats for everyone.

What struck me most about this place is that it is a self-service restaurant

Brownie points for IKEA

Although there are still a few people who leave their trays on the table, the self-service policy is very much observed here. Being accustomed to leaving our utensils on the table after eating at a restaurant, this is something new for me, considering that this is done to keep the food prices down.

Let's now go to the food. Since I like dessert, I love the set up that the dessert is displayed before the main course. Haha. Charmaine and I tried Swedish desserts such as the Princess Cake or PRINCESSTÅRTA, a cream cake with marzipan, Almond Cake, and the Swedish Apple Cake.

What's In This Popcorn? This Garrett Popcorn?

From my June 17, 2012 post.

The first time that my sister Charmaine went to Singapore, she was raving about this special popcorn that was so yummy, it'll blow your brains out. And when my Ate Richie mentioned that her then boyfriend, now husband, Joseph does not want her to eat this popcorn, I am convinced that it is really good. May I present to you, Garrett Popcorn.

Notice the evenly coated kernels. *drool*

Indeed

When I first ate this, it was so good that I couldn't stop popping it in my mouth. Each popcorn is evenly coated with your flavor of choice. Not to mention, there are only a few morsels of the kernel husk that'll get stuck on your teeth. I personally prefer the cheese variant although it is slightly salty.

Me, acting like an idiot in front of the Garrett Popcorn Shop in Sentosa

And because of that, buying Garrett popcorn is now a part of our trips to Singapore whenever we visit Ate Richie. Even our brother approves of it that he prefers to it everything all by himself, considering that he is really picky when it comes to his food. I don't know what this popcorn has but it does turn us into a pack of hungry wolves.

Food Trip in Sabah, Malaysia

Taken from my October 9, 2011 entry.

Well, any trip is not complete without us talking about food. I made this slide show so you can see the food that was served to us during my stay in Malaysia.

Food Trip in Malaysia - flash slideshow

One of the most interesting things in there is the Cemented Chicken. I first heard of it during our stay at Larry and Vince's Farmstay when we passed by the kitchen. I thought the auntie was kidding when she said that it was cemented chicken. Good thing Christian said that there really is such thing as a cemented chicken. When I tasted it, it has this tangy chicken flavor with a punch of ginger. I liked it because the flavor is locked in the chicken.

Another interesting part is the last part of the slideshow which was taken at Devi's. You can see that it was recommended in Lonely Planet so you'll know the food they serve there is really good. We had tosai, roti canai, mee and the never ending teh tarik. It was actually my first time to try Indian food...and I loved it.

One of the places that piqued my interest is the family-run Borneo 1945 cafe. The auntie running the place is really cool because she has red hair. So cute. Anyway, we ordered nasi lemak and kasturi juice. Guys, beware of the kasturi juice because it's not the typical juice that we are accustomed to. They include the peel and the seeds so it has a very bitter flavor. And it is also my first time to taste Horlicks. I really liked it so I brought some home.

We usually have nasi ayam (chicken rice) and mee (noodles). I don't get tired of nasi ayam because it's one of my favorite foods. And it's different from the ones sold in commercial establishments here in the Philippines because majority of the nasi ayam we ate tastes like the ones in the authentic Chinese restaurants in Binondo. If you're not too sensitive, you can also eat food sold at stalls in the street. It's kinda like our street food setup.

Too bad I didn't take a photo of the giant Milo pack. I swear, there is such a thing. I noticed that Malaysians really like Milo because it's a part of their drinks section.

I wasn't able to taste everything but I would like to try unique stuff if I get to visit there in the future. So foodies, there's a lot more to discover. :)