happyfoodies.com – Philippines Food Blog

Le Bistro Vert: Eating Green

THE SETTING: Located in the heart of the Makati business district, just a few flights of stairs from Valero Street upwards to Fraser Place Building at Streetside. Le Bistro Vert is a welcoming place, with its high ceiling, cool colors and large windows lending a feeling of being inside a greenhouse. There is a loft for private dining and special occasions and tables outside for al fresco dining.

Tags: Ceasar Salad, Chicken, Makati, Organic, Putanesca, Sushi

Hot tsokolate, steaming coffee and hearty breakfast at Kuatro Kantos

With the rainy season upon us, it would take a compelling reason to get out of bed (or a warm, dry office) to go look for breakfast fare. That’s exactly what your happyfoodies did, visiting the walled city of Intramuros on a rainy weekday morning maybe not much out of curiosity to ogle at the historic sites but more out of a compulsion to try something beside the usual fastfood variety breakfast.

Tags: Bread, Breakfast, Chocolate, Manila, Pandesal, Tapa

Simple, fresh eats at Unit 8 Café

It’s not uncommon for us to meet restaurant owners who venture into the food business because of one fact: the love of good food. For them, the restaurant becomes an extension of their home kitchen, with menus that include their favorites and reflect their preferences. Straying into Unit 8 café, we found this to be a fact. Tucked at the bayside of the Southeast Asia’s Mall, it promises unpretentious food with a simple philosophy: simplicity, elegance and freshness. Let’s see if the place lives up to that promise.

Tags: Dilis, Dory, Mall of Asia, Mango Torte, Pasay, Salad, Steak, Whitebait

Healthful coolers at FYI

When the mercury constantly hit 36 degrees or higher even on days when the rains play games with the sun, it’s just instinctive to reach for something to cool with. On an assignment in the Quezon City area, our eyes got caught by a very colorful signage and a witty name for a yogurt outlet – FYI. The acronym stands for “Frozen Yogurt Indulgence,” and one look at the items on offers suggested this can be a nice place to cool down on a hot and humid afternoon.

Tags: Desserts, Healthy, Quezon City, Yoghurt, Yogurt

Breakfast in Bongao

Without question, Bongao in Tawi Tawi is pretty remote. It’s not just the physical distance per se that gives one that feeling but also the absence of the usual, ubiquitous fastfood outlets that line up Zamboanga City for example. Not that we miss the Jollibees, Mcdos and Chowkings. Out here in Bongao, it would be interesting to find out what the locals eat. One breakfast time, we decided to take a walk and see where our feet (and noses) will take us. We eventually ended up at Al-Madina-1, one of the coffeeshops that line the main street of Datu Halun.

Tags: Bongao, Breakfast, Delicacies, Tawi-tawi

Hamming it up in CDO

Mention Cagayan de Oro and on top of the list associated with this City of Golden Smiles is its famous ham. And when it comes to hams, the overwhelming favorite among the locals is SLERS Jamon Cagayan de Oro, which has been around since 1969. What makes their ham different is the natural juiciness and tenderness of the meat. This is due in large part to the fact that the swine from which they are made were fed with pineapple, a fruit laden with the enzyme papain, which has natural tenderizing properties. Over the years, SLERS hams have become a part of tradition among CDO locals as well as guests all-year round and especially during Christmas-time. SLERS have also ventured into the quick-service restaurant and more recently, the café business.

We chanced upon the newly-opened SLERS Ham & Café while looking for somewhere to eat for lunch on our way back to Manila. The small but charming café is warm and inviting, with a wall decked with goodies ready to tempt the diner.

Tags: Cagayan de Oro, CDO, Chocolate, Ham, Mindanao, Sandwiches, Tsokolate