Just hearing the name of this widely cultivated flower calls to mind adjectives like exquisite, delicate and versatile. It is a flower of many attributes beyond its beautiful form. To have a restaurant bearing its name means having big shoes to fill. Good thing that Jasmine Restaurant found at New World Hotel lived up to its name, serving some of the finest Cantonese Cuisine in the metro.
It was a stark contrast from our last meal in Macau. As soon as we enter the 3rd level of Crown Tower within City of Dreams, we knew we’ll be treated to a luxurious dining experience this time around. We were at Horizons, a restaurant known for its grilled steaks and seafood.

We came to Taal Town in Batangas to revisit this heritage town and bring home some captures. But like in previous out-of-town trips, we had a hidden agenda: to eat something out of the ordinary. We prepared for the shoot but we weren’t able to research well in advance where it’s good to eat. Good thing the kind lady seller we brought some panucha from at the Basilica de San Martin de Tours went out of her way to show us Bistro Taal. It was just 5 or so minutes away from the Basilica and while it’s not really a bistro in the real sense of the word, we thought we had a hearty lunch alright.
I know foodies friends in Singapore who has been living there for years and they were just happy enough to show me around their favorite places to eat. Say Singapore, we can heavily expect a chili crabs and prawns in the mix. We trooped to the back of esplanade and entered a restaurant facing the bay for me to discover that a really good restaurant really needs No Signboard to say how good their seafood is.

One of the perks of eating out of town is the chance to taste unpretentious food. Not to say we’re jaded by city food but there are times when one would just like to sit down to no-frills fare. So when your happyfoodies went to Virac in Catanduanes, we had to ask the locals where they’d prefer to eat out. One place that keeps popping up is Sea Breeze Restaurant. That it’s mentioned in Jens Peters’ Philippine Guide only whetted our appetite to give it a try.

The Morato area has long been a favorite haunt for eager diners. And why not? The selections are nice and the prices are usually much lower than those in Makati. It can be quite a drive or a ride away though especially for those who live in the South but at times, you stumble upon a place that’s worth the trouble. Could 145o be one of those?

Vietnam may be our Southeast Asian neighbor but our cuisines seem to be poles apart. Pinoy food is typified by very rich flavors, often subscribing to the idea that “if a little is okay, more is better”. On the other hand, Vietnamese food is more about the subtleties of flavors and the prudent use of herbs and spices. This may explain why Vietnamese food is nowhere as popular as say, Chinese or Thai cuisine, over here. Perhaps, the key is to strike a happy medium between subtlety and saturation – the formula that Aquaknox, Manila’s newest Vietnamese Contemporary restaurant, is using to catch the fancy of Pinoy diners. The operative word is: “contemporary” meaning authentic and yet updated. Come with us for a taste of Vietnamese with a fine dining twist.