Happy Foodies

<figure class="wp-block-image alignnone"><img alt="New Po-Heng Fresh Lumpia (P45/order)" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3300/3600279269_a5fe2f5b81_b.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">New Po-Heng Fresh Lumpia (P45/order)</figcaption></figure> So what do we avid traveler-photographers do during the monsoon season? Hmmm, at times, we just brave the weather and go ahead with our trip. But sometimes, we’d wisen up and not push our luck, opting to stay in the city and find something else of interest. That is exactly what we did recently when along with two fellow foodie friends, your happyfoodies braved the Saturday monsoon rains to eat their way through a Saturday. Nevermind the overcast skies and intermittent rains, the muddy streets and damp air, but really, is there something more pleasurable than sniffing out the delicious smell of Chinese food wafting from shops and hole-in-the-walls and succumbing to the temptation?

<figure class="wp-block-image alignnone"><img alt="Dorado served on Kabaya Leaf" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2456/3537652661_f5dc690339_b.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Dorado served on Kabaya Leaf</figcaption></figure> “Where do we we eat?” Tired and famished from all the hiking and traveling, it’s a question we ourselves keep asking whenever we’re in Basco. This capital of Batanes, is usually the jump-off point for visitors exploring the Philippines’ northernmost province. Happyfoodies collates some noteworthy eating places to help out first-time or returning visitors.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignnone"><img alt="Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Pepperoncino (Php 175)" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3301/3438382666_f1fac15352_o.jpg"></figure> It’s been quite a while since we last stepped into Amici in Don Bosco in Makati City. Oh, we’ve always considered this restaurant that boasts of affordable, home-cooked Italian-style cuisine as a comforting constant in a constantly changing foodscape. But ever since its takeover by a new management team two years ago, we had our apprehensions. And there’s also the expansion to include a branch in SM Megamall. Did the move to professionalize the operations alter the relaxed eating experience? Or worse, change the great-tasting food we’ve always come to love? To find out, we dropped by on a Sunday afternoon for a late lunch – something that was not possible when Amici was still run by the Salesians of Don Bosco. Obviously, this is one of the benefits of the new management as Sunday is a very nice time to avoid the big weekday office crowds and take your sweet time to savor each and every bite. The verdict: still as lip-smacking good as ever.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignnone"><img alt="Seryna Spicy Tuna Maki (Php 170/ 6pcs)" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3428/3318081937_19f0724ee7_o.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Seryna Spicy Tuna Maki (Php 170/ 6pcs)</figcaption></figure> We venture to Mile Long and Makati Cinema Square every now and then and pass the small road leading to Makati Square. We often see the SERYNA signage flanking the side entrance to the Little Tokyo complex and wonder what’s inside. Not that the place has received little media publicity but we always wanted to sample what’s been written about and what the steady stream of diners (evidenced by the endless flow of cars parked on the strip) has been dropping by for. Last weekend, we got a chance to do just that when a trip to another restaurant didn’t go as planned.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignnone"><img alt="Bongao Tawi-tawi breakfast delicacies" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3441/3239170220_1d853ef84e_o.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bongao Tawi-tawi breakfast delicacies</figcaption></figure> 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.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignnone"><img alt="Chicken and Beef Satti at Jimmys" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3464/3238338009_0df0be0565_o.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Chicken and Beef Satti at Jimmy's</figcaption></figure> Pardon our take on Dickens’ “Tale of Two Cities” for the title but we beg to ask, a satti is a satti is a satti, right? A visit to Zamboanga City and Bongao, Tawi Tawi became a journey of discovery with regards to the answer to this query. But first things first – what is a satti? A popular breakfast fare in the south, satti is grilled beef or chicken on a stick served with tamuh (rice) in a spicy curry sauce. The description reads like a simple dish to prepare so you might be inclined to say how different can sattis be? We had the opportunity to sample the satti at Jimmy’s, the pride of Zamboanga and Sulu, and at the Bongao Coffee Shop to look for answers.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignnone"><img alt="Kamayan ni Manay in Dapitan Zamboanga del Norte" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3128/3173374769_a093b38732_b.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kamayan ni Manay in Dapitan Zamboanga del Norte</figcaption></figure> The weather alternated between overcast and rainy when we ventured to Dapitan City in Zamboanga del Norte. It’s been a long trip, having gone from Tawi-Tawi to Zamboanga City and northwards to Dipolog so instead of letting the rains dampen our spirits, we took it as a sign to slow down on shooting and make the most out of the sleepy weather. Having billeted ourselves at one of the pension houses along the city’s Sunset Boulevard, we had the rare luxury of being steps away from eating places. We consider ourselves very lucky indeed to have stumbled upon Kamayan ni Manay just before the heavy rains came again and obscured the nice view of Dapitan Bay.