Happy Foodies

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipx0b2JtO7ugIZYB0tZr3uYRok5mNr3z9PqAhyphenhyphenLoYcwQ2tH80xRKktwy7Frz0CtG_cK62VJKdJo39vLV6QhN9IIicsaUsSF2C-PYrnRHDRPPXXyduDLVBhSMbgAaEeo85n0S3e0siF3AFNyeIuHp-07ZJSWPkNqh6IbmVhvzfZ2m2fMAzBLXVA9hVRF1Y/s667/uncle-keong-delicacies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipx0b2JtO7ugIZYB0tZr3uYRok5mNr3z9PqAhyphenhyphenLoYcwQ2tH80xRKktwy7Frz0CtG_cK62VJKdJo39vLV6QhN9IIicsaUsSF2C-PYrnRHDRPPXXyduDLVBhSMbgAaEeo85n0S3e0siF3AFNyeIuHp-07ZJSWPkNqh6IbmVhvzfZ2m2fMAzBLXVA9hVRF1Y/s16000/uncle-keong-delicacies.jpg"></a></div> It was a clear and sunny day in Melaka. Walking along the narrow alleys of the historical heritage town at midday, we could feel the sun bearing down on our backs on our way to our first eating stop for the Date with Bloggers event in Melaka. And as few beads of sweat rolled from our foreheads, we were filled with delight seeing the refreshing sight of Uncle Keong's Delicacies.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignnone"><img alt="Bonchon Spicy Glaze Chicken" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/8014/7676206078_88e90581b6_o.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bonchon Spicy Glaze Chicken</figcaption></figure> I always pass by Bonchon at SM Megamall but never had the chance to try it before. One reason why? It's always full and I somehow lack the patience to wait especially when I'm really hungry. Good thing your Happyfoodies were invited for a taste test at one of their newer branches at Bonifacio High Street. This time I got the chance to get to know what makes people go crazy about this Korean Chicken. As it turned out, Happyfoodies will discover there's more to Bonchon than its popular crunchy chicken.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignnone"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oggie/7152464713/"><img alt="Yu Fu In's 25 spices Kimchi" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7063/7152464713_aef3b1e56f_b.jpg"></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Yu Fu In's 25 spices Kimchi</figcaption></figure> A Koreantown in Angeles City? We're probably too used to the concept of Chinatown that this idea seemed like a novel concept. Driving along the stretch of Friendship Highway, we passed a strip of establishments sporting signages in Korean with no English translations. Which ones are restaurants, it's hard to tell. But for a taste of kimchi (the best one here for miles, so says our guide-friend, Tin, from the Angeles City tourism office), we bypassed Koreantown and headed to Balibago for Yu Fu In. The restaurant is located in a sizable structure located across the town park. We later learned that it is in fact, the largest freestanding Japanese restaurant in the Philippines with a dining area spread across three stories -- the main dining area on the ground floor, a Yakiniku area complete with the requisite stove and exhaust fan on every table on the second, and an open-air area on the third. It's a strange curiosity to find kimchi in a Japanese restaurant but as we taste the food, we find there's more to like there.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignnone"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ironwulf/7340139506/"><img alt="Julie's variety of biscuits" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7211/7340139506_e093664bbb_c.jpg"></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Julie's variety of biscuits</figcaption></figure> Who doesn't like biscuits? For me they are the ultimate travel snacks keeping the hunger pangs at bay when the journey seems long and the next eatery is kilometers away. I make sure to always have them with me. So when Happyfoodies, get a chance to visit the factory of Julie's Biscuits (not to be confused with Julie's Bakeshop in the Philippines), Malaysia's most popular biscuit brand in (Melaka) Malacca, I felt like a kid sent off to a field trip. I was also excited to know what made Julie's the queen of biscuits in this country.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignnone"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oggie/7006362500/"><img alt="Brazo de Mercedes Cheesecake" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8150/7006362500_e4c0fe6152_b.jpg"></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Brazo de Mercedes Cheesecake (P145/slice)</figcaption></figure> It’s off the usual route and takes a bit of traveling to get to but Cioccolo is an interesting place to go to at night. Right in the middle of a dark field, it seems a place of enchantment has sprung up, magically lit up at night. There’s R2-D2 in one area, Elvis in another as well as Roman statues here and there among a host of other curiosities that catch the eye and piques one’s interest no matter how blasé he or she can be. There are even huge banquet halls spread out on the spacious lot that looked like settings for a medieval tale complete with trompe l’oeil ceilings, huge chandeliers, gilded walls and ornate furniture. Cioccolo's truly kitschy as kitschy can be but in a pleasant way, maybe strangely romantic even like a fantasy world. Contrastingly, the coffee shop looks “normal” and “real world”, warmly lit and inviting for a nightcap. The whole place looks every bit interesting but we wonder if the food could be as "kitschy" good as well.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignnone"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oggie/7152476975/"><img alt="Cold Cuts Combo Banh Mi (P75)" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7152476975_d3e5d534e5_b.jpg"></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Cold Cuts Combo Banh Mi (P75)</figcaption></figure> Angeles City may be a chartered city independent of Pampanga since the 60s but it still shares the Kapampangan flair for cooking up delicious fare and perhaps more importantly, a contagious appetite for joyful eating. It's a tall order to live down its naughty, steamy reputation but the city has another side that can satisfy the other senses. By that we mean the nose and the taste buds. Your Happyfoodies tagged along for a food trip of Angeles City and what we found pleasantly surprised us. For starters, we found a piece of Vietnam along Jesus Street in the historic district near the Pamintuan Mansion -- in Banh Mi Saigon. Who would've thought that you can find heavenly Banh Mi sandwiches and spring rolls in between a neighborhood gym and a sari-sari store? Owner Rex Soriano, recently repatriated from the U.S. after nearly a decade of working at Nobu in New York counted on his experience as a chef and the invaluable inputs of his Vietnamese mother-in-law and wife to come up with fare that begs for repeat visits.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignnone"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ironwulf/6689113857/"><img alt="Lia's famous Avocado Cake" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6689113857_6a5d5bb540_z.jpg"></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Lia's famous Avocado Cake (P670 - whole/ P85 - slice)</figcaption></figure> Avocado is one of my favourite fruits and being a sucker for desserts, the combination of the fruit with a cake can be lethal. Strolling along with a fellow foodie friend in the streets of Kapitolyo, Pasig, which is fast becoming a food hub with a lot of new dining options popping up, we discovered Lia’s Cakes in Season. Lia’s is one of the old dining establishments in the area (it's been there since 2004) known for its signature Avocado Cakes.