Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Acting Café: Pudong Airport, Shanghai China

Acting Café 
Pudong Airport, Shanghai China 

On our way back to Manila after a 2- week vacation in Shanghai,
we stumbled upon Acting Café at the Pudong  International Airport.

 

It was just right at the departure area
and we decided to have our lunch there.

 

Shrimp Wonton with Noodles is my family’s favorite
comfort food. This classic wonton noodle soup was so
tasty and a perfect prelude to an authentic Chinese meal.


The boneless Braised Spare Ribs was very tender.
Bathed in a fragrant sauce laced with ginger and herbs.
and was served with a generous mound of white rice.

 

Sirloin Steak just might be America’s favorite cut of beef,
but the Chinese chef cooked the steak without skimping
the flavor. I have never tasted any other melt in your mouth
steak that is so luscious and leaves a tasty buttery aftertaste.


The Assorted Barbecued Meat was heaven served in a platter.
A combination of three lip smacking barbecue treats; flawlessly
roasted duck, oven baked pork rind with wonderful crunchy skin
and slabs of  braised pork grilled to mouth-watering perfection.


Acting Café gave my family’s most awesome culinary
conclusion for our two- week China spring vacation.


Saturday, August 24, 2019

Lokwan: Budget Friendly Authentic Taiwanese Cuisine

Lokwan
Budget Friendly Authentic Taiwanese Cuisine

Lokwan is a Taiwanese restaurant
that recently opened at Winwin Mall.

 

I would say it offers authentic Taiwanese cuisine as ir
is apparently owned  by  true- blue Taiwanese. It was 
our first  time here and we didn’t know what to expect.


We had Shark’s Fin Dumplings as appetizer and
they were so good that we have to order some more.

 

The Maki Soup had generous tender slices
of pork cooked in a delicious and aromatic
brown broth with flat noodles and veggies.


Lumpia Shanghai, I believe is a Filipino dish
and not of Chinese origin as the name implies.
The bite-size  meat spring rolls was addictingly
crunchy and was fried to a golden perfection.


This is probably one of the best tasting stuffed shrimps
we ever tasted. Liok Pit He as described in the menu
(Diok Pit He in other Chinese restaurants). It is similar o
 Pinoy’s relleno. The stuffed shrimp was wrapped with
breaded pork and fried to golden crispy perfection.


Lechon Macau is the counterpart of Pinoy’s Lechon Kawali.
While in the latter uses a pre- cooked slab of pork belly that
is later deep fried, the Chinese version, goes directly into the
oven and roasted. This version had a perfectly crunchy skin
and tender meat that was bathed with a delicious liver sauce.

 

The tangy Lemon Chicken was also very delicious.
This version of used chicken pieces coated in batter,
deep-fried and served with the lemon-glaze sauce.


We love ampalaya as it is my family’s favorite vegetable.
Lokwan’s Stir Fried Ampalaya with Tausi has some
oriental blend with the addition of oyster sauce and black
beans. The extra brine was a tasty addition to the dish


Everything that was  very delicious and we only paid a little 
over one thousand pesos for a hearty seven course authentic 
Taiwanese dinner. Lokwan is one budget friendly restaurant.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Red Platter’s Crispy Sisig: Bicolano Sisig to Die For

Red Platter’s Crispy Sisig 
Bicolano Sisig to Die For

Red Platter is one of my family’s favorite restaurants
but the horrible traffic in Magsaysay and the lack of
parking space at the Cereza where it is located are two
reasons why we haven’t dined here for a long very  time.

 

It is one of the rare moments that we chanced into
a vacant parking space, so we got to dine here again.

 



Red Platter is a beautiful restaurant with homey
ambiance that serves delicious Bicolano dishes,

 


 

…but we had a pleasant surprise when we
tried their Crispy Sisig for the first time.

 

Sisig is making waves in the global culinary scene
was given a delightful crunchy twist by using fried
pork mixed with a sweetish- tangy mayo dressing
It was spiced with just the right sting of siling labuyo.


A delightful Bicolano twist to this Kapmpangan dish.
A yummy sisig to die for, literally and metaphorically 

Read the links below for related posts:

Red Platter Chef Recommends The Unique Bicol Cordon Blue
Red Platter Home Grown Cuisine, Homey Ambiance
Red Platter; Bicol Cuisine in an Old English Setting  

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Cibo: Italian Cuisine at Its Best


Cibo 
Italian Cuisine at Its Best 

As a culinary prelude to our upcoming trio to Italy,
we had lunch in Italianni’s which we tremendously
enjoyed. We could never get enough of Italian food
so we dined in Cibo to sample another Italian fare.



The Pineapple Slush, 



… and the Fresh Lemonade
were very refreshing.



There was and abundance of various chopped fresh veggies
on the Ministrone alla Genovese or Garden Vegetable Soup.
It was a deliciously chunky, tasty yet healthy meal starter.



We loved the Beef Tenderloin Steak. Listed as Manzo Tagliata
in the menu it was cooked to a tender medium rare perfection.
Served with grilled onion tomatoes and chewy ciabatta bread.



Our all time favorite dish; the juicy pan seared Tuna.
Labeled as Tonno in the menu, it was teeming with
the taste and aroma of fragrant herbs and spices.
It was served with grilled onion, grilled tomatoes,
and a generous mound herbed risotto on the sides.

 

We concluded our dinner with a gloriously delicious 
Apple Pie. The best that we have ever tasted so far.

 

So far we enjoyed the two Italian restaurants
where we dined while we were renewing our
Shcengen Visa for our upcoming European trip.

 



Both served as a wonderful culinary
prelude for family’s Italian vacation.

Read the link below for related post:

Italliani's  Culinary Prelude to Italy


Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Italliani's: Culinary Prelude to Italy

Italliani's 
Culinary Prelude to Italy

We came to Manila to renew our Schengen Visa for
my family’s upcoming Italian vacation. We stumbled
on Italliani’s in Glorietta and we decided to dine there.


Considered as one of the best Italian restaurants
in the Philippines, they serve American-Italian
traditional cuisine like pastas and pizzas.


They initially served a basket of Tuscan Bread
I’m not a fan of this pale-crusted bread, as it is
bland and unappetizing. It was served for free-
but I would not order one if I had to pay for it.


The Pizza Margherita was heaven served in a perfectly chewy
dough. Topped with tomatoes, and oozing with the delightfully
intermixing flavors of four kinds of cheeses- mozzarella, asiago,
parmesan and provolone, abundantly sprinkled with fresh basil.


The Seafood Cioppino Pasta, was a perfect American Italian
fusion dish. A San Francisco style fish stew and Italian spaghetti
rolled into one. They generously added varied seafood like mussels,
shrimps, clams, calamari and  spiced with chili flakes and aromatics.


An Italian classic, the Spaghetti Pomodoro was a delicious
light pasta dish. The wispy tomato based light sauce tasted
fresh and emitted a delightful aftertaste of  garlic and basil


The Grilled Pork Chop Au Poivre was very delicious.
Grilled to a tender an juicy perfection the pepper-crusted
pork chops was served with rosemary potatoes, carrots,
crispy-fried spinach and wild mushroom as side dishes.
It was bathed with tasty and aromatic marsala wine sauce.


It was a wonderful Italian dinner and an awesome
prelude to our sojourn in sophisticated city of Milan,

 

… and elegant and regal Venice.


Saturday, August 10, 2019

Granjeros: Delicious Vegan Dishes


Granjeros 
Delicious Vegan Dishes 

We were lucky we found a parking space at the 
Cereza Magsaysay, where Granjeros was located.



We have been longing top dine in this restaurant
for along long time but the traffic, the chaos and
the lack of parking in Magsaysay Strip has gotten
worse that we have avoided the place like a plague.



Upon arriving, we ordered Ginger Turmeric Tea 
which was an ideal dinner prelude as it is healthy
concoction with a soothing effect. A perfect way
to relax after a stressful traffic- choked driving.

 

The Kalamansi Honey Juice very refreshing.

 

We ordered Langka Ribs Bowl, came as organic rice served in a
 bowl topped with what appears to be pork ribs but actually made of 
unripe jackfruit.  This could deceive everyone as it had a texture and 
 taste exactly just like the real thing. It was coated by what appears
 like a layer of fat, but a glutinous gel made to look and taste like one.



The Vegan Embutido appeared just like a meatloaf.
It is made of various veggies and interestingly tastes
better than the original unhealthy meat counterpart.

 

The Vegan Lechon Kawali is deceiving in look and in taste as
 it has everything on it from the chewy flesh, melt in the mouth fat
and crunchy skin. It’s a case of something that looks like a pork,
tastes like a pork but is not. It is something healthier as it was made
of textured vegetable protein made to look and taste like the real thing. 

 

Granjeros is an awesome restaurant that satisfies
carnivorous cravings with delicious vegan dishes