Bouchon Bistro in Beverly Hills, California

I call myself lucky because in the rare times that I'd get sent to a business trip..I was sent to the United States. Also, of all the states there is in this country, I ended up flying to California where my Ahia Jeff is based.


So, on the first day of my vacation here in the US, I made plans to have dinner with my cousin. I guess being a food-lover runs in our family (in my case on both sides) as Ahia Jeff made reservations at Bouchon Bistro, a popular French restaurant owned by a Michelin-star awardee Chef Tom Keller. Aside from Bouchon Bistro, he also owns the high-end restaurant French Laundry.

We agreed to meet at 7PM but traffic was so bad that despite leaving an hour early, we got stuck along the freeway and arrived 45 minutes past 7. Sadly, due to this, Ahia Jeff lost his reservation as it takes one more than a month to get a table here as it's always packed with guests every night. We ended up having dinner at the bar area at the ground floor. Our server was so nice that they allowed us to order from the Bistro menu since it's impossible to get another table not unless we'd be willing to wait for two more hours.

So we settled for our rather small but cozy nook and took our pick from their menu. Ahia Jeff took care of ordering our appetizers and thus our meal began with the following:

Cheesecake Factory in California, USA

Tonight, L and I celebrated the start of our real vacation here in the US. She's heading to the east to bond with her siblings while I will be joining Paul as we explore cool and laid-back California. Taking the recommendation of our business partner here in the US, he told us not to miss out on visiting Fashion Island in Newport Beach. This area is part of my list as I would love to check out the setting of the hit TV series, The O.C. Although, I'm not a fan nor a viewer of the show, I'd still like to see the place myself.

As Irvine is purely a business district filled with tall office buildings, Newport has a different vibe. With huge houses and lush greeneries, it definitely looks and feel like this is the upscale part of the Orange Country.

Fashion Mall is HUGE! I'm simply amazed that major retailers would really acquire a huge piece of real estate as most shops in this part of town is almost of the same size as our average supermarket back home. This, I'm talking about the likes of Macy's, Forever 21, etc. One big brand taking a huge space. Luckily, most shops are having a sale right now so I exactly know what I'd be doing for the rest of my stay here.

After walking around Fashion Island and checking some of the stores out, we began our search on where to have dinner. Thanks to Junjun who has been our ever-reliable guide for the past three days, we headed out to Cheesecake Factory, a restaurant that I've been hearing a lot about and boy, am I excited to finally be able to give it a try.


Initially I thought that Cheesecake Factory is simply a dessert place but I was immediately corrected as it actually serves what I'd call "real food". Entering the store, I was greeted by the huge chillers that contains all of their cakes. What a mouthwatering sight!!!

Onboard Delta Airlines (Manila - Narita - Los Angeles)

Greetings from cold and sunny California! After 16 long hours of trying to keep still and stay as comfortable as we can in the plane, Paul, Leah and I finally made it to the U.S.A.!!! While I'm trying to decide whether to catch some sleep as it's already 3 in the afternoon here and run the risk of staying up the entire evening later or to just withstand the urge to shut my heavy eyelids to be able to enjoy a deep slumber later, I think I'll just share with you how our transit was via Delta Airlines.

The Good Things

First and foremost, I love the service. We were well taken cared of by the flight attendants at any given point of the flight. I particularly liked one Chinese flight attendant who was very attentive to our needs. Upon knowing that Paul and I are Chinese too, she began speaking to us in Mandarin which I struggled to respond in small broken phrases and relied on my husband to supply the missing words. (Oh, how I wish I took my Mandarin classes more seriously tsk tsk)

Secondly, the in-flight entertainment was pretty ok too. I watched GLEE though it was an old season and Big Bang Theory twice today. Currently LSS-ing on the GLEE songs. The movie was just a-ok, since we didn't have our own TV screens in the Economy section, I had to just watch the big screen in front. Only one movie was shown from the flight from Manila to Narita, Japan and three in our second flight from Japan to Los Angeles, USA. It would have been better if we had our personal screens to be able to choose the shows and movies that we'd like to watch.

Lastly, the food. I had very little expectations of Delta's food as I haven't received any positive raves about it not were there rants. Let me share with you our menu line-up for today:

1) Flight #1: Manila, Philippines to Narita, Japan

We were given two breakfast choices:

Beef Tapsilog

Spam, Egg and Hashed Browns

Paul got the Tapsilog which he said was quite tender and good. While I enjoyed my spam, scrambled egg and hashed browns. I find the potato too mushy though. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant meal.

2) Flight #2: Narita, Japan to Los Angeles, USA


I think I did nothing but to eat in this flight. From the moment we sat down, we were given a pack of nuts and our choice of drinks. I had a heavy lunch at the Narita Airport so I chose to have Japanese Green Tea. Delicious!

Goodbye for Now!!!

Here we go again!

We've packed our bags, double triple checked our documents and printed out our itinerary.

We're off to a trip that took only two months for us to prepare and boy, am I excited!! :)

I can't wait to see what the USA has to offer!

I'll be back soon with more stories and food discoveries to share. So it's goodbye for now! :)

See you soon, dear readers.

p.s. thanks to my sweet Mommy for the new bag tag! I ♥ it!

Signing off,
Fran

Budget Eats : Binalot

Early this year, when I was creating my list of restaurants that I would like to try for 2011, Paul gave me a great idea -- why don't I challenge myself in finding budget-friendly places that will be able to give me a complete meal for P180 or less? I guess he noticed that majority of our savings really do go to food and it's really time to spend wisely. I was definitely up for the challenge.

Thus, I officially launch a new series here at Frannywanny.com called Budget Eats!


Today, I start with Binalot, a popular food chain that I've been forever curious to try. For the past years, I've been seeing a lot of my colleagues having their lunch wrapped in banana leaf -- it's our Pinoy-version rice toppings with a generous serving of rice and their choice of meat served with salted egg and tomatoes. Binalot has been known for their rice meals and how successful they have been with their menu line-up can be seen with the numerous branches that have been growing like mushrooms.

One afternoon, Paul and I decided to accept the invitation of Joy, Binalot's Marketing Manager to have lunch at the new Binalot branch in California Garden Square in Mandaluyong City. Incidentally, this is also the nearest branch already to our home.

Good thing, Saturday traffic was pretty light that we got there in time for our lunch date with Joy. Thanks to the recommendations of fellow bloggers, I had made up my mind on what to get prior to arriving at the restaurant. I was craving for beef with salted egg that is why I went for the Bistek Walastik (Php. 83) while Paul got the Tapa rap Sarap (Php. 89). Joy also got the Sisig na Makisig (Php. 75), her favorite No Bones Daing na Bangus (Php. 85) and a bowl of Sinigang with a Bang (Php. 80) to share.As you can see, Binalot has a thing with giving catchy names perhaps for easier recall.


The Bistek Walastik had a huge serving of plain rice topped with chunky beef steak. What really got me to love this was the salted egg and tomato mix. I just love having a piece of salted egg and tomato with my beef steak in every scoop.The beef was juicy yet I would have loved it if it had more onions and sliced in smaller strips.


Paul, on the other hand, obviously enjoyed his Tapa rap Sarap. How'd we know? He has so quiet as he was busy enjoying his meal that he finished the entire thing in minutes. He loved it because it was very tender and it has a hint of spice due to the chopped sili.


We shared a bowl of the Sinigang with a Bang that has the perfect kick of sourness. I love the pork cubes and veggies found inside. This is a great comfort food after a long busy day at work or on a cold rainy day.


For our drinks, we had the Sago't Gulaman (Php. 15). This is Paul's favorite drink and while I can get pretty picky, I enjoyed chewing on the soft sago balls mixed with sweet chewy gelatin. It was not too sweet too which was perfect for my taste.


For dessert, we had the Leche Flan (Php. 45) which was very creamy. It makes a sweet ending to our simple budget-friendly meal.


A meal at Binalot will cost you a little more than Php. 150 per head and you already get your own rice topping, drink and dessert. Now, that's what I'd call a budget find! Furthermore, with every meal, you get to support the numeruos communities who have been working hard in providing those amazing banana leaves used in our rice meals. Now, not only is it friendly to the pocket, it makes you socially responsible too. :)

Thank you Joy for the Binalot treat! :)

*photo credit: Paul Ang

Check out your nearest Binalot outlet near you!

C' Italian Dining at Angeles, Pampanga

I'd say old habits die hard...and so does this almost half-a-decade-long tradition. It has been almost 5 years since Paul and I have been traveling to his hometown in Angeles, Pampanga every February to watch more than a dozen hot air balloons fly up in the sky. In the past years though, we manage to book a hotel room and spend the night in Angeles giving us sufficient time to wake up just about the right time before we should head to the Clark Air Field to catch the sunrise.

This year, we took the more challenging option which is to leave Manila at exactly 3AM to be able to get to Clark by 5. I guess word has really spread far and wide about this yearly event that we were faced with a bad traffic jam from the entrance of Clark up until the parking lot of the Air Field. At 430AM there was already a long line of cars filled with excited passengers hoping that they will make it inside on time.

We finally found our parking spot at 530AM and thanks to Richard and Irene who got tickets for us in advance, we quickly made a beeline towards the entrance as we pushed and shoved our way in.


The hot air balloon flight started a little past 7AM as they had to wait for the sun to rise. Slowly we saw huge hot air balloons in all shapes and sizes rise up to the sky and flew off to the other side of Pampanga (or to Never Never Land :P).

The crowd was bigger this time and we missed some of our personal favorites seen in the past shows. Still, the sight of twenty-something balloons up in the sky never fails to take my breath away.

As the sun continues to rise, we left the Air Field hungry and excited for breakfast. However we had to remind ourselves of our lunch reservation at C' Italian Dining thus we have to make sure breakfast will just be light... or rather we were hoping it would be. Due to the delay in getting to McDonald's along Balibago street as traffic was horrible everywhere, we ended up inhaling a set of Longganisa (native sausage) Meal each and sharing a box of large fries. Even so, our appetite was still ready for our big lunch ahead.

B&T Mexican Kitchen in Ortigas Avenue

After our fun reunion dinner with Ei at B&T last month, we were back again a week again this time with The Club to sample more of what B&T has to offer. We were a huge group of 10 and despite being seated in a long table, Philip of B&T still managed to fill up our table with food, food and more food!

Let me share with you a number of B&T dishes that I really enjoyed that evening:


While waiting for the others to arrive, we had baskets of Chips and Chili con Carne (Php. 180) to munch on. I had this also during my first visit and I love the crunchy colorful nachos. It's lightly salted allowing the Chili con Carne dip to shine. I'm glad that it doesn't have a hint of spice making it very kid-friendly.

Sisterly Love at Borough (Podium Mall)

My sister and I live under the same roof yet in these past few weeks, I hardly had the chance to chat with her. She has been very busy with work that she would come home late at night while I've been feeling extremely tired lately that I was already in bed as early as 10PM (sign of early aging? I hope not!).


I guess she misses me so much already (haha!) that she sent me an SMS last Friday inviting me to an afternoon bonding session before heading home. I immediately said yes and I was so excited that I hardly could sit through all my meetings that day. Finally at around 530PM, I left the office to head to Podium for our much-awaited bonding session. We agreed to meet at Borough, a restaurant that I've been wanting to try out. I'm glad my sister was game enough to take that longer walk to Podium from her office instead of just hopping over to SM Megamall. See, she misses me THAT much! :)

I bought a P495 coupon from Deal Grocer a month ago. It's a set consisting of: Buffalo Chicken Wings, All-Beef Cheeseburger and Mom's Milk and Cookies. The set is actually worth Php. 935 with service charge already and I find it a great deal buying it for almost half the price. I'm glad that I didn't have any problem presenting the coupon and availing of the set. Kudos to Deal Grocer in making sure all establishments are knowledgeable about the deal.


While waiting for my sister, I ordered a basket of Chips and Dip (Php. 110). I love the dip as it reminds me of our favorite Frito-Lay Sour Cream and Onion Dip. The chips was just ok, a bit too oily for my taste that I could hardly taste the potato and seasoning instead felt oil in every bite. We had a lot of chips left and when we asked for a refill of the dip, we were told that there will be additional charge for that. Shucks.


Finally my sister arrived and I signaled the server to bring out our set. First came the All-Beef Cheeseburger (Php. 360). We noticed how fat the patty was and as I was slicing the burger in half, I noticed that some meat were crumbling at the side. I love the bread though, this I found out that Borough makes their own breads. The patty was a bit dry and it lacks in flavor. Not worth the P360 price tag. Looking at the tables beside us, looks like the BBQ Pulled Pork seems to be a better choice. Will definitely try that next time.


After the burger, we had the Buffalo Chicken Wings (Php. 300), I'm glad that the server told me that it's a bit spicy so I proceeded with caution. With all the buffalo wings that I've tried in the past years, I can say that my tolerance of spicy dishes has went up a tiny notch. However, no matter how this has improved, I still couldn't take Borough's spicy Buffalo Chicken Wings. Just one bite and my entire mouth was in flames! Not even the bleu cheese can help tame the spiciness of the chicken. My sister was a trooper as she bravely ate most of the wings in the basket. I just had two pieces and I quickly raised the white flag. In fairness though, the chicken meat was tender however one piece that I got was still raw inside. The meat was still translucent and the ones near the bone was bloody red. I couldn't believe it as I know how long they have to deep-fry the chicken to be able to achieve the crunchy skin.

I was ready to tell my sister that I'm glad I got the coupon for a cheaper rate vs. having to pay for the full price of these dishes. None of the dishes that we've tried has still made an impact to our afternoon bonding session. But we're not the type who gives up so easily...we were still hopeful that we'll stumble upon a gem over our fun afternoon merienda.


Last to come out was a bucket of ice with a bottle of milk and a plate of cookies. Called Mom's Milk and Cookies (Php. 190), it's the cheapest among all that we've had in the set and the only one that we truly liked. We were quite disappointed with the dishes that we had earlier but this one totally made up for it. We love the warm chewy cookies that has a crunchy coating but inside you get to bite into the soft, delicious cookie dough that melts-in-your-mouth.


The milk was quite rich for my taste which we later found out was a mixture of fresh milk and ice cream. It's sweeter than your average milk and thicker in consistency too. The kids will surely love this. They serve the milk in shot glasses for you to be able to easily dunk your cookie in before taking a bite. It's funny because around us, people were having wine or beer with their meal while in the middle of Borough, you'll see two 20-something girls sharing a plate of warm cookies with shot glasses filled with milk!

Borough is open 24/7 where you can enjoy breakfast, lunch, dinner and even your midnight snack! For us, we'll probably be back for more milk and cookies and to try that BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich, Pumpkin Ravioli and more!

Borough is located at the Ground Floor of The Podium Mall, ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City. They have two entrances -- one inside the mall near Cantinetta and one outside by the driveway to the basement parking.

Love is in the air at Umu, Dusit Thani Manila

Through this blog, I was able to chronicle how we have been celebrating our Valentine's Day for the past 4 years.

First, there was that delicious pasta dinner at Pizzeria Toscana in 2008 and then we went Filipino over at Bagoong Club last 2009. While in 2010, we satisfied our craving of ribs at Tony Roma's.

Despite how we would seem to just do the same thing every year, which is to dine out, I always look forward to this red-letter day as I know each Valentine's date is always special with Paul. All the more, I was really excited this year as it will be our first Valentine's Day as a married couple.


Before going to bed last Friday, Paul decided that we're having our Valentine's lunch date the next day at Umu in Dusit Thani Manila. Even how much I'd still like to sleep till noon, the thought of enjoying platters of sushi and teppanyaki dishes made me really excited. At 11PM last Friday, my tummy was growling loudly, perhaps it's its way of showing how excited it also is for lunch the next day.

The moment I woke up, I called to make reservations for lunch. The person whom I spoke too mistakenly told me that there will be a Teppanyaki Buffet for lunch that day and it's only worth P1,200 nett per person. Wowee! Imagine having a fill of all my teppanyaki favorites? I excitedly woke Paul up and told him about it. Only for us to find out the moment we arrived at Umu that the Teppanyaki Buffet happens only during weekdays. Darn! I guess the person whom I spoke to was still sleepy when he took the call.

Still, we didn't let this sad news dampen our spirits. We were led to our table for two overlooking the well-manicured garden of the hotel. Paul told me to take care of ordering of lunch. Everything in the menu sounded delicious and I really had a hard time choosing which ones to order.

Well, with our server's help, here's what we had for our Valentine's date:


Pumpkin Tofu (complimentary)
This is their appetizer and I love the unique blend of sweet pumpkin on silky Japanese tofu. I liked the small dot of wasabi on top which heightened the flavor even more.


Philippine Maki
I was really expecting a regular sized California Maki-like platter but I was surprised to see a HUGE roll of maki with sweet mangoes, cucumber and kani. Yes, it still resembles that of a California Maki but a bigger version. With 8 pieces, this is good for 2-3 pax. I love the drizzle of sweet Japanese mayonnaise and the generous serving of tobiko (orange caviar). My biggest frustrations when dining at any commercialized Japanese restaurants here is that I have to beg for more tobiko. At Umu, I was in tobiko heaven.


Ebi Tempura
To be honest, I'm not a huge ebi tempura fan but this one I couldn't pass up as my mom would say the best way to check the authenticity of a Japanese restaurant is to see how they prepare two things: a tamago sushi and ebi tempura.

We chose the Philippine Maki over the Tamago Sushi but I made sure we had a plate of Ebi Tempura. We got 6 huge shrimps (or was it prawns) in one order. I love the light soy sauce that has a very distinct Japanese taste. The ebi tempura was well-coated and perfectly deep-fried giving it a light crunch on the outside and juicy, plump shrimp inside. I went home telling Mommy that Umu has passed the Ebi Tempura authenticity test.


Gindara Teriyaki
I love seafood and Gindara is one of my favorite fish. I love how the meat melts in my mouth and the sweet teriyaki sauce lightly coats the entire fish. Paul, on the other hand, enjoyed munching on the skin as it has a crunchy texture minus the scaly feeling you'd get in other types of fish. The gindara just felt so clean and fresh that I'd love to have this every single day. Oishi-desu!


Wafu Steak
We wanted meat and that's the reason why we chose the Wafu Steak. When the server asked Paul how he wanted his beef done, Paul quickly answered "medium well". We were expecting a tender slice of Rib-eye steak but were both quite disappointed that each piece was tough and chewy. Too bad as we loved the sauce and the garnish but not the beef. It was a bit of a struggle to chew on each piece. This was the only dish that didn't made it to the cut. Wish we ordered something else.


Beef Yakimeshi
To go with the dishes mentioned above, we ordered two types of Yakimeshi (fried rice). Paul had the Beef Yakimeshi which he said was very delicious and the rice was very soft and fluffy.


Seafood Yakimeshi
I, on the other hand, ordered the Seafood Yakimeshi which was exactly like Paul's fried rice only it's mixed with tiny bits of shrimp. As usual, Japanese rice is the best and this Yakimeshi is no exception. Despite the server telling us that one order is just good for one, if you have a lot of dishes to try and do not really have a huge appetite, it can actually be shared by two people. I went to Umu really hungry but after having the maki, tofu and seafood dishes, I could hardly finish off my bowl of Yakimeshi.

We had a lovely time at Umu. The service was wonderful and our server was very attentive. I appreciated the fact that we didn't have to lift a finger to have them refill our tea cups and water glasses. She was also game enough to recommend some dishes and shared with us more information about the restaurant's ongoing promotions.


I love the quiet and relaxed ambiance of the restaurant. There were only 5 tables filled that lunch time and having a lovely lunch with my sweet husband truly gives me so much reason why I love Valentine's Day.

Happy Hearts Day, dear readers! ♥

*photo credit: Paul Ang

Umu is at the ground level of the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel, Ayala Center corner EDSA in Makati City. Call 8673333 for reservations.

Reunited at Shi Lin (Podium Mall)

Four years.

It has been four long years since college friends Daff, Anne, Tim, Len, Paul and yours truly shared a meal together.

Call it falling out. We've had our own drama episodes in the past until little by little we've learned to pull down our pride and agreed to start on a clean slate.

After all, that's what friendship is all about, right?

Paul and I would regularly double date with soon-to-wed Len and Tim and last Wednesday night was no different. I sent Len an SMS to ask how she's doing and she invited me out to dinner. Only this time, she asked if I am game to invite Anne and Daff to join us. Without hesitation, I texted back, "sure, why not?!" I haven't seen them for a long time and it would really be nice to catch up with old friends..after all, we've known each other for more than a decade already. Looking back, they were all seated at the front row as they watched my love story with Paul unfold.


We agreed to meet at Shi Lin at the Podium Mall after me hearing Didi rave non-stop about it. I am still currently on a look out for the best Xiao Long Bao in town and after listening to Didi's experience with Shi Lin I was very excited! Prior to my visit to Shi Lin, HK Choi holds the top spot of having one of the best Xiao Long Baos in the Metro..let's see if Shi Lin can beat that.


I called Shi Lin a day prior to our dinner date and made reservations. I was surprised that they had two seatings : 6PM and 8PM. Wow! The restaurant must be jam-packed just like in Crystal Jade or in Singapore's Din Tai Fung! All the more, I was excited as I chose the 8PM slot for me and my friends.


All of us arrived an hour early and while Paul and I were on our way up to the 3rd floor, we bumped into Len and Daff who were also walking towards the restaurant. We decided to take a peek and hope that there'll be a table ready for us. I was shock that the restaurant was empty. Apparently, no one took the 6PM slot or it was just a slow day for Shi Lin that day. We were quickly ushered to our seat by the window as I admired the pretty modern Chinese interiors. Just like any Xiao Long Bao / Noodle restaurant, there's a show window where you can see the kitchen crew at work.

Similar to what other bloggers have commented, Shi Lin has a very simple, straight-forward menu. It was quite easy for us to choose what to order. Of course, I was there to try their Xiao Long Bao (Php. 210/10pcs) so this was the first thing that we chose from the menu. We also got the Shrimp and Pork Siomai (Php. 145/6pcs), Fried Chicken Chops (Php. 160), Noodles with Sesame and Peanut Sauce (Php. 130) and lastly the Fried Rice with Shirmp, Pork and Egg (Php. 115).

Let me talk about them one by one:


Xiao Long Bao
I was quite disappointed that the wrapper was very thin that it broke the moment I tried to pick it up with my chopsticks. All I got was the very thin wrapper and a small meatball-like filling. It would be great if they can make the wrapper a little bit mnore thicker and to add more soup in just like Din Tai Fung's famous Xiao Long Bao.


On the up side though, I like the fact that they have step-by-step guide on how to eat Xiao Long Bao. This is because not everyone has ever encountered this type of dimsum and for those unaware on the proper way of eating, it can be pretty messy.

Here's Anne and Daff learning how to eat their very first Xiao Long Bao! Great job girls!


Pork and Shrimp Siomai
I was attracted to the pretty photo of this dimsum on the menu. I'm glad that the siomai came looking exactly like that but I noticed that the wrapper was a bit dry however I was surprised that there was actually soup stock in the siomai. It actually had more stocks than the Xiao Long Bao. Which made us wonder why was there soup inside the siomai?


Noodles with Sesame and Peanut Sauce
This is one dish that I highly recommend ordering here at Shi Lin. I love how al dente the noodles were and the sauce was creamy and nutty making every bite enjoyable. They have a spicy version but everyone in the table unanimously voted for the non-spicy one. It was very good that I think I can finish up an order all on my own.


Fried Chicken Chop
When we first arrived at the restaurant, Len commented that the name reminds her of the famous night market in Taipei. Hence, in Taipei, they are famous for their Chicken Chops. We did not pass up the opportunity to try this out however we were quite disappointed as the chicken chops fell short from our expectations. It was rather bland and the meat was not very tender. This is something we could have done without.


Fried Rice with Pork, Shrimp and Egg
I've mentioned quite often how much I love fried rice. This could have complemented the chicken chop and the dimsum. I love the fact that they have added in a generous amount of shrimps more then pork strips and egg. The fried rice was just ok, nothing spectacular about it but I'd probably get the one with porkchop next time.

Over-all, the food in Shi Lin was pretty satisfactory. Except for the noodles, everything was just a-ok. I will go back though for the delicious noodles and maybe next time I'll try the other meat and vegetable dishes. Furthermore, Shi Lin charges for their tea, no service tea available here and their hot tea comes in unique flavors. Better perhaps to just enjoy your meal with a can of Coca-Cola. I'm glad though the the price was pretty reasonable, we just paid Php. 185 each after dividing the total bill by 6. Not bad.

What made our evening though were the stories shared just like old times...yes, just like old times. :)

Click to enlarge Shi Lin's menu

*photos by Paul Ang

Shi Lin is located at the 3rd Floor of the Podium Mall, ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City.

Coco Asian Kitchen at the Greenhills Promenade

Last Monday, Chris invited the Club to dine at Coco Asian Kitchen at the Greenhills Promenade. Paul and I are familiar with this restaurant that opened last 2009 but never got around to trying it as we were loaded with wedding preparations for the first half of last year and an assortment of trips for the second half of 2010.


This just goes to show how time flies, while we frequent the Greenhills Shopping Center almost twice in a month, we would just have enough time to run our errands of paying the bills, buying some groceries or having our clothes altered. It has been a while since we had the privilege to leisurely stroll around and try the new restaurants in this area. I'm glad that 2011 seems to be a more laid-back year for us. Giving us sufficient relaxing weekends and weeknights where we can unwind either as a twosome or with our group of friends.

We were introduced to the owners of Coco Asian Kitchen, a local concept with dishes taken from various Asian cuisines. With the countries listed under its main signage, I initially thought it's a local franchise from an international restaurant brand. I'm glad that Andrew Tan, cleared that up with us.


As soon as the group was complete, our dinner began with plates of Ube Ubod (Php. 120). I peered closely at the purple pouch-like lumpia in front of me. We were told that the wrapper is made with ube thus the dark purple color. Inside is like your regular lumpia ubod that Paul and I love.

Ubod, is also called the Heart of Palm that comes from a Coconut Tree. Paul and I both love the native lumpia ubod with a generous sprinkling of peanuts and the sweet sticky sauce. However, I was delighted with Coco Asian Kitchen's version where they served it with peanut sauce.


Another appetizer that we enjoyed that evening was the Cha Gio (Php 90) a Chinese-sounding dish, we later found out that it's Coco Asian Kitchen's (CAK) version of the popular Vietnamese spring roll. It was very filling and best eaten with vinegar. While I love my spring rolls fresh, this one was worth trying too.


To warm up our tummies, we had the Tom Yum Soup (Php. 90). One order will give you a big bowl good for 2-3 pax to share. I love the mushroom and seafood added into the soup. While it's known to be a very spicy Thai soup, I'm glad that CAK has adjusted the spicy level making it bearable for my taste buds. I actually had two servings of the soup, yup! it was THAT good :)


Next was my ultimate favorite -- the Dory ala Coco (Php. 290). A delicious serving of dory fillet breaded and deep-fried but CAK has maintained the tenderness of the fish inside. I love the sweet coconut sauce that I couldn't stop pouring over my rice. It's served with a handful of fried rice noodles as garnish too. I recommend for you to crush this and mix some of the sauce into the noodles. I will definitely go back to Coco Asian Kitchen for more of this!


The Thai Lengua (Php. 260) was also worth trying. I love lengua and I was really happy that CAK's lengua was tender that you can just tear it apart with your spoon and fork. While the sauce was rich and flavorful, I still prefer to pour the coconut sauce of the dory over my rice.


Coco Asian Kitchen's answer to the Bicolanos' Bicol Express is the Coco Express (Php. 190). Cooked with sweet coconut milk, we also enjoyed the rich and creamy texture combined with bits of veggies and meat. No trace of spiciness here which is also safe for the kids to eat.


We also had the Tinomok (Php. 260) which is also a must-try. If you love Laing, then you'll enjoy the Tinomok which has gabi leaves stuffed with meat and cooked once again with gata (coconut milk). One order is pretty good for groups of two to three already.


Lastly, to fully enjoy all of the dishes served to us that evening, we had the Seafood Rice which is a new item that's yet to be included in the menu. Thanks to the owners of Coco Asian Kitchen for allowing us to have a taste of their delicious fried rice. It went perfectly well with everything! The fish, lengua, tinomok, you name it! I love the light, fluffy yellow rice mixed with shrimps and spring onions. Yum!

There are still a lot more dishes that we have yet to try on our next return such as the Green Curry Chicken, Hainanese Rice and more. However I will definitely be trooping back to Coco Asian Kitchen for another round of the Seafood Rice matched with the delicious Dory ala Coco! Now, there's a great option on where to grab a bite when you find yourselves in Greenhills Shopping Center this weekend. ;) 

*photos by Paul Ang

Coco Asian Kitchen is located at the Ground Floor of the Greenhills Promenade, Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan City.