Kimukatsu: Japan’s Favorite 25-Layered Tonkatsu

Just when we thought the katsu craze is over, Japan’s favorite 25-layered mille-feuille style tonkatsu finally arrives in Manila, giving Yabu: House of Katsu a run for their money! Kimukatsu opens their 5th international branch in the Philippines after their great success in Hawaii, California (2 branches), and South Korea.

Four Flavor Kimukatsu Set v2

Imagine our delight when we received an invite from Kimukatsu to try their famous tonkatsu. With our extreme love for Japanese food, how could we say no? 😀 We headed over to their Shangri-La branch for lunch and met with Kenji Komuro, Kimukatsu Philippines Director of Public Relations, who gave us a quick tour and a rundown of their menu.

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Shop For Great French Champagne

People who want to shop French Champagne should consider that they have many options when looking. There are several styles of French Champagne on the market, but people need to make sure that they are getting the Champagne that tastes the best to them. The best part of choosing is that it can come in a variety of flavors. Some Champagnes sparkle more than others, and some are made from special wines.

Top Champagne brands from Wine Folly

 

THE SPARKLE

The sparkle that is produced in the wine occurs because of fermentation that is done on the wines. The sparkle for some wines is very intense, and that is how people like it. Other people prefer their Champagnes to be a little more dull. The less sparkle a Champagne has, the more someone can taste the actual flavor of the wine. This means that people need to choose carefully when they are looking for the right Champagne.

 

THE VINEYARD

Many people prefer to get a Champagne from the same vineyard that produces their favorite wine. This means that someone’s favorite wine is used to make the Champagne they prefer the most. There are other times when people are going to choose Champagnes that are markedly different from the wines that they like. The variety that people prefer in their wines speaks to the vineyard they like the most.

Portrait and new menu items

 

THE SIZE

There are many sizes of Champagne on the market that people can enjoy. There are large sizes, but there are smaller bottles that people can use for parties, too. People must choose the amount of Champagne that they need for their party, but they also need to make sure they can serve everyone comfortably.

When people want to select the right kind of Champagne for their purposes, they must remember that the flavor, sparkle and size of the Champagne. Champagne is a great way to celebrate with loved ones, and it can be used to produce some of the most amazing drinks in the world. With the help of the right Champagne, it is easy to celebrate in style.

Where to Eat in Malabon : A Food Tour

Malabon City Food Tour

Growing up in Navotas and then moving to Malabon almost a decade ago, my bro and I have always had easy access to really good food. This has shaped our lives, which is why we now have this unconditional love for food and cooking.

Malabon, in particular, is known for hearty and flavorful dishes, so it’s no wonder that there are many hole-in-the-wall places here that would surprise you with their straightforwardly delicious food.

Malabon Food Tour

I’m sure many of you are already familiar with Dolors Kakanin (a staple in parties here), Pancit Malabon and Arny-Dading’s Peachy-Peachy. To be honest, we’ve been busy scouring the Metro for new restaurants that we haven’t finished discovering all the local and must-visit food places here in Malabon (we’ve already started since we were planning on a The Burp Society Malabon food tour).

After the successful Malabon Kulinarya Festival that we attended in 2012, we were more than glad to help out when we were contacted by Cleah (from the Office of the Mayor) about organizing a bloggers food tour in time for the 400th anniversary of San Bartolome Church, one of the oldest churches here in the Philippines.

Early Sunday on Mother’s Day, we met our fellow bloggers at the city hall. Ken and I didn’t have breakfast since we knew we were going to be stuffed by the end of the tour. Well, ‘stuffed’ is an understatement. Let me just say that we all underestimated what Cleah and the participating food places had planned for us. 😀 Read on.

Update: We know there are many other places here in Malabon that we weren’t able to cover because we had limited time to go to all of them during the food tour. We’ll have a separate post to feature the rest of the ones that have been around for ages and other scrumptious dishes you can find here in Malabon. 🙂

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Celebrate the Best of Filipino Cuisine at Corniche of Diamond Hotel

There are but a few world class hotels in the Philippines that celebrate the culinary heritage of their host country. Diamond Hotel is one of those few, and they promote our rich cuisine by launching an annual Filipino Food Festival. This year, they have asked 3 of Manila’s most celebrated chefs to come aboard and showcase their prowess by reinventing all-time Pinoy favorites at The Best of Filipino Cuisine lunch and dinner buffet in Corniche Restaurant from May 13–23, 2014.

Corniche The Best of Filipino Cuisine - Diamond Hotel

 

FILIPINO CELEBRITY CHEFS + DIAMOND HOTEL EXECUTIVE CHEF

Filipino celebrity chefs Bruce Lim, Sau del Rosario and JP Anglo join Diamond Hotel’s Executive Chef Marko Rankel in celebrating the flavors of Filipino cuisine. We loved every twist they added to the dishes they prepared for this food festival. 🙂

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Eat Like a Viking at Vikings SM Megamall

If it’s not obvious yet, Ken and I love eat-all-you-can buffets. We’ve had our fair share of both good and mediocre buffet restaurants. As we eat our way through all of the buffet places here in the metro, our standards continue to heighten. But, really, it was all because of Vikings Luxury Buffet.

Vikings Buffet in SM Megamall Mega Fashion Hall

We first had dinner at their SM North Edsa branch a year ago on a weekday. We were amazed by the variety of dishes they were offering, and the best part is you can enjoy everything for only Php 688 during lunch time and Php 888 for dinner and weekend/holiday lunch. There are other buffet restaurants that offer less quality selections for a higher price, so we were happy to see we’re getting much more than just our money’s worth at Vikings.

Fast forward to last month, we were invited to dine in at Vikings new branch in SM Megamall, at the Mega Fashion Hall. We already loved their buffet in SM North Edsa, but this new location is pretty special. 🙂

Vikings SM Megamall's desserts area

With an abundant selection of dishes – from Filipino, Japanese and Chinese dishes, to generous servings of flavorful meats, and custom pizza and pasta – Vikings Luxury Buffet in SM Megamall will definitely satisfy your every craving. Let me start by telling you about the highlights of our lunches at their new branch at the Mega Fashion Hall – first was with family, and next was a generous invite extended to The Burp Society (post about our meet-up there soon on TBS’ blog!).

The Burp Society at Vikings SM Megamall

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A Luxurious Lunch at Spiral in Sofitel Manila

Our family loves eating at buffets. It all began when our Nanay finally decided that she’s too old to throw grand parties at home. We can’t blame her though. She painstakingly handles everything from planning, shopping, cooking, and even cleaning up. Since then, buffets have become our go-to place when we’re celebrating something special. We’ve tried a number of buffet places like Yakimix, Café Jeepney, Seoul Garden, 7 Corners of Crowne Plaza, F Restaurant at F1 Hotel and our recent favorite, Viking’s. But one place we’re dying to try is Spiral at Sofitel Manila. We were supposed to celebrate our nanay’s birthday at their restaurant earlier this year, but she had something else in mind.

The new Spiral buffet restaurant

 

The New Spiral

After the devastation Typhoon Pedring had caused, Spiral had to close for 13 months as it went under an $11-million renovation. They took inspiration from the Filipinos’ resilience and viewed all that has happened as a blessing in disguise. They were given a clean slate and a chance to start all over again. And as the saying goes — “When you’re down, there’s no way to go but up.” Boy, did Spiral soar high! The old Spiral was already great, but the new one definitely blew all competition out of the water!

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Oishi Smart C+ : a Refreshing Daily Dose of Vitamin C

With the bipolar weather we’ve been experiencing lately, it’s easy to get sick, especially when you’re like Ken and I who work nights. That’s why we never fail to supplement our diets with food and drinks rich in iron and Vitamin C like fresh fruits and citrus juices. One of our recent favorites is Oishi Smart C+.

Oishi Smart C  contains 500mg of Vitamin C

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Bohol Bee Farm : a Foodie Haven

When we planned to travel to Bohol back in 2012 for our birthdays, Ken kept on insisting that we pick Bohol Bee Farm for our accommodation. He told me nonstop about how good their food was and that I’ll love our stay there. He was 100% spot on!

Our family of 3 at Bohol Bee Farm

What we love most about Bohol Bee Farm is they continue to stay true to what they are all about. They boast of using organic ingredients in preparing their dishes, which means no fertilizers, pesticides or anything harmful were used in their farming. Most of them are produced from their own farms, and right there at Bohol Bee Farm (read about our tour on Travelsilog -soon!). They highly support organic farming and, in turn, has given jobs to Boholanos, especially with their livelihood projects at the farm.

Bohol Bee Farm - a charming resort for you and your family

Since they were also planting their own herbs and vegetables, you can taste the freshness of the ingredients. And the food wasn’t just healthful, but quite good too.

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Harry Potter Fans, Get Your Butterbeer Fix at Starbucks!

Having read all 7 books, I could pretty much say I grew up with Harry Potter. It didn’t really bother me that I just borrowed all the books from my classmates and never really owned a single copy until I finally got into college. What frustrated me the most is the fact that there are a lot of magical food in Harry Potter I could never get a taste of in real life, and one of them is Butterbeer!

Butterbeer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

There’s no way I can rub elbows with witches and wizards at Hogsmeade while downing a glass of authentic Butterbeer, and the same thing goes to my chances of heading to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando to get a knockoff version of the drink any time soon. But I’ve recently discovered a secret that would finally put my Butterbeer cravings to rest! Baristas from Starbucks cracked the code to a perfectly yummy Butterbeer. It’s a secret recipe and they don’t have it on their menu, but they will be more than willing to whip it up for you if you just give them this recipe. Take note that this is only available during the holiday season because of the toffee nut syrup, so you still have time! 🙂

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A Mesmerizing Dinner at Van Gogh is Bipolar with The Burp Society

Ever since we started this blog, we’ve had this insatiable thirst for a one-of-a-kind dining experience. I can count with one hand the number of restaurants that left me speechless, but they’re mostly just because of the flavors and the food. None of them had a significant effect on me both gastronomically and emotionally. I’ve never had that experience yet.  Not until last June during The Burp Society‘s dinner meetup at Van Gogh is Bipolar by Jetro Rafael. I left that night with my heart filled with glee. 🙂

Van Gogh is Bipolar at Maginhawa Street

You most probably have heard of this place. The owner, Jetro, is an artist and has long been struggling with bipolar disorder. He discovered that changing his diet may play a big role in his healing. He cooked dishes with ingredients that made him happy, or at least improved his mood. It was his friends who encouraged him to share his mood-altering diet – he calls it the “Cuckoo Diet” – by opening up his own restaurant at Maginhawa Street. Here, he wants to continue celebrating his imperfections and embracing his flaws… something we should all learn to do. 🙂

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