Favorites in Manila

Recently my friend Eric whom I haven’t seen in a long time and who just found out I have a blog asked me what my favorite Persian restaurant, siopao, chocolate cake, etc were. That got me thinking and now I’m sharing them with you. These are my personal favorites. You may or may not agree so no hate mail please 🙂

These are for places in Manila. I will update this list as I discover more places and products.

New (07/14/14)

Favorite Pizza -Chorizo & Shrimp Flatbread Pizza at Todd English, Bianca Verde at Gino’s Pizza, Sopressata Picante at Motorino’s, Wild Mushroom, Walnut & Blue Cheese Pizza at Nolita
Favorite Rice – Crab & Chinese Sausage Fried Rice at Century Seafood, Paella Negra at Calderon
Favorite Shellfish – Elephant Clams at Peking Garden, Razor Clams & Sea Mantis Prawns at Century Seafood
Favorite Apple Pie – Mentore Coffee+Bar, Catherine’s Pie’s, The Beehive Pastries
Favorite Cookies – Chocolate Chip & Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies at Wildflour, Cookies of GourmetFinds

Wildflour's Choco Chip and Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies — Wildflour’s Choco Chip and Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

Favorite Chocolate Dessert – OMG at Todd English
Favorite Sans Rival – Pistachio Sans Rival by Delize
Favorite Coffee – Gibraltar at Toby’s Estate
Favorite Japanese Restaurant – Sensei Sushi, Sakura by Edo San

New (11/8/12)
Favorite Noodles – Seafood Ho Fan in Pumpkin Sauce at Modern China
Favorite Roast Duck – Annapolis Seafood Palace

Favorite Sweet & Sour Pork – Summer Palace, Edsa Shangri-la Hotel (it’s really the best I’ve eaten anywhere! if it’s not crunchy complain to Nancy and she’ll have it changed)

sweet & sour pork

New (4/18/11)
Favorite Fried Rice – Century Seafood’s Special Fried Rice, Jasmine’s Seafood Fried Rice. (I can’t decide which I love best. They’re all scrumptious!)

New! (2/6/11)
Favorite Private Kitchen – Mama’s Table (Baguio)
Favorite Veggie dish/Tofu – Tofu Polunchay from Choi Palace and Choi Garden

Favorite Duck dish – Shredded Duck w/ Black Pepper Sauce from Choi Palace

Favorite Filipino Dish – Seafood Kare Kare from Kanin Club

Favorite Chinese restaurant – Choi Garden

Choi’s lobster in superior sauce

Favorite Italian restaurant – C’ Italian Dining (high end) and Amici (low end)

C’s risotto kristina

Favorite Filipino restaurant – Kanin Club, C2 (primarily for their boneless crispy pata kare kare)

C2’s boneless crispy pata kare kare

Favorite French restaurant – Aubergine
Favorite Japanese restaurant – Inagiku
Favorite Korean restaurant – Yedang
Favorite Persian restaurant – Arya
Favorite Spanish restaurant – El Cirkulo
Favorite Thai restaurant – it’s a tie between AzuThai and Benjarong
Favorite restaurant – Antonio’s

Antonio’s grilled beef fillet, gratinated w/ wild mushroom, mashed potato

Favorite Hot Pot place – Choi Garden
Favorite siopao – Emerald Garden’s taipao

Emerald Garden’s giant taipao

Favorite burger – hands down it’s Chili’s burgers

Chili’s mushroom swiss burger

Favorite pizza – La Nuova, California Pizza Kitchen (really!)

La Nuova’s maremmana rustica – onions, Italian sausage

La Nuova’s pizza due gusti – chorizo, spinach and mushroom

Favorite potato chips – Red Rock Deli sour cream & chili potato chips

Favorite dessert (take home) – Arny ♥ Dading’s Peachy Peachy
Favorite chocolate cake – Nono’s Oblivion from Classic Confections
Favorite chocolate dessert – Bizu’s chocolate souffle

Bizu’s chocolate souffle

Favorite leche flan – Estrelle’s
Favorite apple pie – Sugarhouse’s French apple pie

Sugarhouse’s French apple pie

Favorite cheesecake – Dessert du Jour’s queso de bola cheesecake
Favorite sans rival – Gay Vasquez’s sans rival
Favorite frozen dessert – Lugang Cafe’s shaved peanut butter ice

shaved black sesame & peanut butter ice

Favorite taho – Tofu store
Favorite condiment – Becky’s Kitchen’s crunchy chili garlic, Alavar’s bagoong gata

Favorite Peking duck – Peking Garden
Favorite soup – Cicou’s prawn bisque w/ sea urchin flan, Century Seafood’s buddha jumps over the wall soup

Century Seafood’s buddha jumps over the wall soup