Shoot First Eat Later

Sunday Lunch at Choi Garden Restaurant

Choi Garden Shark’s Fin and Seafood restaurant is our favorite Chinese resaturant. We eat there at least once a month and usually on Sunday. After 2 years in business it’s still always full.

On weekends or when they have big parties they open up all the partition on the second floor to make it one big open space.

Interesting thingies to diffuse light.

Choi’s has one of the best roast pork in town. Hopefully these pictures will help you decide on what to order at Choi’s and maybe try something new.

roast duck, roast pork & jelly fish

They also have excellent dimsum available all day.

har kau or shrimp dumplings

Japanese siomai

fried raddish cake

I’m not much of a veggie eater but I loved these veggies. The spinach was very tender and the combination of century egg, salted eggs and regular eggs added an extra dimension to the otherwise plain greens.

spinach with 3 kinds of eggs

You must try this totally unique vegetarian dish. Assorted braised vegetables are wrapped with bean curd skin then fried and served with a delicious sauce.

sea moss balls

This is the best lobster dish I’ve ever eaten in a Chinese way of cooking. Fresh lobster pieces slathered with a light cheese sauce on noodles. Yum, yum, yum!

lobster w/ cheese sauce on noodles

This isn’t the best pata tim but it’s not bad. Other pata tim use pork leg. This dish used pork belly that was braised for a long time. It was very, very tender and the sauce was lip-smacking good.

pata tim

The pata tim was served with fried man tao. Man tao is plain siopao dough that can be steamed or fried. We call it Chinese Krispy Kreme because it tastes way better than a glazed doughnut without all the sugar. When it arrives on the table hot pop it in your mouth and it literally melts in your mouth. We don’t bother eating it with the pata tim. It’s that good. You can order this without the pata tim.

fried man tao

Here’s another favorite of ours. Crab meat, eggs and sotanghon scrambled into one delicious dish.

crab meat with scrambled eggs

You put the crab meat mixture in lettuce cups and eat. Different huh?

Choi’s makes the best masachi/mochi. Masachi is the Chinese version of a Japanese dessert called Mochi. It’s made with sweet glutinous flour and filled with a black sesame mixture. You have to try this.

masachi

butchi

This is their newest dessert. It’s a bit sweet for my taste but everybody loved it.

almond shake w/ fruit cocktail

Choi Garden Seafood and Shark’s Fin Restaurant
12 Annapolis St.
cor. Purdue St.
San Juan, Metro Manila
telephone: 727-6042

Lunch at Paseo Uno

We treated my cousin Sharon, who came home from the US, to a buffet lunch at Paseo Uno at the Mandarin Oriental hotel. I haven’t eaten there in a year. I was eager to see what’s new.

I was glad to see Paseo Uno has maintained it’s nice decor. It still looks fresh and new even though it’s been at least a couple of years since it was rennovated.

The lunch buffet of Paseo Uno costs P1,473.00 net or US$ 31. If you have a Mandarin hotel card you’ll get 50% off plus your senior citizen discount of 20% off and you get a great deal.

As with any hotel buffet in Manila, you will be inundated with a plethora of choices. I like their clean and minimalist display of food.

fresh crab, prawns & mussels

salad bar

cold cuts & prepared salads

variety of smoked fish & cheese

They have shrimp & fish tempura cooked to order.

tempura station

assorted sate

red curry of duck & pineapple

crisp fried chicken

spicy beef short ribs

sarciadong basa
braised fish with tomatoes and shallots

roasted pumpkin & almond soup

The main course dishes were served in small quantites. I like their ‘cook less more often’ approach. There’s less wastage for the hotel while the guests get freshly cooked food.

chicken breast w/ apricot, sage & brie
citrus beurre blanc

salmon fillet w/ green beans, confit
shallots & olive tapenade

grilled zucchini w/ olive tapenade

roasted dory fillet w/ crispy potatoes,
capers, grapes & brie

roasted beef striploin w/ seeded mustard
and honey roasted onions

grilled swordfish w/ carrot puree,
butterscotch and braised lettuce

grilled mahi mahi w/ pine nuts & sultanas

potato puree w/ parmesan and bacon

roasted lamb leg w/ eggplant caviar,
balsamic, rosemary & confit tomatoes

steamed broccoli w/ roasted garlic &
blue cheese

lapu lapu parcel w/ herbs

I was amazed that the roast beef had the typical sidings such as baked potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. I tried a small piece of beef and it was good. So was the Yorkshire pudding with gravy on top.

rib eye

baked potato w/ bacon, sour cream & cheese

yorkshire pudding

risotto station

assorted meats for grilling

cointreau truffle cake, vanilla fruitcake
blueberry cheesecake and tarte tatin

fresh fruit cocktail

crepe station

halo halo fixings

apple and raisin crumble

white chocolate brulee

I probably tried only 20% of the food in the buffet. It was generally good. There were enough choices for the most discerning taste buds. Good thing dessert wasn’t that great or else I would have overeaten again. If you haven’t been to Paseo Uno in a while it’s time to give it another try.

Paseo Uno
Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Makati Avenue Makati City
1226 Metro Manila, Philippines
telephone: 750-8888

Ristras Mexican Grill

Ristras Mexican Grill is the newest restaurant in J. Abad Santos st. I love Mexican food specifically burrito which I only eat at Mexicali and nachos which I used to buy at Taco Bell (i don’t anymore bec. of the calories). So when I read about Ristras opening nearby I was excited to try their food.

tacos

This is Phillip one of the owners of Ristras. He guided me on how to order a burrito.

This sign was posted on the glass to help you order your burrito, taco and salad. Of course no one reads it that’s why Phillip has to be there to explain each step and ingredient.

The pictures of the burrito below isn’t what I ordered. I was busy talking to Phillip that I forgot to take pictures of my burrito. Thankfully someone else ordered a burrito right after me.

Step 1: Choose a tortilla – regular or whole wheat?
Step 2: Choose a burrito – house, fajita or bowl?
Step 3: Choose a rice – cilantro rice or chorizo rice?

chorizo rice on regular tortilla

sauteed peppers and onions

Step 4: Choose a filling – barbacoa, chicken, steak, canitas, or vegetarian. You can combine 2 kinds of fillings.

Barbacoa – shredded beef, slow braised with their own chipotle adobo, cumin, cloves, garlic and oregano
Chicken – marinated for hours in their own jalapeno marinade and grilled
Steak – marinated for hours in their own jalapeno marinade and grilled
Carnitas – pork seasoned w/ thyme, bay leaves, orange juice, pepper and braised for four hours
Vegetarian – freshly made guacamole and vegetarian black beans

steak and chicken filling

salsa

Step 5: Choose a chili – red or green?

green chilis

pico de gallo salsa (mild)

tomatillo green chili salsa (medium hot)

roasted chili corn salsa (medium)

sour cream

grated cheese

guacamole

If you don’t specify what sauce you want on your burrito they will put it all in. When I went home I immediately weighed my burrito. It weighed 626 grams or 1.38 lbs! It probably has 1,000+ calories too.

burrito P 290 / 626 grams

I was prepared to be bowled over. The assembly made me drool. The description of the fillings were mouth watering. The burrito weight 626 grams for heaven’s sake. When I took my first bite I was disappointed with the flour tortilla. It tasted pasty and soggy. From my experience it’s supposed to be dry and firm.

After cutting off the top layer of tortilla I took another bite of the filling. The barbacoa was delicious and full flavored although a tad salty. My problem with the whole burrito was it was too wet. There were too much sauces and other fillings that I couldn’t tell the ingredients and flavors apart. Next time I order the burrito I will keep the sauces to a minimum. Unbelievable but they even gave me 3 containers of different sauces with my take home order. It took me 3 meals and 2 days to finish this burrito.

I will definitely give Ristras another try. Now that I know how and what to order hopefully my next burrito will weigh under a pound.

Ristras menu

Ristras Mexican Grill
J. Abad Santos
corner Lopez Jaena,
San Juan

Where to shop for bargains in Hong Kong?

It’s sale season in Hong Kong now. For those going there to shop this video will help you stretch your dollars.

I made this video last year to show some friends how to get to my favorite shopping streets in Hong Kong. Fa Yuen St. in Prince Edward is a mecca for overrun clothes, toys, shoes, cosmetics and fruits. After that go to Sin Tat for cellphones and accessories then to Mongkok computer centre for all your gadget needs. Last stop is Fa Yuen St. in Mongkok also known as Sport Shoes Street (波鞋街) where you will find all the sneakers and sports stuff your heart desires. You start in Fa Yuen St. Prince Edward and end in Mongkok.

Don’t forget to haggle for the best bargain!

Where to eat in Hong Kong after all that shopping? Click here. You’ll find choices from the cheapest but yummy food to the most expensive chi chi dining options.

Note: It’s not normally this crowded. It was a holiday when I took this video. But avoid going to all these places on weekends. All the locals are out in full force. Very few tourists go to these places.

Fa Yuen St. Market
Boundary street and Dundas street
Mong Kok, Hong Kong

Sin Tat Cellphone Building
Argyle Street, Mongkok

Mongkok Computer Centre
8 Nelson Street
Mong Kok, Hong Kong

J. Abad Santos st. , San Juan

J. Abad Santos st. is becoming a vibrant food street in San Juan. It’s home to Alex III, Mann Hann, Little Store and Sandy’s Pizza. Add to that these two strip malls facing each other packed with different restaurants.

On one side is Ristras, which I will feature in a separate post, Tofu store, Mocha Blends and the Nail Loft.

On the other side is House of Lasagna, NY Pizza, BQ, Serenitea and Country Chicken.

I go to Nail Loft every fortnight to have my manicure and pedicure. They’re the cheapest in town and they use only the best brands from the USA like OPI and Essie. They also sterilize all theirs tools for each client. The place is very cozy and the music is so soothing that I always fall asleep. I wake up to clean and polished nails.

They also have the latest issues of local and imported magazines.

The Nail Loft

I went to House of Lasagna to buy an order of meat lasagna to take home for dinner. The waiter assured me it was very good and it was assembled as ordered and not pre-baked. I didn’t like it very much. The taste wasn’t bad at all but there was too much bechamel sauce. It was too rich for me. I’m sure other people will disagree but that’s just me.

House of Lasagna menu

The interiors were sparse and simple but cozy.

I’ve been wanting to try Serenitea for quite a while now. So after my nail session I went to buy an iced milk tea.

As suggested by the staff, I ordered the cold royal milk tea for P80. They ask you what sugar level you want. I chose the 50% level. It was still too sweet for me. I suggest starting at 25% then just add more sugar if you want. The tea wasn’t strong enough for me. The best milk tea is still in Hong Kong’s Cafe de Coral. The staff was nice enough to keep adding strong tea to my drink but it was still a far cry from Cafe de Coral.

Serenitea menu

On another day I went to Country Chicken to buy dinner.

They sell extra sauce for P15 a bag and packs of pork barbecue for P200.

On the counter are some food stuff they also sell.

Their chicken is Chinese style fried chicken just like Classic Savory Chicken. But that’s where the similarity ends. Country’s chicken is soft, juicy and flavorful from the skin to the bone. Even the sauce is very tasty. So if you have a hankering for this kind of fried chicken, skip Savory and head on to Country Chicken. You won’t be disappointed.

Country Chicken P300

Nail Loft
Unit 1, Citiplace Bldg.,
Jose Abad Santos,
San Juan
telephone: 723-9445

Serenitea
Ground Floor GNL Bldg.,
J. Abad Santos St. corner V. Cruz
San Juan

Country Chicken
telephone: 724-4055

When you thought I wasn’t looking…

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN’T LOOKING

A message every adult should read

because children are watching you and

doing as you do, not as you say.