Shoot First Eat Later

Melbourne – Borek Bakehouse

If I could eat borek everyday I would, well, maybe for a week. I was introduced to borek, a Turkish pastry stuffed with delicious fillings, at Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne. There’s just something so satisfying about biting into warm savory pastry and hearing the audible crunch and tasting an explosion of flavors.

Walking to Queen Vic we passed by Borek Bakehouse on Elizabeth Street and tried their borek to see how it compares to the one we had at the market.

gozleme A$6

simit A$2

zucchini patties A$1.50

menu

I wish I tried the pide too since it looks delicious.

pide

I ordered spicy lamb and it had quite an explosive kick. The flavors were bold and complemented the mild pastry. So which borek was better? I say it’s a tie. Both were served warm, fresh and very crunchy.

Borek Bakehouse
481 Elizabeth Street Melbourne, VIC 3000

Melbourne: Market Lane Coffee

When I found out I was going to Melbourne I was so excited because of the vibrant coffee scene in Australia. They take their coffee seriously and I was ready to try as much as I can.

The first place I tried was Market Lane Coffee right across Queen Victoria Market.

I was amazed at how casual the set-up was. Notice the seating area behind the counter?

This guy made the pour over coffee in front of the counter where people were sitting at the benches. Anal details like freshly ground coffee and weighing both the ground coffee and perfectly heated water was just the way they do it in San Francisco.

pour over coffee

I tried their almond croissant and found it lacking. The croissant wasn’t as flaky as I like it and the almond filling wasn’t very flavorful.

almond croissant

My first cup at Market Lane was the Cachoeira Da Grama pour over coffee. The coffee was certainly unique and very fragrant but I wanted something stronger.

pour over menu

They even tell you the blends that made up their espresso coffee.

espresso menu

Ordering coffee is Australia is a bit different and you need to know the terms to use.
Short Black – is basically an espresso with crema on top.
Long Black – the equivalent is an Americano. A shot of espresso topped up with hot water.
Flat White – it’s similar to a latte but has less milk and foam. This is unique to Australia and New Zealand.
Latte, Cappuccino (Cap), Machiatto are the same terms used everywhere else.

price list

They also had coffee related merchandise and coffee beans for sale. I had my eye on the amber colored bottles for storing coffee beans but I was afraid it might break in my luggage.

dulce whole cane sugar

Cascara tea

coffee beans (prices are for 250 grams) (click to enlarge)

I never ever order latte or cappuccino because the milk always drowns out the taste of the coffee. In Melbourne I discovered the magic words strong flat white. When you order it strong the barista adds an extra shot of espresso for free! It seemed tailor made for me. Strong espresso mellowed a bit with some hot milk and foam. I loved it! It became my standard order while I was in Melbourne.

strong flat white A$4

Thank you Market Lane Coffee for making me coffee that I loved to drink.

Market Lane Coffee
109-111 Therry Street Melbourne 3000
other branches
website

Hours:
Monday 7am – 2pm
Tuesday 7am – 3pm
Wednesday 7am – 2pm
Thursday 7am – 3pm
Friday 7am – 4pm
Saturday 7am – 4pm
Sunday 8am – 3.30pm

Melbourne: Coconut House

I had dreams of eating lamb and other Aussie food when I went to Melbourne instead I ate a variety of international cuisines. Staying in Melbourne CBD (central business district) we were surrounded with a lot of Asian, Greek and Italian restaurants.

I love milk tea and their teh tarik was strong and authentic.

hot teh tarik A$2.90

(click to enlarge)

Eating at an Asian restaurant in Melbourne really provided the best value for money. A complete set of Hainanese chicken with braised egg, soup and chicken rice cost less than a burger as you will see in my upcoming posts.

Hainanese chicken rice with braised egg A$8.60

Just take a look at all that glorious ginger! The chicken was very tasty and indeed fatty. I loved the chicken rice most of all. I would never imagine that I would find really good Hainanese chicken in Melbourne.

Laksa is one of my favorite Malaysian/Singaporean dishes. The House Laksa Special contained steamed chicken thigh meat, prawns, Malaysian fried bean curd, tofu puff, bean sprouts, fresh mint leaves and sambal.

House Laksa Special A$9.80

As much as I loved the flavor it was way too spicy for me. I thought I had a pretty good tolerance for heat until I tried this. They used two kinds of noodles which was quite interesting.

If I thought the laksa was spicy the green curry was even spicier! I could handle just a little sauce on my chicken rice and it was heavenly. I guess you can request them to tone down the heat of the food which I plan to do should I return to Melbourne.

Thai chicken green curry A$8.80

Coconut House
449 Elizabeth St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
telehone:+61 3 9329 6401
Hours: Monday to Thursday 11:00 am – 10:30 pm
Friday to Saturday 11:00 am – 12:00 am
Sunday 11:00 am – 10:30 pm

Melbourne: The Moat Bar and Cafe

My first meal in Melbourne was also one of the best during my entire trip.

The Moat was located underneath the State Library of Victoria.

I like the paint job on the walls.

We met up with Deb’s pretty mini-me, Sam, who’s studying in Melbourne.

me and Sam

Terrace Edge Riesling

Smokey, salty and buttery jamon Iberico. More bread please!

jamon Iberico with grated tomato A$20

The scallops were perfectly cooked and succulent. I love the contrast in flavors from the salty pancetta and the sweet, garlicky apple puree. I could have eaten all three pieces!

Canadian scallops wrapped in pancetta on apple puree, black fermented garlic & hazlenut salad A$18

Deb wanted me to try her favorite salad and I loved it! I really enjoyed eating a salad with so much texture mainly from the grains used – farro, bulgur and quinoa. There was a touch of sweetness from mulberry fruit and crunch from pistachio. The different greens also added a flavor kick.

ancient grain salad of tomato, dates, toasted seeds, pistachio, mint, maple & lemon dressing A$16

This salad reminded me of the healthy salads in Whole Foods in the USA. But of course this was much more complex and way tastier.

We skipped dessert.

The Moat’s menu

The Moat is a good place to eat at in Melbourne.

The Moat Bar and Cafe
176 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
telephone:+61 3 9094 7820
Hours:
Monday to Friday 8:00 am –11:00 pm
Saturday 3:00–11:00 pm
Sunday Closed
website

Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne

One of my favorite places in Melbourne is the Queen Victoria Market. These are black oranges by the way.

Luckily the apartment we stayed at was less than 5 minutes walk from Queen Vic as the locals call the century old market in the heart of the city. The market occupies two whole blocks. We went there 5 times out of the 10 days I was in Melbourne and still I haven’t seen everything.

We always enter the market through Therry st. which takes us to the deli hall where they sell an assortment of cooked food, pastries, cheese, bread, chocolates and many more. You can have a complete meal from appetizers to dessert just walking around this hall.

My most favorite thing to eat in Queen Vic is the borek, a Turkish bread with fillings.

Boreks

They also sell other kinds of bread and rolls but it’s the borek that people line up for.

There were three kinds of fillings to choose from – cheese & spinach, spicy lamb & veggies or spicy potato. The borek was a relatively long piece of bread filled with delicious ingredients. We usually split one borek into 3 pieces which was just perfect for a snack. All three times I ate borek it was served piping hot from the oven. The exterior was crunchy and the interior was soft and chewy. I also loved the spicy lamb filling. I really wanted to take some home back to Manila but I wasn’t sure if it will spoil during the long flight.

Does anyone know if there’s borek in Manila?

cheese & spinach borek A$3

Right next to the Borek shop was Drago’s that sold bratwurst sausages.

We had this delicious sandwich for lunch one day. What made it so good asides from the well flavored sausage was the crusty roll, sauerkraut, mustard and yummy cheese.

bratwurst sausage sandwich A$6

This picture was taken on a week day when there wasn’t much people. We went back on a weekend and you can hardly move. The bread shops run out of bread before noon so go there early if you want to choose from a full line-up of tempting breads.

I wonder if this butter is any good?

blocks of butter sold by kg.

Just outside the deli hall was the Vic Market Place Food Court. This was where we ate our sausage sandwich.

These are just some of the food restaurants there.

Ripe @ The Market

Canton fast food

Cafe Verona

baklava

Our next stop was the fruit and vegetable sheds. You can also buy organic food items and manuka honey here. But don’t forget to canvass prices since each stall has different prices for the same produce.

vegetables

mangoes

nuts

apples

Across was an even bigger shed with more fruits and vegetables.

nuts

herbs & spices

What beautiful colors!

green & purple cauliflower, beetroot

I wish I bought some black oranges to try.

black oranges, capsicum & squash

fresh pistachios

Most of the shoppers brought their own shopping carts or baskets.

There was a long line at the American Doughnut truck. I wouldn’t fall in line for doughnuts but Deb was curious so she patiently waited for freshly cooked hot doughnuts. Her patience paid off. 6 small round doughnuts filled with jam cost A$6 and they were really, really good. Not too sweet and it had a chewy texture I really liked.

Nearby was the meat hall were you can buy fresh meat and seafood. No frozen food here.

meat

king crab and clams

fish

The kids had fun petting the gigantic fish.

We actually bought racks of spring lamb to take home to Manila. Fantastic!!!

I’ve never seen pork specifically labeled and sold by gender. I guess it’s tastier?

As you can see from the picture below the female pork fillets cost more than the steaks and lamb. I wonder if the pork we buy in Manila are male or female. I bet it’s male.

female pork meat

We bought unique blends of sausages from this stall. Some were good others were not.

On Therry street right across the deli hall is the store called Soapbox where we bought Australian soaps.

Soapbox

My favorite soaps are the lemongrass for it’s scent and texture perfect for mild exfoliation and the shea butter for it’s super moisturizing properties. Each large bar cost A$2.70 and it lasts a long time. If not for the weight limit of my luggage I would have bought more.

lemongrass, shea, olive oil soaps

For tourists I suggest you go to Queen Vic or Vic Market on a weekday. Go early because you have a lot of area to cover. Also go hungry and don’t forget to try the borek and have a good cuppa coffee while you’re there. Don’t forget to bring your shopping bags too.

Shopping tips:
I wasn’t able to go to the retail area but my friends did and they were able to buy souvenirs, shirts, magnets and the like at lower prices than at tourist areas.

From Queen Vic look for Queen Street and go to QVM Vitamins there you will find the cheapest vitamins, supplements and manuka honey. Even the famous Lucas Papaw ointment is cheapest there.

Wellbeeing manuka honey 25+

picture from http://www.qvm.com.au

Download the Market Map

Queen Victoria Market
The Market is on the corner of Elizabeth and Victoria Streets in Melbourne’s CBD. Enter the Market from Elizabeth Street, Victoria Street, Peel Street or Therry Street.

Opening Hours:
Tuesday & Thursday – 6am-2pm
Friday – 6am-5pm (General Merchandise to 4pm)
Saturday – 6am-3pm
Sunday – 9am-4pm
Closed Mondays, Wednesdays & Public Holidays

website

Victoria Market Soapbox
149 Therry St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
telephone: +61 3 9329 9913
Hours: Sunday hours 10:00 am–5:00 pm

QVM Vitamins
462 Queen St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
telephone: +61 3 9077 0085

Philippine Airlines to Melbourne

Last March I went to Melbourne, Australia with my friends. We took Philippine Airlines since it’s the fastest way to get there. The direct flight took a mere 8 hours. Because I used my mileage and flew on business class going to Melbourne and economy back to Manila.

I had enough miles to fly on business class all the way but they said there wasn’t any allocation left on the Manila leg yet the business class section was half empty that flight. I also got to ride on two different planes since nobody knows what plane Philippine Airlines will actually use until the day of your trip.

This is my friend Deb who sat in her favorite seat while I sat at mine at the opposite end.

This is the business class seat of PAL’s B777-300ER. The interiors were newer and more comfortable than on the A300-300 we took back to Manila. The economy seats on this plane had individual screens on the back of each seat.

The leg room was really big.

The bag for the amenity kit was by Bally.

amuse bouche

minted chicken pomelo wrap, coriander prawns with Thai dipping sauce

I loved the chunky kare-kare sauce with ground peanuts. I just wish there was more like an extra bowl more. Look at my sad rice not even a drop of sauce on it.

prawn kare-kare by Chef Glenda Barretto

I always enjoy PAL’s cheese plate. There was quite a few almonds under the cheese slice.

cheese and nuts

I didn’t like the cake served but I was quite satisfied with the dark chocolate from Royce. I passed on the ice cream cup.

Magnolia ice cream, dessert & Royce dark chocolate

chamomile tea

A couple of hours before landing we were served a light breakfast. I didn’t like the cold meats that were too salty so I just ate the cheese with the ensaymada and the couscous salad filled with lots of dried fruit.

shaved roast beef with fiesta ham, fruit couscous salad and cheese

The mango jelly and nata de coco was a nice addition to the fruit bowl.

fresh fruit bowl

The ensaymada on a previous flight was yummier.

ensaymada

On the way back to Manila I was in economy class which I didn’t mind since I sat on the side with two seats and the seat next to me was empty. Notice there wasn’t any video screens on the back of the seats. This plane is an A330-300 if I’m not mistaken.

economy class amenity kit

I forgot what this pork dish was called but it was okay.

Dessert was a raspberry ripple cake from an Australian bakery. Not bad at all.

For our snack before landing we were given a roast beef panini with onions and tasty cheese. I swear that’s what was written on the bag. It doesn’t look appetizing but it was quite palatable. Even the tasty cheese.

roast beef panini with onions and tasty cheese

Watch our for my posts on my trip to Melbourne.

Fiesta Cheesecakes from Cheesecakes by Guy

Remember the green tea cheesecake I featured a few months ago? The GUY behind that is on a roll and he created 5 new fiesta flavors.

Guy sent me a slice each to try.

The first one I tried was the queso de bola (Edam cheese) cheesecake and it’s my favorite among the five variants. He didn’t scrimp on the sharp cheese and you can taste the salty cheese which blended quite well with the milder cream cheese.

queso de bola cheesecake

My next favorite was a surprise to me since I didn’t think I would like ube cheesecake at all. I ate it so fast that I wasn’t able to take a picture of it. Imagine eating ube ice cream and ube cake but in a denser and smoother texture. The flavor was bright and very pleasing. If you have balikbayan guests this is the cheesecake to order. I guarantee they will be surprised and delighted.

The chocnut cheesecake is for those who love the classic combination of chocolate and peanuts.

chocnut cheesecake

I wish the barako cheesecake had a stronger flavor but that’s just me since I drink my coffee strong. This has more than enough coffee flavor for the average person. There was fine barako ground coffee mixed in the cheesecake for texture. If you want a stronger coffee flavor just tell Guy when you order and he can amp it up.

barako coffee cheesecake

The dulce de leche cheesecake was too milky and rich for me but if you like the flavor you might enjoy it. Whatever flavor you choose give Guy’s cheesecakes a try. It’s a baked cheesecake with no gelatin which I abhor. It’s a dense cheesecake like New York cheesecake but not too rich that you will feel ‘umay.’

All fiesta flavors at P600 for mini(5″) and P1,200 for regular (8″)

Cheesecakes by Guy
191 Swallow Drive Greenmeadows
telephone: +632 634-4362
cellphone: +63917 898-8396
Facebook

Order 2 days in advance for guaranteed freshness.
Pick up points:
Greenmeadows, QC, any time, any day
Jupiter Street, Makati, Monday-Friday except holidays,
Office Hours 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

Churrasco at Ibiza Beach Club, Mövenpick Hotel Mactan

I’ve eaten churrasco twice in my life. The first time was decades ago at Fogo de Chao in Dallas. I wasn’t much of a meat eater then so I was overwhelmed and didn’t quite enjoy it. The second time was a few years back at a restaurant in Rockwell where all the meats were marinated in the same sauce. I definitely didn’t like that at all. So you can imagine my reticence when I was told we were having a churrasco dinner at Movenpick Hotel.

For those who are not familiar with churrasco the Spanish word means grilled meat. A churrascaria is a restaurant where you have waiters walking around with skewers of grilled meat which they slice at your table and transfer directly to your plate.

The Brazilian churrasco includes the salad bar, all-you-can-eat meats and costs P2,000. Add P500 for bottomless Manny O house wine. This is a steal when you see the choices they served.

All the meat and seafood were grilled in this imported grill from Brazil.

churrasco menu (click to enlarge)

I tried their special mojito with secret ingredients. It was good but it didn’t have enough mint and didn’t really taste like a typical mojito which I like. It reminded me more of long island iced tea.

Ibiza Beach Club mojito P420

The waiter suggested I try the Ibiza Sour instead. I was hesitant to order anything with the word sour but he guaranteed I will like it. He was right. I LOVED it!!! The drink was made with amaretto liqueur, citrus juices and bitters. I loved the sweetness and flavor of almonds mixed with the sourness from the lemon juice. This is now my new favorite cocktail. I hope I find it in Manila or I need to buy a bottle of amaretto liqueur and mix my own drink.

Ibiza Sour

Instead of the salad bar we asked for a Caesar salad. The grated cheese was real Parmesan cheese. I asked for extra to nibble on.

Caesar salad

It was hard not to eat all these cheesy bread.

pao de quiejo

Choose your knife. The green round chip is supposed to be placed on your table. If you put the green side up it tells the waiter to keep coming with the food. If you flip it over and show the red side it means stop serving.

Four kinds of sauces and butters were available but I didn’t use any of them because it wasn’t needed.

Each one of us was given a plate with garlic rice, sautéed veggies, buttered corn and a bowl of black beans. You can ask for as much refills as you want. My friend had several pieces of corn.

The food was brought out in the order below. Let me say almost everything was cooked with perfect timing. From the beef to the seafood, it was cooked to it’s prime goodness.

Since the filet mignon was the first meat I was still able to eat the entire serving of tender beef wrapped with bacon.

filet mignon

One of my favorites was the juicy rib eye steak marinated Korean style. The sweet, salty flavor was a surprise and it really suited the beef.

rib eye

I wanted to eat more than one lobster but I knew there were 9 more meats and seafood to come.

lobster

I really enjoyed the lamb skewers the night before so I had an inkling they were good with lamb dishes but what I didn’t expect was to eat the best lamb chops I’ve ever eaten in the Philippines. It’s even in my top three lamb dishes ever.

Well seasoned, succulent, juicy, tender and whatever superlatives you can imagine. I really wanted to just flip my chip to red and consume all four lamb chops in the skewer.

lamb chops

I’m don’t eat dark meat but I tried the chicken thigh and the marinade was amazing!

chicken thigh

jumbo prawns

The only thing I didn’t like was the ostrich. The taste was too strong and gamey for me.

ostrich

The squid had a dry rub of spicy and savory flavors.

squid

The squid was even more tender than the prawns. The taste was fantastic and so different from the usual Filipino style of grilled squid.

squid

At this point I was already suffering from food coma. The barbecue sauce was typically sweet but surprisingly there wasn’t a touch of sugar in it. The secret sauce contained papaya, banana and pineapple. Natural fruit enzymes tenderized the meat and gave the sauce a natural sweetness. Even though I was so full already I couldn’t resist eating some garlic rice with the yummy ribs.

baby back ribs

The short ribs had the same sauce as the baby back ribs.

short ribs

Thank goodness dory wasn’t used. Instead the more expensive parrot fish was served.

parrot fish

The pork belly wasn’t as tender or as flavorful as the rest of the meats. Or maybe I just couldn’t taste anything anymore.

pork belly

A most welcome desert was the grilled Ormoc pineapple marinated with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

grilled Ormoc pineapple

The pineapple was served with yogurt, honey and pistachios. A perfect end to a perfect meal.

Thank you Manny O and F&B director Daniel for one of the most memorable meals I’ve ever had.

Manny O and Daniel Trumptheller

It’s hard to believe but we went back for dinner the next night because my friends’ parents wanted to try the churrasco we raved about. This time we just concentrated on multiple servings of rib eye, lobster, lamb chops and squid. I enjoyed my dinner even more with just the dishes I loved most.

Cebuanos, tourists and visitors to Cebu do yourself a favor and try this world class churassco meal in Mövenpick Hotel. I guarantee you will not regret it. It was worth every peso!!!

Ibiza Beach Club
Mövenpick Resort & Spa Cebu
Punta Engano Mactan Island
6015 Cebu Philippines
telephone:+63 32 492 7777
E-mail:Resort.Cebu@moevenpick.com
website
Facebook

Manny O’s Wine Cellar

I was honored to be given a personal tour by wine collector and connoisseur Manny O of his wine cellar located just across Mövenpick Hotel.

Take note he has another wine cellar that’s much bigger and located underground. I’m not a wine drinker nor do I know anything about wines but I really liked the woodwork in his cellar.

This is his collection of Sotheby magazines and other wine related publications.

Manny O wines

I guess he ran out of space since there were several bottles on the floor.

In case you’re wondering these were some of the bottles on the floor.

2005 E. Guigal Condrieu La Doriane and 2003 Château Haut-Brion 1er Cru Classé

This is one of his most expensive bottle of wine. If I remember right it cost him 12,000 euro!!!

2000 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche

2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet

2004 Domaine De La Romanee Conti Grands Echezeaux

Screaming Eagle is a cult wine from California’s Napa region which costs aat least $1,500 a bottle.

Screaming Eagle wine

The next few bottles are his older bottles. He explained to me that old doesn’t necessarily mean more expensive or better.

1953 Château Lafite Rothschild

He wraps the labels with cling wrap to prevent the labels from peeling or wrinkling due to humidity.

Château de Rayne-Vigneau

Scholtz Hermanos Málaga 1885 Solera

Thanks for the tour Manny!!

Spa Delmar at Mövenpick Hotel Mactan

To have the full Mövenpick Hotel experience Manny O suggested I try the massage at the hotel’s Spa Delmar. I took this picture of the beach and Ibiza Beach Club from the Spa using my iPhone’s panorama feature.

I chose the lemongrass oil since I loved the smell whenever I encountered it in the hotel’s restroom.

Check out the nice view from the lounge.

There were 6 private treatment rooms below.

The massage bed was extra thick and really comfortable.

There was a shower and toilet facilities in the room.

Initially I chose the Spa del Mar signature massage but I wasn’t used to the exclusive use of the elbow and forearm only so I switched to the traditional shiatsu massage. My favorite part was the use of these heated bags that were placed on my entire back or legs. Whatever part wasn’t being massaged a heat pad was placed on it. I’ve never experienced this anywhere and it was pure heaven.

Spa Delmar’s menu of services (click to enlarge)

Beautiful hotel, fantastic food, and a great spa. What else can I ask for at Mövenpick Hotel?

Ibiza Beach Club
Mövenpick Resort & Spa Cebu
Punta Engano Mactan Island
6015 Cebu Philippines
telephone:+63 32 492 7777
E-mail:Resort.Cebu@moevenpick.com
website
Facebook