Shoot First Eat Later

Dinner at Burger Bar

$loaded Tex-Mex ground beef nachos P360$
Every few months my two blogger friends, Fran and Jin, and I meet up just to eat and chat. Well mostly we just eat and compare restaurants we like and dislike.

Our choice for dinner was Burger Bar at Greenbelt 2 in Makati. It occupied the 2nd floor while the space below was namnam restaurant.

It was a weeknight and the place was full and the turnover was quick. Each time a table is vacated a new group comes in.

me, Jin, Fran and Paul

My first bite of these small fried shrimp was good. It was crispy and it had a nice flavor.

Chinatown rock shrimp poppers P260

But as I chewed I noticed that the shrimp was too soft and soggy. When I dissected it the shrimp wasn’t even firm enough to hold it’s shape. Was it frozen shrimp? I hope they can improve on the quality of the shrimp they use.

I was happy that all my dining mates loved nachos as much as I do. It was pretty good nachos with lots of ground beef, salsa, avocado cubes, cheese sauce and grated cheese. My only gripe was it was cold! Not even warm but cold. I wish they could put this under a salamander for a few minutes to warm it up and melt the cheese.

loaded Tex-Mex ground beef nachos P360

Fran wasn’t impressed with the Arnold Palmer which had neither obvious iced tea or lemonade taste since it was supposed to be a combination of both.

the Arnold Palmer P65

I was hoping somebody would order the lamb burger since I wanted to try it too. Jin ordered it and I’m glad she had it and not me. I tried a small piece of the lamb patty and found it to be totally tasteless. As in no salt or flavor at all. We mentioned it to the server and he asked the kitchen about it. He came back and told us it was supposed to be like that.

Jin doctored her lamb burger with lots of catsup, mustard and the leftover toppings from the nachos before she was able to eat it. This was the most disappointing burger of the night.

lamb burger P385

Fran was quite happy with her hangover burger which she ate with a fork and knife. The burger is described as: Onion-griddled Big Game blend of hangar and brisket, yellow cheddar, crisp prosciutto, fried egg, arugula, caramelized onions, BBQ sauce and house aioli on a sesame seed bun.

hangover burger P370

It looked juicy and messy indeed.

If you’re a regular reader of my blog you know that there’s only one way I order a burger. I want a plain burger with no cheese or toppings. For me the most important part of the burger in the patty and I want to taste it and not get distracted with anything on it. I ordered the simplest burger on their menu which was burger no. 3. No. 3 was what they called their special sauce. I didn’t mind trying a little sauce on my burger.

Paul ordered built his own burger which basically looked like my burger but with the addition of some veggies on top.

burger no. 3

Hello? Sauce no. 3 is a blend of catsup and mayonnaise!!! I quickly scraped it off my burger since I wasn’t fond of the combination on a burger. On fries it was fine. First thing I noticed was the nice even char on the patty.

Inside the beef was cooked a perfect medium well. I liked the taste of the patty. I chose the steak cut blend of beef and it really tasted almost like steak. It was well seasoned with only salt and pepper and no other additives just the way I like my burger. It was not the best burger I’ve eaten but it was quite good.

You probably can’t tell from the picture but it was a small sized burger. Those with heartier appetites can easily eat two burgers or double up on the patty.

All their desserts were ice cream based and stacked in a small jar. The banana split was just your run of the mill sundae.

black & white banana split P135

I liked the bread pudding cubes topped with vanilla ice cream better.

caramel vanilla bread pudding P135

Try it out for yourself and let me know how you like Burger Bar. I was quite satisfied with my burger. I just wish they had a set of 4 sliders featuring each of the different burger blends so I can try the it all and compare the flavors.

Burger Bar menu - appetizers, salads, 'wiches

Burger Bar menu (click to enlarge)

Burger Bar
Greenbelt 2
Esperanza Street corner Greenbelt Drive
Ayala Center, Makati City
telephone: +632 625-2792, +639175399661
Facebook

Paris: Poilâne & Secco Patisserie

I had a long list of food I wanted to try in Paris and the sourdough bread of Poilâne was one of them. I thought we weren’t able to try it anymore but luckily it was near the Metro stop where we got off to go to the Segway Tour’s office.

I had this vision of having a picnic in one of Paris’ many beautiful gardens like Jardin des Tuileries or even Champs de Mars. I would bring bread from Poilâne, foie gras pâté, duck rilette, French cheese and lots of pastries.

These huge round loaves with the iconic P stamped on them were what I was there for but there’s no way for the two of us to even make a dent of such a big and heavy loaf of bread.

Thank goodness with some sign language they informed us we can buy just a few slices of bread. These three slices cost €1.23.

bread €4.58 per kilo

They also sold some pastries.

flan & chausson aux pommes

We bought a couple of apple tartelettes.

apple tartelette €2.35

petite brioche

punitions or butter cookies

Since we weren’t prepared for the picnic of my dreams we just went to a small grocery nearby and bought a pack of jamon serrano and a bottle of water and looked for a place where we can eat our bread. We found ourselves at Secco Patisserie Boulangerie.

More bread!!

This is why I want to return to Paris. Every corner there’s an abundance of yummy looking bread and pastries.

This is what our picnic looked like. Rochelle bought a Caprese salad from Secco while I bought the dessert. The bread from Poilâne was good but it didn’t really blow me away. I suspect if I paired it with better toppings and if it were lightly toasted it would taste so much better.

With so many pastries to choose from I chose the tart chocolat and a small pastry similar to mille-feuille.

When I took my first bite of the tart chocolat the diners around me must have heard my loud moan. It was unbelievably delicious. Creamy bittersweet chocolate on a crisp crust was one one of the best pastries I’ve ever eaten.

tart chocolat €3.50

We wanted to take home the apple tartlette but it was very greasy and it seeped through the paper bag already.

Poilâne’s apple tartelette

We both really liked the firm yet flaky crust of the apple tartellete. It was quite hearty and filling. It was a simple lunch but I really enjoyed all the lovely carbs.

Poilâne
49 bld de Grenelle, Paris 75015
telephone: +33 (0) 1 45 79 11 49
Opening hours : From Tuesday to Sunday, 7:15 am to 8:15 pm
website

Secco Patisserie Boulangerie
75 Boulevard de Grenelle, 75015 Paris
telephone: +33 01 45 67 17 40

Paris Segway Tour

Hands down our best experience in our European trip last June was the Paris Segway Tour.

I was so happy that Rochelle agreed to take the Segway tour with me otherwise I would have been too chicken to do it myself. The 3 hour tour cost €90 per person and it was worth every Euro.

They also offered Flat Tire Bike Tours which were more popular because it lasted much longer and cost much cheaper.

I loved the children’s artwork of the Eiffel Towere that covered the posts of the overhead track.

More bikes inside their office.

Check out the Lance Fan on the wall of their office. I wonder if they’ve taken it down after HIS confession of doping.

Segway

They alloted an hour for the participants to learn how to use the Segway.

Our tour guide, Moko gave each us one on one instruction on how to mount and dismount the Segway. It was easy to go forward and it took longer to teach us how to stop. It was really easy once you get the hang of it.

Just look at my face on the bottom right pic. I was scared to death the first time I got on the Segway. I wonder what those ladies found so funny. Could it be my screaming?

I just loved using the Segway once I got my confidence. It was easy to stop on a dime but my favorite part was speeding on the bike paths in the middle of Paris. The cool wind felt wonderful and I felt so free and fast.

Champ de Mars

Les Invalides

We would ride to each destination and stop while Moko told us about the history of each place. He would also give us time for picture taking.

When you go on this tour just bring your camera, a bottle of water, an umbrella or jacket and your wallet. Leave your big bags behind since the small compartment below the handle is where you have to put all your stuff.

Pont Alexandre III

We had to park our Segways at each stop or it will run away and fall down. There were only 6 of us in the group.

Batobus on the Seine

We ended the tour at the Eiffel Tower. I enjoyed seeing all the beautiful sights of Paris without having to walk or ride the Metro. The best part of the experience was really riding the Segway in a beautiful city like Paris. When we go back to Paris we want to take the night tour. I can only imagine how gorgeous that will be.

Eiffel Tower

I highly recommend you take the Paris Segway tour. You will not regret it. They also have it in other cities. We saw them in Rome too.

City Segway Tours
24, rue Edgar Faure 75015 Paris, France
Please contact us at Paris@CitySegwayTours.com

Telephone
01-56-58-10-54 (calling from within France)
+33-1-56-58-10-54 (calling from outside of France)
1-866-614-6218 (toll-free from North America to our Paris office)
website

Angelina Paris

Having the famous hot chocolate at Angelina in Paris is one of the most common touristy things that has to be experienced.

We went to their branch at Galeries Lafayette.

Angelina menu (click to enlarge)

Rochelle was quite excited when she saw all that whipped cream which she ate. All of it. All by herself.

African hot chocolate €7.90

Two people told me that it was too rich and too thick so we had high expectations since that’s exactly the kind of hot chocolate we were looking for. It was a good thing we just ordered one cup to try first because it was a let down.

It wasn’t thick at all. It didn’t taste bad but it wasn’t the heavenly cup of hot chocolate I was hoping for. It tasted better than most hot chocolates but it definitely wasn’t the best I’ve had. I would put it at par with the hot chocolate of Xocolat. Was it just a fluke for this branch?

A friend told us they had the best quiche Lorraine so we shared one order.

quiche lorraine €15.50

I’ve never had a quiche which had more bacon than eggs or cheese. It was really good but the bacon did get to be overwhelming after a few bites. I can’t imagine eating one all by myself. I would have been tempted to order a baguette and stuff the quiche inside and eat it as a sandwich.

When we went to the Palace of Versaille we had lunch at Angelina again. It was located near the Petite Trianon of Marie Antoinette.

They had a very limited menu.

Angelina at Versailles menu (click to enlarge)

We had a quiche and a sandwich which we shared.

I had my doubts with the sandwich since it came from the chiller. To my amazement the baguette was still good though not as crunchy as I wanted. I loved the mayonnaise free chicken filling which was so flavorful. The raw vegetables added a nice texture to the sandwich. The price was a steal too.

chicken & raw vegetables sandwich €5.80

The quiche wasn’t as good since it was filled with mild flavored cheese. Look at the cute bottle of citron vinaigrette for the side salad.

quiche of the day €9.90

Angelina
First floor mode femme, Galerie Lafayette
40 boulevard Haussman, Paris
telephone: +33 (0) 1.73.71.90.50
Open everydays except Sunday from 9:30 a.m to 6:30
website

Angelina at Versailles
Cour des princes
Pavillon d’Orléans
Château de Versailles
78000 Versailles
Access reserved to visitors
telephone: +33 (0)1.39.20.08.32
Opening hours: Everyday except on Monday
From 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. – November 1st to March 31st
From 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. – April 1st to October 31st
website

456 Modern Shanghai Cuisine at The Venetian Macao

The first time we ate at 456 Modern Shanghai Cuisine was in 2010 and we loved it so much we made sure to eat there again last December.

The restaurant was located at The Venetian’s St. Mark’s Square.

The soup was the only dish we previously ordered.

Green Vegetable & Mandarin Fish Soup MOP$45 per bowl

I ordered the veggies and this was what I chose. I just love beancurd sheet made extra special with mushroom.

braised beancud sheet with assorted mushroom MOP$88

It was a small piece of black pig but it was enough to savour the delicious flavor of the pork.

oven baked spare rib of black pig MOP$38

Sweet ham is my dad’s favorite dish and this one was served with thin slices of pumpkin and gingko biloba nuts.

steamed sliced ham with bun MOP$118

An order of my favorite rice with Chinese sausage & dried meat was for four people but we still ordered it even though there were only three of us. Just look at all the lovely salted pork and duck plus the pork and duck liver sausages. I was in fatty meat heaven.

hot pot rice with Chinese sausage & salted meat HK$70 per person

All the meat was cooked on top of this rice in a clay pot. The fat and flavor from the meat has seeped into the rice.

We had lots and lots of leftovers which I wished I could have brought back to Hong Kong. We did manage to eat all the Chinese sausage (lap cheong). It was another wonderful meal and I highly recommend you try this restaurant when you stay at The Venetian Macao.

456 Modern Shanghai cusine menu

456 Modern Shanghai Cuisine Menu
appetizer, 2, shark’s fin, abalone & dried seafood, 2, soup, 2
hot dish, 2, 3, vegetables, rice & noodles, 2, bun & dumpling,
dessert, 2

456 Modern Shanghai Cuisine
Shop No. 2406 St. Mark’s Square
The Venetian Macao
telephone: +853 2886 6618
website

Choi Heong Yuen & Koi Kei Bakeries Macau

What do you when you stay at The Venetian Macao? You shop!!! With over 600 shops inside the hotel it’s a shopper’s dream.

I hit two popular Portugese style bakeries in the Shoppes Grand Canal. Both stores are very popular with tourists who buy bags and bags of goodies.

Almost everything in the store can be sampled. Just ask. I tried the spicy pork jerky and it was hot!!

pork jerky

Watch out for my post on their Portugese egg tart which I compared with another famous brand.

Portugese egg tarts

Most of their products come in different sizes of packaging if you just want to try something new or buy your usual favorites.

chewy bites

preserved fruit

Phoenix egg rolls are similar to barquillos or crispy crepes. They had several variations of these.

Phoenix egg rolls

I doubt if these pastries contain actual abalone. They were shaped like abalone though.

abalone pastries

mini almond cakes with shredded pork jerky

It was hard choosing from so many delicious looking sweets and these are what I bought. I’ve tried their phoenix egg rolls before and I always buy the one stuffed with shredded pork jerky (pork floss/mahu/ma-song) and wrapped with seaweed. I like the contrast of sweet and salty plus the texture of the pork jerky.

phoenix egg rolls with seaweed & pork jerky

Chewy bites were just that. Chewy confections with flavors like black sesame, dates, coconut, walnut and ginger. It wasn’t too sweet and the flavors and texture were quite interesting.

8 flavors chewy bites

Their almond cookies are a must buy. They had bigger sized cookies but I liked these small bite sized pieces.

one bite black sesame almond cookies

I bought the preserved ginger for my friend.

preserved ginger slice

I didn’t buy anything at Koi Kei Bakery because they had a branch in Hong Kong and their product line were similar to Choi Heong Yuen.

Koi Kei Bakery Macau

Portugese almond nougat

Portugese style walnut cookies

cookies, pineapple pastry

Phoenix egg rolls

almond cookies

Near the West lobby of the Venetian you can find kiosks of these two bakeries across each other. Perfect for last minute purchases.

Both stores carry a limited amount of products and most were the bigger sized packaging. I wanted to buy more bite sized almond cookies but they only sold boxes of big cookies.

Choi Heong Yuen & Koi Kei Bakery at The Venetian Macao

Choi Heong Yuen Bakery
2130a, Level 3 Shoppes Grand Canal
The Venetian Macao
telephone: +853 2882 8303
Opening Hours:
Sunday to Thursday 10:00am – 11:00pm
Friday to Saturday 10:00am – 12:00am
website

Koi Kei Bakery
2402a, Level 3 Shoppes Grand Canal
The Venetian Macao

K106, Level 1
Shoppes Cotai Central
telephone: +853 2893 9227
Opening Hours:
Sunday to Thursday 10:00am – 11:00pm
Friday to Saturday 10:00am – 12:00am
website

Imperial House Dim Sum

Last December we took a short trip to Macao from Hong Kong.

Months before our trip I looked at the rates and room pictures of virtually all the newer hotels in Macao. Sure there were a lot of really nice looking rooms but the sizes were much smaller than Venetian’s Verona suite and the price was even higher. That’s why I booked usual suite that costs less than regular rooms of other hotels. More pictures here.

Since Venetian Macao is a tourist destination in itself with all the shops and restaurants inside the hotel we took most of our meals there. Staying in Venetian made us so lazy to go to the other hotels and restaurants to eat. I vow to try another hotel next time.

I don’t really know what cordycep flowers are but the soup was good and very concentrated.

double boiled cordycep flowers & chicken soup HK$45

I liked that the fried turnip cubes wasn’t oily and it had a nice, even heat to it.

wok-fried turnip cake with XO sauce HK$32

This was the first time I’ve encountered wild rice in my favorite glutinous rice dim sum. It added a nice crunch and a nutty flavor to the dish. It was a really good combination.

wild rice & glutinous rice with conpoy wrapped in lotus leaf H$32

This dish was listed in the same page as the rice flour rolls. The noodles had a different texture from the rice flour (ho fan) noodles. It had more bite which we really liked.

steamed “Chen Chuan” rice sheet noodles with preserved vegetable & shredded pork HK$38

This restaurant really surprised me with their good food. Initially I was scared since I saw club sandwich, burgers, waffles and other continental snacks on their menu. They also had noodles soups and meat dishes for a really wide selection.

Imperial House Dim Sum
Shop 1042 on the casino floor
telephone:+853 8118 9910
website

Open daily from:
Saturday to Monday – 24 hours
Tuesday to Friday – closed from 2:00 am – 10:00 am

Happy Hour at Morton’s Hong Kong

I like beef but I’m not a steak lover. I can’t even finish an order of steak that’s probably why I’ve never eaten at Morton’s The Steakhouse before. I’ve know about their free steak sandwiches during happy hour for years but I’ve never tried it until my friend Tisay invited me last December.

Morton’s is located on the 4th floor of the Sheraton Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The bar area was small and full when I arrived. Tisay had been waiting for me for an hour since I was in the Apple store having my laptop fixed.

They had a pretty good bar menu but we were there for something else.

Bar Bites menu (click to enlarge)

As soon as I saw the drink menu I instantly chose the chocolate mortini.

chocolate mortini HK$60

I loved their chocolate martini because it was icy cold, creamy, chocolatey and strong! 2 glasses later and I felt a definite buzz.

At the bottom of the glass was chocolate sauce that hardened. You can be sure we patiently scraped it with our stirrer. Yum!

As long as you order a drink be it 1 glass or more you can order their free filet mignon sandwiches and eat to your tummy’s desire or until time runs out. You have 2 hours to pig out. Each order is served on a silver platter with 6 small sandwiches.

filet mignon sandwiches

The first sandwich I ate it without the bread on top. The next two sandwiches I doubled up on the meat and added horseradish which I asked for. The steak was pretty good considering there was no sauce or other garnish.

Later on I just ate the steak with even more horseradish. How else can I eat more? Tisay loved the soft buttered rolls so she ate her sandwich like a normal person would.

My abnormal remains.

This was the bar after happy hour. Not so happy anymore.

I highly recommend taking advantage of their low priced drinks and excellent steak sandwiches from 5:00 – 7:00 pm Mondays to Fridays. I will be back!!!!!

Morton’s The Steakhouse
Sheraton Hotel
Fourth Level 20 Nathan Road.
Tsim Sha Tsui Kowloon
Hong Kong
telephone: +852 2732 2343
website

Hours of Operation
Bar
Monday – Saturday 5pm – 11pm
Sunday 5pm – 10pm

Dining Room
Monday – Saturday 5:30pm – 11pm
Sunday 5pm – 10pm

More Chuk Yuen Love

We always eat at Chuk Yuen on our first or second day in Hong Kong. It’s my comfort food in Hong Kong and I really needed it after my unsatisfactory meals at Carpaccio and Ginza Bairin the previous day.

When you have lunch at Chuk Yuen they USUALLY offer you FREE hot sugarcane or orange juice.

The next two dishes are only available during winter months. It’s because the richness and oiliness of the Chinese sausage and dried meats are hearty enough for cold weather. That’s how I understand it.

Their version of my favorite glutinous rice with Chinese sausage (lap cheong) and dried meat was one of the best I’ve tried. The rice was soft and not greasy and the flavor was very good. The serving was actually a small one and we managed to eat a couple of spoonfuls each and it was more than enough.

fried glutinous rice with Chinese sausage HK$28

I love anything with Chinese sausage and I’m happy that their sausage wasn’t as fatty as others. One bun had duck liver sausage (pic below) and the other had the regular pork sausage.

steamed Chinese sausage roll bun HK$22

We made an effort to order some dishes we’ve never tried before but it was hard since we all had our favorites.

steamed chicken, fish maw & Yunnan ham roll HK$25

roast goose

Their roast goose was very lean and quite good too.

The dishes without prices are from a Chinese paper menu which my mom orders from so I’m not even sure about the names. They’re all good.

beancurd sheet roll with mushroom

Shanghai wonton in chili & sour sauce HK$28

double boiled chicken soup

Asides from free drinks they also give free fruits for dessert.

We were about to leave when they brought our an additional free dessert made with sweet potatoes. Must be a Christmas treat since I’ve never experienced it before.

sweet potato dessert

dim sum menu (click to enlarge)

On our last day in Hong Kong our last meal was also at Chuk Yuen. That’s how much we love their food. This time my dad’s friend joined us and we let him do the ordering for a change. This meal they didn’t give us juice only dessert.

steamed rice roll with scallop, lily bulb & asparagus HK$28

steamed rice roll with shrimp HK$22

Large pieces of shrimp were inside the rice rolls and nothing else.

The best ham sui kok! Hot, crisp, not oily and good flavor.

ham sui kok

fried beancurd roll

I never ever order this and I gave it a chance. I was right. I still don’t like it.

beef ball in coriander soup HK$17

The pork knuckles were something different all right. It was mostly skin with some tendon. I liked it!

pork knuckle

They really made an effort with presentation.

fried stuffed duck meat with taro HK$25

I ate the little chick’s head off with one bite :D. There was actually a little minced duck meat inside the mashed taro. Not bad at all.

This giant dumpling in hot soup is my dad’s favorite.

steamed s*fin dumpling in soup HK$25

Every time someone asks me for restaurant recommendations in Hong Kong the first name I always say is Chuk Yuen. Do try it and you will not regret it. Whatever you order will be good. I promise. I just have to try their dinner menu next time. I haven’t done that in a while.

Chuk Yuen Seafood Restaurant
Basement, Hong Kong Pacific centre
28 Hankow Road, Tsim Sha Tsui Hong Kong
telephone: +852-2722-0633
directions here

Dinner at Ginza Bairin

Jin loves to eat and I arrived in Hong Kong on the same day last December. I arrived in the afternoon while she arrived at night. She wanted me to wait for her to have dinner together. At 9:00 pm!!! After my last meal at Carpaccio hours before I was hungry.

I suggested Ginza Bairin since I heard the franchise is coming to Manila and I wanted to try it out.

Jin arrived at K11 a few minutes before me and she had a hard time finding the restaurant in the basement 1 of the mall. She kept looking at the map and still couldn’t find it. We later learned you had to take the elevator outside the mall to access the restaurant which was the only one in that hidden location.

specialties (click to enlarge)

me and Jin

They had the usual sauces including an additional wasabi dressing which I really liked. They didn’t have the ground sesame seeds like Yabu.

It’s always fun eating with a food blogger since they are patient with the long task of picture taking before eating.

I couldn’t help but compare their menu with Yabu, a totally local restaurant. Their menus were practically the same but Yabu served unlimited shredded cabbage.

rosu katsu set (black pork) HK$168

When the waiter placed the tray of fried pork I could smell the strong almost rancid oil. It wasn’t a good sign. The pork was very, very bland and boring and not even a lot of tonkatsu sauce could save it. We shared this order and yet didn’t finish it. I’m not a tonkatsu expert but Jin said many other restaurants in Hong Kong serve much better tonkatsu. We both agreed Yabu did a better job too.

I think I enjoyed the side order of curry sauce the most.

curry sauce HK$20

assorted seafood katsu set HK$178

The fried fish fillet, oysters and prawns fared better than the pork. This we finished.

fried oyster

I hope the local franchisee of Ginza Bairin do a better job when they open in Manila. Thanks for treating me to dinner Jin!!

Ginza Bairin menu (click to enlarge)

Ginza Bairin
Shop 24 Basement 1, K11 Mall, 18 Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
telephone: +852-3122-4128
Opening hours: 12:00~23:00 (LO: 22:30)
website
other locations in Hong Kong here