Mother's Day at Myron's Place

My brilliant Mother’s Day idea brought together four women on a double date: my mom and I and an aunt and my cousin. I was the youngest of the group, my cousin being married and a doctor. Since it was my idea, I got to choose the restaurant, and after much research and consultation with Munchpunch.com (really useful for checking restaurant menus-- just a shout out to guys out there), I went with Myron’s Place at Greenbelt 5. I am not fond of steak and neither is my mom, but I figured we could have a ball with their salads and fancy sounding seafood entrees.

The traffic going to Makati that night was one of the worst I experienced, especially since we took the alternate route already instead of EDSA. The reason was the meeting de avance happening at University of Makati by team Erap and co. We were forty minutes late for our 7 o’ clock reservation. On the road, I called ahead to ask if they could hold it for us, and they graciously did so, although it was partly because the place was far from being full even at the peak of dinner time and on a Friday night.

All of us were impressed with the service at Myron’s. The waiter in charge of our table was knowledgeable with the dishes, and made sensible recommendations. He was able to memorize the dishes we ordered too. Although it later got difficult to get the wait staff’s attention to refill our glasses of water, or to ask for another napkin, we were happy to be served courteously and gladly every time he came by.

The first thing on the table was a small complimentary plate of rye bread. This surprised me, as it became clear that the pictures of the complimentary bread I saw on one blog about MP was super close up shot. The rye bread was hot and soft, served with butter on the side. We did not finish it because my aunt refused to have any, saying she’ll only want more after having a slice. To me it could have been any type of bread colored brown. I know my rye bread, and it’s supposed to be dense and coarse.

Our soups came next. My cousin and I split Cream of Pumpkin soup, while my mom and aunt split something called Cappuccino of Mushroom soup. They were pretty good; although they had a tad too much heavy cream. The mushroom soup actually had some coffee taste in it, and came adorably in coffee cups. Razor thin slices of garlic bread yellowed with butter accompanied the soups.

Next came the Stockbroker’s Salad (roasted duck breast, US sea scallops, grilled prawn and pan fried foie gras), per the waiter’s recommendation. I’ve read about this one; it's supposed to be the star of salads. We were all disappointed with this dish. The prawns were not very fresh, and there wasn’t enough to go for everybody (it only had 3 prawns and 3 scallops, so one of us, i.e. me, didn’t get to taste everything). I didn't recognize the duck breast, and maybe I haven't eaten enough foie gras, but I can't say it was the best tasting salad I've had. I much prefer seafood tossed with salad greens with a good dose of lemon juice.

Our main entrees

We ordered steak in Franco’s cut (450g) and a seafood pasta main dish. My cousin wanted the steak done medium well. It came to our table looking beautiful, and with a side of sauces: peppercorn, mushroom and shiraz cabernet-shallot jus. We all loved the sweet-tangy contribution of the red wine reduction to the steak, which tasted well on its own by the way. Surprisingly, my mom ate the most steak! Way to go mom! I’m glad the dish satisfied her figuratively and literally. My favorite part of the steak was the whole roasted garlic that came with it. It was a good thing I didn't have anybody to kiss that night.

Juicy and perfectly medium-well steak

The pasta was also excellent, except it’s on the oily side. “It’s olive oil, so it’s healthy,” my cousin assured the older women. Well I’m not fooled. Too much oil is too much oil. I loved the mussels, salmon bits and the vegetables tossed in al dente spaghetti.

MP got everybody’s approval. We agreed that it has a nice ambiance for intimate conversations, and we liked the unobtrusive and pleasant staff, and even my mom couldn’t complain about the food. As my cousin said in her email sending me the pictures, “Sana maulit!”

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Hong Kong chow

My recent visit to Hong Kong was less shopping and more food trip compared to 2008. Here are some of me and my family's chows in busy busy Hong Kong, where people are hungry 24/7.

Chinese food

Our hosts in Hong Kong threw lauriat for us practically every meal. Here in Manila, I try to avoid going to parties because I'm so tired of the usual Chinese fare during weddings, birthdays and everything in between. It's a different story in Hong Kong though. Everybody knows Hong Kong is not only a shopping mecca, but a foodie's dream too. The best Chinese chefs are either in Hong Kong or in Macau. Sometimes, they're not found in restaurants but in some grimy, cramped side-street eatery in front of which people would line up to get inside.

Of all the restaurants dined in, no two same entrees were cooked identically. The abundance of exotic and ocean-fresh seafoods like this giant abalone (below), not the mention the variety of mushrooms, vegetables and meat imaginatively prepared, made each meal feel like a luxurious food adventure.

By the way, this dish was served during the wedding we attended. I took a picture because my mom said it's very expensive. :p

... and I took a picture of the one above because I thought it's beautiful. Look how green the broccoli is!

After hours of walking and shopping, the best thing to do in Hong Kong is find a small eatery for authentic Chinese snacks! We noticed an especially tiny restaurant at the market that was always full everytime we passed it. My mom wanted to settle on buying pastry in one of the ubiquitous bakeshops Bread Talk style that seems to be the 'in' thing now. I convinced her to try the canteen instead.

Like most eateries in Hong Kong, the canteen has a stand outside where passersby can grab soy milk, various buns, or sticky rice to go. There were two women attending customers. Both can't understand either fookien or Mandarin, so we had to do our best with hand gestures. Good thing they have pictures of the menu on the walls. The tables inside are meant for two people, but four of us squished together in one. The result is a road block in the teeny eatery, but I figured if people were determined to eat, they wouldn't mind.

On to the food!

Below is fried buns with vegetable and meat inside. I only had a bite and gave the rest away because it was too oily. If you don't mind the grease though, this steaming bun is tasty and filling for an afternoon snack.

The egg on the plate is what my aunt says is called "tea egg," which I take to mean egg cooked in tea. It's supposed to be tastier then ordinary boiled egg, but I didn't try it. The way the eggs are cooked is shown below. That pot is outside the canteen.

The eatery's specialty is soy bean curd or taho. For an additional $3, the regular taho can be made special with toppings like sweet potato, red beans, jelly or fruits. We chose the basic one for $5 a cup. We weren't given the dark syrup usually poured over taho, also called arnibal, which is mainly sugar. Instead there was a jar of orange sugar and a pitcher of orange liquid on the table for the taho. The orange liquid is diluted sugar, so you can put whichever you prefer. A small amount of sugar was enough for the entire cup. I'd like to know what the sugar is called. Although the bean curd wasn't as soft and silky as we expected, it was delicious and refreshing.

I would've taken more "real food" pictures, but every dish was great anyway and some situations made it too embarrassing.

Junk food

When we weren't eating banquet meals, we were eating burgers and other junk food. Hehe. Here are some of the pictures I took.

Lamb burger set meal at ThreeSixty, Elements Shopping Mall

I forgot that I don't like lamb or goat burger when I ordered this. It's a lebanese take on burger, but I didn't like the dressing which is akin to hummus. I like my mustard and pickles and sometimes even tomato sauce in my burger. It was nothing compared to the Big N' Tasty burger I tried in McDonald's there, which I can't wait to write about.

Swedish meatballs at Ikea Bistro

I enjoyed this one, although basically they reminded me of Jollibee's burger steak in balls instead of patty-style. The sauces are cranberry and some mushroom-cheese gravy.

Finally, dessert! At the Hong Kong 44th Brands and Products Expo at Victoria Park, my dad and I had our very first durian ice cream. We couldn't resist because everyone--young and old-- was walking around with a huge ice cream cone in hand.

I have to say, at first lick you wouldn't like it because of the strong durian flavor. But at least it's not a rip off right? So you go and take a second lick, just because the cone is huge and after all, the pale yellow color is still appealing. And then surprisingly, it gets better as you continue to eat it. The creaminess of milk was a good match to neutralize the foul odor of the fruit, and together the flavor is exotic, rich and not too sweet for ice cream.

Here's a picture of my dad in front of the stall at the expo. Some fruit flavors are made into ice cream on the spot with frozen fruit pieces. The durian flavor is the most expensive though, which I'm sure added to people's hesitation. I'm glad we tried it because it was one of my most memorable experiences during the trip. If it wasn't so expensive, I'll even sell it in the Philippines!

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Chinese food galore at Shang Palace

Location: Makati Shangri La

Before I left for Hong Kong last December, B's grandmother invited B and I for a pre-New Year lunch since I wouldn't be around on the actual celebration. We went there without a reservation, and considering it was a Sunday, we were lucky to get a table. According to our server, only one family is responsible for filling almost the entire place that day. We guessed they must be a regular in the hotel restaurant.

What can I say about the dining experience? Everything was fantastic, from the interiors to the service which was attentive, courteous and quick. The food was superb--authentic and far from the hodgepodge cooking of some Chinese-claiming restaurants in Manila. While we weren't able to take a picture of everything, we managed to capture some of the more presentable dishes.

This is rice cooked in soy sauce with minced vegetables and meat, wrapped in yam leaves. I don't know exactly what it's called and what ingredients are in it but I'm guessing you can eat this on its own, like kiampong or the Chinese version of paella.

Eat the rice with this fried prawns in orange sauce though and you'll find yourself going for seconds and third servings. This is seriously very good, but you can't eat it without at least plain steamed rice as the sweet flavor is too strong. There's a nice size of prawn inside that's meaty, tender and gently flavored to offset the sweet and sour sauce.

The winner of them all! Fried gindara in some light soy sauce. It took me forever to finish my fillet because I wanted it to last forever, and at the time our rice hasn't arrived. I was also afraid that if I ate it quickly, I'd want another one, and there was only one for each. Like the prawns, this is best eaten with plain rice. The restaurant manager recommended this dish, and although it's pricey (Php300 each), we were glad to have listened to her. The fish is crunchy without being too oily, with the meat flaky but not dry. I could've been sighing with every bite.

Other dishes that aren't pictured are ravioli soup (clear soup with mushroom and pork ravioli) and beef stew in special chef stock (Chinese version of corned beef in stock, with vegetables). The experience reminds me of the saying, "When you feel hungry, follow the Chinese; they will surely go where food is good."

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Have you heard of Yamazaki?

Location: Little Tokyo, Pasay Road Makati City

I have to blog about the best fish dish I have had in a long time. I've forgotten the name of the dish, but it starts with S. This is mackerel fish, seasoned with nothing but salt and then fried. It comes as a bento, so you get miso soup, 3 appetizers and a bowl of rice too.


At first, I was looking for some kind of sauce to go with the fish. The appetizers weren't that tasty, and the white thing with the fish is shredded radish which tastes a little sweet but bland on the whole. Eaten alone, the fish didn't have much taste too.

And then I ate it with the Japanese rice. You know how in cartoons or anime, your eyes light up and there's music in the background on the first bite of something divine? Well, that wouldn't be an overstatement. It dawned on me that no matter how fancy restaurants come up with ways to prepare fish and however creative cooking shows try to be, there's no better way to prepare fish than season it with salt and serve it with steaming hot rice. Eating the dish, I was flooded with memories of childhood in the province. When I'm in the province for summer, we ate fried fish everyday with soysauce with vinegar for dipping. My favorites are swordfish, galunggong and dalagang bukid, but later on the cook switched to tamban which I hate because of its hairlike bones. Of course, the fish we had were local, cheap fishes. Now I know stuff like mackerel, salmon, etc. But fancy or not, any fish is noble as food-- after all, wasn't it mentioned in the Bible?

It's sad that we rarely eat fish in the province now. It's been replaced with pork, chicken, beef... all kinds of versions, every meal of everyday. Sometimes granny would make milkfish adobo, but I hate milkfish too. Did our family's taste preference change, or did we just become too indulgent that what were once considered rare pleasures (meat) are now even boring?

I thought I ate a lot after my Yamazaki meal, but looking at the picture now, it's less than what I used to eat as a child. I guess the satisfaction was just so great I easily felt full. By the way, Yamazaki is the grocery where you can find Japanese ice cream, but just a tip: Choto Stop which is at the back sells them cheaper and has a wider selection. Read more