beer eats

Pier One's grilled squid

The Filo palate has evolved in terms of favourite tipple and tapas. During my last holiday in Manila, I was amazed by the availability and quality of drinks and bar food in the city.  My friends were nice to take me out to several bars for catching up over drinks and nibbles and the standard was pretty impressive. However, trips to Philippines will never be complete without a good session with friends at 'bar & grill' spots. When you’re in the Philippines, forget about rendezvous-ing over sophisticated cocktails, nouvelle cuisine and modern fusion. Nothing, at least in my opinion, beats golden  moments over an ice cold beer and good old Pinoy pulutan.

ate vangie's kare kare

I miss you.

Kare kare is a Philippine stew with a thick peanut-based sauce usually made with oxtail / beef / tripe and veggies like aubergine, green beans and pak choi. It's normally served with bagoong alamang (shrimp paste) and steamed rice.

This is probably my second favourite Philippine dish (coming close to the one and only laing).

Manila, here we come!

I fly to the Manila in a few days. I can’t wait to see family and friends and people I’ve missed over the last three years. Three years!!! That’s a lot of catching-up to do and I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone. It’s been too long and God I hope I’m ready for Manila and all its changed glory.

I also cannot wait to have authentic Filipino food and to check out the country’s gastronomic finds. I’m excited to try new dishes and restaurants my family and net foodies have been raving about and I’m also really looking forward to coming home to Manang Virgie, our family cook of many years, and her gorgeous homey meals. I’m so eager to fly and dine I could almost savor the sweet, sour, salty taste of exquisite food in the Philippines.

Obviously I’ve thought about this long and hard enough so I have a list of yummies that I MUST MUST have whilst I’m there.

the new tapa

Garlic wafer-thin chicken

I don't get to eat proper brekkie during weekdays as it's difficult when you're rushing to work. It's always a case of 3 mugs of black coffee plus a piece of toast slathered with butter and marmite/peanut butter/Nutella, or a bowl of muesli with peanut butter and a dash of milk. Sometimes I don’t get to eat anything at all, which really sucks because since I've moved to London I've become a fan of proper breakfast (to be clear: by proper breakfast I do not mean a proper English fry up breakfast, but a decent breakfast that ticks all the boxes). I suppose this is one of the reasons why I actually enjoy waking up on weekends: because I know for a fact that I will have enough time to have proper morning food. With all the 'need-to-have's' in it. Like good carbs. And good protein.