a bite of brownie

we went to this cambodian restaurant for my friend's belated birthday celebration. i confess i have very little exposure to cambodian cuisine so i was so excited to try this place. it was lunch time on a friday and not many customers were there. we ordered the 6 piece vegetarian egg rolls for starter. their service was reasonably fast. their egg rolls were good, not so oily. we ordered "amok" -- fish mixed with coconut milk, collar green, lemongrass, kefir, galangal and fish sauce, steamed in a banana leaf. the presentation was remarkable and the taste was so unexpected for my palate. i liked it but i couldn't eat a lot of it. i paired brown rice with it. i later realized that white rice was better with it. we also had "sam law curry" -- chicken with potatoes, carrots, coconut milk and curry spices. the curry was sweet and didn't really pair well with the "amok". i guess it would have been better if we ordered something fried. for our drinks, we had coconut juice in its shell. the juice was so refreshing although the coconut meat was not that tender like the ones served in philippines. we had so much of left-over we brought home.


Chez Sovan
2425 S. Bascom Ave, San Jose, CA 95128

Verdict:
3/5 (I would still give this place another chance.)

i always have this unexpected appetite for airport dining even after coming from international flights which offer heavy meals. i found myself at Wolfgang Puck after walking around SEA-TAC airport. a football game was playing with a big fan crowd. i ordered four cheese pesto pizza that came with mozzarella, fontina, parmesan, goat cheese and sun-dried and fresh tomatoes. it was a fresh change to the korean meals that i had in the long flights. it was so tasty. the two slices of left-over which i had on the last leg of my trip still tasted good considering it was already cold.

i had a long 12 hour layover from Cebu to US. it is not my first time to have this itinerary but the difference from my first time was it was summer season in Seoul. at that time, i did an impromptu city tour. i'll write a separate post for that interesting experience. this second time around, it's winter in Seoul and it's too cold to do sight-seeing outside. right after landing, i was greeted with beautiful photos of Korea along the walkway to transfer to connecting flight. the images showcase Korea and make me want to come back and visit Korea. after killing the time by sleeping, i got bored and started looking for something to do in the airport. i discovered its food court and had the traditional korean dish bibimbap.  it came with kimchi, quail's egg and squid, egg omelet and seaweed soup on the side. after the satisfying lunch, i walked some more and discovered the prayer room and airport's Korea Traditional Cultural Experience Center. i came across 2 of these centers in my long walk around the airport. this center offers a lot of free activities. i tried their phoenix magnet painting. you can choose painting a male or female phoenix and color it any colors you like. i painted both since i had a lot of time to kill. one can also paint a pencil holder or fan. while painting, live traditional korean performances are also showcased. i saw 3 different shows: 1) lady playing a guitar-like instrument while another lady sings, 2) lady playing a flute-like instrument, 3) walk of the royal family. Incheon has really set the bar for an international airport. it is not only clean and elegantly designed, it has these free Korean activities and shows that are educational and fun which make 12 hour layover feel like a breeze.


Verdict: 5/5

After the closure of our favorite all-you-can-eat restaurant at IT Park, my siblings and I decided to visit this quaint restaurant just beside AA's BBQ to see whether the place can live up to our expectations.

The place was packed, noisy, and teeming with Koreans and their dates. Smoke permeated the air as we were being seated at the final vacant booth of the restaurant the moment we arrived. Several waitresses were scurrying to and fro to attend to the needs of their customers, bringing food and drink to the respective tables. We had a few minutes to settle in and get ourselves comfortable after which we had a lovely attendant get us three orders of Chadolbaegi.

The neighboring booth housed several noisy patrons acting like they own the place with their voices at the top of their lungs. Surprisingly, those voices didn't belong to the Koreans in there, but from at least two Filipina women. Anyhow, no surprise there. I'm quite used to dealing with people like that so I shrug it off and avoid it from bothering me and my meal.


Verdict: 2/5

Dinner was okay, sub par for my tastes and the place is bit disorganized. They should install ventilation fans to dispel the smoke from the portable stoves they have or at least have fans all over.

Located on the second floor of Ayala Terraces and right in the middle of Mooon Cafe and Hukad, Tsim Sha Tsui is a comfy and well lit dimsum place that offer an assortment of several dishes from dimsum to noodles. For this particular visit, we had to try their all you can eat dimsum buffet on the bar station with a miniature conveyor belt.

The upbeat music in the background was definitely uplifting after it rained the whole morning. While I arrived a little bit later than my companions, service was good enough. The dishes up for grabs are limited to 5 or 6 different kinds and 2 versions of the same dessert. The machang served is no good, while the steamed rice is of so-so quality. I do loved their sweet and sour pork though and the siomai was able to redeem most of the lost quality.

I don't think the staff was doing the best that they could this time around. From what I remember from the past, they had more dishes served on the dock with at least three types of siomai, cabbage rolls, steamed dishes...

Maybe they were trying to cut costs?






Verdict:
2/5

Not so satisfied with the place. Add more choices, maybe? Instead of the repetitive fare being served.

Lured by the prospect of having an all-you-can-eat steak and sushi dinner, I had the front desk of the hotel reserve a table for my siblings and myself one afternoon of December. It took us hours of preparation for this mighty event; and we had to fast for at least a day to make room for the countless dishes that are to be offered to us.

My first impression of this buffet dining space is that the place is too crowded for its own good. The dull throbbing music was a pain to listen to, particularly when there's too many background noise from the function room. The ambiance of this place is so-so, as if I would definitely get stomach pains during my dinner.

After acquainting ourselves with our new surroundings, I stood up and made a bee line curve towards the buffet table for an inspection. The food was not that extravagant, contrary to what many people think. Many dishes were either frozen solid (sushi) or overcooked. The steak of this place was too heavy and dry too. The only redeeming factors of this restaurant would be the leche flan and other such rewards.



Hotel Elizabeth Cebu
Archbishop Reyes Avenue
Camputhaw, Cebu City
Philippines

Verdict:

2/5

Not worth the price. There are better restaurants out there. Stay away from this place unless absolutely necessary. Price is outrageous. Definitely not a repeater.

One lazy evening after a hectic day at school, my sister and I decided to chill out and unwind at IT park for the latest happenings and gigs in town. From there on, we took a quick stroll along the bazaar stalls situated in right at the middle of the open area and from there we breezed through our way towards this newly opened restaurant few steps away from Yellow Cab.

Hungry with anticipation to taste new food from this new strange place, we took our seat by the couch and immersed ourselves with easy rhythms played in the background. Our server promptly waited for us to get settled before handing us two tall plastic encased menus before scurrying off to the kitchen to get the next table's already waiting meals.

The place was clean and well kept, bright and pleasant to look at too. The music playing in the background, soft blues and revivals of old favorites from the 80's, just helped us settle in and enjoy the atmosphere. My sister decided to get a Wagyu burger while I got myself a medium well New York Striploin cut. Price-wise, it's extravagantly high for a burger and one piece of steak. In all honesty, I could get better tasting burgers at the right price somewhere else and a good kilogram of aussie striploin from the grocery for a little more. But beside the point, my order was cooked just right withn a hint of spice and its still delicious juices oozing from the meat fibers.



David's Kitchen
E-bloc 2, IT Park Lahug



Verdict: 3/5

The place is expensive, and the service was so-so. I'll give them credit for the aesthetic arrangement of the interiors and the innovative menus, but most of them are stuff even the common householder can do at a much cheaper price. It's not as satisfying as we thought it was (save for the steak. The steak was REAL good.)