In my Philippines trip, I sure had a good share of Pinoy food. Here are some of them.

Aristocrat Chicken Barbeque

My very first meal was this restaurant with a tagline - 'home of the best chicken barbeque in town'.

When you have a tagline like that, it comes with high expectations. It was not bad - but I'm not sure if it really is the best in town?

However, what I like here - trying the pork dinuguan (pork blood stew!). Minus the name aside, the stew is quite tasty actually. And so is the mango juice - my first in the Philippines, but definitely not the last!

Fruitas

Talking bout mango juice, the one I enjoyed most is from this fruit juice chain - Fruitas. The mango juice comes with a good thick serving of pure fresh mango... just so suitable for the tropical weather in the Philippines!

Jollibee Hamburger

Like the Fruitas, this is one food chain every visitor must try. The queues in the Jollibee outlets are always so long... I was surprised that Megamall has 2 big outlets at 2 different levels!

This is really heaven for hamburger lovers... it's one of the best burgers I have ever eaten! The beef pattyt is cooked just nice reatining its juice yet well cooked. Double thumbs up!

Andok's

I tried a fair bit of their local Pinoy food chains. This one is Andok's - famed for its grilled chicken. The food was alrite for a quick bite.

Greenwich Pizza

I even tried their pizza from this quite popular restaurant chain. Look at the toppings!

Red Ribbon Cake

I was very amazed with all the local food chains in the Philippines - and was also game to try the cake at this shop. This shop was crowded and the cake - yummy!

Kamaiyan Saisaki Dads Buffet
One of the recommended buffets in town is the Kamaiyan Saisaki Dads Buffet. It boasts of 3 different types of food - local Pinoy dishes, western & Japanese. This sure made me full! What I like here? The lechon (roasted pork)!

SM Food Court (Pinoy Food)

As they all say, the Philippines sure is the pork gourmet nation. And one of my last meals was more lechon plus other local Pinoy food at the food court at SM Marikina Mall. Oh yes, there's the pork blood stew again! :)

Cafe Juanita
I was fortunate to have visited this restaurant as well - known for its local Pinoy dishes & also for its antique decorations...

There are actually 2 restaurants here - both by the same owner. One is the simple food at the counter while the other, dine restaurant style.


Larry's Cafe & Bar

I tried some very good cake at this bar cum cafe, located in Serendra. The atmosphere in the place is cosy as well. Truly a must come back visit!

Balut!

Of all the food I tried, this one tops them all...! I've roughly heard about the balut & dare not try at first. Afterall, balut is the nearly developed embryo of a duck... and some friends mentioned that one might actually see the duck embryo while eating the egg. But then again... anyway, I tried it and was lucky that mine wasn't that raw. Taste - delicious!

Well, there it is - the final piece of my Philippines travel this year :)

Here are some reviews we've had with The BIG Bibik & The Little Nyonyas show. As usual, any feature or review gives a nice feeling & a proud moment :)

A feature by Malaysia's lifestyle magazine - I.M. I've always liked this magazine and to be featured by a magazine you like - that is double thumbs up! :)

Malaysia's national paper - The New Straits Times. I'm happy for this full page review... plus the fact that this is my first time my works is featured in this newspaper. Truly, the power of believe :) (full article at Bibik Is Back).

Over the causeway, the entertainment magazine, I Weekly (1st October 2009 issue), did a recipe feature.

This is also the first time my works have been featured on this entertainment magazine.

Not sure if there are more to come, but am keeping my fingers crossed :)


*To the journalists from IM Magazine, The News Straits Times & I Weekly, here's a big thank you :)

Every now & then, there comes a reminder that dreams are not just dreams in the clouds/ air... but something achievable & attainable.

It's always amazing that I receive these reminders when I need them most... here's a video I just watched recently while in the midst planning ahead. Though I've watched this before, this is a good reminder.

This video sees Charice, a Pinoy from Philippines, Asia - at a young age singing a duet with her idol, Celine Dion.

Charice just proves that age is no barrier to our dreams (and so are all the other excuses). And the fact that Asians can make it in Hollywood... really, the future is ours to create :)

One of the few things I look forward each day apart from visioning my dreams is watching drama series.

Actually, it has been a very long time since I watched drama series... it was only recently I started watching & at times rewatching Friends. The last time I was hooked to drama series would be watching Friends itself during the university days. But even then, I wasn't following up with the show weekly.

But now, I can proudly say I've covered Friends in full from Season 1 to the finale in Season 10!

As much as I wished there is Season 11, but well I have to move on (and life goes on? lol). Anyway, I don't think rewatcing it anytime soon is a good idea... especially not when I need to see what's popular in the media hub of the world - Hollywood.

Then, I have heard of Heroes - and I thought it does look appealing. So, I bought my first Heroes DVD box set this year! (I know it's now already Season 4 and here I am just finished watching Season 1... there sure is lots to catch up with USA media!).

I find the whole Heroes concept very cool. Superpowers & superheroes have always been cool plus the fact that Heroes do have quite an interesting storyline & characters. I particularly like the double character of Niki-Jessica & also the current Hiro-future Hiro, who I think both acted very well showing very different characters despite being the same person. Overall, very creative I must say.

However, I'm not sure if it's because of tiredness or late hours, but at times I do fall asleep while watching Heroes. Some friends say they are confused on Heroes, while some say there's a lot of talking. I find the jumping of scenes makes the show not a very smooth watch.

But still, for it's high USA ratings, I think 'it's my duty' as someone in the media industry to watch the series... just like the Heroes have a mission "Save the cheerleader, save the world". hehe :)