Spring by Ha Yuan

Chinese restaurants often get a bad rap--in my family, from Ate Star-- for using MSG, or for their food being too oily or too salty.

But, but... Chinese food is just so delicious, you can't help but love it anyhow!!

Good thing, though, Ate Star found this little gem of a Chinese place called Spring, tucked in Benavidez Street in Makati, to satisfy her Chinese food cravings without the impending MSG-induced headache. (It's very near my old office... how I wish I still worked there if only for its proximity to Spring!)

Ate Star loves Spring so much because they:
-make their ingredients form scratch;
-use probio meat
-source their greens from organic farms
-have vegetarian, pescetarian, and pork-free options
-do not use MSG!

Impressive, right? But after eating there twice now, I realized that I love Spring because the food is just simply delicious!

Orders!

From the Lumpia Bar, Ha Yuan's Signature Fresh Amoy Lumpia. So fresh!

From the Ka Pao! Bar, Classic Hong Ba Cua Pao. Tender pork, very peanut-y sauce!

Dimsum, Poached Dumplings in Soy Ginger Broth. So light and tasty!

 Braised Beef Brisket Rice Bowl (my favorite!! because I am a rice person!)

Maki Mi. Noodles and pork loin in thick soy broth. So hearty and filling!

Monk's Plate. Tofu, mushrooms, bell peppers, shallots, ginger peanut sauce. Veggy good!!!

Desserts:
Old School Taho (the "normal" taho! hehe).

Mango Sago.

The place is small, pretty and homey, all bright and light and very very Spring-y indeed! :P

Bee couldn't stop raving about this place. He said that this was the best Chinese meal he's had in... like ever! I think I would have to agree too. Ohhh, did I mention it's super affordable???

See ya later,

Binky

Happy 6 Days

I don't go to a lot of Korean restos, but there is one that I really, really love. 

This is Happy 6 Days. 

It's right by my office, and it's so homey and quaint and warm, and very hole-in-the-wall, just the way I like my restos! :) I love it here so much, just last week, I ate here twice!

And the food! Oh wow! Just come by and you'll know. 

Ate Star and Bee and I ate dinner here last Friday, and what an awesome way to finish up the work week. 

Side dishes --  for free. You can have them refilled, but only once. They change them up everyday. :) But Kimchi, of course, is a staple.

We always order the same things here.

Galbijim (Korean Beef Stew). Hot and hearty. Super tender beef!

Bulgogi sundubu with bibimbap (Beef and tofu stew, with mixed rice) :) Easily my favorite.

Mixed with chili paste and all the veggies, this is how it looks like. I don't like it very spicy, so it's not very red.

Samgyupsal (grilled sliced pork belly meat), dipped in chili paste, to be wrapped in lettuce along with fried garlic and more leafy things, and eaten (supposedly!) in one bite.

Fresh lettuce.

I wonder if I should eat there again this weekend?

Ohh.. and the owners called it so because they're only open six days a week, from Mondays to Saturdays. Indeed, six happy days of delicious Korean dining! :)

Happy 6 Days
Escriva Drive
Pasig City

Seeya,

Binky

Maginhawa Cupcake Tour

I haven't been to Maginhawa (Tomato Kick side) for a long time, and I was happily surprised to know that there are two new dessert places there now.

Cupcakes! :) :)

1. Frosted.

Chocobanana, Red Velvet, Chocolate. They were just ok.

2. Cupcakes by Gremlins.

Chocolate on Chocolate and Red Velvet.

Ate Star and I both liked the cupcakes here better. They were smaller (and cheaper!), but the cakes were really moist, and the frosting were so creamy! The cream cheese frosting of the red velvet was quite tart-y, just the way I like it.

And the shop, though small, is quaint and has so much character.

There are so many new shops to explore in Maginhawa, so I would have to put that in my calendar soon!

Laters,

Binky

Milky and Sunny, Mad Mark's and Speculoos PB

Tonight was once again Milky and Sunny night with Bee and Ate Star.

We couldn't decide whether we wanted to in M&S or elsewhere, so while waiting, Bee ordered M&S' Red Velvet Pancake with Ferrero Cream Cheese. Wahh! Yes, I love it when dessert comes first. :) :)

In the end, though, we decided to have dinner in M&S.

But after our pre-dinner dessert and our breakfast-for-dinner (hehe!), we wanted dessert again! :) Off to Mad Mark's!

I swear they have the best homemade ice cream! Their flavors are all exciting and original. We had Chocolate on Chocolate (left), Roasted Pecan (center) and Apple Cinnamon (right). All so good and creamy and sweet and all good things ice cream should be.

Afterwards, we walked back to M&S, and looky looky! On display -- Trader Joe's Speculoos Peanut Butter. Ok, so I haven't heard about Speculoos until today, but Ate Star said they're all the buzz in the world of spreads right now, and they are mighty good. :P

Limited stocks (Cookie Butter and Crunchy Cookie Butter) are available in M&S and are sold for P500.00 per bottle. If they run out, owner Bernard said you may leave your contact details so he can alert you when the new stocks arrive.

I can't wait to (free) taste this, courtesy of the ever-benevolent Bernard (wink wink)!

That's it for now.

See ya,

Binky

Europe Post: Berlin, Part 2

Heya guys!

It's been a month since my last post. It's mid-February already!

Work has been hectic, but I did get a few days off to do a bit of traveling -- thus my absence. Anyways, I'm back and I hope to regularly update the blog from now on, starting with this...

Part 2 of my Berlin Post.

Here are a few more highlights of Berlin.

Postdamer Platz:

In Potsdamer Platz, you can visit Panorama Punkt, for this view of Berlin:

Then, we walked to the nearby Sony Center (right picture above, with that cone-shaped roof with white panels), where they hold the Berlin Film Festival. Wowow!

Germans chillaxin', watching a movie (or was that a play?) :)

The next day: Ritter Store and a long walk to Check Point Charlie.

Ritter Sport. So much chocolate and all so good! I wanted to buy em all.

More art-y things, painted on the remains of the Berlin Wall, near Check Point Charlie.

Vintage, I love Berlin car. :)

Stop and Go, the Ampelmann way:

Finally, Check Point Charlie! :)

We got most of the must-see/ historical sites covered, but I did feel that there was still so much more to see in Berlin. It was soooo huge and we only got to explore the East Side. Anyways, what we saw, we enjoyed  and loved so much. (And when I come back, I would definitely eat more Bratwursts, and work harder to understand the U and S Bahns, promise!!!)

Seeya,
Binky