Filipinos are well-known for their close social ties. Whether it's within families, friends and communities, Filipinos stand out above the rest when it comes to valuing presence and relationships which can be truly seen even in our manner of dining. For one, my family always sees to it that we dine together even just for one meal a day despite of our busy schedules. It is in the dining that we can share what happened to our day and bond more through food. Even though the western culture already invaded us with fast food chains that makes eating alone seems to be a quick thing to do, nothing can make a dining experience more satisfying than having family and friends to share our food (and love with).

However, it's good to know that there are still some restaurants out there who happen to value the importance of close social ties among friends and families. One of which is Max's, "the house that chicken built", which is one of the country's leading restaurants. They just recently launched Max's 4Sharing Meals, a new meal bundle consisting of four cups of rice, four glasses of iced tea, the all-time favorite classic Max's "sarap-to-the-bones" Fried Chicken, and this October, delectable beef selections such as Beef Caldereta and Adobong Baka sa Gata, have become a part of the 4sharing meals.

One Saturday morning, I stumbled upon a post of one of my friends in Facebook asking what's the best burger in town. People from her list provided variety of answers including Hollywood Burgers, Backyard Burgers and Army Navy. I have already tried the first two, and to be honest, I was more satisfied with the food at Hollywood Burgers than in Backyard Burgers. With regard to the third one mentioned, that is still yet a mystery to me.

So when the BF asked me to watch Total Recall last Saturday, I asked him if we can have dinner at Army Navy Burger + Burrito in Abreeza before the movie. I know he quickly agreed since like me, he has also heard raves about this new diner in town. After his duty, off we go to Abreeza for our chance to try what this diner has to offer.

When we arrived, the place was packed so the first thought that came into my mind was that food must be really good to have this much number of people. Luckily we managed to find seats for ourselves. The BF placed our orders at the counter and then we waited for around 10-15 minutes before our order arrived.

Army Navy Pork Burrito (P165)

Hurray for another weekend! I'm glad that with my work, I'm able to spend the weekends lounging at home, just chilling, feeling lazy, doing thesis work if I'm feeling motivated, and at times, wandering around town. My schedule for the weekends usually depends on my boyfriend, since at times he is on a 24-hour duty and if I feel lazy to go out without him, I stay at home. But if my parents have other plans, then surely I'm not one to just bum around.

Let me share to you one weekend trip I had. This was actually last Saturday, when I'm still feeling sick and all. But since the BF wants to spend quality time, I compromised. LOL! This time, I gave him the autonomy to decide where to go. When the boyfriend blurted out that he wants to have dinner at Lachi's, all I can say was, "Yahoo, perfect!"

Lachi's Sans Rival Atbp. has been famous in Davao for creating and marketing delightful pastries and delicacies that will surely make a sweet tooth go crazy. I have been an avid fan of Lachi's and every time that  I'm in need of a remedy for my sweet tooth, this place is always the first to pop out of my mind. I'm happy to see that they have been improving, from what used to be a very small restaurant has now occupied a bigger space enough to accommodate hungry costumers. What I just don't like with Lachi's is that their location is not that easily accessible (for me) that I don't even know how to commute to reach the place. And if you're bringing a car, then the parking space is another problem. However, once you get to taste their food, then you'll surely brush these problems away.

Here's what we ordered:

Crispy Lechon Kawali

If there's one common thing between the BF and I that I am very thankful for, it will be our love for Japanese food. Yes, when we were still dating, I was very delighted to know that he too loves Japanese food much as I do. Japanese food has been my kind of comfort food, and I would always find myself craving for them whenever I'm stressed out. Luckily, my boyfriend has always been supportive in my pigging-out sessions and has been devouring them with me all the way!

A few weeks ago, we decided to have another comfort pig-out session at Sushi Dito.

Being a health care professional exposes us at a greater risk for contracting illnesses. Despite my conscious efforts to prevent acquiring illness, I didn't expect that with the erratic weather changes and recent stressful events, I'll be calling in sick today. For the past few days, I've been having a non-productive cough and body malaise. It was only until yesterday that the symptoms progressed that I began to experiencing low-grade fever and muscle pains and a very severe headache up until the moment I woke up this morning. I don't like being sick. I don't like being away from work and not achieving the Perfect Attendance Award for the month. But desperately, my body needs to slow down and gets the rest it truly deserves. 

One thing I also don't like with being sick is the craving for "food remedies" i.e food that could satisfy sick people. The usual gastronomic treats that I'm craving for when I'm sick is my favorite chicken arroz caldo and Dencia's Tokwa't Baboy. But since Dencia's restaurant is located far away from where I'm residing and that I couldn't ask someone to buy for me, I decided to experiment replicating their Tokwa't Baboy (Pork + Tofu) together with my Chicken Arroz Caldo. Here's the result:

Chicken Arroz Caldo + Tokwa't Baboy

Closer Look: Tokwa't Baboy (Pork + Tofu with Vinaigrette)

It  was my first time to prepare Tokwa't Baboy! Thanks to the world wide web for helping me out. Additional information, these two actually make up a perfect tandem as a remedy for the sick. 

What's your comfort food when you're sick? Stay healthy everyone!

It's not what you think.

It's not my 30th birthday, nor my boyfriend's 30th birthday and not even our 30th monthsary/anniversary. It just happened that this 30th of the month is something that I had waited for so long. LOL! 

It's actually Tsuru's Grand Japanese Buffet which happens every 15th and 30th of the month. Tsuru has always been my top restaurant of choice when it comes to authentic Japanese cuisine. Months ago, le bf promised to treat me to a Japanese buffet dinner when his first paycheck arrives. That's because he knew that I love Japanese food a lot and I also knew that he loves me so much too! Pardon the cheesiness!

So last night, we had a sumptuous buffet at Tsuru. Even though the buffet was pretty expensive at a price of P755.00 per person, the restaurant was jam-packed with Japanese food fanatics like me. Good thing was, the food they served was more than enough to feed hungry tummies like mine. They actually have lots of stuff to offer - from katsudons, tempura to different varieties of maki, and not to mention, the very fresh servings of salmon, tuna and white fish sashimi and loads of delicious desserts. You'll definitely get what you pay for.

Here's what we ate for Round 1. (Taken via Instagram)

I was not able to practice food photography at that moment because I was so busy devouring all the delicious food I had in my plate. Plus, I was also too shy to take pictures since there were a lot of people dining. But because I really wanted to share what's in store for you when you dine at Tsuru, here are some pictures from their online menu.

SOURCE

Aren't these dishes so enticing? I bet you're already drooling right now.

And yes, you can definitely EAT ALL what you see in these photos during their buffet. My top picks are their salmon sashimi, crazy maki, ebi tempura and kani bacon rolls. 

Tsuru has three branches in Davao City - in Damosa, in Abreeza and J. Camus St. The buffet is only available at J. Camus St. every 15th and 30th of the month. Don't forget to call them before going in for lunch and dinner buffet. 

Once again, thank you to my beloved sponsor for this gastronomic treat!

What's your favorite Japanese food? Share your thoughts!

A common cliche says that a man who can cook is handsome. That means to say, I'm lucky to have the most handsome boyfriend in the world because not only that he knows how to cook, but he can pull off unique dishes from simple ingredients to make me feel extra special.

Despite his hectic and tiring work schedule, he found the luxury of time to cook dinner for me yesterday. On his menu was his own version of Steamed Cream Dory Fillet in Sweet Chili Sauce .

A portion of le bf's steamed dory fillet

spices overload!

His dish was fantastic! I admit that I am not a fan of hot and spicy foods or anything with chili and that I was even hesitant to try his dish, but the chili sauce was just subtle and there was a perfect balance between the sweetness and spiciness. 

Next time, I'll be the one to cook for him my own version of this dish.

Thank you so much to my master chef! Lots of love to you! Mwaaahh!!!

What do you think will be the best dish to cook for my bf? Share your ideas!