Milano ITA: La Ricetta di Mame

During my recent Swiss Trip, Rhea and I are deciding to spend a day out of Switzerland. We were deciding between Munich and Milan as I have not been to those places yet and are both drive-able from Bern. As there's a good weather forecast in Milan, we opted for Milan instead. Being food enthusiasts, our ultimate goal is to enjoy good food in the city. We searched through Trip Advisor trying to find a local Italian food. Our criteria is simple: no gourmet, no fuzz, and no fusion restaurant, just plain authentic Italian food. We discovered a recently opened restaurant, 15 minutes away from the city center, ranked 17 out of 2000+ restaurants and with good food reviews. I was a bit hesitant at first, I'm imagining a type of small restaurant run by Italian family instead of a chic restaurant like this. Little did I know that it will leave such a good impression of Milan's food.

La Ricetta di Mame is owned by 3 good-looking, warm, and friendly Italians: Luca, Luca, and Enrico. They speak good English which made it very easy for us to order. All throughout lunch time, they ensured we are well taken cared off and are very sensitive to what we need. 

It was not difficult to find the restaurant. There are also parking spots in the streets and we were lucky to get a spot at once. The restaurant is well lit and has a chic modern ambiance with Italian wines hanging in the walls as their main accents. It has a homey feeling and high ceiling walls.

Brussels BE: Mesa Eurasian Filipino Restaurant

One of my Filipino friends in Brussels informed us that there is a new Filipino restaurant which opened recently. The Filipino restaurant is located in Ixelles. We went to visit one Friday night and I was just stunned to see a place fully packed with Filipinos. They have a live band playing ballads during Fridays and Saturday.  The food is not exceptionally great but is good enough to be enjoyed for a dinner. The service is quite slow as we had to wait for 1 hour for the food to be served but I heard that they are trying to improve it. Price of food is very affordable with huge serving.

Do be prepared for a dinner with sound-surround noise just like in Manila with all the Filipinos chattering and a good music in the background.

Lisbon PT: Bonjardim Restaurant

As promised with my previous blog entry, I wanted to share the food adventures I had in Lisbon. The first meal I spent together with HT Couple in Lisbon is at Bonjardim Restaurant. It is a tavern restaurant that serves Portuguese restaurant and HT wifey found the place as one of the recommended restaurants from her research.We went into an alley with a number of restaurants and it was not that easy to find the place, especially at night. After 10 minutes of walking back and forth, my friends and I were able to find the place and I was quickly excited of the food about to be served.

We had Pasteis de Bacalhau, Portuguese cheese and bread as our starters while waiting for our orders. It is common for Portugese restaurant to serve cheese, bread, and bacalhau on the table. They do not come free and will need to be paid when the bill arrives. No worries though as they are not expensive too.

Quick and delicious dinner

Pan-fried hamburger patty topped with sauteed bottom mushrooms and onions. Champignon cream sauce and sauteed spinach on the side. All cooked in one pan! :)

Konichiwa Dusseldorf! Takumi Japanese Kitchen

Konichiwa! Hungry-Trotting Wifey invited me to take an adventure with them to Dusseldorf. The main goal: Japanese Food! okay and... Christmas Market. See, Hungry-Trotting Hubby loves ramen and wifey found the best place for ramen - TAKUMI!

So, off we went last December 17 for an overnight trip to Dusseldorf. I stayed in Dusseldorf for 2 weeks for a business trip before and noted down this city as one with good food and good shopping area.... but Japanese food?!?

I have to tell you though, it was with no disappointment. Located in Immermannstr, it's a small place full of Japanese crowd. The ambiance is good and the food is even better! At 4pm, there are already people lining up the cue to be able to get some ramen. I wonder how it is at dinner time. 

Manila PH: Peking Garden Chinese Retaurant

Peking Garden is one of my favorite Chinese Restaurant. For me this is one of the best fine-dining Chinese restaurants and definitely has the best... guess what? Peking Duck! 

It is currently located in Greenbelt 5. I think there is also a branch in Trinoma. Best to call for reservation before you go as it is usually packed! 

One of my favorite free appetizers is served in this restaurant. They serve some crispy chips that is very delicious. I think this is also being put as garnish on congee for some restaurants. My brothers and I can eat 2 plates each whenever we go and visit. The waiters are also very generous for refills, so don't hesitate to ask.

The seafood birthday noodles is a must-try. Before, in their old branch at Glorietta, there is even a presentation where the Chef would make the noodles in the stage before they cook this dish. I'm not sure if the noodles are still hand-made but still has the same taste.

When you order the peking duck, the whole duck is brought to your table and the waiter would be slicing it in front of you. To eat it, take a peking duck wrapper,  put some sliced meat, leeks, and sweet hoisin sauce. Wrap & enjoy! The meat itself is not tasty but with the sauce and leeks combined, it simply makes you go ahhh... The peking duck skin is very crispy and you don't see the fat behind the skin which is good. 

Manila PH: Moooo @ Mamou

I love to eat. I got it from a family who loves to eat and cook. So I figured, why not incorporate all my food adventures into this blog as well? I decided my 1st food blog will be allotted to one of my favorite steak restaurants.