Table Conversation: An Intimate Eyeball

Creations by Chef Manuel at Lolo Dad's Brasserie

I rarely attend eyeball events.

Most of the time, it's usually about timing. Scheduling conflicts and so on. But truth be told, I'm also a fairly shy person who just happens to love sharing his delight for food. What started as a 'first look' lunch at a new restaurant of a very talented Filipino chef, eventually evolved into a very intimate eyeball for three (plus one). My dining companions for the day? Two food writers who I greatly admire and have the privilege of knowing outside the blogsphere: Lori Baltazar of Dessert Comes First and Margaux Salcedo of the Margauxlicious (plus the lovely company of Margaux's sister, G).

What I love about these women, besides their unabashed love for food, is the fact that outside their foodie personas they lead very interesting lives. We did talk a lot about food but our table conversation was never limited to the gastronomical sphere. In fact, our little chats found their way to some strange and unusual places.

As for Lolo Dad's Brasserie, let me say this: I am an ardent fan of Chef Ariel Manuel. Although I have no serious food issues concerning his new establishment, I think his brasserie needs more time to develop to the level that many diners have come to expect. I believe Chef Manuel's new eatery is worth a visit but for now, come with more forgiving expectations. As for me, I will most definitely return. Maybe in a couple of months. Chef Manuel is always worth a second try.

Franco's Note: If anyone knows Chef Manuel personally, please ask him to contact us. We would love to interview him. Trust me, we have tried. Almost to the point of being slightly 'stalkerish'. And we promise, we will not bite.

Lolo Dad's Brasserie
Ground Floor, 6750
Ayala Avenue
Makati City, Metro Manila
Telephone: (02) 813-6750

Death by Chocolate: Chocolate is Not My Middle Name

Hazelnut Pots de Creme

It took one intimate chocolate buffet to make me realize that I could never really lay claim to, as a badge of honor, being a chocoholic. Or a chocolate lover. I crash. I burn. I lay down on my table, defeated.

Friday night I made reservations for two at Manila Peninsula’s famous chocolate buffet. I brought along the most sweet-toothed of my sisters, the one who always got first dibs on the cookies and cakes I used to bake in sixth grade. I was assured that whatever sweet ending the buffet will lead us, she will be at the other end of the table bright-eyed and satisfied. And all the chocolates in the hotel will be worth it.

I had no delusions of being transported to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory when we arrived. But I had a pocket of excitement in my belly, traveling to my watering mouth. “Tsokolate-Ah!” marked the menu that the staff gave us. I did a double-take on the buffet’s name this year, thick puddles of Spanish chocolate and tableya parading in my head. The waiter informed us there are no tsokolate-eh or ah tonight, but chocolates made from the Swiss brand Felchlin.

Two tables modestly groaning with chocolates displayed a multitude of incarnations. This being our first time, we had a progressive plan of attack: Work our way up from the lightest to the most intense. The first table carried the smaller treats we could easily pile on the plate without hogging the line. The hogging happened on the next table, where people took their time while carefully slicing the cakes. Besides it’s much more convenient to make a beeline for one table at a time than crisscross our way to two. Out of that table emerged my personal favorites:

Chocolate fondue, still warm in ramekins the chocolate guy handed to us for the strawberries and marshmallows.

Hazelnut pots de crème, singing duets like a jar of Nutella (well, almost).

Fresh fruit in chocolate cups, “the middle tasted like cream puff filling,” my sister said, a cream puff fanatic.

Chocolate pudding, creamy up to here.

White chocolate passion fruit, biting me with such tart I quiver.

Super chocolate ice cream, simple, smooth and unadorned, packs a wallop of chocolate flavor.

By the time we swooped down on table two, I had my eye on the cakes: fallen chocolate cake, heavenly moist cake (hmm, chocolate so good you can either fall from the sky or ascend to it?), and the Bailey’s chocolate chip cheesecake. They were perhaps the stars of the buffet but I could barely finish half of what I’d sliced. System crashing from all the sugar. I should have asked for the complimentary tea earlier, at least to help melt my indulgences.

My sister, bless her, had mercifully eaten everything she had loaded on her plate. I nibbled mindlessly on a white chocolate-covered breadstick. Lifted me up a bit but not enough for me to compose anything poetic about the handmade pralines and truffles I had reserved last. At this point, the candle on our table flickered and died. The wick had drowned on the wax.

Memo from self: “you like chocolate, you really do. But only up to a point.” I could only pop one last white chocolate truffle before we called it a night. The Felchin chocolates were not as fetchin’ as I hoped but it was a fun buffet as it should be. I envied the kids who got their Spider Boy Float. I wouldn’t mind going back, next year maybe. If only to graze on a few old favorites and then hit the cakes first without gorging myself to death. I want a chocolate to live for.

Jenny Orillos is a regular contributor to Spot.ph.
Many thanks to Lori of Dessert Comes First for the lovely photograph.

For the Buffet Only: Adults: PhP 550+++, Children: PhP 225+++.
Available on Fridays and Saturdays from 9:00 pm to 12mn, until the end of December.

Tsokolate Ah: The Chocolate Buffet
The Peninsula Manila
Ayala cor Makati Avenue
Makati City 1226
Metro Manila
Telephone: (02) 887 2888, extension 6694
E-mail: pmn@peninsula.com

The Travelling Table: What Pork Fat Can Do (2 of 2)

Hearts of Rice

As I was saying...

If anything, this whole event was about passion.

The spread was much, much more than the dishes I've previously mentioned. Aside from the lechon, the grilled corn, and the kilawin, there were the shrimps, which were quickly marinated in salt, pepper, and lemons, then grilled in the same oven. This was where resident energizer bunny Ms. Fores finally cried out, "I can't stand it, I need to touch the food!" At which point she fell on the shrimps, helping to lay them out on the blisteringly hot oven.

Shortly after, the pigs were done, the puso (rice steamed in little packets) were being taken down from the tree, and we were herded to the dining area. The all white tablecloths and tents were accented with various native fruits and some really odd, but pretty, flowers. Hard as it was to drag people away from the kilawin, even the stragglers had to leave the ice bowls alone when the pigs were brought to their place on the spread.

At the buffet spread, there were even more dishes. There were crabs, green mango salad with excellent bagoong, dinuguan (which I didn't even see), langka salad, eggplant salad, tomato salad, kinilaw na guso (seaweed) salad, and something called lukot. A short note on lukot. It's a secretion by a sea creature called a sea hare. It's not the same thing as kopi luak, I am assured. It's actually perfectly edible, it just sounds disturbing.

From top left, clockwise
Cracked Lechon, The Eyeball Buffet,
Shrimps on the Grill, Cheesecake

It's perhaps almost laughably obvious to say that the food was wonderful. The lechon, the star of the show, did not disappoint. Market Man's particular blend of spices for the pork includes kaffir lime leaves, which gives it a more robust, spicy, aroma. The Cebu-style lechon did not need any sauce at all; the pork was already wonderfully seasoned and moist. The skin was perfectly crisp, not too hard or soggy. Anthony Bourdain praised it as the best ever; who am I to disagree?

Aside from these, other dishes stood out, such as the lechon meat sisig (like I said in the first part, what more can I really say?) and the corn, pre-buttered inside the husk as it grilled, which received oohs and aahs from the diners. Dessert was just as impressive, with things like durian cheesecake, tocino del cielo, and traditional Cebuano torta, cooked with pork fat (what else?) and tuba, which was the leavener. It was a struggle to stop eating.

The Cebuano Torta

I said that this was about passion. It was.

It was in every dish in that spread, made with the best possible ingredients, prepared with utmost care. It was in the enthusiastic reception of the diners, some of whom crossed oceans just to attend. It was in hands itching to touch the food, in smiles and cameras and stories shared over the table. Every dish in that spread was a product of passion, from the lechon to the torta. Every bite made by the participants was done with matching enthusiasm. What I took away from this experience was not just memories of excellent food and company, but also a lesson in just what wonders passion can achieve when properly, and judiciously, applied.

The experience was inspiring, and not a lot of "eyeballs" do that.

Stich's Note: Many thanks to MarketMan and our new friends for an experience I will treasure. Oh, and for the food.

The Travelling Table: What Pork Fat Can Do (1 of 2)

Lechon on a Stick

I could not help but do a double-take when my wife, a normally sensible, practical, soul, announced a few weeks ago that we were going to Cebu for a short trip - to eat lechon.

I, of course, expressed no objections whatsoever. I get it. It's lechon.

To clarify, this was the "Lechon Eyeball" (a morbidly appetizing term) organized by MarketMan of Market Manila fame. It was a chance for avid readers to meet him and fellow readers over several of the famed pigs, cooked in his very own lechon oven. For those not familiar, Market Man is one of the country's top bloggers, and he is obsessed with perfecting lechon. He has been praised by Anthony Bourdain, no less, for his pork. It would take more than just ordinary Cebu lechon to get my wife that determined.

We arrived at the secret meeting location, marked by the huge "MARKET MANILA" sign right at the gate. We got out of the cab and saw...nothing. The nicely set tables were empty. Waiters hovered nervously around us. Were we too early?

Apparently not. We were directed to the famous lechon oven, where three pigs were being turned, but not in the usual way. They were turned back and forth, never all the way around, but enough to ensure that all sides were being heated. Apparently, this makes a difference in the final result. Corn was also being grilled in the husk in the same oven (with butter inside!). Two pots of paksiw were also boiling happily away. Around this were a gaggle of fellow readers, excitedly chatting and, every once in a while, gazing longingly at the pigs. Others were puttering about, taking pictures for their own blogs. I was a little surprised. This was an event.

from top left, clockwise
A Mix of Limes, Paksiw na Lechon, Chicharon, Sisig na Baboy

On a nearby table, a basin was full of absolutely fresh shrimps were waiting beside a bilao full of calamansi and something that looked slightly like kaffir limes (they are called biasong). While waiting, waiters were walking about, offering peanuts, dried mangoes, and, my personal favorite, carcar chicharon, apparently made from dinosaurs. Discussions about food were everywhere, covering almost any topic. Margherita Fores was a pleasant, and energetic, surprise. She was a cheerful dervish, whirling happily around the cooking area, hands itching to touch the items being prepared. Eventually, she would help out in the cooking, unable to resist the urge to touch the food.

Market Man himself was a surprise. He was charming and engaging...and tall. More importantly, he knew food. He prepared some unique kilawin, from a fish that was alive just nine hours prior. He knew every ingredient, and how it would come together to complete the dish. Here was a guy who loved food, who got in there with his hands and knew not to overwork the fish while making the dish.

Kinilaw in Ice Bowl

When it was done, it was served in ice-bowls, to keep the fish fresh. The dish was a revelation. We already expect kilawin to be tart, it is a kind of ceviche, after all. But this one uses vinegar pressed coconut milk, which turns the tart dish into something remarkably creamy, which worked extremely well with the natural sweetness of the ridiculously fresh fish. Tomatoes, onions, ginger, and chillis provided an excellent finish. I could have gorged on this alone.

He also made, of all things, sisig. With lechon meat. Do I really have to say anything more? Soon enough, the dishes were ready, and we all took our places at the table.

See you next post.

Death by Chocolate: Tips for Non-Chocoholics

from top left, clockwise
Heavenly Moist Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Walnut Brownies and
White Chocolate Mousse with Passion Fruit, White Chocolate Stones and Chocolate
Panna Cotta with Brandied Cherries, Strawberry and Jackfruit Nigiri and Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am not one for sweets.

While I am no stranger to the pleasures of deeply-flavored chocolate, my main preoccupation has been always the savory. A myriad of chocolate desserts can cause some to uncontrollably salivate. But for people like me, the experience can be a bit daunting. So for all of you who do not call yourselves chocoholics, this post is dedicated to you.

Here are my tips for enjoying a Chocolate Buffet:

The buffet is not as big as I expected it to be. But it is nonetheless impressive. An array of chocolate desserts is arranged on lovely, almost elegant displays. Cookies and cakes, mousse and fondue. A seemingly endless choice of chocolate in all shapes, sizes and forms.

Standing in front of the chocolate buffet, I mumble to myself, “Where the heck do I begin?” I pause, take a breath and begin to walk along the tables, taking in the view. My first tip: Start with what you know.

I begin with something small, something familiar, a couple of White Chocolate Stones. Served on a Chinese soup spoon, this dessert is a cluster of cornflakes covered in white chocolate and formed into ball-shaped stone. Because I love white chocolate and because it also reminds me of Chocolate Clusters, my taste buds just seem to gravitate to it. I take my first bite. The taste is of creamy sweet condensed milk, quickly followed the satisfying crunch of morning cereal.

The sugar starts running through my body. The rush is kicking in.

Hotel buffets are like the mother of all tasting menus. They are an opportunity to savor the creations of talented chefs from around the world without leaving a single restaurant. There are a numerous number of chocolate desserts to enjoy and you don’t want to fill yourself up too quickly. So my second piece of advice is: Take your time. Pace yourself.

With a nice sugar rush going, I turn my attention to the shooters, the White Chocolate Mousse with Passion Fruit and the Chocolate Panna Cotta with Brandied Cherries. Both desserts are light and airy and yet so different in character. The White Chocolate Mousse is delicately sweet with a creamy milk consistency. The passion fruit lends a tangy zing to this dessert, giving it a greater depth of flavor. On the other hand, the panna cotta has a dark, bittersweet flavor, punched up a deep burnt essence of brandied cherries. Both are scrumptious but as a matter of personal preference, I like the white mousse more.

For the most part, the buffet was going well. The Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chocolate Walnut Brownies weren’t exactly to my liking (I found the cookies a bit too crisp and the brownies weren’t very fudgy) but they were still a joy to nibble on in between sips of Earl Grey Tea. The only “what the heck were they thinking?” moment was when I sampled the Strawberry and Jackfruit Nigri. These little mounds of glutinous-like rice are topped with a single slice of fruit, and then mounted upon a thin piece of chocolate. The mimicking of sushi made this dessert attractive on the display but biting into one was like eating badly-executed suman with a chocolate chaser as an afterthought. This experiment gone wrong was not the brightest moment of the buffet.

The evening is getting late and the rush is beginning to wane. But I decide to cap my evening with a last hurrah. Something comforting. Something I truly love. I scoop myself a large dollop of Double Dutch Ice Cream. A vanilla ice cream streaked with strips of dark chocolate and peppered with the crunch of nuts was the perfect ending to my chocolate buffet experience. Delicious. Now, it’s time to go home and fall into a sugar-low induced slumber.

Eating for the most part is a biological necessity. But when sitting down to a Chocolate Buffet, it’s all about the bliss. Sitting down to dessert should ideally be a communal event, sharing the delight of friendly company and delectable fare. My last word of advice: Bring a Friend. A dining experience like this should always be shared.

For the Buffet Only: Adults: PhP 550+++, Children: PhP 225+++.
Available on Fridays and Saturdays from 9:00 pm to 12mn, until the end of December.

Tsokolate Ah: The Chocolate Buffet
The Peninsula Manila
Ayala cor Makati Avenue
Makati City 1226
Metro Manila
Telephone: (02) 887 2888, extension 6694
E-mail: pmn@peninsula.com

Table Conversation: Breaking Bread

Bread Heaven at Lartizan

I'm a really not a bread person.

Truth be told, my wife A is more the bread lover in family. I would prefer to tuck into a bowl of noodles or a cup of rice before munching on a croissant. To each his own, I guess.

But since our delightfully eye-opening visit to Grandaisy Bakery, I've been reconsidering my views on bread. I've been looking to upgrade my bread choices beyond sliced bread. In our kitchen, bread definitely needs a re-evaluation.

We still buy our store-bought Gardenia Whole Wheat Bread. But lately, we've been buying French Sourdough and Baguettes from Lartizan on a more regular basis. While I don't see rice fall out of the family diet anytime soon, I think the continuing search for more artisanal breads will be higher on the pantry priority list.

So for this conversation, the questions are as follows: What kind of bread do you buy? And where do you buy it?

Manggy of No Special Effects says:

Our daily bread is Classic Gardenia White Bread from the supermarket. However, we don't stop there in terms of variety-- we buy from different sources depending on what we want. If it's the traditional coiled Ensaymada, we get those from the sari-sari store around the corner.

We love the Spanish Bread from Sonya's Garden -- the distance isn't much of a big deal considering we eat spanish bread rarely (and its purchase is secondary to whatever we came to Tagaytay for).

On Sundays we get Pan de Sal from Casa Marcos. Also, we love the bread at Restaurant Uno (Tomas Morato)-- they have 2 kinds of bread made specifically for that day of the week. We particularly like the Butter Logs and Ciabatta.

Marla of Chips and Trips says:

Depends what it's for. We get Gardenia White Bread from the supermarket as our staple at home (usually for our son's kaya toast). For snacks and baon, I buy filled and topped ones from Bread Talk (cheezy and plain flossy bread, chocolate "baby"). For bread to give away (Pan de Sal for my lola, Croissants for aunties), I get them in The French Baker.

ApplesH of Kubiertos says:

I buy bread from two places - the grocery (usually Robinsons or Market Market) or our neighborhood bakeshop here in Merville. I buy several packs of Wheat and White Loaves, Flat Bread and the occasional Baguette or Sourdough.

Mila of Watergirl says:

I don't have one purveyor for bread. I like to go to Santi's on Tuesday or Wednesday when they have their Walnut Bread fresh from their source. I like the nuttiness of the walnut, the chewiness of the bread. Goes well with chevre and cold cuts.

I do get a few breads, Pan de Sals, Wheat Breads from the markets (Salcedo, or Lung Center) - I think one of the sources is Uncle George, they do several breads for diabetics, but it doesn't taste like sawdust. Commercially, there's Walter's Sugar-free Wheat Bread, it's easily available in the supermarkets, and has less sugar. I don't eat white sliced bread, they tend to be bland and tasteless; I do prefer a heartier Rye or Wheat Bread. The french food vendor at Salcedo has a good rye!

And when I remember, I buy Pumpernickel from Santi's or the German Deli in Legaspi Village because sometimes I feel like Heidi, black bread, cheese, and some goat milk. No, I don't yodel while I eat this.

Lori of Dessert Comes First says:

What kind of bread do you buy?- Croissants, Sourdough Loaves, Tortilla Rolls and Baguettes.

Where do you buy your bread? - Micky's, Mandarin Deli, Santi's

Cathy Paras-Lara, managing editor of Spot.ph says:

JiPan in Mandaluyong has this Walnut Wheat Bread that's soft, a little on the sweet side, and good enough to eat on its own. My husband and I appreciate The French Baker's Crustless Breads, perfect for tuna and grilled cheese sandwiches on our sandwich maker. Pan de Manila has freshly baked, bromate-free Wheat Pan de Sal that's lovely to eat with clotted cream and strawberry jam. It's like a soft scone.

Thank you to Manggy, Marla, ApplesH, Mila, Lori and Cathy for breaking bread with me.

Lartizan
144 Jupiter Street cor. Orbits Street
Bel-Air 2 Village
Makati City
Telephone: (02) 899 6923

Table Recipes: Salt-Fried Pork

Spicy Delicious: Salt-Fried Pork

I’m not big on fast food.

But after a long day, the last thing I want to do is slave away in the kitchen. This is why I love Chinese cooking. The availability of ingredients, the ease of its cooking techniques and the almost instant (and always flavorful) gratification make sitting down to simple Chinese stir-fry such a delight.

The cuisine of choice? Sichuan, care of my current cooking guru, Fuchsia Dunlop. The dish? A simple stir-fry of spicy chili paste, salty fermented black beans, fragrant green onions and lucious slices of pork belly. I'm actually drooling just writing about it.

Salt-Fried Pork
Adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop’s Land of Plenty

• 300 grams pork belly, sliced 5 cms long by 1 cm wide
• 5 green onions, sliced at a diagonal, 4 cms long
• 1 ½ tablespoons chili bean paste
• 1 tablespoon fermented black beans
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt

In a seasoned wok, heat the peanut oil on high. Once the oil is slightly smoking, add the pork and stir-fry for three to four minutes or until the oil clears and the pork has turned color. While the pork is cooking, add the salt.

Once cooked, push the slices of pork to one side of the wok and add the chili paste and fermented black beans. Stir-fry the chili paste mixture until the oil turns a fragrant, glossy red. Add in the pork slices and then the soy sauce and sugar.

Mix in the green onions and continue to stir-fry until they are almost cooked through. Plate and serve immediately.

Serves three as a main dish.

According to Ms. Dunlop, “Salt-fried pork is just the kind of dish you might find on a family dinner table in Sichuan with a few stir-fried vegetables, a simple soup and plenty of rice.” Fast food need not come in a styrofoam container. With the right ingredients, a little elbow grease and a bit of patience, you can have a mouthwatering meal at home.

One more thing. Make sure to have more than a few bowls of steamed rice on hand. Trust me. You are going to need them.

Good eats!

On the Table: Robyn Eckhardt and David Hagerman

Picture Perfect: Robyn and David

There are things that we just meant to be together. Peanut butter and jelly. Green mangoes and bagoong. Mayonnaise and...(pretty much) everything. Add to that list, Robyn Eckhardt and David Hagerman. Through their food blog, Eating Asia, these partners in life, food and travel have beautifully documented their adventure in and around Southeast Asia. Introducing the blogsphere to the diverse cultural and culinary delights this part of world has to offer, this globetrotting duo have elevated food blogging into an appetite-whetting art.

Hello, Robyn and David. Tell us a little about yourselves.

We were both born and raised in Michigan (American Midwest). Our 'life in Asia' started with a year teaching English in China in the mid-eighties. In 1994 Dave moved to Hong Kong for work, Robyn followed soon after, and then we ended up back in China till 1998. After three years back in California, Dave accepted a job in Bangkok and we haven't looked back. Right now we feel Southeast Asia is where we belong. After a year in Bangkok, we spent 2.5 years in Saigon, before moving to Malaysia in mid-2005.

How and when did you decide to make food/travel your life's work?

Dave has been photographing for years and years, and I (Robyn) have been writing --albeit in a different, academic, capacity--for almost as long. We've always been into food and travel and have particularly admired Saveur magazine and it's approach to 'real' food. When we moved to Malaysia, we started the blog--it was sort of our 'guinea pig' to see if we could work together to write about and photograph food. That's how it started, really, with the blog, though we'd been thinking about it for at least a couple years prior.

Robyn, many regional cuisines like Thai, Singaporean and Vietnamese have found their place on the world culinary stage, why do you think Filipino food hasn't achieved the same global acknowledgment?

Well, to begin with, there are not that many Filipino restaurants overseas, so knowledge is slim. Second, Philippine street food is, to tell the truth, not particularly appealing. Visitors to Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam are immediately assaulted with all kinds of hawker foods that are very accessible, and very appealing, and they are right on the street--or in a food court that's easy to find. The visitor to, say, Manila, won't have that sort of experience, unless they happen to stumble upon Salcedo. Which brings us to promotion--the Philippine tourism authorities do not attempt to promote the PHI as a tourism destination. They could learn from Singapore's tourism authorities, who have succeeded in pushing an image of Singapore as the best place for food in Southeast Asia by educating the foreign public via events like Singapore Food Festivals staged in cities all over the world.

Finally, until recently I think the very best PHI food has been found only in private homes. I notice that in the last few years in Manila, at least, there are more and more eateries where visitors can find excellent versions of PHI homestyle dishes. Filipinos are very picky--a Kapampangan, for instance, would probably turn his nose up at Abe. But for me, a visitor, it's quite good--and it flouts preconceptions that I may have had about Filipino food.

The challenge is getting people to even consider a foodie trip to Manila in the first place. I hope we made some headway there, with our WSJA article.

Robyn, do you ever get tired of writing about food?

You're kidding, right? Do you? I recently wrote a feature story that had nothing at all to do with food. It was the hardest thing I've ever written. Food is my thing.

David, you take some most outstanding photos we've seen. Can you describe your process for us? What is involved in taking the perfect photograph?

It's important to have your wife nagging you to take the perfect photograph. Some advice: watch your light, fill the frame with your subject, and look for something you haven't seen before in photographs of the subject.

David, do you shoot anything else aside from the subjects that you pursue professionally?

Sure, the camera is with me all the time. I shoot our pets. We have three dogs and four cats. Seriously, I've been experimenting a lot lately with the use of light and capturing motion. A kitten is a great subject.

You have been writing, shooting and living in Asia for a while now, what changes have you observed in the regional food scene?

We've seen markets disappear, or be tidied up. We've seen street food disappear (our reference here is Shanghai, where we lived for 2.5 years). We've seen increasing sophistication in terms of Western foods in some places, like Singapore, Manila, Bangkok, and, slowly, Kuala Lumpur. But we're also happy to report that so many traditional foods and food production processes remain. That makes us happy, because we're really not interested in reporting on topics like Asia's Michelin-starred restaurants (and there are already enough people who do that sort of food photography/writing anyway).

What is your favorite food blog, cookbook, food-related TV show and food magazine?

Blog: Viet World Ktichen. Andrea Nguyen is a great writer and the blog is an intriguing combo of recipes, newsy tidbits, ingredient discussion, links, etc. We love Vietnamese food but strangely it is one Asian cuisine Robyn doesn't cook much. So we get our fill here.

Cookbook: Pick just one? Robyn cooks many cuisines so that's hard. At the moment, Dunlop's Land of Plenty (Sichuan food - our first experience of Asia was in Sichuan), Besa's Memories of the Philippine Kitchen (as much for the writing and photography as for the recipes), Lynne Rosetto Kaspar's The Italian Country Kitchen (fantastic, TRULY fantastic and authentic Italian cookbook), and Alford/Duguid's Mangoes and Curry Leaves (every single recipe works like a charm).

Food-related TV show: On National Geographic, "Food Lover's Guide to the Planet." It's informative and entertaining and doesn't talk down to the viewer. It's the sort of show that we'd love to do research for.

Food magazine: Some months it's Saveur, other months it's Gourmet. Depends on how 'out there' they've gotten with their food-travel topics.

Say I am visitor from out of town who visiting Kuala Lumpur for the day, where would you take me for breakfast, lunch, an afternoon snack, dinner and later night supper?

Breakfast: Imbi Market, downtown. An amazing selection of street foods, mostly Chinese, all delicious.

Lunch: Ikan Bakar Pak Din, in the Lake Gardens. Grilled fish and delicious Malay dishes. If Pak Din's wife has made her incredible chicken rendang you're in real luck. Closed Sunday, lunch only.

Afternoon snack: Chat Masala on Jalan Tun Sambanthan in Brickfields. Indian chat (bite-sized snacks) served only after 4p. The puri and fruit salad are highly recommended.

Dinner: Sek Yuen, a 50+-year-old Chinese Malaysian restaurant where the entire kitchen is still fired by wood. They don't make places like this anymore. The food is ethereal--rice is not boiled but steamed in individual metal bowls. Go for the stuffed pig's trotter; red-cooked beef, beef stomach, and tendon; sweet and sour fish; roast duck; stir-fried baby gailan; 'shark's fin' (it's not really) stir-fried with egg and served with iceberg lettuce cups and black vinegar.

Late night snack: Tengkat Tong Shin, a street parallel to the famous Jalan Alor--on the same side of the street as Max! Kitchen (a very good restaurant, by the way) an old guy stir-fries noodles in an alley. His mee sua is wonderful--charred and smoky.

What junk food do you love?

Snyder's pretzels. And chicharon which, thankfully, we can't get too often in Malaysia.

Is there a food you just can't seem to enjoy?

Bony freshwater fish. Too much work.

Can you give three tips for would be food writers/bloggers/photographers?

Food writers Don't go into it for the money (there's very little), be a writer editors love to work with, and lose your ego. Editing for publication can be brutal.

Food bloggers Write what you know, find a niche, and do it because you love it. That said, some bloggers have systematically marketed themselves to earn money from it and have done well. But we just couldn't be bothered if it wasn't something we enjoyed.

Photographers (from Dave) Love what you are shooting, get people involved in the photograph, and don't get hung up on equipment.

What are the future plans for Robyn Eckhardt, David Hagerman and Eating Asia?

We're working on a book proposal, but we'll leave it at that for the moment. It won't be EatingAsia in book form.

Thank you to Robyn for providing the photo.

Table Suggestions: Yummy's Dessert Issue

Yummy's November Issue

There are many things I credit to my wife.

Learning the importance of moisturizing. Understanding the need for multiple pairs of black shoes. And developing a love for excellent design and color. But the one foodie thing that I have learned from her that I most appreciate is a taste for the sweeter things in life, desserts.

Before A, I was a savory kind of a guy, more than willing to skip dessert for another serving of pork chops (except for ice cream, I have always loved ice cream). After A, let's just say that there hasn't been a dessert I have not tried at least once. Now, I even call some desserts favorites.

Whether you are a sugar-high obsessive, a recent dessert convert or an occasional pastry nibbler, we recommend that you pick up a copy of this month's Yummy Magazine: The Dessert Issue. Besides being chockfull of both sweet and savory recipes (as always), Yummy has a list of the very best cakes available in the Philippines that will make you want to lick the pages.

Get a copy of Yummy. Your sweet tooth will thank you for it.

Table Conversation: Congratulations to Antonio's

On behalf of the Three, I would like to congratulate Chef Tonyboy Escalante and the staff of Antonio's Fine Dining for making the Miele Guide's list of Top 20 restaurants in Asia.

It is an honor most definitely deserved. Thank you for putting the Philippines on the world's fine dining map. And as for the rest of us (the dining public), good luck getting a table at Antonio's this holiday season.

Click here and see why we love Antonio's.

Antonio's Fine Dining
Barangay Neogan
Tagaytay City, Cavite
Telephone: (046) 413 0975 or (046) 413 1054
Celphone: (0917) 899 2866
Email: antoniosfarm@yahoo.com