TAMPOPO

Just when you thought that we already have too many ramen houses in the metro, one more sprouts up challenging us hungry slurpers with their bowls of rich broth and noodles. But how could this new ramen joint be different from the numerous houses who claim to be the best at offering this bowl of heaven?

You'll always read the same things:

  BLANK simmers its broth for 50 million hours...

  BLANK gets its ingredients straight from the land of the rising sun itself...

  BLANK has food so good that diners don't care if it has a monster of a chef....

  BLANK is the most popular Ramen house in Japan!!!

 All BLANK and no BLANK makes BLANK a BLANK BLANK!

OOPS sorry... different movie. 

Well I am not really sure how TAMPOPO generally fares up compared to the other Ramen Houses that have already settled its brothy selves in the metro.  But I DO know that with one sip, I fell in love and there was no turning back.

I now present you with... TAMPOPO!

Oh please... do NOT even think of singing it with SHAGEDY SHAGEDY.... :P

TAMPOPO!

MIRACLE ART EXHIBITION in MANILA

SO THIS IS CHRISTMAS...
I hope you have fun...
The near and the dear one...
The old and the young....

                              -- John Lennon

Unlike how we celebrated Christmas eve (see HERE) where we followed the tradition we hold most sacred, TEAM YAP now went for a different route in spending our day together as a family. Well I don't know about you, but this holiday season was also very tiresome that initially, I planned to spend the whole day with my husband in bed.

Now before porno music cues into your head (or my husband's har de har har), I meant that I will just SLEEP the whole day (you pervert... oops kidding don't block me).

Then, we remembered it would not be fair to the little lords to drag them into their parent's obscene laziness. Not only that, we also didn't want to be haunted by the words of John Lennon hoping that "we had fun". So amidst the Christmas hangover, we got up and decided to go out as a little family.

But where to? Certainly trips to the malls will be very ordinary on this special day. It should be a different experience for the kids!

And so we were led to the MIRACLE ART EXHIBITION! 

MIRACLE ART EXHIBITION in Manila!

OUR CHRISTMAS NIGHT 2013

One of the things which I'm sure you may be tired of reading about in this silly little foodie blog (besides us being fabulous and all... tee hee) is how I am a person who loves traditions. It's not like my parents imposed how they wanted to do these things on us but because what we did before as a family imprinted such happy memories on me that I also wanted my children to have the same experiences as well.

For Christmas 2013, amidst the challenges that our country faced and, on a totally trivial level, the warm weather we still have up to now, we celebrated our Lord's birthday ALMOST the same way we did as before.

No hotel getaways away from home....

No  revelations that Santa is not real...

and most important of all...

No one was "absent" on this special night.

HOWEVER... We were only human and change IS  somehow inevitable. So we just made a few tweaks in how we did our Christmas night.

Do read on! This may well be our Christmas card from ERICJAZ FOODIES to you!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

CHRISTMAS NIGHT!!!

Before, we would usually go to Santuario de San Jose in Greenhills. Now we wanted to go somewhere nearer where there are more available seats for us so we heard mass at Powerplant Mall tent. 

Our experience the last time was very solemn and comfortable so my Dad suggested we hear our CHRISTMAS NIGHT mass here again!

I really think there's something about the CHRISTMAS breeze that made hearing mass al fresco more special!

  

Remembering our HOTEL HOPPING to welcome 2011

(December 2010)
 

My Gatdula family had this tradition where come New Year's Eve, we will go to different hotels in Makati or Ortigas to have drinks and little snacks. Then, after the constant reminder of my Mom (he he he he), we would go home to blow up some fire crackers and eat our sumptuous New Year's Eve feast. Our Gatdula Hotel hopping tradition was WAY before hotels made midnight New Year's parties popular and it was really something I looked forward to as a kid until I grew up into a fine little lady.

FINE LITTLE LADY?? Ha ha ha! I guess I haven't really fulfilled my New Year's resolution to stop being delusional! Ha ha ha ha!

Anyway, after I got married to my husband and bred little angels with him (tee hee), we would always celebrate New Years at his hometown in Lucena, Quezon province where they would usually have reunions. As much fun as we had with their little family gatherings, I missed doing my Gatdula tradition of hotel hopping and hoped that someday my little guys would be able to experience it.

Then lo and behold! For the year 2010, we spent the holidays with my family in Manila and we were finally able to show my little rugrats our simple family tradition. And like I hoped, Mati and Andrei had so much fun that they wanted to welcome the coming the same way every time! Afterwards, if we do not have any important family reunion, we would always go from one hotel to another, have drinks, eat snacks, ogle at the lights, and take lots of pictures. Hopefully it would something that our TEAM YAP would do until they grow up to fine young gentlemen.

Yup... unlike their delusional mother. :)

HOTEL HOPPING stop 1:

The PENINSULA MANILA!

BRGR: THE BURGER PROJECT

I read somewhere before that "A burger by any other name would taste as sweet.  But I guess the case is not the same if you drop by in Jupiter street, Makati City and head to the doors of BRGR : THE BURGER PROJECT.

(Just to be clear though, WHATEVER I'm reading turns into food especially when I'm hungry.So you could just imagine how hard it was for me to cope when I was leafing through "HUNGER GAMES" with an empty stomach.  As a result, Peeta became more of an actual bread than a victor. 

So don't shoot or write off Shakespeare on my referral above {HA! Like you would and could!}. Besides, I'm sure if there WERE burgers during his time, he would write the same thing!).

Anyway, a burger may always be JUST a burger. But in BRGR: THE BURGER PROJECT, the boundaries of deliciousness of YOUR burger is limited to your imagination. It is up to you to make all the life altering decisions (well possibly... he he he) on what type of bread or toppings that goes into your sandwich. Then when all has been said and done, you seal the deal by naming your BRGR creation.  

So you see, for you dear hungry eater, there may be other names or there may be other ways for your burger. But however you look at it, what you have before you is your little meaty handiwork. And with the help of the BRGR : THE BURGER PROJECT, no matter how you name your little beef sucker, the taste will not be JUST AS.  But something more of the extraordinary and incomparable to what the other layman has come up with.

Oh I bet that dear old Shakespeare was not thwarted with THAT kind of "power". Tee hee!

Kidding! 

BRGR : THE BURGER PROJECT!

SIKLAB

I know, I know, it may not look like it but I just graduated from College about 2 years ago....

I'm sorry did I make you all fall off your chairs?

Kidding. Okay fine! Fine! I graduated school about (bleep) years ago and though I had a lot of crazy fun in my College years, one of the things I do not miss about life in the uniform is the cafeteria food! Don't get me wrong, our school served decent and nutritious grub, but when you're in class the whole day struggling to understand the the many theories of life (yup, I still don't get it) but will be confined with gnawing on food from a tray for 4 years (or is it 5??), you would like to break free and never to return again.

AND THAT is the reason why after about (BLEEEP BLEEEP) years from our graduation, my college bud BGP Marian (best gal pal) and I would always try out new restaurants at our regular meet up dates with the ugly hubs (tee hee)!  If we liked the place, we would return for another visit or two, but if we find something that leaves a bad taste in our mouths (pun intended) then we will banish the place from our memory.

It goes without saying that we were particularly excited for our meet up at SIKLAB, the newest baby of THE BISTRO GROUP, which offers Filipino food that is proud enough to rival the best out there in the Metro. BGP Marian and her husband are regular diners of Bistro Group restaurants (heck they even had their son's first birthday party at TGIFRIDAYS) that I thought they were the best companions for ERICJAZ FOODIES friends' invite at SIKLAB.

We were happy to affirm that like their name, SIKLAB has awesome Filipino food that will just make you burst out in happiness.... (sort of the same feeling I get when classes are suspended back in College.... he he he he). For every dish served, we were just exclaiming our deep appreciation and gusto. It may be possible though that we were saying or thinking out all kinds of BLEEPS while enjoying the delicious food!

Well even if it has been (BLEEEP) years from College graduation and I haven't really understood the REAL meaning of life, I am sure of one thing right now and that is we will DEFINITELY go back to SIKLAB!

Yup, the meaning of life is at par with our love for food. HA HA HA HA HA! 

SIKLAB!!!

PINO

Have you ever had that feeling where you are the last person in the world who has not tried this or that? Well we do! My husband and I get that everytime! Everyone has been to Boracay except us.... Everyone has seen the movie "The Godfather" except us... Everyone has had his and hers spa sessions except us.... Everyone has had their hair straightened except us....

Now the last, would seem gross for Eric... BUT STILL.

Anyway, one new factor that might make us feel to be in this imaginary caste system is that we are positive EVERYBODY has been to PINO except us. I really don't know why we haven't been to the famed Filipino restaurant of Chef Ed Bugia of BRGR: The Burger Project and Breakfast and Pis fame. I mean, it IS near our base camp and I have heard nothing but raves about the restaurant. So I guess, it just wasn't meant to be. And I was pressuring myself already to schedule a foodie date there just in case there would be a zombie invasion and PINO would be the "one that got away"

BUT, I was wrong.....

Dan dan DANNNNN!

Or is it... HALLELUJAH?

Tee hee!

The famous PINO RESTO BAR was already serving top of the notch Filipino food. But Christmas came early for ERICJAZ FOODIES because our first meal in the popular resto was to try out their new items in the menu!!

What have we done to deserve this awesomeness??? 

HOMEMADE TREASURES (the best ensaimada)

I have discovered that if you want to become an instant comedian during the holiday season, you should just utter out these 4 words... 

"I am on a diet."

Take my case for instance. I am trying my darndest to lose weight since November and I wanted to carry on to see if I have lost any pounds after 2 months. But every time I tell people that "I am on a diet" they let out the loudest guffaw and wonder if I am being my usual insane self.

Well I did put up a good fight for the past 2 months, but I have to say that tonight, FOOD once again won in our title bout for "JAZ vs BEING A HEAVYWEIGHT". Tonight, of all nights, after meeting up with the Kain Tulog Gang and enjoying food from 2 restaurants, our favorite guy Spanky Enriquez (THE DAILY SPANKS) gave us an early Christmas present!

HOMEMADE TREASURES ENSAIMADA!

KIMPURA (AGAIN)

My husband and I just love celebrating family birthdays because not only are we thankful for another year of blessings with that loved one but we also get to eat at one of our favorite natal day restaurant tradition....

KIMPURA!

Now I know that I have already professed my love and wrote about how we really have regular birthday meetings in this old Japanese restaurant (SEE HERE!!!) but the birthday season is upon us where from October to March, we have one celebrant per month! With this, it is most likely that we will be enjoying the wonders of KIMPURA's teppanyaki table many times this season and we are not complaining! Of course a big factor is that members of TEAM YAP are all celebrants in the coming months too! Ha ha ha ha!

Here's our celebration with Kuya Jon to jump start the KIMPURA birthday celebration last September!  

KIMPURA!!!

LAU CHAN SHABU SHABU

These days, I'm getting so lazy at everything that it is so pathetic. Blame it on me and my husband's new found addiction (pun sort of intended) to BREAKING BAD.

Yo! That's a television series, B@#*H!!! 

grabbed from the net YO!

Ha ha ha ha! I don't know if it's age or what but now, a perfect night for me is going home early for a night of BREAKING BAD.  Of course this is one activity we will NEVER involve the kids in that as a result Mati and Andrei were wondering why sleeping time became so early. TEE HEE! Little do they know that Mommy and Daddy are already curled up on the sofa and watching Jesse do something stupid while Mr. White comes to the rescue. Oh yes. No chores for us. WE ARE SOOO BAD.

Oh I'm kidding!

Or am I?

So you could just imagine how DEEELICIOUS LAU CHAN is. 

Now, you may say that the sentence above may be the most epic (OR pathetic) of segues but do understand that LAU CHAN is still in the galaxy far far away of Malate, Manila while we are sitting lazily in our comfort zone of Mandaluyong. And did I not make myself clear how it is next to impossible to tear ourselves away from the sofa once BREAKING BAD is on?

And believe me, my convincing words to my husband so he could treat us there was "Yub! LAU CHAN is SOOOO sarap that I'll forego BREAKING BAD on a Saturday just to go there!"

Yup. That's ERICJAZ FOODIES. Only food so good will get our lazy selves out and about. Ha ha ha ha!

LAU CHAN!!! 

CHIHUAHUA

Call me Ms. Stereotype but why is it that when I hear "Mexican Restaurant", I always picture a place partying like it's cinco de mayo, mariachis all around in their sombreros while tickling their vihuelas, and everyone just toasting up margaritas and munching on nachos? Why?? Well probably because the Mexican's really know how to throw a good party that when a new joint shows up, diners are always assured of a great time with booze a-flowing and food deliciosa!

This was what my husband and I happily discovered and confirmed at CHIHUAHUA when we dropped by to try out their newest Mexican grubs. Just when I stepped inside, our group was already donning colorful ponchos and crazy sombreros -- and that's just the guys. Ha ha ha ha ha!

You would wish that I was kidding but hey, I'M NOT. Ha ha ha!

Seriously, everyone may be acting all loud, rowdy, or just plain mucho loco, but we certainly noticed that it was a party we want to get into. Because not only will the atmosphere in CHIHUAHUA promise you and your companions a festive time, but you will also get to taste hot platters and bowls of their delicious Mexican food!

I'm sure you would agree with me that if you can, you should go to CHIHUAHUA!

Andale! Andale!!! 

CHIHUAHUA!

THAI BISTRO

I am a girl of routine. Call it boring, lazy, or just plain dull but I love following a schedule and my husband knows that if my usual "agenda" is not followed to a T, I'll be grumpy and gnarling the whole night.

So for one Friday, my husband and I already set a date with one of our new favorite foodie couple, Albert and Suet, to meet at Robinson's Magnolia. However, a storm decided to loom it's way towards Manila (not Yolanda... yet) that we were already having doubts if the dinner will push through or not. But then I thought, it's FRIDAY. We were meant to meet up with friends! So by hook or by crook, we shall push through. Besides, Albert suggested we go for Thai that all bets are off. I love that cuisine so much that I would almost drop everything when Thai is on the menu (I said "almost" because what if I was carrying a baby? Tee hee).

Anyway, even if there were already rains and thunderstorms it's off to Thai Bistro we go because we know we will be surely in for a night of great company and delicious food!  Now if that will not make you commit to my kind of schedule, then I don't know what will.

Except of course if it's a date with me....

Fine I'm just kidding. No need to call the mental institution or anything... :)

THAI BISTRO! 

MESA

Whenever TEAM YAP has weekend staycations, it became tradition for us to dress up when we step out for dinner. Yes! Just like how they used to do it in the old movies! However, since we could be a "crazy" team, we don't really match our attire with a stuck up resto. We want it to be fun like we are!

For a particular weekend when we were at our second time getaway at F1 Hotel (blog post soon to follow), we once again tried to be like Cary Grant (for the boys) and Deborah Kerr (for the lady). Unfortunately though, one of the "boys" decided to go for the Michelin route! Tsk tsk tsk!

Anyway, my little lord Mati craved for some Filipino food while I longed for something that wouldn't break our bank. Good thing I remembered my officemate's constant raves about MESA that it became our dinner venue for the night!

I'm elated to say that MESA was such a perfect place for TEAM YAP! Not only was the food mega-delicious and reasonably priced, but the restaurant has that modern casual set up that it would be cool to come in dressed but cooler if you just let loose and have fun!

That's good news for us because with TEAM YAP, I remember one of Cary Grant's famous line from the movie "Arsenic and Old Lace"...

        "Insanity runs in my family... It practically gallops"

Ha ha ha! Right you are Mr. Grant! But in a good way! Tee hee!

MESA!