Singapore Food Trip

In December 2006, I had my first trip abroad. It was a business trip to Singapore.  I have a number of friends there so it was really nice to see them again.   In one of my meet-ups, my friend treated me in a carinderia style restaurant but it was one of the best Sing food I tasted!

Taichung, Taiwan Food Trip

A major, major project brought bibi and me to Taichung, Taiwan in September 2011.  And we are very happy to share that we came back home with positive results.  We stayed there for quite sometime so we were able to explore the food scene (on a tight budget). To put things in perspective, Taiwan is China country. Taichung is around 3 hours from Taipei, the capital of Taiwan.  Taichung is not as cosmpolitan as Taipei but not very provincial. If I were to compare it to a Philippine city, it would be Davao. Having said that, we expected to eat authentic Chinese food with provincial flavor. Note that we ate most at the time at neighborhood food places and not any fancy restaurants (although we can't help but get our fast food fix once in a while).  To our surprise, the taste of the food there is far from the typical Chinese food that we have in the Philippines. One word comes to mind - bland. And they really love serving vegetables! Chicken there is very expensive like the simple fried chicken leg quarter (no rice) - one piece costs NT$60 or around Php90. A simple fried tilapia costs NT$150, around Php225. Don't get me wrong but I know it is best not to convert and compare currencies when travelling abroad but since we are on a limited budget, I can't help it! So our Taichung food trip was really a challenging one. Just imagine our joy everytime we are able to eat something that satisfied our palate. Here are the pics of our must try dishes! 

Saved by McDo! Our first meal upon arriving in Taichung.

Assorted boiled "dumplings" from 7-11

Favorite buy at the local grocery - giant mango!

One of the few malasa noodles available with mapait na iced tea (@All Day Cafe) 

Don't know what kind of prawns these are but they are very tasty! (@Fengjia Night Market)

Steamed dumpling with a little sabaw inside- delicious! (@ friendly street vendor)

Siopao (@ friendly street vendor)

Cold noodles with peanut sauce (@ friendly street vendor)

Duck Noodle Soup (@ friendly street vendor - as in sa sobrang mabenta to, ang dami-dami nilang whole ducks na nasa freezer)

Peking Duck with 3 Vegetable Side Dishes (@ "Smiling Manong Carinderia")

Milk Tea - forgot the flavor (@Koi Cafe, Fengjia Night Market)

Egg tarts! (@KFC)

Rice Burger (@Laya Burger)

HK Food Trip

I was lucky to have worked for a company which lets its employees travel abroad for seminars.  And where did they send me?  To Hong Kong!  This was around February 2008.  The trip was really enjoyable: (1) it was my first time in HK (2) I went there with a great friend/officemate. Actually, there was another newbie officemate who joined the trip and guess what? Because of that trip, he became of our friend too!

Now, on to the food stories... (note - these places are located in Causeway Bay):

• Ajisen Ramen – one of the best ramen I have tasted.   It blew me away that I made it my standard on how ramen should taste like :)  They even have combo meals which made my meal sulit! 

• KFC – I am not a book! Do not judge me! Yes, we did eat at KFC in HK but this was due to our limited budget.  Nevertheless, it was a very enlightening experience as we were able to discover these delicious and very affordable egg tarts!  

• Simply Thai – The food was simply superb.  Really satisfied our craving for Thai food :)

Placemat :)

Iced Tea

Tom Yum Soup 

Baby Back Ribs

Calamares

Pad Thai

Steamed Fish

Curry

• Marion Crepe – Side story:  I have this weird habit when I travel without bibi.  I always request for a “me” time maybe because I can request a “me” time with friends - just relishing a moment of being alone (I enjoy strolling alone before I become a mrs).  In my solitary travel, I tried this crepe shaped as an ice cream cone.  It was my first time to see a crepe like that so it really piqued my interest.  The verdict – masarap!

Davao Food Trip

It was around August 2009 and I need to go on a business trip to Davao. Since this is Mindanao, who else to bring but my favorite Bisaya interpreter and travel companion - bibi! He he. Besides, it was a good opportunity for us to see my sis in law and her husband who were based in Butuan then. It was only a few hours drive from Butuan to Davao.


Davao is definitely one of the I-shall-return-to places not only because of the food but the place itself! There are lot of sites to visit - we went to the Philippine Eagle Center, Eden Nature Park, Crocodile Park, People's Park, Jack's Ridge, Aldevinco Shopping Center, to name a few. But since this is a food blog, below are the food tales :)

• We stayed in Microtel Davao for the first few days and here are some of the places and the food we tried near the hotel.

Caffe Firenzo, similar to Starbucks.  Nice to spend the afternoon while accessing your e-mail for free.:)

There is this fast food dimsum place like Henlin called Dimsum Diner.  The food is your typical Chinese cuisine and it is quite affordable.  Good enough to satisfy a hungry stomach.

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• The hills are alive in another part of Davao where the air is cooler and you can see a nice view of Davao City and its waters.   The place is called Jack's Ridge and it is a resort and restaurant. Since it was already night time when we got to the ridge, we just had our dinner there.

Bihod - roe or egg of the yellow fin tuna

Buntot ng Tuna

Sizzling Seafood 

• Having a taste for anything exotic, there is no way will I give up the chance to drink a one-of-a-kind coffee that can only be found in BluGre Cafe - the durian flavored coffee!

Durian Flavored Coffee

The Cup

Can't resist!

• Another place to find exotic food is the Crocodile Park.  

What else but sizzling crocodile meat!

A very pink Dragon Fruit Shake

Very coordinated, don't you think?

• We also went to a less exotic place where we can always find good food to eat - a Chinese restaurant named Ahfat Seafood Plaza.  Savor the pics!

• And lastly, the Davao food trip will not be complete without this.  We dropped by the Magsaysay Food Market along Quezon Boulevard and had a go with the fruits Davao is famous for - the durian and suha!  Sarap!!