It’s rare that a fast food product makes it here in En Route. Most of the time, it has to be something of great novelty (like a burger patty in between two pieces of hashbrown), or because friends have been talking about it that it merited a visit to the local fast food joint This is more of the latter, because Jollibee has upped the ante to what can now be…
Pepita’s Kitchen offers a twelve-course private dining degustacion menu for lunch or dinner. The menu has Filipino favorites with a lot of twists and turns. Pepita’s Kitchen is also known for their stuffed Lechon de Leches.
This restaurant has closed their W Global Center branch. Does Mad For Garlic scare you? Does the doorway made of steel and glass look too bourgeois for the usual casual dinner fare? Does that wreath hung around an eerily glowing lamp make you imagine that there’s nothing more to the food here than the over-abuse of the acrid, pungent food flavoring bulb? Do those racks of wine make you…
AS OF MAY 18, 2016, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THIS PLACE HAS ALREADY CLOSED That Tapas food trip around Barcelona was just unforgettable. Various tapas, various wines, and various dining experiences that makes for one truly memorable trip. What makes it worth remembering also is that no matter how elegant the place, a tapas eating experience feels very casual at its most basic form, and it is a great medium…
Wine pairings are quite common. Craft Beer pairings are gaining a crowd in Manila. Whisky pairings, though, is rarely heard of. Physically possible, but sounds insanely impractical and taboo. The Philippine taste buds are not used to drinking whisky, particularly neat or with just a splash of cool water. It is normally on the rocks or chased with a sweet cola. The most accepted pairing is probably an ice cold…
From the Mandarin word, “Kekou,” it means “appetizing.” COCA Restaurant is unique because of its fusion take on Thai and Chinese food, playfully dubbed by us as Thai-nese! We mean no disrespect. We just needed something to capture the coming together of the spices of Thailand and the freshness that’s a hallmark of Cantonese Chinese cooking.
Chicken wings. It seems very universal that it is hard to find someone who doesn’t like them. Then they made flavored versions of it, making them even more irresistible. We’ve even tried making it ourselves! (Recipe for Double-Fried Korean Chicken) Frankie’s Wings is one of these joints that has chicken wings as its main selling proposition. So one day, it was off to try their wares. On one end, a…
The first visit to Dillingers 1903 in Makati City were due to a tip that it has some great value-for-money ribeye steaks, more authentic tasting buffalo wings, and a single-malt whisky selection that boasts more than the usual Johnnie Walker (Laprhoaig, anyone?). It did satisfy, and gave some new ideas about the less traveled path of whisky pairing for food. Now, Dillingers seems to have made a revamp of the…
Naming a restaurant as No Signboard Seafood will always draw questions of its etymology. It will also draw a few stares when you see that the owner really named it “No Signboard Seafood“. Friends and a few research confirm that No Signboard Seafood restaurant started as a hawker shack in Mattar Road Hawker Center. The loyal patrons would always rave about this place, all the while the owner had no…
Here at En Route, it’s all about simple, homey, comfort food dishes that any man or woman is bound to love (this is also because this is the most we can cook with our current abilities. Those manchego souffles and tomato confit ala Lolo Dad’s still need to be practiced). But for this dinner set, it’s all about a manly dinner consisting of meaty, cheesy, and boozy goodness that every…
Little Tokyo (and its surrounding areas) is all about the magical and fascinating food from Japan. Quite frankly, though, it is the ones fronting the complex that get the most attention (Kikufuji and Seryna come into mind). But it is going inside where you will find other hidden gems. Take for instance : Hana. Hana is a small izakaya (read: after-work drinking joint). Frequented by locals and the Japanese…
Ray: Come to where the flavor is. Come to the Singapore Hawker Centers. Used to be scattered along the streets at evening, those moonlighting hawker cart days are long gone replaced with centers under strict hygiene controls. And the variety here is great! There are some that are more popular such as the Maxwel Food Center that houses the Bourdain made famous Tian-Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice shack, but any hawker…
It’s been long overdue as it is already past the second half of 2013. Nevertheless, it is a great way to recap some of the tasty memories of 2012 that are now probably lost in accumulated lipids. Started off as a criticism of how burgers are cheaper than salads, and now has morphed into a celebration of the tastiest morsels this side of En Route. We are not to blame…
It’s been quite some time since a burger joint has been in topic here. While there are some that has its fans, it will be BRGR: The Burger Project and the sadly closed Boulevard Diner ( which has now morphed into Burger Company in Quezon City. Gotta schedule a visit ) where loyalties will lie. In all the searching in Makati, one name kept on blipping on the burger radar…
After a Tapas Food trip in Barcelona, having more tapas bars in the metro is a welcome sight. You have probably heard it through the grapevine, if not the newspapers that have featured the latest and revolutionary restaurant that has taken the Manila food scene by storm. Vask Tapas Bar and Restaurant brings some Spanish cuisine mixed with the personal molecular gastronomy touch of its head chef J. Luis Gonzalez. Chef…
Planning a European getaway? Here are just some practical tips from us to either watch the budget or manage expectations. 1. Plan Ahead Nothing beats researching about where you are going to, what to do, what to bring, especially what the weather is like. Busy at work? Spend the evenings, maybe 5 nights worth, pouring over travel guides, blogs, and travel-related websites. It pays to have as much stored knowledge…
Wagyu beef gets great raves for the meat tenderness and spectacular marbling. Literally translating to Japanese cow, wagyu is normally seen in the more high end steak shops (like Wagyu Stone Grill), and commands a relatively high price depending on the grade of marbling (probably due to import taxes and other duties). When you think about it, though, no one is stopping anyone from getting some of these bovines and…
First impressions when seeing a pint of Guinness is the anticipation of that refreshing moment as you drink a properly poured pint of this world famous beer. First impressions when seeing a tray of Baked Macaroni with Cheese is tasty comfort food. Maybe good for those rainy days. It is a far cry to think that Guinness be made part of a baked macaroni recipe aside from being…
Apart from bag-hunting, Tuscany’s Firenze is just teeming with so many things to do.
AS OF JANUARY 2014, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THIS PLACE HAS CLOSED When you mention Morocco, you get a lot of different (and sometimes quite confused) impressions of this land that is still mysterious to most of the Filipino population. Some say it is a Middle-east country (like Lebanese cuisine). Others say it is more African. And some even say that it is more keeled towards the Mediterranean. What is…
There is a saying that Rome was not built in a day. And given its rich history and a fulcrum of modern civilization, you will expect that you can’t tour it in one day, either. Heck, even the locals have said that there is no way that you can even discover everything in Rome in one lifetime! That’s the ironic part, because you can practically get to any part…
San Gimignano. Known as the “Medieval Manhattan” with the towers of rich families that used to live in this now declared UNESCO World Heritage Site. Not much pictures as this was just one of the many stops in a Tuscan Day-Tour by Ciao Florence Tours. But it gives a great insight as to how things were in the days of old. In the olden days, San Gimignano used to have…
