Inggo Noms...

My Betrothed and I celebrated lunch of our eleven years together at Food Exchange Manila. This is Novotel Manila’s in-house restaurant that, as per most hotels, offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet. We decided to staycation at the hotel to celebrate the occasion which came with a free breakfast for two at said restaurant. As the event neared, we found out that my Banco De Oro credit card offered a 40% discount for the place. Seeing as there’s few places in Cubao to have a fancy meal, we decided to take on the offer and have lunch at the same place the day of our stay.

My Betrothed and I went to Raggatori at Cubao Expo a couple of times this past couple of months. Cubao Expo was actually quite accessible to us, but each time we go there and try to eat, we get turned off by the amount of lingering cigarette smoke. That wouldn’t have been too bad if it were isolated outside, but most of the bars and restaurants here were open and not airconditioned. Nevertheless, we passed by again and noticed a delicious-looking takoyaki stall that seems to have been manned by a real Japanese person. Invited by the smell that overwhelmed the cigarette smoke, we decided to check it out.

My Betrothed and I had afterbrunch at Tendon Kohaku a couple of days ago prior to watching Avengers Endgame with friends. We visited this place before and this entry wouldn’t make sense without reading that first. We weren’t really planning on going here, and would’ve originally gone into Coco Ichibanya next door. I wasn’t also planning on blogging this so soon, especially since I have a couple of items in the backlog. However, the reason becomes clear after the cut.

The first new food place we tried after my Thailand Odyssey was Black Canyon Coffee. This was after going th Marugame Udon’s UP Town Center branch, which me and my Betrothed was craving for as we were feeling under-the-weather, especially with the water crisis. We just wanted some coffee and dessert the first time we went here, and as adventurous gourmands, we unhesitatingly stepped in.

Right before my Thailand Odyssey, my Betrothed and I ate at Trellis. This restaurant has been a mainstay at Matalino Street, which links major Quezon City arteries Kalayaan and East Avenues. This Filipino restaurant has been there since I’ve known the street. We’ve also been here some times, albeit with separate parties; me with my family and former office and my Betrothed with her associates. This was actually the first time we went here together.

After dinner, I still had a lot of time to spare before boarding. Silom Village was just too busy and noisy to stay in. After locating my gate, I found a coffee shop nearby that had an area where I could stay and plug in, and that place was called The Coffee Club, and it’s also the place where I conclude my Thailand Odyssey.

After checking in at Suvarnabhumi Airport, I still had a few hours before my flight. Since it took me around six hours from my last meal at Megabangna until checking in at Suvarnabhumi, I was already a bit famished, especially with all the energy spent lugging around my baggage and the actual process of checking into the airport gates area. Here, I found a Thai restaurant called Silom Village.

Ippudo is my favorite ramen place. While I admit that some places have better tasting broth or better toppings, the noodles in Ippudo are by far my favorite. Adding that I don’t really prefer the richer broth of other ramen places and much prefer the balanced flavor of their white bowl, this cements this ramen joint’s first place in me and my Betrothed’s top list (although my Betrothed prefers their red bowl). I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there was an Ippudo in Megabangna. Since I’ve been walking around the mall for a while, the feast from Kub Kao Kub Pla had already digested and there was now space in my stomach. I decided to see if this place is similar despite crossing seas.

A short stop during my Thailand Odyssey is Galanan Wa Wanwaan. What urged me to go here was their signage made of watercolor featuring their various coffees and teas. After the heavy hearty meal, coffee seemed to be the perfect next step, thus I went.

As I continue my Thailand Odyssey, I get to spend my last day to my choosing. While it was an option to go to Bangkok since my flight was late at night, my baggage and me being a bit under the weather prevented me from going there. After some research, I found a shopping mall called Megabangna which was close to the airport. Although the place was quite big, the food places were clumped together in an open-air area. I also thought that the architecture was clever in that there’s a bit of an incline, so as you walk, you’re actually already moving upwards to the upper floors. After a bit of exploring, I had lunch at Kub Kao Kub Pla.