Inggo Noms...

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.

Beloved and I stayed at Makati a week ago because of some work-related Christmas celebrations. Since it’s a rare occasion that we’re staying in Makati, we decided to eat at Mendokoro Ramenba. This Metro-famous ramen place is often talked about with its long queues in its somewhat not-as-accessible location in Salcedo Village, Makati. There’s also the couple of scandals the venue is involved in related to celebrity patrons.

Beloved and I have been going to CoCo Ichibanya a lot recently. This curry place had a new branch at Vertis North. We’ve actually been to this chain before and, like Ippudo, it’s proven to be consistent. We first tried it at its first branch at Estancia Mall at Capitol Commons, then somewhere near Rockwell, and finally frequenting it at Eastwood. While Eastwood is quite close to home, Vertis North is a bit cheaper to commute to, so we’re ecstatic to learn it has a new branch there.

My first meal with Beloved the day after I returned from the Netherlands was in Ippudo Eastwood Branch. The primary reason we went here was because they were having a limited promotion where they served the original recipe from 33 years ago. Knowing how consistent Ippudo is through the years no matter the branch or country, we were quite excited to try it out.

Beloved and I had lunch at Shao Kao Grillery the day after visiting Cow Wow, more than a month ago (yes, delayed because of my Sendai/Japan Odyssey). This semi-open place serves grilled foods, and, based on its name, still be somehow Chinese. I’ve already happened to pass by this place a lot of times already, but never dared to try it. After learning that it’s got quite favorable reviews, including a recommendation from MIL, we decided to try it out.

A bit more than a month ago, Beloved and I had late lunch at Marugame Udon. Beloved had already set in mind to eat here after learning of its existence and regretting we didn’t the last time we went to BGC, since it’s quite a rare occasion that we do. Luckily, she had an event to attend at nearby SM Aura, so we had an excuse to try it out.

Last week, I went to Sendai City, Japan to attend the APRU-IRIDeS Multi-Hazards Summer School. This was the first time I’m going to Japan and actually traveling alone, so I did some pre-travel research regarding budget and location of food places. Since I’m a fan of Japanese culture, I already know that I’d most likely be visiting a konbini, specifically 7-Eleven. Oh, and since I was travelling alone, I did not have my Beloved photographer with me, so the qualities of the photos might not be up to standard; gomen.

Beloved and I had dinner at Cafe Sweet Inspirations a few weeks ago. Despite being a cafe, this is actually more famous for their all-you-can-eat Mongolian rice bowls. I’ve been a patron of this place for a good couple of decades already, as this was a go-to place while I was still residing and studying near the Diliman university belt. Since knowing about this place and since affoding to go here on my own, there’s almost never a year that passed that I haven’t been here.

Beloved, myself, and Const had a late lunch or early dinner at Zaan Japanese Tea House. This was a month ago, when we went to Papa Diddi’s, and, yes, this is the “new place” I talked about in that review. We found this place in one of the popular review aggregators and noticed that it had favorable reviews. Since we wanted to try something new, especially around the Tomas Morato area, we decided to try it out, inviting Const along the way.

Beloved, myself, and Const indulged at Papa Diddi’s a couple of weekends ago. This was after trying out a new place at Mother Ignacia which I will write about when we manage to get back there, for reasons I will explain once I write it. If you’ve been back-reading, you’ll know that we frequent this place a lot for their ice cream. The reason I’m writing this is they’ve added an annex to their original branch literally one store away that serves some new items that we decided to try out.