D’2K’s BBQ

Whenever I’m staying in Mandaue, I always, ALWAYS make it a point to ask my mother to buy barbecue from my favorite barbecue place, D’2K’s BBQ.

D’2K’s is in Talamban, a few steps away from the sports complex. It’s a “kilid-kilid” kind of place, but finding it shouldn’t be too difficult. It actually used to be called 3K’s, but one of the K’s left… thus, D’2K’s. Anyway, since it’s pretty near where my younger siblings study, what my mother and I do is drop by D’2K’s before picking up the kids from school, place our orders in advance because believe me, A LOT of people flock there every night. We then pick up the food on our way home, making it much more convenient than having to wait, wait and wait.

I love their pork barbecue and isaw (chicken intestines). Plus they’re really cheap, too! They cost 6 and 2 pesos, respectively.

Their sauce is sweet and they smother it all over the food generously. This is the reason I know of a few people who don’t like D’2K’s, but this is one of the reasons I am obsessed with their barbecue (I seem to be obsessed about many things, no?).

At home, I eat the barbecue with rice and using my bare hands, of course. Bare-handed barbecue eating always makes it taste so much better. And do not forget the Coke. Never forget the ice cold glass of Coca-Cola.

D’2K’s BBQ accepts orders. Call them at 418-0034, 0926-2003132 or 0915-9948299. No “What Paolo Thinks” for this post. I think my rating for it is quite obvious. Hahaha.

BCB 2010

I’m happy to announce that this blog made it to the Top 20 qualifiers for the Best Cebu Blogs of 2010. I am also admittedly shocked and well, humbled, as the other bloggers in the top 20 are far more, say, experienced than I am. There are many who have been blogging much longer than I have. There are those who understand HTML codes much more than I do. There are some who have advertisers and/or earn money from their blogs, both of which I do not have the benefit of.

What Paolo Eats is like, what, isn’t even two months old yet , but I am still grateful that it got into the top 20. I am aware that there are so many other blogs better than mine, but nevertheless, I would like to say thank you to everyone who liked my blog on BCB’s Facebook page (of course, my skills at shameless self-promotion helped… and so did those of my family and a few friends). Thank you also to Mikey Sanchez for the nomination.

About Best Cebu Blogs Awards:

The Best Cebu Blogs, now in its third year,  aims to recognize the existence and relevance of blogging in Cebu’s local online scene. It also aspires to augment Cebu bloggers’ influence in the general cyber community worldwide.  The Best Cebu Blogs 2010 focuses on pooling the top 10 blogs with excellent and relevant content that promotes everything about Cebu to the world.

The Best Cebu Blogs is an independent award-giving body founded by Mark Monta on December 2008.  The judges of this competition are fairly represented by blogging community heads  from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. (source)

Top 20 Best Cebu Blogs Revelation:

After almost 4 weeks of competing on which blog has the most number of Likes in the Best Cebu Blogs Facebook fan page, BCB 2010 is now announcing the bloggers who made it to the top 20.  Below are the top 20 finalists in alphabetical order.

Aika Baylon of galleca.blogspot.com
Andrew “Doyzkie” Buenaviaje of pigginoutsessions.blogspot.com
Bert Padilla of cebutechblogger.com
Drake Danaviir Cataluña of drakieness.blogspot.com
Edcel Ceniza/Sheena Darunday of thewanderingcouple.blogspot.com
Jason Karl S. Buhia of hungitcebu.com
Jaysee John Rosal Pingkian of jayseeblabs.blogspot.com
Jomar Lanorias Lipon of jomarlipon.blogspot.com
Karlota Murillo of karlotablogs.info
Kevin Ray Chua of kevinraychua.com
Leylan Romarate of mycebuphotoblog.wordpress.com
Mark Anthony Razonable of mrtambay.blogspot.com
Mary Angeli Bas of adventurouslei.com
Max Limpag of CebuRunning.com
Nike Enriquez Cagulada of hitwheels.blogspot.com
Paolo Berdin of whatpaoloeats.wordpress.com
Philip Andrew Mayol of cebufinest.com
Reynarose G. Trasmil of faithly.com
Ricky ‘Rabsin’ de la Cruz of finlust.blogspot.com
Shanette G. Mancao of diy-eats.blogspot.com (source)

I have been invited to the awarding ceremony on December 12, 2010, at Sugbutel’s penthouse. I’m excited to meet the other bloggers, but I’m also nervous at the same time. What will they think of me?! I’ll seem like such a novice next to them. Hahahaha. I tend to let my thoughts run wild… sometimes they run amuck.

Let me end this post by thanking Best Cebu Blog Awards’ Sponsors. Without the following, this would not have been made possible:

Co-Presenter:

Gold Sponsors:

Silver Sponsor:

Business Partner:

Official Online Media Partners:

Official Photographer:

Official Radio Media Partner:

Hong Kong – Day 4

Read more about my last day in Hong Kong by clicking HERE, or by clicking any of the pictures above.

La Veranda’s New Menu – II

Let me start this post by saying how I impressed I am with La Veranda’s new menu. I like everything I’ve tried so far, although I still avoid their buffet.

Here’s one of my new favorites, their Baked Scallops (and it had so much garlic, which made it taste unbelievably good!)

Their Lechon Kawali was just as good. The skin is crispy but the meat is really tender. I’m also a huge fan of achara and sarsa, so those helped, too. I seem to be a fan of many things, no?

I made a promise to myself that I would order a new dish every time I went to City Sports. I broke my promise this time, though, because their Pinaputok na Bangus Belly is amaaaaazing. I had this once when I had lunch with my mother & older brother, feel in love with it, and when I went to La Veranda to have dinner with my sister three nights ago, I had it again.

There’s so much onions, tomatoes and ginger, all creating a wonderful medley of flavors…. HAHAHAHA. Okay, I just had to laugh at that one. What do I know about medleys of flavors? Again, I’m no educated food critic, but trust me, this dish is really, REALLY good.

What Paolo Thinks:

*I give out so many 4’s and 5’s, makes me think that I’m not such a fastidious eater. Haha.

 

Kublai Khan’s

It is common knowledge (at least among my family and friends, anyway) that I am obsessed with Kublai Khan’s, starting back when it first opened its first branch in Country Mall years ago. It is always the place I suggest when someone asks me where we should it. I eat there every chance I get and have become friends with the staff. In fact, I eat there so frequently that when I walk up to the counter, they cashier already knows what I’m ordering. She gives me a bowl before I can even say a word and asks, “Bottomless iced tea?”. No matter how hard I try to avoid eating too much, especially after working out, I can never say no to Kublai.

I know quite a number of people, however, who don’t like Kublai. There are even some who get surprised when they realize how much I like it. It is my personal belief that the only people who dislike Kublai are those who don’t know how to mix their ingredients, which for first-timers, can be tricky.

You choose from EAT-ALL-U-CAN (the big black bowl, with which you can have as many times as you like), ALL-U-CAN-FILL (the smaller white bowl, with which you can only get once but can fill up to your heart’s desire), or CHECK-A-BOWL (they give you a checklist of ingredients, and you check the ones you want, but there is a maximum number for each category e.g. 3 sauces, 5 vegetables). I always have the ALL-U-CAN-FILL (I actually used to order the EAT-ALL-U-CAN even though I could only finish one bowlful – it was my always my desire to be able to devour more!)

Once you give your bowl to the server so that your food can be cooked, you are given a number to avoid mix-ups. Wait a few minutes, and they’ll serve you your bowl. I like mixing my food before I start eating because the meats tend to gather at the bottom. And if you’re interested in trying out my personal recipe, here it is (this only works on Canton noodles, by the way. I tried this sauce on rice and rice noodles but it wasn’t quite the same):

a BIG teaspoon of garlic
4 teaspoons of Calamansi
2 ladles of Barbecue sauce
1.5 ladles of Szechuan sauce
1 ladle of Teriyaki sauce
1 ladle of Oyster sauce
Half a ladle of Sesame oil
Canton noodles
Beef, chicken and squid
Onions, spring onions and bean sprouts

What Paolo Thinks (this is pretty obvious):

Hong Kong – Day 2

To read about my second day in Hong Kong, please click HERE, or click any of the images above.

Hong Kong – Day 1

Forgive me for the lack of posts, I just got back from Hong Kong. Since I’m too tired to blog about the food I had there separately (which were ALL AMAZING, by the way, and all deserve What Paolo Thinks ratings of 4 and 5), please read my day one blog post on What Paolo Writes by clicking HERE.

TamGu Grill

My side of the city isn’t exactly where you’d find the “most happening places”. Because of the lack of places to go to, when something new opens, the most intense feeling of excitement immediately runs through my body. With that said, you can only imagine how excited I was when the other day, my grandmother told me that there was a new Filipino restaurant in Paseo Arcenas – so excited that I managed to convince her that we would try it out that same day.

The new place is called TamGu Grill, which is located right across La Marea. I initially believed the term TamGu to be a mix of the owners’ names or something like that, but when I asked the waitress what it really meant, she said “Tambal Gutom, sir”. How… clever. Haha. Anyway, its tag line is “The Only Native Restaurant Southside of Cebu” (I don’t know how true this is), has free WiFi, and gives you your first order of plain rice for free!

We had the Tinolang Isda to start, which I had 2 bowls of. I don’t normally drink soup that has fish in it, but I liked this one. I think the tomatoes and onions, which there were a lot of, helped.

I knew I wanted Gambas even before we stepped into the restaurant, and was happy that their menu had it. I wasn’t so happy with how it tasted, though, as it was too sweet for my liking. I was expecting something spicy.

The Beef Steak Tagalog was also served on a hot plate, which surprised me. I can’t emphasize enough the fact that I’m not a food critic, but I found the beef to be quite bland. It also would have been better if there was more sauce.

I had Maja Mais for dessert, which is made from coconut milk, cornstarch, and sugar. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted bad Maja, and I hope I never will. As one of my favorite Filipino desserts, I will forever hate anyone who makes bad Maja, and to put it simply, I don’t hate TamGu’s maja maker. Haha.

What Paolo Thinks:

TamGu Grill is located at Paseo Arcenas, Banawa.
They are open from 10am to 2pm, and accept large orders & event reservations.
For inquiries, call them at 268-9488.

Balamban Liempo

One night last week, the official Facebook account of Balamban Liempo added me after it voted for What Paolo Eats in some contest I’m part of (which I will discuss later as I’m surprisingly currently not shameless enough for self-promotion). I would browse through their pictures every single night thereafter, and regret it greatly afterward because I would get the worst pangs of hunger. Mental note: never look at pictures of food late at night.

Last night, I was looking at Balamban Liempo’s pictures again, and was salivating at the perfectly cooked pork belly literally smothered with great amounts of herbs and spices, when I realized that I couldn’t take this foolishness anymore (HAHA). I had to touch the liempo with my bare hands and taste it it my mouth… I would end the days of just looking at it on the creen of my laptop! So I asked our driver Manong Tata to buy liempo (there are so many branches already, there’s bound to be one where you live – the nearest to my house is the one in Capitol), and waited quite impatiently for him to get back.

I hurriedly ran down to the kitchen when I learned that Manong Tata had come back with my lunch and was greeted by grandmother, who was angry at me for buying food even though we already had lunch. I had to reason out that I had been craving for Balamban Liempo for days already, until she calmed down (the liempo was PHP 175, but I was expecting it to be PHP 160 – maybe because it was for take-out or they’ve simply increased their prices).

And there it was, in all its liempo-tic glory. I would’ve secretly shed tears of joy if there weren’t any people around me. Paired with an ice cold glass of Coke, I had an undeniably terrific lunch… which I shall now send to burn in calorie hell by going to the gym.

What Paolo Thinks:

NOW AVAILABLE 1/2 Balamban Liempo for just 90php @ Balamban Liempo at Larsian Fuente ALSO AVAILABLE! The Balamban Liempo Solo Meal! 1/2 Liempo, 4 Puso, 1 8oz Softdrink for 115PhP Only! Sulit Meal for Two 1/2 Liempo, 8 Puso, 2 8oz Softdrinks for 145PhP ONLY!Available @ Larsian Fuente Branch ONLY! For Orders and Deliveries Kindly Contact 09334055045 or 09238305196 Thanks!

*Our Group Meals!

Good for 3 to 4 Persons

1 Balamban Liempo
15 Puso
1 1.5 Liters Softdrinks

270PhP ONLY (Dine-In Price)

Average Cost Per Meal Per Person (If you are four) = 67.50PhP/pax

Delivery Price => 300PhP ONLY

Average Cost Per Meal Per Person (If you are four) = 75PhP/pax

Good for 5 to 8 Persons

2 Balamban Liempo
30 Puso
2 1.5 Liters Softdrinks

540PhP ONLY (Dine-In Price)

Average Cost Per Meal Per Person (If you are eight) = 67.50PhP/pax

Delivery Price => 570PhP ONLY!

Average Cost Per Meal Per Person (If you are eight) = 71PhP/pax

Good for 10-15 Persons

4 Liempo
50 Puso
3 1.5 Liters Softdrinks

For 995PhP ONLY! (Dine-In and Delivery Price)

Average Cost Per Meal Per Person (if you are 15) = 66PhP/pax

We Deliver 4 Liempo for FREE!
We Deliver 3 Liempo but we will charge you 30PhP
We Deliver 2 Liempo but we will charge you 40PhP
We also Deliver just 1 Liempo but we will charge you 50PhP

*You can add Liempo, Puso or Softdrinks if you like.
*Available @ our Larsian Fuente Branch ONLY.

We also deliver in IT PARK if you want Balamban Liempo to be part of your Midnight Lunches because our Larsian Fuente Branch Grilling Time is at 10:00AM-12:00MN. We also Deliver “Puso” and 1.5 Liters Softdrinks right in your Building or Office.

We also cater to all BPO Companies and Non-BPO Companies outside of I.T. Park.

FOR DELIVERIES! Just contact us @ 09226205921 or 09334055045

The Hotel Elizabeth Grand Opening

If you’ve read my Hotel Elizabeth post on What Paolo Writes, than you’ll know that we had dinner there after the fashion show. I was expecting hoping that the food would be plated becuase I hate having buffets at big events. There are just so many people, and it sort of gets messy and too crowded (*flashback: Garland 2010, where people left Waterfront and  went to I.T. Park to eat). When Tita Nikki told us to go get food already before a stampede would ensue, I took no second chances and went to the buffet room right away.

There were different kinds of salads as appetizers. Not being a fan of vegetables, I had the shrimp salad, which was delicious (or maybe I’m just biased as I love anything shrimp), and which I did not get to take a photo of.

Yang Chow Fried Rice, which I will always choose over plain steamed rice

Vegetable Gratin – I hate carrots, so I only got broccoli and beans, which are two of the few vegetables I can stand.

Linguni Al Vongole – regretting not getting this – I hardly had any space left on my plate!

Duck A’Orange – which is really just like orange chicken, only with a different kind of bird and a fancier name. Not my type.

Roast Lamb Chops With Mint Jelly – lamb isn’t exactly a common food here in the Philippines, is it? I just had to have this, and it was tender and delicious!

U.S. Ribe-Eye With Peppercorn – I love steak and I loved this! It was cooked medium well, just the way I like it, and the gravy was fantastic!

My plate – I am such a meat eater, no? There’s even some lechon there, which you probably cannot point out haha. My stomach didn’t have much room left for dessert, but seeing that there was strawberry panna cotta (two of my favorite things), I had some and was immediately brought to sugar heaven.

Thank you to Ronald, Tita Bom Bom and Tita Nikki for inviting us!

What Paolo Thinks:

The Elizabeth Hotel is located along Archbishop Reyes Avenue (beside the Isuzu showroom and across One Acacia Place). It has a walking distance of only 2-3 minutes from Ayala Center Cebu. For inquiries and reservations, call (032) 253 4966 or visit http://www.ilink.ph/elizabeth-hotel-cebu