Taco Bell's Fiesta Platters

Free Taco Bell goodies from my credit card. Yummy! I like Taco Bell. It's fast food but Mexican fastfood. I got 4 burritos, 3 tacos to go and 3 fiesta platters for dine in. It was my first time to try the fiesta platters.

We had one of each kind: the beef enchilada ,  the beef with mexican rice and the roast pork ( carnitas) with rice. 

beef enchilada with nachos and mini potatoes with cheese 

The beef enchilada was good. It could use more salsa though since I love salsa  but it's really good. Perfect with the chips and cheesy potatoes. Yum , yum, yum!

seasoned beef with mexican rice, potatoes and salad

The beef with rice , which looks like an Arroz ala Cubana without the bananas was ok but better to get the beef enchilada or burrito. 

chunky pork barbecue with rice, salad and churros

The pork barbecue platter was the best of the three. The pork is really juicy and flavorful, actually it's pulled pork which is very rice intensive. The salad greens with the salsa was ok but bitin so we ordered extra salsa. The nice thing with this platter is the churros with chocolate dip. It's a bit cakey inside, just a bit , but still crunchy on the outside. The chocolate dip was thick enough for the churros and it wasn't too sweet. 

The fiesta platters are good but my favorite in Taco Bell will still be the Baja Chalupas. 

Tao Yuan at Resorts World

Finally, I've tried Tao Yuan. Apparently, according to some food blogs ,  it's the best Singaporean food in Manila with the best Hainanese chicken and even the Singaporean embassy agrees. The original branch is in Malate but we tried the one in Resorts World's Newport Mall. Good thing we came early coz the entire place was reserved . They seated us at a  table outside which was ok since after only a few minutes, there's a waiting list already.

Their menu is actually a combination of classic Chinese dishes, Chef's recommendations and a separate menu for traditional Singaporean food.

We ordered  one half  boneless hainanese chicken with hainanese rice and  crispy noodles with assorted seafood.

Half Boneless Hainanese Chicken P450+
Hainanese Rice P50 per cup

The hainanese chicken was good. It was tender and boneless but a few pieces still had bones but it was definitely good and superior than Wee Nam Kee for me. They served it with enough sauce and on top of sliced cucumber slices. You have the usual ginger garlic , soy sauce and chili on the side. It was perfect with the chicken rice! 

crispy noodles with assorted seafood P370+

We love the crispy noodles with assorted seafood.  The clear thick sauce didn't taste like the usual sauce they use on Chinese noodle dishes, it wasn't salty and heavily seasoned so you can taste more of the seafood. It had fish fillets, shrimps , squid, scallops, mushrooms and polonchay or Chinese pechay? ( or kale??) .  This dish is a must order! 

Both the chicken and the crispy noodles are good for 3 persons but we managed to finish everything! We even got a complimentary dessert from our server. He gave us almond lychee with fruits, thank you! Service was great , needless to say. 

By the way, the house tea is very good too.We'll definitely go back to Tao Yuan! 

Tony Roma's Revisited

I love ribs and I've always loved Tony Roma's. The last time I had dinner in Tony Roma's Glorietta was six years ago (really, that long already ) but even before they moved to Glorietta, we used to visit the original branch in Greenbelt 1 near the old San Mig whenever we craved for great tasting ribs.

So after six long years , with a craving for ribs and curious to see if Tony Roma's is as good as I remember it to be, we had lunch and ordered a half slab or ribs with fries and a Thai Peanut salad to start.

Thai Peanut Salad P375

The Thai Peanut Salad was ok. It had strips of grilled chicken breast , when combined with the asian peanut sauce tasted like a chicken satay. I'm a fan of chicken satay so it was good for me. The greens, the julienned carrot strips with the diced tomatoes were ok.

Original Baby Back Ribs Half Slab P680 

The half rack /half slab of ribs were as good as I remember it. Falling off the bone meat with that smoked barbecue sauce..yum!! I was transported back 10 years ago if not more, because they were able to sustain the taste and quality of their ribs.

Service was great too, the staff friendly and efficient and not too over eager. They still give you that complimentary house bread with herbed butter.

happy campers..

All I can say is , Tony Roma's, you still have it after all these years. Still the best ribs in Manila.

Tummy Trip in Europe: I got a high with these Dutch Treats!

I love Amsterdam! I love the global cuisine, the hustle and bustle of this vibrant cycling city, the canals, the nightlife...it was just so alive! No wonder teens and party goers from all over Europe are packing the Dutch capital during weekends! There's so much you can do in Holland, you can visit the cafes that are scattered all over the city for a good meal, watch a concert at the Heineken Music Hall, check out the Van Gogh and other museums, hang out at the Dam Square, shop til you drop and try the "coffeeshop" for you know what hehe..

Anne Frank's house behind me..

The nice thing is that the city is very accesible from Schipol, just take the train going to Centraal station and you have access to the metro already  to get to your choice hotel or you can simply walk from there.

These are just some of the Holland goodies we were able to take pictures of:

grilled chicken platter at the Mexican

carne asada

Wok to Walk ,  a fast food hole in the wall in Amsterdam , lets you choose the kind of noodle or rice you want and the toppings ( seafood, veggies, meat ) and the sauce. I had rice noodles with shrimp, pineapples and curry sauce. It was really good!!! And it was perfect with the cold weather that day in Amsterdam.

shrimp, pineapple with curry sauce on rice noodles at Wok to Walk 

They have Belgian fries/frites all over the city too. We tried Chipsy King. It was delicious if not the best.

drool!!!!!!

This pizzeria was near the Dam square. Heineken and beer!!!

yummy pizza!!!

Using the remaining euro coins at Schipol..They have the McKroket , a Dutch original : )

 

 Amsterdam is a must see! Oftentimes I find myself in Schipol just  for the connecting flight but this city definitely deserves a visit of its own.

TummyTrip Europe: Seafood, Pizza and Pasta in Vienna

Four days in Vienna, four days of good food! A run down of memorable eats in the Austrian capital:

Hawaii Pizzeria. We just came from Prague and this pizza place is the nearest to our hotel. We got the minestrone soup, vegetarian pizza and chicken schnitzel with fries and salad . Everything was good.

minestrone soup

vegetarian pizza

chicken schnitzel with frites and salad

After doing intense cardio ( haha!) after visiting Shonbrunn Palace, given the kilometric walks exploring the entire place ..we had to eat at the metro station for a quick snack before the next meal. Actually, the quick snack meant a full serving of duck rice bowl and spring rolls. The duck rice bowl was really good. The skin was crispy, the meat tender and teriyaki sauce wasn't salty. The spring rolls were ok too.

duck rice bowl at the metro station , tramway sushi , yum!

At Nordsee, a self service casual dining restaurant serving mostly seafood. This is the best find in all of Vienna if you love seafood. A good break from all the meat in Prague hehe..

at the Stephansplatz branch

yummy!!!

shrimp cocktail and seafood paella..really good! 

transferred to the nearby cafe for dessert...

chocolate macaron and cheesecake-- sinful desserts! worth the sugar

Italian dinner one night. We ordered the margherita pizza and seafood marinara pasta. Both were delicious.

marinara pasta ..good!

 

If you take the metro U2 going to Olympiaplatz , you will reach Stadion mall. From downtown Vienna to this huge mall by the Danube in just 15 minutes. 

Tried the Chinese buffet. From soup to dessert , every dish was good and worth going back for more servings haha specially the hot and sour soup, chow mein noodles , lemon chicken and sweet and sour shrimp. 

Fine global cuisine in an elegant baroque setting, that's food tripping in Vienna. I surely miss this magnificent and beautiful city. I won't mind going back to explore other culinary treats that would please even Mozart himself.