First dinner in Amsterdam

First dinner in Amsterdam

I did a lot of walking on my first day in Amsterdam. I had wanted to see how long it took to go back to the hotel beside Amsterdam Central Station from the Museum Quarter. It rained suddenly when I was midway to the hotel and so I had to do some evasive maneuvers as I only had my coat and wasn't able to bring my umbrella. I had thought about having an early dinner in a restaurant or cafe along the way but every place seemed to be too crowded for me. 

And so I rushed back to the hotel and decided to just eat there as the weather deteriorated and what was a strong drizzle developed into something short of a downpour. While there were certainly options for me at the station, I just decided to stay put and eat at the hotel's restaurant. They had a limited menu but that was enough for me as I really didn't feel like being adventurous or something for my meal. That being said, I ended up ordering a pizza and 7-Up. I took my time in eating while watching trains go by (yes, like the song).

Pizza and soft drink for dinner

Yes, that's one of the platforms of the Amsterdam Central Station in the background. The restaurant's windows give you a nice view of the platform and trains. I thought this was a nice hangout after all. There were few diners at the time including a couple of Filipinos who were on vacation (lucky them!) based on what I've overheard in their conversation. [They were a bit loud so I can't help but hear what they were saying.] I went back to my room satisfied with my meal and ready to get some rest from all the travel, including much walking, I did that day.

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Hearty pesto and chicken sandwich from Spar

Hearty pesto and chicken sandwich from Spar

I have had minimal rice since I arrived in Holland. It's actually a welcome development for me as I need to reduce my rice intake and switch to higher fiber options. Bread counts as long as it is not the regular type. And I've managed to eat healthier thanks to the hotel where I'm staying at and the choices I have when I eat out.

One discovery I've made is Spar, a convenience chain that makes excellent sandwiches, bread, pastries and the like. There were a lot of healthy choices including salads and vegetarian meat sandwiches. I spotted their pesto and chicken sandwich and had it heated for a warm meal I took back to my hotel room.

I surely did enjoy this warm sandwich

Spar is a big chain and I found their stores in most cities I visited in the Netherlands.

Pesto and chicken sandwich

A close-up of this pesto and chicken

I have not seen or tasted a sandwich like this the Philippines though the combination of chicken and pesto is not new. Usually, you see it in pasta but not on a sandwich. Maybe there's a restaurant somewhere back home that serves this?

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First meal in Europe - Happy Italy

First meal in Europe - Happy Italy

My first meal in Europe was...Italian! That should not come as a surprise considering this is usually a default choice for me if I am not knowledgeable of the restaurants in the place I am visiting. In this case, I really didn't bother researching about the restaurants in Enschede and based my decision more on what I felt like a restaurant that has a simple menu and many people patronizing it. The other restaurants looked too fancy for me though cost-wise they were okay. I thought, too, that the other restaurants were good if I had company. I had none.

This looks like a good motto for life.

I ordered this pollo a funghi pasta. It turned out to be a big serving and I had to take half home to finish it the following day.

The restaurant's main attraction was their pizzas. They had some good ovens there and all the ingredients were fresh. I also noticed a lot of people ordering meals for take away (take home).

I took home a copy of their menu as a souvenir. This side shows the pizza selection.

This side shows all the other items except their gelato, which was on another card.

Happy Italy is a chain and so at least I have established that they serve good food with very generous serving for pastas. I thought this would be a good reference for future trips to the Netherlands.

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Osaka Takoyaki Restaurant, SM East Ortigas

Osaka Takoyaki Restaurant, SM East Ortigas

We were looking for a place to eat dinner at before we watched "The Black Panther" a couple of weeks ago, we decided to try out a Japanese-themed restaurant at SM East Ortigas. The restaurant's specialty is takoyaki or octopus cutlet balls. The restaurant's menu also had many other choices for those who wanted to have something heavier for their meals.

The interiors attempt to recreate an authentic Japanese restaurant.

Aside from takoyaki, the restaurant also claims to serve good curry meals.

I ordered ramen as I wanted to have something that wasn't too heavy a meal prior to watching a movie where we will also be having some popcorn.

Their version of horenzo, which is spinach-based but laced with spices. This was supposed to be the counterpart of kimchi, which Korean restaurants serve with meals.

The wife tried their curry and it turned out to be very good. I think I liked it more (I had some as it was a generous serving.) than the ramen I ordered.

Their takoyaki was the real deal. I've had a fair share of takoyaki here and when I was in Japan so I think I know what authentic tastes like.

This is a good restaurant but with room for improvement. I thought the ramen was ordinary but the curry was good and the takoyaki very good.
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Adobo antigo?

Adobo antigo?

We start February with a feature on food. The Clairvoyant was thinking about coming up with something new for lunch dinner last Sunday. She usually makes excellent (for me) pasta dishes so that was what we usually had for lunches. Last Saturday evening, the wife made pesto from scratch and cooked up great tuna pesto pasta. Last Sunday though, she decided she would try making adobo, a favorite dish in the Philippines that has many versions across the country.

Adobo antigo from the recipe in the book that was a gift from a close friend of ours. The plating does not seem enticing but the taste is two thumbs up!

"Antigo" directly translates into "antique" and so the recipe maybe is referring to an old way of cooking adobo. Perhaps its just me but I thought this version of the adobo was really good. It did help that my wife was very much attuned to our taste buds and we had all the ingredients needed to cook this favorite.

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Seifuku, Gil Fernando Ave., Marikina City

Seifuku, Gil Fernando Ave., Marikina City

We have eaten at Seifuku several times but that was when we were still residing at a subdivision nearby along Marcos Highway. We have not dined or lunched there in more than 3 years. And so when my father expressed his wanting to eat Japanese food, I took him to Seifuku where I knew they had a good selection in their menu. Earlier, Tatay had lunch with my brother at a ramen restaurant. He enjoyed it but wanted to order others like sushi and sashimi, which the ramen restaurant did not offer in their menu. Unfortunately, my brother could not make our date that Friday evening so we'll probably be coming back at Seifuku so he'd know where he and his fiance can enjoy good Japanese food in Marikina.

Quick menu for their ramen promotion

The main menu is quite thick as the restaurant offers a lot of choices for those wanting to enjoy Japanese food

Sashimi and sushi are usually popular and we usually order salmon sashimi, which is our favorite

The menu contains a definition of the name of the restaurant as well as its short history in Marikina City.

Shake or salmon sashimi

Interior showing their display of spirits

Their kurobuta katsu was good though not as good as Yabu's or Ginza Bairin's

Their bento box was also good and should satisfy one's cravings for Japanese food.

We will definitely be back for lunch or dinner at Seifuku. They offer good food at reasonable prices for a full service Japanese restaurant. I think they are currently the best bet for Japanese food in the area outside of the Teriyaki Boys in Sta. Lucia and SM as well as the mainly ramen choices at Tamagoya.

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Yellow Lantern Cafe, Antipolo

Yellow Lantern Cafe, Antipolo

One afternoon after a trip to the Avilon Zoo in Rodriguez (formerly Montalban), Rizal. we decided to make a "merienda" stop along our way home. The Clairvoyant suggested the Yellow Lantern Cafe in Mambugan, Antipolo City. The cafe is located at the initial steep ascent from lower Antipolo to the upper part of the city where there are several establishments offering nice views of Metro Manila. She had eaten there before with an old friend from university and they had a good snack plus the benefit of good wifi.

Tables included those with all seats facing the balcony. Despite the afternoon sun, the cafe benefited from a cool breeze. There were TV screens strategically located around the cafe where they likely show popular programs including probably basketball games or boxing matches.

Staff congregated at the bar for what seemed to be a downtime for everyone. We were told they were busiest after 5PM when people start coming in for the sunsets and later for the cityscapes after dark.

The cafe has air-conditioned rooms for more private functions and I guess you can also have your own karaoke session in those rooms.

We came at a time when there was only us eating there (around 2:30 PM on a holiday). We practically had the entire cafe and staff to ourselves.

Chocnut cheesecake - a definitely "must try" for those eating at the cafe

The cafe offers this view of Metro Manila. It was mid-afternoon when I took this photo so the sun is basically setting towards the west and giving more emphasis on the smog smothering the metropolis. I can imagine this to be a more spectacular view at night when all the lights give a different feel to the cityscape.

Looking at their menu, Yellow Lantern Cafe has good variety and is not your typical "inuman" place. Prices are fair and the selection gives you choices for food whether its for full meals or light ones like the merienda we had. I would say that it is a good place to go to if you want a place to eat at Antipolo without having to go all the way up and to the restaurants further up Sumulong Highway. It affords a great view of Metro Manila, offers good food, and, based on our experience, good service from the staff.

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Excellent in-room dining at Shangri-la Mactan

Excellent in-room dining at Shangri-la Mactan

Whenever we stay at hotels with our daughter these days, we try to simplify our choices for where to eat our meals. Often, we just opt to order room service considering the servings are often generous enough for the three of us. It helped that we also usually had some food leftover from a previous meal or that we bought something heavy enough as a meal or supplement.

Recently, we had a vacation in Cebu and stayed at the Shangrila Mactan. We again ended up ordering via room service and consulted the menu for what our daughter would likely enjoy eating. We also chose some items we thought were okay based on the marks indicating they were specialties of the chef. We were not disappointed with what arrived at our room and had really good meals in the comfort of our room. That way, we could also recover after a entire day's activities; mostly at the beach and the pools, which our daughter enjoyed thoroughly. Here are some photos of the food we ordered, which we took for posterity (read: so we know what to order next time).

Ham and cheese panini

Spaghetti bolognese

Pancit canton

Salt and pepper squid - the menu indicates it as a specialty of the chef

Their bolognese is the best if not one of the best we've tasted and the salt and pepper squid on top of salad of greens was definitely special. We definitely recommend them should one decide to go for room service.

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