Top Picks at Bayleaf Hotel

Recently work brought me back to Bayleaf Hotel in historic Intramuros. For my previous posts, you can go here, here, and here.

The most memorable item I associate with the hotel's 9 Spoons Restaurant is their pritchon.

For this visit they tinkered with the filling--the lechon bits are heftier, with the skin crunchier. This was a hit with me and my colleagues.

9 Spoons

9th Floor The Bayleaf Hotel

The hotel's newest dining outlet is the Rafaelle Woodfired Pizza Restaurant. I was smitten with

the Gamberetti, made of white shrimps, preserved lemons, garlic, chili, and almonds. Best consumed while still warm, it was garlicky and seductive. 

For dessert I had Dolci Al Cioccolato--warm chocolate cake with vanilla cream.

This reminded me of choco lava cake. Dig in while warm. The cake itself was mild, with the parts touching the hot plate tasting richer and darker. The cream makes the dish brighter. I finished the plate clean.

Rafaelle Woodfired Pizza Restaurant

Third Floor The Bayleaf Hotel

I now have a new favorite from the hotel's Cioccolata Churros Cafe--the brownies.

It was crunchy on the outside and moist inside. It was subtly sweet, and generous with almond slivers. No need for cream or caramel drizzle, as long as it is served warm. 

I should also add that the Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato (BLT) Sandwich was also good--they didn't stint on the bacon, which was fried crisp. Unfortuntaely, I have no picture to show, and so a future visit is in order. 

Cioccolata Churros Cafe

Ground Floor The Bayleaf Hotel

If you're considering holding a function in the hotel, opt for homegrown snacks. Their fried lumpia, sapin-sapin and suman sa latik are so good. 

The Bayleaf Hotel

Muralla corner Victoria Streets

Intramuros, Manila

(+63) 02 318-5000; (+63) 02 328-3170

Buffet Love at Marco Polo Ortigas' Cucina

Last December was a dizzying dervish of parties and get-togethers. Buffets are popular for these gatherings, and one resto I was keen on trying was Marco Polo Ortigas' Cucina. I've tried Marco Polo Cebu and Davao (click here and here) before, so I wanted to know how the Ortigas branch measure up against them. 

I took a page from my friend Rush and started with the soup station. I had a tasty, spicy soup with flavorful mussels, siomai, shrimps, and ham, freshened by calamansi. I dialed up the heat with chopped red-eye chilis or labuyo. Finished it off with a topping of sliced boiled eggs. This was yum--a fortuitous beginning.

Next I had tasty rib-eye steak in pepper steak sauce coupled with sweet cherry tomatoes--a nice pairing. 

The pork chops were moist and the pizza, which has been sitting on the counter for quite some time, was still flavorful. 

The pork and beans was just lovely and the seafood stew was divine.

Another winning platter: slipper lobster, mussels, and shrimp which I dipped in vinegar. 

Of the excellent gelato, I was partial to pistachio and vanilla which I topped with mango and blueberries.  

Of the pastries, I love the choco tart the best--rich dark silky balanced by tart strawberries--but Marco Polo Davao's version is more exquisite. 

Cucina
24F Marco Polo Ortigas Manila
Sapphire Street cor. Meralco Avenue
Pasig City
(+63) 02 7207777 local 6622

White Marlin Sashimi, Durian Shake, Cracking Cakes, and Boiling Shrimps and Crabs of Davao

This is my second post on Davao for this year. For the earlier post, click here.

Went to D'Farmer's and had my fill of D24

During this visit, I sampled Marco Polo Hotel's Malasugui Sashimi. There are two things I'm crazy about Japanese cuisine: ramen and sashimi. This is the first time I tried malasugui. The waiter told us it was white marlin. It looked like washed out tuna, but tasted like a more delicate smoked salmon. Yum!

Marco Polo Davao
Claro M. Recto Street
Davao City

(+63) 082 221 0888

We also visited durian delicacies purveyor, Apo ni Lola. Truth to tell I'm partial to Lola Abon's (yes, the owners are related), but they won me over with their durian shake, using the native and Puyat durian variants. 

Just look at how generous they were with the fruit pulp.

Then they added evap. The shake was so good and it was not cloying.

Apo ni Lola Durian Delicacies
San Miguel Street, Talomo District
Davao City
(+63) 082 298 5099

If Bacolod has Calea, Davao has Osvaldo's Cakes. I flipped over the caramel cheesecake.

Osvaldo's does not stint on ingredients. The cheesecakes were brimming with the flavor of cheese. Plus, they held back on the sugar.

Try the blue cheese cheesecake as well. The stinky stuff, if you are into that like me, was very pronounced.

Osvaldo's Cakes 
Ground Floor, Paseo de Legaspi
Legaspi Street, 3-A Poblacion, Davao City
(+63) 082 221 2695

Another new experience was dining at Blue Posts Boiling Crabs and Shrimps, located near SM Lanang. I didn't know what to expect but some city-based acquaintances were raving about it. 

For starters we tried the pork riblets. You have to try this--buttery soft, moist, and garlicky. Two thumbs up!

We also ordered crabs, shrimps, and tuna belly (no pictures, gasp!) with the spice level on mild. 

The sauce was so tasty and good we poured it over the rice. The heat was just right, although I don't mind dialing it up a notch. 

Eating with your hands and wearing a bib are all part of the experience. 

For this dinner I gave up thoughts of dieting. It was impossible to enjoy fully all this tasty food without rice.

Also try the stellar kinilaw--spicy and sweet.

Blue Posts Boiling Crabs and Shrimp
Lanang, Davao City
(+63) 082 221 8360

That's about it. I'm looking forward to returning to Davao next year.

Buffet Love from Marco Polo Plaza Cebu

I look forward to the amazing food at Cafe Marco whenever I stay at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel in Cebu. There appears to be new items everytime we visit, and many of the offerings were top-notch. 

On the savory side, the standouts for me were the Hainanese chicken (the chili sauce is off-the-charts hot), the Cebu lechon (always tasty, no need for sauce), and oysters (fresh, sweetish). It was my first time to try radish kimchi, and I love it. I was always on the lookout for the pork ribs siomai wrapped in cabbage--moist, delicate, and filled with so much umami flavor. 

For dessert I was partial to the decadent chocolate truffle cake, while my companions were raving about the excellent cheesecakes. 

There were jars of cookies just by the entrance of Cafe Marco, and we look forward to one kind: the aptly named malicious cookies. Since they did not scrimp with the nuts and choco chips, these cookies will surely wreck havoc on your waistline. .

Marco Polo Cebu also does ensaymada right. The thought of eating again their ube variant makes me drool. Their ensaymada was not cloyingly sweet. and the dough soft and springy. Again, they did not stint on the ingredients, including ube.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Marco Polo Plaza Hotel
Nivel Hills, Cebu Veterans Drive
Cebu City
(+63) 032 253 1111

What I Ate in and Around SM Davao

I recently stayed at SM's Park Inn Hotel. Here's a post of the more noteworthy things I ate. 

1. Bistro Selera's Buchitaw

I already had dinner when I dropped by the restaurant, so I wanted a dessert that's interesting at the very least. The 15-minute wait was worth it for this mash-up, a curious hybrid of buchi (rice calls covered in sesame seeds with a sweet bean paste filling) at the bottom and palitaw (soft, round, and sweet rice cakes) on top. 

I love the textures--soft and chewy for the palitaw half, the desiccated coconut, and the sesame seeds--and the choco filling.

Bistro Selera

SM Lanang Premier

JP laurel Avenue Lanang

Barangay San Antonio Davao City
(+63) 082 285-2184

2. Mesa Filipino Moderne's Laing 2-Ways 

I know I broke my rule on posting only local-based restaurants in my travels, but this stellar dish from Mesa is just irresistible. Laing, one of my favorites from Bicol, is a dish made of taro leaves cooked in coco milk and seasoned with fermented shrimp or fish paste.

Mesa serves their laing topped with pork flakes and in original and crispy versions, although it appears to be either dry or creamy, but I love both.

Both were buttery and creamy and I can't decide which I liked more. The pork floss adds flavor and texture. This version is perfect with crispy pata (pork knuckles).

Mesa Filipino Moderne
SM Lanang Premiere Davao
JP Laurel Ave, Barangay San Antonio
(+63) 082 285-0493

3. Park Inn Hotel's Durian Cheesecake

Before going to Park Inn's ABG, I tried a coffee-chain, famed for infusing durian in its offerings, for their version. I left disappointed. Their cheesecake was dry and needed loving. Good thing Park Inn's version was consistent in taste, but it looked remarkably different from last time. Let me break down Park Inn's Durian Cheesecake: it was moist, with the undeniable yet delicate flavor of durian. The body is not too cloyingly sweet. I love the crumbly crust and the burst of freshness from the mint.

Their mangosteen cheescake was good as well, although the delicate sweet and tangy essence of the fruit did not come through. 

Park Inn Davao
JP Laurel Avenue
Agdao St., Davao City
(+63) 082 272 7600

Ilocos Norte's Bistro 51 for Crispy Binagoongan and Poki Poki

In my last visit to Laoag, the capital city of Ilocos Norte, we were fortunate to be billeted at a hotel near Bistro 51. The place reminded me of Baguio City's Cafe by the Ruins, re-imagined as a beer garden. The dishes border on the very tasty, best paired with your alcohol of choice. 

We had an excellent dinner there, but the following are the stand-outs. 

The excellent spicy-sweet crispy binagoongan, pork sauteed in shrimp paste. Very tasty, the pork and innards envelope your mouth in umami goodness. This is a unique take on the binagoongan--I love the  mix of textures.

Another winner is the poki-poki, a vegetable dish made of grilled eggplant, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and egg. It is like tortang talong, only less dry and without the chopped meat. Bistro 51's poki poki is smoky and tasted like it was cooked on fire.

If your trip to Laoag  will revolve around food, here are my recommendations:

• Bagnet - Saramsam Restaurant 
• Sspicy binagoongan and poki poki - Bistro 51
• Dinuguan - La Preciosa

Bistro 51

Escoda National Highway

Laoag Cioty

(-63) 77 670 6607