Balderdash-ing in Bangkok

It's what lies beneath when entering the city of Bangkok.

Just like any emerging Asian city, the so-called "Venice of Asia" is one huge concrete jungle.

Traffic is a headache, pollution plagues the lungs and heat is a b*tch.

For a country whose second biggest economic resource is tourism, I was surprised to experience that most people lacked basic English communication skills. We stayed in Baiyoke Sky hotel, a hotel equates to tourists, but here all then can give you is one big jaw drop. "You are supposed to reply. Do you un-der-ssstand the wordssss co-ming ooo-ut of myyyy mou-th?" It's rude to stare, what more than to open your mouth. Am I supposed to deposit something inside?

We flew via Thai Airways. Marketing is one huge lie, what hospitality and service are they talking about? To and from Manila, not once did I see a fight attendant genuinely smile. In the city, restaurant service is not impressive, besides an obvious language barrier, servers fail to smile but make it a point to open their mouths once more and stare.

The Tuk Tuk is an icon associated with Thailand. Dude, wake up and smell your chili. Hotels put up signs warning tourists to stay away from Tuk Tuks and travel books publish against this form of transportation. Best way to get around the city is via taxi. Make sure the meter will be in use and if desperate haggle and agree on a fixed amount.

But for what it's worth, Bangkok is a great place to get lost in transportalation!

Bangkok is cheap and frolicking is the way to go.

Let the pictures be a testament to the sparkling finds in this city's amazon.

Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew

Asia has the best religious and cultural art. Head on to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, one entrance, two great sites worth your 250 Baht. The details on the art can be over whelming with its intricate wonders of expression.

Temple Guards

The standing Buddah temple

The seated Buddah of Traimit

More works of art

Boutique dining
Head on to Th Khao San after you've had your temple Wat fill.

Soi is a small narrow street or what is also called a sub-street. Th Khao San is arguably the liveliest street in Bangkok, the so-called backpackers area. Lined with restaurants, bars, vendors and what have you, exploring away to its small streets and alleys will not fail. One Soi had this quaint resto and boutique shop owned by a local fashion designer. It's Happened to be a Closet. Superb interior, thumbs-up on the food, but consider this a bit pricey with dishes starting at 250Baht to 750Baht after you have been spoiled from scrumptious 100 - 150 Baht authentic Thai cuisine.

squid ink bread - pasta & scallops

Right beside the closet, there is an Internet Cafe with 60's, 70's interior that creates a lounge feel for its guests. A perfect place for low or high tea, which ever time you prefer. There are two other eclectic designed hole-in-the-wall restos that grab attention, which I have failed to try out.

I can spend the entire day in this location alone. It's hard to miss. Just look for the sub-street leading to a court yard looking area.

Although my Lonely Planet yellow bible was very helpful, experience taught me not to depend on the book when it comes to food establishments. Went to the exact address listed but there was no such eatery, the name was probably changed to Cafe Primo. The other had a contact number but to no avail and locals have never heard of the Pickle Factory. The vicinity map of Khao San helped me plot out some restos. But at 10PM, if your cab has a typical Bangkok-taxi- driver-ass who decides to drop you at the avenue next to Th Khao San, what seemed to be a plausible 500-800meter walk (according to the Asia in a Shoestring guide) to Hemlock, is a busted myth.

Luckily, just like finding an oasis on a dessert of ghetto mayhem, Mayompuri was the perfect find.

When you hit Th Khao San's dead end, make a left, walk for a minute or two, it's there! Now eat, dine, drink and relax. Dishes were between 100Baht - 250Baht. Yummy!

When done with comfortable dining and seating, head on to Khao San's artery for some street food such as insects, worms, Pat Thai and Ya Ki So BA. Some art works pop out as well but do not mind shopping for clothes and wait until the weekend for the mother father of Bangkok's shopping destination.

In the Chatuchak Weekend Market if you bring around 5,000Baht for clothes, you will have a large problem finishing it off. An open-air market, reeking of teen spirit and trash, packed with a frenzy of mindless pedestrians along with the sweltering scorch that creates a natural sauna will not stop one from a 6-hour shopping spree. I barely shop, but shirts that cost 100-250Baht maximum is just too hard to pass. You'll see. Be sure to have this map handy.

Ping Pong in Patpong is another tourist destination. Surprisingly, people and couples regardless of age, race or religion gather around some dimly lit room, Asian brothel style. Our tour guide brought us there to prove that the legend is true. For 500Baht, it turned into a bottle opener, shot darts, blew candles, puff puffed on more than 3 cigarettes at a time, drew on paper, strings and blades were pulled out from it and finally, drank clear water and then out came coke.

Bangkok is a city that can boast many spectacular finds. Spending 4 - 5 days following the itinerary I made, posted here, is more than enough. It can be a vacation but not really for the R & R type.

Walk, explore and GET LOST! Bangkok is a city where discoveries become a euphoric reward!

*more photos here, here and here.
April 5 - 9, 2007

Kain, Bianca's!

Bianca's Cafe and Vinotek is one of the gems that is surreptitiously hidden in the enclave that is Yakal St. in Makati. One of those quiet and charming little places with unassuming facades but takes you to a whole other world because their food is that good. Seriously.

For appetizers, we shared a St. Galler veal Bratwurst served with french fries and onion sauce. Now this is how a bratwurst should taste like, one bite of it and I'm whipped off to Köln circa 2003 where I chomp my teeth onto one of the finest bratwursts I've ever had. And this was right off a street vendor, friends. Bianca's made me relieve that glorious moment. Bratwurst with that superb onion sauce was so good, so tasty, so delicious you wanted the taste to stay forever in your mouth. Ok, maybe not forever but for a long time indeed. I believe I repeatedly said "Sh*t ang sarap nito" or "Ungh, this is so good" with every bite I took.

Ruccola Salad Carissa


Old Fashioned Caesar Salad


Cream of Tomato Soup


Cream of Barley Soup

I really didn't know what to expect when we ordered the Barley Soup over the Roman-style Rice Balls Suppli ala Romana. When I think about Barley, images of fairy tales or fermenting beer come to mind, so we were pleasantly surprised when our soup turned out to be quite a delectable brew. The tender barley grains rest on the bottom of the bowl while they happily absorb the creamy and savory liquid that they're bathed in.

Bianca's has Menu du Jours with a darling price. Shell out Php 520 and you've got yourself an appetizer and an entree, and they're all delicious. Well worth your money. Generous servings too as Carlo and I shared one set and couldn't even finish the entire thing. So with the soup as an appetizer, our chosen entree was the succulent Slow Roasted Hanging Beef served with a Garlic and Olive Oil Pasta and some green beans. The beef, ah, the beef... divine. Juicy, tender and rare in the middle, this is enough to keep my mouth watering for days.

Vercascana


Blue Marlin Steak, Sauteed Young Vegetables and Buttered Rice



Mango Crepe

Do make sure to ask about the desserts as these aren't written down on the menu.

This is how meals ought to end, with a killer dessert that is surely to die for. All hail to Bianca's Chocolate Mousse! All hail! Seriously, I don't think I've ever had this good a chocolate mousse, one that melts, no, disintegrates in your tongue into to tiny morsels of luxurious, chocolate goodness. Life is indeed good.

Bianca's Cafe and Vinotek
7431-B Yakal Street
San Antonio Village
Makati City
+632 815 1359

Kain, Guava!

Kain!

"Mmmmm... Interesting..."

Our meal starts off with their Prichon (a house specialty). The cholesterol-loaded deep fried suckling pig served with three small wraps and six various dips / sauces -- sour cream and chives, black bean sauce, peanut sauce, chili garlic and garlic sour cream. Nothing really spectacular there, and I thought I was being cheated because there were only 3 miniscule wraps to satisfy two adult people, but on the second thought, this is just for starters.

The Pandan Wrapped Ubod in Watercress Salad is delectable and indeed interesting. The pandan-hinted wrap played extremely well with the fresh yummy ubod and the complimenting sweet glaze of a Wansuey sauce plus watercress leaves was a delight to my tastebuds. Something different, something new. Delicious. This pleasant veggie dish was great accompaniment to the Baby Back Ribs and Chicken Thighs in GUAVA (!!!) glaze.

I would've gladly given up the baby back ribs portion for some more of the chicken thighs as meat wasn't all that well. I like my ribs tender... as in almost-falling-off-the-bone tender. This cut wasn't at all near that for we actually had to saw the meat off from the bones with a knife. In contrast, the chicken was cooked very well -- deliciously juicy and very tasty. And of course, the Guava glaze was the perfect touch to the saltiness of both the meats. Yum!

Aaaand to wrap things up --- The Cassava Cake with Gruyere Cheese on which we both had set eyes on even before ordering the main course. But gee, cassava cake indeed with what, 4 tiny strips of the gruyere? There was hardly enough to call "hints" of the cheese. Nevertheless, the cassava cake was MASARAP --- soft and nice which almost melted in the mouth.

Overall, the resto still needs a bit of improvement. The service staff is nice and accommodating but it takes forever for a customer to get noticed. Price-wise, good I guess but still quite steep for some of their dishes considering the serving size. Snaps though for the ingenious use of the fruit in different dishes -- from beverages to appetizers to main course.

Kain, Rice Table!

Kain!

Located along the first level of the south wing of Mall of Asia (facing the bay), this resto can be tempting to try as the interiors spell tastefully done. Despite the clean and white facade plus a rather good selection of furnishings, do not let your eyes be deceived. Presentation has its purposes.

The emptiness of the place should've given away the fact that their food sucked. Yes, the photos might look alluring and delicious but it all stops there. Schnapps to The Rice Table though for presentation efforts and for the concept of the Rice Table Set where a pair (or plus one) can easily sample 12 different dishes in super small servings at a fair price.

We really wouldn't have minded the miniscule servings in each plate since altogether they can make your belly burst, but the food isn't really anything more special than your typical cafeteria meals. Yeah the food is palatable but nowhere near cuisine, Asian or whatever. So it's totally not all its sparked up to be.

For starters though, the complimentary prawn crackers were a delight. Served with a hot chili dip Southeast Asian-style, these fritters were enjoyable to munch on. But aside from that, everything else was Bah with a capital B.

The Rice Table starts you off with 2 of the 12 meals, a brothy and gingery soup concoction that isn't really anything to rave about, save for that amusing slice of corn that one can easily nibble on.

As you slurp your soup down, the waiters bring in the medley of dishes that's supposed to impress the hungry diner. But ah, the expectant palate awaits, only to be disappointed.

On this side of the table holds the chicken satay, pork in some sauce, and a tofu omelet. I'd hardly even call that chicken satay -- skewered chicken popcorn plated with a lousy excuse for a satay sauce, nothing more than what tastes like poor watered-down peanut butter. There are about 5-6 small pieces of pork in that other plate, but the meat is only about 30% of one piece, with pig fat composing the rest of the 70%. The sauce, well, it's forgettable. The tofu omelet could've passed as yummy and tasty if it wasn't swimming in the glorious cooking oil it was fried in.

This foursome here includes a cucumber salad, an eggplant dish, beef curry and vegetable curry. A cucumber salad isn't really hard to do, it's a simple mixture of vinegar, a bit of water and some sugar to sweeten it. So I really can't understand why their dish failed, it was as bland as bland can be and the cucumber slices were wilted and mushy to the touch. The eggplant dish can be labeled as tasty, but nothing out of the ordinary. I was annoyed by the curry dishes! I looooove curry, I love how it can be a melting pot of flavors and spices, I love the colors, the scent, the taste, I love curry! So in that regard, Rice Table's curry dishes are not curry. We were robbed of the powerful intensity of flavors that a curry dish can bring. These were weak and watery. We were more annoyed because the "beef curry" seemed to be just the same curry base as that of the vegetables', only they put in two chunks of dry flavorless beef, which weren't even coated with the sauce. They just stood there all dry and bored. Annoying!

Finally, this side here holds a plateful of cold and chewy dilis which we were expecting to be at least crispy, some Pandan Chicken that we thought could've saved the meal because of one small juicy piece, and the Vietnamese spring rolls which weren't anything more than a layers of fried wrapper with hardly any filling in it. The Nasi Goreng was not Nasi Goreng as I've come to know it. The Rice Table's version of this flavorful rice dish is just soy-sauced long-grain rice. Booooring!

So yes, that's quite a mouthful of what I have to rant about. Their saving grace? The gracious and attentive service staff... and maybe their interiors as well.

Kain, Siquijor!

Kain!


I'm all raves about the food in Siquijor's Coral Cay Resort. Now this is one in-house resto you can definitely trust. From breakfast to after-dinner munchies, their wide and varied menu selection will make you want to eat nonstop.

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The first meal of the day always tops my priority list and Coral Cay's breakfast items are a delight to the morning person. From different Filipino breakfasts to usual Continental dishes, the servings are always plentiful and mouthwatering. Ooooh, and the banana pancakes. Love love love their version of banane-pfannkuchen. You can't be beat with a place that serves yummy banana pancakes, I always say! Thick and fluffy with obscene amounts bananas and a generous sprinkle of sugar (I'll make do without the maple syrup for this one, thank you very much).

Lunch and dinner items are something to look forward as their menu is creatively jotted down on a blackboard which changes daily in accordance to whatever the FRESH catch of the day is. Parrot fish anyone? A huge fat lapu-lapu to satiate your hunger? All these meals come in big generous servings plus heaps of any side dishes to suit your fancy.

For a steady late afternoon delight, head on over to their bar and order yourself a fruity cocktail drink to keep you sane as the sun sets and gives you a wild and crazy display of colors.

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Coral Cay keeps a well stocked bar, I must say, as this resort is run by an American (David, a Vietnam veteran!) who knows his alcohol mixes all too well and has handed down this delightful deftness to his lady bartender.

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Another admirable trait that David has passed on to his staff is the American cheerful way of service which goes oh so well with the engaging Filipina charm. The food might might take a darn long time (the only drawback) to get to your table, but the female-composed staff is just so nice that you wouldn't mind the wait as they happily share their Siquijorian tales and myths.

* photo by Michael Sieberath - Von Bremen

Kain, Panglao!

Kain!

Traveling is one half (or more, in my case) a gustatory endeavor and Panglao definitely hits the yummy spot. Being a tropical seaside resort town, one word comes to mind -- FRESH. Fresh fish best eaten grilled with splashes of calamansi, freshsquid for the most succulent calamari, fresh crustaceans of all shapes, colors and sizes, from tasty little shrimps to the fattest, meatiest crabs, to bright and juicy prawns and to the bluest and yummiest lobsters. Clams and mussels also abound, Oysters so fresh just a splash of our local lemon and vinegar with a dash of salt plus one big slurp – ay yay yay! -- enough to send you to a delicious mind-numbing experience. The fresh taste of the seabed that goes down with the oyster lingers in one’s palate and leaves one wanting more.

sugbahan Panglao*

For non-seafood fans (shame on you!) beef and pork are easily available. Kabobs of all sorts are grilled almost everywhere so savory scents envelope the alona beach strip especially come dinner time. No worries too, as the meats are sourced from neighboring communities so one is assured of the freshness. Grilled to perfection, the meats are tender and juicy to the bite.

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Chug it all down with the liquid love of a nice ice-cold San Miguel Pilsen (also perfect for nice little sips all throughout the day for that pleasant buzz), or with fresh coconut juice from coconuts picked right in front of you, or choose from a bevy of fresh and thick yummy fruit shakes, from the freshest fruits, no less, yummy enough to slurp it all off from the table if you’re unfortunate enough to accidentally knock your tumbler down.

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Food from the resorts’ restaurants isn’t really something to boast about as they’re nothing apart from the ordinary, and I daresay that it’s not worth your peso. Unless of course if the resort really has a famed resto of which you must naturally try. So we encourage you, traveler, to get up and walk around the Alona beach strip as it offers a multitude of choices of gastronomic colors, scents and sizes. International culinary delights also welcome the willing palate. Foreign blood has found home and haven here, and Panglao locals and trekkers are fortunate enough to have some of their good ol' home cooking with the food joints that these local-ed foreigners have so lovingly opened. One memorable joint that deserves a two-thumbs up is an Italian place right down the beach strip nearing the border of Bohol Beach Club, the name escapes me but you can’t miss it, especially with the savory scent drawing you closer and closer. Pizza-riffic perfection with its delicious crunchy and tasty thin crust, the perfect marinara sauce and a handful of abundant fresh toppings all baked in a stone grill right under their hut. Beach-side Pizza was never this good.

Food tripping in Panglao is definitely one for the books. Just walk down that strip, choose your spot, and scarf all the yumminess down.

*photo by Carlo Dionisio