DAYS 9-10 Philippines Trip, Dec.19-28, 2008

On Saturday, Dec. 27th, I had late lunch with my ex-officemates Maymay & Vanessa. Since I truly missed Cibo, we decided to eat there at their branch in Trinoma. Trinoma is one of the newest malls in the North of Manila, which I must say I really liked.

For startes, we had "Spinaci Zola" (P218, around S$7.03) - spinach & gorgonzala dip with crispy bread. A must try! This was and still is my favorite!

For pasta, we had "Linguine Al Nero Di Seppia" (P225, around S$7.26) - Squid, squid-ink, extra-virgin olive oil, anchovy, capers. This was really bland. Plus, there were so little squid I almost forgot it was a seafood pasta dish if not for the black squid ink.

We also had, "Pizza Parmigiano" (P325, around S$10.48). This was also super bland. Just by looking at it you can already tell it tastes like nothing. Thank god for the spinach dip which I spread on top of this tasteless pizza.

Lastly, we had "Linguine alla Ghiotta" (P298, around S$9.61) - Mushrooms, stab, bacon, cream. I don't know if there was something wrong with my tastebuds that time but this was as equally bland as the other dishes.

I was quite disappointed with Cibo actually. I remember the last time I ate at cibo a few years back in Powerplant Mall, I truly enjoyed their pasta. Oh well, some good things must come to an end. I hope they do something about this.

Maymay (Left) & Vanessa (Right)

Two of the most real & genuine people I have ever met, awwww. hehehe

For dinner, I really wanted to go to Spiral at the Philippine Plaza hotel but my cousins were lazy to go all the way there. So we settled for Saisaki, a japanese buffet restaurant on West Ave.

For P580 bucks (around S$18.71), I must say it was truly worth it. The choices were plenty and they also had filipino dishes aside from Japanese.

Lechon! (again)

I wanted to have a taste of the turkey but I forgot...

As in most filipino restaurants, a group of singers would serenade those who celebrate their birthday or simply wanted to make a song request.

Yum!!

More Yum!!!

I looovveee Salmon!

After our hearty dinner, we went to a nearby comedy club and melted the calories we ate by laughing all night, haha.

The next day I was headed back to Singapore. Sigh. It's always so hard to go back to reality after a very worthwhile and long holiday break with people you love. I think this vacation was one of the most memorable in my life.

But not to worry, as I remember I was still flying business class on the way back hehehe. Picture above is the buffet spread at the PAL Mabuhay Lounge at the airport.

Free-flow of drinks at the Bar

I've had too much to eat the past days so I just decided to have fruit and some of the spinach pasta, which was really good. Way better than Cibo!

Their jurassic PC terminal at the lounge

For my last hurrah, I had the Chicken Inasal.

I was so tired I actually fell asleep almost the same instant I sat down. I think I missed the tapas because the steward served me appetizer right away. Bummer!! hehe


A different take on Chicken Inasal but not bad at all.

Time to ponder and soul search...

Til the next travel blog... Back to work and back to reality. I hope you guys had fun looking through my pics as much as I had fun reliving the memories.

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Carousel, Royal Plaza on Scotts

Last Sunday, Zach treated my Mom, Aileen & I to lunch at Carousel. I have been hearing good reviews about their buffet and since Mom was in town we figured might as well try it out. Making reservations was a breeze but you had to book a day before as tables can get booked really fast.

Brunch on a sunday morning was $48++. So damn pricey! Good thing they had 15% discount for DBS Visa credit card so more or less it would come up to $47. Still damn pricey! hehe.

I must say the selection of food was veerryyy wide. Literally and Figuratively. The buffet line was spread from end-to-end of the restaurant. Choices range from japanese station, crustacean & seafood station, hot & cold appetizer, breakfast, chinese station (dimsum, roast duck, etc), malay food, dessert, and the list goes on..

I was more than excited to get the gustatory revolution started and here is what I dug into.. (DISCLAIMER: diet off for today since my mom is around hehehe :P)

For starters, I had tuna & salmon sashimi, Pita bread with Eggplant mousse & Olive tapenade dip, and Smoked duck & Roast beef with blue cheese dressing. The sashimi tasted really fresh. The only disappointment is that they serve the salmon sashimi upon request. Unlike other buffets where you can freely get as much as you want. The dips were really scrumptous but the pita bread was very tough. So on to the next plate...

For pre-main course (hahaha), I had Turkey bacon, Pepper Sausage, Oven-roasted ribeye with mushroom sauce, Onion, mushroom, cheese & turkey bacon omelette, and bread with St. Pauline & Camembert cheese. The turkey bacon tasted & felt like cardboard. No kidding. Nothing beats real, fat-laden pork bacon. Ribeye was very tender and cooked medium-rare. Not bad but not thrilling. Omelette was, well, omelette. The cheeses were very cheesy. hahaha kidding. I'm not into cheese that much but they were good. Not very salty and melts in your mouth.

For main course, I had Chicken and mushroom ragout with crepe gratin, Ana potatoes with fresh thyme and pepper, Baked saffron pilaf with assorted sausage & seafood, Thai beef with garlic & pepper, Navarin of lamb with roasted parsnip and Seafood thermidor.

Has anyone heard of Ana potatoes? Oh well, they were potatoes just the same. My favorite was the Seafood thermidor. There were generous portions of shrimp & squid. The shrimp were quite big and tasted really fresh. The kind that pops in your mouth after you bite into it. The Navarin of lamb was also very tasty. It didn't have that after-taste that lamb would give if you cook it improperly.

At this point in time, believe it or not, I was really stuffed. But not too stuffed for dessert. No way will I let go of dessert. They even had a chocolate fondue fountain, but Aileen used to have a choco fondue business so I passed on that.

To cap off the meal, I had RP Choco mousse, Green tea choco mousse with azuki beans, Pineapple & peach crumble and Chocolate fondant. I don't know what in the world RP stands for but it was so-so. The ultimate winner was the Chocolate fondant. Even better than the chocolate cake at PS cafe. This really made me very happy. Amongst other things hahaha.

For an all-halal buffet, I would say Carousel was very good. The choices were endless and it was easy to get overwhelmed by the selection. I don't think theres any way for anyone to taste all of the food in the spread. Even for a big guy like me, it was just impossible. I regret not having the roast duck and the lobster in the crustacean section.

The service was great, as well. The staff were more than happy to take your pics and they even engage in small talk. Free coffee was an added bonus. Though I suggest they spruce up the dining area near the front window because from outside it didn't look as classy as the price commands. Nevertheless, the inner dining area was well decorated and spacious. So for a very delightful brunch, here is my rating for Carousel-

Ambiance - 4

Service - 5

Food - 5

Presentation - 4.5

Value for Money - 4.5

OVERALL - 4.6

Royal Plaza on Scotts Hotel

Carousel is at Lobby Level

Tel: 6589 7799

25 Scotts Road, Singapore 228220

"Live, Love & Eat!"

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