A Taste of South East Asia in one sitting

Food is the next best thing I love, hahaha I love to try new dishes that every place can offer. So do you want to have a culinary tour of South East Asia in just one sitting?? That's awesome right, no need to travel abroad just to taste their cuisine and specialty foods.

The food of SEA (South East Asia) is indeed one of the tastiest food in the world. It is sweet, tangy, and spicy all at the same time, it's a beautiful burst of flavors. It is true that the richness of the Asian tradition can be found in its food because it is a mixture of different influences from India, China and Eurpe adopted by each country to create that unique taste.

South East Asian foods can never be bland because Asia is where the Europeans discovered spices, wow this really means that countries in Asia are so blessed to have the spices which can really spice up your dishes. The common thread  that binds the South East Asian  food is the ingredients which are mainly coconut milk, lemon grass, sugar, basil, fish paste and chili. Do you want to taste all of those food in one sitting?? Well good news because you don't need to buy plane tickets just to have it in one sitting, there's one restaurant which can offer you all of those wonderful experience, it's Bananaleaf.

A classic Banana Leaf dinner will start with Roti Canai from Malaysia dipped in either curry sauce or condensed milk. For the main dish you can have Hainanese Chicken from Singapore, Thai Green Curry Chicken and Vietnamese Fried Rice.  They offer the best Asian food prepared true to it’s tradition. This is the exact Tom Yum Soup or Pad Thai that you fell in love with in Thailand. The Roti, Satay, Char Kuay Teow that you wanted to go back to in Malaysia. The Chili Crab and Laksa that you can’t have enough of in Singapore. The spring rolls of Vietnam that makes you crave for more. The Sambal and Goreng in Indonesia that you can’t forget.

Deep Fried Pomfret with Malayan Seafood Curry

Not only that, when Bananaleaf says authentic it means business because main ingredients are sourced form their country of origin and prepared by Asian chefs in all branches day in and day out. That's one thing that they are really proud of. It will definitely gives their customer world class cusisines. Me and my fiance have tried to eat there once, and it never failed us, we felt like we were in Malaysia or Singapore the spices are just the same if you eat there. I've been to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur years back.

No wonder it has become a restaurant of choice among Asian expats and Pinoy travelers who have fallen in love with Asian food. With it's excellence in offering traditional Asian food it has also managed to stay in the list of Philippine Tatler's Philippines Best Restaurant from 2004-2011. 



Hainanese Chicken



Malayan_Chicken_Curry_with_Potatoes



Stir_Fried_Oat_Prawns_Singaporean_Style



Stir_Fried_Crab_with_Spicy_Golden_Garlic



Oh there's one more thing I love about Banana Leaf, aside from the good food, they also have nice interiors. There are intricate wood designs that is uniquely Asian and of course literally eating on a Banana which really gives you one great eating experience and adventure. 

your plate at Banana Leaf :-)



IMPORTANT NOTICE TO DOMESTIC PASSENGERS DEPARTING FROM MANILA: PLEASE READ

Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) has released this important notice specially to the domestic passengers/travelers. This is with regards to the P200 Airport terminal fee that passengers are paying when departing from Manila to any part of the Philippines.

Starting August 1, 2012 the P200 shall now be paid upon purchase of airline tickets through internet booking, airline ticket offices and ticketing or travel agents. This only means that there's no need for us to line up again at the counter to pay that fee before we can enter the boarding area, sounds good yeah!

Here's the formal notice from MIAA for more details, hope you will find this helpful to all of you.

Buddy's Restaurant: Taste of Quezon Province

Pahiyas Festival, Pansit Lucban, Chami special, Lucban Longganisa etc...those are the famous festival / specialties in Quezon Province. I haven't been there yet not because I don't want to visit but because I just don't have the chance. I'd love to try their special dishes, good thing a colleague of mine brought us to a restaurant near our office where I can taste those delightful dishes that is not so costly.

Buddy's Restaurant is what I am talking about. When you enter their place you can already see the "pahiyas" hanging on the ceiling and the wall murals are paintings about the Pahiyas festival and scenic views in Quezon.The restaurant offers you all the specialties from the province of Quezon.

Traveling is more fun in the Philippines

Traveling is really one of my passion, that's why I decided to create a travel blog. Though I don't have the luxury of time and money to travel often I would like to do it one at a time. I was able to visit 3 countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, although 2 of those trips are business trip and only one was a vacation :-) But my objective as a traveler is to travel Philippines, I am pretty sure that Philippines have so many beautiful places to offer.

Dunkin Donuts for FREE!!!

Calling all the kids and kids at heart out there, on June 16 everybody can get your favorite Dunkin Donut for FREE from 2pm to 3pm only. You can get your free donut at any outlet nationwide including franchise. There's no purchase needed, just line up that's it!!

Wohoooo I will surely not miss this one, I love Dunkin Donuts specially its Choco Honey Dipped flavor :-) It will definitely a sugar rush that day.

Promo Fares just got better

Many of us are into purchasing promo fares of different airlines. I once bought a promo fare going to Davao and it is really cheap, for someone like me who wants to travel but has a tight budget promo fares are answered prayer. But sometimes promo fares are not so hassle free, since this is a promo fare there are some terms and conditions like non-refundable and can't  be re-booked.

But earlier I just heard in the news that Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) just announced that  starting tomorrow promo fares can now be refundable and re-bookable if there's a flight delay caused by the airlines. This is a great move and I'm sure travelers will be happy of this news, many of the airline companies doesn't agree on this policy because they insist that since this is a promo fare there should be a claws upon purchasing it, but CAB would like to protect the passengers on the flight delays that are happening  left and right. Airlines are also obliged to give food, medicine, line of communication and even accommodation (if more than one day delay) to the affected passengers if their flight was delayed.

This is a good news for travelers like me....so what are we waiting for? Book now and enjoy traveling!!!

Craving for Grilled Angus Beef Belly?

I believe that food and travel is somehow inseparable so I decided to post this article here on my travel blog. It is one of our hobby to discover new foods which are affordable and can give value for your money. Last Friday we went to SM Megamall to eat our lunch, we planed to eat at Pixies but when we went to it's location it's not Pixies anymore, so we need to look for another option. 

We headed to the food court but we found it very usual, we almost tried every food stall in the food court and we want something new and something that we don't usually eat.While we are walking at the lower ground floor one restaurant caught our attention: Bar-B-King located at the Basement of Megamall Building B offered a mouth watering value meal.

As we enter the restaurant, we immediately saw their kitchen where they prepare the orders, it was good to see the kitchen of the place where you eat, so that you are sure if it is clean or not. The dining area was not that big but it was comfortable and well ventilated.