Eating Traps

List of crappy places to eat out in Manila

1. Tokyo Tokyo - tries to justify their value-for-money offering to the people by serving more free rice, to start with, their food is blander than ever. So while you're at it, try asking also for more soy sauce.

2. McDonald's - it's all the same greasy stuff to me, all chicken and fries. I have kinda developed a theory that bratty kids are born from soggy fries.

3. Chowking - it's just terrible. like fried dumplings. You'd get more of the stuff for 70% less from your freewheeling cart vendor. Their noodle soups - are like water from their mop cleaners.

5. Silver Lake - they just have very rude sellers. They might have even puked on all the food they're selling.

6. Pizza Hut - all branches - and what's with the crust with the filling? I remember a real bad time when I had to wait for someone at the gateway mall by the garden. And Pizza hut was just the food outlet which kinda hogged all the floor space that passers by are readily victimized by their callow barkers that I'd dare them eat all their pizza they can handle.

7. Italianni's - because they keep hogging all pedestrian spaces with their faux-Italian fresco dining tables. It's as if their restaurant is always filled up with diners that they have to extend to the sidewalks. Talk about a lot of chutzpah. They don't even come close to Bellini's or Amici's.

8. Starbucks - I'd say you take out all these starbucks branches and all Ateneans would die, also their wanna-bes. And many say their coffee is not even fresh and thus acidic. So next time please prefer Figaro instead, at least they serve local coffee beans.

9. Bagi or our neighborhood carinderia - Day in, day out their menu would only constitute the ff: Chicken adobo with toyo, chicken afritada which sometimes double as chicken curry, fried hasa hasa, pakbet nearly cooked or ginisang ampalaya barely sauteed you can taste its real bitter dewyness. When they had an Indian tenant, they used to serve biryani rice, lamb massala, choleh, shawarma and a lot more. The lady of the house kept changing business and tenants and cooks. So their cooking and carinderia I'd surmise is more like a hobby or as corporal punishment for delinquent renters.

10. Chunky far flung - sorry I have to include you in this list but I just don't get the idea of serving sandwiches with oishii. It's just so not it.

*Maybe more to come

The Best Places To Eat Out in Manila

1. Green Daisy - all organic, all fresh, all new, all free but only open to friends or what she terms as mga 'kapuso'

2. Amici - a canteen for Don Bosco school in Makati but serves authentic Italian dishes limited to PAsta, Pizza and gelato. Quite reasonable too. A whole pizza, as the crust is thin and soft and very malleable can serve one very hungry customer or maybe shared by two who's also sharing a plate of pasta. They observe the Catholic friday diet, so they don't serve meat on such days. And the gelato is real summer treat.

3. Bellini's - because it's conveniently placed within the quaint district of Marikina shoe expo that I could have all my appointments set there. Plus, the owner Sr. Roberto is very hospitable that he would even let us order even if they're about to close.

4. Jollibee - because they have meat pies, soup, salad, mais con hielo, shakes, daing na bangus,fruit salad anything and everything that McDonald's doesn't have.

5. JT's Manokan -

6. Brother's Burger

7. The kitchen of a friend who likes to cook - particularly Jet's, Poklong's, who else. . . . .it's more fun eating while drinking and experimenting on the cooking because whatever is produced you'll have to eat anyway as the alcohol dictates you to.

8. Cafe Ysabel - perfect date place, everything's made here. And having worked with Mr. Gene Gonzales amplified more the magic in cooking.

9. North Park - comfort food
10. Cafe Mediterranean- comfort food

11. Jamaican patties - comfort food especially when taken with chilly granitas.

12. Country style - the cheaper soup-sandwich alternative to soup kitchen - chicken sandwich with asparagus soups and their servers are equally polite , esp Alimall branch. Is this the reason why Gary also likes to have his coffee here?

13. Marikina shoe expo canteen - for their singular Tapsilog because cocktails are almost non-existent at FP.

*More to come