The Loggia at Palacio De Memoria

The atmosphere at Palacio de Memoria should be enough to convince you to visit. Think towering century-old trees, expansive grounds that can accommodate two decommissioned airplanes, and a grand pre-war mansion beautifully restored to its former glory and turned into a museum. It really is quite a sight to behold. 

That there is also a restaurant run by Margarita Fores no less with al fresco tables to boot easily convinced me that it was where I needed to be on Mother’s Day. So I hauled my entire family from Quezon City to Paranaque. It took us just an hour’s drive to get there via the new Skyway.

My daughter behaved like a puppy unleashed as she chased after the sparrows that seemed to enjoy clustering on the grass. I can scarcely believe such a gem existed amidst the high-rise condominiums on Roxas Boulevard. 

We had a lovely table facing the fountain at The Loggia restaurant. The menu had enough variety but I belong to a family of carnivores so five of us opted for the 21-day Dry-aged Rib-eye while two went for the Australian Beef Tenderloin a la Scamorza. I ordered Seabass to add to the mix. 

The steak was perfectly seasoned but it was rather flimsy. The thinness was a disservice to the dry-aging process. Even the seabass was nothing to write home about. You’re better off with Chef Gaita’s established crowd-pleasers, the pizzas and pastas. 

Even the desserts, like the Lemon Olive Oil Torta that I enjoyed, were lackluster. Don’t get me wrong: the food was not bad at all but I suppose I was expecting the menu to be dialed up a bit, to a level equal to the ambience.

That said, expect to find me there again for two reasons. First, one of the airplanes was turned into a charming bar, which my family quite enjoyed. For another, the Loggia is a Gaita Fores restaurant, and Chef Gaita, a culinary royalty if we ever had one, is not the sort of chef we should give up on.   

Resort Feature: Balesin Island Club (Why It's The Perfect Family Getaway) - Part III

The next day was glorious so I took Jia to the beach. Her Dada joined us later for a swim in the pool.    

Since Mykonos was the only village we haven't visited, we decided to go there for lunch. 

I dressed Jia to match the white and blue of the village. She was so tired from swimming that she nodded off even before she had her lunch.

She's awake! She was so rapt listening to the kumbancheros because she loves music.

Since day one, I was telling my husband we should go watch the sun set at Nusa Dua bar in Bali Village but our schedule did not permit. This was again recommended to me by Kathy Solis, VP for marketing of Alphaland. We finally got there the day before our departure and it was perfect. The bar stood on stilts with bridgeways that connected to a water villa on either side and to Warung restaurant. 

For our last dinner on the island, we picked Costa del Sol, acclaimed as the best restaurant in Balesin, to which we heartily agreed.

This paella negra was simply delectable. We definitely scraped the bottom of the pan for the soccarat. I ended the night so full but I wished I could eat more.

My husband remarked how well thought of and well executed the dishes are, not only in this meal, but also in our previous ones. He said he'd love to bring more friends and family there next time we visit. I guess it's safe to assume that he loved our little getaway. 

My Love Affair With The Red Crab

My foodie family loves crabs. They are our favorite crustaceans, hands down. We would always consider serving them when we have guests coming over, or on any ordinary day that we could get our hands on good-sized ones, preferably bursting with aligue, the crab’s cholesterol-laden digestive system also called hepatopancreas. We love aligue so much we would buy bottled taba ng talangka to mix with our rice or pasta. My sister-in-law Joy used to buy them from a source in Pampanga.

Home-cooked curacha

At home, we would usually have our crabs steamed, sometimes with just ginger and lemongrass. Other times, we would have them fried with garlic or covered with aligue for more decadence.

Anywhere in the world, crabs are always a great idea (even in Vietnam where I once saw them listed on the menu as crap). Whenever I’m in San Francisco, my friends would drive me to Judah Street to dine at a Vietnamese restaurant called Thanh Long. Their roasted crab and garlic noodles are a pairing like no other.

White Pepper Crab at No Reservations

When my friend Badette and I went to Singapore last May, we enjoyed white pepper crabs at No Reservations and chili crabs at Lau Pa Sat Market. We actually ordered the black pepper crab at Lau Pa Sat but the waiter misunderstood and served us the chili crab instead.

When I couldn’t have crabs at home, I go get my fix at The Red Crab Alimango House. I equally love Casa Armas’s Thanh-Long-style king crab but it has ceased being an option since the restaurant closed its Podium branch.

Almost always, I go for Red Crab’s Crab Maritess. The crab is buried in a pile of toasted garlic that I love mixing with my steamed rice. When I used to have an annual catch-up lunch with my former boss, Boss Mike, this is what we’d order, along with his favorite, adobong pusit.

On this recent visit with Judd, however, I went for the Fidel’s Black Pepper Crab because I’ve been craving for the peppered version since that botched opportunity in Singapore.

We chose an 800-gram crab, classified as big, which is a good size for two people. They certainly didn’t hold back on the black pepper; the condiment enfolded the entire crab.

I went for the carapace first, and got as much as I could of the “crab butter.” I loved peeling the pepper-drenched cornflour-coating and mixing it with my rice. Then I went for the body while Judd had the claws. I pried the meat out of every chamber. The cartilage was tough, but the flesh was sweet and spectacularly delicious laced with the moderate heat of the black pepper and ginger. Thank God I was wearing a bib because, midway through the meal, I had butter dribbling down my chin and black pepper splattered all over me. I was licking my fingers until the end, perfectly content at what I consider to be a truly happy meal.

The Red Crab Alimango House
Tomas Morato Ave, Diliman, Quezon City
Phone (632) 374-8406

Grace Park: Farm-To-Table Comfort Cooking

I am at the risk of looking like a Margarita Fores groupie but I simply need to write about Grace Park, her farm-to-table restaurant at One Rockwell that scores points for its food as well as its rough-hewn organic-industrial-eclectic interiors.

Gaita is one of the country’s most recognized locavores who rely on area purveyors for the ingredients that go into their food.

For me, I rely on Gaita for flavors that hit my comfort spot.



Take this three-cheese meatballs spaghettini. Those who like meatballs as I do would know that good meatballs are hard to find beyond the confines of our own home. My version is crusted with garlic, and toasted on the outside, moist in the inside. Gaita’s is the Italian version, soft and moist all over and with just the right amount of fennel. I really should try other items on her menu but this is the one I always end up going back for, again and again.

This recent visit, I got to try Grace Park’s rendition of the classic grilled cheese sandwich. Slathered with butter, the sourdough bread offered a satisfying crunch. Each bite provided an interplay of sharp gooeyness and tiny daggers of tanginess from the mix of cheddar, Asiago and Fontina. A tiny canister of honey is served on the side if you need something sweet to dip into, but you won’t need it. I would, however, have loved an accompaniment of thick roasted-tomato soup for perfect rainy weather grub.

Manila Hotel's Cowrie Grill: A Fine Dining Classic At A New Location

I love dining at old, familiar places almost as much as discovering new ones. When I’m in the mood for a quiet dinner, Cowrie Grill in Greenhills is one of the places that immediately come to my mind. It’s near enough my place of work and I always get attentive yet unobtrusive service.

I usually go there with company and, when I do, I like to split a New York cut steak with someone.

The steak is served with a choice of mashed potatoes or baked potato, and three sauces—béarnaise, peppercorn, and mushroom. But they always season the steak to my liking that I usually don’t feel the need for any other flavor.



I’ve dined there alone once when I needed to continue working past my regular hours. I picked a seat in one of the private dining alcoves and was left in the company of my own thoughts for two blissful hours.

I had a serving of baked oyster Rockefeller with a glass of Chardonnay, and then a bowl of penne con salmone affumicato e panna. Thanks to the alcohol, bivalves, carbohydrates and solitude, I went home very relaxed.

I returned to Cowrie Grill today with my foodie family. We ordered the usual, plus a Caesar salad, which was prepared tableside. You could tell a good restaurant by how well they do something that is so simple.

Cowrie Grill is known for their tableside preparations, which are always fun to watch, especially with the youngsters in our family who love to learn how their food is made.

Restaurant Recommendations in South Triangle, Quezon City (A Series): Terrace 45

We were driving around almost every block in the Scout Area in Quezon City in search for a fine place to eat where there’s a table for seven and vacant parking, but it was the night before a mid-week non-working holiday and, evidently, everyone was eating out.

We saw Terrace 45 but drove past it because we couldn’t ascertain if it was a restaurant. When we saw it in Booky’s list of new places to try and Joanna thought it was worth checking out, we retraced our course to the corner of Dr. Lazcano and Scout Santiago where it is located. Joanna and I gamely scoped out the restaurant. Only one table was occupied, which fanned some doubts, but it had a cool, young, inviting vibe. “Maybe not a lot of people have seen it because it’s right across an abandoned property,” Joanna said. We looked at the menu and agreed that it was nice enough to try.

I call this the pumpkin soup of hope. It was the first thing on our table and it gave us hope that we were about to have a very good meal. It comes very close to Cibo’s version, which sets the bar, according to my foodie family.

The Caesar salad was not bad either, although I would prefer that the sweetness of the honey glazed bagel crouton be a little more subdued.

Terrace 45 went big with their poutine by topping it with crunchy pork rinds. Theirs departs from the original Québécoise version, which consists of French fries smothered by a ladleful of gravy and sprinkled with cheese, by replacing the gravy with a fantastic aioli. A definite must-try.

If you’re like me who loves slow-cooked anything, you’ll find pleasure in the beef belly, which was simply melting into lusciousness. By the time we had this, we were convinced that the chef knew what he/she was doing.

I must salute the restaurant’s effort to make callos because it is tedious to prepare and takes a lot to perfect. This was a good take but I’ve tried better ones so I’d say, skip this. Or, if you must, pair it with rice, not bread, which is their standard.

I prefer my ribs smoked than glazed so the spice rubbed ribs wasn’t my thing but the kids really tucked into this and were licking their fingers while at it.

Joanna wanted pasta so we went with the prawn thermidor, linguini swathed in cream and topped with chopped prawn meat encased in their shell. A good pick.

The waiter offered the lengua, which was not yet on the menu. It turned out to be moist and flavorful but it was paired with potato chips (crisps) while the Pinoy in me was screaming for rice.

Our foodie family was so psyched about “discovering” Terrace 45. This five-month-old casual dining restaurant offers delectable, updated comfort fare that is as hearty as your favorite home-cooked meal.

Note: This is part of my continuing South Triangle Restaurants Series. I promised to write about Sauté Restaurant but I discovered recently that the restaurant has been closed for good.)