Champoy Da Foodie

I love eating. Eating brings out the best in me! My choice of food ranges from street food, carenderia, fast food, bistro, cafe, restaurants and sometimes if my budget would permit; hotel buffets. Kahit nga fiesta or as simple as libreng pakain sa kapitbahay papatulan ko. In short, walang patawad, basta pagkain go agad!

But I must admit that there are times that I would eat passionless. I know this would sound ridiculous but sometimes I find eating rather tasking; nevertheless, I still eat. This often happens when I had a really long day or if I am sick. On a regular day; however  the eating is at its best condition.  I have so much love for pasta and Italian food in general. I just love the rich flavor that goes into every serving of pasta in any kind of sauce. Pizza is also on the list but I am a little bit picky with this. I could only name a few pizza houses that I really like. I have a soft spot for Sbarro when it comes to pasta. I would always order half Spaghetti with meatball in meat sauce paired with a big glass of Raspberry iced tea. Then there is Yellow Cab Pizza where I always order their NY Classic Pepperoni. I just love how simple and hearty this pan can be!

NY Pepperoni Classic, Spaghetti and meatballs, fishballs and banana-q

Living away from home gives me an excuse to eat at carenderias and some of them can be really big on flavor with a price cheaper than those of restaurants which is good when you are working on a tight budget plus its lutong bahay so it gives you the feeling of being at home. 

Street food. Where do I begin? My fascination for street food started back in highschool when my classmates and I would go out of the school gate after lunch and spend half an hour standing by a fishball stand just munching on fishballs, tempura and squidball dipped in sweet chili sauce and vinegar packed with local spices! Sarap! Then in the afternoon after dismissal we would rush across the street to catch some freshly cooked banana-q(caramelized banana), kamote-q(caramelized sweet potato ), some peanuts and corn. Then we would take the local ice cream for dessert or we would go for the green mangoes or santol. You can only imagine how hardworking a teen's stomach can be. I would always gets some sermon from Ma every time I get home from school: "Champ, how many times do I have to tell you not to eat street food! You'll get sick I tell you! And that mangga, my goodness! How would you eat dinner after all the food you ate?" Sometimes I'd wonder how Ma ever found out by only seeing the the massacred green mangoes inside the 'lil plastic bathed in salt. Mothers.

Champoy Da Foodie, green mango and corn

Nowadays, I would fancy munching on some tukneneng and kwek-kwek syempre present parin ang banana-q and green mangoes that should be yellow and crisp with a sweet and sour fusion.

Kwek-kwek and World Chicken meal.

As for restaurants, I go to those that are recommended by friends or those that I'd go to out of being curious. But I do have a list of restaurants that I'd go to on a regular basis like, 1.)Oh George! at Ayala Center Cebu where my favorite Tuna Melt sandwich is served. Then there is 2.)Banana Leaf  the ultimate choice for Hainanese chicken 3.) The Gustavian houses the best Ceasar salad I've ever tasted 4.) Red Kimono for some Japanese 5.) Mooon Cafe for Filipino-Mexican fusion  5.) Ilaputi for oriental fusion.

I also have a list of favorite restos that are based in Manila that I would never fail to go to whenever I'd visit the city. 1.) Florabel at the Podium 2.) Felix at Greenbelt 3.) Italianni's  4.)Ruby Tuesdays and this may be at the food court but this is a sure winner 5.) World Chicken at Glorietta and Trinoma. For coffee, it's gotta be Starbucks. It's already a given, no arguments. It's my coffee.

I can say that I am certified foodie. Diet is beyond me, I don't have interests in being an obese nor do I advocate it. It's just that I can never go without eating. The only time I would slow down is during Lenten season and the rest of the year would be an eating festival. The key is to eat responsibly, kung hindi ka naman gutom don't push it, impatcho ang aabutin mo kapatid ! The love for good food is inherent among Filipinos, it's part of the culture. I love how food can define a persons joys and how it can comfort the human being during sad times.

 Mabuhay ang pagkain! 

-CGF