My manila guide...Part-1 ... Food

I know i have invited so many people for the wedding .. (how many of you actually come is a different matter!) .. for the benefit of the lucky few who are coming to manila, i thought of composing this unofficial manual...

Manila is a crowded city .. but that would definitely not surprise or shock sendhamil selvars like ourselves who have roamed through every nook and corner of madurai in search of the 'perfect barotta'! The weather is similar to madurai / madras ... hot and humid (not as hot as madras in may though). Most of the people speak english (most english literate country in asia) .. so communication is not a problem.

Makati city is the central, financial and commercial district of metro manila. It is in this urban jungle that most of us will be staying. There are loads of shopping malls and restaurants catering to all tastes. I know that food is the most important thing in the agenda .. so i ll concentrate on food now..

Filipino cuisine might be a bit daunting to the traditional indians (like amma, appa!) .. even for culinary daredevils like us it is quite a challenge. I have listed my favourites here .. Beef tapa (shredded beef + rice + bulls eye egg) is an excellent breakfast dish (yes .. breakfast). Bangus belly is another dish (bangus - a fish, basically a deep fried fish dish ) you can try. Chicken lovers (like me) would really love Chicken Bacolod (a local preparation of grilled chicken on a bamboo stick!) and Max fried chicken (both have retail outlets in Makati). Almost all dishes come with a serving of rice (try getting garlic rice instead of plain rice). Almost all outlets serve fresh iced tea as a healthier alternative to coke / pepsi. As for the desert you have to try halohalo (which is a bit like jigirdhanda from madurai) and buko pandaan special in max's restaurant (definitely jigirdhanda with ice cream!). There are several more dishes which i tasted like bicol express (no.. it is not a train! ), etc ... which are for the more adventurous! Another fun fact ... puttu in tamil is also puttu in filipino!!

Restaurants which i definitely recommend are ...
Kashmir - Amazing but damn expensive indian restaurant.
Jollibee - excellent food .. local chain like mcdonalds/kfc
Zbarro - great pizza
Dad's restaurant - Buffet lunch .. only if you are reallly hungry
Chicken Bacolod , Max's chicken - absolute must

If you are in Manila, Japanese food is worth a try as well. Some of you who know and have tried japanese food can skip this...
The restaurants i tried include RaiRaiKen (a chain) and sakae sushi (in mall of asia). Japanese food is reallly complicated so i have simplified it for my convenience.
Sushi - rice rolls containing fish
Sashimi - just fish
Ramen - noodles in soup

How to eat sushi?
Simple ... focus on the chopsticks, pick up the sushi, dip it in a mixture of soya sauce + wasabi (pungent green radioactive sludge), close your eyes, chew and swallow.
Its an amazing experience the first time around and then you will get hooked!

Enough of all this food talk ... its gotten me hungry now!
Catch you later with more..

Ranjit