Pinoy Food and "International' Visitors

My friends John and Amy Donaldson decided to visit Manila post-Christmas. Me-Ann organized dinner and, as is often the case when you have Pinoy folks (in this case, Amy) returning to the Philippines, we chose to eat in a place that serves Filipino cuisine. We ended up having dinner in Sentro where we ordered their Corned Beef Sinigang and Pinoy Osso Bucco, among other things.

The next night, I met up with Svein, my Norwegian friend who lives in Singapore, in Bonifacio High Street. One of his friends was getting married and they decided to have their stag weekend in Manila, but he got in earlier than everyone else. He said he wanted to have Pinoy food so I thought of taking him to Abe but it was full when we got there. So for the second night in a row, I had dinner in Sentro. And for the second night in a row, I ate Pinoy Osso Bucco. But that is my favorite in that resto and I wanted Svein to try it. We also ordered a prawn dish which was good but it was the Osso Bucco that Svein really enjoyed. After our dinner, we headed to Burgos Circle to have a few beers. I took him to Distillery (it wasn't a Friday night so it wasn't crowded) since I knew he'd enjoy the beer selection there then we moved to Rue Bourbon to have a few more drinks before calling it a night.

A few days later, my mom, nephews and I had lunch with Tita Gail in Romulo's. Tita Gail has been living in Canada for as long as I can remember and returns to Manila every couple of years or so. She was staying with a friend in the Tomas Morato area so it made sense for us to eat in Romulo's so Tita Gail could eat some good Pinoy food without having to travel too far away. We ordered the Flying Tilapia with three sauces and the Bagnet Pakbet, among others. And for dessert, we ordered the suman and both my mom and Tita Gail got something from the cake display.

There is always something very comforting about eating Filipino food, and enjoying a meal with family and friends - especially those who have not had Pinoy food in a while - makes the whole dining experience even better.