Schnitzel with Noodles

Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells
And schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

This is meant to be an ever-expanding post containing my favorite foods. I've gone to great lengths not to use the word "best" so please don't give me a hard time. 😉 Taste is such a subjective, personal thing under the best of circumstances; and experience has also taught me that mine are not exactly similar to the majority, usually..

FAVORITE WINGS : Buffalo's Wings N' Things

THE WHY : First, the weird of it.. I take my buffalo wings without the sauce/dip that they are meant to be tossed in. If you tell me that it is therefore not Buffalo wings that I like but just plain fried chicken wings, I would agree totally. A BWNT wing, even with the sauce set aside, is seasoned in and of itself, and the amount of coating is perfect for my tastes. Lastly, the ligaments are all there, perfect for me to chew on and savor.

FAVORITE COOKIE : Mo's (also known as the Mess Hall Cookie)   

THE WHY : I couldn't tell you why because I don't know why. I only know that for me, as far as cookies are concerned, there's Mo's and then there's the rest.

FAVORITE PALABOK : Susie's
 

THE WHY : I'm not certain about the exact difference between Pancit Palabok v Pancit Malabon v Pancit Luglug. I think Malabon usually has thick noodles that are cooked in the sauce and topped with seafood. Palabok is on the other end of the spectrum, thin noodles that are only boiled and then topped with the sauce and some variant of pork. Luglug falls somewhere in between, more similar to Palabok but with thicker noodles, though not as thick as Malabon. Susie's serves Palabok and Malabon. I like their palabok very much because the thickness and firmness of the noodles are perfect for me. Come to think of it, the thickness of Susie's Palabok Noodles are probably more Luglug than Palabok, but Palabok is what they call it.

FAVORITE ICE CREAM : Baskin Robbins 

THE WHY : Because it's not too creamy. That's probably a statement of weirdness right there because there's "cream" in the name "ice cream", and I know that premium ice cream brands talk up how creamy they are, so most people must appreciate the creaminess.

But well, like I've said previously in some other shape or form: Shoot me.

A piece of trivia, in Japan Baskin Robbins is mostly referred to as "31 Ice Cream". The obvious probable reason being that 31 is much easier to remember for a non-english speaker than "Baskin Robbins" or even "Baskin". So even though there are literally thousands of Baskin Robbins branches in the Land of the Rising Sun, never look for it by name. Look for "31 Ice Cream".


FAVORITE FRIED CALAMARI : Chili's

Like everything else at Chili's, the fried calamari is priced a bit on the high side relative to the value proposition of this particular restaurant. This shouldn't take away from the fact that it's pretty good, and what I really appreciate is the consistency. With some smaller restaurants sometimes you can't be quite sure what you're getting, I guess it's not exactly easy to source calamari regularly. So I've noticed that sometimes you can get calamari, sometimes you get squid, sometimes you get large squid (lumot) and sometimes even cuttlefish. At Chili's, probably because it's a large chain and has stricter rules governing it's purchasing and sourcing and a more stable supply chain, you almost always get exactly what you thought you'd be getting when you order. Since my tastes are pretty bland, the vanilla-variety tartar sauce is perfect for me, and you do get a slice of lime that can give you a tinge of flavor that you can control precisely to your preference.




FAVORITE BOLA-BOLA SIOPAO : Emerald

This is not to be confused with its more famous celebrity cousin, the Emerald Siopao. The legendary Emerald Siopao is more than twice as large as this, has other ingredients like sliced asado, chicken strips, and of course, a section of boiled egg in there somewhere. However, what I have come to realize through the years is that after all is said and done, the best part is really the ground pork mixture that we have come to know as bola-bola. (it's called that probably because it is, essentially, a meat ball). Emerald's has a distinct flavor that I could identify even with my eyes closed. I couldn't say the same for the other ingredients of the Emerald siopao like the asado and the chicken strips, which, if I may say so, are fairly ordinary; so for the past few years I've come to prefer the bola-bola siopao. It allows me to focus on the best part. 😃