Eating My Way Through Manila

As I mentioned before, we are in the process of seeing off many of the wonderful friends we've made here, and we've been doing so with gusto! As someone who is pushing a healthy lifestyle to the rest of the Embassy it's a bit embarrassing to admit that my entire weekend basically revolved around gluttony (and it was worth it!). Friday night the Husband went on his man outing to play golf in Intramuros. So I ordered fried chicken for me and the kids.* If there is one food that Filipinos excel at, it is some goddamn fried chicken.

On Saturday, Husband and I went to Qi Wellness for body scrubs and a massage. One of my most favorite things about the Philippines is all of the affordable pampering you can get! We followed that with lunch at Brasserie Boheme, which is literally right next door. It was delicious! I had a salad and the hame and cheese panini, and let me tell you, that bread was dee-vine! By far the best sandwich I've had in the Philippines! Husband also had a sandwich along with a bowl of tomato bisque, which he proclaimed to be the best fucking tomato soup he's ever had. And that is saying something! While our lunch was a pleasant surprise, I would have fasted for the entire day if I'd realized the lengths to which my stomach would go to try and digest the mountain of gloriousness that was our dinner at Elbert's Steak Room. It was hands down the best meal I've eaten here. The steaks were phenomenal, the service was wonderful, and the company was perfect. Each dinner comes with a salad and soup. I had the french onion, which was lovely and portioned just right considering the slab of meat that was yet to come. You had the option of ordering sides. Our friends who had dined there before warned us that you didn't really need sides, but I couldn't resist ordering the truffled mashed potatoes. I just can't do steak without a potato! Husband got the baked potato, and they were both delicious. Next time, I really want to tray the duck fat fried potatoes! Might as well go all out, eh? On top of the delicious food, the owner himself came out to check on the tables and see how everyone was enjoying their meal. I just love little service touches like that. It really makes you feel appreciated as a customer. He also offered us a round of limoncello on the house and some complimentary desserts. It was such a nice gesture. Anyway, we just enjoyed the crap out of that meal.

Having barely digested our food from the night before, we headed off to the Sofitel brunch on Sunday. If you have ever wanted to feel like a complete glutton, by all means you need to get your ass to the Soiftel Sunday Brunch! Unlimited champagne and endless variety of food: Japanese, Chinese, Korean, French, Filipino, there's even a cheese room! You really have to pace yourself. We were there for four hours! But, it's the only meal you need for the entire day, so that makes you feel a little better about the P3,000/pp price tag! When we finally got home, we immediately whisked the kids over to Rockwell Mall to see the new Star Trek movie. No food there (ok, I had some Nerds, so sue me!), but I loved the movie! I grew up on Trek (duh!), so I'm constantly amazed that I'm not put off by this new Trek-a-verse. But I love that new life has been infused into the franchise. More Trek for everyone!

*I am so my father's daughter!