dekaphobe.com | Food, Travel, and Lifestyle Blog

I was fortunate to be able to travel to several cities in the U.S. last year and see places that I haven't been to before. Since I wasn't able to travel anywhere this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I thought that sharing the places that I visited last year would be a good way to motivate myself that things will get better and hopefully get to revisit these places when things return to normal (or normal-ish). New Orleans was the most memorable city that I visited last year. New Orleans, a city in the state of Louisiana, is known for its multicultural heritage, historical architecture, the Mardi Gras, and of course, their food!
Like any serious foodie, I created a list of restaurants that I wanted to try during my visit. One of those places that my fellow travelers recommended is The Ruby Slipper Cafe. 
The Ruby Slipper Cafe is a popular breakfast and brunch restaurant founded in New Orleans and currently has several locations within and outside the city. We went to the downto…

It's been a while since I shared a recipe - or basically anything at all, but here I go again and hopefully I get to be more consistent with blogging. The past few years have made me more comfortable in the kitchen and have accumulated amazing kitchen gadgets that make my life a lot easier. One of the newest kitchen equipment that I'm crazy about is the INSTANT POT!For those who are not familiar, Instant Pot is a multicooker that allows you to do basically all types of food preparations - pressure cook, slow cook, saute and bake in one pot. I had an Arroz Caldo craving a few days ago and decided to use Instant Pot to cook it. Prior to this, I use a Dutch oven to cook Arroz Caldo. This recipe is pretty flexible - feel free to use any cut of chicken meat you prefer and using kasubha (or safflower) is optional.Ingredients:2 tbsp canola oil3-5 pcs garlic, minced2 tbsp ginger, sliced (or julienned)1 onion, chopped1 cup short-grain sweet rice or glutinous rice (or malagkit), washed6…

The past week has been tumultuous as communities here in the United States have come together to protest the injustices in the system. At the same time, we are also fighting a pandemic, COVID-19, which has affected the entire globe. 
As many food businesses have been affected by the state orders, I would like to help in my own little way by creating a list of black-owned food businesses in NoVA - with recommendations from myself and my fellow foodies. 
If you live or work in the Northern Virginia area, it would be great if you can show your support by buying or ordering from these businesses. 
This is a growing list and I will keep updating this as I receive more suggestions. Feel free to comment if you have a personal recommendation. 
1. Jirani Coffeehouse 9425 West St, Manassas, VA 20110 https://jiranicoffeehouse.com/
Jirani is my go-to spot for coffee, meetups, and even desserts. Jirani is also a venue for workshops, meetings, and events related to arts and culture. 
Aside from coffee, Jir…

Hello!
I know it's been a long while but I'm blogging again!
A lot has happened in the past few months that it felt like I had to return to doing things that I love, and blogging is one of them. 
I've been doing some changes on the backend so you may notice a simpler layout. 
I hope you are staying safe and healthy, wherever you are. 
-Michy

Last August, Magnolia Bakery, one of the most iconic dessert shops in New York City, opened its first location in Manila as M Bakery. Magnolia Bakery has numerous international locations including South Korea, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, and Qatar but the Manila location is its first in Southeast Asia. 

Magnolia Bakery is known for its classic American desserts, with the Famous Banana Pudding as its bestselling item along with their delicious cupcakes. 


I was invited to be one of the lucky ones to experience M Bakery a few days before it formally opened and got to try the desserts that M Bakery has to offer.

Whenever I'm in the Philippines, there are two cuisines that I usually stuff myself with: Filipino food (obviously) and Japanese food. One of these popular Japanese restaurants that I only got to try recently is Ooma by The Moment Group, the same group that brought my favorites, Din Tai Fung and Manam.
Ooma is a modern Japanese restaurant concept in collaboration with Chef Bruce Ricketts, mostly known for his omakase-style restaurant in the south, Sensei Sushi. 

We started with Tori Kara-age (Php 255), Ooma's take on Japanese fried chicken, covered with sweet potato strips. I found it quite challenging to eat but it was delicious. However, I'd rather have the traditional kara-age instead. 
Ooma is known for its aburi sushi or torched sushi so we decided not to miss it. However, there were too many options to choose from so we ordered the Aburi Mixer (Php 589) with three pieces each of Spicy Tuna Maki, Steak Aburi Maki, Salmon Skin Aburi Maki, and Kimchi & Prawn Enoki …