dekaphobe.com | Food, Travel, and Lifestyle Blog

Note: As of 2017, this hotel has been rebranded to Central Prestige D'Angkor. Check their new website for updated details. During our quick vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia last September, my friend and I intended to make our stay comfortable and within close proximity from all popular spots. As suggested by a fellow traveler, we stayed in this new boutique hotel called The Purple Mangosteen Hotel .  outside our hotel The Purple Mangosteen is a small artisan hotel with 6 stylish rooms. Aside from being stylish, this hotel is eco-friendly it uses solar power.  It is located a block away from Pub Street, and it quite near the Night Market and the Old Market as well. 

After our lunch at Imbiss Manila and Marky's Chicken post-lunch, Mama Bear brought Jeng and I to this lovely nail spa she regularly goes to  Coco Nail Studio . This nail spa is barely a year old, having started just last April 2013.  In all honesty, Coco Nail Studio is the prettiest nail spa I have ever visited. Every detail, from furniture to displays, was well-planned and beautifully executed. The entire place looks as if it was lifted from a lifestyle magazine.

Note: This establishment is already closed.  After our hearty lunch at Imbiss Manila, Mama Bear brought us to the home of one of her readers, Michelle of Marky's Chicken. Their Chicken Poppers is one of the finalists of The Next Big Food Entrepreneur 2013 .  That afternoon, Michelle served us their Original and Soy Garlic Chicken. Original Soy Garlic I loved both flavors and I also love that the soy garlic has real garlic bits, which makes it more flavorful. I love how crunchy the original flavor too, and I'd love to smother it with gravy. :)

It's the Christmas Season! Time to share blessings to friends and family. Raffles and Fairmont Makati unveils its Hampers and Goodies, luxurious gift boxes and travel trunks filled with a collection of the finest offerings and indulgences enough to last all 12 days of Christmas. Hampers Cafe Macaron Hamper This 19-inch wide canvas-wrapped gift box with gold tassel brims with festive confectioneries and a wide range of delicacies from around the world. Contents: - Chateau Timberlay Bordeaux Superieur, 750mL - Morelli Ortica Taglioni, 250g - a L'Olivier Passion Fruit Vinegar, 200mL - a L'Olivier Lavender Olive Oil, 150mL - Pommery Mustard Gingerbread, 250g - Valrhona Equinoxe Dark (almonds/hazelnuts), 250g - Balocco Panettone Classico Hand Wrapped, 750g - Cafe Macaron Christmas Macarons, Box of 8

During our lunch at Imbiss Manila , Mama Bear introduced us to Michelle Cu-unjieng, wife of Chef John Cu-unjieng and co-owner of JAM Foods. JAM Foods, the brainchild of Chef John and Michelle, sells USDA Angus Beef ready-to-cook products. We were given Original Angus Beef Tapa (Php 550, 1 kg) to try. :) no need to add oil! :) What's nice about JAM Foods Original Angus Beef Tapa is you don't need to add oil to cook it. Just heat it on a non-stick pan, and voila! You have an epic breakfast treat! :)

Note: This location is already closed.  A jam-packed weekend brought my family to try a restaurant that we don't regularly go to Burgoo. I have been to Burgoo before and I was quite satisfied with the service. For the food, well... Thinking that I might have ordered the wrong food the first time, we still gave it another try.  My little sister wasn't too pleased that we chose Burgoo, because she wanted to eat in some other kid-friendly restaurant. She was about to have a tantrum when the server gave her an activity paper with crayons, and she suddenly kept quiet and got busy with the crayons. Alleluia.  my suddenly-distracted baby sister Moreover, the activity paper has a kids' menu. Wise, eh? My sister ordered a mini-pizza and cookies & cream milkshake.

I found myself somewhere in the South a few days ago to meet up with two blogger friends, Jane or Mama Bear of Sugar Spice and Everything Nice and a fellow food blogger Jeng of Food in The Bag .  Mama Bear arranged an itinerary for us and Imbiss Manila was our first stop for the day. We were also joined by Michelle Cu-unjieng by Jamfoods for lunch. Michelle is the wife of Chef John Cu-unjieng, the chef consultant for Imbiss Manila.  A German-inspired restaurant, Imbiss Manila opened just last October and serves has been doing well, especially during the night. By the way, Imbiss means "snack" in German. 

After eating Khmer food meal after meal, we were already missing Western food. We search around Pub Street area for affordable comfort food, but most places were a little too pricey for us. Good thing we spotted Home Cocktail, located a few blocks away from Pub Street. Home Cocktail seems to be more popular at night for drinks, but they also serve both Khmer and Western food.  The place was almost empty for late lunch, a good thing for us, so we could sit longer. 

RC Cola brings me a lot of memories, especially during my college years. With measly allowance for meals and other school stuff, my friends and I would troop to a budget-friendly canteen or to our favorite street food vendor during breaks.  We always get RC Cola to partner with kikiam, isaw , kwek-kwek , chicken balls, banana cue, or barbeque. It was fun just having simple conversations with friends while enjoying food.  Royal Crown Cola has been in the Philippines for decades, as even my parents have their own stories about RC Cola. This brand is best known for being very affordable and satisfying. 

I was invited last week to visit Ikkoryu at Shangri-la Mall East Wing to try their new and classic offerings. I've been curious about Ikkoryu for a long time, but I haven't had a chance to try their ramen before.  Wooden panels with Japanese characters written on it is what Ikkoryu is known for. Aside from the booth fronting the kitchen, modern tables and chairs are also available, though quite limited given the space of this branch.  I was pleasantly surprised that the CEO of YS Food, Masanori Ogata, and the PR director for Ikkoryu, Kenji Komuro, were joining us that evening. Mr. Ogata doesn't speak English but was quite accommodating and would smile often. He runs ramen stores around Asia under the brand Yamagoya Ramen, which has branches in Indonesia, Malaysia, and China.

The aftermath left by Typhoon Yolanda has rendered my mom's home province, Leyte, devastated.  Some of my mother's siblings and their families live in Tacloban City. It's sad to say that not everyone survived.  We were informed last night that my mom's older brother, Uncle Nestor, has died from a stroke this weekend. My mom's younger sister, Aunt Emily, and her family survived, but her in-laws didn't. As of this writing, we are trying to get in touch with all our relatives to make sure that they are all safe.  With this, I'm encouraging everyone to do their part in helping our kababayans in Tacloban City.  Here are organizations/companies/schools that we can contact for donations. Thank you so much for your help. 

One of the most memorable dining experiences we had at Siem Reap was at Cambodian BBQ, along  Pub Street Alley. We were caught by their interesting 7-Meat degustation menu. The 7-Meat Degustation costs 16 USD (or Php 720) for 2 persons (and 9.25 USD or around Php 416 for 1 person). This includes complimentary unlimited noodles, broth, rice, veggies, and sauces.  The meats in our menu were:  - beef - barracuda - chicken - crocodile - pork - squid  - shark "dogfish"

UP Industrial Engineering Club proudly presents Foodport 2013 , a food fair for cuisines from all around the world! It will be held at the Christ the King Parish Multipurpose Hall , Greenmeadows Avenue, Quezon City from November 30 to December 1, 2013 . Doors will be open at 6:00AM until 10:00PM.  Proceeds from the event will benefit the UP IE Club Scholarship Fund, which sends bright but underprivileged students through college. Entrance is free! :) For other details, check out their  Facebook page . 

My colleagues and I went out for lunch at Sunrise Buckets a few weeks ago. This is one of the wings places that I haven't tried before, given the proximity from our workplace.  The place looks like an American sports bar. My workmates were surprised that it wasn't crowded when we arrived, as long queues are common in Sunrise Buckets especially during peak hours.