I'm doing my list of top 12 restaurant picks 2024 early. Yey!
Din Tai Fung at Marina Bay Sands tops my list! The dimsums there are just heavenly, it's no wonder they have a Michellin star attached to their name. We tried ordering the chili crab bun here but sorry, the ones here in Manila is not a par (sadly).
Next on my list is Mama's Fish House in Boracay. Early this year, I joined my balikbayan cousins in Boracay and we had an early dinner/ sunset meal at the resto. Aside from great tasting fish & chips which was validated by my Canadian cousin, Bill, the view was equally lovely and the sunset was magical.
Moving on to Musashi Maru, our fave Japanese restaurant because it never fails to provide us with delicious Japanese food (and coffee!). I mean, consistency in taste and service is not lost here. And did I mention that this resto is reasonably priced?
I love pizza and Jabroni's Pizza in Power Plant Mall makes me full and happy. I can't seem to move past their Vodka Sauce Pizza. This is a must-try if you haven't had Jabroni's yet.
Sugi, when it was still in Greenbelt 2 was a family favorite and we've spent so many memorable dinners here. And it was nice to be able to dine at their new location in Palm Promenade (Makati City) when my daughter treated us for dinner when she got her first paycheck. The food was good but the occasion was much more memorable. We even had plum wine (ume) to go with our meal. Kanpai!
Hoshino Coffee opened in Greenhills Mall early this year and we love the coffee and the fluffy matcha pancakes. They also have a newly opened branch in Greenbelt so that's a win for us since we don't go to GH anymore. The latest one we tried was the matcha
The Full Full Hakata is definitely my 'bestest' discovery this year. I just saw this bread shop by accident since it's near my place in Fukuoka. I almost didn't try the food (bread) because the lines are always long from the time it opens in the morning till nightfall. Luckily, I happen to pass by before its closing time and there's just a handful of people inside so I went in. Ordered the famous baguette with mentaiko (cod roe) and it was love at first bite. And yes, it's in Hakata, Fukuoka in Japan so I'm not sure when I'll be able to have a taste of this wonderful bread with mentaiko again.
Another favorite this year which has given us happiness is Amano's Trippa Fritta. Actually, food in Amano is great already but we were late in discovering their Trippa Fritta. That's strips of ox tripe, breaded with herbs and fried. Yum!
Via Mare's Goto is heaven in a bowl. It's warm and comforting and perfect for Filipino food cravings especially for balikbayans. PS. I just discovered their goto only this year!
Tenya's seafood chirashi is a contender for my 'bestest' discovery this year. This is also in Fukuoka and I just happen to see the restaurant on Google when I went off-grid! Haha, it was quite an adventure but so worth it. Check the link for the full story.
A trip to Malaysia is not complete if you won't dine in hawkers. In our case, it was at ABC Restaurant in KL Sentral. We'ev tried a number of different dishes but hubby and I fell in-love with the fried chicken and biryani rice with curry leaves! OMG, just thinking about it makes me want to go back to KL.
And last but not the least, the roasted goose from Ki's Roasted Goose takes the last spot. This was a nice discovery in Hong Kong. We got invited for dinner at Ki's and I'm glad we were able to find the restaurant from the maze-like alleys in Causeway Bay. The skin was wonderful and heavenly in each bite, the meat- juicy and savory. No need for hot sauce or hoisin. Eat as it is because it's perfect. Hope we can go back soon!