There are places that always take your breath away no matter how many times you’ve visited. The Manila Hotel’s Champagne Room has that effect: each time always feels like the first time. 

Just before the Aurora flyover in Katipunan right past Blue Ridge is a beer guzzler’s best kept secret called Countryside.  

Multitasking is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it would (or should) allow a person to be more productive. 

They stand guard, baking in the sun -- stoic, silent, slightly scary. The replicas of the famed Terra Cotta army of China’s first emperor Qin Shi Huang standing motionless at the Alabang Town Center grounds give an impression that there is an impending invasion.  

Whenever seafood-loving friends or journalist bosses are in town, I would take them to the Baclaran Seaside Market along Roxas Boulevard, adjacent to the Redemptorist Church, to marvel at the fresh catch from all parts of the Philippines.  

Our foodie friends Wolfgang and Woon Hieronimi took us to this Northern Thai restaurant at 267 Majidon Road T Padad A. Maung, Chiang Mai.  

The recently opened Sir Boy’s Food Republique in Quezon City could easily be the Philippine version of The Grove in Los Angeles. 

One need not have dinner but just go through the whole street sampling the different delicacies being offered as one warms up from the chill of the evening air with food. 

Like a true flower child of the Woodstock generation, I prefer fresh vegetables to processed and would even grow my own whenever time and space allowed.  

Someone once said, "I like my coffee, like I like my women: strong, hot, steamy." If that person had been to the recent launch of the Lotus Cafés brand at the Spicy Fingers Restaurant in Makati, he would have hit the jackpot.  

Who knew my favorite coffee place also serves ramen? 

Any Pinoy or Chinoy worth his siomai knows that Chinese culture is steeped with beliefs and traditions – from the auspicious directions in feng shui, to wearing and carrying charms that are supposed to attract wealth, good health and a potential life mate.  

The Philippines’ rich culinary heritage is the focus of a series of Manila Hotel food festivals featuring dishes from all the regions and islands from Northern Luzon to Mindanao.  

I chanced upon this new Japanese noodle place on Shaw Blvd. corner Ideal Street near Wack Wack on my way to Edsa from San Juan. The dining room built on clean spartan lines has a view of a spotless kitchen with a noodle making area which highlights the whole theme of this restaurant. 

As soon as we sit down and see the heading that says, “Happiness” on Mabuhay Palace’s Chinese New Year menu, we smile. 

Seriously, I didn’t realize how the world is full of food junkies until seven days ago when half of the universe started messaging me, bribing me and some even harassing me to reveal my top six meals of 2011.

The new year brings anticipation of new beginnings, new places to visit, new people to meet, new tastes to discover. 

While Spain has tapas to consume with wine, the Philippines has pulutan which could be anything from peanuts and popcorn to huge slabs of ribs and roasts. The choices are endless, limited only by one’s budget and the ambience of the place where the drinking is taking place.  

I guess it is only in places where locals patronize that superior skills like this shall exist because of the demands for pure and authentic recipes. 

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Carmen’s Best Ice Cream