An Untamed Chupacabra

One of the best things I love about working at Makati is that you don't have to go far and wide within the city to satisfy whatever crazy craving you're currently having. The city is bustling with life and color every night. You just have to look at the proper nooks and crannies. :)

One of those "crazy cravings" struck me last Tuesday: I wanted Mexican food. And not just any fast-food type-super-commercialized Mexican food. I want something closely authentic. Of course, I couldn't tell "authentic" from the other because I haven't been to Mexico to actually set a standard for an authentic Mex food. But as I usually assume in this kind of situation is: if I'm looking for authenticity, look behind the front line. Authenticity often hides behind tacky curtains. For example, if you're looking for an authentic Filipino food, you wouldn't go for the ever-famous favorite Filipino fast food chain like Jollibee, right? (Hey, I'm not hating on Jollibee. I love it as much as the next kid, but they don't really serve any of our traditional authentic Pinoy food) Or you wouldn't go looking for longganisa at a 7-eleven store in the Philippines, right? (Unlike a certain "I-would-rather-go-hungry-Polish-blogger" we've all learned to scoff at.)

Being so unbelievably tech-savvy, I googled a few keywords. :P I came across the growing increasingly popular "El Chupacabra." The name itself sounded daunting, doesn't it? It translates to "goat-sucker" in Spanish and is a legendary creature whose first sightings and killings made it to TV, books, and now, to restaurants. :)

El Chupacabra
(conceptualized and founded by
Mexicali Food Corp.'s Dixie Mabanta)

Current Coffee Shop Craze in Town: Caffé Bene!

It was a long while since I last posted on my blog. I blame this on diet. For the past few weeks, my office mates and I started our own version of "The Biggest Loser". Since I've realized that Borgy and I have fleshed out a few pounds for the past few months, we decided that it's a good idea to try be in shape for a while before getting back to food-tripping. :p Even through diets and exercise, we still managed to sample one of the growing increasingly popular coffee shop in town: Caffé Bene!

Caffé Bene

Located behind the corporate facade of skyscrapers and office buildings of Makati Central Business District is the unruffled presence of Caffé Bene. Caffé Bene is a Seoul-based coffee house chain which is distinguished for its pastries and waffles, gelato, coffee and tea brews, and its Misugaru--consists of black sesame seeds, black bean, black and brown rice and barley. Unfortunately, Caffé Bene Philippines only serves the Misugaru latte.