Trip Ko Lang

Hello Trip Ko Lang readers! In celebration of my upcoming 1st Blogiversary this February, Trip Ko Lang magpacontest… Yes, totoong contest eto and it will be all about FOOD, I have been sharing different food discoveries in this blog and I think now is the time for you to share with me your own food discoveries and favorites. All you have to do is to join Trip Ko Lang fan page, upload one photo of your favorite food or resto (it really doesn’t have to be the best shot…) and include a caption/short description – name of resto, food title and answer the question why is it your favorite? or what makes it special for you to like?

As for the prize, I’ll be giving away a free scrumptious meal for 2 in my favorite featured resto – Pino Resto Bar and will let you experience eating the Pino Resto way.  So start checking your food or resto shots, or visit now your favorite resto and start uploading them in Trip Ko Lang fan page. The most exciting, unique, tempting food/resto discovery or favorite will win! Good luck to everyone!

Contest duration 27 Jan to 12 Feb 2010 ( hey, you can still make this your Valentine date… hehe)

No limit for the number of entries per person.

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10 Feb 2010

My Blogiversary Contest is about to end and to add a little surprise, I’m giving away additional prize – a free dessert from Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt. Hurry, share now your favorite food/resto or any food discovery.

Coffee Works

Do you ever get tired of drinking the usual Latte, Macchiato, Frappucino in your favorite coffee shop – Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Figaro, and etc. ? Do you sometimes find yourself in debt or beyond your budget because of spending too much just for a cup of coffee?

Coffee

We discovered this fresh coffee shop located in Sky Garden, SM North Edsa — Coffee Works. Yes, their coffee really worked on us, we enjoyed every sip of our Mochamint Cappucino (115php) and Hazel Nut Truffle (120php) with its distinct flavor. Prices were also within the budget, we even had a taste of their best chocolate cake. Real yummy!

cake

If you are not in the mood for over crowded coffee shops like Starbucks, Coffee Works is a new place to chill out. While having a coffee chat with your friends, you can even make use of  Sky Garden’s free wifi. Cool!

A perfect combination

Coffee Works started in Cagayan de Oro and has their first branch in SM North Edsa.

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Special thanks to shotnroll.com for the images used in this post. \m/

Another food discovery and by accident… we were looking for a new resto to have dinner and good thing, Longganisa Sorpresa was there, a newly opened restaurant in Sky Garden. Its name tells it all, main cuisine will definitely be longganisa, different dishes with longganisa on it, and to make it more enticing, longganisa surprise – extraordinary food combination, food you didn’t imagine that you can have it with longganisa on it and surprisingly turn out to be great!

Longganisa Sorpresa @ SM North Edsa Sky Garden

Welcome longganisa lovers as well as haters… yes, I hate longganisa, that’s why I was hesitant to try this resto but seeing their menu really intrigued me and made me forget that I’m a longganisa hater…

Mangga Vigan Ensalada @ 175php

To start our meal, we had the usual green tossed salad but with manggang hilaw, kesong puti, itlog na maalat and longganisa bits with Vigan vinegar as sauce. I really loved it cause every topping included was my favorite. Yum yum.

Pansit Cabagan @ 170php

We wanted to have noodles so we ordered for Pansit Cabagan, a known pansit in the Isabela province. It had thin noodles, quail eggs, mixed vegetables, broth soup  and of course longganisa bits. It was good and the broth soup made it different and tastier.

Talunang Manok at Krisping Longganisa @ 140php

For our main dish we wanted to have chicken and ordered for their Talunang Manok at Krisping Longganisa, it was like chicken adobo but with more sauce, a bit sour and had a very distinct flavor (with strong ginger taste).

Sago Gulaman @ 50php

As for our drinks, very Filipino indeed, Sago Gulaman and their very own homemade Tsa-Ah (Tea)… loved it… Taste that is hard to explain you just have to try it yourself…

Tsa-Ang Pampalamig @ 45php

Funny, we didn’t ordered for real longganisa, haha, looked like we were overwhelmed with too much longganisa in their menu, longganisa overload… But Longganisa Sorpresa offers all kinds of longganisa from the different provinces (Vigan, Tuguegarao, Alaminos, Lucban, etc.) as well as their best vinegars.

So if you suddenly crave for Vigan longganisa or Lucban longganisa, there’s no need to travel far and it’s just a ride away to Longganisa Sorpresa.

Longganisa Sorpresa is located in Sky Garden, SM North Edsa.

Budget – 200php and up

Mr. Jones, the latest resto in Greenbelt 5 was our first choice to have our mini Christmas get-together…  inspired by the 1950′s diner which offers comfort food like burgers, pancakes, shakes and other American favorites… we invaded it!

We had a great satisfying dinner, not able to try their milkshakes and special drinks because we all got so full from their big, big food servings. But we’ll definitely visit again for their sinful drinks and desserts.  Meal prices were a bit expensive but I think reasonable because of its big serving and delicious ingredients.

We had a warning that their dishes were good for sharing but still each of us ordered our own preferred meal (wanting to try almost all their dishes)… so here are all that we indulged that night… diets are meant to be broken just for this night… haha.

Mr. Jones at Greenbelt 5

P ordered for the famous Miss Frenchie’s French Dip – thinly sliced beef with onion light sauce served on a crispy baguette with onion rings and french fries… very big serving, definitely good for sharing…

Miss Frenchie's French Dip @ 395php

F was in the mood for a protein & carbo diet, so he had the Spanish Super Grande Omelette – lots of eggs, sauteed chorizo, herb roasted mushrooms & bell peppers, black olives, cheddar cheese, roasted rosemary breakfast potatoes topped with salsa fresca… turned out to be a super overload protein & carbo meal… haha.

The Spanish Super Grande Omelette - Ole! @ 295php

As for me, on a diet as always, wanting a meal not too big for me, I ordered Rosemary Grilled Chicken & Turkey Melt – cheese, pesto, mixed greens, tomatoes, onions, topped with sweet cranberry compote on toasted rye and fries… yes, I was right this meal serving was just right for me…

Rosemary Grilled Chicken & Turkey Melt @ 320php

K was late, arrived hungry, can’t really decide on what to order, just opted for Fish N’ Chips – old fashioned beer battered served with french fries, tartar sauce, spicy cocktail sauce, malt vinegar & homemade coleslaw…maybe a good thing to try Mr. Jone’s version of fish n’ chips..

Fish N' Chips @ 320php

R hungry for cheese…tried their Wicked Truffled Mac n’ Cheese – baked with 3 types of macaroni, 4 cheeses, canadian style double smoked bacon baby portobello mushrooms, green peas drizzled with truffle oil… a very rich, yummy, and cheesy meal…

Wicked Truffled Mac n' Cheese @350php

B, known for being a meatloaf lover, didn’t had any other choice but Big Mama’s Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf – filled with chorizo, served with haricots verts, roasted herb tomato gravy & potato puree topped with a fried egg… she definitely enjoyed her super big meatloaf…

Big Mama's Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf @ 350php

Trip Ko Lang 2009

Congratulations to TripKoLang.com for winning the best blog award for 2009! Hahaha. Just kidding, but how I wish… This is my blog so I get to award myself… any violent reactions? Read this first… I’m writing this eye and click catching 2010 opener post to acknowledge all the effort, resources, food and travel discoveries that I had gone through to make this blog interesting and worthwhile to read. It all started last Feb 2009, from 34 unique visitors and 925 page loads to 2,000 unique visitors and 11,500 page loads by end of 2009.  Being in the online world for almost a year now, I see this blog as a success! Sharing my own experience in food and travel is my only goal in this blog. Being able to help readers get the basic and vital information on their food and travel interests is all I need to make me happy and keep this blog going…

Here are TripKoLang’s 5 most viewed and most wanted blog posts:

1. Makansutra Asian Food Village

2. Cebu Itinerary

3. Singapore Survival Tips

4. Bohol Itinerary

5. Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt

Here are my 5 favorite posts for 2009:

1. Pino Resto Bar

2. Republic of Cavite Restaurant

3. Makansutra – The Taste

4. Loboc River in Bohol

5. The Skywalk Extreme Challenge

TripKoLang is looking forward for more food posts on drinks, latest restos, budget meals, dating places and more. Watch out for added fun and adventure on travel posts on weekend travels, backpacker style, in & out of the metro, not well-known places worth visiting and etc. If you have any suggestions on featured posts, just drop me a comment or email. Thanks!

I would also like to thank Shotnroll.com for contributing yummy food shots. Thanks to OurAwesomeplanet’s photo contest for winning our photo entry - Lihim ni Lola. Thanks to my new found blogging friends and to all my readers. By the way, TripKoLang is now in Facebook, if you wish to join me and be fan just click here. Thanks!

Let’s all welcome 2010 with new discoveries and adventures. Cheers!