#but it's also another dish with symbolic meaning and i love it sm

[mintjeru]

happy lunar new year!! may you stay happy and healthy this year 🐰

open for better quality | no reposts

[thehungrykat1]

Nara Thai Cuisine Receives Prestigious Thai SELECT Award for 2023

Nara Thai Cuisine in SM Megamall recently received its second Thai SELECT Award as a symbol of its continuing culinary achievements. This award is given only to selected restaurants in each country that pass the highest standards set by the Ministry of Commerce and the Royal Thai Government itself. The Hungry Kat was invited join the celebrations a few weeks ago as Nara Thai Cuisine presented its outstanding selection of authentic Thai dishes.

You can find its pioneering Philippine branch at the third floor of the SM Fashion Hall in SM Megamall. Nara Thai Cuisine started in 2006 in Bangkok and has since expanded to several branches across Thailand and other countries around Asia. It has consistently been voted as one of Bangkok’s Best Thai Restaurants and has just opened a new branch in Molito, Alabang.

It was great to be back at Nara Thai once again as we gathered with our other media friends for a bountiful Thai lunch. Nara Thai Cuisine uses authentic Thai recipes and serves them with quality ingredients prepared by their in-house Thai executive chef and Thai-trained sous chefs.

The Thai SELECT program aims to recognize and endorse authentic Thai cuisine and quality Thai restaurants and Thai food products all across the globe. The Royal Thai Government’s Department of International Trade Promotion, Ministry of Commerce gives the Thai SELECT award as a seal of approval. When you see this sign at a restaurant, it means that you are guaranteed to have a unique and authentic Thai dining experience every time you visit.

I started the afternoon by ordering my favorite Thai beverage, the Nara Thai Milk Tea (P185). I really love this compared to other milk teas especially because it is not too sweet. Another popular drink at Nara Thai is their Iced Lemongrass Tea (P165).

For our appetizers, the Roti with Massaman Sauce (P350) is a great way to begin our Thai adventure. Get a piece of the Roti bread and dip it in the massaman sauce which gives is a rich and deep curry flavor.

The Yum Phak Khom (P350) is a crispy starter with its fried spinach leaves served with a minced pork and prawn chili lime dip. The spinach is very light and crunchy with a mild kick from the chili dip.

Another tasty appetizer is the Goong Kabeuang (P550) or Deep Fried Crispy Prawns Pancakes. This is similar to an omelette dish but highlighted with flavorful prawns.

For those who like heavier starters, the Gai Pak Panang (P520) is a good option. These are Spicy Barbeque Chicken skewers served with vinegar that can also be a main dish by itself.

The Thai love their salads so the Som Tum Kai Khem (P520) or Papaya Salad with Salted Egg is also highly recommended. This is a refreshing and healthy salad dish complemented by the flavors from the salted egg.

The Tom Yum Goong (P480) is probably the most recognized soup dish from Thailand and Nara Thai Cuisine presents a very red and fiery version. The broth has big prawns in a spicy lemongrass and lime soup, but don’t let the bright red colors scare you, because the spice level is actually just right for Filipinos. I found myself able to handle the spiciness, so that means most diners should be able to as well.

Another soup option is the Kuay Tiew Rua Nua (P520) or Ayuthaya Beef Boat Noodles in Rich Dark Soup. This one comes with a meatier flavor without the spiciness.

Now let’s get to the main courses. The Gai Tord Krob Sauce Ma Nao (P520) is a Crispy Fried Chicken in Lime Sauce. This is a bit similar to lemon chicken but with a milder citrusy flavor.

I also love eating Thai curries so the Kang Kiew Wan Nuea (P620) or Green Curry Beef was another popular dish that afternoon. This was also served with white rice which is a must when eating curries.

For crab lovers like me, the Phu Phad Pong Karee (P920) or Stir-Fried Crab with Yellow Curry Sauce is another big hit. There’s no need to get your hands dirty because all the crab meat is peeled already. All you need to do is scoop up the crab meat and curry sauce and place them on your rice.

Speaking of rice, the Khao Phad Kra Prao (P385) or Fried Rice with Chili and Hot Basil can be a complete meal on its own. This is served with Chicken or Pork which you can mix up together.

One of the favorites that afternoon was the Phu Nim Tord Sauce Ma Kam (P990) or Fried Soft Shell Crab with Sweet Tamarind Sauce. These crunchy, bite-sized portions of soft shell crab were so flavorful and yummy, I wanted to have the entire plate to myself!

To complete our Thai journey, we had an assortment of colorful Thai desserts on our plate. These included the Khao Niew Ma Muang or Mango and Sticky Rice with Coconut Milk, the Bua Loy Kai Kem or Coconut Milk Rice Dumplings with Salted Egg, and the Khanom Tako Sakoo

That wasn’t all, because they brought out this giant Thai Summer Mix (P455) for everyone to marvel at and enjoy. This Thai halo halo version comes with Shaved Ice, Coconut Cream, Coconut Ice Cream, Red Monggo Beans, Kaong, Jackfruit, Nata De Coco and Water Chestnut. We also had the Durian Sticky Rice with its gooey and sticky rice covered in durian sauce and durian ice cream.

We would like to thank Nara Thai for hosting our lunch get-together and letting us experience their masterful Thai dishes once again. Congratulations to Nara Thai Cuisine for your second Thai SELECT award and the opening of your second branch in Alabang.

Nara Thai Cuisine

3/F SM Megamall Fashion Hall, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong

(0917) 555-8424

www.facebook.com/narathai.ph

[srslysierraa]

hi i love u nd congratulations on ur 111!! u deserve it sm mwa, for the event mine will be kazuha + its been a long, long time by kitty kallen + lilac amd and o one-shot fic! ty

Lilacs symbolize the first emotions of love, renewal, and spring.

Once Upon a Maple Leaf.

Prompt ;; you knew about the accident regarding Tomo, and the part where Kazuha was forced to run from Inazuma due to the Vision hunt decree. Not to mention he was practically a wanted criminal. And though it didn't sound that much, a year without seeing Kazuha quite did a number on you. Out of nowhere, the vision hunt decree stopped, while a certain wondering Samurai stands by your door.

Song ;;

Type ;; one-shot, fluff

Char. Involved ;; Kaedehara Kazuha [genshin impact]

A/N ;; since ur one of my irls I'll do yours <3 also sorry this took so long babe i was kinda procrastinating on listening to the song <|3 but here is your fav maple man. ALSO I'M SORRY IT'S SHORT.

The sweet voices of kids running around the houses as they play and celebrate on how the Vision Hunt Decree has been stopped reminded you to wake up extra early this particular morning, as you look at your window that has been plagued with multiple beams of Sunlight invasively entering your room. Lay awake, the ceiling looked interesting as you remembered the time when one of the Shogun's guard informed the people of the fate of The Vision Hunt Decree.

Then your mind wanders to the Samurai, one of them at least, maple leaf designs flourished itself on him, giving him a calming yet dangerous aura you can't exactly place. Where is he? Is it true about the rumors on how he activated two visions at once? Well, you have a vision too, of course. A Hydro vision rests itself on your desk as you try to slip away from your bed, getting up to finally do some of your chores and start the day.

A few hours came by like nothing, cleaning the house, washing the dishes, greeting your parents good morning, having breakfast. It's a carbon copy of what an everyday routine would look like — well, minus the excitement of not having to absolutely hide in the shadows in fear of your vision getting taken of course. And maybe, even a chance to see him again.

That thought flatlines in your head as you heard a certain knock on the door, dropping a few of the folded clean laundry on the bed as you ask your mother on who the knock might be, the old woman shrugged - saying that it could just be another neighbor coming to tell about the news regarding the Vision Hunt Decree, or maybe they just wanted to hang out in your home, who knows? With a shrug, you slowly approached the door, you're already in your signature outfit anyhow, prepared and ready to face the day.

That's what you thought anyways.

As you open the door, you saw a familiar white headed male, red strip of hair giving a pop of vibrant hues to his character. Sweet crimson eyes bringing you whiplash from how hard it hits you with nostalgia, longing. Taking you back to the first emotion you felt when you first saw them. Maybe this is a tad dramatic, i mean, you haven't seen him for like a year at most, yet here you are acting as if you were lovers separated from a battle, reunited a mere 5 years later.

Words left your mouth as fast as thoughts filled your mind, it was almost unbelievable and for a quick second? You honestly thought you were dreaming. It didn't even feel real, but thankfully enough you were quick to fix yourself from your staring state, mumbling up words as you constantly look back at the male in front of you.

Kazuha's here.

He's here.

After a whole year, he came back.

You hyperventilated inside, though you didn't show it your heart was about to come with a burst of it's own as you slowly released the breath that you didn't even know you were keeping in. It's him, and though you kept saying that to yourself, it never really sunked in. At least not until you heard him talk.

"(Y/n)," He spoke out, smiling as he gives you time to adjust with the thought of him being present. "You look well, I've missed you." It was an understatement on Kazuha's part, the Crux were a fine family for him to be in but nothing can't compare to how you would always stay by his side in any moment he would be struggling. When he left Inazuma he was more than distraught, he was in despair, and he couldn't bare the thought of them catching wind of you right after the end of Tomo.

So what did he do in a last attempt to both protect you and his friend's ambition? He left, and he made sure to remember to come back once all this is done.

So he did. As he gazes at your eyes as he waits for your response.

You cleared your throat, trying to suppress your excitement as you slowly arranged your words of choice. "Kazuha, it's nice to see you again." You sighed, smiling as you walked forward to approach him even more. He let out a chuckle, though awkward silence filled the gap, you two were more than happy to be facing eachother. "Is that all? Well, it's nice to know that you've missed me too, though you didn't say it, the wind has it's own way revealing your thoughts to me."

A little eye roll was made from you, as you didn't even realize how close you two were getting. It has been a long long time really, and you can't help but miss him, just as much as he misses you.

Kiss me once

You thought out, and he seemed to have picked up on this despite the lack of words being used. He took a gentle hold of your hand, as he entertwined it with his. Eyes locked with emotions so loud he could practically hear it, just like he always do.

Then kiss me twice

A swirl of wind surrounded you, not enough to blow you two away, but just enough for you to forget your surroundings — therefore putting your focus on him and him only.

Then kiss me once again

He puts his forehead to yours, a small little "I'm glad to have seen you again." As he gazes back at your eyes. Has it always sparkled that way? "It has been a long, long, long time."

"It really has, thank you, for coming back."

[empireintheair]

– by ChiChai@Empire-

Christopher@Empire and I made a deal that we would travel to our home countries and beyond once I graduated from graduate school. A couple of years later (and with my master’s degree at hand!) that deal came to fruition.

We kicked off the month of March by visiting the Philippines (my motherland) and experienced how each province has its own charm

For this week, we’ve been literally making our way up Vietnam (his motherland.)  We began in Saigon, spent days touring cities of the country’s center, and tomorrow, we travel even more north to Hanoi.

Christopher and I are now halfway in our Asia tour. In other words, I got a lot to catch you up on!  My first stop for you is Metro Manila, the capital region of the Philippines.

Metro Manila often gets a bad rap. The usual complaints include traffic, smog, crowds, and globalization. To be honest, I may have whined about all the above a few times myself. But– through it all– Metro Manila has a special place in my heart.

Christopher enjoying our Manila view

Metro Manila, being the economic hub of the country, is the most influenced by outside nations. You can see it in its all-English advertisements, its massive malls housing brands like H&M and Topshop, and its Starbucks at every corner. However, as globalization maybe a mainstream force into the region, there is a rise from locals to push back and gain ownership of their own crafts. (This was even a finding in my thesis!)  That pride in pinoy craftsmanship and artistry is the Metro Manila I wanted Christopher to experience this trip.

Here are some of the places that I took him to get that right taste of Metro  Manila:

Ermita, Manila

Rizal Park aka Luneta National Park

Rizal Park is one of the largest urban parks of southeast Asia. You can see all ages gathering here!–from little kids playing, young adults of the coast guard running, and elders taking an outdoor ballroom class. Also, this urban park not only serves as a place of leisure, it is also a place of history and revolution.

The name of the park itself is powerful. Jose Rizal is known for using his intellect and literature to inspire the masses to rise against Spanish colonization. His statue stands tall in the park and is guarded all day. Along with revolutionary symbolism, the Declaration of Philippine Independence from the US was signed here and political rallies against the Marcos dictatorship were hosted here as well.

National Museum

The National Museum is free! It is FREE! As part of an initiative to promote Philippine art and history, the museum is free for all! The museum consists of two buildings: one focusing on Philippine art and another specializing in Philippine anthropology. As a Filipina-American who grew up with a Western education, seeing the beautiful artwork that Filipinos have made throughout the centuries helped me feel a sense of belonging and pride. I don’t doubt that this has the same affect on other Fil-Ams visiting the homeland. (Will definitely write a separate blog about this later!)

Yabu: The House of Katsu – Robinson’s Mall

Outside influences in Metro Manila is strongly shown in the food. Yes there are excessive U.S. fast-food restaurants popping up all over the landscape but Filipino-owned specialty restaurants are opening as well. Yabu is one of my favorite examples. Owned by Filipino John Concepcion, Yabu brings the classic Japanese katsu to the Philippines. You can eat  pork katsu or salmon katsu or oyster katsu or more with their specialty in-house made katsu sauce and the sesame that you grind yourself.  Read more here.

Bay City, Pasay

SM By the Bay Amusement Park

Mall of Asia isn’t exactly my favorite place to be… uh… It is one of the largest malls in the world– architecturally speaking, awesome! But personally, this mall is so big and so full of tourists that I get dizzy in it.

What I do like about “MoA” is that it has an adjacent amusement park along the Manila Bay. It is the one place that you can drink a mango smoothie while riding the tallest ferris wheel in the Philippines. I’ll take the ferris wheel’s sunset view over any mall.

Poblacion, Makati

You can parallel Makati to San Francisco’s Financial District. Skyscrapers and big-time businesses can be found in this Metro Manila city. For millennials, Makati is home to modern and locally-owned bars and “Instagrammable” foodie spots, particularly in the district Poblacion. Or, “Pobs” (my cousin’s friend is trying really hard to make Pobs a thing lol.)

Tambai

by Zomato.com

At a quick glance, Tambai may seem like another sari-sari store along the sidewalk. Come closer and you’ll see that it is more. Still keeping the classic street-food feel, this cozy restaurant sets up small tables and stools for you to enjoy their oh-so-good yakitori. They even serve local beers, Japanese beers, and US beers to pair with your food. And if you want to stuff your belly with more than yakitori, they have other tapas such as kimchi fried rice and soft shell crab.

Wild Poppy

What’s great about a night out at Pobs is that the bars and foodie spots are walking distance from one another. After meeting up with my cousin Niqui and her friends for a late-night Tambai dinner, we headed to our next stop to get more drinks: Wild Poppy.

Wild Poppy is in a cluster of other well-decorated bars/restaurants. The reason why we chose Wild Poppy is for its chiller vibe and its balcony’s fresh-ambiance. Here we were able to enjoy juicy cocktails (my “Thai-Me-Up” tasted so healthy!) while listening to their jazzy music selection.

For more food and drink suggestions, check out this CNN Philippines Poblacion, Makati food guide here

Caloocan / Home!

For a Philippines blog post with things to eat, you’ll see that I didn’t add any Filipino restaurants. I know, I know. What’s wrong with me? Well! I strongly believe that the best pinoy food one can get is home-cooked. For me, that means the best Filipino food in Metro Manila is from my family’s home in Caloocan, all served up by my Tito Nonoy.

My family and friends made sure we ordered sisig at any place that offered it because sisig is Christopher’s favorite. However, his favorite sisig out of all of the sisig he tried was from Tito Nonoy. Like I said, nothing beats a home-cooked meal.

I love our hundred-year-old house. Supposedly our house is one of the oldest in the neighborhood. You can still tell that it was originally a nipa hut. Up until I was in high school, the roof still had some of its original palm leaves embedded into it. But, because of its traditional Filipino appeal, my family forced Chris and I to take impromptu harana-like photos in the balcony *roll eyes*

Recommendations not featured:

Although we didn’t get to visit all of my favorite Metro Manila spots, I still want to provide more in this guide for you! Here are some:

Quezon City

Eat/ Drink:

The Nook, a Harry Potter themed-cafe in which you can cool down from the tropical heat with a Butterbeer and Cauldron Cake

Pino, classic Pinoy dishes with vegetarian and vegan options. When I went here, my friends and I had both the vegetarian and meat sisig to compare the two. I would order both again.

Mang Larry’s Isawan stand at UP Diliman. My friends who attended UPD say that Mang Larry’s is the place to get isaw (gizzard.) As unappetizing as that sounds (and looks) you have to try it for its authentic cooking of a street-food classic.

Shop:

Common Room, an arts&crafts and local-made shop. A lot of my favorite local artists’ and brands’ products can be found here. You can get a hand-lettering kit curated by the artist Abbey Sy,  a children’s book illustrated by the watercolorist and tattooist Wiji (who happened to do majority of my tattoos!), and buy Vela Manila accessories which intertwine traditionally woven fabrics with leather goods.

To Do/ See:

La Mesa Nature Reserve, a nature reserve that’s great for a nature stroll or bike ride. Upon seeing its lushness, you’ll have a hard time believing that this rainforest patch exists in Metro Manila. You can  also sign up your group of homies to plant more trees here. You can check out my tree-planting experience here.

Intramuros, Manila

To Do/ See:

Walk this Way Tour by Carlos Celdran, a theatrical and historical tour in Manila’s oldest district: Intramuros. This is probably the most honest tour you can get in regards to Philippines’ colonial history and how that history affects Philippines’ aspirations today.

Bambike Eco Tour, rent a bike and either join a tour group or tour on your own in Intramuros

To Eat:

Barbara’s, Spanish-Filipino dishes with traditional entertainment. The last time I went there, a few elders were dressed in barongs and serenaded each table. Also, it is conveniently next door to San Agustin Church– another historical must-see

Escolta, Manila

To Do/ See:

The Hub Make Lab. Imagine a flea market set-up but with booths of arts, crafts, and apparel. The Hub is the bottom floor of Escolta’s First United Building which is home to several artist studios. You can shop and also drink at either the cafe or bar. They also host night markets on Saturdays in which the artists studios have open houses and live musicians perform throughout the evening. Learn more here.

I hope you find this list helpful for your own Metro Manila adventure! If you do find yourself in Metro Manila, do not be discouraged from its excessive amount of malls and traffic. Despite the influx of  McDonald’s and Forever21’s and smog, a new generation is rising to take Manila back through its crafts. You just need to seek it.

Metro Manila – To Eat, To See, and To Do - by ChiChai@Empire- Christopher@Empire and I made a deal that we would travel to our home countries and beyond once I graduated from graduate school.