SUPERB!!! I chose the Shoyu Ramen, included in a set of other dishes that I wanted to try — Chawan Mushi, Chirashi, etc. Plus an order of Toroniku Cha-shu or Pork Cheeks. Santouka is the best yet of all the ramen houses I've tried!

Yup, ramen is the rage these days in Manila! Ukkhokei, Kenji Tei, Nomama, Santouka Hokkaido Ramen... and now, at the Molito commercial center in Alabang, Yushoken has opened. Here's one of their ramen offerings — Tantanmen. It's spicy Szechuan-inspired ramen dish with ground pork, sesame paste and chili oil. Owned by Elbert Cuenca and Ryan Cruz who partnered with ramen chef champions from Tokyo, Yushoken serves basic ramen dishes and complemental side dishes. The ramen noodles are made fresh every day and the pork broth simmers for at least 12 hours to achieve that deep, rich flavor that makes any ramen dish style superb!

Summer's here and nothing heralds its arrival like the sweet local fruits like the Lanzones. These were so sweet, I had to rinse the fat black ants crawling all over them!

I ordered Lamb Stew at an Irish pub called Murphy's Tavern and ... umm, this is it? Looks and tastes like prison food to me. Not that I've ever been in prison! The broth is thin and watery and the lamb meat has been overboiled to the point of total blandness. And the bread! It was so hard and dry, I could use it as a blackboard eraser! Sigh... 

Trying to wrap you up... these fillings of love!
Filling! Wohohoooo, filling!

Don't ask me what's in these lumpia fillings — it's the
family's secret recipe! All I know is there's no meat
(the fish used can only be found in mainland China),
there's crunchy seaweed, veggies and noodles and it's
all healthy and delicious! And filling! :-)

Watermelons fresh-picked from the patch!
At a roadside stall in Padre Garcia in Batangas.

You'd need more than a dozen to make a glass of
fresh juice! But what supersweet O.J. these make!

A new dish in Café Bola's menu board that I just had
to try — Baby Back Ribs in a sweet and smokey glaze
made with Tanduay Rhum and topped with fresh salsa,
then washed down with fresh kamias shake! Excellent!

Tanya indulged in one last taste of Café Bola before
flying back to the US because she'll certainly miss this!
And indulge is right — this dish is so cholesterol-laden,
one should enjoy this only once a year, IF you have a
healthy heart! Bangus Belly Daing, topped with Aligue
(crab fat), with a sprinkling of minced deep-fried pork
rinds on the side, accompanied by garlic-fried rice.
At Gaita Fores's Café Bola.