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Food may be a momentary delight as one chews and masticates, but the food experience is never fleeting. And that’s exactly why food bloggers write about their food and dining experiences—to share their gastronomic experiences about one of the most basic, instant and satisfying comforts in life, food! Presenting, ten of the country's recognized food bloggers in this three-part feature.

 

A Scientist in the Kitchen (www.ascientistinthekitchen.net )
General Santos City is home to the Philippine tuna, and Gay, the woman behind A Scientist in the Kitchen who slices chunks and chunks of tuna everyday for truly mouthwatering recipes--from an easy salpicao to an outrageously good chicharon! The province is also rich with other kinds of seafood like octopus, prawns, seaweeds, clams and lobsters, as well as fresh mushrooms, asparagus and other produce, so whipping up fancy seafood and veggie dishes is a breeze in the blogger’s very own lab cum kitchen. Reading A Scientist in the Kitchen effortlessly inspires one to grow his own vegetable garden, or live near the sea and just cook, cook and cook!

 

 

Why the title “A Scientist in the kitchen”?
The title combines two of my passions, science and cooking. I have a PhD in molecular biology and biotechnology from the University of the Philippines at Los Banos. Now, I work as a corn breeder in one of the seed companies in Gensan.
This blog started in Los Banos when I was still a PhD student, now I’ve got a job here in Gensan.

Why blog mostly recipes?
I enjoy cooking and I keep track of the recipes of the food I cook. Before I knew what blogging was, I was already taking pictures of the food I cook so I just put them in the web to share. When I cook, I go with what I feel. So sometimes, I maybe starting with a sinigang recipe but would later end with a tom yum since I feel like adding kaffir lime or chili or lemongrass. I learned to use spices from a friend I met at the International Rice Research Institute, and it has allowed me to expand my palate to Thai, Indian and Chinese cuisines.

How is living in Gen San advantageous to your blogging and cooking?
The ingredients are fresh and cheap! I go to the market each Sunday to buy fresh fish and vegetables. Asparagus is very common. I have to adjust my cooking though, since I am now living alone. I prepare my own lunch; usually stir-fried vegetables, which I have yet to blog. I get a lot of inspiration to cook just by going to the market. Now, I can make my own tomato sauce since tomatoes are very cheap!

 

 

Gen San is known for tuna and Manny Pacquiao. What are the other items Gen San boasts of?
In terms of food, you get a lot of fresh vegetables everyday. I came from Los Banos, where asparagus is way expensive. And here, it’s very ordinary. Gen San also hosts the major seed companies in the Philippines so you could say that there is a concentration of plant breeders in the area.

 

What are your food, beverage and dining preferences? And how do they influence your blog?
I like Japanese and Thai cuisine. Pastas are my favorite but I seldom order them out since I cook a lot of pasta. I tend to be critical with pasta dishes, since I find them mostly expensive than when I cook them. I like to try different dishes, get a taste and feel of the dish, and try to do them at home.

What are your recent recipes?
I just bought several kilos of tomatoes to make into tomato sauce. I usually add balsamic vinegar to my tomatoes for added depth of flavor. I just had tom yum using tuna ribs. I have also cooked Spanish sardines recently.

If you can concoct or reinvent a unique Gen San delicacy or dish, what would it be?
I have a dish name in mind, but have yet to execute it, something called Pancit Gen San using ingredients unique to Gen San. Or maybe rellenong tuna. hehehe

 

Dining in Cebu (www.diningcebu.com )
Dining in Cebu was created by Cebuano Pakalista writers Jeff and Shel and three photographers. Pakalista, is a word coined from Cebuano slang “pakal,” which means to eat with gusto. And eat with gusto they do as they chronicle every food haunt in the Queen City of the South. Anyone who is planning a trip to Cebu should check out this blog for who else would know the hole-in-the-wall restos and bistros, secret nooks and crannies, and yummy hidden treasures of Cebu but the people who know the city by heart? Reading the blog with its vivid photographs and descriptive, humorous writing will surely tickle your taste buds and just might lure you to book a flight to Cebu in an instant!

 

 

How did the idea of starting a blog come up?
Shel: Jeff (blogging as Fedge) and I are big fans of dining out and were interested in talking about food. We noticed that there are very few bloggers in Cebu concentrating on this topic so we thought we’d make it our “responsibility” to introduce Cebu dining to the rest of the world. We wanted people outside Cebu to know that our island has a lot of restaurants to suit various tastes. Food will be the least of their concerns when they visit Cebu.

Do you have different tastes when it comes to food and dining?
Jeff: Yes, we do have different tastes, and we do disagree on a lot of things but each of us is free to say whatever we want.

Shel: We’ve never disagreed on what to post. It’s like five people sharing one notebook. Nobody interferes with the other’s notes. We provide comments but we don’t censor each other.

What is your most controversial blog post to date? Why so?
Jeff: Our most controversial blog post to date is yet to be posted! Watch out you Chinese restaurant that served us rice toppings with human hair (ew!). But to date, I think the following blog posts are worth checking out: “Will I Ever Go Back to Casa Verde?” and “7 Filipino Food Favorites at Hukad sa Golden Cowrie Ayala” mainly because what we wrote there was very engaging and we received a lot of comments. Our post on Kopi Roti is not exactly controversial but is probably the most hilarious! I still cry laughing when I read it. And to think a close friend of mine co-owns that place! It just shows that DiningCebu.com gives you real reviews.

Shel: We post honest opinions based on our experiences. We are conscious of the fact that what we write may affect a restaurant’s image, so if we don’t like a particular food we indicate the reasons why. We’d like to believe our readers are intelligent people and know that our opinions do not always reflect those of the majority. What we find bland may be delicious for others.

 

Other than Cebu, is there any other place, which you feel deserves recognition?
Shel: Calbayog City, Samar, has great fish tinapa and the variety of the kakanin is incredible. My favorite would be their bibingka with this local cheese on top. I like the Cebu bibingka sold by Chika-an a lot but the one I had in Samar is more delicious.

Where do you want to eat and travel outside the country?
Jeff: I've only been to 3 countries so far (Hongkong, China, and Japan). My favorite has to be that sushi bar Sushizanmai Akiba in Akhibara. I'm not saying that it's the best sushi bar in town but I really enjoyed it there.

Shel: I want to go to Seoul or Busan and experience authentic Korean dining.

is your blog different from the other food blogs?
Shel: DiningCebu.com is unique because it is probably the first Cebuano-owned blog that exclusively talks about food and restaurants. We have interviews, posts in our dialect, conversation types rather than narratives, and photo essays as well. We also try to inject some humor in our blog. We want DiningCebu.com to be informative, useful, and entertaining.

 

 

Flip-flopping My Way Around Town (www.frannywanny.com )
Franny, a passionate food lover and an urbanite in her 20’s, is the creator of Flip-flopping My Way Around Town. The blog dishes ABOUT her experiences when trying out new cafes and restaurants, narrated in a manner as if one is talking to a friend. Readers can also feast their eyes on the latest and exclusive food-related events in the metro as she chronicles them in her online journal. Apart from that, Franny also shares her own recipes and personal travel tales that highlight her gastronomic experience. Ranging from the fancy and exclusive down to the uncomplicated, Franny’s scrumptious entries reach a wide variety of audience. And since they are written with enthusiasm and excitement for food, it is easy for her readers to share in her zest.

 

Are you aiming to target a specific audience with your blog?
I never really thought about that [when I started my blog] but just recently, on the blog’s 2nd year anniversary, I created a survey and found out that my audience is basically [people around] my age, majority are female and a lot are food lovers and travel bugs like myself.

Have you always wanted to blog?
Writing has been my passion ever since I was a child. I began blogging as early as 2001 but back then, what I had was a personal blog where I poured out my thoughts, a documentation of my life as a student. Frannywanny.com was born last 2007 when after writing a couple of food and restaurant reviews in Multiply.com, I decided to open my own blog site to make it more accessible to the general public.

What are your favorite restaurants in the metro?
I love Cibo. Why? Because the quality of the food and the service are always consistently GOOD! Other than that, I also love Omakase simply because I love their wide selection of yummy sushi. Also Pepper Lunch! It’s such a happy place with really good food! It is food served fast with style and class.

 

 

What are your recent foodie discoveries?
Just recently, I won a trip to Singapore to attend the Asia-Pacific Blog Awards of Nuffnang. I went to the popular food places such as the Maxwell Center in Chinatown to taste what’s said to be the best chicken rice according to Anthony Bourdain, the Food Republic food court at the fourth level of Wisma Atria where I found this delicious dish called Fried Prawn Mee, and the $1 Ice Cream Bar along Orchard Road that I will definitely go back to Singapore for. (Ed's note: You can read about this particular food adventure in her article entitled "Singapore: Worth the Wait.")

Can you share with us your gastronomical experiences in the places you’ve been to?
I will never forget the first ever Chicken Inasal lunch I had in Bacolod. It was the best that I’ve ever tasted and it was so good that it got me looking all over Metro Manila for an Inasal place that comes close to it. The Grilled Managat that I had in Iloilo was also really memorable. My sister and I were able to finish one huge fish in just a couple of minutes! It was lip-smackingly good!

What is your dream destination to eat and travel?
Oh boy, I have a lot on my list! Locally, I would like to visit the Visayas region as well as in Mindanao. I’ve been around Luzon and this time I would like to go further down. I’d love to visit Cagayan de Oro, Davao, go back to Cebu and visit Dumaguete.

Abroad, well in the near future, I would like to complete Asia first. Perhaps visit Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan and Korea. After this, then I would like to go to Australia, Europe and eventually, conquer the world one food trip at a time!


If your blog were food, what would it be?
It would be a box of chocolate truffles. It's full of surprises and always leaves a sweet note after every bite.


The Year's 10 Best Local Food Blogs - Part 2