Happy Foodies

Showing posts with label Banh Mi. Show all posts

<figure> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRejcJ4wllSf0dlaDDVqR5UVYY-OlWtxvHTzGu_rJ365YltniDo9sWWV-oNxDaGlWZ1sOU-0sreVdxiws7p_XD4Eg6a0KyasRFJAVKRgmk8lXPLx9MbF4as6mQmMjyYyyHwkquJAXCwU-76owfRbHBFwDlSuac46-b8yllWuzGhjv15bgmM2jWbzOX0Lk/s16000/IMG_9677_Radiant.jp"> <figcaption>Homemade Matcha Ice Cream from Ikigai Kakigori Cafe</figcaption> </figure> It’s been nearly a decade since we first wrote about <a href="https://www.happyfoodies.com/2010/10/vegging-out-gets-new-meaning-at-wabi.html" target="_blank">Wabi-Sabi Noodle House, back in its early days at The Collective</a>. Back then, it was a cozy spot with fewer than 10 tables, serving up delicious, healthy vegan fare — long before veganism was mainstream.

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJYG74A1V9_WIIKEwA1oTCw2phCHFPlkj4OmqOssficierGE7YVNosGNsl44A5mQcynqb7gG42sED1xMeZetV5wEcG7mlbt6sOU10jee1GrsAcpwbgi0NrQkeZA7v3VzHPGDlKkhQ-M5UFORlmr95V7q_y7g9J5XsPIRJE1HFa8QLdrVOJPJExRsfsPI/s1024/bonbanmhi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJYG74A1V9_WIIKEwA1oTCw2phCHFPlkj4OmqOssficierGE7YVNosGNsl44A5mQcynqb7gG42sED1xMeZetV5wEcG7mlbt6sOU10jee1GrsAcpwbgi0NrQkeZA7v3VzHPGDlKkhQ-M5UFORlmr95V7q_y7g9J5XsPIRJE1HFa8QLdrVOJPJExRsfsPI/s16000/bonbanmhi.jpg"></a></div> One of life's hidden blessings is living a short walk away from nice eating places. It doesn't always have to be fancy, swanky places or franchises of big chains. Personally, we at Happyfoodies are big fans of small establishments, hole-in-the-walls and mom-and-pop operations whose offerings defy their size and relative obscurity. Stumbling upon BonBanhmi along Mayapis in Makati is a good example, a small nondescript shop operated from the house. If it weren't for the small sign, it's fairly easy to miss. The giveaway sight is the usual display counter. For an eating area, it has a converted garage furnished with monobloc tables and chairs. But if the place is simple, the food is anything but.

<figure class="wp-block-image alignnone"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oggie/7152476975/"><img alt="Cold Cuts Combo Banh Mi (P75)" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7152476975_d3e5d534e5_b.jpg"></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Cold Cuts Combo Banh Mi (P75)</figcaption></figure> Angeles City may be a chartered city independent of Pampanga since the 60s but it still shares the Kapampangan flair for cooking up delicious fare and perhaps more importantly, a contagious appetite for joyful eating. It's a tall order to live down its naughty, steamy reputation but the city has another side that can satisfy the other senses. By that we mean the nose and the taste buds. Your Happyfoodies tagged along for a food trip of Angeles City and what we found pleasantly surprised us. For starters, we found a piece of Vietnam along Jesus Street in the historic district near the Pamintuan Mansion -- in Banh Mi Saigon. Who would've thought that you can find heavenly Banh Mi sandwiches and spring rolls in between a neighborhood gym and a sari-sari store? Owner Rex Soriano, recently repatriated from the U.S. after nearly a decade of working at Nobu in New York counted on his experience as a chef and the invaluable inputs of his Vietnamese mother-in-law and wife to come up with fare that begs for repeat visits.