sunday dumplings

by the time i got through sunday church service i was feeling a bit hungry and was craving for japanese food.

red kimono was in my agenda, driven by some pretty good reviews about this new resto in ayala terrace.

pretty darn good reviews indeed. the place was packed. i contented myself by going through the menu and found the prices to be very very reasonable. perhaps next time. in contrast, teriyaki boy used to have people lining up for a seat but nowadays it looks more like a ghost town. knowing the eating habits of cebuanos, i wouldn't be surprised that majority has eaten in teri-b but wouldn't really come in for seconds. it is just too pricey for this market that's known for the "been-there-once-fad" attitude. same story that's happening to TGIF. hint to peeps, keep your price low, servings ginormous and taste fabulous: perfect criteria for the cebuano market.


since i was craving for something oriental i ended up in harbor city for some dumpling sampling. steamed hakao, shrimp balls and steamed beef rice was a perfect and light meal.

if you're familiar with ravioli then you basically get the idea of hakao. the only difference is that ravioli uses traditional pasta ingredients whereas hakao is generally made from rice and tapioca flour mixed with oil (sesame or peanut oil is preferred), salt and water. hakao is much more delicate than ravioli and becomes translucent when steamed.


for those that are uber innocent, let me clarify that squids don't have balls and the idea of eating animal testicles is not really appetizing. the only known dish that uses testicles and penises would be the infamous filipino Soup No. 5 dish. as for the reason why they named it Soup No. 5, think about it this way, it wouldn't be so appetizing if you named it "nilagang itlog at titi ng baka" (stew of cock and balls). holy cow.

Harbor City
Ayala Terraces
Cebu City