Abis Japanese Steakhouse in Greenwich, CT

When we visited Auntie Celita, she wanted to take us and see how the Rich and Famous shopped in Greenwich Avenue. While it was nice to look, we weren't really into looking through the expensive shops. Outlet shopping in Florence or TJ Maxx, Marshall's and Ross shopping in the US was more our cup of tea. A quick look was good enough for us since we planned to have lunch at Auntie Celit's favorite Japanese Teppanyaki place nearby.

Abis Steakhouse on Greenwich Avenue

The server volunteered to take our picture. I bit blurry though.

Each set lunch comes with Japanese Salad and Soup.

The server gave Sofia a complimentary Ramune Soda.

It tastes like Sprite the novelty comes from the
marble used to seal it. Once the marble is pushed in
to open, it rattles inside the bottle as you drink.

Auntie Celita wanted to take Sofia to this place so she could watch the Hibachi (cooking on the Teppanyaki Grill) Show.

The chef making circle flames

and Onion Volcanoes.

All of us ordered the Rib-Eye Lunch Set (US$14.95)

You get a plate with Rib-Eye, veggies, and some noodles.
The set meal also comes with Rice.

The server really liked Sofia and even gave her free
Ice Cream, but she got irritated when he told her
she also had to pay for our bill. Hahaha.

The server who really liked her looked like an old
Uncle. He even gave her food to feed the fish.

Fi was driving fish nuts. She would drop the food one pellet at a time.

Look at all the hungry fish, fighting for one pellet.

It was a nice Spring Day in Greenwich when we were there for lunch.
It was quaint too, because it was the only place where pedestrians
had to wait for traffic guy to tell them when they could already cross.

If you find yourself in the area and in the mood for a Hibachi Meal, make sure you go at lunch. The Dinner Menu is more expensive. just saying.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

http://www.abisjapanese.com/

P365 TE Day 31

Koh Samet Beach, Thailand

Travel Bite: A few years back, we had a free weekend in Bangkok so we decided to go to the beach for a change of scenery! I brought Sofia to the very pretty white sand beach in Koh Samet. You can take a taxi to Bangkok to go to Ban-Phe Pier (you need to write this down - or better to ask the hotel to do it for you in Thai - as the drivers don't understand you if you just read it as it's spelled) which was around 2 hours away. The taxi will cost a few thousand Baht. Upon reaching Ban Phe Pier - just take one of the ferries going to your hotel in Koh Samet (cheaper option), but if you missed the ferry and are impatient like me, you can also rent a speed boat for another few thousand Baht to take you on a special trip. The beach was very nice, we had a lot of fun, and if I remember correctly, the resort was also nice and the rates were quite affordable.      


Location: Koh Samet, Thailand

Date Photo Taken: March 2010

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of January 30: 30

P365 TE Running Points: 92 out of 93 (as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

P365 TE Day 30

Chinatown during Chinese New Year

Travel Bite: In Chinatown in Singapore, the streets are full of stalls selling all kinds of good luck charms to welcome the Lunar New Year. They also have red envelopes (for good luck money) and Chinese New Year pastries like pineapple tarts, almond cookies, and love letters. If you are visiting Singapore, a lot of stores are closed during the Chinese New Year (celebrated 2-3 days) but a lot of smaller businesses are closed for one whole week.       


Location: Chinatown, Singapore

Date Photo Taken: January 2012

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of January 29: 29

P365 TE Running Points: 89 out of 90 (as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

P365 TE Day 29

Tratoria Zaza

Travel Bite: In Florence, I had my best meal at Tratoria Zaza. I remember it very well because aside from the great ambiance right at the back of Mercato San Lorenzo, I remember that I had Bisteca with truffle cream and arugula (pictured above) that was to die for, and on another visit I ate risotto with Fresh truffles.       

You can read more about Trattoria Zaza here.


Location: Florence, Italy

Date Photo Taken: March 2013

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of January 28: 28

P365 TE Running Points: 86 out of 87 (as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

P365 TE Day 28

Tartuffo Salsa from Mercato San Lorenzo

Travel Bite: I love truffles or tartuffo so much that when I am in Florence, a must visit stop is the Mercato San Lorenzo so I can buy my hoard of truffle oil, truffle salt, and my latest discovery was truffle salsa. It's made with mushrooms but the truffle taste is so strong it's perfect if you just eat it on top of crackers! I also like it on top of scrambled eggs, but it can also be used as salad dressing (add olive oil) or as an ingredient to make your pasta sauce more flavorful. Everyone at the mercato offers free taste, so keep on trying them before you decide on which one you like best!     


Location: Florence, Italy

Date Photo Taken: March 2013

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of January 27: 27

P365 TE Running Points: 83 out of 84 (as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

P365 TE Day 27

YSL's Jardin Marjorelle in Marrakesh

Travel Bite: Jardin Marjorelle was created by French painter Jacques Marjorelle, and it was such a destination that it's fame eventually surpassed that of his paintings. He used bright cobalt blue so much that it became known as "marjorelle blue". The jardin has always been open to the public and one of it's frequent visitors was Yves Saint Laurent (YSL). When Jacques Marjorelle died, YSL and his life and business partner Pierre Bergé bought Jardin Marjorelle where they said they have found an unlimited source of inspiration due to the garden's unique colors. Upon YSL's death, his ashes were sprinkled on Jardin Marjorelle and the jardin was donated to The Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent.   


Location: Marrakesh, Morocco

Date Photo Taken: May 2010

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of January 26: 26

P365 TE Running Points: 80 out of 81 (as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

P365 TE Day 26

Moroccan Mint Tea

Travel Bite: Tea occupies a very important part of Moroccan culture and is considered an art form. They serve you tea in the office (if you happen to have business there), at the hotel, in restaurants, and even in the souks, while they try to sell you carpets. Moroccan mint tea is normally on the sweet side, so if you're ordering it - just ask for the sugar on side so you can sweeten it to taste.


Location: Casablanca, Morocco

Date Photo Taken: May 2010

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of January 25: 25

P365 TE Running Points: 77 out of 78 (as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

P365 TE Day 25

Entrance to a Traditional Hammam (Turkish-style Bath or Steam Room) in Morocco

Travel Bite: While Moroccan locals may go to their favorite local hammam to relax and get their dead cells scrubbed away once a week, believe me when I say it's an extremely stressful experience if you've never done it before. You'll see so many fat naked ladies getting scrubbed you'll get traumatized for life because you can't just pretend to un-see it. Hahaha.

If I remember correctly, you pay for some kind of black soap (with exfoliating and moisturizing properties) and your own scrubbing glove, and do the prep in the steam room by yourself. The main highlight when it's your turn, is you're asked to lie down naked (everyone everywhere is freaking naked!) on a slab of marble with a mat (which was visually cleaned after every use - but I didn't see any disinfecting done!) and you hold on to dear life while someone scrubs you to death. 

People say you glow after the hammam, which may be because you were scrubbed raw by what I remember to be giant ladies, but for me, it's really been there done that! Thanks, but I never want to do that again!


Location: Casablanca, Morocco

Date Photo Taken: May 2010

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of January 24: 24

P365 TE Running Points: 74 out of 75 (as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

Ginza Barin Singapore

We love Tonkatsu and Katsudon. However, Tim told me that the quality of food in Saboten, our favorite go-to-place for Tonkatsu in Singapore has deteriorated, so we've been meaning to try Ginza Bairin which also just recently opened in Manila with a Restaurant format.

In the Ion Orchard branch, Ginza Bairin is a fast food stall.
You order, and pay, then you enter their enclosed seating area to wait.

This is Sofia giving thin ninong a hard time while waiting for our food.

We ordered the Special Black Pig Katsudon ala carte SG$18.90 (Php660)

The runny egg yolk on top made it the best Katsudon I've ever met.
The pork was thickly sliced and still tender, though it wasn't extra ordinary.

We also ordered a side of Kami Katsu (thinned pork fillet) SG$15.90 (Php550)
It's actually bigger than it looks here, we weren't even able to finish it.

Then we ordered Ebi Fry for Sofia but she didn't like it.
Might be the effect of seeing your Ebi cooked with the head on.

The Ebi Fry Set SG$16.70 (Php580) comes with unlimited servings of
Rice, Cabbage and Soup, but because it's more like a fast food,
you'll just need to ask for it, instead of being automatically offered.

They have a window when you can look into the
kitchen from the seating area.

I enjoyed Ginza Bairin in Singapore. It would be interesting to see if the Special Black Pig Katsudon is as good in the Manila branch. just saying.

Ginza Bairin

Basement 4, Ion Orchard

Singapore

P365 TE Day 24

British Museum in London

Travel Bite: The British Museum in London is famous for their collections which include the Rosetta Stone, Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Greece, as well as mummies from Egypt (including Cleopatra from Thebes/Luxor). 

Entrance is free everyday, but if you have kids, don't forget to ask the Families Desk in the Great Hall for Activity Trails and Gallery Backpacks. Sofia really enjoys visiting museums because of activities for kids like this.

Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Photo Taken: April 2012

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of January 23: 23

P365 TE Running Points: 71 out of 72 (as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

P365 TE Day 23

Red Beach in Santorini

Travel Bite: Santorini is a volcanic island in Greece with many beaches. One of the ones that came highly recommended when we were there was Red Beach, which gets its name from the iron-rich sedimentary rocks in the cliff, as well as the red sand. You need to hike through the very rocky trail to get to the beach (look at the dots on rocks that look like ants, those are the people on the way to the beach) but I guess it's different enough to be worth visiting. I can say, it's the only red beach I've been to.

Location: Santorini, Greece
Date Photo Taken: August 2006

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of January 22: 22

P365 TE Running Points: 68 out of 69 (as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

P365 TE Day 22

Luxor Obelisk, 
More commonly known as the Obelisk in Place dela Concorde

Travel Bite: Standing in the middle of Place dela Concorde is the obelisk that used to stand at the entrance of the Luxor Temple, as posted in #P365TEDay21 It is in much better condition that the Obelisk in Luxor. 

Place dela Concorde is situated between Jardin des Tuileries and Champs-Elysées. You also get a really nice view of Arc de Triomphe and Le Tour Eiffel from here. On a nice day, it's a long but scenic walk.

Location: Paris, France
Date Photo Taken: March 2013

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of January 21: 21

P365 TE Running Points: 65 out of 66 (as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

Sofia's Chocolate Chip Ghirardelli Cookies

I am so proud of my little girl. She's only 6 but she can bake chocolate chip cookies almost all by herself. We've actually baked chocolate chip cookies many times before, but normally,  yaya helps Sof do all the prep work, Sof does all the measuring and the mixing,  but yaya does all the wrap-up work including putting the dough on the cookie sheets and baking them.

Today, Sof and I did everything by ourselves,  with Fi doing most of the actual baking work across all the steps. This dare started because I brought home some cookies yesterday for an officemate, and Fi was asking why I forgot to bring her some and I said because she made better ones, so of course she had to make some as soon as possible.

My mom, being the voice of reason, told us we couldn't bake because we were short of helpers, but since my daughter knows how to get her way, before I knew it, we were both promising to prep everything ourselves and wash everything we used after we were done!

I normally have a go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe that I swear by (I can even make it in my sleep), but today we decided to tweak things a bit - to compensate for our lack of ingredients.

Some of our trade secrets include making sure you don't use too much sugar,  using butter that's been softened just right, using great ingredients (we raided Ninang Ady's dark chocolate and sea salt stash!) and tasting before baking (Sof's favorite part of baking!).

Sof loves baking so much, she can easily measure the
 ingredients and mix the batter by herself with little direction.

I was so impressed because it's the first time I saw Sof shape
her own cookies! We both made one tray each!

Can you tell which tray I made and which one Sof did.
I was teasing her we could call it Chocolate Shit Cookies.
(clearly,  another mom of the year award moment)

With just a little more shaping, plus Ghirardelli,
her tray was also good to go.

Our cookies while baking...

And Voila! Sofia's chocolate chip ghirardelli cookies

We are also proud to say we did 98% of the clean up. (Don't tell Ma, yaya helped with some of the pans allocated to Fi.)

She was having too much fun with the
Surf Dishwashing Liquid.

I am really so proud of Sofia.  Not only does she love baking,  she really makes good stuff too. I guess I need to work harder so I can send her to culinary school in Paris. Then we're both going to live there happily ever after. just saying. 

P365 TE Day 21

Luxor Temple, Egypt

Travel Bite: At the entrance to the Luxor Temple (located on the East Bank of the Nile River) in Egypt, only 1 obelisk stands because the other one was given to France by a not so smart Egyptian. If I remember correctly, Luxor Temple both has an ancient Christian Church, which was eventually buried beneath the streets and houses, and a Mosque was built over it. To this day, parts of both the mosque and the church has been preserved and can be visited.

If you're interested in learning more, you can read about it here.

My bonus tip on planning a trip to visit ancient Egypt is to do your research and only visit the place (fine, you can make it Top 2 places) that interests you the most, because after the first temple, and the first tomb, I swear, they all look the same!

Location: Luxor, Egypt
Date Photo Taken: May 2011

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of January 20: 20

P365 TE Running Points: 62 out of 63 (as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

P365 TE Day 20

Only in Cairo: Airport Limousine

Travel Bite: When we visited Egypt for the first time, we were welcomed at the Cairo airport by a lot of people offering transportation. We went with a legit looking guy, who said he was driving for an Airport Limousine service. We just didn't realize that this is what an Airport Limousine is. (aircon not working, I'm just glad we didn't have to hold on to the doors to keep them closed).

I guess the tip here if to find the REAL taxi queue. You'll be better off vs a limo.

Location: Cairo International Airport, Egypt
Date Photo Taken: May 2011

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of January 20: 20

P365 TE Running Points: 59 out of 60 (as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

P365 TE Day 19

Matrimandir in Auroville

Travel Bite: The Matrimandir (Sanskrit for Temple of the Mother) is a place of spiritual significance to the practitioners of Integral Yoga, situated in the center of Auroville, located in South India. There are also a lot of ashrams nearby.

If you're interested in learning more, you can read about it here.

Location: Auroville, Tamil Nadu, India
Date Photo Taken: January 2010

P365 TE Points for today: 2 out of 3 (for now)
P365 TE Points from Audience Interaction as of January 18: 18

P365 TE Running Points: 56 out of 57 (as of posting)

You can read the background of Project 365 Travel Edition here.  

Feel free to come back everyday. just saying...

Wagyu Foie Burger from Becasse

During our last trip to Singapore, we planned to have brunch at Jones the Grocer (at ion orchard). However, as we were ordering, our server asked us if we wanted to try Becasse, it's owned by the same group, but this time they had French offerings.

Out of curiosity, the French in me looked, and since they had something foie gras on the menu, I dragged Sofia and Tim to have brunch here instead.

Becasse is at the center of the 4th floor in Ion, across Jones the Grocer.

Ninong and Fi who were nice enough to let me have my way.

I ordered the Wagyu Foie Gras burger. (I planned to order the
Wagyu burger at Jones anyway, so I couldn't resist having it with foie gras)

It comes with a side salad, and wedges (which Fi was happy to eat).

Fi doesn't like hoity toity French food but give her a Pain au Chocolat
and she's good. The ones at Becasse are huge, and generously filled.

We ordered an arugula with pear and chevre (goat cheese) salad.
This one was also very good.

We could not resist ordering the 4 cheese crepe. How can you go wrong
with 4 cheese right? Well, in Becasse, it can go really really wrong!!!
The crepe was hard, and the cheeses were hard, and the flavors did not
go well together at all!!! 

I tried to redeem our order by picking out the cheese and I mixed it in with the side salad and the pear and chevre salad so it won't go to waste.

Becasse also has French Style desserts, but I was so disappointed
with the crepes, we didn't want to order any more dessert.

Here is the menu for reference.

Overall, I am glad that the Wagyu Foie Gras Burger and the Pain au Chocolat was good. They need to do more work on their crepes, especially if they are "posing" as a French Bakery, especially since they aren't really cheap.  just saying.

Becasse

ION Orchard 

2 Orchard Turn 

#04-27/32