I travel for food

The sights and sounds excite me, but what I am looking forward to is to sample local food that cannot be found Manila.

My first chance to travel was to Seoul, Korea in 1993. From the hot soya bean tea dispensed from vendo machines to eating at roadside eateries and capping it off with a degustation menu at the Lotte World Hotel, I must say that the trip was worth it. Eating Baskin Robbins and Haagen Dazs iced cream during spring time is cool, but warming up with a shot of Soju was better.


The next time I was during a trip to Hongkong on 2001. Everyday, I walked around and ate all the dimsum and noodle dishes that I found interesting. Oh yeah, this was my first time to try San Miguel Beer overseas.

Also in 2001, I made my way around Europe for three weeks. I arrived in Madrid and made my way to Toledo and Barcelona. Had the staple Paella and for some reason, a lot of hole in the wall restaurants there serve Arroz ala Cubana. The highlight of my trip was Tapas and lots of Spanish Red Wine.

Next up was Germany. Stayed with some relatives and had the time of my life going to the groceries and buying half cases of different beers made by local breweries. It cracked me up that the local delicacy of barbequed sausage with curry powder and ketchup tasted really good.

Zurich was my first time to sample Starbucks and I partied all night with the caffeine kick I had. In Lucerne, I turned a local grocery into a buffet because they kept serving cheap food with rice.

In Rome, I savored a Margherita Pizza at the Termini station and cheese and gelato made from goat's milk. In Paris, my staple breakfast was a croissant and brought a baguette when I went around.

In Singapore, Chili crab at Clarke Quay and the Black pepper crab and Spicy stingray at Lau Pa Sat market. In Kuala Lumpur, Roti Boy and Madam Kwan's make my trip complete.

I still ask people from Canada to buy Tim Horton's Coffee. I love Las Vegas for the buffet and Burgers and Burritos in California.