SANGO THE BURGER MASTER

         Practically every weekday lunch, Me and my Giant Joel usually have the same routine. One of us calls the other up by around 12 noon, and say, "Game?" and if the other isn't busy, we head on out of the office for lunch. We usually get into a conversation about work or something during our noontime stroll, and without even thinking or talking about it, we find ourselves in "Walter Mart" Pasong Tamo. When we're in Walter Mart, the default (and most reliable) restaurant to eat at is definitely Pancake House, but we try to change things us sometimes by going to Max's and The Old Spaghetti House as well (Of course this was before we discovered Kitch' Cafe was just nearby). 

      Joel has always been mentioning that he'd like to go to try passing by Sango, the Japanese Burger joint one time. With two of the past three weeks being crazy busy in the office, I thought we would have enough time to walk to Mile Long to give "The Burger Master" a shot (It's not actually that far, I'm just lazy).

NO WORK & ALL PLAY AT KITCH' CAFE!

"It was a million tiny things, that when you added it all up,

 meant we were meant to be together..."

          Since we've moved our office to Arnaiz Ave, I've been talking about how much I miss the food choices near the area of Palanca Street. Sure, I've got perhaps the country's best Ramen restaurant a few steps away, but as much as I love a steaming bowl of Miso Char Siu, the REAL me still looks for some of the regular food that I've come to know and love. 

      Sometimes I look for a good old fashioned greasy burger loaded with bacon and melted cheese. Maybe some beef tapa with a generous lining of fat, and a scoop of rice. Or if I don't want my meal too heavy, perhaps I could go for a unique type of pasta that isn't tomato based for a change. And then i'd end it all off with a rich, yet not too sweet slice of cheesecake, drizzled with nutella sauce.. and I want all of this, walking distance from my office.

   Now tell me, Is that too much too ask for?  

    Enter: Kitch Cafe. 

UKOKKEI RAMEN RON & THE RAMEN NAZI

Time to get their Tantanmen on

            Again, I will repeat, that I'm not really that big on Japanese Food. Which would explain why, in the one year and one month of it's existence, The Pickiest Eater In The World has only featured two Japanese restaurants, which technically don't really count because : 

              A) John & Yoko is more of a "Japanese Fusion" Restaurant

              B) Yakimix is a smokeless grill place where you pretty much just 

                  cook bacon..

              C) And Yakimix's buffet food is a mix of Chinese and Japanese cusines

      A TV Commercial director and fellow foodie (Also the only person I know who has actually tried "Butter Beer") I work with, Direk Paolo Dy, visited our new office one day. As I showed him around, I grumbled that I'm going to miss having the restaurants in C. Palanca to choose from. Then he said, "Well at least you're just down the street from " Ukokkei"!". I stared at him blankly, and then he looked at me, all baffled and replied, "You DO know what  Ukokkei  is, right?". I told him, that I wasn't really into Japanese food, but he would have none of it. As a client, Direk Pao is a joy to work with, because he's one of those laid back directors that is easy to talk to and always seems to be in a good mood. So when he gave me an intense look, and told me in a firm tone, "One of these days we are going.", I knew I was in the presence of a man who takes his Ramen seriously. 

       A few months later, lo and behold, Direk Pao treated me and some of the PostManila peeps  for a job well done on one of his projects. Take one good guess. 

FIRST STOP AT THE CHEESE STEAK SHOP!

        Earlier this year, the company I work for moved offices.. From the relatively quiet C. Palanca Street in in Legaspi Village, Makati. We are now located along the bustling Arnaiz Avenue. I enjoyed working (and for a time, living) in C. Palanca street, because everything you needed was walking distance. Need to go the grocery? Go to Rustan's want to catch a movie? Go to Greenbelt. Need a place to eat? Well, apart from the obvious restaurants at Greenbelt, there were a few gems scattered around the area, such as Bob's, Plantation, and even Gustavus. 

     Arnaiz Avenue has an eclectic choice of restaurants to choose from, but they are just a bit more expensive than C. Palanca's offerings (Palanca has a Mang Inasal). I've been to a few, but I realized I haven't featured any just yet. On a day that I was ticked off at my cellular network provider for screwing me over (They have since rectified the situation), my friend, Rain offered to go with me grab a bite to eat so I could cool my head (Ahh, the healing powers of food). As we strolled along down Arnaiz Avenue, I continued to bitch about my situation with my cellular network. All of a sudden Rain stopped in her tracks to say that  she remembered that she had just seen a place called "The Cheese Steak Shop" newly opened just down the road from my office. 

     And just like that, everything was right again in the world.