Paris is known to be the most romantic city in the world as per pop culture. Hollywood made sure we know of that through nearly every romantic film we stumble across. Have you seen Midnight in Paris? Before Sunrise? An American in Paris by Vicente Minnelli in 1951? Need I say more? And I don't  know why - I haven't been to Paris - but I wonder what's up with people romanticizing that the city is 'that' magical.

I guess I would only find out when I get there but not now. I mean, if I could stay in Paris for the rest of my life, trust me, I would. Unfortunately I couldn't just book a ticket and go all the way to Paris. Okay. That ain't happening just because I want to, even if I really want to.

That's not to say that I haven't tried to get a taste of Paris in any form or way here in our place. I mean, French cuisine, art exhibits, old bookstores, a walk on a cobblestone streets, even my playlist is practically screaming Paris with the Hugo Cabaret soundtrack. French fries, anyone?

But do you know the place I've been to that maybe rings a bell or comes close with Paris? Of course you don't unless you're reading this right now and you learn that in my stay at Cebu I've been to the acclaimed La Vie Parisienne. 


Well, I'm just saying I've been there. I didn't really order anything because you know I'm allergic to alcohol. Also, I was too full for a croissant which was only P25 btw and I - don't be judgy - I was saving for a trip to Bantayan Island for the next day.

Even if I was too tired to actually go anywhere that night I thought it won't hurt to experience a night life in Cebu. Like at least once in maybe a long while. I mean that's what visitors ought to do, right? And my buddies were talking about the place like it was a real deal or something. What choice do I have? A blogger never rests. And man! La Vie Parisienne lived up to the hype!

From the artificial cherry trees with leaves glowing like it's spring or Christmas or whatever and to the clinking of glasses of wine. Ceci est la bombe! They have friggin cherry trees, man! Even if it's fake who in the right mind would not feel welcome in there with those cherry friggin trees giving you a cheery vibe. Okay, bad pun!

The Lhuillers probably had a good time in Paris that their French Bakery, Deli and Wine Library were designed to make you feel like you're in Paris even if you haven't been there yet. Forgive me for not taking any French language class but I just found out La Vie Parisienne literally translates to Parisian Life. Oh, well! Now we know. Hahaha. So, there's the smell of freshly-baked croissants to fill your lungs and they also have this wine library where a pose seems mandatory.

Yeah, I kind of belonged, right!?

In case you're wondering, I haven't really gotten a chance to take photos of their baked goodies because of the long queue inside the bakery so the only thing that comes close to a bread which you can find here are my cheeks. There's also gorgeous people - ehem - like us who are living La Vie Parisienne that night over some good chat and, oh well, over wine. But like I said, I didn't drink! Not even a sip. There should be at least one adult in our group in case they all get really drunk, right?




So the night went on until I noticed some people going Linda Blair on the foreign waiter dude who adjusted what seems to be a retractable roof! Come on, a retractable roof! That's something. Okay, their eyes were mostly on the guy though. Then to another. And well, it clearly depends on their preferences but the thing is, I noticed most people in there are breaking necks by turning their heads on every direction probably in search for a hook up or maybe romance or something. While I, after my butt's intimate relationship with the chair, I wandered around a bit to take these pictures.







Anyway, while wandering off I thought maybe that's how it works! This is how Paris works. Maybe Paris was hailed as one of the most romantic cities because of the set up itself. The music, the lights, the sweet aroma of bread and wine and people looking or taking their chances at romance. Paris. It's a place ideal for lovers and people who are still searching for love, for romance. I get that people always romanticize things as something else. Can't change that. But maybe, like them, that's just the way things are. And you don't get to ask why?

I know my La Vie Parisienne experience (or actually the lack thereof) may not come close to the real Parisian experience but maybe going to these French places is one of those moments where you should just loosen your grip to reality, enjoy whatever life throws at you and just let the magic or Linda Blair take you wherever, whenever or to whomever it wants. And if that's really the case then, I might have just been 'spirited away' to Paris, which is a good thing for La Vie Parisienne.

I rarely eat breakfast these days and when I do it's either I'm forced to wake up early to travel, attend an event or I'm about to sleep. No school. I stopped. Don't ask! Good thing there's brunch. It's supposed to be my tummy's new best friend as of my current lifestyle. But here's the thing. I usually wake up at around 10 in the morning and I'm left with a cold pandesal and some egg dish in the kitchen every fucking day. In fact, today I woke up with a cold pandesal and scrambled eggs for brunch. Tomorrow I'll probably wake up with another cold pandesal but with a sunny side up. The following day, I expect to have a cold pandesal and a scrambled egg with hotdog chunks. Then the day after that I think I'll wake up with another plate of a cold pandesal and a weird tasting tomato omelet. I know I should be thankful because I still got something to eat (even if it's always egg and pandesal) and most of all because I still get to wake up. Thank God! But I just can't imagine five more days, five more years, five more lifetimes eating egg and pandesal for brunch. If that ever happens - knocks on wood - I'll probably be able to lay eggs.



And in case there's a need for you to know, I don't usually eat rice during brunch or even breakfast. Not that I am on a diet or anything. I just don't feel like it. Char. I eat rice during those times only when I don't have a choice and my Mom's around to tease me about dieting. Which really ruins my day. Another thing, actually together with the egg and pandesal are either hotdogs, corned beef, preserved meat stuff and other canned goods cooked for breakfast. Unfortunately to me, these goods would always end up to the lunch boxes of my siblings who goes to school


Then one morning I was just staring at the cold pandesal and the hard-boiled egg on the table. And I swear I thought I was gonna die or something. Suddenly I heard a noise in the living room. I didn't budge because I still feel so fucked-up of waking up from my short sleep. When I turned back to the egg and the pandesal, the two looked back staring at me and I was like WTF! The hard-boiled egg quickly rolled itself down the table and the pandesal followed hopping like Jimminey Cricket. I immediately composed myself and tried to snapped out of what the hell was going on but I realized my brunch suddenly became interesting (At least, at last!). Choose the best answer in the parenthesis.

I went under the table to check but the two weren't there anymore. So I turned back and saw that the pandesal and the egg each developed some tiny arms and feet and that they're actually running towards the living room. I crawled going to their direction and noticed that they are headed to the wall clock that fell on the floor. As they neared the clock some beam of light came out of it and the egg and the pandesal leaped up to the light. They held each others hand while the song "Hawak Kamay" was playing on the background. I could also hear the ticking of the clock and suddenly everything was in slooooooowwww mooooottttioooooon. The two just floated on the light and got sucked inside the clock. I thought it was some kind of portal that leads to a world full of food. So with all my might and my craving for something else than pandesal and egg, I leaped towards the clock in slooowww motiiooon too. As soon as the light touched my skin I was vacuumed to reality, half-asleep and about to choose which meal set to pick.



There's a hand waving in my face and I heard someone saying "What do you want to eat?". I collected myself back and quickly chose the Roasted Chicken with Macaroni Salad on the table. Sooner reality on me and I realized "OMG! I'm at Cafe France" and I barely had any sleep. Stupid daydreams! It was around 11:00 o'clock already and my stomach started to grumble in hunger. So I immediately eat my food. The roasted chicken tasted nice by the way, but I thought if there's anything I need to try in Cafe France it had to be Cafe France's pastries. From the internet I've read about that Cafe France offers a wide array of yummy treats and their best sellers comes from the baked ones. And since it's their first branch in Davao, in fact, outside Luzon I was more than eager to try out nearly everything they could offer us during the Press Launch.



So I tried their Seafood Marinara, some California Chicken Clubhouse, salad and the croissant from the breakfast tray. And the winner for me was their croissant! In fact, I totally agree with what Jesse said about Cafe France's Croissants! "They are God's gift to human kind." And thank God my pandesal-and-egg infected floppy tongue is back to normal again.


Since then I've been going back to Cafe France just to order croissants! I've tried their Chocolate Croissant, Butter Croissant and Choco Almond Croissant and oh..they're perfect with a hot chocolate and sometimes even with the milktea I'd bring. Hehehe

Cafe France is more than your usual coffee shop. They offer a wide selection of great tasting pastries, stomach filling meals and a croissant that doesn't only satisfy one's tongue but snaps you out of your nightmarish egg and pandesal daydreams.

Credits:
Photos Courtesy of Chic Foodies! Thank you Algene. :-)

Whenever I'm ask to accompany Quenniely, my 10 years old sister, to Church on Saturdays for her art workshop I usually drop by this Chinese food haus called "Sy Bee Tin". It's a small, open food outlet located at Tionko Avenue, Davao City.



It's a favorite place for it plays with my high school memories. I sometimes hangout there with my classmates back then, since it's only a few blocks away from school. Aside from my favorite Pizza Roll, I was able to try their Lechon Lugaw, Palabok, Siopao, Casavva Cake, Toasted Siopao and Mami. But there best-seller is the Garlic Bread which I have yet to try since I rarely eat anything with garlic. Not that I am allergic with garlic but let's just say I'm one of those modern-day vampires whose noses bleed whenever they smell garlic.Haha! What a reason. LOL

Hey, you might be wondering why I'm blogging about this food outlet. Aside from that I passed by their shop awhile ago, and that they have the best Pizza Roll in town, and that I will be there tomorrow because it's Saturday - this post will serve as my entry to this month's Blog Caravan.

This Blog Caravan's topic is meals for P100 or less that you can only find in Davao. It says "meals" but I'm sure I'm not violating the topic since Sy Bee Tin does not only serve tasty snacks but they also specializes with Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner meals.And another thing, it's proudly a Davao Food Haus.

It occurred to me when I spotted two more branches which was near schools. One in DMSF Drive and the other one in Ateneo Jacinto. I'm not quite sure what's there best-seller when it comes to meals but I was able to try their "Fried Siomai with Rice" meal in one of their branches.It's only worth P42.00 which is a win-win if you're on a tight budget.

I was also told that they serve grilled ribs which they sell for only 120 pesos. But that includes the drink so the meal itself might only cost P100 or less. Tomorrow, I'm going back to Sy Bee Tin for lunch  - wanna join with me??

P.S: I'm hoping for a free lunch tomorrow.Joke! (Jokes are half meant! lol) Photo Credits: Sy Bee Tin Facebook Fan Page

So if you want tasty and affordable snacks here in Davao - you might wanna check out Sy Bee Tin! :)

So it was the first day of DFAT 2011 and I have yet to meet some of the participants - probably the whole DFAT 2011 Team if no one misses out. I'm not sure if it was just that I'm too excited about the food that I didn't eat my breakfast or that home-food didn't seem yummy after last night's dinner at Yellowfin Seafood & Restaurant.Sorry Pa! (I'm just being honest.lol)

Trellis N' Vines

Anyway, Day 1 kicked off with a superb lunch at Trellis N' Vines.

I wasn't feeling well, when I was on my way to Trellis N' Vines. But the scorching heat compelled me to fly away minutes after walking sluggishly under the sun.





It's my first time to eat at Trellis N Vines, but I've been hearing  a lot about the restaurant even before the tour. Trellis N' Vines serves Filipino dishes and a variety of Asian cuisines. We started off with Sinuglaw, my favorite Sunday dish made of grilled pork, tuna ceviche (fish cooked in vinegar), radish, onions, cucumber, green mango, ginger, chili and vinegar.

OH diba! Halatang alam ang ingredients!?

You might be wondering why Sunday? At home we usually have this dish during Sundays because it's the only time when my uncles could all booze together, sing to their lungs with the videoke and Sinuglaw is always their Pulutan. And every time I get to see this on the table I always make sure to take all the grilled pork in it! :p

 Trellis N' Vines version made me feel nostalgic about the past Sundays of my life.Char!

After that, other dishes were served as well.But no matter what dish comes, it's obligatory to save tummy space for Baby Back Ribs.It's a fave! And Trellis' version was really superb. The tender meat, the piquant sauce - well, the mashed potatoes were also good! Trellis' Baby Back was so good that I almost didn't wanna share.



Two other must-try dishes are Chicken Biryani and Crispy Noodles! For dessert we were served banana peanut roll - it looks like the typical turon, only topped with peanut butter and chocolate syrup.It was delicious but it burnt my tongue. Like nobody reminded me desserts can also be hot!

The place looks fine and simple, the warm colors inside made the place very welcoming and alive.The service was great, and their dishes? Hmmm - Worth the wait!

Later on, we went to Coffeecat (a few blocks away from Trellis N'  Vines) to prepare ourselves for a heavy snack at Mam Bebs Bakeshop.It gave us time to talk about blogging related stuff while some took the chance to pamper themselves by taking a nap. *Siesta!* Some ordered cold drinks while others had yogurt.

Mam Bebs Bakeshop



Then came my most awaited snack at Mam Bebs Bakeshop. Joining last year's DFAT Participants, I was able to try Mam Beb's unique pastries by participating in the Google Maps Precinct Mapping Party in Davao City. Just like last year we used the backdoor to get inside.lol.

Nah, I was saying. . Just like last year they served us my mega super duper uber favorite Pancit Luglug, breaded porkchop, the luscious mango squares, sweet potato rolls and *drum rolls please* Mam Beb's magnificent Apple Pies.



Oh, yeah I love the Apple pies so much that I actually had more than three pieces. It had cinnamon on the filling which made a the filling taste stronger and the crust, even though it lack the ideal dense and crisp for a pie, it tasted really great. As far as I could remember the last time I ate a real apple pie was way back my Culinary Arts in High school. Poor me! So most of my eating time were spent over the apple pies.Haha!

But a heavy snack wouldn't be heavy without two heavy Lechon Biik's! Sponsored by Beko's Biik - this is the first time that I've heard of a spicy lechon Biik. That's why I got too excited that on my way to the table. I felt like I'm a meat-hungry zombie about to eat two poor petrified piglets.



Then came a morbid scene - the death of the two  poor piglets, stomach opened, bones were ripped, skins were teared and later was eaten by a mob of hungry pig-craving zombies. . .all rejoicing the death of the two Lechon biiks!



It didn't seemed long before dinner time was ready.So we headed off to Ranch N' Reef for a buffet sponsored by San Miguel Brewery.I was already full when I got to the place so my aim was to eat a little bit of everything.The night was filled with laughter; Brains were teased by the super hyper Sushi Game Master Evanjohnn. He initiated mini word games (Around the World, I'm Going to the Moon, Black Magic..etc) that made everybody's brain work out that night.



The fun didn't end there though for they all went to a coffee shop. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to come with them because I was so tired and sleepy then. I opted to go home, besides I'm afraid it'll rain that night. Nevertheless, on the first day of DFAT it felt like . It's a day like no other, a day devoted only to eating *oh wait* and of course - group shots!

Photo by The Photoblogger.

TRELLIS ‘N VINES
Main Branch: Mc Arthur Highway, Balusong, Matina, Davao City
Contact Number: +6382-297-8463
Mobile Numbers: +63922-8832282 and +63917-7000243
Website: TrellisnVines.com FB Page: Trellis ‘n Vines

MAM BEBS BAKESHOP
Address: CVA Building, CM Recto Street, Davao City (in between Union Drug and Planters Bank)
Contact Number: +6382-2278131

BEKO’S BIIK
Contact Numbers: +6382-2272445, +6382-2863445
Mobile Number: +63922-8381600
Pick up for Davao orders is at Dimsum Diner Guerrero Street, Davao City.

Yellow Fin Seafood and Restaurant
Cuisine: Filipino
Hours: Open Mon-Sat, from 10AM to 10PM
Address: Sandawa Plaza, Quimpo Boulevard, Ecoland, Davao City
For Reservations: 082.297.8777 or 082.298.0299