Food Trippin' Singapore: Curry Café

On our first day at Singapore, after we dropped off all our stuff at River City Inn, we all went looking for something to eat. Good thing there is a mall nearby the Inn and we all went there. At the lower level of The Central Mall in Clarke Quay, they have a food court with a lot of food choices to choose from. Since most of the stores are already full, we found ourselves at Curry Café which is the only one that can fit all of us.

The place is super small and can only fit less than ten guests. We just joined the tables so the eight of us can fit comfortably. The owner is very accommodating and even if she cannot speak in English well, she still tried to understand us.

Family Dinner at Dayrit's Burger and Roast Beef House

For a long time, My mom has always told me stories of how the fast food at their time serves large burgers as compared to the shrinking quality of beef patties in the burgers that fast food chains today. She always gives Dayrit's Burger and Roast Beef House as to having a really big serving of the burger. A few years back, I learned that Dayrit's still exist today and is located at the Paseo de Magallanes and since then, I was planning to go there to eat.

When we went on a road trip at Clark, we decided to drop by there for dinner and I was excited at the same time very hungry to try out the burgers they serve. They have a small place but I think it can hold about fifty people. There are a few people dining but most of the guest came in as dinner time approaches. The area is lit a bit dimly and across the door is the counter and a kitchen behind where most of the orders come from. Each table is well prepared and waiters gives you the menu upon seating and then takes your order. They are friendly and accommodating to us, maybe because there are only a few guests, but never the less, still nice.

Lunch Out Series: ElarZ Lechon

Located at the ground floor of Dela Rosa Car Park is a small Lechon restaurant called ElarZ. I first learned it with a friend and since then, I always wanted to eat there since they say it was the best Lechon place in town. This lunch out is my chance to try and out this famed place.They claim to be the Pambansang Lechon (National Lechon) since it comes with their tag line and this intrigues us more.

We walked to Dela Rosa Car Park near The Enterprise building along Dela Rosa Street in Makati just to have a taste of ElarZ. As we got there at around after lunch, there are only a few people dining in the area. It was small and there are two entrances. One is at the parking area and one is facing Dela Rosa Street. The whole area can seat around less than twenty people and there are also a few seats available outside. They have a pretty small counter where they take your order. Good thing we got there after lunch since I think we cannot get any seats of ever we got there during lunch hour.

Place to Stay in Istanbul: Byotell

A five star hotel located at Kozyatağı at the Asia side of Istanbul is Byotell. The place is located near the hi way and across a Carrefour shopping center near the residential area. It is one of the best places to stay in Instanbul for its amenities and good service.

We booked through their website, http://byotell.com.tr, and reserved a room for 15 days. Their online booking and reservation is user friendly and we have booked quickly after confirming our days of stay in Istanbul. They even gave us a summary of the rates for each day since it was not a fixed amount per day. Weekends are much cheaper compared to weekdays, especially Wednesday, which has the highest rates. Their standard price is in Euros, however, you can pay them with US Dollars or in Turkish Lira. Also, the booking is convenient enough to have placed the amount in US Dollars for the total amount to be paid. The rooms we booked contains a free buffet breakfast everyday and since we'll be staying for a long period, the shuttle service to the airport, after check out, is free of charge. We also booked a shuttle that will fetch us from the airport on our arrival date. It was convenient since we are new to the country and is not sure where to go as soon as we land.

Food Trippin' Istanbul: Takko

Dinner has been a stress buster after work for us in Istanbul. We wanted to try every small restaurant around and one of the closest place from our hotel is a small fast food like restaurant named Takko.

Located beside the building beside Byotell is a small commercial like area where there is a small pharmacy and a veterinary clinic. Along this is Takko. The place is spacious and as you enter, a lo of tables greet you up tp the counter. The main counter has a lot of pictures of the food they have there which is good because we always don't have any idea of what they have.