early morning delight

I looooove hotel breakfast buffets. But not because of the fresh-from-the-oven buttery croissants, rich but fluffy omelets or endless assortment of ham and sausages. I've learned that focus is key. Especially if the company outing tour bus is leaving in 15mins.

The Marco Polo Hotel in Beijing has yummy yogurt. Rich, creamy and not funky-tasting. Alas, I don't remember what brand it was. I'm not even sure if the label was in English. But it was good enough for my roommate and I to risk lactose-intolerant repercussions in the land of squatty-potties. (By the way, the yogurt in Vietnam is also very good. At may caramel flavor! Gasp! Yummm.)

I like to embellish my yogurt with chunks of mango and honeydew melon. Then I generously sprinkle cornflakes and rice crispies, drizzle a little syrup, and dig in. Mmmmm.

Back home, I make do with Nestle's Mango Yogurt (Not the 0% fat one. Bring on the fat! In yogurt, at least.). Mini-buhos ng plain cornflakes, and solb na me.

Yamazaki

Just because you appreciate fine (read: "expensive") Japanese food doesn't mean that hearty rice meals no longer hold any appeal. Just a few meters away from Seryna is Yamazaki, a grocery cum diner where you can find Japanese folks hunched over a bowl of ramen chopsticks in one hand and some manga in the other. This place is relatively cheap, fast, and quite satisfying. There's no sashimi on the menu but if you insist on ordering some, they'll source it from Kikufuji just around the corner. We've tried the gyoza, the katsu curry rice, and the saba rice - all under Php 180.00. Draft beer is pretty cheap, at around Php 30.00 a mug. And for dessert, just cross over to the grocery and get some yummy mochi ice cream balls.