Salmon Roe and Sea urchin Sashimi , May 29

Last night I had uni and ikkaridon (sea urchin and salmon roe sashimi with rice) at Kiko Fujji, Little Tokyo, Makati. I also tried basashi sashimi (raw horse meat) which was pleasantly tough and good. It's not that delicious, but I like how it tastes it my mouth.

Little Tokyo is my all-time favorite eating place for Japanese food. It never fails to delight me when I enter this courtyard surrounded by Japanese restaurants and see lots of Japanese faces. Ofcourse I’m also extremely pleased to see and pet the family of cats (wearing bell collars!) in the area.

Actually the meal is not that fantastic. The rice is not that moist, I much prefer eating at Nodasho. The salmon and ikkura don costs P640 and I shared it with my Filipino date. I still felt very hungry afterward... He is not that rich so I was embarrassed to ask for another separate bowl for myself.

the horse sashimi

I feel lucky to be able to eat lots of salmon roe and fatty seafood without worrying about gout and other health problems. Afterwards, my friends and I went to Shinjukku for coffee jelly.

On the other hand I am glad to buy raw macadamia nuts at Healthy Options in Shangrila Mall, after my brief meeting with the Filipino Freethinkers Group. I ate it all today. I only wish I had dark chocolates to go with it. Whenever I eat macadamia chocolates and there's very little macadamia I feel upset.

I am including the chirashi sushi of Vladi because it's so colorful and pretty!

Little Tokyo is at Don Chino Roces Avenue (formerly Pasong Tamo) cor. Amorsolo St. It is right beside Makati Cinema Square.

My Fruit Addiction

The Fruit Bar at Shopwise, Araneta Center, Cubao. May 27

Every time I do my errands in or pass by Cubao, I always drop by the fruit bar in Shopwise. The fruit bar here is like SM’s ritzy ditz cousin. They have few fruits but they include kiwi, dragonfruit, apples and grapes. It boggles the mind why they won’t include pears or strawberries. But I think it’s because these are more expensive than the aforementioned fruits and people will tend to get just the strawberries if they lay it out for the masses?

I prefer Shopwise because I have developed a taste for dragonfruit recently. The ones at SM fruit bar are no less healthy, but sometimes they aren’t so fresh. Shopwise Cubao only has the gelatin/gulaman with milk (a combnation of condensed and evaporated milk), whereas SM’s have tapioca/sago and different colored gelatin. I also love sago but ofcourse I don’t put the sweet sauce as it cancels out the healthy goodness you get from the fruits.

The big fruity plastic bowl you see above costs P130.

I was at Shopwise at 11am with few shoppers walking around. I sat in their Le Gourmet "restaurant" inside while reading William Saroyan's memoirs.

I find myself always looking for an excuse to “pass by” Cubao in order to have these fruits. In fact fruits are my secret to keeping fit despite an inordinate amount of food I ingest on a daily basis. I like to eat them before or after a meal.

Yesterday I enjoyed walking around in Cubao even though at 38 C it was so far the hottest recorded day of the year! I also bought some organic cotton bra for the weather. Sloggi is the only brand that has these organic cotton bra’s as far as I know. And Yes even in my choice of underwear I go for organic!

Mondo Juice, May 27

Mondo Juice

Although a lot of people scoff at me for being “obsessed” with organic products and not eating cheap apples from China (where they use a lot of pesticides), I really cannot shake off the habit. Which is why every time I encounter a new healthy eating place, I immediately try it. And yes, with full awareness that most of these shops are designed primarily to make me part with my money!

Mondo Juice is at the bridgeway at the 3^rd floor connecting Ali Mall to SM in Araneta Shopping Center, Cubao.

The interiors are pleasantly cool and airy, because of the glass walls (where you have a view of the street outside) and the light green and orange motif. I also like the cozy sofa’s where you can sit for as long as you like.

The P100 wheatgrass juice kind of made my stomach ache a little. I guess my stomach, unlike our bovine friends’ that have several compartments, cannot digest raw grass very well! Good thing I made them put half an apple juice (for P20) so it made the juice a little sweeter.

The P140 turkey pesto sandwich (in focaccia bread, not wheat) was nothing special. I didn’t eat half of the bread because white bread makes me bloat. There’s a lot of pesto sauce, thank goodness.

I probably won’t go back to the place again unless I’m a few feet away and incredibly thirsty. I would rather spend my P120 on fresh fruits at the fruit bar in SM or Shopwise.

Mondo Juice is at the 3rd floor of the bridge connecting SM and Ali Mall in Araneta Shopping Center, Cubao.

Welcome

Hi there. I am Fredda and I am delightfully obsessed with good food. By good I mean anything delicious, healthy and tasty.

There is no danger of me getting fat or gluttonous. I follow my body, and my body “knows” when it is time to stop. It’s impossible for me to eat a lot of unhealthy and processed food because my body doesn’t like it. So I just follow my instincts and it’s never led me astray, whether it’s a fancy restaurant where I pretend to be rich, or a carinderia where the waitresses throw the food at you.

I always fantasize about good food. I always wonder what food I will eat next. I cannot concentrate when I’m hungry. The worst times of my life are when I’m penniless and uncertain as to what I’ll eat next, or hungry and will have to stretch my budget and eat something unappetizing (eg, the times during college when, running out of allowance, I would be forced to eat instant noodles; or the time a pickpocket stole my wallet and I had to eat lousy siopao.)

I am spoiled beyond belief and I love to pamper myself and the ones I love. I want my loved-ones to have good food also. When I read about the food that the inmates in Quezon City Jail are eating, I cried.

I travel in order to try different delicious food. But I don’t want to try all or as much delicious and different food as I can. I would rather savor recent discoveries, go back to the comforts of old favorites, research carefully about new restaurants. I don’t have a lot of money to spend on fancy meals, anyway.

And that’s why I also date a lot, and my ex’es have been rich, successful men who could afford to feed me good food. My mom is worried that I may not be able to find a suitable man for marriage because the only man that could please me, she says, is someone who could “afford” to support my cravings and “lifestyle”.

But it is NOT a lifestyle, like something one adopts and sheds off when the next fad comes along. I've been obsessed with food for as long as I can remember. All I want is to eat good food, whether it’s fresh paksiw or pinangat at home or grilled salmon at an Italian restaurant.

I made this blog to share my food adventures with everyone, and also to remember how good it is to be alive. Good food is best eaten with people, like all good things, it is best when shared.

They say that food and sex are the most physical of pleasures. The Yanomami tribe in the Amazon even use one word for sex and food. I guess I'm a truly sensuous and sensual person because I indulge my senses in my pursuit of food.

And so I eat a lot and love a lot. I follow my heart, my body, my nature. Life is good!

art by Ali Cavanaugh