If there's one word to describe me on a usual day... it would be "Frazzled".  (Now, you know why this author has maintained anonymosity even to the 1000th post!)  So for a change how about I take a splendid time with fellow foodies and let The Frazzled Cook take charge.  

If you've been reading my blogs, you'd know my philosophy on dining is for sharing.  And, I really think that's why I love the Philippine foodie community the most.  You get to meet so many people and everyone is just so warming and sharing.   I guess that's why despite being a wallflower, I never worry about what it's like to go to one food event after another.  

Now, I know there are non-foodie people.  But, there are a lot of foodies so I consider it as one of the biggest mix of people.  There are practically foodies from all walks of life.  

So in a food event, you'll see so many foodies.  There's the ordinary foodie like my long time IG friend Niel (which bothers me because he suddenly quit), social media influencer foodies, Zomato top reviewers as part of what they call Zomato Foodie Meet-up (Zomato FMU), Looloo top reviewers as part of what they call Looloo rendevous, food bloggers like me, media and more!  

Soups & Salads

If you've been following my IG stories and IG posts, I've been having this coming-of-age thought all of a sudden.  This may be funny because this is so easy for many but let me share with you something I've been promising myself since forever:

1.  Learn photography - Yes, I don't know anything about it until now.  But, every time I go to events and see someone really good especially my street photography mentor Sir Ted Claudio, I've been really wanting to learn.

My resolve:   You see, I really have poor self-discipline so in order to start change, I have to make an indirect change to push me to go out of my normal and comfort practice.  Thus, I sold my old camera real quick by selling it at a giveaway price.  Testing out new cameras in manual mode.  I am viewing more photos in IG and 500px.

2. Adopt a healthier lifestyle 

My resolve:   Subscribed to the nearest gym so I wouldn't have any excuse.  As for diet, yes I eat more greens!

So I am happy to share that I happily devoured on this Herbal Chicken Salad with basic vinaigrette the most!

One of the special gestures made by The Frazzled Cook especially for us is to let us try the Truffle Mushroom Pizza.  I felt like we hit the jackpot with this one because it was so rich in truffle flavor!  Fellow truffle lovers, do try this when it officially becomes part of the menu.    

I recall when the whole "wagyu" craze hit Manila, I used to be so excited to have more and more of it.  It was more premium than our local beef in terms of texture and price.  Soon, my excitement faded as it was the same one after the other.  But, guess what?  When I popped one of these Wagyu Salpicao cube unto my mouth, it surprised me that it was not just the soft almost melting into your mouth sensation that got me popping one cube after another.  It was every component of the dish: (1) the generous garlic bits, (2) the fragrant rich garlic taste that has seeped well into the oil were the wagyu cubes swam (3) the soft wagyu cubes (4) the salt, pepper and the balancing subtle hint of mint and bitterness from the dried parsley bits. 

You can already diagnose my impression of the Chicken Cordon Bleu just by visual inspection.

So moving on with a new found favorite salmon dish: the Grilled Salmon with Mango Salsa.   This has pushed the usual Baked Salmon dish to second in rank.

While I hate to make comparisons, I must say this time the Paella Negra  is the winner amongst the two.  Every black grain delivered a rich squid ink taste.  On some occassions, I even though that squid ink flavor is hardly detectable by the most delicate tongues.  Yet, The Frazzled Cook has worked wonders by magnifying the taste making us wanting and worshipping such dish till the end of our meal.

I would have been a devoted worshipper for the Paella Negra, if only we weren't served the Truffle Pasta.  It was like a holy grail for both truffle lovers and bacon lovers and I happen to be both!  It is actually mellow to the mouth as every component created a harmonious melody of flavors.  

The Frazzled Cook
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On a supposedly ordinary work day, I invited my workmates to have a dinner at Toast Asian Kitchen & Tasting Room at Ayala Malls the 30th.

Toast has an al fresco area with a coffee bar so it's like a cafe.  I find the main dining area quite exquisite with Candelabras, sofas and wooden walls and a luxurious looking mirror. 

And since Toast is open until 12 am, there's a bar too for alcoholic beverages.  Because I really liked the interiors and feel.  This is one of the rare moments that we rate a restaurant with a 5-star for ambiance!  

The Home Dumplings  are not ordinary dumplings.  The filling is a combination of two kinds of minced meat: pork and beef making it rich in meaty goodness and so succulent.  

A must try it their Salpicao.  The flavor is bold with a definitive garlic accent.  What I like most about this is that despite being huge and chunky beef cubes, it was so tender and easy to chew.  Every cube was also evenly cooked.  Good job!

I've been to many authentic Japanese restaurants just for Yakitori. And, I must say this beats most of them especially the Chicken Soft Bone.  It was in the middle ground between crunchy and soft.

I have always been biased towards red sauce pasta.  Thus, I am rarely swooned by Carbonaras.  But, wow I really liked Toasts' Japanese Carbonara that I even volunteered to finish this big bowlful.

Just to be clear, the Ribstock  isn't the fall of the bone kind of ribs.  It's tender but hangs on the bone with a nice chewiness as you pull it out.  The BBQ and sesame sauce is probably inspired by my favorite Korean dish called Galbi Jim.  If only this wasn't so heavy, I would have eaten more.

The Charsiu on Scallion Fried Rice is not the char siu I grew up having.  Char Siu is a Cantonese way of cooking pork barbecue.  It is usually lean and dry.  But, this one has an irresistible fat portion and the meat was so moist and pillow soft.  I loved this more than the usual Char Siu. 

Served with a cup of plain rice (good for sharing!), the Orange Chicken is the tastiest among our orders.  If you like sweet and citrusy dishes, then this will make you eat more rice!