Banois - Casual Vietnamese Dining

Nope! It's not french. It's Vietnamese for grandmother on the father's side.
Banois is a casual dining restaurant. They have branches in

Legaspi Village
12B Tropical Palms, 103 Dela Rosa Corner Perea Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City

UP Town Center
Ground Floor, UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City

Estancia Mall
Basement 1, Estancia Mall, Capitol Commons, Oranbo, Pasig City

Kapitolyo
Basement 1, Estancia Mall, Capitol Commons, Oranbo, Pasig City

We've tried the one in U.P. Town Center. Went here for my grandparents' 57th anniversary. We we're hesitant at first since there weren't any people inside so we were thinking if it's good. And I must say, it's really not bad!
Here are some of the food we liked:

Goi Cuon (P215.00)
Pork, shrimp and vermicelli attractively rolled in rice paper served with their famous peanut sauce

Goi Buoi Tom Thit (P215.00)
Sweet pomelo and shrimp tossed in calamansi-sesame dressing surrounded by lobster cracker

Goi Xoai Ca Kho (P215.00)
Fresh green mango, sweet basil and dried fish tossed in their famous nuoc mam dressing and garnish with toasted garlic and fried shallots. A refreshing start.

Suon Nong Xa (P295.00)
The addictive pork riblets flavored with their special lemongrass fusion, pan-fried and served with soy-chili sauce
--Another yummy one! Carlo's favorite!

Bo Luc Lac (P370.00)
The house favorite stir-fried spiced beef served with fried basil
-- This was my personal favorite! Super tender and flavorful beef tenderloin cubes!

Ca Tre Chien Gion Mam Gung (P245.00)
Deep fried crispy catfish served with salad greens and nuoc cham

Mi Xao Don (P250.00)
Crispy Egg Noodles crowned with stir fried pork, seafood and veggies.

Photo from Banois Menu

Banois will surely satisfy your Vietnamese food craving anytime. Reasonable prices and yummy food!

Dumaguete - Oslob - Siquijor Day 1

Our 2nd anniversary. That's what we were celebrating.

We were able to get a super cheap plane ticket (P2,332 for the both of us) since Cebu Pacific had a promo.

Here's how it went:

Arrived Dumaguete at around 1:30 PM. So hungry we asked the tricycle driver to bring us to Rizal Blvd where most of the restaurants are. There are no taxis in Dumaguete so tricycle trips are the most common mode of transportation. They have regular and "pakyaw" trips at P150. Regular is the shared ride. They usually offer "pakyaw" to tourists so they have the trike all to themselves.

Our trike driver Kuya Ben, offered to drive for us the whole time and said it's up to us how much we'll pay him. People usually don;t agree to this, but since I was in favor of the convenience, I obliged. (Plus, kuya Ben looked really nice and decent anyway)

We ate lunch at Kamalig Restaurant. Carinderia Type. They have a wide variety of viands, just like any carinderia in our country. Carlo ordered Sisig, I ordered Tanigue. After lunch, we passed by Silliman University (This is a 'must visit' to others), we decided not to go down since we were catching a boat to Oslob at Sibulan Port.

There are several boat trips to Oslob every hour, fast craft or pump boat . We took the fast craft that will depart at 3:00 PM. It was a hot day and we felt sweaty and uncomfortable since the boat wasn't air conditioned. then finally after around 45 mins, we arrive Liloan Port, Cebu. Ceres Liner buses are waiting there ready to go northbound to Cebu City. We rode a bus and arrived Oslob in 30 mins.

We stayed at Oslob New Village Lodge since we're friends with the owner, Kuya Hanz Villanueva. It was a nice place. Very peaceful and quiet at night. it's also near the main road so you won't have any problem looking for a pharmacy, a convenience store or a restaurant.

After settling in, we went to Oslob Heritage Park where we saw the old church, towers, gates and headquarters built during the Spanish era. It was a beautiful sight and we really felt we traveled back in time.

It was dawn and felt a little tired already so we went back to the main road and looked for restaurants. Them we saw these tables all lined up in one side of the street. They were all selling bbq and fried chicken. Tables and chairs are set up so you can eat there too. Unfortunately, unlike other street food, this was NOT good. It was okay, but hindi ganon ka-sarap.

We bought a few beers on the way back to our place so we can drink a bit and sleep soundly.

Expenses:
Lunch at Kamalig - 400
Tricycle Ride - 350
Fast Craft to Liloan Port - 124
Bus from Liloan to Oslob - 64
Dinner - 235
DAY 1 TOTAL: P1,173

Global Dining Etiquette

I came across this post by The Restaurant Choice .

Here's an infographic on how to behave in different restaurants around the world. :)

Carlo's Food List

Whenever Carlo and I watch cooking shows, he always, AS IN ALWAYS, says "I like that",then I always say "let's cook that"

And because I can't remember everything he wants us to cook, I decided to make a list on our blog.

Beef Roulade
Butter Poached Lobster
Chili Crab
Beef Borguignon
Beef Parnentier
Sicilian CHili Beef
Ragout with Pasta
Portuguese Chicken with Chorizo and Clams


*This list will continue to grow and grow and grow. Comment on this blog post if you want us to try cooking some of the dishes you know and we'll make sure to add those to our list. :)