What started as a board for my views and opinions about a smorgasbord of topics slowly treads a path of food and dining chronicles. There will still be instances of musings and mullings, and opinions about certain issues, albeit rare. Most of all, it has become a gallery for a newly found interest in getting a shot of every circumstance, with food as the author's current favorite photo subject, though yet to be perfected, a conscious effort towards improvement, nonetheless.
Food Reviews Manila is an honest take on gastronomical delights from gourmet to street food and everything in between. My food reviews are my own, personal opinions and are not intended to harm, malign or defame any one or any entity. It may be brutal at times, depending on my experience, but an honest review just the same. I do not accept any form of payment in exchange for writing a positive post or rave review. The one and only "freebie" that I got was when my post won in a blogging contest. Particularly, the Cold Rock gift certificates. And I learned about and entered the contest only after writing and publishing the post already.
I have received a couple of invitations from new restaurants to try out their food but I've never really granted such requests. I have received several invitations to blogger events, whether PR or blogging groups, but I've attended none to date. This is not to say that I won't ever accept invitations. I still believe that bloggers, whether they get freebies for doing a feature on a particular restaurant or not, can be honest and unbiased in bringing to readers their culinary adventures. For now though, personally, I do not go out of my way to review a restaurant or food joint. I blog about wherever me or my family chance upon to eat. [*Update: I've attended a PR event recently though more for a culinary school - Enderun Colleges - than for the restaurant it also houses.]
I don't speak to the chef or owner of the restaurant lest I feel obliged to say something unnecessarily nice about the place. Moreover, I'd rather that they hand me my fare just like how they would serve other diners so I can capture the food as close as to what will be served of you, if you were to have the same dishes.
As you may have noticed, some restaurants I've put in the lime light on more than one occasion, just because I've visited again and have decided to try out their other offerings as well. As much as I would hope to cover more restaurants in the future, this blog is by no means an official restaurant guide, and should be taken as just another suggestion to your growing list of dining and food options. Another taste bud if you will.
Perhaps brought about by personal experiences wherein some people are rather more adventurous in ordering than others, I aim to point out other choices on the menu. The people in my family are what you can call conservative diners. It's a rare occasion that they try out something new to delight their appetite. And so seeing as this disease in not only contained in our family, I geared towards spurting out food reviews after food reviews to help alleviate the tendency to order "the usual".
Still, aside from being an outlet for my passion for eating, blogging has its perks from a financial standpoint. Perks that I would like to take advantage of, not in the form of sponsored posts but that of ads in my website. So pardon the cluttered advertisements for they are my only source of blogging income.
That said, join me as I munch on Manila's food, one restaurant and food stall at a time.
