SAN FRANCISCO—Overseas trips are full of the unexpected—new scenery, new friends and great new food. This time, our TV show “Foodprints” took me to Prince Edward Island in Canada.
It is said that anywhere in Canada is a place of natural beauty. Prince Edward was much more than that.
The first thing I noticed was the crisp, fresh air and the picturesque view of the sea. Despite feeling a bit under the weather, I jumped to normal health in no time.
Connected to the beautiful scenery and fresh air is the top quality of the produce—oysters, lobsters, clams, crabs and mussels, to name a few.
Also related to the well-preserved environment is high-quality cow’s milk, which means high-quality ice cream and chocolates. You’ll know as soon as you taste them.
We rode a boat to visit oyster, mussel and lobster farms. I can only conclude that because of clean, cold waters, the fish and other sea creatures produce more fat, the result of which is great-tasting seafood.
In a seafood festival, I met Canadian celebrity chefs Michael Smith and Lynn Crawford.
Vietnamese crab place
From Canada, I flew to San Francisco where the food trip totally changed. I was expecting to visit House of Prime Rib, but my sister Mariles took me instead to a new Vietnamese crab place called PPQ.
We feasted on papaya salad, garlic wings, salted egg and chili and garlic Dungeness crabs with garlic noodles on the side. Delicious, but not something to feel guilty over.
Another memorable meal was at Rasa, a fine-dining Indian restaurant with unusual but authentic Indian cuisine. I was told it’s a rated Michelin-star restaurant. No wonder.
Then, after a hike, Jenny took me to one of her family’s favorite places. SOL Food is a Puerto Rican restaurant. I had never tried this type of food, but I must say it was such a revelation, I was still thinking about it the next day.
I sampled a dish with fried flat plantain bananas, salad, rice and grilled boneless chicken thigh. It looked simple, but the moment I added vinegar garlic sauce, it felt like heaven. I ate so much rice but couldn’t take my eyes off the dry pork ribs.
The other dish had the same sidings but with two pieces of fried pork chops. Outstanding!
I look forward to such trips, but hope my kids can join me, too.
I’m heading back to Manila and looking forward to seeing my kids who I miss, as well as my empanada, Casa Daza and Wooden Spoon Food, as well as my comfort food, Bacolod chicken inasal, and, of course, playing badminton.
Join my food tours in Korea, Nov. 3-8 and 19-24; and in Hokkaido, Dec 4-9
Follow @sandydaza77 on Instagram