Mambo Bar, Scheveningen

I’ve tasted Dirty Girl Scout’s underwear (shaken with crushed ice!) and it’s definitely a guilty pleasure.

No, I’m not a pervert—dirty girl scout’s underwear (€10) is a cocktail concoction from another one of my favorite haunts at Scheveningen—Mambo.

It’s a potent mixture of vodka, triple sec, crushed mint, strawberries (and girl scouts!) shaked with crushed ice in a steel tumbler. Serves up to 6 shots and after two or three of these babies, you’ll be ready to dance on tables.

Chill-out music and a smaller, cozier, everyone-is-welcome vibe makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.
Conclusion:
Four pawikan points. Bonus points for the entertaining wait staff. Ask the muscular bartender to give the girl scout’s underwear an extra kick. After you’re all giggly and tipsy, ask the waiter to show you some magic tricks and prepare to be amazed. Tell them reviewsbyp sent you and maybe they’ll give you a beer on the house.

La Lanterna, Scheveningen

It's not gourmet and fine-dining but it's affordable, comforting Italian food coupled with a warm, friendly vibe suitable for all-night story telling.
***
Nestled along Keizerstraat at Scheveningen is a franchise of the big La Lanterna chain of Italian restaurants.

I don't usually review restaurant chains but this I particularly like. It's easy to forget you're in the Netherlands from the moment you step inside. The jovial manager, Mario greets everyone with a friendly smile and a firm handshake. His staff barely speak English and are even more fluent in Italian than Dutch. Grazie!

The place is decorated with bottles of wine hanging from the roof and the pizza oven is in plain view. This gives off some warmth which is great during winter however you end up smelling like pizza after dinner. But that's ok since you'll also smell like cigarette smoke anyway because of all the Dutch lighting up indoors.

I recommend the seafood risotto dribbled with chili oil. The thin-crust pizzas are made fresh and are affordable and filling at €8. (Portions are big enough for two asians to share.) I wasn't too happy with the lasagna-- too rich and creamy to have by itself.

Rating:
Four pawikan points. Bonus points for the complimentary marsala dessert wine that Mario offers to everyone. It's not really a date place but come here with a big group or if you want to have a quick, no-nonsense meal. Drink a lot of wine and don't be shy-- boisterous laughter won't be out of place.

The Nose, Cape Town

The Nose has fantastic food, a cozy ambience and a good selection of wines by the glass.
***
As I was surveying the clump of restaurants at the Cape Quarter, the specials of The Nose which written on a small black-board caught my attention: Zebra carpaccio and a veal stew in an ossobuku sauce served with vegetables and mustard mash.

I've neither had Zebra nor ossobuku before so I sat down to try it. To make a long story short, I was not disappointed. The carpaccio had a weird gamey aftertaste but i wolfed it down anyway. The veal melts in your mouth, very tender, very tasty. Perfect meal for winter and reasonably priced.

I returned a couple of weeks later and the special of the day was warthog with stewed apples. I've never hard this before but it is the dish with which I will measure all future warthog meals. The meat was almost falling of the bone and the sweet stewed apple made the perfect complement!

For dessert, I tried the Diemersfontein pinotage 2006-- a very strange wine for me because of the very bold taste of chocolate and coffee! This was also my first time to try the sweet-as-honey Simonsig Gewurztraminer. Yum.

Rating:
Four pawikan points! Bonus points for our Xhosa-speaking waiter Thando and his quirky sense of humour. Come and visit for dinner-- depending on the night, they've got a jazz pianist, ladies night and free wine tasting.

Jessica Zafra Reviews Coffee in Manila

According to one of my favorite Filipino writers, Jessica Zafra, she has been drinking "four to five 8 oz cups a day since childhood." I'd say this will make her a pretty good judge of coffee and in her blog she reviews some popular and obscure coffee joints in Manila in a few words:

• UCC - "...expensive but worth it."
• Starbucks - "...weak and tastes burnt"
• Via Mare, Pancake House, Gloria Jean’s— "...bleccch"
• "You know who has good coffee? Dunkin Donuts"
• Panciteria Lido - "...excellent cup"

Maybe drinking coffee makes her a better writer. For example, read about her surreal encounter with a sampaguita vendor. It's got a disturbing surprise ending.

American Soldiers Review Ready-To-Eat Meals

I know i'm usually the one supposed to review stuff but I think I can learn a thing or two from these soldiers who were tasked to review their Meals Ready to Eat (MRE). (MREs are instant food that they eat during battle in the field.)

Here's a sample:

• "...the vanilla pudding is so good that i ripped it open licked the inside and rolled around on top of it like a dog." (link)
• "...you must always have a spread for the crackers if not anger is the result." (link)

and my personal favorite:

• "...even in the harsh conditions of the field of combat, the way it turned my mouth blue flooded my mind with childhood memories and for a slight moment i was at peace." (link)