I will forever be grateful to the California Cheese Board for giving me my first assignment as someone who blogs about eating.

Apparently, they had been following my blog and didn't even know that I write for a food magazine! My guess is that they have a super secret department that sniffs out cheese-lovers and that's how they found me.

This was how I found myself at the wonderful Lolo Dad's Brasserie in 6750 in Makati, sampling the cheese-filled delights conjured from the imagination of Chef Ariel Manuel.

First we were given samples of some cheeses produced in California. Not a proper platter, just enough to discern the different flavors.

The California Pepper Jack tastes like pepper-infused mozzarella and would go great in meat sandwiches.

The Provolone has a mild flavor, as does the Swiss, which was almost bland, but in a good way.

The Sharp Cheddar lived up to its name, being full-flavored and salty, and the Colby Jack was a mix of mild and sharp. I liked the little flags that came with it. I imagined that we were decimating cheese forts.

Then came the food.

The Silver Lake Sharp Cheddar and Romaine Lettuce Soup served with Salmom Bruschetta was creamy, the lettuce tasting more like spinach (yay!), the flavors really coming together when you eat the mild soup with the crisp, salty bruschetta.

The California Select Farms Pepper Jack, Swiss and Provolone Mushrooms and Fresh Spinach Pizza was probably one of the best pizzas I've ever had (right up there with a particularly good batch from Shakey's).

The cheese made the already fresh mushrooms taste fresher. The ingredients were spread thinly on a thin crust, resulting in a light, flavorful pie. It made me too full to eat the next dish.

The Baked Cheswick Colby Jack, Pancetta and Rigatoni Pasta with Vegetable Fritters was basically mac and cheese on steroids.

This is what mac and cheese should taste like, the cheese melty, with a fresh, complex flavor (not just cheese spread) with just the right amount of saltiness and a bit of smokeyness courtesy of the pancetta.

The fritters were an awesome plus, mushroom-flavored mush enclosed in a crunchy crust. The dish made me want to be a kid again.

Of course, a kid wouldn't have been able to enjoy the meal with a glass of Beringer Chardonnay, a nice white wine.

I confess that I know nothing about wines and I'm still learning. All I know is that the Beringer went down smooth, with no harsh aftertaste.

A lovely meal made with lovely cheeses. And I'm not just saying this because they invited me.

To learn more about the best combinations for pairing California Cheese with California Wines, log on to http://www.realcaliforniamilk.com/recipes.

California cheeses are available in SNR and leading supermarkets in Metro Manila.
For more ideas on preparing California Cheese dishes for this Christmas, log on to http://www.realcaliforniamilk.com/category/courseoccasion/christmas.

Sometime this year, I got to meet two thirds of Placebo, one of my favorite bands, when they had a concert in Hong Kong to promote their new album, Battle for the Sun.

Their music, which is heavily influenced by glam rock, has greatly influenced the way I think and write (Their music helped carry me through my undergrad thesis, for one thing) and it was a big thrill to not just see them in concert, but go backstage and interview them as well.

Placebo is composed of Brian Molko, Stefan Olsdal, and new member Steve Forrest. I got to chat with Brian and Stefan before the concert. Here's some of the stuff they talked about:

Your music in Battle for the Sun seems lighter than your previous albums.

Brian: Probably in theme and what we're trying to get across, which is hope. I think we felt that the last album (Meds) didn't offer the listener a great deal of hope and we wanted to do something that was less somber and more colorful. The actual process of making the record was the least chaotic, the most disciplined and the most stress-free recording process so far. I think a lot f that had to do with our producer's incredible people skills and his understanding of the psychology of a rock band.

Stefan: Compared to the last one, there's a few major differences. One is the lineup. I think when we made Meds, it was kind of the beginning of the end of that lineup, really. Making this record was kind of purging the past and kind of reaffirming the fact that we really want to be in a band. There's still a lot left to fight for. It's kind of finding some of that renewed energy.

There's also been some change to your general sound in this album as well. For example, you use a marching band in some songs, while before, your music tended towards electronica.

Brian: We wanted to make a big sounding record. We wanted to make and anthemic record and an epic record. We also wanted to use instrumentation which we felt was timeless. The problem with electronic music is that technology moves so quickly that the more electronics you use, the quicker your music becomes dated. You have to wait another 20 years until that sound is fashionable again, to become slightly retro. We chose to use the type of instrumentation like piano, string and horns, brass because we've always been trying to make a timeless record and this time around... you now you're always trying to make a record that transcends the genre as well. And we also try to make records that don't have a type of blanket sound, (it should have) a lot of variation.

How is your working relation with Steve?

Brian: Sometimes it's great. Sometimes it's amazing. And sometimes, you just want to put him in a bag and drown him. You know? (laughs) There's a massive age difference between us.

Stefan: There's a massive cultural difference. He's American. Born and bred.

Brian: From California. You know, he's 22. We're in our mid-30s and you know we're from Northern Europe. We're more contemplative and quiet. Steve can be very excited about being in the band as well. But he is an extremely talented musician. And there's a real synergy between us when we play as Placebo. When we play onstage. It kind of feels like being in a band with your little brother and (laughs) little brothers can drive you crazy.

Stefan: If you talk to him for two minutes, then you're his best mate. He's very friendly. He's a good kid.

You call him kid to his face?

Brian: Oh yeah.

Stefan: We call him many things.

Brian: One of his nicknames is the baby. We call him that to his face so he knows.

Stefan: Blondie.

What's it like collaborating with David Bowie?

Brian: It's a lot of fun. He's a legend. Being in the same room with him... you pick up his...

Stefan: His bacteria.

Brian: You learn just by being around him. The good thing about David is that he's a raconteur. It's a lot of fun. He knows everybody. He knew everybody. You get to hear a lot of funny and sad stories about people who are no longer with us and are still with.

What can fans expect from Placebo in the near future?

Brian: We're just touring and touring and touring. We don't plan to stop.

Any plans of coming to Manila, maybe next year?

Brian: Hopefully.

Walk into the Greenbelt branch of Myron's place and you are transported into an era that resembles the 70s. The mod decor is a lovely contrast to the elegant comfort food that the restaurant serves.

The Stockbroker's Salad (P1200) with its roasted French duck breast, grilled tiger prawn, seared US sea scallops and pan-seared foie gras served on a bed of greens makes for a mouth-watering starter (allow 15 minutes for this one).

The vegetables are crisp, flavored with a light vinaigrette. The dish is actually four salads in one, the duck served with hoisin sauce and apricots, the foie gras an interesting combination of cold and creamy, without any annoying nodules that remind you that you're eating liver.

The scallops, served with pesto, are big, as are the prawns, which straddle the right side of the soft/burnt dichotomy.

There are many cuts of steak to choose from, the most expensive going as high as P4,300, but we went with Bianca's Cut (P980 for 240g, P1,330 if topped with pan-seared foie gras), the smallest cut.

The steak is US Premium Black Angus; very soft and juicy, something that will warm any beef-lover's heart. Just some fresh ground pepper and Himalayan pink sea salt is enough to bring out its flavor.

The sauces it comes with also add their own dimension to the steak. The mushroom, sauce gives it a classic steak taste, going well with the decor as the one with the most 70s vibe.

The black pepper sauce is the most playful of the sauces, possessing a distinct wine flavor that masks that of the beef.

The Chiraz sauce is rich, deep, and sophisticated adding dimension to the beef, while the Cabernet-shallot sauce makes the steak taste like roast beef.

The steak is served with vegetables: haricot verte, carrot, tomato and garlic - crisp and sweet and a great palate contrast to the beef. I always appreciate a restaurant that takes its side dishes seriously. This is one of them.

One dish that I hope has made it to the menu by now is the Steak Hash.

Basically steak cooked sisig style, the dish is composed of steak cubes, some of them chunks of delicious fat, cooked with cubed roasted potatoes in a secret dressing.

The dish is heart-stoppingly rich, with an undertone of sweetness that's found in really good meat.

Bits of spring onion and fried garlic round out the flavor, helping the beef flavor rise through the dressing. The dish would go well with wine, and perhaps a plate of steaming hot garlic fried rice.

At last, we come to dessert.

Myron's Old Fashioned Bread Pudding (P180) is the best in Manila. This, coming from someone who doesn't care much for bread pudding, old fashioned or otherwise.

The dessert is more like a dense cake than bread pudding, with a creamy texture and a condensed milk taste.

It is served with dark caramel ice cream and rum sauce, the syrup containing a lovely burnt caramel flavor, like well done flan sauce. The ice cream has a slight coffee taste and provides a refreshing caffeine jolt. It's a dessert you can seek out on its own, with a cup of coffee, on a quiet afternoon.

Great steak, great dessert. How can you lose? Just be sure to wear expandable pants beforehand.

G/F Greenbelt 5
11am-11pm M-Sun

I've been watching a lot of Pucca on the Disney Channel lately. The cartoon about the ten year-old girl with super powers and a big crush on the local ninja is quite charming, and also quite appetizing, since Pucca works in a noodle restaurant.

Hearing about my Pucca fascination, Anson Yu, who conducts Binondo walking tours with Ivan Man Dy, took me to Myung Sung, a tiny Chinese Korean restaurant across the Diamond Hotel in Malate to try what he says, according to his research, are the noodles served in the cartoon.

Ordering was an interesting experience, as the proprietor only speaks Korean. The Filipino staff is helpful though, so telling them what we wanted was no problem.

The noodles turn out to be Jajang Myun (P250) ramen noodles with vegetables in soybean sauce. This is not a broth-based dish. I guess you could say it's like Korean pasta. The noodles were long, the dark, sticky-sweet sauce making them clump together.

Instead of a knife, I was given a pair of kitchen scissors to cut them with. The noodles were more than coated with sauce, which was sweet and salty, reminiscent of hoisin sauce.

The serving was big, good enough for two. I loved it!

The scissors were a bit surreal, but they added to the dish's charm. I don't know if they give scissors to all the patrons who order the dish or if I was just lucky but I will say that there's an element of home-cookedness to the experience.

Anson had the Jjam Pong (P300), a soup-based noodle dish with seafood and vegetables and tastes like Japanese ramen.

Nothing special in terms of taste but is a good dish to be eating on a rainy evening. There's a lot of similarities between the two cultures, and nowhere is this more prominent than in their cuisine.

Another dish to look out for is Gun Man Du (P200), sautéed meat in dumplings. You can choose between steamed or fried. We, of course, picked fried.

These are some of the best dumplings in the city, the meat's juices sealed in its soft skin and crisp brown base. Dip them still warm into the salty sauce provided and you are in heaven.

I suggest you stick to the house tea, as the softdrinks, at 50 pesos, are quite pricey.

My Myung Sung experience was an interesting field trip.

I don't know if tasting the kind of noodles that Pucca serves enhances my viewing experience, but now I understand why the restaurant she works in is so popular, and why people keep coming back. I know I want to.