I’m sure you’ve noticed: the restaurant scene here is slowly but surely gaining ground, and there’s a lot of interesting stuff to be had. The world of food is at an all-time high, and although we still have some ways to go to match up to the massive food scenes of our Southeast Asian neighbors, no one can deny that now more than ever there is a myriad good eats in our beloved Motherland, which makes this assignment from my boss editor all the more fun to write. Here’s a list of some of the best things I’ve tried this year in restaurants I’ve eaten in. I’m sure there are so much more, but these are the ones that left an impression on me.

But before I get to that, I have to say, though, that some of the best things I’ve eaten are not found in your usual sit-down restaurants, and I feel I have to give a shoutout to them: produce from Kitchen Herbs Farm (man, I swear: your salads will never be the same again after trying this stuff. Stalk them now!); Breads from L’Artisan (in my opinion the best I’ve had in Manila); cheese from Malagos Farms in Davao (it still blows me away that there’s pretty good cheese from Davao); mini mint merengues from Gustaré (just one of many treats from this kitchen lab); the only-by-order sans rival from Becky’s Kitchen (which I had the pleasure of eating beside Becky herself! Oh, the thrill!); adobong mussels (from Jaq’s Kitchen, this tiny stand selling pates and spreads near the exit of Salcedo Market--yummy. I really like this!); and lastly, something I really dig not only for it’s flavor, but for what it stands for: at our Pinoy Eats World food tours, we feature this simple dish of pork belly roasted in an orno (pan de sal oven) which we’ve dubbed “porno” (pork cooked in an orno). Only available during our Pampanga tours, this is arguably one of the best pork dishes I’ve had anywhere, ever, and I credit this to knowing where the pig comes from, what it ate, and it’s age – this is about as fresh as it gets.

Whew. So much food talk, no? Well, here’s more for you. In no particular order, without further ado, my little list:

Pork belly roasted in a pan de sal oven called "orno" earned the nickname "Porno." Click for more food finds.

Photos by JJ Yulo and www.elcirkulo.com (Roasted Bone Marrow)

Read "The 40 Best Things I Ate This Year, Part 2 "