Casablanca: Rick's Cafe

When I found out that I was going to visit Morocco the first thought I had was, "I have to watch Casablanca!" Casablanca is one of my Mom's favorite movies and "As Time Goes By" is one of her favorite songs. I got the chance to watch the movie on my way to Morocco. I guess the airline just found it appropriate to include it as one of the many movies available for its passengers to watch. 

I got more lucky when we had dinner at Rick's Cafe in Casablanca. It's not the real cafe as depicted in the movie, but a replica put together by an American diplomat in 2004. It was an exciting experience nonetheless since it's one of the famous tourist spots in Casablanca. 

Rick's Cafe from the outside.

The entrance.

We had a special set-up though since there were so many of us. 

Interesting lamps adorn the restaurant. 

We each had our chosen menu on a special card (head waiter though was really stressed out because he wanted to make sure that they got our order right).

Another interesting looking lamp sits at the corner.

Center area shot from the second floor.

Me with some colleagues. (I was the only Asian in the group!)

 

Salad with goat cheese. 

Salmon and ratatouille. 

This is the reason why I chose menu #3, to-die for strawberry cheesecake.

It was truly a different experience and was pleased to see the owner wave goodbye to us as we left the cafe. I'm making this post so it would be easier to share the experience with my Mom when I get home.

Rick's Cafe (map)

248 Rue Sour Jdid, Casablanca, Morocco

+212 22274207

*Watch out though for the head waiter, he gets easily stressed out. Haha. 

GenSan: Ranchero Grill

One thing I love about traveling around the Philippines is the sumptuous food in other regions. I first encountered Ranchero Grill in Davao a few years ago, so I was really happy to know that they have a branch in General Santos City. We headed there yesterday to fill up our empty stomachs. I think the photos really show how delicious the food was (I'm lost for words haha).
 

 

  

Ranchero Grill (map)

Tacsiyapo

Now here's a must-visit place for angry people! 

Whenever I'm frustrated I oftentimes fantasize about throwing plates, pans, whatever I can get my hands on. I remember doing it once in the dark, but I regretted it when I woke up in the morning because I broke one of my favorite mug/penholders, so I just use my imagination or play Angry Birds when I need to blow off steam. 

On the way to Baguio yesterday I was searching on Google a place where we could have lunch and found Isdaan, a restaurant in Tarlac. My trip companions suggested we stop over at Tacsiyapo. We weren't sure about the name so we dropped the idea. We saw Isdaan on the way and thought we'd have lunch there. To our surprise we saw that Tacsiyapo was located inside the resort/restaurant! 

None of us were "angry" or had any ill-feeling we had to let out, but we still tried throwing a couple of mugs and plates. It was totally fun! I couldn't imagine though how people can actually throw a TV set to the wall or destroy wall clocks. 

 

Isdaan (map)

McArthur Highway, Gerona, Tarlac