Writing With My Mouth Full is the culmination of all my years on the Web. I realized I liked food so much I was willing to write about it, whether it was because of a recipe I tried at home or an experience during my travels I wanted to share with other people.

Food tells us about our relationships with the earth and our surroundings. It can also summarize cultures and traditions, and most importantly, it invites us to relate with other people. Writer Mark Kurlansky said that food offers writers “material that is both universal and intensely personal–something that illuminates the nature of humankind but also offers insights into the unique and intimate foibles of an individual.” Writing With My Mouth Full is the grown-up ext212; the grown-up pabulum. If you’re familiar with those two sites, thank you for following me here.

One of them is Cia

About the restaurant ratings

When I’m not cooking at home, I’m out and about eating. I usually go by my current mood unless there’s a new restaurant I want to try. I use hearts to rate the restaurants I’ve visited. I can’t avoid but compare one restaurant from another, but when I’m writing my review, the only thing on my mind is what I experienced in the restaurant I’m currently reviewing. The dollar amounts are taken from my bill at the end of each visit.

4 hearts ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Exciting and well-executed menu, consistently good food (which means I’ve been more than once), attentive service, good vibe and ambiance. If someone asks for my New York City recommendations, these restaurants are always on that list.

3 hearts ♥ ♥ ♥
Very good food but I was unable to give an extra heart because of negligent or inexperienced service. I could have also thought that the price was not worth the food. Still, these restaurants tend to be my usual hunts because they’re more affordable than the four hearts.

2 hearts ♥ ♥
Could have been better but there were a couple of things that were not up to par. A lot of the times, the menu is just not exciting enough even though the food was probably good. Most of the least expensive restaurants get this rating because the menu is straightforward and usually never changes.

1 heart ♥
So-so overall and would probably never go again

Some restaurants may have changed information or closed since the time of writing, so call or check your local listings to make sure.

About the recipes

I’m inspired to cook by the produce currently in the markets. I go to the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City for the freshest produce but I also visit a handful of specialty stores and supermarkets. They’re all listed under Favorite Lists to your right. Unfortunately, I cannot purchase directly from the farmers all the time because it gets expensive, but I’m trying harder to cook more using locally-grown products.

I have a few favorite cookbooks that I always turn to when I cook, but I also adapt from the newspapers, magazines and books I’m currently reading. After cooking, I edit the recipes to make sure that I’m only publishing them the way I interpreted them. This may include changing the ingredients and the measurements.

Who is writing with her mouth full?

My name is cia_b and I’ve been blogging even before “blog” was in people’s lexicons. I’m a Filipino who has been calling New York City–”the big grid of blasted streets and no apologies”–home for the last seventeen years. I worked in the fashion industry before the Web taught me most of what I know today. A boy, who is referred to as “the Dr.” on this site, is responsible for the food monster I’ve become.

In one of my past lives, I founded generationrice.com, an online magazine for Asians and Asian Americans.

Some recent mentions and awards:

» After more than a year of being slow on extra curricular activities, I contributed Food & Design Mash-ups with Rachel Khoo in Theme Magazine‘s #22 issue
» A photo I took of the Jollibee in Cebu City made it in Queens Tribune, March 2009
» I contributed a BBQ tale in Theme Magazine #18 food issue
» Gawker used a photo I took of the Elizabeth Street fire, which Eater and Gothamist picked up
» A photo I took at Pickle Day made it, uncredited, in Driven‘s October 2008 issue
» A photo I took in Barcelona made it in Everywhere Magazine‘s last print edition
» A photo I submitted to Scenic Hudson was selected as one of the finalists. A special exhibition at Muddy Cup Coffee House in Poughkeepsie showcased the finalists’ works August 8-31, 2008.
» Home & Abroad used a photo I took of the Josefa Sudka Gallery in Prague
» I contributed an article about using my farm share to the Stanton Street Harvest (PDF)
» My Reykjavik food photo essay was featured on Everywhere newsletter, June 2008
» I wrote an article about my favorite New York City restaurants for the Philippines’ Manila Bulletin, April 2008
» I submitted my lentil soup recipe to Good Magazine‘s Project 009: All You Can Eat
» a photograph I took in Las Vegas was used on Schmap!! Las Vegas
» some of my Cuba photographs were used in Kindred Media’s video (at 4:01) about artist Juan Alonso
» a photograph I took in North Fork, Long Island was used on New York Magazine‘s travel section
» produced a few videos with chef George Weld of Egg in Brooklyn on how to make the perfect eggs for SeriousEats.com
» a photograph of me taken by The Los Angeles Times was published in one of their travel features, “Nicaragua’s Corn Islands, An Unspoiled Paradise”
» Bocas del Toro, a photograph I took in Panama was published in L!ve Travel Guides‘ 2007 Central America book
» I was the project manager for the spoon+fork Web site which won the 2006 American Graphic Design Award for Excellence in Communication and Graphic Design
» “Just Married”, a photograph I took was exhibited in Brooklyn Borough Hall as part of Positive Focus‘ Real Brooklyn, a Day in Our Life 2003 exhibit attended by Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz
» I was the co-founder and editor of generationrice which won the Best News and Zines Web site at the 2002 Philippine Web Awards
» I was featured on shift.com, “Rice is Her Vice”, December 2002
» I was featured in “Feeling Homesick” in Pinoy City USA, September 2002
» I was featured in the Manila Girl column of Filipino Express, August 2002
» I was featured in Filipinas Magazine, June 2002
» “The Pimple”, a short story I wrote was published in the 2001 anthology, YELL-Oh Girls! Emerging Voices Explore Culture, Identity, and Growing Up Asian American by Vickie Nam
» I was featured as the “Fun, Fearless, Female of the Month” in Cosmopolitan Philippines Magazine, April 2001
» I was mentioned in Ten Magazine, Spring 2001
» I was mentioned in Yolk Magazine, 2001 Issue No. 5
» I was a guest on Pinoy Radio, 2001
» I was featured in AsiaWeek Magazine, May 2000