Bagnet 80605 (Vito Cruz, Manila)

Last Friday, I met up with bookish friends Eunice and Cath to pick up our books from Gie. Before we went to Gie's work place, we had lunch at Bagnet Eighty Sixty Five first.


Located near De La Salle University, this house-cum-restaurant mainly offers Bagnet dishes (obviously), but they also offer a few fish and chicken dishes.


The place is small, but I like the vibe inside - it felt like eating at home. Also, the noises of the diners made eating more fun and pleasant, in my opinion.

*photo grabbed from eunice*

We settled for a table near the window, and because both Cath and Eunice have already eaten here before, it was I who had to really choose what to eat. Truth be told, it was difficult to choose which to order because even if their menu was short, they seem to have chosen good dishes to pair with bagnet.


Original Bagnet (budget meal)
Cath's meal. First impression was the amount of food on the plate. This may be a "budget" meal, but it sure was more than what I expected.


Kare - Kare Bagnet (budget meal)
Eunice and I chose the same meal. At first I wanted to try the Bagnet Dinuguan, but I didn't bring anything to clean my teeth, and the idea of having vegetables to pair with bagnet seemed to lessen the guilt.

At 120 pesos, this sure was a good meal to satisfy one's tummy. Though the kare - kare sauce was a little sweet for my taste and that I found it weird that there was okra and bell pepper on my plate (most of the vegetables were under the bagnet), it was a good dish overall. The bagnet was very satisfying - it was cut into big chunks and had a good proportion of meat and fat. Also, the meat was tender and easy to chew, and the pork skin was crunchy, much to my delight. It was a little sad that I am very unsure when to eat here again, but should my feet take me to this side of Manila again, I might probably try their dinuguan or their Bagnet Sinigang.

This food trip made me think about cooking my own bagnet dish. Biggest problem would be the guilt of cooking and eating Bagnet for everybody knows it is high in calories and cholesterol, but maybe a few months from now, I might indulge myself and the family with a Bagnet dish.

The only negative thing I could say about the place was that the smell of the kitchen clings to the clothes, but a splash of cologne is enough to cover it up.

Bagnet 80605 is located in Leon Guinto corner Estrada Streets in Manila.

Recipe | Choco-Banana Cupcakes

If you follow this blog for sometime now, you might already know that I into cupcakes as they are big enough to satisfy the sweet tooth, but small enough to ease the guilt. It's been a while since I last shared a cupcake recipe here, so here is a very easy one you can try making.

Of course, this isn't my own recipe, but another I learned from my favorite educational channel on earth - YouTube. Hehehehe. This particular recipe is by Joy of Baking.



Choco-Banana Cupcakes
makes: 12 regular sized cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
• 1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (35 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or Dutch-processed)
• 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 1 medium sized banana)
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) warm water
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) canola, corn, or vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350*F and line your cupcake / muffin tin with your choice of paper liners, or just butter or oil the surface if you don't have any paper lines or if you are opting not to use any.  
•  In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• In another large bowl, whisk together the egg, mashed banana, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined.
• Pour or scoop the batter into the muffin cups, about 3/4 full
• Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. 

Things to know - choose very ripe bananas as they are softer and sweeter. The milk, you can use any liquid milk you want - be it full cream milk or skim milk. Personally, I used evaporated milk for this and it came out well.

It is good enough to eat as is, or you can add frosting of your choice.


Joy of Baking used chocolate frosting, but I tend to prefer the white and dark brown contrast, so I went for the Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting, which I did here for the first time. It was good way to frost cake without too much sugar, and I think this will be my go-to frosting from here on out.

Though easy, this is a tricky one to make, so I suggest you check different videos on YouTube to find different techniques. I used Bake Like a Pro's recipe for this. We don't own a standing mixer, but I was able to create the frosting using our handheld mixer.

Weekend Eating | Remembering Daddy

Nine years ago on March 5, we lost the head of the family. It was a very devastating loss as everything happened so fast, I personally wasn't able to react well to it and it took a few months before everything sunk in on me. Every year on this day, at least one member of the family travels to La Union to light a candle on his grave, but this year, none of us weren't able to travel (we vow to travel in November though).

Anyway, on daddy's 9th death anniversary, sister and I met up with mom at the mall to have early dinner at Conti's in Ayala Fairview Terraces. I guess my mind was floating that day, because I wasn't able to take any pictures of the restaurant considering it was my first time to dine there (but this was the third Conti's branch I visited).


Lasagna
At first glance, this seemed to be a little too pricey at nearly 300 pesos (I forgot if this was 270 or 280 pesos), but, it sure tasted awesome! It was meaty, it was very cheesy, and it was very flavorful. For its price, for sure this wouldn't be something I would eat every now and then, but during special occasions, I think I might go for it again.


Garlic Sotanghon.
My sister and my mom both loved it, but it was my first time to taste this dish. Again, another plain looking food - something that would make you question if they priced this right, but at first mouthful of the noodles, and I was shot straight to foodie heaven. Saying it was delicious would be an understatement, because it was more than delicious, but I don't know if there's a proper adjective for that. The noodles were cooked just right and it tasted like it was cooked forever in chicken broth because every chew screams chicken! Even if this didn't have vegetables, it was able to satisfy my tummy that I didn't feel the need to eat dinner at home anymore.


Mocha Tiramisu.
We do love their Mango Bravo, but I didn't want to pass the moment without trying their other pastries, and this one sure was a delight.


Mango Bravo.
Of course, a food trip at Conti's will never be complete without Mango Bravo. This particular slice had mangoes that are slightly tarty, and it just went well to the cream. If you have tasted this cake already, you do know why we love it...if you still haven't, I hope you can taste it the soonest possible time, especially now that summer has kicked in.

Between bites, us girls talked about the many "What ifs" - what if dad is still alive, would he be on Facebook... would he be traveling with us (or, would he allow us to travel)... would he be baking goodies with us... would he be lining up at the cinema every Mondays and Tuesdays for free movies? It was crazy answering the questions, but part of me was sad that daddy wasn't able to enjoy a better part of the century - the boom of social media that drove establishments to change rapidly.

Nine years. Seems so long ago, but a pinch of pain still lingers on.