Tara, Let's Eat!

Figaro Dinner Meals

2012-02-12T14:46:00.005+08:00

Figaro - Tomas Morato
Sct. Lozano corner Tomas Morato, Quezon City
+63 (02)410-4256
09 February 2012

With prices of goods sky rocketing by the minute, I am sure most of us are always looking for great deals which are worth our hard-earned money.

Just recently, my sister and I were at Figaro (Tomas Morato) not to drink coffee, but to try their dinner meals. These meals were launched sometime last January, but last 10 February 2012, Figaro is now offering a good deal:

Buy 1, Get 1 at 50% Off.

For this promo, they have two meals -

Chicken Rice Bake. Flavorful chicken baste blended with creamy white sauce, bell peppers, mushroom buttons, carrots, in rice topped with melted cheese. It looked very simple, but it has a lot to offer once you started eating it. I find the flavors balanced - it was like eating Arroz Valenciana or Paella.

Tofu Steak Rice. Sumptuous deep-fried tofu glazed with special sauce sprinkled with white sesame seeds and rice garnished with parsley. My angle wasn't good, but it did have a lot of tofu cubes. It had a hint of sweetness, but what made me love this dish was that the tofu was firm yet soft... and the sauce was cooked together with the tofu as the outer parts of the tofu cubes were caramelized. I am not sure if they used Teriyaki sauce, but whatever it was, I super liked it!

Both rice meals are served with a regular size of Lemonade, which I find very flavorful and refreshing!

The Buy 1 Get 1 at 50% Off is available everyday at these participating outlets - Alabang Town Center, Cattleya, Emerald, Glorietta, Greenbelt, Shangri-La, Robinson's Place Manila, Festival Mall, Gateway, Liberty, Tomas Morato, SM City North EDSA Sky Garden, and SM City Sta. Rosa.

Some things to know:

The rice meal is originally priced at p150.
Promo is available starting 6pm.
Should you want to avail of the promo, you will just have to pay p75 for the other rice meal, a total of p225 for both rice meals.
You can get two rice meals of the same meal, or get two different meals.

p225 for two rice meals sounds like a very great deal, considering some meals at other food places are much pricier than that. The p75 savings you can use to buy a different food item from the menu or maybe buy a dessert to cap off a good meal.

Speaking of desserts, here's another sweet deal from Figaro - get a free Cioccolato Morsi with Heart Sprinkles for every p500 single receipt purchase when you dine at any Figaro stores on February 13, 14, 15 this year. I got to taste these babies and they are really good! Not too sweet, just enough to make you enjoy a chocolate treat.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner... if you're a thrifty person (like me) who wants to celebrate Valentine's Day without really burning the wallet, you might want to consider going to Figaro.

For more details about this deal or to be in the first to know about Figaro's upcoming deals, please check and like their Facebook Page.

Sarap Kapiling Talaga!

2012-02-10T15:15:00.005+08:00

Max's Restaurant
G/F Greenbelt 1, Legaspi St. cor Greenbelt Drive
Ayala Center, Makati City
07 February 2012

I remember, the very first time I attended an event by Max's Restaurant, it was also for Valentine's Day. In the span of one year, I have developed good friendships with people behind the events - bloggers included.

A while back, I received another invitation from them, and because it's been quite a while since I last saw them (I sadly wasn't able to attend their Videoke Night), I surely didn't miss this one. Thankful, too, that my sister also received an invitation, so this was actually a two-in-one celebration as my sister and I were together during that event last year.

Jonel (NomNomClub) | Marjorie (Living Marjorney) |
Jessa and Allen (Stop! Look! and Capture!) | *me* | my sister
Photo Credit: Azrael Coladilla
Sister and I arrived early and Az was already there. Even before the bloggers started coming, we already had a great conversation with the PR / Marketing team of Max's Restaurant. Our topic? The newest loveteam of the Pinoy Blogosphere: Jon and Marge, which we call Marjonel. :) Well, Marjorie is actually our second cousin (her mom and my dad are cousins), and I am truly happy that they found each other.

Before the actual event, dinner was served, and for this event we had:

Sinigang na Hipon. A wee bit sour for my taste, but comforting enough to warm the tummy. Veggies were cooked good, too.

Beef Kare Kare. I love Kare Kare as it is - without the bagoong - and I just loved how the sauce tasted like. Not only that, the beef was really tender and the veggies were cooked just right.

Daing na Bangus. Even without the vinegar dip, the fish was already tasty as is. I also appreciated the right amount of breading... it made the fish look clean without having to really compromise the taste of the whole dish. (This is also my late entry for ABC Wednesday and Food Quote)

Lechon Kawali. It looked dry, but my sister told me it was tender and easy to chew. She compared it to the bagnet.

Max's Fried Chicken. A food trip to Max's Restaurant will never be complete without the fried chicken. No need to comment about this - nothing has changed; it still is as delicious as any of the Max's Fried Chicken I tasted.

Iced Tea. Attendees got to choose what they wanted to drink - soda or iced tea. I went for water, but sister went for the Iced Tea.

Buco Pandan. They let us taste the Cupcakes, Chocolate Moist Cake, and Assorted Pastry Bites (see previous post), but they still served this. Well, this Buco Pandan wasn't so sweet, too bad I already had my sugar fix, so I only had a teaspoon of this.

After eating dinner came the actual program. It centered on their Sweet Valentine's Treat, but since Max's Restaurant is all about celebrating "close ties," they also prepared games for us who attended the event.

Searchee-Searcher's Game. They called in three single men - Ryan, Don, and Dencio - and at the back of the tarp was one of the "Bakery Belles" of Max's Corner Bakery asking the questions. It was a dating game that was full of laughs because these three men just knew how to answer the questions with wit. Well, Don's the clear winner for this game - his answers were just so witty!

Share a Pick-Up Line > "Taken ka na ba? Kasi gusto kong alisin yung 'T' para 'AKEN' ka na lang."
If you're a vehicle, what will you be? > "Jeepney. May sasakyan na, may pang-kabuhayan pa."
If you're going to take me in a Philippine Destination, where will it be? > "Hundred Islands - and while we hop on different islands, I'd tell you how much I like you."

Well, Ryan and Dencio did have witty, funny answers, but Don's answers were really the best.

Compatibility Game. This game is for the couples - contestants were: Niko & Yobib (married 6 years), Allen & Jessa (in a relationship for 10 months), and Jonel & Marjorie (in a relationship for 1 month). It was another funny game - especially when the couples gave different answers, but it was such an interesting game because it came to a point when they had a three way tie...but in the end, it was Allen & Jessa who won.

Before the night ended, there was another quick game - where we had to get a half part of a heart stuck under our seats, and the one that found their match won. I forgot the name of the other winner, but Jonel had the other winning heart piece.

A fun night filled with good food, good camaraderie and love. Thanks for the invitation, Max's Restaurant! Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Treats from Max's Restaurant

2012-02-08T21:07:00.003+08:00

When one speaks of "Valentine's Day," first thing to enter our mind would be that it was a day to celebrate the romantic love shared by two people. Often, this thinking makes people not in a relationship feel a little left-out. Well, Max's Restaurant - through their Max's Corner Bakery - wants to change that, and with these yummy sweet treats... Valentine's Day is a day for everybody to celebrate the four letter word called LOVE.

Treat #1. Free Box of Max's Restaurant Assorted Pastry Bites (9 pieces)
Take home this sweet treat for every purchase of p1,500 at any Max's Restaurant from February 10 - 14. Good for dine-in, take out, or delivery (via phone and / or online).

Treat #2. Assorted Pastry Bites (15 pieces)
If p1,500 food purchase is a little bit too expensive for you, but still wanted to take home a box of their Assorted Pastry Bites, you can actually buy one box - containing 15 pieces - for only p199!

Treat #3. Valentine Chocolate Moist Cake
This cute heart-shaped cake is a good treat for all chocoholics; for only p199, this can be a good Valentine's Day gift for your significant other, as it's not too big - just enough for you two to share. Of course, you can also give this to any of your friends...or a treat for yourself.

Treat #4. Valentine Cupcakes
Max's Corner Bakery just released three new cupcake flavors in time for Valentine's Day:

Blueberry - cupcake with real blueberries and sweet streusel;
Banana Chocolate - classic banana cake with chocolate cookies topped with whipped cream and heart shaped chocolate bits;
Black Forest - Chocolate base cupcake with chocolate ganache swirls, topped with choco-coated cherry.

Each cupcake priced at p50, but if you can get the set of three cupcakes for only p135. That's a savings of p15!

Treat #4. Sugar Cookies
For the kids and the kids-at-heart.

Treat #5. Heart Shaped Cakes
Just for Valentine's, you can get your favorite Max's Corner Bakery cakes not in their traditional circular shape, but in heart shape! By this, you can surely get your loved one their preferred cake with a touch of Valentine's Day!

Whether it's for the significant other, or for friends, family, and even kids... Max's Restaurant got it all covered! Everything in this post is available the entire month of February at all Max's Restaurant branches, except for Treat #1, which is available only from February 10 - 14.

To know more about these treats and to read more about Max's Restaurant and Max's Corner Bakery, you can check these sites:
> Max's Restaurant Website
> Max's Restaurant Facebook Page
> Max's Corner Bakery Facebook Page

Na Tri Mo Na Ba?

2012-02-06T09:14:00.004+08:00

Tri Mo SHAWARMA Co (at iba pa)
Bristol St. - Brgy. Greater Lagro, Quezon City
04 February 2012

It being a Saturday, my sister and I thought there will be quite a lot of people at the salon, but because it was still quite early in the afternoon, we thought of having a quick food trip, just to be out of the house longer. I asked her if she wanted to eat shawarma, and in no time, we were in a jeep going to Tri Mo Shawarma Co in Lagro.

When I first visited the place, I thought the "Co" was short for "company," when I took the image above, I just then realized it was read - "Try Mo Shawarma Ko" (Try My Shawarma). Quite a catchy and clever business name, eh?

Since it opened in 2001, it has received lots of raves here and there - and this being the ONLY branch (they are not franchising, by the way), some people really go the distance to taste for themselves what the rave is about their shawarmas.

The place is quite small, and with so many people wanting to eat, they came up with a system to make things easy for everybody. When you arrive at the place, get a number card located at the counter and look for a place to sit at (if you're dining in). If you're there to take out the food, just take a number and stay wherever you want to stay at and wait for your number to be called. Upon presenting the number card, they will then ask for your order and quickly wrap up all the shawarma you needed before they call in the next number. Of course, they also serve other dishes - like sizzling shawarma and other Filipino rice meals - so you might have to wait longer, but based on my observation, they will serve the shawarmas first, let the customer wait for the other orders to be served while they attend to the next customer. No worries, they do have a microphone, so even if you're outside of the store, you will hear your number being called. Just so you know... they don't honor orders without the number card, so be quick in getting a number card if you don't want to wait. :)

I am just amazed at how fast they wrap up the shawarmas... the person in charge of making the shawarmas is so focused on her job - she doesn't miss an order once the counter person called it out. 10 shawarmas in one order... she can wrap it up in no time!

They have three kinds of meat to choose from - beef, pork, and chicken. Each meat have their own set of dishes: sizzling, special with (or without) cheese, regular with (or without) cheese, and all meat. For this day, though, sister and I went for the same choice: Special Beef Shawarma with Cheese (p70). I don't know how this would compare with the regular, but comparing to the other food trip I had, I was so please with how much veggies my shawarma had. As always, it was oh-so-meaty and yes, very, very tasty.

If you dine in, you basically can use as much sauce as you want - which comes in two flavors - the regular and the spicy one. For my shawarma, I used the spicy one, while sister mixed in the sauces, just to make the spicy sauce a little milder.

We both enjoyed our food trip, and we look forward to eat here again - and when that day comes, I will either try their chicken shawarma or their sizzling beef shawarma.

Tri Mo Shawarma Co is located along Bristol St. in Brgy. Greater Lagro, Quezon City. It's just right after the barangay's entrance, so you won't miss it. They only accept cash, and they are open everyday from 3pm - 3am.

- * - * - * -

So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.

Thanks to my sister, too, for coming with me and for taking the first picture on this post.

Breakfasts at Fernandina

2012-02-02T20:46:00.004+08:00

1572 Restaurant and Ballroom
Fernandina 88 Suites Hotel
222 P. Tuazon Blvd., Araneta Shopping Center
Cubao, Quezon City
18 - 19 November 2010

Part of our stay at the Fernandina 88 Suites Hotel is the free breakfast, which was served at their 1572 Restaurant and Ballroom located at the 7th floor of the hotel. Since I wasn't really able to take lots of pictures for the two breakfasts we had, I will just share to you images for both days.

Day 1. We were actually a bit late for breakfast - we didn't know there will be a buffet, we thought we will place orders for breakfast like what we always had, so there weren't much food left for us to eat.

I had Beef Tapa, a slice of Sweet Ham, a scoop of Scrambled Eggs, 2 pieces Skinless Longganisa and a small bowl of Pumpkin Soup.

I loved the tapa because it was tender and very flavorful, but I didn't like the egg much because of personal reasons. It was good, but not my type of egg, if you get what I mean. The ham tasted like typical ham we get at the supermarket, and the longganisa was okay, too. The soup wasn't really hot anymore (well, we were late anyway), but I liked that it had the right balance of sweetness and saltiness.

K had the typical English breakfast - bread and jam. We also had coffee to go with our meal.

- * - * - * - * - * -

Day 2. We will be leaving for Puerto Galera that day, so we went to the restaurant early. True enough, there were more food choices this time of the day, and because we will travel and might not have the chance to eat while traveling, I told myself I'd eat a lot! Hahaha.

Egg Drop Soup. Hot and comforting! I love it!

Plate 1. Hotdogs didn't taste like TJ Hotdogs, but it was good. As for the Daing na Bangus, well, I didn't like that the breading was a little too much, but I don't have any complaints about the taste - it was marinated good, so even without the vinegar dip, I enjoyed eating it.

Plate 2. I felt a bit disappointed to see the Sweet and Sour Pork because I just had that dish last night at the same restaurant (will talk about our dinner on the next post), but it was actually delicious that I still ate it for breakfast. The Fish Strips was another good dish, but for this I actually took some vinegar dip.

As always, K had the bread and jam; both of us had coffee (he had two cups, I believe), and we ate some fruits for desserts.

I am kinda liking the Breakfast Buffet - as a hearty eater, knowing I have many choices makes me satisfied.

Cupcakes

2012-02-01T20:29:00.004+08:00

Celebrations aren't really complete without a cake, but because normal cakes can be bulky, cupcakes surely became a big hit to people. Why not? They're cute and very easy to share to other people.

Cupcakes are really becoming a great gift idea, and with so many ways to decorate a cupcake, pastry chefs are really taking the artistry a notch higher and higher.

These "Plants vs Zombies" and "Angry Birds" cupcakes were made by Little Miss OC Kitchen. I saw these cute works of art during the Yummy Eats event last May. Such skillful hands, eh? Before, the cupcakes I know were the cheese cupcakes - just the cake with cheese on top, and now whatever idea you have in mind, the people in the cupcake businesses can certainly make it a reality.

Of course, the more intricate the design, the more expensive a cupcake is. Well, these maybe too cute to be eaten, but I am not a big fan of the fondant icing, so I guess I won't be caught eating these cupcake toppers. Although, for my birthday, I might order some cupcakes with the quarter moon design, but I will just eat the cake - I will save the topper or maybe let my siblings eat it. :)

Weekend Eating | Cairine Mae's Baptism Party

2012-01-30T09:57:00.005+08:00

Yesterday, us family went to our neighbor's house to celebrate Cairine Mae's baptism. We didn't attend the actual event, we just went over to eat lunch and here are the food served at the buffet table:

Breaded Fish Fillet. I am glad more and more people are serving this dish - I love cream dory fish!

Chicken Cordon Bleu. Someday I will learn how to cook this perfectly.

Beef Caldereta. It didn't have the spicy kick (because they invited a lot of kids at the party), but I love it so much because the beef was just so tender, but the potatoes weren't mushy at all!

Milky Chicken with Hotdogs. I wasn't able to taste this one.

Lumpiang Shanghai. It was a little thicker than the usual Lumpiang Shanghai, but it was cooked good. My sister and I loved this, too!

Creamy Mixed Veggies with Quail Eggs and Chicken Gizzards. I ate this, but I didn't scoop out any of the eggs and the gizzards.

Steamed Shrimps. Another dish I didn't taste - simply because I found it a bit tedious to peel off the shell.

Other dishes served at the party I wasn't able to take a picture of: Lechon, Vegetable Salad (I forgot what dressing they used), and Fresh Spring Rolls. They also served two native delicacies - Bibingka and Kutsinta. For desserts, they served Buco Pandan.

I ate just enough to satisfy my tummy - a little rice, a piece of the fish fillet, a piece of beef caldereta and one potato chunk, 3 pieces of Lumpiang Shanghai, and a scoop of the mixed veggies. For drinks, I just had water.

Part of my goals this week is to not eat fried food, but I did say that if I am invited to an event, I will make an exception. :) Well, I did tell my sister and my friend Ria that I won't eat/drink any of the sweetened food/drinks, and I'd like to say I did great even if they were trying so hard to tempt me to even just taste a morsel of the "prohibited" food. Taking the fried food aside, I think I am a superwoman today.

... and the lunch made me quite full that I didn't eat dinner anymore, though I had about 1/4 cup of Roasted Cashews for snacks around 5pm.

- * - * - * -

So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.

Italian Dinner with K

2012-01-27T14:57:00.005+08:00

Bellini's
Marikina Shoe Expo - General Romulo Ave.
Cubao, Quezon City
17 November 2010

Traveling from Baguio City, K and I directly went to our next home for the holiday: Fernandina 88 Suites Hotel along P. Tuazon in Cubao. It was our choice of home because each room had it's own living room and kitchenette, and it seemed to be near the next places we planned to visit for the next two days.

We got there around 4:30 in the afternoon, and after settling in and doing the laundry (thank heavens for the kitchenette and the balcony), it was time for us to eat dinner. I told K there are a lot of restaurants nearby, but for some reason, I only wanted to eat dinner at one restaurant - Bellini's.

pictures taken late last year - my original pictures were too dark to be recognized
Cubao has been part of my life one way or the other - when we were kids, parents would always take us to Fiesta Carnival and when I studied college, I'd always pass by Cubao because it was there I take the jeepney ride home. Years after I finished college, Cubao went to a major makeover and this part of the Marikina Shoe Expo became a little secret that not many people know about - maybe because all spotlight has been on Gateway Mall and the nearby places.

Bellini's is an authentic Italian Restaurant serving dishes since 1999. Owner Roberto Bellini is an Italian papparazzo, who met his wife Luisa while covering the EDSA Revolution. After years of living in Italy, the couple (along with their kids) went back to the Philippines to put up this restaurant.

It is quite a long restaurant, with different sections for diners to choose from. This picture above is the area closest to the main door. A good place to enjoy a bit of "restaurant life," as there is a television showing some sports, and this area is also close to the kitchen and bar.

Another section of the same area - I just wanted to show some of the couples' works (Luisa became a papparazzo, too, if I remember correctly) as well as some bottles of wine.

Middle section of the restaurant features this mural showcasing a fusion of Italy and the Philippines, and possibly some landmarks around the world.

This section is the farthest from the main door - this was where K and I decided to stay, just so we could have some peaceful dining experience, but turns out, as diners come in, they would prefer to stay here, too. :)

Staff are all friendly and nice - the waiter pulled my chair and pushed it back in as I sat, he even laid out the cloth on our laps before handing us the menu. As we make our choices, the wait staff told us to just enjoy our stay and munch on the bread sticks as we wait for our food, which will take time before serving - they prepare the dishes upon ordering.

For that dinner, we had:

Milanese Beef. Fried veal dipped in egg and breadcrumbs. K's choice. K and I both agreed - the veal was tender and the breading had a very light crisp. K enjoyed his meal as it was served with potatoes and carrots, another reason not to eat rice for him.

Osso Bucco ala Fiorentina. Bone marrow veal steak. My choice. The time we had this food trip, I was always playing "Cafe World" on Facebook, and I always "cook/serve" Osso Bucco on my restaurant, so when I saw this on the menu, I decided to go for it, just so I would know how it tasted. Fork tender beef and the sauce just had the right amount of seasoning... but somehow I didn't like it - maybe because I expected too much from the dish (well, I didn't know what the dish was before I ordered it) - to put it simply, it was like eating Beef Caldereta minus the other ingredients. Still, because it was very tender and tasty, I enjoyed my meal... with a cup of rice to go with it.

While eating my meal, I ranted about my wrong choice of dishes. Like for this food trip - this is an Italian Restaurant, yet I should've ordered for any of the pasta dishes. Oh well, maybe if given the chance to eat here again, I'd go for the pasta or pizza.

Foccacia Bread. The wait staff asked K if he wanted to eat Foccacia Bread to go with his meal. This one's not for free (like the ones at Italianni's or at C' Italian Dining), but we both loved this bread as it was still warm, it was crispy on the outside, yet very soft inside. It comes with a dip, but eating it as is was already okay.

Cassata. I already knew K would pay a lot for this dinner, but I still asked if it was okay for us to have desserts. He said yes, but while checking the menu, K asked the wait staff if they had Cassata, as he said it's traditional Italian dessert and he wanted me to taste it. When they said they have one, we quickly placed an order for it.

Taken from Wikipedia, "The Cassata Siciliana consists of round sponge cake moistened with fruit juices or liqueur and layered with ricotta cheese, candied peel, and a chocolate or vanilla filling similar to cannoli cream. It is covered with a shell of marzipan, pink and green pastel colored icing, and decorative designs. The cassata is finally topped with candied fruit depicting cherries and slices of citrus fruit characteristic of Sicily."

Tasting it, it was like eating ice cream fruit cake. I loved it so much, but I let K eat most of the chocolate part - I loved the white and the tiny red part! :)

Vino Samto. Sometime during our meal, Mr. Roberto Bellini came to chit chat with us. He talked about his life as a papparazzo and how he helps around in the kitchen to ensure good quality dishes. Towards the end of our dinner, we were served this wine, which they said was something Mr. Bellini made himself, and is something they always serve to guests as a complimentary drink. I do drink alcohol beverages, but if I can stay away from it, I would... so I just let K drink this. He said it was sweet with a slight kick of alcohol - a good way to end the dining experience.

Bill was quite expensive, but K said it was all good - the food was good, the ambiance was good, and as we walked back home, he thanked me for a wonderful dinner.

Bellini's is located at the Marikina Shoe Expo, just near SM Savemore Supermarket and the Araneta Bus Terminal.

Banana Loaf

2012-01-25T10:52:00.003+08:00

The Banana Bread / Loaf has been a favorite bread of mine since I was a kid. I love how it smelled and look like - and how it makes me full to carry on a long day at school. If the canteen didn't have any pansit (noodles) to sell, I always look forward to eating this during break time.

This bread was something I bought from Max's Corner Bakery. Like most of their breads and cakes, this one's lightly sweet, and what I liked most is that the bread is slightly dense - just one slice is already enough to give one a fulfilling snack or breakfast.

Mung Bean Sprouts, Tofu, and Tomatoes

2012-01-24T15:46:00.003+08:00

Second of the four recipes from Ms. Maiylah I wanted to try:

Mung Bean Sprouts, Tofu, and Tomatoes
{Serves: 2}

Ingredients:

1 cup mung Bean Sprouts
1 block firm tofu
2 tablespoons soy sauce
a dash of pepper and paprika
1 small onion, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
oil for sauteeing / frying
salt and pepper (to taste)
a few drops of sesame oil
sesame seeds for garnish

How to Cook:

Slice tofu and marinate in soy sauce, pepper, and paprika. Set aside.
Heat oil and fry the tofu until cooked. Place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess oil. Cut into bite size pieces after it has cooled down.
Heat about a tablespoon oil in another pan and saute onions and garlic. Add tomatoes slightly after.
After about two minutes, add the mung bean sprouts and continue to stir fry. Mung bean sprouts will render some liquid, but you may add a little water if you want to. Add the tofu pieces and mix.
Correct the seasoning according to your preference.
Drizzle a few drops of sesame oil, mix, then turn off the heat. Plate and serve.

Frying the tofu was a bit difficult for me, but after that little disaster with the first piece, I was able to finally get it done by adding more oil, making sure the tofu didn't touch the base of the pan.

I loved how it tasted. It reminded me of Kongnamul Bibimbap (minus the tomatoes), and it sure can be a full meal as is, but it can be a great side dish for any fried or grilled meat and seafood. Oh... just take it easy on the soy sauce marinade; tofu tends to absorb the liquid, so be sure you don't go over with this, or you'll end up with salty fried tofu.

To check Ms. Maiylah's original post about this recipe, please click HERE. Big thanks to you, Ms. Maiylah for giving your readers very easy recipes to follow.

Weekend Eating | Food Trip with Two Chinese Food Buddies

2012-01-23T15:15:00.006+08:00

Hello, foodies!

I had to be out with family this morning so this week's edition of Weekend Eating is slightly late. Anyway, hope you all had a great, fun-filled weekend.

Today is the Chinese New Year. We (the family) don't really celebrate it as we obviously aren't Chinese, but last Saturday I had a food trip with two Chinese food buddies - Asmodeus and Ekl10 at Cuisine Centrale in Quezon City.

Asmodeus has been a food buddy of mine since last year. It was last February when we first had a food trip (before that we would only exchange food talks via the forum or through Facebook). Since then, we have planned to have another food trip, but because our schedules never jived, it took us many months for this food trip to push through. Actually, this one was sort of an impromptu food trip; we planned to have one on Monday (today), but when he shared that he will be having a food trip last Saturday and Ekl10 asked if he can join, Asmodeus asked if I will be available, too. Since we have planned for this trip for so long and that all of us were available last Saturday, we decided to push through.

We had our late and very long food trip at Cuisine Centale - just outside Casa Pura in Sct. Santiago Street. Both Asmodeus and Ekl10 are "certified" foodies - they have dined in so many establishments here and there, so for this food trip, we all wanted to dine at a place unknown to us three, so comments and opinions about the food, service, and anything in between will be (sort of) unbiased.

We sampled seven dishes that night - 2 soup dishes, 1 pasta dish, 3 main course dishes, and 1 dessert. Of all the dishes we tasted, my favorite was this:

Seafood Spaghetti in Oil and Garlic. I am not fond of seafood pasta, but I did choose to go for this pasta dish because it was the "healthiest" pasta in the selection. Served with homemade pasta which had the texture of Pansit Canton (the kind I got to taste at some "Chinese" - themed restaurants like Kowloon House and Dory's Canton Palace), I just loved the flavors of the seafood (shrimps, fish, and squid) and the pesto-like sauce. The bread was lightly flavored which paired well with the pasta. My sister felt it could be better with a little more olive oil, but I think it's just fine.

The full food trip experience will be shared in the future. :)

To Asmodeus, and Ekl10... thank you for sharing the food trip with me. 'Til the next food trip! Gong Xi Fa Cai to you both, and to all the Chinese people reading this humble blog of mine. If you want to read about Asmodeus' food trips, please check his blog, Life is F.

- * - * - * -

So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.

Thanks to my sister, too, for coming with me and for taking the first picture on this post.

Thai at Silk is Now "Silk Thai Cuisine"

2012-01-20T19:50:00.007+08:00

Silk Thai Cuisine
Unit 1C12 G/F Serendra Piazza
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
+(63) 856-0386 / +63917-8829818
18 January 2012

Thai food is something I want to explore more. Before this food trip, I only got to visit two Thai-inspired restaurants - Arharn Thai Kitchen in Baguio City and My Thai in SM City Fairview. That being said, I can't make awesome comparisons, but still, let me share to you this Thai dining experience I recently had.

Formerly known as Thai at Silk, the restaurant was re-launched last Wednesday and is now known as Silk Thai Cuisine. From what I heard of, its sister restaurants include Thai Pan and Simply Thai, but Silk Thai Cuisine offers more of the traditional Thai dishes.

I love how simple yet elegant the place look like inside. Color motif centers on White, Pink, and Green, though we were told that before, the place is more of green and white.

We sampled quite a lot of dishes last night -

Fresh Thai Spring Rolls. A take from Vietnamese Cuisine; rolls of fresh shrimp, pork, bean sprouts, Chinese Vermicelli, cucumber, carrots, spring onion and basil served with Thai Peanut Sauce and Sweet Vinegar and Cucumber Dipping Sauce.

> First bite, I put a little of the sweet vinegar and cucumber dip, second bite I put a little of the peanut sauce. I personally preferred the bite with the peanut sauce, but on my last bite, I decided to put a little of both dips, and it resulted in a much better tasting spring roll.

Seafood Satay. Marinated squid, shrimp, and snapper fillets on skewers with vinegar and chili sauce and peanut sauce.

> My favorite dish that night - it was served with dipping sauce, but I didn't feel the need of it already for the seafood pieces already tasted good.

Tung Tong (Crispy Shrimp and Coriander-Filled Pastry). Crisp pastry filled with chopped prawns and coriander paste.

> A very big plus that this was served while the pastry was still hot. I love the texture and how balanced the fillings were. I am not a fan of the coriander, but the chopped prawns and the pastry somehow balanced it, so I was able to enjoy it.

Vegetable Filled Roti. Crisp unleavened flat bread filled with melange of vegetables with Thai curry dipping sauce.

> I wasn't able to dissect the dish well, so I can't say what the vegetables inside were, but it had little cuts of eggplant - something I wasn't so fond of (I personally don't like the taste of "boiled" eggplants - I always go for fried or grilled). One thing to commend about was the roti - so delicious!

Chicken Khao Soi (Chiang Mai Curry Noodles). A popular street dish in Thailand. It is composed of noodles in a freshly made curry soup then topped with tender pieces of chicken, crispy fried egg noodles, coriander, onions, pickled cabbage, shallots and lime.

> Contrast of texture between simmered noodles and crispy noodles is what I loved the most. As for the flavors, it had a hint of spiciness (posssibly from ginger), but not really that spicy - it was like slurping curry spicy tinola). The fresh shallots also added a good taste I loved.

Thai Style Apple and Mango Salad. Som Tam Style salad composed of grated apple and green mango dressed in a sour vinaigrette.

> It had the tang that will make you salivate, but the granny smith apples provided the slightly fruity sweetness. The shallots and chopped peanuts also add more flavors, but be on a lookout for some chili slices, especially if you're not fond of spicy dishes. Well, the chilies will only make an impact once you bit on it, otherwise, you will never really feel its presence.

Thai Style Beef with Oyster Sauce, Black Fungus and Bamboo Shoot. Our take on the popular Chinese Beef with Oyster Sauce; stir fried tender pieces of beef served with black fungus and bamboo shoots with a sprinkling of Thai kaffir lime leaves.

> There is something in this dish that I couldn't put my finger on. It's lightly seasoned - comparing this to the typical Chinese beef with oyster sauce, this one's less salty. Could it be they used a different kind of oyster sauce? Could it be because of the kaffir lime leaves? I don't know. One thing's for sure - with beef so tender and flavorful, this is something you'll love to eat.

Crispy Salt and Pepper Fried Squid with Coriander Root. Crispy pieces of fried squid stir fried with salt and pepper, coriander, onions, and peppers.

> It may look like calamares, but it tasted way much better, if I may say so. The breading was light (and so flavorful), and the toppings surely made it more delicious. As is it tasted great, but with a few sprinkle of lemon juice, it added more dimension. This was my favorite dish next to the Seafood Satay. If there's one negative comment - the squid inside was a bit mushy, but it's something I can get over with.

Pandan Martini. Aside from this, they also offer Lemongrass Martini, but I didn't get to taste this, so I can't make a comment. Asking Vince (the one who ordered both drinks), he said he liked the Lemongrass Martini more.

These were just a few of the many more dishes Silk Thai Cuisine has to offer. We weren't able to taste any of the popular Thai dishes, but if you're looking for any of the Thai Curry dishes and the Pad Thai, you can have it here, too! Reading blogs about this restaurant, all of them commend the Pad Thai dish because of its very interesting presentation, which is why the next time I have the chance to visit Serendra, I might go and try it out.

If you're craving for Thai dishes - from appetizers to desserts, Silk Thai Cuisine have something to satisfy your cravings. They are open daily from 11am - 3pm and at 6pm - 11pm. If you want to make reservations and inquiries on catering and functions, please call the numbers listed at the top of this post or contact them through e-mail at thai.silkresto@yahoo.com or through their Facebook page - Thai at Silk Restaurant.

- * - * - * -

One big "kob kun kaa" to Ms. Claudine De Leon (of Leung De Leon Marketing Services) for the invitation to this sumptuous event.

Almonds

2012-01-18T13:43:00.003+08:00

I stopped posting for ABC Wednesday round 9 at letter T... and I still haven't fully completed all 26 letters since I started joining this meme. Will Round 10 be the round that I complete it? Hopefully.

... and bore fruits, if I may add.

To begin Round 10, I share to you Almonds. Took this picture at the Mercato Centrale sometime last June - there was a stall there selling different kinds of nuts, and of course, I didn't pass up the chance to take pictures of different kinds of food being sold there.

Call me weird, but I consider the marketplace a paradise. I love the sight, smell, and noise of the market! Weekend Markets are quite magical for me - it's where I can find different food items not sold at the "regular markets," so whenever I find time to visit any of the weekend markets within the Metro, I always take my camera with me.

Recipe | Mung Bean Sprouts with Shrimps and Cumin

2012-01-17T14:11:00.001+08:00

I am a frequent player of Ms. Maiylah's "Food Friday" meme, and since most of the recipes she share are very easy to do, I told myself I'd cook four recipes from her site this week. Was able to try one recipe for Sunday's lunch - Toge with Cumin.

Reading the recipe, it reminded me of Okoy, and since we still have small shrimps in the freezer, I figured I'd add shrimps to it as well.

Mung Bean Sprouts with Shrimps and Cumin
{Makes about 5 patties}

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Mung Bean Sprouts
3/4 cup small shrimps
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon cumin
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons flour
salt and pepper (to taste)
cooking oil (for frying)

How to Cook:

Add milk into the bowl where you beat the egg. Then, add cumin, salt, and pepper and mix.
Add flour and mix - making sure the batter is not too watery nor too dense. If you're already satisfied with its consistency, you may then add the mung bean sprouts and shrimps.
Heat a pan with oil. Spoon out some mixture and spread it as big as a hamburger patty, and fry until golden brown. Place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess oil. Serve with your choice of dip.

I tried three kinds of vinegar as my dip - the Balsamic Vinegar tend to be sweet for my taste, the Pinoy Kurat was okay, but my choice for this dish would be the Sinamak vinegar as it wasn't too thick and too flavorful.

To test if your mixture had the right amount of seasoning, fry a very little mixture (I used three sprouts, one shrimp and a little batter) and taste after it was cooked. Adjust the seasoning if needed.

The typical Okoy recipe I know used water and a little rice flour. This was the first time I heard of cumin being used to this recipe and I loved how the milk and cumin added a new flavor to the dish. This is very flexible, and next time I'd add some moringa leaves, just for kicks. :)

If you want to get the exact recipe Ms. Maiylah posted, please check her blog post HERE. Thank you so much Ms. Maiylah for the inspiration.

ps - you might notice a different date stamps on the pictures; that's because we had a lot of mung bean sprouts, I decided to cook it for lunch today as well.

Weekend Eating | Chicken and Veggies

2012-01-16T09:16:00.003+08:00

Sunday should have been a great day for me - Mr. Pipoy and I had plans to go out and walk / jog together, and come afternoon, I was supposed to attend a Chinese New Year related event with bloggy pals. None of these plans took place, though. Well, I truly understand that Mr. Pipoy had a much needed rest, so it was okay that we didn't get to meet, but the CNY event was something I was blaming myself about - I truly lost track of dates/times... even if I already wrote it on my planner, I still forgot that yesterday was already the 15th and because it was already 3:58pm when I realized I had to be at SM City North EDSA at 4pm and that I lent my camera to my sister, I couldn't attend the event anymore. Sigh...

Anyway, the first half of the month was a roller coaster for me as far as losing weight is concerned. I still was lazy most of the time (when it comes to doing the video workouts and doing the morning walks), so my weight for yesterday was the same as it was the first day of the month. My emotions were so unstable - quite a lot of arguments here and there - so I told myself starting today, I'd go back on track.

Brother wanted to eat Lechon Manok for dinner last night, so off we went to buy 1/2 roasted chicken. I just bought some veggies to balance the meal, and I was happy that I am starting to adjust to eating lesser again. Hopefully, for the coming days, I will get back into the habit of eating just enough to feed myself. I surely want to reach my goal weight the soonest possible time.

By the way, brother cooked Tinola Soup to go with this meal - typical way of cooking tinola, but instead of adding real chicken, he just put in one chicken cube. Hot soup on a slightly cool night. So comforting!

- * - * - * -

So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.

Juan Carlo the Caterer for the the Weddings & Debuts 2012 Bridal Fair Press Conference

2012-01-13T20:05:00.006+08:00

*** picture - heavy post ***

Just yesterday (12 January 2012), I was invited to attend the press conference of the Weddings and Debuts 2012 Bridal Fair at Plaza Ibarra in Timog, Quezon City. This bridal fair, organized by The Wedding Library has been an annual event since 1994. For the last two years, the event has been held at all three Megatrade Halls of SM Megamall. From their initial event catering to the floral industry, the event is now the most sought after event for couples wanting to get married, and ladies who would like to make their 18th birthday very memorable.

This year, the Weddings & Debuts 2012 Bridal Fair will take place the Megatrade Halls of SM Megamall on February 17, 18, and 19.

There were two sets of celebrity endorsers for this event: Enzo Pineda and Louise delos Reyes and Enzo Pineda for the Debuts part, and Maja Salvador and Angelo Cacciatore for the Wedding part. At the event, it was only Maja and Angelo present, but three of the major companies behind the event were there to represent:

Edd Sy
For the past 15 years, Edd Sy, one of the sponsors has been designing beautiful clothes and wedding gowns with such dedication from designing to fitting the finished gown that he has won the loyalty of many clients. This trait has given him an edge over others, plus his naturally jolly personality. Among those who have worn his collection on teleseryes are Marian Rivera, Angel Locsin, Jennelyn Mercado, Valerie Concepcion, Nadine Samonte, Sam Milby, and JC de Vera.

Nice Print Photography
Nice Print is one of the fastest growing providers of digital photo and video services that works with clockwork precision, and in the span of five years has expanded to a pool of 45 skilled photographers, videographers, film editors and layout artists. Proprietor Charisse Tinio still remembers how she started with one photographer, one videographer, and one assistant. Today, with such coverage for celebrity weddings of Ogie and Regine, John and Priscilla, Kyla, Juris, Jenny Miller, Jenny Hernandez, Say Alonzo and Love Añover, small wonder Nice Print is getting to be known as Wedding Photographer to the Stars.

AMI Jewels
Conservative jeweler AMI Jewels has always believed that their works of art will speak for themselves. True enough, despite being publicity shy, the brand has accumulated loyal clients through the years and has become a name to reckon with. However, it quickly becomes obvious they have been well trained in gemology when it comes to discussing trends in the industry. Apart from wedding and engagement rings, AMI Jewels also offers other pieces like bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and brooches for every occasion.

Since this is a food blog, let me share to you the awesome dishes served to us at the event, courtesy of Juan Carlo the Caterer.

Ever since Alex Michael del Rosario put up his catering service in Nov. 11, 1995 after leaving a career in Saudi Arabia, he and his wife Teresita Macatangay settled for good in Batangas and started operations on Juan Carlo the Caterer, named after his first born. Today, the company is synonymous with great food and superb service where catering becomes and art and every project a masterpiece.

Presenting the wide array of food served at the event:

Appetizers -

Croquettes. I wasn't able to get the full name of this, but it was a good appetizer, too bad I only asked the server to put one on my plate.

Mini Tacos. I personally don't like taco-seasoned beef on my taco (I prefer just beef seasoned with salt and pepper), so I only had one of this as well. While lining at the buffet table, people in front of me were raving about the taco - and they actually started eating even before they left the table. I guess it was that good.

Main Dishes -

Steamed Veggies. One thing to commend: it was so crunchy! The veggies were lightly seasoned, too, so it paired well to the other dishes.

Chicken Masala. It wasn't as spicy as I thought it would be, and if Indian food are generally this good, am sure I'd like it.

Pork, Geneva Style. Pork topped with bacon, banana, and cheese. Somehow it reminds me of this banana/bacon dish I ate at Dumaluan Beach Resort in Bohol, but sadly, I didn't get to taste this. Bloggy friend Alwin said he liked this one - possibly his favorite dish that day.

Salmon with Tequila Cream Sauce. The minute I saw this, I knew I'd love this, and I was right! I could taste this teeny hint of tequila, but of course this is already cooked, so no more alcohol (I guess). I just love how everything complimented each other, truly a dish I hope I'd get the recipe of.

Goat Kalderetang Batangas. When one speaks of "Kaldereta," one would instantly think of potatoes and carrots. Well, this one didn't have any of those - just pure goat meat simmered in sauce. Engr. Alex del Rosario said, there are three ways of cooking adobo - the Tagalog style (with potatoes and carrots), the Spanish style (with olives), and this - the Batangas style, slowly cooked with lots of onions. The meat is so tender, it didn't have this "anggo" usually present in goat dishes. I loved it, and seems most of the people at the event loved it, too.

Ox Tongue with Buttered Mushroom. In some ways it's like Lengua Estofada, in some ways it is not. The ox tongue was so tender, the sauce was buttery, and the mashed potatoes provided a different texture to the dish.

Desserts -

Fresh Fruit Jelly / Pandan Pannacota. The Fruit Jelly reminds me of the Almond Jelly dessert and the Pandan Pannacota is a very light dessert.

Tropical Fruit Pavlova. Merengue and fresh fruits equals a very awesome dessert! I just love how the sweetness and tartness of each fruit blended well!

Sans Rival with Pistachio Nuts. Personally, I loved this one... but maybe because it was served alongside the main dishes, it's no longer chilled when I ate it and it was a bit soft already.

Florentine Bites. I found this one way too sweet for my taste.

Sitting down with Engr. Alex del Rosario himself, us bloggers learned that it was his deep passion for food that keeps the business going strong. To date, Juan Carlo the Caterer has been the choice of many couples to be the food provider for their weddings - including celebrity couple Ogie Alcasid and Regine Velasquez. Engr. del Rosario trains the cooks himself, so that every dishes served at the events were just like how he would prepare it. Although the company has been known to cater wedding receptions, they can also cater to different events - birthdays, anniversaries, and baptism. Asking the top three dishes (the ones always picked by the people getting their services), he listed Salmon with Tequila Cream Sauce, Goat Kalderetang Batangas, and Ox Tongue with Buttered Mushrooms. Hey, those were my top three dishes, too! Well, those three dishes were truly the best among the dishes served at the event.

If you want to learn more of Juan Carlo the Caterer, you can check their Website or their Facebook Page for more details.

Big thanks to Nuffnang PH for the invitation.

What's New with YUMMY Magazine?

2012-01-11T15:06:00.003+08:00

2012 is the year Yummy Magazine marks it's 5th anniversary. This milestone in providing foodies with yummy articles, recipes and food stories is going to be a year-long celebration, and for their first issue this year, Yummy Magazine will introduce new columns and sections:

Guest Chef - a new section wherein readers can learn more about a renowned personality in the foodie world. Will your favorite celebrity chef be featured? Let's hope so.
Yummy Likes! - a collection of Yummy editors' best picks of anything and everything about food.
Making It - spotlighting local artisans who are living out their foodie passions.
Everyday Recipes - This has been a part of Yummy Magazine since then, but this month, this section will be having an upgrade - featuring more baon recipes using 5 ingredients.

Content isn't what the people behind the magazine is working at... next issue, they will be unveiling the new look of Yummy Magazine. I think the current issue looks great, but of course, since this year marks a milestone, I am sure the new look for the magazine will be much, much better.

The first month of the year is oftentimes the month people make resolutions and often, healthy eating is always part of our resolutions (including me). The January / February 2012 issue of the Yummy Magazine recognizes this need for us to start fresh, and aside from the new changes, the magazine also features homegrown products and recipes that will help foodies kick start their healthy lifestyle.

Quoting Yummy Magazine's editor-in-chief, Becky Kho, "YUMMY is expected to be a more fun, helpful, useful cooking and dining companion for you."

The January / February 2012 issue is now available at bookstores, supermarkets, and newsstands nationwide. To get more Yummy news, you can check their website at www.yummy.ph or follow them at Twitter - twitter.com/yummyph or like their Facebook page - facebook.com/yummymagazine.

Here's to a fresh start!

Weekend Eating | Celebrating Dad's Birth Anniversary

2012-01-09T09:52:00.004+08:00

Mang Inasal
G/Lvl. Robinson's Place Novaliches
Quirino Highway, Quezon City
+63 (02)332-6294
08 January 2012

Hello, foodies! How was your weekend? Mine was quite eventful - Went to Wawa Dam with friends Jeff and Nathalie (of Halie's Kitchen) with her husband last Saturday, and yesterday, I was out with my favorite girls - that's mom and sister - because it was the last day of the tiangge outside Robinson's Place Novaliches and we wanted to take advantage of the sale. We were able to buy clothes and stuff at affordable prices, but because it was the last day, there weren't much stalls left.

Carrying quite a lot of bags, we decided to just eat at a food place inside Robinson's Place Novaliches, and one place to eat affordable food was Mang Inasal. It's been a while since we last ate there, so might as well try their new dishes. Mom said this food trip will be sort of a celebration for dad's birth anniversary (for 09 January), because the family will not be complete on the actual day - sister is at work and I might be going out as well.

My sister and I went for their Chicken Inasal as our main meal - sister went for the PM1 (Paborito Meal) with unlimited rice, I just went for the SM1 (Sulit Meal) which had one smaller cut of chicken and one serving of rice. Before we ordered, the leaflet/menu indicated SM1 meal with Leg/Thigh, so I went for the thigh, but we were told that they only had the wing part. I basically had no choice but to go for it, and eating my meal I was a bit disappointed because the chicken was a bit rubbery and it wasn't juicy anymore. Sister thought the chicken was already cooked for quite a long time before it was served. Anyway, considering my sister went for their leg quarter meal, I was sort of wondering why did they tell us the thigh part wasn't available (for my meal), yet my sister was able to get the leg quarter. Oh well...

Anyway, sister's meal has "unlimited rice," but getting extra serving of rice was quite difficult as we have to go look for the staff carrying the rice container, and that they don't offer the free soup right away - should the customer want to have soup, they have to ask a wait staff to give them some. We weren't complaining that much, but we just felt the quality of the food and their service sort of fell shorter. We used to love eating at Mang Inasal, now we were second guessing if we will eat there again. Well, maybe at a different branch, we will.

Pancit Malabon. This is something new on the menu, and my mom loves eating Pancit Malabon / Palabok, so she went for this. I loved that the pork barbecue was served alongside the Pancit so the flavor would not mix with the "normal" flavors of the noodles. I got to taste this and I loved the overall blend of the flavors - I love how garlicky it was and how it wasn't drowning in sauce.

Ginataang Kangkong. Mom loved this a lot; sister and I weren't big fans of it because we felt it was somewhat "fishy." Mom said maybe they used bagoong alamang (fermented shrimp paste) to season the dish.

Lumpiang Sardinas. I don't know if you notice it, but I do love eating the crunchy lumpia - regardless of what was inside it. When I saw this on the menu, I knew I wanted to taste it and I wasn't disappointed. I am not sure, but by the looks of it, they used mashed canned spicy sardines (in tomato sauce) added with grated carrots. Served with the sweet-and-sour sauce, this was something I think I will do at home. :)

Turon Split. I loved the concept of this dessert - it's like having two desserts on one plate. Definitely good for sharing - one can eat the turon (which didn't have extra sugar), the other can eat the ice cream... or they can have one turon each and dip it on the ice cream.

My mom had the Saging Melt (Saging con Hielo) for her dessert; I didn't go for one, I just ate one of the turon and one teaspoon of the chocolate ice cream.

Us three girls appreciated Mang Inasal's "The More, the Many-er" slogan. Seeing more dishes on the menu will definitely attract more customers, should we eat at any Mang Inasal branch, will definitely try their Bangus Sisig and Tuna Inasal Pie.

- * - * - * -

So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.

New Year, New Food Place to Try

2012-01-06T15:51:00.007+08:00

Teacup
G/F Pentagrand Bldg.,
#58 Mo. Ignacia St., Quezon City
+63 (02)921-0988
05 January 2011

It's now 2012... but believe it or not, I still haven't finished sharing food trips from 2010! Well, I suppose to continue with the flow of food trips, but since I just had my first food trip with co-bloggers, might as well share this story first. I received an invitation from bloggy friend Janese for a group food trip, and because I want to cultivate friendships with bloggers and taste new kinds of food, it was an invitation I gladly accepted. Our destination? Teacup along Mother Ignacia in Quezon City.

Owned by the Maristela family, Teacup is still a baby, having opened its doors to foodies last 08 December 2011. The family may be into different passions, but one passion they all share is food. According to Ms. Boots Maristela, their family loves to travel and traveling is never complete without tasting different cuisines the place has to offer. They opened Teacup as they want to have the sense of fulfillment in serving good food, and this place is the extension of their house.

Indeed, it is. Upon entering the restaurant / cafe, I was greeted by a very homey and relaxing atmosphere. The decorations are things from their own home - including an artwork done by one of Ms. Boots' children. Not only that, during hectic days, some of the children also helps with preparing the dishes and serving the customers. Their staff are all friendly and courteous as well.

Aside from the main dining area, they also have a secluded room for big groups who wanted to have a little privacy. Here, people can do their business meetings or parties. They do charge a minimal amount for it, but it's consumable (you can use it for your food purchases). However, should you want to use the room the entire day and/or you needed to hook up electrical equipments (maybe a projector for business meetings), they will have an additional charge for it.

The restaurant is still new, and their menu isn't that extensive. What they take pride of is that even if choices of food is short, all dishes listed are delicious and worth every peso. Most of the dishes are also the kinds of dishes they serve at home whenever they have guests coming over. Simply put, the short list of food on the menu are family favorites. The place may be called "Teacup," but it's not just tea or coffee they are serving, they also serve breakfast, rice meals, snacks and pastries.

Sharing some of the food and drinks we had that day:

Coffee Latte. I arrived earlier than my bloggy pals, so I had coffee first. Very rich, aromatic, and comforting.

Beef Salpicao. Beef tenderloin sauteed in olive oil and lots of garlic. One of Teacup's best selling dishes; I loved that the beef was tender and very flavorful... the seasoning was just right and that I could taste the garlic flavor in every bite. It also had a very, very mild kick of spice into it - something I really appreciated.

Chicken Cordon Bleu. A tasty roll of chicken breast fillet with ham and cheese, topped with creamy gravy. It was cooked perfectly. The chicken meat was tender and the cheese didn't overpower the taste of the dish. The breading had a light crisp on it that added texture to the dish. Since the gravy wasn't drowning the chicken slices, I was able to enjoy tasting the different flavors the dish has to offer.

Meaty Lasagna. A meaty, saucy goodness in between layers of al dente pasta topped with rich bechamel sauce. It was truly meaty! I loved the creaminess of the bechamel sauce and it reminded me of the pasta dish I used to cook for Christmas one time years ago (spaghetti with two sauces). The dish was alright, but one thing I didn't like was that it was a little sweet. Then again, since Filipino kids love pasta with a hint of sweetness, this would be a great pasta choice for kids.

Assam Milk Tea with Coffee Jelly and Boba Pearls. Two of us had the one with Coffee Jelly, two of us had the one with Boba Pearls, one of us had both sinkers in one glass. In 2011, I got to taste different versions of the iced milk tea, and this one was just right.

Ube Halaya Cake. I super duper loved this cake - it's like eating two desserts at the same time! Sweetness was very light, and all of us really wanted to eat more of this!

Chocolate Fudge Cake. It tasted like most chocolate fudge cakes I have tasted... a little bit on the sweet side (maybe because I tasted the Ube Halaya Cake first), but it can be a good pastry to go with a cup of hot coffee.

Blueberry Cheesecake. We didn't taste this... I just took a picture from outside of their cake rack.

How nice was it to try something new for the new year? Overall, I loved the food trip; and I loved that I was able to share this moment with some bloggy pals.

By the way, they do have WiFi, too.

Teacup is located along Mother Ignacia Street in Quezon City, near the back side of St. Mary's School of Quezon City. If you're commuting from Quezon Avenue, you can take the Sct. Magbanua Road (beside Capitol Medical Center) and two blocks away, you will see Teacup. For inquiries, you can call the number listed at the top part of this post or visit the Teacup Facebook Page.

Weekend Eating | New Year's Eve Party

2012-01-02T14:39:00.004+08:00

I have been celebrating Media Noche for 31 years, but it was this year that we had lechon on our table. Well, if it's just us (mom, bro, sis, and I), a simple celebration would do, but because Aunt Bing's Canadian friend flew here to be with his fiancée, they all decided to have the party here and invite all relatives living in Metro Manila. The Canadian friend wanted to eat "the pig on a stick." As early as lunch time of New Year's eve, the lechon was already the center of the dinner table, and yes, I was drooling. :)

Something happened to me mid-afternoon that made me miss the actual start of the celebration (aside from the New Year's Day countdown, my cousin Jayson is also celebrating his birthday). When I got out of my room, the lechon was already carved and half of it was already missing. Needless to say, I wasn't able to pictures of the dishes on our table, but aside from the lechon we had:

Pinoy Spaghetti (using ground beef and hotdogs) - which I cooked
Beer-battered Cream Dory Fish with Mayo-Caper Sauce - which sister prepared, but did help her fry up the fish
Rellenong Bangus - something Aunt Bing brought here from Pangasinan
Suman with Coco Jam - something Aunt Bing's husband brought here from Pangasinan that morning
Fruits and Greens Salad (with Clara Ole Parmesan vinaigrette)
Nachos - something brother prepared
Surprise Bread (hors d' oeuvres - crackers topped with mixed cream cheese, sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, spicy seafood sauce, and bell peppers) - something Aunt Bing prepared
Cake - simple mocha cake by Goldilocks
Pine-Orange juice, wine, and beer

We all had a hearty dinner, but I felt sorta "wasted" by eating a lot. My fitness buddy (now boyfriend) was upset and hurt, but he just asked me not to forget my focus.

We didn't eat anything for Media Noche anymore, but I had a cup of hot coffee and my siblings, some neighbors, and cousins had some alcoholic drinks.

- * - * - * -

So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.

My First Thai Dining Experience

2011-12-29T19:29:00.005+08:00

Arharn Thai Kitchen
Leonard Wood Road
Baguio City, Benguet
16 November 2010

This being our last dinner in Baguio City, I hoped K and I would eat at Cafe by the Ruins, because I have read and seen so many wonderful raves and pictures related to the restaurant. Coming from Tam-Awan Village, K and I took the jeepney and strolled around Burnham Park. He was still not feeling well, so I didn't push for us to see more tourist attractions. Strolling around and taking a seat while people watching seemed to be a good way of enjoying Baguio City.

I was more than willing to stay at the park until it was time to eat dinner, but as soon as the night ate the day, I started feeling the chilly weather of the city and I started having cold feet and my fingertips were starting to turn blue. When K got alarmed, he decided for us to go back to the chalet.

I started shivering. I couldn't finish my sentence without a shake on my voice and my dark lips got darker. I am a person who doesn't like wearing sweatshirts and jackets (because of my size - wearing one would make me look like a big potato), so K just let me use his jacket and wrapped me with the blanket. It helped get me warm but I still was shivering.

I fell asleep and woke up around 8pm. Both of us were hungry, and since I still was shaky and my hands were sort of numb, we decided to just eat at Arharn Thai Kitchen - just outside Chalet Tepeyac. At first we didn't want to eat there as this is basically part of the chalet, but I am not feeling so good, so it wouldn't be a good idea for us to hail the taxi and go somewhere else. Changing my perspective, it was my first taste of Thai food (well, I might have tasted Thai food before, but this was the first time I dined at a Thai-themed restaurant), so it still made the experience very unique.

People checked-in at the chalet can phone the front desk and place their order, but K told me that would somehow lessen the essence of the dining experience, so we went out to dine at the restaurant. Aside from the Nest, there was this dining room - possibly for the Arharn Thai Kitchen, but we didn't want to dine here as the room was basically empty.

They also have an alfresco area - not as pretty as the restaurant inside, but the idea of watching the vehicles pass by while eating made us choose to stay here.

Their menu wasn't that extensive because this was a new restaurant at that time. From the list of dishes, we had:

Combo 3. I wasn't really that hungry and I still didn't know if I would like Thai food, so I just went for the value meal that I would seem love. I chose the combo with Bagoong Rice, Chicken Pandan and Lemongrass Tea. I liked the rice - it had the right amount of saltiness, and the dried alamang at the top was a revelation for me. The Chicken Pandan tasted alright, but the sauce that came with eat (satay, I presume) was so good! I also liked the Lemongrass Tea - truly different from the many drinks I have already tasted.

Green Curry Seafood. K went for this one because the wait staff said it would be good for two people, but one hungry person can eat it, too. This was one of their stand-alone dishes (no rice or drinks included), so K thought eating this would be a good idea. I have tasted a lot of curry dishes before, but what made this different was the coriander leaves. I am not sure if this one had the Kaffir Lime leaves, but the overall taste of the dish was wonderful.

Shrimp Cakes. From their list of appetizers, one thing that interested me was this. Since they have the option to get just two small patties, I also ordered this. It wasn't over the top good, but it made me wonder how they cooked this so I could cook it at home, too.

Green Papaya Salad. While making the decision which appetizer to order, I was sort of torn between two dishes - the Shrimp Cakes and this. I asked the wait staff which he thought I should taste, and he told me to go for the Shrimp Cakes and he will just give me a sample of the Papaya Salad just so I would know how it would taste. This one isn't tangy like our Papaya Atsara - it was mildly sweet, salty, and spicy rolled into one salad. It paired really well with the Shrimp Cakes.

Coco Pandan Pie. This wasn't my initial choice for dessert, but when the wait staff told me that my choice was unavailable, he suggested if I would want this. Since it was my "mission" to include desserts in our meals, I went ahead with it. Well... it's basically a slice of Buko Pie topped with pandan cream and vanilla ice cream. I am not so into it, but it was okay for a dessert.

Somehow, the idea of eating ice cream while shivering and complaining about the cold weather made me feel a bit worse, but at least I was able to enjoy ice cream on a cold night. Brr... :)

The next morning, K and I had our breakfast at the Nest, before going to Victory Liner where we took the bus going back to Metro Manila. On to the next chapter of this holiday.

Pasalubong from All Over

2011-12-28T21:23:00.005+08:00

I just would like to thank certain people for the gift of regional products:

Our neighbor Cindy for the pack of Chicharon from Carcar, Cebu.
> She traveled to Carcar, Cebu to be with her in-laws and when she got back, she gave us two packs of Chicharon, which she said she bought directly from the factory and she even packed the goods she bought. Well, chicharon has always been my poison (one of my favorite food), but because I am now traveling the road to weight loss, looks like am not going to taste this one. However, should I get the chance to travel back to Cebu, I sure would like to experience what she experienced - entering factories can be so fun! :)

Our neighbor Ria for the pack of Apas from Quezon.
> She celebrated Christmas in Quezon, and because she already knows Apas is one of my brother's favorite regional food, she decided to buy it for us. The big pack contained 4 small packs, brother already ate two as of this writing. I still haven't tasted it, though.

My sister for the Uraro from Batangas, as well as Shing-a-Ling and Banana Chips from Laguna.
>Christmas afternoon, sister went to party with friends and the next morning they decided to travel to Laguna. She didn't buy a box of Buko Pie anymore, but she knows I love Shing-a-Ling so she bought me a pack. :) I already ate the pack of Shing-a-Ling and Banana Chips, the Uraro I might eat tomorrow, but not all at once. :)

The Philippines is really rich in different regional food products; while I am not really much into native delicacies, I really love the crunchy ones! Too bad I won't get to eat the Chicharon, but it's okay.

Weekend Eating | Christmas Feast

2011-12-26T15:31:00.004+08:00

The past few years, our family would always celebrate Christmas with any of our relatives from mom's side, but this year, it was just us - both for Noche Buena and Christmas Day.

For Noche Buena, we had Pansit Bihon (which brother cooked) and some dishes given to us by our neighbors. We were quite excited for the annual family photo shoot, so I didn't take pictures of the Noche Buena dishes anymore.

For the Christmas Edition of Weekend Eating, let me just share what the family ate on Christmas Day:

Sinarabasab - Grilled pork with KBL (Kamatis, Bagoong, Lasona), something brother prepared. I didn't taste this, though.

Grilled Bangus. Mom's sister gave her some seafood from Pangasinan, and we opted to grill one of the bangus. However, the family wasn't able to eat this for lunch, but mom and brother ate this for dinner.

Vegetable Kare-Kare. I wasn't able to plate this well, but it did taste good. For this, I used the Mama Sita's Kare-Kare sauce (the paste kind), and instead of adding meat, I used fried tokwa. At first I thought I had to scratch this off the list because I couldn't find some puso ng saging, but I was glad brother went to Tungko with me, and I got to see this one stall that sells the puso ng saging. Sister cooked the bagoong alamang, and she cooked that one real good.

Buffalo Wings. I was supposed to cook Fish Lumpia, but time wasn't enough to cook, flake, and wrap the fish, so I just fried the chicken wings and turn it into Buffalo Wings. Mom and sister preferred their chicken just fried, so it was just brother and I who had the wings with the spicy-honey glaze.

Cake. Sister bought this one for the family, I don't know the name of the cake, but it's one of Goldilock's premium cakes. It tasted a lot like Black Forest cake, but a little too sweet for my taste.

Aglio Olio Pasta. This was something given to us by our next door neighbors for afternoon snacks. We were still full from lunch, so we just ate this for dinner - I only had 1/2 cup of this sans the bacon - because I felt I was already eating too much already.

Christmas with the family was so awesome! We didn't exchange gifts, but we have each other... we are in good health... that's all the matters.

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!

- * - * - * -

So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.

Oh Em Gee, Let's Eat Veggies!

2011-12-23T09:56:00.006+08:00

Oh My Gulay!
Penthouse, La Azotea Building
Session Road - Baguio City, Benguet
+63 918-6676025
16 November 2010

Thanks to a magazine television show that showcased the Top 10 food places around Baguio City, I got to learn about this vegetarian restaurant. When K told me he wanted to put Baguio City in our itinerary for the holiday, I told him I would take him here.

K had Sizzling Sisig for dinner the night before, and I don't know if it was because of the dish or the cold Baguio weather or the fact that his body is still coping up with the time difference, but he wasn't at his 100% that morning. He was sluggish and somewhat dizzy, that while roaming around Wright Park he asked if we could sit down so he could close his eyes for a few seconds. We decided to travel back to the chalet so he could rest while I read magazines I borrowed from the front desk.

It was past 12nn when he woke up, and he quickly asked me to get ready so we could go out and eat. We planned to eat at Oh My Gulay! last night, but because of certain circumstances, we weren't able to. Today, we decided to get back - just to check if it was already open. We didn't ask the guard at the entrance of the building where the restaurant was located... so when K and I climbed the stairs to the third floor, we sort of wondered if we did enter the right building. One more floor and we were there. Hooray!

I already knew that the restaurant is haven for art enthusiasts, but entering the place, both K and I were in awe! I didn't imagine it would be that pretty in person! Anyway, there was a group having art classes so we weren't able to take much pictures at the ground floor, we just let one of their wait staff to usher us to the second floor so we could get ourselves settled. Some pictures I took:

From afar, am not sure what this is, but sure looks like a table and a chair.

Another dining area; K was able to cross a short hanging bridge from our location to this one, but I had fears of crossing it because it looked fragile, and it might not be able to support my weight. Well, there was a stairway from the ground floor to this one, so diners are still safe.

K and I wanted to eat here because it would make the dining experience unique (I wanted to sit at that stool that looked like a pig), but the sun was so bright and shiny we decided to change tables.

Finally, we settled for these round tables - I loved that the chairs weren't the same to each other, by the way.

Oh My Gulay! is run by Eric de Guia, also known as Kidlat Tahimik, a native of Baguio City and a known filmmaker. Aside from this restaurant, he is also behind VOCAS (Victor Oteyza Community Art Space), which aims to showcase the artworks of local artists. VOCAS is also located in this very same spot, and most artworks here are available for purchase.

Food? We had...

Oh My Gulay! Salad. Trademark salad of assorted market vegetables on a bed of greens served with our blend of honey mustard or herb dressing. I had the honey mustard dressing for this, and I loved it because it wasn't too thick and it just provided that taste I wanted for the vegetables. Well, this is Baguio City, so the vegetables were so fresh, and I guess not being able to eat vegetables for a few days, this was a great change.

Alfesto Pasta. Pasta tossed with bechamel milk sauce topped with luscious cheddar and basil pesto. Again, the sauce wasn't too thick, but it did has the creamy milk flavor. The basil pesto kinda looked like caterpillar's "you know what," but it looked unique and it gave the right amount of pesto flavor for the pasta.

Mansanas. Crepe stuffed with fresh apples, caramelized with brown sugar and cinnamon, served with chocolate drizzles. K wasn't hungry (he still wasn't feeling good), so he just went for this for his lunch (yep, I ate the salad and pasta all by myself). I wasn't able to taste this one, but K said it was great.

Dayap Iced Tea. Lime infused brewed iced tea. I wanted to try their Limonada (as it uses freshly squeezed lemons), but it wasn't available, so I just went for this. It tasted like regular iced tea, but the dayap did provide an interesting twist.

K and I didn't have fancy eating that day - come to think of it, dishes weren't that expensive, but we did enjoy our lunch. My pictures weren't that beautiful, but the place is awesome, I tell you. I so look forward to dine here again.

After that hearty lunch, K and I walked to the Baguio Cathedral, then we took a taxi going to Tam-Awan Village.

ps - Big, big thanks to Ms. Maiylah for featuring my Diced Chicken Cashews this week on Food Friday.

15% Off on Datu Puti Vinegar

2011-12-21T10:56:00.004+08:00

Less than a week left before Christmas. Have you already finalized your list of dishes to prepare? I am sure the usual Noche Buena staples will be there - Lumpia, Lechon, Salad, Spaghetti and / or Pancit.

Here in our house, I will attempt to go healthy. For Noche Buena, I am planning to prepare Fish Pasta in Marinara Sauce and for the Christmas Day Lunch, I listed three dishes to prepare: Fish Lumpia, Veggie Kare-Kare, and Honey-Soy Marinated Liempo (just so my family can get to eat pork). Our Christmas will not be as hectic as New Year's Day, though... since my Aunt Bing and his family as well as other relatives will be here, my mom and her sisters already lined up quite a long list of dishes they want to serve: Breaded Cream Dory, Lechon, Vegetable Salad with Vinaigrette, Spaghetti, Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Seafood, Fruit Salad and some more I couldn't remember.

Vinegar will be a vital part of our cooking, and it was a great budget saver to know that I can get 15% off on my Datu Puti vinegar purchases. This great deal actually started since October, as is something I was delighted to know about because my top two favorite flavors are salty and sour. 15% off can go a long way, and since Datu Puti is the #1 "Suka ng Bayan," it's flavor has been something Filipinos loved. This promo is available nationwide in all your favorite supermarkets, groceries, and sari-sari stores, and if you want to know more about this, you can check out this link about this Mukhasim Awesome Deal.

Going back to the dishes this holiday, I will be using my Datu Puti Vinegar as dip for the Fish Lumpia, as an additive in making the ginisang bagoong for the Kare-Kare, as an additive for the Lechon Paksiw (because I am sure there will be a lot of leftover Lechon), and as a dip for the grilled seafood. Yum!

There are more dishes where you can use your Datu Puti Vinegar. To name a few:

Fish Kilawin
dipping sauce for Okoy, Grilled Meats & Seafood and / or Calamares
Adobo
Paksiw
additive for your homemade Atsara and Pickles

Actually, food isn't the only use for vinegar, I actually clean our plastic chopping board by soaking it a few minutes in some vinegar before I scrub it. At times, I also use vinegar in cleaning our counter. It's natural and very effective! Try it!

I do love Datu Puti Vinegar, but I have a much softer spot for their Pinoy Kurat (spiced tuba vinegar). Since the family tasted Sukang Pinakurat years ago, we often visit weekend markets to buy it, but when Datu Puti released the Pinoy Kurat and mom suggested I try it because she and her friends at work loved this, I never looked back. I did love this more than the first brand I tried because I loved how the many flavors of the spices and tuba vinegar blended together.

I suggest you go and try this on your fried and grilled dishes, you'll love it. I actually make my own Chicken Inasal using the Datu Puti Pinoy Kurat and I loved it a lot!

Christmastime often drains our pockets and wallets, it's just so nice to know that even in some simple things - like the Datu Puti Vinegar - we can save some money. If you're just about to shop for your holiday food items, why not grab the 15% off? Your wallet will thank you for it.

Weekend Eating | Giving in to Temptations

2011-12-19T20:10:00.004+08:00

I am so late in posting this week's linky... I was out all night and got home around 1pm this afternoon, and while I wasn't really sleepy and tired, I still fell asleep and woke up past 4pm. My weekend wasn't really that "interesting" (except for the party part) I basically just stayed at home and even if I went out last night to party, my cell phone's battery wasn't fully charged (so is my camera's batteries), so no pictures from the party, simply because I didn't really take pictures.

This picture was from last Friday... something mom took home from the office. Anyone can tempt me by dumping a truck load of chocolates in our house without having to fear that I will eat it because I am not really into chocolate candies (and most sweets), but I admit I am a weakling when it comes to salty food. When I saw that pack of Lay's Potato Chips, I started salivating over it.

... and the temptation won. This pack had less than 200 calories - not really that heavy... but it had a lot of sodium, something I wasn't so proud of. It felt good eating the chips, but of course I felt guilty after. The other food on this picture, I didn't eat... I only had my eyes on Lay's.

The past week I was lazy. I did do my exercise, but not as religious as last month, and I am now starting to fear its effects. I still have 11 days to redeem myself and at least maintain the tiny amount of weight I have lost (I weigh myself twice in a month - one every first day, the other mid-month). I am pressured, but I am still very much optimistic that this month's weigh in will be something that will put a smile on my face.

- * - * - * -

So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.

Recipe | Diced Chicken with Cashews

2011-12-16T14:16:00.003+08:00

Since I cooked the very first dish from Mama Sita's "Lutong Bahay" cookbook, I found myself checking it every now and then if I wanted to cook and eating something healthy and new. Last weekend, I tried another one of their dishes... because I saw some snow peas at the market and it reminded me of this recipe.

Diced Chicken with Cashews
{Serves 2}

Ingredients - Chicken

100g chicken breast, diced
a dash of pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rhum
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons peanut oil (or any ordinary oil)
3 cloves garlic, minced
small piece of ginger, smashed with the flat surface of knife
50g snow peas, ends trimmed
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup toasted cashews
3-4 drops of sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients - Sauce

1 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon Mama Sita's Oyster Sauce
2 tablespoon cornstarch

How to Cook:

In a bowl, combine chicken, pepper, soy sauce, rhum and cornstarch. Set aside.
In a different bowl, add all ingredients for the sauce and mix well. Set aside.
Heat oil in a pan and saute garlic and ginger. Once the garlic turn light brown, add the marinated chicken and cook for a few minutes.
Add stock, oyster sauce, and the sauce. Simmer for a few minutes.
Add the vegetables and cashews and allow the ingredients to cook. Drop some sesame oil and season according to your preference. Serve.

This reminded me of the beef dish I tried because it basically had the same ingredients, only that the sauce of this one had a hint of sweetness. I liked the dish and it is something I will cook again, but not when mom's around because she isn't fond of dishes even with a slight hint of sweetness to it.

I am actually collecting more and more chicken dishes (those that uses chicken breasts), and I am glad I got to try this. If you have any chicken recipes you'd like to share, just share them to me. Thanks!

Breakfast at The Nest

2011-12-15T21:10:00.005+08:00

The Nest - Chalet Tepeyac
177 Leonard Wood Rd.,
Baguio City, Benguet
+63 (074)444-6846; +63 (074)442-3956; +63 (074)442-7504 - Fax
16 - 17 November 2010

It was by watching the former senator Migs Zubiri's "The Pinoy Explorer" that led me to know about Chalet Tepeyac, a very nice place to stay at away from the hustle and bustle of Baguio City. It's not like the typical hotel where everyone enters the main entrance and either take the stairs or the elevator to get to the rooms, Chalet Tepeyac is like staying in an apartment located in a big compound. I loved the atmosphere of having "a place of our own."

Our stay there was basically three days and two nights (though we left early morning of Day Three), and part of the package was free breakfast for two. For this post, I'd like to talk more about the breakfasts K and I had for two days.

Connecting the main building (front desk) and the rooms was The Nest, Chalet Tepeyac's own restaurant.

It was very spacious and very homey inside, and I do love their staff! They were all sweet and nice and very friendly. Well, K and I were the only guests that time (November is an off-peak season that's why), so we were able to roam around - even staying at this corner in the restaurant just to enjoy the background and sit on the floor (with blankets and throw pillows) while waiting for food to be served.

They had a set of meals for breakfast and these meals were the only free ones included in the package. Of course, they could serve other dishes on the menu, but we had to pay for it if we really wanted to order it.

Obviously, coffee is a vital part of breakfast; since this one was quite strong for my liking, I did put in a lot of sugar and milk on my coffee. K loved his coffee with just some sugar, so I kind of poured in most of the milk in my cup.

For both days, K went for the American Breakfast - 3 slices of bread cut diagonally (total of 6 slices), with a serving of butter and a serving of marmalade. He doesn't eat much rice... so he was happy with this.

For the first breakfast day, I went for the LongSiLog. It has been a tradition for me to taste different regional longganisa, but this one tasted like the typical garlic longganisa. It was good - it was more meaty than fatty, and I loved how it was well seasoned. The egg? I only ate the white part; I love sunny side up egg, but I don't like runny yolk.

For the second day of breakfast, I went for the DaingSiLog, just to break the pork-chicken streak I was having for this holiday. I already told the server to cook the yolk this time, so I was able to eat the whole egg. The tomato-onion relish on the side paired well with the fish, but I still asked for a some vinegar and garlic, just because I always pair my Daing na Bangus with spiced vinegar.

K and I enjoyed the breakfasts because it gave us time to talk about our plans for the day. Every now and then, the staff would talk to us (because we talked to her first), and K commended the skills of the wait staff - he said she knew how to serve food well (wait I forgot, should the server be at the right or left side of the guest? Anyway, she was at the correct side whenever she served food) and she wasn't lazy to stay at one side and serve the food by placing the plates on the table (like some wait staff we encountered).

We loved our stay at Chalet Tepeyac, but the food trip there isn't over yet... they do have another restaurant, where we dined on our last night in Baguio. Will talk more about that next time.

Cupcakes by Cupcake Lab from Trip or Treats

2011-12-14T15:05:00.003+08:00

I am not much of a dessert person, but my eyes will always lit up every time I see pastries, because they are just gorgeous works of art! I'd always choose cakes over tubs or scoops of ice cream, and as much as I like tasting these sweet comfort, I think cupcakes are much adorable.

Well... I love cupcakes because it allows me to give myself a sweet treat without really blowing my diet - one small cupcake is oftentimes enough for me to enjoy its flavor. Nowadays, I am admiring pastry artists for coming up with awesome cupcakes that will make one drool at first glance.
Christmas is the time of the year when all of us enjoy fat-laden food and sweet treats. Just a while ago, I chanced upon a wonderful treat courtesy of Trip or Treats. Currently, she is having a Holiday Goodie Giveaway, and 7th treat on her list is a box of cupcakes (three flavors, two cupcakes each). Checking it out, my eyes are just glued at the monitor - admiring the awesome frosting!

If you're like me who also wants to win yourself a box of cupcakes... please check http://wp.me/p20k2c-g8 for the full mechanics.

I know... I am currently on a journey to wellness and weight loss, but hey, I am allowed to have a sweet treat every now and then, right? If I win one of the four boxes, I'd treat myself to a very extensive "Cupcake Photoshoot" and give each flavor a taste (maybe half of the cupcake) so I can share the experience here on my blog, too.

Good luck to all of us who joined.

Recipe | Chicken Pasta in Chunky Tomato Sauce

2011-12-13T20:23:00.005+08:00

Sister started working again, so it's rare for us to spend time together, and last Saturday (her day off at work), she asked if I could cook her a pasta dish. Well, she is one big pasta lover, so I decided to give in to her wishes, after all, she is my baby sister.

We haven't had the chance to do grocery shopping yet, and the only meat I could use for the pasta was the chicken breast. The only time I get to eat pasta with chicken is when I eat at KFC - whenever I cook pasta, I always go for the usual choice of protein: pork, beef, and tuna. I wasn't sure how the dish will turn out, but I still gave it a shot.

Chicken Pasta in Chunky Tomato Sauce
{serves 2 - 3}

Ingredients

125g pasta, cooked per package directions
150g boiled chicken breast (flaked), stock reserved
1 pouch Clara Ole Chunky Tomato Sauce
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium sized carrot, minced
salt and pepper to taste
a dash of Italian Seasoning
1 - 2 tablespoons Olive Oil (pure)
grated cheese (optional)

How to Cook:

Heat olive oil and saute onions and garlic. Just before the garlic turns light brown, add in the chicken and mix.
Add a little of the reserved stock (three tablespoons will be enough), then the tomato sauce. Let it simmer for a few minutes, then add in the carrots.
Add in a dash of Italian Seasoning followed by the salt and pepper. Simmer for about a minute then adjust the seasoning according to your preference.
Toss in the cooked pasta and serve.

I didn't add some grated cheese to my plate of pasta because I try to save myself from additional calories, but since the tomato sauce I used is three-cheese flavored, I still could taste a hint of cheese into it. My sister used cheese spread (Chiz Whiz) on her pasta to add some creaminess into it.

By the way, I cooked the chicken first - I added a pinch of salt and pepper as well as a minuscule amount of onion and garlic just so the chicken already had some flavor prior to cooking the sauce. I set aside a little of the stock for the sauce, while the remaining stock (strained) I used in cooking the pasta, with additional water and salt, of course.

Whenever I cook pasta, I save gas by turning off the heat halfway through the process (about 4 - 5 minutes after I added the pasta into the boiling water), and let the remaining heat cook the pasta. Of course, this is quite a risky move... I have to check the pot every once in a while just to stir the pasta and making sure I don't leave it too long. I am sure not everyone will agree to it, but I can get al dente pasta without using much gas, so I am okay with this.

Now that I've said goodbye to pork and I don't allow myself to eat much beef, using chicken for my pasta dishes is going to be something I might do a lot from now on.

Weekend Eating | Sunday's Lunch and Dinner

2011-12-12T08:58:00.005+08:00

Being sick last week made me a bit scared that the scales might not give me a good result by the end of the month (or first day of the next month), but because I wasn't able to exercise that much, I really made sure I'd eat just enough. However, there were two days last week that I ate a full cup of rice for lunch, which proved to be helpful as it stabilized the tummy acid.

Sunday is my privilege day, when most goals and are waived... and since I didn't eat any fried food last week, I allowed myself to eat some today, though of course, even if this is my day to enjoy eating, I still had to make sure I am only eating enough. Portion is still the key. :)

For lunch, I cooked Diced Chicken with Cashews (recipe will be shared on Friday) and Paksiw na Bangus. The fish was something family from Pangasinan gave to us (super delish), and since my mom doesn't really like eating dishes with a hint of sweetness, I decided to cook two dishes just to give the family something to choose from. Mom and I shared a piece of the fish.

Dinner, we had fried fish paired with Labong Dinengdeng (bamboo shoots, saluyot and patani). I have tried eating Dinengdeng with steamed fish, but fried fish still goes well with it.

I now allow myself to eat fried food, but in moderation. I saw some Cream Dory fish at the nearby supermarket, I think I'd be eating breaded Cream Dory this week - with coleslaw. :)

- * - * - * -

So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.

My Very First Steak

2011-12-09T15:39:00.005+08:00

Sizzling Plate
#86 Session Road
Baguio City, Benguet
+63 (074)442-4219
15 November 2010

K and I traveled that morning to Baguio City via Victory Liner. I sure hoped we could take the Deluxe Bus so there won't be any stop over during the trip, but since they don't have the Deluxe Bus with the Comfort Room in it (they only have the non-stop bus), we decided to take the normal air-conditioned bus, which turned out to be a good choice because we were able to buy some snacks at Siesta and Sison bus stops.

This holiday was very well planned - from the hotel where we will stay at, to the tourist spots I would like K to see. I have been in Baguio City countless times, but I hoped to see the place with new pair of eyes, especially when it comes to food trips, because the many times I traveled there I would just eat at the typical fast food chains, or buy myself some bread at the Sunshine Bakery. This Baguio City trip will surely be different.

After checking in at Chalet Tepeyac, K and I rested a bit and went to SM City Baguio so I could buy some flip flops as well as roam around and take pictures. For dinner, I wanted to take K at Oh My Gulay because I haven't seen the place yet, but it was a bit unfortunate that the place was closed as they were having a party.

We could certainly walk back to SM and find a restaurant there, but when we passed by Sizzling Plate, K told me, "You wanted to eat steak on this holiday, right? Let's eat steak." I was touched when I heard that... The night he got here, I sort of told him that - because I still haven't eaten steak - and I was happy he remembered it.

The place was big enough to accommodate a lot of guests, and I felt lucky we got there while the place was still a little bare, because while we were waiting for orders, guests started to come in. They do have different branches around Baguio City - including one in SM, but it was great we got to dine here and not in their SM branch because dining here felt we had a unique dining experience.

Our server for that day was so friendly. He was quick to explain some things on the menu and he was confident in sharing his idea about our choices. In the end we had...

Sizzling Sisig. No fancy ingredients (like chicharon and egg) - just pure chopped pig's ears and cheeks. I told K the ingredients of the dish, but he still chose to go for it, because while eating somewhere, he saw Sisig on one of the menus and he was very interested with it. He said it tasted okay, but way too rich for his liking. If you ask me, it sure tasted great, something I would like to have with mounds of rice on the side.

Australian Porterhouse Steak. They do have two sets of the Porterhouse Steak. Asking the server about the difference, he said that they use local beef. My choice obviously came from Australia. So... why did I choose this? Well, this is my first steak, let it be special! :) They also offer Rib-Eye and T-Bone... and while I don't know the difference of each, this one's the most expensive cut (p265), so I chose it.

My late father have thought me how to use the knife and fork when cutting meat, but since this was my first steak and K wanted it to be really special - he cut the steak for me. Well, he left some parts for me to cut - he just wanted to be my "servant" that time. Hahaha.

Sans Rival. I told K that I would try to include dessert every time we dine, and for this dinner, I went for a slice of Sans Rival (which K and I shared). It was crunchy yet chewy, not so sweet yet able to satisfy my sweet tooth. I love it so much I wanted to have another slice, but of course this was enough.

All meals on their menu are served with Soup and Java Rice (or bread). I obviously went for the rice, K went for the bread. Well, our plates had some green beans and French Fries, which actually tasted good when eaten with the beef.

I appreciated K's ways of making this holiday a memorable one. He doesn't really like that I eat a lot, but he understood my reasons, so he was okay with it. After our dinner, we walked along Session Road for a while before we hailed a taxi that took us back to the Chalet.

Recipe | Sigarilyas Sarciado

2011-12-06T23:00:00.003+08:00

When sister and I attended the 8th Philippine Food Expo in 2009, my sister was able to buy a Mama Sita cookbook ("Lutong Bahay"). All the recipes featured one or two Mama Sita products, but what made sister buy it is because the dishes were simple to do and it fits every Filipino's palate.

This week, I challenged myself not to eat pork and fried food, so finding dishes to eat can be a little difficult to do, but thanks to this recipe, I was able to find a great way to eat vegetables without having the need to use pork.

Sigarilyas Sarciado
serves 4

Ingredients:

10 pieces Sigarilyas (Wing Beans), sliced thinly
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 pack Mama Sita's Pang Gisa saute mix
3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 eggs, beaten

How to Cook:

Heat oil in a pan and saute tomatoes and sigarilyas for about one minute.
Add water and Mama Sita's Pang Gisa saute mix. Cover the pan and let the vegetable to cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked.
Add the eggs. Stir and cook for 2 minutes more. Serve hot.

The recipe was originally printed in Filipino, I just translated it to English for everyone to understand. Anyway, we don't have the saute mix here at home, so I opted to do the traditional way: sauteing minced garlic and onion before adding the sigarilyas and tomatoes. For this recipe, I used about 5 medium sized sigarilyas and just one egg. I actually had a mistake by stirring the dish directly after adding the egg, so the egg didn't form well. To season it, I used salt and pepper.

A very, very simple dish, but I really loved how it turned out.

Best of all, I wasn't able to eat pork... another day of victory for me. :)

Weekend Eating | Fish Lumpia and Ginisang Kangkong

2011-12-05T12:06:00.003+08:00

Last week wasn't a good week for me as far as dieting is concerned. I was having indigestion last Friday and Saturday, and the tummy aches (brought about by eating oatmeal) made me feel uncomfortable. Sunday, I took a day off from doing any exercises, and I gave in to the pork temptation for lunch.

Late in the afternoon, sister was having another Jollibee cravings - this time she wanted to eat burger, sort of begging mom for us to have a Jollibee dinner, even if she would just eat the Regular Yum. Mom allowed her, but instead of phoning the delivery hotline, sister and I decided to go to Tungko (San Jose del Monte, Bulacan) to buy Jollibee food for dinner.

Since I already ate pork for lunch, I told myself I'd make a right choice for dinner. Going to Tungko was the better option because Jollibee is a few steps away from their market - allowing me to buy my own dinner. I had no plans in mind what to eat, but near the church, we saw the lumpia stall, and seeing that they now sell Fish Lumpia (2 pesos each), I decided to just go for it. Walking around the market, I saw some kangkong and thought it would make a great pair for the lumpia - no need to add anything; let the lumpia be my meat, and kangkong my fiber.

Sister didn't go for the Regular Yum, she went for the Champ. Brother had 2 pieces Chickenjoy, and mom had the Palabok-Chickenjoy meal. I had a different meal, but I enjoyed it, too.

By the way, the kangkong dish was an attempt to re-create Chic-Boy's "Ginisang Kangkong sa Bawang." What I did was to cook the kangkong in little water with salt, set it aside and sauteed minced garlic until it's light brown. I then put back the kangkong into the pan and sauteed it for a few minutes. Not as delish as Chic-Boy's, but it tasted close. :)

That Fish Lumpia (which tasted good, by the way) will be my last fried food for the week. Starting today 'til Saturday, I will not eat fried food (even fried rice), but since most Pinoy's dishes start with the gisa, I will allow myself to eat ginisa dishes. Also, my fitness buddy wasn't at all pleased to know I ate pork that day, so I will also not eat pork anymore. Very drastic change, but I was able to pull off a week without pork, I know I can do this.

- * - * - * -

So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.

Last Dinner in Manila

2011-12-01T15:38:00.006+08:00

The Aristocrat Restaurant
432 San Andres Street,
Malate, Manila
+63 (02)524-7671 to 80
14 November 2010

It was our last night in Manila, so I asked K if we could eat at the Aristocrat Restaurant because I know it has been in the food business for so long, yet I still haven't tasted their food. With a rich history this restaurant has, K didn't see the reason why we wouldn't eat there, after all, it was just a few steps away from Sohotel Malate, where we stayed at.

It was dinnertime when we got in (around 7:30pm), and even if the place was big, it was still packed with diners. This is one of the things I love about "old-fashioned" Filipino restaurants - seeing families gather together to share and enjoy different sumptuous dishes!

They do have a lot of dishes to offer, but just like most Filipino-themed restaurants, most of their dishes were for sharing. There weren't much dishes for one person, so I let K decide which he wanted, before I make my choice.

Crab Foo Yeung. K chose this because of the crab meat. It's good enough to share, but I am not really into crabs, so I only gave it a taste. It's a bit sweet (just a little, though), but I love that this dish had real crab meat (not those crab sticks). K never had the need for bread for this one - he said this was enough for him. He found it really good, but because the serving was so big, he was only able to eat half of it.

Aristocrat Chicken Barbecue. This has been my third chicken meal for this holiday, and at this time I already realized that I have been eating chicken whenever we dine out. However, I just couldn't resist this because when I asked the wait staff what he can recommend me, he suggested this dish because it's one of their best sellers. Since this was the few dishes good for one person, I just went with it. Well, it tasted like any other chicken barbecue, but I did love how it tasted, especially after squeezing the sachet of Java Sauce on it.

Buco Pandan. At first I wanted to try any of Aristocrat's cakes, but I felt a little sad that the bakeshop had a different management and if I wanted to eat the cake, I should go to the bakeshop and take out a slice of cake that I wanted. I didn't want to go through that, so I decided to just go for their Buco Pandan. It may look simple, but this dessert was divine! Tasting it, it quickly became part of my top 10 desserts.

Aristocrat Iced Tea. Seeing the restaurant's name next to the iced tea, I knew this would be special. On the menu, they did printed a logo of Steuarts Tea - Finest Quality Pure Ceylon Tea, so I guess that's the brand of tea they used for this. It surely tasted different from the Iced Tea I have tasted - super delicious, but I felt a little sad that there were a lot of foam. :)

I may not be able to have my slice of cake, but dining here has been really special. It was nice to be a part of Aristocrat's very rich history, even if contribution was to dine there.

It rained just as soon as we stepped out of the restaurant, so we quickly went back to the hotel. We still needed to arrange our stuff because we traveled to Baguio City the next morning.

Tuna Sashimi

2011-11-30T21:32:00.004+08:00

I have tasted fish ceviche (which we call "kilawin" here, by the way), but even if I allow myself to taste it from time to time, I am never really a big fan of raw meat. I don't know, I just prefer my meats cooked (a medium-well steak is okay for me, though), because eating raw meat just makes me feel like a cannibal. Hahaha.

This serving of Tuna Sashimi was something brother had last Sunday, when we went to Chic-Boy to celebrate his birthday. The restaurant may be Filipino inspired, but they had this little Japanese menu, and since my brother is so much into raw fish, he gave it a taste. For about 2USD, he said it tasted okay.

Well, I'd rather have my tuna grilled, fried, or canned.

Weekend Eating | My Pizza Hut Date

2011-11-28T08:55:00.003+08:00

Hello, foodies! How was your weekend?

Mine was awesome - I had two days of celebration... Saturday, I was with my fitness buddy, then Sunday we celebrated brother's birthday. Well, brother still hasn't blogged about his celebration, and since I want to give him the privilege to blog about it first, I will just go and talk about my lunch date with my fitness buddy.

Starting Monday (which is today), my fitness buddy will embark on a new journey and will be very busy most of the time, so on his last full weekend, we decided to meet up just so he could give me some rewards for being a very good girl, as well as give me some pointers of what to do because even if he's still there, I have to rely most on myself this coming week.

Anyway, for lunch we ate at Pizza Hut (Ali Mall). He has given me his rewards - a copy of Shaun T's "Insanity" and Jillian Michaels' "30 Day Shred" as well as some magnetic bookmarks I can use for my books and/or putting notes on the white board or fridge, so this lunch was on me - thanks to the GC I got from Pizza Hut the last time I attended their event (the one with Ms. Shamcey Supsup).

We shared the food - a regular sized Super Supreme pan pizza and a serving of pesto pasta. It was my cheat day, yes... but as much as I wanted to enjoy dining out and eating great food, I didn't sabotage my diet by pigging out, I just ate enough - a small slice of the pizza minus the cold cuts (the pizza was sliced unevenly - two were too big, the other four were too small), about 40% of the pasta, and a glass of lemonade. My buddy ate two small slices of pizza and the 60% of the pasta... the other breads on the table we didn't eat and I took home the remaining three pizza slices, which I gave to brother when I got home.

My buddy will still text and call me everyday, but I will definitely miss our longer talk time. I am now looking forward to our next photowalk - we plan to visit a different park and maybe walk / jog around UP Diliman.

- * - * - * -

So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.

Lunch with a Catholic Feel

2011-11-24T21:23:00.004+08:00

Ristorante Delle Mitre
CBCP Bldg, 470 Gen. Luna St.,
Intramuros, Manila
+63 (02)559-5220
14 November 2010

K and I opened Day 2 of our holiday by visiting Malate Church, which was a few steps away from the hotel. It was a Sunday, so there were a lot of church goers; we actually had to stand near the front door of the church. K is agnostic, but he respect my Catholic faith and allowed me to say my prayers before we left. From there, we went to Manila Cathedral just so he could see it. He may be agnostic, but he actually has no problems entering religious buildings. We then walked to Fort Santiago and roamed around to wind off time. It was Pacquiao day, so there weren't much people at Fort Santiago, but we appreciated the quiet moment. :)

From here, next itinerary on my list was the San Agustin Church, but because it was already lunch time, I took K at Ristorante Delle Mitre, just in front of San Agustin Church. It was a new food place for me, but I already knew the place even before K arrived because my sister and I planned to do a Manila church hop a few weeks before and I remembered sending Carlos Celdran a message via Twitter asking his recommendation. He told about this place, and since sister and I weren't able to check the restaurant then, I figured I'd just take K there instead.

I wasn't able to take that much pictures for reasons I can't remember now. It was a fairly new restaurant, which opened a few months before. Ristorante Delle Mitre means "Restaurant of the Mitre." Each table has this very unique placemat, which the customers have to read to know more about the concept of the restaurant. It says, "La Mitra (plural in Italian is "le mitre") is the bishop's hat or miter which he wears at liturgical celebrations." The restaurant may be put up so the bishops have a place to dine at - with CBCP located in the same block, but as what was written at the placemat, "Bishops, too, must feed their flock, so is everyone invited to partake of Lord's bounty."

The restaurant features different decorations - images, mitre, paintings. I did love the overall ambiance of the restaurant, but what made admire this restaurant the most was that they provide equal employment opportunity to everyone, and that they actually have deaf people as part of their staff. One of the deaf staff actually took our orders, and since it would be difficult to communicate by speaking, our main way of communication was through pen and paper.

Our lunch for that day:

Bishop Cabantan's Grilled Sole Fillet. K's choice. This was served primarily with rice, but K asked if they do have dinner roll. They asked if mashed potato would be okay for K, which he gladly accepted. I got to taste this dish a little, and I did love the buttery taste and how the fish was light and delicious. I still love the cream dory more, but this tasted good as well.

Archbishop Lagdameo's Chicken Adobo simmered in Olive Oil and Lemon. Quite a long name for a dish, yes, but this was a revelation! I love the fruity flavor from the lemon and how the herbs and olive oil came together. I so loved this dish that at times, I do cook my chicken adobo in olive oil, herbs, and lemon juice.

Pandan Juice. K went for canned soda as his drink, while I went for this, because it was unique. It tasted similar to the typical gulaman samalamig, but the pandan flavor made it more delicious.

Blueberry Cheesecake. It tasted like the usual cheesecakes, but I did love the crust. K and I shared this dessert, which was a great ending for a very sumptuous lunch.

Most of the restaurant's dishes were named after the bishops, and even if doing so made the names of the dishes longer, it sure made the dish unique. Actually, they do have a lot of dishes on the menu, but I trimmed down my choices to those with the bishop's name next to it, simply because of its uniqueness.

Ristorante Delle Mitre, like I said in the opening paragraphs, is located just in front of San Agustin Church. The restaurant do have a lot of tables and chairs and can accommodate big groups, but I do recommend for you to take that table near the window. Seeing San Agustin Church outside as well as the people and kalesas passing by will make your dining experience more enjoyable.

Strawberry

2011-11-23T16:06:00.005+08:00

When I was younger, it was one of my favorite fruits, because it smells good, it looks appetizing, and it was rare for me to eat it. I still do love the smell of strawberry and I still find it super appetizing, but it's no longer one of my favorite fruits, maybe because I don't get to eat it that often, and some strawberry-flavored food can taste like medicine. ;)

I do eat a lot of vegetables, but not that much fruits, because of its price. In one of the "habit building blocks" I took was about taking more fiber, and fruits do provide fiber and other healthy goodness.

These strawberries were given by our neighbor when she got home from a short trip to Baguio City (Benguet), where most of the strawberries here in the Philippines are grown.

A cup of strawberries only has about 45 calories and it contains 13% of recommended daily allowance of dietary fiber. On the next strawberry season, I will surely do include this in my diet.

Weekend Eating | M and M's Wedding Cupcake

2011-11-21T08:35:00.006+08:00

My own weekend eating wasn't a feast - my family had Jollibee delivery for Saturday's dinner and I ate the Sinigang na Bangus; sister and mom attended a wedding while I was at home eating fried chicken and coleslaw (which I forgot to take pictures of, unfortunately). I was a bit certain that this week's food share would be unappetizing, but when sister and mom got home from the wedding, sister gave me this:

Mark and Marianne's wedding cupcake. Marianne is the daughter of one of mom's closest friends at work. All of us in the family were invited to the event, but brother had a commitment at the church org, while I decided not to attend - just to stay away from food (and also because I don't have a dress and I don't want to spend money in buying one).

I quickly photographed the cupcake, thinking it was sister's share and that she just gave it to me to let me see how cute it was. After the short cupcake shoot, sister told me, "Eat that, okay? I gave that to you." I don't know if my sister wanted to reward me for successfully controlling sudden urges to eat, but I told her at first that I don't know if I will eat it or not, last night I was already happy just to photograph it.

This morning, a few hours before writing this one, I decided to cup the cupcake in half and ate one half of it for breakfast. It tasted good - the cupcake's moist and not too airy, and it had the right sweetness and chocolate flavor. In case you want to know, the cupcake is by Edible Ideas, located along Quirino Highway - Lagro Area. Their website didn't include prices, so if you want to inquire, you can call them at: 346-7100 or 09228467100.

I always think sending out cupcakes in their own case/wrapper would be a great wedding souvenir. Often during big celebrations, attendees don't get to taste the cake (because the family would save it for themselves), and since cake is quite a vital part of any celebration, sending cupcakes to the guests would somehow let them taste the cake (even if it's not from the main cake) and because it has its own case, people can take it home if they wish to.

To Mark and Marianne, all the best to you!

- * - * - * -

So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.

First Meal with K After Two Years

2011-11-20T19:44:00.005+08:00

Max's Restaurant
4/Level, Robinson's Place - Manila,
M. Adriatico St., Manila
+63 (02)536-8058
13 November 2010

It has been two years since I last met K, and it was such a great thing that he decided to return to the Philippines and explore more of the country. He decided to stay in the country for two weeks, and upon meeting him at the airport, we went straight to the hotel (we decided to go for Sohotel Malate this time). Dinnertime, we went to the nearest mall - Robinson's Place Manila - to eat. In 2008, we stayed at Las Palmas Hotel, which was basically walking distance to the mall, but Sohotel was actually quite far from the mall, so we had to take the pedicab to get there. Needless to say, the Englishman enjoyed the ride. :)

We walked around the mall, looking for a restaurant to eat at... and because I wasn't able to see Chaikofi, we explored the mall more until our feet took us at the 4th Level. Seeing Max's Restaurant made K remember the time we ate at their Vigan branch (where he had the bangus pate and I had the green mango shake), so he sort of decided for us to eat here.

We all probably know the history behind Max's Restaurant, so I will not tackle about the history that much. I always consider Max's Restaurant as one of the many Pinoy foodie icons. Even if this branch is located at the 4th level, it was still pretty much a full house that night, so K and I had to sit near the entrance, which was basically okay, as the the restaurant's waiting area separates the entrance/exit of the restaurant to the dining area.

I initially wanted to go for their other dishes - those I still haven't really tasted, but K had one big comment: the restaurant didn't have much of those single serve dishes - most were for sharing. I am not sure if it's a culture thing, but ever since I met him personally and spent time with him, we always go for our own food, and even if we were allowed to taste each other's food, we pretty much don't share one plate of food. If he wanted to go for one dish, he will eat it all; same goes for me. Since it's a Filipino thing to have dishes for sharing and since we can't go for that, we checked out their plated meals.

Fiesta Plate. Whenever I (or my family) dine at Max's Restaurant, I always go for the Fiesta Plate because of it's Lumpia. When this was served to me, I felt a little sad at how the lumpia looks like now - it certainly wasn't as pretty as it was before, but yes, it still tasted great. No more questions about the chicken - it has always been good since then. Nothing has changed.

K went for their Spring Chicken Meal, but he started eating it the minute it was served to him, so I was only able to photograph the Cream of Mushroom Soup that was served with it. K liked the chicken and the soup, and he appreciated it that Max's Restaurant serves dinner roll to replace the rice if the customers opts for it.

While eating dinner, one staff approached us and asked my opinion about the ketchup. That time, they were still doing survey about their own brand of banana ketchup for the chicken, and while it tasted similar to the Jufran banana ketchup, I actually liked Jufran more because it has been Max's fried chicken's partner since then. Well, now that their own brand of ketchup is used in their restaurants, part of me is glad that I could still enjoy Jufran banana ketchup at home, at it still is available in most supermarkets. :)

I loved how friendly and efficient the staff were. They were attentive and quick to approach any customers needing them, and one staff even posed for a picture while I took an image of the restaurant's facade. Welcome back to the Philippines, K!

Recipe | Fish Lumpia with Afritada Sauce

2011-11-18T20:29:00.004+08:00

I don't get to cook that much (new recipes, that is) since I started watching my food intake, but while browsing some magazines to look for healthy and veggie packed recipes, I come across this and hoped to cook it.

It's not really vegetable-packed recipe, but it was easy and it was a new way of cooking cream dory fish... one of the family's favorite foods. This recipe was taken from the vol.1 no.4 issue of Foodie Magazine, and is a recipe by chef Sunshine Puey-Pengson, wife of the celebrity chef Rob Pengson.

Fish Lumpia with Afritada Sauce
Serves 8

Ingredients - Fish Lumpia

1/2 kilogram dory fillets (or any fish fillets), cut vertically into 1/2-inch strips
1 piece large white onion, sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper (to taste)
a stack of round Lumpia wrappers
vegetable oil (for frying)

How to Cook - Fish Lumpia

In a pre-heated pan with olive oil, saute onion over low heat until caramelized. Set aside.
Season fillet strips with salt and pepper. Place a strip on one lumpia wrapper and top with a teaspoon of caramelized onions. Fold ends and roll tightly. Do the same with the rest of the fillet strips.

Ingredients - Afritada Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 small carrot, diced
1 small potato, diced
1/2 cup water
1 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup raisins
1 small red pepper, diced
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper (to taste)

How to Cook - Afritada Sauce

In a preheated pan with oil, saute garlic, carrots and potatoes over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add water, tomato sauce, and raisins. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add bell pepper and sugar. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the lumpia.

To maximize time, I cooked the sauce while frying the fish. Trying this dish, I was a bit half-hearted about it because I wasn't sure what it would taste like - especially the lumpia. I do like the taste of raw onions, but I personally don't eat much cooked onion, unless it's Onion Rings. :) Anyway, the dish tasted good - the slightly sweet/tangy sauce provided much flavor to the slightly tasteless fish and the caramelized onions provided the dish with sweetness. The lumpia and the sauce went well together, but even without the sauce, the lumpia still tasted good for me.

Another way to cook the dory fish...a much better option to the typical pork lumpiang shanghai. Nice!

Fancy a Whammy?

2011-11-18T13:00:00.003+08:00

Wham! Burgers
Ground Floor - SM City Fairview
Quirino Highway cor Regalado Avenue, Quezon City
+63 (02)355-9426
09 November 2010

After our burger trip at BBB (Big, Better Burgers), sister suggested I try eating at Wham! Burgers because they also serve a burger something similar to the Hahalapeno Burger I had at BBB. It took sometime before I was able to try Wham! Burgers, but it was a food trip I was so excited to do.

I don't know exactly when Wham! Burgers came to life, but I do remember sharing my sister's food trip on our family blog (which I already closed). Anyway, checking their Facebook Page, they wrote, "We are a gourmet burger quick service restaurant that serves only the freshest 1/3 pound pure beef in every burger. Our patties are never frozen so it's always juicy and fresh!"

The store was small - just a few tables and chairs inside and some outside the store. We came in around 2pm, and we were the only ones there - maybe because it was an off time. I let my sister order for me (but we paid our own bill) and we had:

Kapow! Burger. 1/3 pound all beef patty with chili sauce, freshly made salsa, American cheese slice, and jalapeno peppers. I really, really love salsa, so I chose this. Part of me also ordered this so I could compare it to BBB's Hahalapeno Burger, and while both burgers tasted great, I would say I liked BBB's patty more, but I do love the jalapeno peppers on this one. This was spicier than BBB's, and halfway through my burger my mouth was so spicy that I couldn't enjoy the burger more. I was able to finish it, yes, but if you're not into spicy food, best not to choose this one because the jalapenos can really be spicy.

Double Whammy with Cheese. 1/3 pound all beef patty with ketchup, mustard, lettuce and tomato. Well, even if I don't say it, my sister surely loves Wham! Burger and went for a double whammy! She is slimmer than me, but when it comes to burgers, she really does have the appetite for it.

My burger was spicy, so in a way I wasn't able to really taste how good Wham! Burgers patties are. I bit into my sister's burger and I could say I loved it char-grilled smoky flavor. I do love burgers that are grilled (and not fried), and although I still favored BBB, Wham! Burgers are good in their own way as well.

For this food trip, sister and I opted to have side dishes, and we had:

Onion Rings. Not as delicious as the one I had at Brother's Burgers, but this is surely much better than the one served at Burger King.

Crosstax. They do have French Fries, but sister chose this just to be different. :) I say I had fun munching these because it was crispier than the regular French Fries.

I enjoyed our burger trip here. Their burgers aren't really that expensive, and they do have wonderful, friendly wait staff. I also loved the wall decorations as well as the cartoon-inspired place mat, which made a good background while taking pictures of the food.

Rice Meal

2011-11-16T21:39:00.003+08:00

Being Asian, rice is a big part of my diet, and is something I can't give up. One time, I tried to take it away of my diet, and after four days, I went crazy and went back eating it.

This was a breakfast I made last August; using leftover rice, canned corned beef and a sunny side up egg. However, it's been quite a while since I last had rice for breakfast - it has been said that breakfast has to be the heaviest meal of the day, but it is the lightest meal for me, because I eat my breakfast between 7:30 and 8:30 in the morning, and I do my first workout around 9:00 or 9:30 in the morning depending on the time I had my breakfast. My heaviest meal is lunch, where I eat 2/3 cup of rice. Dinner, I try to go for 1/2 cup of rice... but at times I go for 2/3 cup as well.

Whether it's Java Rice, Garlic Rice, Yang Chow Fried Rice, or the simple Steamed Rice... whether people tell me to watch my carbs, I still cannot give up my rice. I can only moderate my intake.

Weekend Eating | Food Finds at Quezon Memorial Circle

2011-11-14T09:17:00.006+08:00

My Saturday was a bit of a blah because of a cold virus that left me sneezing and feeling drowsy, but Sunday was a breathe of fresh air. I met a fitness buddy online (quite a strict person when it come to my diet and exercise, but very sweet of a person as well), and we decided to meet personally yesterday (Sunday). We walked around Quezon Memorial Circle - me going with his pace, and after a few rounds and a break at the Flower Garden and a few more rounds of walking around, we decided it's time for us to check the weekend market and go grab something to eat.

Compared to Salcedo Village and Sidcor Weekend Markets, the one here didn't have that much to offer - but there were some stalls that caught my interest. Before going here, I already thought about my Weekend Eating post, and told myself I will go find the "healthier options" once I come here.

First to caught my interest were these bottles of Fruit Concentrates. When we stopped by here, there was this one person inquiring about the products, and Pipoy (my fitness buddy) told me about the health benefits of Guyabano. Anyway, these concentrates were sold for 150 per bottle, and the vendor told us to prepare the concentrate with 1:2 ratio - 1 part concentrate, 2 parts water. The guyabano one also had the "unsweetened" variety, and aside from these three flavors, there's also the Dalanghita kind.

Walking further, I saw a stall that sells Soya-based products. I wasn't able to inquire how much their products are, but aside from Soya Milk, they also sell Vege-Meat, Vege-Tocino, and Tofu.

I didn't bring much that day - just enough for fare and some snacks - so I didn't buy anything, but I am looking forward to come back here and buy myself a bottle of that Guyabano concentrate and a pack of vege-meat.

Other healthy products I saw that day include: carrot juice, some leafy veggies - sayote tops and fern, and wheatgrass.

Of course, walking around the market trying to look for something to eat, I also got to see food products that I so want to eat, but wasn't able to.

Piaya and Japanese Cakes. I wasn't able to see how the Piaya were made - if the discs (hehe) were already like that and the vendor would just cook it, or he would prepare it first before cooking it. Each piaya costs p6, something I am sure my sister would love to buy if I ask her to come with me here.

The Japanese Cakes aren't new to me... I got to see a little stall outside of our neighborhood selling that, but I still haven't tasted it, hence my interest. I don't know if this is basically hotcakes (or pancakes) shaped like that, or maybe it tasted a bit like Oishi Manju (spell cake), which can be bought at the malls.

Obviously, I didn't buy any of these, but next time, I might.

As for our snacks, we had:

Toge Lumpia and Lugaw. I did eat a piece of bread before traveling to QMC, but of course I felt quite hungry that time, and thought of eating rice or pancit so I would eat something heavy, which could also be my early lunch. However, hearing Pipoy say he would just go for lugaw, I opted to eat the lumpia instead. At p10 each, I initially went for two pieces, but I only ate one and a half - I gave Pipoy the other half of the lumpia.

Dragon Fruit Ice Cream. I am not a big Ice Cream eater, but I kept bugging Pipoy about the Ice Cream (just to test his patience in a way - haha), so when we saw this, he told me I could eat it because it's dragon fruit and it's healthy compared to other ice cream flavors (vanilla, chocolate). I liked it, but I personally didn't like the cheese bits in it. Somehow, it didn't have that much dragon fruit flavor. I actually loved the one I ate at the Simply Butterflies Conservation (Bilar, Bohol) because it was creamier and had more flavor. Well, traveling to Bohol would be more expensive, so this one I appreciated. At least I knew I had the healthier option.

It was around 11am when we had our snacks - and me going for the lumpia made me think I will just eat lunch at home, but surprisingly, I wasn't hungry when I got home - even if the family was eating when I arrived. My tummy is now getting used to eat lesser than the usual, and for that I am thankful.

- * - * - * -

So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.

Recipe | Buffalo Wings a la Certified Foodies

2011-11-11T13:28:00.004+08:00

One of my cravings this week was a good serving of Buffalo Wings. Our family was able to try out the McCormick Buffalo Wings mix, and even if we liked its taste, part of me still wants to try my hands at cooking the dish "from scratch."

I then remembered, days after the first Bloggers' Buffet at Carol's Texan 5 where we had a good serving of Buffalo Wings, siblings Mhel and Ken (of Certified Foodies) shared their own version of the dish. I quickly copied their recipe and tried to re-create it.

Homemade Buffalo Wings
Recipe by: Mhel and Ken of Certified Foodies
Yield: 2 Kilos

Ingredients - Chicken and Breading Mix

2 kilos of Chicken Wings, each cut into two
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
oil for deep frying

Ingredients - Buffalo Sauce

3/4 cup cayenne hot pepper sauce or any hot sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons honey

Ingredients - Cheese Dip

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons cheese spread
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

How to Cook - Chicken

Combine the ingredients (except chicken and oil) and mix to evenly distribute each of the ingredients. Coat each chicken pieces and fry in hot oil until golden brown. Once cooked, place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess oil.

How to Cook - Buffalo Sauce

Combine all ingredients and cook for a few minutes (or until the butter is completely melted) over low heat.

How to Prepare - Cheese Dip

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

How to Assemble:

Place the wings in a big bowl and pour the Buffalo Sauce and mix well, making sure each piece is coated well with the sauce. Serve on a platter with the Cheese Dip on the side.

Believe it or not, I am currently on a diet so parts of the recipe I altered. I still followed the breading, but for the Buffalo Sauce, I used lite margarine and I didn't add the sugar (only went for the honey), and I also opted to go for fresh minced garlic because I couldn't find the container of garlic powder. I decided not to make the Cheese Dip anymore because we didn't have parmesan cheese, and I didn't want to add more calories into my lunch. Actually, even without the cheese dip, the wings tasted so good. It was spicy and a little sweet - highly addicting! Good thing I only cooked 1 wing (cut into two) because if I went to cook all the chicken wings we have in the freezer, for sure I would have a difficult time controlling myself. :)

I told brother how good the wings tasted, but since I only cooked for myself, I will just cook this again some other time so the whole family can savor its goodness, too.

My deepest gratitude to Mhel and Ken for providing this awesome recipe. Do know that I really loved your version of this dish.

For the step by step (with picture) guide on how to cook this recipe, check out their blog post HERE.

Latte Love (A Latte Art Workshop)

2011-11-10T20:44:00.010+08:00

Last Saturday, I attended the Latte Love (A Latte Art Workshop) by Krups at Landmark Trinoma. Though I received a Blogger's Pass prior to the event, it was actually an open to the public event, so my mom and my sister was able to enter, too.

Today's event was facilitated by Chef Michael Ross Canlas - a Barista Instructor / Trainer at the Philippine Barista and Coffee Academy, as well as a part-time owner and F&B Manager at Route 196 and Marjj. He was assisted by two champion Baristas: Adlher Miko Simangan and Kevin Israel Fortu, both products of Lyceum of the Philippines.

I do love the smell of coffee, but I grew up drinking those instant kind, so I am not that knowledgeable with good coffee. Thankfully, I was able to grasp some knowledge care of Chef Mike:

Latte Art is "Art in liquid form," using coffee as the canvas and milk (as well as chocolate syrup) as the ink.
A good cup of coffee latte is a product of good coffee (good crema), good milk (good textured milk), and the barista's passion.
Latte and Cappuccino both have the same amount of coffee, only that Latte has more milk and is served in 10oz cups, while Cappuccino is served in 6oz cups.
Coffee has to be warm (not hot) for you to fully enjoy the drink.
When making Coffee Latte or Latte Art, it is best to use fresh milk - the more fat content the better.
A good crema has to be hazel to reddish brown in color.

Coffee for this event was provided by Folger's. I already got to taste Folger's instant coffee and it was good, so I knew all the coffee latte made today will be just as good if not better. Of course, to make the crema, they used Krups' Espresso Machine, which actually looked so cool, I want one at home.

First up, Chef Mike showed the audience how a good crema looks like.

Then, he started frothing the milk. The machine will make a sound as it froths the milk - and even with this step, it still requires art and precision as the milk has to have a right consistency and temperature. Normally, one has to tap the little milk pitcher and swirl it a bit to check its consistency.

After that, it was time to create art. Some designs were created by pouring milk into the coffee, while some were created by adding milk and putting froth at the top to create the designs.

Chef Mike and his assistants created latte art one after the other and we were all amazed by it. They made it look so easy, yet coming from someone who hasn't tried it yet, for sure it will be a bit tough and tricky, too.

This time, we (my cousin - also a blogger and sister) just enjoyed a cup of coffee adorned with some art. I only took a sip and gave the cup to my sister, which she shared with mom (they seated three rows away from me).

They called in some members of the audience (pre-selected before the event) to try their hands at making Latte Art. All of them were first timers, and all were so good! After putting all the cups on the table, the judge selected the best latte art and the winner - an artist - won a gift pack. :)

After that, Chef Mike created more coffee-based drinks, using other Krups machines as well as Moulinex blender. I wasn't able to jot down all the names of the drink, but one had peanut butter, one had hazelnut, one had cookies, and one had bananas. I may not be a big hot coffee drinker... but these drinks surely made me drool, especially that one with Oreo Cookie!

There was another round of Latte Art contest, and this round's winner was a big coffee lover who surely wanted to learn more about latte art. Both rounds of competition had three teams (two members each team) and all were assisted by Chef Mike and his assistants from preparing the coffee and milk to the actual creation of designs.

Throughout the event, there were raffles and I was lucky to win two boxes of Pasabache drinking tumblers (4 tumblers per box). It sure would be sweeter if I won either the Krups coffee maker or the Krups bread toaster, but as a person who's so unlucky with raffles, I was really grateful to win something. :)

Before the event ended, there were small speeches from Chef Mike and his assistants. They all have something to say, but all of them stressed one particular word: PASSION. Chef Mike said that even if one has the best machine, coffee, and milk, if one is not passionate about it, it will not be 100%.

Anyway, if you want to make your own coffee art or host coffee parties at home, you might want to check out Krups products at Landmark Trinoma for they have an ongoing sale until the end of the month. To learn more about Krups and their products, you can check out their Facebook Page.

Now, if you want to learn about at the art of coffee making and be a bigshot barista in the future, you can check out Philippine Barista & Coffee Academy, Inc. for their classes and schedules.

Big, big thanks to Krups PH for the invitation. It sure was so great to watch how to make art using coffee, milk, and choco syrup. Hopefully in time, I can try my hands on it, too!

Weekend Eating | Trinoma Foodcourt

2011-11-07T10:41:00.002+08:00

I wanted to share the Latte Love event for this edition of Weekend Eating, but I still haven't edited the pictures I needed, so will share this one instead.

Last Saturday, I attended the Latte Love (a latte art workshop) at Landmark Trinoma. Sister sent Krups PH a message and got a response saying she should just approach the registration booth to tell that she is a blogger (I got a bloggers pass days before). We didn't want mom to be alone in the house, so we asked her to come with us so she could shop while we attended the event. I was happy that we didn't have to leave mom shopping alone, because the event was open to the public, so mom attended the event as well.

We got a message from brother saying he is on his way home, so right after the event, mom told us we should eat our late snacks/early dinner so we could go home asap. I brought my Pizza Hut GC, but mom didn't want to eat any pizza today, and roaming around we got to see Trinoma's food court and decided to eat there instead.

Us three had our own preferred taste, so we ordered our food separately.

Mom decided to go for Le Ching Tea House, because she really loves to eat siomai. However, seeing the menu, she decided to go for the shrimp dumplings and the siopao, which has two small siopaos per order (kinda like Kowloon House). Mom gave sis and I a shrimp dumpling each, and I did love the taste, but I found the wrapper a little too bready (in terms of taste). The siopao I didn't taste anymore as I am not fond of the Bola Bola Siopao, but we took the other siopao home for brother and brother said it tasted just like Kowloon House's siopao.

Sister went for Mongolian. I actually wanted to order here, too, as the customer decides what to put in their bowl - it was like a buffet with different ingredients, just dump what you want in your bowl. However, I might not have control over the ingredients I put in, so I decided not to order here. I got to taste a bit of sister's food and it basically tasted just like ordinary stir-fry food or those rice in a box style food. The only good thing about eating food from here was that you personally decide what sauces and seasonings to use, so if you end up with crappy food, it was basically your fault.

I went for Reyes Barbecue. At first, I wanted to go for the Grilled Bangus, but when I saw the Salmon BBQ, I immediately asked if it was available. Since it was, I went for it for I do miss eating salmon. The BBQ had small cuts of belly - those with the fins - yummy goodness! I didn't eat all the rice on my plate, so overall, I think I did well eating out. At least I know I am slowly learning how to control myself and not get overwhelmed with the many choices of food.

- * - * - * -

So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.

Country Style for Breakfast

2011-11-03T10:59:00.003+08:00

Country Style
Raymond Bus Lines
Cubao, Quezon City
31 October 2010

Okay... a few weeks of other posts for Food Trip Friday, let me get back on my food trip stories from last year. :) Ria and I left Vigan at 9:30pm of 30 October, and we reached Cubao at around 5:30am of 31 October. My mom and my brother would be traveling to La Union that morning, and because we all know bus stations were always jam-packed during this time of the year, brother asked us to stay at the bus station for a while and wait until he and mom arrived. Viron Bus Company don't allow early selling of tickets (they usually go for first come, first served basis), but they do open the ticket booth 30 minutes before the bus leaves. One staff was giving away numbers to people to make the process smooth and in orderly system, so Ria and I stayed just so we could get a number even before brother and mom arrived. They reached the bus station at about 7:30am, and after a few minutes of chit-chats and "habilin" (since I will be home alone), Ria and I left.

Traveling all night made us hungry, and we decided to go back to Country Style to have breakfast.

Hungarian Sausage Combo. Ria's choice. I rarely eat Hungarian Sausage so I can't compare it to the other kinds, but I could say that I liked the taste of it.

Heavenly Ham Sandwich. My choice. I loved how they toasted the bread (I do love bread toasted like this - a bit brown, the outer part crunchy), and how generous the fillings were. Well, the ham tasted like the usual sweet ham we could buy at the supermarket, but the fresh veggies sure made the sandwich very appetizing.

We started our Ilocos trip by eating at Country Style (you can read about that HERE), and it was just interesting that it was also our last stop before we went home. This trip surely came at a full circle.

This Country Style branch is located at the compound of Raymond Bus Lines near Victory Liner in Cubao.

Potato Wedges

2011-11-02T19:19:00.002+08:00

When it comes to letter "P," a few food items that came to mind include: Pineapple, Papaya, Pork, and Pizza. However, while editing my 2010 pictures, I came across two "P" food - Pad Thai and this:

Potato Wedges. This was something sister had when we had a food trip at BBB (Big, Better, Burgers). I do love potatoes, but for some reason, I don't like French Fries and Potato Wedges that much, although I could say I eat it, too. Well, if it's available, I will eat it, if not, it's okay, too.

Anyway, I don't think I am really an emotional eater, for I don't really seek comfort in eating if I feel bad, but I am a hearty eater in general - give me a spread of different sumptuous food and I will eat it all with gusto. However, I admit there were a few instances that I would eat just because it was a boring day and I don't have anything else to do.

I don't know what the author meant with the quote, but reading it, I somehow relates it with emotional eating. I agree with some people - food can give us comfort and it's a good way of forgetting problems, but I do agree, too, that even if we drown ourselves with lots of food, the problem is still there. Come to think of it, once the food gets into our hips, we have more problems to face. :)

There are still times that I get tempted to eat more than I needed. There are still times that I would crave for certain food... just because. I still have a lot to learn as to how to control myself, and I would like to think that I am becoming stronger.

Weekend Eating | Kakanin Sampler

2011-10-31T06:49:00.003+08:00

Happy new week, foodies!

I guess most of you are busy for the Halloween / All Saints and Souls Day; me? Am just here at home, so I have all the time to blog. :) Well, I decided not to continue my La Union trip due to financial constraints, and since brother is currently up north with his girlfriend (they're in Vigan right now -- gah, I can only sigh about that, hahaha), the family decided to just let him light the candles on daddy's grave.

In our family, brother's the most strict one when it comes to eating fatty food. Before, he actually eats anything (he loves eating artery clogging food), but one time in 2008, while we were both in La Union, he complained about a headache. Our aunt Julie (a nurse), took his blood pressure and it read 180 over something - causing an alarm. Brother said he grilled some pork liver and heart for lunch (aunt and I were on a road trip, we got home 8pm). Aunt let brother took a pill, which he had to place under his tongue until it melted, and the feeling of all of it was a big lesson for my brother. He still eats liver from time to time, but after that day he really stopped eating pork fat, chicken skin, and animal internals.

However, that's not the case for us girls (mom, sis, and I), so when brother left Friday night, us three decided we would eat pork pata! Hahahaha. Yesterday morning, sis and I went to the market to buy pata and somewhere, we saw a food cart selling native delicacies. Sister still hasn't had her breakfast, so we approached the cart to buy something for her. I didn't know if it tasted good, so I just bought one of each.

There were two kinds of puto (one with cheese, the other with salted egg), pichi-pichi, kutsinta, and peanut roll - which is like the nilupak, but this one had grounded peanut paste (not really peanut butter) instead of cheese. I don't know how much each cost, but when the vendor was computing it, I heard him add 4, 5, and 6, and our total bill was 26, so I guess the kutsinta was 4 pesos, the puto with cheese and pichi-pichi were 5 pesos each, and the peanut roll and puto with egg were 6 each. Did I count that right? Yep. 26 pesos all in all.

I already had my breakfast that morning, but because I want to blog about this, I had to taste it. I just got an itty bitty piece from each, and all tasted good! Among these, it was the pichi-pichi I liked the best. My sister and mom loved the kutsinta. The puto were like the typical puto we eat (I figure this is "Puto Maya," - putong gawa sa Maya hotcake mix, lolz), and the peanut roll tasted good, but all of us prefer the one with cheese more.

The food cart had a signage saying it accepts bulk orders. Should I see the food cart again, I will definitely interview the vendor. :)

Oh, about the pata... we did buy one, and cook it for lunch (as always it's the Pinatisang Pata ng Baboy), and I am so thankful that the pata we bought wasn't really fatty. It's basically skin and meat, but some fat I took out before I cook it.

- * - * - * -

So... what did you have last weekend? If you're new to the Weekend Eating meme, you can read the rules and get the badge codes HERE. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who joined last week.

Food at the Canon Pixma Event

2011-10-30T13:17:00.007+08:00

Canon Pixma Event
Cyberzone - SM City North Edsa
18 October 2011

It's always amazing whenever I receive invitations from Nuffnang Philippines, and even if some of those events I wasn't able to attend, I still try my best to attend their events because it's my way of thanking then. Actually, the same principle applies to all invitations I receive... just receiving the invitation is reason enough to make me feel I am special.

When I received an invitation to attend the Canon Pixma Launch, I didn't hesitate to reply to it right away... afterall, I am a Canon Camera user, and knowing other Canon products (such as their printer) sounds like a wonderful chance for me to learn more about gadgets I would like to save on. One thing that made me happier: brother received an invitation, too. Sweet!

Brother and I arrived just in time for the event, and even if there were so many vacant seats (as most guests were either at the registration booth, or roaming around, or lining up for food), we chose to sit at the first row. During events, I try to sit at the second row (at least) so I won't be at the front, but often I regret doing so because it was sometimes difficult to take pictures with heads blocking my view. Anyway, seated at the front sure felt good, as we were able to watch the event without anything blocking our view. :)

photo grabbed from More Than I Can Chew
Before the actual program, we were given food and drink stubs, which we used to sample some good food by Las Paellas Cafe. Food served at the buffet table included:

Crispy Squid Tentacles. While traveling from our place to SM City, I saw a food cart selling fried calamari, and realized that it's been a while since we last ate that kind of food. I sure hoped we could eat it again, and I was just surprised to see this on the table. It came with a sauce that had a hint of garlic - which paired well with the food (super delicious, I wonder how they made it; however the garlic flavor sure left a lasting taste (and yes, smell) in my mouth. Good thing brother had gum! :)

Mozzarella Sticks. At first I thought these were 100% mozzarella cheese covered with breadcrumbs. Upon biting it, I realized the mozzarella cheese was inside the dough-like wrapper. It wasn't as gooey as I hoped it would be, but still a good appetizer. This had a tomato sauce on the side - perfect! Cheese and tomatoes sure make a great pair, don't you think?

Chicken Fingers. It tasted like regular breaded chicken strips, but I appreciated that the fingers didn't have skin. I normally don't like chicken breast, but this was a nice way to let me eat chicken meat from the breast. Also, even if the food were served a few minutes before the event (which can mean the food were cooked way before the event), the chicken fingers still had that crunch. It came with a cheese-like sauce; good, but I personally prefer the gravy more.

Chorizo Pasta. For some reason, I forgot to put some on my plate. Since they claim food stubs before one could get food, am not sure if the guests were allowed to get back to the buffet table, and since I already surrendered my food stub, I just thought it's much better if I didn't taste it - I am actually on a diet, and I thought what I had on my plate was enough for a meal.

Roast Beef Panini. Since I thought I had a lot to eat already, I didn't eat the bread anymore, I just ate the panini filling, and I loved that the roast beef was "real," and not those roast beef you can buy at the supermarket (those that looked like square sweet ham).

Canonigo. Am not a big fan of the leche flan, but since the base of this dessert looked a bit like brazo de mercedes, I decided to try it, as it was the first time I tasted such dessert. Good thing the canonigo was cut into two different sizes - the normal square cut (pictured above), and another cut half of the normal one. Of course, Miss "I-No-Longer-Live-To-Eat" (that's me) chose the smaller cut. It's true, this dessert was leche flan (because of the caramel) and brazo de mercedes (because of the custard - served separately) combined, and I liked how it tasted like. However, like what I always say about food like this - I don't quite like the fact that it had a lot of calories yet because of its airy texture, it felt like I didn't eat anything at all, yet I already put in a lot of calories into my system. Still, it sure tasted great.

For drinks, we were served Iced Tea, which tasted different than the usual iced tea drinks.

My Plate. I decided to just get two pieces each of the fried food, and a piece each of the panini and canonigo. I think the "Dietera" in me was okay that time, after all, I was able to satisfy myself by eating new food (new in the sense that this was my first time to try Las Paellas Cafe's food), without eating too much. I don't really restrict myself as far as dieting in concerned, but of course, I have to take control as to how much I eat.

Dieting and food blogging may be two opposing sides, yet somehow these two still have this tie that connects them together. As long as I am not going overboard, I know I can satisfy these two aspects of my persona. :)

Big thanks to Nuffnang Philippines for this invitation!

Recipe | Chicken Wings with Lee Kum Kee Chili Garlic Sauce

2011-10-28T11:44:00.008+08:00

Like what I said last time, I am hoping to cook as much recipes printed on the Lee Kum Kee booklet given to us at the Cooking with the Masters event. I already posted one, and I was hoping to cook the Pork Binagoongan this week, but I wasn't able to buy the Lee Kum Kee Fine Shrimp Paste, so I decided to cook a different dish instead.

This recipe is created by Chef Ernest Reynoso-Gala, son of another culinary icon Sylvia Reynoso-Gala. This recipe, aside from being printed as part of the collection of Lee Kum Kee dishes created by celebrity chefs for the 123rd anniversary of Lee Kum Kee, was also featured in the October 2011 issue of Appetite Magazine.

Chicken Wings with Lee Kum Kee Chili Garlic Sauce
{Serves 5 - 6}
[Printable Version]

Ingredients:

1 kilo chicken wings, each cut into two
1/3 cup cooking oil
1 tablespoon Lee Kum Kee chili garlic sauce
1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
1/2 cup spring onions, chopped
2 tablespoons Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Lee Kum Kee premium soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups water
For thickening: 2 tablespoons tapioca starch, mixed with 1/4 cup water and 1 teaspoon Lee Kum Kee sesame oil
For garnish: Romaine lettuce leaves

How to Cook:

Heat oil in a wok.
Add wings, cover and cook for 3 minutes per side.
Remove cover and push wings to side of wok.
Add chili garlic sauce, ginger, and spring onions. Stir awhile.
Add oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and water. Mix well.
Let boil, then cover and simmer for 25 - 30 minutes. Thicken with starch mixture.
Pour on lettuce lined platter and serve.

Obviously, I wasn't able to plate this one well because there were no lettuce available at the nearby market. Anyway, the recipe calls for 1/2 cup chopped spring onions, but I only used about 1/4 cup, some I set aside for garnish. The recipe also calls for 2 cups of water, but I only used 1 cup, because my chicken was only about 3/4 kilo (just 4 wing pieces, one wing for each of us here in the family). Cooking the chicken, I didn't really brown it well, I just fried it until the skin was firm enough to handle the 25 minutes cooking time. I added the thickening sauce at the last 5 minutes of cooking.

I found this dish lip-smacking good. While it is not as crunchy as the normal buffalo wings we know, the sauce was really something that made the dish wonderful. Personally, I loved this more compared to the Crispy Chicken with Hoisin Peanut Sauce, but both my siblings loved the other one compared to this. Oh well, to each his own, I guess, but I am sure I will cook this again some other time.