Miscellaneous January Food Pics

This week was quite a blah for me, because I had to endure a whole lot of sneezing every day. Worst day was last Thursday, but since yesterday, the sneezing lessened, though I am now experiencing itchiness around my eyes and forehead. I really should be taking anti-histamine, but I don't really like taking meds.

Anyway, I haven't tried any new recipes and we haven't been to any food trips lately, so in an effort to update this blog, I decided to just share some food pictures I have on my phone. Now, most of these weren't plated or composed well; I took these pictures mainly to remember the day by, or to share to my sister who is usually not eating dinner with mom and I.


>>> On the second day of 2016, my sister and I went to Quiapo Church, then to SM Manila after, where had snacks at Starbucks so she could finally claim her 2016 Starbucks Planner. It was my first time to try their Corned Beef Pandesal, and though it tasted like any ordinary pandesal filled with corned beef, but I liked the idea of these three pandesal joined together.

>>> My sister and I bought chicken and requested mom to cook Arroz Caldo for dinner. However, when we got home, mom already cooked something for dinner, but the next day, she surprised us by cooking it for our breakfast. Thank you mommy.

Recipe | Battered Fries

One of the reasons why I didn't get to read as much books in 2015 compared to 2014 is because I always distract myself watching YouTube videos - especially those food related ones, be it about street food around the world or baking tutorial...until I chanced upon HellthyJunkFood's channel. From their dish recreation of KFC's Chizza, I binged watched their videos, until I get to see this -


...a video tutorial on how to recreate Arby's Curly Fries. Now, there is no Arby's in the Philippines, but this reminded me of McDonald's Curly Fries as well as KFC's French Fries, which had a thin batter unlike the other Fries that is pure potatoes and salt (or flavoring powder). Anyway, even if we don't have the spiral cutter and that the nearby supermarket only sells frozen French Fries, I still wanted to try this one out.

If you didn't watch the video I shared above, and if you didn't pause to 1:48 of the video to see the full ingredients, here's what you need for the batter:

• 1/2 cup Flour
• 2 teaspoons Salt
• 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Cayenne Powder
• 2 tablespoons Paprika
• 1 cup Water 
• Oil for deep frying

The procedure is very simple - heat oil for frying, and mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Toss the potatoes and fry them once your oil is hot enough.

Unfortunately, simple as it may be, I must admit I went through a trial and error phase for this dish.


First time I tried it, I was very hesitant in adding that much salt and paprika, so I ended up just putting one and a half teaspoons of salt and one tablespoon of paprika. I placed all the dry ingredients in the bowl and poured all the water needed. It resulted to a very thin batter that won't stick to the fries. I added a little more flour to make it look like the batter used in the video, and this very small batch was the one that my sister and I shared. We both agreed that it lacked salt, but it had a good mix of flavors.


The second time I tried it, I mixed all the dry ingredients needed, and added the water slowly, and ended up not using all of the 1 cup needed for the batter. This batch was difficult to cook. The batter won't crisp up (compared to the last batch) - it looked soggy, and it turns very brown almost immediately, making the potatoes mushy and very very soft. I ended up frying the potatoes twice - not minding if it would look very toasted.


Doing all the adjustments needed, I found the balance when making the third batch. For this, I only added one tablespoon of paprika and added all the water needed, still adding it gradually to check the consistency of the batter. I was able to fry the potatoes for a longer time as I do prefer my fries crispy. Confident now to serve this to my mom and sister, I sprinkled a little parmesan cheese for added flavor and I made the dip by mixing mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, finely minced garlic (just one small clove), a few drops of lemon juice, salt, pepper, and sugar (plus chopped spring onions).

I loved how this turned out, and my sister said discovering this recipe from HellthyJunkFood might make us into Battered Fries converts.


If you want to elevate your usual home-cooked French Fries, you might want to check this out. This post is in no way connected to HellthyJunkFood, but I would take this chance to invite you to check their page, they do offer lots of interesting recreations of fast food dishes. I am now thinking of recreating the KFC Chizza and the Mountain Dew Wings.

Weekend Eating | Bookstagrammers Day Off

Aside from food, the other thing I am "passionate" about is books. Sometime in 2014, I decided to shift to an Instagram page dedicated to books - what I read, what I bought... things like that. I am blessed to have met fellow bookstagrammers who became online friends, then later, real life friends.

Last Saturday, we decided to meet up just to enjoy life outside Instagram.


I first met up with Eunice and Rexy at Glorietta. These two girls have been my friends on Instagram the longest; and we decided to eat lunch at Pizza Warehouse, a food place somewhat similar to the S&R Pizza place. I went for a slice of Pepperoni Pizza and a cup of softdrinks, and I did like the taste of their pizza, though it was a little oily (typical to pepperoni pizza, I guess).

I wasn't able to take food pictures, but this picture I took and shared on my Instagram page, to showcase the gifts Rexy gave me. We don't chat on Viber as much as I chat with the other girls, but I am touched that she took note of the things I love - cats, food, and watercolors. I especially loved the spoon and fork paperclip book marks, I already know what to do with it.


After lunch and a quick stroll around the mall, we went to Bonifacio High Street (Bonifacio Global City) to meet with other bookstagrammers-turned-friends - Lei, Arra, Avy, Jovel, and Janna. We did shop a little at Fullybooked, then later, we stayed at Serendra to share hearty laughs and this ginormous set of churros from La Lola. I ate a piece of the chocolate covered churros, and it was different from the rest of the churros I ate before.

It has been a great day. I look forward to our next get together.

TGIF Deserves a Jollibee Peach Mango Sundae

The week started on a not-so-good note for us; I got sore throat and flu, while my sister had sore eyes. Not the viral kind, but still, her eyes were sore and still is as of this this writing. I am feeling a little better now, and because it is already the weekend (yay, TGIF!!!), my mom and I decided to go out and eat lunch together. Our obvious choice - Jollibee, of course!



In the many times we have dined at Jollibee, we have already developed favorites, which we usually order, but we noticed a new poster for their combo meals, so we decided to go for it. I went for the Burger Steak with 3 Pieces Lumpia, while mom went for the Burger Steak Supreme - the smaller version of their Ultimate Burger Steak. My mom said this was a better option for her, because the Ultimate Burger Steak was difficult to finish, whereas this, she can have the egg and the burger steak with garlic and mushroom sauce, and it also has fries, which tasted better with the mushroom gravy. Both of these meals came with a regular size drink and is priced at 85 pesos. A very satisfying meal for less than 100 pesos!


Now, if you're the type who feels a meal is not complete with desserts, but fears eating desserts would blow the budget, fear not... Jollibee offers mini-sundaes for desserts, which you can get for only 20 pesos (if you order any of the Jollibee value meals). My mom and I tried their newest dessert - the Peach Mango Sundae, and dear me, it was so, so, good!

Since its debut, the Jollibee Peach Mango Pie has always been a well loved dessert, and is actually my favorite. I loved the combination of peaches and mangoes mixed with syrup, which gives it the sweet-tangy taste, and the pie shell was buttery and delicious, the pie was good warm or cold.

The Vanilla Sundae on the other hand has always been a versatile base for desserts - which can be paired with the chocolate hot fudge, strawberry syrup, and a number of different mix-ins.

This time, Jollibee merged this two favorite desserts, and by my first taste, I was like, "Why just now, Jollibee?" Well, no need to wallow about it, for it is now here, and I think it was one of the best sundaes they came up with.


The Peach Mango Sundae is also available a la cart for 29 pesos, perfect for those who wanted more and for those who just wanted to eat the sundae. Just like the Peach Mango Pie, the sweet and tangy flavors of the fruits went well with the vanilla sundae, which actually cuts the sweetness. Although the fruits were cooked in syrup, it actually tasted fresh (I liked chewing the chunky fruits), and would satisfy the kids and the adults as well. There was an ample amount of peach and mango, but if I were you, I suggest to stir in all the fruit with the sundae before eating, for maximum pleasure.

The next time you dine at Jollibee, I suggest you try the new Jollibee Peach Mango Sundae. It's so good, it might just become your favorite.

For updates and news, please follow @Jollibee on Twitter and Instagram, and @JollibeePhilippines on Facebook.

#QCblogventure for Quezon City at 75

I have been a Caloocan City resident for about three decades now, but Quezon City is pretty much part of my life - I was born and baptized in Quezon City, our first residence is also in this city, and I attended my pre-school here as well. I have so many fond memories in this city, so when I received an invitation to visit Quezon City attractions in celebration of the city's 75th anniversary, I immediately said yes.


Us bloggers converged in Quezon City Hall, and from there we were divided into groups. Each group had our own set of itineraries. Our group was set to visit three places - La Mesa Eco Park, Erehwon Center for the Arts, and Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife.

Bigg's Diner (Pili, Camarines Sur)

picture grabbed from Iris

It was (I think) around 8am when we left Caramoan, and because of its distance and the road repairs, it was past lunch time when we reached the town of Pili. At first, the vans parked in front of Jollibee - which was a little cute thinking that our first meal in Bicol was at this Jollibee branch and that our last meal in the region would be there as well, but because our companions thought that they will eat Jollibee the day they come back to work, they decided to find somewhere else to eat. We didn't really wanted to eat at a very high end restaurant, eating at road side eateries (carinderia) would be okay for us because it would allow us to save money and have a taste of what the town has to offer.

We were only given an hour to eat lunch because traveling back home would sure take a lot of time and we were still going to do one more side trip to CWC, so when the carinderia hunting didn't give us results within 15 minutes, I suggested we go to Bigg's Diner instead. It would eat a lot of our time walking there, but from what I knew of, Bigg's Diner is proudly Bicolano... I am not sure if it branched out of the region, but when one say Bicolano restaurant, Bigg's Diner will be one of the very first ones to mention.

Eating in Caramoan

* picture heavy post *

While we were traveling back to Manila from Baler (Aurora) last June, my companions were already talking about our next weekend getaway, saying that there will be another long weekend come August. At that time, we all agreed that Sagada would be our next destination, but early August, we received the invitation for a weekend getaway to Caramoan. It was first scheduled August 20 - 23, but our companions had work-related responsibilities, so they decided to cancel and re-schedule. Thankfully, the next weekend was another long weekend here in the Philippines, so we pushed through last August 29 - 31.

Caramoan is located in the province of Camarines Sur in Bicol region. I first heard of this place in 2009, but the willingness to travel there intensified when it became the location of choice for the hit US reality television show, Survivor, which shot back-to-back seasons in Caramoan (Survivor Philippines - season 25 and Survivor Caramoan: Fans vs. Favorites - season 26).




Traveling to Caramoan took us 14 hours. It was a long and tiring ride (as there were a lot of road repairs), but when we got there, it was like all our wearies were washed out. We spent most of our time island hopping, and because this place is not highly commercialized yet, there weren't a lot of restaurants in the area, so most of our meals were eaten at the dining area of the resort where we stayed at.

Minions McDonald's Happy Meal Toys

This was a very late post, I know... but in the "Thursday Throwback" tradition, allow me to just post this. I just need to finish my current read (so I can include it on my July list), so this post will be heavier on pictures than words.


This was an Instagram post I had June 2013, while my British friend K and I were spending a short holiday in Boracay. I was away from home for nearly two weeks that time, and when my siblings learned about the McDonald's Happy Meal that features the Minions as part of the promotion for the Despicable Me 2 movie, they quickly messaged me their proposal -- that we would pitch in to complete all ten toys. They gave me three toys to hunt, sister had to hunt the other three, while brother volunteered to hunt the last four. I was in Boracay the time they messaged me, and I was so thankful that there is a McDonald's branch in Boracay, and was able to buy this toy. Days after, I got to buy the remaining two toys at McDonald's SM Mall of Asia and McDonald's Robinson's Place Ermita.


Two years after, the Minions were given their own movie, and my sister and I were so happy that McDonald's will once again offer Minion toys on their Happy Meal. When we heard that McDonald's are offering the toys on pre-order, my sister took note of the start of the pre-order period and went to McDonald's near her workplace as early as 8AM to pre-order.

She had to pay for the whole set - a little less than 1,000 pesos, and was given this pre-order stubs, which has the main stub for the toys as well as ten food stubs, which my sister could use until August. It was a good system, though the meals were already pre-determined as well. majority of the food stubs were for Burger McDo meal, but it had two Chicken McDo meal stubs.


My sister asked me a huge favor, making me travel to Makati very early morning last June 25. For breakfast, we went to McDonald's to claim the toys, a day before the toys were made available for individual selling. I was so happy to be able to be one of the first people to share the picture to my sites, but I wasn't able to blog about it, so yeah... boo. Hahahaha.


I love the look of the toys for this batch compared to the last batch, maybe because the movie featured a more diverse set of characters. Taking a close look at the toys --


Chatting Bob
After turning on the power button, pressing the button on his tummy would allow the toy to speak. It was just unfortunate that the paint of this toy wasn't so good - there were some blue paint on the toy's lower left lip area.

Guitar Strumming Stuart
Switching on the power, pulling the guitar neck downwards would make the toy sing.


Minion Caveman
No battery power needed, pushing the button at the back would make the minion's hand with banana move.

Groovy Stuart
Tilting the toy from left to right would make the toy move his hands, like he was dancing.


Minion Vampire
Pushing the switch at the back would allow the toy to show its fangs - I used scotch tape to put the switch in position.

Egyptian Hula Minion
The hula hoop is detached to the toy, but there was a slot on the toy's waistband to make the hoop stay in place. Pushing the button on its head would rotate the hula hoop.


Lava Shooting Kevin
Another battery operated toy, switching on the power would make the "lava" light up, but we got a dysfunctional toy, it wasn't lighting up.

Guard Minion
A very classic way to move a toy - wind it up, set it on a surface and watch it walk.


Marching Minion Soldier
Pushing the button on its headdress would make the toy's eyes move from left to right.

Martial Arts Minion
A little complicated to use -- hold its foot, turn the upper body counter clockwise and release. It would spin round and round. Unfortunately, it was difficult to do this with the minion set on a surface. I really had to hold it's foot and position it at an angle so it would spin good.

True, paying a one time payment of 900+ pesos was a little heavy on the budget, but... we were glad that McDonald's offered the pre-order of the toys. It just took away the stress of hopping to different stores just to buy the toys, because not everybody buys the toys all at once, there will be instances that diners would all prefer just one toy, and there was a risk that the store would run out of stock for one or two toys.

If McDonald's would offer pre-ordering of toys in their next happy meal, I suggest you go and take the chance. There is a big sense of fulfillment in completing all the toys...at once.

*** Jenn ***