SARSA Kitchen + Bar (SM Mall of Asia)

The day we stayed at Microtel at Wyndham, we decided to have late lunch at SARSA Kitchen + Bar. Our objective that time was to eat simple, but as we walked around, I thought about this restaurant because I have heard so many raves, and knowing Chef Jayps is one of the popular celebrity chefs in the country, I thought it was just right that we try what the restaurant has to offer.


Entering the restaurant, one would think it was small, but it was more spacious past the bar area...and it had more natural light, too. The overall look of the place was very pleasant to the eyes, and we just loved the paintings and hand-lettered menu on the walls.

It was difficult to think of what dishes to order, but in the end we chose -


Pancit Molo
This is after all, a Negrense restaurant, might as well try one of the well known dishes from the region. The soup was a little salty for our liking, but it was very tasty. Very light way to start the meal.


Chicken Inasal Sisig
It was so unfortunate that I decided to leave the camera in our room, and that this image was of inferior quality, but believe me when I say that it was indeed sizzling (the heat of the plate was able to cook the egg well) and that this tasted really, really, good! Everything I wanted in a chicken inasal was there, and the addition of egg, onions, and garlic added more to the flavor.


Isaw (Chicken Intestines)
The raves given by my friend Gie for this dish was the biggest reason why I wanted to eat here. For someone like me who frequently buy chicken intestines at 5 pesos per stick, it was a big risk ordering this. With a whopping price tag of 185 pesos, I had this thinking that it better be good, or I will be totally disappointed. It was sad that it only had three sticks (a blog post I saw had 5 sticks), but my oh my... the raves were real - it was effing delicious! It was crispy yet chewy, and because the intestines were cut lengthwise and cleaned really well, it didn't have that bitter taste ever present in the isaw sold in sidewalks. For a while we were trying to dissect it and think how it was cooked, but we all said we'd rather buy it here than do all the steps in recreating it. This is quite an exaggeration, but not really - if I could marry a food, I would marry this one. Yep, it was that awesome...at least for my liking.

Every dish was great. It was filled with umami goodness, and we liked that we didn't go wrong in choosing to eat here. However, as common people who don't earn too much, we thought that the price was a little expensive given the amount of food per serving. Personally, the girls and I still highly recommend this place, but please prepare your wallet should you decide to eat here. Worry not, their food will truly satisfy your hungry tummies.

Weekend Eating | Independence Day Lunch

The past months weren't as good for us as far as food choices is concerned. At home, we usually just eat whatever is available - canned goods, or cooking meat as is (fried, adobo, or paksiw). Vegetables weren't a big part of our diet...though we do eat them, it's just that, sometimes we just cook whatever is there. Anyway, we do know the importance of eating vegetables, so last Friday, I just listed some dishes I hope we could prepare and eat.

One of those dishes is Kare-Kare. This is a dish that we don't usually eat because mom used to stay away from anything with nuts, because of her arthritis. Well, during our last visit to the doctor, he said that my mom indeed has arthritis, but she could eat nuts (hers is a different kind of arthritis), so I immediately wrote this on the list. The problem then was the meat, but sister thought of something to present this classic Filipino dish...


... by combining it with another well loved Filipino dish - the Crispy Pata.

Since we don't have a big frying pan and we didn't want to use too much oil for the meat, we decided to buy a small one at the supermarket and have it cut as well as they do use electric saw to cut through bones, making a clean cut compared to the ones in the public markets that uses manual chopping, making the bones crack and shatter.

Cooking the dish, she first tackled the pata. Seasoning the water with salt, pepper and bay leaves, she let the meat boil in it and later pressure cooked it to ensure the meat would be tender. Then, she baked it for a while to take out excess moisture then she fried it 'til it became crispy.

The vegetables she blanched in boiling water 'til it reached the "just cooked" stage and dunk them in ice bath to keep them cooked yet crunchy.

Last thing was the sauce, and the pata was already time consuming as is, so she decided to just use the Mama Sita mix - the creamy one, not the powder. We prefer to use the creamy sauce mix because it had real peanuts.

Plating was better when done this way...but of course, once all pictures were taken, we did mix the vegetables with the sauce. One thing we overlooked - the bagoong. Sister just seasoned the sauce with a little salt, so it wasn't completely bland.


For dessert, I baked Caramel Custard Cake. Actually, I had no intentions of baking. Sister planned to use the cake mix we bought from MAFBEX, but it was tricky to cut the the recipe in half, so she canceled it. Seeing we have enough ingredients, I baked this, as this still fits the Filipino theme, leche flan being a favorite dessert of many Pinoys.

I still cannot share the recipe as this was a trial cake, and it didn't turn out to be 100% good...but still very good. Problem was, the custard just wouldn't set. Baking this in baine-marie method, I baked this for over 1 hour (the recipe says 40 minutes), and it just wouldn't set. I decided to dry bake them and after 10 minutes, the custard finally set. However, the long baking time dried the chiffon cake a little, and oh dear, when I cut the cake, I realized I didn't pour enough custard...it was so thin! Actually, the recipe I followed used a round pan, but we don't own one yet, so I used two loaf pans and cut the batter in half, though the custard, I just couldn't gauge the level in the pan as I poured it.

Despite the problems, it tasted really, really good. I now know how to handle this should I bake this again, and when I do, I can then share the recipe.

For us who is used to eat out during Sundays, it sure felt great to stay in the house and be slaves in the kitchen. I am not sure if we can do this every weekend, but we will try.

Casa Italia Cafe, part 2

Yesterday, desserts came first at Casa Italia Cafe. Today, I want to share something else you might want to try at their cafe, that is not the typical Italian food - Pizza and Pasta. But before I share the food pictures, a look at how beautiful their cafe looks like:


The view from where I sit.


If you're alone and just want to have a cup of coffee, I suggest you sit by the bar and watch how they make your choice of drink.


I seriously want a taste of that croissant. Reminds me of how my friend Nina says it, "kwasan."


In a way, I love the divider. It gave diners some sort of privacy, without totally blocking out the view.


Want to combine eating with school work? The cafe has wifi connection that will allow you to connect to the Internet, though I wasn't able to check if they have electric plugs around.


A closer look at the shelves. Some Italian phrases and words are easy to translate, but "Il meglio dell' Italia" means "The best of Italy."


Two very interesting things to see - coffee silos in Italian flag colors and this dining area perfect for meetings.

Now, on to the food...


Pumpkin Soup (p150). Creamy and seasoned just right, I loved this so much to the point that I asked certain things about it - does it have carrots and/or apples (something like that) because partly I want to know if I can recreate it at home. This was so good, I can just have this and be contented.


Italian Baked Chicken (p330). I was not sure if they used chicken breast or thigh fillet, but I loved that even if it was baked, it was still juicy and tender. The sauce (or gravy, as how Italians call it) wasn't tarty or sour, something I preferred, but it wasn't the sweet kind the way Filipinos usually go for.


Sole Fillet with Lemon Pepper Cream Sauce (p490). A little bit pricey for me...but I liked that they used sole fillet instead of the usual cream dory fillet. The sauce lacked that lemon flavor I wanted, but it was still a good dish overall.


Hickory Pork Belly (p430). So heavenly good! The meat was tender and screams "barbecue" through and through.


Kaffe Otto. Not my drink, but this I think would be a good way to eat a great meal. This is Casa Italia Cafe's own blend of coffe, something I will try when I dine there again.

I plan to take mom and sister there so they can taste their food, too.

Casa Italia Cafe is located at the ground floor of SM North EDSA (The Block).

Bagnet 80605 (Vito Cruz, Manila)

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


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


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

*photo grabbed from eunice*

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

Welcoming 2016

Christmas, it was just three girls celebrating the event. It was a good thing that we didn't prepare too much food, for it might get wasted. However, even if we didn't have a lot of food on the table, my sister and I had to face a lot of dishes to be washed, and since it is chilly during Christmastime, we found too tedious of a task to wash the dishes. For New Year, my sister suggested that we order cooked food instead. My mom and I agreed to this, and our first choice was to order food at Amber.


Choosing Amber had its risks, biggest of all was the location. The nearest branch to us is the one in Tomas Morato, and it was difficult to gauge the time - will there be heavy traffic, will there be public utility vehicles on the road, will the food last 'til midnight without getting stale. It was a risk we took, and we were grateful that Amber still accepts orders for delivery / pick-up even on New Year's eve. We opted to pick it up because aside from these food, we still had to buy round fruits, and we wanted to all in one go.

It was months ago when I last went to Tomas Morato, when I attended the grand opening of Book and Borders Cafe. That day, I got to see Amber's branch across the cafe, so I knew where to pick up our orders. Unfortunately, when we alight the jeepney, the branch was closed and we were told that a new branch opened four blocks away. We had no choice but to walk, but we were surprised that it was more than four blocks away. Hahaha. No worries, we did like the workout and we were greeted with warm, friendly faces, so all was fine.


We got home as early as we predicted, and since we had to refrigerate the food in time for midnight (it was only 2pm), we took pictures first, thinking that when we reheat the pansit and the lumpia, it won't look as good as this anymore.

What we served for Media Noche -


Pork BBQ.
At 22 pesos a piece, it sure looked small, but we love the thick cut meat pieces. The only negative thing we could say is that it felt as if it wasn't 100% smoked - like it was boiled first, or that it was grilled on gas grill. It lacked that charcoal smell and smoke flavor.


Lumpiang Shanghai.
The very first time I dined at Amber, my sister and I tried their single serving of Spaghetti and Pansit Bihon (or was it Canton, I forgot). Checking the menu, I also wanted to try their Lumpiang Shanghai, but we didn't order it because the noodles were already enough for us. When I phoned in our order, my sister didn't list this one (though I requested for it) because it was not listed on their Delivery Menu. Good thing, the person at the Amber's call center suggested this dish, and learning it was only 8 pesos each (minimum of 5 pieces per order), I placed an order for 10 pieces.

It was very crunchy (I had one as soon as we got home). The filling was a little difficult to explain - it sure felt as if it had more finely grated vegetable (couldn't tell if it was singkamas or water chestnuts or potato or unripe papaya), but it sure tasted really good! I think I already found my favorite Lumpiang Shanghai ever!


Pansit Malabon.
My sister loves Amber's Pansit Malabon... me, not so much. It was delicious, don't get me wrong, but I personally prefer the oily kind of Pansit Malabon. Regardless of how it was prepared, Pansit Malabon (or sometimes Pansit Palabok) is considered as one of my favorite foods, so I was very satisfied with this dish.


Pichi-Pichi.
Aside from Pansit Malabon, Amber is known for their Pichi-Pichi, which is also a family favorite. It was lightly sweetened, it was smooth, the cheese they used wasn't so salty, and it didn't have the "visible" lye flavor I hated in native delicacies like this one and in Kutsinta. We usually order their Cheese Pichi-Pichi, and wanted to try their Coconut Pichi-Pichi, but we feared it might get stale even before we eat it. Maybe next time we will go for that.


Leche Flan.
Now this was something my mom ordered from our next door neighbor. Last Christmas, this neighbor of ours delivered a tub of Leche Flan, saying another one of our neighbors ordered from her and asked to deliver it as their Christmas gift. We loved it - it was creamy and silky smooth, and it wasn't overly sweet, so mom ordered five tubs for New Year. Before I took the picture, mom already gave two tubs away, and another one was given to our relative.


Fried Tilapia.
They say Media Noche has to include one whole fish. We usually go for steamed fish, and we were too lazy to grill, so we just fried a big piece of tilapia. The seaweeds were given by Aunt Mary (straight from Bolinao, Pangasinan), and was the perfect partner for the fish. I love this kind of seaweeds - bigger, and has a kick of spice. Very flavorful.


With the food preparation out of our to-do list, we were able to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and early night time just relaxing and catching up on TV shows missed. I guess this will now be our yearly tradition.

2015 is not really that great of a year for me as far as blogging is concerned, but I am optimistic, 2016 will be a better year. Thank you for reading my posts.