Weekend Eating | Remembering Daddy

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

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


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


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


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


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

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

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

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.

Starbucks-ing in Tagaytay

Eons ago, I saw a picture of Starbucks Tagaytay on Facebook and absolutely fell in love with it even if I am not a big Starbucks consumer. When the girls and I traveled to Tagaytay last weekend, one of the things on my "places to see" list is this Starbucks branch. However, the problem was... where? The thing is, there are three Starbucks branches in Tagaytay that we know of, but because I have only been in Tagaytay twice (mid 90s and 2009), so I have no idea which one to visit.

On our first day, we checked out the branch near Cliffhouse and Leslie's. It was in a good location, but not the branch I was looking for. Since the other branch is located in Summit Ridge, my sister said maybe it was along the road going to Picnic Grove, and after our stroll to the place the day after, I finally got to see it!


This truly is the most beautiful Starbucks branch we have seen!


This branch has two floors - ground and lower ground floor, and there are also tables available outside for smokers and those who would like to have pictures with the view of Taal Lake. None of us smokes, but of course we went for the table at the balcony so we can have a good view while we sip our drinks.


Us three girls shared this piece of Cheese Ensaymada, which tasted so heavenly! They warmed the bread before serving, so the cheese melted a little, and it made the taste better, in our opinion. My sister chose to go with Green Tea Frappuccino, while my mom and I shared a medium glass of Apple Berry Freeze, because we weren't really thirsty, we just wanted to soothe our dry throats after walking around Picnic Grove. I also took the time to catch up on reading.

The balcony sure has a great view of the lake, and the volcano can be seen from here, too...


...but if you want a better view of the volcano, I suggest you visit the Starbucks branch near Leslie's. Unfortunately, the view couldn't be directly seen... you need to walk a little, but it did offer a good view - perfect for selfies and food pictures. This picture above is zoomed, but even from the view deck, you can get a clear and good view of the volcano.

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.

Chowking Chunky Asado Siopao - #BuksanParaMalaman!

A little throwback pictures...


I am not sure how old I am here, but I am holding the bun of a siopao (the bola-bola filling we ate first), which is one of my favorites back then - I usually asked my late father to bring me home this as a pasalubong, and for a long time, I really did think I took pleasure in eating this, even when my father retired from work, he usually bought all of us a siopao each coming home from his weekly grocery shopping trips.

However, there came a time when we lost interest in eating siopao because of these few reasons -

• There was more bun than filling
• The asado filling was more sauce than meat
• The bola-bola filling was more extenders than meat
• The price no longer justifies the size of the siopao and the amount of filling.

taken using a very crappy cell phone camera, sorry for the picture quality

When my mom retired from work and started loving the benefits of being a senior citizen, especially the free movie every Mondays and Tuesdays, she also started loving the Chowking wanton noodles + siopao combination, and soon we also rekindled our love for siopao, particularly that of Chowking's. Imagine our happiness when the Chinese food chain introduced their Chunkier siopao asado!

having a Chowking Chunky Asado Siopao break after hours of painting

Not only does the bun of Chowking Chunky Asado Siopao so soft and so white... it had more filling than it used to! It has a lot of meat inside, and the sauce's flavor has elevated. It was already delicious then, but it was so much better now. So chunky and saucy and soooo good, there is actually no need for the asado sauce! The regular sized siopao is an awesome partner for soups and hot noodles, but as is, it delivers the satisfaction we all want in our asado siopao. It also now comes in a three-piece carry box, a perfect pasalubong for kids and adults alike.

If you think all affordable asado siopaos are all bun and less filling, I suggest you move and give Chowking Chunky Asado Siopao a try. I promise you, it's chunky, it's saucy, and delicious! Gaano ka-chunky? Buksan para malaman.

Merienda at Cafe Via Mare

Whenever I pass by Landmark Makati, I always get intrigued with Café Via Mare - not only because of its unusual location, but also because of how they managed to keep up with the times. It was a sad truth that despite the interest, I still haven't tried their food yet, but a few years ago, I personally got to attend a food demo by Ms. Glenda Barretto and Via Mare staff, and got to taste their food finally. At first taste, I knew then why Via Mare (the café and their catering service) has been that strong - their food definitely carried them all these years.

Literally meaning "the way of the sea," Via Mare started as a specialty seafood restaurant, and was known for their Oyster Bar. The business went through many changes, but one thing that never changed was their mission to innovate and upgrade the traditional Filipino cuisine. Although the company is very conservative and don't really compete head to head with other restaurants, Via Mare still wanted the younger generations to learn more about them and their food as has recently tied up with Kidzania Manila, a dedicate play and learning space for children.

There might not be a lot of Café Via Branches around Metro Manila, but they are very much well known in the catering business, having to serve six Philippine presidents and other big national events like the 1995 Miss Universe pageant in Manila, the papal visit of then Pope John Paul II, the gala of the Philippine-run West End’s Miss Saigon, and the 2007 ASEAN Summit in Cebu. Currently, they are working on dishes for the APEC Summit.


Last week, I was with my fellow bloggers as we tried the merienda at Café Via Mare at Landmark TriNoma. It was my first time to visit this branch, and even if the café is somewhat hidden and difficult to find, it was really interesting to see the café full of people. Dishes we tried include...

Food Shopping in Laguna

Last Saturday, we joined fellow parishioners in visiting four Catholic Churches - two in Rizal Province and two in Laguna. It was a very good way to visit something new at the same time spending time with people from our neighborhood. We visited...


St. Jerome Church
Morong, Rizal


St. Joseph Church
Baras. Rizal


St. Peter of Alcantara Parish Church
Pakil, Laguna


St. John the Baptist Church
Liliw, Laguna

Our breakfast, lunch, and dinner were served on the bus, so no food trips for this pilgrimage, but, when we arrived in Liliw, we were given ample time to explore the Gat Tayaw street. It was there that we spent a lot of time checking different shops, but we also got to buy a few food items in Pakil. Some of the foods we took home are: