Monday Foodstagram V

Happy Monday, everyone! It's a great start of the week for me because I was able to exercise and I just finished painting my nails... so while waiting for mom to finish cooking her ever favorite food (crabs) before I cook the other dish for our dinner, lemme share to you food images I shared on my Instagram page.


Grilled Tamban with KBL
Seeing that the fish were still very fresh, mom just 6 pieces of this fish for our dinner. I personally don't like this fish because it has lots of bones, but true enough, they were still fresh and it was a pleasure to eat.

Kiwi, Up Close
FMS Photo a Day's prompt for that day was "lines," and slicing the kiwi fruit made me take a macro picture of it. I am very happy that my new phone takes a mean macro shot.

Sinigang na Sapsap
The market is just walking distance from our house, so it is very easy for us to make a quick trip and buy fresh food. Growing up in a place where people either tend the land or catch fish for a living, my mom loves to eat all sorts of fish (which I inherit from her), and for dinner, I just cooked it with sour broth. Simple, but very comforting.

Didi's Breakfast
Opening shift at work for sister got me to prepare a power breakfast for her, for I didn't want her to leave the house with empty stomach (my sister won't eat if there's no food - she'd rather starve than cook food). I cooked some chocolate pancakes for her (Maya has the chocolate flavored pancake mix), sprinkled with mini marshmallows and chocolate chips. I also cooked hotdogs for her, simply because I want to pair my pancakes with something savory.

Chicken Sandwich
I forgot to return the chicken thigh to the freezer (it was sitting in the fridge all day and night), so I just made chicken spread out of it, which we used for that day's breakfast. The mayonnaise may not be that healthy, but using whole wheat bread, lettuce, grated carrots on our sandwich balanced it out... and the slices of fruits (apple and kiwi) added more flavor, too.

Dinengdeng
Mom cooked dinner that night - taro root and eggplant dinengdeng plus fried fish. This simple dish got me to try eating okra again because the taro root had the same slimy feature as the okra's.


Adobo and Salad
We still had lettuce, carrots, and apples... so I paired my chicken adobo with salad. After posting this on Instagram, a friend of mine told me to ditch the rice... but I admit giving up rice will the toughest thing to do.

Banana Bread
Mom and I went to shop for groceries, and because we always buy our loaf bread from Max's Corner Bakery (except for the times when we wanted to eat whole wheat bread), mom also invited me to eat snacks. Well, I wasn't in the mood for some snacks, so I just let her eat while I read my eBook.

Toblerone
Another picture for FMS Photo a Day, this time for the prompt "sweet." I took this picture with flash, and I gotta say, this new phone I am using is really impressing me! Even if I take a very close up picture with flash, the light doesn't flood the image at all. Awesome!


Pakbet Maskipops
We had left over okra, squash, and sitaw in our vegetable bin... and mom turned it into Pinakbet, even if it is missing other ingredients, because she heard me craving for vegetables. My mom's so sweet!

Tous Les Jours Cake
I cannot think of any subject to depict the word "unexpected," so I just took a picture of the cake decoration from mom's birthday cake, because these decorations - Belgian Chocolate and French Macaron were unexpectedly not too sweet. It was such a joy to eat!

Lemon Water
Lotsa food pictures, so I am closing this with a drink - lemon infused water. At home, I have my own pitcher of water infused with lemon slices and I just loved how it tasted. Aside from lemon, I also love infusing my water with either cucumber or watermelon.

Celebrating Mom's 64th

It's Friday the 13th today, but today is a lucky or should I say a blessed day for us because our beloved mother is celebrating her 64th birthday. Woot woot!!!



When September came, sister and I started thinking of ideas how to celebrate mom's birthday. At first, we wanted to throw her a princessy-children's party complete with tiaras and balloons, but last Monday mom told us that she will be hosting a prayer meeting last night (Thursday) that made sister and I scrap the tiaras and balloons and just go with the food instead.

This was a surprise, so we couldn't plan of cooking anything. Instead, we opted to buy the food we planned to serve.


Pansit Luglug - Max's Restaurant
Children's party often serves spaghetti, but because mom will be serving spaghetti at the prayer meeting, we decided to go for this. It's just the three of us, so taking the other food into consideration and the fact that there's just the three of us, I just bought the a la carte serving.

It was past 6pm last night when we arrived at the SM Fairview branch of Max's Restaurant, and I was surprised when the menu indicated that this food is only available from 2 - 6pm. I made an "Awww..." expression and the cashier quickly phoned in the kitchen to ask if they could accommodate my order. The cashier flashed a sweet smile to say I can still order the Pansit Luglug.

I didn't even tell them it's for my mom's birthday, but this very sweet gesture truly made our celebration complete. Thank you!


Lumpiang Shanghai - Max's Restaurant
Growing up, Lumpiang Shanghai is always part of the birthday party table, and since we already purchased the pansit there, we didn't look for any other restaurant.


Fried Chicken - McDonald's
At first we were thinking of trying out the fried chicken at Angel's Pizza, but we didn't have the luxury of time (I had to leave mom last night while she was preparing for the prayer meeting and we had to be home by 8pm so I could cook the spaghetti for her guests), so while waiting for our order at Max's Restaurant, we went to buy the cake and made a side trip to McDonald's to buy the chicken. Personally, I love KFC Hot and Crispy, but us three girls love Chicken McDo, so choosing where to buy the chicken wasn't difficult at all.


Mocha Crunch Cake - Tous les Jours
At first I suggested we go ahead and buy the cake at Max's, too, but honestly, we have already tasted their big cakes (the rolls we haven't yet... but, we figured mom's birthday is more special than a cake roll, with all due respect to ever humble cake roll), and sister's not so keen on buying a cake at either Red Ribbon or Goldilocks, so we walked all the way through Tous les Jours (at the other end of the mall) to buy the cake.

At first we wanted to buy cupcakes, but inquiring at Felicity, we found out they require at least three weeks prior to the event. We love cupcakes, but we don't know much about places where to order customized cupcakes (Felicity is the only one we know of), so we went to the next best thing - pre-made cakes. We wanted to buy the strawberry cake, but the Tous les Jours branch in SM Fairview didn't have a wide selection, so we just chose among the available cakes. I really wanted the Chocolate Powder Cake, but mom's tummy usually reacts bad to chocolate cakes and ice cream, so in the end we chose the mocha cake.

This was the first time we bought something at Tous les Jours, and we just loved their service! Their staff were all friendly - they even wrote our message on the cake - and I loved how they packaged the cake. The box was very sturdy and it even came with free plastic cake knife and a pack of candles (5 pieces). Best of all, the cake tasted so so so good! True to what the staff said, it wasn't overly sweet and the glaze at the top as well as the crushed barquillos around the cake provided a different twist to the usual mocha cake. We are definitely buying there again!

- * - * - * -

In a way, we were thankful the prayer meeting took place last night (they usually have prayer meetings every Wednesday), because mom was busy chit-chatting with her friends that she didn't notice or she didn't pry into to the paper bags anymore. The meeting ended half past 11pm, so the timing was just right for us to pull our surprise as soon as midnight came. Mom wasn't the emotional type of person, but we knew she was surprised. When we had our picture together, there was a little sadness because for sure she was missing our brother who is now in Cagayan de Oro, but she lightened up when I handed her the card brother and her fiancée sent earlier this week.

Happy, happy birthday momskie! We may not be the best children, but do know your imperfect children loves you to the moon and back. :)

Max's Grand Inaanak Fun Day at the SMX Convention Center

Here in the Philippines, a child's baptism or dedication calls for a celebration. Some parents opt to host a reception at home following the actual church ceremony, but for some, they take away the hassle of cooking food (and cleaning up after the party) by arranging a celebration at their choice of restaurant or fast food chain. When it comes to celebrating life moments, baptism included, one of the top choice would be Max's Restaurant.

My parents also had a life moment celebrated the Max's Restaurant way, during their silver wedding anniversary. My late father chose this restaurant because it fit their budget, the food served are classic Filipino dishes that everybody loves, and the cake from their bakeshop (Max's Corner Bakery) just had the right sweetness. With so many celebrations held at Max's Restaurant, I think most (if not all) share the same sentiments as my late father.

Baptism reception has got to be one of the biggest reason for celebrations at Max's Restaurant, that this year they held a Grand Inaanak Day, which was held at the SMX Convention Center near SM Mall of Asia.


Inaanak is a Filipino term meaning "godchild." Each child has a set of godparents - Ninong (godfather) and Ninang (godmother), and once parents set an arrangement at any Max's Restaurant branch for a baptism reception, the child automatically has Ninong Max as one of their godfathers. We all know the godparents serve as the child's parent-figure, but it is also a custom for godparents to give gifts to the child every Christmastime and during the child's birthday. "Ninong Max," the official godfather of every child who celebrated their baptism at any Max's Restaurant knows this, and each of these lovely kids will get to receive a gift twice a year, every year... until they turn seven years old. Not only that, the family also receives yummy Max's Corner Bakery treats every time the family spends at least 200 pesos at any branch, and they are also given 15% VIP discount should they arrange a reception for the child's 1st and/or 7th birthday.


At the event, there were several areas for the kids to play at (this picture was "empty" because most of the kids were watching a film showing)...


... and after the Film Showing, the kids (as well as their parents) were treated to a musical play by the Trumpets. There was also a story telling activity by My Masterpiece, as well as games and surprises.


One of the areas that attracted the kids was the coloring station. Each kid was given an outlined drawing and a set of crayons to play with. It allowed the children to explore their creative and imaginative side, with their parents by their side guiding them.


My favorite part has got to be this wall of pictures and artwork. These aren't just images... but a showcase of love. This event has truly created a unique and memorable moment that binds families together.

If you want your child to be one of Ninong Max's inaanaks... or if you want to know more about celebrating your life moments at Max's Restaurant, please check their website - www.maxschicken.com