The Sugar Bug's Blog

Road-Testing Relik Tapas Bar and Lounge

2012-01-28T12:36:00.006+08:00

Living 10 minutes away from Bonifacio Global City, it's hard to believe that I have yet to explore the nooks and crannies it has in store. It's really cool that amidst the sleek modernized building there are restaurants for workers and yuppies to go to during lunchbreak or after a long day's work. Located at the second floor of CommerCenter Building, Relik Tapas Bar and Lounge takes you away from the busy concrete pavement or neutral-colored office desk you are five days a week to a very chill place that takes inspiration from old-world c

harm.

I've always passed by CommerCenter building on my way home from S&R or whenever I need to go to St. Lukes. It's a very modern-looking building actually, complete with a touch-screen elevator which took me like a few minutes in order to figure it out (me and technology - meh). It's quite a different world inside though - warm mood lighting, furniture made from hundred-year-old wood, restored antiques as decor, and brick walls which remind me of home.

When you say lounge, it's not like a place with a floor poked on too much stilettos. Go inside, it's open during lunchtime and it's really a place to chill with good food, good company, and if you do drink, a glass of wine.

Sampling out the dishes is indeed a treat for me. I love food, and everyone knows how much I love to eat. I got there a bit late though, but I was able to take samplings of quesadilla, a very popular treat. That green glob is guacamole, a dip made out of avocado and spices. It's pretty how it maintains its green color, adding the lemon just the right time.

That's the Baked Australian Brie, a very creamy Yarra Valley Brie cheese wrapped in jamon and lightly glazed with honey. Brie is a very creamy kind of cheese, so it's served with bread. But for me, I just sliver some and eat it as it is. I like the combination of sweet and salty here, plus the mellow creamy cheese texture. No bread. heehee. It's quite a lot for one person to eat that much bread and cheese so this is best served for 2-3 (or a bit more, if you're into variety) people.

Soup always warms my tummy and it preps me for a very heavy meal, just like a warm-up before a dance. Since Spanish-Mediterranean food is quite rich, I need a good warming, I guess, or I'll be super overwhelmed. So the soup served to us was Roasted Pumpkin Soup, which tasted very mild, with just a hint of spice. It kinda reminded me of pumpkin pie with that hint of sweetness but it was still acceptable as a soup dish. I finished my serving before Arpee was halfway his.

What's Spanish tapas without paella right? I love rice and pasta, which I find to be a more sensible meal-carbohydrate than bread. Relik's Mixed Paella's overloaded with flavors and fillings like seafood and chorizo and lemon wedge to give it a sprinkle of tartness. Since Relik wants everything fresh with high quality, they request their customers who would want to order their Mixed Paella to order this a day in advance (I'll post their number later). And really, the paella is very afforable. It's around Php870 pesos and it already serves 8-10 people.

Gambas With a Kick. If you love gambas (shrimp) or anything spicy, this has both and a lot of both it will kick you to the next table. The shrimp was tender instead of tough and they weren't kidding with the spiciness. It hits you and then lingers. You love spiciness? You gotta try this.

To mellow down spice would be something sweet namely dessert. It kinda makes sense though. Remember when we were kids and we accidentally bit on something really spicy and we'd have to eat like a spoonful of sugar to relieve the spice burn? A little sugar mellows the spice, and the sugar came in the form of Vanilla and Amaretto Panacotta topped with berry compote (made from real berries, and I can bite the seeds) and ladyfinger.

There are more dishes to try, such as the Relik's Beef Tenderloin Salpicao and the Mother Ann's braised Ox-tail. Relik Tapas Bar and Lounge is located at 2/F CommerCenter Building, 4th Street corner 31st Avenue Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. It's reachable by the Fort Bus, and they do have parking in the building. If you're taking a cab or walking it, it's the building where Chatime is, right behind HSBC.

Operating Hours are as follows: Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. from Monday to Friday (except public holidays). Dinner and Cocktails are from 5:30 p.m. onwards from Monday to Sunday. For Reservations, you may call at +63917-5298333 or +62-6248251. That's the same number to call when ordering the paella.

Trying Out Happy Lemon

2011-10-14T20:37:00.005+08:00

Everyone loves Happy Lemon, to the point that I have yet to taste it. My friend told me to get the one with rock salt and cheese, screw lactose intolerance, but with it being a popular brand, I never got the chance to actually taste it. The Greenhills store was perpetually filled during the rare times I visit Greenhills. When I was in Singapore, even the Happy Lemon over there had long lines, so I never bothered lining up.

When I heard that Happy Lemon opened in Rockwell, I decided to go give it a try when a day that I had patience to line up if I'm not in a hurry. On that day, it was a weekend and the lines were horrendously long.

So that's the famous rock salt and cheese. Interesting. And the lemon-shaped smiley is very inviting.

Surprisingly, even if the lines were long, service was fast. I guess these guys are trained to work fast due to the long lines. I'm known to be quite adventurous with my orders, and sometimes I make the mistake of getting a very strong order so I conceded to ordering the bestsellers. For the Rock Salt and cheese, I was recommended the Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese (the green tea variant seemed like a no-no for me) and for milk tea, Oreo Milk Tea was the choice.

As our orders were, sumunod na ko sa uso.

I was expecting grated cheese and rock salt bits on the rock salt and cheese drink. I was surprised to find a creamy liquid on top of the chocolate drink with a sprinkling of chocolate powder. Actually, the creamy liquid is the rock salt and cheese part. The rock salt obviously has dissolved into the cream cheese resulting in a mix of sweet-salty-rich flavor. The cocoa part tasted like Chocolait, actually, and I was glad that there was no irritating powder bit. The Oreo milk tea really had Oreo bits rather than powder. I like that I get the real thing though.

My verdict? The Oreo Milk Tea didn't cause me to gag with the sweetness or richness and for some reason for both flavors, I didn't find myself rushing to the bathroom after, or maybe because I'm starting to get immune to the stomach-churning effects of dairy already by taking it in. The Rock Salt and Cheese drinks are supposed to be taken in without stirring straight sipped from the cup instead of a straw poked in. It was mellow in sweetness but very rich, and the saltiness of the rock salt and cheese balanced the sweetness of the chocolate. Flavor was very mild though.

I was expecting a mind-blowing reaction after sipping the drinks though, due to the long lines, but it was just nice and okay for me. I'd go back here on a day where lines aren't long or if I have the sudden crave. In fact, Avy and I were here last Thursday. Her favorite had brown sugar and I think I'll try that soon.

Did Happy Lemon leave me smiling? It did of course, or else I wouldn't come back. It's also pretty affordable too as even the large drinks didn't cost me more than Php 100 (unless I get an add-on). I just get the regular-sized drink due to the richness so I don't get the "cream overload". But otherwise, I like it. And it's organized too.

Food Journey At Singapore

2011-08-31T09:48:00.009+08:00

I was in Singapore last weekend and I loved it! I had my camera, a pink suitcase that's only 7 pounds heavy, and a stomach ready to take in the food, glorious food. Normally when I travel, I really want to take in the food in the city, so I shun away familiar food stalls that I see in Manila, unless, of course, it's very famous there.

It's actually my first time in Singapore so I was really excited. In my weekend stay there, I really loved the city, on how everything's super clean and organized, not hogging escalator space and everything's always on time. The MRT system is super organized, and they have a very complex train system. Took us I think just half a day to master the whole thing.

Anyway, back to food. We've been doing a lot of walking there, since we take the train going to wherever, so we all need energy. We learned when I got really moody from being hungry on the way to Sentosa so whenever the need arises, I should always EAT. and I mean EAT! No restaurants for us though. Food Court and Hawker-style is the way to go.

Vivo City is a mall that reminded me so much of Eastwood City Mall. It's an MRT station (Harbor Point) and it also houses the monorail going to Sentosa. After a day at Universal Studios, we wanted to just eat somewhere at Clark Quay like a fastfood joint before heading back to the hotel. Thankfully, I saw a food court at Vivo City and I was like, "wait! let's check this place out!"

The Food Republic at Vivo City was super aliw. It was very reminiscent of the streets you see in movies, something like old Chinatown, complete with paper lanterns and decorations.

The food's really cheap too, there's so much to choose from and I admit being overwhelmed especially since that was my first day ever in Singapore. So I settled for this place where I get to choose combo meals, depending on the combo you want. I think a dish that's one meat and two veggies cost like 4.50 dollars. I asked if seafood is also meat, and they said yes. The lady at the counter was kind to tell me what dishes were there, and what was good. I settled for chili prawns, kangkong, and string bean.

I was also glad that we were armed with bottled water because the food I ate was really, really spicy. It was a good thing that I love spicy food. The veggies weren't soggy and the shrimp was really fresh and had the texture I wanted. There were ladies too with carts selling dumpling or teas. I wanted a serving of dumpling but I was full already.

Breakfast was another very familiar place. I think I see this place in Manila, but I'm not quite sure. Anyway, malls weren't open yet save for a few food shops at Funan Digital Mall, which is right next to our hotel. This place looked inviting, and well, I've been solely intrigued with soft boiled eggs.

Ya Kun Kaya Toast had a set meal of toast, soft-boiled eggs, and either coffee or tea. I chose cheese toast since I wanted something filling and seeing Horlicks drink as another option, I had that as well. The cheese toast was yummy and cinnamon-ny, with just the right mix of sweet and salty.

The soft boiled eggs are seasoned first with salt, pepper, and soy sauce before spreading it on top of the toast or eaten on its own. It was really, really yummy and now I know why my pole teachers are crazy about it too. The Horlicks tea tasted like Nesvita instead of Ovaltine, but it was okay. :) At least I was fueled for another day of walking.

Union Square Mall's located at Novena Station, where we had lunch. This is one thing I love about SG - a mall is always connected to a train station and malls are always connected to one another. And each mall has a food court, with the same style. The Union Square food court's smaller but it was okay. Here, I had a big bowl of Yong Tao Foo.

Yong Tao Foo is like a mini shabu-shabu. For 3.50 dollars, you get to choose 7 ingredients of your choice and put it in a bowl - veggies, seafood, sausages, dumplings, whatever you want. If you want more, it's 50 cents additional. Then, they put noodles and cook your choice ingredients in a broth. You have a choice whether to make it plain soup or spicy laksa. There's a special dipping sauce where you can dip your food before eating (it also serves to cool it down). It's such a big bowl, would you believe I finished the whole thing? That's what I mean when I say all that walking makes me hungry.

For dessert, we went to another familiar place. Okay, so I vowed to eat local food right? Cut me some slack, because I missed this place because it permanently left Manila shores:

Baskin Robbins!!!!!!!! It used to be in ATC where the Crocs store is now, I think, back in the 90s. They're no longer in ice cream format here, just hard candy inspired from the ice cream flavors but it's not the same. I need dairy too!

We took a train from Novena Station to Ang Mio Ko to get to Singapore Zoo. We decided to make our way na lang to Orchard Road, after we couldn't figure out the bus changes.

After scouring through Ion Orchard, it's back to the food court for us for merienda. I had two spring rolls for I think 2 dollars.

The Kachang is an ice dessert consisting of jelly, red beans, palm seeds, sweet corn, a cone of ice and then topped with colored syrups and condensed milk. It's similar to our native halo-halo. I first saw the Kachang in Asian Food Network. I thought it was really easy but I found out that it's very difficult to make. You have to form and pack the ice just right because if you pack it too tight, it can be too firm and hard. The shaved ice should just flake off delicately and melt in the mouth along with the syrups and milk. This kachang has ice cream but you can choose to have durian instead if you're a durian fan. Obviously, I'm no durian fan.

During our last night in Singapore, I wanted to have a taste of the famous stingray. Good thing my friend Frances told me there was a hawker place 10 minutes away from Raffles City, in a place called Makansutra Glutton's Bay, which is an outdoor eating place with the great view.

[image credits]

Unfortunately, I had to borrow images for this part since it was drizzling but no rain could stop me from eating stingray, just taking pictures so I had my trusty camera tucked in a waterproof bag and I savored an entire stingray all by myself. They cook it super fast too! Only 5 minutes! Stingray is available for 10, 15, or 20 dollars, depending on what size you order. I fell in love with it at first bite. It's super spicy! Thank god for Jasmine Tea to tone down the spice burn.

My last SG lunch was at Raffles City mall. Raffles City is like the Glorietta counterpart, a mall within Singapore's main business center. You can have dessert or have a fancy meal at the restaurants at the basement or rather, go up to the food court.

I had rice, one veggie dish, and chili squid. :)

If you notice, I haven't posted anything beef or pork though, so feast your eyes on black pepper rice, just letting you know that there's food to eat should you not be allowed seafood.

Of course there are other dishes that SG is famous for - like black pepper crab, cereal prawns, chili crab, and carrot cake (which isn't like the carrot cake with the cream cheese frosting, but deep-fried, like okoy). I wasn't able to try those due to lack of time but will do, if I ever go back to SG. Trust me, I will go back and eat the dishes I fell in love with and more.

For refreshments, I suggest to ditch the soda and go for canned teas or bottled teas that aren't in Manila, a famous brand I saw around is Yeo teas, and I giggle all the time because I get reminded of my good friend Yeoh, because of the name.

My friends told me to try Chrysanthemum Tea. It was the first drink I tasted in Singapore when I got in Changi. It's like a stronger iced tea though, I prefer the Wintermelon or Jasmine Tea (same brand, Yeo).

If only I could take the entire foodie place of SG with me back here, in my little pink suitcase I would. It's a place I learned to love - organized train system, spicy food, and literless roads and all. When I posted our SG pictures, it's all food instead of scenery pictures. But hey, that's when I do when I travel. I have fun, eat, and drink (tea!!!).

Vegetable Pasta

2011-08-08T10:42:00.003+08:00

I've contemplated going vegetarian for a long time, but only sushi and seafood stop me from going completely vegan. What I do as a compromise is that I have like some days in a week when I go vegetarian and chuck the meat back on the fridge. It really helped me a lot in my fitness routine since I do home yoga exercises and pole dancing. I still need the energy for me to do my stretches and tricks yet somehow eliminating certain foods and replacing them makes me feel lighter both inside and out.

Going vegetarian is not at all boring. In fact, when I googled vegetarian recipes, I really found a lot - from lunches, desserts (yes! vegan desserts!), sandwiches, pasta, main course, appetizers, stuff like that. So I'm not just stuck to raw veggie sticks and dip. Just go to an Indian restaurant and marvel at how many tasty ways veggies can be prepared.

This recipe to me was shared by my good friend and fellow makeup artist Avy. She knows I like quick, healthy, and easy meals that won't make me starve after a few hours, it's pretty easy and the only thing that will take some time is prepping the veggies.

Ingredients:

2 carrots, peeled and sliced into small pieces

one small cauliflower bunch

one small broccoli bunch

sliced mushrooms (on can)

one zucchini, sliced. leave the skin on, it's yummy

lemon juice

penne pasta

seasonings (italian seasoning, rosemary, herbs, anything you like)

olive oil

parmesan cheese

garlic cloves (3-6, depending on your garlicky taste) , crushed

1. Prep all the vegetables. cut the broccoli and cauliflower into florets and blanch them.

2. Line the vegetables in a pan (or the pan you use in the toaster oven. Drizzle some lemon juice and bake in toaster oven for 5 minutes. This is where effort comes, depending on your oven size. I have a tiny oven so I do the baking in batches. Effort!

3. Once the veggies are all baked (they're still firm to bite but tender enough). Heat some olive oil on a pan and sautee garlic for a few minutes until fragrant. Toss in the veggies and add mushroom and squeeze in some more lemon juice so it's tangy and tasty, season as desired. You can make a big batch of this and store some on the fridge.

4. To serve, toss in some penne pasta until mixed well. Serve with parmesan cheese and smoked cheese on the side. Yumm!!!!!!

Revisiting Diamond Hotel

2011-07-15T17:09:00.004+08:00

Guess where I was last weekend?

Okay, this might give a better clue:

Slices of the most epic Diamond Hotel ube ensaymada as the actual size is bigger than my fist times two. Revisited the Diamond Hotel last weekend and not only did I get to enjoy a lunch buffet and stuff myself to the brim with seafood but also their breakfast buffet. I stuffed myself with so much prawns I had prawns in my breakfast and lunch and would have had so at dinner but I was so full already by lunchtime that all I could afford was a cup of soup at SM MoA. But here are snapshots of what's new from 2 years ago:

Smoked salmon to me is pork. I don't eat pork or allow a sliver of pig meat to enter the house. Salmon is my guilty guilty pleasure.

A bowlful of cereal used to be my foolproof breakfast when I was a kid. I never seem to rid myself of it. <3

I never fail to miss dessert because they have the best dessert buffet EVER! I love chocolate fountains and I'm glad they added one complete with goodies to dip to. The one on the left is mint-flavored marshmallow that's made from scratch and not bought from a candy supply store.

Pastries in the morning too! I'm a sweet tooth and can't help it. :)

Don't forget for buffets to order just water for drinks (juices and soda fill you up with sugar, which occupies space for more food) and not to load up on rice (which you could have everyday!) variety instead of quantity is the key.

Diamond Hotel, I am so seeing you again. Keep those soba noodles too for me!

Thank You Cheriza!

2011-07-04T10:08:00.003+08:00

My pole buddy Cheriza is the absolute sweetest. I love her enthusiasm and her fearless disposition. She'd chat with me in Facebook about the latest pole trick she accomplished. As she shares her adventures and enthusiasm to me, I can't help but really gush with happiness too. She's just too happy!

Last Saturday, she gave me a box of French macarons. She loves them and she has been hunting for a shop that sells them. I love them too and she gave me a box with three flavors: strawberry, mocha, and chocolate. Yay!

They're in this little shop in Trinoma, I forgot to ask the name. It's sweet though but it tastes really good. Probably these were my agimats that day because I was able to do nicer inverts.

Thanks Cheriza!

Quiet Rainy Day Lunch at Simply Thai

2011-06-14T13:40:00.010+08:00

Despite having the sniffles and hardly having an easy time getting out of bed, I couldn't miss an opportunity to have a quiet lunch in a Thai restaurant that promises good food that's authentic as bringing the whole of Bangkok right here in Manila. Besides, I'll be having my evaluation for pole dancing that night and I need a hot pot of tom yum soup to rid my owies to put me in top condition.

When I got to Greenbelt, I had to look for the restaurant called Simply Thai. It's actually a sister company of Thai at Silk at Serendra, which I'm personally a fan of. Simply Thai is located at the garden side of Greenbelt 5, it's the side near Greenbelt 1, a very pretty restaurant with clean lines and a very fresh color scheme. I'll post a picture too, so you know how the restaurant looks like, so you won't get lost like I did.

When I got there, a few of my blogger friends who I haven't seen for the longest time were there, already with their drinks and appetizers. With them is Executive Chef Cecile Chang Ysmael, who was there to personally describe each dish, answer our questions, and share several fun tales of her adventures in her second home, which is Bangkok, Thailand.

One of the waiters asked me what drink I wanted. I opted not to have milk tea due to my sniffles (but I swear, when the sniffles are gone, I will go back for milk tea!) and had a tall glass of refreshing lemongrass juice. As requested and as my body needed, I ordered a bowl of Tom Yum Kung, with a very rich and tasty broth and didn't go stingy with shrimps and mushrooms, two of my favorite things in Thai cooking.

I don't know if it's just me, but I like nibbling on the leeks too and lemongrass stalks. I wasn't able to take pictures of the lemongrass drink, but it's got a pretty orchid garnishing to go with it. The green and purple contrasts beautifully.

Spring rolls are both healthy and refreshing to make you think that going pesco-vegan isn't such a bad thing. Oh, if you love carbs, they're stuffed with vermicelli.

Those people with qualms about catfish would be happy to know that their catfish is grown and raised from farms so rest assured that it's super clean and its guts didn't house an entire ecosystem's food web. The meat was sweet and tender and fried super crispy.

Soft-shell crab. A newfound love of everyone that was wiped out in minutes (Arpee: Crab? what soft shell crab?). I'm so happy that I could eat crab and shrimp.

I dedicate the next dish to my pole classmate, Tricia who's a fan of Pad Thai. The prettiest Pad Thai in the universe served in a handmade egg net.

That net is made out of egg, and to make the egg net requires training and practice and a very light hand. The waiter had to demonstrate it to us how to mix the Pad Thai. You break it in the center to make a well to mix all the ingredients then cut through the egg net into small pieces. The egg "strings" have to be cut well so you don't choke on them.

For carnivores, here's their bestseller: Lamb Shank Mussaman. It's got sweet potato, peanuts, and caramelized onions. The lamb meat was tender too and it didn't have that aftertaste that most people don't like about lamb.

Other non-seafood dishes to try are the super spicy Green Chicken Curry, Hainanese Chicken with Jasmine rice, and the Suhkumvit fried chicken with crispy and tasty batter that's not your ordinary everyday fried chicken.

They've got really pretty desserts too! Like the red rubies.

I thought they were candied cherries at first until Cecile said they were actually water chestnuts. Interesting to know that water chestnuts can appear in the dessert course of the meal as I'm so used to having them in stir-fried chicken or salads. I also asked why they're red. "Rubies are actually the national gems of Thailand," she explained. The water chestnuts were coated then dyed red. It's placed in a bed of finely crushed ice with cream. They use water chestnuts in a can because you get a more consistent quality of water chestnuts with them. It's like eating sago then you get the surprise crunch inside. It's not too sweet either, but the cream makes it rich.

Arpee gave me a 101 on how to eat the Sticky Rice with Mangoes. It's like a Thai style of our native suman and mangga. You pour some coconut cream into the sticky rice. A slightly tart mango contrasts well with sticky rice. Since it's kinda heavy, I think it's best having desserts like this to share.

More desserts!

Before it starts melting or be devoured by hungry sweet-tooths, I took a picture of that homemade coconut ice cream on a bed of taro and orange (there's caramel sauce too at the bottom).

Pretty tapiocas all in a row each with a red ruby on top.

Since there's so much pretty and tasty dishes, I think it's best to eat here as a large group so you get to sample out a lot of dishes. The dishes are best to share.

Zentea Love

2011-06-06T11:12:00.006+08:00

I'm lactose intolerant (I say this as I type this drinking a glass of malt-flavored soymilk) but I love milk tea. I really love milk tea! I'd prefer milk tea over a cup of coffee any day. Usually, I like my milk tea with mild sweetness and hot on a cold rainy day, but for a jolt of energy, it's nice to have it cold, especially after an hour or two of pole class. I love Zentea because their cold iced teas are yummy and their horlics milk tea is superb!

People who frequent the Pearl Drive area are already friends with the Pearl Drive Zentea staff who are really super friendly. They know their regular customers plus their favorites and how they prefer their drinks.

In my case, I prefer my horlics milk tea with no pearl. If they run out of horlics tea, they're nice to give you another alternative like caramel or their bestseller nai cha. Horlics milk tea tastes a lot like the candy so I really like it.

Oh yes, and if you think this is deathly pricey milk tea, that size cost me only Php65.00. If milk isn't for you, they also have regular flavored iced teas that cost only Php35.00 for a medium size.

Thanks kuya, for letting me take your picture and the Kiosk, so when my readers decide to hunt for this branch they know how it looks like! I think I'm there often and purchase too much that the guys over there know already what I want and practically memorize my pole schedules. Did I mention they're pretty famous too? Google Zentea Pearl Drive and see lots of pictures!

B'uon Giorno, Thank You For Moving Closer To Me

2011-04-19T01:40:00.009+08:00

I've always been intrigued with Tagaytay's ever-so-famous B'uon Giorno restaurant being a frequent stopover to any Italian-food lover like myself. The reviews are great and everyone who went there seems to love how authentic the food tastes instead of mass-produced and artificial, like each pasta piece or veggie bit was made with love. Did anyone say authentic Italian food? I'm all smiles now.

Since Tagaytay is too far to experience B'uon Giorno, the heavens answered our prayers and finally opened one an arm's throw away from Ortigas Business District - the haven of Rockwell Business Center which is becoming an oasis of great food finds.

So among the Italian dishes on the menu, which among these ranked my favorites? Let's find out:

Top #1 goes to the Spinach Canneloni. The cheese didn't make me gag out and well, call me funny but I always have a weakness for spinach. The canneloni texture was the al dente form I wanted and it held the fillings in place. If you're quite sensitive to cheese and dairy, you could opt to just have less of the cream and have your companion finish off the richer part of the meal with some bread, one excuse to share this dish too, because yes, everyone should get a taste of it.

Salad Greens are never soggy in the classic order Caesar Salad. I got to the venue a bit late yet the greens in the buffet table are still crisp. I went for seconds on the veggies actually, and really. I love how fresh and crisp they were. I was told that the restaurant has really high standards and everything has to be perfect. Those who would love veggies can try the B'uon Giorno Special which are their best ingredients with the signature house dressing.

Dessert love time! Who doesn't love chocolate? Well It's something I do not say no to especially in the form of this...(say it with me)

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKE! With Ice cream on top. Why too little words for this? uuuhm it's because I'm at a loss.

Apple Strudel reminds me so much of the Sound of Music song on a stormy night. What happens when I finally met this dessert in person? It became one of my Favorite Things. Unfortunately, my picture of it was too grainy so there's more reason for me to go back there and have a bite and a better picture to post it.

A good mentionable for seafood lovers like myself is Pescatore Alla Puttanesca. Puttanesca on its own is already a very rich and robust sauce having both the spice and the richness of fresh tomatoes so imagine when fresh seafood gets thrown in to the mix? I swear... I lunged for it. And mind you, I usually eat less during dinnertime.

A thing I like about the restaurant in general is that even though it's located in the Metro, it's not commercialized at all. It's like each dish came straight from an Italian home and delivered to your table. And if you take note of the price, it's really not that bad. A pasta dish full of seafood costs Php308. What I recommend if you're dining with friends though is to order one dish each and share them, so you get little portions of everything and taste a variety of dishes. A dish is good enough to share but I still order solo portions of food and just pass them around to share. I like getting little portions of several dishes rather than stuffing myself full with just one dish.

Oh and before I end this, you really must get dessert.

When Nutella meets French Pastries

2011-04-03T12:32:00.005+08:00

When Amaya, one of my pole instructors, mentioned a little French cafe that serves a super-good amazing nutella donut that's hardly stingy with the filling, I waited for the right time to try one for myself. After my shoot at LRI plaza yesterday, I knew that I had to take a mini-detour to Makati Ave to search for this cafe for myself. Since it was a tiny, tiny cafe, it would be easy to miss so I kept my eyes peeled and open. Luckily, Amaya mentioned to me that it was near Jolibee and I spotted the Jolibee already while trying to find the U-turn that would take me there. And here, right smack at the boundary that separates Makati Central Business District from the red light district like a little oasis that is Paris Delice.

Paris Delice would be a little cafe with yummy colors of cream and chocolate brown in a clean architecture with clean lines that spells elegant simplicity. It's really quite small, with only a little number of chairs and tables, and on a Saturday afternoon, we have it really quiet, which is a refreshing change from the overcrowded coffee shops in the mall or dotting practically the Metro.

In the mini-pastry display, I was able to spot the nutella donut, which could be pricey at Php85.00 a piece but I was told that each penny would be worth it.

Just like Paris Delice's interiors, it's a simple filled donut with no glaze or garnishings. This is it heated on the microwave (low until just warm or else it

would dry and burn). Pretty simple...

Until you stick a fork and take a bite and see all the hazelnut filling flow like gold. Definitely generous with the filling. Since nutella is sweet enough, The dough was kept bland so as not to overpower the senses. Love how good it is and so that no drop of nutella goes to waste, spread a bit of nutella on the bread.

Another thing to love about Paris Delice is free WiFi! Well, all places should be free WiFi anyway! Will I go back here? I just did. In fact, I texted Amaya and told her how much I loved the Nutella Donut and she said she was just there too that afternoon. On another chance that I'll be passing by the area, I know just where to go.

Paris Delice is located at No 1. Juno St. Corner Makati Avenue, Makati City. It's located right beside Jollibee and outside a blue Bel Air 2 Village gate.

Recipe Share: Baked Mozarella

2011-03-27T17:51:00.003+08:00

One of my recipes reminds me of how I do makeup, it's sort of a go-with-the-flow thing, just getting what I see in the fridge and trying to see what stuff I could magic out of. This recipe is quite easy and makes use of only few ingredients and a microwave oven, so this could be made in a jiffy. A little story on this, I woke up from a long nap and it was time to make dinner. As usual, pasta would be my default dish but I wanted something to go with it. The process of making this is an experiment actually turned nice.

This is a foolproof baked mozzarella version that's a great appetizer or a great snack served to guests without taking much time. It's yummy on its own or what I do, I sear up tortillas so there's something to balance it off.

Thanks TJ Cafuir for the photo.

So here's how to create this simple foodie, no complicated equipment needed.

What you need:

Extra virgin olive oil
Thin slices of tomatoes
Fresh basil
Thin slices of mozzarella cheese
Balsamic vinegar
sprinklings of salt and Italian Seasoning
A microwave-safe plate
A microwave oven

How to go about it:

Drizzle olive oil on the plate and spread it all out so it covers the plate so the mozzarella doesn't stick on the plate.
Line the plate with thin slices of mozzarella cheese. You could buy mozzarella per 100 grams in the local supermarket or deli and have them slice it for you.
Top with thin slices of fresh tomatoes and fresh basil.
Sprinkle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and Italian seasoning.
Chuck the plate on the microwave and microwave on low heat for a minute or just until the cheese bubbles but doesn't stick, shrink, and burn on the sides.
Let it cool a bit and serve with heated smoked ham or any of your favorite deli.

While at it, tortillas are best heated on a nonstick teflon pan on its own. Heat both sides until they're all nice and toast-ey. For more flavor, you could sprinkle the mozzarella with Parmesan cheese.

This is a fairly easy recipe that's a quick way to entertain guests without leaving them for a long time to slave yourself in the kitchen.

Happy Seafood and Fish Treats from Max's.

2011-03-09T22:27:00.007+08:00

Dear Max's Chicken,

Although for forty days, I'd pass on the to-die-for Crispy Pata (literally to-die-for) and signature chicken, thank you so much for your seafood choices that you served to us last Monday. The rain and the chores I had at home didn't stop me. Although it was mainly Yeoh who egged me to go if I want to live to see the next day. Whaddya know? I didn't regret it.

Not only did the seafood/fish dishes make Lent less of a chore, but just in time for summer, when eating fresh yummy seafood reminds us of a beach picnic while we're in the concrete jungle.

Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet was a mixture of tasty and healthy. Before the guys took pictures, I already popped a bell pepper in my mouth so poor dish had to be angled. :P

Some are traumatized to eat bangus because a sliver of a fish bone is usually pried in the meat and you have to be OC and careful that no bone comes in contact with the esophagus. This one had nada tinik. Boneless bangus is really boneless. Yummy too even without the vinegar and atchara sidings.

My favorite would have to be a steaming hot pot of Sinigang na Hipon with crisp veggies, a hot, sour tamarind based broth, and bright orange crunchy shrimps. I love that this bowl wasn't stingy with shrimp. I'm a sucker for good shrimp, but these weren't crinkly, old, wrinkly tough shrimp. The shell could easily be peeled off the meat and it wasn't much effort to chuck out all the shells so I could devour them.

Guilty as charged!

Speaking of shrimp, another shrimp dish to behold is the Camaron Rebosado, which were shrimps (wheee) dipped in batter served with sweet and sour sauce. Sige na nga, hindi sya tempura. I thought it was tempura in the picture, but I forgot that tempura uses bread crumbs.

If anyone got hooked to the seafood bug and decided to sample out all the seafood dishes, be sure to get the special seafood fest frequency card, which rewards the bearer a Chicken-All-You-Can treat from Max's upon completion of all six stickers, which should be done in the time frame from March 8 to April 30, 2011.

I am totally serious on the Sinigang na Hipon and Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet that got me hauling seconds and thirds. So I think I know now where I'd be on Friday if I get too lazy to cook. :P

Lunching Solo

2011-03-09T12:36:00.003+08:00

Resisting the urge to call delivery for sodium-ladden meals, since I've been spending lunch alone in the four corners of the unit I've been calling home, I just raided the ref and decided to be healthy.

Yesterday, I had salmon with lemon, capers, and a squish of lemon juice. I used smoked salmon here, a bit expensive, but I promised to have this only on special occasions, not to break a dent on the food bill because a little vacuum pack costs Php 231.00 for just a few slivers. I'm not talking big chunks here. However, salmon has quite a rich taste that too much could be horrible after I had a plateful of grilled salmon, so yes, it does make a point to have this only occasionally. Lemon and capers provide a good contrast too.

Since it was fat Tuesday, sige na nga, some pastrami slices na rin! Pastrami's an addicting one, I love peppered spicy smoky beef drizzled in mustard. Realizing I needed carbs because I'll be working and then working out at pole class, I went for the easiest thing I could find: cheapo toasted slices of white bread made sosyal by dipping it in olive oil+balsamic vinegar mix, just like in Italian restos.

Before they get all moldy, I finished up all the leftover strawberries. Thank God they were still okay.

Today was Ash Wednesday and since it's no-no to meat (except seafood today), saffron risotto wouldn't be a crime right? After all, that's just butter, onion, spices, water, saffron, and risotto. However, I found it too plain and I needed protein since I'm building muscle so I used slivers of smoked salmon and capers to put it on top. Didn't add the lemon na, sacrifice na ang lasang isda, fine!

I like how the capers provide contrast on color so it doesn't look like a swarm of warm colors.

It's prolly chore day today, and I'll take a few laps on the pool as soon as I clear the kitchen up. For a dish for one, the sink's quite a loadful.

Interpretations: Pork Chop with Red Onion Confit

2011-03-02T20:34:00.006+08:00

I allowed pork to enter my kitchen, but on the condition though that it go here in the style of fine French food.

Dinner today was an interpretation of one of the recipes in Laura Calder's French Food At Home, which I watch over at Asian Food Network. I found the dish simple and fuss-free with few simple key ingredients that could be found at your local supermarket. Oh, this is the Pork Chop and Red Onion Confit, and the recipe could be found here.

The confit was the first one I made. The trick was to slice the red onion really, really thinly so it resembles noodles and fry it in hot butter seasoned with salt and pepper before splashing it with balsamic vinegar until it gets this deep color. I set it aside and keep it warm.

The chops on the other hand, I made a mistake of choosing chops that were super lean, since I needed a bit of marbling on the fat so that the meat cooks in its own fat. However, a little hot butter was my as i fried it for 5 minutes on each side until the pork cooks through but not too tough. I like pork while it's golden and falls right off the bone. The sugar in the recipe was used to sprinkle each side of the meat as it fries so it comes out in that nice golden color. Then I present it in the plate and top it with confit.

The confit has a strong but sweet flavor which is the perfect accompaniment to the pork chop. I didn't use sauce for this but cook the chop just right and juicy and it would go perfectly with the confit.

As for the salad, since onions fried in rich butter and pork are rich on their own, we needed something light and tangy. The salad was made of parmesan and parsley but since I'm far reach from a grocery, I used another sharp-flavored fresh herb, which was fresh basil and a cheddar slice since my parmesan's the pre-grated one, and I needed something that's sharp.

I'm searching for another recipe to cook the two chops remaining in the ref. I'm sure there's one here somewhere.

How I Spent Chinese New Year With Chowking

2011-03-01T22:29:00.006+08:00

Chinese New Year is suddenly becoming one big celebration here in the Philippines. Somehow, we've embraced already the traditions of having dragon dances, having tikoy for breakfast, and all that. Not really following tradition, I'm not the type to follow those to the letter but I do enjoy the occasional tikoy for breakfast or wearing red. Red, after all is my favorite lucky color that never failed me.

Chowking, one of my favorite fast food chains that turned me to a convert at first bite invited me to celebrate Chinese New Year with them in an event that would also showcase their dishes. Of course it was something I couldn't say no to because, I love Chowking and I absolutely have no excuse that it's too far as the venue, Mercato Centrale, is just a hop and a skip away from where I live.

Come that day, I dropped by Kell's office since I told him we'd go together and meet our blogger friends there as I didn't want to go there alone. Kell was happy to oblige going there and had me bugging to get myself there at High Street as he was had at "hosted by Kim Chiu". We met up with the rest of the guys at Mercato where we proceeded to munch on chicharap and siomai while at it.

The event started off with the traditional and oh-so-cute dragon dance with matching mini-fireworks.

Dragon dances are quite popular during Chinese New Year, seeing them in malls and streets as a main attraction. Apparently, Chinese New Year Dragons represent luck and the Chinese Dragon, if my understanding through a bit of googling and reasearch would be correct, ushers in good luck and success in the year ahead for all human beings. The dragon dance also is something like a rain dance, to bring in rainfall, since dragons are believed to be the governors of rainfall (Not too much Mr. Dragon, though, let Mr. Sunshine do his thing too).

After which, we proceded to the dining area, decked in the lucky color of red. After introductions were made by the lovely host, Lyn Ching, we were introduced to the father-and-son team of Chefs Gene and Gino Gonzales who demonstrated to us the old-school way of making famous Chinese dishes like sweet and sour pork, orange chicken, and beef with broccoli.

Chef Gene Gonzales explains to us how to rock that sweet and sour pork. Sadly, I didn't have a pen with me that time because I will be scribbling quickly all his tips, so I relied on memory to retain his pointers namely:

In orange chicken and sweet and sour pork, it simply works this way, you bread and fry the meat and dump it in the glaze. However, it's not all that. You need to make sure that the meat is drained and hot before dumping it in the hot glaze. Yep, both need to be hot so the flavors are absorbed.
I normally have a problem with my broccoli wilting midway while cooking. The solution apparently was to blanch the broccoli first for a minute in boiling water then douse it with icy water to get that bright green color and make it all crispy and crunchy and add it to the later part of cooking. That explains the bright green crispy broccoli the experts make.
In beef, the secret is not to overcook the beef, since overcooking the beef makes it tough. As we add the sauce, the beef at that time is slightly browned but not thoroughly cooked so there's time for the beef to cook and absorb the flavours of the sauces.

Chinese cooking apparently is a science, meaning it's not just dunking in ingredients together. Chef Gene explains that it's actually layers of flavors and amino acids coming together in harmony. It's a bit easy, but somehow complicated, quite hard for me to substitute just to get it right. There's a specific time to put in the glaze, the right temperature, and the right melding of textures, so we get to savor each flavor and texture. Who says Chinese food was boring, right?

After the demo, Chowking ambassadors come out with signature Chowking dishes to see how our favorite Chinese fast food fares with those cooked by the experts.

Here's Kim Chiu with sweet and sour pork

Our favorite leading man Jericho Rosales presents beef with broccoli to the experts. After all three dishes were demonstrated, the audience of course, won't go out without being fed of course.

The orange chicken totally had a lot of improvement from when I first ordered it. Personally, when I first tasted orange chicken, I remember being oh-so-excited about it since it was one of my favorite Chinese dishes. When I finally got to try it, I found the flavor a bit too strong, almost like I was eating citrusy dishwashing detergent. I'm glad Chowking improved the formula so the tangy taste has mellowed down to something more fruity and I could still taste the chicken as well. I like that the breading was crispy.

Among the three dishes, the Beef With Broccoli happens to be my favorite among all three, since I like how tender the beef was. The sauce is also amazing with the Chicharap.

Sweet and sour pork was divine, and take note that I'm not a pork fan. I like that the pork was of fine quality, tender, and melded well with the sauce. The breading was still crisp instead of soggy being soaked with the sauce and on top of that, everything was served hot.

Of course how would an event be without pictures with the stars, right?

Me with Kim Chiu. Believe it or not, I used to be as fair-skinned as she is till the pool and beach found me.

Could definitely not pass an opportunity to have a picture with Jericho Rosales. I. Could. Die. Now. Thanks Russel for obliging to my fangirl mode.

But of course Kell who was the happiest guy of the night.

In all our years of being friends, he has never had a smile that wide. EVER. Russel took a better photo of course, but I stayed as a backup photographer for my dear friend.

The guys and I had fun at the event, and sure enough, we were definitely going to Chowking again. In fact, I tried my hand on orange chicken just yesterday, but I must say, that the one I ordered last Saturday at Chowking Pioneer rivals the home-cooked one I made a few days ago.

Hello Breakfast, How Sinful Are You Today?

2011-02-28T11:33:00.003+08:00

You're sinful as sausage, cheese, and eggs in one dish drizzled with honey barbecue sauce because I felt guilty if I put hollandaise there.

Behold my from-the-top-of-the-head eggs benedict.

I split a plain bagel in two and toasted it a bit till it's all warm and toasty. While at it, I sliced Italian sausages and fried some eggs keeping the yolk nice and soft. After placing the sliced sausages on top of the toasty bagel, the egg came in next (ratio: one half of a bagel to one fried egg) and grated cheese on top then toasted them in the oven just until the cheese melts.

The brown drizzle is actually honey barbecue sauce, since I didn't have time to make hollandaise sauce.

For a small, light, and tart dessert, I sliced strawberries. Strawberries are quite tart to some, especially our local strawberries (the huge imported ones are really yummy but dayum they put a huge dent on the wallet) so my solution was to drizzle honey or pancake syrup on them to sweeten them up, then let them soak it in a bit so they're nice, soft, and sweet.

Lunch, I go healthy definitely.

Melt and Fall In Love With Chocolate Fire

2011-02-21T12:44:00.004+08:00

I've always been intrigued with Chocolate Fire after reading a number of good reviews about it and seeing it in some of my friends' Foursquare check-ins, so I decided to check it out and kill time before heading over to RCBC to visit my friends.

Chocolate Fire is currently located at PDCP Building Leviste Street cor. Rufino Street in Salcedo Village in Makati. It's right across KFC and Lyceum and walking distance from Makati Sports Club. The unit where Chocolate Fire is used to be a bank that's forever busy during payday. Now, it's a quiet cafe with a second floor painted a rich shade of chocolate brown dotted with red details, like it's Valentine's Day everyday.

Aside from the chairs, you've also got couches. I'm currently sitting on a chocolate brown couch sipping on mixed berry tea.

The second floor's got a homey atmosphere too where you could have meetings or lunch/dinner/afterdinner dates.

The couch is so comfy you could plop there with a magazine and just relax with a pot of tea or cup of coffee.

Here are the lavatories. Girls on the left, boys on the right. The paintings are done by makeup artist/model/painter Solenn Heussaff.

With ordering, there were a whole lot of choices to choose from - solid chocolates, pastries, ganache, fruits dipped in chocolate, and chocolate barks (they're like chocolate bars with stuff in it, sold per 100 grams) along with drinks. Since I was a newbie here, I thought I'd ask what the bestsellers were. The staff told me the bestsellers were the honeycomb chocolate barks and the solid chocolate. Depending on the size and shape, the prices differ so I settled for two chocolate half-eggs (solid chocolate), one in milk chocolate and one in dark chocolate.

They were served to me on a cute ceramic dish. A half-egg like this costs around Php15.00 a piece. There are also chocolate frogs (just like Harry Potter, except they don't move) for Php 75.00 a piece.

Normally, eating chocolate means biting and chewing but I thought of slow-eating this one, sort of melting it in the warmth of your mouth till it's almost liquid then letting it float right down the throat to savor the flavor and texture. So I took one bite off the milk chocolate, savored the flavor, let the chocolate melt. When the chocolate melted it was like... OMIGOOOD!!!!!! The flavor was mellow but sweet and the texture was milky. It's got this feel-good rush right after you swallow it, and now I know why chocolate makes you feel good after. I like that I chose a solid chocolate because I got to enjoy chocolate as it is.

My tea was mixed berry tea, which provided an excellent contrast to cleanse the palate as I went for the dark chocolate. The dark chocolate obviously is less sweet than the milk chocolate, but it had the same milky texture as it melted when I took it in and the same feel-good feeling after. If you want to know how the feel-good feeling is, you have to try it because it's quite hard to describe. After a few minutes, I thought I'd go for two rounds more so I got up from my seat and ordered two more.

The staff's fantastic too! Just in case you're alone and you decide to go on bathroom break and your tea or drink isn't finished yet, you could tell them and they'll watch your place for you so your place doesn't get taken.

Good chocolate doesn't come cheap so the cost of the chocolate is pricier than say, a supermarket-bought chocolate bar. The standards are very high and you're assured though that every cent you pay is worth the taste. I'd go back here if I want a quiet place to relax with a pot of peppermint tea and probably a chocolate square. I'll probably meet with a client here to discuss pegs and all if I want a relaxed atmosphere away from cafes with students reviewing for exams or business meetings.

Calamansi + Lemongrass for a Dinner Drink

2011-02-17T21:23:00.003+08:00

Ever since I tasted refreshing lemongrass drinks, I wanted to know how they're made from scratch. Lemongrass is readily available here. We could pluck them from the ground or soil if we're lucky enough to grow them in our garden or friend's garden and once we get the recipe right, we're good. If not, lemongrass (locally known as tanglad) is available in small bunches at groceries for about Php 5.00 - Php 7.00.

My first attempt at a lemongrass drink didn't turn out quite well. It was drinkable yes, but I sort of overboiled the lemongrass so it tasted more like the water in sago't gulaman than the refreshing sharp lemongrass taste. Here, it's best that I use white sugar here since brown sugar colored my liquid brown when I wanted a greenish hue for my drink.

While prepping dinner, I saw the lemongrass bunch I purchased on a recent grocery trip and

decided to give it a try again, reducing the boiling time. By serendipetous chance, I saw the calamansi I got from our house in Las Pinas having already wonderfully ripened that they're yellow instead of green. You know what? This calls for a time to experiment to make calamansi lemongrass drinks.

When I make my drinks, I don't have exact measurements. Everything's just to taste, so in this post, I won't be writing much measurements. The measurements I used here might not work on certain people so it all depends on taste preference.

The first thing I did was squeeze the calamansi juice into the pitcher. I put a strainer on top of the pitcher since citrus pulp annoys the crap out of me. I squeezed 13 fruits because I finished that big bag. I like that they're all yellowed so the fruit's soft.

Normally, to make calamansi juice you need to dilute the pure juice with water right? Instead of pure water, I used lemongrass water. To make the lemongrass water, I needed to prepare 4-5 stalks of lemongrass. I washed them of all debris and dried them. I peeled the dry stalks out and sliced the brown rooty bottom part so I get that nice juicy bulb in the bottom and fresh green stalks. Carefully I sliced the stalks lengthwise and pounded them with the blunt end of a chef's knife since this helps to get the juice out. While at it, a pot of water's just boiling, around 2-3 tall glasses of it.

Once the stalks and bulbs are all pounded, dunk them in the pot of boiling water and boil the lemongrass until the water turns into a nice green color. Be sure not to overboil. What I did was lower the heat after 10 minutes to a nice simmer, stirring constantly. I usually check the aroma of the lemongrass water. If you get that distinct refreshing lemongrass scent, you're all good. After it all simmers down quite nicely, I let it cool until it's just warm. I strain the mixture and then slowly mix it in with the calamansi juice in the pitcher until I get the right taste I want. By this time, I make adjustments. If it's too sharp, I add some water. If I want it tad tarter, strain some juice in.

To sweeten, I use white sugar here since I want to maintain the green-yellow color of the drink. I like drinking this cold, dunking 6 ice cubes in the glass. Honey could be used to sweeten, kinda lacing it in before serving. Yumm!!!!

Just some tips:

1. Pound the stalks. If the blunt of the chef's knife doesn't work, use the mortar. That's a way of getting all the juice out.

2. Sugar dissolves better in warm liquid. That's why the lemongrass water and calamansi are warm.

3. It's best to use glass pitchers here with higher resistance to heat.

Have fun!

Peanuts and Chocolates: Stuff to take home from Bohol

2011-02-17T19:50:00.005+08:00

When going on a vacation, one of our main concerns, aside from where to eat of course, is what to take home. The safest thing to take home is food, provided it's airplane-approved and it's not such a hassle to bring home. For one thing, we all love to eat so we can't go wrong with food items. The souvenir foods we got from Bohol though, were sure hits and something we'd like to share to all of you.

Pasalubong finds are found in tourist shops or if you have the time and patience, the local supermarket. We got our souvenir items from a tourist shop during our tours. Aside from these, the Tagbilaran airport also has a little stand in the waiting area where you could shop for last-minute finds.

Wallets or keychains inspired from tarsiers or knicknacks or whatever reminds you of Bohol, they got it.

Of course I'm here to talk about food of course. One thing I noticed about the snack finds are the abundance of peanut products - peanut crisps, peanut fingers, star peanuts. These peanuts are a result of alternate cropping, which means after a period of planting just rice, the soil needs to rest. In that period though, it's time to plant peanuts, which requires less water than rice. And what to do with those peanuts? Make peanut products of course, like the Peanut Kisses, another specialty of Bohol:

This picture here was taken in the airport where we both needed a little munchie.

It's so cute shaped like a Chocolate Hill, except it's peanut. It tastes like peanut brittle too. I do suggest to have water in handy while munching this one.

The peanut kisses are already available in filipiniana shops here in Manila, but not the star peanuts, which are clusters of peanut meringue shaped like stars.

The taste is similar to peanut kisses, except this one's texture is smoother. If the thought of too-sweet meringue makes you gag, this one's not too sweet. As with all peanut products, I do recommend a tall glass of water to wash this down, if peanuts tend to make you all scratchy. Needless to say, those with gout or peanut allergy should stay away from this.

I do have a solution to you guys though... CHOCOLATE! You could take home a Hillcolate, which is a chocolate-hill shaped chocolate snack that can't get any cuter.

If snacking isn't your thing, then nothing beats good ol' tablea, which are blocks of cocoa powder that you melt in boiling water before lacing it with milk and sugar. Swear that and broas or homemade cinnamon sugar butter biscottis and I'm all set! I prefer my tablea the way my mom makes it: thick and mild with a 2 tablets:1 cup ratio. My first attempt at tablea making had me at the 1:1 ratio that I saw when I googled recipes on how to make tablea drinks but I found that I could taste it better with a 2:1 ratio, or maybe it's because the discs are so small. I like the tablea so much, I actually felt bad we only got little of this, since we were just going to try it out. thank God there's tablea in the supermarket or Kultura shops here.

Of course there are other mentionables like kalamay, dried mangoes, and broas. Inasmuch as we'd like to take the whole tourist shop with us, we had a baggage weight limit so we had to keep it at that. In buying souvenirs though, it really pays to buy from reputable shops and supermarkets with strict quality control.

What's Cooking At Amorita Resort

2011-02-10T21:30:00.008+08:00

If you have read my makeup blog, I'm currently in Panglao Island in Bohol. Much of my adventures could be read there but here, I talk about what I ate there, specifically in our resort, Amorita Resort, which is along Alona Beach in Panglao Island. Amorita's a pretty new resort, and it's got super first-class amenities and tour packages depending on your budget or preference. It's a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for - from remembering your names to making sure you're hydrated with complimentary water bottles in your room and refreshing water by the front desk up to being conscious with your health by lighting citronella burning oils to ward off mosquitoes.

Amorita's breakfast buffet comes with every stay. Breakfast is only from 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM. What's nice about it? They do not keep the same menu every single time. Yesterday, they had daing na bangus, ham, sausage, fish fillet, pork schnitzel, and chicken for protein source. Now it's tapa, tocino, longganisa, tuyo, fish fillet, and herb chicken. They have fresh fruit juice with their fruit bar that also changes. Yesterday, I had mango. Today, I had watermelon. All the juices are real and made from real fruit. The buffet is available at the Saffron Bar and Restaurant. If you're a first timer and don't know where it is, look for the infinity pool. Do you see the chairs and dining tables and the bar near it? There you go! If not, memorize the look of this picture:

Another thing I saw in the breakfast buffet is their honey buffet.... sweet honey infused with flavors to make them more interesting. There's lemongrass honey, pandan honey, apple honey, tea honey, and coffee honey. The coffee honey was quite interesting but I gravitate towards the lemongrass honey for quick shots of it followed by a glass of water. Pandan honey I use to sweeten my plain yogurt and cereal.

Yep, Winnie The Pooh sure would love to see this.

For lunch, here are some of our tried-and-tested mentionables:

Carnivores would love The Prime (Php 320), the burger with half-pound beef patty with grilled onions, fresh tomatoes, melted cheese, and salad.

The grill has also variety of choices to try, from seafood, red meat, and white meat with your choice of starch (rice, potato, or fries), and dressing. If you have no idea what to get, your attendant could suggest.

My Blue Marlin (Php 300) tasted good with Lemon Caper Butter Sauce. It melts in the mouth and you don't get that "fishy" odor or taste.

The grilled pork belly (Php 240) I liked, for someone who doesn't eat pork. It had a good amount of meat and the sauce we chose to go with it was tangy peppercorn butter.

For dessert, I loved the Turon De Bohol (Php 145) so much that we had to have it twice. It's got not one, not two, but five turon rolls with jackfruit and banana. If that's not enough, vanilla ice cream and nuts seal the deal. How do I describe it? Basta, masarap sya. Yun lang. Walang tatalo promise.

Another mentionable for those who love spicy foods but are in a budget is Spaghetti Aglio Olio, which is a simple spaghetti dish made of garlic, chili, and olive oil. It's so good that we didn't get to take a picture of it to think we ordered it twice. I warn you of the spice. Guaranteed you will need water here. Lots of it. Then pee later. The pasta they used here is fresh, so it's kinda curlier than the pasta we use at home.

Of course we couldn't taste all the dishes but so far, these are our favorites. The food's really good but their service is remarkable. During each meal, they ask you how your food is. They're very conscious as well for each client's personal concerns, like saying beforehand that all dressings contain patis (fish sauce) and/or anchovies. That, and a whole lot of nice stuff to see for yourself. :)

Ridding Leftovers the Better Way

2011-02-07T20:27:00.003+08:00

As I munch on leftover mozzarella cheese, let me share to you dinner for this evening:

Grilled the leftover sausage and re-heated the steak. While I was cleaning out the fridge, I saw that we still had a few leftover rice so I turned it into butter herb rice with rosemary and Italian seasoning. I went to get out some oregano but this baby ambushed me to feed her instead.

She demanded to be fed instead even blocking my way when I was about to go back indoors. :P

Cooking While Waiting and More Experimenting

2011-02-06T22:07:00.007+08:00

The new closet is going to be delivered today. Since we're practically stuck in the four corners of the condo, we decided to finally clear up the ref of foodstuff to make way for new ones. First I got rid of the tomatoes by turning them to pasta pomodoro with lots of garlic. by lots I mean I had three-quarters of a head crushed and the quarter of it sliced then stewed the tomatoes with tomato juice, canned tomatoes, and seasonings till I get the taste I like.

The event at SpaRga had us taking home fresh herbs as giveaways. I got mint, tarragon, and oregano, and they seem to have made its home in the condo's quadrangle (perks of having our unit at the lower floor so I could just go out and pick from our herb pots). Now I want a basil pot now so I have a full fresh supply of basil. I just found out that basil grays out days after buying them, even if they're kept sealed.

As soon as the closet guys arrived and installed the closet, we had a lot of free time, and free space I got all giddy at the sight of the new closet.

Now I have an excuse to have more dresses since there's more space! :P

Anyhow, weekly grocery shopping was next so we headed over to Rustan's Rockwell for fresh produce and supplies since we haven't been to Rockwell. Turns out the fruit department in Rockwell is different from the one in Glorietta so I wasn't able to get my Dizon strawberries. I was able to get fresh lemongrass to make lemongrass drinks, vegetables, and pasta.

I went over the deli and grabbed some cheese and a piece of Italian sausage since I'll be experimenting on sandwiches tomorrow for breakfast. I told them to keep it plus-minus 100 grams since I just do small servings anyway. I love Rustan's for slicing them for me so it's more convenient. They asked if block or slice, I was like just slice, so I get a sliver of 100 g instead of a slab of cheese that I don't know I'll finish. Didn't know that slice meant to slice them conveniently to thin sheets.

Turns out though I'll be experimenting on grilled cheese when I got home.

Whole wheat bread drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar. Fillings were gruyere cheese, slices of sausage, and a strip of mozarella before grilling both sides in a pan griller (my second overused piece of kitchen equipment next to the nonstick frying pan and the coffee maker).

Cheese to the extreme come dinnertime with leftover pasta pomodoro and grilled steaks. I thought I'd jazz the steak by topping it with slices of mozzarella cheese and honey barbecue sauce. Eating in is so much cheaper than eating out. The only not fun part is cleaning up. Then again, paying the tab isn't that fun either. By the way, I placed the mozzarella slice on top of the steak when it's already on the plate (not on the pan) still hot, so it melts on the meat's heat. The texture is interesting and it provides a certain richness without the sharp flavor. I like mozzarella. It's mild and it can be addicting.

Since I already made what I'm supposed to experiment for breakfast, I need to get creative for a breakfast meal tomorrow. By the way, I followed no recipe book. Everything is at the top of my head. The mozzarella on steak was very random really, I just thought of putting the slice there when I wanted more color on my plate for picture purposes. But it worked well, didn't it?

Spicy Chicken and Cheesy Potatoes for Dinner

2011-02-01T20:03:00.003+08:00

Dinner was homemade today but since I want a slow day, I just did something that's no brainer. Ironically, although dinner outside is usually comprised of complicated dishes, I keep dinner light and simple at home usually. After all, I'll just be sleeping right?

A few weeks ago, I was at Mercato Centrale and I ordered cheesy potatoes from a stall because they were dirt cheap. Figured if I could make my own at home, with marble potatoes (i.e. small potatoes like marbles, you buy them per pack) bought from m favorite grocery. Since them potatoes were hard as a rock, the solution was to pre-boil them first till they're soft prior to cooking them in oil. Prior to cooking though, I washed the potatoes twice in running water and even had to scrub a tad of liquid soap foam then rinse them well to make them clean. I know I'll boil them and drain it out, but I can't bear the thought of soil-y potatoes.

After they were boiled and drained, I put the potatoes in a pan with heated canola oil and started pan-frying them but not to the point of charring their skins. The original potato dish had bacon, but I wanted herbs so I sprinkled some rosemary and Italian seasoning on them with a tad of salt and pepper and mixed. As soon as I lowered the heat, I spooned cheese spread (like Cheez Whiz) and turned off the fire, letting the spread melt and mixed away. Some cheese was burning through though so I removed the pan from any heat source and used the heat source from the potatoes and pan to warm and melt the cheese and mixed in some more. My tip here is to use a nonstick pan for easy cleanup.

For meat, I pan-grilled pepper chicken breast fillets, which were pre-marinated and bought per 100 g at Rustans. They're really hot and I suggest buy them only when you have high tolerance to spicy foods or love spicy foods. I slathered honey barbecue sauce on them too and chased everything down by glugging a glass of lemon water.

Had I had time, grilled tomatoes on the side would also have been great for this.

A dish of spices call for something sweet, so right now, I'm eating two slices of mango for healthy sugar rush. Yum!!!!! I really should get more pots now, as I've been dependent on two frying pans, a pan griller, and this pot that I use to make broth, boil spaghetti, and now boil potatoes in. I need a saucepan to make gravy and jelly now. Plus a pitcher when I make lemongrass drinks.

Red Brekkie day.

2011-01-31T11:26:00.008+08:00

Dear Rustans, you are certainly going to love me for going to nowhere but you for all my supplies whether house or work. Just yesterday we filled a grocery cart full of items not just for cleaning supplies but fresh produce.

From left to right: basil, tomatoes, strawberries, fresh lemons, and marble potatoes. That and some fresh meats too. I absolutely adore the marinated pepper chicken breast fillet they have that I just slap on a pan griller laced in very little extra virgin olive oil. Sure, it's a little spicy but nothing like honey barbecue sauce could fix. I'm thinking of another siding recipe for the marble potatoes and adding cheese on them with a bit of herbs so the cheese isn't too rich. And the lemons? I've been dunking lemons in my water and they taste so much better. As I'm typing this now, I'm snacking on the fresh strawberries, which were actually leftovers from brekkie, which is so tres-chic in the carb side, and a little well, kiddy on the protein side.

Pancakes with butter (real butter, not the fake kind) and maple syrup topped with sliced fresh strawberries and kiddy hotdogs on the side. We just ran out of the Italian sausage since I made saffron risotto with sausage last Friday. Red is my favorite color, yes? If strawberries are quite tart for you, the maple syrup would sweeten things. The pancakes are just made from a mix, instead of from scratch, the just-add-water kind since I woke up at 6:30 a.m. and have no time to make things from scratch.

These strawberries are the ones that sell for Php150 a pack instead of the 300+ ones but they're just as good. I'm glad I got a pack with fruits that are firm, ripe, and semi-sweet. I never thought I'd finish fresh strawberries within the day, but the container's already half-full and I haven't finished this post yet.

Lunch calls! gotta go.

Lazy Breakfast And My Natural Tx

2011-01-26T10:33:00.004+08:00

My regular routine has been wake up, check email, breakfast, and go about the day depending where I'll be thrown into. Today's breakfast I wanted something quick since I want time to do a few laps by the pool as my workout for the day but no way will I do that on an emptier tummy.

In our crowded little dinner table lies my brekkie for the day. A little serving of apple oatmeal for fiber, fried egg, grilled Italian sausage (for protein), and two slices of white bread that I'll later on spread with crumpy later. I swear, the Italian sausage I got from Rustan's is aaahhh--maaaa-zzzing. It tastes good cold even but I like to brown it up a bit too. I figured na that the secret to the egg not tasting eggy is to give it a bit of kick with some black pepper. I don't know where to buy that amazing instant apple oatmeal but it removed all trauma I had with oatmeal.

I like eating smaller portions of food since I go for variety rather than quantity. Like the 3 tablespoons of oatmeal with other stuff is much better than eating an entire big bowl alone since my tastebuds gag after having too much stuff.

My indigestion has been acting for a few days now. I thought I'd skip brewed coffee for a packet of milk tea and drink my water warm spiked with a slice of lemon. I read over the net last night that lemon's very effective for indigestion plus it's natural and if it works, I just saved myself from hauling again to the doctor who'll give me shitty priced meds.

Most of our grocery I've been getting at Rustan's supermarket. I'm so loyal to the store. People have been telling me to check out other alternatives but I like how organized Rustan's is plus it's been my homebase already for my work supplies. Plus they have the most amazing deli selections. I looove the pastrami but I haven't found a recipe for it yet.

Take Care Of Hands and Home

2011-01-24T20:07:00.005+08:00

With the dishes done, the leftovers packed, and the trash thrown out, I've got to remember that it doesn't end with a neat kitchen. You gotta take care of stuff. Since dishwashing dries out hands with harsh soap chemicals, I always should moisturize and to remind me, I placed a tube of moisturizer right there on the kitchen counter.

I always get tubes of lotion as gifts. If we have too much bottles and tubes, chuck one in the kitchen counter to keep hands moisturized after an hour of dishwashing and cleaning the kitchen counter.

The bottle next to the lotion is a bottle of liquid soap, which I use to wash my hands before handling anything in the kitchen, to avoid drying hands caused by washing hands with detergent. The one I have right now is from Ilog Maria. The liquid soap is gentle on hands and smells like green tea.

Since I live in a cute little condo unit now, the cooking odors need to neutralize so the smell of grilled steak doesn't travel to the rooms. I mean I like the smell of steak and all, but I don't like it lingering for like the rest of my stay here and mixing with the odors of other foods. Turning on the exhaust helps of course and opening some windows. Remember how our yayas at home who light a candle everytime they cook tuyo? Same principle. My lifesaver here would be room scents, either a diffuser, aromatherapy oil burner, or an aromatherapy candle like the one I have below.

I'm currently using Cranberry Joy Home from The Body Shop's Holiday collection candle which nixes out the scent of grilled meat, French toast, or anything fried without setting smoke alarms. It smells fruity and comforting too like Christmas is always near even though it has already passed. Another favorite of mine are the Alice Blue Soy Candles or lemongrass diffusers from Mia Mason that smell like spas and honey lemon drops. As of this moment, the home candle takes the spot on our little dining table. I like that the glass is heat-resistant and thick enough too. The fruity cranberry scent also lingers even after I put the candle out. Just make sure never to leave an open flame unattended and to put the candle away from curtains, sheets, or anything flammable. In fact, before leaving the house or going to bed, or just as the scent of food dissipates, put the fire out.

These are little ways of taking care of the hands and keeping the home smelling fresh and clean.

Honey Ginger Chicken For Lunch

2011-01-24T18:59:00.005+08:00

Because dining out is expensive, I have resulted to the uncanny thing which I have avoided for five years... pots, pans, and knives. Well what do you know? It's not that bad. I just needed to have my own kitchen and little corner. Plus, it gives me topics and pictures to write here in my food blog. Food recipes are usually researched online or inspired from what I see in Asian Food Channel or whatever cooking show I see on tv. Today's lunch and dinner and probably also tomorrow's is taken from an easy recipe I saw online - Honey Ginger Chicken Stir Fry. You could find the recipe here if you would like to replicate it yourself. I didn't follow the recipe entirely substituting frozen stir-fry blend for fresh carrots, broccoli, and red bell peppers.

I grated the ginger right on the measuring spoon reserving any juices. While cooking and I feel like adding a bit more kick, I grate some more ginger on the dish as it simmers. The water chestnuts are really, really interesting. They're like sweet radishes that are white on the can but of course, the honey makes everything all golden brown. Why my choice of veggies? I wanted something nutritious and I have always liked carrots and bell pepper. I wanted a bit of contrast to the color scheme by adding something green so broccoli was my choice with the texture and nutritional benefits as well. Plus, broccoli is so easy to prepare... Just remove it from the humongous stem and separate the little segments. For honey, it doesn't have to be imported or expensive. I used local honey. They sell it in Rustan's supermarket for less than 100 pesos. They're in glass containers shaped like Tanduay bottles.

Just a heads up though, when you taste it while cooking, it tastes a bit bland though, but the flavor develops when the meal cools down. So try to hold on to the taste. I lower the heat too after stirring and adding the sauce so I don't burn anything.

While cooking though, let me share the space-saver thank you to the Japanese home stores that sell dirt cheap but useful stuff:

Now I never have to scramble for the cheese grater, or in my case - my any-grater since it grates cheese, lemon or orange rind, ginger, and all.

Trying My Hand At Beef

2011-01-20T20:46:00.004+08:00

So far, my kitchen meal skills in the protein department are eggs, chicken, and fish fillet. With the higher cholesterol-ladden protein, i.e. beef and pork, I have deemed scared and unsuccessful either my beef is too tough. But fear should be conquered right? Right! So indeed, I tried my luck at steaks today.

Too cheap to buy t-bone or sirloin, I went for thinner round cuts. Nasa timpla lang 'yan. And speaking of marinade, I just dunked meat tenderizer then washed it then the basic marinades - spices, lemon, olive oil and grilled it after letting it sit for a while. Oh, and this had no recipe in mind. I was just inventing as I go. I'm a rule-breaker that's why.

Needing veggies, I grilled the carrots, tomatoes, and olives and sprinkled my can't-live-without Italian Seasoning on them. The green stuff are olives. I bought them in the vacuum-packed plastic containers. Rustans, I gotta love you for selling these but I wish they came without the stone. The stone annoys the crap out of me.

Revamped rice by making it herbed butter rice, which basically means I sorta fried the rice with a teensy pat of butter and sprinkled rosemary and Italian seasoning on them plus a smidgen of pepper. I wanted potatoes but I didn't want good rice to spoil. So just revamp it instead of letting it sit on the ref.

This my dears, is a recipe with no name.

Yummy Tuesday Crispy Pata at Max's

2011-01-20T15:34:00.003+08:00

I've heard of Max's Crispy being the favorite among those who go to Max's. A close second to the famous Max's fried chicken (if not a tie), this is also one that's always being ordered. For some reason and my personal experience, Max's at Tagaytay has this as their specialty. The richness of crispy pata goes and balances well with one of their bestsellers - sinigang -a steaming and sour soup with veggies in a tamarind base.

From January 20 to February 20, 2011, Max's has a promo called the Crispy Pata Feast, an affordable and perfectly planned set meal good for four with this bestseller. Last Tuesday, Max's invited a few of their blogger friends to taste test this at their Greenbelt 1 store.

First up, is the famous Crispy Pata served hot, steaming, and crisp.

This also comes with spices and sauce, which we ordered seconds as well. We love slathering the meat in sauce before pairing it up with a cup (and a half) of steamed rice and chasing that down with an ice-cold Pepsi glass. If your BP readings allow it, have some skin and fat as well. To totally wipe out the bone, you could split the two bones in half, since there's still meat wedged inside.

Since the Crispy Pata is fatty and rich, a hot bowl of Sinigang na Bangus would be a good accompaniment for this. You could either slurp this as a "warm up" for the stomach which would work hard. The tarty soup balances the richness of the Crispy Pata, and the bangus and veggies bring health to our diet too. As our gramma says, we should not miss our veggies, even with a sinful dish like this.

Buko Pandan for dessert? Why not!

This feast for 4 is quite affordable, costing Php865 for the whole thing. During the event, we were told that not only is it available for dine-in but you could order to go online by logging on to www.maxschicken.com to place orders online (yes, they accept credit cards).

Sweet Stuff on D-Day

2011-01-11T16:49:00.008+08:00

A bride should DIY a lot of things but a cake shouldn't be one of them. Nowadays, I'm glad the three-tiered cakes (one main cake and the rest fondant-covered styrofoam) have been replaced by smaller mini-cakes, which could also serve as giveaways. The first time I encountered that was in my friend Fritzie's wedding a few years back. She had Oreo cheesecake which tasted really amazing. So I thought of something like so.

The Dessert Solutions Company is one of ISnap Manila's concessionaires and Mike showed us some of their mini-cakes and his highly-recommended recipes. The cakes are priced reasonably and come in cute tub containers that look utterly amazing as well. Whether it be a birthday party, a wedding, or a sweet treat, they do not only look good but they taste good. Fritzie told me earlier that the banoffee cake even after 3 days still tasted good.

.Chocolate and Custard are a perfect marriage in this yummy bestseller, Chocolate Delight, best served cold.

Our fondant versions do not seem to mind. You could order through Isnap Manila at 7527062.

Of course, with the little cakes done, we had to do with the ca

ke being cut, that is our main cake. We met cake maker Joy San Gabriel by serendipity at a bridal fair last September. We were supposed to just meet with the flowers when we decided to go look around. While sampling at the cakes, I caught sight of Joy's iPad as she shows her trademark quirky cakes to potential clients.

Joy was definitely nice enough to answer all our questions despite clients coming and going. It was a good thing I kept her leaflet because months after, during peak season, we decided that it's Joy that would do our cake topper instead of having a generic figurine on top of a generic cake.

I shot Joy an email one night and she promptly replied. I begged if she could still accommodate a small cake and topper since our wedding date was sort of (un)fortunately on a fully-booked day. It was definitely a sigh of relief that Joy could still accommodat

e our order and agreed for a meeting.

A good thing about Joy was that she really matches and suggests things to go with the couple's personality, even documenting details which she might need, like how the couple usually looks or certain items. She prepared samples for us to try - apple cake an

d carrot cake. Although we wanted chocolate cake, Joy suggested that for fondant cakes, choices are limited since we need a dense cake to hold all the fondant. Fruitcake was definitely out of the question for me since I wanted something that I could eat instead of gag or pretend to eat. Carrot cake was our choice of cake. We told Joy our specs, and she captured everything perfectly when

we saw the cake during the reception for the first time... with TDSC's mini cakes that complement it well:

Our Marchy was captured cutely when all we showed her was a picture of it. Joy got the clothing details right, down to how a MAC lipstick should look, although not twenty times its size. I had to chuckle when she lengthened my hot pants to knee-length, when I usually wear my uniform shorts waaay shorter than that since I like to move. Maybe she didn't want my fondant self to scandalize our older guests? It was so cute I spotted several guests taking a picture of it (hey... why not us? :P)

Perhaps another recent discovery was The Bandana Baker, who was also our supplier for the souvenirs, should the mini cakes not be enough. Behind this name is my good friend from high school, Vicky, who I kept in touch all through the years. I bumped into her in a yogurt stand in Glorietta. She bought chocolate chips for an order she had to do and she stopped by yogurt at the same time I was lining up to pay. It was a good thing that I kept her number and asked her if she would like to be our wedding supplier. Turns out this was the first wedding gig ever for Vicky. I assured her to think she's supplying for a party e

xcept it's a wedding. While discussing flavors with her, I told her to keep the package nice and simple since people would be tearing the plastic anyway. A clear plastic pouch with a ribbon would do.

Mega cookies on top because we could never go wrong with chocolate and cranberry and white chocolate cookies to go with our red theme. Vicky, for the first in weddings did a terrific job. Our guests loved them and were texting me how much they loved the cookies. Some even asked for her number. Our only complaint was we didn't get to taste them.

Our sweets department's got all covered. :)

Stuffing Silly on My Wedding Day

2011-01-11T16:15:00.005+08:00

Wedding coordinator texted me the moment I woke up to go have a heavy breakfast. Erika and I complied with feeling. We usually thought that Vivere Suites' buffet breakfast was at the lobby. Turns out it was at the sky lounge, at the 31st floor overlooking Laguna De Bay.

Breakfast al fresco on the morning of my wedding day on a chilly January morning.

Erika opted for a high-carbohydrate brekkie.

As for me, since I get hungry easily, I loaded on them proteins.

It's a definitely no-diet wedding. I know full well that this is the time where I could eat to my heart's content and so I did.

Vivere's breakfast buffet starts with the usual viands of steamed rice, fried rice, fish, meat, eggs, and even a waffle, french toast, and pancake bar with a DIY omelette mixed together by a chef for you. Just when I thought that that was the only choice they had, I saw in the inner room that they had a cereal and fruit bar plus an Asian corner where I got myself a bowl of hot and steaming ramen.

Very few cheese on my plate as I wanted yogurt and granola instead. I skipped bread since I'm more of a rice girl.

So thinking that I couldn't eat come lunchtime, guess what I wolfed down after my makeup was done?

Greenwich Pizza squares that's what!

The Old Favorite Tried and Tested

2010-12-14T10:53:00.005+08:00

I've had crazy cravings lately all the time during Christmas and prolly one of them is puto bumbong, the intriguing purple snack that looks like ube-flavored suman, but doesn't have that sweet ube taste. Would you believe the first time I tried and fell for puto bumbong wasn't here in our country but in the States! Weird I know. You usually find puto bumbong outside churches during Christmas and sometimes all year round that I sometimes take it for granted. Oh whelps.

Puto bumbong is actually made of glutinous rice cooked in bamboo tubes and the device used to cook it looks like this:

[picture from ifood.tv]

The rice mix is on the bamboo tubes. The purple color is actually just purple food coloring instead of ube. I don't know why it's purple though, maybe related to Advent or something, whoever invented it. You could have pink or yellow puto bumbong though and it would still taste the same but it still won't be the same I guess, since we're used to seeing it purple.

Anyhow, as Christmas season kicks in and with Simbang Gabi again coming up, I know early churchgoers would be looking forward to having puto bumbong after mass. I was told though, when I was craving again to try Via Mare's famous puto bumbong and to try it with cheese. It's usually with brown sugar, butter, and grated coconut but cheese? Then I have to see.

I went to the famous Via Mare in Landmark. It's now shoved over to the side instead of the center of the second floor, where we're used to seeing it, providing a more intimate atmosphere for meetings or lunches. I got the menu, and I saw that it's available in plain (with coconut and brown/muscovado sugar) or you could jazz it up by adding cheese or queso de bola. I opted to add cheese instead, since queso de bola could be too strong.

It's two long pieces of puto bumbong when served and they're quite generous with the toppings. I don't know how I'll be able to finish the coconut though and too much sugar would be too sweet.
The one they serve outside church had four pieces generously spread with margarine and coated with just sugar and coconut, but the pieces were cut smaller and skinnier, so more or less, the rice component is the same.

Anyway so how was it overall? It was okay. Taste was the same as the one I'm used to having every Sunday. The cheese however made it interesting and it lessened the sweetness if I've had too much of the sugar. I just wasn't fond of the texture though, since I prefer a smoother milling of the rice and none of the rougher texture. The cheese they used was of good quality though, and for someone like me who could only tolerate up to only a certain amount of dairy, this didn't cause me to pump out the dairy out of my gut in seconds.

I guess though for the price it has (Php 65 for plain, and add additional Php16 for cheese), the one in our neighborhood suki would do for my cravings. I'll bring a balikbayan here for sure, for the ambiance especially after touring them in the mall. Cheese is an interesting addition, and I'm going to wonder how it is when it melts too, so hmmm... I guess I'll experiment that with my Php15.00 alternative and grate cheese on top before nuking it in the microwave for a few seconds.

I'm Going to Eat....Yer....

2010-12-05T00:09:00.003+08:00

Spotted at Mercato Centrale this morning

Braiiiinssss!!!!! er.... Cupcakes. To PVZ fans.... these cuteness pictures are for you. Yes luvvies, I'm a dork.

Fresh Face Program: Day 2

2010-11-23T20:27:00.003+08:00

Salmon, Tuna, you and I will bond for the longest time.

We all know the benefits of oily fish in the body, hence the abundance of it in the diet. Salmon would be the best choice of course, especially good salmon from Alaska, which is hard to find here. However, if you don't like the taste of salmon, any good oily fish could be substituted like tuna, mackarel, trout, or sardines. Tuna mostly was my choice because it's readily available and of course, it's cheaper.

I prefer my tuna pan-seared lightly with garlic and olive oil with a little spice of my choice. Sometimes, it's fresh basil or dried thyme, depending on whatever I feel that day. This day, I take a break from the fish for breakfast and have omelette instead as my protein source. The omelette recipe called for 3 egg whites and 1 yolk. Again, i cooked this only with extra virgin olive oil. Whole wheat bread was becoming more appetizing and had I not supposed to have a whole wheat bread limit, I would have eaten another slice or two. For butter though, I made sure that I only use unsalted butter and if I want more butter, I should compromise by lessening the cheese.

Since I had my tuna prepared beforehand, it was time to keep my carb source handy for lunch. For carb source, I opted for a small bowl of whole wheat pasta, which is another discovery for me. Whole wheat pasta had much more bite to it than the white pasta and it's quite firmer. Of course I didn't make it a bland pasta but looked for a healthy but yummy version by cooking it in light olive oil and garlic, adding in some black olives and a bit of herbs and spices. I've realized too that I have yet to add salt to the food I prepare, which I try not to.

I was about to go to a party that time, and I was glad though that there were food I could eat there, particularly chicken breast, fish, and steamed brocolli and cauliflower, which were my veggie sources come lunchtime. I threw in raw carrots to my veggie mix, but I had to make sure that my protein intake was more than my carbs.

Remember how we get sleepy after a heavy meal? It's actually the carbs acting up. Increasing my protein gave me enough energy for me to still be up on my toes to play with the kids and run around and still interact with guests during siesta time. Again, this I do feeling full without any feeling of throwing up. Come my 4:00 p.m. snack time of dark chocolate and fruit (I chose strawberries this time with blueberries in yogurt, since I wanted a calcium source), I wasn't wolfing my dairy like the plague. My dinner was lighter than usual, and I noticed elimination of carbs from wheat or rice and I just paired my tuna with a light salad of greens.

Realizing that I'm halfway through the program, I'm glad I was able to sustain the lifestyle and habit of being hydrated and steering away from the cake, flan, and coffee. During this time, I am currently experiencing cough and colds and I had a tissue box with me all the time. When colds had me at my most sluggish moment, I wasn't all groggy during the day, and save for blowing my nose and coughing, I was able to go on with my normal activities. Once I saw the pattern, I saw how I could finally adapt this system to my lifestyle once I'm out of the program and back to my regular eating habits.

So now, my diet is quite strict, but what happens when I don't bring my stuff with me? My dinner on day 3 would be an example.

Fresh Face Program Day 1

2010-11-22T16:59:00.005+08:00

Let me welcome my day one with a hearty breakfast:That's salmon that I lightly cooked with olive oil and garlic then drizzled with lemon juice from one lemon slice, two slices of whole wheat bread toasted, and slices of local queso de bola. This diet certainly got me experiencing new things - first was finding ways of making the food exciting so as I do not stick to tasteless stuff that would make me count the days I'm in this diet while keeping within the food limit required. Second was then, facing my fear of the kitchen since cooking apparently isn't my forte or have the patience to do so. Like I said earlier, this isn't an easy diet because you really have to make the time and effort for it. But as they say, no pain no gain.

As I mentioned earlier, announcing that i'll be going through a diet program got a lot of reactions, most of them being in the negative, and more negative when I expressed my desire to progress to the 30-day program in time for my wedding and keep the lifestyle probably for life. The first one mainly was why I was in it when I'm thin already to begin with and have a relatively normal body mass index. Actually, think of it this way, I'm not after losing weight. Losing weight would just be a secondary result, since I'll be flushing out the junk and bad stuff down the toilet, literally as I poop. The main goal I have (aside from the fact that I'm curious) is to live healthy.

Lesson to be learned: living healthy doesn't necessarily mean starving myself. The diet actually has large portions of food. The food choices are very good actually - tuna, salmon, broccoli, spinach, veggies, and even allows rich foods like unsalted butter, egg, and dark chocolate. I even had cheese too. Surprisingly, I didn't run to the next bathroom upon eating good cheese, like our native queso de bola.

To note the difference, I took a picture of me pre-diet and also took my measurements and weighed myself, and these numbers I list down

Weight: 110 pounds
Chest: 31 inches
Waist: 24-1/2 inches
Hips: 35-1/2 inches
Thighs: 19 inches

Breakfast alone made me discover that whole wheat bread is best enjoyed toasted and eaten lightly spread with olive oil or good-quality unsalted butter. I'm discovering too why queso de bola is becoming such a favorite and I got appreciative of its taste. I prefer my fish lightly seared and cooked, then lightly seasoned. I'm glad I'm allowed garlic too, since they made my canned fish more fun.

There is a downside too, though. When I'm out, the normal tendency though is to run to the next stall to have something to eat. Since the four-day diet is quite stricter than the 30-day, I've had the effort of preparing foods and even bringing my own little microwave-safe dishes of certain foods - cooking my salmon and tuna in batches while steaming and blanching my veggies and packing them in labeled containers. OC... :P

Lunch was quite heavy for me on the greens side, calling for a serving or two of Salad Nicoise and large morsels of tuna. The greens and veggies come in lunch and dinner for me while my breakfast is heavier on protein. I saw that this program had a relatively different food pyramid, calling for a higher ratio of protein than carbohydrates, and most of my carbs come from whole wheat.

By 4 pm I should be snacking, so my snack of choice was a large red apple (I'm starting to feel like Snow White, except I'm not fond of ivory skin) and two dark chocolates. EJ told me that dark chocolate has a lot of good effects in the body. By this time, I'm quite used to dark chocolate already, with Meiji black chocolate being the brand of choice, practically since it's cheaper than other brands and it's less on the bitter side that could gag you. On times when I feel hunger pangs though, I drink water (I'm supposed to drink water every hour at least) or have a tiny square of dark chocolate, which I always carry with me.

Come dinner time, I had an order of tuna sashimi and steamed spinach, which I ate while watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. As the moviegoers were snacking on nachos and popcorn, I was spearing down a bowlful of spinach down me. I sure missed the taste of popcorn and was thinking of ways to actually justify me buying popcorn by saying it's air popped, but I gotta keep within limits.

So far, I think I'm doing well. Tomorrow, I get my carb dose from whole wheat pasta as well, and here comes broccoli and other veggies. :) Oh yes, in case you're asking, I still work out with this diet, doing a combination of yoga and Pilates.

The Start of My Fresh Face Program

2010-11-19T20:54:00.007+08:00

I'm glad I have a job that gets me to learn things besides makeup and beauty. I was hired for a project by a health and wellness company to do makeup for a coaching program that they have. This is my second time to work with them actually and I've had a good experience of meeting new people and picking up a thing or two to learn before I go.

I met nutritionist Dr. Claude Chauchard this week, since he was the coach to be filmed for the week. He specializes on anti-ageing and slimming, so I thought the program would be all about skin care and all that. During the filming, I was able to pick up the words "pomme" and "fromage" (French words for apple and cheese, respectively) and I thought to myself, "What are food terminologies doing in an anti-ageing session?" So while doing retouches and during shoot downtimes, I asked Dr. Chauchard about why food terminologies were included in the program. He does specialize also in slimming and anti-ageing and this was a program that targets you from the inside out, so in short, being healthy first. It was quite interesting as we both were chatting and quite interestingly, he was giving me advice on what foods are good and what practices should be avoided. Yesterday, he gave me one of his books, which had his 30-day age-preventive diet program.

I asked him too if he could sign the book for me and I'm glad he did.

I have no qualms about eating healthy food and vegetables. In fact, I'm quite fond of healthy food. However, I don't know how to really go about it. Plus, with my lifestyle and lack of time to actually take time to cook and all, I sometimes end up ordering oil-ladden takeout food or just rushing to the nearest fast food joint for fries and burgers. I guess this book tells me this is how to start it. As I have an open mind to different food styles and tastes, fast foods included, I guess I should keep an open mind too to foods and diet programs that could help improve the quality of my life. So why not try it right? After all, I have nothing to lose (except probably a few pounds and inches).

Normally, I get reactions like, "You don't need to diet! You're thin already!" In fact, I just got like quite a handful of reactions when I got home with a grocery bag full of vegetables, fruits, tuna, salmon, and whole-wheat bread. However, I didn't think of it na lang as dieting. I thought of it as a new eating adventure, just like going to a new restaurant. Aside from the 30-day program the book has, it has a 4-day trial program that claims to improve not just our skin and the cells of our face but also our metabolism. I guess it's just to see how we react or fare first before we go through the 30-day program.

Come to think of it, I've been evaluating how I eat lately and I go to a fast food joint approximately 5 times a week, sometimes even twice a day. It's not that I want to, sometimes I'm left with no choice. Seeing what I put inside my body I've realized that quite a number of it is actually junk, and these junk foods aren't called junk without a reason. They destroy you from the inside. Not only that, it would reflect on how we look. I've noticed that if I've had too much chips or chicharon, I bloat horribly. I remember the last time I had a super bundat meal full of grease, fat, and salt. I felt full yes, but it wasn't the kind of full that I want. It was the kind of fullness that had me bursting at the seams. I honestly didn't like it and I felt like throwing up. Too much of the bad stuff reflects on my skin as well. I've noticed too that I get all oily and sometimes pimply with all the junk too. Water too is also one thing I sometimes neglect. I've once been admitted for dehydration and I haven't learned from that still. During the course of time, I learned that when I'm hungry, I'm not really hungry but I could be thirsty.

Okay, so back to the program. I'm now starting on the 4-day program and I'd like to blog it as well to share everyone my own experience as well as to encourage me to go on as well. It's also to evaluate too how I'm doing. I've asked some of my friends, Fritz and EJ if they'd like to join me as well so I get male opinions too.

Before I started the program, I read the menu. The program starts on the evening before Day 1 and ends lunch on day 4. So one day is sort of broken into two. Before I started though, I eased in slowly into the habit so as not to shock my instant-everything system. First thing was getting used to the taste of dark chocolate. I'm really into the milky sweet chocolate I'd wolf down so the bitterness of cocoa was something new to me. Also, the diet required me to drink a large glass of water first thing upon waking and ideally for every hour. Since I'm not heavy on drinking water, most especially plain water, I started easing myself on that too.

Food choices were relatively easy. The protein sources were mostly oily fish like tuna and salmon. I'm fond of seafood and I'd definitely prefer sashimi over a plate of lechon any day. Vegetables and fruits I have no problem either, more on fruits though, as I gag at the thought of eating an orange in whole form. I'm glad I could juice the orange, as I prefer taking my oranges in juice form rather than fruit, as the fruit skin annoys me. I'd then have to get used to cheese though, in little amounts and the texture of whole wheat bread, which I find quite dry and mealy than white bread. But then, it's just for 4 days. Let's see what happens.

Of course, this diet would mean a lot of effort. I need to make time for this. When I got home from work a while ago, I still had to get out the pots and pans and prepare the food and then still I had to clean up before I went to bed. When I'm outside and mealtime comes, it's not anymore just going to the nearest food place. I have to be careful in where I eat, what I eat, and how I eat. I'd have to monitor as well when I'm about to drink water, my snack, and even thinking of varieties on how to spice up and keep the menu interesting yet still staying within the diet rules. But hey, it's fun, at least it's something new. Now back to my diet proper shall we?

I started this evening when I got home since the four-day diet would start on the evening before day 1. The menu calls for 1 cup of vegetables and 8.75 ounces of salmon (or any other oily fish) with olive oil and lemon juice. I should eat the meal between 7-8 p.m. so I had to make sure I got home at that time. I chose tuna for my protein source, and cooked one can with garlic and extra virgin olive oil and squeezed some lemon juice to taste. I had blanched green beans for my veggies, and whoop-de-do I finally blanched them perfectly.

It felt quite weird at first that I was eating this without rice. After the meal, I didn't feel like a boulder was placed inside my stomach. I was full but not full to the point of throwing up, despite that I kept drinking water. This one I like, since I really don't like the feeling of a heavy stomach at night, especially since I'm just about to wind down and go to bed.

And speaking of bed, it's time to hit the sack. Doctor requires at least 8-10 hours of sleep each night. I'll see you tomorrow for day one!

We Eat and We Love It

2010-11-13T19:17:00.003+08:00

Proof that there are models who do not go on starvation diets.

Yeoh and his model friends pigging out at one event last night. We didn't know that we filled an entire cocktail table with food. Favorite quote for the night: Wooooowwww leche flan. Ayyyyy cheesecake pala. Hahaha I love my friends.

Sweet Treats from Dessert Barn

2010-11-10T08:28:00.009+08:00

[Disclaimer: Products provided for review]

I met up with Twinkle yesterday for coffee after I picked up a few items at Ortigas. I told her I'll just grab a quick bite and satisfy my fast food cravings then I'll dash off to the MRT to meet up with her in Glorietta. She texted. "Surely, Don't forget to leave some room for dessert!" As soon as the MRT reached the Ayala station, I hauled my bags, took the stairs instead of squeezing through the elevator and met up with Twinkle where she presented me with two boxes, which were her bestselling cakes.

The first time I met Twinkle, she was my client at MAC and I encouraged her to take the plunge for red lipstick. She was one of those clients you would want to have often and we ended up making chika while doing her makeover. The second was at a food event and she shares too her fondness for sweets. I then knew that she also bakes. She has a baking business that she fondly calls Dessert Barn that fuels her passion for baking, which are among her many other passions.

After a bit of chat, she showed me the first cake, which, I was reassured wasn't fruitcake.

Bananalicious cakes with [top] cranberries and roasted walnuts and [bottom] roasted walnuts. Php 350 for a 6-inch cake and Php 500 for a 9-inch cake

She calls this cake bananalicious cake, which she describes the cake as literally "half banana and half cake." For every 1 cup of batter, she's got 1 cup of bananas thrown in. The natural sweetness makes it less migraine-causing than cakes overloaded with sugar and grease, so not only does it taste good, but it's also healthy.

The icing on top, I asked if it was made of cream cheese. She said it was snow glaze, the same glaze used in donuts. The one I tasted was the one with cranberries and roasted walnuts and she also has another bananalicious cake with just the walnuts, for those who aren't cranberry fans. I actually like cranberries, and this brings me memories of turkey and Thanksgiving, making it a perfect Holiday giveaway. The dried cranberries are less tart though, and go well with the sweetness of the snow glaze. I had to give in to a slice though, and wedged a teaspoon at the edges. Usually, edges are hard though, with the tenderness and moistness of the cake concentrated on the middle. The Bananalicious cake, however, had a uniform moistness and consistency through and through. Even kids wouldn't gag at this cake. My 10-year-old nephew at first was apprehensive to try this out since he thought it was just banana cake. However, after a tiny sliver of this, he asked for seconds and had another slice for breakfast the following morning. When cakes get dry and mealy by the third day absorbing whatever flavors and odors the refridgerator has, this one was still true to its flavor, of course I kept it inside the cardboard box.

After that, I sipped some peppermint tea to cleanse my palate in tune for the next cake, which I assume would be a hit among everyone with a sweet tooth but also those who want to indulge in a guilty pleasure once in a while, the Amnesia cake, a four-layer moist chocolate cake with chocolate filling with dark chocolate fudge encapsulated with an Oreo cookie crust.

Amnesia cake, so good that you'll forget your name. Php 480 for a 6-inch cake and Php 958 for an 8-inch cake.

I asked Twinkle why it was called Amnesia cake. The name was actually from her brother, who said that this cake is so good, you're going to forget your name. I chuckled a bit at the description. When I took a bite, I was quite surprised. Normally, I thought a chocolate overload like this would be too sweet that I'd be getting a sugar overload but it was quite a surprise, really, that the sweetness was mild and mellow. The reason for this was that Twinkle uses dark chocolate for the recipe, which is healthier. You get to taste and enjoy the chocolateness without the bitterness. The texture and genuine chocolate flavor are in one delicious compromise. The fudge was also rich, which added to the melt-in-the-mouth texture of the soft chocolate cake layers.

The Amnesia cake travels well when frozen. If you're taking this with you as pasalubong or baon when you go abroad, you could tell Twinkle ahead of time and she would give you instructions on how this could stay fresh up to your next destination. This makes a great pasalubong as well for your loved ones abroad when you fly off to visit them. This was an easy sell to the kids, though and they didn't think twice when I said chocolate and enjoyed their slices even though I told them after they got their second slice that it was dark chocolate. Normally, kids don't like dark chocolate because it's bitter but this one was sweet enough for them to go halfway the 6-inch cake in minutes. If you've got more of a sweet tooth that you can't handle, try a scoop of vanilla ice cream too. Too sweet? Then have a cup of espresso or tea.

Aside from these cakes, another bestseller is the Red Velvet cupcakes (iLOVu), which you could order per dozen (a dozen costs Php540). The Red Velvet cupcake is for the romantics who love the rich taste of red velvet cakes and cream cheese. Twinkle adds another touch by dusting some cocoa on top and adding a rosebud.

Dessert Barn also has cupcakes for giveaways and desserts during Christmas parties or Christmas dinners. To order, you could send a PM at Dessert Barn's Facebook page or if you want to sample their treats, Dessert Barn would be at Our Awesome Plante's Ultimate Taste Test 5.0 this Friday at 7:00 p.m. at the NBC Tent. In the meantime, you could check out Dessert Barn at http://dessertbarn.multiply.com/ or Facebook page.You could order too by texting or calling 0927-2697252

*Pictures taken from Dessert Barn's website.

Manila Joins Keso De Gallo with Cheese, Vegetables, and Tangy Tamarind Sauce

2010-10-19T17:07:00.010+08:00

To most of the people in the world, Christmas isn't a big production number unlike here in the Philippines. But to us, it's more than a month-long celebration. As early as September, people are putting up Christmas decorations. I was at the mall last weekend and they were already playing Christmas songs and in fact, had a humongous Christmas tree already displayed. Some Filipinos abroad use their vacation leaves to spend Christmas here in the Philippines. Weddings are big on December because that's when relatives abroad go home to visit and that's also one way of maximizing time, to celebrate a milestone with the people you love.

In every city here in the Philippines, Christmas is celebrated differently, which gives it its own unique character. Manila, for example, is one city which breathes history in itself. Back in the olden days, this was the center of hustle, bustle, and commerce. The walled city of Intramuros is home to the old churches - the Manila Cathedral and San Agustin Church, which preserves pre-colonial Architecture of the old Manila we know. Intramuros was also a fortress, and former home to the oldest university, the University of Sto. Tomas.

The San Agustin Church.
Old World Architecture that you can't get anywhere.

I went to school in the heart of Manila, and even though the center of trade and commerce has been moved elsewhere, Manila still retains its old-world charm.

[image from wikipedia.org]

My campus in UP Manila still has the robust old-world architecture, preserved with the big, heavy doors and pillars.

Perhaps today the busiest part of Manila is the shopping center, Divisoria, where as early as September, people go there for early Christmas shopping and bargain hunts. It's a place where anything and everything could be found at super low prices, and even lower when bought wholesale. Last but not the least, the natural artwork of the Manila Bay Sunset is one that's definitely to be seen.

Definitely Manila is a place where I spent a good deal of my life in. I've had a great number of field trips there. I've attended weddings in Manila Cathedral and Manila Hotel. I was also witness to the Manila Bay Sunset whenever I go home from class. Manila was also the place where I had my first taste of street food, and ended up loving them. At first I was apprehensive to try them, being sheltered and all but after learning how to commute plus familiarizing myself with street food, I begin loving it as well. Grab and go fishballs and cheese sticks was probably enough to get the hunger pangs away before my class.

Street food seemed to be the inspiration I guess, for Manila's entry to Keso De Gallo, a celebration where 100 towns come up with 100 unique dishes and these dishes would be showcased for 100 days to underscore this celebration of Christmas here in the Philippines. For the City of Manila, their entry is Cheese and Garlic Rolls in Tamarind Sauce

Simple and frills-free, this dish reminds me of the cheese sticks that I used to buy in our canteen. The cheese mixes with vegetables like cabbage and carrots, so it's more like lumpia than your average cheese stick. It's quite interesting though that they use tamarind sauce, which balances quite well with the richness of the cheese. If you look at the recipe here, it's quite easy to make, and I do plan to make a batch myself, subjecting myself to cooking boot camp. :P

Love this town? Are you a true-blue Manilenyo? Or did you try out this dish yourself and ended up loving it? Then go here. Oh, and before going to buy your ingredients, remember to save that box of Kraft Eden Cheese. :)

I Heart Goya Chocolate Bars

2010-10-04T11:59:00.005+08:00

My name is Bambi and I'm a sweet tooth. I need my chocolate fix because I'm having the case of the blues, so I pick this up in the grocery:

Why I like it:

1. It's dirt cheap, It's about Php 16.00 for a bar.
2. It's not too sweet.
3. The raisins' flavor mix well with the sweet chocolate, and they don't annoyingly stick to the upper palate.
4. It's locally available, and it's a local product. Hence, supporting too our livelihood. Yeaaah baybeeeehh!

It doesn't melt as fast as other chocolates but since it's thin, it's quite soft, so I keep tissue on hand. Plus, chocolate makes me happy.

The Day Italy was Brought To Me

2010-09-21T11:40:00.008+08:00

"Hi, I'm Giorgio Matera and if you don't know me, I'm the guy in the menu," says the guy in front. He points to the La Piadina menu, which shows his picture, and we all chuckle. It was a low-peak mall hour Monday morning. half of the new La Piadina store in Glorietta 4 was closed to several members of the media in an intimate lunch that features La Piadina's new recipes.

Before the group gathered, I arrived rather early and had a chat with Giorgio and Tetta Matera, a husband-and-wife team who owns La Piadina La Cucina Regionale, a quaint Italian chain of restaurants in Tokyo and in Manila. I immediately beamed how much I've been a fan of the Piadina stall at the Glorietta food court. It's true. My comfort food is the Pasta Arrabiata and mozzarella set.

This is Italian food from Italy," Giorgio explains to me. Italian food isn't just pizza and pasta, which are what we're used to. They've got more than pizza and pasta. There were also main courses to try. And pasta isn't just spaghetti. We also have ravioli and gnocchi, which are potato dumplings made by hand. "Are your pastas fresh pasta?" Giorgio nods in agreement and points to me his staff making fresh gnocchi with his hands and a fresh sheet of pasta being cut up. I love fresh pasta. This ought to be good.

Tetta sits two places on my right and joins us for lunch as well. Tetta is a picture of happiness and health. She mentions how her whole take on food totally changed when she met Giorgio. With minimal makeup save for obligatory mascara and bronzer, Tetta has an elegant aura similar to Monica Belluci. As her husband stays in the kitchen cooking, she's usually in the dining area overseeing everything.

For appetizer, we were served I Crostini with Liver and Tuna Pate. For someone who's not much on pate, I had quite a serving of these. First the tuna, then I conceded with liver. I noticed that there's no fishy taste unlike some pates that I've tasted. While feasting on the crostini, I opened the menu. Most people find the menu confusing, since instead of the usual grouping of soup, salad, pasta, pizza, dessert, the food is divided into regions. Regions meaning regions in Italy to emphasize food being regional. This sets them apart from other restaurants. It's a little Italy 101 lesson for us. In the Tuscan region, for example, mushrooms and truffle oil were quite popular, hence there were a lot of them. The Le Linguine ai Funghi Con Olio di Tartufo (if I get it right, that's linguini with mushrooms in olive oil) was our dish for that region, which was rich and flavorful but didn't cause my stomach to turn in somersaults. Oh here, we were served using ribbon pasta.

Look! I get to try to shape ribbon pasta too!

Giorgio is from the Puglia region in Italy. The Puglia part caught my eye and tastebuds. With a lot of fish and tomatoes, I wanted something rich and robust in favor. Tetta explains that in their menu, there are no added sugars or preservatives. Tomato sauce and tomatoes are simmered for 2-3 hours to bring out the natural sweetness.

Giorgio personally serves us sampling sizes of Le Penne con Rucola e Acciughe, which is penne with anchovies, olives, and fresh tomato sauce. He relates that this is also the same way they serve it in his home. Right before serving, Giorgio mixes in fresh arugula, so when served, the arugula isn't crumpled and wilted. I personally like arugula and mixed with the rich flavor, I think I found another favorite in place of my Arrabiata.

The sauce appears to be just touching the pasta (which is fresh, by the way) and we don't have the ingredients swimming in red liquid. Presentation-wise this is something. And this has been consistent not just in the restaurant but also in the food court version.

I've confessed I've never tasted gnocchi in my whole life, but I'm always interested in them. Here's the gnocchi served to us - in creamy gorgonzola cheese sauce. What did I say? "Why did I only taste this now?" The gorgonzola cheese had just the taste that I wanted, a bit salty but not too salty. If there were seconds I would have had seconds.

We were served two kinds of risottos. First up was a meat-lover's delight, Il Risotto Pilota, which had Parmesan cheese and homemade Italian sausage.

The second was my favorite, Il Risotto al Pesto con Scampi. The shrimps were very fresh, and these were shrimps bought straight from the market that very day, so I get none of the annoying shell sticking on the meat. In fact, there are some of clients with sensitivity to day-old shrimps who could eat their scampi without any allergies.

Risotto is actually Italian rice quite different from the rice we know. Risotto has a certain bite. However, before making risotto at home, I found out that it's a dish that really takes time and effort. You can't leave it and you have to be hands-on with it. Risotto in their kitchen takes 20 minutes to prepare, but the wait is worth it. If you're not allergic to shrimp you must try the scampi. As I tell people, I die without shrimp and seafood. By the way, this is my first time to try risotto too. Risotto is actually a favorite of Giorgio's and Tetta's children.

Main course came up, which was Il Pollo Saltato al Balsamico con Basilico. The chicken breast was soft, moist, and melt-in-the mouth. The grilled vegetables were slightly tart due to the balsamic but I totally did not complain and was lucky to get a second serving. In fact, I was glad there was one. Again, these are fresh meat and vegetables marketed everyday and delivered to their kitchen.

To cap off our lunch, we were served one of La Piadina's bestselling desserts: Tiramisu, made from real marscapone cheese. It wasn't sweet and overpowering. The taste was mild and light, and cleansed the palate from all the rich flavors we tasted.

If you go back there and ask whatever happened to the old favorites? Well they still are there. There's still Pasta Arrabiata in the menu, and in fact I had it weeks before when I dined there when it opened. Other favorites still exist, like the Pasta Scampi and Pesto, but with different twists and upgrades.

This totally new concept of Piadina still maintains the quiet and intimate ambiance of the old Piadina we used to love. Here, Chef Giorgio communicates and introduces his country via the food he serves which he believes we would all love. In fact, having dined here for quite a while, I'm glad I not only got to taste my usual favorites but also new dishes that I only see in pictures.

La Piadina (La Cucina Regionale Italiana) is located at the second floor of Glorietta 4 in Makati. :) It's right across Jolibee and next to Dulcinea.

Iced Gems are my Happy Childhood Snack

2010-09-21T11:03:00.005+08:00

Remember these?

These little biscuits were every happy child's companion. My best Iced Gem memories (I called them "teased" gem back then, I don't know why maybe because I couldn't make out the words with the lettering , I didn't know how to pronounce "iced," or I was crazy.) were finding them in my Charlie Brown lunchbox during recess time or my mom buying them in bulk at the grocery. I was searching for Iced Gems since forever. They don't sell them in convenience stores and they're hardly in the groceries. SM doesn't even have it (please do please do please do!). I was lucky to find it in one grocery trip at Makati Supermart in Alabang and I grabbed not one but two bags. It was cornered in one section in fact, with only a few bags left.

I don't know about most of you, but I was one of them kids who would eat only the icing and leave the biscuits behind. I don't know what became of the biscuits after, but I'd behead mine during recess time and down it with my Hi-C orange or strawberry drink.

"I beheads you!" 8-}

Anyone know where else I could buy them? These are one of my missed kiddie snacks. These and a bag of Chickadees with the hop-and-pop.

Not Our Usual Makis At Red Kimono

2010-09-17T20:26:00.010+08:00

If you're tired of your usual maki formula of nori and sushi rice either inside out and rolled in fish roe or enveloping raw tuna or kani, then the event I attended last week was definitely maki in various conoctions. Red Kimono held a contest entitled "My Maki Masterpiece", a contest that marks Red Kimono's 5th birthday. This contest encouraged participants to create their very own maki. They had to think out-of-the-box for other ingredients that could make a maki truly unique. Prior to this event, the participants were required to submit a recipe, photo of the finished maki, and a title. Ten entries were pre-selected and these were the makis we tasted that night.

Food and drinks were overflowing that night as we all gathered to witness the event where these 10 finalists would showcase their Maki recipes. These were judged by six prominent personalities namely Tweetie De Leon-Gonzales, Ricky de Vera, DJ Rob Joseph, Carlos Celdran, Dr. Edgardo Rodriguez, and Ernie Lopez. Host Issa Litton multitasks as being a judge too that night.

Of course it wasn't just them who got a taste of these ten recipes. We also did. Check out some of the favorites:

This three-in-0ne maki stresses how breakfast is an important meal of the day. These three makis contain salted egg, tomatoes, and sardines in one big cluster. Even without soy sauce, these makis are quite flavorful.

This was the crowd favorite, having incorporated kani and aligue on the recipe. I wasn't able to have seconds of these as it got wiped out in an instant. It's very tasty, in fact, and although I'm not much of an aligue fan, I found this maki delicious.

Is that shrimp I see? well I gotta have this Kurtswheel pretty roll, I think!

There were still seven more flavors that kept coming in, most of them taking inspirations from Filipino dishes. I was glad that there were also vegan makiI found the vegan makis quite refreshing and I would recommend them to someone who wants to try maki but is allergic but could take nori.

While on a maki break, Arpee tells me to lay low on the sake. At least this picture got me cheekbones!

The winners of the challenge would have their recipes included in the Red Kimono menu. That too and also Php5,000 cash and Php5,000 gift certificates from Red Kimono. Among the five winners, the grand winner happened to be a dessert maki made of mangoes and sticky rice drizzled in chocolate syrup. It was quite unusual and original to have maki as a dessert. From those who tasted it, they said it reminded them of suman. Suman and chocolate do go together! Looks like I gotta try them soon, but I have to hurry since these are available for a limited time only.

A Very Scent-Sational Menu

2010-08-30T14:25:00.006+08:00

Today's a holiday you guys. It's no work for me though, since I guess most of my clients decided to be laid back today.

On the other hand, it was pretty and proper for me. Donning a (very) little black dress, slipping into leopard print wedges, and totting my usual humongous clutch which holds half of my life, I sped off to the Rigodon Ballroom of the Manila Peninsula Hotel for a very interesting event. Along with the members of the media, including some of the country's most influential bloggers, I was there to witness the launch of Downy's perfume series.

If you've seen the ads, the new Downy Perfume Series has an advanced, touch-activated Perfume Microcapsule technology, which places the blend of perfume oils within the Downy formula. These capsules slowly release more fragrance when rubbed or touched. So everything smells good even way after we get our clothes from the laundry.

For this blog however, it was interesting to note the menu, which included some of the ingredients of the perfumes in the Downy Perfume Series, of course not meaning pouring soap on the food.

Upon registration, I was welcomed with Rose wine. This I find most addicting, I think I had four of this during the entire duration. What's good too was that I didn't feel like I was seeing exponential numbers of everything around me, and I was able to answer questions without slurring.

As a refreshing non-alcoholic treat, we were given red iced tea, which was infused with apple.

For soup, we had Pumpkin soup with coconut cream and coriander.

Appetizer was Smoked citrus-scented Atlantic salmon with petit mesclun greens with orange mustard dressing. The salmon melted in my mouth and the orange provided a refreshing contrast with rich fish like smoked salmon.

The main course had Honey Glazed chicken breast. On the sides, we had vegetables which I think were infused in herbs plus Jasmine rice. I love jasmine rice. Screw the fact that my dress was skintight. The rice went straight to my tummy. It was a great compliment to the honey and ginger. I finished off the vegetables first, since I love veggies and I totally drowned my chicken with the sauce.

For dessert, we had chocolate fondant with berry compote and vanilla ice cream. Vanilla ice cream or any ice cream for that matter is an uh-oh to me, you all know that, but it went absolutely well with the chocolate, which I finished up to the last crumb. The berry compte provided a tart contrast to the sweetness and richness of chocolate and ice cream, two of everyone's favorite comfort foods. We all know from my previous post how chunks of fruit could be annoying to puréed things. The cute little scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream rests on a sweet peanut brittle cup, by the way.

So how do these ingredients relate to the all-new Downy Perfume series?

Here we go. Let's start off with a little discussion on the red variant, which is Passion.

Passion was described as "sweet and vibrant". Passion incorporates what we would call sugar, spice, and all things nice - French pastries, flowers, and fruits. Hence we've got apple, raspberry, and vanilla, which were exhibited in our dessert and drink. Apple blossom, freesia, and vanilla make it to the top and middle notes, and fresh mulberry and cedarwood are in our bottom notes. Remember how the scent of apple pie reminds us of home? Or how chocolate would make us feel good after a bad day? Same idea.

The purple bottle, Attraction had a very fresh and alluring floral fragrance. Attraction is inspired by nature hence we've got the bouquet of different flower notes like jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose, and iris. It sort of fades to a soft musk, tube rose, and wood fragrances for the bottom notes, for a floral and oriental blend of fragrances. Among the two, it was Attraction that my friends like, since the scent is fresher than the warmer one of Passion. In our menu, we got the Jasmine in our rice and Rose in our wine as representatives of this fragrance. Jasmine and rose are interesting variants to food. Rose ice cream and pastries have this distinct exotically interesting taste, sort of something intriguing that you can't put your finger which it is. Jasmine rice is usually my choice in Thai restaurants, giving an interesting twist to a plate staple, South Beach diet begone.

Quite interesting, really, how they incorporated fragrance components to food, and vice-versa. I', sniffing my passion-scented red shawl right now, and I do smell a hint of apple. As I type this, I'm craving for warm apple crumble with a scoop of nonfat vanilla ice cream

A Road Trip To Success with Chowking

2010-08-30T07:38:00.015+08:00

Usually events sorta require us to dress up and look good. However, an invitation from Chowking advised us to wear comfortable clothing and discouraged us to wear expensive watches and jewelry. Interesting. So last Thursday morning, in a black tank top, jeans, and my trusty sneakers, I met up with some of my friends and we boarded a shuttle to take us to a Chowking branch in Sunshine Boulevard in Quezon City where we were given survival kits after we registered.
The survival kit contained a towel, antibacterial hand wipes, a bottle of water, a poncho, umbrella, paper, pen, and antibacterial hand gel. I was intrigued as to what we would be doing in a few minutes. Would we be doing an obstactle relay? Scavenger hunt? And where would we be going? I was assured though that it was perfectly okay to bring cameras and in fact, we were encouraged to do so so we could capture this event.

At the function room, we were finally briefed as to what's going to happen. First, we were told that Chowking would be undergoing major revamping, like the new logo and an addition to their menu. Also, we were shown who the five new brand ambassadors of Chowking are. And this is where we found out what this is going to be. Chowking takes us to their humble beginnings, as to where it all started. Apparently, these five ambassadors have something in common - they had very humble beginnings before their own success stories.

When we boarded the bus, we journeyed somewhat southbound then the bus stopped at a gas station. Then, someone familiar came aboard.That's Jericho Rosales (eeee!!!!!!!) on board the same bus as we are. Behind him are some of the members of the security team that was hired to ensure our safety. Who doesn't know Jericho Rosales right? With his endorsements, movies, and TV shows? But who really was Jericho before he was the leading man of primetime TV? He told us that we were going to where he was before. He started out as a fish vendor in Farmer's Market in Cubao. Yep, you got it right. He helped his mom sell fish in the market plus he took on several odd jobs before joining Mr. Pogi in Eat Bulaga, which was the start of his career.

And here we are in Farmer's Market in Cubao, with dozens of fans screaming at Echo as he shares, now to everyone that this in fact, used to be where he worked. His former office, he would say.

After this, he lets us on a treat. We go right in the heart of Farmer's Market where he demonstrates what he used to do then - cleaning fish.
He shows everyone how it's done.... from removing the scales up to the entrails. Everything he does without fidgeting, and without gloves. Just like how he used to do before. Sanay na sanay, and I see no sign of him being grossed out or anything. It was quite amazing that when some celebrities make a 180-degree change with their personalities as soon as they hit the level of success, we have a person like Jericho Rosales who still remains down-to-earth as he is. I've heard that he never forgets the people he gets to talk to. He's the type of guy too who would pose for a photo-op when a fan approaches him at the mall.

After that, we were journeyed again this time to a center for children. Before that, we had a private audience with the second Chowking ambassador, CNN Hero Of The Year, Efren Penaflorida, Jr or Kuya Ef to his students.

Efren was born and raised in the slums. His father was a tricycle driver and his mom a housewife. Despite the lack of funds, he still strived and completed both elementary and high school through scholarships.

Efren shared his knowledge too with streetchildren. He created a "pushcart classroom" where he would teach the streetchildren during his spare time and his materials were actually in a pushcart. That he does while receiving two college degrees with take note - the highest honors. Anyway, he took us to one of his centers but before that... there were these pushcart classrooms set up, which we pushed towards the center where some of his students await.

Efren finally introduces us to some of the volunteers who also teach the kids during their spare time and the kids themselves who welcomed their Kuya Ef. The kids sang and danced with the media before we all distributed the school supplies, which were gifts to them.

We left for the next and final stop, and also we had an audience with the third Chowking ambassador, Kim Chiu.

Kim tells us her experience at the PBB (Pinoy Big Brother) house, and she jokingly tells us that she wanted to be seen on TV and so she tried out for PBB and up to now, she still sees herself on TV. The cute chinita girl back in PBB then has now become a celebrity. However, before PBB Kim was just a shy girl living a very simple and modest life. PBB was the turning point in her life. After winning, we all know the rest is history. Kim is in billboards, print ads, magazine covers, commercials, tv shows, and the big screen.

We arrived at Plaza Ibarra where Kim joins her onscreen partner and former PBB housemate Gerald Anderson where they give us a little taste of what it's like to be in the PBB house and gave us a challenge... to finish an entire box of Chowking chicharap as a group. It was quite a challenge though, since there were a whole lot of it in the bag. Yet I still had the same appetite during lunchtime when we were served Chowking's Tender Beef Broccoli Lauriat, the newest addition to the menu:
I guess beef with broccoli is one of the most iconic Chinese dishes there is and travel all over the world, you see this as a staple in every Chinese restaurant menu. The lauriat here actually costs Php 125 if you buy it and it comes with pancit canton, chicharap, fried dumpling, buchi, plain rice, and drink. You could also order it a la carte (Php 99 with drink). Despite the fact that I devoured an entire box of chicharap a few hours before, I was able to finish this too.After that, we were joined by all four Chowking ambassadors - Jericho Rosales, Efren Penaflorida Jr., Kim Chiu, and Gerald Anderson as they shared more of their experiences on the road to success. The fifth ambassador, Bea Alonzo, who started out as a beauty pageant contestant before becoming one of the finest actresses today wasn't able to make it due to her jampacked schedule but she left a message for everyone.

The event ended at around 3 pm when we all headed home. I was pretty tired from the journey so I decided to go straight home after the shuttle dropped us off. Guess nothing is impossible. We'll never know when the fish vendor in the market would soon become leading man.

Strawberry Ginger Jam: Sugar and Spice, Very Nice.

2010-08-23T15:48:00.003+08:00

After my shoot yesterday with my Buhay Baboy friends Ram and Jho, Jho and TJ dropped Ram and I off at Eastwood Mall. Ram went to cab it to Valle Verde since he'll be attending a party there when I decided to stay over at Eastwood Mall. Last I was here was after doing makeup for Legally Blonde and I like this mall since it's such a pet-friendly mall. I spotted a really cute chowchow puppy and a million shih tzus bobbing their way. I didn't know that every weekend, there would be this little food fair at the second floor. I browsed a bit to see if there's anything that caught my interest and I re-discovered this stall that sells homemade jam. I didn't know the name of the brand but I've tasted some flavors at the Ultimate Taste Test a few months ago. I did remember getting a leaflet, which I somehow misplaced. Anyway, going back to present time, I saw the stall and recognized the jars which look like the old-fashioned jams I see in vintage postcards. Stuff that remind me of checkered aprons, country homes, Ann of Green Gables series... you get the idea.

The name of the stall was Green Babes In The City and they distribute the jams I was looking for. They also sell cheese, sardines, bottled laing, and veggie chips They also have organically grown green produce like dressed whole chicken, eggs, and meat. Nothing like the home-cured and homegrown foods from gramma's backyard eh?

I found out the name brand - The Fruit Garden - and these are homemade jams were made the old-fashioned way with real fruit and real ingredients. - nothing fake or imitation . Old-fashioned way meaning, sugaring and boiling and all that. They use an original French homemade recipe, those that have been passed on from generation to generation. Again, it's like gramma making fresh jam for you and spreading it on your toast.

A bestseller was the Strawberry Ginger.. It won me over since at first it had that sweet-tart strawberry flavor then a kick of spicy ginger taste. She also made me try other concoctions. I decided to go with her personal favorite though and bought a bottle for the house.

This bottle costs Php 140 for one. It's great for Christmas giveaways but I guess I'll be stocking this up at the ref a lot, among 2 other flavors I find interesting - strawberry mint and mango lavander. The mango lavander had a really well, cute flavor. It feels like a spa in my mouth and I love this with biscuits and earl grey tea.

Normally, I'm not a bread person. I prefer rice over bread anytime, but I could make quite an exception with this as the spread. Aside from the fact that it's all-natural and cooked the very traditional way, spread it on bread and look at the consistency:

Fruit is pureed and it's just jam. Commercial jams actually have these strawberry chunks that I find annoying since it ruins the momentum I have when I spread it on bread. This one just glides right there. Okay, it may not be like 100% smooth due to the presence of some fruit fibers, but it doesn't have like that glob of fruit making the consistency chunky instead of fluid. This is the type of jam I'd have over ice cream, cereal, yogurt, or just dip my finger or spoon in. Since it's preservative-free, it only lasts for like a few weeks or so, but I don't think they'll last that long on me.

In fact, normally I'd get bored with bread but I had four slices of bread with milk tea for breakfast. You know what's great? Strawberry ginger jam tasted great with Conti's chicken empanada too. The ginger part blended well with the chicken fillings.

So what's my opinion on the other flavors? The strawberry mint was interestingly mellow. The mint came from chopped mint herbs so you get a sweet and tart but refreshing flavor instead of something that tastes like strawberry juice mixed in mouthwash. Mango choco and mango vanilla would be for those with a sweet tooth and for those who would want to reminisce a fun night by the beach they have something for you: Pineapple coco rhum.

Do I have to go all the way to Eastwood for this? They have several locations as it appears on their website and they're even available at the airport. You could also order from Green Babes in the City (greenbabesinthecity@gmail.com) or at the website. The Fruit Garden jams have various distributors all over Metro Manila when I saw the locations and they also have in Cebu. I was able to pinpoint a few locations down south for this as well as in Makati.

Okay... now I feel like doing a Joey Tribbiani now attacking a bottle of jam with a spoon. :P

Chicken-All-You Can Burpday with Max's (and new dishes too!)

2010-08-23T15:09:00.004+08:00

Max's chicken has been iconic for almost all of us and I have yet to see someone who has not attended a birthday, baptism, wedding, and/or function in Max's. Their fried chicken paired with Jufran banana ketchup is treat to anyone and the meat is tender we have to keep coming back for more. Max's invited a few bloggers last week to celebrate with them as a way of saying "Thank You" for years of patronage. For that night, they resurrected the recently-concluded "Chicken All You Can" only for us. Yay! And who wouldn't resist to the limitless Max's fried Chicken?

I like Max's fried chicken fresh and juicy and piping hot as it arrives at my table.

The perfect companion to bottomless chicken is none other than banana ketchup. Would you believe that I finished 1/4 of the bottle for my first piece?

Yeoh first experienced Chicken-All-You-Can in his hometown in Naga. Rice would be our perfect companion to neutralize and desaturate our chicken. In moderate amounts of course.

After we stuffed ourselves with chicken, this is what's left of the pieces. They're not called sarap to the bones for no reason. Combined, we do not reveal how much Max's chicken we had.

Aside from treating the bloggers to Chicken All You Can, Max's also introduced to us two of their new dishes. First up is binagoongang baboy with manggang hilaw shreds on top. It wasn't too salty and I like the contrast the manggang hilaw gives. In fact, I'm glad there's manggang hilaw in the first place. What's bagoong without that, come on? The thought of manggang hilaw and bagoong makes me want to get the nearest green mango.

Another dish is their chicken caldereta. Caldereta got me smiling from ear-to-ear. I can't cook the dish from scratch but I love it and I would go to anyone who could cook a mean spicy pot of it and thank that person for lifting the sunshine notch a good ten miles. This caldereta is no exception and with Max's chicken, I had to keep lunging for this and Yeoh had to stop me.

Group photo-op, as you could see, all the bloggers are happy, full, and content.

It was a happy birthday for Max's Restaurant and with the banana ketchup bottle almost empty (I prefer soaking my chicken in ketchup and chili), I left with a happy smile too. (Note to self: Vegan for two days) . Thanks Max's for celebrating your birthday with us.

Me and My Big, Fat BoNa Muffin

2010-08-16T11:43:00.003+08:00

It's my day off. I have no shoot or work and it's a weekend. Whoopeee! So one Saturday, I was just at BoNa Westgate after a low-salt lunch at Teriyaki Boy at South Supermart. Okay, this wasn't such a dead day since I had to go to St. James the Great to fix some papers as well. On days like these, I just like to relax.. no makeup and no glam. So out comes the big t-shirt, jeans, and flip-flops. Usually, I'm seen all girled out but nothing beats a day when I just don't want to worry or care about how I look and just enjoy a day where I'm not working instead of bawling that I have nothing to do.

I really missed BoNa, practically since I'm at Makati or QC most of the time and the only BoNa branch there is is so out-of-the-way (Westgate). Tin and I like the old one at BF where we meet before heading off to shoot since it's quieter, smaller, and easier to reach if you're not driving. Tin told me they have a new site already in the BF area still. I sure hope so.

After ginger tea, I wanted their freshly-baked pastries. The girl in the counter told me to wait for the chocolate-banana muffins which are currently being baked. Once they were done, I ordered one.They smell good. :) Freshly-baked muffins get me high and crazy.That's a big muffin. :) A big, big muffin. Took me an entire afternoon to eat it because unlike commercially-produced muffins, this one's big, heavy, and full of real ingredients. :D

Early Morning Affordable Breakfast at Rodic's

2010-08-07T13:41:00.007+08:00

I had an early-bird client today at QC and since I was in the QC area anyway, decided to stop by the main campus of my alma matter. While my client and I were talking, she was like "Omigod, you're going to Rodic's!" It's still quite famous apparently for their tapsilog, a popular spot among students and faculty and apparently (in our case) UP alumni.

Rodic's is a tiny snack bar tucked in at the U.P. Shopping Center in Diliman along with the bookstores and photocopy centers. Do not expect a fancy setting like your neighborhood fastfood. It's just plastic monoblock chairs, fans for ventilation, and a little narrow staircase to the second floor. It was a morning crowd for early-bird students who needed to get some photocopies done, parents buying sandwiches for their kids (it was UPCAT time when we went there), and a few joggers.

Yes, dears Rodic's setting is canteen-style, alive and kicking since 1949. Everything's clean, of course, which I like. The simple atmosphere could just make me go there in my field work uniform of shorts, big t-shirt and tsinelas with messy pony bun and glasses.

A tapsilog meal costs only Php70.00. As soon as I placed my order, the food was ready to serve even before we took our seats.

One bandehado-full of real rice, real meat, and fried egg right in front of me. Unlike some tapsilogs where there's more litid than meat, we have soft, sweet, flaky meat just like corned beef. It was really cool mixed with the rice and it even tastes better when you mix in the vinegar and onions. I had wolfed this down in minutes down to the last rice grain and meat bit.

That's my plate after breakfast. Imagine, what I would usually spend for one meal for breakfast I get for two (drinks included, no house water here) at Rodic's. It was a busy morning for Rodic's though, considering there were students too and parents coming in as they waited for their kids taking the UPCAT, but the service was amazingly fast. The meat was sweet and soft, not something I'd have to wrestle with just to get to bite-sized pieces.

Will I go here again? If it were not so darn far I would. But yes, If ever I'm in the QC area again during this hour I'd go for Rodic's tapsilog anytime.

Shrimp+Garlic+Hungarian Sausage = Greenwich Stuffs Me Again

2010-07-30T00:13:00.004+08:00

Before I hit the sack, let me share to you what I had for dinner with the boys. For my food blog, pictures would best describe everything.

Okay, obviously I didn't devour the whole thing. If you've seen the latest commercial, that's Greenwich's newest concoction, the garlic and shrimp pizza. What I have here is the thick crust version, but as you could see below, they also have a thin crust version.
I'll choose shrimp at the drop of the hat when given a choice. Although I'm not much of a heavy pizza eater now unlike back then but shrimp is my weakness and yes, I have to have this.
I had five slices of pizza today. With that much shrimp on your pizza, who wouldn't resist? Don't you love it that they're not stingy on grilled shrimp that when you slice the pizza, shrimp just falls off the slice? Yay also to the green bell pepper slice to neutralize the rich taste of cheese, garlic, and shrimp.

For those who are carnivores by choice or due to seafood allergies, the Hungarian Sausage and Bacon Overload would be a better choice. Here's a picture of the thin crust version:

Bacon, Hungarian sausage, barbecue sauce, cheese, nuff said. Meat lovers would prefer the richer flavor on this one. This is best served with hot sauce.

Definitely burp burp burp during dinner. I find the shrimp and garlic pizza the more addicting one. I would prefer it in the thin crust variety though so I could enjoy it more as a thicker crust could fill my tummy up quicker. When I'm with my carnivorous friends, I would go for the Hungarian Sausage and Bacon pizza to share with them but I'll be having my pasta aglio olio on the side. :)

Revisiting Dad's Ultimate Buffet

2010-07-25T09:08:00.006+08:00

If you're a kid of the 90's we'd always remember that every graduation dinner would be celebrated at DAD'S. Back then, people would line up at the sushi bar, have their pastas custom made, or line up for turkey with cranberry sauce or steak.

It's been more than a decade since my grade school graduation and now I've decided to visit the Makati branch and give it a go.For Php645.00 you do not only get to the Dad's Buffet but also the Kamayan and Saisaki Buffet. Anyway, so my first stop was the Dad's Buffet where my servings were devoured first before I got to take a picture of it. I had the Dad's Paella, which didn't disappoint me with the seafood servings, and lots of vegetables as usual. The buttered vegetables have always been my favorite so I got quite a large portion of that. I noticed also that they've added tomato and mozzarella at their bar. Meat was not scrimped so I asked for the steak and piled up on pepper sauce. The pepper sauce overflowed to the buttered veggies section on my plate, but they tasted well together.

Halfway through munching on my nachos, the waiter asked for our drinks. And you know what? Each drink you order happens to come with a cute little critter like this:That's an upgrade from the Triple V balloons back then. And yes, I gotta take this little doggy home. Dad's also has their merienda buffet for Php 149.00, available from 3 to 5 pm, which are perfect for late lunchbreaks. The stuffed creatures don't come with the drinks at that time though.

Anyway, after my trip to Dad's it was time for the Japanese corner. Of course, with me and Japanese food, the first thing I look for is the sushi bar. And into my plate went the melt-in-the-mouth salmon sashimi, kani sushi, tuna sashimi, and sashimi that I never had in my neighborhood sushi place. Then, I hopped over the tempura section and got myself my prawns and kani tempura. The salmon sashimi practically melted in my mouth so I had to go back for it. Saisaki though was the first resto that made me love sashimi and sushi, and I did know for a fact that they were raw fish.

This is the view from my seat. The Kamayan or Filipino section, and that's a halo-halo bar I'm staring at, beckoning me that there was still a third section.

I had to choose the thick corned beef sinigang as my soup, which tasted like it was made from real tamarind instead of the powdered kind. The chunks of corned beef were present for the carnivores too, and I'm talking big chunks of beef.Staples in my plate in the Filipino section is kare-kare, seafood, and bagoong rice. Why the small portions? I'll tell you so later.
When dessert came, I immediately went for my favorites:Cream puff, leche flan, gelatin, and sapin-sapin. That's one piece of puto bumbong in the lower left, that they cook right on the spot with those smoking pipes thing that they do every Christmas. Not shown again is the gelatin and pinipig concoction I created from the halo-halo bar.

For buffets though, my tips to really enjoy the experience is to go for small portions first, so you get to experience everything without going overboard. That explains why my plates aren't filled. Since this is a no-leftover buffet, I went for small portions of what I like, hence seafood and vegetables. If there's something that I like, then I go back to it. Another tip I share is that I skip rice. Rice tends to fill me up more and since I could have rice anytime, I'd rather make room for those that I can't have everyday like the steak or sashimi. For specialty rice like paella or bagoong rice though, I still go for small portions, albeit a spoonfull or less. My philosophy though in experiencing buffets is rather than going for quantity of portion, I'd rather go for variety, so I get to taste more. Normally too with buffets, I go for just water since the sugars in drinks like soda and iced tea tend to fill up my stomach more.

Php645 isn't actually bad for the buffet. It's for those who are on a budget who want to treat out their friends visiting from other countries. It's smaller compared to buffets I see in hotels, but it's good enough. I still like that it had its family-friendly vibe over the years and it gives children the chance to explore food aside from cheeseburger and fries.

Sweet and Soft Treat: Bizu Chocolate Souffle

2010-07-16T10:04:00.005+08:00

With a dessert as good as this, it's okay to be sinful once in a while. Bizu's Chocolate Souffle was a melt-in-the mouth treat I instantly fell in love with, never mind if it came with ice cream, which the lactose intolerant in me should avoid:The souffle cake is actually on the right. The one on the left is dark chocolate syrup which you pour (drool) on the cake before eating it with vanilla ice cream (center). A souffle is actually a light and fluffy baked cake made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites. It's quite difficult to make since it entails careful monitoring of temperature so the cake doesn't sink and it maintains its fluffy consistency. They usually are baked in ramekins, which is the technical term for those grooved white porcelein containers.

The container may be quite small, around 2 inches or so in diameter but the richness and flavor makes it a suitable dessert to share for four hungry sweet-toothed girls. The hot chocolate sauce isn't too sweet for me to have a headache after and it blended quite well with the sweetness of the cake and ice cream.
I just love how the sides puff up when I pour the chocolate and the syrup just sinks in to the cake making it moist. Oooooh.... guilty pleasure indeed!

Tipco 100% Juices Are Healthy Veggies In A Glass

2010-07-02T20:23:00.006+08:00

Vegetables are food I've never had problems with developing a certain liking in them at an early age. I said that the only thing that could stop me from going vegan is a plate of sashimi or grilled seafood. On the other hand, I'm quite picky with fruits. I've been traumatized with prunes and papaya back then, next to beans. Don't ask. Won't tell.

My first experience with veggie juices was really from scratch, straight from the juicer. It was interesting for me yet quite tiresome. Juicing was a chore per se and the effort of cleaning was indeed a lot.

My best friend has then been juice straight from the bottle or pack, which although tasted good, had a bit of chemical tweaking as a preservative.

When I got the invitation to the launch of TIPCO JUICES, I was interested to try another healthy drink. Apparently, this brand has been around for quite some time and now they're launching a few new cool flavors.

When I got there, the first I tried was purple carrot. Why? Because it looked like a fun veggie and I didn't know that purple carrots existed. Apparently, they have fivw times more health benefits than the conventional orange carrots.

The deep color reminded me of an opaque wine. Taste was refreshing and fruity and not too tart.

After that, I wanted to try the blend of veggie juices. I was thinking pureed salad but the taste was just as good. The color didn't scare me as a deep green thick juice but it was orange. It was refreshing as well and it didn't gag me. If you know someone who wants to add veggies to their diet but have veggie trauma, this ought to do.

Speaking of green juices, I was intrigued at their bestseller, which happened to be broccoli juice. Yes, you read that right - BROCCOLI. A veggie currently seen mixed with mushrooms and beef in oyster sauce, would you believe it's now a juice? And the bestseller apparently. Interesting.
See? I told you I'm not kidding you. Broccoli juice does exist. Apparently, this also was sweet and the taste reminded me of fruit roll-ups. I asked what the fiber bits were on the juice. It was actually vegetable fiber. So nothing artificial here.

Tipco 100% Juice is all-natural with no added chemicals, preservatives, sugar, or colorings. That's why we were advised to consume it 3 days after opening and to keep the tetra pack chilled in the ref. They're currently #1 in Thailand and are now available in the Philippines in leading supermarkets.

So I was wondering, how come the veggie juices don't taste like vegetable in liquid form? The thing was, they also blend it with fruit juices (which are also healthy by the way, any one with aversion to certain fruits could take this too). In this case, the broccoli juice has tomato, grape, kiwi, apple, orange, pineapple, and green tea powder incorporated in it.

I also found out that children and toddlers could also take in this too, but not the aloe vera variety. I think it's a good way to introduce children to have the healthy habit of including fruits and vegetables in their diet.

Aside from the delicious and refreshing juices, here's also what we were offered:

Healthy lunch courtesy of Icings restaurant (I ate the zucchini. oops!)

I was addicted to munching on these Mornflakes, a healthier alternative to sugar-ladden cereal. It's normally eaten with milk (soy in my case) but munching on it dry is addicting too. I'll probably pack on some of these since I'm out to go to work later.

The taste was like apple pie.

Tipco 100% Juices are available in all leading groceries and are available in 22 different variants. They come in 1 liter and 200-mL packs.

A Mighty Meal That's (Not Just) For The Man Of The House

2010-06-18T16:28:00.007+08:00

A slab of thick, juicy, steak is always alluded to guys. Somewhat, steak seem to be a guy thing. It was my late grandfather who introduced me to steak telling me it's best eaten medium rare, or rare, rather than cooked well-done. When we used to have our Sunday lunch, I would order the same thing as he does, and try to finish it without a morsel left. He prefers it medium rare. I would try the same, trying it medium-well at first and then medium, which is how I still like it up to this day.

I tried turning vegan and sorta suceeded a few years back, only to turn to meat-eating due to practicality (They do not serve veggie burgers in fastfoods here in the Philippines) plus my love for sashimi and seafood and Don Galo tapsilog. Health consciousness plus a family history of hypertension and high blood pressure and personal preference has made me avoid meat when I can. I found this quite easy since it's hard to find a decent steak anywhere, I can't cook meat, and the only person I know who cooks steak really well prefers is well-done.

This time, I break the rule a bit, thanks to Arpee who dragged me along to Melo's and told me that this I have to go or I would miss half of my life. As Melo's Steakhouse has been famous to serve certified Angus Beef and has steak that would make me forget my name, I complied. And so I did, forgetting cough and colds. Fortunately, my taste buds started coming back and my sense of taste has not numbed. Going to Makati from my place has been horrid due to the traffic but for a good slab of steak, telling myself that it's my birthday I could eat what I want. I met up with Eric first at Starbucks where we proceded to Melo's Jupiter.

As the event started, we were served chicken liver pate as an appetizer. The guys went around and asked us how we wanted our steak done. Despite Arpee telling me to go for medium rare, as he would tell me to, I went for my classic preferred medium and asked him that I would just try from his medium rare. We were shown a powerpoint presentation on the various grades of steak, the best forms of steak, and even the kinds of steak. Practically, it was steak 101 and a short history of Melo's. It was that I found how the famous Wagyu beef came about with the cows being pampered and humanely treated (*whew!* no torture here). We were shown the mouth-watering steak dishes from the humongous slab of porterhouse steak to the thin strip of sirloin steak (all Wagyu, nonetheless) and also, we were served the star of the event:

This I present to you, is Steak ala Dad.

This is the latest creation of Melo's cooked up just for the special men in our lives - all the dads in the world. Yet you don't need to be a dad to actually love it (I loved it and I'm a girl!). Imagine this -- Melo's signature Wagyu Tenderloin (zoiiiiing!) wrapped in bacon (double zoiiiing!!!!) seasoned with Al Funghi Porcini Sauce on a bed of tasty mashed potatoes and vegetables that are crisp and not soggy.

I tried the steak first with the bacon. The steak practically melted in my mouth. It was chewy and I was able to swallow it without choking myself. It was easy to slice and even without bacon, the steak itself was flavorful. When I tried the medium rare, I was quite satisfied that it was still warm on all areas and it didn't have any "fresh blood" taste. I told Arpee the reason why I avoided medium rare was that I did try medium rare before from a certain restaurant yet I wasn't happy with it because it had that distinct "fresh blood" taste and it was cold on the inside. Definitely this one I tried that night was really good steak.

Aside from our very own Steak Ala Dad, we were also served slices of steak that were presented to us. I found the rib eye the most flavorful of all. The striploin won me over, having the slice and leanness that I wanted. As a refreshing treat, four of Melo's signature cakes were served.

The mango cake was light and refreshing and provided perfect balance to the heartiness of the steaks.

Not that I'm giving up my love for greens. I did end up munching on the vegetable sidings from time to time, but of course, I would enjoy a treat like this once in a while. The Steak Ala Dad is a perfect father's day gift for the man of the house, but give yourself a chance to enjoy it too once in a while, since I also did. I might try going medium rare just like my grandfather did then.

My Burp-Day Lunch at CPK In Pictures

2010-06-17T15:05:00.009+08:00

I chose CPK as my burp-day birthday lunch treat since I've always loved CPK. It was a late lunch that day so would you believe we wolfed it down all, nothing left save for 2 slices to take home.

For starters, I chose the Asian Chicken Salad. The personal size is already good for two people, and I love the healthy combination of greens, fried wonton noodles, carrots, and grilled chicken. The sesame dressing adds zing and zest too. On its own, it makes a light and healthy lunch on a summer day. And it has no beans. You know me with legumes.

The Tomato Basil Pasta is always a classic that I love. Not too stingy and sour and I could finish a personal size in one sitting had I not had the Pizza.

And speaking of pizza, CPK Pizza is one of my favorite non-bloating pizzas. They have creative flavors like the BBQ Chicken, a family favorite. However, here's my recent discovery: have you tried the Buffalo Chicken Pizza?

I had a cold at that time yet I could still taste the spicy hot sauce. The ranch dressing you drizzle on the pizza tames down the spicy-ness. I love veggies so the carrots and celery slices add plus points to this. When I first tasted this, I thought it was a bit spicy. Yet it was addicting, so I kept ordering this. Since it's way spicy, I suggest to share this with friends or with someone who loves spicy foods. Also, constantly request for house water. This is a hot dish. Seriously. Hot but really good.

The CPK crew also was very prompt, something that an impatient person like me loves. They know how to prepare the food. The salad was crisp and the pizza and pasta were hot. I love also how family friendly this place is. They have kiddie cups and coloring sets. They even could accomodate a family of 12, like ours, in all CPK branched we've been to.

Thank you CPK for being part of my birthday and other family-friendly special occasions!

Sharing Thesugarbug's BNP Picture

2010-06-13T10:03:00.003+08:00

Of course my lil food blog would have to be included in Blognapinoy. For those who still do not know about Blognapinoy, it's a site Mike put up that's a directory of the most influential Filipino bloggers. However, instead of the usual name of the blog, URL, and description, it showcases the pictures of the bloggers with a link to their site. There's no ranking for Blognapinoy so that everyone would be equal here.

I've been shot already for my beauty blog but I wouldn't pass up the time for my food blog not to be included in the directory. I arrived early at Mike's place, and practically shocked the living daylights out of him that I arrived way earlier than 10. I went there with skin prepped and evened out so basically all I had to do was slap on the color and contours and sculpture my hair.

So I thought of a new concept for Thesugarbug ergo it took a lag for me to shoot for my food blog. For my makeup blog, I thought of going glamorous and Hollywood-like - the big wavy hair, black dress (which coincidentally is a makeup artist must) and my makeup would be my trademark red lipand cat eye a-la screen icon. For my food blog however, I wanted it fun, quirky, cute, yet still having a touch of my love for classic.

I thought at first pink, and going Vargas girl. Obviously, I had to keep it wholesome for the site so I had to tuck away the pink corset and hot pants. So in place, I got out from my closet a cute KSP-pink dress with a bubble skirt and a bow on the back.

The logo for my blog had a ladybug with cookies around her so I thought to place both elements in my picture... a little ladybug stuffed doll and homemade baked cookies. I styled my hair thanks to a tutorial I found in YouTube for the pinup girl look and substituted hot pink lips for classic red.

My Healthy Breakfast

2010-05-31T10:33:00.001+08:00

Sharing my breakfast for the day:

Had granola with low-fat milk and milk tea. Low-fat because low-fat is easier on my stomach. Actually, I know it tastes better with soy or yogurt but I arrived late that night so there was no time to shop. It was a quick pick-me-upper and energizer since I had work that day plus the fiber totally cleansed my system.

Healthier than my sugar-loaded cereal without sacrificing taste, I think I better scout more of these babies in the grocery. The dried goji berry bits, almonds, and powdered cinnamon-sugar mix helped too.

Up Close on The Greenwich American Idol Pizza

2010-05-15T15:45:00.003+08:00

Every summer, we'd all be glued to the TV to witness American Idol. I love music (I play the piano and I sing) so seeing these hopefuls vie for the top position is entertaining. Their renditions of various songs are also something that I find creative. It's definitely one of my favorite shows that still makes me watch TV from time to time. And yep, it's not just me who loves AI. A lot still watch it. I was able to catch snippets though of this season, although work prevented it from me following it religiously.

Just in time for American Idol, Greenwich launched their LE American Idol Pizza, which contains American favorites like shoestring potato strips and burger bits.

The thing I like about Greenwich pizza is that they never, ever scrimp on fillings. I mean look at all that filling and that floor of melted cheese! The dough is also something. It's thicker than the usual thin crust. However, unlike the thick heavy pizzas that cause me to bloat after 1-1/2 slices, this one had my tummy in check still. I'm full but not overly stuffed.

Hmmm... maybe I know my next snack when I'm watching Idol next week.

When Siopaos Get An Upgrade

2010-05-06T14:23:00.005+08:00

While at a shoot, I was introduced to Gourmet Pao, which gives me a better outlook on siopao. Before I was used to siopao being bola-bola or asado and most of the time, they dissapoint me when all I get are like an ounce of fillings.

Yep, these are actually siopao, but instead of the usual fillings, we get fillings like sisig, corned beef, ham and cheese, and tuna. At first, I was apprehensive to try because I'm not really a siopao fan, yet after I tried one, I had a second one on my way home.

Model Mikaela Lagdameo-Martinez is the woman behind this novelty snack, and since she was present during the shoot, I actually got to talk to her and ask about the business and the products. She's happy that the business is doing really well. There's currently a stall in Alabang Town Center (near Yellow Cab) and she plans to open another one soon. Gourmet Pao also delivers too, for an extra charge of course. And whaddya know? She even said sometimes she delivers them herself. "And it works!" she says.

The flavors have creative names such as Dancing Queen (cheese, ham, egg, and bacon), Sosy-Sig (pork sisig and egg), and Maxi-Moo (corned beef and egg). "Moo because of cow, " Mika says with a giggle. The fun names are quite catchy. How do you determine which is which? The little colorful dots would tell you so. The bestseller happens to be Pesto-Veggie, which is a hit among vegetarians as well.

Speaking of health, these varieties also come in wheat dough. Okay, before you get all apprehensive and icky with the wheat dough part, we were assured that it tastes as good as carbohydrate-ful white dough. When you close your eyes, you think you're eating white dough, but it's just brown. So none of the grainy, flaky, stuff we don't like with health food. The dough really is something. It's not tough and leathery. And nope, they didn't scrimp on the fillings. The size is huge, bigger than my palm, so it's definitely not something that cheats on you. I ate my siopao straight from the ref so it was kind of cold, but I was told it's better heated (Heat it in the steamer or rice cooker).

If interested to order Gourmet Pao, you can contact them at their email addresses: gourmetpao@yahoo.com or gourmetpao@gmail.com. You could also contact them at 211-1099 and 0917-5377726.

Krispy Kremes Encouraging Filipinos to DOugh Their Part

2010-05-06T12:08:00.002+08:00

With only days to go before the May 10 elections, everyone's all geared up with preparations and all. Krispy Kremes joins in the fun creating a mock ballot where voters get to choose their menu, election-style. I dashed off from work braving traffic and rain straight to KK at BHS and I was welcomed with a piece of paper and I was told to choose my own doughnuts and coffee. Since my camera was buried beneath my bag, I wasn't able to take a picture of it though. I was told to choose 12 doughnuts, and present it to the staff and I had a box of doughnuts ready for me. I think it's personally a fun way of giving us a little practice on how the new voting system now works, since it's pretty new.

See you on May 10!

Freshness To-Go

2010-04-25T02:46:00.003+08:00

Since I'm trying to eat healthier now, eliminating meat and incorporating fresh veggies (more, at least) in my diet my newest discovery after I did some grocery shopping at Rustan's is the Gourmet-To-Go section, which serves salads, sandwiches, and soup to go. So there's no more excuse for me to wolf down the can of potted meat for the next few days or so. What's not to love with DIY salad for Php 165 that's already good for two? What you do here is to pick a bowl of base greens, choose 5 condiments, and then dressing. Believe me, that's not good for 1. I was already full and I wasn't done yet with my serving.

For those who are lazy to mix, there are pre-made salads for you to choose.

The sandwiches look promising and good too. A bit pricey (One could go for like about Php 22o) though.

Since I'm not much of a sandwich girl, I skipped this for soup. Every week, they change their variety so we're not stuck on a food rut.

The Gourmet-To-Go section is available at Rustan's supermarkets. Do drop by for a fast, fresh, and healthy alternative.

Summer Snacks at a Pop

2010-04-18T22:46:00.004+08:00

If mermaids did exist, I probably was one in my past life. My swimming skills probably may not be Olympic-quality but once I see the sun and the sea and the sand, I plop on the sand and bake myself to NC45 level or set my feet on the cool sea water. The ocean and I seem to love each other. Should I blame it on my quest for golden skin? Or should I blame it on my Invertebrate Zoology professor who introduced me to the fossilized corals I used to give taxonomic rundowns to?

My appetite too seemed to dive to the sea. I absolutely love seafood and devour it like there's no tomorrow. Fond memories of summer by the sea would be eating fresh seafood that does not taste fake, preserved, or like it's been in the freezer for so long. A table full of cooked seafood (and the ocassional raw) spells heaven for me.Now if a world-famous chips brand were to have flavors that remind me of my summer staples, the result would be three new Pringles flavors that I'd definitely take on the next trip to the beach or pool. Take a look - seaweed, soft shell crab, and grilled shrimp. Can I spell vacation now? Honestly, I can't think of a favorite as they're all good in their own way and come in cute cans too. Or, if I'm just reminiscing of the ocean trip again, I'll just pop a can as I work on my cover.

Must-Try: Ming's Halo Halo

2010-04-02T15:30:00.004+08:00

En route home from Batangas, Mike, Nix, and EJ suggested to stop by this place for halo-halo. Although we were experiencing a bit of drizzle that time, it was still hot and we needed a bit of a cooler to lower the body temperature.

Along the highway to Tagaytay, this open-air restaurant is home to good halo-halo. It uses real carabao's milk so it's richer. To get here, from Sta. Rosa exit, just follow the road that leads to Tagaytay. Look for this sign. There you go.

Aside from carabao's milk and finely-shaven crushed ice (i.e. no tooth-crunching ice bits), this type of halo-halo contains all the goodies we find in halo-halo, minus the beans. Anyone with gout here? This halo-halo is for you. As for me, I've never been a fan of beans or garbanzos. I leave those out. I was lucky that this one is legume-free, so I was able to enjoy it, except for much of the milk part, since I'm lactose intolerant and full cream milk is one of the stuff that I avoid. I was able to consume finished the fillings down to the last piece. Good thing there was EJ to finish off the milk for me.

For less than 200 pesos, you get one serving. One tall glass is already good for 1 person, although some could opt to share, especially if you're not that hungry (but we were heheheh). Anyway, the catch though is this place closes early, especially on weekdays so best go here before 4 p.m., since according to Mike, the first time they went here they were a few minutes late from closing time.

Another must-try is the puto (I think it's around 28 pesos for 4 pieces) which they serve hot, in contrast with the halo-halo. Oh, and before leaving, this place is great for photo-ops as well, with the scenery.

Cheeseburger Straight From The Bottle

2010-03-30T08:23:00.002+08:00

That bottle above is what the kids at home look forward to having breakfast each day. Cheez Whiz brings back memories of packed snacks when I was a kid. I always thaw it a bit before spreading it on warm bread. And take note... one of the few things that make me eat bread.

The cheeseburger flavor looks fun, and it gives it a bit of oomph with meat bits that do not taste fake or synthetic. I'm actually thinking... what if I use this to make burger mac and cheese? hmmmmm.... Make sure the bread is really, really, really hot and make the spread melt into it. wait for the bread to cool before biting to it though.

It's great that it also comes in 5g packs, so we could take this with us too on our next outing. That's when we want cheeseburger in a snap (or in this case, in a bottle) without waiting for 30 minutes for delivery.

Bistro Ravioli: Affordable Fine Dining in Manila

2010-02-23T17:10:00.004+08:00

Just a few weeks ago, I had dinner with some of my friends at Bistro Ravioli (thanks Arpee for the invite!). I was with Nix since I promised to treat her to pizza and pasta after which, I hopped down to MoA for whaddya know, another pizza and pasta. I was thinking to skip the pizza and go to the ravioli instead. Since Arpee was gonna be there later, I was at MoA first before they did.

Since the mall was humongous, I needed to know how to get there and what route to take so the first stop I had was the concierge. Apparently, since the restaurant was pretty new, it wasn't in the map yet, so I looked for where Oris was, since that was the nearest store to the resto. I found it. It's located at the second floor of the main mall near Asian Eye Institute, on the right side of the mall. When I got there, I saw Kel already there, which means I'm not alone. Yay, (since I'm shy to dine alone in a nice restaurant).

Do not touch the chicken wings before me, do not touch them. If you don't want to get hurt.

When I got the menu, I of course, tried the specialty, the ravioli. I went for the Salmon Ravioli in Saffron Cream Sauce. I just told them to lessen the cream a bit. Why that choice? Well, it was seafood! I love the smoked flavor of the salmon. I also found that my plate was good for two but a person with a big appetite for seafood could wolf it down.

Kel loves his Spinach and Feta Cheese Ravioli in Pesto (cheese is good, right Kel?)

All ravioli dishes cost Php 190.00 . For the "normal" unstuffed pasta though, if you do not get hives or blow up like a balloon upon contact or ingestion with anything aquatic, you have to try the garlic seafood spaghetti, which won me down. By the way, before I forget, all pastas are fresh and hand-pulled, meaning they do not come from the pack or box but it's handmade the traditional Italian way.

Seafood I love you. I love you I love you I love you. Mix you with garlic and pasta and I'm in heaven. Being affordable at Php160.00 I will dine here tomorrow alone. :P

Pizza is also oven-baked in a brick oven. Cheese lovers would love the Quatro Formaggio pizza (Php325.00). Size is 12 inches and the crust is thin, so no bloat (models, if you are reading this, you can have this beofre your go-see).

As time came for dessert, we had our Panna Cottas and tiramisu. Originally, all of us had Panna Cotta and Arpee had a tiramisu but he told us we could share since the slice is quite big. however, one bite and he changed his mind. So Kel and I opted to share one big slice since we were both stuffed and we already had our Strawberry and Kiwi Panna Cotta beforehand. When our tiramisu came though however, it was quite a struggle to obtain property.

It was fight for the slice.

Soft sponge cake + light creamy filling + juxtapositioning of chocolate and coffee liqueur = heaven. Oh and chocolate shavings too. Yes, I had to resist getting stabbed here.

The crowd here is on weekdays, it's usually SM executives. Weekends are for the family and friends (Give the kids Kiddie Spaghetti, if the pastas are still too grownup for them). The prices are also affordable, and roughly around Php500 per person could get you really stuffed. And yes, you must try the tiramisu.

Tutti Frutti: The DIY Frozen Yogurt Treat

2010-02-08T19:22:00.004+08:00

Ever since I had frozen yogurt, I hardly ever looked back. I'm a fan, a lover, and a promoter of frozen yogurt I have at least two every week. I love it because it gives me excuse to be healthy while eating something sweet. It fills in my calcium needs without my lactose-intolerant stomach complaining. The tart taste has grown on me, I guess.

The soft opening of Tutti Frutti made me go wild and mad with flavors that didnt cause me to pump them out of my digestive tract. Yes. The heavens have heard me this time. Gluttony without consequences. Going DIY fuses my creativity with my ultimate katakawan.

Tutti Frutti (at least the branch I visited) is located in Glorietta 4 near the food court. This is different from all frozen yogurt stations since not only does it boast more flavors (lychee, green apple, kiwi, peanut butter, taro, banana, chocolate, pineapple, and the original tart flavor), it also gives us the ultimate liberty to choose our own flavor combinations, size, and toppings (as much as we want) until we pay the tab.

So what's the price? This sign tells it all.

The style of this place is DIY and self-serve, meaning the attendants are just there to guide. You pick your yogurt combination and toppings yourself.

First the cup....

Small, medium, or large it's up to you.

Then go pick a flavor or flavors:

Yay! I get to make my own yogurt combination. I chose first a twist of Death By Chocolate (oooohhh deadly) and original tart. Plus I squirted on some peanut butter since I wanted something sweet. I just watched Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs so I wanted something fun and sweet. Besides, I never tasted chocolate yogurt before. EVER.

Onto the toppings bar, there was absence of my favorite topping: mochi balls, so I piled on mangoes, cherries, graham crackers, coffee jelly (I told you I was crazy) and caramel syrup. After that, they weigh your cup and tell you how much it costs. Since it's DIY and by the ounce, allow a bit of allowance from your estimated cost.

So here's my after-movie dessert:

The caramel syrup freezes upon contact with yogurt so it's more of a candy. kinda like the caramel-covered ice cream bars before. Speaking of ice cream bars, my flavor combination is perfect for those who aren't too keen on yogurt's tart taste. It's sweet, I didn't think I was eating yogurt. It's a bit soft though, but the toppings added variety to what I'm eating. The cost for my cup was roughly Php130.00. I'm not actually a fan of chocolate ice cream but chocolate yogurt and I bonded really well.

Do I like this? I sure do. I probably will go back there tomorrow during my break and try a different combination this time.

Anyone try this yet? Do share your combination.

Leveling Up With Greenwich's Ultimate Hawaiian Overload

2010-01-08T23:45:00.006+08:00

Okay so it's New Year now right? Time to turn a new leaf, a new chapter, and some use this time to do major improvements, or as we call it, leveling up. For me, leveling up means doing better with my work and to outdo myself last year. Yes. I'm very competitive. :P Me like to get my drive there.

Anyhow, so Greenwich also levels up a very famous pizza.... with twice the toppings.

So ladies and gentlemen, this chic box with a very mod black and white graphic design (designed by Team Manila) holds an upgraded version of an old favorite:So are you ready to see what's inside? Oooookkaaaaaiiii.... tadatadatdadaa......

Well hello to the Greenwich Ultimate Hawaiian Overload! Just when you're bored with an everyday ham-and-pineapple pizza, Greenwich brings to you something that's not your usual pizza. No it's not.
NOOOOOOOO!!!!! Macro settings states it's not.

Here's the thing: this baby has got twice more toppings than a regular pizza. Imagine this, thin crust, (get the Thin & Crispy! Get it!) then you get your slice.... the pizza just drips with melted cheese, ham, pineapple, and bell pepper. I like it thin crust since it's not too heavy on the tummy, so I get to enjoy more slices at a photoshoot (hinting.... hinting...hinting) and not worry about post-pizza bloat. With the price too, it's definitely bang for your burp buck. The thin and crispy Double is about Php225 and the family size is Php379. Party Square is Php455. Rolled edge double is Php265 and family Php419.

While at it, we got to try the Pizza fries, which are pizza-flavored french fries:Php89 for the big size and the dip. However, if you're a fry lover, the big size, which is the sharing size, could be good for just one person.

Arpee documents the pizza fries. :D This is the cheese and garlic flavor he took a picture of.

Anyhow, by the end of the day, I'm officially a happy and stuffed Bambi Duckie.
Nothing like Brazo de Mercedes to cap a good dinner with friends. :)

Post-Christmas Food-Tripping In Greenbelt

2010-01-01T19:00:00.005+08:00

Just last Monday, I met up with my friends again and with a planned tambay mode in Greenbelt turned out to be a hell of a foodfest that drained our wallets thin yet left our tummies full. Yet, we all had so much fun that day. At least we had more time to really talk since the last time we saw each other, we barely had an hour.

Anyway, so here's the agenda... I had a meeting at Enterprise with Nix since I purchased her malette. After that, I walked to Greenbelt 5 to meet up Ram, Jho, and Bugsy. We were deciding where to have lunch and so, we walked to Pepper Lunch. While at the line (I told them the line's really fast and this is one of the most organized restos I have ever dined in, even at peak hours), we discovered one particular boo-boo : We don't have cameras. The photographers Ram and Bugsy forgot their dSLRs. Jho didn't bring her SLR either and she forgot also to bring her trusty digicam. I didn't bring my camera since it was low-batt. We didn't want to leave this day un-documented so we relied on our camera phones. And so our first shot was lining up at Pepper Lunch:

Please note that I was wearing a belt in that picture. We got our orders soon after and since we were hungry packs of carnivores (that day at least for me), we were eating our yummy hot food.

Bugsy and I mixing up our orders. How I finished my Curry Beef Pepper Rice down to the last rice grain, I didn't know.

Bugsy's friend Arhleen followed soon and she joined us with our food trip. :) Food was really hot up to the last spoonful. Everyone finished their food and was totally satisfied. I love my Curry Beef Pepper Rice with LOTSA PEPPER! These pictures were taken by Jho, who made sure that we document our stay there.

For dessert, we headed next door to Gelatissimo, the newly-opened gelato shop. They were so nice to let us try all the flavors. Wiiiiii!!!!!! We sure went crazy doing so.

Even at kooky pictures, Jho looks amazing.

Ooooohhh look at all the gelato! The chocolate liqueur actually uses real Bailey's. When they said liquor, I wanted to try it (heeheehee). It was really good, but I wanted something to wake me up. So you all know what I got? Coffee! Coffee for a non-coffee drinker. Price for a small cup was around Php 110. The medium cup (with two flavors) costs Php 160. So Ram got a medium cup in order to get two flavors. He got the Chocolate Liqueur and Tiramisu. We hung out there for a while until Arhleen had to leave for work. Yet we remained there to clown around, especially with the red seats.
Impromptu shoot. :P The dude at the store even fixed it for us and allowed us to have pictures taken there. Yay! Thanks guys!

After hanging out at Gelatissimo, we wanted to go to another hang-out. Of course, with food involved so we went to Jho's turf... i.e. Red Mango. Jho and Bugsy had yogurts, Ram had a waffle, and I got a cup of tea to ease my stomach from all the food plus I took out some white cheddar tofu chips from Chimara for us to share to have something "healthy" this time. However, I couldn't resist but get a cup of yogurt too. Green tea with double mochi balls.

Jho had to have a picture with her on the wall :P. Even if we already finished our snacks, we were still there to chat. We left around before 5 in order for Jho to get a taxi that would take her back to Eastwood.

How do I evaluate this day? Really fun. :) I really had a marvelous time with my friends and in fact, we're already planning a new food adventure. This time, we're gonna make sure to bring our cameras.

Lunchtime at Sam Won Korean Barbecue

2009-12-13T18:41:00.005+08:00

That one long strip of Aguirre Avenue at BF Homes in Paranaque is one of the reasons why this little duckie does not want to leave the South area. Along that strip are quaint restaurants of every cuisine and creativity. You know, you're driving or walking there and then this little house-revamped-into-a-restaurant just beckons at you and you think, "Hey, lemme try this!" and so you go.

My family has been there before, and it's my first time to try this having been free this Sunday. It's quite easy to miss out these restaurants and so I took a picture of the exterior too. To get here, just take Aguirre and drive out. If you're coming from El Grande side, it would be on the left. If you're coming from President's Avenue, It's on your right.

That wooden door makes you think it used to be a house with the sign smacked right on the roof. Going in, you see this set-up.

I'll tell you what the exhausts are for later. The place had Korean clientele, implying that we're about to get authentic Korean cuisine and nothing commercialized or "substituted". Our table was set, down to the chopsticks. Korean chopsticks are different from the chopsticks we use in hotels or restos. These were thinner, heavier, and made of stainless steel. If you're not used to their chopsticks, the ol' wooden chopsticks are also available. Now after we ordered, we were greeted by a round of appetizers (which are included by the way if you order there). By appetizers I don't mean like little bread sticks or chips, I'm talking these:

Variety of appetizers including the famous kimchi. OMIGOD OMIGOD OMIGOD OMIGOD on the kimchi. Something you have to try. Okay, the round of appetizers are not bottomless, but since we wanted more of the kimchi, we ordered a second round of the kimchi (first round is free, of course, provided you order food). It wasn't too spicy and I was even eating it alone. Aside from these, we were also given cabbage slaw each.

Now okay, so what are the exhausts for? It's for the Korean barbecue. right in front of you is this device that looks like something out of a hot pot restaurant. You order your choice of Korean barbecue (beef, chicken, or pork belly). They bring it out to you, marinated but raw first because the meat would be cooked in front of you, not in oily fat but in live coals. Live coals are placed there on the grillery and an attendant grills the meat for you and even puts the meat on your plate.

The exhaust is for the smoke to go out and not on you so you get to enjoy your meal sans smoke blowing on your face or melting makeup. Oh, and they change the grilling plate if there's too much stuff sticking on the plate already and keep the coals live and fiery hot. I actually found out the right way of eating Korean barbecue. You dip it in the salt dipping sauce, put it on a piece of lettuce, then add slices of garlic and the paste and eat up. But for me, I figured the best way I enjoyed my meat was alone or with Jap Chae.

The Jap Chae is also a must-try and a steal at Php150.00 (AND THAT's a LOT! That's just my tiny plate right there where I got some Jap Chae and a slice of beef barbecue). The sticky rice is at 70 bucks per bowl, but I suggest just ordering the Jap Chae as the carb chaser.

The meal was capped off with complimentary dessert. I told you this resto knows how to pamper their clientele. Again, just like the appetizer, this is just one round.

Price ranges are about 200-500 for an order, and one order is already good for sharing. Expect to spend approximately Php500 per head if you wanna be super full. Happy Sunday!

Oh, and do try the Kimchi.

Night Out With Blogger Friends at Vin 55 Restaurant

2009-12-10T14:02:00.005+08:00

After our shoot, Mike and I packed our gears and drove out to Manila, Manila meaning Manila, heart of NCR, old Manila, where roads are still one-way but it's hella scary to walk as you whip out your phone. We first passed by The Hub to say hello to our friend Ivan before heading out to Kalaw since Mike would be having another food photography session. We also invited a few of our blogger friends to taste the food he'll be shooting. So basically, it was a very relaxed and fun night for all of us.

The venue was Vin 55 Restaurant, a little restaurant located at T.M. Kalaw Avenue. To go there, from Roxas Blvd, you take a left to T.M. Kalaw going towards Manila Ocean Park. When you see Little Lamb Hot Pot, the resto is located right beside it. If you have razor-sharp eyesight like I do, you'd spot a wooden door with Vin 55 carved at the wooden sign beside it. Parking is relatively easy. Mike was able to find a parking right in front and the staff immediately came to our aid to help with his equipment.

Being the O.C. girl that I am, I sent SMS messages to Arpee and Marcelle on detailed instructions how to get there. With the holiday traffic at Makati, Chef Jonas said that Buendia would be a better route than EDSA, which I told Arpee to take as soon as he got off work.

To start off, we were given their bestselling appetizers, which as soon as they were shot, were served to us.

This came first: Crispy Adobo Belly. Marcelle and I were given a sneak peek inside the kitchen on how it was prepared: the adobo is already pre-cooked, then they slice it for you, after which they deep fry it. The dipping sauce is actually the sauce of the adobo that they simmered and cooked for a very intense flavor. The adobo was soft and melt-in-the-mouth and it went well with the sauce. By the time Arpee and Annie came, Marcelle, Mike, and I had already wolfed it down, but they were able to grab seconds. This dish was the dish Arpee immediately loved.

I swear, this is one MUST-TRY! This is a great pulutan that would go for after-dinner drinks. Or what the heck, have this is an appetizer if you don't drink.

I'm a seafood lover so what I did when this dish was served to us was squeeze the lemon wedges, mix, and fight for the shrimp and squid. Seafood Aglio Olio looked mighty appetizing plus it tastes fresh. The shrimp had the right texture I want, and look, no need to peel . Just spear with a fork and enjoy.

Crostini baked fresh from scratch everyday served with fried mozzarella. Mozarella here was fried in a very hot nonstick pan and served with marinara sauce. Best served really hot while the cheese is still soft. But when it's cooled down, just use a fork and eat the mozarella on its own. Among the dishes served for the main dish, this was an interesting favorite: Grilled Tenderloin Steak with Vanilla Butter. Yes, you read that right. Vanilla Butter. Alone, the butter tastes like warm vanilla ice cream and it adds a sweetness to the meat. And omigod the meat's cooked medium, so it's soft when sliced so I didn't have to wrestle with the knife and fork. Wine was also served, and the menu would suggest what perfect wine or drink goes with each dish. By the way, servings are quite huge so this dish is good for 2-3 people. If you want good ol' hotdog and mustard, a sosyal take would be Pork Tenderloin with Mustard-Caper Sauce. I like the tartness of mustard and capers and the pasta and grilled vegetables served with this was just divine.

When the pasta was served to us (we were given 4 pastas: Pasta Aglio Olio and Shrimps, Pasta Puttanesca, Pasta Pesto, and Carbonara), we didn't know which one to start off first, as they all looked delicious. We loved everything served to us, but one interesting highlight was carbonara.

I was at first hesitant to try carbonara, since I'm very sensitive to creamy dishes, and since I've eaten a lot (and drunk a lot too, hahahah), I thought I could let this pass. But here's the thing, this carbonara - wait for it - had no cream. AT ALL! Imagine my surprise. Isn't cream one basic ingredient of carbonara? Turns out this carbonara was cooked the traditional way consisting of bacon, garlic, parmesan, olive oil, and egg. See? No cream!

But when I tasted it, it tasted like the creamy carbonara. This has got to be the best-ever carbonara pasta I have tasted in all my years of existence!

Other must-tries are the thin-crust pizzas, which are good for one. The seafood pizza totally did not scrimp out on fresh seafood toppings and became a favorite.

Oh, I also mentioned that this is also a bar. Since I'm more of a cocktail girl, I was recommended to try The Perfect Mojito, which was perfect for me. When I tried it, guess what? I was able to finish it in 10 minutes flat. the mojito was smooth, sweet, and just the way I like it. I like cocktails that do not taste that much like alcohol. By the way, their beers are served below zero, so a bottle of beer was brought to the table, with frosts and all. It was my first time to try below zero beer. I'm not a beer drinker (I'm more of a wine and cocktail girl, wine being my main vice) but I actually enjoyed a below-zero beer served straight from the bottle. Cocktails are a must-try, and I highly recommend the mojito. Yes really, I do.

Ambiance of the restaurant is actually very relaxed. I was able to have a decent conversation with these guys way past 10 p.m. without us shouting. Going out to the sea breeze helps too, and it's a restaurant I would recommend to friends who want fine dining in the heart of Manila. Prices are very affordable, around 200-350 per meal. The steak costs like Php 247.00 and you could split it with a friend.

After chatting and catching up, it was time to call it a night as the guys still had work the following day. It sure was a great night - good food and good company.

(Photo Credits: Michael Yu of Mantra Photography. Food shot on location at Vin 55 Restautant)

Fun, Chika, and Healthy Yogurt with My Friends at Red Mango

2009-12-03T19:42:00.004+08:00

I was feeling quite pissed one Saturday since another client flaked out on me (gawd, don't you just hate it when that happens?). Anyway, so taking solace in food, I remembered that two of my dearest friends Bugsy and Jho were meeting up in Greenbelt, so I made habol to meet them. From pigging out in two platefuls of green chicken curry, I dashed off to Greenbelt after their movie. Anyway, guess where we had dessert? Red Mango.

It was really great catching up since I rarely see these people as Bugsy's been busy with school. And why Red Mango well.... this is why:

Jho happens to be the endorser of the place so full support! Actually, I happen to already love frozen yogurt before the craze started. For one thing, I'm lactose intolerant, but I need the calcium and probiotics and I want something healthy than something that would put more inches in my thighs. EEEK!

Anyhow, here's Bugsy and Jho before I came. I was dashing there in get-the-hell-out-of-my-way speed as it was a Saturday night.

I guess they were bored. Hahaha but once I was there it was nonstop chika, bashing, and catching up. Although they were done with their yogurt, I wolfed down my green tea yogurt with mochi, dark chocolate chips, and blueberries.

I know I've been getting skinnier now, my food blog being less active lately since I food trip less due to work and duties. I actually prefer the green tea variety of yogurt as it's less tart than the plain one. I chose sweet toppings so they compensate the little tart it has. Honey is another healthy option that I recommend but I already had chocolate here so better there.

A picture too with the endorser. Can't you tell that my friends and I love pictures even at our pigging-out moments?

I actually like the branch here at Greenbelt since its location makes it less crowded on weekdays. I'm usually my "hanging out" mode in the mall on weekdays as I don't like a heavy crowd. It's kinda out of the way though, and guess what? It's near Chimara, so there's more urge to eat healthy. Hehehehe.

After I ate, Jho had to go since she had a dinner to go to. We bade her goodbye then Bugsy and I did a lot of catching up (I haven't seen him since our bridal shoot) and I ate a sackful of fries before we had to part.

I guess I was no longer pissed that day, seeing my friends even for only a short time.

Lookie Lookie OOOOOH!

2009-12-02T21:38:00.002+08:00

Guess who's drunk too many peppermint mochas and zen teas!

Just got it at Starbucks Alabang Town Center after rummaging the Cuenca bazaar. :) Me loving it? Sure do. I just have to fill in my current red one before I start using this fuzzy little baby here.

An Afternoon of Food and Art At Ricco Renzo Caffe and Galleries

2009-12-02T20:02:00.008+08:00

When I'm shooting with Mike, food is not a luxury but a necessity. We never run out of food, whatever peg the shoot may be. I guess that when Mike dragged me to his food shoot a while ago, I could not say no. As per our conversation yesterday:

Mike: I'll see you tomorrow.

Bambi: Okay, me say yes to food.

Mike: No late.

Bambi: Sure sure.

I woke up to his SMS telling me to be there at 9:30 a.m., which was practically in 2 hours. I begged and promised to be there before lunchtime since I needed to finish some errands. So it was a hop, kick, sommersault, backflip to the place. I'm familiar with the gallery, having been there before at an event, so it was easy to find it. I'm always in the Jupiter-Reposo area since Mike lives near there. Plus, I like the location. Not too busy yet easily reachable and far away from the traffic of CBD.

Yep, I got there with this guy busy at work:

Yep, that's real food he's shooting. To prove it, I was about to lunge to it at the scent of parmesan cheese had he not whacked my head for me to come to my senses. He introduced me to the chef, Jonas Ng, who gave me an overview of the cafe. Plus chatted up with him a bit with our food preferences.

The resto is actually a quaint cafe with a very relaxed atmosphere. the interiors were very homey and not intimidating. Oh, and free WiFi too, for those with the Internet glued at the hip.

Being an artist drew me to the paintings (the ones displayed are acrylics on canvas). It was mentioned too that the place is also an art gallery, where different artists feature their works. There's also a second floor, which we were toured and this featured works of various artists. We were able to catch an art class going on and I was able to chat with two of the students as they went on with their works. Okay, art and food? Bambi is starting to like this place now.

And so on to the food. I was recommended the appetizer, the Buffalo Chicken Fillet (Php 190.00). This is their bestseller, and they use chicken thigh fillet so you don't get the mess with the wings, bones, and sauce. Spicy? Yes. Good? DEFINITELY!

Mike and I took a toss with two dishes. He chose the Fifteen-Spice Chicken Fillet (Php280.00):

So yes, that's fifteen spices rubbed onto thigh fillet (fillet meaning no bones. YAY!) with pasta pomodoro and succotash. I did get a slice of this, skin and all and it practically melted in my mouth. This was really good, not too spicy but I sure like the kick. Plus okay, that's chicken, pasta, tomatoes, and a side salad. Pretty healthy too. The serving is good enough for two, since it's quite big, but for large appetites like the both of us, one is enough. Suprisingly, I was able to finish my dish (everyone got surprised that this tiny girl eats like a worker)

Tuna Steak (Php 320.00) is one huge slab of grilled premium tuna loin steak. When Mike was shooting it, I thought it was meat or chicken until he said it was fish. It was served with caper sauce that had a bit tart and cream base and spaghetti aglio olio (olive oil + garlic) and wilted greens. There were also two slices of lemon on the side that I squeezed onto the steak. The tuna was flaky, melt-in-the-mouth, and didn't smell or leave any fishy-like flavor.

Another important point I found out was that, this restaurant has very high standards with its meals, keeping them constant all the time. Plus, the staff are aware of any food allergies (they ask the customer first). Once they find out if someone has a food allergy, they take the necessary precautions, such as assigning someone for that person, and that staff washes his or her hands and works in an isolated area in the kitchen to prevent food contamination.

Is this a place where I'll dine again? I'll definitely have this place in mind next time. Parking is relatively easy in this place, and I like the quietness of the atmosphere. Food good? Yes. Also affordable.

Ricco Renzo Caffe and Galleries is found at the G/F LRI Design Plaza 210 Nicanor Garcia St., (formerly Reposo) Bel Air II Makati City Philippines.

(Photo Credits: Food photos by Michael Yu of Mantra Photography)

Hello Red Cups!

2009-11-15T12:11:00.005+08:00

When Starbucks changes their traditional white paper cups to red, it signals one thing, that it's sticker collecting time! While at Glorietta a few weeks ago, I chanced upon the snowflake glass etchings at the Starbucks stores, signaling the return of the planner. Although I don't follow trends or go where everyone goes (I don't watch Glee, I don't play Facebook games, and I'm not keeping tabs on the Pacquiao-Cotto fight right now), this is one trend I do follow since I've always liked the Starbucks planner where I write down my appointments or discovered Youtube tutorials.

Anyhoo, a trivia I found out is that it's only here in Manila that they have the Starbucks planner program. Although the drinks are available also internationally, we can't collect stickers there like we do here.

And on for the drinks:
Last year's Dark Cherry Mocha still is here but Praline Mocha has been replaced with an old favorite... Peppermint Mocha, which took a break last year. Erika and I were sad that it wasn't in last year's roster of drinks but now, I'm glad it's here. Actually, it's what I've been ordering everytime I'm there, and obviously, with my face right smack on its picture, it's been my favorite. I order it this way - short (or tall), hot, decaf nonfat, no whipped cream with sugar sprinkles please. The mint flavor is smooth rather than shocking cold, so I could have it as an after-dinner drink. The two other flavors, since these are richer, I order with no cream. The sweet buttery flavor of Toffee Nut Latte is a good morning drink, while I reserve Dark Cherry Mocha in the afternoon or again, for an all-nighter shoot.

This year's planner is just like last year, in terms of bulk. I found the leather-bound planner too bulky to fit in my already bulky bag. This one is slimmer, although they come in just one color. Oh, and they have coupons too. Yay for the coupons again!

The coffee bean and coffee ground covers in macro settings caught my eye, since my photography is mostly macro.

I just wish they had grids, though because I can't write in a super straight line.

But hey, at least I could do more abstract cubisms while I'm bored.

I'm almost quarter-filled with filling up my sticker book. However, since it was started early, there might be time for a second one. A friend of mine already had two. :)

Affordable Sushi Platter? Yes Way!

2009-11-01T11:15:00.004+08:00

I just realized that I haven't written for so long here in my food blog more than I do at my makeup blog. Guess I was so neck-deep with work and all that the kitchen and I have very little time to bond. Well, I don't cook for one thing (I'm super basic when it comes to cooking) plus the fact that I'm reinventing my diet since I had a huge bloat problem no thanks but thanks to my new addiction.

Anyway, I've got a lot of free time now so I have more time to work on blogging about food. This time, I actually know about this before but I got to blogging about it just now... after 10+ orders of it. hehehe.

On my way to Mike's I always pass by a stand along Makati that sells really affordable sushi. There's also a branch of it near my place here, so one time, I took down the number. While at Mike's for a shoot, we were expecting quite a number of people and when I mentioned it to him, he decided to give it a try and ordered a bilao this big...

It's bigger than my head! Hahahaha. It's a plateful of maki and kani sushi with a chockful of wasabi. Yummm! And yes, they deliver. Yes, they have a branch in Las Piñas so I could ask them to deliver when I get my Japanese food cravings.

I really love Japanese food, especially sushi and sashimi. I go for the raw food, and during buffets, I usually latch on to these exotic babies rather than the usual rice bowls. I could have those any time but not this. I really take advantage once there's sushi coz they're really expensive and not to mention quite rare. Wasabi's rates are really affordable and they're perfect for office parties, gatherings, or in this case, a photoshoot with 20 people. Boy the crew could really get hungry here. The rice isn't just authentic Japanese rice but the food tastes good nevertheless.

To order, you could call their two branches:

Makati: 703-0795

Las Pinas: 874-6548

For delivery, there is a minimum order requirement, as with all deliveries, but you could call them anyway for to-go orders.

Exotic Dishes abound

2009-09-21T22:21:00.006+08:00

Location shoots for me are a chance for me not only to experience a new place, even if it's local or international. In last week's shoot, I had a chance to not only travel but experience a different kind of meal.

Exotik restaurant at Caliraya is known to serve exotic dishes, exotic meaning not your regular poultry, meat, or fish. But it's like you'll never guess until you eat it. For me, this was something new for me, since the most exotic thing I ever ate was uhm, well... isaw.

For a very basic start-up, I had fresh buko, served from the shell, with a spoon to pry the meat. I was told to put ice inside for a refreshing treat, since it was quite a hot day.

First dish that was served to us, which was a regular favorite, Crispy Pata. Since a horrid experience made me shun away from crispy pata, I skipped this, but my colleagues who still eat crispy pata adored this, diet begone and all.

Second dish looked like ordinary tapa.

Turns out, it was tapa, but not ordinary beef tapa, but Tapang Usa, or deer tapa. Funny, the concept was quite quasi-cannibalistic for me though (Bambi eating... err... a Bambi?) but I had to think deer, deer, deer. It was good though. The meat was softer than the tapa I usually have for breakfast, and a bit sweet. I went for seconds and thirds, and it really went well with the pinakbet.

This dish-happened to be Exotik Restaurant's bestseller -Ginataang Pating - shark meat this time. I'm really intrigued too, since I never had shark meat before, and shark's fin soup doesnt count. The coconut cream and ginger flavor masked the rather "fishy" shark meat taste but I like how it had little bones on the shark, or is that because it was deboned well (my comparative anatomy is quite rusty at this point to decipher the shark and bony fish's skeletal system comparison). It's basically the same like eating fish meat, with larger chunks. It's not tough at all, but not as melt-in-the-mouth as dory. It was good nevertheless, and this I enjoy with plain rice and Sinampalukang Manok soup on the side.

Other meat served in the restaurant are manta ray, duck, and eel, but we didn't have to try this too. I'm quite interested on the manta ray though, as I never thought of it as meal.

Aside from the food the restaurant is also a menagerie of birds and exotic animals. I saw a huge albino python that really caught my eye.

Beautiful, isn't she? Humongous too.

The hornbill is another character, I can't believe I'm seeing one eye to eye a creature I usually see on TV documentaries. It's so cute, it actually posed for the camera. :P Before I grew attached to it (having to tend to birds at home), I had to leave for the next location with the crew.

This restaurant is an adventure in itself, sight and taste. Plus I like the open-air atmosphere as well. Staff are friendly and they are there to answer your query, especially if you're new to exotic flair.

On With Better Things In Life

2009-08-19T18:06:00.003+08:00

An evening drink last Saturday to cap off a great shoot and for another fantastic work week(end) been working from Sunday to Saturday last week and I'll be working on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday this week:

BoNa has made me calmer, hyper, awake, sober, and now BoNa infuses my system with alcohol with this cocktail: Tequilla Rose with Chocolate Shavings on the glass rim. Fills my sweet tooth and also my alcohol rush need. The chocolate shavings are a huge plus too.