Cheeseburger Straight From The Bottle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)