Beyond Fried Eggs

The Old Spaghetti House

2011-06-24T23:19:00.001+08:00

It was a rainy Father's Day last June 19 but we still opted to have our dinner at The Old Spaghetti House, Ayala-Technohub. This was actually our daughter's choice because she loves their dessert, the colossal chocolate chip cookie. I love it too the first time I had a taste of it. I had to refrain from having a few spoons this time.

The hubs ordered for seafood alfredo but halfway through it, I asked if we can exchange food. I was not pretty happy with spaghetti pesto with grilled chicken. I want a creamier pasta.

Seafood Alfredo, P195

Spaghetti Pesto with Grilled Chicken, P160.
I wanted it whole wheat but they do not have stock. I was a bit disappointed with that to think it was in their menu.

I love the restaurant's coffee. For some reason I was served with brown sugar which I prefer actually. The other week when we visited TOSH at Paseo Center in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, I had to ask for brown sugar. So, did the food server read my mind that particular night? Haha.

Brewed Coffee, P60
Daughter had her carbonara, her all-time favorite.

Carbonara, P145

And finally, my daughter's current favorite dessert...

Colossal Choco Chip Cookie Ala Mode, P120

***More food sharing at Picture Clusters and Food Trip Friday.

Breakast at Antonio's

2011-04-22T16:52:00.002+08:00

I almost skipped going to Breakfast at Antonio's with my friends. It was scheduled on a weekday which means I have work. But good thing I was able to manage my schedule and made that particular Thursday my off from work. I was really happy I joined the rest of the mommies.

It was a two-hour drive from Manila with about 30 - 40 minutes stop at Jollibbe Shell at South Luzon Express Way (SLEX) for a quick breakfast. We arrived at Antonio's maybe a little past twelve noon.

That was my second time to be at Breakfast at Antonio's but the first one was a long time ago with my husband and daughter. It has changed a lot for the better. The restaurant is just so elegant. I love the set-up, the ambiance, and the floor tiles are wonderful. The restroom still has an open window but a lot smaller than how it was before. Yes, the restroom has a wide open window. Use it at your own risk. Haha, but no, it's safe to use.

Anyway, we chose five different foods mostly from their house specials - pasta, roast chicken and omelettes.

Methinks this is one of the house specials, Chorizo and Eggs. We all love this.

Sausage omelette if my memory serves me right. I love the house potato as a side dish.

This one I was not able to have a taste of because I was so full, Spaghetti Pomodoro.

Mixed Seafood Tagliatelle in Tomato Basil and well, anything with shrimp I want.

My friends found this salty but we finished it off nonetheless, Rosemary Paprika Roast Chicken with Rock Salt Potato Fries. That was a mouthful, haha.

And that's the garlic bread. :)

And here's us...
Starting from left to right, your left, :D, Julie, Chats, Cookie, Me and Cess.

Breakfast at Antonio's does not seem to have an official website. But here's the address and the contact numbers. Best to do reservations before going there.
Address: Barangay Neogan, Tagaytay City, Cavite
Contact Numbers: 0918-899-2866; 046-4131054

***More food sharing at Picture Clusters and Food Trip Friday.

Pasta for Lunch at Figaro

2011-04-01T00:20:00.003+08:00

Out for lunch with one of my best-friends-for-life. We took the chance to meet-up with the extra time we had on that day. After several exchange of texts where we will have lunch, I finally decided I want pasta, pasta from Figaro in particular, Figaro's arrabiata to be specific.

It slipped my mind what my friend ordered. Looking at Figaro's menu, I think this is Dory Provencal. Maybe she just changed her pasta.

One thing I don't quite get with Figaro is the "open bill" question whenever I order. Do I pay it already or later? I normally pay immediately if I won't order anymore. Order again and that's another service charge I guess.

I was having a bad hair day here but anyway it was a nice lunch, nice company. I just hope we can do this more often.

***More food sharing at Picture Clusters and Food Trip Friday.

Chili's

2011-03-25T18:03:00.008+08:00

Okay, I'm really at a lost if I will just incorporate my posts about food in my Life Bliss blog. Food is bliss you know. And I'd like to account eat-outs also with family and friends. But then again, I need to compartmentalize.

I guess I'll be reviving this blog and will look for a template for Life Bliss which will showcase my food blog and fitness blog.

I plan to monitize all my blogs too but first I need to constantly update them. Haha. This is me...just when I am getting all really occupied with my work and with household matters and daughter's summer activities/idiosyncracies, I have this urge to be active in blogging. It's my nature I guess. I need to have them all. Is that bad?

Enough of thinking out loud.

For this weeks food meme, Food Friday and Food Trip Friday, I'd like to share what we have consumed, or half consumed as the servings are good for two persons (maybe 3). After my daughter's graduation yesterday, the three of us trooped to Chili's for our dinner.

We ordered Texas Cheese Fries for starters. It was good. I was wary because it might be too spicy for my taste since it has jalapeno and chili. Surprisingly it's not as spicy as I thought it would be. All of us like it. It's filled with cheese and has a generous amount of bacon.

Texas Cheese Fries, P385
Of course I ordered pasta. Yummy! It's creamy! I don't know how they do that, creamy but the cream or sauce are not really visible. It's like the cream/sauce is absorbed by the noodles and you feel and taste it once you take a bite.

Grilled Shrimp Alfredo Pasta, P525
My husband got himself pork chops and smothered it with Lea & Perrins. He loves it. I do too. In fact I reheated our take home left-over, brown bagged it, and munched on the grilled pork for my lunch...late, late lunch today.

I like the cajun rice that go with the pork chops. I already checked how it's done and one of these weekends I'll do that. I wonder how that will taste if I use brown rice. Maybe not much difference.

Grilled Pork Chops, P440
There are times I feel like begging to my daughter to please change her menu. It's chicken tenders again...well, for Chili's it's crispers so this won't count as it's the same old chicken which my daughter always order. Nahh, what's in a name. It's the same thing. Anyway, I guess she's just like me, not adventurous when it comes to food unlike her Daddy.

Chicken Crispers, P300
For dessert, my daughter chose Oreo Chocolate Sundae. It's all hers. I'm not into ice cream especially something as loaded with sweets like this.

Oreo Chocolate Sundae, P195
Service is good, it's fast compared to other fast casual restaurants. There were only two occupied tables in the non-smoking area where we were in but the speed of service and attentiveness of food servers are still commendable. The place is clean and so is the rest room. It just needs a little more air freshener. No, it doesn't smell. It just have to have one methinks.

Value for money? It's expensive but it's a lot better than one Italian restaurant. The food at Chili's tastes really great!

Chili's
199 Tomas Morato Ave., cor. Scout Fernandez Quezon City
Average Check: P400-P500

***More food sharing at Picture Clusters and Food Trip Friday.

Take Home Goodies

2010-10-22T10:56:00.000+08:00

It's my habit to bring home pasalubong to my daughter coming home from the office. I love the feeling that I take home something for her which I know she will appreciate. Nothing big. Mostly food she can munch on after dinner. Lately though I've been buying Donut Dips from Mister Donut. My husband was the first one to discover this. A lot of times for several consecutive nights he kept on bringing home Donut Dips to think he's the number one critic of Mister Donut. He doesn't like their donuts.

A bite of the donut dipped in chocolate is enough for me. This is patterned after churros which I love too.

If I may say this, menu boards of restaurants are more effective when they they are designed simply and clearly. The pictures of food in the well-lit menu board of Mister Donuts are very inviting. I bought their Baked Cheese and Tomato Pene because the picture looks so appetizing. And the picture did not lie. It's value for money. Delicious pasta at P60. Love it! My daughter and husband love it too.

Whatever happened to Dunkin' Donuts? I still love their croissant but it seems Mister Donut is way ahead of them now in terms of product development and building a more attractive store.

***More food sharing at Picture Clusters and Food Trip Friday.

Kimono Ken, After a Movie Date

2010-04-02T10:13:00.008+08:00

My daughter and I watched How to Train Your Dragon a few nights ago. We both had fun watching it. It's the kind of film both adults and children will enjoy. We did not have dinner before seeing it because it was almost the preview time when we bought the tickets. We only had our share of popcorn and iced tea inside the theater.

She craved for her favorite chicken cheese roll (breaded chicken rolled with cheese and vegetables) from Kimono Ken as soon as the movie was done.

I am on a diet so I skipped rice and just had one piece of sakana-fry (crispy fried cream dory with tartar sauce).

Hubby had an appointment earlier so he just followed us at the restaurant. As usual, he ordered kani salad. This kani salad has a lot of greens compared to most kani salads from other dining places.

Good movie, nice light dinner and we're off to a looong weekend. Nice. :)

***More food sharing at Picture Clusters and Food Trip Friday.

Keeping Fit and Healthy

2010-03-12T22:53:00.000+08:00

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of wellnessdaily.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have been going to the gym for more than a year now. I have seriously taken up working out as part of my health and wellness activity. Who would have thought that I will be enjoying going to the gym? I used to be lazy going up the third floor of my office. Now I even attend body combat, dance classes, body balance and yoga.

I lost a lot of unwanted fats already. It got me really motivated to achieve my desired weight. As I always share with my friends, I have no problem when it comes to working out. I look forward going to the gym even if my schedule is so hectic. But there is one thing that hampers my total weight loss program. It's dieting. That was my struggle.

Yes, was. Because now I am thankful I have disciplined myself when it comes to managing my food intake. I just told myself I have to do it. Just do it. If not now, when.

I would like to share what is working for me so far in terms of sticking to my diet and working out religiously:

1. I have set a monthly weight goal. I missed on the first month by three pounds but on the second month I achieved my goal. My morale was so high that it made me stick to my diet.

2. I refrained from weighing in several days in a week. I prefer to weigh in at twice a month to check my progress. Weigh yourself under the same circumstances on the first time you weighed in. Ideally, no food intake yet for a more accurate reading of your body.

I asked the trainers at the gym about properly monitoring one's weight. I learned about the importance of reducing fat mass and checking BMI. It's not only one's weight that should be managed by also those two I have mentioned.

3. Eat less more often. I veered away from junk food, sweets and too much rice. I only have 1/2 cup or 1 cup at the most in a day. On some days I don't have rice at all. I am on wheat bread, tuna with lite mayo, fruits, boiled bananas and boiled eggs.
I don't starve myself but I regulate my eating habits.

4. I do a lot of household chores to burn calories when I'm just home which is mostly during weekends. It helps a great deal.

5. I subscribed to some health and wellness online publications. I read about success stories about weight management. They inspire me a lot.

I signed up at www.wellnessdaily.com. It is like a one-stop shop for all the health and wellness readings you are interested to know more of if you are a health enthusiast. Going to this site will save you time rather than browsing and searching endlessly for health topics. It aggregates the latest news on wellness, recipes you can try for your diet, and a variety of other topics including working out and mental well being.

My favorite channel here is Eat Right as it gives me loads of ideas on healthy meals I
can prepare for my and my family.

Pasta with Shrimp and Broccoli

2010-03-06T11:40:00.000+08:00

Yes, this is a favorite of the family. We love its creamy texture and the crisp broccoli. My daughter can't have enough of this. :)

Adarna Food and Culture Restaurant

2010-02-15T21:28:00.002+08:00

I am always in search of a different restaurant where my family and I can visit. I searched the web last night for a good restaurant we can go to which is just near our place. Our original choice was a casual-dining pasta house just a few minutes drive from our house but it closed shop already.

I landed at spot.ph and Adarna Food and Culture captured my attention. Interesting.

The restaurant will let you travel back in time, circa 1960s. It is a visual feast for people like me and my husband who love to experience themed restaurants. I recounted on my other blog, Life Bliss, the interior of the restaurant.

My husband was supposed to order the pandan rice but I was intrigued with the Yellow Batanes Rice. It has turmeric, garlic and bits of pork. We ordered the family serving which is good for five persons. The serving is quite big as we had to take home the left-over still good for one person. (Hubby consumed it for dinner tonight, still good after reheating.)

Yellow Batanes Rice, P150 (Family), Rating: 5 stars out of 5 stars
We had to play it safe as my daughter is a bit choosy with her food. She ordered the Victory Joe Chicken Wings with Fresh Tomato Salsa. She loves it! We all do. It's a bit pricey at P300+ but it tastes good. Very crispy with a creamy, buttery taste. My husband and I love the salsa. It's around six to seven pieces if I remember it right.

Victory Joe Wings with Tomato Salsa, P392, Rating: 5 stars out of 5 stars
We want fish too so we opted for the tried and tested rellenong bangus, single serving. Achara goes with it. My husband wanted ketchup with it but we did not ask the server anymore. We just tried it as it is.

I was not happy with it because there's a bit of an aftertaste, malansa in the vernacular. We actually did not get to eat much of this.

Rellenong Bangus (Stuffed Milkfish), P175, Rating: 2 stars out of 5 stars

Atchara
My husband and I wanted to try this beef menu because we both love coconut cream. Piassok is a dish from Sulu - beef is buttered, cooked in coconut cream with spices. It's very tender. Husband love it, I like it. The only thing that keeps me from saying I love it is the burnt after taste. There are even burnt portions of the beef as it was served to us. We also had to take home our left over. It proved to be better tonight when we reheated it.

Piassok, P335, Rating: 3 stars over 5 stars
The customer service is great. The food servers are very warm and very neat. Serving time is a bit long most probably because food are cooked as they are ordered. That's fine as long as you are not that hungry going to the restaurant.

Overall, our experiene at Adarna Food and Culture is very good. We will be back again to try the other dishes.

Chocolates of the World

2009-12-18T11:44:00.013+08:00

The change in weather caused the sniffles I've had since last week. It's still a bad cold. Not getting enough rest aggravated my low resistance to virus. Coughing ensued. I listened to my body so I cut down on other activities. I did not drop by the gym this week to use the time to rest. I thought I'm covered but I have developed a sore throat caused by eating too much chocolate.

Life is fair. I am on a forced diet since I can't eat much to compensate for my absence in the gym.

But before the nasty sore throat I craved for the moist chocolate cake from Conti's last week so my husband bought a whole cake. Three days after I had all these chocolates. Chocolate overload.

Don't mind the magazine in the background. I always have an MJ magazine with me and I browse when I am home whenever the feeling hits me.

Anyway, I love most of the chocolates in this jar. My favorite is Swiss Delice Rotondini. It tastes almost the same as Lindor Truffles, my favorite chocolate in the world.

The jar containing 2 pounds worth of chocolates is still half-full. My sore throat prevents me from taking even a tiny bite a day. My daughter is NOT a chocolate lover and I'm happy about that. My husband is so-so. I devour all the chocolates in the house you see.

Thanks to my mom for including this in one of their packages. It's Kirkland Signature, Chocolates of the World. I love it!

Picture from Vita Springs website.

***More food sharing at Picture Clusters and Food Trip Friday.

Potato

2009-10-25T16:50:00.010+08:00

A staple in our order - chicken tenders with fries. This one is from T.G.I. Friday's menu. It's a choice of honey mustard dressing or barbecue sauce. My daughter prefer the former.

My daughter loves potatoes, not just fries but mashed potatoes as well as boiled. Maybe because this is one of the first baby food we fed her when she was about four months old. She doesn't like mashed potatoes with gravy though.

I prepared mashed potatoes with meat loaf and cheese a few weekends ago and she loved it!

I tried cooking chicken curry and got some excess carrots and potatoes. I boiled them and we munched on them while watching Disney shows.

***Feast on more potatoes at Lasang Pinoy, Sundays.

Kulinarya

2009-10-09T08:12:00.016+08:00

I have been absent in my food blog for almost four weeks now. I was too preoccupied to post anything here during the height of the storm Ondoy (Ketsana) and the anticipated (but definitely not welcome) Pepeng (Parma). As most families, our time and energy were spent monitoring the news, getting home early, stocking food and yes, we did pack some clothes and important documents. Our area was not affected by the flood but the deluge that happened in 80% of Metro Manila was enough to alert us and keep us to be always on guard.

Let us continuously pray for the complete rebuilding of the damaged areas and the lives of the people greatly affected by the flood, the children most especially. Let us pray that our country (or any other country) will not experience another Ketsana or anything damaging to lives and properties. Pepeng lingers in the country and is ravaging northern Philippines. Pepeng, please leave and do not create more damage.

Life goes on. Work and school and other activities have resumed. I'm back posting and joining the food meme.

I'm sharing right now one of our dine outs at Kulinarya Kitchen, Rockwell, Makati City. As I have shared in my blogs countless times everyone in my family loves shrimps. We tried two different servings of shrimp at Kulinarya and both proved to be delicious.

Barbecued Shrimps

Gambas
My daughter wanted some pasta and ordered twist and cheese with bacon. It's fun to eat as it's both creamy and crunchy (because of the bacon bits).

Twist and Cheese with Bacon
What is ever present in our menu when we eat out? Of course, chicken. It feels like my daughter always add either chicken or fish and chips in her order as her "fallback". In case she does not like the taste of what she first ordered, she can have the chicken anytime.

Deep Fried Boneless Chicken
The dessert came in chocolate creme brulee. I am not fond of creme brulee but this is my daughter's favorite.

Chocolate Creme Brulee
TGIF!

***More food sharing at Picture Clusters and Food Trip Friday.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

2009-09-12T19:48:00.011+08:00

This is a very rainy weekend as reported by the weather bureau last night. We had soup the past days so we want something else. At least for us, the next best thing during a cold, rainy day would be stir fry.

Again I am not an expert in the kitchen but this passed the taste of my family. I cooked this from what I remember the last time I prepared this dish which was a few months ago.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
1 big head of broccoli
1 kilo of beef
10 cloves garlic (we all love garlic in the house so we put in quite a lot)
2-3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
salt, pepper and sugar to taste (sugar is optional)

Wash beef and cut into thin strips. Size and how thin, your call. I tenderized the beef for easier cooking. Wash broccoli and cut into sections.

Heat about 3 tablespoons of oil in a pan, saute garlic. Add beef strips until seared and pour in oyster and soy sauce plus broccoli. Add salt, pepper, sugar according to taste. Check broccoli's texture. We want it crunchy.

A good lunch while it was raining cats and dogs outside.

***Feast on more food at Lasang Pinoy, Sundays.

Chocolate Overload

2009-09-11T07:36:00.003+08:00

I'm trying to curb my craving for chocolate cake for a few days now, specifically this chocolate cake from Conti's. This was one of my daughter's cakes during her birthday last July. My cousin gave her another chocolate cake from Conti's also. If this family isn't a fan of this restaurant, I don't know what to call us.

Chocolate Overload
A slice as big as this is good for three persons because it tastes so rich.

You know I just might give in to my craving later. TGIF!

***More food sharing at Picture Clusters and Food Trip Friday.

Puto Bumbong

2009-09-05T23:06:00.002+08:00

Puto bumbong is a local delicacy popular during the holiday season. It's glutinous rice in purple color, cooked in bamboo tubes in a steamer, topped with butter, shredded coconut and sugar. It goes well with tea.

In the Philippines, the holiday season is not complete without bibingka or puto bumbong especially for those who are attending Simbang Gabi. Maybe because the weather is cold, a hot pica-pica is just right before heading home.

A few market place and restaurants sell puto bumbong whole year round. I'm glad to note there is already one stall selling puto bumbong in front of the minimart on the way to our place. I bought one serving a few days ago just to check the taste. It's good! Bitin! We'll go back tomorrow for more.

***Feast on more food at Lasang Pinoy, Sundays.

Seafood Pesto Pizza

2009-09-04T12:01:00.006+08:00

This is my family's favorite pizza. I had my two slices when we dropped by Napoli Ristorante again a few nights ago.

***More food sharing at Life Snippets and Food Trip Friday.

Squid Ball

2009-08-30T12:30:00.007+08:00

All pictures below were taken from my "cooking" post for Photo Hunt many entries ago. I was not able to chance upon any street hawkers selling my favorite fish balls or kikiam or banana cue. I opted to use what I already have.

Photo Hunt participants are mostly from the west. Apparently they took squid balls literally, like "balls of squid". Some comments mentioned they cannot bring themselves to eat this even if they are very adventurous when it comes to food. Short of saying this is really yucky.

I have to actually add this to my post to make it clear what squid balls are.

Squidballs are made of squid meat wrapped in flour and egg for some, a little of salt and some spices. This is the generic way to do it but click here for some Chinese Squidballs recipe if anyone's interested.

***More street foods at Lasang Pinoy, Sundays.

Soft Spread

2009-08-28T09:26:00.008+08:00

I love butter, soft spread, margarine. The food attendant at my gym already know my special request - toast till the bread gets light brown and spread lots of butter. I often buy the tuna melt sandwich. Yummy! There are days when I am contented with just soft spread in my sandwich. I gobble on this in the middle of work, or at home while on line, even while studying with my daughter.

The tagline of Blue Bonnet is "I can't believe it's not butter!". But it does have the taste and feel of a creamy butter. Another favorite is the salted Anchor butter.

It's on my table, yes. Dip the butter knife and spread.

***More food sharing at Life Snippets and Food Trip Friday.

Kimono Ken

2009-08-27T16:39:00.006+08:00

We usually watch a movie late afternoon on a weekend. More often than not, we cap the night by having dinner in one of the restaurants within the mall. Here's one such night when we turned Japanese (well sort of) and chose Kimono Ken.

(Kadalasan nanonood kami ng sine hapon ng weekend. Madalas din ay naghahapunan kami sa isa sa mga restaurants na nasa loob ng mall. Isang gabi ay nagustuhan ng mag-ama ko ang Japanese food at napili nila ang Kimono Ken.)

If you're familiar with what I share in my blogs, my daughter is a fan of gyudon. She's a growing girl. She can consume the whole bowl now.

(Madalas kong maibahagi sa aking mga blogs na paborito ng anak ko ang Gyudon. Nakakaubos na siya ng isang mangkok kahit malaki ang serving. Lumalaki na nga ang anak ko.)

Beef Gyudon
And I'm always on the safe side as I am not so much fond of Japanese food. I love rice meals though, Omu rice mixed with chicken cutlets and mushroom.

(Hindi talaga ako adventurous sa pagkain lalo na at hindi ko naman masyadong gusto ang Japanese food. Omu rice ang madalas ko namang orderin - may kahalong manok at mushroom.)

Omu Rice
I forgot what exactly this is called. I think it's Oyakodon, rice topped with egg, some vegetable and chicken.

(Hindi ko matandaan kung ano ang eksaktong tawag dito. Oyakodon yata - rice toppings na may itlog, gulay at manok.)

Oyakodon
My husband's favorite, beef teppanyaki. The beef is really juicy and tender.

(Ang paborito naman ng asawa ko, beef teppanyaki. Malambot ang beef at napaka-juicy.)

Beef Teppanyaki
This salad is always present in our list of orders whenever we are in a Japanese restaurant, kani salad. (Ang laging present sa aming order kapag sa isang Japanese restaurant kami kumakain, kani salad.)

Kani Salad

***Dinner is served at Litratong Pinoy.

Beans

2009-08-23T18:09:00.005+08:00

There are certain beans that I don't eat - pinto, black beans, well most kidney beans. I often leave them out and let my husband or my daughter have my share. I don't touch the beans whether they are from my taco or burrito, or a side dish, not even pork and beans. You have an idea who devoured all these beans.

Mr. Rockefeller, Boneless Bourbon Ribs

***More beans at Lasang Pinoy, Sundays.

Charlie's Grind and Grill

2009-08-21T10:06:00.001+08:00

Charlie's Grind and Grill is far from our place so we have not visited it even if my friends keep on telling me the food is worth the travel. It's located at Kapitolyo Drive, Pasig, City. We had a chance to try it for a quick snack when my husband had an appointment near the area.

I ordered for the fish and chips. I found the serving quite small and it's not as meaty as I expected it unlike what I often order at Napoli Ristorante. It tastes good alright but it's not on top of my list.

As a cake lover, chocolate cake to be specific, I make it a point to try cakes of restaurants I visit especially if there's decadent chocolate cake. Hmmm, again, I was not amazed with the taste. I prefer the icing gooey and melts in the mouth.

Saving the best for last, the black angus burger is the best! Your choice to have it with fries or not.

I needed to take a picture of it before my husband took a bite. Haha. He's used to me by now. It would be a surprise to him if I don't take pictures of what we are eating.

The meat is juicy, generous cheese dripping on your mouth as you take a bite. I love this.

***More food sharing at Life Snippets and Food Trip Friday.

North Park Merienda

2009-08-20T12:02:00.012+08:00

I wanted something easy to chew because I just had my adult braces adjusted. My officemates were good enough to suggest congee at North Park for our afternoon snack.
(Gusto ko ng pagkaing madaling nguyain dahil kaka-adjust lang ng braces sa ngipin ko. Mabuti na lang at naisip ng officemates ko na magmerienda kami sa North Park.)

I had the simplest congee I could find from the menu. I was full after a bowl. Serving is quite big.
(Nag-order ako ng pinaksimpleng congee na nasa menu. Nabusog ako pagkatapos ng isang mangkok. Medyo malaki ang serving.)

A variety of the congee my officemate ordered, with shredded pork, vegetables, century egg.
(Isang variety ng congee naman ang inorder ng kasama ko, may himay-himay na pork, gulay at century egg.)

But then the two boys won't settle for anything else but food that will last till six o'clock strikes even if there are two coffee breaks in the afternoon. I have to say the boneless fried chicken chops is one of NP's specialties. You wouldn't notice you've been munching on it until only a few pieces are left on the plate. I always wonder how it is crispy on the outside but so soft and chewy in the inside.
(Pero syempre ang mga lalaki gusto nila yung aabot ang kabusugan nila hanggang mag-uwian kahit may isa pa ulit na coffee break. Masasabi kong best seller naman talaga ng NP ang boneless fried chicken chops. Ang sarap papakin. Paano kaya nagagawa yung crispy sa labas pero napakalambot ang meat.)

Lechon macau is also a specialty. I usually order this over fried rice. The crispy skin is so inviting but I know better than to break my brackets and hurt myself. Next time. :)
(Lechon macau ay isang specialty din. Madalas kong orderin ito na may kasamang fried rice. Nakakagigil ang malutong na balat pero baka mabali ang brackets ko. Sa susunod na lang.)

***More snack sharing at Litratong Pinoy.

Sprinkles

2009-08-16T17:51:00.008+08:00

I prefer to have my ice cream just plain. I am not fond of toppings even if they are chocolate toppings like M&M or truffle. I have to agree though that fancy ice creams are great come on specially for children.

My daughter loves this dessert from Tender Bob's, mud bowl - chocolate ice cream with whipped cream and cherry on top, chocolate syrup, M&M, gummy bears and candy sprinkles all over.

She prepared the ice cream posted below at home. As for me I prefer drizzling my ice cream with Hershey's Shell Topping which freezes in a second. Yum! Super chocolatey flavor!

***See more sprinkles at Lasang Pinoy, Sundays.

The Old Spaghetti House

2009-08-12T22:49:00.002+08:00

Like what I have mentioned in the past, it is my family's routine to go to church on Sundays and proceed to the grocery right after. If we're still out by twelve noon, we opt to take our lunch in a nearby restautant which was what happened a few Sundays ago.

(Katulad ng naikwento ko ng mga nakaraang post, routine na ng pamilya namin ang sumamba tuwing Linggo at mag-grocery pagkatapos. Sa labas na rin kami nanananghalian kapag inaabot kami ng lunch time gaya ng nangyari mga ilang linggo na ang nakakaraan.)

Daughter's
We had our lunch at The Old Spaghetti House near our place. Yummy pasta for our lunch. Have a feast. We were supposed to order their funnel cake (or fried spaghetti) but we were so full already. Next time.

(Nag-lunch kami sa The Old Spaghetti House malapit sa aming bahay. Masarap na pasta para sa aming tanghalian. Dapat ay oorder pa ako ng funnel cake (fried spaghetti kung tawagin nila) ngunit busog na kami. Wala nang paglalagyan. Sa susunod na lang.)

Mine

Hubby's
***More of lunch sharing at Litratong Pinoy.

Chill

2009-08-09T18:03:00.003+08:00

The family that drinks together, stays together. I've said that a number of times. :) From left to right - chillin' at Conti's - daughter's mocha frappe (if i remember it right), my usual yellow mango shake and hubby's iced tea.

***Go and chill at Lasang Pinoy, Sundays.

Cheerios!

2009-08-08T22:06:00.005+08:00

This is what I thought for this week's Photo Hunt theme, "low". Low in fat - what else but the cereals we have for breakfast on some days each week. My husband and my daughter sometimes take them too as afternoon or late night snack.

My daughter was munching on this yesterday afternoon, Fruity Cheerios. I love the color.

Happy weekend!

Gotti's Ristorante

2009-08-07T16:18:00.006+08:00

Sharing with you one of my favorite lunches - spaghetti pesto. This came with ceasare and two slices of pizza in thin crust. I had this at Gotti's Ristorante located at the new wing of SM Megamall.

The restaurant has simple interiors which reminds you of your school cafeteria only this is more organized, cleaner perhaps and has huge murals of pasta and some random Italians maybe. The service crews are very attentive. What surprised me was the serving size of their iced tea. I ordered regular but it could very well pass as the large size. I don't have a picture of it though but the server told me, yes, it's their regular size.

***More food sharing at Life Snippets and Food Trip Friday.

Breakfast (Almusal)

2009-08-05T21:22:00.008+08:00

I normally list down our food for the week - breakfast, lunch and dinner. Nothing grand but I just want to be sure we are having some balance in our food intake. This helps me also to have an inventory of what we have and don't have. I know if I need to replenish mid-week. We usually do the grocery on weekends.

(Nakagawian ko nang ilista ang aming menu para sa isang linggo - almusal, tanghalian at hapunan. Gusto ko lang masiguradong kahit papaano ay balanse ang kinakain namin at hindi paulit-ulit. Nakakatulong din ito sa akin para malaman ko kaagad kung kailangan ko nang mag-grocery kahit hindi pa weekend.)

This was what we had this morning. This was half of the last pack of cheesedog in the freezer. I mixed it with lots of onions and a few cloves of garlic. It went well with sunny side-up, bread, oatmeal, hot coffee for me and hubby and fresh milk for my daughter. Anything would go well in a rainy morning. :)

(Ito ang almusal namin kaninang umaga. Ito ang kalahati sa huling pack ng cheesedog na nasa freezer. Hinaluan ko na ng maraming onions at kaunting bawang. Bagay siyang kasama ng aming sunny side-up, tinapay, oatmeak, mainit na kape para sa aming mag-asawa at sariwang gatas para sa aking anak. Kahit ano yata ay masarap kapag umuulan.)

***More breakfast sharing at Litratong Pinoy.

Mung Bean Sprouts

2009-08-02T15:36:00.003+08:00

It's a welcome surprise that my daughter is fond of togue (mung bean sprouts). She loves this better as lumpia (spring roll). If we have it as lumpia, I like it dipped in vinegar with soy sauce and lots of onions. It was raining hard almost the whole day yesterday and this was what I thought of preparing - togue mixed with carrots and tofu - to go with the grilled fish.

Quick to cook and very filling plus very nutritious. According to Sprout People, mung beans are reach in Vitamins A, B, C and E, calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium. From Associated Content, mung bean sprouts are free of cholesterol and has approximately 30 calories only per cup. Hail to the bean sprouts!

***More food sharing at Lasang Pinoy, Sundays.

Folded Pizza

2009-07-19T16:29:00.009+08:00

It was my first time to dine at Volare, Gateway, Araneta Center. Whenever it's my first visit, I always ask friends who have been to that specific restaurant or the customer service associate what is their best seller. They recommended this tortellone, folded pizza with pesto sauce, ham, mozarella and parmesan cheese. It was really crispy. I was not overwhelmed with the taste but crispy crust with pesto sauce make me happy already.

***More crusty sharing at Lasang Pinoy, Sundays.

Vegetable Ramen

2009-07-17T10:23:00.008+08:00

It's been raining cats and dogs. Classes had been suspended since yesterday . I have an option to stay home today so I did. Indulge, indulge. I even postponed other mundane matters like going to the grocery to buy ingredients for creamy carbonara my daughter wants me to prepare this weekend. I can do that tomorrow.

We dropped by Sumo Sam before going home last night. Husband had a good choice ordering vegetable ramen for a somewhat light dinner. That's because he had pistachio ice cream beforehand. Dessert came first. Haha. I had my usual chicken tempura but I just had to have a few spoonfuls of the soup. I'm not a ramen person but it looks tempting what with the cold weather.

Hot tea is great too after a meal but I don't know why, last night the tea they served is somewhat bland. Like a hot apple flavored C2.

Happy weekend! My first time to join Food Trip Friday.

***More food sharing at Life Snippets and Food Trip Friday.

Pasta Primavera

2009-06-26T21:22:00.004+08:00

I had nothing on mind when my daughter and I had a snack at Le Coeur de France. I opted to just order what I am familiar with - pasta primavera. It was good. It did not disappoint. Creamy. When in doubt or there's nothing particular on mind, go for the usual, the standard.

***More food sharing at Life Snippets.

Creamy

2009-06-20T13:25:00.005+08:00

Today's theme for photo hunt is anything "creamy". Food is what I have on mind. I had a craving for the following dishes as I was browsing on my food pictures.

Baked mussels in rich melted cheese

Pasta in creamy mushroon sauce

Chocolate cake with creamy caramel drizzles
It's Father's Day tomorrow. These could what I will be ordering for our dinner. :)

Happy weekend!

Eggs, Mine and His

2009-06-12T19:05:00.004+08:00

My husband and I usually have the same choice from the breakfast buffet even if there are several food served on the table. More often than not, the difference would be the eggs and bacon. My husband loves bacon whereas I am not a fan. He loves sunny side up, I want scrambled eggs. He's always the one to get a plate of sliced fruits for us.

A sample of our almost identical menu from our breakfast at Lasang Pinoy Cafe, Legenda Hotel, Subic. This post reminds me of my Spot the Difference entry about one of our breakfasts.

Mine

His
***More food sharing at Life Snippets.

Dinner, Quick!

2009-06-05T17:44:00.008+08:00

I always think of shrimp if I want a delicious dinner but quick to prepare. I usually marinate shrimps with soda (Orange or Sprite) before I heat them in cooking oil. This time I just mixed them with garlic, onions, a dash of salt and steamed them in medium heat. Smells great and really yummy!

My husband loves shrimps dipped in vinegar with red hot chili peppers. My daughter and I love the taste of shrimps with its natural juice, no dip needed.

***More food sharing at Life Snippets.

Ampalaya con Carne

2009-05-29T19:23:00.006+08:00

My daughter is getting to be a picky eater. Her pediatrician informed me it has something to do with hormonal changes. At times transition from childhood to pre-teens affects their diet. Their preferences change.

I want my daughter to eat her vegetables. I want to include veggies in our daily menu. It's a good thing she loves ampalaya con carne (bittergourd with beef). We haven't had this for quite some time.

Success factors for ampalaya con carne would be largely reducing the bitterness of the ampalaya. Oyster sauce is also my ally in preparing some vegetable dishes. It enhances the taste. The ampalaya slices were really crispy as they were dropped two to three minutes before I turned off the heat. The beef was really good. I did not tenderize them anymore but they're soft to the bite.

You may do the following to manage the bitterness of ampalaya:
1. Slice them.
2. Remove the seeds.
3. Scrub the slices with a generous amount of salt.
4. Soak in very hot water for a minute or two.
5. Squeeze the water from each piece.

That worked when I applied the technique.

***More food sharing at Life Snippets.

Tofu

2009-05-22T13:28:00.005+08:00

My husband likes tofu as well as I do. But for a while he eats it several times a week. He asks to prepare fried tofu for our dinner. He orders them when we eat out. The tofu madness has subsided. We both don't know what came over him that he craved for tofu for a time.

Well it's a good appetizer, it's a good partner for vegetables. Pork with tofu can even serve as the main dish.

Sizzling Fried Tofu, Congo Grille
***Feast on more food at Food Friday.

Yellow Cab Pizza

2009-05-16T22:29:00.008+08:00

Yellow Cab Pizza was the dark horse in the leading pizza chains in the Philippines. That was how we perceived this pizza chain when I was still in the food industry. Surprisingly, there was a steady rise in both awareness and patronage for Yellow Cab from the time it started. The trend showed they were strong in the "wants to be seen" attribute. The image, in other words, is good. People wants to be seen eating there. One would think it's a franchise of a foreign brand but it's not. It's all Filipino. Correct me if I am wrong.

I have since transferred to a different industry and have lost track of what Yellow Cab is doing as reported by our marketing unit and our marketing agency. I have not seen any aggressive expansion of the brand up to this time. Taking it slowly but surely perhaps. Looking at their website though, they already have stores outside the Philippines, one in the US and two in Qatar and three in Malaysia. I have the impression that this pizza store is doing their business strategy quietly but with immense precision. This pizza chain came to be a byword especially with the younger market, from high school to young adults. There is no tri-media advertising as far as I can remember but they are well known among pizza lovers.

The good food speaks for itself. I don't have a picture here but one of the things I love at Yellow Cab is their ice cream. Creamy! I love the chocolate flavor!

My daughter and I prefer their NY Classic pizza, all pepperoni and cheese. Crunchy and not as oily as other pizzas.

This one has a cute name, twice-baked potato halves. Full of cheese and topped with crispy bacon bits. It comes along with sour and cream cheese.

Yummy!

Have a great weekend fellow food lovers!

***Slice it up at Lasang Pinoy, Sundays.

Flapjacks' Halo-Halo

2009-05-02T21:17:00.006+08:00

It's a rainy summer here in the Philippines. Storm Dante is raging in Bicol as I post this. It's been raining in Mega Manila also the past weeks but not today. It's not as hot though as the previous days.

What's best for summer, even on a rainy summer? Halo-halo. It's a sweet concoction of different fruits, beans, leche flan and purple jam. I was craving for some halo-halo. We drove around and thought of going to UP-Ayala TechnoHub and dine at Razon's. I was talked out of Razon's. We ended up in Flapjacks.

Flapjacks has halo-halo! It has slices of grapes, peaches, ripe mango, corn, pineapple, apple and jelly. I can't remember exactly but it costs around P145. It's expensive. The taste is just fine. I'm looking for the creaminess of Razon's halo-halo. Call it odd but I don't like so many things in my halo-halo. I like it with lots of milk, leche flan and purple jam. Banana and mangoes are fine too. I can do away with beans.

***More shades of spring and summer at Lasang Pinoy, Sundays.

Jack's Loft

2009-05-01T19:32:00.006+08:00

Jack's Loft is always full whenever we go to Eastwood. I never had a chance to dine there and check for myself how delicious the cakes are. Friends always tell me I have to try their cakes.

There were not much people around at lunch time at their branch at The Block so my daughter and I decided to have lunch there. We had a pretty good seat near the counter area.

As usual, the chicken fingers is a must. I am impressed because they have a very even breading for all the pieces served to us. They're crispy and still hot even after almost thirty minutes on our table.

Instead of rice to go with her chicken fingers, she ordered a pasta favorite, classic carbonara. It's creamy and there was a generous portion of bacon.

I chose beef stroganoff which was a good decision. Their very tender and juicy. I love its creaminess. Delicious!

Now comes the dessert. I ordered decadent chocolate cake as I was craving for some caramel and chocolate. The presentation is great, very appetizing. But I cannot rave about it. It's a chocolate cake. I don't know if my taste buds on lunch time is any different at any other time of the day. It's good but not great as I was told by many. Worth the money still since it can be shared by two. It costs around P120.00.

***Feast on more food at Food Friday.

Changing Template

2009-04-27T16:32:00.004+08:00

If there is something weird you find in here, it's because I'm trying to change templates. Nothing really wonderful. I just want to change templates. That's how I am when I am restless - I do some changes, adjustments.

Go Natural

2009-04-25T18:32:00.010+08:00

There are natural sources of vitamins and minerals which can help increase our resistance to flu especially now that the weather is having abrupt changes which could have undesirable effects on our bodies. A lot of kids have cough and cold because of the unpredictable weather - hot one moment and it's raining the next. The weird thing is this summer seems to be the hottest summer I have experienced in my life and yet it's raining. The weather bureau is not declaring summer has ended but it's only a rainy summer. Figure that out.

An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Fruits and vegetables help shield our bodies from harmful elements that could attack anytime. These foods are not as expensive as, say, a meal at your favorite fast food chain. Let's religiously include in our budget healthy foods that will come along way in protecting our bodies.

Bell peppers are natural sources of two powerful antioxidants, vitamin C and A. Included in the daily diet, they help promote lung health.

Bitter gourd or bitter melon is one vegetable which gives so many health benefits. My father is a very health conscious person. He is one to swear on the good benefits of eating bitter gourd. He drinks this vegetable's juice with honey everyday. It helped a lot in lowering sugar levels in blood and urine.

As we have probably learned since grade school, carrot is a rich source of beta-carotene. It is an antioxidant and boosts our immune system. It's a good thing we all love eating carrots in our family - whether raw or an ingredient in a vegetable dish.

I learned from the nutritionist who oriented me and my husband on our first day at the gym that chayote is one of the vegetables with no cholesterol, low in calories and very rich in fiber. Well, this is one of the vegetables highly accepted in my family since it tastes good especially when they are sauteed with pork, tomato, onion and garlic.

I learned that eggplant is a brain food. According to eggplant research, nasunin, a nutrient found on its skin, is known to protect brain cell membranes.

And who will argue with fresh fruits? We always have fruits in our house since I was a child. Banana is a staple. My mother sees to it we have our fair share of fruits within the day. I carry that with me now that I am a mom.

*Reference: World's Healthiest Foods

***Read more entries on protect/protection, today's theme at Photohunt.

Green Joy

2009-04-24T21:11:00.010+08:00

Do you sometimes have a craving for your trusty neighborhood food? The food you grew up with or at least somewhat similar? I do.

This pizza store I see around the area where I live has intrigued me because its name seemed to have been inspired by the pizza chain I used to be a part of. I went there with my husband and tried to see what they have to offer. I was not disappointed.

The store is clean and well-lit. The all-around person manning the store is polite and very accommodating.

The colors are really eye-catching - a combination of green and orange - who would miss this? The logo is decent enough.

Even the packaging is quite dainty, the printing is of good quality. See the hot sauce? I have to prick with a toothpick whenever I encounter sauces packed in plastic tubes, like the sauces for siopao (though most come now in sachets).

And most of all they are serving a no-frills pizza which I really like. I remember the pizza I used to buy from the school cafeteria - ham and cheese and mushroom and it's good to go straight to my stomach. I remember this pizza is called pizza delight. My boyfriend (now my husband) and I frequently order this pizza flavor back in college.

Surprisingly, the crust is very crunchy even if a good twenty or so minutes have elapsed from their store to my house. I didn't see the kind of oven they are using. Truth is I find pizzas cooked in portable ovens crunchier than those in conveyor ovens.

Anyway, the burger is good too - it's like a homemade burger that is just juicy. I believe I will be a frequent visitor of this neighborhood pizza store.

***Feast on more food at Food Friday.

Sumo Sam

2009-04-19T17:54:00.005+08:00

Off we went to Sumo Sam for a very unadventurous dinner. We had what we usually order. As always my daughter chose gyudon. This is a staple when we dine in a Japanese restaurant. She can finish the whole bowl of rice and beef strips very quickly but she does not touch the onions. Good thing because onion is my favorite. I get to have them.

When I don't feel like ordering anything I go for the safest. I had seafood omelette rice sans ketchup. They have big serving. The rice can be good for two.

The chicken tenders come with fries. I have to say this is the best tenders I had so far. I don't how they do it but yes, crispy in the outside but the meat is very, very tender. The fries too were very crispy even after a few minutes on our table.

***More about Easter and Eggs at Lasang Pinoy, Sundays.

Clawdaddy

2009-04-13T11:34:00.005+08:00

One of the restaurants we frequent when we go to Bonifacio High Street is Clawdaddy. It's always full especially at night but we patiently wait for our table. My daughter usually sits on the grass and reads her book while us, her parents, stay at the waiting area.

You can go people watching while outside since the place is packed with people - hurried and looking busy with their notebooks hanging on their shoulders, families having a good time, kids playing, young couples strolling - yes, HHWW, haha, cute! There are group of friends with their fresh smiles and hearty laughs, the young at hearts probably having quick dinner and lots of shopping. I don't get impatient waiting in this case because I love observing people.

Anyway it was a trip to Clawdaddy again and we gave in to our seafood craving and some more. Corn is a good appetizer for me but then I could have this anytime while having the main course. I just want them with lots of butter.

My husband's favorite, caesar salad. What I love is the herb crouton and the crispy bacon that go with the greens.

Cream-based soup with cheddar cheese which makes it creamier is tops to my daughter.

It's not my daughter who fancies the car that holds the chicken fingers with rice crispies. It's my husband. He collects them if I may share that.

The plain white rice that goes with the chargrilled beef ribs is for the crab and seafood boil. I am not really into grilled foods. I had a few bites of this one and it's very tender.

This doesn't look good in the picture but it's full of what is says, seafood (crab, lobster, clams, prawns, mussels) and a sausage plus baby potatoes. Yes, there's watermelon to quench your thirst after devouring all these food. :) Burp! Excuse me.

It's back to reality today after an almost week long vacation for the Holy Week. The daily grind starts again. I've learned to be more appreciative of the blessings that come our way. Here's wishing everyone a bountiful week ahead!

***More sharing of snapshots at WS.

Grilled Ensaymada

2009-04-05T14:27:00.007+08:00

Red Ribbon's grilled ensaymada was a pleasant surprise. Their service is another story. It's the usual ensaymada in their menu topped with butter and confectionery sugar, straight from the griddle I suppose, or oven. It's really soft and chewy and the butter did wonders. I love butter and I always ask for an extra serving for my pancakes or anything else that has butter on it. The melted butter gives a creamy texture on the ensaymada. Good for some quick bite. It's served with coffee but since it's summer, I wanted to have a smoothie with it. Red Ribbon has no smoothie unfortunately so I settled for 7-11's Slurpee.

***More melted bliss at Lasang Pinoy, Sundays.

Yogurt & Crepe

2009-04-03T23:21:00.006+08:00

After attending last Saturday's Krispy Kreme event, I dropped by ArAma Cafe, Serendra to see my high school friend. I just have to see her and try what her cafe has to offer. If you are into wellness, this restaurant might just be for you since they serve all organic food.

We have not seen each other in ages but it was a quick meet up as she still has to attend a reception and I have to be home before traffic heats up. I have not ordered much except for desserts since my daughter and I had lunch already.

My daughter had frozen yogurt, vanilla flavor. For kids, my friend suggested that the best would be chocolate. Its flavor masks the sour aftertaste.

I shared mango crepe with muscovado sugar with my daughter. Now this is yummy! We both love it!

I'll make sure to try their pasta the next time I drop by ArAma Cafe.

***More food sharing at Food Friday.

Square Pizza

2009-03-29T18:53:00.012+08:00

Pizzas usually come in round shapes but there are a handful of restaurants serving square ones. Years ago when I was just starting in the food industry, one of the novelties introduced by the food company I was in was the square pizza. Well, yes, Marketing even pushed for heart-shaped pizza for Valentine's. I remember a lot of customers were fond of the square but not of the heart.

Here's a square pizza with loads of mozzarella cheese, onion and tiger prawns - my favorite combination. This is Fish and Co.'s marsala pizza which I shared in two different occasions - first with my Filipino Mom Blog friends and the second time with my family on the eve of my husband's birthday last year.

Well my husband did not want me to tell the staff that we were supposed to be having an advanced birthday dinner for him. With my friends though, we gladly mentioned to the dining attendant that two mommies were celebrating their birthdays. Chats and Cookie's birthdays were a week or two ago actually when we had that dinner.

See below the complimentary round chocolate cake on a huge square white plate. It makes the cake look bigger. We wish they filled up the plate with lots of chocolate syrup. :)

***It's Hip to be Square at Lasang Pinoy, Sundays .

Piazza Pazzo

2009-03-08T19:20:00.009+08:00

The summer heat makes one crave for anything that will quench the thirst, anything that will make your body feel cool. My daughter and I decided to have some gelato while going around Power Plant. Piazza Pazzo's counter caught our attention when we passed by the foodcourt. Lined up were so many flavors of gelato. More than twenty I think.

Of course, there's nothing else for me but cioccolato. It's creamy and as you can see, one order can be shared by two. Big serving.

Same goes for their pasta, the serving is meant to be shared by two. I ordered macaroni with cheese, bacon bits and mushroom. I don't know if there is any other secret ingredient here but one thing I can say, the noodles has the right bite - they are soft but they do not slide between my teeth. I love the crunchy bacon bits which go with the pasta.

Since my daughter loves cheese, we ordered their pizza topped with four kinds of cheese the names of which I failed to remember. But anyway, I find that this is not the usual pizza served in most pizza houses. I was looking for the tomato sauce actually or the pizza sauce. The crust is not generously filled with sauce which is how their pizzas are done to highlight the toppings and the crust better. I am a fan of thin, crunchy crusts so this is fine with me.

The bread goes with the usual bread dipping - olive oil, balsamic vinegar, peppercorn, probably loads of herbs and spices, and grated cheese. Sometimes bread and coffee are enough to feed my appetite especially if the main dish is served after quite some time (twenty minutes and above). I feel like canceling my order at times like that since the bread filled me up already. :D

***Lasang Pinoy, Sundays hosts Bread-y or Not for this week's theme.

Pink Bag, It's Edible

2009-03-05T11:52:00.009+08:00

Isa ito sa mga display cakes sa Marta's Cakes sa kanilang branch sa Serendra. Napaka-creative ng mga nagdidisenyo ng mga cakes dito. Lahat ng pwede mong isipin naidedesign nila - treasure box, under the sea, kahit mga fliflops pa na gustong-gusto ko. Magaling sila sa mga detalye at color coordination. Iniisip kong ang tagal sigurong gawin nito. Sa palagay ko malaking porsyento sa costing ng cake ang disenyo at labor.

(This is one of the display cakes at Marta's Cakes located at Serendra. The cake designers are so creative. The designs are anything you can imagine - treasure box, under the sea, even flipflops which I really like. They pay great attention to details and they are good at color schemes. I am thinking how long one cake is done. Perhaps a huge percentage of the cake's costing come from design and labor.)

Sa Marta's Cakes din maaaring gumawa ang mga bata (pwede rin ang mga oldies) ng kanilang sariling disenyo sa cupcakes. Nakakaaliw silang tignan sa paggamit ng mga makukulay na toppings.

(At Marta's Cakes, children, as well as adults, can create their own cupdake design. It's fun watching kids take it seriously, how they mix and match the different colors of the toppings and how they carefully squeeze each tube for perfect strokes.)

Puntahan ang Litratong Pinoy para sa iba't-ibang uri ng bags na tema ngayong linggong ito. Ako'y bibisita sa mga kapwa LP participants mamayang gabi, Philippine time. Magandang Huwebes!

(Please visit Litratong Pinoy and check out more bags, this week's theme. I'll be visiting other LP members later tonight. Have a great Thursday!)

Pan de Manila

2009-02-27T11:50:00.007+08:00

We have church activities every night for this week. I took advantage of this feeding my soul and feeding my craving for pan de sal. It has been a long time since I had some, pan de sal, that is. Good thing Pan de Manila is on our way home.

For four nights already since Monday, we are regular customers of the bakery. The store servers already know us, as well as the parking attendant (the "barker" in other words).

The brick oven is said to taste better because it preserves and seals in the aroma of the dough. I have to say this is true. I was in the food industry for so many years. There are a lot of factors for a crust to be able to hold the heat. But talking about ovens, crusts were crunchier when the company was still using brick oven. It holds the heat longer compared to the automated oven that replaced it.

Customers can actually watch how the bakers load and unload doughs as the oven can be seen from the glass panel.

The doughs are ready for loading. I wonder how many minutes they stay there. This area is near the entrance and it's along the road - dusts and all. The heat inside the oven takes care of all the foreign bodies I suppose. :)

I have not tried all the other breads they offer. Next time maybe.

We tried their garlic butter and peanut butter. We bought the smallest bottles just to check if we will like the taste. We love them both! Garlic butter has parsley which adds to its flavorful aroma. It's more expensive than the peanut butter though.

My daughter loves the peanut butter! For three straight days, she brings peanut butter sandwich to school. Normally she tires of food easily.

We already consumed three bottles for four nights. The biggest bottle which we bought on Wednesday night will seem to last till today, Friday.

Our favorite peanut butter is Skippy and this one from Pan de Manila tastes as good. Creamy and the sweetness is just about right. You won't cringe from too much sweetness. My husband does not want peanut butter to be refrigerated. He wants them on room temperature for easier spreading. It's tastier that way too, a little melted.

As for pandesal, they are good while still hot which is about ten to fifteen minutes from the time we buy them. They come in two sizes, small and big. I'm alright with the taste but my husband is looking for the crunch in the pan de sal's crust.

Aside from the peanut butter, all of us love their Chocolate con Leche! According to its packaging, they use muscovado sugar. Aside from bringing back the feel of the old Manila (just look at their paper bag), they also adhere to all natural ingredients, no preservatices, which most of us, consumers, prefer.

Pan de Manila as I see it is successful in bringing all complementing products in one store, open for 24 hours, and adding in other product innovations - pan de ube, pesto and cheese bread, pesto wheat loaf, etcetera. The people manning the bakery are nice too, at least in the branch near our place. They have ready smiles, neat and very accommodating.

Have a feast on other Food Friday entries. Happy weekend! TGIF! :)

Milkfish Springrolls

2009-02-22T16:49:00.004+08:00

Eats a Wrap for today's Lasang Pinoy, Sundays. Let me share what I recently cooked for our dinner.

One of my family's favorites is lumpiang shanghai but since we are abstaining from pork, I decided to use milkfish instead. Milkfish springrolls (lumpiang bangus) has basically the same preparation as shanghai's save for the main ingredient which is fish. I steamed then flaked the fish. I put in diced carrots and onions, a few cloves of garlic, a dash of salt and pepper, celery and egg to moisten the mixture.

Now comes the hard part. I have not mastered wrapping lumpia. I would have wanted lumpia wrapped seamlessly like how the cooks from Chowking do them, or how my aunts do them. Perfectly wrapped lumpia. Not that I let myself get too worked up wrapping them. Afterall, we're going to eat them as soon as they're cooked. But it's something nice to accomplish at least for me. :)

So far this is the best the best that I have done. I don't know if it's lack of creativity or patience or practice.

But I guess they are at par with the cheesesticks of Five Cows. :)

I don't know if I should feel elated with this, my daughter thought what I prepared is still lumpiang shanghai instead of lumpiang bangus. She loved it and she wanted more.

Pesto Crema with Prawns

2009-02-20T21:12:00.004+08:00

Tender Bob's is one of the restaurants my family prefer to go to when eating out. We have tried a number of delectable dishes they offer. We just keep coming back there.

For today's Food Friday, let me share my daughter's favorite pasta from Tender Bob's - pesto crema with prawns. It's as creamy as it gets.

Napoli Pizzeria Ristorante

2009-02-16T18:30:00.005+08:00

Our stomachs grumbled after my daughter and I had an almost-day-long-shopping for her dress and mine among other things. We helped ourselves with the food we ordered before I took pictures of them. That was how hungry we were.

She likes the seafood pesto pizza at Napoli. She likes pesto period. :D

I love their chicken carbonara. It's good for two to three persons. The first time I ordered this I was thinking of the usual presentation. Bits of chicken meat mixed with the sauce and pasta. Glad to note it's deep fried chicken, huge chicken meat.

I forgot what this is exactly called - it's fish and fries. I think it's dory fish. Delicious too, very tender and tasty.

Other than shopping, we also took time to have my daughter's photo taken at the special Valentine corner the mall created with red seats and colorful wall designs. You may check it out at The Mommy Zone's WS entry.

Chocolate (Tsokolate)

2009-02-05T20:12:00.010+08:00

I have so many pictures with chocolates as my subject. I love chocolates to say the least - devouring them, looking at them. Lately though, it seems all chocolates taste the same for me. I don' know if it's just being too accustomed with the taste. Even so, chocolates never fail to get my attention. They are just so yummy to look at. A lot of times I just want to preserve them and not even touch them.

(Napakarami kong litrato kung saan tsokolate ang aking subject. Paborito ko ang tsokolate. Minsan lang parang iisa na lang ang aking lasa sa mga ito, parang hindi na espesyal. Maaari kasing sanay na ang aking panlasa kaya't parang wala ng bago.)

One of my favorite chocolates is Lindor Truffles. The round chocolate with a little depression in the middle where the chocolate syrup comes out and melts in your mouth. Heaven!

(Isa sa mga paborito kong tsokolate ay ang Lindor Truffles. Talagang napakalinamnam ng tsokolateng ito lalo na kapag natutunaw na sa iyong bibig. Heaven!)

But that's not what I am going to share for this week's Litratong Pinoy. I just want to share the chocolates I have encountered in my house today. There's a bag of mini Toblerones inside the refrigerator when I checked to get something. I didn't know hubby bought some. There are times he craves for them.

(Ngunit hindi iyon ang ilalahok ko sa linggong ito kundi ang mini Toblerone na nakita ko sa loob ng aming refrigerator kaninang umaga. Nag-uwi pala ang aking asawa dahil minsan ay gusto niya ng Toblerone.)

The mini toblerones and chocolate crunchies kept our daughter company this afternoon while she was reviewing for the last batch of mastery exam tomorrow. The table was quite a mess as you can see.

(Ang mga mini Toblerones at ang chocolate crunchies ay kasama ng aking anak kaninang hapon sa kanyang pagrereview para sa kanilang mastery exam bukas. Pasensya na sa kalat. :) )

Chicken with Sweet Peas (Chicken Guisantes)

2009-01-27T22:40:00.007+08:00

My daughter likes her packed lunch done this way - everything on top, rice topped with the main dish. She does not eat sweet peas but loves potatoes. She wants the chicken (or any meat) cut into bite size already. And just like me, she does not want too much sauce. This is her packed lunch - chicken guisantes, just like how she wants it prepared.

Like ninety nine percent of posts here under "newbie cook" category, this is another first time - first time I cooked chicken guisantes. Usually on weekdays, I prepare next day's lunch the night before. Like what I always say, if there is a will, there is a way. And I really want to get better at cooking. I love to cook for my family.

Chicken guisantes was fairly easy. I just have to make sure I put in the potatoes and sweet peas at the right time so they won't get overcooked. Right timing, this is one of the things I need to master if I want my cooking to be a success.

"What's in Your Lunch Box?" meme is hosted by Filipino Mom Blog. Come on over!

Mojos

2009-01-16T21:15:00.006+08:00

Lunch is sometimes spent outside the confines of the office building. Most dining places are usually full during lunch breaks so we make reservations before heading to our chosen restaurant. But it happens that nobody was able to make one so we either wait to be seated or we settle to a restaurant where there are not much people. Like what happened a few days ago.

With the cold weather, creamy mushroom soup is fine with me.

I am not so much a fan of their chicken. I find it a bit dry. Lacks the juiciness of a chicken joy.

I had carbonara which was just fine.

One reason that I go back to Shakey's is their mojos! I like it with the caesar's dip. I have to say though that their mojos were not as crunchy nor as tasty as they were years ago but they will do. I still like it.

Check out more Food Friday entries. Happy weekend! :)

Egg Mayo and Wheat Bread

2009-01-13T20:07:00.009+08:00

My dinner last night and hubby's was this - wheat bread, tuna with lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber. He wanted it with carrots but unfortunately, there's no more in the ref.

Wheat bread expires today so I thought of having some for breakfast and bring along the last two pieces with me. I made myself an egg-mayo sandwich, mayonnaise of the lite kind. This served as my lunch and my share for this week's lunch box meme of the Filipino Mom Blog.

By the way, let me also share a good find - TakeAlongs from Rubbermaid. I love this as it is very flexible - microwave and freezer safe. They have just been taking space in my storage area from the time my mom sent them to me which was about two years ago. I have said that I am not into cooking nor preparing food before so I was not really aware of which is best for what - the different kinds of pots, pans, food storage...even the cutlery. Most of them were sent by my mother. Some my husband bought since he loves to cook even then.

I started making use of the TakeAlongs early last year when I ran out of sandwich bag for my daughter. I get to save a few pesos since I don't frequently use sandwich bag anymore. I usually use this for my daughter's sandwiches, cookies and for some leftover meals. This is not a paid post by the way. I wish it is. :)

Ube Jam

2009-01-11T18:55:00.010+08:00

I have three of what I call personal traditions as I welcome the new year together with my family. We all wear red because it's such a vibrant color, full of enthusiasm and energy which I want us all to imbibe for the new year. Second is all lights in the house are turned on including the washrooms. Third is abundant food.

That's why it never fails. We always have left over foods at the start of the year. We don't actually cook for the next two days and there are cakes, leche flans, ube jams, fruits and other desserts for the next seven days or so. They last according to their shelf life fortunately.

The only food left from new year's eve is the last pack of ube jam. But this afternoon as I was preparing to take a picture of it for my entry for LaPiS (Lasang Pinoy, Sundays) I noticed molds are starting to form already. This should not be as this can last for two weeks. My big guess is someone did not properly scoop the jam so it was contaminated. Out it goes from my storage.

Breaded Chicken

2009-01-02T09:49:00.000+08:00

Here is my attempt to make decent breaded chicken. I boiled the chicken wings until the meat is tender. I garnished with salt and dried rosemary sprig for a pungent flavor.

I just used a no-frills breading mix for the wings then deep fried each in a pan. The others look even but some wings seem burnt. Uneven breading is the culprit. I hope to make this better next time. I used my old trusty sweet-chili sauce as dip.

Happy new year to all and yes, you my fellow Food Friday blogmate! Cheers to 2009! :)

HAPPY 2009!

2009-01-01T22:23:00.001+08:00

Gumbo Dinner

2008-12-28T19:49:00.008+08:00

I thought of having yet another seafood jambalaya. And if it's that, it's either Burgoo or Gumbo. The mall where these two are located is very accessible from where I live. I shared one of our Gumbo eat outs here. Gumbo is on the ground floor so we decided to just have our dinner there. Lazy bones. That's the advantage of standing in a prime space.

For no reason I changed my mind when we got in. I thought of trying other dishes. I am not fond of spicy foods so when I had my choice from the menu the first thing I asked is to cut down on the spicy seasoning. I can sense even a teeny weeny tinge of it in my food which sometimes turns me off. Their stuffed crab did not disappoint. The filling is generous. A little spicy but I was amenable to it.

Bayou Stuffed Crab P350+

We munched on buffalo chicken wings too. I only had a few bites just to have a taste. The meat is really tender. A spicy food lover would love this. Surprisingly my daughter likes it.

Buffalo Chicken Wings P280+

Baked lasagna is steaming hot swimming with cheese which my daughter loves. See, she spooned a part already. She couldn't wait.

Baked Lasagna P380+

Sharing also at The Mommy Zone what my daughter busied herself with while I was still eating. Happy WS-hopping!

Kenny Rogers Roasters

2008-12-26T16:14:00.006+08:00

For today's Food Friday, I'm sharing with you good food from KR.

I will keep coming back to KR for all these except for the chicken. The taste can still improve. I find it a little bland. We should have ordered the roast chicken which Kenny is known for. We also ordered smoothies but the two shots did not come up well. Their smoothies is the best! I love mango and my husband love strawberry.

The frosted Xmas muffin is cute. The last picture, tuna melt, I will have anytime as my rice substitute for lunch or dinner. :)

Taco Bell

2008-12-22T07:00:00.004+08:00

My daughter loves potatoes, I mean anything potatoes she will devour to her heart's content. My husband loves tex-mex dishes. Sometimes I think he can live with only these. I acquired the taste because of him but I can't say I am a true-blue fan. I like taco salad from Mexicali alright. Several weeks back my daughter and I had lunch at Taco Bell which offers Mexican quick orders as the world knows.

We had two orders of Meal C from their combination meals. It consists of fiesta rice topped with flavored ground beef, diced tomatoes and onions, potato bites with cheese dip, and fiesta salsa salad. It was very filling.

I had nacho supreme for my dessert. They come with beans, cheese sauce, ground beef, tomatoes and onion. The corn chips are so crunchy. I love it!

Like what I have mentioned, my daughter loves potatoes so she had this, potato balls with sour cream, cheese sauce and onions. This is a lot better than french fries.

You may visit here for more snapshots. I shared the Filipino Mom Blog's weekend holiday party at The Mommy Zone. And take a peek on an empty gym at Everything and then Some.....

Milkfish Sour Soup With Miso

2008-12-19T19:26:00.007+08:00

We have fish for our lunch and dinner for several days now. There was news about the Ebola-Reston virus in pork so the best way to be safe is stay away from pork in the mean time.

Unlike my husband, my knowledge of fish meals is quite limited - either fish in sour soup, steamed, fried, sweet and sour, and my all time favorite, sarciado. I don't like it grilled. I thought of cooking milkfish sour soup in miso (sinigang na bangus sa miso). I like the tangy taste of miso. It's a great flavor enhancer. Can you see the bangus belly from the picture? That's what I love best!

As a child I remember my mother set aside fried bangus for me because I don't like anything cooked in sour soup. I have acquired the taste for sinigang as I grow up. I'm what you call "pihikan" (choosy), but that was before. Nobody will believe me now if I tell them that. Anyway, you get to be with a lot of people, you go to a lot of places and sometimes you have no choice but to partake the food that is served to you. You also get curious why they seem to be so engrossed eating a particular dish. Best of all is having a husband who knows how to cook and is adventurous in trying different dishes. That helped a lot in my food evolution.

This is my first post for Life Snippets' Food Friday. Let me take a tour and check all other entries.

Chicken Pineapple

2008-12-15T10:30:00.007+08:00

I had the courage to prepare chicken pineapple last night after dinner for our lunch on Monday. Everyone's out of the house on weekdays so I might as well finish this the night before.

I love how my father cooks this. It's very tasty, the sauce is more than enough to partner with my rice. I get full easily if this is our meal. My husband took one step different with the way he prepares this. He adds all purpose cream, well, to make it creamier. I adapted his style.

I marinated the chicken in pineapple juice taken from the pineapple chunks. I let it stay inside the ref for about an hour.

I sauteed onion and garlic and added the chicken pieces one by one. Sprinkled salt and pepper to taste. Once the chicken is half cooked I poured in the marinade and let it boil. I added the milk and pineapple chunks when the chicken's almost cooked and the all purpose cream last. It smells really good.

This is my daughter's packed lunch for today. :)

My other weekend snapshot is at The Mommy Zone, it's all pink. :)

Chocolat

2008-12-14T18:00:00.009+08:00

This is funny. I always have cakes in every occasion, even if there is no occasion. I buy a cake (or ask my husband) whenever I feel like eating one. Digging through my pictures folder for food, I cannot find any picture of a cake we have during the holidays. Birthdays and anniversaries and other non-occasions I have but the holidays? Nada. I don't know. Maybe I am so busy with other things that I miss taking pictures of the cake by its lonesome. I don't know how that is possible knowing how I love cakes. This will clearly remind me to take pictures of our cake this coming holiday.

Anyway for today's LaPiS, holiday goodies, I'll be sharing cakes. Let me share slices of cakes from Chocolat which I intend to have as part of our new year ensemble. :)

Cakes are best eaten with hot coffee, at least for me, it is.

I like the letters mounted on the wall of this cozy cake shop. It's colorful and cute. I like their wall too. It feels like you are in a cafe inside a bookstore.

Snowmen

2008-12-09T18:25:00.008+08:00

Maybe you've passed by their giant billboards along EDSA (a major thoroughfare in Metro Manila). Maybe you've actually seen them and had a taste of them in your favorite doughnut store. These two remind me of the penguins in Madagascar. But I know they're supposed to be snowmen and they are the featured doughnuts of Krispy Kreme for the holidays. :)

They're cute! Though I am not into fancy donuts, I bought them together with the chocolate and cookies and cream flavor. They're just like ordinary donuts only the buttons are of chocolate flavor and the nose so small you wouldn't notice its taste, if it tastes anything at all. The scarves are like gummy bears. The red's strawberry and the green one has a lemony taste according to my husband. It's a fun doughnut - scrutinize, giggle then gobble up. :)

More fabulous holiday finds in white at the Filipino Mom Blog headquarters. :)

Spot the Difference

2008-12-06T14:39:00.003+08:00

How else can your food be different from each other with only a few choices in a breakfast buffet? Can you tell the difference here? The fuller plate is my husband's by the way.

Check out other breakfast photos here. The Mommy Zone features different shots of a pretty girl while having breakfast. See what's frying at Everything and then Some..... Happy photo hunting!

My First Chopsuey

2008-12-01T15:50:00.005+08:00

I am the one in charge of cooking on weekends and on holidays or at anytime that I am off from work. I took it upon myself to prepare our meal whenever I can. The past weeks I actually make time to do them no matter how busy the schedule is.

There's a Filipino saying that goes like, "pag ayaw maraming dahilan, pag gusto may paraan". That's true for me. I make time, squeeze time, if I really want to get something done. As long as it's humanly possible, I do that.

I was brave enough to try chopsuey. It's actually easy now that I put my focus on cooking. All ingredients in: garlic, tomatoes, onions for sauteing. Do I love the smell!

There are carrots, snow peas (sitsaro), young corn, chayote, red and green bellpepper, cabbage, chicken liver. I loved it that I need not dice the carrots but just have to cut them into little circles. Now snow peas I have to dip into a bowl of water and then cut the tip and pull out the string that runs along the side. I remember my mother said we have to strip it off so we can eat it without having to choke on it.

The young corn I just have to unwrap, cut into two those which are big for single serving. Chayote needs some effort, I have to peel them and dice them. It's a little slippery so better get a good hold of them while you're on the process of peeling them. The seeds of the bellpepper has to be taken off before cutting them into strips. I also cut the cabbage into small pieces. Chicken liver was the last to go. I was really careful while I let them cook. I was afraid to over or undercook. I guess undercooking is better since I can still adjust whatever I have to adjust afterwards. A dash of salt and pepper and a tablespoonful of oyster sauce for that added flavor to top the chopsuey.

It was a good meal. My husband, being more of an expert in the kitchen than I am, approved of the taste not out of pity but out of sheer happiness that at last I am starting to love cooking.

Beyond Fried Eggs

2008-12-01T11:28:00.004+08:00

12.01.08. Beyond Fried Eggs had been sitting on my dashboard for several months now. I finally had the time to tweak on it and have the courage to post my foodie adventures. Nothing much but this is my own way of chronicling my kitchen trials and errors.

I finally decided to take my cooking seriously. I created this blog to chronicle my food adventures, inside the kitchen and out. Like what I have said in my side blog, I have to start somewhere. I hope to be a good cook and baker by year 2009. So help me God.

What's a good cook and baker to me? At least I will be able to follow the recipe directions perfectly, familiarize myself with ingredients which sound alien to me and will be able to bake cupcakes which will actually look like cupcakes...that little mound of cake that is supposed to rise above its holder.

I have transported all my food posts from The Mommy Zone and Everything and then Some..... blogs to this blog for organization purposes.

Silog (Garlic Rice and Egg)

2008-11-30T16:22:00.000+08:00

Silog is a contraction of sinangag at itlog (garlic rice and egg) which is a very popular Filipino food. One can have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. And one can do a lot with it - partner it with different viands and have some side dish and voila, you have one perfect meal. Its rich flavor satisfies the appetite and makes one crave for more.

Normally when our family goes malling we already have a restaurant on mind. We already know where we will go after a movie/shopping/grocery to rest our tired feet and feed our hungry stomach. But at times we get really indecisive. We don't want pasta, we don't want pizza or any elaborate concoctions. When these happens, we go for Filipino dishes - caldereta, sinigang, veggies, and yes, silog. Like what we had a few weeks ago at Razon's at the foodcourt of Trinoma.

Longsilog (longanisa + sinangag + garlic egg)

Bangusilog (bangus + sinangag + garlic egg)

Tocilog (tocino + sinangag + garlic egg)

While I am at it, let me share two more dishes we ordered. My husband loved the sisig. And I think the other one is chicken adobo. It completely slipped my mind.

Sizzling Sisig

Chicken/Pork Adobo

What we did not have was the famous Razon's halo-halo. With all that we had, there's no more room for anything else in our tummy. Next time, halo-halo will be included in our menu.

With all the pictures I posted, I definitely enjoyed Lasang Pinoy Sundays today. :)

Horseradish Tree (Malunggay)

2008-11-23T17:51:00.000+08:00

There is no doubt I love eating, I love food. But I used to shun away from the kitchen. I do not detest cooking but I am not at all happy with all the preparations - slicing, mincing, mixing, etcetera. I would rather do other things which I think are more productive. Oh yes, anything that has got to do with the kitchen I feel the help can very well do them. I'd rather review my take home work than sweat it out in the kitchen.

But it grew on me. Gone were the days that I cannot stay in the kitchen for even a few minutes. Now I love it! I really, really do. I may still be a mess but I take every opportunity to learn and actually do the cooking - from buying the ingredients myself to preparing everything. This is one of the activities I look forward to during weekends. It used to be a hit and miss but now I'm making good progress. The dishes I prepare for the past months actually taste like real food! Proof is the honest-to-goodness commendations of my husband and daughter. The more I get encourage to hone my latent cooking powers. :D

I also love browsing on food blogs especially those with great pictures attached to the post. It makes me marvel how they can do all these cooking so effortlessly, from simple to the elaborate dishes. And now I am participating in food memes. I would like to get to know more of what others share from their kitchen, what good finds they have which I can learn from.

For this week's Lasang Pinoy Sundays, I am sharing my own Green - malunggay (horseradish tree) which I used for ginisang monggo (mung bean stew with pork rind). Labeled as a poor man's dish, it proves to be very nutritious as the beans and malunggay are good sources of protein and vitamins. Go green!

Belated Happy Birthday Post

2008-11-21T11:57:00.002+08:00

This is my first time to participate in Photo Story Friday. I would love to share my pictures taken during my husband's birthday a few weeks ago. This is a long over due post.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

There is no big celebration except that I prepared his favorite, or our favorite, seafood jambalaya. Normally we just order this from a restaurant. That was the first time I prepared one. So glad it was good. No left over.

I love cakes so it's a staple in any occasion (or even when there's no occasion) in our home. I'm not that adventurous though. I only have what I got used to having - chocolate or mocha. Boring I know. But husband thought of having Smores instead. It has caramel topping and chocolate everywhere. I did not complain. It was good. :)

We had dinner the night before his birthday at Fish and Co. There is not much people at this side of the dining area. I love the warm light and the wooden finish which dominates the restaurant.

I love their Marsala Pizza specifically the crust. It's croissant crust if I'm not mistaken. It does get messy sometimes but every bite is worth it. I'm an onion lover so the generous onion topping is a big plus for me.

My husband is a pasta lover so the best choice for him was fettucine in creamy mushroom sauce. Hmmm, love it too.

As always, my daughter had her chicken tenders with fries with a teeny weeny cupcake as dessert.

A belated birthday greeting post to Daddy! From me and our not-so-little-girl-anymore. :)

A Hearty Dinner :)

2008-10-12T21:22:00.000+08:00

One of the activities I look forward to during weekends or whenever I don't have work is experimenting in the kitchen. I have been doing this for a long time now. I have not mastered the pots and pans, the slicing, chopping, mixing, garnishing and all things related to a successful cooking or baking. But I enjoy every minute of it. It's tiring and I am a mess in the kitchen but it's fulfilling.

I have always dreamed of a spic and span clean kitchen while I am cooking in the same way as how we see it on television. Think Rachel Ray, Giada, Barefoot Contessa and Ellie Krieger. No sweat. I don't think I can talk much while I'm preparing ingredients and focusing on the simmering mixture. Oh how I love to be like these great ladies in the near future.

Later this afternoon I tried my hand on a recipe from Yummy Magazine - pork binagoongan sa gata (pork in shrimp paste mixed with coconut milk). I am not that confident as how it will come off. I just cooked the way it was directed.

I love the smell of sauteed garlic, onion and tomato. Adding bagoong (shrimp paste) made it all the more appetizing. I have to say that for some people I know, the strong pungent smell is repulsive. Making the coconut milk is what I found a little hard. This was the first time I squeezed the juice of coconut using a cloth. I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing. I just squeezed and squeezed until there's no more juice to squeeze.

We still had dinner on time, a little past seven in the evening. It took me an hour to prepare everything. It was my first time to hear an honest to goodness praise in my cooking. Even my daughter liked it. :) And so that capped our Sunday. Everyone's resting now. My daughter is sleeping. My husband's watching a Mark Wahlberg movie over at HBO and I'm blogging about my successful dinner. :)

**********
Mood: Accomplished.
Music: Tell Me Something I Don't Know, Selena Gomez (from my daughter's music files)

Abe

2008-10-06T21:27:00.000+08:00

I would like to share one of our weekends at Abe in Trinoma where we had gastronomic feast on choiced Filipino dishes. Surprisingly my daughter loved the morcon better instead of her all time favorite sugpo (giant prawn). I guess it's the way it was cooked. She loves her prawn simply as sinigang (cooked in sour soup) or just plain steamed dipped in lemon-butter sauce. The prawn we had was dipped in coconut milk. The funny thing is she chose to have a chocolate drink to go with the food. But then there's water after.

As for me and my husband, we love Abe's crispy tadyang (deep fried beef ribs). I wonder how they make this. It looks burnt but it's actually crispy in the outside but so soft and chewy in the inside. The wonders of cooking.

Sugpo sa Gata (Prawn in Coconut Milk)

Crispy Tadyang (Deep Fried Beef Ribs)

Morcon (Beef Meat Roll)

My drink and hubby's

Chocolate Drink
For rice eaters, you may order their rice per bowl good for one serving or their unlimited rice where you just call on the server if you want some more. There is not much difference with the price.

**********
Mood: Giggly.
Music: Summer Breeze, Jason Mraz

Champorado and Cereal

2008-08-13T15:25:00.001+08:00

Do you have a comfort food? I think I have lots judging by my weight. But what I really look for most of the time is your good old champorado. The very basic chocolate rice porridge made of glutinous rice and rich cocoa. I like mine swimming with milk.

I haven't eaten it with tuyo (dried fish) yet though I remember my grandfather won't have any champorado unless he has dried fish with it.

There's a classic story going around in our family about my special inclination with champorado. My Aunt asked me what food do I want on my eighth birthday. And without batting an eyelash I said champorado. That's been a running story and joke in our family. That everytime there's a birthday celebration, the champorado should not be missed.

I guess I love champorado because of the memories it hold too. Cooking it, preparing it is so simple but it's been one of my bonding moments with my mother. I love how she does it and how she gives me bowl after bowl whenever I ask of it. Living in the U.S. now, she tells me she still prepares it from time to time and serve it with my sister and brother.

Now I am doing the same with my daughter. Though lately, it's not champorado. She finds delight in this chocolate cereal with milk. She has to have it in the morning along side other breakfast and she has to have it in the afternoon when she gets home from school.

She loves cereals - Oreo's, waffle crisps and fruity pebbles with fresh milk. But this Milo cereal, she loves it with powdered milk diluted with water. Preferences, preferences.

Comfort food within the comforts of home having it with the person you love most. Bliss. :)
********** Mood: Calm
Music: Chasing Cars, Snow Patrol

Conti's

2008-08-03T16:26:00.000+08:00

We had our early dinner at Conti's last week after doing a little shopping and groceries in a nearby mall. We scouted for a dining place as we went around. I suggested Conti's to hubs and daughter. I first had a taste of the frozen mango tart from this restaurant during a birthday celebration at the office. It was really good. Needless to say that's one of the desserts we ordered.

The other one is one of their best sellers, choco overload. I would like to try anything chocolate, except for chocolate mint. Here it is, really delectable.

Before the desserts came the main course. No appetizers needed but drinks to quench our thirst from the long walk inside the mall. I had mango, hubby had iced tea and the little girl had her shake.

I tried the baked salmon as it is said to be their specialty. It's good though the cheese topping has a somewhat strong garlic taste.

One of hubby's favorite foods is the chicken ala kiev which he also prepares for our dinner from time to time. He tried this one from Conti's. He found the serving quite small versus his appetite.

My daughter had her chicken and fries with macaroni salad on the side. Nothing fancy about the taste, a standard fix for my daughter whenever we dine out.

The day proved to be full of Conti's as my cousin brought us a her belated birthday gift for my daughter, a chocolate cake from the said restaurant.

My daughter brought half for her classmates the following day and her friends loved it! Anyone's who's a chocolate lover would I suppose. It's delicious. :)

********** Mood : Pleased.
Music: Soft Melody, John Kaizan Neptune

Ladies' Night at Burgoo

2008-07-30T16:46:00.000+08:00

This is the second time we dined at Burgoo as a group. The first one was when Raquel visited the Philippines with her family. This one was last Friday where we had a detour. The supposed Greenbelt 5 rendezvous was diverted to Power Plant because of the heavy traffic from our place (we are in the same area) going to Makati.

Check out the food we devoured. Not in picture is our our after-dinner coffee at the same mall. No more energy to take pictures but the sharing and stories did not stop till it was almost midnight.

Seafood Caesar Supreme is a good appetizer. But for me, it can be the main course already.

Now I forgot the exact name of this one. It's chicken that I am sure of. This was the first one to be served so we all helped ourselves here since we were already starving.

Sorry for a rather blurry photo but this is my favorite, Jambalaya. I go to Burgoo for this. It is so filling. I want to experiment on this one of these days.

The mommies said this is almost like Jambalaya only this has corn salsa. I did not anymore have a taste of this one but the girls seemed to love it. It's called N'awlins Classic Platter.

I generally like Arrabiata but this one proved to be too spicy for me. I prefer the one served at Figaro.

I had a pretty good serving of this one, Seafood Linguini. There's calamari and shrimp which are both my favorites.

Pizza Margherita I like. Huge slices of tomatoes with mozzarella. A staple in most pizza and pasta restaurants.

One, two, ready, click...the Mommies I love going out with - Chats, Cookie, Feng, Wenchie, Julie and Cess.

As I was doing the links for each names, I realized there's only the two of us with no dotcom yet.

Liver Spread Spaghetti

2008-07-28T16:27:00.000+08:00

A week or so ago I thought of preparing spaghetti for dinner. I was supposed to email my sister how she does it with liver spread. I like the taste of it - the sauce a little coarse on the tongue but creamy. Well the cheese in the sauce made it creamier. I browsed for a second and landed to a recipe, Liver Spread Spaghetti, from Del MOnte Kitchenomics. I just added chicken livers. Thank you, thank you for providing a quick and easy recipe for women like me who eagerly wants to learn how to cook starting with something simple.

I only prepared just enough for us in the house. Normally there would be left overs around half full of plate but this time, there's none. My daughter even requested for it as her food sharing last Thursday for their class event. Same thing, it was a hit with the kids. :)

You may visit my other entry, Cupcakes at Everything and then Some.....
Have a lovely week ahead!

Penne Carbonara

2008-07-06T21:47:00.000+08:00

It's pasta time again. I got a new copy of the ever reliable Yummy Magazine. As always, I check the easiest pasta to prepare. Easy meaning I have all the ingredients or they are easy to find in supermarkets. This one's no sweat.

This is my own take on Penne Carbonara I prepared yesterday. I just don't have green peas so the picture looks so plain. But hey, hubby and daughter liked the taste. :) See the presentation doesn't look appetizing because the hubby already got a plateful before I took the picture. I cannot anymore fix it the way I want it.

Let me share the ingredients and the procedure:
Heat:
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. olive oil

Saute:
2 tbsp. chopped onion
1 small clove of garlic

Add:
1/4 cup chopped bacon (I used my stock of Hormel's Real Bacon Pieces.)
1/4 kg. ground beef

Season with:
1 8g. Maggi All-in-One Seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Pour in:
1 250ml. Nestle All Purpose Cream
1/2 cup water

Simmer for five minutes. Add:
1/4 cup green peas (No green peas here as I've said.)

Stir in 300g. cooked penne pasta. Top with 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese.

There! :)

Take a peek on some sweets in my other weekend snapshot at Everything and then Some..... Happy WS!

Cafe Mary Grace

2008-06-29T22:52:00.000+08:00

I was reading Yummy magazine and there was a mention of Mary Grace's chocolate cake. The photo was just so appetizing. I suddenly had a craving for it. I love the cafe's brownies and cheese rolls but haven't had their cakes yet.

That's what prompted me and my daughter to have a snack at Cafe Mary Grace when we were at Trinoma a few weekends ago. The cafe is small, cozy and inviting. The lighting sets the mood as well as the interior. Country style if I may say. The service is quite fast or maybe one won't really notice a few minutes has passed because one tends to read the messages neatly laid out on the table. They are messages of appreciation from the customers. Isn't that nice?

I took pictures of my daughter too while waiting for our food. This was right in front of the mirror. My baby's a big girl already, sigh. :D

I had my coffee alright to go with the cake.

Oh yes, the chocolate cake is divine. I don't use this word much as most chocolate cakes taste the same and more often than not, I just get disappointed. But this one, it has the right moist and its sweetness is just right for my taste. The filling does not drown the chocolate feel and flavor. I'll have this anytime.

My daughter likes the cafe's rich and smooth hot chocolate. I like the colorful cup and saucer as well.

My daughter had her pasta vongole. It's a little watery. I'm not sure if it's the clams or the noodles were not drained well. It's good nonetheless.

We are going back here for more that's for sure. :)

No Frills Chicken Pesto Pasta

2008-06-15T21:50:00.000+08:00

We just stayed home after church and grocery today, Father's Day. I'd like to make a special post for the fathers in my life another time.

It's the first day of school for my daughter Andrea tomorrow so we opted to just stay home and rest the whole afternoon. Rest...not quite, I checked and prepared, together with my daughter, what she would be bringing to school tomorrow. I always get excited on the first day of school.

After which hubby and I prepared the chicken pesto pasta, his all time favorite pasta. Actually the chicken was supposed to be for our salad but we were not able to buy our avocado so we just made use of the chicken breasts for this pasta.

These two are staples in the house since we are all pasta lovers here. Bravo Pesto is available in most supermarkets. I buy Bravo for some of my deli needs. Check their website for some Italian recipes. You'll find they are quite easy to prepare.

Our olive oil is half-filled by now. I used to buy this at factory price when I was still in the food industry. Now I have to buy them at retail price.

The chicken pesto pasta with cheddar cheese on top. The chicken strips are there somewhere. We run out of parmesan. It should be in the list of staples in this household.

That's it, your no-frills chicken pesto pasta.
*Cook the noodles the usual way - remember al dente. Hubby prefers linguini over spaghetti. He likes the feel of it better.
*Boil the chicken breasts and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
*Saute about two cloves of garlic in olive oil.
*Mix the noodles and pour in the pesto. Toss, toss, toss.
*Cheese on top.

Normally there should be cream and spinach but we made do with what we have in the house. :)

Before I forget there's the cake.

Today's occasion was a good excuse to have this mocha chiffon cake. :)

More snapshots here. I hope you all had a fun weekend too! :)

Holy Cow

2008-06-09T12:44:00.000+08:00

It was a quick and early dinner a few weekends ago with hubby and daughter at Holy Cow, ~~Greenbelt~~ Trinoma. This is a steak house but I was wondering why it became holy. :) Anyway, the food we had were good. I specially like the pizza rolls. It's a pretty heavy meal, a good substitute for rice as me and hubby are trying to curb our rice intake.

Holy Cow is quite small. I find the layout a little off as the huge counter was in the middle of the dining area. It's a big block of fixture getting in the customers' way.

The nacho corn chips below is quite colorful what with the all too red nachos. But it was fun munching them.

The boneless beef ribs is very appetizing to look at but grilled is not really for me. We have cut down on this too save for teeny weeny taste of it.

They have cow heads for murals and it looks a bit creepy at some point especially the restaurant has some yellow lighting for that intimate and cozy effect.

Here's the facade of the restaurant. It feels like a modern barn to me.

My daughter posing beside the Holy Cow.

Hmmm cakes at Jack's Loft which is right beside Holy Cow. On second thoughts, we've had a full dinner already. The pizza rolls are really filling. Next time, Jack.

Click here for more of weekend snapshots.

Early Bird

2008-05-26T10:45:00.000+08:00

Hubby dropped me off in this cafe as I opted to wait than go with him to attend to some early, really early, business related matters. I wanted to do some groceries as soon as the mall opens. Early morning Starbucks. It feels good to be there without much people around, like the place is reserved just for me. There's no car passing by, the road is clear. It's a Sunday morning, people may still be sleeping or still at the church.

Savor the laid back morning.

This cake is best...

with coffee. Short will do for me.

But I only had a bite or two of that cake. What was I thinking? I had to take the rest of it home. Cake so early in the morning is not just for me.

I will be visiting the rest of the WS participants later tonight. I have to run now. :)

Rolls & Pie

2008-05-19T10:30:00.000+08:00

We grabbed these over the weekend. There are only three reasons why I go back to Goldilocks, a popular local bakeshop. One is their polvoron, two, is their egg pie which I still love up to now. And third, the lumpiang sariwa which my husband and my mom loves. I don't really like it. I'd rather go for lumpiang shanghai.

Lumpiang sariwa (fresh spring rolls) is a Filipino staple. Feasts most especially is not complete without it. It is served in egg wrappers and its main ingredients are ubod (heart of palm), turnips, crushed peanuts, garlic, spring onion, pork, salt and pepper to taste. Chicken broth, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and cornstarch to make it thick make up the sauce.

A slice of this will do for me. :)

Estrel's

2008-05-05T22:44:00.000+08:00

I have recounted in my Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies post that there was no more caramel cake when we visited Estrel's a few days ago. I was disappointed but then we planned on ordering the following weekend.

But hubby thought otherwise. He ordered my cake a few days ahead in time for our anniversary last April. That's our anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend by the way. Our anniversary as husband and wife is on January. :) Anyway, I was grinning from ear to ear when I saw it inside the ref. Hubby sure knows how to make my day even better. :D Big thanks, xoxo and that's hugs and kisses...haha.

I love the flowers!

This cake has no preservatives and best eaten on the day it is purchased. The shelf-life is only for two days. We didn't finish it off on the first day as we expected. We gave a quarter of it to my aunt a few houses away from us. What I noticed with the cake on its second day is that it became a little soggy. And the taste is not that distinct as the day hubby bought it. Still it's a good buy because the cake is so soft and the filling really creamy.

I love the flowers in the middle. I remember my aunts and cousins used to preserve flowers from their birthday cakes. They 'plant' the flowers on a lid and enclose them in a bottle. They keep them and they serve as decorations of their headboards. I don't remember how long they were able to preserve the flowers or if they use anything to keep the candy flowers from getting molds. I find them beautiful. :)

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

2008-04-28T13:16:00.000+08:00

There was a birthday celebration at the office last week and the catering was just super. As expected, birthday cakes abounded as gifts but everybody raved at the caramel cake from Estrel's.

I craved for it since then. So this afternoon after my trip to the salon, we headed to Scout Tobias, Quezon City with all the intention of buying a cake.

But to my disappointment, there was no cake available anymore at Estrel's. Everything on display were pre-ordered and all their buffer stocks for the day were already sold out. It was only around two in the afternoon mind you.

Hubby and daughter at Estrel's Caramel Cakes bakeshop.

Estrel's Caramel Cakes along Scout Tobias, Quezon City.

My daughter settled for the chocolate chip walnut cookies on the shelf so we bought some. And it was a good thing we did! Delicious. Not overly sweet, not too hard. The taste of the chocolate cookie and the walnut are distinct and they complement each other. This cookie is at par, if not better, than Mrs. Fields.

These cookies saved our afternoon craving for some good snack. :D

For some more weekend snapshots, you may visit here.

Banana Smoothie

2008-04-22T12:43:00.000+08:00

My daughter likes watching and listening to Nat and Alex Wolf of The Naked Brothers Band. This band became popular through the tweens channel, Nickelodeon. I have asked and have researched why the band is named such, that story will come in other posts.

One of the brothers' favorite is banana smoothie. Seeing the banana in our kitchen, my daughter had this brilliant idea of making us some banana smoothie last Saturday just after lunch.

Get the chopping board. Take a picture of the banana for posterity.

Slice them using the spatula.

Put them in the blender with one teaspoon of vanilla, 4-oz milk and some ice. Blend for a minute.

Voila...banana smoothie in seven minutes or thereabouts. I have to make a quick check if we are doing the right thing. Just to be sure since this Mommy is not an expert on anything about the kitchen (but tries really hard).

Successful with the banana smoothie according to my dear daughter. :)

Fruity Dinner

2008-04-08T02:14:00.000+08:00

We did our grocery in the afternoon and as always, every first week of the month I buy the latest issue of Yummy Magazine. I was browsing the magazine while going around the supermarket. I fancied the Chunky Chicken Salad recipe so I picked up all the ingredients for it. That's how amateur I am. I need a reference even for a simple dish. We had an impromptu chicken salad for dinner.

One thing that made me decide to prepare this already is the salad greens. Though they're packed and has shelf-life, I'm afraid they will get wilted in no time if I keep them in the refrigerator.

Here's the complete recipe lifted from Yummy magazine (I don't know why Yummy Mag has no website. They only have this.):
1/2 kilo chicken breast, cooked and cubed
1 piece red apple, cubed
1 piece green apple, cubed
1 stalk celery, diced
1/4 cup roasted walnut
1/4 kilo seedless grapes

For the dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup all-purpose cream
2 teaspoons all-in-one seasoning granules
salt, sugar, pepper to taste
grated cheddar cheese as garnish

This makes six to eight servings. Very easy to prepare as the ingredients only has to be combined. No sweat. It was really filling.

We had the salad together with papaya and some more apples. I believe we will often have dinners like this.

You may want to see what others has for their weekend snapshots. :)

Mr. Rockefeller

2008-03-11T11:42:00.000+08:00

I met with a good friend last Friday and had a light dinner. Light because hubby and daughter will fetch me and I know the two would want to have dinner. That's when I will pour in all my appetite.

They arrived thirty minutes past seven in the evening. A little bye-bye to my friend and off we went around Greenbelt 3 to scout for some fine dining place. Mr. Rockefeller was the final choice. Mr. Rockefeller - Steaks, Ribs and "Spanking Good Oysters".

The interior is uncluttered, simple, almost zen-like. A few oyster decorations here and there on the walls and a few writings on the green board for their menu. Samba music is playing if I am not mistaken, it's a little bit loud when seated at the first half of the dining area.

It took a few minutes before our order was taken. Oh yes, hubby was the one who called on the food attendant for our orders. Maybe like ten minutes from the time we had our table.

I prefer a seat at the dining area with soft light. I wanted a cozier atmosphere. I checked that the interior dining are mostly in big groups or families. And also, the cameras keep on clicking on that side. I would want to be there definitely as people won't stare at me if I take pictures of my family and our food. They're doing the same thing anyway. I won't be disturbing anyone with the flash of the camera.

Rating: Food: Good. Service: For Improvement. Cleanliness: For Improvement.

Anyway, I asked the food attendant if we can transfer to the vacant table inside. I don't know why she has to ask their manager but she politely excused herself and asked the one in charge that night. She came back and apologized since the table is used for their extra plates and glasses for drying. Huh?

Maybe the look on my face showed great interest sitting inside. A few minutes later, the manager asked me if I wanted to transfer. I said yes. He said they'll just clean the table and set it up. And so I waited. In vain.

The manager kept looking at me as I crane my neck if the table is ready. But not a word from him. Until I saw a family leaving a table for four. I got up and reserved the seat myself. Still not a word from the manager. The waiter cleaned the table and set it up. Honestly though, crews of Jollibee and McDonald's know better in sanitizing a table. Crumbs were still on our table. You know the feeling that the table is still dump you don't want to lay your hands on it, it's sticky. Click the first picture to enlarge, you just might spot the crumbs (not intentional to capture them and that's not our table).

Hubby wanted to try oysters as they are his favorite but it's not good to have them when one's really hungry. He opted for boneless bourbon ribs with baked beans and creamed corn (P440). It was good. The barbecue sauce is just about right for my taste - not too tangy, a little sweet even. The corn is a perfect match.

I tried the linguini prawns with feta cheese and brandy (P340). We liked it too. It's very creamy and is actually good for three persons.

My daughter tried the ever safe chicken fingers with fries. The safest, easiest way to a child's taste buds. The price escapes me now, more than P150, less P250 as far as I can remember. The chicken's good, very tender. The fries is just okay.

Our orders were served quite fast than I expected, maybe around ten minutes. Are we going back? Yes because hubby would still want the oysters but I'm hoping the service will be better and cleaning of the tables will be prompt and proper.

At Least I Tried

2008-03-09T05:34:00.000+08:00

They were barely out of the oven when the Princess said, "Mom, I thought you're making cupcakes". Oh well, I thought so too. It turned out to be different, at least how it should look. It turned out flat. I am not losing hope with my baking skills. I want to be good at this. Practice makes perfect and using the proper tools, the right temperature setting and not just estimations. It will be a celebration on my part when I get to finally bake a presentable cake.

Check out other different posts at Photo Hunt.

Chocolate Cake

2008-02-09T02:30:00.000+08:00

Chocolate Caramel Cake
This week's Photo Hunt theme is "Heavy". I would like to post my heavy dessert last night when I had dinner with my high school friends at Cravings. Chocolate Caramel Cake...the icing is really creamy. I did not finish this off as consuming almost half of it really filled me up fast.

The blog address is different on the picture because this came from my Mommy Zone blog along with other pictures of food and my dinner with my high school friends.

*I'll be out early afternoon till evening so this post is up really early. It's two thirty in the morning right now and sleep seem to elude me. Will visit other photo hunters late, late Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. Happy Hunting!

Tag: Photo Hunt

Cravings

2008-02-09T01:12:00.000+08:00

Am I loosely using the term "friends"? I don't know. I don't think so. I just feel so connected with my high school classmates.

As we all know during high school you have your own clique. You have your own group of friends. Somehow our class has this identity we can only call our own. We belong to the top section and ours was kind of different compared to the batches ahead of us. We were branded as aloof, as people just minding our own world. Actually, until now, it was kind of implied that we are still like that. Only a few of us are attending the regular meetings for the alumni homecoming next year and to think somebody from our section should be leading this grand event. And these few people do not even attend regularly. Priorities, priorities. Are we just too busy? Or we are just, again, minding our own world. May I quote my dear classmate M, "our class was a group of individuals and we did not act as a herd and we had fun doing so". Well said.

It was a great night. M did the honor of reserving the function room of Cravings at Shangrila so we can spend some time without bothering other guests with our endless stories and hearty laughs. The small gathering of our section is sinking in to me now. I missed them. I missed high school life. I missed the carefree days of our lives. I missed our old school grounds, the library, the canteen, the bookstore. High school life, they are one of the best memories we can always look back with smiles on our faces.

Dinner at Cravings Shangrila with our Physics teacher
Our terror professor was with us! She's our Physics teacher and everyone's a little afraid of her. She has greatly mellowed and so motherly. She still have that strong presence though and still on-the-go at age seventy one.

It's good to note everybody's got his own personal achievement, both in our careers and with our families. Some added a few pounds, some retained their slim shapes and youthful looks, some improved physically. I love you all guys! Thank you for technology we were reconnected! We are all looking forward to our next meet up.

After dinner, a few of us went to Watering Hole for a little more updating. I had bottled water as I am not into alcoholic drink even if it's social drinking. I just don't like the taste.

And the food at Cravings...I took some shots of what I had and my seat mate E, my orthodontist and my good friend.

Baked Ziti
I had baked ziti after my appetizer. Big serving as should be expected at Cravings. I wasn't able to finish it off as my appetizer of bread and salsa filled me instantly. The ziti was a little bland, it needed loads of parmesan. I was expecting gooeyness of mozarella.

Al Pesto
My friend ordered this one and wasn't too happy about it. Too much oil she said. But I am a pesto fan. I actually preferred this than the ziti.

Walnut Cake
For our dessert, a Walnut cake. I'm not into cake with nuts but I had a bite of this one. I actually liked its buttery moist feel in my tongue.

Caramel Cake
I had half of this one. It's quite heavy on the stomach as the icing is really creamy. Delicious!

French Baker on a Sunday

2008-02-05T15:30:00.000+08:00

Our usual routine on a Sunday is this: church, grocery, National Bookstore, go around the arcade for some small buys, lunch or snack (depending on the time).

I was glad to see there is French Baker inside Landmark Supermarket, Trinoma. Our feet are sore already from all the walking we did at the mall and at the grocery. We were starving. The place though is small as most French Bakers are located in supermarkets. Hubby has to bring all the grocery bags to the car so we can dine comfortably.

The coffee (Tchibo) is said to be exclusively distributed for French Baker. It's mild which is just about right for me. It comes with a bite size dessert, milk and lemon water. The presentation looks dainty with the white doily under the cup.

Beef Turn-over remains to be a favorite of my daughter. The crust has seen improvement. It used to be that the whole crust collapse when my daughter digs in her fork to cut a portion of it. It has more hold now. The beef is just so tasty. This costs around P59 (1.5USD).

I tried Tuna Turn-over for the first time. I'm into tuna these days. I was not disappointed with the taste but the filling is not as generous as that of the beef's. The price is at P60. So there's a big difference in the margin with an additional P1 compared to that of the beef. :)

Lasagna can very well be shared by two persons. At least those who consume food on the average. I find their serving big for one person. The sauce sometimes dominates the whole pasta flavor. It's a little sour for my taste.

The carbonara with its generous measure of parmesan and mushroom is a delight. I love its creamy sauce that goes well with their garlic bread.

Now the pizza looks deceiving. Nothing to rave about but it tastes a lot better than some pizza sold in other pizza houses.

Serving time is about ten minutes. The cashier is new I guess because she has to keep repeating my order and not sure about the product codes written in the order slip. Overall, French Baker is a good stop for some good food, lunch or snack time.

Other weekend snapshots are here for your reading pleasure.

Bellissimo Ristorante

2008-01-29T01:04:00.000+08:00

It's one in the morning and I've to wake up at half past five AM later. Cookie and Wenchie's posts got me all excited to make an entry right now about our Bellissimo dining escapade. Well we have the same pictures of ourselves and our food. :) You can very well see how we had a good time that Friday night.

There was a press conference at the second floor I believe. I was mistaken for a guest. I wonder why. I look like some star's PR manager maybe or a magazine writer. Haha. Glossy lifestyle magazine writer. Movie producer na lang. :D I even signed the guest book because they asked me to. I thought it was for their customers' data base. *Grin*

Anyway, how's the resto? Staff - friendly, pasta - good, serving time - fast enough, place - intimate. The owner, actor Cesar Montano - dashing and very accommodating. These are the ingredients of a nice place to hang out with with your family and friends. Three point five stars, five being the highest. That would be my opinion. The washroom could do a little more sprucing up and so is the kitchen counter which can be seen from the deli area. Oh yes by the way, I bought Hungarian sausage since it's hubby's favorite. Quite expensive compared to other delis but hubby said it tastes better.

As Cookie said, this was the night The Eating Club was officially launched sans formal ceremonies of Vision, Mission, Values blood compact. We were five that night - in order of appearance: me, Cookie, Chats, Wenchie and Julie. Six if I may say, there's Wenchie's little Pio enjoying our company too. :) Expect more gastronomic adventures and good company from The Eating Club.

I will put caption in these pictures tomorrow night. For now, I'll get some ZZZzzzzsss.

Pancake House

2008-01-05T00:35:00.000+08:00

The theme for the week in Photo Hunt is "delicious". I am preparing myself for all the food which I assume the majority of the photo hunters will be posting specially the holidays was just recently over. All those food, I can just imagine these delicious posts. :)

My sharing would be my family's favorite delicious food in one of the popular restaurants here, Pancake House. We often eat here when we are still out at dinner time. Weird thing is even if it's dinner, I still order something one would normally eat for breakfast.

My favorite is their Classic Country Medley, three pieces of sausage, two pieces of pancake, a choice of coffee or juice. I order coffee and sometimes additional sausage. It is really filling. See here their delicious pancake and my favorite tv series, Prison Break. :) I also like their spaghetti with meatballs. I actually order the kiddie set for this. That is just enough for me. They have a generous serving of sauce.
Hubby's favorite is the ham and cheese omelette. But any Pancake customer would probably agree with me. Their taco is the best especially with this combination of roast chicken and macaroni salad.
Last but not the least is my daughter's favorite, salisbury steak with bacon bits and creamy mushroom gravy. She can gobble up the whole serving all by herself.

I hope you had a feast. For more delicious posts, click this link. :)

Cafe Adriatico

2007-12-31T12:02:00.000+08:00

Before anything.....From my family to yours,
Good cheers, good health, peace, love and prosperity to all of us! Happy New Year!

**********
I met my two friends at Eastwood last Saturday. We were supposed to have our dinner before Christmas but all were busy so we postponed it a week after. As always I enjoy going out with them. We had pizza and pasta at Pasto. We went around the tiangge (flea market) where I was able to buy a red blouse with puffed sleeves. It was a good buy actually, fits me well, nice feel of the fabric and below P500 (roughly 12USD).

Pasta is really good at Pasto.
More on Pasto in my food feature in coming posts.
Eastwood was jampacked as it was a Saturday night, gimmick night. There was a concert too featuring Regine Velasquez, one of the Philippines' top songbirds. My friends and I were supposed to have dinner at Jack's Loft but my, it was so full. I love the cakes at Jack's Loft. But a lot were still waiting so we have no choice but to transfer to the more laid-back Cafe Adriatico.

Around dinner time my hubby and my daughter came to fetch me. They had dinner with us at Adriatico. My hubby said the Lechon Kangkong tastes great. This dish is quite unsual for me though.

Lechon Kangkong
I was still full from all the pasta so I just had maja blanca. Maja blanca or coconut cake is a popular Filipino delicacy. For this particular order, all I can say is I only had a teaspoonful of it. My friends checked it out but didn't like it too. I was expecting a softer, corn-flavored finish. It's just plain sweet.

Maja Blanca (Coconut Cake)

My daughter is a pasta person too. She got herself a baked macaroni and consumed them all. I tasted it and it's good, it's like home-made. It's rich with sauce and the sweet-sour taste is just about right.

Baked Macaroni

We all had a grand time as we went home at almost 12 midnight. My daughter enjoyed the picture taking with her Titas at the theme area of Eastwood. The area has a really festive mood.

We had coffee and a late snack at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf again (this was our meeting place earlier). We were a little tired already and did not bother to see the fireworks outside. On the way to the parking area, my daughter dropped by Eiko, an accessories store for tweens and surveyed some items.

We had a grand time, who wouldn't? Being with family and friends are always the best. :)

a-Veneto Pizzeria

2007-11-25T19:05:00.001+08:00

Some restaurants get popular because of word of mouth. One such restaurant is a-Veneto Pizzeria Ristorante. It has its first branch at Visayas Avenue, Quezon City. Most of my officemates living in Katipunan and from UP Diliman frequent the place. They rave about its pizza. The place was very crude so to speak, in fact, the servers are the owners' household members. The restaurant was always jampacked though.

A few weekends ago at Trinoma, my family and I tried a-Veneto for the first time. The interior is simple but comfortable enough. As expected it was full. We have to wait for about ten minutes to have a seat. And maybe another twenty minutes for our food to be served. I must say the restaurant people were very accommodating.

I don't think it's very clear here but if you can, try to guess what actors are on the mural. There's Richard Gere, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, etcetera.

Our quick snack turned to dinner already since the servings are huge for the three of us. The platter alone can make one really full.

The carbonara is not the best but just fine. I guess I'll take another pasta when we go back.

This one is the best, Seafood Pesto. It's very creamy and there were loads of shrimps which I really appreciated since I am a shrimp lover.

Check out other weekenders with their wonderful snapshots. :)

Pasta Overload

2007-11-18T21:01:00.000+08:00

Often times my daughter ask for a delivery during their supposed break time, break time from playing. Last week she asked for a chicken joy and some ice cream since her friend was in the house. I called up Jollibee, surprisingly, they got my order quite fast this time. Anyway, I need to complete the required P165 (around 4USD) so I thought of adding macaroni salad. Look here, too much green. I still prefer Wendy's but there's no Wendy's near our house.

A few minutes before Jollibee delivery arrived, my husband got back with pansit Malabon in tow. She came from my sis-in-law's place and thought of buying a plateful good for five. This is a lot better than the macaroni salad. Had I known he'd buy this I wouldn't have a delivery.

Normally I try to prepare something during weekends - pasta or a new dish I read in Yummy magazine. So the following day we thought of trying out the sundried pesto we bought and prepared some pasta. How was it? Let me just say now I know the sundried tomato from Santi's is a lot tastier than those prepared in bottles.

Curious what weekend snapshots the others posted? Take a peek here. :)