Tapella is one of the newest restaurants in Greenbelt. With its name, you would probably think that they serve tapas and paella. I was able to try it with my family.

We ordered for an Alaska King Crab Paella, Manchego cheese, chicken, asparagus and shrimp paella, salad greens and white cheese with vinaigrette and an angus beef prime rib.

The Alaska King Crab Paella is the most expensive paella in their menu. The price is a bit expensive but you’d understand why after watching “Deadliest Catch” in Discovery Channel.

Manchego Cheese, Chicken, Asparagus and Shrimp Paella, 500 pesos

If you’re on a budget but you want to try something new, I’d recommend for you to order the Manchego Cheese, Chicken, Asparagus and Shrimp Paella. I actually like this over the Alaska King Crab Paella. I think it’s because that I expected that there would be a lot of crab meat.

Salad Greens and White Cheese with Vinaigrette, 220 pesos

Salad Greens and White Cheese with Vinaigrette is served with fresh greens and tomatoes. I liked it with white cheese but I do not like the vinaigrette that they used.

Certified Angus Beef Prime Rib, 2,750 pesos per kilo

Every order of Angus Beef comes with two sidings: pimiento and potatoes in olive oil. What makes this order a bit more special is that it is served on a plate on top of a grill and the beef is sprinkled with salt. That’s the Villagodio style of cooking which originated in Spain. I enjoyed eating this one because it’s tender.

Tapella
G/F Greenbelt 5, Legaspi St.,
Legaspi Village Makati City,
Metro Manila
Tel. No.: 757-2710

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If you were able to watch Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations episode on the Philippines, chances are, you may have heard of Zubuchon. Zubuchon is not your typical lechon with smooth skin. I think the skin is pricked while it’s being cooked.

I love that the skin of the lechon (roasted pig) is crunchy and the fact that I don’t need a lechon sauce to eat it. The meat is juicy and tender.

According to Marketman, they don’t use MSG, they don’t paint the skin of the pig with soy sauce, they don’t use blowtorches and they don’t use very large pigs.

BANILAD TOWN CENTER
Sunday Market in the Lobby
Sunday, 10am-1pm
Zubuchon at PHP385/kilo

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Sharlyne told me that we should try the Avocado Cake of Lia’s Cakes in Season. And since we we’re going to Tiendesitas for the Canon sale months ago, we might as well try the cake that she was raving about.

We shared in one slice of Avocado cake just to try it and the impression on our first bite of the cake lasted until it’s gone. I still find it hard to imagine how they made the Avocado cake since the avocado does not even have a consistent texture.

And because we loved the cake, this time, we decided to have another round of Lia’s Cakes in their Tomas Morato branch. We ordered a slice of Avocado Cake and a slice of Red Velvet Cake.

Red Velvet Cake, 50 pesos per slice (380 pesos – whole cake)

The red velvet cake has been around for decades. The color of the layers of the cake can be dark red, bright red or red-brown. The Red Velvet Cake of Lia’s is in red-brown color with a white icing on top just like your typical red velvet cake.

The Red Velvet Cake is sweet and has a moist texture. You’d probably want to have a glass of water if you’re going to try this one.

The price of their cakes are just right. The most expensive ones that are readily available in their store are the cheesecakes (except for the Ube Cheesecake). They also have made-to-order cakes and other treats that you can take home with.

Branches

Kapitolyo
25 A&B East Capitol Drive,
Barangay Kapitolyo, Pasig City
Tel. 377-4808

Tomas Morato (with free WiFi)
2nd floor Bellagio Square (Ratsky’s),
Tomas Morato corner Scout Fuentebella, Quezon City
Tel. 377-3003

Tiendesitas
Stall 29 Delicacies Village, Tiendesitas,
Frontera Verde, Pasig City
Tel. 377-4363

Check out the Multiply site of Lia’s Cakes in Season.

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Usually, a buffet ranges from 250 to 500 pesos. Some who would offer buffet would have a higher price than the usual range because of the variety of the dishes they offer. Paul Calvin’s Deli, located along Rizal Avenue in Fort Bonifacio, offers a number of selections at a price that one would usually pay for in a buffet.

Mushroom soup

In every buffet, it’s expected to have at least one soup. Paul Calvin’s Deli offers fresh mushroom soup (yes, with real bits of mushroom) and you have an option to top it with croutons. I love the texture of the soup. It’s creamy the way I like it.

Pasta in Creamy Sauce

Pasta in tomato sauce

The buffet selection also offers freshly cooked pasta. You can ask the chef the taste you’re looking for in a pasta and he will prepare it for you. I tried the two versions of pasta, one in creamy sauce and one in tomato sauce.

Fish Fillet with Tofu

Grilled Liempo

Amongst the selections included in the buffet table for the main course (aside from the freshly cooked pasta), our favorites would be the Fish Fillet with Tofu and the Grilled Liempo.

Tarts

For the desserts, you should try out their tarts, and as well as the carrot loaf and the malunggay loaf. If you like the carrot loaf and the malunggay loaf, you can buy and take home a box with you.

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At the opening of Haagen Dazs’ Robinsons Place branch, I was able to try their newest ice cream flavor. The new flavor is Dark Chocolate Orange.

The smallest cup has a spoon inside. With that, you can instantly enjoy the goodness of Haagen Dazs Ice Cream.

The Dark Chocolate Orange Flavor of Haagen Dazs ice cream is dark chocolate ice cream with bits of orange (it’s orange pulp if I’m not mistaken). Though I like the combination of dark chocolate and orange, I’d still get my the Macadamia flavor (my favorite).

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During our trip to Cebu, we had a chance to go to Ayala Terraces. While we were walking around, we spotted “Gelatissimo”. Gelatissimo does not only offer fresh gelato. They also offer parfaits, sundaes, coffee, etc. We were really excited seeing this gelato store in Terraces because they don’t have a branch yet here in Manila. They will be opening here in Manila on December 2009. We already saw the signages in Greenbelt 5 (near the Dela Rosa walkway entrance) and got super dooper excited! By the way, Gelatissimo is an Australian gelato cafe chain. Aside from Australia and the Philippines, Gelatissimo has branches in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Biscottino Gelato

A single scoop cup (like the pictures above) costs Php 95, 2 scoops is Php 150 and lastly, 3 scoops is worth Php 180. Actually a single scoop can already satisfy you. I had a problem choosing what gelato I want because everything looks yummy (actually, almost all of them are yummy ). The good thing here is that you can actually taste before buying. We tasted of course 2 of their best sellers which are the Biscottino and Macadamia and Caramel. I also got the chance to taste pistacchio and their lime gelato. They’re both good and the lime is not that too sour.

For more information about Gelatissimo, visit their website at www.gelatissimo.com.au.

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Just recently, we were in Cebu for the Philippine Blog Awards Visayas. Of course, prior to the event itself, we had a day and a half to taste Cebu’s food tripping places. The night we arrived in Cebu, our blogger friends were already done with dinner at Abuhan Dos. Even though it’s already almost 11 pm, we headed our way to Abuhan Dos to taste one of their specialties which is the Sizzling Pochero.

In Cebu, Pochero is what most of us know as Bulalo. It’s not your usual beef stewed in tomato sauce with vegetables. So therefore, Sizzling Pochero = Sizzling Bulalo.

And there it was. The most beautiful sizzling bulalo I have ever seen! I know I have already tried a number of Sizzling Bulalos in my entire life here in Manila but nothing compared to theirs. The meat was very tender and does not have lots of tendons. I’m not really a fan of tendons but it’s still good that it has tendons because it brings out the flavor more. The gravy sauce is mixed with a somewhat bechamel sauce (because it’s white) which makes the bulalo taste butter-y. The first time I tasted it, I said to myself “Oh, this is heaven!” Too bad we weren’t able to taste the soup version of it because we’re still full but according to our friends, this tastes much better than the soup version.

Abuhan Dos is a popular Filipino restaurant in Cebu and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can have your Sizzling Pochero fiesta anytime you want to!

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We Filipinos are already familiar with shawarma but most of us only know the Persian type of Shawarma. I have been reading (and hearing) a lot about this place in Ortigas called Jacob’s Shawarma which serves the best shawarma in town.

While we were there on a Wednesday night, we were able to catch the owner of the restaurant who is Jacob Cortes. He’s Turkish and has been in the Philippines for almost a year now. He’s not only the owner, he’s also the cook and is very “hands on” in his restaurant. We had a little chat while eating our Salmon Shawarma. I learned that he’s also a model (ladies and guys looking for men, he’s good looking!) which he does in between manegerial obligations.

Salmon Shawarma is served every Wednesdays. We learned from Jacob that he serves different kinds of meat everyday and that it changes every 7:00 am. So here’s the schedule:

Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays – Chicken (Php 120 pita / Php 125 wheat pita)
Tuesdays and Fridays – Beef (Php 200 pita / wheat pita)
Wednesdays – Salmon (Php 160 pita / Php 165 wheat pita)

Good thing that we came there on a Wednesday because I love salmon and it’s not a common thing here in Manila.

The salmon is fresh and it’s not overcooked. I can still taste the juiciness of the fish. The salsa-like fillings, made of onions, tomatoes and some herbs, complimented the salmon.  Jacob recommended that I pour some lemon juice before taking a bite and my oh my, it became more delicious! They serve it in a 12 inch lavas (bread in Turkish) which is not your typical pita bread that you usually see in Persian restaurants.

Baklava @ Php 50 per piece

And of course, the Turkish experience is incomplete without tasting Baklava. It is a popular pastry dessert in the Mediterranean regions which is made of layers of phyllo dough with nuts and sweet fillings in between the layers. I’ve tasted some baklavas here in the Philippines but this would be the best one I’ve ever tasted.

Jacob’s Shawarma has a very small dining place and has a very simple menu. If you can see on the tables, they have small trashcans there, which is very uncommon here in the Philippines. They also have yogurt drink and Turkish drink.

So if you’re craving for a different kind of shawarma, visit Jacob’s Shawarma. They’re open 24 hours and operates from Mondays – Saturdays.

Jacob’s Shawarma

115 AIC Grande Tower, Sapphire Road, Ortigas Center.
7065699 (for deliveries, 24 hours a day)

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(apologies for the ugly picture, I just used my mobile phone then)

I was inspired to cook when I watched the premiere of Julie and Julia a few weeks ago so I bought the September issue of Yummy Magazine and tried out this recipe called Adobong Manok sa Gata (Chicken stewed in coconut cream). There are many kinds of adobo in the Philippines but this has the Bicol touch because of the use of coconut cream. I love anything that has coconut cream in it so I decided to try this one in preparation for our Bicol trip next month.

The Adobong Manok was very delicious, although my presentation isn’t nice to look at. The recipe is very easy to do and the ingredients are not hard to find.

This was actually my first time to try this kind of recipe and was thinking of doing some variation after my first trial, maybe in the near future. So here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 kilo chicken, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups soy sauce
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup julienned ginger
1/2 cup coconut cream (kakang gata) from 2 matured coconuts
4 pieces bayleaf
2 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)
5 Bicol chilies or jalapeno peppers
4 finger chilies

Procedure:

1. Marinate the chicken in soy sauce, vinegar and black pepper for at least 2 hours in a covered container at room temperature. (tip: use a glass bowl instead of the aluminum ones, plus cover it with saran)
2. In a pan, saute garlic, ginger, and onions, then add the drained marinated chicken. When the chicken is half-cooked, add the coconut cream and bay leaves.
3. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Season with fish sauce, add the chilies then serve immediately.

For my second trial, I’ll marinate the chicken with soy sauce, vinegar and black pepper first. Then saute the garlic, ginger and onions then I’ll pour the marinade (soy sauce, vinegar and black pepper) until the chicken is half-cooked. When it is already half-cooked, I can add the coconut cream and bay leaves. Once I’ve tried that kind of procedure, I’ll tell you about it.

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Entering inside Nomnomnom! instantly gave us that “homey” feel. It’s something that one would usually look for in a restaurant. Nomnomnom! is for those who have an adventurous taste and gives you a different experience for each familiar dish. We tried their Malinomnom and Fried Ravioli.

Malinomnom is a pizza log topped with Tinapa flakes, kesong puti, red eggs and onions. Obviously, Malinomnom is not the typical pizza that you will get to see in your favorite pizza fastfood chain. For first-timers at Nomnomnom!, I’m highly recommending this.

Fried Ravioli, 80 pesos (6 pcs.) and 150 pesos (12 pcs.)

A serving of Fried Ravioli consists of Crispy pasta pockets filled with spinach and mushroom. You can either order for a 6-piece fried ravioli, or a 12-piece fried ravioli. It is served with a salsa, the dip for the ravioli. Each ravioli has a generous amount of filling. I hope they would add more fillings to choose from for their fried ravioli.

Nomnomnom!
Unit 2, Lower Ground Floor
GYY Building
1 Tomas Morato cor. E. Rodriguez Sts., Quezon City
Open from: Tuesday to Sunday, 12 noon to 12 midnight

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