aloi means yummy

Fresh is best

2011-02-06T19:30:00.000-08:00

When it comes to seafood, you can't argue that fresh is best. Especially if it was just caught and was cooked up within the hour!

Being in the prairies of Canada, seafood is usually bought frozen. So imagine our delight when we boarded the banca for our beach day at Real Quezon, and this fish was there ... ready to be cooked for our lunch! The locals called it Philippine salmon. Half was grilled, and the other half made it into sinigang, a sour broth.

Scroll down some more and you'll see us trying to grill the shrimp, which still happened to be alive and kept jumping off the grill!

It was a serious seafood chowdown. No pics of the still live alimango (crab) which we decided to cook at home ...

Ode to the dalandan

2011-02-05T18:38:00.000-08:00

Buying up dalandan at a roadside stall, en route to Real, Quezon.

Ah, how I missed you, dear dalandan! You're not a mandarin with your green hues. And your sweetness is mixed with a whole lot of tart! At P10 per kilo, I'll surely get my fill - skinned and straight into my mouth, or all juiced up with my next meal.

(Ok, so my poetry skills leave much to be desired! :) )

Highway Robbery at Mio Cusina

2011-02-04T22:47:00.000-08:00

Stick 'em up! This is what I felt like when we had finished our almost P900 meal (for 4 people = P200+/person, and no drinks yet!) at this little hole-in-the-wall in my hometown, Los Banos. But if you're willing to pay hotel prices for, at best, pretentious small-town dining, you'll be fine.

Seriously, this place needs to evaluate their pricing. I've been feeling pretty good that finally, more decent restaurants are opening up in Los Banos. But Mio Cusina, if it wants to stick around, needs to give more bang for their customers' buck -- lest contend with complaints like mine. I may return to Mio Cusina in a pinch, but I'm not returning any time soon.

(Unfortunately for me, I didn't have my camera on me at the time and you will need to take my word for it! Though you can do a quick Google, and you'll see how big their orders are. )

***

Pricing -- this is what we ordered:

2 pumpkin soups = P100 each. Granted, the leaf shaped soup bowl was pretty, but there were only about 5 spoonfuls of soup. You could only dip your spoon in a third of way, and you'd already grazed the bottom of the bowl! It did taste good though, though the soup was very watery (not your usually thick and creamy as you'd expect of a pumpkin soup) and a little heavy on the bacon taste.

= P200 pesos and still 2 very hungry little girls who appetites were further whetted because the next dish was taking a while to come...

1 order of beef salpicao = P260. This was the very first item in the list of beef dishes all of which were in this price range. It was also the first entree to be put on our table ... and I swear that I thought there was mistake when we saw 8-10 small bite-sized pieces (a one-peso coin is MUCH bigger!) in the middle of an oily little cast-iron pan. Holy-moly -- was there gold inside each of those pieces? Hell no. Taste-wise, it was nothing extraordinary so I wonder why each of those pieces cost roughly P25 each!?

= total now up to P460. Still grumbling tummies.

1 order of dinuguan = approx P200.* I actually liked this dish of pork in a mild coconut blood soup. Let's call this dish this meal's saving grace.

1 order of pansit luglog = P160. This was acceptable pricing for what you get. Though if your ordered this alone, this would be good for one person only, so imagine how big err, small, this serving was! Tastewise, it was again, something that I could've gotten at a fraction of a cost elsewhere.

3 orders of rice = P25 each. We only ordered 3 because we thought that the pansit would be more than enough. We probably should've ordered another just to fill up on rice because those itty-bitty portions just don't cut it!

(* estimated only based on the total we paid. Come on, I was out there to eat, not to blog)

***
Hurry up and eat! we want to go home! We arrived at Mio at 8:30 pm. When we placed our order, they immediately said, please order what you want because we're closing soon! I dismissed it. But when they started serving us, at around 9:00 pm, they repeated this again: any last orders? The clincher: we had barely finished our meal at 9:30 pm when the waitress comes in with our bill and "Sorry, I hope you don't mind me coming in with the bill. But please stay a little longer." Ok, we got the message.

***

Mio's Cucina
10395 Lopez Avenue, Los Banos, Laguna
Located behind Community Cable Building along the road leading to UP Los Banos

Yummy chicken teriyaki!

2010-04-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favourite dishes! Its simplicity calls for good ingredients, so if you can find some good organic chicken, you won't regret the extra flavour it imparts.

This Japanese method of cooking is derived from the words teri, which refers to a shine or luster given by the sugar content in the sauce; and yaki , which refers to the cooking method of grilling or broiling.

Here's a recipe good for 2-3 people.

You need:

2 deboned whole legs of chicken, with thigh (can also be done using chicken breasts but the leg and thighs are so much tastier!)
2 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
4 tablespoons soy sauce (we prefer Kikkoman)
4 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
2 tablespoons sugar

(modified from this recipe)

Here's what you do:

Make the teriyaki sauce by combining the sake, soy sauce, mirin and sugar. Set aside.
You need to debone the chicken legs. On details how to debone, look here:

How to De-Bone Chicken Legs

Heat up your non-stick pan. Fry the skin side of the chicken on medium heat until the skin is browned. (If you don't have a non-stick pan, add a little vegetable oil. Although the chicken will produce its own oil and you will need to throw some of this away when frying is done.)
Turn the chicken over to fry the other side on low heat.
Pour the sauce used to marinate chicken in the pan. Steam cook the chicken on low heat until done.
Simmer until the sauce becomes thick. Turn off the heat.
Slice the chicken and serve atop steamed rice.
Pour thickened sauce over the chicken.
Serve with your preferred vegetables and enjoy!

Stella's oooey gooey chocolate brownies!

2010-04-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

Just looking at this photo again reminds me of that chocolately goodness!

Get this slice for $2.50 at Stella's Cafe and Bakery in Winnipeg.
Looky here for where they're at.

Food Inc.

2010-03-11T13:41:00.000-08:00

So, do YOU know where the ingredients of your meal come from?

I am once again breaking my silence on this seemingly defunct blog to let you know about this thought provoking and Oscar-nominated movie, Food, Inc.

Jamie Oliver is an advocate for better eating and food education. And I think this movie has the right mix of research and scare tactics to get people talking about where their food comes from. And the answers will jolt you.

You can find out how our demand for cheap and fast food has changed where ingredients are sourced, how farms have been transformed into factories, and why much of what we believe to be "food" is actually the product of man's desire to produce more in a small amount of space with a lot of synthetic inputs.

Find out about "notional" tomatoes.

Discover how contract growers raise their chickens blind, fat and conveyor belted.

Does your beef have E. coli? Most probably. All the better to wash it down with some ammonia.

Learn about the hidden consequences - social and environment costs - to produce our food at such cheap prices.

You can read more about the issues on the official site here.

If you have high-speed internet, you can watch the movie here:

Jamie Oliver's wish

2010-03-08T10:26:00.000-08:00

I couldn't not post this. It's my wish too.

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-22T14:35:00.000-08:00

A Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!

May you have a wonderful New Year full of

fun, laughter, and extra-special days with great food and company!

Wine wine wine!

2009-12-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

Save $15 off any Wine Gift Basket over $50 + $0 Shipping! Use Code Bask15

Save $10 on Orders Over $99 - Use Code 99save10

Holiday Treasures Wine Gift Pack - 6 Bottles for Just $69 + $0 Shipping! Save $13 - Use Code: Holiday13

Little Red Riding Hood?

2009-12-02T21:02:00.001-08:00

harvest bento, originally uploaded by Sakurako Kitsa.

... with some lovely veggies. I love the detail. And would have a hard time eating this ...

Holy (lemon) cannoli!

2009-11-29T10:56:00.000-08:00

Y is a huge fan of Mario Puzo's The Godfather. Remember that scene where they eat lemon cannolis? Well, when we saw these lovely babies ($1.49 each) at De Luca's, we decided to try them out. And they don't disappoint.

Here's a great recipe to try, Corleone-style.

Note: We don't make anything promoting their products. We just love them!

De Luca's
950 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, MB
Canada
Tel. 204.774.7617

Hours:
Mon-Thur 9am-6pm
Friday 9am-9pm
Saturday 9am-6pm

Foodscapes

2009-11-26T11:43:00.000-08:00

Landscapes made with food. Ingenious!

Remember when you'd pretend that broccoli were miniature trees? Well here they are.

Get marooned in this cave, and you won't go hungry.

It's a wonder how those fruits and veggies make it up in the air!

{Check our more from Carl Warner Via}

Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat: Secrets of My Mother's Tokyo Kitchen

2009-11-24T11:29:00.000-08:00

Ok, so maybe you've heard of the book French Women Don't Get Fat ... obviously this book capitalized on its success. But hey, French women don't have sole dibs on non-fatness. I have always admired that Asian women in general tend to look younger than they usually are.

I decided to read this because: I love Japanese food!

I‘d recommend it to: Those interested in keeping those pounds at bay, Japanese food aficionados, those who are curious what this hype is all about.

The book in one sentence: Japanese women live longest and have the lowest obesity rate on earth ... why and how is this possible?

Ok bits: The origins of the book are simple. Naomi, a Japanese who came to the US to study, realized that she retained her slim physique without really trying in Tokyo. She credits it to the fine food her mom used to make her, simple yet fresh home cooking. She set out to try and recreate her mother's Tokyo kitchen in a Western milieu.

The book is a hodegepodge - you get recipes, explanations about Japanese ingredients and where to find them, and Naomi's anecdotes and childhood memories put a personal touch to the recipes as well as the healthy eating advice (mostly her mom's) is scattered throughout.

Probably most important is hara hachi bunme or "Eat until you are 80 percent full." I've fully believed in moderation and shun the idea of having to diet. Moderation obviously makes sense whatever the eating culture you come from.

Based on Naomi, Japanese recipes are based on these "seven pillars"—fish, vegetables, rice, soy, noodles, tea, and fruit.

More sound advice is that food is just an element of healthy living. The Japanese walk a lot. And everyone knows that physical activity is necessary in keeping the weight down.

Serving portions are also key. I have been quite enamoured by how the Japanese package their sweets and cakes, where the visual element is as very much as important as what you are eating, and desserts are packaged in small portions.

I didn’t like: The lack of photos. I'd have loved to see samples of her mother's cooking along with the recipes, as well as snapshots of Tokyo. But then the book may have morphed into a travelogue.

Verdict: Pick and choose the advice found here and I am sure that you'll enjoy the book! I personally would like to get my own copy of this book because of the recipes

Read more here:

Watch a video of author Naomi and her husband:

A related video "The benefits of a Japanese diet"

Ready for some banana cake?

2009-11-18T15:11:00.000-08:00

Banana bread is common, but a banana cake? This year, with D's first birthday celebration in Winnipeg, we decided to go with De Luca's scrumptious banana cake (only C$10).

The banana cake is moist and not-too-sweet; two layers with an occasional walnut and filled with a creamy icing. More of that creamy (and not-too-sweet) icing on top and generously sprinkled with walnuts, drizzled with chocolate syrup, and garnished with banana chips.

Just add the candles and you're ready to sing!

De Luca's
950 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, MB
Canada
Tel. 204.774.7617

Hours:
Mon-Thur 9am-6pm
Friday 9am-9pm
Saturday 9am-6pm

Winnipeg foodie blogs: The Urban Sasquatch

2009-11-17T12:14:00.000-08:00

Blog Name: The Urban Sasquatch: A Winnipeg Pizza Adventure

Written by: Chad (pizza lover extraordinaire)

Highlights: An bigfoot who loves pizza? If pizza rocks your world (even if you may not have big feet), then this is the site for you.

I like: The reviews are very helpful as are the photos. You can really make a choice about which pizza place to order from. Plus, it really has the pizza buyer in mind with all the needed contact info AND the menu! You can also put your own rating and even suggest a place for Chad to try.

I don't like: For some reason I got confused with the navigation. The home page opens with a short blog entry and at the bottom are pizza shots - I automatically clicked on the comments since the individual headers/pizza place aren't rollovers, and ended up on the review but way, waaay at the bottom. I had to re-scroll up or I would've I missed out on the review right off! The categories on the sidebar aren't much help either. They just added to the confusion.

Verdict: Can't wait to read about and eat more pizza in Winnipeg!

Sick Bento

2009-11-14T17:08:00.000-08:00

sick bento, originally uploaded by Sakurako Kitsa.

Feeling under the weather? Having this for lunch will probably brighten up your day ....

Sucking the marrow out of an otherwise decent book

2009-11-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

If the above doesn't work, click:

Watch Julie and Julia online

Finally, FINALLY was able to watch Julie and Julia. I wasn't able to catch it in the cinemas and the online copies were horrible until I chanced upon this copy.

I read (and loved) the book a few years back. I found Julie's selfishness to cook each of Julia Child's recipes enamoring and just plain funny. I wish I could say the same for the movie.

The movie in one sentence: Two intertwined stories of women who find meaning in their lives through cooking.

What I liked: All the parts about Julia Child. Face it, her life is fascinating, Paris was fascinating, her life with Paul was fascinating. Julia is larger than life. And how Meryl Streep portrayed her was endearing. After watching this movie, you want to know more about Julia Child and how she revolutionized American cooking, look for her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and yes, read those obviously cheeky memoirs. (Which unfortunately isn't true for Julie Powell, she was ho-hum).

I particularly enjoyed how the men played supportive (not supporting) roles to the women characters and how married life is lovely. How many men do you know would do the grocery shopping for you, eat your messes AND wash the dishes for you? Or get their photo taken in the bathtub with you?

Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University

What I didn't like: Most of the parts with Julie Powell. At least how she is portrayed here. She is weak and whiny, unlike the Julie of the book who is feisty, loud mouthed, and just plain bitchy. Even with the scene of Julie ruing that "I'm a bitch..." it didn't ring true. Amy Adams is much too mild and sweet to be the Julie of the book (sorry Amy, I loved you in Enchanted though). Sigh, a sell-out to make Julie nicer just robbed the movie of the very reason why Julie is abrasive yet so likeable. Her personality in the movie was just plain bland. And she seemed a pathetic character in the movie, sorry to say.

I remember when I read the book that I totally could relate to Julie's reasons to embark on her one-year project ... she wanted to find some meaning in her life. The movie turns this otherwise very personal endeavor into a commercial venture. Julie never expected to get a book deal out of her blogging, she never expected to become famous. And I bet that she never expected a movie!

Food-related stuff (well, this is a food blog!): What Julie endeavored to do is nothing to be scoffed at. If you have own food blog, you know the excitement of getting a recipe from a cookbook (or online) with the pretty photo for inspiration ... then having to recreate it on your own. If it's a success, it's all the more sweetened if you and your loved ones enjoy it. And if it's a failure, well, it's an edible one (most times). The major mishaps Julie undertook, i.e. the failed aspics and being the "lobster killer," all made the movie.

Verdict: The movie is a quick enjoyable flick. Watch the movie but don't read the book. Or alternately, read the book but don't watch the movie thinking it'll just be as good. Or, if you can, pretend that the book and the movie have totally nothing to do with each other.

Some links to look up:

Do you know what you eat?

2009-11-11T16:49:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting campaign by Greenpeace on genetically modified foods.

Do you know what you eat? The DNA of genetically modified plants may contain the genes of insects, animals or even viruses.

Frankenstein food anyone?

[Via]

Don't eat my cilantro

2009-11-10T16:59:00.001-08:00

Closeup of Polenta :), originally uploaded by Sakurako Kitsa.

Bento boxes have always been a fascination. The Japanese have always managed to make eating not only something to taste, but definitely something to look at.

Here's a wonderfully cute bento box by Sakurako Kitsa. I don't really relish eating this cute giraffe though

What a talented lady!

Semolina Cookies, a delicious failed experiment

2009-11-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

Semolina cookies

Makes about 20 cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 13-15 minutes

Ok, so I've been meaning to make cookies for ages and finally gave in one afternoon when I wasn't quite up to going out. I didn't have much butter and our kitchen is far from fully equipped. The original recipe for semolina cookies is from Recipezaar.

How I fared:

It was a very delicious disaster, if we base it on what it should look like. I made some conversions and modified the sweetness somewhat, so the recipe below is the barest-bones recipe.

I didn't have any vanilla essence so we did without. Nor did I have a pastry brush, so no egg white brushing either.

The recipe calls for about 4 tablespoons of ground almonds. Instead with our almond stash, I spent about 5 minutes cracking open almonds, put them into plastic bags and started smashing them with the bottom of a cup. When I got tired, I got D to take over.

I also made the the stupidest mistake of not converting the oven setting from °C to °F ... hence the cookies had spread already on the tray when I rushed to reset the oven to the correct setting.

Taste Verdict:

If you didn't know how these were supposed to look like and you tasted these, you'd say YUM. The smashed almonds gave a nice unexpected crunch. The cookies are buttery with a nice crispiness to them. Great with a cup of coffee or tea or on top of ice cream.

Kitchen stuff you need:

mixing bowl

electric mixer

baking tray, 1-2

measuring cups

measuring spoons

flour sifter

fork

pastry brush

You need:

butter, 1/2 cup

granulated sugar, 5 tablespoons
vanilla essence, 1 teaspoon (optional)
plain flour, 1/2 cup
semolina flour, 1/2 cup
almonds, 4-5 tablespoons

For decorating (optional):
almonds
egg white, 1, beaten

What you do:

Grease baking trays lightly with butter and preheat oven to 180°C (approx. 350°F)
Cream butter, sugar (and vanilla essence) until light.
Sift in flour.
Add in semolina and ground almonds to combine well into a dough.
Pinch off pieces and roll into small balls and place on prepared trays.
Press with a fork.
Brush lightly with egg white and press half almonds in the center of each pressed out dough.
Bake in a preheated oven for 13-14 minutes or until cookies turn golden.
Leave on the tray for 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove onto a wire rock to cool.

For further inspiration, check this out. It makes it look oh-so simple!

Nuts about nuts!

2009-11-06T10:45:00.000-08:00

It's getting chillier and you should see the piles of leaves everywhere! And fall is also nut season!

So out came the gifted nut cracker, and along with a three-pound bag of mixed nuts from Vancouver, BC (available $6.99 at Canadian Superstore) ... and we plopped ourselves to the task of cracking almonds, filberts (hazelnuts) and walnuts open. Nut craving sated and with a huge pile of nut shells half an hour later.

I personally love cracking open almonds because they are easy to open and adore their mild creamy taste. The filberts were a little harder to open with their impervious shells and more often than not we let Y do the filbert cracking since D and I totally shattered the filberts inside by overcompensating! As for the walnuts, Y loves these, so he had more than his share.

As a child in the Philippines, I remember Christmases when huge bags of nuts - almonds, walnuts and pistachios, mainly - came out of their hiding and the family would gather around and crack open nuts and eat and talk after the huge Christmas feasts. Nuts were always a treat!

I also remember a time when we misplaced out nut cracker and my sister and I would stick walnuts (leftover from fruitcake making) between our door hinges and carefully crack them open ... hmmm! If my mother knew the many uses of doors!

Nuts not only taste great but are really good for you. They are a rich source of calcium, folic acid, magnesium, potassium, Vitamin E and fiber. An ounce of nuts daily can reduce the risk of heart disease!

Crunch up!

Winnipeg Foodie Blogs: Winnipeg Eats

2009-11-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Being a new Winnipegger, the easiest way to find out about the food scene is surf the internet! But I am more inclined towards hearing about it from fellow foodie bloggers and so I have been on the prowl for f and have come across quite a few interesting reads already. On my old blog, I was able to amass quite a list of foodie bloggers, Filipino and non-Filipino alike. I guess now it's time to concentrate on Winnipeg Foodies ... so look out for it on my sidebar.

http://wpgfoodie.wordpress.com/

Blog Name: Winnipeg Eats

Written by: Sarah (who loves sushi!)

Highlights: Easy-to-read blog about anything food-related (recipes, markets, restaurant reviews) with striking photos to boot. Sarah isn't trained or a professional foodie, and that's what I find so interesting! She loves her food ... it's simply her take on her food and she doesn't claim anything more.

I like: Her photos (great composition, you could've fooled me saying you're not a professional), her failed (and successful) kitchen experiments.

Sarah, your blog was the first I came across and I look forward to reading more ....!

Halloween candy!

2009-11-02T16:00:00.000-08:00

Looks like we have more munchies around the house than usual! Here's D's loot from Halloween!

Please grow, my (herb) babies ...

2009-10-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

Right to left ... parsley, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme, basil, basil. Two bought from Deluca's and the rest rescued from the fast-dying garden of a friend. Remember those sudden flurries ....?

Even in our tiny apartment, we can't seem to let go of our herbs. The plus side of it is that these plants are actually thriving here, where in the Philippines they'd live for a little while and slowly die off because they weren't meant for such tropical heat!

Herbs are quite pricey in the grocery store. In fact the cost of one live basil plant costs the same as a packet of the plucked stuff anyway.

It's a challenge looking for fresh herb plants here. Probably because we don't know where to look yet!

Virtual food, virtual restaurant

2009-10-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

Facebooker? Check.

With a hidden desire to start up your own restaurant? Check.

Get the best of both worlds by checking out these two apps on FB: Restaurant City and Cafe World.

Both simply involve setting up your own restaurant, complete with staff, menus, and to make as much money as possible so you can blow it away on fixing up the resto.

Restaurant City was the first game I played. I moved on to Cafe World seeing that it was becoming quite popular.

Major differences between the two games:

Resto City has MUCH cuter graphics. Cafe World is a little more awkward looking and it has some weird bugs where your people suddenly run off ... though tables and chairs at hyper speed ... to get out of your resto.
Resto City has toilets and washrooms become a must at a certain level in the success of your resto. Cafe World ... go poo poo at home.
You need to be careful about overworking your staff in Resto City. They could suddenly fall down and short of die on you! Feed them little worker ants!

On the plus side for Cafe World, making the dishes themselves take a little more effort. That is, if multiple mouse clicks is a little more work. It gives you some idea of how long it is to make a certain dish (say 2 days) and the steps involved, and you must WAIT for your dishes to cook. Resto City magically whips up your dishes at a mouse click!

Overall, Resto City require you to better manager of your money and staff, which isn't a bad idea at all.

Obviously I have way too much time on my hands at the moment. It's interesting though that such games were cooked up in the first place! Enjoy cooking!