My Life on the B-List

Lazy Baked Pork Chops

2013-03-25T22:25:00.000+08:00

Pork chops are dreamy in itself. I love, love, LOVE pork chops! Grilled, seared, fried, or baked they all usually come out fantastic. You see it's pretty hard to mess these things up especially since the butcher already did half of the work for us. He/she (because I'm gender sensitive) reduced the fail-factor by almost 50% simply by making sure that the fat-to-meat ratio is perfect on each chop, and that the thickness of each one is consistent as well. This makes for even cooking and oh-so-juicylicious pork chops. All we're left to do is to defrost, clean, pat dry, and basically add whichever seasoning or marinade we want. I mean, the bare minimum is throwing on some salt and pepper, and they'd still taste great.

The other day we had five pieces of boneless, 3/4" thick, pork chops in the freezer. In my head I had originally planned to marinate them for at least three hours and then grill them right before dinner. Around lunchtime, I had cut out the grilling part from my plan since it just seemed like too much work for five pieces of chops. At about 5 o'clock, the marinating part was (obviously) out of the question since I was just pulling the chops out of the freezer. Teehee. Yes this always happens to me. My grand plans always somehow morph into less-than-an-hour meals. It's called cooking smart. Or lazy. It depends on your perspective. Minimal effort with maximum results. Like my college friend used to always say, "di bale nang tamad, di naman pagod." I say, if you come out with a tasty dish anyway, who can judge the method right?

So this is my easy baked pork chop dish. This can convincingly be presented as something you had marinated the whole day. With the addition of a few sides, like baked potatoes and some veggies, this would be a sure hit. Definitely works with rice too. I honestly just pulled together ingredients that I already had. The critical part to the success of my lazy cooking philosophy is always having a decent selection of seasonings and sauces on hand to get away with dishes like these.

Ingredients:

Ideally 6 porkchops (but I only had 5)
2 T soy sauce
4 T vegetable oil
2 T knorr liquid seasoning
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 t lemon juice concentrate (or 2 t of fresh lemon juice)
2 T brown sugar
4 T ketchup
6 garlic cloves, whole, peeled
black pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. Combine soy sauce, vegetable oil, knorr liquid seasoning, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, brown sugar, and ketchup in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
3. Pat your pork chops dry with a paper towel and lay them out on a non-stick baking tray. Season both sides of all the chops with freshly-cracked black pepper. Now pour about half of the sauce that you made over the pork chops.

I accidentally poured in some of the sauce before I remembered to take a picture. lol. Anyway, I'm sure you get the general idea.

4. Now turn all the chops and make sure that they are evenly coated in the sauce. Now dump in the whole garlic pieces. This simple addition will add a subtle flavor to the sauce later on.

5. "Tent" aluminum foil very loosely on the chops, making sure all the chops are covered, and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.
6. After 30 minutes of baking, remove the foil and drain all the liquid from the pan. Now pour over the remaining half of the sauce, again covering and turning the chops, and bake uncovered for another 20-30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.
7. I stop baking them them just before the chops are completely cooked, and then I broil the chops for 5 minutes on each side. You can choose to forego this step and just simply bake it until cooked through. I like broiling them just because, it add a little crispness to the fat on the pork chop (hands down, my favorite part!) and deepens the color of the glaze on the pork chop.
8. You can stop here and serve the dish, or if you'd like to go the extra mile, you could de-glaze the drippings with a little red wine (preferred), white wine, or any cooking wine you want or have. It's just a matter of transferring the drippings into another pan, adding your wine of choice, and reducing the sauce. It just gives the dish that added oomph.

I personally, foregoed reducing the sauce (because I was lazy, hence the name of the dish) and just poured the leftover sauce from the baking tray over my finished pork chops.

Even without the reduction, you still end up with a tangy, flavorful, and well-balanced dish that is both savory and slightly sweet. The balsamic vinegar together with the roasted garlic gives a wonderful depth to this dish and subtly adds another level of flavor. You don't even have to serve the garlic pieces with the the chops since not everyone is crazy over garlic. You can just pick 'em out and set them aside. I personally love garlic, plus it's supposedly really good for the heart, so I just serve it anyway. I like multiple layers of flavor. That's one thing that's consistent about my cooking. Yep I'm asian through and through.

Also, my instant-read thermometer decided to die that day, so I kind of just felt my way through it. My actual baking time came up to approximately 50 minutes plus the 10-minute broiling period, if that helps anyone. The only tricky part about this dish is ensuring that it's cooked just right. There is that danger of slightly under cooking or over cooking it since the reddish-brown glaze on the chops can be quite deceptive. BUT if you get that part down pat, then you're golden.

I hope you guys enjoy this dish as much as I did. You can add this to your weekday cooking arsenal if and when you run out of ideas.

~ Mich :)

Of Tortoises and Gazelles

2013-03-20T18:48:00.000+08:00

So let me start off by introducing myself. I’m Yuri, Michelle’s lucky husband. In a nutshell, I love to cook, watch sports, read useless internet articles, and like my lovely wife, I adore eating. As people who have met me recently have pointed out, the short description I have provided is becoming evident through my ever expanding waistline. See, the only reason for me to sweat before was due to the heat of the burner while I cook or the Ravens being down by a touchdown to the Broncos with 34 seconds left in regulation.

I’ve realized though that maybe it’s time for me to try to get in shape. I’ve been trying to run at least every other day in UP. The first attempt, I was able to accomplish a total of an astoundingly sad 1KM before calling it quits. Running can’t be that hard! The burning lungs, the sore feet, and most of all, the whiff of oil emanating from those fishball stands kept calling me to the sidelines. Being the geek that I am, I decided to go back home, and read countless articles on how to run. I thought it was as simple as putting one foot in front of the other and then collapsing in a heap of blubber at the end point. Apparently, it’s not. Here’s what I’ve gathered through my research:

1) Stretch, stretch, stretch. Pulling a muscle HURTS. It’s easier to just spend a couple of minutes warming up those tight hamstrings by the sidewalk than trying to hobble back to your vehicle while clutching your aching legs.

2) Relax and realize that it’s not a race (unless it actually is one haha) I’m a guy with short, stubby legs. Time and again, I get reminded of that whenever Michelle is in a hurry to get anywhere. Her 1 step is 2 of mine (although sometimes it feels like 10). I used to get bothered every time somebody would pass me by and appear as if they’re not having a difficult time. Once these gazelles would stream past by me I’d mutter something non-sequitur under my breath like “You may have long legs and run fast but at least I could cook up a mean Phad Kha Pao”. After the first hundred people passed me by, I just said to myself that I’m enjoying the run anyway. So let them pass by me while I go at my own pace. I just let my mind wander and enjoy the scenery.

3) Try to keep a steady rhythm. Both in breathing and in cadence, it works wonders. I kept remembering those ROTC days where my CO would keep shouting “Left, Left,Left, Right Left”. Just keeping that steady pace helped me cover longer distances than I thought I could.

4) Look ahead. It’s good for your running posture. Your spine and hips will fall in place if you keep a steady gaze of like 10 feet in front of you. As I’ve said time and again, I have short legs so I’m slow. People who didn’t follow this tip have bulldozed into me before. To avoid this embarrassing situation for both you and me, just look ahead. :)

5) Move your arms. It helps propel you forward and it also prevents your body from twisting too much. Keep your elbows at a 90 degree angle and swing your arms back and forward opposite your leg. Don’t clench your hands. Pretend that you’re holding an egg while you run. Also, make sure that your hands don’t cross the midline of your torso or you’ll create a twisting motion.

6) Cool down. Make sure that your muscles and breathing are back to normal by doing a bit of stretching afterwards.

7) Finally, the most important tip for me: Don’t pig out afterwards! Avoid the fishball stand like the plague and try to eat sensible portions. It feels good to eat after a run. There’s a certain sense of entitlement every time I sit down at the table and see all that good food. I think to myself, I earned it! I deserve to eat more since I exercised! Sad to say it doesn’t work that way, If you’re serious about losing those love handles, exercise and dieting go hand in hand.

It’s been a little more than a month since I started this journey towards uncharted territory called “exercise” and I’m surprised by the result. I’ve lost a total of 6 kilos and from that paltry 1km, I’m now up to 8km per run. I’m still a long way from finishing that marathon but I’m happy to see results. I’ll never get long legs, and keep pace with the gazelles but maybe after a couple hundred more kilometers of running I could at least say, “you may be fast, but at least I can cover longer distances”. At least I would then have a valid argument. :)

- Yuri

My Kind of Oatmeal

2013-03-19T10:50:00.001+08:00

Mornings aren't my strong suit. Never liked 'em. It's a combination of things I guess. I wake up hungry (always!), grumpy (most of the time), and usually the barrage of issues, if any, from work and home, tend to overwhelm me as soon as open my eyes.

Breakfast has always been the most vital meal of my day. A good breakfast erases all my aforementioned rants. I have no doubt that I'm Filipino through and through since my idea of a perfect breakfast is anything with sinangag (fried garlic rice). I could pile on that rice and eat like there was no tomorrow. You see, growing up I was blessed with an insanely efficient metabolism, but I have to admit, with every year that passes, it has been slowing down ever so slightly. It's depressing really. So now, I try to offset my usual greasy, carbo loaded but oh so yummy morning fare, with something healthy(ish), at least every other day.

This is my go-to oatmeal breakfast which sometimes doubles as a midnight snack. It's been pretty effective. And it doesn't leave me grumpy (that much) and doesn't leave me as hungry as its' flavored Quaker Oats equivalent which seems to be the only other option left. The Sunny Select instant oatmeal has whole rolled oatmeal grains and oat bran which gives it a substantial bite, unlike the other instant oatmeal products you find with other brands that just turns to mush when mixed with hot water or mik. Plus the fruit bits in the Sunny Select oatmeal, once rehydrated, are a lot chunkier than the Quaker oats version. Everyone knows that oatmeal can be really boring, and the feeling can be akin to eating wet cardboard. If you're easing into healthier breakfasts, and your slightly lactose intolerant like me (which prevents me from eating cereal with milk often), Sunny Select might be a good option. You get fiber, loads of vitamins and minerals (like vitamin A, B6, folate, calcium, niacin, riboflavin, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus) with each serving. It contains artificial flavors, sodium, and sugar, but these, I think, are outweighed by all the other health benefits you get. I don't mean to sound like a commercial (lol), but I really tend to go on and on about food products that I love. All the people close to me know that, and yes they do make fun of me for it. What can I do? I LOVE food. :)

Hey, it tastes good, that's the bottom line. If you're not as lazy as me in the morning, you could put together instant rolled oats and throw in some cut up fruit (like bananas, or peaches), a touch of honey, and some hot water or milk. But if you want something fast that you can grab and go that won't leave you depressed and tempted to go back to your old carbo loading breakfast routine (again, assuming that you're like me) then this Sunny Select oatmeal might be worth a try. It comes in four flavors. I first bought a box of this on a random trip to Subic in on of those duty-free stores there. I was desperate to try more oatmeal options at the time. Luckily enough, Shopwise has recently started carrying this product so now I can stock up.

My favorite flavor is peaches and cream. Notice that there's a trivia question on each packet. Not that it matters but it adds to the fun.

Again, let me just state for the record that I am in no way a representative or affiliated with Sunny Select nor was I paid to write about this. Just in case somebody gets the wrong idea. This is just me, sharing something I really like.

Oh and just in case you were wondering, the answer to the trivia question is John Paul Jones. I have no clue who that is though.

~Mich :)

Freestylin' Thai Beef Basil

2013-03-18T09:43:00.001+08:00

Yep this is the comeback of the comeback, if there is such a thing. I'm trying really hard to restrain myself from spouting promises, like I did in my previous entry which was, embarrassingly enough, erm more than a year ago the last time I checked *cringe*. I never thought I had commitment issues until, well, now I guess. Let me stop there. This time there will be no promises. I've decided to just gently ease into this again and prove to myself and to you guys that I'm back for good.

Here goes nothing.

Yuri and I have our issues in the kitchen. In the three years we've been married, we've discovered that we don't work all that well together in the kitchen all the time. Sometimes it goes pretty okay, but on days when our control issues are at their peak it can turn ugly. Our prep and cooking styles are just on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. The food just comes out way better when one of us is out of the picture. Plus, it's just more peaceful that way.

Anyways, It's been weeks since Yuri and I last cooked anything for ourselves. We had a rare lazy Sunday yesterday and Yuri took it upon himself to cook dinner for me and my brother-in-law. We're kind of nearing the end of our pantry supply so he put together an adaptation of his favorite Thai Basil Chicken dish, but he used ground beef instead, added tofu, and some red bell peppers as well. We're calling this dish *drumroll*... Thai Basil Beef with Tofu. Harhar. :p

In the spirit of marital harmony I have decided against nagging him about recalling the exact measurements he used, so please adjust everything to your taste. This was after all a kind of freestyle home cooking session.

Ingredients (a.k.a. what we had left in fridge)
Serves 3-4 persons

500 g of ground beef
3/4 C of fresh basil leaves
1 piece red bell pepper, julienned
1 T dried chili (put less if your tolerance for spiciness is low)
1 T sugar
1 T soy sauce
1 T water
2 T patis or fish sauce
tofu, slice into cubes or into whatever shape you desire
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk onion leeks
2 -3 T vegetable cooking oil

Lightly pre-fry the tofu in cooking oil and then set aside. You could pre mix the sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, and water together if you're feeling unsure but you may opt to to just add it into the wok directly after searing the beef later. You can adjust the saltiness of the sauce by adding and balancing it with water. The sauce can be as dry or as plenty as you please. He prefers a drier version of this particular dish he created, as do I, because it just tastes better for us that way. Let your taste buds guide you. Once you've pre-mixed your sauce, heat up about two tablespoons of vegetable cooking oil in a wok on medium-high heat, and add the garlic. Right before the garlic turns brown, go ahead and add the ground beef. Keep tossing the wok until the beef is seared and cooked through. You may then add the sauce, the bell peppers, and the onion leeks to the beef. Keep mixing and turning everything until the bell peppers have wilted slightly, which will take about 3-5 minutes only. Add the tofu mixing gently for about a minute or two and just enough to toss the tofu with everything else so that it absorbs the flavor of the sauce. Finally, add the basil leaves and toss for approximately 30 seconds. As you can see, this recipe is by no way exact. At all. This is just to give you an idea of the flavor profile of the dish. Since you're cooking with medium to high heat this dish should be completed in 15 minutes or less. Plate it up and...

Voila! You're done.

This is Yuri's Thai Beef Basil with Tofu sans food styling. We're keeping it realistic. Besides, it wasn't even an option since we were too hungry.

~Mich :)

Making a Mini-Comeback with Spinach Pesto

2012-01-21T22:21:00.001+08:00

Hey guys! *sheepish smile* So it's been ages since I last posted and I feel horrible about it. Catering has completely taken a hold of my life these past few months and I've barely had time to breathe. So that plus a serious case of writer's block happened. It's a pretty lame excuse, I know.

Anyway, I've decided to revive My Life on the B-List bit by bit and I'm starting on something small. I've started a mini-project called Yu (a.k.a. Yuri my hubby) and Mich's Kitchen Adventures. I've been keeping my stress levels in check by cooking up dishes I've wanted to experiment on, but couldn't include in my catering menu, at home. No measurements, no shortcuts, and best of all, no client to please! Thank God. Ha! Freestyle cooking just the way I love it. Bulk cooking has taken it's toll on my creativity so I'm going back to my roots so to speak. I've posted our first two creations on my Facebook page. Please check it out HERE. :)

I know this doesn't make up for the lack of posts but I'll get back to it I promise. Thanks again for being super patient with me.

Have a great year ahead everyone!

In the midst of a cooking class in KL, Malaysia. :)

~Mich :)

Binge Session at Kanin Club

2011-08-31T18:23:00.004+08:00

It has been an insanely busy week for our catering business; and so, I am deeply mortified by my lack of posts this month. My only excuse is that we had to cater to close to 5,000 people in a span of 5 days. What few days I've had after that hectic week has been spent hibernating... and working some more. Boo. We were all operating on 2 to 4 hours of sleep per day but somehow we managed to pull through til the end. So workaholics that we are, we scheduled a meeting with Anj, a consultant of ours and a very good friend of mine, last Saturday, which was just a day after our said hellish week.

I don't know how I managed to get myself out of bed, but I had enough of my wits about me to bring all the necessary paperwork for our meeting and my trusty camera. It was supposed to be a simple meeting over lunch at Kanin Club. I had no plans of blogging about what we were about to eat since all my energy was focused on staying awake. It was a good thing that I'd developed a habit, akin to a muscle reflex, of taking pictures of everything I eat because our lunch at Kanin Club turned out to be not so ordinary after all.

I managed to drag my bleary-eyed self to Technohub 15 minutes past our agreed time. Yuri was late too by association. Teehee. My bad. He was ready an hour before we were supposed to leave as always. Lucky for me, our other business partner and Anj had a hard time getting out of bed too so it ended up that we all got there at almost the same time.

Our team was in a celebratory mood, and since we had Anj with us as well, we decided to reward ourselves by ordering A LOT of food.

Among us, Anj was the only one who had eaten there before. She enthusiastically recommended that we try one of her fave dishes, which was the Sinigang rice.

Sinangag na Sinigang Php 179.00

I wasn't sure what I was expecting but it certainly didn't look like anything I had imagined. The crispy kankong (water spinach) topping, the "sinigang risotto", and the pork liempo slices wrapped around the rice had my interest piqued and I was excited to try it. This deconstructed dish is an interesting take on pork sinigang and you can definitely pick out all the key flavors. The rice was cooked in the sinigang broth with an extra helping of tomatoes, so the tartness and full-bodied taste of the soup was definitely there. The portion size was more than enough for three, but Anj and I needed no help in wolfing this plate down.

Yuri wanted to stay away from meat, so he picked out the Stuffed Squid.

Stuffed Squid Php 224.00

It was definitely a sight to behold. It looked so pretty on the plate. The squid was tender enough and the batter was crunchy. The sweet sauce had hints of oyster sauce in it. The menu says the squid was stuffed with chives but I'm pretty sure it was some sort of spinach. I just wish the stuffing had some sort of flavor to it instead of it just being plainly blanched. The dish would've been phenomenal if they did something special to the stuffing.

Itsi Bitsi Php 224.00

We were trying to sort of erm eat "healthy" so we decided to order one veggie dish. We went for the Itsi Bitsi just because the name was quirky. It was described in their menu as "It's sitaw, bitsuelas, and sigarilyas sauteed with beef.", hence the name. They get plus points for trying to be funny, and they got us to order the dish anyway so that counts for something. The vegetables were rolled in cornstarch and then deep-fried before it was cooked with the beef. It was simply seasoned but really tasty.

Binukadkad na Tilapia Php 246.00

You can never go wrong tilapia. This dish is always a hit. Deep-fried butterflied tilapia served with soy sauce. It was fried perfectly. I could've literally eaten the whole thing bones and all.

Now this is what the Kanin Club is known for. Dinuguan a.k.a pork blood stew is a truly unique and exotic Filipino dish. Kanin Club has somehow made dinuguan friendlier and more accessible to people who'd usually cringe at the thought of eating dinuguan. The blood sauce part is non-negotiable of course, but instead of using offals, they've decided to use choice cuts of pork cooked chicharon-style. It was a lovely surprise! You'd never guess it underneath all that sauce. I'm ashamed to admit that I have been unable to conquer my squemishness for dinuguan ever since I watched my lola cook it from scratch when I was a kid. But I've been told that many people have ventured to eat dinuguan for the first time at Kanin Club and loved it. So I gave it my best shot.

Crispy Dinuguan Php 261.00

More than anything, it's the visual of the thick dark blood gravy that psyches me out the most. I had to close my eyes, like the big baby that I am, before taking a bite. Once I was past the visual hurdle, I could properly appreciate the crunchy chicharon together with the slightly tart sauce. Yep this was my first bite of dinuguan in a loooooong time and it ~~wasn't so bad~~ was as delicious as any bowl of dinuguan could be. LOL. So, if you're sampling this dish for the first time, then I must insist that you try it here.

To say that we reached a milestone in our business is gross understatement. That's the most we've catered to EVER. So that pig out session at Kanin club was well-deserved. :-) I'm crossing my fingers and hoping we have more stressful weeks like those!

Address: U.P. AyalaLand Technohub, Commonwealth Ave., Quezon City, Metro Manila
Tel. No. : (02) 332-5978
Other Branches: Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati
Westgate Center, Alabang
Paseo de Sta. Rosa, Laguna

~Mich :)

Couponmania: Sakae Sushi!

2011-08-17T20:24:00.005+08:00

About two months ago, I managed to eavesdrop on my friend's conversation on Twitter. I saw the words "coupon", "sushi", and "eat-all-you-can" being thrown around and I was resolved... nay determined, to find a way to get in on the action. Thank God the coupon deal, which was from Cash Cash Pinoy, was for a one hour eat-all-you-can sushi buffet for six. I lucked out! Plus they really were looking for additional people to go with them so my timing was perfect.

So finally, we all met last Saturday at Sakae Sushi at the SM North Annex for our epic erm merienda (?) sushi buffet. You see, we were only allowed to use the coupon during their off peak hours so we reserved a table for 3:30 PM. We had been dying to redeem the coupon as soon as it was purchased online, but somehow work and other things got in the way. We had been dreaming and talking about this sushi smorgasborg for months so you can imagine how excited we were last Saturday!

The coupon was worth Php 1,500.00, so it only cost us Php 250.00 each. Our one hour time limit started as soon as we sat. Our assigned server told us the rules as soon as we were ushered into our booth. She told us that all the sushi/items placed on the conveyor belt were fair game, except for the bottled juices which would cost us extra. We also got a bowl of miso soup each and a choice of bottomless hot or cold green tea. The coupon was really too good to be true! As soon as we were given the go signal I felt my adrenaline pumping. I've always had a bit of a competitive streak in me so I was determined to get the most out of this buffet within the time limit given to us.

It took a while for us to come up with a game plan. The whirring sound of the conveyor belt together with the assortment of colorful plates marching past our table was hypnotic. I could've easily gotten lost in it. But we had a running clock so we quickly started picking out plates that caught our eye. Half of the fun was in grabbing the plates. And grab we did.

Here were some of my fave picks that day. There was a wide assortment of nigiri sushi (hand-formed sushi rice with a seafood type topping over it) with toppings such as salmon, tuna, shrimp, blue marlin, and (weirdly enough) octopus. They also had the typical maki sushi (rolled sushi with nori). There were also a few non-shushi items on the conveyor belt like, sauteed pepper chicken, chicken roll with asparagus and cheese, tofu steak, and tempura crabsticks as seen above. We prolly ate close to 55 plates of sushi between us six! That's 100++ pieces of sushi. LOL. *high fives all around*

Our first 30 minutes!

Whatever Sakae Sushi lacked in quality, we made up for in quantity. They made sure that their sushi rolls had extra thick layers of rice in it so the proportions were a bit off. Hey from a business point of view I completely understand why they did this. Rice fills you up really fast and if you get customers like us everyday it would be quite hard to make a decent profit. During our last 15 minutes, our server asked us if there was a specific item or items we'd like the kitchen to put out on the conveyor belt. We didn't know this was possible! If I had known earlier, I would've been stuffing myself with salmon nigiri the whole time. I quickly asked for a few more salmon nigiris and true enough, they immediately put out three plates of it on the conveyor belt. I promptly ate two. At this point, I was stuffed up to my head in sushi.

If we go by the per-plate-prices of their sushi, to say that we got our money's worth is a huge understatement.

Yuri and I had to walk around the mall five times to get our tummies settled. Yep that was dinner for us. I definitely won't be eating any sort of sushi for at least a month. But if I do feel like going on a sushi binge, I now know where to go. Sakae Sushi may not have the best sushi out there but we got it for a steal and we definitely had a blast!

Happy tummies. :)

I'm not sure when they'll release coupons again, but their All Day Sushi Buffet rates aren't half bad:

Adults Php 399.00 / head
Kids Php 199.00 / head

***This includes miso soup and a choice of bottomless hot or cold green tea. No service charge. Surcharges will be imposed on food wastage.

Address: UG/F SM City North EDSA Annex, North Ave. cor. EDSA, Quezon City
Tel. #: (02) 332-9139
Hours: 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM daily

Sunday Morning at Sidcor

2011-07-31T20:36:00.003+08:00

Yuri's been wanting to go to the Sidcor Sunday market (now at Eton Centris) for over a month now. You're probably wondering why this is even an issue. Thing is, it's particularly hard for us... erm... err for me that is, to wake up earlier than 10:00 AM on Sundays. LOL. It's my designated sleep-in day since we usually have catering events on Saturday evenings.

Yep that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it. Now that I'm married and free from my parents' constant lectures on the merits of waking up early, I figured I had a right to my Sunday mornings. I can and WILL waste it as I please. *ahem* Right Yuri? Teehee.

This morning though, we managed to get ourselves ready by 9:00 AM. Indeed, that was no small feat, what with the chilly-curl-under-the-covers weather. But a promise was a promise. So I put on my most believable cheerful smile and trudged off to the car where Yuri was impatiently waiting for me.

It was an easy 20-minute drive from our house to Eton Centris. Gotta love Metro Manila on Sundays. By the time we got there, I was genuinely looking forward to our little outing and my usual morning sullenness was long gone.

The place was brimming with people despite the overcast skies and wet weather.

There's a separate section for fresh produce, meat, and seafoods, another for clothes and accessories, one for cooked food featuring mostly Filipino delicacies, and one for plants and all things green. On this particular trip, Yuri and I were just there for herbs. It was high time that our other herbs at home had some company.

I immediately homed in on Mang Narcisso's stall. I didn't think we had to look any further. He had a pretty neat selection of herbs, and it was awesome that he had all the ones we were looking for. We ended up buying six seedlings and it took us roughly ten minutes to finalize our choices. The seedlings were only Php 25.00 pesos each. Amazing. You can't get a better price than that.

What I loved about Mang Narcisso is that he gave us a lot of practical tips on how to prolong the lives of our herbs. Plus he was really nice and easy to talk to. In fact, I had so much fun comparing notes with him with regards to our herb preferences for certain dishes, that I forgot about my slightly muddy feet and that I was awkwardly squished under an umbrella that barely covered Yuri and I. He even let me take his picture! :)

Yuri took his new babies straight to the garden as soon as we got home. They have now been replanted into their own individual pots. Mang Narcisso told us that we should make sure that we till the soil of each plant at least once a week. He says that it's vital that the soil is always loose so that water seeps into the roots of the herbs really easily. We were supposed to buy 7 herbs, but he vetoed our chocolate mint option. He told us that his chocolate mint was looking wilted and that he'd bring us a nice and lively one next weekend. He had my loyalty right then and there!

Now I'd like to introduce y'all to our new herbs!

Curly Leaf Parsley

Spring Onion

Italian / Flat Leaf Parsley

Arugula

Dill

Vietnamese Cilantro / Hot Mint

I can't wait to use them in my dishes! The possibilities are endless. :-)

Address: Eton Centris Parking Lot, EDSA cor. Quezon Avenue, QC
Hours: 6:00 AM - 2:00 PM; Sundays

My Kind of Xiao Long Bao

2011-07-25T22:37:00.005+08:00

My Xiao Long Bao fixation started in early 2010. I was helping my dad scout for a nice, upscale, and somewhat exclusive restaurant since he was looking for a place to hold a meeting, at the time, for some industry bigwigs. My mom and I were his taste testers, which was an awesome job, since we got to eat free food and sort of stage the dishes he wanted to order for his prospective clients. We eventually went with Jasmine, a new-ish (at the time) Chinese restaurant located at New World Hotel in Makati. We went through the appetizer section of the menu, and my mom insisted that we try the xiao long bao (soup dumplings) as a possible option for appetizers. You see, she was still on a high from her trip to China back then and she was weirdly fixated (I thought) by these soup dumplings. After a bite of it, I completely understood why she couldn't stop talking about it.

It's been more than a year now since my introduction to xiao long bao, and my enthusiasm for this Chinese dim sum is still as strong as ever. Since then, I have been on the lookout for affordable and well-made xiao long baos. Believe me, the quest has not been easy. In most Chinese restaurants, the xiao long baos are either too dry, or the skin is too thick, or the skin somehow gets punctured while it's steaming so the juices seep out even before it gets to the customers' tables.

Thankfully, I've found my go-to place for my xiao long bao fix when Crystal Jade chain opened their doors last year. The Xiao Long Bao craze has taken Manila by storm. Everyone was just suddenly craving for these delicate "soup dumplings". I remember lining up for almost two hours at Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao when they first opened! Yep, two friggin' hours. Granted, they just opened at the time, but their service was terrible and their seating order was ridiculously inefficient. Anyway, you can imagine how grumpy we were by the time we were seated. We were all hungry and irritable by the time our orders got to our table. We were so ready to nitpick and rant about the food. At that point, I just wanted to eat my dinner and get out of there. I was certain that I would never ever go back...well, until I tasted the food that is. We, meaning Yuri plus my parents & aunt, all kind of looked at each other with bemused expressions because we didn't expect their food to be on point, what with the messy state of things on the service side. Funny thing was, initially we were all kinda bummed that all the dishes we ordered turned out to be ridiculously delicious, since we were looking forward to complaining about the food. Their, xiao long bao, chicken with cashew nuts, hand-pulled noodles, braised eggplant with pork, and radish pastry, definitely shut us up good. LOL. Mad props to them. I think everyone in the restaurant kind of had the same sentiment. Everyone was trying really hard to still look mad and annoyed, but a grin and a satisfied sigh would slip out here and there in between bites.

I'm happy to report that the crazed-xiao-long-bao-crowds have calmed down. Crystal Jade is still as popular as ever, but at least now you don't have to wait to get in and the quality of their service has shaped up tremendously since they first opened.

Yuri and I decided to pop in for an early lunch since we were doing a bit of shopping at Greenhills. I'm pretty sure you guys know by now what we ordered for our starter. It was no other than their Xiao Long Bao!

Xiao Long Bao Php 158.00

Making a good xiao long bao is a fine art. First the dough for the skin has to perfectly circular and thin enough, that it becomes translucent when cooked, but not too thin that it breaks while it's steaming. Once the flour dough or skin is thin enough, it is then usually filled with pork together with a meat aspic (jelly made from meat stock). It is then sealed and pinched on top. These soup dumplings are steamed and served in bamboo baskets. Xiao long bao is always served with black vinegar with slices of ginger. What I usually do is I wait a bit for the xiao long bao to cool down, dip it in the black vinegar, and then eat the whole thing in one go. It's quite an experience really. The tangy earthy taste of the black vinegar slowly combines with the rich flavors of the "soup" as the dumpling slowly bursts in your mouth. The flavors of the savory pork filling then emerges while the delicate dumpling "skin" just sorts of melts in your mouth. A tremendous amount of skill goes into making this Shanghai-style soupy dumpling and I think that's a big part of why I enjoy it so much. Every single aspect of this delicacy requires a daunting amount of work (especially the aspic!) and a certain kind of finesse.

I don't go to Crystal Jade for the xiao long bao alone. They've got dishes here that are equally tasty and as well executed as the soup dumplings. Since it was just us two, we decided to order two bowls of steamed rice and then we just split a plate of their Sauteed Chicken with Cashew Nuts in Spicy Sauce. This is Yuri's fave!

Sauteed Chicken with Cashew Nuts in Spicy Sauce Php 288.00

This dish definitely shows off the skill level of their kitchen staff. I love it when all of the ingredients on my plate are cut uniformly. I'm just meticulous with my food like that. It drives Yuri nuts! It's no wonder too why this dish came out perfectly. The onions were crunchy, mushrooms were tender, and the chicken perfectly cooked. The textures were lovely! It was bathed in a sweet-ish sauce (my guess is hoisin, XO, plum, garlic, and touch of Shaoxing wine) peppered with chili flakes, and chopped fresh chili. They serve this dish with flour pancakes.

Radish Pastry Php 98.00

This is our default dessert at Crystal Jade. We are big fans of radish cakes so when we saw this on the menu, on our first visit, we just had to try it. These days, the Radish Pastry only thing we order for dessert at Crystal Jade.

Thin strips of radish and diced spring onions are wrapped in puff pastry and then deep-fried. It's fluffy, light, and oh so yummy! A must-try for radish fans.

They've got a lot of items to choose from so I'm pretty sure that no matter what you order you'll definitely enjoy dining here. :-)

Address: G/F, Virra Mall, Greenhills Shopping Center, Greenhills, San Juan City
Tel. #: 570-6910; 570-6912; 570-6914
Hours: Monday to Sunday 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM

My 4th of Juy: Mongolian BBQ & Momo Cafe

2011-07-07T17:29:00.004+08:00

I've got tons of things to be thankful for this year. What better way to celebrate than by throwing a party! My birthday was on July 4 but since it fell on a Monday, we held the party last Saturday instead. I had a ball since I got to pig out while the people closest and dearest to my heart were happily munching away with me. Since most of our parties have themes, Yuri and I decided that this one should have a Mongolian barbecue spin on it. As you know, in one of my previous posts (O'Mai Khan), we are big fans of Mongolian buffets so we decided to give our guests the same experience. I was told to stay away from the planning this time, so this was really Yuri and my mom's gift to me. They took care of everything!

We didn't want the party to feel too "catered", which is ironic since that's what we do on a daily basis. We wanted to keep it simple and self-service mostly so we just borrowed our best Mongolian BBQ cook, and another one of our staff members to pitch in with the service side.

My uber generous parents, who I dearly love, decided on their own that a Mongolian buffet wasn't enough. They surprised me with pritchon!!! Pritchon or pritong lechon is simply deep fried suckling pig served Peking duck-style. Chopped lechon is wrapped in pita bread together with slices of cucumber and spring onions. The secret is always in the sauce and they had 7 types for us to choose from.

I was ecstatic! I hung out by the pritchon station for quite a while and tried to get my fill before the bulk of my guests arrived. LOL. I wasn't going to miss out on this. Nuh-uh. Hell no. Usually pritchons last for no more than 30 minutes in our parties. People just seem to inhale them. Can't blame them though because it's craaaaazzzy delicious!

Hubby (left) and I (middle) with the early birds!

Our house was noisy, chaotic, and brimming with people, just how I like our parties to be. I had a blast! :)

I was still on a high from the party so I didn't really mind if we skipped celebrating my birthday on the actual day. Yuri would have none of that though, and told me to get dressed for a date. I have to admit, I didn't really put up a protest. In fact, I got dressed in record time! How could I say no to a date?

We went to mass and then went to Momo Cafe for lunch. I had a hard time choosing between my favorite restaurants, but in the end we went to Momo since it had been quite a while since we ate here.

Once we were seated, I immediately flipped open the menu to my favorite page.

We quickly placed our orders and patiently waited for our scrumptious dishes to arrive. While waiting, they customarily serve all their guests bread sticks with a tasty side of cheese pimiento spread.

Since the first time I ate here in 2010, there has only been one dish for me. The pan roasted Norwegian salmon. *drools*

Pan Roasted Shiitake Mushroom Crusted Norwegian Salmon Php 425.00

It's perfect really. I guess it really is a personal favorite of mine since I'm quite obsessed with most of the ingredients on this plate. The oh-so-juicy-and-flaky hunk of salmon, the spinach cream risotto, and the teriyaki glaze go together like a dream. Thanks Anj for introducing this to me! This dish gives me the same glazed look and dopey smile I get when I'm given a huge emergency shot of benadryl for my allergies. Everything just fades into the background. If you don't believe me, ask Yuri. He knows that talking to me in this state would be utterly useless since I'd be completely distracted. Harhar. I can't help it.

The salmon dish is really a big plate with at least 350 grams of quality salmon cooked to perfection. I'd say that it's totally worth it for 'splurge days' like these.

Yuri decided to try a new dish at Momo and ordered some good ol' corn dogs.

A Bucket of Corn Dogs and 3 Dips Php 295.00

This is Yuri's brand of comfort food that's for sure. He loved that they used real American hotdogs and a really thick and tasty pancake batter to coat it with. It came with homemade coleslaw and three kinds of dips-- sweet and sour, hickory BBQ, and honey mustard.

Other dishes I'd highly recommend are the Sweet & Smoky BBQ Riblets (Php 450.00), the Slow Roasted U.S. Roast Beef Fingers (Php 495.00), and the MOMO Gourmet Salad (Php 295.00), which are all good for sharing.

I was planning to have dessert at some other place since my favorite dessert at Momo Cafe was nowhere on the menu or on the dessert display up front. I should've put more faith in my hubby because next thing I knew, the restaurant was suddenly playing a very classy version of the "happy birthday" song and our waitress was walking towards me with a slice of my favorite dessert topped with a lighted candle. It was incredibly sweet!

The dessert in question, was the cookie dough cheesecake. I don't really have a sweet tooth so I'm a fan of desserts that aren't too sweet and sugary. This really does it for me. It's a baked cheesecake with a cookie dough crust and drops of chocolate chip batter on top. The cheesecake itself has a lemony flavor. Yuri and I were both flabbergasted though when we saw our bill. We used to pay Php 175.00 for a slice and now it was Php 275.00, which is quite ridiculous even if it was my favorite dessert there. We didn't want to spoil the mood though. It was my birthday date after all.

I thought my parents spoiled me unnecessarily before, but nobody has spoiled me quite like Yuri has. You know how a little girl feels like when she's in a candy store and is told that she can pick out whatever she wants just for that day? That's how I felt during this whole week... except I don't like candy all that much... but you guys get my drift. Anyways, all I'm trying to say in my own clumsy way is THANK YOU! Just in case I haven't said it enough. <3

Address: G/F Eastwood Mall, E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave, Bagumbayan, Libis, Quezon City
Tel. #: 900-1006

(Disclaimer! The food quality here is awesome, but the service crew has their good days and bad days. I personally prefer to go here on weekdays or during off-peak hours when the place isn't too full just to be on the safe side.)

Ye Dang with the Gang!

2011-06-27T20:51:00.001+08:00

Back in college, when Korean food wasn't as readily available as it is now, I was completely fascinated, obsessed even, with Korean cuisine. Ironically enough, I learned about Korean food and culture through the hundreds of Korean dramas and movies I've religiously watched over the years. Before that, all I knew was Beef Bulgogi. Yep, I'm a bonafide K-drama addict. I used to be a die-hard fan but these days I've mellowed down. I'm down to one K-drama series every two weeks. LOL.

So anyways, as with any K-drama follower, that the culmination of my obsession with Korean cuisine peaked when Jewel in Palace (Dae Jang Geum) was released. If you haven't watched it you're definitely missing out. I dedicated a good two weeks of my life to finish that historical drama with only 2-3 hours of sleep in between. From then on there was no turning back for me. I'd drag my mom and dad to eat with me at Kaya every so often just to stem my craving for Korean food. Each episode had me curious (and salivating). In fact, A LOT of Korean restaurants started using Jang Geum's face in their advertisements after the drama came out. That's how effective it was.

Luckily enough, with the sudden boom of Korean residents and students in Metro Manila, Korean food is fast on it's way to becoming one of the mainstream cuisines. It's not as foreign as it was, say 5 years ago. In fact, chapchae, a favorite of mine which uses potato starch noodles, is one of the staple dishes in our catering business. In the beginning, I had a lot of fun introducing this dish to our clients. These days, almost everyone I know is familiar with chapchae.

My high school gang and I get together once every one or two months to hang out and catch up with each other's lives. A few months ago, Dianne, arranged for us to meet up at Ye Dang.

The place was filled with Koreans, which is always a good sign good things to come.

We had to wait a while to get seated since our group was quite large. We were ravenous by the time we were seated so we immediately placed our orders.

As soon as our orders were in, the banchan (or panchan) was placed on our table. This is always the part I look forward to the most when dining at a Korean restaurant. Banchan refers to the side dishes served along with rice and main courses. These are meant to be shared. We were served 7 side dishes which is a lot more than the standard 4-5 banchans served in other Korean restaurants. Among my favorites are the stir-fried anchovies (myeolchi bokkeum), the bean sprout salad (sookju namul), the seasoned spinach (sigumchi namul), and the ever popular pickled Napa cabbage most commonly referred to as kimchi. Be warned, it's highly addicting. Some days I end up eating kimchi twice a day together with my meals.

I love how crunchy, fresh, and delicate the flavors are despite how almost half of the dishes include chili paste in their ingredients. The banchans whet the appetite. I prefer to munch on them together with my main courses. Ye Dang serves these side dishes automatically with any dish you order, hence the prices and the conservative portion sizes. Korean cuisine has always been on the pricey side.

Dolsot Bibimbap Php 250.00

At the time, I had been craving for bibimbap which is simply rice topped with a fresh egg yolk and an assortment of Korean-style vegetables; meaning it was simply tossed with sesame oil, garlic, scallions (sometimes) and sesame seeds. This particular bibimbap was served in a stoneware bowl which added a nice earthy touch to it. It kept the bowl hot for a really long time so it cooked the egg yolk in no time at all.

Kalbichim Php 300

Kalbichim. A classic Korean favorite. Beef short rib stew. The meat was incredibly tender and just melted in my mouth. It had just the right sweetness and I liked how the sauce was packed with flavor and not watered down.

Sweet Beef Ribs Php 300.00

My friends took the more adventurous route. They just couldn't pass up on putting the grill we had on our table to good use.

They tried an order of the beef ribs. They serve 2 portions for Php 300.00 which is quite steep in my opinion, given the cut and size of the meat. However, for any grilled item they do serve a side of lettuce and perilla leaves with it which sorta makes up for it...erm experience-wise.

This was my first time to see actual perilla leaves so it was exciting for me. These leaves are related to the basil family and is widely used in Japanese cuisine. Koreans also use perilla for kimchi among other things. For this instance, we ate the perilla leaves as is. You're supposed take a perilla leaf, scoop a spoonful of rice in the middle of the leaf together with a pinch of meat, wrap it, and then pop the whole thing into your mouth. Fuuuuuun! :)

I forget how many orders of the grilled meats were consumed. I do know that chapchae (Php 300.00) was ordered as well.

I'd hate to work as a dishwasher in any Korean restaurant, what with the gazillion plates and bowls they use. However, as a customer, it makes for a really memorable dining experience and a whole lot of good conversation. A bottle of soju (Php 180.00) would've been perfect with our dinner feast, but sadly it was a week day, so we settled for red bean ice cream instead at the Korean grocery right next door to Ye Dang. :)

Address: 88 Meralco Ave., Ortigas, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila
Tel. #: 636-1461

Trip to Baguio and O' Mai Khan

2011-06-19T17:15:00.003+08:00

Driving on NLEX/SCTEX is always fun. I feel like I'm on another planet. It's nice to get away once in a while from the stifling confines of the city. We've had a particularly toxic work schedule these past few weeks, hence the lack of posts (sorry!). So yeah, this particular trip was a much needed escape.

The view of clear blue skies and lush greenery has always had a calming effect on me. I could feel my stress slowly melting away as we drove further and further away from the chaos of Manila.

Yuri wouldn't let me drive so I had to amuse myself by snapping photos along the way on our 5-hour climb to Baguio.

Since I can't always drive off to Baguio whenever life gets particularly difficult or stressful, I figure, at least I have these pictures to look at to remind me of this particular trip.

We stayed in Baguio for four days and three nights. The goal? To hibernate and get away from all things related to W.O.R.K. We only went out to eat once during our whole stay. Our days were basically spent on cooking, eating, sleeping, and watching Yuri's arsenal of movies and TV series. Ahhhh yes, we were living the good life. So you can imagine how special that one resto trip was. We had enough food supplies to cook for a week but we both knew that we couldn't pass up the chance to stuff ourselves silly at O' Mai Khan. Our Baguio trip just wouldn't have been complete.

O' Mai Khan offers the most affordable Eat-All-You-Can Mongolian Buffet I've ever been to at only Php 195.00 per person. Seriously. The price is amazing for the amount of food they offer. That alone already sounds too good to be true, but believe me it gets better.

Here, let me show you.

All you have to do is to let your taste buds and imagination guide you. You start by picking out what kind of meat you want in your Mongolian barbecue. You may choose from chicken, beef, pork, and liver. You then move on to the veggies.

Baguio supplies the freshest and widest variety of vegetables to the lowlands so it would be irreverent to not take advantage of the available options. You've got togue (bean sprouts), watercress, kamote (sweet potato) leaves, bell peppers, carrots, sayote (chayote), etc.

Now comes the exciting part!

There are around 20++ condiments and sauces to choose from. This is the most elaborate and complicated Mongolian barbecue buffet I've ever seen in terms of the add-ons to the meats. Mad props to them. This really allows you to control the flavors and adjust the spices of your end-product. And yes I am a control freak so this part is the one I look forward to the most. You've got pineapple chunks, chili, brown sugar, sugar water, sesame oil, vinegar, crushed peanuts, curry sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, etc. etc. I can see how daunting this would be for non-cooks but do not despair, if you're feeling a bit lost and unsure of what to combine, there are always buffet attendants ready to help you to make sure your bowl comes out really yummy.

When you're done picking out the sauces and condiments, you just need to decide on how much rice you want included in your bowl. You may also opt to add egg to your rice bowl for a minimal additional fee.

They then proceed to stir-fry all the ingredients on a large flat griddle on high heat, as is the custom in Mongolian barbecue restaurants. When cooking is done, the finished product is then scooped up into a bowl and brought to your table. You end up with something like this.

Bowl # 1

In my first bowl, I put a mixture of chicken and pork, tomatoes, watercress, bean sprouts, onions, kamote leaves, bellpepper, oyster sauce, teriyaki sauce, a touch of curry sauce, sesame oil and a cup of rice. It was so-so and a bit lackluster in flavor, but I expected it since I usually feel out the sauces on my first go. The kamote leaves, when cooked, become slimy so I decided to stay away from those on my next try.

Bowl # 2

In my second bowl I combined chicken, beef, watercress, bean sprouts, carrots, tofu, bellpepper, 2 T of teriyaki sauce, 2 T of oyster sauce, 1 T of sesame oil, 1 T of sugar water, 1 T of soy sauce, pineapples, a sprinkling of brown sugar and half a cup of rice. This bowl I loved! It was tasty and flavorful. The secret is to always make sure you have sesame oil, sugar water, and soy sauce as your base and then build your sauces from there. The pineapples also added a nice tartness to the whole dish which I enjoyed.

Alas, this was my third and final bowl! I can usually eat up to four bowls with a cup of rice each but my ulcer had been acting up on this trip so I had to scale it down....erm sort of.

In this bowl I mixed together beef, watercress, bean sprouts, carrots, sayote, bell pepper, 1 T sugar water, 1 T soy sauce, 1 T sesame oil, 2 T sate sauce, 2 T curry sauce, crushed peanuts, pineapple chunks, brown sugar and 1/4 cup of steamed rice. This had a bit of a bite and heat to it. I wanted to make my last bowl a little bit different and less sweet. I was happy with the result.

Yuri and I gobbled up three bowls each. He is my equal in every way! He ate more rice though since he was feeling perfectly healthy and hungry that day.

As far as I know, Mongolian barbecue isn't really a reflection of what Mongolian cuisine is. I did confirm this with my dad just to be sure since he used to frequent Mongolia when he was based in China a couple of years back. In fact, Mongolian barbecue first appeared in the restaurants of Taiwan during the 1970's. Some claim that it's based on how Mongolian soldiers from a long time ago used to gather different kinds of meat and cook it over a large flat surface over an open fire, hence the humongous griddle in Mongolian buffet restaurants.

Well, whatever the origin of this interactive feast is, I'm just happy that it was invented in the first place. Fried rice never fails to put a smile on my face and Mongolian barbecue is just different versions of fried rice tweaked and customized to each person's individual taste. Yuri and I went home stuffed up to our noses in Mongolian barbecue and we couldn't have been happier!

Starting July 2011, they will be moving from their current location which is at Otek St in Rizal Park, to their new snazzy 2-floor building located at the Upper Session Road.

New Address: Upper Session Road, Engineer's Hill, Baguio City
Mongolian Buffet Hours: 11:00AM - 2:00 PM; 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM everyday

Death by Crispy Pata at Fely J's

2011-06-07T20:30:00.003+08:00

Last week, we took our aunt who's visiting from the U.S. out to dinner. She came home for my wedding last year and now she's back for my cousin's wedding (which is gonna happen next week!). My aunt's a hardcore foodie and every time I went to visit her in the US, I'd gain 5 to 10 pounds in just a couple of days!

She and her husband are such amazing cooks and food scientists. You can imagine the feast they put out for us each time I or any of our relatives visit. It was our turn to pay her back.

She had been craving for Filipino food so we immediately thought of Fely J's since she hadn't been to the Greenbelt area yet on this particular trip.

This was my second time going to Fely J's. Oddly enough, the first time around (which was a year ago), I didn't really get to enjoy the food. I left the place unimpressed. It could be because at that time, I was too busy chatting up a storm since we were entertaining my dad's British friend. Or could it be that the cooking and the ingredients got better since then? I'll never know for sure.

Anyways, we, meaning my family and I, were willing to give the place another shot.

So here I am, a year later, paying homage to some of Fely J's signature dishes. We ate A LOT of food but I'll only be featuring those extra special dishes that we extremely enjoyed.

My dad's side of the family is Kapampangan, so we figured my aunt would enjoy the camaru/camaro at Fely J's.

Camaru Mekeni Php 240.00

They had removed the legs of the camaro, and stir-fried it over high heat in a savory sauce. Everyone at the table was raving about it, even Yuri! Everyone agreed to that it was even better than the camaro at the famous Everybody's Cafe in Pampanga, which is also where I tasted camaro for the first time way back when. I let my Kapampangan family down though haha! I psyched myself out. I shouldn't have stared at the crickets for too long before biting into it. I felt the crunch and squish and I was done. LOL. But yeah I did love the sauce and if you're up to the challenge and would like to sample this unique Kapampangan delicacy, then I'd suggest you start at Fely J's. They remove the legs you see, and the sizes of the camaro are consistent and small. It's pretty hard to stare down a fully-grown cricket much less chew on it if you know what I mean.

Piniritong Hito Php 255.00

I went ahead and chose another traditional Kampampangan dish for the group. This is one of my favorites. Deep fried hito (catfish), served with mustasa (mustard) leaves on the side, and balo-balo. Balo-balo/binurong hipon is essentially rice and shrimp that's cooked together, placed in a jar and fermented for 3 days or more. One of my aunts on my dad side sells balo-balo at the Salcedo market. Her balo-balo definitely packs a punch! Fely J's version was very mild in taste and virtually odorless which is surprising. My basis for comparison of course would be the balo-balo cooked by my relatives at family reunions and what not. Now those were real stink bombs. My dad had us microwave it one time and I tell you our whole block smelled like balo-balo. Anyway it really is an acquired taste... errrr and odor, but once you get the hang of it, it really livens up your food. It adds a certain kick and character to your meal, what with it's slight tartness and aged taste. It goes really well with bitter vegetables and works well in removing that certain fishy taste in some dishes. Again, a good place to start for newbies would be at Fely J's (or Abe which is their sister resto).

Crispy Patang Bawang Php 575.00

Finally, we come to the highlight of the night. The crispy pata a.k.a crispy pork leg! It's a simple dish really, but savored by Filipinos everywhere. Fely J's Crispy Patang Bawang (crispy garlic pork leg) really is one of the best ones I've tasted in a long long time. Tita Gina felt the same way and she is one crispy pata connoisseur. The skin was oh so crunchy and the meat was moist and flaky. Everything was seasoned nicely and this particular crispy pata had more meat to it that fat, which I luuuuurve. The ingredient that truly made this dish stand out was the garlic. The crispy pata was drowned with loads and loads of chopped fried garlic. Mmmmmmmmm. I'm crazy about garlic so I went wild for this dish. I usually don't eat that much pork anymore but I couldn't pass up on this. Tita Gina and I decimated the dish! The served it with their special dipping sauce which probably consisted of soy sauce, calamansi juice, chopped onions, chopped garlic and a little bit of chopped chili. This made every bite that much more sinful. I had the soundest sleep that night. My body felt all warm and lethargic after all the crispy pata I consumed! Haha. A crispy pata coma as my hubby would call it.

I washed the whole meal down with a really jazzed up glass of sago't gulaman. It's an especially pricey glass of sago't gulaman but it does make for an authentic experience.

Sago't Gulaman Php 95.00

A meal at Fely J's may strain your wallet but if you stick to their signature Pinoy dishes, and steer clear from their the Asian ones, the trip will be well worth it. I heard that their KKK (kare-kare) is spectacular and the same goes for the Lamb Kaldereta. Other interesting things to try too would be Fely J's Dilis-cious Rice and the Biringhe. Me? I know what I'm coming back for. I've completely fallen in love with the crispy pata. There is no other crispy pata I'd rather block my arteries with than the one at Fely J's. :)

Address: 2/F Greenbelt 5, Legaspi St., Legaspi Village, Ayala Center, Makati City
Tel. #: 728-8858

Piggy Mode at KBOP

2011-05-31T19:31:00.001+08:00

We had an out of town trip this weekend with friends. We had originally planned to stay up until Sunday afternoon, but due to work-related issues we had to go back to Manila right after breakfast. Yuri and I were bummed about our vacation being cut short so we thought we might as well eat something good for lunch to make us feel better.

I suddenly remembered this fairly new Korean restaurant called KBOP at the Venice Piazza at Mckinley Hill. A friend had shared a poster of their Order All You Can Breakfast promo for Php 189.00 on Facebook and this place has sort of been on my mind since then. Can you blame me? Korean food is always on the pricey side so KBOP had me intrigued. It was a little past 11 AM when we got to Manila, but we thought we'd check it out anyway even if we already missed the breakfast promo.

Apparently parking is free at the Venice Piazza on Sundays. Yay! Yuri and I thought this was an omen of good things to come. It's the little things that make our day. Plus we rarely get a free pass on anything.

The Venice Piazza was strangely deserted. Usually, restaurant complexes like this are packed on Sundays. I guess it's because the area is relatively new and hasn't quite picked up yet. I must say though, it's oddly refreshing to walk around without having to weave your way through a throng of people.

It's impossible to miss KBOP's lively and cheery facade. It naturally draws people in. We took a closer look at their menu stand and, lo and behold, they had an Order All You Can Sunday promo. I was excited! I could not pass this up. For only Php 250.00, you get to choose from 11 dishes and order as much as you want. As with any similar promo, sharing and leftovers aren't allowed. The selection might be limited, but still, this is the cheapest eat all you can promo I've EVER come across. It took a bit of pleading to convince Yuri to get on board, but he eventually caved in. We took a deep breath, stepped into the restaurant, and prepared for battle, Man vs. Food style.

We took a seat and waited for our orders to arrive.

Spicy Squid Php 150.00 (Regular Price)

First to arrive was the Spicy Squid. The squid rings were breaded, deep fried, and then coated with a sweet chili sauce. The squid was tender and the breading was nice and crispy. It opened up our meal quite nicely.

Bokkumbop Php 50.00 (Regular Price)

Soon after, the Bokkumbop (Kimchi Fried Rice) was placed in front of us. It's a quick service restaurant so you won't see the assortment of side dishes you'd normally see at other Korean restaurants. For me, no Korean dish is complete without kimchi so I decided to order this, since it was part of the promo, instead of the additional kimchi side dish (which costs extra). It had the heat and flavor of kimchi that I was looking for.

Kbop Chicken Php 185.00 (Regular Price)

We had to order dishes that didn't come with rice or else we would've exploded. So, we got the Korean Style Chicken Wings and the Tomi Chim (steamed fish). The wings were done a la buffalo wings style, meaning it was deep fried and then coated with sauce, except this sauce had a mild heat to it and was on the sweet side.

Tomi Chim Php 125.00 (Regular Price)

The Tomi Chim was my favorite dish by far since the fish was nice and tender, and it had sliced shitake mushrooms to break the predominant characteristic sweet and spicy flavor of the Kbop dishes. This dish also went well with the kimchi fried rice.

Bulgogibop Php 145.00 (Regular Price)

We decided to go for broke and placed our final order, the Bulgogibop (Beef Barbeque Rice Bowl). By this time our tummies were quite full, but we thought we had room for one more. Oh my. We were soooo wrong. Each bite was painful. Our tummies were close to bursting! The only thing that got me through were the veggies. The spinach, bean sprouts, and carrots were all crunchy and fresh which helped me pull through to the end. The beef had a nice flavor to it but it was kind of hard to eat since there was more fat and cartilage in it than meat, and believe me, when you're this close to bursting you get really picky with your food.

We wisely tapped out after this dish. It felt like I had a brick in my tummy. We had eaten three uber generous bowls of rice on top of all the seafood and meat. We definitely got our money's worth but it might've been wiser for us to have stopped after our 4th dish. This definitely isn't for everyone since all the dishes are on the sweet side. Also, the spiciness and the heat gets progressively worse with each bite. Not that I'm complaining. That's what I look for in Korean food so that was fine with me.

So there, the secret's out. Well... maybe it's not much of a secret. We're piggies! Harhar. Kbop was quite the experience.

I really think that you get more value for your money by availing of the order all you can promos rather than ordering off the a la carte menu. To help you guys out, I've listed their three promos here.

Order All You Can on Sundays
10:30AM - 2:00 PM
Php 250.00 / Head

Order All You Can Breakfast
Monday to Saturday 7:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Php 189.00 / Head

Happy Hour Special
7:00 AM - 10:00 AM
4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Php 499.00 / Head
6 Bottles of Beer + Pulutan of Your Choice

Happy eating!

Address: 2/F The Venice Piazza Upper Mckinley Rd. Mckinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
Tel. #: 846-0576; 212-1212

A Taste of Singapore at Shiok

2011-05-24T18:42:00.000+08:00

About 3 weeks ago, Yuri and I had one of our busiest Saturdays ever. Two of Yuri's best buds decided to get married on the same day. What made this whole thing even more of a dilemma was that both weddings were set to take place at about 60 kilometers away from each other. This is why guys should talk more to each other about things that actually matter like their feelings and stuff like that... right? I'm dreading the evil glare I'll be getting from Yuri once he gets to read this so I'll stop here. So anywaaaay, as I was saying, one wedding was scheduled at Greenfields in Laguna while the other one was to take place at The Mango Farm in Antipolo. Good Lord! These guys had no idea that they planned their weddings on the same day, and by the time they did, they'd already booked the churches and the venues. So that was that. It was up to us to figure out the logistics of it since Yuri, naturally, wanted to be there for both of his friends on their special day.

We decided to hitch a ride with two of our friends, Eric and Rinah, to both weddings. Both weddings were set to happen in the afternoon. So, before we headed out for our road trip, we decided to grab a quick bite first. Eric and Rinah took us to this new-ish Singaporean-Chinese casual dining restaurant in the Bonifacio Global City area called Shiok.

"Shiok", apparently, is a slang word commonly used in Singapore and Malaysia to convey feelings of happiness, excitement, or sheer pleasure. I was about to find out if this place was SHIOK or not.

Shiok Menu.

We only had thirty minutes before we had to head out, so I decided to have the Char Kwey Teow. I was torn between that dish and the Nasi Lemak (Malaysian Coconut Milk Rice), but I wanted something quick and easy to eat plus I had been craving for some really good Char Kwey Teow at the time.

Char Kwey Teow Php 160.00

Char Kwey Teow is made from flat rice noodles (approx. 1 cm thick) that's stir-fried over high heat typically with soy sauce, chili, belachan (shrimp paste) , prawns, bean sprouts, and chives. The version that I'm familiar with, and is the benchmark for every other Char Kwey Teow I come across, is similar to what I've just described except that it's stir-fried with egg as well. Now Shiok's version is quite new to me since they added slices of Chinese sausage into the mix. It added a nice sweetness to it. This is an unhealthy and high-cholesterol dish but oh so goooooood when done right. Shiok did this dish justice. Even though this version was different from the Char Kwey Teow I'm used to, I daresay it's still the best I've tasted so far in Metro Manila. I thought it was worth sharing with you guys here. Another up side to this is that this dish is plenty enough for two people. Yuri was forced to order his own plate of Char Kwey Teow because I was unwilling to share. Yep, I'm pretty set in my piggy ways. *snickers*

Way back when, my parents (especially my mom) used to eat char kwey teow every other Sunday morning at our favorite hawker stalls in Kuching (Sarawak, Malaysia). It was either char kwey teow or laksa for them. For me and my brother, it was no other than kolok mi but I'll save that for another story.

I feel right at home at restaurants like these. These dishes always take me back to my happy childhood years in Malaysia and Indonesia. Singaporean food is a melting pot of Malay, Indian, and Chinese cuisines and Shiok is just that. In their deceivingly brief one-page menu, you get to sample dishes that touch on each of these cuisines AND you get them at reasonable prices to boot.

I know I only got to eat one dish on this particular trip, so I've left you guys with their menu so you get an idea of what they have to offer. I plan to go back to try out their Nasi Lemak (which I've heard was good), the Hainanese Chicken Rice (of course!), and possibly the Beef Rendang.

Oh and just in case anyone was wondering, we somehow made it to both weddings, and both were all sorts of romantic. The trip was definitely worth it :)

Address: 105 Forum Building, Bonifacio Stop Over, 31st and 2nd St., Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
Hours: Mon-Fri 10:00AM - 10:00PM; Sat 11:00AM - 10:00PM; Sun 11:00AM - 9:00 PM
Tel. #: 466-6291

Blissful Lunch at Felicity

2011-05-23T13:49:00.002+08:00

It's true what they say that you don't really see what's right in front of you. It took a few friends to point out a perfectly good restaurant that was literally a 5-minute drive from our house. In fact, it was sitting right on top of the bike shop we regularly go to for tune-ups. Well how about that.

I remember looking up one time while my bike was getting fixed and wondering what Felicity was. I thought it was only a dessert place so I just shrugged it off. I almost missed out!

So finally, the date was set and we went there for lunch with a bunch of friends. I really didn't know what to expect. I wasn't anticipating to be wowed that's for sure.

We had to go up a flight of stairs to get to the restaurant.

We stepped into the restaurant and I was pleasantly surprised! I was an instant fan of the interior and feel of the place. It was fabulously shabby chic! It took my a while to get my order in since I was too busy looking at the details of the place. By this time, I knew for certain that I was in for an interesting meal.

It's a quaint and tidy operation that can seat approximately 20-25 people. Their kitchen isn't entirely closed off so as soon as you line up and get your order punched in at the counter, you hear that wonderful sizzle and aroma of yummy food being painstakingly prepared.

The food was delivered in the same order they were placed, so mine came last since I was happily distracted by everything around me.

Sicilian Tomato Pasta Php 160.00

First up, was the Sicilian Tomato Pasta. Simple and hearty. The plating was so pretty and neat with the twirled pasta sitting on top of the sauteed tomatoes. You could immediately tell that the pasta was perfectly al dente just be looking at it.

Saucy Tomato Hungarian Sausage Php 175.00

This dish looked like it had a good bang for the buck. You definitely can't go wrong with this order. Quality hungarian sausage topped with sauteed tomatoes and then garnished with fresh basil leaves.

Pasta Kai-Vigan Php 160.00

Next up was Yuri's Pasta Kai-Vigan. They took the Vigan longganisa stuffing, sauteed it with garlic, and then tossed the pasta with it. I had one or two bites of this and I loved it! I have Kapampangan roots so I usually prefer my longganisa sweet. Yuri only eats Vigan longganisa so I've been learning to appreciate the other side of the spectrum. This dish needed no appreciation though, it just captivates and reels you in with each bite. Mmmmm.

Dreamy Carbonara Php 170.00

If you're looking for really filling pasta, this would be it. They used heavy cream, mixed in with mushrooms and bacon that are part and parcel of Filipino-style carbonara. Ku still had a slight hangover from the drinking we did the night before this. It probably wasn't the wisest dish to order in that state. *teehee*

Now for the main event (at least in my opinion)! I asked the staff for a recommendation and they immediately mentioned this dish. Parmesan Crusted Garlic Shrimp. Hey, every word sounded good to me so I went for it. Shrimp is way up there in my list of favorite ingredients. Allergies never stopped me from enjoying my seafood so I was really looking forward to this. I also opted to try their corn rice instead of the plain one to get the full experience.

Parmesan Crusted Garlic Shrimp Php 280.00

Leave it to me to order the 2nd most expensive item on the menu! But it was oh so worth it. 10 pieces of medium-sized shrimp cooked and seasoned beautifully. It was creamy and had hints of garlic and parmesan. Thankfully they didn't smother it in the sauce as I'd expected. The corn rice tasted like garlic rice except that it had corn kernels and shredded carrots in it. It went really well with my shrimp. The only thing is, my buttered veggies had corn in it too so maybe next time I'd stick with plain rice instead.

The recipes here are simple and hearty but their edge lies in there execution, which was flawless. They were definitely undertrained in terms of service but the food more than made up for it. Everything was cooked really well. It sits in the happy median. The food is not over nor under cooked. It's quite refreshing to eat food at their right textures and flavors especially at this price point. The bread was the biggest surprise. Usually pasta comes with uninspired bread that's just, well, bleh. Their bread almost stole the show. It was creamy, crumbly, and moist and all sorts of yummy! Seriously. Everyone wanted to order another side of bread.

Funnily enough, Felicity is owned by Mr. Jasper De Leon, who used to be Yuri's teacher back in high school. What a coincidence indeed.

A few of our friends opted to end the meal with a dessert.

Slice of Blueberry Cheesecake Php 110.00

They had a slice of blueberry cheesecake which was light and smooth. I on the other hand was perfectly happy with my last bite of shrimp.

Felicity is obviously one of QC's best kept secrets. This place is definitely worth checking out!

Address: Don Matias Ave. Corner Holy Spirit Drive, Quezon City

Mercato Part 1: Mochiko

2011-05-17T17:29:00.006+08:00

So last Saturday we stopped by Mercato Centrale for a quick midnight snack. We were in the area anyway, coming back from a reception at Blue Leaf which was the 3rd wedding we'd attended in a week. We had been planning for months now to have a look at the Mercato scene but every time we planned to go, work stuff would always get in the way. So, believe it or not, and I'm completely embarrassed to say this, but this trip to Mercato was actually our first. They say better late than never right?

So anyways, I've been hearing good stuff about the ice cream mochi here and I've been dying to eat green tea mochi for a while now. Mochi is simply a Japanese rice cake made out of glutinous rice. Traditionally, it's filled with a sweet center like red bean paste and such. The ice cream mochi is sort of a modern take on this Japanese delicacy and it's genius!

The last time I ate ice cream mochi was September of last year in Macau when Yuri and I were on our honeymoon. There was this 24-hour convenience store near our hotel that sold vanilla ice cream mochis in packs of two. They also had the regular mochis lining their shelves but I wasn't interested in that. We went back there everyday to get my ice cream mochi fix... aaaand I might've hoarded quite a few on our last day there. Teehee.

I was first introduced to ice cream mochi during my early teens. Dryer's came out with Green Tea Mochi sold in packs of six and my family and I were instant fans. Since then we'd go through at least a pack a week. I don't have a sweet tooth but I do love rice and green tea! I guess this was and still is the perfect dessert for me. After a couple of years Dryer's stopped selling mochis. I guess it never really caught on, but yeah it's been hard to find a regular supply of green tea mochi ice cream since then.

Soooo I'm pretty sure it's obvious by now how weirdly obsessed I am with green tea mochi ice cream. Lucky for me, I finally found a yummy ice cream mochi source. Darnnit I can't believe I waited this long to go to Mercato.

Mochiko sells all things mochi! Mochiko's shop is all the way up at the Cliffhouse in Tagaytay so it's great that they've become a whole lot more accessible to us at the Fort.

The green tea ice cream is wrapped in a thin dough made out of pounded glutinous rice. Our friend tells us that their cappuccino-flavored mochi's delicious too. They've also got unique ice cream mochi flavors like Azuki and Black Sesame.

Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream Php 70.00

It's best to let the mochi thaw out a little before biting into it to get the maximum effect. The gooey mochi together with the ice cream is just heavenly.

I really didn't go around that much since my feet were complaining from being in heels all day. Plus we were getting funny looks from people. You see, this trip was unplanned so we were all still in our wedding regalia. Harhar. No matter. Bottom line is that I got my green tea mochi. It capped off my night perfectly!

Rinah with her empanada and me with my mochi!

Address: Mercato Centrale, 8th Avenue cor. 34th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Hours: 7am - 2pm Saturdays and Sundays

Flowers and Candy

2011-05-12T19:22:00.000+08:00

This month has been craaaaaazy busy. I'm not complaining though, oh no no no don't get me wrong. What I am is extremely thankful that we're booked with catering gigs up to our ears. The only downside is that it's been cutting out on my blogging and social life. I have loads of new material to post I just haven't been able to squeeze it in. More than overseeing the kitchen, flower arranging and event styling has been eating up a lot my time. You see, we've been trying out a lot of new looks and changing up the feel of our events.

I'm loving every minute of it though! :) I've been making everything from orchid arrangements to fake candy centerpieces for a Katy Perry-themed debut (I'm excited about that one!). These are the sorts of things that are keeping me up at night these days.

I'll churn out a new post soon, but right now I've got to go back to rolling my clay. My arms get a mean workout and I get to fine tune my pastry skills as well so it's not so bad. :)

Have a great week everyone!

Trip to the "Kubo" at Bali Gulp

2011-05-06T11:42:00.004+08:00

I know I haven't been featuring much of Filipino food. Honestly, it's just hard for me to find a restaurant that measures up to my mom's good ol' home cooked Filipino dishes. So I only write about if it's really different (something my mom doesn't make), or if it really blows my mom's cooking out of the water (hehe sorry mom!).

Well I discovered something special in Antipolo. I've been hearing about this place from Ku, my brother-in-law, and our friend Parc. They call it the "Kubo". They've been raving about the food there for a while now. Apparently they aren't alone because a lot of golfers hang out here too after hitting the greens at Valley Golf.

So one night, Ku brought us to this "Kubo". Gullible me thought that that was really the name of the resto. It was something a lot more interesting..

Welcome to Bali Gulp. It's right beside the entrance to Valley Golf. Hence the quirky name. And yes the resto is made out of different sizes of "kubos" perched on different levels too, to accommodate both big and small groups. So you get your own private hut while dining here.

For starters I ordered a buko drink. I thought I'd counteract our pig out session with something healthy.

Whole fresh Buko (Coconut) Php 45.00

Now I've been hearing about their Ginataang Suso dish. The Pinoy escargot. Ku is a HUGE fan of this dish. I have to admit that I am a bit squemish about anything with snails in it.

Ginataang Suso Php 125.00

The last time I ate this was when I was a teenager and it was only because my whole family loves this dish. They can't have enough of it.

I supposed that it was time to give it another shot. Just like Andrew Zimmern, my motto in life is to try everything at least twice. So I gathered all my courage, took a deep breath, grabbed a snail, closed my eyes, and ate it the hard core way... by sucking it (the snail) out of it's shell. My mom says that the lady-like way to go about it would be to pick out the snail with a toothpick before biting into it. But that would mean that I'd have to actually SEE the snail first. Erm no thank you. It was as chewy and slightly rubbery as I remembered, but it wasn't as horrific as I thought it would be. I'd like to think that my taste buds have matured a bit since my teenage years. Or it could be that I just got a whole lot braver! Good thing I drowned my snail in the sauce because the sauce was lovely. A sweet-ish reduction of ginger, garlic, and leeks.

Sinigang na Baka sa Bayabas Php 245.00

Next up we had the Sinigang na Baka sa Bayabas. This reminded me a lot of my lola's cooking. She always loved to use guavas picked out from a nearby tree for our sinigang, but I've never had beef with it so that was a nice twist. It was hearty and the guava really comes through in the broth.

Crispy Chicken Wings Php 130.00

Fried chicken has very much become a part of Filipino cuisine. Pinoys LOVE all things chicken. It's no wonder Jollibee, Mcdonald's, KFC, Max's, Andok's, etc., are making billions. This tasted like really good home cooked chicken. Slightly salty (since it's meant to be eaten with loads of rice) and oh-so-crispy!

Crispy Tawilis Php110.00

Yuri's (and both our dad's) personal favorite is the Crispy Tawilis. It's freshwater sardines found only in the Philippines. The good ones are the really tiny ones. When they're fried right, you can eat the whole thing, bones and all, because everything's just crunchy.

Sizzling Stuffed Pusit Php 280.00

Now for the piéce de resistance. This is the main reason why I'm featuring Bali Gulp. This dish is aaaa-ma-zing! Hmmm where do I begin. Sizzling plates always puts my senses into overdrive so that was a good place to start. First off, the squid was cooked to perfection. It was tender and had the perfect bite. The squid was stuffed with chopped tomatoes, onions, butter, CHEESE, and then bathed in butterrrrrr. It was delicious and fresh-tasting because of the tomatoes. It was definitely the highlight of my meal. I'm coming back for this you can bet on it!

Now I've made myself hungry. I'm off to have lunch! Have a great weekend everyone!

Address: Sumulong Highway, Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Antipolo City
Contact Nos.: 240 5534, 396-3104

Authentic Ilocano Fix at Maria's Ilocos Empanada

2011-04-30T14:16:00.002+08:00

Yesterday was one of those really unlucky days. We ran out of food at home, ran out of cash, and Ku ran out of gas ( his first time ever!). The only cure to days when Murphy's Law seems to be in full effect, is to laugh. We were too tired to do anything else anyway.

Ku (my brother-in-law) and I decided to make ourselves feel better by going to his (and now mine too) favorite Ilocos Empanada place. He and my younger brother-in-law, Lex, were the ones who introduced me to Maria's Ilocos Empanada. As it happens, Maria's is just a five-minute drive from where we live. Whenever they'd go out to get their Ilocos empanada fix, they'd bring one home for me too. :-) So yesterday was my first time to actually go and check out the place.

It's on the first floor of a brand new building along Regalado Street. They just recently moved to this location but they've been operating for three years now, which is no small feat.

This day wasn't completely inauspicious after all, because by sheer coincidence, it was their 3rd year anniversary yesterday and they were giving away free ice cream! It was an unexpected treat and a welcome reprieve from the unbearable afternoon heat.

Ube an Cheese Ice Cream Sticks

We went ahead and ordered two empanadas (Double Longganisa with Egg) to-go.

It was my first time seeing their full menu. It was interesting to find out that they offer rice meals as well (which I'm definitely coming back for!). They also sell longganisa, bagnet, sukang Iloko, and Chichacorn. Who would've guessed that a quick and authentic Ilokano fix was just a stone's throw away from our house? Well... yeah Ku and Lex did.

I always enjoy watching my food being prepared so watching my empanada take form was fun!

They first filled the wrapper with longganisa and their mix of veggies.

Then, they cracked an egg in the middle of the wrapper and then sealed the empanada. After that it was deep-fried and then placed on a rack for the oil to drip.

We rushed home to enjoy our Ilocos empanada together with the sukang Iloko that came with it.

Double Longganisa with Single Egg Ilocos Empanada Php 60.00

The orange-colored pastry wrapper when fried becomes nice and crispy. The longganisa stuffing was savory and had hints of garlic, which is characteristic of Ilokano longganisa. The veggies add a subtle sweetness and crunch to the stuffing. The longganisa, veggies, and egg make this a complete and satisfying meal. It doesn't hurt that it's affordable too. Mmmmmm good stuff. :-)

Address: 41 Regalado St., Fairview, Quezon City 1100
Hours: 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Sunday
Tel. #: 806-9357

Garlic Infused Thai Tilapia Recipe

2011-04-23T15:15:00.007+08:00

This Holy Week we've been trying to stay on a fish diet. I know Good Friday's over, but we've decided to keep it meat-free at home for as long as we can (stand it). Easter Sunday's my limit. Harhar.

Anyway, I was supposed to make Teriyaki Fish for lunch earlier, but after assessing my ingredients on hand, I managed to conjure up something a little bit more interesting instead. If done right, you could have this dish out in 30, maybe 45 minutes tops. I know I haven't been posting a lot of my recipes here, so I thought I'd make up for it with this simple and tasty Thai inspired Tilapia recipe.

Ingredients:

500 g Tilapia fillets (approx. 4 fillets)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 t salt
1/2 C flour
1 T Italian seasoning
1/2 t ground black pepper
1/2 C vegetable oil

Thai-Garlic Glaze:

1 T sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 C soy sauce
2 T white sugar (adjust according to preference)
3 T water
3 T rice wine
1/2 T flour
a pinch of ground black pepper
a pinch of dried chili flakes (adjust according to preference)
2 pcs. dried chili, chopped
1 sprig of parsley or basil, chopped

Drain and thaw out your Tilapia fillets. While you're waiting for your fish to thaw out, I recommend getting started on the Thai-Garlic glaze to save time.

To get started on the glaze, in a small sauce pan, sweat out your minced garlic in sesame oil over low heat. This helps extract the maximum amount of flavor from your garlic. Just before the garlic browns, add the soy sauce, water, and sugar into the sauce pan. Stir over low heat. Just be careful not to burn the sauce. Once you get a light simmer, add the white pepper, chili flakes, and rice wine to your sauce. Simmer for about a minute more (to cook out the alcohol) and then add the flour to the sauce while stirring constantly to thicken it. Turn off the fire and set aside.

For your flour mixture, simply combine the flour , italian seasoning, and white pepper. Set aside.

Cut fillets into 1 1/2-inch strips. Rub minced garlic over both sides of the fillets, and then proceed to sprinkle the salt evenly over the fish. I prefer to keep the salt low since a lot of the flavor will be coming from the Thai-Garlic glaze. Also, only salt the fish right before you're ready to dredge the them in the flour mixture. Lastly, make sure your fillets are completely and evenly covered with the flour on all sides.

In a non-stick pan, heat the vegetable oil over high-medium heat. The vegetable oil should cover at least halfway up the sides of your fish fillets to get that nice sear on it. It also helps to properly seal in the juices of the Tilipia. Once your oil is hot enough, gently place the fish fillets in the pan, while making sure you don't over crowd the pan. Fry fish for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until you get that crisp golden brown color on the edges of the fillets.

Drain your fried Tilapia fillets and then arrange them on a serving platter with the glaze underneath. Add your finishing touches by garnishing your dish with chopped dried chilis and chopped parsley. If you have basil, use that instead. It just complements this dish way better than the parsley does. Our poor basil plants died in the heat so I had to substitute. :))

The Tilapia should be crisp on the outside and tender and flaky on the inside. The flavor of the glaze may seem too intense on it's own but when eaten with the fish, it should go together perfectly.

Have a happy Easter weekend everyone! :)

Cheap Thrills: Korean K.C. Chicken

2011-04-21T15:37:00.004+08:00

So I know I've been terrible at posting lately. My apologies. In my defense, laziness had no part in it. It's just that we've been slammed with catering gigs these past few weeks. So anyway, let me make it up to you guys with this. Dae Myung Myeonok's Korean K.C. Chicken.

Yuri and I live in an area we like to call "Korea Town". We are surrounded by a surprising concentration of Korean restaurants, schools, and churches. I get the best, freshest, and cheapest kimchi in town from a Korean grocery that's just a 5-minute drive from my house.

I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting Korean places to eat at in our area and this was the latest addition. My guess is that because of the recent popularity of the Bon Chon Chicken chain, Dae Myeong Myeonok decided to put up a Korean chicken stand in front of their eatery to boost their customer traffic, since their location is kinda hard to get to.

We eventually took the bait. We had to try it. Plus, on that particular day, our pantry was completely wiped out. Yuri went out to buy us a box of K.C. Chicken for lunch and took these pictures for me in the process.

For Php 300.00 you get 10 pieces of crispy fried chicken dipped in their secret Korean sauce. It's not a bad deal at all. Well I'm calling it their "secret sauce" because the owner clearly wanted to talk to Yuri about it, but he barely spoke any English and Yuri's knowledge of the Korean language is NIL. I guess it can't get any more authentic than that.

It's twice-fried FRIED chicken. Get it? Twice fried? LOL. Oh my I'm cracking Yuri jokes. Erm sorry about that. ANYWAYS moving on... what they do is they dunk the fried chicken into their Korean-blend sauce immediately after frying, just like how you'd make buffalo wings. Without that sauce, it would just be good 'ol fried chicken.

Php 300.00 for 10 pieces of Korean Chicken

Their chicken is crispy and mildy sweet with hints of teriyaki and ginger in it. Overall, it was surprisingly tasty! The sauce was a subtle addition. It's definitely worth trying out especially if your looking for a twist on your usual fried chicken. I'm thinking the Korean dude made the right move by opening a fried chicken stall in front of his eatery. Pinoys luuuurve their chicken. You can never go wrong there. :)

Address: Cirilo cor. De Leon St., Quezon City

Vanilla Gelato and My Very First Blog Awards!

2011-04-14T11:45:00.005+08:00

April has been a month of non-stop parties and celebrations. Coincidentally, three very important men in my life were born in April; my dad, my brother, and Yuri. There's also my lovely mother-in-law who's birthday is also happening at the end of this month (Happy birthday Mom!). What are the chances right? :)

Because of all the parties we've been hosting and prepping for, I've decided to share an easy and tasty recipe that we used recently for my brother's party here. This blog is all about making life easy, whether it be in the kitchen or when dining out. I've homed in on a simple dessert I picked up from my mom (an amazing chef and my #1 source for all things yummy!) when we cooked for my brother's party last April 9. This Vanilla Gelato recipe will surely liven up any party especially in this unbearably hot season. You won't even have to break a sweat I promise.

Vanilla Gelato

1 scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream
1/2 T Chivas Regal
a pinch of a good quality instant coffee
a sprig of mint
1 wafer stick

Find a nice dessert bowl to place your scoop of vanilla ice cream in. Pour the whisky over it. I prefer using Chivas for this one, but you can use whatever whisky you have on hand. Dust it off with coffee and then garnish your bowl with mint leaves and a Champola wafer stick, every Pinoy's wafer stick of choice. LOL.

Effortless and yummy! Parties are all about making simple things look and taste spectacular. With this dessert, I can guarantee that you'll have time to actually enjoy your own party and not get stuck in the kitchen looking and feeling all harassed.

This April I'm also celebrating a little something. No wait, scratch that. A big something. A week ago, Jan of I Love, Therefore, I Cook surprised me by choosing me to be one of the recipients of her blog awards. I received not one, but eight awards! This feels like Christmas. :)

I was floored when I found out about it! I still am. April is fast becoming my favorite month! Thank you so much Jan for this incredible honor. I met Jan through Pinoy Foodista, a fast-emerging Pinoy foodie community, and I can't wait to meet other talented foodies like her. I'm humbled to be among one of the people she's picked out for these awards, and there are so many wonderful bloggers out there. With this, I find it only fitting that I pass on these awards to bloggers who continually inspire me and make my mouth water with their delectable posts and creations! Give their blogs some love. *drum roll please*

Tangled Noodle
I am the Witch
The Daily Palette
Jun Blog
80 Breakfasts

They're amazingly creative writers and cooks who weave a little part of themselves with each story they share. :)

So yeah this Vanilla Gelato is for all you wonderful people! Thanks for making my month! Cheers.

Yuri's Birthday at Acuatico Beach Resort

2011-04-13T00:25:00.004+08:00

Just a couple of hours ago, we were chillin' and taking it easy at a small chunk of paradise in Batangas called Acuatico Beach Resort.

You see, two weeks ago, I was determined to plan something special for Yuri's big 3-O. Yep I thought that it was only right that we celebrate this milestone in a stress-free and work-free environment. I knew for a fact that it was just not gonna happen if we spent it in Manila. We still had to do a bit of work in between naps and swims but hey, that is completely tolerable when you're at a place like this. My hubby's birthday needed to be celebrated properly, and we needed a vacation really badly! The resort was DI-VINE. Here, I'll let the pictures do the talking.

View from the restaurant.

On my way to the beach.

The view from the bar is spectacular!

Beach front.

I could live here. Seriously. Yuri and I fell in love with the place the instant we stepped out to the pool area. The rooms were up to par too with high thread count linens (yep I'm a linen geek), a flat screen cable TV, and each with an individual porch. The bathroom could be a tad roomier though, but other than that, all the comforts you could expect from a high-quality resort was there. It was definitely a lot better than what we expected. It was a fitting setting to celebrate my hubby's uber special day.

On the first day, we just kind of lazed around and swam for a bit. That didn't last for very long since the sun was out with a vengeance that day. We eventually set up camp at the bar instead. It was too hot to do anything else anyway. I had a couple of drinks and made friends with the bartender, or bartenders rather since we were there so long they had to change shifts.

Tequila Sunrise.

Come evening, me and Anne (the evening shift bartender) were the best of buddies. It was a good thing too, because she was in cahoots with a little something I had planned for Yuri.

Somehow I managed to convince Yuri to have dinner at the bar instead of the main restaurant. I figured it would be easier to plan his surprise at the bar since Anne would be there to help me execute everything. It didn't hurt that the we ended up having the whole bar to ourselves so it was quite romantic.

The bar at night.

Anne came up with the birthday pancake idea which they gave to Yuri for free. That was really nice of them. I told her to do whatever she thought was appropriate since I couldn't talk with her for too long or else Yuri would be suspicious. After serving us our dinner, she busted out her "Happy Birthday" CD and gathered a few other staff members to sing Yuri a happy birthday. They came complete with party hats and all!

They came at him from all sides!

Yuri was so shocked that he didn't even notice the Barbie party hat they had put on him. LOL.

My birthday boy.

We were both really touched and I was relieved that they managed to pull it off so smoothly. What a fun night!

The service here is impeccable. The staff is professional and oh so accommodating. I honestly don't have a single bad thing to say about my stay here. In fact, we're looking forward to going back. Hmmm I'm sure I'll come up with an excuse when the need arises.

We had a grand time at Acuatico. The three-hour drive from Manila to Laiya, Batangas was more than worth it.

Happy birthday Yuri! <3 Here's to a lifetime of adventure and awesome food together! :))

Tel. #: +632 892-7577 to 79
Website: http://www.acuaticoresort.com.ph

Central American Fare at Cocina Juan

2011-04-09T16:15:00.006+08:00

Maginhawa street still has a few tricks left up it's sleeve. I'm a true believer now. This week's discovery, and an amazing one at that, was Cocina Juan. You could pass by Maginhawa St. a dozen times and not see it. The signage and facade of this artsy restaurant is concealed behind tons of foliage. Good thing they had parols and Christmas lights to sort of hint at really curious passersby (and you'd have to be REALLY curious like me) that there's something more behind all those vines and leaves.

Yuri and I met up with my three lovely cousins on this particular foodie escapade. They're equally as obsessed about food as we are. We wouldn't be related otherwise. We'd usually meet up to chat and hang out. I share an unusually close bond with my cousins. They're like the sisters I never had. It used to be, that we'd have a family reunion on my Dad's side of the family every Sunday at my lolo's house. It was a sprawling house with a huge garden, a pond (that we've all fallen into at one point or another) with a solitary turtle, and a big Kalachuchi tree in the front yard that has suffered 2 generations' worth of abuse (from tree-climbing, hide and seek, and all sorts of weird games we'd come up with). My dad has 9 other siblings and 7 of them have kids. So every Sunday was a riot! It was a big playground where everyone could do as they pleased. Our moms were happily distracted with their manicures, pedicures, and their chismis, so we kids basically had free rein to do whatever. Sadly, these past few years, our reunions have become less frequent, hence the birth of our "cousins-night-out". We'd set a dinner date once in a while to catch up with each other's lives.

Last Thursday night was one of those nights. Yuri and I had a list of other places that we wanted to try out but our plans quickly changed when we accidentally stumbled upon Cocina Juan. I had Yuri turn the car around at least three times just to get a clear look at the facade of Cocina Juan.

Cocina Juan clearly belongs to a really cool laid-back artist with a flair for good food. Well I was close. Apparently this quaint resto also doubles as an art gallery featuring local artists.

The dim lighting, mish mish of paintings (some even unfinished ones on the floor), and the haphazardly-placed accent decor, framed their unique Nicaraguan-Mexican dishes perfectly. The whole restaurant, for both their indoor and outdoor seating, can only seat a maximum of 32 people at a time. Luckily, we were able to get a table inside. They've also got free wifi which Yuri was really happy about.

Yuri started it off with some Nachos (with Chili con Carne and Salsa Cruda) so that we could munch on something while we waited for my cousins.

Nachos with Chili con Carne & Salsa Cruda Php 170.00

When our server brought it over to our table, we were a bit taken aback. The portion size took us by surprise. It was more than enough for the four of us and it took us the whole night to eat our way through it. It was definitely, a good omen of things to come.

Patty and I decided to split a plate of Cerdo Castillo Chimichurri since the Nachos had us a bit wary of the size of their dishes.

Cerdo Castillo Chimichurri "Pork Ribs" Php 249.00

Our server told us that this was their bestseller. Totally understandable. Baby back ribs grilled perfectly. It was expertly charred, tender, and juicy especially when slathered with that wonderful chimichurri sauce. Yum-my. The pork ribs were definitely good enough for two, but you might need to order an extra side with it.

Yuri felt like showing off and ordered a Chicken Adobo Burrito all for himself.

Chicken Adobo Burrito Php 159.00

I swear, this burrito was bigger than Ristra's. Quite a feat I must say. It was loaded with adobo rice, chicken adobo strips, corn, lettuce, refried beans, sour cream, and cheese.

Churrasco de Nicaragua Php 359.00

Another brave soul was Ate CB. She went for the Churrasco de Nicaragua. Holy moly batman! Her dish came out in a serving platter and not a plate. It was just a lot to take in at first.

The name of her dish refers to the technique of cooking meat on skewers. Her plate had chicken, beef, and sausage skewers, gallo de pinto rice, chimichurri sauce, corn, potatoes, and an ensalada. Boggles the mind. Haha. She finished the whole thing though! A proud moment that's for sure. :)

Ate Isa had the heartiest dish in my opinion. Their Enchidas were creamy and light. It just gets tastier and yummier with each bite.

I might've had a bite, or two, or three. Harhar. It's layers of tortilla with a mixture of chicken or beef, frijoles, cream, and cheese in between served in a baking dish.

Turns out that Ate CB knows the owner of Cocina Juan, Thomas Adviento. She used to work with him and he popped by our table to say hello. If I remember correctly, I was told that he lived in Latin America for a while, hence Cocina Juan's uncommon cuisine. He gave us a complimentary salad which was refreshing and really tasty.

Fresh Greens Salad "Ensalada"

It was mostly shredded lettuce and sliced cucumbers tossed in a light vinaigrette. Thanks Tom! It was good way to end our heavy meal.

Almost all of their dishes are good for sharing, which makes this a good place for meeting friends or dining out with family. Also, the portion sizes and the quality of their food is unparalleled in the area considering their prices. It's a steal really!

I now have my go-to Latin American resto. How 'bout that? :)

Address: 100 Maginhawa St., UP Teacher's Village, Quezon City