A Taste of Both Worlds

New Pasta Experience at Pizza Hut

2009-12-19T03:46:50-08:00

Hubby, son and I went to the mall a few weeks ago to celebrate a little, you see, my son topped his class (again) this quarter, so to give him a little incentive, we brought him to Storyland/Timezone and treated him to his favorite food chain - Pizza Hut.

Pizza Hut recently released a new line of pasta, I tried to look for their commercial in You Tube, so I can link it but I failed but you can look at their website to learn more about their pasta offerings. They have a separate pasta menu that you can ogle if you don't have the money to indulge, well, I did anyway *grins* and instead of the usual table decors, you'll find a glass filled with different kinds of pastas (photo above), which I found cute and homey.

According to the menu, they have 12 different kinds of affordable, Chef-quality Italian pasta which is divided into two categories, the classic - Baked Mac and Cheese, Fettuccine a la King, Puttanesca, Aglio Olio, Spaghetti Bolognese with meatballs, Baked Fettuccine Alfredo, Lasagna Classico - and the specialty pasta - Spaghetti Shrimp Garlic and Mushroom, Pesto Chicken Penne, 3-Cheese Ravioli, Seafood Supremo and their Pasta Duet, a little serving of both Mac and Cheese and Fettucini Alfredo.

When we placed our orders, our server asked us if we would like to donate to World Hunger Relief 2009, for a hundred bucks you'll get an arm band, for fifty you'll get a desk calendar and for twenty a bookmark. As you have guessed, we shed 70php for a calendar and a bookmark, we don't have that much money to spare, I wish we have.

We tried their 3-Cheese Ravioli, it cost us 165php, don't be deceived by it's not-so-appetizing look because it is very, very good. If and when you visit Pizza Hut, I demand that you try some *grins*, it's that good!

From their website: Plump Ravioli pasta filled with Mozzarella, Parmesan and cream cheeses tossed in a light tomato sauce and drizzled with pesto cream. (If you want a yummy pic to go with this yummy phrase, go visit pizzahut.com.ph)

Another unappetizing photo which is credited to the subject (food) being slightly burnt, photo above is Pasta Duet, it's just okay, nothing to rave about, you have to spend 149php to have a taste. There is an actual story behind the burnt food but I'll go about that later.

And, of course, the ever-present family-sized Meatlovers pizza with a 400+php price tag, it tasted the same as the last time we had it. Eating Meatlovers pizza used to be a treat, something that I am looking forward to but ever since my son decided that the only pizza variant we can eat is Meatlovers, my love of it slowly vanished, imagine that *lol*.

Photo above is New Vanilla Bread Pudding priced at 75php, freshly baked bread soaked in vanilla sauce and baked until moist and fluffy, served with your choice of caramel, chocolate or strawberry sauce (from their website). My first time to try it, my son said he wanted it but ended up eating only the chocolate sauce, it tasted good but I'm not really a fan of soft and mushy stuff so most of it was left on the plate.

Now onto the exciting part... photo above was free pizza , nope, they didn't have a promo at that time, it was just our luck or none of it *grins*. We placed our order and had been reminded that the pizza will take at least 15 minutes before it'll be serve, it was okay with us, we have been regulars of the chain so we don't mind waiting anymore, we're used to it. And so we wait, two bottomless glasses of Pepsi, an ice-filled glass and a bottle of distilled water were served and drank but no pizza or pasta had been served yet, oh, I almost forgot, complimentary garlic bread sticks was served (a glimpse on photo below) but it didn't taste good so we didn't bother to eat any. And then, our server who was also the server of everyone else, yes there's only one server in the San Lazaro branch, approached us with two plates of pizza (one plate had a slice and the other one had two) and two servings of pasta, she meekly told us that the 3 slices of pizza were complimentary as the rest of it was burnt, she asked us to wait for a few more minutes as our whole Meatlovers pizza was already in the oven. We didn't bother to asked what happened to the pasta duet as it looked like it suffered the same fate, but was luckier, it was pulled out of the oven before it totally succumbed to the heat (first-degree burn *lol*). We were on such a good mood at that time, we never harbored any ill feelings toward them *grins*.

And so everything were served and we unceremoniously ate our teeny weeny feast and then wham, a number of plates crashed to the floor, I don't really know who's to blame as I didn't saw the whole incident, kumabaga, naki-tsismis lang ako, hehe. As we were eating our dessert, another batch of plates decided to slip out of the servers grip and wham, broken shards of plates were everywhere, hubby even got one in his lap (refer to the photo below) and we're a few seats away from the ruckus, that's how far the broken pieces went.

It's not that the staff were incompetent because believe me they were, I think, they were just tired and the store was sorely lacking in manpower. I maybe wrong, others may be in existence out of my prying eyes, but I only saw four working individuals in that establishment.

On coming back? Of course I would but I hope they are all well-rested when I do come over again :)

Bro's Treat at Pancake House

2009-10-19T07:36:25-07:00

My bro asked me to accompany him in Trinoma last Friday as he was shopping for a new pair of black shoes and some polo shirts, he kinda needed my not-so-professional advice on what's hot and not. Between you and me, he do believe that I have a good sense of fashion style, and for my sake and his, I believe that it is true *grins*. And so, we spend a few hours looking and picking some stuff, and when were done I asked him to treat me to dinner, which is just right, I helped him out and he forced me to ride a bus (which is one of my natural enemies, I'll elaborate some other time).

We had an early dinner at Pancake House, I would have order some pancakes plus a main course but my brother is such a tightwad so I had to contend with what he wanted to give me *grins*.

Note: Pardon for the not so appetizing food shots, as I was with my bro and he's not used to me taking pictures before I eat, he prevented me from turning the flash of my camera on as it may disturb other people (daw) add that to the fact that the lighting in Pancake House-Trinoma branch is not great for taking pictures. 'Nuff said!

Photo above is a Hamburger Steak Special set, it has hamburger steak (of course!) with gravy, an order of spaghetti and mixed vegetables, corn and carrots in my bro's case, plus a glass of iced tea. You have to spare 215php for this, but looking back at how fervently he's eating his order, I guess, it's quite okay to say that you'll get your money's worth.

This one's mine, it's a House Special set and it has a piece of panchicken with gravy, an order of spaghetti with a slice of garlic bread and taco plus a glass of iced tea. It cost exactly the same as the first one, 215php, but personally, I think you'll get more variety in just a plate if you'll order this one and it's no second in taste, either.

We also had some fries (not in picture) and an order of mashed potato, both of which priced at 54php. Both tasted good and we had our share of veggies in our meal, potato is a vegetable, right?

Photo above is a Mocha Milk Shake priced at 140+php, I kinda forgot the exact amount, and this we had shared as we were both too full to order a glass each.

The place was pretty cool, and the staff and crew were fast and on their toes, ready to serve and answer your inquiries. It was a fun and fruitful day, sana maulit Bilog!

A Bite at Manila Ocean Park Cafe

2009-10-05T06:56:13-07:00

A few weeks, or is it months *grins* ago, we went to Manila Ocean Park, it is located behind the Quirino Grandstand (Rizal Park) in Roxas Blvd. It would have been nice to blog about what I and my family had seen and did inside the water park but sadly, it wasn't as much fun as you might think, it sort of failed our expectation. Don't get me wrong, I am [so] happy that we Pinoys have our own ocean park, and from what I see, I think it can even stand on its own, it may never top or equal the ones that other countries have but I firmly believe that it can run its own show. The problem is, visitors like us cannot fully appreciate the beauty and wonders of the deep, or even acknowledge the coolness of the park itself, as there were so many people scrambling around, forcing their way in and fighting for individual space. Well, I can't blame the MOP clientele, as expected, they all paid to get in so they will get their money's worth by hook or by crook, right? The problem lies on the staff and, of course, on the administration, can't they just have a maximum limit of people inside, when some people get out others can get in, a simple case of ratio and proportion will work wonders I think. Anyway, we spend an hour and a half max, shorter than I ever imagine, because my son was terribly uncomfortable due to the non-working (properly) air conditioner, add that to the jam-packed place and you'll get hell on earth, as in it was super hot, you won't even have the chance to breath and take in the marvel in front of you. That one and a half hour was mostly spent in the souvenir and arcade area at the second floor (?), not a good first impression, if you'll ask me. But, here's a big but, given a chance, we would like to try again, but this time we're gonna call to inquire if there's any scheduled school, company or community outings the day we're gonna visit *grins*, better safe than sorry.

And so we went out and decided to roam around Rizal Park, it's been ages since we've been there but as it was scorching hot, we decided to cool down in the Manila Ocean Park Cafe which we found out is owned by a woman who also co-owns the ocean park, how's that for rich? It is an open-air establishment with a number of those big air-conditioner/blower units around, which was a definite turn on on that hot, hot day. One more thing, it has yellow and blue tables and counter tops accented with pretty flower centerpieces, it oozed of coziness and comfy-ness. Adventurers (read:the three of us - hubby, me and bebe) who didn't get a good start found a haven to rejuvenate, hmm... did we, really?

And so we sit ourselves and asked for the menu board, I looked, I scanned and I almost fainted, the prices were high, as in mighty high, though we wanted to, we can't very well bolt out of the establishment, common sense told us to order the cheapest in the list *lol*, and we would have followed but kids these days just don't get the meaning of frugality *grins*.

This was our son's order, according to him, this was a crabby patty, in truth, this is a Cheeseburger and Chips Combo, I forgot the exact price but if I remember correctly, it is between 180-200php. It would have been worth it if my big bundle of joy had eaten the entire serving but no, he only gobbled the chips (which was Lays) and left the entire burger on his plate. Hubby ate it instead, and I did have a bite, of course, it was okay but nothing extraordinary.

This Halo-Halo was my hubby's order, it is the special kind, I don't know what's the difference between the regular and the special variety, all I saw in this halo-halo which is not usually seen in our everyday/usual version of halo-halo is the cherry on top, and if we're gonna talk about the taste, I swear I didn't find anything new or different, by the way, this cost 70 or 80php.

This was mine, Green Mango Shake, the first-ever green mango shake that I had tried in my lifetime. Yes, I've heard about it for a long time but I just never find the liking to try it before, until I saw a lot of customers in MOPC sipping theirs delightedly, hahaha, inggetera ako eh, anyway, a glass cost 60php and it tasted like Green Mangoes *grins*.

We, also, ordered a can of soda and a bottle of water - we ate, we chat, we chill...

Right before we went on our way (to Luneta), my super sweet baby picked a piece of chrysanthemum in the table centerpiece and handed it to me, saying "I love you Mommy!" That precise moment was my favorite part of the day and I still had the chrysanthemum tucked in one of my treasured romance novels (pocketbooks).

And now, I say goodbye, till next post folks. Have a good life!

Frozen

2009-10-04T03:46:02-07:00

Yup, my blog was frozen for almost two months, and this time it's not because of the time-old reason called laziness, this time I did something worthwhile *grins*. I wasn't able to update that long because we had re-open our small internet cafe, actually, it is more of a computer rentals and as we were not that accustomed to having a business like that anymore, the fatigue and stress kinda took toll on me in as early as a week. Now, we are nearing our 2nd month and we're kinda getting the hang of the business and it's corresponding hazards *grins*, so, it is a little safe to say that I can now update this blog, it may not be as often as I would want to but I think I can pitch in one or two in a week (laziness factor not accounted for *lol*). I have a few backlog posts already in queue and I hope to write at least one tomorrow morning after my son dash to school... hopefully *fingers cross*.

For now, you have to settle for an explanatory post such as this as I need to attend to my son's preparatory needs (read: review), but I think, tomorrow will be a different matter *smiles*.

Sorry for leaving you guys without any notice... but, I am back and I promise to stay this time.

Later... :)

Dinner at the General's Place

2009-08-15T03:46:03-07:00

I was on hibernation for a couple of weeks, I'm just too tired and too lazy to do anything, I'm not saying that I'm okay now cause I can't remember a time in my life that I felt like doing anything and I don't think there will come a time that I will, I'm just born lazy *grins*.

A few weeks ago, we had dinner at the General's Place, nope, we didn't dine with a general and his family or at his house as we don't know any military generals (at least, none that I know of), The General's Place is a diner located at Gen. Luna St. in Malabon City hence the name. It is an eatery mainly serving ---silog dishes with a billiard hall and a small internet cafe.

Note: Pardon the photos included in this post, the diner uses incandescent light bulbs thus all pics turned out yellowish.

It is a small establishment compared to its neighbors but it boast of a number of regular patrons, the time we were there, all the tables were occupied and the lady by the counter calls everyone suki (a customer of long standing), good thing we went and got seated a little earlier than dinner time *grins*.

Photo above was hubby's order, finger fish fillet with fried rice and sunny side up egg, it also comes with a sweet and sour sauce. I don't eat fish so I can't vouch for its taste but hubby said it was good, now it's up to you if you'll believe him *lol*.

This one (refer to the photo above) is a classic Pinoy food - tapsilog - it has beef tapa, fried rice and sunny side up egg, you can even ask for a vinegar dip if you like, another order of hubby and one of his favorite food aside from adobo and tocino *grins*. This time, I can swear it was good, the tapa is not dry and gummy unlike those of other tapsilugan and the serving is big, too.

Photo above was my son's preferred meal at the time, another Pinoy food classic - porksilog - it has breaded pork chop, fried rice and a sunny side up egg. And as usual, though it wasn't mine, I still took a little bite and I wasn't disappointed, it was good, the breading was tasty and the pork chop was big enough for sharing.

Photo above was my order, fried chicken, fried rice and sunny side up egg, more commonly known as chicksilog. They tag their chicken as chicken-ala-max, their own or copied version of Max's fried chicken *grins*, and in fairness to them, I kinda taste a hint of Max's.

Aside from the four ---silog(s) that we had, we also indulged in some pork barbecues and lumpiang shanghai, both were great-tasting, by the way.

I have forgotten how much each one cost or the accumulated bill that we had paid, but I am pretty sure that the prices ranges from 25-60php. A bargain, right?

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