Amici Again

It's always a happy eating experience at Amici! For this particular Friday, our friends Joan and Aldrie were nearby and were craving for Amici's pizza and gelato. We were so glad we didn't eat there the night before.

With two friends to share dinner with, we got to sample two pasta dishes and one pizza. Three dishes may seem sad for two men and two women with hearty appetites, but you know how the carbs puff up inside the tummy afterwards.

We ordered the following:

The Montanara (P180)
The vegetable pasta looked very interesting with the creamy tomato sauce. It was good, but not as good as the next pasta dish....

This one was a winner- The Salmone with Penne Pasta (P195). It seemed ordinary, but the salmon made the tomato sauce really yummy with the cheese. Very seductive pasta.

The Shrimp Pesto Genovese (P310)

Well, aside from the Salmone, this one was the regular champion. We always order this pizza whenever we go to Amici. The thin, crisp, wood-baked dough is not swimming in oil nor tomato sauce. It had just the right amount of shrimps and pesto. Yumminess.

Pistachio and Blueberry

And because Joan was with me to indulge in gelato, we ordered these treats. The shocking green one was Pistachio, while I suggested she order my favorite Blueberry.

Loved it all!:)

Cupcakes Sighted

I got my wish! I was craving for pretty cupcakes a few months ago, but all I could find were those online based homebakers who'd sell only one flavor for a dozen or less. No assorted ones or per piece buys. I don't have anyone else yet to share these sweets in the house, other than my husband. And to order at least 6 or 12 pieces would be too much and too expensive, not to mention unhealthy (hehe).

So, I was pleasantly surprised to find this stall at the Glorietta food court. I read about Frostings before in a very popular blog, but I thought these were to be found only within the Rustan's premises. It was very nice to see the stall at the Foodcourt looking so pretty like this,

Aren't they so pretty?

There were many flavors at different prices. Their cheapest cupcake was tagged at P35. Not cheap, but not that bad. Each cupcake is served in a pretty little dome for take-out. We tried the Lemon Meringue (P35).

Lemon Meringue

The cake base was very light like chiffon, but dense enough to hold the yummy frosting on top. The frosting was toasted meringue, and I liked it. It was a little too sweet for me, especially with the red raspberry shaped milk chocolate (or was it fondant?) on top, but it was okay. I haven't tried the other flavors yet. Maybe next time I'll try the Ube cupcake ;)

Classy Eats

Located at Greenbelt 5 in Makati City, Chateau 1771 oozes with classiness. What do I mean by that? Although it had a country American theme all around ( which is really supposed to be a more laid-back and homey style), they set-up the place like a French restaurant. Very formal and organized.

We went there at noon, which made for a very bright and happy atmosphere inside the dining area.

There were a lot of bright and colorful prints all around.
A lot of yellows and pinks, browns and whites.
Pretty. ;)

While waiting for our orders, they served us bread for appetizers:

Bread

We also ordered the Eggless Caesar Salad (P320). It was very light and tasty. The lacking creamy sauce was not sorely missed, because the anchovies and cheese made very good substitutes.

Eggless Caesar Salad

And because my Mark loves appetizers, we ordered the Beef Bracciole (P380). The beef was so tender and tasty. These are actually tender beef strips rolled in mozarella cheese. It literally melted in our mouths! Each bite was filled with earthy herb goodness and cheese. I have never tasted anything like this before.

Beef Bracciole

Next stop, was the Butterfly Prawns (P480). These were also good :)

Butterfly Prawns

Last stop, the Grilled Salmon (P580). Yummy fish. The dark sauce really distracted me at first, but it tasted good. It was also accompanied by a side dish of mashed potatoes and ratatouille.

Grilled Salmon

And the silky, thick mashed potatoes


The place is pretty, the food great, and the service- good too. They offered to divide the salad for three, when they saw we ordered only one salad for three people. Very thoughtful. I hope to be back :)



Post Script: They charge for service , plus VAT and local taxes. So be prepared to bring extra.

My Green Tea in Cream

Between coffee or tea, I choose tea. I love tea so much, that I named my first blog after my favorite tea. So every time I go to gourmet coffee shops, I always end up ordering tea based drinks. At the most famous coffee shop in the world, I always order this-

Green Tea Frapuccino

I like it so much, because it is so creamy and refreshing!
I'm not so sure though if this is based on brewed green tea or
matcha powder, but it sure is yummy!

One morning, while Mark and I were waiting near the airport- we got ourselves an oatmeal cookie at the counter...

It was crumbly, loaded with walnuts and chocolate chips. Yum.

Great snacks :)

Power Breakfast

After our usual Saturday walk/jog, my Mark wanted to splurge on Italianni's for breakfast. He was gushing over their breakfast sets and the orange juice. The magic words for me were "orange juice. " ;)

So off we went in our jogging gear... at Italianni's Greenbelt 3. I think we were the first customers of the day, and it was nice to have the place all to ourselves.

Orange Juice
Nothing really special about this. In fact, it was a little sour. Must be from a concentrate.
We ordered The Eggs Benedict with Adobo, and the Filipino breakfast set.

The Filipino breakfast set
- omelet, garlic rice, corned beef, longganisa and watermelon wedges..whew!

The fruit dessert of the Filipino Breakfast set

Longganisa- good!

Now, for the eggs benedict with adobo flakes

This is a super eggy-dish!

cheesy, buttery fatty. hehe

This was a yummy dish, but it was too big and eggy for one person. Definitely not a breakfast for those who are conscious of their cholesterol and salt intake. I also think that service needed a little more warmth and improvement, after the price that we paid for this meal.

I think we needed to do more jogging after this .... ;)

Home Baked from Cebu

My father-in-law brought us some pasalubong from Cebu City- a bagful of goodies from Homebakers- a specialty bakeshop in Cebu City. I wasn't able to take pictures of the other goodies, but we got yummy mini Brazo de Mercedes which they call Merceditas, Tiramisu cups, and the following- a chocolate chiffon cake and mini Pecan pies.

I loooove the Pecan pies. They were so yummy. The crust was flaky and tasty, and the pecan filling, gooey and chewy.

mini pecan pie

Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Good-ah

I like the chocolate cake because it was so chocolate-y , soft and sweet.
It had a slight, sugary texture which was very much
like the chocolate malt drink - Milo. Yummy.

Good eats from Cebu City!

Spanish Style

One rainy evening, we met up with Mark's Pa at Mandaluyong again for dinner. We took shelter at The Podium, and found ourselves browsing again through their restaurants. After having a round-about of the three (or four) floors, we finally settled on this restaurant of old located at the ground floor- Casa Armas. I heard that it is best known for their Paellas, and I was excited to try one.

I loved the old-style, white distressed walls, the red bricks, and the Spanish shields scattered all around.

We ordered the following goodies:

Gambas Atillo (P365)

I liked this one.
The sweet little cajueula brought loads of charm, but took up a lot of space.
I loved that it had loads of garlic on it. Yum.

Beef Salpicao ( P445)

I love beef and again, it was loaded with garlic so I loved it!
The beef was tender but gave us enough muscle to chew on.

Bacalao Vizcaina (P510)

A fish stew with loads of tomato sauce and red peppers. A lot like sardines.
I had envisioned a less saucy dish. This one was too saucy, lacked fish meat in ratio with the sauce, and well, basically lacked a little something. A little kick perhaps?

If you want to try this dish, you can find canned versions of this,
by different manufacturers in the imported or canned goods section of your local grocery.

Paella Negra (P975)

The main dish. Known for their paellas, we wanted to try something more special than the regular Valenciana. Hence, we ordered the Negra- a squid-ink based paella with seafood. It was filled with green beans, carrots, squid, mussels and some chicken.

I didn't really like it. I think it was a little undercooked, as I like my paella with a teeny bit of crust at the bottom, with the sauce thickened and plumping up the rice kernels. This one was a bit watery or wet, and was a little sourish. We find that adding a little of the Gambas garlic oil made it better.

Service was not so good that evening. I think they were under manned at that night. The cook was so bothered by the waiters, she wanted to serve the food to us herself! Kudos to her. :)


Now... for "wallet talk". The place is pricey, and they charge for service. But they weren't snooty at all. Just undermanned.