Cheers!

Happy Holidays everyone! See you next year! God bless you all!

Sweet Season Ahead

It's December once again. The time for lots of eating in excess of all yummies unhealthy and scrumptious, loaded with sugars and carbohydrates. For somebody like me, I have no idea how to get the willpower to avoid all these wonderful things. It's going to be a big pain to avoid them since I HAVE to go on a diet. Bummer.

Oh well. I can imagine all the fruitcake, brownies, cakes, kakanins (steamed rice cakes), and cookies. Ah, cookies. I am quite particular about cookies. I like the thought of having those home baked kinds but they always come off too oily. That is why, I am rarely tempted to buy those homemade cookies made by people I know. Chewing those oily morsels just irritates me. But I hardly throw away my food, so I end up eating the whole thing anyways. Not even if they say, those were of the thin and crispy variety. Some sludge always sticks to my palate. That is why, when it comes to cookies, I always go for the commercial kind. I'm sure they're not less healthy. But they taste like they do, so I prefer them. Aside from my local brand, I utterly love Jacobs Oatmeal Cookies!

Jacob's Oatmeal Cookies

They're really crunchy, NOT oily, yummy, and full of oatmeal.You will have a lot of oatmeal in every bite! Love, love it!

And if someday, some home baker claims to make something like this,you can bet I will get myself some. But I guess not for a very long time.Until then, these will be oatmeal cookie royalty for me.

On a Clear Day

Right after the storm whipped the Metro, M and I together with his friend Raymund, drove up to the mountains to visit the lovely Taal Lake in where else, but- Tagaytay! It was Raymund's first time to go, and it was a pleasure to bring him there. And like the rest of the people who were also there, we knew we had scored a jackpot- "to be at the right place, at the right time."

The skies were clear, the birds were hovering above, and the lake was spectacular. Of course my trusty ol' point-and-shoot wasn't able to capture it's magnificence at that time. But my baby and I tried hard. Yes, we did :)

Wonderful.

We stayed at Carlo's Pizza for a snack and for the view. We weren't quite expecting the pizza to be good, but it was! At least, at that time, it was. So I would really recommend this place if you want to get a good view of the lake. And since we were up there already, I asked M to bring us to Sonya's Garden. Raymund- for the sights, and me-- for the yummy Cheese Hopia :)

CHEESE HOPIA

I loooove their Cheese Hopia. At P70 a pack (forgot to count how many, sorry!), it is a good deal. Although I am very sad to say, I tasted more cheddar this time than the previous Parmesan. :(

The surprise on this particular trip were the scones! We scored some scones at the same price for a pack.

SCONES

These were flaky, buttery, almond-y, with a hint of spice, and crusted with sugar.

HEART.HEART. LOVE. LOVE :)

From the center of the Philippines, with love.

It would have been our first time away from each other. Husband was scheduled for a road trip to Boac, Marinduque. He was going with an associate and would be away for a two days. That would have been the first time he'd leave me alone at home. But as destiny would have it, I was able to join him on this trip. It was the night before when we knew I could go, when I searched frantically on the net for Boac tourist spots.

I found one that really interested me- the Luzon Datum. I was so excited to realize that Marinduque holds the geodetic center of the Philippines. And this is verified by a marker placed on the very spot! So cool.

But sadly, when we were trying to find the way to the marker-- a local told us the spot was on a mountain, and we had to hike up there. We had barely enough time to do any hiking after their work was done and before the barge was about to leave. So we settled for one of the must-see's---The Boac Cathedral,

Might I say that this structure was splendidly preserved and maintained. The interiors are still shiny and clean. Wonderful, wonderful piece of heritage. But before we left, I had to make sure to get some of their delicacy- Arrowroot cookies!

They have different varieties of arrowroot cookies- they have the regular flavor which is heart-shaped, sugar-free varieties, and ones mixed with oatmeal, pinipig or cinnamon. But I still think the best ones are the heart-shaped ones. There's more butter and sugar in it. Yummy!

Arrowroot cookie (no, it's not a rock. hehe)

Aaaah, the province. Nothing's quite like it :)

Still Foodtripping

Yes, I have still been food tripping. But haven't been posting. Bad me. But I do miss this. Yes, I do. Every single day. And I will start again this month, on my birth month! It's November again, a month shy of my favorite December. Surely, no one should refuse me on my birth month, right?:P

I will try to post all the other stuff I've taken, cram it all in--- like I do when I'm in a hurry for breakfast. No chewing necessary. Kidding! Chew your food well.

See ya. :)

Burger in Japanese

I first read about Sango at Our Awesome Planet. It didn't interest me as much as when I saw the place itself, on our way home. It was near our building! That got me searching for Anton's post once again and realized we had to try it!

Sango is a Japanese themed fastfood restaurant with burgers as its specialty. It is tucked right at the ground floor of the Creek Side Mall in Legaspi Village, which is a stone's throw away from the famed Little Tokyo. I wasn't able to bring my camera, but good thing our mobile phones are rightfully equipped. I used Mark's phone in this post.

There were a lot to choose from the menu which was highly similar to a regular burger joint. except that there were Japanese subtitles in it, and Japanese variations. There were also a handful of salads and pastas on the menu, and colorful shakes and slushies. We ordered their bestsellers- The Sango Master Cheeseburger and the Yakiniku Rice Burger.

The furnitures are so simple, almost Zen like in theme. There were Japanese posters and magazines all around, including posters of their bestsellers which I really really liked. In one corner, was a bulletin board full of printouts of blogs featuring their restaurant. Cool! :) Everything was nice but the smell. The whole place smelled of pungent food, in an enclosed and tightly air-conditioned space. Not very good ventilation.

Now let's go back to the food:

I lost my receipt, so I'll be relying on good ol' Munch Punch for the rates.
This is the Sango Master Cheese Burger at P128.
Not bad. Actually good. The fries were also yummy.

This is the Yakiniku Rice Burger at P109. I admit, I thought this would be another expensive version of something I had eaten before in the country's top fastfood joint.
But I am happy to inform you that it was not. The rice patties were sticky and good, the lettuce fresh, and the soft, thin strips of beef in teriyaki sauce... good, good, good!

Burp. Reasonably priced, double burp :)

No Joy

It's been a week since the incident. I have been thinking a lot on whether to write or not to write about this. But in this age of viruses and health scares, we all have to be vigilant about what and where we eat.

It was last week when I went out to pay some bills. I was going to meet a friend for the afternoon and I had promised to make her some pasta. I went to the grocery of SM Makati to buy some ingredients. Seeing it was lunch time, and I was getting hungry, I decided to eat over at their Food Court at the basement. The nearest taxi stand was right in front of SM, so I deemed it logical to eat nearby. I ordered a chicken meal in a popular fast food chain, since I wanted to go the safe route to food.

But as I opened my drumstick hungrily, with my fork and spoon, I noticed bloody parts near the bone. Because I have been countlessly reminded by my mother never to eat bloody chicken, I had to do something about it. I went back to the counter to have it checked and replaced. The counter personnel then reported the matter to their supervisor. The supervisor then told me, that the chicken was really like that because it was still "young", so it was never going to be really white and opaque. I continued to point out to them that I just couldn't eat chicken this way, since it was unhealthy...and that "I was afraid of diseases." I emphasized the last word rather clearly, that she had to shake her head and insisted that their food was safe, but they just couldn't replace it. They offered to have it cooked again, so I agreed. After a few minutes, the very same chicken piece was returned to me, opaque and cooked through.

Talk about customer service, health and hygiene. I guess not all food trips are happy. But like all trips, we should be always be alert and careful.

Hay, I should have grabbed myself a tomato.

Banzai!

If we're really hungry, and we want to eat Japanese food at a more affordable budget, the next best place would Teriyaki Boy. :)

I heard that Teriyaki Boy just opened in CdO at SM City Cagayan de Oro. A friend asked me if the place is any good. So this post is for you, my beloved Kagay-anons ;) It has a menu of Japanese and fusion cuisine. I like the modern interiors and the hip design of the place. It's fastfood Japanese cuisine, with a not-so-fastfood price. Everytime we go there, Mark and I always share a bowl of Gyu Yakiniku Udon, and another order of something else :)

On this particular visit, we ordered our regular ....

Gyu Yakiniku Don (P275)

There's a lot of rice and meat in that bowl. The beef strips are tasty and tender.
Make sure you stir the egg immediately upon serving.
The egg gives a lot of difference!:)

I can actually eat the whole thing, but I'd be really, really full after.
So we share and order something else.

We also had the Yakisoba,

Yakisoba

It was okay. Not our favorite.
I'd rather you order the Teriyaki Chicken Don or the Fish Fillet that's really really tender!;) Mark also likes this green covered sushi.I think they call it Firecracker Sushi.

This post makes me wanna go banzai to the ref.
And to CdO, enjoy!

Hope you had a lovely weekend, everyone!

Seeing Seryna Again

On Mark's birthday, he wanted to eat at Seryna. But because it was also Mother's Day at that time, we weren't able to get a table. Hence the week after, when his sister came over to Manila, we tried our luck again, and lucky we were!

We wanted to try their set meals or Gozen at P320 per set...

Sister-in-law got the Tonkatsu Gozen or the breaded pork set

Mark is a seafood fan, so he got the Kaisen Gozen, an assortment of sashimi.
There was a lot going on in there. It was truly a feast.

While I, an averred beef lover, got the Sukiyaki Gozen....

Yumminess!

there was even some miso soup to warm the tummy.

and of course, japanese rice is always a winner!

I was quite surprised with the potato salad side dish.
I didn't know this would be part of a regular japanese meal,
but it was truly yummy!
Cold and tasty!


Excuse me, but I was quite amused with the rest room.
I guess, it is essential for a good restaurant to have an equally enjoyable restroom.

Have a good week ahead!

That Sizzling Day in Laguna

On that sizzling 36 degree summer day, we were in the beautiful province of Laguna. Mark had to work in Calamba. When he was done, he wanted to take the other route back to Manila, where we would exit in Antipolo.

At around lunch time, we passed by this lovely restaurant at the Kalayaan Highway called Exotik Restaurant.

There's a corner by the entrance where native sweets and pasalubong are sold.
I saw some yummy pastillas but wasn't able to buy, because they were a little expensive.

There was a lot of greenery and landscaping. The place looks like a mini resort, except that the the pools are not made for dipping. The place was divided by several covered areas filling the irregular landscape. There was the main restaurant, while the other "huts" served to provide customers who wants some privacy for special events. It was a pretty big place.

At the entrance of the main restaurant,
framed clippings of photos and articles of the place are displayed.
Nice :)

I also loved that it was quite cool inside the restaurant,
which served to protect us from the super heat at that time.

Mark went straight to this page - where the "exotic" menu could be found. He ordered some stingray in spicy sauce. I ordered the Guinataang Pako. I've heard so much about Pako or Fern being made into salads. Knowing Pako was on the menu, excited me so much, I had to order it.

Plus, this can of soda spelled - relief from the heat!!!

I really liked the Guinataang Pako. It tasted somewhat like mini kangkong/cooked lato.
The gata or coconut milk was light and tasty. Yummy!

The Stingray had some vegetables infused with the spicy red sauce: some celery, carrots and tomatoes. I don't think it worked quite well. We were imagining something else for the stingray.

We were full, nonetheless. Yummy food from Laguna!

The place is a nice respite from the urbanscape. Lovely place :)



check out related post on www.ourawesome planet.com :)

Going South

Today, we went to Calamba, Laguna. Again. Our second trip in less than a month. There's another trip tomorrow but I'm not so sure if I want to go. It was so hoooot today - the digital car thermometer registered at 36 degrees Celsius! It was crazy. So far, the highest temperature we've experienced inside the car was driving around the metro at 34 degrees. Today, at the Kalayaan area after Pagsanjan.... it was a crazy 36 degrees!

Anyway, I wasn't able to post our food trip in the previous Calamba trip. We asked a good friend of mine who studied in UPLB their popular food haunts, and he was able to suggest a couple of places. But as soon as we turned to the outskirts of Calamba from the South Superhighway, we were so hungry we decided to go for RSM Lutong Bahay. I googled it and it was given an award by the DOT. Excited, we rushed in from the parking lot to escape the high noon heat.

Mark has eaten there before, so he knew what to order already. I looked around, and it had an old Filipiniana-slash-fastfood feel. There was a glass showcase along the cashier, so we could do turo-turo. But I did like the little wooden touches.

Our rice was Binalot style. Now, I don't really like Binalot. The food becomes all mooshy and jumbled inside. But....

.... this one turned out right!

The steaming rice was still molded and the tomatoes and eggs were still firm.
Looked freshly made :)

But RSM Lutong Bahay's piece de resistance is their Bulalo! Bulalo is a beef broth soup with vegetables and beef meat and marrow bones. I was so excited because I really like Bulalo. This one did not disappoint! It was meaty, full of flavor... and there was no visible "SEBO", which is the one thing that stops me from eating a lot of it. The broth was clear but full of flavor! I really liked it :)

And knowing Mark, he ordered some Sizzling Pusit, and I got us some vegetables via some Chopsuey. They were all good, except that I could taste the "umami".

It was a good lunch, and if I want some Bulalo... I now know where to get me some!:)

What's wrong with this picture?

Mark and I stopped over a popular fast food chain after walking a few blocks from his office. It was a sweltering summer evening, and a good serving of vanilla sundae was just right. While having our ice cream, we spotted something different:

tee hee!