M and I spend a lot of time going to different places, I might as well turn this into a travel blog. Last Saturday,  M surprised me on a trip to Bataan. He just asked me to pack for an overnight trip and asked me to trust him. Fine, I was anxious the whole time because I didn't know what to pack, whether we were going somewhere cool or warm. But I took his word, and relaxed, packed very little and waited for three hours. After seeing the Welcome to Bataan sign, I knew we were going to- Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. Ever since we saw the website a year ago, we've been meaning to go. There was even a Deal Grocer promo, but we weren't able to avail of it. I think there is still an ongoing DG promo for six people :) Check it out.

So we left Manila at 9 in the morning, and arrived in the resort at around lunch time. We booked a room ( lucky too that we had anything to stay in, because they were running out of rooms.Lesson: Book ahead.), We had lunch at Cafe Marivent, the main and only restaurant operating as of that last week. They serve classic Filipino and Spanish cuisine. We availed of the Set Lunch at P390 each. Not cheap this place. We had a choice of Grilled Fish, Pork or Chicken. It was accompanied by sauteed Togue, Crab&Corn Soup and Leche Flan. Satisfying but not amazing.. 

After freshening up, we headed back to the main casa for the tour. There are tours every hour, until 4:30 pm. We took the 3:30 tour so we could avoid the possible rains in the evening. We were done in an hour or so. We took another stroll at the beachside after getting some Fishballs and Kikiam at Kainan sa Plaza Belmonte.  Such fun!

The fishballs were better than the Kikiam. And request for the suka (vinegar dip). :)

In the evening, the resort management set up dinner at the grounds so we could also witness the folk dance presentation. Alas, it rained before we could eat. Although that was also a good thing because we had time to move in. We ordered the following for dinner (also at Cafe Marivent):

Pinakbet with Bagnet

Yum, this is the best dish we've ordered here. The only one that we really liked.  The salty and tasty bagoong   melded the bitter vegetables very well. The crispy pork which was placed gingerly on top of the veggies is a great way of adding the meat without making it soggy. Yumyum!

Kilawin

I'm not sure if this was Blue Marlin, but the fish was cooked too long in the vinegar. It  was  okay.

In the morning, we woke up rather late. Too tired from walking around the cobbled paths, we rushed off  to Cafe Marivent before they stopped serving breakfast. We were given a choice of Daing, Longganis and Tocino.

The Longganisa (Pork sausage) was on the sweetish side, probably a Lukban recipe.

The Daing na Bangus (Marinated Milkfish) was large and tasty.

The Daing na Bangus won. 

We could have stayed longer. But then, it's not going to be very hard to come back. Someday soon, we will. And we hope to get that studio shot :)

Maraming Salamat, Las Casas sa inyong mainit na pagtanggap. Sa uulitin.

Garlic and all things nice :)

I almost always cook with garlic. Save for desserts, and maybe soup, I can't imagine food without it. The onion may be forgotten, but never this white bulb.

We were in the Pasay area at lunch time, and hunted for good food at the gigantic (at least, for my feet) SM Mall of Asia. Facing the bay, we headed in Abe's for some Filipino fare and rice.

And true enough, my garlic-loving heart was happy here. M ordered a seafood dish and I ordered meat. Was hungry!

Sinuteng Baby Squid

Squid cooked in olive oil and garlic, they were really tender and melted in the mouth like some seafood custard. Sigh.

Mutton Lamb Adobo

This is really flavorful and tender. Cooked to perfection, I had noticed only a hint of gamey aroma, a pleasant one at that. M loves goat meat. Maybe someday I will try this at home. And maybe, just maybe I will be successful.

All these and glorious, white, steaming rice.

So good! Abe's. I miss you :)

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!:)

My Favorite Filipino Restaurant

This is the one of the best Filipino restaurants in Cagayan de Oro. Located at the Limketkai Center, Cafe Laguna is actually a Cebu original.

The restaurant boasts of fine Filipino furnishings, with brick posts and wooden furniture. I love their lamps (forgot to take a photo! argh). The place is packed during the weekends, and I think they could use more space to accommodate those busy days.

There's so much Filipino fare to choose from, but on this particular day with my in-laws we ordered the following:

Baked Scallops
Simply delicious. Soft scallops and toasted cheese with green onions.

Crispy Beef Tadyang
This is a pile of crispy, flavorful beefy goodness.

Pinakbet

I forgot the name of this dish- Laguna Express?
It's got shrimps with string beans and cooked in spicy coconut cream. :)

Sinigang na Hipon.

The shrimps in CdO are fresh, so the soup was good :)

Fish Fillet
Fresh fish fillet cooked just right.:)

Together with Mark's family, we shared this food with Mark's best friend Adonis and his new wife Rose. My family eat here a lot too. But my Mom's favorite is the Fresh Lumpia, which she says is just how she likes it- lots of ubod , homemade lumpia wrapper, and lots of ground peanuts. Together with yummy lumpia like that we also have this ......


TADAAH!

Puto Bumbong

This is by far, the best, yummiest puto bumbong that I've tried. I have tasted puto bumbong here in Manila, but I still like this version better- BEST!

The ground, sticky rice is chewy and sweet,
and the freshly grated coconut matches the salty butter melting on it very well.

Happy Lunching everyone!:)

A Twist on the Classic Filipino Taste

C2 Classic Cuisine is conveniently located right in the heart of the new Pedro Gil Wing of Robinson's Place Manila. They serve mainly Filipino dishes with a modern twist, and a few other Asian fusion cuisine.

My Papa likes the Arroz Caldo ( P120) a hefty serving of this garlic heavy, chicken and rice porridge. It's super comfort food!

Arroz Caldo

Arroz Caldo

Feeling a little adventurous... I tried the Veggie Tempeh Wrap (P140 ). It was spicy! I liked it but it was a little too spicy for me.

Veggie Tempeh Wrap

Milk dip

Veggie Tempeh Wrap-heavy with onions and,
ginger and vermicelli

Mark ordered the Crispy Pata (P475 ). It was well made. Tasty and crispy! I think though it should have been ordered by at least four people (there were only three of us at that time).



For dessert, we ordered The Bibingka Souffle (P145 ). I was highly intrigued by it. It was yummy at first bite... but it was too creamy for me. This one's heavy on the quezo de bola cheese, eggs and milk.

Bibingka Souffle

Bibingka Souffle

After breaking it..

Service was okay. We really like it here!

Our Fiesta at Ilustrado

Three Kagay-anons in Manila missing Cagayan de Oro (that's me, my husband and our friend Eric ), dined together to celebrate the town fiesta. We decided to go to Ilustrado Restaurant, located at the Intramuros last Friday night. We were actually enticed to try the place, because of Eric's high recommendation of the Sampaguita Ice Cream.

I was initially hesistant of the place, because I read somewhere that the place preferred reservations, and I figured a place like that would be too expensive. In fact, when Queen Sophia of Spain visited the Philippines, she was tendered a dinner there by the former President Fidel Ramos and his wife.

Since there were three of us, we figured the damage (on our wallets) wouldn't be as bad. So off we went to the walled city.

The restaurant is located along Calle Real de Palacio. There's a vertical sign on the left side of the street with the name Ilustrado in red and black. A little path will lead you to the restaurant. The place echoes the whole of Intramuros- of antique Spanish furniture and design. I love the smell of old wood and old houses. There are tables and chairs for those who want to eat al fresco. We went inside the main dining room. The place looks old and rich. I dare say though, it wouldn't hurt to renovate some things in the dining room.

When we went in, we were surprised there was nobody else dining there at 8 in the evening. It felt eerie. It didn't help either that the waiter wasn't so smiling. Ilustrado, eh? A waitress came in next to take our order and she wasn't so nice either. Maybe we just had gotten used to eating in nice places with smiling waitresses.

They served us bread ( 2 pieces each person). One was a slice of a baguette and the other a soft bread roll with raisins. Good bread. The liver pate was alright.

Bread

Liver Pate and Butter

The boys ordered the appetizer- Calf's Brain Meuniere . It was lightly fried, and the soft brain can still be tasted in the middle. It was done medium well, actually. I would have preferred it a little more cooked, as the exterior was really flavorful with the lemon butter and caper sauce. The boys liked the soft, juicy interiors though, Hehe.

Calf's Brain

Cross section of the Calf's Brain

For the main course, we ordered the Paella Ilustrado(P600+) . I think it was a signature dish, and is meant for sharing. I think it was alright. I've tasted better a better Paella. Mention must be made also of the crab claws. It was observed that the crab meat was dry and not fresh, and we had to have it cracked open in the kitchen, upon request.

Paella Ilustrado

Paella Ilustrado

Now, for the piece de resistance... the Sampaguita Ice Cream (P90) . It was a small scoop in a margarita glass, but it was all one ever needed. Such a lovely, lovely ice cream. It tasted strongly of sampaguitas. My mind was floating while eating it. It's the perfect dessert for a date! If one was going to propose to a girl... I think you'd get a yes if you make her have this dessert first before you pop the question! Hehe

Sampaguita Ice Cream

Sampaguita Ice Cream

For all that it's worth, the experience sucked because of the service. There was a careless manner in the way they handled us. Hmmmm. Even when they had to dish out the appetizer plates and replace them with dinner plates, there was seriously a careless manner about them. Please allow me to be honest, it was supposed to be a fine dining experience. I guess they are used to Ilustrados (a.k.a. foreigners or bigger "a"'s) as customers, who came in a little after the appetizers. Or maybe it was just another bad day. Lady luck...where are you?


Do go for the Sampaguita Ice Cream. It's worth the wait.


Another dessert saves the evening!!

Kabisera

It was a rainy afternoon in Taguig. Knowing that the traffic would eat up dinner time, we decided to take Mark's mother at The Fort. We proceeded to Kabisera at the Fort, as it was highly recommended by blogs and featured in some articles of the daily broadsheets. Kabisera is the high-end version of the well-loved Dencio's Restaurants.

We ordered the Kilawing Salmon (P295) - salmon fillets cooked kinilaw or kilawin way- in vinegar. It was interesting to taste the predominantly Western fish Salmon served the native way. I would have loved it had they used "sweeter" vinegar, and maybe some fresh lime. I wasn't able to take a picture though. Sorry. We also had Molo Iloilo (P140) for our soup.

For our rice, we ordered the highly recommended Adobong Pusit Rice sa Buho(P195). We were very excited to try this dish. We love rice soaked in squid ink. Sadly, the dish didn't meet our expectations. We expected it would be cooked inside the bambo casing. But the rice didn't taste like it did, nor feel like it did. It wasn't as tasty or as sticky as expected. I guess the Buho is for serving purposes only.

Adobong Pusit Rice sa Buho

We also ordered the Sari-Saring Sinugba (P495)- a medley of grilled meat. The Tuna belly was not fresh. Sorry. Good thing the barbeque fared better.

Sari-saring Sinugba

Ah, the Pinakbet Salad (P95). I will not apologize to say that this is probably one of the worst Pinakbets I have tasted. I don't mind as much if the mixture is not that good, or it lacked seasonings... but I do mind when the dish served is NOT FRESH. Vegetables are very obvious when they are not fresh. We are hurt to be served something like this. I can still smell the not fresh bagoong, okra, talong and kalabasa. I think it was pre-cooked for a couple of days or more. It must have been a bad day at the kitchen.

Pinakbet Salad

It is a blessing that they have desserts... and we had the Sin-turon (P120)- a heavenly version of the turon. Such a lovely version. The bananas, langka and taro are wrapped in a very a thin lumpia wrapper, tied in the middle like a pouch with a Pandan leaf and deep-fried to golden perfection. I am so glad that we ordered this, or else..everything would have been such a waste of hard-earned money.

Sin-turon


Aren't we all glad for desserts? ;)