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.

Long Weekend at Home.

M and I got to visit home (Cagayan de Oro) last Holy Week. It was another good chance to indulge on food we miss.

As soon as we arrived, we found ourselves at:

Hungarian Sausage with mashed potatoes
at Vienna Kaffeehaus. 

This Cebu franchise which serves Austrian dishes will always have a special place in our hearts. Wink. I ordered my usual Hungarian sausage and M ordered a cheese weiner with mashed potatoes too.The sausage and spuds have decreased in size. That was sad. The price increased too. Inflation is a heartbreaking thing.

Turon

This huge crispy and sugary banana-langka wrap is found in the streets of CdO. I don't know of anyone who makes Turon the way this particular street vendor does. No scrimping on the sugar, wrap, nor of the bananas and langka. When you bite into one, the coating breaks in sugary shards. You can actually see the shards in the photo. It's so big, so we cut it in half and share the calories. For less than P20--winner!

We also chanced upon the opening of a new branch of Chicken Charlie along Borja Extension, CdO. Now, we haven't tried this here in the metro because it was always so full at that time we tried. With the advent of all these crispy fried chicken craze that is Bon Chon, Manang's Fried Chicken and even Chowking's Chinese Style Fried Chicken , we had all forgotten to try Chicken Charlie. 

with Soy Garlic Sauce & Hot Sweet Sauce (with the sticks)

These were big pieces of drumsticks. I think I like the Soy Garlic sauce much better than the kimchi flavored foreign counterpart. But the foreign counterpart has crispier chicken.

Cheesestick Dynamite- cheese and jalapeno rolled in lumpia. A hit.

Since it was nearing M's birthday, we were treated to dinner at another Cebu franchise- the Filipino specialty restaurant Cafe Laguna. Everything's always good here. We had-

Adobong Kangkong

Pinakbet

Kinilaw (Cebu style)
They put mayonnaise. Not my thing.

Maja Kalabasa

This is so creamy, light and refreshing. 

I like that it uses a vegetable to highlight the coconut cream based flan,  so I can imagine all the beta carotene coming into my system while I eat dessert. 

I forgot to take a photo of the yummy Kare Kare and the Sizzling Bangus. Next time.

That was a good dinner. And a really good home visit. :)

Until next time, Cdo. Have a great summer.

Island Paradise

We were whisked to Boracay last month for M's office outing. We were so excited for the beach and the food!

Because there were meals provided by the hotel where stayed in, we didn't have to food trip all the time. For those times we could though, we tried our best to have the stuff I've been reading in other blogs.

For our first stop, we had lunch at Manana Restaurant, a Mexican restaurant that I read at Dessert Comes First and Our Awesome Planet which serves the most wonderful burritos. It was packed full when we arrived, and we had to wait for a table outside. Well, we waited by the beach so it wasn't so bad. :) Anyways, I must agree (and the husband heartily agrees), that the food was awesome!

M ordered this super good Avocado Shake.Perfect for the beach breeze!

Burritos

Hard-shell Tacos

The Burritos and Tacos were delicious! The tortillas were obviously freshly made, so it was all gooey and sticky with the cheese and the filling. Yuum. The Tacos were just as good. Save for the corn grits, everything was perfect! Our first meal in the island was a success. No picture of us two in the resto though, so boo!

The next meals were all sponsored by the office, so we had meals at the hotel. Our next food trip was for an afternoon snack the next day- a very long walk to JOnah's at Station 1 for the infamous milkshakes! M had a Mango Milk and I,

a Mango Lemon

This photo was taken with the Instagram. That's my smile and my hand :)

In the evening, we had dinner at The Sandbar so we could also watch the Fire or Poi Dancers. Food was okay. But the burger we had at Nigi Nigi Noo Noo was yuuuuum! Fat, juicy, old-fashioned burgers, they were only P180! Soooo good!

We weren't able to get our hands on some of Real Coffee's Calamansi cupcakes.

Maybe next time. And I will definitely make sure that I will make it my first stop.

Have a nice Sunday!:)

Sour Trip

Discovered at Food Court of the SM Hypermart Pasig is this Philippine

favorite combination of sour green mangoes and bagoong ( a fermented shrimp paste).

Dubbed as the Mango-ong, it is clean and crisp at P20.

Mango-ong

Now, I can have a sidewalk style sliced manggang hilaw, and not be afraid of germs. Yipee!

Rain

I love the rainy season. The clouds and the gloomy sky does something to my mood.

I reminisce.

And daydream a lot too.

When the rain starts to fall,

either I fall asleep clutching a book

or

I make something creative.

I look at the plants and imagine.. what sort of life lives in there. And all such weirdness.

I make myself a cup of hot tea or chocolate, and maybe grab a sweet or two.

And continue to imagine some more.

Bibingka

Mark and I went out with his friends one Saturday night. It's been so long since we went out on a Saturday night with friends. We were to meet at Greenbelt, and found ourselves seated at Ebun after finding out Kitchen was packed full.

This was our chance to try this Kapampangan restaurant. Due to being famished, we weren't able to take photos of the food we ordered. We had Chicharon Bulaklak, Bicol Express, and the others ordered other stuff. The food was okay. Service was a bit slow, especially since the places wasn't really busy.

What blew our minds was dessert. There was only one order left of their Puto Bumbong, so we all shared on one Puto Bumbong and one Bibingka. 9 hungry mouths plus two quivering rice cakes. It was a massacre all right. Especially so since this Bibingka was----

Buttery, creamy, salty, sweet

There was so much butter in this thing. It was creamy and soft, and the top was crusty and toasted. There was cheddar cheese and slivers of salted eggs. Yumm. Perfect with coffee. Not the best I've tasted, but good enough. I should get me some Bibingkinitan soon.

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 .... ;)

Dampa sa Libis

This is the one place where, whenever my husband wants to indulge on some crabs, we go to eat fresh seafood. I forgot how much we spent on the food... but I think ... it's more expensive than we expected it to be..

We got our catch from the wet market, which is located just behind the restaurant. The wet market was chockful of shrimps, prawns, oysters, fishes and crabs! We buy per weight, and then there's a fee for the cooking. I wasn't able to take pics for fear I'd drop the camera on the wet floor. Hehe. Ang arte.

After paying for the crabs and the fish, we waited in the restaurant area- a large, brightly lit, airconditioned seating area, and very colorful accents. Beware though during rush hours, like 11 to 12 noon, so many people go there to eat, and waiting can seem like forever!

Chili Crab

I love the garlicky, sweetish sauce

Grilled Pampano

I wish I had it cooked some other way.

There are advertisements outside of the restaurant area suggesting different dishes. I suggest you have your food cooked the same way as the ads... I think it's their specialty. ;)

Enjoy the crabs!