The well kept secret
Now out in the open
Soms Noodle House
A frequent diner's recluse
It was a long journey
We tried so many times
We failed miserably
Getting a seat when lunch on the way
Today we came back
Knowing it's way beyond lunch
Glad to find out its deserted
Just a few diners left
Friday, September 21, 2007
Banana Leaf
Banana Leaf has opened its branch in Greenbelt 3. It is the usual full fledged dining resto that offers a la carte orders, just like how this restaurant started in the old Greenbelt. However, I do miss the 4 kinds of mushroom specialty that it used to have and now visibly taken out from its menu.
Banana Leaf
An asian resto in contemporary design
A fusion of indian, thai & malay cuisine
Often referred to as Singaporean's own
Both spicy and sweet, you can't go wrong.
Borrowed curry flavor leaves the mouth wanting
With intense chili and spice, you know its thai
Complementing better with nan or roti channai.
The group decides on an easy diet
Some meat, some fish and veggie please
All agreed to try the roti but order some rice
Forgo a separate curry suace on the side
Pick instead a green or red curry dish
Never the beef but may the chicken thai
Just to break the monotony the last time we tried.
Indeed its harder to choose the fish
For we are constrained by our budget's purse
The sambal looked appetizing in pictures
Not knowing for sure what's coating its exterior.
Informed we were, it will take awhile
Considering that the fish gets fried
Polished in the oven it gets some better pride.
The veggie was a trick at first
Undecide between the water spinach
Versus the malay noble leaves
Getting adventurous we often missed badly
Half expecting the vianed that came our way
Sated we were, glad the noble veggie
Sauteed in garlic, indeed it was healthy.
We came too hungry, any food well done
The fish cracker - an on the house welcome
Consumed fast, we could have wanted more
Discouraged only, the next serving not free
Pondering on what our bill would be
No one budged to spend more on appetizer
As we often go over our Php150 buzzer
The sambal fish was a big hit
Despite the long wait, its crispy and sweet
A certain smell emanates from its skin
No wonder - it was shrimp paste within
We never knew just by the picture we viewed
For sure it was tasty like we envisioned
Any day, we knew, this fish will be consumed.
We came famished, we left satisfied
A meal not too expensive with Gentley's card
Glad there's promo,there's more discount
When divided, we cannot help but smile.
Banana Leaf
An asian resto in contemporary design
A fusion of indian, thai & malay cuisine
Often referred to as Singaporean's own
Both spicy and sweet, you can't go wrong.
Borrowed curry flavor leaves the mouth wanting
With intense chili and spice, you know its thai
Complementing better with nan or roti channai.
The group decides on an easy diet
Some meat, some fish and veggie please
All agreed to try the roti but order some rice
Forgo a separate curry suace on the side
Pick instead a green or red curry dish
Never the beef but may the chicken thai
Just to break the monotony the last time we tried.
Indeed its harder to choose the fish
For we are constrained by our budget's purse
The sambal looked appetizing in pictures
Not knowing for sure what's coating its exterior.
Informed we were, it will take awhile
Considering that the fish gets fried
Polished in the oven it gets some better pride.
The veggie was a trick at first
Undecide between the water spinach
Versus the malay noble leaves
Getting adventurous we often missed badly
Half expecting the vianed that came our way
Sated we were, glad the noble veggie
Sauteed in garlic, indeed it was healthy.
We came too hungry, any food well done
The fish cracker - an on the house welcome
Consumed fast, we could have wanted more
Discouraged only, the next serving not free
Pondering on what our bill would be
No one budged to spend more on appetizer
As we often go over our Php150 buzzer
The sambal fish was a big hit
Despite the long wait, its crispy and sweet
A certain smell emanates from its skin
No wonder - it was shrimp paste within
We never knew just by the picture we viewed
For sure it was tasty like we envisioned
Any day, we knew, this fish will be consumed.
We came famished, we left satisfied
A meal not too expensive with Gentley's card
Glad there's promo,there's more discount
When divided, we cannot help but smile.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Chicken Bacolod
September 11, 2007
Our lunch was taken at Chicken Bacolod in Greenbelt 1. Gentley was kind enough to drive us to the mall today, as the Company vehicle was banned from the streets on a Tuesday. We decided to eat cheap today and we picked Chicken Bacolod.
Chicken Bacolod serves the ever famous chicken inasal or grilled chicken marinated in yellow ginger root extract that gained prominence in the Manokan Country somewhere in Bacolod City. Aside from the grilled chicken, it has the ever tasty and delicious La Paz Batchoy, a noodle stew served with lots of garlic, pork skin and whole egg.
I would always order the chicken breast at Chicken Bacolod with garlic rice. Today, however, I cajoled the group to try out the crispy crablets as a side order. Mimi did order the chicken leg and a bowl of hot La Paz batchoy, which she willingly shared with the group. I opted not to partake of the batchoy as it is cholesterol laden and I am on a quest to lower my cholesterol as I'm feeling the dizziness and symptoms of high blood pressure this past week.
I did enjoy my grilled chicken breast but the crablets was a disappointment. I did expect the crablets to be baby crabs, but these were a bit bigger already. It did not came out as crispy and crunchy any more. The claws were a bit bigger and harder to munch on. This sentiment was shared by the group and we vowed not to order this again in the future.
I was amazed when Gentley made a confession that he had not tried making the calamansi - soy sauce dip before to go with the grilled chicken. As filipino as we are, this is almost disfunctional as we filipinos are so used to having this dip with lots and lots of chili to spice up the dip. Anyways, Gentley never claimed to be a fan of grilled chicken and he found the chicken and the dip to be a good complement.
I paid only about Php130 for my meal, including the soda which I also ordered.
Afterwards, I went out to Ace Hardware to buy some knick nacks, some screws and other stuff. Maidette, Mimi and Gentley however, went to Razon's to get some desserts, the ever famous halo-halo of Razon's.
Our lunch was taken at Chicken Bacolod in Greenbelt 1. Gentley was kind enough to drive us to the mall today, as the Company vehicle was banned from the streets on a Tuesday. We decided to eat cheap today and we picked Chicken Bacolod.
Chicken Bacolod serves the ever famous chicken inasal or grilled chicken marinated in yellow ginger root extract that gained prominence in the Manokan Country somewhere in Bacolod City. Aside from the grilled chicken, it has the ever tasty and delicious La Paz Batchoy, a noodle stew served with lots of garlic, pork skin and whole egg.
I would always order the chicken breast at Chicken Bacolod with garlic rice. Today, however, I cajoled the group to try out the crispy crablets as a side order. Mimi did order the chicken leg and a bowl of hot La Paz batchoy, which she willingly shared with the group. I opted not to partake of the batchoy as it is cholesterol laden and I am on a quest to lower my cholesterol as I'm feeling the dizziness and symptoms of high blood pressure this past week.
I did enjoy my grilled chicken breast but the crablets was a disappointment. I did expect the crablets to be baby crabs, but these were a bit bigger already. It did not came out as crispy and crunchy any more. The claws were a bit bigger and harder to munch on. This sentiment was shared by the group and we vowed not to order this again in the future.
I was amazed when Gentley made a confession that he had not tried making the calamansi - soy sauce dip before to go with the grilled chicken. As filipino as we are, this is almost disfunctional as we filipinos are so used to having this dip with lots and lots of chili to spice up the dip. Anyways, Gentley never claimed to be a fan of grilled chicken and he found the chicken and the dip to be a good complement.
I paid only about Php130 for my meal, including the soda which I also ordered.
Afterwards, I went out to Ace Hardware to buy some knick nacks, some screws and other stuff. Maidette, Mimi and Gentley however, went to Razon's to get some desserts, the ever famous halo-halo of Razon's.
Yum Yum Tree
I missed to update my food blog for the past two weeks. However, today, I will try to update my blog just as I had done these past two months.
September 10, 2007
We had lunch at Yum Yum Tree in Rustan's Supermarket in Glorietta. We me during the lunch were Mimi, Gentley, Maidette and Chay.
I ordered the sizzling bangus steak (milkfish steak). What came out was a huge bangus fish split open and served in a hot sizzling plate. Loads of tasty mushroom gravy were spread on the deep fried fish. It came served with carrot sticks, baguio beans and corn bits.
It was a heavy meal indeed. I liked the way it was cooked, I almost licked my fingers while devouring the entire fish. I could described the food as something that goes well with rice. In fact, one could almost consume two cupfuls of rice servings because of the saucy fish viand. I had one good lunch that I cannot complain about. I believe, if I remember right, I paid Php300 for the fish and a can of soda.
After lunch, we went out of our ways for some shopping. I chose to go with Maidette as she went shopping for baby things. You see, here sister is delivering her baby in Toronto, Canada and she has been tasked to source the baby needs here in the Philippines. Maidette's mom is leaving a two week's time for Canada and her mom will be bringing all the baby things with her.
Today, Maidette was looking for that stove-top feeding bottle sterilizer. Her sister was quite specific about getting the non-electric variety as gas prices are cheaper in Canada and the bad reviews of the electric variant. They tend to break down easily after only several months use. And the sterilizer are a constant need to a family with a new born baby until about two years thereafter. Hence, the need to have a reliable sterilizer is a must.
Me and Maidette went to Rustan's department store to see if the store carried the stove-top sterilizer. We learned that not much inventory is carried for this type as people tend favor the electric powered variety already. We went to Landmark, on the other side of Glorietta which Maidette knew for sure would have lots and lots of choices on baby products. Maidette was right. She found what she has been looking for. She bought it at once while I shopped for breast pads and baby bath tub screen. I could have bought the sterilizer then which I would be needing soon myself, but I hesitated as Lani would not be too excited for me to be shopping for more baby stuff this early.
Anyways, my plans to the afternoon to get some fruits did not push through. We spent a lot of our time in Landmark, it was time to return to the office. Alvin picked us up in G4 entrance and drove us back to the office.
September 10, 2007
We had lunch at Yum Yum Tree in Rustan's Supermarket in Glorietta. We me during the lunch were Mimi, Gentley, Maidette and Chay.
I ordered the sizzling bangus steak (milkfish steak). What came out was a huge bangus fish split open and served in a hot sizzling plate. Loads of tasty mushroom gravy were spread on the deep fried fish. It came served with carrot sticks, baguio beans and corn bits.
It was a heavy meal indeed. I liked the way it was cooked, I almost licked my fingers while devouring the entire fish. I could described the food as something that goes well with rice. In fact, one could almost consume two cupfuls of rice servings because of the saucy fish viand. I had one good lunch that I cannot complain about. I believe, if I remember right, I paid Php300 for the fish and a can of soda.
After lunch, we went out of our ways for some shopping. I chose to go with Maidette as she went shopping for baby things. You see, here sister is delivering her baby in Toronto, Canada and she has been tasked to source the baby needs here in the Philippines. Maidette's mom is leaving a two week's time for Canada and her mom will be bringing all the baby things with her.
Today, Maidette was looking for that stove-top feeding bottle sterilizer. Her sister was quite specific about getting the non-electric variety as gas prices are cheaper in Canada and the bad reviews of the electric variant. They tend to break down easily after only several months use. And the sterilizer are a constant need to a family with a new born baby until about two years thereafter. Hence, the need to have a reliable sterilizer is a must.
Me and Maidette went to Rustan's department store to see if the store carried the stove-top sterilizer. We learned that not much inventory is carried for this type as people tend favor the electric powered variety already. We went to Landmark, on the other side of Glorietta which Maidette knew for sure would have lots and lots of choices on baby products. Maidette was right. She found what she has been looking for. She bought it at once while I shopped for breast pads and baby bath tub screen. I could have bought the sterilizer then which I would be needing soon myself, but I hesitated as Lani would not be too excited for me to be shopping for more baby stuff this early.
Anyways, my plans to the afternoon to get some fruits did not push through. We spent a lot of our time in Landmark, it was time to return to the office. Alvin picked us up in G4 entrance and drove us back to the office.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Mongolian Stop
Alvin, our Company driver had asked for a vacation today. He went over to his family in Bicol for his usual coming home schedule as it takes about 10 hours by bus just to reach the place where he took up residence.
We decided to have our lunch at RCBC Plaza as it was a walking distance from our office. We trooped out early as Maidette had early afternoon meetings. Me and Rene meet up with Mimi at the RCBC Tower lobby as she was at UCPB bank earlier. Maidette and Chay went ahead to withdraw money from the bank as well.
Upon seeing most of the restaurants were full with diners, we decided to have our lunch at Mongolian Stop. Mongolian Stop is the franchised version of the origina Mongolian Barbecue, a joint that serves eat-all-you-can mongolian food. Mongol food is a combination of rice, noodles, vegetables, meats and spices and sauteed in very hot oil and served in a deep bowl. A diner can choose how to spice up his food, by adding more chili, sugar, garlic, ginger or the mongolian hot suace or the sweet and spicy sauce. It is one truly simple meal where all the ingredients are dumped into one dish and one can savor the melange of flavors infused in one great meal.
I ordered the mongolian bowl single, where I had the freedom to choose what food ingredients goes into my meal. I chose a spoonful of rice, some heap of vermicilli noodles, egg noodles, chinese pichay, cabbage, young corn, a good amount of carrots, some shallots, ginger and garlic. I also added some chicken meat, beef and what remained of the sliced squid meat. The lady who assisted me asked for my flavor and seasoning, so I told her to make mine, sweet and spicy. She took care of adding the different spices and seasonings to make it sweet and spicy as I took my place in a nearby vacant table.
We all got settled down and my food was served first, freshly cooked from the kitchen. The clear soup with noodles was bland but, this one was served on the house. My Mongolian food came and I thought it was too sweet for my pallet. I guess, their standard for adding sugar was a bit more than what my serving should have considering that I only took too few of the cooked rice. I don't want to add more rice in my bowl, hence, I was not complaining anymore for the sweeter taste than what I had expected it.
Mimi relayed her reunion practice the other day where some jubilarians, especially those celebrating their Golden Anniversary were septuagenarians already. She told us the concept of their presentation where the older ladies will be singing and dancing on the Alphabet song with words all associated with later years in life. For instance, A will stand for Arthritis, while B will be for Bones and C for Cancer, etc. These ladies even have Hot flashes for H, imagine that, at that age, they still experience hot flashes, or may be imagining it altogether, hehehe.
I paid Php145.00 for my meal today.
We decided to have our lunch at RCBC Plaza as it was a walking distance from our office. We trooped out early as Maidette had early afternoon meetings. Me and Rene meet up with Mimi at the RCBC Tower lobby as she was at UCPB bank earlier. Maidette and Chay went ahead to withdraw money from the bank as well.
Upon seeing most of the restaurants were full with diners, we decided to have our lunch at Mongolian Stop. Mongolian Stop is the franchised version of the origina Mongolian Barbecue, a joint that serves eat-all-you-can mongolian food. Mongol food is a combination of rice, noodles, vegetables, meats and spices and sauteed in very hot oil and served in a deep bowl. A diner can choose how to spice up his food, by adding more chili, sugar, garlic, ginger or the mongolian hot suace or the sweet and spicy sauce. It is one truly simple meal where all the ingredients are dumped into one dish and one can savor the melange of flavors infused in one great meal.
I ordered the mongolian bowl single, where I had the freedom to choose what food ingredients goes into my meal. I chose a spoonful of rice, some heap of vermicilli noodles, egg noodles, chinese pichay, cabbage, young corn, a good amount of carrots, some shallots, ginger and garlic. I also added some chicken meat, beef and what remained of the sliced squid meat. The lady who assisted me asked for my flavor and seasoning, so I told her to make mine, sweet and spicy. She took care of adding the different spices and seasonings to make it sweet and spicy as I took my place in a nearby vacant table.
We all got settled down and my food was served first, freshly cooked from the kitchen. The clear soup with noodles was bland but, this one was served on the house. My Mongolian food came and I thought it was too sweet for my pallet. I guess, their standard for adding sugar was a bit more than what my serving should have considering that I only took too few of the cooked rice. I don't want to add more rice in my bowl, hence, I was not complaining anymore for the sweeter taste than what I had expected it.
Mimi relayed her reunion practice the other day where some jubilarians, especially those celebrating their Golden Anniversary were septuagenarians already. She told us the concept of their presentation where the older ladies will be singing and dancing on the Alphabet song with words all associated with later years in life. For instance, A will stand for Arthritis, while B will be for Bones and C for Cancer, etc. These ladies even have Hot flashes for H, imagine that, at that age, they still experience hot flashes, or may be imagining it altogether, hehehe.
I paid Php145.00 for my meal today.
Terry's Selection & UCC Vienna Cafe
This is not one of those lunch escapade blogs, but, nonetheless, I am including it here as it involved a best friend's birthday treat to me.
Allan's birthday is on September 7th but his schedule will be toxic he decided to treat me on the day before instead. It was a good coincidence as my wife will have a late video conference meeting in her office, hence, I'm free for the evening to dine away for Allan's birthday.
After a quick haircut at Ystilo Salon on my way home to pick up my car, I drove to Allan's flat in Valle Verde. You see, it's Thursday, my carless day, can't drive my car until after 7pm. Allan decided to try out Terry's Selection, a wine shop that's noted to serve sumptous meals in Podium. This was our first time at Terry's so Allan asked for the shop's specialties. We tried the fabled cheese croquettas, the pumpkin soup while I had lamb stew for my main course. Allan, in keeping with his stricter plans to lose some poundage, ordered the solomillo fish.
The cheese croquettas were good, it oozed with gladness and hints of blue cheese. However, we waited for the mayo herbed dip that came later. Thank God, the croquettas were served really hot, we can't bite until after we passed sometime catching up on what had happened lately with our lives. The soup was a bit salty and no amount of pepper could save it. Then my lamb stew was served. It was cooked in some iron pan and the tomato base sizzled as it was served to me. Oh how tender the lamb meat was, it almost melted in my mouth. I love the way it was cooked, the creaminess of the tomato sauce, the slices of potato, the garlic, bell pepper and other ingredients, all enhanced the distinct taste of the lamb. Had I not been watching my blood pressure lately, I would have ordered a cupful of rice and wipe away the stew sauce in the iron pan with rice. I was able to consume the served mashed potato in no time at all. That's how delightful this dish was.
Allan's solomillo fish tasted salty because of the generous capers put into the dish. Nonetheless, it tasted good and fresh. It was a truly refreshing meal especially with the lemonade drink that were squeezed fresh that I had. I did not check the cost of this meal. Allan collected the tab as it was his birthday treat.
We walked to the lobby side of Podium to get our coffee and dessert at UCC Vienna Cafe. We knew we could not eat more after the heavy dinner we just had. But we need to pass time and wait for Lani to be off her meeting. We settled to order the Velvet Coffee cake while Allan ordered the decaf coffee. I got myself a Havanna Blue soda. The Velvet Coffee cake was more mouse than cake. And we had a great time devouring the mini cake. It cake was as soft as the angel cake while the mouse tasted coffee cream. It was nicely presented and it never failed to give our thumbs up for a superb dessert.
I picked up Lani thereafter at the World Bank.
Allan's birthday is on September 7th but his schedule will be toxic he decided to treat me on the day before instead. It was a good coincidence as my wife will have a late video conference meeting in her office, hence, I'm free for the evening to dine away for Allan's birthday.
After a quick haircut at Ystilo Salon on my way home to pick up my car, I drove to Allan's flat in Valle Verde. You see, it's Thursday, my carless day, can't drive my car until after 7pm. Allan decided to try out Terry's Selection, a wine shop that's noted to serve sumptous meals in Podium. This was our first time at Terry's so Allan asked for the shop's specialties. We tried the fabled cheese croquettas, the pumpkin soup while I had lamb stew for my main course. Allan, in keeping with his stricter plans to lose some poundage, ordered the solomillo fish.
The cheese croquettas were good, it oozed with gladness and hints of blue cheese. However, we waited for the mayo herbed dip that came later. Thank God, the croquettas were served really hot, we can't bite until after we passed sometime catching up on what had happened lately with our lives. The soup was a bit salty and no amount of pepper could save it. Then my lamb stew was served. It was cooked in some iron pan and the tomato base sizzled as it was served to me. Oh how tender the lamb meat was, it almost melted in my mouth. I love the way it was cooked, the creaminess of the tomato sauce, the slices of potato, the garlic, bell pepper and other ingredients, all enhanced the distinct taste of the lamb. Had I not been watching my blood pressure lately, I would have ordered a cupful of rice and wipe away the stew sauce in the iron pan with rice. I was able to consume the served mashed potato in no time at all. That's how delightful this dish was.
Allan's solomillo fish tasted salty because of the generous capers put into the dish. Nonetheless, it tasted good and fresh. It was a truly refreshing meal especially with the lemonade drink that were squeezed fresh that I had. I did not check the cost of this meal. Allan collected the tab as it was his birthday treat.
We walked to the lobby side of Podium to get our coffee and dessert at UCC Vienna Cafe. We knew we could not eat more after the heavy dinner we just had. But we need to pass time and wait for Lani to be off her meeting. We settled to order the Velvet Coffee cake while Allan ordered the decaf coffee. I got myself a Havanna Blue soda. The Velvet Coffee cake was more mouse than cake. And we had a great time devouring the mini cake. It cake was as soft as the angel cake while the mouse tasted coffee cream. It was nicely presented and it never failed to give our thumbs up for a superb dessert.
I picked up Lani thereafter at the World Bank.
Suzukin & Cheesecake Melliza
It was a quite Thursday morning. Just one uneventful day at the office. Maidette went on a personal errand to fetch the TMX toy for her son, while Mimi was out on leave. That left me, Gentley and Chay as lunch buddies for the day.
We all love cheap and good food. Hence, today, although we originally planned for Fat Micheals to try out for lunch, we decided against it becuase our group was not complete. Instead, we wanted to be adventurous and eat at Suzukin.
Suzukin is a little known Japanese kitchenette in the area of Makati. It used to be the unique hole in the wall type of dining place, where good, authentic japanese cuisine is served day-in, day-out. I've known the place since 1995 when my friends from La Salle introduced me to this place, and since then, I have been a diner on occassions. Gentley has also been a patron for quite some time now. He claims to have admired a pretty waitress in the place, sometime ago.
Anyways, we all ordered the lunch specials. It included a soup bowl of japanese miso, shrimp tempura, chicken tonkatsu, tuna steak, pork teriaki, bean sprouts and dilis on the side. It's like a sampler of certain japanese cuisine that's adapted to filipino pallets.
The miso soup, according to Gentley, traced its origins to provincial japanese cooking. It included cubes of tufo, eggplant cutlets, hints of nori and the miso. It tasted good and everyone seemed to be agreement. I traded my chicken with Gentley's tuna steak and I had one good meal of the day. I finished early the bowl of rice and downed in no time, the bottle of soda that I ordered, as well.
We casually talked about the bickering in Couples For Christ and how certain christians behave - seemingly becoming more self-righteous than their catholic brothers. Gentley talked about the indoctrination in Iglesia ni Cristo, whereby, it was taught that in the end of days, its members are taught to rush to their churches or temples, as literally, it becomes a spaceship and will fly the devouts to heaven. In fact, the spires architecture of the Iglesia churches have a reason - in the end of days, these spires are supposed to pierce through whatever may hinder, block or stop the churches from flying through the heavens. I was dumbfounded, I never realized that the Iglesia's were taught this doctrine of flying churches.
Then we talked about ghosts and spirits. Everyone seemed to agree that ghosts and spirits are real and nothing but manifestations of the devil himself. However, Chay respected the fact the dwarves and spirits are there but could not harm human beings provided you are strong in your faith. Then we talked about life after death. Chay and Gentley were in agreement that a man's soul leaves the body, right after death and goes directly to either heaven or hell. I seemed to disagree on this. To me, there is life after death. However, the soul or spirit, does not get judged and face God, not until the end of days or Judgment Day. Hence, the heaven and hell thingy does not happen until the judgment day comes. Chay will not believe that at some point, the soul or spirit will be left in limbo. She planned to consult her christian friends on this one.
Anyways, we settled our bill and I paid Php125.00 for my meal. We left for Cheesecake Melliza, a pastry shop some two blocks away. Gentley was delightful enough to treat us for desserts.
Cheesecake Melliza has a wide assortments of cheesecakes and pastries. However, we ordered the Caramel Walnut Cheesecake, Blueberry Cheesecake and the Triple Chocolate Cheesecake. Alvin was invited by Gentley to join us for desserts. Of the three cheesecakes we tried, I liked the Caramel Walnut the most. It was creamy to the taste and easy on the pallet. It didn't hit me like those cheesecakes with soury taste when the creamcheese gets heated in the oven and mixed with sourcream.
It was a beautiful ending to our lunch escapade for the day.
We all love cheap and good food. Hence, today, although we originally planned for Fat Micheals to try out for lunch, we decided against it becuase our group was not complete. Instead, we wanted to be adventurous and eat at Suzukin.
Suzukin is a little known Japanese kitchenette in the area of Makati. It used to be the unique hole in the wall type of dining place, where good, authentic japanese cuisine is served day-in, day-out. I've known the place since 1995 when my friends from La Salle introduced me to this place, and since then, I have been a diner on occassions. Gentley has also been a patron for quite some time now. He claims to have admired a pretty waitress in the place, sometime ago.
Anyways, we all ordered the lunch specials. It included a soup bowl of japanese miso, shrimp tempura, chicken tonkatsu, tuna steak, pork teriaki, bean sprouts and dilis on the side. It's like a sampler of certain japanese cuisine that's adapted to filipino pallets.
The miso soup, according to Gentley, traced its origins to provincial japanese cooking. It included cubes of tufo, eggplant cutlets, hints of nori and the miso. It tasted good and everyone seemed to be agreement. I traded my chicken with Gentley's tuna steak and I had one good meal of the day. I finished early the bowl of rice and downed in no time, the bottle of soda that I ordered, as well.
We casually talked about the bickering in Couples For Christ and how certain christians behave - seemingly becoming more self-righteous than their catholic brothers. Gentley talked about the indoctrination in Iglesia ni Cristo, whereby, it was taught that in the end of days, its members are taught to rush to their churches or temples, as literally, it becomes a spaceship and will fly the devouts to heaven. In fact, the spires architecture of the Iglesia churches have a reason - in the end of days, these spires are supposed to pierce through whatever may hinder, block or stop the churches from flying through the heavens. I was dumbfounded, I never realized that the Iglesia's were taught this doctrine of flying churches.
Then we talked about ghosts and spirits. Everyone seemed to agree that ghosts and spirits are real and nothing but manifestations of the devil himself. However, Chay respected the fact the dwarves and spirits are there but could not harm human beings provided you are strong in your faith. Then we talked about life after death. Chay and Gentley were in agreement that a man's soul leaves the body, right after death and goes directly to either heaven or hell. I seemed to disagree on this. To me, there is life after death. However, the soul or spirit, does not get judged and face God, not until the end of days or Judgment Day. Hence, the heaven and hell thingy does not happen until the judgment day comes. Chay will not believe that at some point, the soul or spirit will be left in limbo. She planned to consult her christian friends on this one.
Anyways, we settled our bill and I paid Php125.00 for my meal. We left for Cheesecake Melliza, a pastry shop some two blocks away. Gentley was delightful enough to treat us for desserts.
Cheesecake Melliza has a wide assortments of cheesecakes and pastries. However, we ordered the Caramel Walnut Cheesecake, Blueberry Cheesecake and the Triple Chocolate Cheesecake. Alvin was invited by Gentley to join us for desserts. Of the three cheesecakes we tried, I liked the Caramel Walnut the most. It was creamy to the taste and easy on the pallet. It didn't hit me like those cheesecakes with soury taste when the creamcheese gets heated in the oven and mixed with sourcream.
It was a beautiful ending to our lunch escapade for the day.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Luk Yuen
Maidette had some purchases to make at Babyland, hence, our choice of lunch place came back to Glorietta. After going through the list of places to eat, where Mimi voted off the suggestion of Wok Inn, we settled on having lunch at Luk Yuen.
Luk Yuen is one of those chinese noodle houses that started way back in the early 80s. Its quite known for its noodle dishes, congee, taro puff and some dimsum. However, it was not able to differiate a lot its offers from other noddle places like Hap Chan, North Park or Mann Hann. While North Park continued its expansion and re-invention, Luk Yuen seemed on the verge of folding up with only few dining places that's left in operation.
Mimi did not want to order for the group today. She wanted to have her own food, that of her liking. She was traumatized by the kind of pasta that was served the other day in Pizza Hut Bistro, which was not to her liking.
Me, I ordered for myself the lapu-lapu fillet in bitter gourd rice. While for dessert, I had momo chacha, some kind of sweetened rice porridge with lots of yams, tapioca and coconut milk.
The lapu-lapu fillet was cooked crisp and served with generous amount of rice, slices of bitter gourd with black bean sauce. The black bean sauce lent a lot of its flavor to the fish and the rice. In no time, I was able to consume it all. Maybe, I was hungry as well. Maidette had offered her siopao - asado to the group, as well as her taro puff. But I was excited to have my momo chacha more than anything. It came hot from the kitchen this time. The porridge was thick with lots of purple and sweet yam. The ground rice which we call "galapong" in the local dialect, was rolled in egg shapes and colored red, green and yellow. When Maidette saw it, she asked for asked to get one. I am not a fun of "galapongs", especially when its rolled into shapes, I liked it added as is in the porridge, unprocessed. Maidette loved it a lot and Gentley was tempted to get the other "galapong". In the end, Gentley had the other one that left on my plate.
We paid Php200.00 each, as well for this meal today. Still, really cheap. Maidette went out to Babyland to shop for some blankets, diapers and flanel sheets for her sister in Canada who is about to deliver her baby. I went to scour the shops for a decent desktop picture holder for a gift to Allan. He will celebrate his birthday this coming Friday, September 7th, and I have not thought of anything better to give. I know, he was building up his picture frame collection, I might as well add a piece. Hopefully, it gets his appreciation.
We were driven by Alvin today to Glorietta, me, Chay, Mimi, Gentley and Maidette.
Luk Yuen is one of those chinese noodle houses that started way back in the early 80s. Its quite known for its noodle dishes, congee, taro puff and some dimsum. However, it was not able to differiate a lot its offers from other noddle places like Hap Chan, North Park or Mann Hann. While North Park continued its expansion and re-invention, Luk Yuen seemed on the verge of folding up with only few dining places that's left in operation.
Mimi did not want to order for the group today. She wanted to have her own food, that of her liking. She was traumatized by the kind of pasta that was served the other day in Pizza Hut Bistro, which was not to her liking.
Me, I ordered for myself the lapu-lapu fillet in bitter gourd rice. While for dessert, I had momo chacha, some kind of sweetened rice porridge with lots of yams, tapioca and coconut milk.
The lapu-lapu fillet was cooked crisp and served with generous amount of rice, slices of bitter gourd with black bean sauce. The black bean sauce lent a lot of its flavor to the fish and the rice. In no time, I was able to consume it all. Maybe, I was hungry as well. Maidette had offered her siopao - asado to the group, as well as her taro puff. But I was excited to have my momo chacha more than anything. It came hot from the kitchen this time. The porridge was thick with lots of purple and sweet yam. The ground rice which we call "galapong" in the local dialect, was rolled in egg shapes and colored red, green and yellow. When Maidette saw it, she asked for asked to get one. I am not a fun of "galapongs", especially when its rolled into shapes, I liked it added as is in the porridge, unprocessed. Maidette loved it a lot and Gentley was tempted to get the other "galapong". In the end, Gentley had the other one that left on my plate.
We paid Php200.00 each, as well for this meal today. Still, really cheap. Maidette went out to Babyland to shop for some blankets, diapers and flanel sheets for her sister in Canada who is about to deliver her baby. I went to scour the shops for a decent desktop picture holder for a gift to Allan. He will celebrate his birthday this coming Friday, September 7th, and I have not thought of anything better to give. I know, he was building up his picture frame collection, I might as well add a piece. Hopefully, it gets his appreciation.
We were driven by Alvin today to Glorietta, me, Chay, Mimi, Gentley and Maidette.
Pizza Hut Bistro
We could not agree where to eat to today. Although, Gentley was kind enough to drive us to Glorietta as Mimi and Chay have some shopping to do at Shoemart.
Along the way, we settled to come back to Pizza Hut Bistro. Well, it has only been me and Gentley who had tried the place. Mimi, Chay and Maidette have seen place but did not have the opportunity to actually try out the new Pizza Hut concept restaurant.
Maidette had only begun her reading of the Harry Potter book - the Deathly Hallows. She's tugging along the book, and would continue to read even in the hallways, in the car and even in the restaurant. She was oblivious of the noise, the conversations in the table but would only stop and ask about what's the thing we laughed about when she couldn't resist the temptation. I know, the true Harry Potter fanatic would even postpone sleep just to get to the last part of the book and these people refused to listen or read about the reviews and spoilers that came out. Good thing, the mania had started to wane.
We went through the entire menu of Pizza Hut, and Mimi and Chay have some favorites. However, I chanced upon the promo of group dining, where a certain menu of Ceasar salad, pasta, Pizza and soda - good for a group of 4 people can be had for Php699.00. It was glad to know from Marilyn, our waitress, that we can actually substitute the pizza flavor by anything that we choose from the menu. It was not a hard sell to the group, we settled for the group menu offering.
Gentley suggested to change the cheesy pops pizza to a seafood pizza. No one objected. I wanted to try out their steak french fries, as an additional appetizer and we had it. The fries came in some mustard, ranch flavored dip and everyone liked it. The Ceasar salad was not as good. The dressing was a little bit too much while the lettuce was not fresh anymore. The cheesy pops seafood pizza came. Oh, I love the cheesy pops. It came with two cheeses, the mozzarella and cheddar and it literally pops in your mouth when you take a bite off it. The seafood flavor though wasn't a hit. The pizza tasted more sweet and flavorful. I think it was the shrimp and crabstick that lend more its flavor than the cheese base. Besides, the pizza wasn't prepared with the usual tomato sauce base. Other than its sweet taste, the pizza was ok.
What came out most disappointing was the spaghetti pasta. It just didn't taste right. Since there were two platefuls of pasta, barely less than one half of one plate was touched. We have to have it wrapped, the leftover pasta, as no one cared to touch it anymore.
We contemplated on having our dessert. We joked about how much our bill would be. We often see on the computer screen a very similar amount of billing to what we think our food should cost, and this made us hesitant to buy any more dessert. In the end, no one objected as I ordered the dessert sampler. The dessert sampler is a combination of panna cotta, the lava cake and brownie ala mode. Every one had their opinion on the lava cake and we agreed this lava cake could not hold a candle flame to Global Cafe's lava cake that oozes with chocolate and melts in your month texture.
Nonetheless, the panna cotta had some mixed reviews. Maidette loved it while most of the group did not like the idea the the panna cotta was not a jello like. It bordered on being a harder refrigator cake, more ice cream like than soft and gelatinous. The brownie ala mode was more ice cream and it melted as no one cared to try it that much.
Anyways, we only paid Php200.00 each for this meal. Really cheap lunch indeed.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Brother's Burger
Maidette was M.I.A. for lunch today. Chay begged off to attend a cooking class with Heny Sison in Quezon City while Gentley did not report for work. Rene also, picked up earlier, his lunch for the day. That leaves me and Mimi as lunch buddies for the day.
We decided to eat at some place near the office. I mentioned Max's Restuarant and she was ok with the place. We walked to Convergy's for our lunch. We were badly disappointed to see a long queue of diners on the outside of the restaurant, patiently waiting for a table to clear. I was not in the mood to wait nor did Mimi. I suggested we take Brother's Burger instead.
Althought, it was against my stricter healthy diet, I thought, one meal would not hurt my cholesterol by as much. So I ordered by Big Brother's Burger, Onion Rings and a glass of lemonade. I am not a big burger fan but Brother's burgers are a class of their own. McDonald's Big Mac pales in comparison this Rolls Royce of burgers in the Philippines. The burgers are just plain good to eat, freshly broiled, slightly burnt on the outside with juices packed in the inside of the meat. Maybe its the sheer thickness of the burger patties because the patties here in Brothers are nowhere near thin like their lesser known cousins in McDonalds and Burger King. And the store has this certified black angus beef burger, imagine that. But Brother's is not for kids at all. All burgers are at least in the range of Php100.00 which is quite steep when compared with the burger meal version of the other chains that included already some soda and french fries.
I don't feel short-changed at all when dining at Brother's Burger. Whenever, I'm at it, I always order on the side the fabled onion rings which are crisp on the outside and sweet and juicy on the inside. And if you feel there's some space left in your stomach, the choco ice cream is to die for. It's formulated especially for Brother's Burger and made by a local firm that market's its own brand, Arce Dairy.
I had this conversation with Mimi where she asked for suggestions on OrgDev programs suited to her client that wants a management activity for one night only. I suggested the concept of having a chef invited in to their party, while the mancom participants would help in their appetizer and cocktail drinks preparation. Having a common activity lets the mancom members to bond and talk about non-work ideas and things. Mimi had other ideas such as video singing, playing poker, reverse role playing which I voted off all out. In the end, she was sold on my suggestion but needs to coordinate with Antonio's in Tagaytay City because that's where the venue would be.
My lunch cost me Php213.00 and we went back to the office thereafter.
Marina Seafood Restaurant
Although its midnight madness sale in Glorietta, we braved the flock of shoppers that normally trooped to the malls at this time. Indeed, people came in droves and it became a happy please to be.
We never had a plan for a restaurant today. Along the way, Mimi suggested to try out the Isabella's Chicken at Chicken Inasal. This chicken is a product of a telenovela (soap opera) on local television about a certain chicken recipe that's stolen from its rightful creator and marketed in a successful chain of restaurant by the stealer. That's how powerful television is in the Philippines, it can prompt people to do things, even try out some chicken preparation. I was glad Chay was not happy at all with Chicken Inasal. She prefers the other Bacolodian chain, Chicken Bacolod. Apparently, these two chains have different recipes for their flame broiled chicken in yellow sauce.
We compromised on Marina Seafood Restaurant. This is a filipino restaurant that serves seafood like yellow fin tuna, squid, shrimps, crabs, clams and others. Of course, one can still order such food as chicken, pork or beef in various preparations. Marina is a great place for value for money dining and its seafood is always fresh.
We ordered the sinigang na ulo ng maya-maya (stew of fish head - soured with tamarind), grilled tuna belly, grilled aubergrine salad, and adobong kangkong (water spinach). The sinigang na maya-maya was soured to perfection. The soup was steamy hot where leeks of string beans, slices of raddish, aubergrine, onions and tomatoes. The fish tasted good and fresh. The tuna belly was truly a headliner. It was juicy on the inside that came great with the local lime dip with soy sauce and lots and lots of hot, hot chili peppers. The salad was as appetizing as it looked on their menu. Grilling the aubergrine lends it a distint aroma that sizzles in the mouth when combined with julienned tomatoes and white, sweet onions. The fish sauce that came with it was a delight as well.
We had a wonderful lunch and we paid Php210.00 each for our meal. We lingered for a couple of minutes inside Glorietta trying to window shop on the on-going sale of midnight madness. If clothes where a need, a lot of choices can be had scowering through the shops that priced down its goods to as much as 70% reduction. Me, Gentley, Mimi and Chay all went back to the office thereafter with Alvin driving the van.
The Soup Kitchen
It was a late lunch and Maidette wanted to hit the department stores of Shoemart and Landmark to shop for her choir outfit. This decided it all, we need to be in Glorietta for our lunch.
Maidette is a member of Couples for Christ and they have a planned "Praise and Worship" this coming Friday in a church in BF Homes. She has been practicing with the choir as one of the participants who will lead the service that night. She was kind enough to extend an invitation to all of us in the office to come and witness and have fun and the praise and worship service. They are not calling it concert, for it it lose its banality in being in communion with God, but rather a service wherein, it not only the choir that sings, but rather the entire congregation as well, in glorifying God.
I begged off from going to the south on a Friday, as traffic will be terrible and I believe, Mimi will not be able to make it as well. Chay does live in the same village as Maidette, but she is sure to miss it as well. Gentley is not positioned to be there either, more so with Rene who lives in the opposite director, way up north in Marikina. We talked about what sort of shirt does Maidette hunt for as a costume. She mentioned some shade of orange, be it Ponkan, salmon, crimsom, afternoon sky or oranged orange. As color blind as a cow, I cannot seem to fathom the depth of the discussion on color shades of orange.
Maidette decided to skip lunch altogether to devout more time for shopping on the right outfit. That leaved me, Mimi and Chay to go on for lunch. As I was on a healthy diet nowadays, we settled for The Soup Kitchen, instead. The Soup Kitchen serves nothing but soup. Of course, an assortments of bread with butter, or sandwiches in ham, chicken or tuna go with it. Dessert fares like tiramisu, pastries and fresh fruits also are a staple.
I got myself a Clam Chowder soup and a tuna sandwich. Clam Chowder is always a heartly meal and it was a cold day, I needed something comforting. The Soup Kitchen have better than ordinary soups. You can never go wrong on any of their soups, be it the Mexican, Italian or pure western type of soup, it sure will delight the diner in you. As a simple meal, I paid Php135.00 for my half soup and sandwich. Really as steal for lunch.
Alvin did the driving to and from the mall for us.
Maidette is a member of Couples for Christ and they have a planned "Praise and Worship" this coming Friday in a church in BF Homes. She has been practicing with the choir as one of the participants who will lead the service that night. She was kind enough to extend an invitation to all of us in the office to come and witness and have fun and the praise and worship service. They are not calling it concert, for it it lose its banality in being in communion with God, but rather a service wherein, it not only the choir that sings, but rather the entire congregation as well, in glorifying God.
I begged off from going to the south on a Friday, as traffic will be terrible and I believe, Mimi will not be able to make it as well. Chay does live in the same village as Maidette, but she is sure to miss it as well. Gentley is not positioned to be there either, more so with Rene who lives in the opposite director, way up north in Marikina. We talked about what sort of shirt does Maidette hunt for as a costume. She mentioned some shade of orange, be it Ponkan, salmon, crimsom, afternoon sky or oranged orange. As color blind as a cow, I cannot seem to fathom the depth of the discussion on color shades of orange.
Maidette decided to skip lunch altogether to devout more time for shopping on the right outfit. That leaved me, Mimi and Chay to go on for lunch. As I was on a healthy diet nowadays, we settled for The Soup Kitchen, instead. The Soup Kitchen serves nothing but soup. Of course, an assortments of bread with butter, or sandwiches in ham, chicken or tuna go with it. Dessert fares like tiramisu, pastries and fresh fruits also are a staple.
I got myself a Clam Chowder soup and a tuna sandwich. Clam Chowder is always a heartly meal and it was a cold day, I needed something comforting. The Soup Kitchen have better than ordinary soups. You can never go wrong on any of their soups, be it the Mexican, Italian or pure western type of soup, it sure will delight the diner in you. As a simple meal, I paid Php135.00 for my half soup and sandwich. Really as steal for lunch.
Alvin did the driving to and from the mall for us.
Banana Leaf
I missed the conversation topics for this day as I was remiss in blogging on time. I know, most of the conversation were centered on PIM II problems in the office as it began UAT with US Foods.
The group that went to lunch included Mimi, Maidette, Chay, Rene, Gentley and me. We chose Rockwell Center as it's been a while since we last had our lunch there. And I know for a fact, that Mimi will go shopping for her costume dress for their upcoming Maryknoll reunion sometime early September, hence, the choice of Rockwell.
While we were strolling towards Banana Leaf, I saw this red and yellow bread in The Kitchen. The Kitchen is a gourmet shop that sells deli, cheeses, spreads and breads. The red and yellow bread is a reminder of our youth. Bakers don't make these nowadays. While I gawked at my new find, everyone went to crowd around me and imagined the good ole days with this bread. I was hesitant to buy one, although, I really like to have one, as it's priced overly expensive. A bag of the duo bread, in red and yellow, would cost Php70.00. Little did we know that Maidette had purchased a bag as she loved the bread so much she just can't help herself not to buy one now.
Maidette had opened the bag and shared the bread with everyone. We agreed, the bread tasted great and very much like what it used to be. It's like the comfort food of youth and almost heaven. We do remember how we used to run to a neighborhood shop or baker to purchase one, and it was so cheap way back then. We emptied half of the bread in the bag as we settle in Banana Leaf.
Banana Leaf is an Asian Cafe. It serves curry dishes, both Singaporean & Malaysian dishes, all influenced by its Indian heritage. Naturally, most of its offerings are on the spicy side. The roti channai is always the favorite together with an order of any of its chicken, beef or seafood curry. Today we ordered the steamed hainanese chicken, the beef curry, the adobong kangkong (water spinach), the yangchow fried rice and the roti channai. I had the sweet lemon grass tea to complement my meal.
The hainanese chicken is served with dips of ginger, hoisen sauce and soy sauce. As an unadulterated cuisine, meaning, the chicken is steamed by itself with no more than ginger and shallots, it was easy to the pallete and enhanced when the chicken was freshly dressed. It tasted superbly and everyone seemed to agree. The beef curry, however, came with a lot of extenders. The curry sauce was good, but the beef was wanting. It came with a lot of sweet potato chunks just to volumize the serving. But, the curry sauce had another purpose, as the dip for the roti bread. No restaurant can seemed to bastardize the adobong kangkong as no matter how one cooked it, the kangkong will turn out well. It is so versatile as a vegetable and loaded with vitamins and nutrients too.
We had a good lunch, although, Gentley was half expecting to get the last round of order for roti channai. The kitchen was not able to deliver it on time, it was decided, it's not prudent to wait for it any longer. It costed me Php220.00 for that lunch.
While Mimi shopped for her dress, the rest of us went to Rustan's Supermarket. I went to purchase some fruits and carrots. I felt like my cholesterol's building up and pushing my blood pressure to abnormally high side, I need to go on a healthy diet. I got myself some Fuji Apples, Yellow Pears, Mandarin Ponkan Oranges and almost a kilo of bright orange carrots. I need to prepare some carrot-apple juice in the house soon.
Alvin drove us to lunch, as always.
The group that went to lunch included Mimi, Maidette, Chay, Rene, Gentley and me. We chose Rockwell Center as it's been a while since we last had our lunch there. And I know for a fact, that Mimi will go shopping for her costume dress for their upcoming Maryknoll reunion sometime early September, hence, the choice of Rockwell.
While we were strolling towards Banana Leaf, I saw this red and yellow bread in The Kitchen. The Kitchen is a gourmet shop that sells deli, cheeses, spreads and breads. The red and yellow bread is a reminder of our youth. Bakers don't make these nowadays. While I gawked at my new find, everyone went to crowd around me and imagined the good ole days with this bread. I was hesitant to buy one, although, I really like to have one, as it's priced overly expensive. A bag of the duo bread, in red and yellow, would cost Php70.00. Little did we know that Maidette had purchased a bag as she loved the bread so much she just can't help herself not to buy one now.
Maidette had opened the bag and shared the bread with everyone. We agreed, the bread tasted great and very much like what it used to be. It's like the comfort food of youth and almost heaven. We do remember how we used to run to a neighborhood shop or baker to purchase one, and it was so cheap way back then. We emptied half of the bread in the bag as we settle in Banana Leaf.
Banana Leaf is an Asian Cafe. It serves curry dishes, both Singaporean & Malaysian dishes, all influenced by its Indian heritage. Naturally, most of its offerings are on the spicy side. The roti channai is always the favorite together with an order of any of its chicken, beef or seafood curry. Today we ordered the steamed hainanese chicken, the beef curry, the adobong kangkong (water spinach), the yangchow fried rice and the roti channai. I had the sweet lemon grass tea to complement my meal.
The hainanese chicken is served with dips of ginger, hoisen sauce and soy sauce. As an unadulterated cuisine, meaning, the chicken is steamed by itself with no more than ginger and shallots, it was easy to the pallete and enhanced when the chicken was freshly dressed. It tasted superbly and everyone seemed to agree. The beef curry, however, came with a lot of extenders. The curry sauce was good, but the beef was wanting. It came with a lot of sweet potato chunks just to volumize the serving. But, the curry sauce had another purpose, as the dip for the roti bread. No restaurant can seemed to bastardize the adobong kangkong as no matter how one cooked it, the kangkong will turn out well. It is so versatile as a vegetable and loaded with vitamins and nutrients too.
We had a good lunch, although, Gentley was half expecting to get the last round of order for roti channai. The kitchen was not able to deliver it on time, it was decided, it's not prudent to wait for it any longer. It costed me Php220.00 for that lunch.
While Mimi shopped for her dress, the rest of us went to Rustan's Supermarket. I went to purchase some fruits and carrots. I felt like my cholesterol's building up and pushing my blood pressure to abnormally high side, I need to go on a healthy diet. I got myself some Fuji Apples, Yellow Pears, Mandarin Ponkan Oranges and almost a kilo of bright orange carrots. I need to prepare some carrot-apple juice in the house soon.
Alvin drove us to lunch, as always.
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