Java Jazz Coffee: A Review

During my impromptu Tagaytay trip with my boyfriend, our first choice of accommodation was Java Jazz Lodging House.  It is actually a coffee shop, Java Jazz Coffee, but they added a lodging house to accommodate tourist.  They only have 3 rooms available so by the time we were there, it was already fully booked.

This place was quite hard to find, although it is just located along the highway.  It is because their place is just small as well as their signage.  But good thing, their walls are painted in bright yellow.

Since Java Jazz Coffee's interiors were full of artworks / art gallery and museum type of ambiance, me and my boyfriend was encouraged to try out their food and of course their coffee after we looked for other available accommodation for this impromptu trip.

panoramic view of the art gallery

one of their seats

It was already late lunch, about past 1pm already.  There's only a couple dining in, so its a good thing that is not crowded.  We opted to seat on their somewhat Japanese style table with banig (traditional Filipino mat).   The other couple was just behind us at the same Japanese style table.  There's only 2 units of this type of table, so you can try it for a unique experience. 

Below are the food and drinks we ordered.  Apologies as I forgot each name and prices.  Maybe that's a good reason for me to go back ;)

This drink has a little liquor on it

Lechon Kawali.  Big serving of rice

I think this was the Cafe de Tagaytay. 

One of their pasta with cheese, beef and mushroom

I find their drinks interesting.  My boyfriend ordered for a drink that has a liquor on it.  It was too strong for me when I tasted it but for him it was ok.  His lunch for that day was the typical Filipino dish, Lechon Kawali.  The taste was ok according to him and the serving of rice was quite huge.

For myself, I ordered for a coffee since that was already almost snack time with pasta as my late lunch meal.  My pasta was good enough, nothing really special.  Their coffee, which I think was the Cafe de Tagaytay, was quite strong for me.  There's no milk nor creamer served together with it and I wasn't able to request for one.  So I just put more sugar to minimize the strong flavor of coffee.

Below were our orders for breakfast the next day. The place was still cozy and cool even when the sun is already heating up at around 9am.  This time, we just seated in the normal chairs and table.

Set breakfast: bacon, ham, scrambled egg, mixed vegetables and hash brown

Pandesal with cream cheese

Mango Juice

Hot Tsokolate Eh (without milk)

Our set breakfast was good enough for 2.  I like their hash brown as it is not too oily.  As for the rest, it was just so so.  I wish that they made the bacon crispier.  The serving size of the scrambled egg was too small.

The presentation of the pandesal with cream cheese was inviting but I got a bit disappointed when the cream cheese was spread to thinly onto the bread.  You wouldn't taste much of it.

For the drinks, my boyfriend's mango juice with ice cream was quite off for a breakfast meal but it taste refreshing.  I took the Hot Tsokolate Eh, which according to them simply means hot chocolate without milk.  Since I love chocolates, I enjoyed this hot drink.  It was thick and the chocolate or tablea is like in its purest form.  I remember I tasted the same when I was in Iloilo.  This comes in small serving as the thick chocolate is best consume just by a bit else you might get sick of it.  I think my hot chocolate is best partnered with the pandesal.

Overall, I enjoyed our food trip at Java Jazz Coffee.  I would love to go back and try out their other dishes, especially the coffee.  And maybe someday, I'll try sleeping over at their Lodging House.  If you love art or wanted to dine in a unique lay back style while hanging out with friends, then I would suggest this place.

Smokin' Hot BarBQ: A Review

I've seen Smokin' Hot BarBQ for quite sometime in Greenbelt 3 but it was only this weekend that my boyfriend and I tried it. With its name, it seems like an American restaurant so I expect it to be a bit pricey.  Besides it is located in a posh Greenbelt mall.  What's more, its part of The Bistro Group where their restaurants are known to be great tasting at the same time can be quite expensive.  But I was wrong.  I was surprised that Smokin' Hot BarBQ is a Filipino restaurant. And the prices? Very reasonable!

Their menu is complete from starters or appetizers, soup to desserts and even bar list.  A lot of famous Filipino dishes are listed on their menu like Sisig, Crispy Pata, Sinigang, Inihaw na Liempo and many others.  For appetizer, we got a hard time choosing from Kuhol sa Gata (Snail cooked in Coconut Milk), Nilasing na Hipon (Shrimp with Beer or marinated in beer) and Crispy Bacon Belly.  We opted for Kuhol sa Gata since we've been craving for it for the longgest time!

We found this Kuhol sa Gata very flavorful!  The spice from gata or coconut milk was just right.  The flesh from kuhol were quite big and almost all shells are not empty with it.  Serving size is good for 2-3 persons and price is only Php 215.  Now that's really value for money!

For the main dish, of course their specialty is barbeque!  I like how they have some kind of value meal but only to their chicken leg and tigh barbeque.  Good thing, my boyfriend loves chicken and as for me, leg and tigh are my favorite chicken part.  This value meal includes your choice of side dish (up to 3 choices) and your choice of number of chicken pieces.  We ordered for 2 pieces chicken with 1 side dish each.  But unfortunately, our server thought we ordered for 2 pieces chicken with 2 side dishes. 

Our choice of side dishes are Pancit Canton and Ensaladang Mangga with Bagoong (Green Mango salad with shrimp paste)

This combination was perfect.  We no longer needed to order for rice as the pancit canton replaces it.  We love the pancit canton, it was tasty.  It got even more flavorful upon putting some calamansi to it.  Serving size can be good for 2.  As for the ensaladang mangga, serving size was quite small but it really compliments the chicken barbeque.  The mangoes used were not so sour and the bagoong were not so salty.

And now for their specialty, the barbeque.  The chicken leg and tigh barbeque was cooked into perfection.  Normally, most grilled meats will leave you some portion burnt.  But not with their dish.  Meat was just right and quite juicy.  As for the taste, well of course it tasted like barbeque, nothing so spectacular.  I enjoyed my chicken when I put condiment on it.  I think that was barbeque sauce or some special soy sauce.  The serving size for this chicken leg and tigh combination is only good for 1 but my boyfriend and I managed to share this 2-piece chicken which already satisfies our hunger together with the other viands we ordered.  The price of this 2-piece chicken with 2 side dishes combination is only Php 385.  Not bad and can be good for sharing.

For the drinks, we just ordered for iced tea at Php 75.

Our total bill amounted to only Php 675.  And since I am a Premier card holder of The Bistro Group, I get further 20% discount on our total bill.  We only paid Php 588!  For me, that's already cheap considering its in Greenbelt!

I like how Smokin' Hot BarBQ has a value meal although its only for chicken leg and tigh barbeque. I thought it can already be a complete meal together with the side dishes.  Besides, it can be shared! I found that to be a very plus point for budget concious people like me. 

I will definitely go back and dine here at Smokin' Hot BarBQ to try on their other Filipino dishes.  I will also recommend this to friends and family, most especially to my brother who will be coming home to the Philippines soon.

Until next time, Smokin' Hot BarBQ!

You can check out their Facebook page for menu and other details

Free Dinner at Figaro

Best things in life are FREE!  Well, the dinner at Figaro we had was not really free.  I paid using the accumulated points I earned as being a Globe subscriber.  The 2012 points I earned has an expiry date, April 15.  So on the same day, I used up all my points (even my little 2013 points) so my boyfriend and I can enjoy a free meal at Figaro.

Figaro was one of Globe's partner in their My Rewards, My Globe program.  As a Globe subscriber, you will earn points everytime you use your Globe to either call, text, browse, etc.  I'm just not sure how many points for each usage.  There are a lot of available rewards with corresponding accumulated points to avail that reward.  It seems that Figaro is one of the most attractive reward since your 1 point is equivalent to Php 1.

This was only my third time to dine it at Figaro.  So I don't know what to order and I don't know which ones are their best sellers.  So we just got what we thought would make our tummy full.

Classic Pizza - Php 179

Butterscotch Vanilla with Coffee Jelly Frost (Php 155) and two iced tea (free from meals below)

Chicken Ala Kiev - Php 239

Chicken Provencal - Php 239

I find their chicken meal delicious.  You have a choice to what kind of pasta to come with it.  The Butterscotch Vanilla with Coffee Jelly Frost tastes more like Coffee Jelly, slight hint of Butterscotch Vanilla taste.  The pizza looks big on the picture.  I was surprised that it was just a little bigger than pizza hut's pan pizza size.  The taste was just so so.

The last two chicken meal are set menus with free iced tea.  Our total bill was Php 812.  My available points is only 645, so we paid for the balance of Php 167.  Not bad for a complete meal.

I'm looking forward to accumulating my points again with My Rewards. My Globe. so I can avail more of perks like this in the future.  Thanks Globe.

Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant: A Review

I seldom post a review on every restaurant I've been to. But lately, I find myself blogging about the delicious foods I've tasted to some nice restaurants I've eaten. Like this new Japanese Restaurant in the New Glorietta Mall, Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant. I think this is their second branch in the Philippines. The first one was in SM Mall of Asia.

When I heard about it last year, I wanted to try it out. Not because I am fond of Japanese foods but because of I wanted to try this restaurant brought to us by The Bistro Group here in the Philippines.  This is their first Japanese Restaurant.  I haven't tried all of the restaurants from Bistro Group but I know it will be worth it. Besides, I'd like to get myself their new Bistro Group Premier Card.

Finally, my sisters and I tried it out last week. We had an occasion to celebrate and it was my treat. So it is me who suggested this place. My other sister has already tried eating here and she told me that the foods are ok and the prices are quite cheap.

While we're still undecided on what to order, our server, Jopet, suggested that we have an appetizer first. He suggested the Watami Salad. My other sister, on the other hand, told us to order Green Soy Bean. She has the same soy bean cooked at her home by herself. The soy beans can be bought in S & R. And so, we ordered both appetizers.

Unfortunately, when the salad came, we all tasted it immediately that I wasn't able to take picture of it. Anyway, I never tasted such delicious japanese salad! Well, I only know of kani salad in japanese foods. The Watami Salad have chicken strips, shrimps, tuna mayonnaise as dressing, corn, some fruits, nori sheets, tomtoes and crunchy greens. The serving size was big enough good to be shared, although they also serve half size of this for single serve or for couples.  Cost is Php 350.

Green Soy Bean - Php 95

Another appetizer was the Green Soy Bean. At first glance, it may seem like Baguio Beans only a bit bigger. But be wary. The outer part is not edible. Since my sister cooks this at her home, she said that this bean is boiled until cooked. Then salt is sprinkled and tossed to make it tasty. The way to eat this is either peel off the outer greens or suck it to pop the bean out. It's better to suck it as you also get to taste its saltyness. The bean tastes like peanut only a bit softer but still crunchy. This is also a great healthy snack but may not be suitable to those with high uric.

Self Grilled Short Ribs - Php 295

Next on our menu was the Self Grilled Short Ribs.  In the menu, the meat looks big.  Well maybe because that was still raw.  It shrunk when cooked.  My sister opted for a medium rare meat.  I wonder how it was termed "self grilled" when it was not us who grilled it.  There's no grilling stove in our table.  Maybe in some, but I'm not really sure.  Anyway, the meat was tender and flavorful.  The bite size cut of the meat makes you want to eat more and more of this.  So this serving size is good for only 2 pax.

Pepper Beef Rice - Php 190

I ordered for the Pepper Beef Rice.  This is I think the cheapest main dish I saw from their menu.  It's not because of the price why I chose this, its because of the presence of the corn that invites me to try it.  The Pepper Beef Rice was served in a stone pot.  It has beef slices, rice and corn.  In my taste buds, it doesn't seem too "peppery" but my sister said it has too much pepper on it.  Well I guess my tolerance with pepper meals is quite high.  It is quite difficult to eat this meal thoroughly since it is served in a stone pot, the rice gets too hot and some burned so you have to mix it from time to time.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed my meal.

Assorted Salmon Sushi and Sashimi - Php 295

We also had Assorted Salmon Sushi and Sashimi.  Not a fan of raw foods and sashimi so sorry, I don't have anything to say about this :)  This dish contains 5 slices of Sashimi and 4 Sushi with 2 variants.  I like sushi but I wasn't able to try this.  My sisters and brother in law liked this so I guess it was a good dish too.

Stir Fried Udon with Seafood - Php 295

Lastly, my 2 sisters ordered for Stir Fried Udon with Seafood.  The serving size is quite small but is enough for single consumption.  The dish was flavorful.  The noodles was cooked just right.  Assorted seafoods were in this dish and a few meat/pork were included.

We also ordered for Assorted Tempura (Php 295) for take out for my father.  It contains 3 pieces of Tempura, eggplants, mushroom, fish and bell peppers.  I was able to taste it when I arrived home.  It was just so so, same tempura taste.  It doesn't seem delicious already as it already became soggy when I got home.  Maybe it was flavorful and enjoyable to eat when it was served hot.

The Bistro Group Premiere Card

Overall, the taste of all the dishes we ordered were flavorful.  I would love to go back here and try their other dishes from the menu.  And oh, by the way, I availed the Bistro Premier Card.  We were able to get 20% off from the total bill and they gave the Watami Salad for free.  For 5 adults and 1 kid, our total bill went only Php 1,800.  Not bad.

my sisters and nephew

By the way, I learned that it was National Siblings Day.  It's very timely that I had this sumptuous dinner with my sisters.  Only missing is my brother.  Well, my nephew (the boy on the right side), represents my brother although he was my sister's son.

Recipes by Cafe Metro: A Review

I had planned to celebrate my birthday at the Recipes by Cafe Metro in Greenbelt 3 last January with my family. But due to budget constraints, I didn't push through with it. Don't get me wrong. Food here isn't too expensive, about Php 200 per viand. It's just that upon reading some reviews, I found out that their serving size isn't that much, about 2 pax serving per viand. Considering the number in my family and based from calculations, there's a possibility that I might go over budget.

Anyway, last Tuesday, my boyfriend and I decided to celebrate our monthsary at Recipes. Since its just the two of us, we ordered only 2 viands, their best sellers: General's Chicken and Lechon Kawali with Kangkong. I read in blogs that Gising Gising and Crispy Tilapia are also the favorites. But unfortunately, we can't order a lot since it's only the two of us who will consume it.

General's Chicken

My boyfriend loves chicken. And so the General's Chicken captured his taste buds. The chicken fillet has breading and mixed with small slices of eggplant. The sauce was a bit of sweet and spicy. It seems like a simple dish but it was delicious. Serving size was just enough for 2.

Lechon Kawali with Kangkong

I was surprised with the Lechon Kawali with Kangkong. When it arrived, i thought, where's the sauce? I was looking for at least Mang Tomas sauce partnered with it. But when I spooned to get the meat, it has sauce already underneath with the Kangkong. The sauce was about quarter of the bowl but the meat didn't become soggy. The sauce seems like a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar but when I tasted it, it doesn't taste like it. Maybe a bit of soy sauce but less salty. Nevertheless, it compliments the Lechon Kawali. And with the Kangkong, this is already a complete meal! Serving size is also good for 2.

In my assessment, these 2 viands can be shared by at most 3 people. Well, maybe because both my boyfriend and I are thrifty viand eaters. We ordered another rice (a total of 3 cups of rice) just to consume these viands. Well i guess we just enjoyed the taste of the food. The only downside on these was the cost of rice. It's Php 38 and it's not even a standard size of cup for rice. And their softdrinks in can cost Php 50 each!

The Recipes at Greenbelt 3 is quite small. Although they have an al fresco area but one cannot smoke there. It was kinda humid inside the resturant that's why we prefer to be seated outside. Even though we're located outside., we're not neglected by the waiters and service was fast.

Recipes also offers set meal complete with rice and drinks for only Php 170. This is ideal for quick lunches of working people around the area. Their menu also have some cocktails and beer for those after office booze.

In my opinion, this restaurant is ideal if you are couple or in a small group. For big groups, this may already be expensive since I don't see a set menu from their list offered for large groups. Ordering a number of each viand (average of Php 200) might already be expensive in total.

Overall, I enjoyed eating at Recipes and I would want to go back to taste their other dishes. By the way, apologies for the pictures as I was only using a camera phone :)

Tapella by Gaudi at Greenbelt 5: A Valentine Dinner Review

It wasn't really a surprise when my boyfriend brought me to Tapella, a Spanish restaurant, in Greenbelt 5 for our Valentine dinner.  Few days before Valentine's day, we were scouting for nice and affordable restaurants in Greenbelt where we would have our Valentine's dinner.  Tapella was one of the choices.  My boyfriend had other choices too, not only in Greenbelt but also in other malls.  Well, Tapella won and he chose to have our first Valentine's date and dinner there.

We availed Tapella's Valentine set dinner with soup, salad, main course, dessert and wine.  There are two types of Valentine dinner; one is with pork spareribs and the other one with grilled shrimp. We chose the latter.

My boyfriend reserved a seat at the Al Fresco area. We then requested to be seated further, at the gardens.  The waiters were accommodating to give in to our request.  Table setting was very simple with just large paper that covers the table which serves as our "table cloth"  and adorned with a piece of rose as centerpiece. 

We arrived past 8pm, earlier than our scheduled 8:30pm reservation.  There were a lot of people eating at that restaurant at that time.  But I'm not sure if most availed their Valentine dinner package.  With these number of people, the service was slow.  Our first meal course was served at almost 9pm already. 

Purrusalda

First stop, the soup.  Purrusalda is a Basque tomato and leak soup according to the menu.  I liked the potato soup alhough it's just really plain potato taste, a bit creamy and buttery. Well, i love potatoes that's why I enjoyed it.

Tartar de Tomate

The tomato salad was full of diced tomatoes and a very few lettuce. It also have one slice of white cheese and one piece shrimp as garnishing on top. I didn't taste any dressing, maybe the juice from the tomato serves as its dressing.  The menu says it has walnuts but I don't think I have tasted one.  The serving size is quite little when it is suppose to be good for two. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this salad. Again, for the love of tomatoes.

After the soups and salads, we waited again for about 15 minutes for our main course to arrive.  It wasn't really irritating since my boyfriend and I both enjoyed their soup and salad.  Besides, the restaurant manager or maybe the owner was very apologetic and hands on to the customers.  He explained that there were a lot of orders due to a lot of customers dining in.  As a sign of his apology, he gave us another round of sparkling white wine.

Paella Manchego

One of the main dish was of course their paella. It is served in a small wok topped with grated cheese.  Their paella lacks ingredients the way I know a paella should have.  It only has 2 pieces of shrimps, about 3 chunks of chicken and bits of asparagus.  I wasn't even able to taste the chicken.  My boyfriend just told me it had one.  Well, I'm just not sure if this is just a variety of their paella.  But the rice was cooked nicely, though not so flavorful, I love how it blended well with the cheese.  Even though the serving of paella is quite small, it was enough for 2 and it got us full.  And again, since I love paella, I enjoyed this dish.  Halfway to our paella, the grilled shrimp arrived.

Longostinos a la Plancha

Interesting name for this grilled shrimp.  The menu says it comes with alioli dip but was served to us without it.  There were only 5 pieces of medium sized shrimp with crunchy vegetable sidings.  I love how the vegetables were cooked as it is buttery and crispy.  The grilled shrimp taste good too.  It no longer needs any condiments the way most Filipinos will do when eating shrimps.  So it's ok if the dip was not served but I wonder how it tasted. 

We're not yet done with our shrimp when our desserts arrive.  That was the only fastest serving we had that evening.

Tartar de Lava

I was hoping for a colder dessert like ice cream or fruits since I really got my stomach full from what we ate.  But they served a chocolate cake.  I thought it was just an ordinary cake.  Well, it does but I love the chocolate fudge spread around the cake.  It was still a little hot and of course it was sweet.  For those with sweet tooth, you will love this cake.  The sweetness of the cake really tones down our full belly.  The heart-shaped icing melts easily and with just right amount of sweetness.  It does not overpower the chocolate fudge.  The cake itself was just ordinary as if you were eating cake from Red Ribbon.  But still I enjoyed the cake.

For this Valentine dinner package, it costs Php 1,950 good for 2.  But my boyfriend paid around Php 2,200 inclusive of service charge.  I can say, it is quite expensive but not bad at all.  Our food may just be simple and tastes nothing spectacular but we still enjoyed it.  The restaurant is under the casual dining category but we experienced a somewhat fine dining ambiance minus the service as it was slow.  Well, we understand that since it was not an ordinary day.  Another plus points for me is that how the manager or owner treats it customers.  His visibility and courteousness is an attraction and will make you feel that you are a special customer.  I wonder if he frequents the restaurant or just for this day, Valentine's day.   

I would love to come back and try the other dishes in their menu.  Based on the menu, the prices are not that expensive.  Just reasonable, I guess, considering they're located in Greenbelt 5.  I'm just not sure though if they have other branches. 

Their Valentine dinner package is extended up to this day only.  So you still have your last chance to enjoy it.  You may visit their website for more details.

Eat All You Can at Chef d' Angelo

I've been seeing the Eat All You Can Promo of Chef d' Angelo since last year but it was only this week that I get to try it.  It was really cheap at only Php 150, you can already eat all the pasta, pizza, salad and soup all you want.  Add another Php 125 and you get an unlimited chicken as well.  The Php 150 is good enough.  But don't expect it to be fancy, besides Chef d' Angelo is considered to be fast/casual restaurant.

I'm not sure if they offer the same set of menu for the eat all you can promo everyday or different from time to time.  The time when I ate there, they have simple salad composed of lettuce, gelatin, tomatoes, cucumber, singkamas (I think), carrots and special dressing which is like a mix of vinaigrette and mustard, potato salad (more of like baby potatoes with sour cream dressing), mushroom soup. Hawaiian and another pizza (I forgot the name but it's just cheese and tomatoes as its toppings), pasta with choice of fettuccine and spaghetti noodles, pasta sauce with choice of white or red sauce.  The dishes were very simple but good enough to satisfy your cravings for pasta and pizza (like I do that night).  I tasted everything.  I had 2nd round of pasta, potatoes and pizza.  I am satisfied.  With just Php 150, I am already full.

Image courtesy of Chef d' Angelo's website

I checked out their website and they're offering Php 175 eat all you can same as mentioned above but this time with rice meal.  I'm not sure if it is still applicable to some stores but maybe I'll check it out this Friday in their SM San Lazaro branch.

Recipe of The Day

I can't recall where I got these recipes.  I just saw them in my old computer.  I cooked them this lunch and my dad liked it.  He even told me I looked like Chun-Li a.k.a. Kristin Kreuk while we're watching Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li during lunch.  He must have been blown away with the foods I cooked, haha!

Steamed Fish Fillet in Tausi Sauce

Marinade:
3 tbsp ginger juice (i just grated the ginger)
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp gin (i don't have this so i didn't put any to replace this)
350 g. fish fillet (i used dory fish fillet from sm)
*I marinate this while cooking the sauce

Sauce:
2 tbsp oil
3 slices ginger, shredded
1 stalk leeks, shredded
2 tbsp black beans, washed and strained
2 pieces dried chinese mushrooms, rehydrated in hot water then shredded
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp gin (again, i don't have this)
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp white pepper

Topping:
1/4 cup corn oil (i only used ordinary oil. i'm not sure if there'll be difference in taste when used this)
1/4 cup chopped garlic
1 stalk leeks, shredded
1/2 piece red bell pepper, shredded
1 sprig cilantro

1. saute ginger and leeks in oil. then add the rest of the ingredients for the sauce.
2. season with sugar, light soy sauce and white pepper.
3. place on top of marinated fish and steam for about 10-15 mins. or until cooked.
4. discard the ginger and leeks (pero ako di ko na inalis, hehe).
5. for the topping, fry garlic in oil until golden brown. add in leeks and bell pepper, stir fry for a few minutes. top these over the fish and add cilantro for garnish.
6. serve at once

Eggplant with Pork

1. slice eggplant into 1-1/2 inch stick.
2. soak in salted water and let stand for few minutes.
3. fry in oil until half cooked.
4. using same oil, saute garlic, onion, tomatoes.
5. add kasim (sliced into strips) and pork broth (pork cube dissolve in water). simmer until pork is cooked.
6. add fried eggplants.
7. serve hot.


Enjoy!

Feeling Japanese and Chinese at The Same Time

It may sound like a good combination, but in food, it does. I had the following recipe cooked for our dinner last Friday. These are just very easy and quick recipe. I got the Tonkatsu recipe from my sister and the Broccoli in Sweet Chili and Hoisin Sauce was listed in my notebook of recipes. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of the finished product since I'm only using email to post in blogger. Anyway, let me know how it went should you want to try these recipes.

Tonkatsu

Porkchop

Flour

Egg (beaten)

Japanese Breadcrumbs

For the sauce:

Worcestershire sauce

Ketchup

Simply dip the porkchop in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Fry until golden brown. For the sauce, just mix together the worcestershire and ketchup equally. You may use tomato or banana ketchup depending on your taste.

Broccoli in Sweet Chili and Hoisin Sauce

Broccoli

Onions, sliced

Sweet chili sauce, about 1 tablespoon

Hoisin sauce, about 1 tablespoon

Fried garlic

Saute onion. Put in the broccoli. Add the sweet chili and hoisin sauce. Mix and cook until desired crispiness of the broccoli. Serve with fried garlic on top.

*For this recipe, you may also try other vegetables such as asparagus, kangkong or sitaw. It's best to make the veggies half cooked.

Bon Apetit!

Homemade Pizza

I got the idea of this recipe when one of our mountaineer companion cook this for us during our Mt. Romelo trip.  I find it very easy to do and very delicious!  I made some modifications on the recipe as we had chili con carne left over the other night.  So I used this as one of my toppings instead of plain ground beef.  Also, I used our mini oven instead of stove top in cooking this recipe.  Here's how I did it:

Ingredients:
Flour tortilla
Quick melt cheese (grated and/or sliced)
Cream cheese or cream cheese spread
Del Monte Italian Pizza Sauce
White onions
Green bell pepper
Left over Chili con Carne

*The last 3 ingredients are optional.  Since this is a pizza, you may create or choose any toppings you want.  The Chili con Carne recipe is very easy.  I got the recipe from the pack of McCormick Chili Con Carne mix.

Procedure:
1. Pre-heat oven.  You may already put the tortilla inside just to make it a little hot.  This will make the cheese more spreadable.  Once you think that the tortilla is hot, take out from oven and spread the cheeses.  Please take note that tortillas can get "harder" crust when stayed in oven or even stove top for too long.
2.  (Another option) When the oven is already hot, you may put the slices of cheese onto the tortilla and put in the oven until in slightly melts.  Take out from the oven and spread the cheeses.
3.  Spread the pizza sauce onto the tortilla.
4.  Put your toppings on the tortilla.  In my case, I put the chili con carne first then the onions then the bell pepper.  You may still add grated cheese on top like what I did (for the love of cheese!).
5.  If you want a hard crust pizza, you may put back the tortilla in the oven until the cheese completely melts.  Otherwise,  you can eat it as it is.  You may roll the tortilla and cut it in half to make bite size soft pizza roll.

Enjoy! :)

Good Friday Snack

I'm living up to my sacrifice of not eating meat today.  I had baked fish this lunch and now for snack, I had spaghetti in tomato and cheese sauce.  This recipe is very simple.  I wasn't able to get a picture of the "finished product" though.  I need not to use further seasoning as the gourmet sauce is already flavorful.

Spaghetti with Tomato and Cheese
(using Del Monte's Gourmet Sauces)

picture courtesy of www.delmontepacific.com

1.  Saute garlic, onion and tomatoes.
2.  Add canned tuna (or ground pork) without the water or oil.
3.  Add 1 pouch of Del Monte Tomato and Cheese Gourmet Sauce.
4.  Cook for about 5-10 minutes.
5.  Sprinkle Italian Seasoning if desired.
6.  Pour cooked spaghetti noodles (about 200g) onto the sauce and mix well.  Sprinkle grated cheese on top.  Serves 4.

*The cooking time of the sauce depends on you since you can still continue to cook it while pouring the noodles.  But make sure you lower the heat for it not to stick to the pan.

Enjoy!

Good Friday lunch

It is a practice to most Catholic Filipino to avoid eating meat on a Friday during Lenten Season.  This is part of the sacrifice one can make if they cannot do fasting.  I honestly can say that I have not been practicing this type of abstinence during the Lenten Season.  I always forget that meat should be avoided on a Friday.  And so this time, last Friday of Lent, I especially ensure that I will avoid eating meat.  I prepared this baked fish for our lunch today.  I got this recipe from http://homecookingrocks.com/

Baked fish with Cream Cheese and Mayo

1. season fish with salt and pepper.
2. fry fish, half cooked. put in paper towels to drain excess oil. set aside.
3. saute mixed veggies (corn, peas and carrots - yung frozen pack) in same oil. set aside.
4. mix softened cream cheese, mayonnaise and grated garlic (or minced garlic).
5. place fish and mixed veggies in baking dish.
6. spread the cream cheese/mayo mixture on top (and bottom) of fish.
7. bake for 10mins or until the top portion turns into light brown.


Enjoy!

Almost Free Meal

The best things in life are free.  But the second best thing is getting an item on sale or at a discounted price.  I was able to eat at Italianni's in Glorietta with a friend at half the price.  Since we are on a slightly tight budget, so we only ordered for a Tropicale pizza which cost Php 450 and no drinks, just water.  It already has 8 slices.  Divided to just the two of us will be enough for a snack.  Well, I think that was already my dinner.  4 slices each of pizza plus free servings of bread can really make your tummy full.  And how much did we pay?  Only Php 216!  It already includes the taxes and service charge.  So cheap isn't it?  Glad to have that coupon!  Unfortunately, only 1 coupon per transaction is allowed.  Since we used my friend's coupon to avail the discount, I can get to keep mine.  We'll be using it again maybe soon.  Good thing the coupon doesn't have any expiry ;)