Japanese Chicken Yakitori (Barbecue) Recipe

Ever since I started eating healthy and hitting the gym, my mind has been overly preoccupied with food. And even in my sleep, all I see is food, just like this one recurring dream I have of me binging on Japanese fare like sushi, katsudon, or yakitori. 😀 I always wake up disoriented, salivating, and craving for anything Japanese. This torture has to stop! And I have always believed that the only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it. Needless to say, I gave in. So one afternoon, I decided to prepare Japanese Chicken Yakitori for dinner.

Japanese Chicken Yakitori recipe from Certified Foodies

I used to have an obsessive addiction with Tokyo Tokyo’s Chicken Yakitori, until they decided to take it off their menu and replace it with Chicken Karaage, which I did NOT find hard to love as well. But it was truly overwhelming when I came across my long lost love, the Chicken Yakitori, once again at my previous work. They had a mean recipe for yakitori, so I made sure I learn it any way I could. So with that recipe at hand, I charged at our kitchen, only to be disappointed to find out that we’re missing most of the ingredients I need. But like any good chef, one must learn how to improvise and be resourceful.

The original recipe calls for mirin (Japanese rice wine) and rice wine vinegar. I boldly substituted the mirin with red wine, and the rice wine vinegar with the regular distilled vinegar. But I suggest that if you plan to substitute the mirin, use white wine instead, since it’s milder and sweeter.

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Have a Merry Cremas with Alaska Crema!

All year round, especially during the cold months of December and January, we find ourselves longing for some good ol’ comfort food. But not just any kind of comfort food, we crave for something rich, hearty, delectable and, most of the time, creamy. That’s why, they say, calories don’t count during the holidays. 😉

Merry Cremas Food Bazaar at Eastwood by Alaska Crema

We were invited as judges at the Merry Cremas Food Bazaar in Eastwood last month. Good thing it was a Sunday so Ken and I were able to go together.

We know, from personal experience, that there’s a wide range of dishes you can prepare using Alaska Crema all-purpose cream. We knew there’ll be a ton of desserts and pastries there, but we were really hoping to see more savory dishes. There were only a few who did. Thankfully, they were all quite successful with their dishes too along with the food purveyors who served desserts.

Red Velvet brownies

With that said, let’s begin with our top favorites from the Merry Cremas Food Bazaar in Eastwood. These might help you with recipe ideas for your celebrations or any holiday, especially for Noche Buena and Media Noche.

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Bizu Patisserie’s Christmas 2013 Collection

We may be weeks away from Christmas 2013 and New Year’s Eve, but you can still feel the holiday because of the cold weather we’re experiencing the past few days. And there’s Chinese New Year coming up. If you’re still in the mood for some foodie gift-giving, Bizu Patisserie’s Christmas 2013 collection of treats are still available for you and your loved ones.

Bizu Cheese Tarts

Bizu is well-known for their delectable pastries and their yearly holiday goodies. We blogged about them here and here. They usually have a theme, and for 2013, it’s Tchaikovsky’s Land of the Sweets (from The Nutcracker). You can check the list of their 2013 holiday collection below this post. Most of them are still sold at your favorite Bizu store, so make sure to inquire if there’s something you fancy.

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Bohol Bee Farm : a Foodie Haven

When we planned to travel to Bohol back in 2012 for our birthdays, Ken kept on insisting that we pick Bohol Bee Farm for our accommodation. He told me nonstop about how good their food was and that I’ll love our stay there. He was 100% spot on!

Our family of 3 at Bohol Bee Farm

What we love most about Bohol Bee Farm is they continue to stay true to what they are all about. They boast of using organic ingredients in preparing their dishes, which means no fertilizers, pesticides or anything harmful were used in their farming. Most of them are produced from their own farms, and right there at Bohol Bee Farm (read about our tour on Travelsilog -soon!). They highly support organic farming and, in turn, has given jobs to Boholanos, especially with their livelihood projects at the farm.

Bohol Bee Farm - a charming resort for you and your family

Since they were also planting their own herbs and vegetables, you can taste the freshness of the ingredients. And the food wasn’t just healthful, but quite good too.

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Brownies! Unlimited New Flavors and Brownie Chips : Your Kind of Brownies

If you’re looking for more foodie gifts for the holidays, here are our last minute recommendations: Brownies! Unlimited‘s new flavors and their addictive Brownie Chips. 🙂

Brownies Unlimited's wide range of flavors

First, let me tell you about their Brownie Chips. When we posted about the Brownie Brittle we recently got to try from Joe & Cherry, we found out (from a fellow foodie) that there’s actually a local version of it and it’s from Brownies! Unlimited.

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Pizza Hut Cheesy 7 : For a Merry Cheesemas!

If you’ve been following us on Instagram or Facebook, you probably already know how much we love pizza. One of the pizza joints we frequent is Pizza Hut. When we found out about Cheesy 7, their new pizza in time for Christmas, we knew we just had to try it.

Pizza Hut Cheesy 7 pizza

Last week, they sent us a box of Pizza Hut’s Cheesy 7 family-sized pizza. We couldn’t wait to devour the whole thing! 😀 We are true-blue cheese lovers, so imagine how excited we were to have a taste.

The pizza was named Cheesy 7 because it’s topped with 7 imported cheeses that will definitely make any cheese lover’s mouth water: mozzarella, parmesan, provolone, Monterey Jack, Romano, Cheddar and balls of cream cheese. *wipes drool* 😀

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Koko Buri : A (Future) One-Stop Restaurant for Foodies

Over a week ago, we were invited by Koko Buri in Bonifacio Global City to come and give their food a try. I don’t know what gave me the idea that they exclusively offer Korean food, but I was right to some degree. Their first branch was in Clark, Pampanga so “Koko Buri” roughly translates to “I like chicken,” a name so appropriate for it is their best-selling Korean-style fried chicken that skyrocketed them to fame.

Koko Buri Fried Chicken

A quick chat with their Branch Manager dismisses my first impressions. Koko Buri is not a Korean restaurant at all, but they do highlight a carefully planned Asian fusion menu, featuring only a select few of the BEST dishes from Asia and around the world.

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Beef Pochero Recipe

As you might already know, our nanay is an excellent cook that’s why we’ve been eating very well at home since we were little kids because she can whip up a delicious meal even with a meager budget during the time when she was the only breadwinner in our family (which was almost 20 years of my life, that’s why we love her so much 🙂 ). Her specialties are too many to mention, but there are some dishes that really stand out for me. Two of which are her Kare-Kare (we already shared the recipe here!) and Beef Pochero.

Beef Pochero recipe

Since Ken and I have been helping her with finances at home, we can now request for a repeat of some of her dishes as long as we provide the budget. 😀 Most of the time, though, she’ll just do it because she enjoys seeing us devouring (yes, that’s the appropriate word) her dishes. Now, she has another reason to cook her wonderful dishes – she loves sharing her recipes here on our food blog! Yay for all of us! 😀

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Harry Potter Fans, Get Your Butterbeer Fix at Starbucks!

Having read all 7 books, I could pretty much say I grew up with Harry Potter. It didn’t really bother me that I just borrowed all the books from my classmates and never really owned a single copy until I finally got into college. What frustrated me the most is the fact that there are a lot of magical food in Harry Potter I could never get a taste of in real life, and one of them is Butterbeer!

Butterbeer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

There’s no way I can rub elbows with witches and wizards at Hogsmeade while downing a glass of authentic Butterbeer, and the same thing goes to my chances of heading to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando to get a knockoff version of the drink any time soon. But I’ve recently discovered a secret that would finally put my Butterbeer cravings to rest! Baristas from Starbucks cracked the code to a perfectly yummy Butterbeer. It’s a secret recipe and they don’t have it on their menu, but they will be more than willing to whip it up for you if you just give them this recipe. Take note that this is only available during the holiday season because of the toffee nut syrup, so you still have time! 🙂

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Moist Chocolate Torte Recipe

I recently got myself a new Nikon D3200 DSLR. I have been very envious of my sister Mhel ever since she got her D3100. On the weekend that I got my camera, I had no idea what to take pictures of, so I decided to bake something to put our food photography skills to the test. I remembered we bought a packet of Hershey’s semi-sweet chocolate chips the last time we were at the supermarket. From then I knew just what to make with it — Moist Chocolate Torte.

Recipe for Moist Chocolate Torte

This is probably the simplest yet the yummiest cake that was taught to me by my pastry chef at the hotel where I previously worked. I recall eating all the leftovers by the kitchen sink, so I can easily pretend that I’m washing our kitchen tools because our executive chef is very sneaky. 😀 He’ll just pop out from nowhere the moment you’ve already put something in your mouth. I’ve been caught a couple of times, but never really got scolded for it. He knew I was always hungry. 😀

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