Featured Archives - Page 6 of 9

Cronut #1: Croughnuts by Dolcelatte

As soon as the cronut craze hit Manila, I got so curious to find out what the hype in New York was all about that I began listing all the places that offer their own version of this popular pastry, and it eventually led to my post on where you can buy cronuts here in the Metro which now has over 10 places listed (I think I’ve updated that post 4 times this week). I planned on how we’ll finally try most of them (we’re skipping a few) and concluded that the easiest local cronuts one can get hold of are Dolcelatte‘s.

So, over 2 weeks ago, I texted Dolcelatte. It was a Wednesday night and no one was answering their hotline. I think I was calling past 7pm. 😀 My friends Badeth and Joanne (my new food trip buddies!) wanted to have a taste too, so I listed all the flavors we all wanted and sent our orders through text. Early morning of Thursday, they called me up to confirm my orders and the time of the pickup – 5pm, Saturday, at their South Triangle branch along Quezon Avenue.

It was hassle-free. No need to wait in line for hours just to be disappointed when the store or restaurant runs out of stock. No need to prepay either. The thing is, if you’re pre-ordering, you have to order a box of 6 of Dolcelatte’s version of cronuts – they call them croughnuts. They do have stock they reserve for walk-in customers at Php 110 each. Pricey, I know. We suggest you split a box with a couple of your friends since you can all pick your own flavors anyway. 😉

Fast forward to Saturday, we hurriedly left our prior meetup to head on over to Dolcelatte. We thought people would be lined up, ready to take our croughnut orders if we’re not there on time. Silly me. 😀

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Fish Ball Sauce Recipe, Just Like Manong’s

There is no doubt we Filipinos love our street food. And if you ask me about my favorite, it’ll have to be fish balls (or fishball). Nothing beats eating fishballs off a stick, piping hot after you just skewered them off a street vendor’s deep-frying pan. But THE best part of it all is dipping them into their famous fishball sauce. YUM!

I’ve always been curious about this well-loved fishball sauce recipe. I studied in UP Diliman and I’m sure many of you have heard that we love eating fishballs there from Manongs who sell them across the campus. It was where I got hooked on the sweet sauce, and I then moved on to the spicy version. I noticed something. It seemed to me that wherever I go, even outside the campus, the taste of the fishball sauce of every Manong fishball vendor (yes, I call all of them manong) I met had the same taste. I wondered, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!? 😀

Over the past decade or so (ugh, I’m old), I’ve asked different vendors about their sauce. Most of them took wild guesses. There were a couple who refused to tell me anything, which, to me, was an indication they really had no idea, and some were so convinced they had the right recipe.

Of course, I tried to make them at home and failed three times (twice, I was adding vinegar). It was only in late 2004 that I learned the right recipe. The manong who sold fishballs at our home in Navotas told me about his fish ball sauce recipe. The thing is, I didn’t get to making it til a year later. It was too late for me to thank him because we already moved to Malabon, but I’m forever thankful. Charot! 😀 Continue reading Fish Ball Sauce Recipe, Just Like Manong’s

A Mesmerizing Dinner at Van Gogh is Bipolar with The Burp Society

Ever since we started this blog, we’ve had this insatiable thirst for a one-of-a-kind dining experience. I can count with one hand the number of restaurants that left me speechless, but they’re mostly just because of the flavors and the food. None of them had a significant effect on me both gastronomically and emotionally. I’ve never had that experience yet.Â Not until last June during The Burp Society‘s dinner meetup at Van Gogh is Bipolar by Jetro Rafael. I left that night with my heart filled with glee. 🙂

You most probably have heard of this place. The owner, Jetro, is an artist and has long been struggling with bipolar disorder. He discovered that changing his diet may play a big role in his healing. He cooked dishes with ingredients that made him happy, or at least improved his mood. It was his friends who encouraged him to share his mood-altering diet – he calls it the “Cuckoo Diet” – by opening up his own restaurant at Maginhawa Street. Here, he wants to continue celebrating his imperfections and embracing his flaws… something we should all learn to do. 🙂

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Red Sinigang with Del Monte Tomato Sauce

If there’s one Filipino dish I can bear to eat daily, it’ll have to be Sinigang. Our nanay has tried a variety of Sinigang – with seafood, pork or even chicken and beef (yes, she has tried all sorts of proteins with this dish). She has always cooked it the traditional way, but she was excited and welcomed the idea of adding a tasty twist to a classic dish – Sinigang with Del Monte Tomato Sauce.

Sinigang is a savory sour soup that we Filipinos love. The acidity may come from green mangoes, guava and, more widely used, tamarind (sampaloc). Pork, bangus or shrimps are the usual main ingredients, along with vegetables like kangkong (water spinach), okra, chili (siling haba/pang-sinigang), and onions. Our nanay also add slices of tomatoes to it, but we both haven’t encountered or tasted this dish with actual tomato sauce.

That’s until we found out about Del Monte’s Red Movement where they take classic Filipino dishes and add their famous, Filipino favorite tomato sauce into the mix. Some combinations may sound weird, but knowing the brand and the recipes they share through Del Monte Kitchenomics, we know they wouldn’t just come up with concoctions like the Red Bulalo or Red Pesang Bangus without actually testing and proving that adding tomato sauce to these dishes actually works. If you want the recipes for these other dishes, visit www.delmonte.ph.

If you’re aching to know how our nanay made her Del Monte Red Sinigang, read on.

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Go Bananas over Sugar Stop’s Minion Cupcakes!

The sold-out stock of collectible toy versions of these cuties, the nonstop posts from people who can’t seem to get enough of them and the thousands who lined up on the first week of Despicable Me 2‘s screening are clear indications of the minion mania here in the Philippines. Adults and kids alike LOVE them and couldn’t resist their cuteness, so it was just inevitable that edible versions of these minions will soon take over our newsfeed. On our top favorites are definitely Sugar Stop’s Minion Cupcakes.

If you’ve watched Despicable Me 1 and 2, you’d see how much more screen time the minions got in the sequel. Universal Pictures knew it, we all fell in love with the multi-lingual minions (yes, we paid attention 😀 ), so much so that people are now demanding for a movie featuring only the minions. Well, we think that’s a crazy idea, but let’s get back to the Minion Cupcakes by Sugar Stop.

We found out about them through Twitter. They sent us a tweet telling us to check out their minion cupcakes. Ken and I are both in love with these minions, so when I saw the photo, the first thought that came to me was, “How can anyone eat them?!?! They’re too darn cute!!”.

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Yabu : An Extraordinary Katsu Experience

When Yabu opened last year at Robinsons Magnolia, we initially weren’t that excited. We thought it’ll just be another hyped, overrated restaurant. We couldn’t be far more wrong. We were invited to the opening, but couldn’t come because of work. The anticipation started to build up when fellow foodies started raving about them. So, one weekend, we trouped to Robinsons Magnolia (which isn’t really accessible to us) to finally feed our curiosity (pun intended). 😉

Since they haven’t opened any other branches yet that’s closer to us (we’re looking forward to their SM North Edsa branch!!), we couldn’t dine in as much as we’d love to because their nearest branch is at SM Megamall. Commuting from Malabon to Ortigas is such a hassle because of the traffic, so it took us awhile before we had a chance to dine in again, finally, at their SM Mall of Asia branch about a week ago. They now have 4 branches and from the looks of it, they’re not slowing down.

Anyway, back to our Yabu katsu experience. If there’s one similarity I’ve noticed from restaurants that didn’t wow us, it’s the number of dishes on their menu. When I see that there are too many items on it, I somehow expect to be disappointed. I prefer to see a smaller menu because that means the restaurant gets to focus more on the quality and flavors of the dishes they serve rather than coming up with mediocre dishes while trying to please everyone.

And this is exactly why we fell in love with Yabu. Though they have other items on their menu, you know that they’re focused on one thing: to give you the best Katsu experience – consistently. With every slice and every bite, you’ll sense the technique and passion put in every katsu they serve. It’s no wonder people are coming back for more, hence the Katsu craze.

“Delicious is in the details. At Yabu, everything is prepared meticulously, and nothing is left to chance: from using Koshihikari, the finest japanese rice, to knowing the exact second of lifting the pork from the bubbling oil. Discover what makes our katsu better than the rest.” It’s no wonder since they claim to have learned the art of making the perfect katsu from Chef Kazuya Takeda, the head chef of a renowned tonkatsu restaurant in Tokyo.

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Xin Tian Di Chinese Restaurant at Crowne Plaza Manila

It’s been awhile since Ken and I last ate at a Chinese restaurant together. I think the last time was when we went on our DIY Binondo food tour (which we’ll be blogging about very soon!) last year. So when we were invited to check out Xin Tian Di restaurant at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, we gladly accepted.

Located on the fourth floor of the hotel, Xin Tian Di is Crowne Plaza’s signature Chinese restaurant. Aside from a menu of Chinese dishes, they also offer various Asian cuisines such as Indonesian, Singaporean, Szechuan and Nonya (Peranakan). Upon entering the restaurant, you’d feel the welcoming ambiance of the whole place, from their friendly staff up until their comfy chairs and tables.

I love the colors and the interiors altogether, offering a very warm atmosphere and good acoustics, making Xin Tian Di a perfect venue for business meetings or get-together with your friends or family.

Xin Tian Di Dim Sum Unlimited and Yum Cha

Before we go to what we had for dinner, let me tell you first about one of their famous offerings: unlimited dim sum.

Xin Tian Di’s Dim Sum Unlimited is available now during lunch (11:30am-2:30pm) where you get to choose from over fifty (50) dim sum for only Php 1,188 nett per person. The Dim Sum Unlimited menu includes appetizers, entrees and desserts, so you can enjoy a complete meal for that price.

And good news for all you morning people! Starting on July 14, 2013, that’s this Sunday, Xin Tian Di will start offering a breakfast edition of their unlimited dim sum – their Yum Cha promo, which will be available from 7am til 10am. For the price of Php 588++, you’d get to choose among 36 varieties of dim sum, and even includes rice, congee, noodle, dessert and house tea.

These are awesome deals you shouldn’t miss, especially if you feel like hoarding some dim sum over breakfast or lunch. 😉 Oh, and make sure to check out Deal Grocer since I’ve seen them offering deals there. A few months ago, I bought vouchers for dinner at 7 Corners (will blog soon!), Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila’s other restaurant.

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Krispy Kreme Speculoos Cookie Butter Doughnuts

With all the hype surrounding theÂ Cookie Butter these days (and it’s for good reason!), it was inevitable that people will start thinking of various ways of enjoying and sharing these heavenly cookie butter spreads. We’ve only had a chance to taste Biscoff‘s, and we’re still on a long queue of frantic foodies clamoring for a taste of Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie Butter, so we thought that our closest chance to finding out how it measures up to the other brand was withÂ Krispy Kreme’s Speculoos Cookie Butter Doughnuts.

We were at Ortigas last Monday and I insisted that we drop by the Krispy Kreme store in Robinsons Galleria. Sadly, they ran out of the Speculoos doughnuts (at 8pm, what was I thinking?! 😀 ), but I had no issues ending up with a dozen of Krispy Kreme’s Original Glazed doughnuts. We love, love, love them! Argh. Writing about this makes my mouth water. Too bad I ate the last one this morning. Pfftt. 🙁

Imagine my glee when we came home and found out Krispy Kreme delivered a box of doughnuts for us to enjoy. I was supposed to rest for a bit before work, but how can I when there’s a dozen of these yummy treats waiting for me?!?! 😀

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Sugarleaf Organic Market and Cafe : Haven for Health Buffs

For us who grew up enjoying savory dishes and sweet desserts, the mere mention of healthful food gives us this impression of bland, sacrificial eating. And we think this is normal since our brains and bodies were mostly programmed to relish anything with salt or sugar. However, through this blog and our desire to be healthier, we’ve started to go out of our ways to discover more nourishing yet flavorful food, and we found one of the must-go places for health buffs: Sugarleaf Organic Market and Cafe.

We were invited for lunch in SugarleafÂ at their Medicard Lifestyle Center branch in Makati. It was the first time we felt genuinely excited to learn more about how to eat well… and smarter. 🙂 That nutritious lunch forever changed our perceptions of what healthful food tastes like. Thanks to Angelo “Jello” Narciso Songco, co-owner of Sugarleaf, who shared with us his passion for healthful eating.

We are well aware that by just changing your diet, you can drastically improve your health. Food can be medicine, or our poison. But, we’re not here to preach about health since we love bacon, desserts and chocolates. 😀 We just want to share this with you so you know your options. 🙂

When it comes to healthful food, we usually think we have to compromise flavor – this has been instilled in us, not just here in the Philippines, but everywhere in the world. We have this impression that only food products and dishes that have actual sugar, pork fats / oils, and salt can be tasty. We have learned over the years that there are other more healthful alternatives.

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SARSA : Gourmet Sauces for Quick and Delicious Meals at Home

When it comes to home-cooked meals, we’ve got very high standards because of an excellent cook at home – our nanay. She can whip up sumptuousÂ dishes from scratch without any need for a recipe guide, and just flavoring each dish from taste. We’re THAT lucky and blessed as kids. 🙂

Enjoying her home-cooked meals has been one of the many highlights of our childhood. For us, it’s of utmost importance that families enjoy a home-cooked lunch or dinner from time to time. And if you don’t have the know-how to prepare delectable meals at home, no worries. We discovered delicious, ready-made sauces you can use that will make cooking at home less of a hassle. We’re talking about SARSA Gourmet Sauces by Chef Eugene Catipon.

We were sent three (3) samples of SARSA’s gourmet sauces to try at home. We were delighted to see the ones we received: Beef Stew, Korma (curry) and Kare-kare. We were expecting to be disappointed by the latter since our nanay prepares a killer Kare-Kare, but we were pleasantly surprised.

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