Wee Nam Kee Yellow Chicken Festival and Other Scrumptious Dishes

For a limited time only (til June 30th, but hopefully they’ll extend or make this a regular item), Wee Nam Kee is serving up the Wagyu, Kobe and Kurobuta of chicken – the imported Yellow Chicken from Malaysia.

You might have heard about Wee Nam Keeâ€™s Yellow Chicken and thought it’s just a fancy, overrated version of the regular poultry we enjoy. When they invited us to get a taste of this, along with other Wee Nam Kee dishes, we can guarantee that it’s far from your ordinary chicken.

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McDonald’s McSpicy, Big N Tasty, and Black and White Burgers

We have yet to blog about so many things we’ve enjoyed the past year, and it was only now that McDonald’s launched a new burger – the McSpicy Chicken Burger – that I finally got to writing about how much we love their Big N’ Tasty, which was launched a year ago.

For years, there has only been one fast food chain that delivers 24/7 to our area here in Malabon City – the McDonald’s branch in Concepcion (google-map it!). Though this is mainly the reason why I’ve collected a stash of ketchup sachets from McDo (no shame), they have been our go-to place for midnight snacks. And since I work at night and the stress from my job makes me want to eat past 12 midnight, I can no longer count how many times we’ve had food from McDo delivered here. They don’t even call or verify anymore and the delivery guys already know us. 😀

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The Cake Club by Diamond Hotel at Bonifacio High Street Central

2012 was a delicious year for us as we discovered new restaurants deserving of a feature here on our humble food blog. However, we neglected to share them because of many things. Though our features of these restaurants will be a few months to a year late, we still believe our dining experiences were worth writing about, more so because Â the flavors still linger in our minds. Without further ado, first up is Diamond Hotel’s The Cake Club located at Bonifacio High Street Central.

By the restaurant’s name itself, you’d think The Cake Club specializes in cakes or desserts. Well, yes, they do. However, they serve delectable dishes that we’re sure you’ll enjoy too.

We were invited for dinner at this cozy restaurant in BGC. I remember walking past the restaurant one time after having lunch with the family at a different resto, and Ken was telling me he wants to return to find out what The Cake Club is all about. So it was definitely an invite we simply canâ€™t refuse. 🙂

As soon as you walk in, you’ll be welcomed by The Cake Clubâ€™s abundant display of their yummy desserts, which made us look forward to that part of our dinner even more.

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A Memorable Dinner at Cafe 1771

After months of planning and waiting for just the right time to officially kick off The Burp Society, we finally did it at Cafe 1771, a very posh cafe in El Pueblo. It was one night of almost unadulterated fun with our newfound foodie friends over scrumptious food at a gorgeously designed restaurant.

Photos taken from their Facebook page.

It was meant to be. The Chateau Group invited us and The Burp Society (TBS) over for dinner and drinks at WineBar 1771 to introduce us to what they have to offer. With my growing love for wine, I was excited, plus the fact that it’s going to be TBS’ very first meet-up. However, since the date we chose was very close to the holidays, only the private room in Cafe 1771’s The Lounge was available. Still, our anticipation never wavered. Besides, we’ve heard only raves about the restaurant from fellow food bloggers.

Cafe 1771 is a member of the Chateau 1771 Group of Restaurants that includes Chateau 1771 in Greenbelt 5, Sentro 1771 in Greenbelt 3 and Serendra, and Sidebar in El Pueblo. I’ve heard about their restaurant concepts before, but it was my first time to finally dine in one of them. It was a wonderful introduction and I can’t wait to go back.

We had a huge spread of deliciously unique food from Cafe 1771 that night, so I’ll be writing about the meet-up in a separate post. But, more details would be on The Burp Society’s site.

Cafe 1771 is located in El Pueblo along ADB Avenue in Ortigas. It’s easy to find them because of the Colonial-themed facade that’s painted white, with tints of black on their windows.

At night, the restaurant looks like a newly-constructed Colonial house, with almost an eery feel that I was tempted to use vignette effects on the photos I took. 😀

As soon as you enter, you’ll immediately feel welcomed by everyone at Cafe 1771. The interiors made me wish I can take photos with my eyes. Everywhere you look, you’ll find something strikingly vibrant and beautiful. Boy, we were all camera-crazy that night! Even the restrooms were eloquently designed. No, I didn’t take a photo inside, but it was only because I left my phone and camera at the table. 😀

Cafe 1771 The Whimsy and The Lounge

The restaurant is divided into two areas – The Whimsy and The Lounge – each offering a dining experience unique from the other. WineBar 1771 is located on the third floor.

For diners who are looking for a more casual breakfast, lunch or dinner, there’s The Whimsy. It’s the area that you see first as soon as you enter Cafe 1771.

It’s brightly lit and as you look around, you’ll agree that the name was fancifully appropriate. Shades of pink and blue are on chairs and the walls, playfully setting the mood to a fun meal.

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Homemade Beef Kare Kare Recipe (PLUS Seafood Version)

If there’s one dish our nanay prepares that I would want to eat for my last meal, it would definitely be her delicious Beef Kare-kare. Looking back to my childhood days, I realize that my fondness for this dish can be traced back to the days when our nanay would prepare kare-kare as one of her sweet ways in rewarding us for doing well, may it be in school or just for simply behaving at home.

Since I started working almost a decade ago, we’ve had kare-kare more often because whenever I’m craving for it, all we need to do is provide for the ingredients and our nanay will lovingly cook it for us. She’s even made her own seafood kare-kare (after our lunch at Emohruo in Pagudpud) which I also love (see the seafood option below this article).

This is actually one reason I don’t order kare-kare at restaurants because I have high standards when it comes to the flavors of this dish. It’s certainly one of the many things I missed when I lived for a year in Cebu that I begged her for the recipe and had to have someone cook it for me exactly the way nanay instructed. It was close to how she prepares it, but nothing beats the original ’cause it’s made with pure love. 🙂

Many can attest to the tastiness of our nanay’s kare-kare. And after the long delay of sharing the recipe, we finally had the time to prepare the dish for this blog. We hope you enjoy it and please let us know how it went when you tried it. If you tweaked a couple of things, we’d love to hear about that too. 🙂

Creamy Beef Kare-kare Recipe

Kare-kare is a Philippine beef stew, usually made with oxtail or tripe, vegetables and ground peanuts. But, this recipe was made with regular beef cuts.

SERVINGS:

Good for 8-10 people, but itâ€™ll really depend on their appetites. The 4 of us can finish this off for lunch and dinner. 😀

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Binulo Restaurant : A Foodie Haven in Pampanga

Pampanga is dubbed as the Culinary Capital of the Philippines. No doubt about it, they truly deserve the title for every time I hear “Pampanga,” two of their most popular fare always come to mind – pork sisig and, my ultimate favorite, pork tocino. But stopping over at Binulo Restaurant in Clark, Pampanga for dinner after our short stay in Baguio proved that Capampangan cuisine has more delectable food to offer.

Binulo Restaurant is a single-storey establishment, but yet it’s quite roomy, and the tables are adequately spaced, providing guests more room for movement. The name of the restaurant is actually taken after a cooking method of the native Aeta, which uses bamboo or “bulo” as the cooking vessel for their food.

The first thing that landed on our table was a basket of Pititian with Atchara (Php 185). It’s the Kapampangan (or Capampangan) version of chicharon or fried pork rinds (if you love Cebu’s chicharon from Carcar, you will definitely love this too!), and it is served with vinegar and green papaya relish or atsara.

Usually at home, chicharon and vinegar would be more than enough for me, but coupling it with papaya relish added an interestingly sweet and tangy note that made it harder for me to resist stuffing myself full, leaving almost no space for the rest of our meal. 😀

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Indulge in Vermont Classic Frozen Custard by FIC

The weather might be gloomy and it might not be the best time to enjoy anything cold, but you can’t deny the fact that when you’re stuck at home with family or friends, nothing beats a movie or TV series marathon with your favorite comfort food. And Fruits in Ice Cream has something new and delightful for all of us: Vermont Classic Frozen Custard, their latest dessert creation.

Frozen Custard?

FIC is the first to introduce this frozen custard treat to the Philippines. You might be wondering how it’s different from ice cream. Frozen custard is actually the same as ice cream except it has a higher concentration of egg yolks and is churned more slowly, making this dessert richer and more indulgent. When you see French ice cream on a menu, that’s another name for frozen custard. (Oh, and Ken has a recipe that doesn’t require an ice cream maker) 🙂

When FIC sent over a cup each of their Vermont Classic Frozen Custard base flavors, we were pleasantly surprised to see everything else that came with the package. Aside from the 3 varieties – French Vanilla, Brownie Batter and Cheesecake – we got an assortment of toppings and a recipe card.

Ken and I tasted each of the flavors first before we combined the toppings based on the recipes, and we literally had a hard time figuring out which one’s our favorite ’cause they’re all darn yummy! Usually, I’d go for anything chocolicious, but the tanginess of the cheesecake flavor and the creamy goodness of the French vanilla was too irresistible. The Brownie Batter still ended up as my top favorite because it has this slight bitterness to it that I love about dark chocolate. 🙂

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Cafe Jeepney : Buffet in Intercontinental Manila

Being a group-buying site frequent shopper, I actively check various deals sites to find out if they have anything new that I’d be interested to purchase. Since I haven’t bought anything from Deal Grocer yet since the 3rd quarter of last year, I decided to buy 2 half-priced vouchers for Cafe Jeepney’s banquet buffet that they were offering. I’ve done my research and I’ve read fellow food lovers enjoying their buffet spread, so I had some set expectations already.

This is a long overdue post. We dined here in December last year, but they’ve had their famous buffet for decades, so I don’t think there’ll be a lot of changes you can expect, except some of the dishes that were available during our visit might not be the same ones you’ll get when you dine in.

Cafe Jeepney is located inside the Intercontinental Manila in Makati, right beside Ascott Manila and across Glorietta 4. When you come in the front entrance, they’re on the right side. You’d see this:

As soon as you enter, you’d be welcomed by this cozy, well-lit dining area, with high walls and plenty of decors.

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Marios Sunday Lunch Buffet

A few months ago, we went up to Baguio with a couple of fellow foodie friends and bloggers to celebrate Mario’s Restaurant‘s 40th year. Throughout our 2-day, 2-night stay, we enjoyed meals in their restaurant in Upper Session Road (watch out for part 2 of our feature). The whole Baguio trip concluded with a sumptuous meal at Mario’s Sunday Lunch Buffet.

Since this was an eat-all-you-can buffet, I initially thought that the dishes they’re going to serve won’t be the same as the ones on their regular menu. Most of the buffets we know only serve mediocre food compared to the items on their ala carte menu, but I was pleasantly surprised to know that Mario’s Sunday Lunch Buffet spread will give you a chance to enjoy their delicious regular menu dishes eat-all-you-can style.

Since I usually take a round of photos first before I eat, I initially planned on going to each buffet table armed with my camera. But, when I passed by the meat table, I couldn’t help, but pause my photo-taking. 😀

I went straight to get a serving of the Cochinillo, a suckling pig roasted to perfection! They serve this with lechon sauce, but the crispy, thick skin and the meat of the pig are flavorful enough on their own. I had to control myself and not get another serving of this. However, I couldn’t resist to take some from Ken’s plate when he went back for seconds. 😀

They also have a big slab ofÂ Roast Sirloin of Beef, sliced as you order and then served with Brandied Peppercorn sauce.

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Sariwon Korean Barbecue at Bonifacio High Street

Sariwon Korean Barbecue, a newly opened restaurant in Bonifacio High Street Central, proves that Koreans and Filipinos are not only similar with their love for music and cheeky telenovelas; they also share a discerning palate for good food.

Awarded “Best Korean Restaurant” by NBC Broadcasting Company in 2005 and by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 2007, Sariwon had a rather humble beginning. Her husband suffering from diabetes pushed Mrs. Bun-Im Koo to create her own bulgogi sauce from a mixture of various fruits and vegetables without using a single speck of sugar. Urged by neighbours and friends, they established their first restaurant in 1938, which transformed from a small diner with 27 seats to a whopping sitting capacity of 350 at their main branch in South Korea.

Every table in Sariwon is equipped with imported ceramic smokeless grills that have exhausts on the sides that suck out smoke from grilling, so you don’t have to worry about your clothes smelling of smoke upon leaving.

After we’ve settled into our seats, we were warmly welcomed by our server, Joy, who was carrying a tray with six side dishes called Banchan. The first thing I recognized was Korea’s national dish â€“ Kimchi.

The names of the other side dishes, I asked our server to write down because there’s no way I could spell them myself. Shigumchi is blanched spinach leaves. Moosangchae, or seasoned Korean radish, reminded me of our very own achara. Kochu Meolchi Dokkeum is roasted anchovies with green chilli. They also have seasoned Korean bean sprouts or Kongnamul. Finally, there’s Tanhobak Sarada, which is mashed sweet pumpkin and potato, perhaps the Korean version of mashed potatoes. We forgot that these were side dishes, not appetizers, so when the other food arrived, there’s barely anything left on the plates.

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