Featured Archives - Page 8 of 9

Vegetarian Delights at Bliss Cafe in Baguio

I cannot imagine myself ever becoming a vegetarian. I love meat. Just the sight of a thick, succulent slab of beef roasting on the grill makes me salivate like a rabid dog. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean vegetarian dishes have no place in our table. In fact, they are very welcome, especially when they’re as delicious and flavourful as the ones we had at Bliss Cafe located in Hotel Elizabeth, Baguio City.

Bliss Cafe, the brainchild of Jim Ward and his wife Chef Shanti, has finally found its third and, hopefully, permanent home in Hotel Elizabeth.

In a corner of the hotel’s main lobby stands a door that opens to a small restaurant. Design pieces from various countries and cultures are perfectly placed into a controlled chaos, giving an atmosphere of being laid-back, peaceful, and eccentrically artistic. Jim informed us that the design of the restaurant changes every six weeks to provide different designers and artists a venue to feature their works. That’s pretty cool in our book. 🙂

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Why You Should Stay at Hotel Elizabeth Baguio

In the first week of March, we were invited to go to Baguio by Mario’s restaurant in celebration of their 40th year. We were quite excited about it because it was the best way to escape the early summer heat here in Manila, especially after we found out that we were staying for 2 nights at the very luxurious Hotel Elizabeth.

Hotel Elizabeth Baguio, awarded as Baguio’s Hotel of the Year for 3 years, is managed by Fersal Hotel Group, the umbrella company that established Fersal Hotels here in Manila. Just by these facts alone, you’d expect a very memorable stay at the hotel. And that’s exactly what we got.

We arrived just in time for dinner at Hotel Elizabeth on a Friday night, March 9th. This was the day that they were also celebrating their 7th year as one of the top hotels in Baguio. We joined in the celebration and it was a truly fun night.

By the way, as soon as we made it to the hotel, we were all in awe at how beautiful it was. I had to take a photo of the hotel at night and just scroll down for the photo I took in the morning.

I absolutely adore these gazebos (photo was taken on the 5th floor). And the breeze wasn’t just cool, but it smelled of pine trees. Ahhhhh…. Baguio! How I love thee… let me count the ways! 😉

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Binatog : Craving Satisfied!

We happen to be lucky enough to live in a place where there’s still an abundance of legit street food. We have vendors roaming the streets selling all sorts of Filipino merienda like taho, balut, fishballs, mais con yelo, halo-halo, green mangoes with bagoong, and, of course, binatog.

Binatog is made of white corn kernels that have been soaked in salted water, boiled, drained, and then topped with grated coconut. You can choose if you want sugar with it or a little salt.

For the past weeks, I’ve been craving for it and I was already getting frustrated. The vendor who sells it on a bike passes our house too quickly that I haven’t had the chance to catch up to him. And, so, over a week ago, determined to finally satisfy my craving, I tasked my shop assistant and our helper to call the vendor when he passes by our house. Yeah, that’s how much I wanted it. 😀

Unlike the taho and balut vendors, the people who sell binatog on the streets don’t yell out “binatoooggg”. Or at least not here or at our old place in Navotas. Binatog vendors have this very distinct bell ring whenever they’re passing by. So, that afternoon, my ears were on alert. 😀

And then I heard that oh-so familiar bell ring. I literally yelled out from inside my room to tell our helper Ate Susan, who was currently ironing clothes at our living room, to go and call out the vendor. Well, she didn’t hear me, but good thing my assistant was on alert mode too. 😀

“FINALLY!”, I exclaimed at manong (sorry, “sa wakas!” was too dramatic 😀 ). I told him he should slow down next time, so we can all keep up with him. 😀 I bought binatog for everyone! Of course, following the tradition, I brought out our own bowls for him to fill up. The contents of the white bowl cost me a measly Php 20, and he was VERY generous with the grated coconut. I bought Php 50 worth of binatog from him that afternoon.

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4 Fingers Crispy Chicken, Philippines

When I was in Singapore last year, my housemates, Rey and Cindy, took me out for dinner at 4 Fingers, which is a small food joint in ION Orchard that they said serves the best crispy chicken in the city.

My friends were right. The crispy fried chickens were so delicious and crispy that I just had to come back for more. And I honestly felt sad when it was time for me to return to the Philippines, thinking Iâ€™ll never have those scrumptious chickens ever again.

But after almost a year since having my last piece of 4 Fingersâ€™ Crispy Chicken, imagine my surprise when my sister, Mhel, and I found a newly opened 4 Fingers store by accident in SM City North EDSA, Quezon City. We quickly found ourselves a table, settled down, and ordered our food.

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Straightforwardly Filipino : A Satisfying Lunch at Chef Tatung Garden Cafe

“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.â€
-Harriet Van Horne

If you’re a regular follower of our blog, you may know now that I have exchanged a career in nursing for an unknown future in the culinary industry. I’ll be honest; there were times when I had doubts if I’ve made the right decision of switching careers, but I always find inspiration from people who have experienced the same things that I’ve been through and have become successful. One of them is Chef Myke “Tatungâ€ Sarthou of Tatung’s Garden Cafe, who decided to brush aside writing and production work to put on a chef’s garb and start a restaurant business.

Hidden along the residential community of Sikatuna Village in Quezon City, a home-turned-restaurant stands with a luscious menu offering a modern take on Filipino Cuisine.

It’s a rainy Saturday morning when we were invited for a lunch at Tatung’s Garden CafÃ©. The faÃ§ade gives little clue that there’s actually a restaurant inside.

Chef Tatung truly understands Filipino cuisine. He shared that Filipinos eat with flavors that are close to nature, and that our cooking is greatly influenced by our environment. That is the reason why in creating his dishes, he made sure that his food tastes like what they really are. A chicken dish should taste like it’s made of chicken. It’s as simple as that.

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Yurakuen Teppanyaki in Manila Diamond Hotel

Manila Diamond Hotelâ€™s award-winning Japanese restaurant Yurakuen is proudly offering a totally unique Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can experience for all us buffet lovers out there. Instead of getting food from buffet spreads and cooking them on your tableâ€™s hot pot and griddles, Yurakuen lets you sit back and relax as you watch your personal chefs prepare food at your very own tables.

Available during lunch and dinner, enjoy the Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can with unlimited flow of local drinks, local beer, and Japanese Kirin beer, all for the price of Php 1,970++ per person. My sister, Mhel, and I got to experience it ourselves when they invited us to experience a Teppanyaki dinner. It may be a little pricey, but we can seriously say that itâ€™s worth every penny! Not convinced? Let me walk you through it.

First, above are photos of the long lists of food you can order with the Teppanyaki Eat-All-You-Can promo (click to zoom), which include appetizers, soups, noodles, meat dishes, and even desserts!

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Dillingers 1903 Steak Brew RestoBar in Greenbelt 3

A few weeks ago, my nanay and I went out for our much-needed mother-daughter date. I had four vouchers bought from CashCashPinoy for 52% off on food and drinks from Dillingers 1903 Steak Brew restobar in Greenbelt 3. After hours of pampering from rO2 Beauty and Wellness Center, we were starving so we headed straight to the restaurant.

Upon our arrival on the third floor of Greenbelt 3, we immediately saw Dillingers 1903. Okay, I asked a guard for the exact location. 😀 It was beside Red Box. And as soon as we got there, I couldnâ€™t help but admire the design of the outside of the restaurant.

The wooden doors, the brick wall, the mix of hues of black, gold and gray, and the wide glass windows are reminiscent of something youâ€™d see in a mafia movie. So, letâ€™s go insideâ€¦

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The BEST Homemade Buffalo Wings Recipe Ever!

Buffalo Wings are considered American staple food, together with our favorite burgers and fries. Theyâ€™re the kind of food people donâ€™t ever mind getting down and dirty in eating because itâ€™s best savored using your bare hands, licking all the crevices of your fingers clean of the delicious buffalo sauce and blue cheese dip.

I had my first taste of the hot wings when some of my friends and I once dined at TGI Fridayâ€™s in Greenbelt. They ordered their usual nachos, burgers, and fries. One friend suggested we get the Buffalo wings, but another friend was quick to negate, saying that itâ€™s too spicy for her taste. But since I love my food hot and spicy, 10 minutes later, we had two servings of Buffalo wings on our table, and they all agreed that I ate 2/3 of it. 😀

Fridayâ€™s Buffalo Wings

After that dinner, the Buffalo wings flew straight up my all-time favorite food list, but itâ€™s not everyday that I have the luxury to buy wings at Fridayâ€™s. So I decided to make some myself at home, and itâ€™s a good thing that I have a very generous sister like Mhel, who shouldered the expenses for the ingredients.

My first attempt to make Buffalo Wings at home â€“ all gone in about 15 minutes! 😀

The Homestyle Buffalo Wings recipe Iâ€™m sharing with you are bits and pieces of different stuff I found on the internet. Not one recipe matched what I wanted to do because there is one requiring me to broil then bake the chicken wings, instead of simply frying them; another has a lousy breading mix recipe, but their instructions for doing the buffalo sauce was by far the simplest among all Iâ€™ve seen. And almost all sites had a recipe for blue cheese dip to accompany the chicken wings, but blue cheese is out of the question – too expensive for me. But, weâ€™ll try that, too, soon. 🙂

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Oh My Gulay Artist Cafe in Baguio City : A Vegetarian Experience

Ever since a friend of mine mentioned Oh My Gulay Artist Cafe in Baguio, I’ve been dying to try their food. Why? No, it’s not because it’s a vegetarian restaurant. But, since Baguio is known as a popular source of fresh vegetables like broccoli and lettuce, and other crops like strawberries, oranges (from Sagada), etc., I know I can only expect the freshest ingredients on anything on their menu. Something I wouldn’t pass up! 🙂

So, during our 5-day vacation last month, Oh My Gulay (O.M.G.) was definitely on our itinerary. We slightly had a hard time finding it ’cause when I did my research, someone said it’s located in “Green Azotea” building. 😀 We hired a taxi for the whole day (we went to Good Shepherd and Strawberry farm, which we’ll post about next!) and the driver didn’t know any building with that name. Turns out, it’s at the La Azotea building and the color of the whole structure is, well, green. 😀

It’s along Session Road so it’s pretty easy to find. It’s right in front of Metrobank. Oh My Gulay is on the 5th floor and there are no elevators. So, you’d have to climb up all the way to their floor. There’s a bookstore, aÂ gym and other food stalls that might entertain you while you take a break from climbing up those stairs. 😀

Now, before I go on about Oh My Gulay’s food, let me just share with you some of the photos we took of their restaurant. The whole eclectic design drew my attention.

Even my bro Ken was fascinated by the intricate structure and decorations, both on the first floor and second floor. He took most of the photos of the restaurant and even went upstairs.

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Emohruo Beach Restobar in Saud Beach, Pagudpud

One of our main destinations during our 5-day North Luzon getaway last week was the beautiful and relaxing beaches of Pagudpud in Ilocos. I’ve been wanting to go there for years now, especially after I saw photos of my brother Ken with his friends during their Pagudpud trip.

We stayed at the Saud Beach Resort hotel because there weren’t too many people staying there so we can enjoy the beach mostly all on our own. They’re one of the more expensive hotels in Pagudpud. Since we were only staying for a day, I thought screw my budget and let’s stay at the lovely Saud Beach Resort. We only paid Php 4,356 for a room good for 5, and I thought that’s already a good deal considering how lovely their resort is. Their resort seemed more relaxing than the other ones next to them.

Anyway, when we finally checked in, it was almost lunch time (they allowed us to check in earlier since there weren’t too many people staying at the resort). Ken said we should check out the other restaurants in the area. So, we immediately headed out to the other restos on the other side of Saud beach. It was a long walk so imagine how hungry we were when we finally arrived at the area where the restaurants in Saud beach were lined up.

Among all the menus we saw, my brother and I liked Emohruo Beach Restobar‘sof Evangeline Resort the best. And, the prices were also very affordable. All I can tell you now is the long walk was so worth it!

Emohruo is actually “Our Home” spelled backwards. Cool, eh? I love the whole vibe at their restobar. People dine al fresco and the rustic design of their area just complements the whole feel of dining near the beach.

Though the sun was really up and shining brightly, we didn’t feel uncomfortable because the wind was cool and fresh. Ahhhhâ€¦ I so miss it! That’s why I so love the photos I took while we were at Emohruo. It reminds me of how relaxing the resort was.

Emohruo Beach Restobar has a wide range of dishes on their menu, mostly Asian dishes with their own twists. They all sounded really good that I wanted to order one of everything! 😀

Everyone with me – my mother, my bro, our aunt Zeny and Beth (my mom’s best friend) – were all supportive of our food blog so we all agreed to order different beverages. 😀

First up, my Banana Mocha Shake (Php 98.00), marked as one of the favorites on their menu. I love, love, love Mocha flavored anything, but I didn’t completely enjoy this one. I guess it’s because of the banana. But, it was still really good and Ken enjoyed it. I guess I was expecting the mocha flavor to be stronger than the banana.

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