Shoot First Eat Later

Welcome dinner for Pat

Last Sunday Deb hosted a welcome home dinner for our friend Pat who finally came home from Florida after more than 10 years of living in the USA. Yes folks she’s back for good. The theme for dinner was Filipino food. Deb took out her magic address book and ordered a wonderful gut busting meal. Guys have little black books. Deb has a little food book.

ben and pat

This is the best pancit malabon I’ve ever eaten. You don’t need to put calamansi (bec. there was none) or patis (fish sauce – none either). It was very tasty because of all the chicharon (pork rind) mixed in the noodles.

pancit malabon

This crispy fried shrimp was home cooked. It’s so good that you don’t even have to remove the shell and the head. Just pop the whole thing in your mouth, chew and say “yummmm!”

fried shrimp

The next 3 all time favorite Filipino dishes were ordered from Barrio Fiesta.

Kare Kare
(Ox tail stew in a peanut based sauce)

Pinakbet
(mixed veggie dish with shrimp paste)

Crispy Pata (fried pork leg)

Ineng’s pork barbeque

This bibingkang malagkit came from La Tasca. It’s an institution and very well known for this. It was my first time to try their version of it. It’s very rich but not sweet. This native dessert is made from glutinous rice cooked in coconut cream and topped with more coconut cream which has been cooked til it becomes dark brown.

bibingkang malagkit

Vargas butter cake

Pastillas is a native confection made from carabao’s milk and sugar which is cooked and stirred until it becomes thick. It’s then cut into pieces and rolled into sugar and wrapped in paper.

Iya’s jumbo pastillas

Except for the shrimp and butter cake this is what a typical Filipino meal looks like. Deb did a fantastic job of ordering the best Filipino dishes from the best suppliers. Kudos to Deb!

From Deb’s food book:

Pancit Malabon
924-D San Lorenzo Arcade,
Pasay Rd. Makati City
telephone: 843-2772

Barrio Fiesta
Makati Ave. cor. Valdez St.
Makati City, Metro Manila
telephone: 899-4020 to 21

Ineng’s Special BBQ
Fiesta Market Section
Market! Market!
26th St. cor. C5
Bonifacio Global City
Taguig, Metro Manila
telephone: 889-5410

Bibingkang Malagkit
La Tasca
telephone: 896-5543, 897-9749

Butter Cake
Vargas Kitchen
49 Pili Avenue,
Forbes Park, Makati
telephone: 810-7529, 817-8483

Iya’s Jumbo Pastillas
J&C Fruits Stall
#18 Market! Market!
26th St. cor. C5
Bonifacio Global City
Taguig, Metro Manila
telephone: 729-0325

Dinner at Amici Greenhills

Since Amici was bought by the former owners of Red Ribbon from the Salesians of Don Bosco they’ve gone on an expansion boom. They’ve improved on the menu and the restaurant’s interiors while maintaining and even improving on the taste of the food.

We went there on Friday, May 8 one day after they opened. The whole restaurant was packed. We even had to wait for a table. It seems like everyone was just waiting for Amici to finally open. I even saw several friends there.
I was impressed with the store’s operations. Everything ran smoothly except for the pizza we ordered that ran out of stock and we had to wait for a new one.

This is a semi-self service restaurant. You go to this counter to order and pay for your food. They will then deliver your food, cutlery and drinks to your table.

open kitchen with a view of the pizza oven

Everything we ordered was good! The risotto was cooked in a rich seafood stock and the flavor was evident in the al dente rice.

risotto di mare P270

The roast chicken had a strong flavor of rosemary. It was good to the bone. Even the drippings didn’t escape our attention as we used the pizza crust to sop up every last drop.

roast chicken P190

The pizza had a very thin crust just the way I like it. The tomato sauce was not sweet just the way I like it. The cheese was aplenty and gooey just the way I like it. I love their pizzas!

ai quattro formaggi P290

margherita P280

The mango jubilee gelato had big chunks of frozen berries. It was wasn’t too sweet and the fruits added a nice texture to the smooth, creamy gelato. The gelatos were served in waffle cups. Nice touch!

mango jubilee, vanilla and chocolate gelato

The food was good, the prices very reasonable and the ambiance very pleasant. I see many full seatings in their future.

The gelato and cakes section of Amici is now housed in its own area called Cara Mia.

(click on the pics to see all the gelato flavors)

ice cream cakes

regular cakes

soup & appetizers, pasta, pizza,
house specials & panini

Amici / Caramia

101 Connecticut cor. Missouri Sts.,

North East Greenhills San Juan

telephone: 7244-206

Travel Essentials

I’m going to Perth and Margaret River in Western Australia and Singapore next week with friends. Do you have any suggestions on where to eat so I can feature them on my blog? Please write them on the comments area.

Since those 2 countries have different plugs from the Philippines I had to buy some things so I can charge my gadgets. I have a retractable usb cable for my cellphone and Ipod touch so I bought this worldwide usb charger from Cdr King. What I like about this is I can charge both my ipod and cellphone at the same time. It comes with 4 plugs that pretty much covers the world.

worldwide usb charger – P380/US$8

There are 2 usb slots for simultaneous charging. I brought my ipod touch and cellphone to Cdr King to test it. I was so happy it worked. I really love cdr king. It’s a treasure trove for gadgets. I look in their web site for what I need before I go to their store. It’s very confusing to look for stuff in their store.

(pic from cdr king)

Ipod usb cable – P80/US$ 1.70

I bought this really small SDHC/mini SD card reader in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong. It’s really very handy for travelling.

SDHC card reader HK$35/P213/US$4.50

ipod & cellphone usb cable, extra camera battery,
sd cards, flash drive and card reader

I’m also bringing my x-mini II speaker in case the nights in Australia are too quiet.

X-mini II – P1,600/US$34

Everything goes into my Built NY charger bag which I got from Amazon.com.

This is my photo shoot set up. I’ve replaced my cardboard light box with this tent. I recently changed the bulbs from 23 watts CFL to 27 watts.

Lunch at Aubergine

When I heard we were eating lunch at Aubergine at the Fort I did some online research on the restaurants’ reviews. There were as many rave reviews as there were negative rants. So I was a bit wary on what to expect.

The place was bigger than I expected.

private function room

the huge impressive open kitchen

modern glass wine cellar

chef’s special

butter and olive tapenade

I ordered the 5 course degustation menu. I loved it! From the appetizer to the sherbet all the way to the coffee. Unlike some reviews that said the portions were tiny I felt they were just right and in the case of the entree it was generous. The food was at par if not better than some of the French restaurants I ate at in Hong Kong. Even the presentation was excellent.

The degustation menu (P1,950+) starts with this teeny weenie mozzarella cheese w/ tomato. Despite it’s size it was tasty due to the olive oil infused with herbs.

amuse bouche

I’m not a seafood lover but I wiped out this entire plate. The lobster tail was grilled to perfection. The chef in charge of grilling is a master in timing. Everything was simply divine.

seafood appetizer with grilled lobster tail, prawn,
scallop & smoked salmon roulade
with salad greens tossed in raspberry dressing

basil flavored beef consomme w/
smoked tomato-mushroom cannelloni

The foie gras was delicious and a generous size. I liked the sauce of Gourmand’s foie gras better. So in my book this is the 2nd best foie gras in town.

Most of the dishes were decorated with foam or froth. I guess they have a foamer and they want to maximize it’s use. I personally don’t like foam. I don’t get it. Sometimes it distracts your view from the actual dish. And it reminds me of the foam my dogs emit when they eat too much grass. Eeew.

pan seared duck foie gras on celeriac-apple
mousseline in Madeira reduction

At this point I was already full! Shhh don’t tell Oprah but I ate some whole wheat roll with the yummy tapenade. Isn’t the teapot a cute container for the sherbet? There was dry ice inside so when this was brought to the table smoke was coming out of the spout.

strawberry mango sherbet

You get to choose either the lamb chop or the sea bass for your main course. I had the lamb chop which was one of the best I’ve ever eaten. It was perfectly grilled and all the juice and flavor of the lamb was locked in. It was a tad too salty though. The lamb loin was a bit tougher but still good. The polenta was so smooth and creamy I thought it was mashed potatoes. I didn’t taste any blue cheese.

oven roasted Australian lamb loin &
grilled lamb chop served on creamy blue cheese
polenta w/ vegetable cassoulet & carrot-cumin jus

I had a bite of the sea bass. It was ok. It wasn’t as good as the sea bass I had in Caprice. The texture wasn’t as smooth and silky. The risotto was very rich.

grilled Chilean sea bass on saffron risotto w/
bouillabaisse froth, green asparagus &
semi dried tomatoes

Finally the last course of the degustation menu – dessert. I was so so disgustingly full I gave away my dessert. No I didn’t have a fever.

There were 13 of us during lunch and only 4 of us ordered the degustation menu. Here are what the others ordered. They all said the food was good except for the pasta which the kids didn’t like.

US Angus beef rib-eye steak (330 grams) P1,550

US Cornish game hen two ways P690

full sized grilled Chilean sea bass P1,100

prawn tagliolini P620

I forgot to take a picture of the dessert menu!

warm lava cake (i think)

free petit fours
macaroons and chocolates

I can’t find fault with the food so I’ll nitpick about the service. As some online reviews mentioned the service was indeed slow. We were there for Sunday lunch and there were a total of 4 tables with ours being the largest group. Only one waitress took everyone’s order and the food took some time to come out. Water was never refilled until I asked for it. The waiter serving bread was good though. He kept coming back and offering everyone bread. We were there until 3:30 pm. We noticed it getting warmer and warmer so I called the manager. Instead of coming straight to me he kept looking left and right to send someone instead. I asked him if they turned off the aircon. He said no but in a few minutes we felt it getting cooler again. Nothing really bad. I’ll surely go back again.

appetizers, soups & pasta, fish & seafood,
meat & poultry, grills, degustation menu

Aubergine
32nd and 5th Building
5th Avenue cor. 32nd Street
Fort Bonifacio 1634 Taguig
telephone: 856-9888

Cakes & Bakes

Cakes & Bakes has been in Cherry Foodarama forever! They have several kinds of bread and cake rolls. They even sell garlic peanuts.

I haven’t been to Cherry in a long time. It was the first time I noticed the several varieties of cakes that looked good and didn’t cost much. So I decided to take home 2 slices. The first choice was easy since it they had the most stock of Mango Royale it was safe to deduce it was the most popular cake. The second choice took longer.

(click to see all varieties)

mango royale
slice P56/ 8″ round P350

I’ve never seen mango and chocolate in a cake together. Let me tell you it works! The mangoes were very sweet and the cake very soft. I felt there was too much whipped cream. The cake slice can barely stand with the weight of the mangoes and the cream. This cake was too sinful. If you love mangoes and cream this is the cake for you.

I really wanted to try this caramel sans rival but I asked the sales lady if the meringue layers were crunchy. She said no so I didn’t get it. It looks so good though.

caramel sans rival

She told me this was also very good. So I chose this cake.

banana toffee creme P48/slice

I didn’t like it as much. The cake was a bit firm. The good thing was it wasn’t very sweet. If you like banana cakes then you’ll like this.

banana toffee creme cake

You should have seen the other side of the cake. It was sloping to one side and literally melting under my lighting. This was the best shot.

mango royale cake

If you happen to be in Shaw Blvd. drop by Cherry and try the Mango Royale cake. Next time I’ll try the Sans Rival.

Cakes & Bakes
Cherry Foodarama
514 Shaw Boulevard
Cor. Samat Street
Mandaluyong

telephone: 533-0772 or 533-0623

Hotshots Burgers

For me Hotshots flame-grilled burgers is the best fast food burger I’ve ever eaten in Manila or the USA. I like it even better than In-n-Out and Five Guys. It’a definitely better than Sango burger.

Their burgers are all beef and are well seasoned. I like putting Knorr liquid seasoning on my cooked burger if it lacks flavor. With Hotshots I don’t need to put anything except some catsup. Plus it’s flame grilled and I can really taste the charred flavor. Another thing I like is the burger patty isn’t greasy.

I usually order the burger deluxe (P105) which has one patty and no cheese. But since it was 2:oo pm and I haven’t had lunch I ordered the ultimate burger with 2 patties, lettuce and tomato. I don’t eat the top bun and hold the mayo.

The patties weren’t round and looked weird but I like that it extends out of the bun. It’s definitely not photogenic. It was a bit dry and a tad overcooked but I still love it! I think it’s dry because the meat is lean. So I don’t mind if it’s dry.

ultimate burger P175

I tried to make it look better by putting catsup and some mayonnaise (just to make it look pretty) and here is the outcome.

burgers, salad pasta & chicken, potatoes & drinks

Hotshots Burgers
Pearl Drive, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
telephone: 637-9378

Hong Kong Food Finds – Mochi Cream

I discovered Mochi Cream when I was wandering around Sogo. Mochi is Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice. Mochi cream takes the regular mochi to another level by adding several Western and Asian flavors to its line-up.

all their flavors

These are only for display. When you order a mochi they take it from the chiller. I bought 2 pieces to try. I chose Cafe Au Lait and Chocolate. If you’ve never tried Mochi they are dense, sticky and a bit chewy confection with a filling inside. Fillings range from fruit purees to ice cream.

Mochi in gift boxes

The first bite brought ooohhs and ahhhs from my mouth. The filling is cold while the mochi not as cold. It tasted like ice cream inside but it’s not. There was a multi-dimensional taste with each bite. I stopped analyzing the taste and finished the mochi. One is enough for dessert. It was a bit filling.

cafe au lait mochi

So if you’re in Hong Kong do go to Sogo and try mochi cream. It’s a different treat that you will enjoy. Next time I’ll try caramel pudding and peach yogurt. I hope someone brings this chain to Manila since Royce chocolates, another Japanese brand, are a big hit here.

Mochi Cream (now closed)
Basement of Sogo Department Store
555 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay, HK
telephone: 2833-8338

New York Fries in Hong Kong

I won’t make any apologies. I love french fries. I didn’t use to love fries until my nephew Ethan came to Manila and introduced me to fries. Ethan LOVED fries and had to have it everyday. So everytime he had fries from the fast food, restaurants and hotels I’d take a few pieces to help him finish it. Not that he needed any help. Sometimes he’d give me the evil eye when I got too much. So when Ethan went back to USA I missed him and his fries.

When I saw New York Fries in Harbour City mall in Hong Kong I knew I had to try it. The problem was when to eat it. If you’ve been following this blog you’ll know I’ve eaten my way through Hong Kong. There wasn’t any time to get hungry. I never ate afternoon snacks or merienda the whole trip. Except after lunch at Hutong. I wasn’t hungry when we ate at Hutong and most of the food at lunch was veggies so I ate very little. So around 4 pm I happened to be at Harbour City and felt the initial growling of my stomach. I headed straight to New York Fries.

New York Fries is actually a Canadian franchise. Their first store in Asia is in Hong Kong. As the sign says their fries are cooked in sunflower and olive oil.

potatoes from the USA

This is the seasoning station. They had the usual salt, catsup, mustard, pickles, onions, tabasco and the more unusual malt vinegar.

They have 3 varieties of toppings. Small fries cost HK$30 while regular cost HK$37. Plain fries cost the same but the containers are bigger. For the veggie works and the works pictures I just took pictures of other peoples food. You don’t think I’d eat 3 varieties at once! All the pictures below are the small size except for the works which is regular size.

veggie works
cheese sauce, sour cream, green onions & tomatoes

the works
chili, sour cream, cheese sauce, green onions & bacon

I ordered the poutine. Ever since I saw Anthony Bourdain, from the tv show No Reservations, rave over the poutine he ate in Quebec, Canada I knew I had to try them. These fries don’t contain any fat or calories. I kept repeating that in my head while i enjoyed each and every bite.

poutine
premium cheese curds and signature beef gravy

At first bite I found it strange eating fries with gravy and cheese. The cheese didn’t have any taste. It just added texture to the mix. It did melt a bit and became stretchy and gooey like mozarella. The gravy was good and didn’t have the floury taste of some fast food gravy. It had a very beefy taste.

The fries were awesome. They were crisp and had no oily taste at all. The poutine wasn’t bad but next time I’ll just get plain fries and eat it with malt vinegar and salt. That way I’ll enjoy the wonderful fries without any goop to mask the flavor of the potatoes. Ethan will agree.

The restaurant only had 3 tables but it had the huge bonus of being located right next to an outdoor deck. This has the best seats in the house with the view of cruise ships docked at port and Hong Kong Harbour. Some people ate their fries here while enjoying the cool weather. When you need rest from all that shopping head on to this area and take a load off. There’s another deck down the hall but no restaurant beside it.

New York Fries
Shop 2602, Level 2
Gateway Arcade, Harbour City
Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
telephone: 3106-4686

Pal food HKG to MNL

This is the food served on our return flight from Hong Kong to Manila on Philippine Airlines. I’m happy to report it was very good. For the Manila to Hong Kong meal click here.

smoked salmon w/ potato & cucumber salad

Notice the fried garlic slices in the aluminum cup. It was a nice touch that added extra dimension to an already flavorful fish. The fish was cooked just right but the rice was a bit dry and hard but still edible.

marinated bangus (milkfish)
w/ adobo butter & garlic
served w/ tomato rice

The pièce de résistance – dessert! When I first looked at it I didn’t know what to expect. I thought it was going to be watery soup with mangoes & macapuno (coconut sport).

pearl soup w/ mango & melon balls

But when I stirred it I discovered the tapioca was the tiny, sticky kind and the coconut soup was thick. This dessert reminded me of a deconstructed Thai sticky rice and mango dessert or a modern take on guinataan. It was delectable.

Another thumbs up to PAL for that terrific dinner!

Last meal in Hong Kong at Chuk Yuen

After nearly 2 weeks in Hong Kong it was time to go back home to Manila. We will miss the cool weather and the fantastic food. Time to diet and hit the gym full blast.
There’s was no question where we would eat lunch and our last meal in Hong Kong. We wanted to eat the yummiest dim sum so we headed to Chuk Yuen Seafood restaurant. We took care to order different things from out last visit.

steamed chicken

fried rice rolls w/ peanut sauce & hoisin sauce

This is the first time we ordered this baked seafood rice. When I took my first bite the first thing that came to my mind was, “Wow! It tastes like lobster thermidor.” It was that good. It didn’t taste too rich and creamy. This is a small dish. Maybe one cup of rice for the whole plate.

baked rice w/ seafood & cream sauce HK$22