Shoot First Eat Later

Breakfast Spotlight – Yogurt with Cereal, Cranberries and Honey

This is what I’ve been eating for breakfast for the past 2 weeks. Elizabeth and Rochelle told me to buy plain, unsweetened yogurt instead of the fruity yogurt I always buy because it’s healthier.

So when I saw this low fat creamy yogurt from the Rizal Dairy Farms stall in Market! Market! I bought a container (P80) to try. I loved it! It was very thick, creamy and sour. It’s the perfect vessel for the cereal, cranberries and honey I planned to add.

I used Kashi GoLean Crunch cereal. I like Kashi cereals for their high fiber, protein and low sugar content. The cereal remained crunchy even when mixed with the yogurt.

I used the Jarrah honey I bought in Margaret River, Western Australia. It has a lower glycemic index and Jarrah honey is said to have 50% more healing properties than the popular Manukah honey. I hope I can find this honey in Hong Kong when this bottle is finished.

Kashi

Yogurt with Cereal, Cranberries and Honey
1/3 cup of plain yogurt
1 T Kashi GoLean Crunchy cereal or granola
1 tsp dried cranberries or sliced bananas
1 tsp Jarrah honey or to taste

Mix all and enjoy! Makes 1 serving.

Rizal Dairy Farms stall

Market! Market!

26th St. cor. C5,

Bonifacio Global City

Taguig Metro Manila

Kashi Cereals

Metro Gaisano Supermarket
Market! Market!

Basement Level

26th St. cor. C5,

Bonifacio Global City

Taguig Metro Manila

Pantry Favorites – Alavar Bagoong Gata

Bagoong is shrimp paste. It’s a common ingredient or condiment in the Philippines. Several countries in South East Asia also have their own versions of shrimp paste. In the Philippines we use bagoong for our famous dishes like kare kare (ox tail peanut stew), binagoongang baboy (pork with bagoong) and pinakbet (vegetables with bagoong) to name a few.

There are many kinds of bagoong in the Philippines. Most are salty while some are sweet or spicy. My favorite bagoong is Alavar bagoong made with gata (coconut cream). Ever since my friend Vivian gave me a bottle I was hooked. Alavar is a seafood restaurant in Zamboanga City located in Mindanao, a province down South. Their bagoong is not salty nor sweet but rich and creamy from being cooked with coconut cream.

As far as I know, Alavar bagoong is only available in Zamboanga. Since I have to rely on Vivian for my supply of Alavar bagoong, I use it sparingly. I don’t use it for cooking because it will use up too much of my precious stock. So these are the ways I savor bagoong.

The most popular use for bagoong is to eat it with green mangoes which are basically unripe mangoes. These mangoes are firm and sour. Filipinos love the contrast of sour mangoes with salty bagoong. I go for a riper and softer mango that’s not too sour with the milder and more flavorful Alavar bagoong.

green mangoes w/ bagoong

I also make a green mango salad made from shredded green mangoes, tomatoes and bagoong. This salad is a perfect garnish to dishes like inihaw na liempo (grilled pork belly) or fried fish.

green mango salad

But my favorite way of eating bagoong is with crispy lechon kawali (fried pork belly). I got the idea from Via Mare‘s dish called crispy binagoongan. This is my take on that.

crispy binagoongan

Alavar’s Restaurant
Don Alfaro Street, Tetuan,
Zamboanga City

JK Divorce Entrance Dance

Someone just had to make a parody of the famous dance.

We’ve all seen the JK Wedding Dance. Now let’s see what happens 6 months later!

Michelle’s Sana Banana Chips

I never ate banana chips because I knew they were thick, hard and sweet. Then a friend gave me a big bag of banana chips from Michelle’s, the same maker of my favorite putong ube.

350 grams pouch P70

500 grams bag P80

These banana chips are thin, crisp and lightly glazed. They are wonderful and totally different from my memories of how banana chips tasted. These are very addicting and aren’t too sweet. They’re a perfect gift for friends and family in other countries. If you don’t live in Manila be sure to ask anyone you know going to the Philippines to get you a bag or 2 or 3. I guarantee you’ll love it.

Michelle’s Homemade Golden Sana Banana Chips

24 Libertad St. Mandaluyong City, Philippines

telephone: 531-2539 or 0917-UBE PUTO

OUTLETS:

Tiendesitas, Julia Vargas Ortigas Corner C5
V-mall, Greenhills
2nd Level Market Market Mall, Taguig City
Granada (Gilmore), Quezon City
Katipunan Rd. White Plains, Quezon City
SM Mall of Asia
SM The Block North Edsa

In the USA, Sana Banana Chips are available at:

Arko Foods International
1425 E Colorado St, Glendale, CA 91205
telephone: (818) 242-5921

Seafood City Supermarket
locations

Island Pacific Supermarkets
locations

Gloria meets Barack for dinner

Here’s a funny commercial from the Philippines with actors spoofing President Gloria Arroyo and President Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama has dinner at the Malacañang and is fed too much Filipino fare, from kare-kare thats oks (ox for the ox tail used in kare-kare) to guinataang mais thats corn.

Trying to be polite, Obama tries them all until dyspepsia or impatso gets the better of him.

Ohmygash! Thats impatso nah! his host Ate Glow frets. Ate Glow (actor Rene Facunla) glides along the dinner table and offers him Motillium, a motility drug that alleviates impatso.

Thirty minutes later Obama is relieved and offered kapeng baraks (barako is a variety of Philippine coffee).

Lunch at Elbert’s Cheesesteak Sandwiches

In spite of our crazy schedule today, Elisa and I trooped to Rockwell just to eat at Elbert’s Cheesesteak Sandwiches. We had to redeem our miserable lunch the other day at Charlie’s Grind and Grill. We wanted to compare Elbert’s cheesesteak against Charlie’s.

menu on the wall

cute espresso maker!

catsup, mayo and mustard

I loved it that you can watch your sandwich being cooked. We were so happy so to see so much meat!

The steak was assaulted with way too much pepper for my taste. Next time I’ll tell the cook to go easy on the pepper.

Thinly sliced steak with salt and pepper cooked on a grill. With good quality beef you don’t need anything else. What could be simpler and yummier than that? I can’t wait for their burgers. I hope it gets the same simple treatment.

Mine is the one with American cheese. Next time I’ll order it plain. The beef was so good it didn’t need cheese at all.

I’ve read on several blogs that the main complaint about Elbert’s is the price. Their 5″ hoagie is filled with 300 grams of beef and costs P210 without cheese and P240 with cheese. That’s over half a pound or 10.5 ounces. As you can see from the sandwich it’s stuffed. I also loved they used wheat bread for the hoagie. Even then I just ate one side of the bread to enjoy the beef more.

Charlie’s sells their small sandwich for P220 and it’s filled with mostly vegetables and a tiny amount of steak. So how can you compare that? It’s only P20 difference and a world apart in taste and satisfaction.

Hoagie steak sandwich (with onions) P210

hoagie pre-tomato

American cheesesteak hoagie P240

Still not the best fries for me but it’s not bad at all. It was hot, freshly cooked, not greasy and crisp.

As you can tell by this picture I was too excited to try the sandwich. I could barely take a decent picture. This was the last picture I took until we were done.

We loved the sandwiches. We were able to hold the sandwich and eat it. Unlike Charlie’s where it was swimming in cheese sauce you needed a fork and knife to eat it. The steak was perfectly cooked and was very juicy. This IS a steak sandwich!

what leftovers?

Elbert’s Cheesesteak Sandwiches (closed)

Level P1, Power Plant Mall,

Rockwell Drive Makati

telephone: 381-2450

The Difference between Westerners and Asians

Found this in my inbox.

To group all races of Asians as one is to overgeneralize. Asian races are more diverse than the Caucasians, i.e. Indians differ from the Chinese in most respects.

Key: Blue –> Westerners Red –> Asians

(1) Opinion

Westerners: Talk to the point

Asians: Talk around the circle, especially if opinions are different

(2) Way of Life

Westerners: individualism, think of himself or herself.

Asians: enjoy gathering with family and friends, solving their problems, and know each other’s business.

(3) Punctuality

Westerners: on time.

Asians: in time.

(4) Contacts

Westerners: Contact to related person only.

Asians: Contact everyone everywhere, business very successful.

(5) Anger

Westerners: Show that I am angry.

Asians: I am angry, but still smiling… (Beware!)

(6) Queue when Waiting

Westerners: Queuing in an orderly manner.

Asians: Queuing?! What’s that?

(7) Sundays on the Road

Westerners: Enjoy weekend relaxing peacefully.

Asians: Enjoy weekend in crowded places, like going to the mall.

(8) Party

Westerners: Only gather with their own group.

Asians: All focus on the one activity that is hosted by the CEO.

(9) In the restaurant

Westerners: Talk softly and gently in the restaurant.

Asians: Talk and laugh loudly like they own the restaurant.

(10) Travelling

Westerners: Love sightseeing and enjoy the scenery.

Asians: Taking picture is the most important; scenery is just for the background.

(11) Handling of Problems

Westerners: Take any steps to solve the problems.

Asians: Try to avoid conflicts, and if can, don’t leave any trail.

(12) Three meals a day

Westerners: Good meal for once a day is sufficed.

Asians: At least 3 good meals a day.

(13) Transportation

Westerners: Before drove cars, now cycling for environmental protection.

Asians: Before no money and rode a bike, now got money and drive a car.

(14) Elderly in day-to-day life

Westerners: When old, there is snoopy for companionship.

Asians: When old, guarantee will not be lonely, as long as willing to babysit grandkids.

(15) Moods and Weather

Westerners: The logic is: rain is pain.

Asians: More rain, more prosperity

(16) The Boss

Westerners: The boss is part of the team.

Asians: The boss is a fierce god.

(17) What’s Trendy

Westerners: Eat healthy Asian cuisine.

Asians: Eat expensive Western cuisine.

(18) The Child

Westerners: The kid is going to be independent and make his/her own living.

Asians: Slog whole life for the kids, the centre of your life.

True or not?

Uncle George Gourmet Bread

After Lartizan,where I buy my favorite sourdough rye bread, Uncle George Gourmet Bread is my next favorite bread source. I don’t buy it often because it’s not readily available in the supermarkets I frequent. I have to go to Greenhills Shopping Center tiangge’s (bargain center) food section to buy it.

They also have a permanent kiosk (now closed) at Pioneer Center supermarket . I like going to this supermarket since it’s near my office and the parking is free and very spacious. They have everything I need and more and their prices are very reasonable.

They have a wide variety of heart healthy wheat and multi-grain bread. I’ve tried the walnut wheat loaf and multi-grain wheat. I like them both.

walnut wheat loaf P95
whole wheat multigrain P85

hi-fiber loaf P85
whole wheat loaf P75

whole wheat pandesal P75
egg pandesal P75

Then there’s the gourmet bread selection made up sweet and savory breads.

banana walnut P90
bacon & mushroom melt P90
country raisin loaf P85

They also have Hershey’s Choco Monkey bread but it was out of stock when I took these pictures. That saleslady said that was one of their bestsellers.

walnut cinnamon ring P95
sugar free walnut cinnamon ring P115

black forest loaf P140

Hong Kong polo bread P90

ciabatta P45
blueberry cream cheese loaf P115

cheese loaf P90
Japanese loaf P70

The cranberry rye bread is new so I bought that. I love rye bread and I’m always on the look out for that since I’ve never eaten New York style rye bread in Manila. The ones I’ve tried from French Baker barely taste of rye. I like it strong and flavorful.

cranberry rye bread P95
walnut cranbery w/ cream cheese P100

My favorite bread is the honey wheat bushman bread. It’s just like the bread they serve at Outback steak house. It has a light sweetness that makes this bread perfect for sweet or savory fillings. It’s even better lightly toasted.

garlic bread P35
honey wheat bushman bread P85
cheese herb foccacia P45

The cranberry rye bread didn’t taste like rye at all but i didn’t mind. It was hearty, nutty and chewy.

Some ideas for fillings perfect for this bread:
1. deli ham, brie and thin apple slices
2. chicken salad or tuna salad
3. thinly sliced turkey, mayo and cheese
4. ham and cheese

cranberry rye bread

Some ideas for fillings perfect for honey wheat bushman bread:
1. pb&j
2. cream cheese and orange marmalade
3. grilled chicken pesto
4. roast beef and cheddar cheese
5. spicy sardines in olive oil (Trust me, I had this for lunch.)

honey wheat bushman bread
w/ peanut butter

Greenhills Shopping Center (tiangge food section)

Ortigas Ave., San Juan,
Metro Manila, Philippines
telephone: 721-0572

Salcedo Saturday Market

Tordesillas Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City

Open from 7am-2pm

Lung Center Sunday Market

Diliman, Quezon City

Open from 6 am to 1 pm

SM Makati

Lunch at Charlie’s Grind and Grill

I’ve read about Charlie’s Grind and Grill from several food blogs. They all raved about the Angus burger and cheese steak sandwich. So have a lot of people in forums. I decided to finally try it this afternoon after some grocery shopping at Pioneer Center Supermarket which was nearby.

Charlie’s is located right beside a car wash.

I arrived at 2:45 pm that’s why the place wasn’t crowded.

You order from the counter and the food will be brought to your table.

They had a small indoor dining area where it was cool. I decided to sit outside to take advantage of the natural lighting for my pictures.

Angus burger w/ fries P170

I transferred the fries to another basket. I seldom meet fries I don’t like. Unfortunately this is one of them. The fries were very oily and a bit rancid. The smell of old oil was very pronounced. The fries tasted like they were re-fried because after a few minutes the fries were rock hard and still oily.

As I’ve written before in my Sango and Hotshots posts, I like my burger made of just ground beef and spices. That’s all. I don’t like any extenders like eggs, etc in my beef patty. I want to taste a solid piece of ground beef that’s firm and juicy and hopefully should taste like steak if the quality of meat is good. Since this was an Angus burger I really had high expectations.

I never eat the top bun in a burger because it distracts the taste of the beef patty. As soon as my fork and knife touched the patty I became worried. It was so soft. When I took a bite all my fears came true. The burger was mushy and reeked of eggs and extenders.

At one point I even asked the server if the meat was raw. She took a look at this piece and she said it was really like that. It had the texture of undercooked beef. If you were to pick up Charlie’s burger patty (without the bread) in your hands it will definitely break into half.

When Elisa arrived I made her taste the burger. As soon as she tasted it she exclaimed, “Jollibee’s burgers tastes better than this!” She couldn’t believe it too since all her friends also claimed Charlie’s burger to be the best. Elisa loves Chili’s burgers. That’s our next stop in my burger quest.

Elisa’s son liked the patty though. He ate it all.

remains of my burger

Elisa and her son shared a small cheese steak sandwich.

Fili sized cheese steaks P220

The cheese steak was marginally better than the burger. Since I didn’t like peppers and onions I decided to try the beef. The problem was I couldn’t find the beef! The sandwich was literally 80% vegetables with tiny bits of beef. I finally managed to find a small piece of beef and tasted it. It was ok. Just ok. The sauce wasn’t very cheezy either. It tasted more like salty, yellow sauce.

where’s the beef?

This was what we left behind. Elisa and I were truly disappointed. I can’t wait to try Elbert’s Cheesesteak Sandwiches to compare it. This is just our opinions. Everyone has their own taste. What do you think of Charlie’s food?

Charlie’s Grind and Grill16 East Kapitolyo Drive, Pasig City
telephone: 635-4857

Why we use a Mac

I totally agree with this video!