Kozui Green Tea

genmaicha lemon teaz P80
I saw Kozui Green Tea featured in a magazine recently and went to try it out since I was in Quezon City anyway for my weekly acupuncture session.

I thought it was a new restaurant until I saw it and realized it has been around for a number of years and I just totally forgot about it.
Kozui Green Tea

Kozui Green Tea-001

Kozui Green Tea-002

Kozui Green Tea-003

I hate their drink menu. I couldn’t see a thing specially with the glare from the spotlight. I just asked the server to suggest a drink for me.
Kozui Green Tea menu-003

My camera’s zoom lens was able to capture the menu a tad better.
Kozui Green Tea menu-004

Kozui Green Tea menu-005

I went there for a late afternoon snack and I chose the cold genmaicha lemon teas and an order of takoyaki. While the roasted brown rice green tea tasted ordinary and something I can replicate at home with a tea bag I thoroughly enjoyed the takoyaki or what I call octopus balls.

Most takoyaki I’ve tried in Manila are bland, mushy and boring. I was surprised that these balls were crisp on the outside and had a very flavorful filling with tender pieces of squid and other veggies which gave it a crisp bite and creamy texture. An order had 5 balls. I would definitely go back for this and maybe try a different green tea drink.
takoyaki P100
takoyaki P100 genmaicha lemon teaz P80

I was hoping that their menu would have food with green tea flavors but only the soba fit the bill. There were no green tea desserts either. Well except for their green tea ice cream and halo halo like concoctions.
Kozui Green Tea menu
Kozui Green Tea menu (click to enlarge)

Kozui Green Tea menu-001

Kozui Green Tea menu-002

Kozui Green Tea
258 B. Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines
telephone: 413-2705
website
Facebook

The Noodle Bakes – Garth Vader

The Noodle Bakes - Garth Vader-001
Peanut butter lovers in Manila rejoice! There’s a new cake in town that’s calling out to you, “eat me, eat me!”

It’s quite difficult to find good peanut butter desserts in Manila. The only one I’ve enjoyed before this cake is Wildflour’s peanut butter banana cream pie. It’s much easier to find matcha flavored desserts.

I’ve just read about Lori’s feature on The Noodle Bakes and was wondering when I would get to try Garth Vader described as peanut butter in the form of the dessert trinity of textures (fluffy, silky, and crunchy) enrobed in a deep and dark chocolate ganache, encaged in a fence of chocolate meringue. 

We were just about to order dessert in the form of sweet breakfast at the Early Bird Breakfast Club when Deb mentioned she had Garth Vader at home. I immediately asked for the check and hightailed it out of the restaurant and rushed to Deb’s house.
The Noodle Bakes - Garth Vader-002
Garth Vader (9″- P1,250 6″- P800) weight 5 lbs. 

Before I took a bite Deb told me it’s a cake you either like or don’t. Half of her siblings didn’t like it while the others raved about it. I guess only a true peanut butter lover would like it.

So what does it taste like? Get a pack of Reese’s dark chocolate peanut butter cup, a bar of Butterfinger chocolate and some cake and mash it all together and that will give you an idea what this over the top cake tastes like.

The Noodle aka Sam took all these wonderful flavors and amped it up with high quality ingredients and came out with this peanut butter lovers dream. The chocolate layer is dark and thick ganache while the peanut butter is rich and just the right consistency and sweetness. In between the chocolate and peanut butter is a layer of crunch just like a Butterfinger bar. She used a sturdier cake layer to support the weight of the fillings.

A thin slice of this cake is all you need to satisfy whatever sweet craving you may have. I had it with black espresso and it was simply divine.
The Noodle Bakes - Garth Vader-003

When The Noodle found out how much I loved the Garth Vader she sent me a box of her macarons to try.
The Noodle Bakes - macarons
macarons  P45 each

Green + White: kaya, Red: speculoos, Purple: pb+j, Pink: salted caramel
Green: pistachio, Yellow: lemon, White: sesame, Brown: chocolate

When I first tried the macarons I didn’t know what flavors they were since The Noodle didn’t include a cheat sheet. The very first one I tried was the purple macaron on top. I must have groaned loud enough to wake up my dog. It was peanut butter and jelly and it instantly brought back memories of Smucker’s Goober PB & J. Remember the peanut butter with a stripe of jelly? The girl has a way with peanut butter that I just adore.

While she needs to improve on the meringue shells which were a bit soft and lacking in crunch her fillings were mostly perfect. I loved the chocolate, specuulos & pb+j the best. I hope she makes matcha and chocolate orange flavors too.
The Noodle Bakes - macarons-001

The Noodle Bakes menu
menu (click to enlarge)

Give someone you love something sweet and delicious for Valentine’s day. Call The Noodle.
The Noodle Bakes - Garth Vader

The Noodle Bakes
cellphone: +63 920 920 7268
email: thenoodlebakes@gmail.com
Facebook

Please put in your orders at least 3 days before the pick up date (rush orders may be attended to depending on the noodle’s load). All orders are for pick up (address will be given upon the order)

Early Bird Breakfast Club

I love breakfast food but I don’t wake up early enough to indulge in a full breakfast. My usual breakfast is simply Greek yogurt with fresh fruit.

When I was notified that an all breakfast restaurant opened in The Fort Complex I didn’t waste any time to try it out for lunch. I find it comforting to be able to eat breakfast at any time of the day.

The Early Bird Full English Breakfast P495

We entered through the side of Gourdo’s and walked straight to Early Bird Breakfast Club which was next to Zong.
Early Bird Breakfast Club

Early Bird Breakfast Club-001

Early Bird Breakfast Club-002

Early Bird Breakfast Club-003

I really liked the diverse selections on their menu. It catered to rice and bread fans as well to those who choose to eat a sweet breakfast.
Early Bird Breakfast Club menu
menu (click to enlarge)

We weren’t able to try any of the sweet selections so I’m definitely going back for the peanut butter and caramel French toast.
Early Bird Breakfast Club menu-001

Early Bird Breakfast Club-004

It’s not obvious from this picture but the glass had a nice pink hue.
Early Bird Breakfast Club-005

I’m not an eggs and bacon person but I really enjoyed the full English breakfast which the four of us shared. We ate our food family style so everyone got to try it all.
The Early Bird Full English Breakfast P495-001
The Early Bird Full English Breakfast P495

I enjoyed the sausage the most. The toasted bread was surprisingly good too. I just wish they used fresh mushrooms instead of the canned variety.
The Early Bird Full English Breakfast P495-002

For a lighter but equally tasty entree the breakfast tart is a good choice. I loved the crisp cheesy base of the tart.
Early Bird breakfast tart P285
Early Bird breakfast tart P285

The tart was filled with sausage, bacon, mushroom, egg and tomatoes.
Early Bird breakfast tart P285-001

My first choice for a full breakfast is garlic rice with tapa or tuyo flakes. Their version of crispy adobo flakes gives me the best of both with it’s salty, crispy shredded meat. It was a very generous portion too with an almost equal ratio of adobo and rice. You can actually order extra rice and this entree will be good enough for two or one really hungry person. This is a must order!
adobo sunrise P315
adobo sunrise P315

The longganisa was sweet and garlicky and was quite lean. It was good but nothing special. It was the only dish that we didn’t finish. We ate the rice with the adobo flakes.
viva longganisa P345
viva longganisa P345

P1090819

I’m sure my friends love bacon but their bacon just looked unappetizing so no one touched it.
The Early Bird Full English Breakfast P495-003

I forgot to take pictures of the coffee but it passed my high standards. It was strong and good!

Congratulations to the owners and chefs of Early Bird Breakfast Club! The food was excellent and I can’t wait to go back. Maybe for dinner next. I have my eye on the chorizo mushroom risotto.

I hope you will serve biscuits and gravy and scones too. Oh and apple pancakes and Dutch pancakes too.
P1090822

Early Bird Breakfast Club
Unit C, Ground Floor, Fort Pointe 2 Bldg.,
The Fort Complex, 28th Street, Bonifacio Global City, 1634 Taguig
Phone (02) 470 8847
website
Facebook

Operating Hours:
Sunday – Thursday, 7:00 am – 10:00 pm
Friday – Saturday, 24 Hours

Chinese New Year 2013

Deli de San Honore - pomelo salad
新年快樂 Xin Nian Kuai Le,  Kiong Hee Huat Tsai!!! Welcome to the Year of the Snake. How did you celebrate the New Year?

For the longest time our family eats in a Chinese restaurant suffering through slow service, large crowds and noisy ambiance. In recent years we started having dinner in our house where we can relax and actually hear each other.

This year I decided to have our dinner catered by Deli de San Honore after trying several of their dishes in other parties. This is Chef Jeremy the one who cooked all the wonderful food I ordered. He and my friend Debbie delivered the food personally. Their food was transported in this huge insulated cabinet and arrived piping hot. We just transferred the food to my chafing dishes.
Deli de San Honore's Chef Jeremy
Deli de San Honore’s Chef Jeremy

Although there were several Thai dishes including the pomelo salad pictured above there wasn’t a theme to our dinner. I just ordered dishes I liked and I knew my family would enjoy.

Jeremy’s Pad Thai is one of my favorites. It’s sweet and has lots of large prawns and fried tofu cubes.
Deli de San Honore - Pad Thai
Pad Thai

I love chicken pie and have been looking for a good one and this comes very close to my ideal pie. The crust is flaky and the filling creamy and good. I just wish there were a tad less potatoes.
Deli de San Honore - chicken pie
chicken pie

Deli de San Honore - fish in black bean garlic sauce
fish in black bean garlic sauce

As expected the biggest hit was the US Angus corned beef which I served with horseradish and mustard.
Deli de San Honore - fresh corned beef
boiled corned beef

One of my favorites is their chicken and pork satay. Even without any sauce the meat is really flavorful and tender. I forgot to take a picture of the satay sauce and it’s the best! Just the sauce and rice you would be happy already. It’s not spicy and has a rich coconut and lemongrass flavor. It also has ground peanuts which you can taste.
Deli de San Honore - beef satay
pork satay

Some of my cousins like the chicken while others preferred the pork. Personally I like both!! I take the meat the stick and pile them on my plate and pour on the heavenly sauce.
Deli de San Honore - pork satay
chicken satay

The only thing I made was a small dish of macaroni & cheese with chorizo bits for the kids.
macaroni & cheese
macaroni & cheese

I had a hard time deciding what dessert to buy. I was choosing between coffee cheesecake or Garth Vader (post to follow) then I remembered the plaisir sucre I loved from Kitchen’s Best Home Patissserie. When I went to their store I was informed that I needed to order it a day before. I then bought the purple yam cake (ube sansrival) which I also enjoyed in their dessert buffet.
Kitchen's Best Home Patisserie - purple yam cake
Kitchen’s Best Home Patisserie – purple yam cake

I kept the ube sansrival in the freezer from the time I brought it home until the time I sliced it. It was really hard to slice because it wasn’t crisp at all. When I took a bite I almost gagged with how sweet it was. I don’t know what happened to this cake. I bought their coffee toffee sans rival before and it was really crunchy. This soggy overly sweet purple yam cake was a major disappointment.
Kitchen's Best Home Patisserie - purple yam cake -001

Thank goodness my cousin Kevin brought 2 boxes of J.Co donuts which everyone enjoyed.
J.Co tiramisu & alcapone donuts
J.Co tiramisu & alcapone donuts

J.Co donuts

As usual I forgot to take pictures of people save for my youngest niece who just adored my doggie, Chino.
Bree & Chino
Bree & Chino

Bree

Deli de San Honore c/o Jeremy
telephone: 927-8649
cellphone no.: +63939-4710429

Kitchen’s Best Home Patisserie
McKinley Park Residences

3rd Avenue and 31st Street
1201 Fort Bonifacio
telephone: 478-4870
Facebook

J.Co Donuts & Coffee
Website
Facebook

branches:
J.CO SM Megamall
Ground floor, Megastrip B, SM Megamall
telephone: 385-3488

J.CO SM Mall of Asia
Ground floor, North Parking Bldg. (near Hypermarket)
telephone: 823-9627; 823-9252

J.CO Greenbelt 3
-Level 3, Greenbelt 3 (near cinemas)
telephone: 621-62-93/ 720-2641

J.CO TriNoma
Lobby Level, near North Carpark Entrance and mall entrance near North Ave.
corner Mindanao Ave.
telephone: 621-55-76/ 718-3461

J.CO SM Fairview
Upper Ground Floor, Main Building
telephone: 376-7056/ 376-7057

J.CO Alabang Town Center
Ground Floor, The Gardens (Expansion Wing)
telephone: 403-0049/ 511-0540

J.CO Eastwood
1800 bldg. Eastwood Avenue
telephone: 570-3612/ 570-3660

Bizu Private Caterer

Bizu Private Caterer
I recently attended a dinner party catered by Bizu Private Caterer.

Bizu Private Caterer-001

Check out my previous dinner catered by Bizu.
Bizu Private Caterer-002

I really love this salad. It had all the important elements – crunch, sweet, salty and more crunch.
Bizu Private Caterer- mandarin orange & roasted almond salad with crisp  bacon in honey orange  yogurt dressing
mandarin orange & roasted almond salad with crisp bacon in honey orange yogurt dressing

This was exactly how they arranged the food. All the carbs first then the protein at the end. Maybe they hope you will fill up your plate with all carbs and less protein?
Bizu Private Caterer- garlic herbed foccacia & bow knot rolls
garlic herbed foccacia & bow knot rolls

Bizu Private Caterer- three cheese, spinach & mushroom ravioli
three cheese, spinach & mushroom ravioli

I didn’t try any of the carbs except for one ravioli. I heard that this linguine was really spicy.
Bizu Private Caterer- linguine with clams in aglio olio
linguine with clams in aglio olio

Bizu Private Caterer- rice pilaf with chickpeas, sweet peas & asparagus
rice pilaf with chickpeas, sweet peas & asparagus

Of all the dishes this one had the most leftovers.
Bizu Private Caterer- grilled vegetable brochettes with roasted baby potatoes
grilled vegetable brochettes with roasted baby potatoes

Bizu Private Caterer- cobbler fish with dill butter sauce
cobbler fish with dill butter sauce

I took home some of the delicious chicken. I just wish they used white meat instead.
Bizu Private Caterer- chicken with bleu cheese tarragon sauce
chicken with bleu cheese tarragon sauce

As usual the roast beef belly was wiped out but I did manage to take home a few cubes which was all that was left.
Bizu Private Caterer-10 hour US roast beef belly with mushrom sauce & horseradish cream
10 hour US roast beef belly with mushrom sauce & horseradish cream

I wasn’t feeling well and I convinced myself to start my diet that night so all I ate was one plate with a chunk of beef, salad, one ravioli and a roll. I was full and satisfied with it.

Bizu Private Caterer-012 Bizu Private Caterer-013

Seeing the macarons reminded me that Bizu was the very first establishment to introduce macarons to Manila many, many years ago.
Bizu Private Caterer- macarons
macarons

Bizu Private Caterer- mango chiboust
mango chiboust

Bizu Private Caterer- creme brulee in vol-au-vent
creme brulee in vol-au-vent

Bizu Private Caterer- petite opera cake
petite opera cake

I was able to stop myself from getting any of Bizu’s desserts but I couldn’t resist getting a small slice of my favorite queso de bola cheesecake.
Dessert Du Jour's queso de bola cheesecake & nutella gateau crepe
Dessert Du Jour’s queso de bola cheesecake & nutella gateau crepe

Bizu Private Caterer
telephone: (02) 812-64-51
email: bizuprivatecaterer@yahoo.com
website

Dessert du Jour by Mara de la Rama
Unit 51 Ecology Village, Dasmarinas Village Side,
Gate 5 Edsa, Makati City
telephone: +63917-8116272 0r +63917-8036272
Facebook

Lunch at Kichitora

special miso chasu ramen with ma oil P395-001
Yes another ramen restaurant has joined the ramen craze in Manila. Even though I’ve often said I’m not a big ramen fan I decided to try Kichitora at SM Megamall just for my dear readers.

Kichitora is located at the 2nd level of the atrium right across Yabu.
Kichitora SM Megamall

This is the first branch of Kichitora outside of Japan.
Kichitora SM Megamall-001

Kichitora means lucky tiger that’s why their decor features tigers on the walls. That’s the young owner, Larson Chan, in the picture below.
Kichitora SM Megamall-002

Even their bathroom had tiger stripes tiles. rowr.
Kichitora's bathroom

Their kitchen is manned by at least 1 of 3 rotating Japanese chefs who come to Manila.
Kichitora SM Megamall-003

Kichitora SM Megamall-004

I liked their lightweight acrylic water glass.
Kichitora SM Megamall-005

Three of us intentionally ordered different kinds of ramen so we could try more varieties. I liked Elisa’s order of the more traditional miso ramen with a touch of spice and a drizzle of ma yu or black garlic oil which added a unique aroma and flavor.

You can request the level of heat for this ramen. The soup was very rich and flavorful. The noodles were really al dente even though we forgot to request if to be katamen (very firm).
special miso chasu ramen with ma oil P395
special miso chasu ramen with ma oil (ma yu) P395

Kit ordered the tsukumen which he really loved since it was his first time to try ramen with a separate dipping sauce. I tried it and it was good but I liked Mitsuyado Sei-Men’s version better.
spicy ma bo tofu with pork tsukumen P395
spicy ma bo tofu with pork tsukumen P395

Since I had a cold and cough at the time I ordered the chicken soup based ramen. The soup was like concentrated chicken soup and was very soothing for me. It tasted like true comfort food. I just found the soup a tad sweet. I later learned they topped the soup with a dash of sugar. Next time I will request them to skip the sugar. I did love the super tender chicken breast in my ramen. I only eat white meat so it was a treat for me to eat chicken breast cooked perfectly.

Larson, the owner, explained to me the this soup has a shoyu (soy sauce) base that’s why I could taste some sweetness. He told me they will be having paitan shio (salt) soup soon.

I noticed that towards the end my noodles were already soft. Larson said in Japan they normally eat a whole bowl of ramen in 5 minutes or less to avoid the noodles getting soft. So remember to eat your ramen faster to enjoy the noodles at their best texture.
paitan chicken ramen P360
paitan chicken ramen P360

The gyouza was just ok. Not bad but nothing fantastic either.
gyouza P150

They only had two desserts to choose from and the word matcha literally jumped out of the menu. I simply loved the distinct coconut flavor of the soft, silky tofu. It tasted more like panna cotta than tofu. There wasn’t much matcha flavor but I didn’t mind since the coconut tofu more than made up for it.
coconut tofu with matcha & azuki P150
coconut tofu with matcha & azuki P150

Kichitora SM Megamall-006

Kichitora is definitely in the game for the ramen competition of which store will last the longest in Manila. They have a strong product and will be a tough competitor. Try it out and let me know which is your favorite ramen.

Kichitora menu Kichitora menu-001 Kichitora menu-002

Kichitora menu (click to enlarge)

Kichitora menu-003 Kichitora menu-004 Kichitora menu-005

Kichitora
2nd Floor, Mega Atrium, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong, Philippines
telephone: (02) 451-2218
Facebook

Hours:
Mon – Thu: 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
Fri – Sat: 10:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sun: 10:00 am – 9:00 pm

Green Tea Cheesecake from Cheesecakes by Guy

Green Tea Cheesecake - Cheesecakes by Guy
I have a food blog because I love to eat and I want to share my experiences with my friends and family. I don’t write to earn money or to get free food. But when I get an email that I will be receiving a green tea cheesecake to sample it makes me realize that I’m a lucky, lucky girl.

I was expecting a small cheesecake instead I received a whole green tea cheesecake. It was sent to my store and usually I’m very patient about not touching food until I can bring it home and take pictures of it properly.

Since it’s not just plain cheesecake but green tea which is my favorite flavor I was only able to take this lone picture with my iPhone before I attacked it with a spoon.
Green Tea Cheesecake - Cheesecakes by Guy-001

When I took a bite of the cheesecake my first thought was it’s not rich enough. You can’t tell from the picture but the texture was maybe half the density of real New York cheesecake. I also thought that the green tea flavor wasn’t enough.

As I ate more cheesecake I appreciated the smooth texture and the lingering flavor of the matcha powder. The taste stayed on my tongue long after I finished eating.
Green Tea Cheesecake - Cheesecakes by Guy-002

I can guarantee that this cheesecake will keep fresh for 1 week in the refrigerator because that’s how long I kept it in a air tight glass container. I would eat a small slice almost everyday and I liked it more and more each day. Since the cheesecake wasn’t too heavy it wasn’t nakakasuya.  It was perfect for a little after meal dessert.

Gregory Guy’s cheesecake has a well balanced flavor and texture. It’s the kind of cheesecake that will please a wider range of people even those who lean towards a denser type of cheesecake like me. I will definitely order the coffee cheesecake next.

Greg’s only 25 and I can see he will have many years of success in his future with his cheesecakes. Hopefully he’ll branch out with other desserts too soon.
Green Tea Cheesecake - Cheesecakes by Guy-003

Other Cheesecake varieties:
Classic, Lemon, Coffee, Caramel and Oreo flavor – mini P500 / whole P1,000

Green Tea made with premium Matcha Green Tea Powder and Vanilla made with fresh vanilla beans – mini P600 / whole P1,200

Cheesecakes by Guy
191 Swallow Drive Greenmeadows
telephone: +632 634-4362
cellphone: +63917 898-8396
Facebook

Order 2 days in advance for guaranteed freshness.
Pick up points:
Greenmeadows, QC, any time, any day
Jupiter Street, Makati, Monday-Friday except holidays,
Office Hours 9:30 am – 4:00 pm

It’s my blog’s 4th year anniversary!

Party Cake
Happy Anniversary to me!!! I actually have an alarm on my phone to remind me of this date. Time goes by so fast and I can’t believe it’s actually been four years since I started blogging.

My friend Elisa always tells me I have ADHD since I flit from topic to topic when conversing with her and others. You should see how I use my iPad. One minute I’m reading an ebook the next I’m playing Candy Crush Saga only to switch to Zite to read up on news and recipes. This is why I myself am amazed that I continue to update this blog regularly considering my short attention span.

2012 was an excellent year for food and travel although it was also the year that i will never forget since a multitude of non-life threatening health problems cropped up one after the other (is it old age?). I want to thank ALL my doctors who patiently answered my oft repeated question, “when can I travel?”

Despite all these physical obstacles it didn’t slow down my travel even though some days the pain in my knees and feet almost made me give up. Even with 3 different surgeries (eye and knee) the will to travel and eat still conquered. My health is much better now so I foresee more travel in 2013.

I hope all my readers old and new will continue to follow my food and travel adventures. Thanks for being a part of my blog.

Leslie

Dinner at Órale! Taqueria Mexicana

traditional Margarita on the rocks P175
I’ve been wanting to try the food at Órale! for the longest time but somehow it always slips my mind with all the new restaurants popping up here and there. It was a miracle that I finally remembered it a few weeks ago.

Orale! Taqueria Mexicana

The menu was your typical Mexican fast food menu but they had a lot more choices for fillings.
Orale! Taqueria Mexicana menu
Orale! Taqueria Mexicana menu (click to enlarge)

Orale! Taqueria Mexicana menu-001

Orale! Taqueria Mexicana-003

There was limited seating inside but they had more tables outside.
Orale! Taqueria Mexicana-004

We first tried two Margaritas, one traditional and one frozen. We all liked the frozen one better although the other one had more kick to it.
frozen mango Margarita P195
traditional Margarita on the rocks P175  frozen mango Margarita P195

We intentionally ordered different fillings for each one.
grande burrito barbacoa P385
grande burrito barbacoa P385

I really liked the burrito. It was very flavorful specially the barbacoa or roast beef. The best part was the ratio of meat, beans and sauce was just perfect with the rice. I also appreciated the filling was not wet and soggy like in other Mexican restaurants in Manila.
grande burrito barbacoa P385-001

Deb’s favorite was the enchilada with carnita or pulled pork. The sauce, cheese and sour cream on top of the stuffed tortilla was the perfect blend of salty and creamy.
enchilada carnita P315
enchilada carnita P315

For the quesadilla we chose grilled beef for it’s filling. It was good too! So far everything was good to this point.
quesadilla carne asada P285
quesadilla carne asada P285

We asked that the toppings of the tacos be put on the side so this is what our order of lengua tacos looked like. At this point good became GREAT.
dos tacos lengua P255
dos tacos lengua P255

I’ve never had Mexican style lengua before and let me tell you it was fantabulous!!! I ate my taco bare just like what you see in the picture below. The ox tongue was so tender and seasoned just right. This was my favorite of all. I can’t wait to try the lengua in an enchilada or burrito next time.
dos tacos lengua P255-001

People of Manila let me introduce you to the best nachos I’ve eaten so far. It was simple with just pieces of grilled beef, salsa, refried beans, cheese and sour cream but the taste was out of this world. The whole plate was warmed up in the salamander until the cheese melted. If I didn’t eat anything else I could finish an order just by myself since I LOVE nachos. I wonder if I could persuade them to put lengua on my nachos?
carne asada nachos regular P275
carne asada nachos regular P275

I don’t really know what this sauce was and which dish it came with but we used it as a dip for the tortilla chips and it was a pleasant surprise. It tasted like sun dried tomatoes and lots of spices.
P1090657

Orale! Taqueria Mexicana-005

I can’t believe Deb’s baby girl is all grown up and can drink her Margarita faster than mama and the silly aunties.
Orale! Taqueria Mexicana-006

For dessert we had strawberries. Yummmmmmm!!!!
frozen strawberry Margarita P195
frozen strawberry Margarita P195

For days after I couldn’t stop thinking about our meal. I kept finding opportunities to go back since I loved the food so much. I may be late in the discovering Órale! but I’m glad I did. I will most definitely be back. Again and again and again.

Órale! Taqueria Mexicana
G/F, The Fort Strip cor 7th & 28th St.
Bonifacio Global City, Philippines.
telephone: +632 552-2660
Facebook
website

Pinoy Potluck Party

Pinoy Potluck Party- grilled prawns
My high school classmate Lorraine (Onie) came home to Manila for a vacation. She left at the beginning of high school to move to San Francisco. Most of my friends haven’t seen her since then. We threw her a little get together and chose Filipino food for our party’s theme.

Pinoy Potluck Party

So these are the food my friends brought to the party. A lesson learned was not to bring food for the number of guests instead bring half of that. We estimated an attendance of 20 people so everyone brought food for 20 people. All our food could have fed 50 people!! Jenny was right. Next time just order food for 10 people.
Pinoy Potluck Party- pancit malabon
pancit malabon

Pinoy Potluck Party- Pixie's rellenong bangus
Pixie’s Sinugba rellenong bangus

Pinoy Potluck Party-Heaven's pork barbeque
Heaven’s pork barbeque

Pinoy Potluck Party- Heaven's boneless chicken barbeque
Heaven’s boneless chicken barbeque

Deb’s cook made the next two dishes which I loved. Home cooking is always the best.
Pinoy Potluck Party- kare kare
kare kare

I’ve never ever had alamang rice before and it was super duper good. The rice was mixed with pechay tagalog and topped with fresh alamang (tiny shrimp) fried to a crisp.
Pinoy Potluck Party- crispy alamang rice
crispy alamang rice

Everyone who ate the dinuguan raved about it specially with the crunchy intestine topping which I forgot to photograph. It was ordered from Deli de San Honore.
Pinoy Potluck Party- deli de san honore's dinuguan
deli de san honore’s dinuguan

My contribution was the lechon kawali.
Pinoy Potluck Party- lechon kawali
lechon kawali

Mary Ann brought two kinds of paella from Tai’s Best a restaurant in Alabang.
Pinoy Potluck Party- Tai's Best paella
Tai’s Best paella

Pinoy Potluck Party-011

Can you guess which one is Lorraine? Naturally she’s the only one not wearing black. I noticed that friends who have lived in the US for many years seldom wear black unlike their Manila counterparts.
Pinoy Potluck Party-012

Pinoy Potluck Party- The Meteors
The Meteors

This is my only shot of Lorraine with her precious daughter Shayla and hubby Seamus.
Pinoy Potluck Party-014

Pinoy Potluck Party-015

Pinoy Potluck Party-016

Deb always orders Dessert du Jour’s crepe cake but this time she got their new salted caramel chocolate torte and walnut date bars. I like salted caramel but the caramel layer for this torte was ultra salty. It was like they made a mistake with the quantity of salt. Even when eaten with the chocolate layer all I could taste was the salty topping. We were quite disappointed with this.
Pinoy Potluck Party- Dessert du Jour's salted caramel & chocolate torte
Dessert du Jour’s salted caramel & chocolate torte

Candy brought the dulce de leche cheesecake which I found overly sweet. Too bad since I liked the texture of the cheesecake.
Pinoy Potluck Party- Forget Me Not's dulce de leche cheesecake
Forget Me Not’s dulce de leche cheesecake

The walnut date bar turned out to be the best dessert on my plate. It was just the right amount of sweetness and the chewy texture was delightful.
Pinoy Potluck Party- Dessert Du Jour's walnut date bar
Dessert Du Jour’s walnut date bar

Pinoy Potluck Party- suman from Butuan
suman from Butuan

Pinoy Potluck Party- Nathaniel's buko pandan salad
Nathaniel’s buko pandan salad

Pinoy Potluck Party- Arny Dading's peachy peachy
Arny Dading’s peachy peachy

At the end of the night it was Jenny’s contribution that was the most fought over. She brought lots of takeout containers!! All of us brought home so much food and dessert. It was a fun night getting together with classmates we haven’t seen in a long time. See you in SF next time Onie!!!

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

Pixie’s Sinugba (rellenong bangus)
branches
website

Heaven’s Barbeque
For Deliveries:
Savanna Commercial Center Vito Cruz cor Pasong Tamo, Makati – 897-2575
7224 Malugay St. cor. Buendia Bel-Air, Makati – 894-3899 or 893-4715
Madison Square Ortigas Ave Greenhills – 726-0250 or 727-3206
C5 cor. Levi Mariano Taguig – 986-0143
Aguirre St. BF Paranaque – 871-8298
Lucky China Town Binondo
El Shaddai – 820-2645
The Fort Strip 7th Ave Bonifacio Global City – 519-2070
website
Facebook

Deli de San Honore c/o Jeremy
telephone: 927-8649
cellphone no.: +63939-4710429

Tai’s Best
Molito Commercial Complex,Madrigal Ave cor. Zapote Road, Alabang, Muntinlupa City

Dessert du Jour by Mara de la Rama
Unit 51 Ecology Village, Dasmarinas Village Side, Gate 5 Edsa, Makati City
telephone: +63917-8116272 0r +63917-8036272
Facebook

Forget Me Not Specialty Cakes
Makati Cake Shop – 928 Arnaiz Ave (formerly Pasay Road,Behind New World Hotel) Makati telephone: 869-5333
Main Kitchen – 60 Broadway Ave. New Mla,QC. telephone:723-2776
Facebook

Nathaniel’s Bakeshop
ITC Commercial Bldg, Timog Avenue, Quezon City
telephone: 921-1959
Facebook

Arny ♥ Dading’s Peachy-Peachy
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