Shoot First Eat Later

Manila Ocean Park

Last month I got to be a tourist in my home town, Manila. My cousin Angie and her son Daniel came from Taiwan for a short visit and I brought them to Manila Ocean Park.

I should say it was Angie who brought me to Manila Ocean Park instead since she was the one wh bought our tickets online. Daniel wasn’t very happy at first since they arrived at around 2:00 am and he was tired.

One can pay for the area they only want to see which is a good thing for repeat visitors.

Since it was our first time Angie got the complete package which included almost everything. We didn’t get to use all the tickets since some attractions were closed that day and we didn’t wait for the night musical fountain show.

sea lion show

koi feeding (extra charge)

The oceanarium was really nice with lots of sea creatures to behold. My only gripe was the warm, warm, super warm air-conditioning. It was really uncomfortable and annoying.

acorn barnacle

Philippine green mussels “tahong”

reef stonefish

bluefin trevally

leopard shark/zebra shark

blacktip reef shark

If you’re the adventurous sort you may want to swim with the sharks. You’d have to get in the cage though. To Daniel’s disappointment he didn’t meet the age and height requirement for this.

shark encounter

Daniel had to settle for a picture.

I thought it would finally cool up when we went to the Antarctica. Wishful thinking on my part.

The real penguins were the small ones.

The only place where it was cold was inside the Snow Village.

We paid extra to go in a walk-in freezer that was made to look like a winter wonderland complete with snow and kiddie trains for a good photo op which we had to pay for too. There were heavy coats for us to wear before going in. The temperature inside was a freezing -17C.

The blast of cold air definitely put Daniel in a good mood. He also got his wish to ride in a jeepney.

Next up was the fish spa which I was looking forward to. It cost a very reasonable P150 per person for 20 minutes for fish to nibble on your feet’s dead skin.

fish spa

The fish were much bigger than I thought. They seem to have grown 10 fold from the other pictures I’ve seen around the web. I cannot describe how creepy the feeling was. I kept shrieking and pulling my feet out. It took me more than 5 minutes to keep still and ‘enjoy’ the sensation of fish chewing on my skin. I kept thinking of the movie Piranha. This experience is definitely not for the ticklish.

The only way to go down was to pass by the park’s restaurant.

My favorite part was Jellies, the exhibit featuring all kinds of jellyfish. I would go back for this. It felt very calming looking at the lighted jellyfish displays.

Since the jellyfish were translucent they absorbed the lights which constantly changed color.

I took so much pictures of jellyfish and this is my favorite shot.

Mirrors played an important role in this room.

I’m glad I was able to visit the Manila Ocean Park. It was a good adventure for any age.

Manila Ocean Park
Brgy. 666 Manila, Philippines
02 567 7777
website
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Twinings Diamond Jubilee Loose Leaf Tea Blend

There’s nothing more I like than tea, well next to coffee that is. When Twinings sent me a can of their limited edition tea I made myself a cup or two. Perfect to drink on a lazy Sunday afternoon. All I needed was some scones. Too bad they didn’t send me that too.

A Tea Party for Her Majesty!
Twinings honors Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee with a special blend in commemorative tin cans

Twinings, the official tea of the British Royal Family since 1837, joins the world in celebrating the 60th year of Her Majesty, The Queen’s accession to the throne with a special blend of loose whole leaf tea in limited edition commemorative tin cans.

The world-famous English tea company has combined the rich, malty, second flush Assam tea from the Brahmaputra Valley in North Eastern Assam with the smooth, mellow Yunnan from South Western China for that perfectly blended blacktea – fit for a queen! For an additional touch of royalty, Twinings makes available the special commemorative blend in elegant pink, green and blue tin cans that provide you with a special keepsake from the Queen’s diamond jubilee year.

To enjoy the Twinings Diamond Jubilee Blend, add one teaspoon of loose tea leaves per cup of freshly boiled water. Leave to brew for 3-4 minutes. For best results, use a China or iron teapot, and enjoy with milk, sugar, honey or lemon, depending on your preference.

Crowned as Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary is the second longest serving monarch next to Queen Victoria. Her Majesty, The Queen and His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, reign over the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms, including Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Saint Lucia.

The celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s 60th year in throne kicked off with a Diamond Jubilee Weekend last June with a big Jubilee lunch, the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, a BBC Concert at the Buckingham Palace, a service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, a lunch at West Minister, a carriage procession to Buckingham Palace and a balcony appearance by Her Majesty. The year-long celebration is a tribute to Her Majesty, The Queen’s lifetime of duty to her people.

Granted the Royal Warrant for tea by Queen Victoria 175 years ago, Twinings has had the honour of supplying every successive British Monarch’s household with tea. The company has likewise celebrated countless milestones with the Royal Family through specialty tea blends, including the recent Royal Wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s reign.

The Twinings Diamond Jubilee Loose Leaf Tea Blend (100 grams) in limited edition commemorative tin cans is now available in all Santi’s outlets in the Philippines with a suggested retail price of Php 580.00.

Join Twinings as it celebrates Her Majesty’s reign with a cup of hot Twinings specialty tea!

I had my tea straight but I bet it would have tasted great with a dash of milk and sugar too.

Twinings Philippines on Facebook

Naked Apple Pie

Yesterday I had this burning desire for some apple pie specifically Sugarhouse’s apple pie which is my all time favorite pie. But I was concerned about my ever expanding waist line so I decided to make a healthier alternative.

I based this on Joy the Baker’s recipe which I modified just a little bit. This recipe is very easy and quick to make.

Slice 4 Fuji apples and squeeze some lemon juice on it to avoid browning.

Add the brown sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch in a bowl and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients to the apples and toss until all the slices are well coated.

At the last minute I decided to add lemon and orange zest. This is optional but I liked the extra flavor dimension.

Dot the apple mixture with some butter and bake in a 400F oven for 15-25 minutes. I baked it for a full 25 minutes which yielded the perfect tender crisp texture I love. You can bake it until you achieve your desired texture.

I call this my naked apple pie. No crust below and above, just really delicious apple pie filling. I was so happy that it came out to be as crunchy as Sugarhouse’s apples. I think this is the way they do it. Bake the filling separately then assemble the pie. All the goodness of apple pie without the extra carbs and calories from the crust.

Eating a few slices really sated my apple pie craving. Even the next day it was just as good cold straight from the refrigerator. I plan to add some grated cheddar cheese on top of the apples for a more indulgent snack. These would also be fantastic on plain yogurt for breakfast.

I had some leftover FIC Vermont Classic Cheesecake Frozen Custard in the freezer and made apple pie a la mode. Oh wow!! It was the best dessert ever. I took a couple of bites and my mom stole it from me and she quietly enjoyed her impromptu dessert.

Naked Apple Pie
slightly adapted from Joy the Baker’s recipe
4 Fuji apples, peeled and sliced thin
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cornstarch
sprinkling of ground all spice (I didn’t have any so I skipped this)
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small cubes
zest of lemon or orange (optional)

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Peel, core and slice apples thinly. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, all spice, salt and citrus zest in a small bowl. Mix well and pour over apple slices. Toss well until all the apple slices are evenly coated. Spread the apples on the baking sheet and top with cubes of butter. Bake for 15 to 25 minutes until golden, bubbly or to your desired texture. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It can be eaten cold or warmed up.

Maya Cake Mixes

I never buy cake mixes or instant stuff. My belief is if I can’t make it from scratch or buy the finished product why bother. But when Maya sent me samples of their ready to make mixes I made them without any expectations.

Maya Hotcake, Banana Cake & Butter Cake Mixes

Maya Cake Mix instructions

Maya Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix

Over the long weekend my staff made all the these without my instruction or presence. It was that easy for them to follow the instructions. I woke up to see all these pans on the dining table.

Maya Butter Cake, Banana Cake & Fudge Brownie

I was so surprised that the banana cake was good and tasted almost like homemade. It had the same texture and flavor as the one we make for my store from scratch. Only the butter cake wasn’t to our liking.

The brownies were also delicious. They were very dense and fudgy. I added walnuts to the batter to make it even better. I’m sure if you brought this to a potluck no one would accuse you of using an instant mix. You can add any kind of nuts, dried fruit and even frosting to make it your own.

Check out Maya’s other products in your local supermarket. I saw Maya Think Heart Whole Wheat Pancake Mix in Unimart the other day and am curious to try that next.

Maya Kitchen website

Masatami Shave Ice

We didn’t have any dessert at Delicious Kitchen because I wanted to use the coupons I was given for Masatami Shave Ice located across the supermarket of Robinson’s Galleria.

I’ve seen this kiosk before but never had the desire to try it since I wasn’t fond of Hawaiian flavored ice.

I didn’t know they also had flavored shave ice just like the ones at Lugang Cafe and Cold Layers.

Masatami Flavored Shave Ice menu

Masatami Hawaiian Shave Ice menu

Their flower shaped plastic cups were adorable.

This is how they made the flavored shave ice. A huge block of pandan ice was placed in a machine that shaved into really thin layers.

We all liked the subtle flavor of the langka and the smooth and creamy ‘ice’ which tasted really like ice cream. This ‘ice’ contained milk.

langka (jackfruit) flavored shave ice with nata de coco & pearls P95 (large) plus P8 per topping

buko pandan shave ice with pearls, nata de coco & azuki beans

All the flavors were really good but everyone’s favorite was the Swiss cheese. This was my order without any toppings. It looks like so much more because the toppings didn’t flatten it. The Swiss cheese flavored ice reminded be of my childhood favorite cheese dirty ice cream but this was the gourmet kind and tasted 100x better. There was a slight salty and sweet cheese flavor. I could eat this everyday!

Swiss cheese shave ice

We also tried one Hawaiian shave ice or snow cone as it was known when I was young. I don’t see this around much these days. I used to love it when I was a kid.

They have a lot of fruit flavored syrups as well as sugar free and liquor syrups. We chose the blueberry cheesecake & strawberry margarita and it was really sweet. But at least the syrups taste true to the flavor and doesn’t taste like cough syrup.

I don’t get why they had to top it with condensed milk when it was already so sweet. Maybe for added creaminess? Five people shared one order and we couldn’t finish it. Probably because we all had our own flavored ice too.

Adults may not be so keen on this but I bet the kiddies will love this specially the bubble gum and cotton candy flavors.

Hawaiian Flavored ice – blueberry cheesecake & strawberry margarita

I can’t wait to go back for another large Swiss cheese flavored shave ice. I love, love, love it!! If you’re in Robinson’s Galleria or any other malls listed below please do try this. I guarantee you will love it too.

Masatami Shave Ice
Branches:
Robinsons Galleria (across the Supermarket)
Glorietta 4
SM Mall of Asia
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Delicious Kitchen by Eat Well

For my office mate’s birthday we went to Robinson’s Galleria Veranda to see which restaurant to eat at. We decided on Delicious Kitchen for some Chinese food.

The restaurant had these awful green accent lighting on the walls that gave my pictures a terrible green tinge. We ordered two bowls of wintermelon soup and had it split into 4 bowls. It was nice.

wintermelon soup with dried scallops & crabmeat P98

Birthday noodles for the birthday girl. I found the noodles to be a little too sweet when it shouldn’t be.

braised e-fu noodles with mixed vegetables P275

I don’t know what possessed me to order two fried dishes. I must miss them a lot. It’s a good thing both were fried well and it didn’t taste oily. The pork spareribs were a bit tough and lacks spice otherwise it was quite acceptable.

fried spareribs with spicy salt P295

Among the two fried dishes I enjoyed the super tender squid more. I specially loved all the fried garlic on top.

fried squid with spicy salt P285

The prawn balls were quite big and hearty.

prawn balls P355

This chicken rice dish was actually a complete meal in itself. I was surprised at how good it was. All the drippings from the chicken and sausage has infused into the rice which was also seasoned with a soy sauce mixture.

chicken with Chinese sausage rice in hot pot P250

The taro rice was made with glutinous rice and steamed. It should have been good in concept but it was too bland. Nothing a douse of soy sauce can’t fix.

taro rice P165

The food was not bad at all. I would go back for the fried squid and chicken rice. Now I have another go-to restaurant in Robinson’s Galleria.

Delicious Kitchen by Eat Well
2nd Floor Robinsons Galleria Veranda,
Robinsons Galleria,
EDSA corner Ortigas, Quezon City
telephone: 477-5082

Fruit & Nut Cheesy Biscotti

I never liked biscotti. I always thought it was dry and uninteresting. That was years ago when my taste buds were still immature.

My new love for biscotti began when I bought a chocolate chip biscotti at Figaro. I had a credit card receipt that allowed me to claim free goodies in Figaro and I added a biscotti just to reach the allocated amount. I was surprised how it sated my usual craving for cookies without as much fat and sugar. Since then I’ve also bought my share of Starbucks‘ chocolate biscotti.

Since we have a 4 day weekend in Manila I tried my hand at making biscotti. Instead of the usual sweet biscotti I decided to make a savory biscotti. I used Mark Bittman’s recipe which made a small batch in case things go wrong. I also added a mixture of dried fruits and nuts which I had lying around to add more texture and flavor.

I chose this recipe because it didn’t contain butter and had very few ingredients all of which I had on hand.

I used this cheese which I bought in Unimart. I suggest using sharp cheddar cheese for more flavor.

Other biscotti recipes don’t require a food processor but this one did. If you don’t have one I think mixing the batter by hand would work too. Just don’t over beat it.

Process the eggs and cheese in the food processor until thick and yellow for about a minute.

Add in all the dry ingredients and pulse a few times until the flour is incorporated.

I added the dried fruits and nuts and mixed the batter gently by hand. The batter should be crumbly and drier than this but I used an extra egg thinking our local eggs are smaller than American sized large eggs. Next time I’ll stick to two eggs.

Form the batter into a log on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Smooth the surface.

After the first baking of 20-25 minutes this is what it looked like. Let it cool for 10 minutes then slice with a serrated knife.

Place the sliced biscotti on the baking sheet and bake again for 15 minutes.

Flip the biscotti over and bake for another 10 minutes. Let it cool completely and do not be tempted to eat before then.

The combination of cheese, nuts and dried fruit was perfect for the biscotti. It tasted like eating a cheese plate all in one cookie. I loved the addition of cayenne pepper. It gave the biscotti a lingering heat. I plan to add more cayenne pepper and even more dried fruit next time.

Fruit & Nut Cheesy Biscotti
adapted from NY Times (Mark Bittman) recipe

2 eggs
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne or more
1/2 cup dried fruit and nuts (I used a combination of walnuts, pistachio, dried cherries and cranberries)

1. Heat the oven to 350C or 180F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Put the eggs and cheese in a food processor and process until yellow and thick, about a minute. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne and pulse three to four times until just mixed. Do not over beat.

2. Transfer the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead it until it holds together — it may be a bit crumbly at first. Shape the dough into an 8-10″ log then transfer to the baking sheet and gently flatten.

3. Bake until the log begins to color and is firm to the touch about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for about 10 minutes, then cut on the bias into half-inch slices. You can also slice them straight across horizontally for smaller pieces. Lay the biscotti flat on the baking sheet and bake until crisp and toasted, 15 minutes; flip and toast the other side for another 10 to 15 minutes. Cool completely before eating. Makes 16 biscotti.

Regent Soft Cookies

There’s a new product out in Manila’s supermarkets, Regent Food’s Soft Cookies.

I was sent a basket of all the Soft Cookie variants. You can see which one I opened first.

These cookies were inspired by popular Japanese soft cookies. There are three fruit flavors -mango, strawberry and melon plus chocolate which isn’t a fruit but better.

These super delicate cookies are individually packed in a hard plastic container to keep it’s shape.

I thought the cookies would taste like Fig Newtons but these were much softer and very crumbly. All the fruit flavors tasted good and not too sweet. The fillings were like jam but harder and almost impossible for me to cut straight without all the cookie disintegrating. It was meant to be bitten into and enjoyed.

The chocolate filled cookie contained a dark chocolate paste that was intense and not cloyingly sweet. It was quite satisfying to eat these cookies. Try them for a change and I think you’ll like it too.

Regent Foods Corporation
website
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Mom & Tina’s Mini Cinnamon Rolls

One day I came home from work to find this box of mini cinnamon rolls from Mom & Tina’s Bakery Cafe. You bet I was deliriously happy.

I’ve never had a chance to eat at Mom & Tina’s but after trying these babies I will definitely drop by their cafe one of these days.

I love cinnamon rolls but it’s another one of those ‘things I love’ that I had to give up eating. But since these were small sized and didn’t have frosting I didn’t feel as guilty eating them. It was so good straight out the box but toasted it was even better. The edges became crisp and the gooey cinnamon filling became even stickier.

Thanks again Miren for this box of deliciousness. You didn’t have to give me this but I’m glad you did.

Mom & Tina’s Bakery Cafe
FRDC Building
106 E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue,
Pasig City, Metro Manila,
Call us at 914-0833 or 571-1541
other branches here
website
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Sunday Lunch at Stella

Our big Sunday lunch group tried out Stella one of the new restaurants in Bonifacio High Street. It’s the newest baby in the Raintree Restaurants group which also owns popular restaurants Museum Cafe, Chelsea Market Cafe, Mr. Jones and Momo Cafe.

The landscaping of Bonifacio High Street was very pleasing to the eyes and senses.

Their website described Stella’s cuisine as “Wood-fired bistro that offers a full array of delights peppered with tastes true to the West Coast, the Mediterranean & South America. Stella provides sustainable handcrafted cuisine, fresh & simple.”

This is the interiors of Stella. They were fully booked due to a children’s party so they sat us at the Rocket Room next door.

The Rocket Room is a bar & lounge that shared some of Stella’s menu items plus their own hot and cold small plates perfect partners for cocktails and wine.

The dip was some kind of mixed butter compound topped with paprika. Quite tasty.

raspberry echinacea iced tea P95

The Stella salad was made with sundried tomato bits, candied rosemary pistachios, buttermilk chive-ranch dressing and malagos percorino cheese. It was a bit ordinary for me. There was just a little pistachios which didn’t even taste caramelized. The highlight was the crispy bacon.

the Stella salad P295

Stella should be more careful with the food they serve. What would you feel if you had to pay P320 for a salad with brown lettuce leaves? If they didn’t have fresh lettuce then they shouldn’t serve this salad.

Caesar California P320

The soup was served barely warm otherwise it wasn’t that bad. It reminded me of canned cream of corn.

fire roasted corn & shrimp scampi soup P195

I love bone marrow but this was over baked making the marrow dry and almost burnt. There was very little we could scrape out. Too bad since the presentation was fabulous.

bone marrow P395

A little bone marrow with rosemary sultana compote amd gremolata on herbed garlic focaccia crisps. I did enjoy the bread with the condiments.

I didn’t like the merguez sausage meatballs at all. It had a VERY strong and overwhelming cumin flavor which I call “kili kili” smell.

melted merguez sausage meatballs P295

We ordered the next two appetizers from Rocket Room’s menu. I liked them both better than the ones from Stella.

chile lime fried chicken wings P395

seafood ceviche “verde” P295

I wasn’t able to try the clam pasta but I heard comments like “so-so and not so good” from my lunch companions.

Stella’s steamy clam pasta P350

I like my pizza’s crust as thin as possible. When the pizza arrived I already thought I wouldn’t like it since the crust was so thick. When I took a bite I was surprised that it was actually good. The crust was just like good bread with a crunchy crust and edge. It reminded me of the crust of Pizzeria Delfina in San Francisco. If you love bread then you will definitely enjoy their pizzas.

straight up pepperoni pizza P295

They need to SEASON their non-meat pizzas. Bland, bland, bland.

roasted tomato “Margherita rustica” P350

I had high hopes for the truffled mushroom pizza but it was just too bland. It needed a stronger cheese and at least some salt on the mushrooms.

fire roasted truffled mushroom pizza P350

This was their classier take on the Filipino favorite ham and pineapple pizza – jamon serrano & grilled pineapple.

jamon serrano & grilled pineapple pizza P350

My first slice of pizza I ate the everything. I even put some butter on the edge of the crust. But after that I left all the thick crust behind.

The ribs were a bit tough but the taste of the sauce wasn’t bad at all. The others thought it was too sweet.

US baby back riblets P395

The best part of lunch was dessert. For a big group of 15 we only ordered one and I think I ate most of it. Warm, sweet, chewy cookie filled with pistachios and topped with mantecado ice cream. I was in cookie heaven.

Stella’s wood fired chocolate almond cookie dough P195

Can you say yummmmmm???

Overall I found the food just satisfactory. Maybe there were other dishes we should have tried instead of so many pizzas? If ever I go back it will be with a different group since most of the people in this lunch group vehemently hated the food.

Stella’s menu
drinks, snacks, panini, salad, soup & pizza
pasta, fire & smoke, rice & vegetables
sweet stuff, dessert wine, coffee & tea
wines & beer

Rocket Room’s menu
pizza, panini, pasta, salad, wines & beer
hot & cold appetizers, cocktails

Stella Wood Fired Bistro
7th Ave. corner 29th St. South,
Ground Floor, East Superblock
Bonifacio High Street Central, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
telephone: +632 621 3222
website
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