Shoot First Eat Later

Vegetarian Dinner at Taipei 101’s Food Court

For dinner we decided to have a simple meal at Taipei 101’s food court before checking in our hotel.

Again Charlie and I had a vegetarian set meal which consisted of four items. First was this thing with filling inside. I had no idea what the slimy exterior was made of. My cousin Charlie told me it was quite popular but I didn’t like it.

I really liked this chewy fish cake in sweet and sour sauce.

Naturally the fried tofu with a light soy based sauce was yummy.

The soup was just ok.

For dessert we all shared this sweet and icy cold lemon jelly cubes with some kind of floury strings. I liked the jelly better.

I also had a lemon tea from Coco, a milk tea place I saw a lot of.

Charlie and his mom

Benjie and my dad

素雅屋 Vegetarian Restaurant in Taimall, Taoyuan

My cousin Charlie picked us up from the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and brought us to a nearby mall called Taimall so we can have lunch and meet up with his brother Benjie.

It was exactly the same thing we did when I went to Taipei two years ago with some friends. That time we had shabu-shabu although I wanted to try this vegetarian restaurant. This time I decided to give it a go. Let me tell you how shocking this will be to my friends and family. I’m the last person who will eat in a vegetarian restaurant. Before I started my diet last year I barely ate veggies and only a few select kinds. It’s good that Charlie was also watching his health so he joined me in the restaurant while the others in our group looked for regular food in the fast food.

All the vegetarian food was laid out buffet style but choose wisely since your plate will be weighed and that’s the price you will pay.

There were so many tempting and unfamiliar veggies to choose from.

I love tofu and sweet potato.

This is stewed bean curd roll. Yuuuum!

I swear Taipei has the sweetest sweet potatoes.

This is my boring brown plate filled with 3 kinds of tofu, different mushrooms and sweet potato. I wish I got more kinds of sweet potatoes but this plate really filled me up. I really, really enjoyed my vegetarian lunch sans green veggies.

My lunch cost me NT$79 or about P114 or US$2.65. Unlimited rice was available but I didn’t get any.

This is my cousin Charlie, my partner in crime for the whole day’s vegetarian meals.

His plate was more colorful. He let me try the tomatoes and I was blown away on how sweet it was.

My dad had oyster cake set which included fish ball soup and fried tofu.

My mom and aunt had these big bowls of shabu shabu with noodles, meat and veggies. Naturally they couldn’t finish it.

Thanks to my friend Jin for writing these info in Chinese for me.

素雅屋
Address 地址：桃園縣蘆竹鄉南崁路一段112號5樓
telephone: (03) 321-0440

週一至週四 AM11:00 – PM10:00
週五AM11:00 – PM10:30
週六AM10:30 – PM10:30
週日AM10:30 – PM10:00

Philippine Airlines Meals Mnl-Tpe-Mnl

Last March I went to Taipei to attend a business convention. I took Philippine Airlines economy class and these were the meals on my flight.

Can you believe this was for breakfast? Since there was no menu I don’t know what the meal was called. The chicken breast (yehey) was cooked in a mild curry, coconut sauce that was absolutely divine. The chicken was surprisingly tender and moist and I super loved the sauce. It was sooooo hard not to eat the rice with the sauce. There was also scrambled eggs, mushroom & a tomato wedge included. I packed the ensaymada in my bag as pasalubong for my niece in Taipei.

I spotted this water dispenser at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

On my return trip to Manila this is what greeted me as I entered the plane. Was my flight invaded?

For dinner I had chicken with brown sauce and beans. For dessert a yummy pudding made with sago and coconut milk and red beans. I always maintain that the food out of Manila tastes always better than the return flight.

The chicken was quite good too but somehow it seemed a smaller portion than the chicken at breakfast. I was still hungry after eating the chicken and veggies sans beans.

Finally the food in PAL’s economy class has improved so much unlike the disastrous breakfast on my flight to Taipei in 2010.

New Dishes at Lugang Cafe

I ate at Lugang Cafe too often last year specially in September, my birthday month. I went cold turkey and stopped going there for a while.

When my mom’s cousin Judie and hubby Rome came home for a visit from Las Vegas and specifically requested to eat at Lugang Cafe I knew it was time to go back.

I was so happy they had new dishes which we immediately ordered.

Isn’t this a very unique and interesting way of serving abalone mushrooms? It was a cold and appetizing dish which made it a good appetizer.

abalone mushroom and jelly fish P220

I liked the smokey tasting chicken specially all the lovely fried shallots on top that were so aromatic. It was a bit oily though. My mom likes the chicken topped with scallion & ginger oil more.

Hong Kong style aroma salted chicken P490

The squid was perfectly crisp yet tender. The sauce was sweeter than I expected and it reminded me of lemon chicken. As much as I loved the squid I think I will order their salt and pepper version instead. I’m not too fond of sweet food. That’s strictly reserved for dessert.

honey garlic squid P320

Rome liked his thick and rich strawberry smoothie.

strawberry smoothie P228

Rome and Judie

I made a list of my favorite dishes from Lugang Cafe so you can print it out or copy it into your cellphone for quick access. And I did order these four dishes for this dinner and needless to say our balikbayan guests enjoyed them very much. For pictures of all the dishes below click here.

What I always order in Lugang Cafe (MUST)

Pork Xiao Long Bao (best in Manila IMHO)
Taiwanese Stewed Minced Pork
Beef With Chinese Crullers
Soft Tofu & Mushroom In Abalone Sauce (my super duper favorite)

Optional:

Steamed Lapu Lapu with Crispy Tauso
String Beans With Salted Egg or Minced Pork
Mixed Mushroom With X.O Sauce
Spicy Garlic Fish In Clay Pot
Enoki Mushroom, Radish & Fish Cake Soup (try this!!)
Pan Fried Dumplings
Mango and/or Peanut Butter Shaved Ice

Since the dishes are small you can order all of these!! There are many more but these are my absolute favorites. What are your favorites at Lugang Cafe?

Lugang Cafe

Northeast Greenhills

115 Connecticut St., Northeast Greenhills, San Juan

telephone: 775-7599 / 09176992254

Mall Of Asia

G/F 136-137 Main Mall South Wing, 1174-1176 SM Mall Of Asia, Pasay City telephone: 555-0219 / 0916-2140822

website

Facebook

Dessert at Maitre Chocolatier Boutique Cafe

After our dinner at Mangetsu we went to the nearby Maitre Chocolatier Boutique Cafe for dessert.

It was my first time to try out this place. That’s unusual for a chocoholic like me.

Wow chocolate alcoholic drinks!

Jin told me that the owners were also the Philippine distributors of some of my favorite brands of chocolates. I really like Spanish brand Valor’s 70% dark chocolate in either plain, orange, forest berries or mint.

Too bad they don’t sell my favorite Lindt Création Le Noir Orange.

For Ritter Sport my favorite is the marzipan in dark chocolate.

Before I used to buy Villars Chocolate Noir with candied orange peels only in Manila and Singapore’s duty free. I’m so happy it’s now in most supermarkets in Manila.

The menu said this cake was good for 2-3 people and that was perfect since we just wanted to share one dessert. When the cake came out it was really small, maybe 3″ in diameter. I immediately thought, “how will this be enough for all of us?”

hidden desire – Lindt moist dark chocolate cake P320

Surprisingly the cake was super dense yet moist and really chocolatey. You really can’t eat that much. In the end Fran even took home the leftover cake. So they were right. It’s really good for 2-4 people even.

Maitre Chocolatier Boutique Cafe Menu

Maitre Chocolatier Boutique Cafe
2A, No. 28, Jupiter corner Astra Street,
Bel Air, Makati City, Metro Manila
telephone: 8978559, 8962529
cellphone: (+63)9228854107
website
Facebook

Opening Hours:
Mondays to Thursdays
10AM to 11PM
Fridays to Saturdays
10AM to 2AM
Sunday off

Dinner at Mangetsu Japanese Fusion Restaurant

When Fran suggested we have dinner with Jin and Paul at the new branch of Mangetsu in Jupiter st. I happily said yes. I’ve eaten at Mangetsu at it’s old location at Mile Long and loved the food but not the place.

The lighting and interiors were a million times better.

They sell sake from P245 to P320 a shot.

Uni or sea urchin is a relatively new discovery for me so I always order it in Japanese restaurants. Mangetsu has a very nice presentation. I think you’re supposed to wrap the uni and cucumber slices in the nori and eat it that way. I was too impatient. A good squeeze of calamansi on the uni and I’m happy.

nama uni sashimi P330

Uni deserves it’s title as foie gras of the sea. It has the same rich, buttery texture that makes me happy. It’s cold, fresh and briny just the way good uni should be.

The chicken was well marinated and fried to a nice crisp. The 3 salts- sansho, green tea & black pepper salts were what gave it that extra special kick.

karaage fried chicken thighs with 3 kinds of salt P380

Spicy tuna sashimi is another new favorite of mine and I’m glad my dinner companions agreed to order this. This version was among the best I’ve eaten in Manila. The spice level was just right and it wasn’t swimming in mayonnaise. I also liked the crunchy tempura batter bits on top for extra crunch.

spicy tuna sashimi P330

The menu described the sauce covering the sea urchin omelet as ‘thick chicken broth sauce’. Since I don’t like eggs I just tried a little piece. Unluckily the omelet I got didn’t contain any sea urchin. I’ll stick to the uni sashimi.

sea urchin omelet P330

The Japanese love cheese and I just love the way they incorporate it into their food. Mangetsu even has a cheese section on their menu. I don’t think any Western chef will ever think of getting a cup of fried rice, drown it in shrimp flavored white sauce and top the whole mess with cheese and broil it until it can be called a gratin.

shrimp rice gratin P450

I don’t eat rice but I couldn’t help but try a spoonful. Wow! It really tasted as good and sinful as it looks. My friends did a good job of eating cleaning the serving dish.

Fran and her hubby Paul were avoiding meat so our only source of protein was tofu. Fried slices of tofu were topped with a thick paste made from red miso. Salty and interesting. I think I prefer agadeshi tofu but they were out of stock.

tofu dengaku P230

Til our next meal, my blogger friends!!!

Paul, Fran, me and Jin

Mangetsu’s long menu

Fran’s post on Mangetsu

Mangetsu Japanese Fusion Restaurant
38 Jupiter Street, Bel-Air, Makati
telephone: 478-3292

Dinner at Rizette’s House

Our group had a mini get together following our trip to Cebu all because of this bbq ribs.

Rizette told us she brought home several slabs of Tony Roma’s cooked ribs from the US. She bought them frozen from Costco and just baked them. She said it was the best and we dared her to prove it.

Tes’ contribution to our dinner was to this platter of cheese and salami she bought from Santi’s. She arranged it herself.

In our group of college buddies Rizette is our Martha Stewart. Every party, casual or formal is given the same attention and over cooking. It must have slipped her mind only 7 people were expected for dinner. Check out all the food she prepared.

salad with apples, feta, dried cranberries & pine nuts

Rizette is a really good cook. She kindly shared her recipes which you will find below. I want to make the fish and chicken because they were so good and full flavored. It seems easy to make too since all were just baked in the oven.

baked dory Siciliana

She has been fine tuning this recipe after trying Cyma’s Greek chicken adobo. I think this is even better.

Rizette’s Mediterranean adobo with roasted vegetables

The ribs were indeed yummy! Super tender and the meat falls off the bone. The sauce was just the right blend of sweet and tangy too.

Tony Roma’s bbq ribs

mashed potatoes

She just invented this dish right off the bat.

shrimp, tomato & basil pasta

That’s Monet, the producer of What I See TV show starring premiere photographer Paco Guerrero.

I brought this queso de bola cheesecake from Indulgence by Irene which everyone liked.

queso de bola cheesecake

fresh fruits with Greek yogurt & honey dip

buko pandan salad

Our group is almost complete. We miss you Len!! When will you show up? 😀

Here are Rizette’s recipes. There are no quantities to some ingredients since she often cooks freestyle. So just let the recipe be your guide.

Rizette’s Mediterranean Adobo with Roasted Vegetables:
2 whole chickens (or 2 kilos chicken thighs)
2/3 c olive oil
1/3 Kikkoman soy sauce
1 c water
lots of garlic
peppercorns
thyme
Rosemary
laurel leaves
sugar
juice from 1-2 lemons (or more depending on your taste)
feta cheese

Vegetables:
zuchini
marble potatoes
tomatoes
corn
bell pepper

1. Mix all of the ingredients (except the chicken) with a whisk in a mixing bowl.
2. Taste and adjust the sauce to suit your preference. Pour over the chicken.
3. Cook in pressure cooker for about 15 minutes (after it starts to steam up).
4. Transfer chicken with some of the sauce onto a pyrex dish.
5. Top the chicken with some cubed feta cheese(optional).
6. On a separate pyrex dish, pour the remaining sauce on the vegetables.
7. Finish cooking the chicken together with the vegetables by baking in the oven at 450F for about 30-45 minutes or until the chicken’s skin is golden brown and the vegetables are thoroughly cooked.

Shrimp, Tomato and Basil Pasta
I kilo medium-sized shrimp
olive oil
lots of garlic
white onion
white wine (not dry)
tomatoes, seeded
basil
salt & pepper
grated parmesan cheese
Penne pasta

1. Cook penne according to instruction. Set aside.
2. Sauté garlic and onion in olive oil until onions are tender. Add in the cubed and seeded tomatoes.
3. Add the shrimp. Right before the shrimps turn pink, pour a generous amount of white wine. Continue cooking until half of the liquid has evaporated.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour in the cooked pasta into the pan and mix well. Top with julienned fresh basil and parmesan cheese.

Rizette’s inspiration for this recipe was from the cookbook “The Food of Italy: A Journey for Food Lovers” by Murdoch Books; Recipes by Sophie Braimbridge and Jo Glynn
In the original recipe though, swordfish was used.

Baked Dory Siciliana
1/3 c olive oil
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 1/2 Tbsp. finely chopped basil
3 pcs. cream dory fillets
pitted black olives, chopped
baby capers
finely chopped anchovy fillets in olive oil
tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
dried breadcrumbs

1. Mix some olive oil with lemon juice and some basil.
2. Season and pour into a shallow ovenproof dish, large enough to hold the fish in a single layer.
3. Arrange the fish fillets and leave to marinate for 15 minutes turning once.
4. Preheat the oven to 450 F.
5. Combine the olives, capers, anchovies and tomatoes with the remaining olive oil and basil and season well.
6. Spread over the fish fillets and sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top.
Bake for about 20 minutes.

Thanks to Rizette for the wonderful dinner and sharing her recipes with my readers. To those who will try these recipes and any recipes on my blog let me know how it turns out.

Smoothies from The White Hat Italian Frozen Yogurt

I received a couple of gift certificates to try out White Hat’s smoothies. Since I can’t really drink an entire glass I brought my officemate Tina to SM Mega Mall one hot afternoon to have some cold treats.

I’ve tried White Hat’s yogurt before and I really like it. I always get a plain frozen yogurt without any toppings.

There was only one person behind the counter. She was getting something on the floor.

Ahhh milk. Not enough chiller or cabinets?

We chose the mango cream pie smoothie made with fresh mango (really small amount), walnut streusel, milk and yogurt.

walnut streusel

There was hardly any mango flavor. I found the flavor from the walnut streusel overwhelmed the taste of the smoothie. I would have preferred the streusel be sprinkled on top of the smoothie instead. I also wished I could taste the tangy yogurt more. Instead all I tasted was ice and milk.

I was glad to see fresh strawberries so we ordered the strawberry cheesecake smoothie.

You can see the 3-4 strawberries and a tablespoon of cheesecake bits.

We liked this so much better probably due to the addition of Monin strawberry syrup which amped up the flavor of the smoothie. The cheesecake was negligible though. I loved their wood spoons!!!

Check out all the fun ways to eat your frozen yogurt.

The waffles look interesting too.

The White Hat Italian Frozen Yogurt
Ground Floor
SM Mega Mall Building B
other branches

website
Facebook

Hot Pot Lunch at Wu Kong

Ever since I introduced my friend Elizabeth to one of my favorite restaurants in Tsim Sha Tsui it is now her on her list of ‘must-eat’ in Hong Kong. Wu Kong is a Shanghainese restaurant that serves the BEST xiao long bao in my opinion. Yes even better than Din Tai Fung (Hong Kong).

Elizabeth also discovered their hot pot which she really loves. Even though I was still so full from breakfast buffet at the Club InterContinental lounge I joined her for lunch since she skipped breakfast.

I love these peanuts with seaweed. I’ve never seen it served or sold anywhere else.

fresh Shanghai cucumber

The cold pork was unusual and quite tasty after a quick dip in vinegar.

spiced cold pork (cheung kong style)

honey ham & crispy bean curd sheet in bread

Many Chinese restaurants serve this honey ham but Wu Kong is the only place I seen that adds crispy bean curd sheet to it. The added texture is fantastic and it also helped tone down the sweetness of the ham. After eating a couple of these without the bread I was truly unable to eat a bite more.

This is only served during winter months. We had this last February.

lamb hot pot HK$300

Poor Elizabeth had to eat all of this by herself.

She loved the flavorful stock that was made with Chinese red dates and other herbs and veggies.

I don’t know what the green veggie is called but I found it really bitter.

I tried one piece of lamb and was surprised at how strong and gamey the taste was. The lamb chops I love don’t taste like this. It’s an acquired taste.

sauce

The pretty rolls of frozen lamb turned into limp slices of meat. We had lots of leftovers. My bad.

Wu Kong Shanghai Restaurant
Basement, Alpha House,
27 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
telephone: 2366 7244
website

Club InterContinental Hong Kong Afternoon Tea

The highlight of my Hong Kong trip last February next to Hong Kong Disneyland was really the food at the Club Intercontinental lounge in Hong Kong. I stayed in the InterContinental hotel for two nights and ate almost all my meals in their lounge.

My meals for two days were basically just breakfast and afternoon tea. No lunch or dinner. My first experience for afternoon tea was in The Willard Hotel in Washington DC. I thought I knew what to expect but seeing the buffet spread in the lounge just amazed and confused me. How can I possibly try everything?

mini sandwiches

I loved the inclusion of my favorite dim sum, bbq pork puff. I like pies more than sandwiches.

bbq puff pastry

spinach & ricotta cheese tart

grilled vegetable sandwiches

Based on my previous dining experience at Harbourside, the hotel’s buffet restaurant I know the InterContinental hotel’s chefs make very, very good cakes and pastries. It was agony deciding what to choose.

apple crumble

plain & raisin scones

coconut mousse cake

chocolate & praline mousse

palmier

madeleine

macaron

cookies

tea service

Day 1
This is what I ate on my first day.

The scones were good but had the tendency not to be crisp on some parts because it was placed in a chafing dish and it steamed a little. They served it with traditional Devonshire clotted cream and jam.

I loved the bbq pork puff and ricotta spinach puff. The smoked salmon sandwich was yummy too.

Since I loved everything on my first round I got the same things again plus the lovely apple crumble. It was a really good mini apple pie. The best I’ve eaten in Hong Kong.

The macaron looked really fancy but it wasn’t that good. The chocolate praline cake was deep, dark and luscious.

DAY 2

They had some new stuff for the next day.

whole wheat sandwich

cakes

fried meat dumplings, meat puff & mini spring rolls

On my last day I was lucky to have a late check out at 4:00 pm so after leaving my luggage with the bellman I took my hand carry to the lounge for my last afternoon tea.

Their tea kettle was cast iron and really heavy.

The fried dumpling was cold and not so good. The puff pastry and spring roll fared a whole lot better.

I couldn’t resist getting another apple crumble. The cheesecake and chocolate raspberry cake were good choices too.

From my seat at the Club Lounge I could see the long lines waiting for a seat for High Tea at the hotel’s Lobby Lounge. Here’s a picture of what the tea set looked like. It cost HK$428 for 2 on weekdays and HK$488 on weekends.

Check out this blog with lots of pictures of the High Tea. The food served was identical to the ones in the Club Lounge.

I was more appreciative of my ‘free’ afternoon tea buffet. If I stayed in the hotel longer I would have still eaten there everyday since the food choices changed daily.

I did try the evening cocktails at the lounge once. They had small dishes of cod fish, duck and even steak plus all the wine and alcohol you can drink. I was still full from afternoon tea so I just had a small piece of cod and a mojito. It was too dark to take pictures.

Getting Club InterContinental access is a really a good deal if you want convenience and don’t want to be bothered to go out for your meals. I can attest that the food is good. I guess this would be perfect for businessmen in town for a short stay. But if you’re a tourist I’m sure you would want to explore all the restaurants in Hong Kong.

Intercontinental Hong Kong High Tea

Afternoon Tea 3:00-5:30 pm
Club InterContinental, 2nd Floor

High Tea at the Lobby Lounge
Tea Set for 2:
Weekdays except public holidays – HK$428
Weekends & public holidays – HK$488
plus 10% service charge

InterContinental Hong Kong
18 Salisbury Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR
telephone: +852 2721 1211
email: hongkong@ihg.com