Shoot First Eat Later

New Year’s Eve Dinner 2011

Happy New Year to everyone!! I want to interrupt my posts about my recent trip to the United States with this post on how my family celebrated New Year’s Eve.

Every year my cousins from my father’s side come to our house for dinner. Last year I had it catered and this year we were back to home cooked meals. I’m very fortunate that my store’s chef used to work in a Chinese restaurant and he cooked most of the dishes.

The first picture on top was one of my favorites from the Chinese restaurant. The filling of the sandwich was crispy bean curd skin stuffed with dried shrimp and other spices. A little hoisin sauce was spread on the bread. I call this dish vegetarian Peking Duck since it reminded me of it with less the guilt.

He also made this delicious fried tofu cubes in a sweet and spicy sauce. It’s yummy hot or cold.

Spicy Tofu

Asian Salad w/ crispy wonton strips

Everyone loved the sotanghon which I didn’t get to try since I didn’t eat anything last night. I was too busy to enjoy dinner.

Sotanghon

My mom bought preserved salted duck and duck liver sausage (lap cheong) in Hong Kong and we used it to make this super fragrant rice dish. This was the dish that tempted me most to eat carbs.

Salted Duck & Duck Liver Sausage Rice

My chef’s specialty is lechon kawali that will rival any restaurant in Manila!

Lechon Kawali

Hmm, where did all the skin go?

Baked Salted Chicken

The only thing I made was the mashed potatoes which all the kids (and adults love). If they only knew how much butter and heavy cream was in it. Well the whole head of roasted garlic was healthy.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Every year I buy a whole slab of prime rib from Santi’s and have them cook it. Two years ago the steak was perfect.

Bone In Black Angus Prime Rib from Santi’s

This time I was so disappointed that the beef was overcooked. It was well done already!!!

prawns

Garlic Prawns

Dessert was simple with a mango gelato cake from Cara Mia and some cookies we baked.

Chocolate Crinkles

Revel Bar

I dedicate this post to all my cousins around the world who couldn’t come home and celebrate with us.

For Jerry and his family from Singapore. The next two pictures are his siblings and their families.

For Jerome and Virgil in New Jersey.

For Angie, Benjie and Charlie in Taipei.

For Jim in Singapore.

Funny but my cousin Sha (mother’s side) and Chinggai (father’s side) are high school batch mates together with my friend. They had a mini hs reunion.

me, Chris, Sha and Chinggai

The year sure went by fast and it’s another year to start living our lives to the fullest. For me it means going back to my diet to lose all the weight I gained during my trips to the US and Hong Kong. Have a good beginning to the new year everyone!

Here’s my lunch on January 1, 2012, leftover steak with crunchy garlic and a big salad. Even well done the steak was tender and tasted better with a little salt and lots of garlic.

Lunch at Morimoto, Napa

On my second and last day in Napa I chose to eat at Morimoto since my cousin Sidney and Mary couldn’t stop raving about the food there.

There were so many excellent restaurants in Napa but I really wanted to try Morimoto since Masaharu Morimoto is my all-time favorite Iron Chef for both the Japanese and American shows. I just admire his creativity and attention to detail.

Upon entering the restaurant there was a casual dining area which served light meals and snacks.

There was also some merchandise for sale.

When you go in to the main dining area you will pass the open kitchen.

The interiors were very modern and eclectic. I liked it!

Behind the bar are 100 year old stripped grape vines.

I’ve never seen translucent plastic chopsticks before. Very Muji!

Kit had a pisco sour. With the help of Google I learned that pisco sour is the national cocktail of Peru and is made with pisco brandy, lemon juice, sugar and an egg white.

pisco sour $14

There weren’t as much choices in the menu for lunch so I ordered something familiar. Rock shrimp tempura is my favorite dish from Nobu where Morimoto was once the head chef. In Nobu the rock shrimp tempura was made with creamy spicy sauce. At Morimoto it was dressed two ways. In the first way the crisp battered shrimp was tossed in spicy kochujan (Korean hot pepper paste) sauce . The second way the shrimp was coated with a wasabi aoli sauce. Both sauces were mayonnaise based and a bit spicy but not too hot. I really liked both but I loved the wasabi aoli more.

rock shrimp tempura $18

We all ordered the lunch sets which consisted of tofu miso soup or salad, vegetable tempura w/ yuzu wasabi yogurt and sushi. We ordered different entrees so we could try each others dish.

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know I’ve been on the Cohen diet and haven’t eaten any rice, noodles or bread. In short no carbs. I’ve been pretty good avoiding those three but I gave in and ordered the uni carbonara since it was the favorite dish of my cousin Sidney and my nephew Kevin.

First let me tell you about the rest of the food. The salad may look like your ordinary green salad but the dressing was out of this world fantastic. It had shaved bonito on top and the dressing was kabosu vinaigrette. Kabosu is a Japanese citrus related to Yuzu. It has a strong and incredibly bright flavor that burst in my mouth. With the salad I was already swooning with happiness.

The vegetable tempura wasn’t as hot and crisp as I would liked it to be but it was very well seasoned. It didn’t even need tempura sauce like we are used to. There was yuzu wasabi yogurt underneath the veggies and it turned out to be perfect together.

I didn’t eat the sushi but I dunked my sashimi in my uni carbonara. Yum!

sea urchin carbonara set $25

I love uni. I love the briny, creamy texture. You would think that uni and carbonara would be overkill in richness but surprisingly it complemented each other. I loved that udon noodles was used and the sauce wasn’t nakakaumay or too rich. It was a really unusual experience eating al dente udon noodles with a Western style sauce that still tasted Japanese. The lunch portion was also the perfect size for me. Anything more than this would have been overwhelming for my first and last noodle dish for the entire trip.

Good job!!!

Kit had the loco moto which was washugyu beef, sunny side egg and hayashi gravy.

loco moto set $25

It tasted like Japanese style premium beef chili to me. There was rice on the bottom.

Ariel regretted ordering the miso soup after he tasted my spectacular salad.

pork kakuni set $25

He just loved the pork kakuni or pork belly cooked for ten hours. It was super tender and a bit sweet. Really perfect for our Filipino taste buds. This too had rice at the bottom which was a big plus for Ariel.

Goodbye Morimoto. We will definitely be back for dinner next time. We loved, loved everything we ordered and can’t wait to try more dishes. Until we meet again. Too bad I missed Chef Morimoto by a few minutes. That would have been a great photo op.

Morimoto
610 Main St, Napa, CA 94559, USA
telephone: (707) 252-1600

Dinner at Bouchon Bistro

My first day in Napa Valley was spent eating in all of Thomas Keller’s restaurants in Yountville.

My ultimate dream and goal is to eat at French Laundry but since I’m too cheap to shell out $300+ for a meal I was happy enough to try Keller’s other establishments starting with lunch at Addendum, pastries at Bouchon Bakery and finally dinner at Bouchon Bistro.

The restaurant was small and very dark thus my disappointing pictures.

A paper menu was wrapped around our napkins.

The bread was simply placed on our table. It wasn’t even warm that’s why I didn’t bother eating it. I don’t like chewy crusty bread. I like it crunchy. The white bean dip was yummy with the small pieces of toasted bread though.

blurry picture of me with Kit and Ariel

specials

Remember I told you that frisee with lardon (bacon) and poached egg is really popular? Kit had this salad. You’ll see more frisee salad in my upcoming posts.

Frisee Au Lardon $15

The country style paté was a thick and generous cut and it was very tasty.

Pate de Campagne $12.50

Kit had the roast leg of lamb which he said was incredibly tender and succulent.

Gigot d’ Agneau $32

I would never order roast chicken in an expensive restaurant but Ariel really loved Bouchon’s version and this was his second time to order it. I tasted a small piece and found it super moist but nothing extra ordinary.

Poulet Roti $26.50

I ordered a diet allowed dish and that was steak. I had the fries replaced with salad that was dressed with a light vinaigrette.

Steak Frites $34.95

The prime flatiron steak was thick and cooked evenly from end to end. It lacked a bit of salt so I had to sprinkle some salt with each bite to enhance the flavor of the beef. The caramelized shallots on top added a nice touch to the steak. You don’t really need much with a good quality piece of beef.

Kit ordered the floating meringue. Not my type of dessert.

Ile Flottante $9

The dark chocolate terrine was super duper dark and ultra yummy. But what made it even outstanding was the super intense orange cream that dotted the plate. I can just imagine how many oranges were used to achieve the uber concentrated flavor. The chocolate was just perfect dipped into the orange cream. I just wish there was more of the orange cream. I really, really, really wanted to lick the plate clean. For me dessert was the best part of the meal!!!

Marquis Au Chocolat $10

Thank you Ariel and Thomas Keller for a wonderful meal. I will see you French Laundry. One day I will see you.

The Lodge at Sonoma

Just like my nephew Ethan I love staying in hotels. We didn’t stay in downtown Napa but instead we chose to stay at The Lodge at Sonoma.

We finally checked in after lunch at Addendum and wine tasting at Chateau Montelena Winery.

I really liked the wide open lobby with high ceiling.

The pool area was even better. It looked like a tropical resort.

I would have loved to sit here at night with the fire pit on to keep me warm. Too bad we forgot about it.

playful Kit

Instead of a regular building filled with hotel rooms, we stayed in cottages spread over a wide area.

This is what a typical cottage looked like. Our rooms were on the ground floor.

Ariel and Kit got upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite. This was their living room with an electric fireplace.

Both our rooms had the same bathroom.

The bathtub was in the center of the room.

The tub opened into the bedroom.

I really appreciate hotel rooms that have a separate shower stall since I hate taking showers in a tub.

The best thing about their suite is this Nespresso machine with so many choices of pods. We did our best to drink a LOT of espresso during our overnight stay.

My room was a standard room that also had a sitting area and an electric fireplace. The room was very big compared to city standards.

I had an iPod stereo system beside my bed.

I didn’t have a Nespresso machine in my room but I had the standard coffee maker. The coffee wasn’t too horrible. At least I had something to drink with my breakfast of scones from Bouchon Bakery.

The front desk also gave us complimentary wine tasting at their tasting room.

I loved staying at The Lodge. The bed was super comfy and the electric fireplace made the room feel warm and cozy. I would rather stay in cottages like these any time over the typical hotels.

The Lodge at Sonoma
1325 Broadway
Sonoma, California 95476
telephone (707) 935-6600

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to my family, friends and to my readers around the world. May the season bring you peace, love and happiness!

I want to share with you some pictures I took during my recent trip to the USA. This was my first time to see Christmas decorations and trees in the United States. The first picture was taken at Mt. Vernon in Virginia with my cute niece Erin.

Below is the National Christmas Tree and Santa’s Workshop at President’s Park in Washington DC.

I liked the train sets surrounding the Christmas tree in the Ellipse. There were also small trees around this that represented each State in the USA.

the White House

Christmas tree at The Willard Hotel, DC

These houses in California were fully decked out with lights and characters. I loved this house with all the characters from Peanuts.

Inflatables were very popular yard decorations.

This house had disco lights rotating on the garage door.

Happy Feet would feel at home here.

at an office building in DC

Eat well and forget about the calories! I know I will. Enjoy all the festivities everybody!

Chateau Montelena Winery

Going to Napa Valley wouldn’t be complete without visiting a few wineries even though I can’t drink alcohol until my diet is over. Not that I love wine either. But I don’t mind having a couple of glasses of gewürztraminer with my meal.

Kit’s a wine aficionado and he chose the wineries we went to. I must thank him for choosing Chateau Montelena Winery which was one of the most beautiful wineries I’ve ever been too.

Here’s a peek of the Chateau through the trees.

We had to climb a flight of stairs to reach the Chateau.

Isn’t this gorgeous?

We only got to see the wine tasting room.

Wine tasting at Chateau Montelana cost $20 and you get to try 5 kinds of wines. Since Kit and Ariel were in the food and beverage industry all they had to do was show their business cards and they didn’t have to pay the fee. I showed them my blogger business card and to my surprise and delight I got they waived my fee too.

wine tasting menu

I can’t tell you how the wines tasted or the flavors and nuances of each wine. All I can tell you is Kit loved the Chardonnay, Napa Valley 2009 and he bought a bottle and it cost $50. He said it was a good buy. I trust him. Although I’d rather spend $50 on coffee beans and cookies. 😀

After the wine tasting we drove to Sonoma’s town square. It was very quaint and the shops were unique.

I was so excited to see a cheese store.

They had samples for all the cheeses and I tried the bold or strong cheese. I’m sorry to say but they were awful! I had to spit out some of them. Any supermarket cheese tasted better than these. The ones I tried didn’t even taste like cheese and I know my cheese.

The girl and the fig is a restaurant that I would like to try the next time I go back.

Chateau Montelena Winery
1429 Tubbs Ln, Calistoga, CA 94515
telephone: (707) 942-5105

Bouchon Bakery, Yountville

I’ve never been to the United States during fall season. Even though I arrived mid November I’m glad I was still able to see the beautiful colors of the foliage in Yountville.

I love pastries and any kind of baked goods and that’s one of the reasons for my being overweight. I really wanted to go Bouchon Bakery and it was a true test of my willpower if I can resist not buying all the goodies in the shop.

So far so good. The packaged sweets on the counter looked good but didn’t really pose any temptation.

Oh my goodness were my eyes playing tricks on me? They were selling foie gras dog biscuits!!! I wonder what they taste like.

Hmm bread pudding? nah…

coffee cake

pumpkin brioche

chocolate bouchon, financier and madelaine

So far so good. Until I saw the scones. I made a deal with myself even before leaving Manila. I will try to stay true to my diet but I won’t deprive myself of the ocassional treats. I decided that I will eat only 3 BAD goodies for the entire trip. The 3 things are scones/biscuits (savory or sweet), cookies and cornbread. These are carbs that I really love and can’t readily find in Manila.

It’s strange but I’d choose a good scone over cupcakes anytime. There’s something about the buttery texture that I just love. When I saw the huge scones I didn’t even think twice. I bought a chocolate cherry scone and cheddar bacon scone.

chocolate cherry scone $2.75

And of course I bought a double chocolate cookie. I realized that I liked eating sweets with texture that’s why I can resist cakes, doughnuts and sweet rolls but not cookies specially the chewy kind.

assorted cookies

coffee menu

I actually ate some of the scones for breakfast the next day. I didn’t have any means to warm the scones but they still tasted incredible. They were buttery and crumbly without being dry. My favorite was the cheddar bacon scone which had a hint of sweetness and lots of cheese and bacon bits.

The chocolate scone had large chunks of semi sweet chocolate chips and sour dried cherry which added a nice tartness. These were the best scones I’ve ever eaten.

The cookie was still chewy two days after when I ate it on my flight to DC. It was very dark and bitter just the way I like it. Obviously good quality cocoa and chocolate was used. The cookie was thick and quite big and very satisfying. It lasted for at least 3 hours since a small piece every so often was enough to appease my hunger and desire for something sweet. It was the perfect snack to take on a long flight. I only wish I had some on my flight to Manila.

Bouchon Bakery Yountville
6528 Washington Street, Yountville, California 94599
telephone: (707) 944-2253

Open Daily 7am to 7pm

Lunch at Addendum

I only had four full days in San Francisco but I managed to squeeze in an overnight stay in Napa Valley just to try a few restaurants that have been on my list for quite a while.

Ariel’s partner Kit drove us to Napa Valley.

I really wanted to eat at Ad Hoc, Thomas Keller’s more affordable restaurant but they were only open for dinner and we were already booked to eat at Bouchon, another restaurant in his group. As much I as would love to eat at French Laundry the price of a meal there is too much for my budget so I was happy to try Thomas Keller’s other restaurants.

Addendum was opened though and it was located right behind Ad Hoc. This backyard casual dining joint opens on Thursdays through Saturdays only. While Ad Hoc served a four course meal for $52, Addendum had an even simpler menu which cost only $16.50 for an entree with two sides.

The setting was very casual and felt like going to someone’s backyard for a picnic.

You go to this shed and pay for your order. There’s only two choices – BBQ or buttermilk fried chicken. Those two are the most popular dishes at Ad Hoc.

I told Ariel to order only one of each since I thought the servings would be big and I was on a diet and won’t eat much. (yeah right)

They were selling the Ad Hoc fried chicken kit which you could also buy at Williams Sonoma for $14.95.

We sat at one of the picnic tables.

They planted their own vegetables and herbs.

All the containers and utensils they used were compostable. Impressive!

Our lunch was delivered in this big brown bag.

The sides usually change and that day it was classic potato salad and braised Swiss chard with lardon (bacon). Both were delicious too.

The barbecue was a couple of pieces of baby back ribs and pulled pork on top of honey cornbread. The bbq was tender, sweet and spicy. I liked it but I preferred the fried chicken more.

Ad Hoc style Barbecue

As soon as I took a bite out of my chicken breast I immediately stood up and ordered another fried chicken. It was that good and the serving wasn’t that big to feed 3 hungry people. There went the diet!

Buttermilk Fried Chicken $16.50

The chicken was unbelievably juicy and moist and that’s for the chicken breast which usually gets overcooked in other restaurants. The spices were just right without any single overwhelming flavor. The skin was crisp yet tende and it wasn’t overly coated with flour. This fried chicken was a big competition for my all time favorite fried chicken from Michel Richard’s Central.

But what really blew me away was the honey cornbread which was so moist and the texture was more like poundcake than cornbread. I’ve never eaten cornbread that good. I asked for extra cornbread with my 2nd order of fried chicken and they me one.

Honey Cornbread

A big thank you to Ariel and Kit for taking time out from your busy schedules to take me on an eating adventure in Napa. I loved our lunch so much!!!

Addendum
Behind Ad Hoc
6476 Washington St. Yountville, CA 94599
telephone: (707) 944-1565

Clover Brewing System at Starbucks SF

I can’t remember how I first learned about the Clover Brewing System but I was really curious to see in action. This machine was developed by some Stanford students in 2006 and Starbucks bought them out in 2008. Not all Starbucks stores have the Clover machine but lucky for me the branch at Hotel Nikko had one.

The same products are sold in Manila!

That’s the Clover Brewing System. Please click on the links to read more about how the machine works. In essence it’s a high tech one cup coffee brewer.

The beauty of this machine is you can select from many varieties of Starbucks blends for your cup of coffee. Usually I just buy the bold coffee of the day and I had to wait for a week until they changed blends. This time I chose some fancy blend I’ve never tried before.

A machine costs $11,000!

Watch this video to see how it works.

It didn’t take long to make my coffee and I definitely enjoyed the bold coffee I chose. It was very interesting to finally see the machine in action. I wish we had this in Manila so I can try different blends each time I go to Starbucks.

Starbucks
222 Mason St
San Francisco, CA 94102
telephone 415-296-9056

Dinner at Cafe Des Amis

Whenever I travel I do extensive research on which restaurants I should try. Some are on my ‘wish list’ like French Laundry while several are more realistic and doable. San Francisco had tons of restaurants that I would like to try but I was only there for a few days so I had to pick really well.

I’ve never read about Cafe Des Amis before but that’s where my friend Jeanne took us for dinner. It was highly recommended by her friends Beverly and Rick who really know the good places to eat at.

Cafe Des Amis was located in Union Street, a very nice shopping street. The stores were unique and trendy and the shop fronts looked very chic yet quaint.

I felt like I was in a real French brasserie.

This was the wine my friends had with their dinner.

Unbelievable but Ariel and I were still full from our brunch at Brenda’s Soul Food and coffee and dessert at Hooker’s Sweet Treats so we decided to share our appetizer, salad and entree.

We were quite underwhelmed with the foie gras terrine. The sprinkling of sea salt on the terrine made it too salty and I couldn’t appreciate the flavors of the foie gras. The salty olive tapenade didn’t help either.

foie gras terrine $15

On the other hand we both loved the salad dressed with a very light blue cheese dressing. The chunks of blue cheese were utterly divine with the sweet pears and extra crunchy toasted pecans. What a wonderful combination and I wouldn’t mind having this salad as a main course.

chicory & pear salad $13

The minute I saw the Rossini burger on the menu I knew I had to order it. How can I ignore the words cured foie gras, black truffles and sauce bordelaise?

rossini burger $27

I was so excited to finally try black truffles and not just truffle oil. When I didn’t smell any truffle aroma I tasted the truffle and was disappointed that it tasted bland and the texture was just like wood ear (tenga ng daga). I asked the manager and he explained it was canned black truffles. What did I expect for $27?

Even though the black truffles and cured foie gras were disappointing and didn’t really add anything to the burger we were simply amazed at how good the burger was. The meat was smokey from the grill and the beef was simply excellent and tasted just like prime steak. Ariel and I agreed it was one of the best burgers we’ve ever eaten. And trust me we’re both very picky about burgers. The manager said the burger was made of 50% chuck and 50% prime brisket. This burger should be on San Francisco’s list of top burgers!!! Although I would order the Cafe Des Amis burger at $14. The ‘extras’ were definitely not worth the additional $13.

my half of the Rossini burger

The others had the following dishes. Everyone was happy with their choices.

French red pumpkin soup $9

Frisee with poached egg and lardon was one of the items I saw in a lot of the menus from San Francisco to Washington DC, New York and Los Angeles. It must be the dish of the moment.

salad lyonnaise $11

butter lettuce salad $10

beef bourguignon $27

roasted peppers

savory roasted chicken grand mere $25

Sadly this wasn’t my cappuccino. I had my quota for the day. Rick said it was very good.

cappuccino

I tried it and it was so delicious specially with the orange chamomile syrup that brought it to another level.

24 layer crepe cake $10

Ariel and I checked in on Foursquare and got a chocolate bouchon and a glass of sparkling wine. The manager was so nice that he also gave the same to everyone at the table.

Let me tell you this bouchon or brownie was one of the best diet breakers ever. It was warm with a gooey center and a chewy crust. The chocolate used was deep, dark and obviously a very good quality. Already decadent, dipping the bouchon in the milk chocolate espresso creme made me weep with joy.

Thank you Foursquare. Thank you kind manager. It was the perfect ending to our wonderful meal.

chocolate bouchons $3 each

Thanks for dinner Jeanne. It was really nice meeting Beverly and Rick. Excellent choice for dinner. I loved the food and it was really nice seeing Union Street for the first time. I hope to go back next time and walk around at a more leisure pace.

Cafe Des Amis
2000 Union Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
telephone: 415-563-7700