Shoot First Eat Later

Lunch at Mon Ami Gabi

Most of the good restaurants where my cousin La lives are in Reston Town Center. I’ve already eaten at The Counter and Pitango Gelato and the next place she brought me to was Mon Ami Gabi.

Mon Ami Gabi is a classic French bistro serving quiche and crepes as well as steak frites and other popular French fare.

The plates of the day are for dinner only.

We went to Mon Ami Gabi wanting a light lunch. I chose a croque monsieur or in plain English, a ham and cheese sandwich. La couldn’t imagine why on earth I would order an ordinary sandwich for lunch. I love sandwiches. Even in Manila I often brown bag a sandwich for lunch.

I took one bite of the open faced sandwich and groaned. It was so freakin’ good! Thin crunchy bread topped with country ham and melted salty, nutty Gruyere cheese. It was the best ham and cheese sandwich I’ve ever eaten. I let La try it and she agreed.

Croque Monsieur $8.95

My sandwich came with a generous amount of very thin cut fries. Naturally, the best sandwich came with the best fries too! It tasted like a cross between thick potato chips and fries. I couldn’t stop munching on them.

hand-cut frites

La had the seafood crêpe. That’s all the seafood you see in the picture. The sauce was very rich and savory and went well with the seafood and crêpe. The only problem was that the crepe was filled with peas that seemed like it came straight from a bag. La said the other crêpes on the menu were better.

Seafood Crêpe $11.95

Mon Ami Gabi menu (click to enlarge)

Mon Ami Gabi
11950 Democracy Drive
Reston, VA 20190
telephone: (703)707-0233

Hours of Operation:
Lunch
Mon – Fri 11:30am – 3:00pm

Dinner
Mon – Thurs 4:00pm – 10:00pm
Fri – Sat 4:00pm – 11:00pm
Sun 3:00pm – 9:00pm

Weekend Brunch
Sat 11:30am – 3:00pm
Sun 10:30am – 3:00pm

Dinner at Bonefish Grill

Bonefish Grill is one of my cousins’ favorite restaurants for fresh fish dishes. I was curious why they liked it so much.

I always thought Americans didn’t eat much fish and seafood so I was surprised to see the restaurant packed so early. The bar area was equally full. It was a good thing we had a reservation.

corn chowder w/ lump crab

The bang bang shrimp was actually a pale imitation of Nobu’s rock shrimp tempura w/ spicy sauce. If you haven’t tried Nobu’s shrimp then this was not bad at all.

bang bang shrimp $5 on Wednesdays

All entrees were served with fresh seasonal vegetables and a side item of your choice. The side I chose was the super delicious and cheesy potatoes au gratin.

Imperial Longfin was actually tilapia. The menu described the preparation as “pan-seared, baked, stuffed with shrimp, scallops, crab meat, lemon caper butter.” How could I resist that?

It was absolutely delicious! If fish tasted like this I could eat it everyday.

Imperial Longfin $18.40

Sha had the king salmon grilled on a cedar plank. Her salmon had an herb crumb and chorizo topping. Her sides were herbed jasmine rice and French green beans.

Alaskan king salmon $22.50

La ordered monkfish which was also known as poor man’s lobster. I tried it and it did resemble the flavor and texture of lobster. It was served over a mound of rice with spicy Asian sauce and vegetables.

wild drunken monkfish $18.70

All our fish dishes were excellent. Bonefish Grill also had different fishes simply grilled with your choice of sauces. This is one restaurant I want to go back to.

Bonefish Grill menu

Bonefish Grill
13005 Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy,
Fairfax, VA 22033
telephone: (703) 378-4970

Hours:
Monday to Thursday 4-10pm
Friday 4-11 pm
Saturday 3-11 pm
Sunday 2-9 pm

Truffettes de France

Yes I am a chocoholic. But I don’t eat just any chocolate. It has to be good, dark and preferably orange flavored. I’m not wasting precious calories on ordinary chocolates.

I remember receiving a box of Truffettes de France several years ago from a friend who came from Canada. It was a melted mass of truffles in a gold bag. Nevertheless I patiently hacked it with a knife and enjoyed the smooth and rich chocolate chunks. The next year the same friend managed to bring it home cold and I finally got to try individual pieces of truffles. I fell in love with them even though they were milk chocolate.

Now you don’t have to go abroad to buy Truffettes de France. It’s now in Manila and they have several variants including my favorite truffles with orange peels and chocolate covered orange peel! Trust me these are to die for.

For me the best way to eat these truffles is to take them out of the refrigerator and let it sit in an air-conditioned room for a few minutes until them soften a bit. Pop one in your mouth, close your eyes, let it melt in your tongue and savor the deep rich creamy chocolate flavor. Drink water or coffee and repeat the cycle.

Not Your Ordinary Chocolate

In the heart of the country of Lille, France, there is delicate sugar and chocolate smell rising up… This smell comes directly from CHOCMOD, producing exquisite French Truffles since 1948. Their well known gourmet chocolate Truffettes de France, is not your ordinary confection. The truffle from CHOCMOD is setting up, cutting in the old shape, and finally rolled in the cocoa… The pure dark chocolate ingredient is the main raison d’être for the melt in your mouth experience.

A variety of flavors are available to suit your palate such as Cappuccino, Orange, fine Champagne , Roasted Cocoa Pieces , Mint and the most popular Original Flavor. Adding a fresh zest , new flavors are soon to arrive such as Pistachio, Coated Walnuts & Coated Orange Peels. These chocolates are sold in individual boxes cooled with gel ice packed and wrapped with an insulated bag to preserve its finest quality. Truffettes de France is indeed a luscious treat for a chocolate connoisseur. Indisputably splendid on the palate, their rich and delicate flavor bewitches one’s discriminating taste. Available in most European and North American countries as well in selected Asian countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan, Truffettes de France has conquered Manila as well. One can experience Truffettes de France at Truffles De France situated on Level 2 Shangri-La Plaza Mall, main mall level 2 SM Mall of Asia, Glorietta 4 .

Once you try this product, you will be spoiled for the rest of your life.

Truffles De France
Level 2 Shangri-La Plaza Mall
SM Mall of Asia (main mall level 2)
Glorietta 4

Baked Fish w/ Fennel

A few days ago I posted a recipe of Mushroom Truffle Pasta that I made for our dinner when I was in Virginia. My cousin La made this Baked Fish with Fennel.

Before this dinner I’ve never tried fresh fennel. I’ve used fennel seeds with its aromatic anise like flavor for making Italian sausage. Fresh fennel had a very mild smell, nothing like fennel seeds.

Cut off the top fronds and reserve. Slice the fennel lengthwise, remove the core and slice thinly crosswise.

Place in an oiled baking dish and sprinkle with salt. Add the sliced onions.

Cover with foil and bake in the oven until soft.

Wash the fish, dry and season with salt and pepper.

When the fennel is soft add in 1/2 cup wine.

Place the fish skin side up on top of the fennel. Bake until fish is cooked.

Flip the fish over and top with some chopped fennel fronds for more flavor. The fish had an amazing clean and fresh flavor. The fennel was soft yet retained some crispness.

Baked Fish with Fennel
olive oil
1 fennel bulb, halved lengthwise, cored, thinly sliced crosswise, fronds reserved
1/2 onion sliced
1 striped bass or fresh fish of your choice
1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste
lemon wedges

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Brush a 15 x 10 x 2-inch baking dish liberally with olive oil. Arrange the sliced fennel and onions in the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 5-10 minutes til soft.

2. Rub fish with 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange fish on top of the fennel. Drizzle with 1/2 cup white wine and lemon juice. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until fish is almost cooked through. Allow 6-12 minutes per inch of fish or until fish is tender and opaque.

3. Garnish fish with reserved fennel fronds. Serve hot with lemon wedges.

Birthday Lunch at Summer Palace

For my mom’s birthday yesterday we brought her to Summer Palace for a change. I saw Lori’s blog about Summer Palace’s La Mien festival and it looked really interesting.

I haven’t been to Summer Palace in a long time. Every time we wanted to eat Chinese food it’s always at Choi Garden and now Lugang Cafe. It was time to go back to our old favorite.

Summer Palace brought in guest chef Sun Yi Li of Golden Flower Hotel, Xian, China for this event which runs from Nov. 14-25, 2010 and is available during lunch at Summer Palace and at the dinner buffet of Heat.

A limited menu of hand pulled noodle dishes were available at lunch.

la mien menu (click to enlarge)

I was able to catch Chef Sun Yi Li in action creating hand pulled noodles from scratch.

plating of a bowl of beef noodle soup

I was impressed with the fresh ingredients used for the noodles dishes.

My mom selected the noodles with seafood broth cooked dry. It was very, very tasty. The noodles itself were incredibly al dente. The manager, Nancy told me this was actually the Indian style of cooking noodles. I never knew that!

noodles w/ fresh seafood broth P550

My friend May recommended this seafood soup that wasn’t in the menu.

seafood soup P390/bowl

It was a thick flavorful soup filled with exotic ingredients like fish lips, fish maw, sea cucumber, sharks’ fin, bamboo pith, abalone and mushroom.

Nancy insisted we try this black pepper steak. She guaranteed it was good. She was right! A thin slice of ultra tender and well seasoned beef that was perfectly cooked to seal in all the flavors and juices. An order yielded 4 thin slices of steak. A little more black pepper would have made it even better.

black pepper steak P1,020

When we were at Wee Nam Kee last week enjoying their cereal prawns May insisted that the cornflakes prawns of Summer Palace was even better. It wasn’t exactly the same but I really liked this dish. The prawns were shelled then coated with a sweet mayonnaise mixture and dunked in lots and lots of crunchy, sweet cornflakes.

cornflakes prawns P945/8 pcs.

The prawns were huge yet succulent. I really liked the crunch of the cornflakes together with the prawn. If you don’t like sweet food then this isn’t for you.

cornflakes prawns

Another dish May recommended was the softshelled crab with pork floss or mahu. Initially I thought it was a strange combination until I tried it. The hot, crisp, light as air, fried softshelled crab was just wonderful with the salty, sweet chewy strands of pork floss. Whoever thought of putting the two unlikely ingredients is a genius.

softshell crab w/ pork floss

Fried green beans accompanied the softshelled crab.

lots of pork floss

It doesn’t really look that appetizing but trust me, fried softshelled crab topped with pork floss is a good thing.

Summer Palace is the only place in Manila that I order sweet and sour pork. Nancy always guarantees it will be super duper crunchy or she will replace the order herself.

Just look at the picture. The pork was cut into small pieces giving it more crunchy surface. The sauce barely glazed the pork unlike in other places where you have to fish out the pork swimming in sauce.

sweet & sour pork P510

Obviously we ordered too much food for 4 people. But between May’s and Nancy’s recommendations we had to try them all. Don’t worry we took home all the left-overs.

We were already too full but again Nancy’s will prevailed and we shared a bowl of hot, thick and sweet almond cream with a fish tikoy in it.

hot almond cream P130

My dad’s Club Edsa card entitled us a free birthday cake which I ordered 24 hours in advance.

The chocolate cream was really, really good but unfortunately the cake layers were hard and dry. Oh well, at least it was free so we can’t complain too much.

Thanks to May for hitting a home run with all her recommendations. We all enjoyed lunch and I’m glad to have rediscovered the excellent food at Summer Palace.

Summer Palace
Edsa Shangri-La Manila Hotel
1 Garden Way, Ortigas Centre
Mandaluyong City 1650, Philippines
telephone: +632 633-8888

Hours:
11.30am – 2.30pm
9am – 11am on Sundays
6.30pm – 10pm

Queso de Bola Cheesecake and Creme Brulee Cake

My mom loves cheesecake and since it’s her birthday today I gave her one of the best and most unique cheesecakes I’ve ever eaten.

Happy birthday mom! Thanks for reading my blog every morning as soon as you wake up. Thanks for emailing me my mistakes, missing words or wrong spelling. My mom is the techie of her generation. She’s an expert at texting, has her own email address, facebook account and is an addict at bejeweled. I love you mom! Enjoy your cheesecake! By the way she said she loves the cheesecake! Woohoo.

I first tried queso de bola cheesecake at Deb’s birthday dinner at her house. One bite and I was hooked.

This baked cheesecake is not as heavy as your regular New York style cheesecake but it’s definitely more substantial than the dreaded cheesecake with gelatin which I dislike a lot.

queso de bola cheesecake

What makes this cheesecake so special is the presence of tiny bits of salty queso de bola or Edam cheese.When you take a bite it first tastes sweet then you taste the salty bits of cheese then the finish is sweet again when you end with the muscovado whipped cream.

It is this complex journey of flavors that my taste buds experience that makes this one of the best cheesecakes I’ve ever eaten.

Mara is best known for her Gateau de Crepes in Vanilla, Low Sugar Vanilla, Chocolate and Nutella. I’ve tried them and they’re good too. But her cheesecake is my favorite so far.

Last Friday I attended a birthday dinner and was introduced to this absolutely decadent Creme Brûlée cake made by Camille Ocampo.

The cake was made with 2 layers of ultra soft chiffon cake with a thick layer of vanilla whipped cream nestled in between. It was topped with a crunchy sugar layer thus the name. It was a fabulous and welcome change from the usual chocolate cakes.

Yes that’s queso de bola cheesecake right beside the creme brûlée cake. Both cakes were perfect with hot green tea.

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
Mon-Sat: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sun: 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
facebook page
Queso de Bola Cheesecake P1,200.00

Creme Brulee cake by Camille Ocampo
telephone: +63916-7457729

Creme brûlée cake – P700 plain, P800 for the mango version
The cake is also available in aluminum loaf pans. P380 for the plain and P400 for the mango brûlée cake.

Creamy Mushroom Truffle Pasta

When I was on vacation in Virginia last July we didn’t eat out all the time. One night I offered to cook some pasta which is my specialty.

My favorite ingredient for pasta is fresh mushrooms which are costly in Manila and we don’t get many varieties either.

For this dish which I cooked without following a specific recipe I chose regular button, baby portobella and maitake mushrooms. I was quite pleased that the mushrooms were already sliced since saved me some work. I used only half of the button and baby bella.

1. Use as much garlic as you want. I used a whole head of garlic for a pound of pasta.

2. Combine all the sliced mushrooms in a bowl. Do not wash the mushrooms so it will not absorb extra moisture.

3. Saute the garlic and mushrooms in olive oil in medium high heat. Add some red pepper flakes if you want a little or a lot of kick.

4. Add in white wine and let it evaporate until you are left with half the volume.

5. Add some light cream or heavy cream if you don’t mind the extra fat and calories. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for a few minutes until slightly thickened.

6. Transfer the pasta straight from the pot. There’s no need to drain or rinse the pasta. You can add some water that was used to cook the pasta if the sauce is a bit dry.

I bought this truffle oil in World Market for about $15. It was a great deal.

truffle oil

7. Pour the truffle oil directly on the plated pasta and stir. Inhale deeply and smell the wonderful, earthy aroma of truffle oil on freshly cooked mushroom pasta. It doesn’t get better than this.

The pasta came out fantastic. The light cream sauce barely coated the pasta yet the flavor was rich, pungent and very flavorful. This was a lighter version of the usual heavy cream sauce found in restaurants.

I actually just wrote this recipe and estimated the quantities since I didn’t measure any of the ingredients I used. So feel free to adjust the ingredients to your liking.

Creamy Mushroom Truffle Pasta recipe
2 T Olive Oil
12 oz or 340 g. fresh Mushrooms, sliced
1 head of garlic, minced
1/2 – 1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup white wine
1 cup light cream
salt & pepper to taste
3-4 tsp truffle oil
1 lb or 450 g. of linguini or pasta of your choice
Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Heat olive oil in a pan. Add in garlic and cook for a few minutes. Be careful not to brown the garlic. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Add in sliced mushrooms. Saute on medium high heat for 5-10 minutes until tender.

2. Pour white wine into the pan and reduce over high heat for about 2 minutes or until the volume has reduced in half. Add the cream and simmer until slightly thickened.

3. Cook the pasta in a pot filled with enough water and plenty of salt. Taste the water it should be as salty as sea water. Do not add any oil. Follow the instructions on the package for cooking time.

Cooking it this way gives the pasta more taste and you won’t need to add as much salt in your sauce. It’s better for the sauce to wait for the pasta to cook than the other way around. You don’t want to add cold, sticky pasta to hot sauce. You can also turn off the heat of your sauce while waiting for the pasta to finish cooking.

4. When pasta is al dente transfer it directly to your sauce. Mix gently and warm through.

5. Transfer to a serving plate. Pour the truffle oil on top of the pasta and stir until the oil is spread evenly through the pasta. Top with Parmesan cheese if desired. Serve right away and enjoy.

Lunch at Thai Basil

My cousin La had a special treat for me. She brought me to Thai Basil, a restaurant whose claim to fame is the owner and chef, Nongkran Daks won in a ‘Throwdown‘ challenge against TV chef Bobby Flay.

You can just imagine my excitement to try their Pad Thai, the winning dish. Pad Thai happens to be my favorite Thai dish and one that I never fail to order when I eat in a Thai restaurant.

The entrance of the restaurant was covered with pictures and articles about the chef’s amazing win over Bobby Flay.

The place was surprisingly full despite the location of the restaurant in a corner of a quiet strip mall.

I ordered the chicken in coconut milk soup, a favorite of mine ever since I tried it at AzuThai in Makati. This version paled in comparison. The soup was very thin and barely had any coconut flavor. The chicken didn’t have any taste either. The only thing I liked was the fresh mushrooms.

Tom Yam Gai $4.95
Tender chicken breast, tomatoes and fresh mushrooms
cooked in a lightly spicy lemon grass and Kaffir lime
leaf broth.

In this dish the beef tasted boiled and simply topped with sauce. The beef was totally flavorless. The sauce was good though.

I usually love Thai rice but this was overcooked, soft and mushy. It tasted like an old batch of rice was mixed with a freshly overcooked one.

Penang Nua $9.95
Beef in Panang curry with peanuts, lime leaves
and Thai basil.

All our hopes for a satisfying lunch was on the Pad Thai. The rice noodles were al dente and that’s the only redeeming factor to this dish. The entire dish was way too sweet and didn’t have any tamarind flavor. It was nothing like the delicious Pad Thai I had at Benjarong in Dusit Hotel. La and I were thinking maybe the taste of the dishes were adjusted to suit the American palate?

Pad Thai $9.95 (with shrimp)
Beef, chicken or pork with rice noodles, egg, seasoned with palm sugar and special tamarind sauce.

Overall it was quite a disappointing lunch for two Asians craving for good Thai food. The service was slow with only 2 waiters for a full restaurant. We had to ask for water and utensils several times before we got them. Well at least we got to experience dining in a restaurant featured in a TV show.

The Thai Basil Restaurant
14511- P Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy.
Chantilly, Virginia 20151
telephone: (703) 631-8277

Z Pizza and Panera Bread

My cousin La ate pizza at a party and she really liked it. She asked the host where she bought it. The answer was Z Pizza.

We went to Z Pizza in Woodland Park Crossing in Herndon, Virginia. It was my first time to go there and I really liked the architecture and ambiance of the place. I felt I was in the movie studio set instead of a mall.

nutritional value of Z Pizzas

We ordered 2 small pizzas for take-out.

The pizza crust was thin and crisp but not evenly. Some parts were thick and chewy. The cheese was good and generous. This simple pizza was really for my niece Erin who loves tomatoes to death.

Napoli Pizza, small $9.95
homemade roasted garlic sauce, mozzarella, fresh rounds of
tomatoes, parmesan, fresh basil

La and I chose the Tuscan pizza made with 3 kinds of mushrooms, truffle oil, feta and caramelized onions. I had high hopes for this pizza. Imagine truffle oil on a pizza that costs $9.95 only?

When I opened the box I didn’t smell any hint of truffle oil. I definitely didn’t taste it either. The mushrooms weren’t that fragrant too. What saved the pizza was the wonderfully sweet caramelized onions spiked with tangy, salty feta cheese. What a terrific contrast in flavors.

Tuscan Pizza, small $9.95
roasted garlic sauce, mozzarella, cremini, shiitake and button
mushrooms, caramelized onions, feta, truffle oil and thyme

While waiting for our pizza we went next door to Panera Bread to buy some snacks for La’s kids who were already hungry.

Panera Bread is my favorite place to get bagels whenever I’m in Virginia. Their bagels are the right size and not humongous and calorie rich like those in New York. They’re dense, chewy and studded with cheese, nuts, chocolate or dried fruit.

I’ve tried some of their pastries before and they are quite yummy too.

Ethan got his all time favorite cinnamon crunch bagel and Erin got a huge chocolate cookie. It was really soft, chewy and so chocolatey. Thanks for giving me a small piece Erin!

Z Pizza
2320C Woodland Crossing Drive
Herndon, VA 20171
telephone: (703) 481-6580
other locations

Panera Bakery
2328 Woodland Crossing Drive
Herndon, VA 20171
telephone: (703) 437-6801
other locations

Shaved ice, other desserts and more at Lugang Cafe

No I don’t have shares in Lugang Cafe but i wish I did. I just darn love the food. Tuesday was a holiday and we brought some friends to Lugang to share the joyous experience of eating there. It seemed half the town had the same idea. The place was packed and I saw a lot of friends eating there.

We ordered the usual xiao long bao and fried dumplings. These were the new dishes I tried.

We were surprised that the garlic pork roll was a cold dish. It was interesting and quite flavorful.

garlic pork roll P160

Michelle and Andrew are kids who love roast pork or asado or char siu. Whenever we eat in Chinese restaurants we have to order this for them. Michelle proclaimed this better than Choi Garden’s. Gasp! It was very tender and not that sweet. It was quite lean too.

roast asado P300

I discovered a new favorite dish. Who would have thought pairing Chinese crullers (fried long doughnut) or you tiao with beef would work so well. Chinese crullers are traditionally served with congee or soy milk.

In this dish the crullers remained crunchy even while it absorbed the savory sauce. The way I ate it was I got piece of super tender beef and a piece of cruller and popped it in my mouth at the same time. The contrast in textures was simply amazing. And the sauce wasn’t salty so I didn’t need to eat with rice. We ended up with a second order because even the kids loved it.

beef w/ Chinese cruller P280

The Hainanese chicken was tender and very juicy.

1/2 boneless Hainanese chicken P450

The pineapple fried rice was unique. It had pork floss on top and lots of whole cashews and pineapple bits in the rice.

pineapple fried rice P280

Another reason that I think Lugang Cafe will be a big success is that they are the only restaurant in Manila (that I know of) to offer a huge array of Chinese desserts just like Honeymoon Dessert, Hang Fa Lau and Sweet Dynasty in Hong Kong. And they have even more with their popular shaved ice desserts.

David Chang of New York’s Momofuko fame even commented ““This Bellagio is not a Las Vegas hotel, but a faux-swanky Taiwanese brasserie. There are several locations in Shanghai, and they’re all open at all hours. It’s my favorite restaurant in Shanghai—which I know is sacrilegious—but everything is so delicious, like the pork-belly pot with egg and their weird fried breads. Don’t leave without ordering the shaved ice—it’s a must.” from Travel and Leisure

The shaved ice didn’t really look like ice. Instead it looked like wide ribbons of peanut butter and black sesame. I didn’t care so much for the black sesame since I felt it lacked flavor. The peanut butter is another story.

They used Jif peanut butter to make this and it was evident in the flavor. It tasted like they froze a block of whipped peanut butter and shaved it. Though it melted on the tongue it didn’t taste watery just smooth, creamy and cold. If you are a peanut butter lover like I am than this dessert is the ultimate. Next time I will order all peanut butter only. If they put a drizzle of chocolate syrup on top then this would be a giant Reese’s bar. Yummmmm.

black sesame & peanut butter shaved ice P160

The mango flavored ice was more icy and sherbet like but the flavors of the mango was pure and not diluted. It was much finer and smoother than sherbet. I was told they use more than 30 kilos of mangoes a day.

mango shaved ice P160

mango flavored shaved ice P160

This dessert was similar to the one I always order in Honeymoon Dessert in Hong Kong. The black pearls were small and crunchy. Aside from fresh mangoes and kiwi the black one was a dried sweet fruit that I have yet to identify.

black pearls w/ coconut & fresh fruit P150

This cool and refreshing dessert had lots of super fine ice that melted right away without making the coconut base watery.

The kiwi juice was sour as expected.

fresh kiwi juice P180

Michelle is a bubble tea addict. She gave their strong bubble milk tea a thumbs up.

tapioca pearl bubble milk tea P130

I found the green tea latte too weak. I like the one from Starbucks so much more.

iced green tea latte P160

The second floor had a long dragon mural design on the wall. It’s a trademark in all Bellagio cafes in China.

Some tables on the second floor had a steel curtain for privacy. The owner, Peter told me this was also in all the cafes in China but in a much smaller scale. He decided to use it as a curtain in Manila.

Almost everyone ordered a drink which averaged P150 each plus the 3 desserts we ordered and lots of dishes. Our bill came out to P450 per head. That’s quite a good deal specially since we were all so full and happy.

Nov. 21, 2010

The same group ate at Lugang again today, Sunday, and these are the new dishes we tried. With all the dishes I’ve tried so far I don’t think it’s even 1/4 of the entire menu. I’ve got a long way to go. It’s hard to try new dishes when you keep wanting to order the same favorite dishes.

This shrimp dish was a house specialty. It wasn’t as good as the beef cruller since the cruller here wasn’t very crisp. It was different and interesting though. The mayonnaise based sauce was light and didn’t taste too rich for the dish. The pineapple added a refreshing flavor to the dish.

pineapple & shrimp stuffed in cruller P280

The spinach was very soft but the soup wasn’t very savory. It lacked flavor. But overall it was ok.

seasonal vegetables in broth w/ preserved eggs P300

Anthony and I loved this tofu dish. Strips of fried tofu simmered in a delicious black bean sauce.

Taiwanese tofu clay pot w/ pork P260

This was a big surprise. I thought it would be just sliced barbecued pork plopped on top of rice. Instead the rice was actually cooked in the clay pot and developed crispy bits on the bottom just like paella. The barbecued pork’s flavor seeped into the rice and the addition of a soy based sauce poured on it made it this clay pot dish a big hit with the two kids. The portion of the pork was quite generous too.

honey barbecue pork on rice in clay pot P380

The rice noodles or bihon was drier than the saucy version we’re used to but it was very flavorful. My only complaint was the dried shrimp was very salty.

Taiwanese stir-fried noodles w/ pork P245

If you like red beans, mung beans (monggo) and ice then this dessert is for you. A tower of ice is covered with beans and drenched with condensed milk. At the base there are pineapple chuck, sweetened tapioca balls and purple mochi cubes.

Bellagio Breeze P190