…because we love to eat
It was quite a hot day when we went to have lunch at Sentro. So it was such a welcome relief when I saw they have a classic Filipino cooler, Sago’t Gulaman, in their menu. It wasn’t overtly sweet, as most sago’t gulaman tend to be. The best
part? It’s refillable!
Fried Kesong Puti Php 250
Continue reading “Classic Pinoy Food at Sentro 1771”
Happy Holidays!
We would like to greet everyone a Merry Christmas! Or, as we say in Tagalog– “Maligayang Pasko!”. We hope that you had a wonderful Noche Buena with your loved ones; and, that this Christmas brought lots of love and happiness to all!
Cheers!
Lumpiang ubod is one Filipino food I definitely love to eat. Be it sariwa or fried, this delicious food is readily available at most Filipino restaurants, eateries, canteens, and even from peddlers on the street.
Here’s a very simple recipe if you’d like to make some yourself.
Fried Lumpiang Ubod (Fried Palm Heart Spring Rolls)
Ingredients:
2 cups ubod (palm heart), cut into thin strips
1 chicken breast, boiled and flaked
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1 small white onion, chopped
Dash of chicken powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Lumpia (spring roll) wrappers
Cooking oil for stir frying
Cooking oil for deep frying
cornstarch diluted in water
Heat oil in pan. Saute’ onion and garlic until onion is translucent and garlic is golden brown. Add in the ubod. Next, add in the chicken. Season with chicken powder, salt and pepper. Stir fry until ubod is cooked. It should be tender but still has a bit of crunch. Allow to cool.
Lay out one lumpia wrapper on a plate. Place two tablespoons of the filling mixture on one end of the wrapper. Fold flap over the filling and fold the left and right sides in. roll until you reach the end of the wrapper. Seal the end with cornstarch diluted in water.
Deep fry in cooking oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature with vinegar and crushed garlic.
I miss summer. Not the heat , but the bright sunny days that are characteristic of the season. It’s just perfect for a day at the beach! But, it’s the rainy season here. So it was such a welcome treat to be invited to go and have lunch at Kawayan Cove.
Kawayan Cove is a 68-hectare high-end seaside residential resort community in Nasugbu, Batangas which is just a two-hour drive from Makati. There, we were toured around the property after dining on a very lavish feast prepared by our very gracious hosts, the Puyats. We dined at the Bamboo Beach Club on Bamboo Beach, the centerpiece of the Kawayan Cove development.
We feasted on seafood like crabs, shrimp kabobs, grilled fish; and on lechon (roast suckling pig) and chicken barbecue.
There we’re also side dishes of salads, atchara and vegetables. And to cap off a wonderful meal is a dessert spread of fresh fruits and native delicacies like kakanins and leche flan!
A delicious feast on a beautiful beach, shared with friends and gracious hosts. It truly is such a wonderful experience.
Click here to see more photos from Kawayan Cove.
Kawayan Cove
Bamboo Beach, Nasugbu
Batangas, Philippines
For more information about Kawayan Cove, call Edge Properties Development Corp. G/F Bldg. A, Karrivin Plaza, 2316 Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City, Philippines Tel. 843-9136 to 38 and 843-8820. Or visit their website, www.kawayancove.com.
Chefs have, time and again, stressed the importance of using the freshest and best ingredients every time you cook to achieve the best flavor and texture. Freshness is always key. But sometimes, it is hard to find such fresh ingredients, especially on such short notice.
Take seafood for example. We all look for freshness whenever we buy fresh seafood at the market. Like checking the gills to see if they’re a bright pinkish red; if the eyes are cloudy or clear; if the firm is flesh; and if it smells good or bad. Sometimes though, even if we think that what we’re buying is fresh, it turns out to be otherwise. To be able to get the best and most fresh catch of the day, you’d have to get up really early to hit the market, which most often than not is not a very enjoyable trip. Most markets tend to be wet, dirty and smelly.
In Teacher’s Village in Quezon City, we found ZBS Seafood Shop which sells fresh seafood flown in from Zamboanga City. They sell all sorts of seafood from shrimps to squid, freshwater and saltwater fish–tuna; tilapia; bangus; lapu-lapu heads, among others. I especially loved their lapu-lapu heads- very big and very meaty! My mom made a very mean sinigang na ulo with it. The prices are very competitive with supermarkets and your neighborhood palengke. The place is air conditioned and very clean, very much like the Monterey meatshops. You may also have the fish cleaned, and a great time saving treat of theirs is they can also fry it for you.
So if you live in, or near the neighborhood; or if you fancy getting some really fresh seafood, go on and visit ZBS Seafood Shop.
ZBS Seafood Shop
44A Magiting Street
Teacher’s Village East,
Diliman, Quezon City.
Telephone No. 928-0809, 927-9426
Top Singaporean chef Lisa Leong flew in to Manila recently to demonstrate the uses of MCT products by hosting a cooking demo at Tang City in Glorietta. Aside from being a top chef, Chef Leong has long been an advocate of healthy living and healthful eating.
Normally, when we hear healthful food, we think of bland, and tasteless food. Well, Chef Leong came to show us that healthful food can also taste great.
During the event, she demonstrated how these products can be used as substitutes to other ingredients. By the way, most MCT products used in the demo are coconut based, such as the MCT COCOS Powder- which is a good substitute in recipes calling for coconut milk or cream-and the SUPER COCO Organic Virgin Coconut Oil.
She first made some Kaya, a Singaporean jam, using the MCT Cocos Powder and the COCOS Pandan Coconut Oil. These were then served for us to sample on some hot, toasted bread. That was the first time I’ve had Kaya, and I have to say, I loved it! It was so good.
Next, Chef Leong made a rice dish called Nasi Lemak, again using the MCT COCOS Powder and the COCOS Pandan Coconut Oil. These were served with the usual sidings.
Another Singaporean delight she made was the Dancing Singapore Laksa, her take on the traditional Laksa. It was basically the same, except that she used the Dancing Chef Laksa Paste, the MCT COCOS Powder and the COCOS Pandan Coconut Oil.
For dessert, Chef Leong made some Jingle Glass Jell-O, again using the MCT COCOS Powder in place of the milk. It looked pretty much like the Stained Glass/ Cathedral Windows Jelly we’re used to.
And, she also baked a delicious Pandan Cake using a rice cooker! How awesome is that?!
Who says you’d have to deprave yourself just to be healthy? This array of New Asian Style cuisine by Lisa Leong proves to us why great-tasting, healthful food is far from being a myth.
This cooking demo is made possible by Team Asia Corporation, the leading distributor of Highlanders Brown Rice Tea, Super COCO Virgin Coconut Oil, and Nano Wellness Cards in the Phillippines. For inquires, please call (02) 723-4461 to 64; email sales@teamasiacorporation.com, or visit their website : www.teamasiacorporation.com
Good news to all Chao Fan lovers like myself!
Chowking now has four variants of Chow Fan: Spicy, Beef, Pork and Yang Chow. I love all four, but I have to say that the Yang chow– with Chinese chorizo, shrimps, chopped vegetables and fried egg–, and the Beef Chao Fan–packed with a rich, beefy flavor, beef bits and chopped vegetables–are my faves.
Do you want even more good news? Even though there’s a rice crisis, they still managed to make it affordable. Chowking Chao Fan goodness starts at PHP 39.00.
I’ve always loved Chao Fan. It’s something that I order whenever I eat at Chowking. Already great on it’s own, I often pair it with a plate of sweet and sour pork, or a serving of either siomai or lumpia.
Two weekends ago, I was invited to this weekend market out in Manila. I love going to the market, especially weekend markets because of the wide selection of products available. There’s cooked food, fresh meat and fish, poultry, produce, clothes, home ware, even pets on sale.
At the back of SM San Lazaro in Manila is Celadon Manila, a leisurely residential community by ALVEO Land Corp. Every Sunday for the month of September, Celadon Manila plays host to PICK Manila– the first lifestyle weekend market in city.
If you are a foodie like myself, you’ll be able to go on a food trip with the big mix of culinary delights they have to offer– form Filipino staples like embotido, relleno, aligue (crab fat)–which I had to stay away from (a bit hard, but I managed)- leche flan and other native delicacies to international fare like Japan’s sushi and Italian sodas.
They even sell organic products like organically-grown brown rice and herbs. Gourmet items, foreign and local, like honey and coffee are also sold by some stalls. Fresh fruits and baked products like breads and cakes are also available.
For the fashionistas and home make-over lovers, PICK Manila also offers a showcase of some of the most novel and exciting finds. Shoes, bags, tops and fashion jewelery for the stylish urbanite and intricate home decor made of glass, wood, and fabric inspired by different cultures for the interior-savvy. I spotted a little wooden decoupaged case and a nice big lamp, both of which were just screaming for me to take them home.
Though I wasn’t able to take home the box and lamp, I did manage to snag myself a bag of Kalinga coffee which everyone has been raving about. I also bought some fruit and baked goods.
If you’re not doing anything tomorrow, why not check out PICK Manila. Head on over to Celadon Manila and experience it yourself.
PICK Manila is open on Sundays from 7AM to 2PM.
CeladonManila is a development by ALVEO Land Corp. Please visit: www.celadonmanila.com.ph for more information.
* Promotional photographs were provided by the concessionaires through ALVEO Land Corp.
Two all-time Jollibee favorites are making a comeback!
I am happy to announce that Jollibee is bringing back the Amazing Aloha and Cheesy Bacon Mushroom burgers!
Cheesy Bacon Mushroom Solo- Php 82.00 / Value meal- Php 108.00
I’ve always loved the Amazing Aloha, so I was a bit dismayed when I found out that it had been removed from the menu. When I had the opportunity to talk to Ms. Arline Adeva, Joliibee PR Manager, a few weeks back, I told her how much I loved the Amazing Aloha and asked if it will ever come back as part of the menu. She told me, with a smile, “let’s just wait and see.” I’ve wondered how long I would have to.
So you can just imagine how overjoyed I was when I learned earlier this evening that they are indeed bringing them back. In my mind I was screaming “My prayers have been answered!”
Along with some friends from the press, I was lucky enough to be one of the first to sample the improved Amazing Aloha and Cheesy Bacon Mushroom burgers.
The Cheesy Bacon Mushroom is made up of soft toasted buns layered with 100% pure beef double patty, strips of bacon, mushrooms, and a slathered with a hefty serving of cream cheese.
The Amazing Aloha is unique, and like no other burger you’ll find in the Philippines. I think no other burger chain in the country has a burger like it: a burger made of 100% pure beef double patty, bacon, cheese, lettuce and a thick slice of pineapple, sandwiched by a soft toasted bun.
From being single-patty sandwiches, both burgers now boast of juicy double patties, topped with the great-tasting toppings. I just can’t get over how good they tasted!
I guess it’s true what they say– it’s definitely sweeter… the second time around.
The Amazing Aloha and Cheesy Bacon Mushroom burgers will be available in all Jollibee stores nationwide beginning August 13, 2008.
Fresh, healthy, and competitive – these are the three factors that define Robinson’s Supermarket’s line up of activities for the month of July designed to give its customers across the country a ready access to wellness, nutrition, and a healthy lifestyle.
The “Wellness and Nutrition Festival” aptly encompasses Robinson’s Supermarket’s healthy and refreshing commitment to its growing patrons. As Robinson’s Supermarket General Manager Jody Gadia puts it, “Robinson’s Supermarket aims to empower its customers through a wide selection of grocery items at budget-friendly costs. Through this month-long event, we hope to encourage more people to be health-conscious when it comes to their choice of food and activities.
Launched to coincide with the Nutrition Month, the “Wellness and Nutrition Festival” will see various in-store wellness activations and discounts on various health consumer products. To give consumers a firsthand experience on the wellness advocacy, a two-day event will be staged at the Robinson’s Place Ermita Midtown Atrium on July 19 and 20. This healthy weekend puts the spotlight on a number of effective ways to improve one’s overall well-being. Day one of the festival is on fitness and beauty regimens ideal for today’s upward and mobile set. Day two is all about keeping a healthy family featuring a puppet show on proper nutrition for the kids, a cooking demonstration for moms, and entertaining musical numbers. Mall-goers can also take advantage of free nutrition counseling, bone scanning, as well as product sampling courtesy of Robinson’s Supermarket brand partners.
Capping off the festival is the Fit and Fun 5KM Wellness Buddy Run on July 27 at Fort Bonifacio. Using a “buddy system,” the fun run is aimed at instilling the importance of engaging in a physical activity to be in the pink of health.
The Wellness and Nutrition Festival is part of the chain’s advocacy on wellness, nutrition and healthy living which sets it apart from other supermarkets.
Robinson’s Supermarket boasts of a Whole Health Section, a one-stop shop for healthy products. It has a robust selection of fresh products and regular wellness activations like bone scanning, nutrition counseling, blood pressure reading among others, sponsored by its trade partners.
“All our undertakings are geared toward encouraging our customers to maintain a healthy lifestyle. With our campaign to spread awareness on wellness and nutrition, we hope to give our shoppers the best value for their money and be able to maintain good health for their families,” Gadia enthuses.
Robinson’s Supermarket has 32 branches nationwide and is set to open nine more stores within the year.
To learn more about Robinson’s Supermarket and their promos, please visit their site : http://www.robinsons-supermarket.com.ph/default.htm