Dim Sum at Luk Yuen

Before having dinner at a Singaporean restaurant the other night, I had some dim sum with T and D. Dim sum is like small portions of food usually steamed, fried and sometimes broiled earliest associated with drinking tea among travelers along the Old Silk Road (which can extend from China all the way to Turkey).

Our Dim Sum place of choice in Makati was Luk Yuen. We weren't planning to eat much, just a merienda, which is really just a light-in-between snack that most Filipinos have.

While waiting for them, I was served some crunchy and salty fried wanton wrappers as I ordered a serving of taro puffs. Taro puffs is my ultimate dim sum favorite and I only like it from Luk Yuen. It's fried mashed taro with minced pork filling. It's just always so divine with the chilli sauce. The only taro puff better than Luk Yuen is at the Mandarin Oriental's Tin Hau restaurant. Now that is very high end.

When they arrived, we ordered a serving of radish cake and hakaw (shrimp dumplings). They weren't the very best we've had but were good complements to the taro puffs and hot tea. The wait staff were even generous enough to give us hot soup. All in all, total bill was under US$7.00. Such a gastronomic bargain!

Working Class Foodies

My dear blogger-friend recommended Working Class Foodies over the weekend and now I am addicted! "Siblings Rebecca and Max Lando, her dogs, and friends and family, on a quest to find the best local and seasonal ingredients the city has to offer, and turn them into delicious meals - all while keeping the budget under $8/person." Check out this video.



I'd do the same from time to time and if only I have a video cam of sorts. Maybe a little project D and I can do at home. And we've got a dog too, Chewie. :)

Capones Island and Nagsasa Cove

Although I am from Zambales, I never really heard of Capones Island and Nagsasa Cove until a week before I joined some friends for a weekend off. I was familiar with Anawangin and was intrigued: how could the beaches have pine trees?

It had been a long first quarter of 2011, with three trips cancelled so far, I decided, I was not gonna flake on this one. I almost did but I was persuaded to show up, and thank God, I did! For roughly US$58, all we had to do was show up at the meeting point in Quezon City, and we were driven away from the city for a weekend. This rate included private roundtrip transport from Manila, meals at the cove (2 lunches, one breakfast, one dinner and one merienda), the tents we slept at, the service and humor of the tour group we hired.

At Work or Not

I should not be blogging but I suddenly have free time at work. And below is a cartoon I received from my work e-mail a few weeks back: Work-Life Integration. Indeed the boundaries for both have blurred in my life and I am thankful that the dots are connecting bit by bit. It would be delightful for work and life to be integrated --- doing what I love and enjoying every bit of it. But sometimes, it's just too much. Then I wish, I need Work-Life Balance. Again.

Coco Beach

Began 2011 with a quick escape to Coco Beach thanks to a Bank holiday. Here, you can enjoy happy hour by the beach, grab some books from their multi-lingual library, delight in generous seafood and carnivorous calories, have a massage and forget that some staff can make your stay less than idyllic. Despite the rustic rooms, which foreigners apparrently prefer, it's all good in Coco Beach. I wouldn't mind going back.

Lavenda Cafe

Another enjoyable lunch captured through my camphone. Was out having lunch with M and V in Makati last weekend. It was raining and instead of crossing over to Greenbelt under the rain, I suggested Lavenda Cafe along Benavidez Street in Legaspi Village.  

This cafe has been around for almost a year now and has been my go-to place for comfort food either on the way home or by delivery. For me, it's Japanese food next door. They've got nourishing ramens that take away all the illness keeping you in bed; sushi and sashimi platters that make you want to have with some sparkling wine; and my favorite bento pictured above -- tempura bento for only PhP180. It comes with three pieces of shrimp, some veggies, kimchi, half an egg, some sashimi (salmon and squid this time),  and some miso soup on the side. They also serve some Italian food, cakes and alcohol even before lunch -- all I have not tried because of my loyalty to their Japanese fare.

Here are some snapshots from food delivered on my birthday. Me and M attended a function with not much food and so ordered the rest to be shared with the rest of the family.

Home-made pizza

Last Sunday, T had a guest, and requested D and I to make some merienda. Merienda is a light snack taken between the major meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner but never after dinner) in the Philippines.With our handy oven toaster, we made pizza with the following: left over pan de sal, store-bought tomato sauce simmered with garlic and dried Italian herbs, some red bell peppers, Greek olives, Czech blue cheese, and Dutch cheddar cheese.  It's yummier than it looks!

Strawberry Waffles at Home

I can't believe my last post was almost six months ago - September! It's been insanely busy since and tonight is the first evening that I actually have nothing much to do. It's just nothing much because it's just checking final exams and papers, and the semester is officially over once those grades are submitted.

Even if I've neglected this blog and had lots of jobs to do, I haven't stopped eating and did a bit of travelling too. For starters, here's some waffles I made at home a few weeks back. Waffles from our local Maya hotcake mix, honey from Palawan, and strawberries from Baguio.

Here's to definitely more posts to come! 

Crisps, Crisps, Crisps

If there's a snack I can have indefinitely, it's chips or in British English, crisps. As a child, Jack 'n Jill barbecue chips and V-cut were my local favorites. The imported Lays and Ruffles would be luxuries (actually, even until now). Of course, there were other kinds of chips like Sun Chips and tortilla chips but nothing comes close to good old potato chips.

Growing up, I very much enjoyed chips homemade style that were previously available at Oliver's Sandwiches. Eventually, I loved the chips at Dome Cafe, which I found out, was actually supplied by my uncle (of Jed and Julian's). I'm talking about chips similar to what is served at Cibo, except that those at Oliver's and Dome Cafe were tastier - as if there were bits of paprika and rock salt.

While living in the Czech Republic, practically every chip brand was heaven. After all, I was in the heart of Europe, potatoes were plenty. My then favorite was Bohemia Chips. That familiar crimson bag just stops time and takes me back to pleasant memories. In my more recent sojourn in the UK, I fell in love with Sensations Crisps. From plain and simple Walkers to the distinct flavours of Sensations chips - lime and Thai spice were my favorite then. Whenever I'd see those large bag of Sensations, I would just dream I can afford them all the time -- they were quite pricey crisps even for those who had work and welfare.

So it's with so much delight that I finally found my new favorite crisps here at home, courtesy of Red Rock Deli. Oh thick, firm, flavourful crisps! I first tried the Lime and Black Pepper and was an immediate fan. Even my dad and sister are addicted. I've compared prices and it's cheapest at Cherry Foodarama (118p), most expensive at SM (148p), and mid-priced at Landmark (130p) more or less last time I checked. I tried the Honey Soy Chicken flavor last week but I found it bland in terms of flavor. If Red Rock's not your thing, there's more in the market now. Got to love Manila for having choices!

   

Razon's of Guagua

Last weekend, I found myself having late lunch at Razon's of Guagua along Timog Avenue. I was waiting for my dad and as soon as I saw Razon's, my choice for lunch was made. When I think of Razon's, usually the Pancit Luglug, Sisig or the Sizzling Bulalo come to mind. And I normally order the Sizzling Bulalo. But since I was eating alone, that would be too much. And for Php 230 per order (without rice), the Bulalo did not fit my impromptu lunch out. Meanwhile, the Pancit Luglug would be so bitin (definitely not enough) for my healthy appetite. So Sizzling Sisig it is!

Now to order one entire sizzling plate with additional rice or the combo meal which had a reasonable portion of the Sisig with rice and egg? For only PhP140, I opted for the latter and just told the lady at the counter I was going to have water as beverage. Once I said water, the lady directed me to an obscure counter where a water cooler and a stash of glasses were located - clean and dirty glasses next to each other. I requested for my glass to be washed, which a staff thankfully did, got my own water, and found myself a table.

Yes, this is a self-service eatery (so I won't refer to it as a restaurant). Actually, as I will eventually write, Razon's reminds me of a fast food chain without service. Perhaps I was just surprised that it was a self-service eatery despite the number of staff present -- there were more staff than diners at any one point -- even if the diners were just there for Halo-halo.

Almost like a fast food restaurant where you go to the counter to order and pay for your food and drinks, the only difference at Razon's is that they bring the food to you, quite quickly actually. And there it was, my Sizzling Sisig with a bright yellow egg sunny side up!

To be honest, I only find the Halo-halo great at Razons's (other diners who came and went while I was there seem to think so too because that's all they ordered) and everything else is just okay. That means it is likely better somewhere else. And that is exactly how I found their Sisig. I very much enjoyed eating Sisig at Grilla, Dencio's, Gerry's or at Aysee's (I wonder if it is still open). So Sisig at Razon's is more for nourishment (if fats can really nourish) than for enjoyment. To redeem the lunch, I should have ordered Halo-Halo. But it was too late, I had to go. And I don't think I'm coming back very soon.

Razon's of Guagua. Unit 11 Timog Commercial Complex. Phone: 3766434/3766545