It was kinda late for dinner at that time and we were famished… As a result, we ordered almost every item on their menu… masiba talaga…

The verdict? I was really surprised because their inasal chicken did not taste special… It’s just like a normal chicken with salt, some soy sauce, and pepper… Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying it’s not delicious because it is, but nothing extraordinary, like some people claim. On the other hand, their liempo was excellent! The barbecue and the other “normal” chicken order was also good.

The price of their food is very very cheap… While most chicken inasal costs around 90 to 100 per part, theirs costs 60+.

The resto is worth trying, after all, this is one of the restos Bacolod is proud of. More Bacolod photos here.

I have been planning to cook spareribs for a long time now but haven’t had the courage to do so. I was scared of a “matigas” (hard) na end product. Anyway, since I no longer have veggies in my fridge, I decided to give it a go.

First step is to boil the following ingredients for 40 mins to an hour:

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 cups water
• ¼ kg spareribs
• 2 tablespoons salt
• Pepper
• 4 cloves of garlic

Using a fork, check if the pork is already tender; if so, separate solids from liquid (can be discarded already or turned into an entirely new soup dish). Add the following ingredients to the spareribs and marinate for 10 to 15 mins:

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• ¼ cup tomato catsup
• Pepper
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 pcs. Chili (siling labuyo)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons white soda (7-up or sprite)

Heat a pan, add 4 tablespoons of cooking oil. Add a few drops of sesame oil. Add the spareribs along with the marinade. Cook using low heat until brown.

I must admit, I’m one of those who thinks that making fried rice is difficult and time consuming until last Monday, when I decided to wake up early and give fried rice another chance. I’m surprised because it only took me roughly 20 minutes to cook this complicated-looking dish. So, for those of you who are always in a hurry, feel free to try this recipe out.

Ingredients:

• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 cups of cold cooked rice, hand-mashed
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 1 cup of mixed vegetables
• 2 pieces of chinese chorizo, chopped

Procedure:

1. Beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a non-stick pan with cooking oil.
3. Saute the garlic until brown and then add the chorizo and mixed veggies.
4. Add the beaten egg and mix until the egg is cooked.
5. Add the rice, season with additional salt and pepper depending on your taste and stir often until cooked.

Timing:

• Preps: 3 minutes
• Step 2 to 4: 5 minutes
• Step 5: 12 minutes

After 27 years of existence, at last, nakarating din sa Bora!!! Thanks to Nes and Ian for inviting us to their wedding kasi kung hindi pa dun, di pa din siguro kame pupunta ng Bora =) During our first day there, hubby and I had our 3pm lunch at Smoke Resto (with Inggo’s recommendation), and no regrets for that

The chicken curry rice topping that husband ordered was superb! I mean, the chicken no longer tasted like chicken (you know how boiled chicken tastes right, that’s what I mean), but tasted totally in sync with the curry. The sauce was perfectly creamy, the chicken, potatoes, and carrots tender and cooked just right.

On the other hand, the sizzling bicol express was behind in quality… too bad. The pork was not tender enough, the dish lacked coconut sauce and it was kind of dry.

Since I really loved their chicken curry, we went back during our last day with friends and ordered Bulalo soup, lechon kawali, spicy kangkong, chicken curry, and buttered shrimp. Here’s what we thought:

• Bulalo soup – others found this great tasting but for me, it was just okay… there were lots of meat though, so I guess it’s worth the price 
• Lechon kawali – yummers!
• Spicy kangkong – tasted sweet instead of spicy due to lack of chili, we forgive Smoke because they warned us beforehand
• Chicken curry – as expected, everyone loved it
• Buttered shrimp – all of us found it ironic that Bora restos failed to serve quality seafood dishes but thank God because we found one resto who did serve fresh shrimps hooraaay!

On another note, don’t expect lavish interiors because Smoke Resto is bordering turo turo slash carinderia kind of resto. But hey, who cares? I don’t, as long as they serve yummy curry, I’ll keep coming back.

As for price range, the rate of their dishes range from Php 80 to Php 200. I think the curry rice topping is approx 120 while the bulalo that fed all 5 of us was around 180 pesos. Totally not bad right?!

————————————

Smoke Resto caters and delivers too. You may contact them at (036) 2886014 and (036) 2884565.

Went back to Antonio’s for the second time and the place looked more beautiful in broad daylight. The food was better than I remembered and the service was above average.

My order: Seafood Sampler @ PHP 1,600

From left to right:

Prawn Thermidor – I think this dish was the best among the three because it gave me the right amount of flavour without becoming too salty, and creaminess without overpowering the natural flavor of the prawn. This dish actually made me regret that I ordered the Seafood Sampler instead of the Mixed Seafood Thermidor

Crispy Cod Fish Glazed with Kombu Sauce on Peppered Egg Noodles – The glazed fish came off a bit too sweet for me and it kinda reminded me of turon (banna fritters). On the other hand, I loved the noodles so much, I think it tasted better than chinese misua being served in popular chinese restaurants.

Pan Seared Scallops on Celleriac Mashed, Truffle Cream Sauce – This tasted delicious but it didn’t offer something new and unique the way the thermidor has; it tasted like a normal scallop ;p

Herb Roasted Rack of Lamb with Cardamon Beurre Blac @ PHP 1,650

Schwein Haxen (Roast Pork Knuckle), Sauerkraut, Chateau Potato, Cabbage @ PHP 1,000

(not sure with this one yet, I’ll have to check)

Organic Free-Range Roast Chicken Leg with Bourbon Tomato and Boiled Potato @ PHP 1,200

My friends were raving for this… its aroma  reminded me of my all-time favorite Fazolis’ chicken.

Mixed Seafood Thermidor (scallops, prawn, mussles, and cod fish) @1,450

*drools* I wish I ordered this instead =(

My order: Sorbet (guava, green mango, lamolime, green apple, watermelon, calamansi) - This tasted like an ice shaved off from an ice candy. After tasting this one, I immediately swapped with Nats because I couldn’t bear eating one more spoon of it.

I swapped Sorbet with Profiteroles with Vanilla Ice Cream, Chocolate Sauce or Caramel Sauce

This one tasted a liitle better because of the bread and ice cream but I did not like the very generic taste of its chocolate. This is so far the best among the dessert offerings of Antonio’s.

Overall, Antonio’s is so worth another visit. Their main course dishes are awesome but don’t expect much on their dessert because you’ll be dissapointed.

Finally! I was able to replicate the specialty of hubby’s cousin;p This version of adobo is spicy and supperrr yummy! Here goes…

Ingredients:

• 1/4 kg pork kasim (pork with fats) cut into cubes
• 3 pcs. siling labuyo (Capsicum frutescens)
• 1 cup Coconut (brand name) soy sauce
• 1/2 cup Del Monte vinegar
• 8 to 10 cloves of garlic (the more the merrier)
• 1/4 teaspoon whole pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 pcs. hard-boiled egg

Procedure:

1. Put all the ingredients, except the vinegar, in a sauce pot. Boil over medium heat for 40 minutes.
2. Add the vinegar and egg and boil for another 30 – 40 minutes.
3. Make sure that the pork is already tender before turning off the fire, otherwise, cook for another 10 to 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

You’ve tried it and you loved it… you want more, I’m giving you more!

This is the crunchy version of the famous Ilocos Longganisa, try it and I know you’ll love it more…

 Procedure:

1. In a pan, drop the longganisa and then add 1/8 cup water.
   
2. Cover the pan.
3. Set the fire to medium heat and bring the water to boil. Wait until the water has completely evaporated.
   Tip: You may opt to remove the water after a few minutes of boiling the longganisa to fast track your cooking.
4. Turn off the fire and cut the longganisa into half so allow stored water and oil to come out.
   Tip: Be careful in doing this because the water stored inside the longganise might squirt due to high pressure and temperature.
5. Set the fire again to medium and cover the pan. Wait for a 3-5  minutes.
6. At this point, most of the oil from the longganisa have come out. While holding the handle and the cover of the pan, toss the longganisa to ensure that all sides are cooked equal.
7. Wait for a few minutes more or until the longganisa is cooked before turning off the fire.
8. Drain excess oil before putting the longganisa on top of paper towel.

Ilocos Longganisa from Cagayan Valley still sells at PHP 350 per kilo. Order now!

This is Kitchen BQ’s version of Gising Gising served in LJC restaurants and I’m really hoping I did justice on this one because LJC’s Gising Gising is just superb and really delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 bundle river spinach (kangkong) stalks (leaves and stems removed, and chopped to small pieces)
• 10 pcs Thai basil leaves
• 30 grams ground pork
• 20 grams Fiesta coconut (gata) mix (it is always better to use natural coconut juice but I did’nt have that yesterday)
• 2 pcs chili pepper (siling labuyo), broken into 2 each
• Salt and pepper
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 medium sized onion
• 1 cup water

Procedure:

1. Heat pan then saute garlic and onion using as little cooking oil as possible.
2. Add ground pork and saute some more.
3. Once the ground pork is already cooked, remove excess cooking oil and then add the kangkong.
4. In a bowl, add the coconut mix, salt, and pepper. Mix well before adding to the pan.
5. Add the chili pepper and basil. Bring to boil.

Enjoy! I personally enjoyed this dish, hope you enjoy it as much as I did =)

A yummy surprise greeted me in the office this afternoon =) I was requested by my boss to go to Oceana (our Christmas party venue) and attend food-tasting offered Oceana for the the Christmas party committee of our organization.

As of now, I’m only sharing the pictures of the food we’ve ordered and will give the verdict after our Christmas party because I know there are still room for improvements; after all, the reason for the food-tasting is to get our feedback on how they can improve the taste of the dishes.

Special thanks goes to Carlo for his Nikon D40 camera; and Barbie + Rhenz for the beautiful photos.

  Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Cinnamon, Cream, and Bacon

Pepper Crusted Seared Tuna Nocoise

Pan Roasted Mahi-Mahi Fillets with Pesto Cream Sauce

Penne Pasta with Pancetta Cream, Wild Mushrooms, and Fresh Peas

Beef Pot Roast with Mushroom Bordelaise

 Fresh Mango Tarlets and Creme Brulee

Fresh Mango Tarlets

———————–

Oceana is located at San Miguel by the Bay, SM Mall of Asia Complex. You can contact them at +632 7032515 or visit their site at www.cca-manila.com.

Ingredients for the dumplings:

Ingredients for the Soup:

Note: If you are using pork or chicken stock, adding pork bullion cube is optional. Also, if you are adding actual shrimps to the soup, you can omit adding shrimp bullion cube.

Here are the ingredients: • Soy Sauce • Calamansi • Optional: Salt • Pepper

1. Marinate the pork in the mixture of soy sauce, calamansi, garlic, and pepper for around 30 mins. 2. Heat the pan to a very high temperature. Note that cast iron pans are known to be a very good conductor of heat so it is really nice for grilling. 3. Brush small amount of butter to the pan before placing the pork.

4. Cook for around 10mins before turning the pork to the other side and wait for another ten mins before turning off the fire.