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?!

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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.

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

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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.

Woke up a little earlier than usual today to prepare an awesome breakfast for hb =) He has been requesting for fried rice for quite some time now for breakfast instead of bread so I did so today.

Since I have smoked fish in the fridge, I decided to use it in my fried rice instead of the usual chorizo and he seemed quite pleased with the outcome.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of cold cooked rice (kaning lamig), mashed by hands to separate rice grains
• 1 to 2 smoked fish, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup mixed vegetables (carrot, peas, corn)
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• Salt and pepper

Procedure:

1. Beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat pan and add half of the cooking oil and cook the egg.
3. Set aside cooked egg and chop into thin strips.
4. Heat pan again and add the cooking oil.
5. Saute garlic, smoked fish, mixed vegetables, and egg for 2-3 minutes before adding the rice.
6. Season with additional salt and pepper depending on your taste and stir often for 8 more minutes.

Broccoli is one of those veggies that I have come to like through the years. Not only does it taste good, it is also very nutricious:

• No cholesterol
• High in calcium
• Very high in dietary fiber
• High in iron
• Very high in vitamin A
• Very high in vitamin B6
• Very high in vitamin C

Although it is one of those veggies that can be eaten raw, I prefer it either steamed or stir fried =D  This dish is similar to those often served in chinese restos so you may want to try it.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• Shrimp
• 1 stalk broccoli
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water

Procedure:

1. In a skillet, heat oil.
2. Add garlic and stir fry for 2 mins or until garlic is brown.
3. Add mixture of soy sauce, water, soy sauce, and cornstarch. Mix well.
4. Add shrimps and broccoli and bring to boil.
5. Reduce heat and cook for a few minutes more, until the vegetable is cooked and until the shrimp turns pink.

First post in this category naturally belongs to shrimp (you can also use prawn) because they thaw easily and because it is easy to spot when they’re finally cooked (changes color).

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup salted butter
• 1/4 cup leeks (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon spring onion (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon garlic (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon ginger (grated)

Procedure:

1. Heat pan and then add the butter. Turn off the fire once the butter has already melted.Tip: You can opt to add a little cooking oil to ensure that the butter does not burn.
2. Add the garlic and saute.
3. Once the garlic is already brown, turn on the fire again and then add the rest of the ingredients.
4. Cook over low heat for around 5 minutes or until the shrimps turn bright red.Tip: Mix constantly to ensure that all sides of the shrimps are cooked evenly. Do not overcook because the shell of the shrimp will stick to its meat.

Foods such as curries and barbecues are some of the most enjoyable cuisines that have made Pakistani food popular in the twenty-first century.

Because I cannot seem to think of a name for this dish and because of the quoted statement above, I decided to call this another experiment, the Pakistani Chicken =D Ingredients are as follows:

• 1/4 Kg chicken breast
• 6 to 8 pcs of calamansi
• Around 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder
• Garlic powder
• Pepper
• Optional: for extra spicy flavor, add green thai chili

1. Prepare the marinade and marinate the chicken to calamansi, barbecue sauce, curry powder, pepper, and garlic flavor for 10 mins.

2. Heat a pan and add the marinade with the chicken.

3. Add your green chili and simmer for 15 minutes. Tip: Slice your green chili for the extra spicy taste.

• Lee Kum Kee Chili Garlic Sauce
• Bell Pepper – sliced into thin strips
• Chicken breast – sliced into thin strips

1. Just stir fry the chicken breast with a teaspoon or two, depending on your tolerance to chili, of the Lee Kum Kee Chili Garlic Sauce.
2. Add bell pepper and cook for around 5 to 10 more minutes before turning off the fire.

• Soy Sauce
• Calamansi
• Pepper
• Garlic powder

1. Marinate thinly sliced beef with this mixture for a few minutes – trust me, no need for lengthy "babad" =D
2. Sear the beef in a skillet then set aside.

Other ingredients:

• Garlic
• Onion
• Sprite or 7-up (this is the secret ingredient)

1. Saute the garlic and then add the beef.
2. Add the marinade mixture.
3. Add around 1 oz of sprite or 7-up, to the skillet, depending on how much marinade sauce you have.
4. Cook until tender.
5. Add the onion and after 2 mins, turn off the fire.