So Long, Sbarro!

For so long, Elmer and I have been wanting to try to dine at Sbarro in SM. Just tbc, there's no other Sbarro here in Baguio. I just felt the need to add "in SM" right there. ^_^

Going back. When SM Baguio opened in 2003, there was Sbarro near BDO, then nawala after some time. Then bumalik, this time, next to Celine. Who knows, 'pag nawala ulit this time e 'di na bumalik. 

Kasi I read this over a week ago. After reading that, I told my self, "Ha! I gotta this  time."

The n times na pumasok kami ni Elmer sa loob ng Sbarro at nag-check ng food and price list, hindi kami natuloy kumain. I know him so well. He always wants sulit-busog  meals. Mga unli-rice levels, ganown. So, hindi siya masyado convinced sa idea of dining at Sbarro.

Last week, after running some errands sa town (or city, kasi people here in Baguio call the cbd as such), I dropped by Sbarro "in SM" and tried their mushroom pizza and ordered a glass of iced tea.

I'm sorry, Sbarro. There's nothing extraordinary about your mushroom pizza, sabi ko. But I gotta say, it's one huge slice of pizza, almost the same size of the plate. And, I think natural spices ang ginamit, which was good. And, I love it na may spice rack kayo for a couple of options. Although, I find your iced tea much, much sweeter than most iced teas I tasted. Bow. 

It was too late para magsisi ako, and I told myself, sana nag-Don Hen na lang ako. But then again, baka naman masarap 'yung ibang pizza nila. Baka naman dapat kong i-try. Kaya lang mahalia talaga mga 'teh! Pag-iisipan ko pa kung ita-try ko 'yung iba. Balitaan ko kayo 'ne? 

Well, I was there for the experience in the first place after all. So there.

Ciao! ♥

Taste Buds At Work: Emong Malunggay Pandesal

First night of my long(er) weekend in Guimba, my sister was scheduled on night hospital duty. Before she left for work --

Me: 'bili mo 'ko ng Amazing Aloha pag-uwi mo bukas sister.

Vian: Okay.

The next morning, sa awa ng Diyos, walang Amazing Aloha. But she got me these --

I wanted to be disappointed pero na-excite na lang ako. I had been hearing a lot about Emong Malunggay Pandesal from our househelp, Ate Emily. Masarap daw. Super. At blockbuster palagi ang pila. 

Diz iz it!

That's 15 pieces of freshly baked malunggay pandesal, P2.00 a piece. Ambango lang! (If nag-compute ka, yes, P30.00 lahat 'yan. Galing mo sa Math kid!) ^_^

Although, Emong Malunggay Pandesals are a bit smaller than Baguio's Danes Pandesal that I'm used to buying, I think they're much tastier. They're quite crispy on the outside - parang matigas at first look, pero parang lang - and soft and chewy inside. 

However, I wondered why "malunggay"? There was no hint of malunggay taste in them. I don't know, maybe it was just me. When I looked closer --

Ah okay. Meron naman palang mga tiny flakes of, I suppose, malunggay. 

Also, I find these pandesal sweeter than most pandesals that I've tasted. Vian said they're better when hot. I have to say they really were, pero masarap pa din, at malambot, even nung afternoon na hindi na sila mainit. 

Anyhow, I liked Emong Malunggay Pandesal. At first, I thought it was an original product of Guimba, hindi pala. May kilala kasi akong Mang Emong sa Guimba. 'Kala ko business niya. Haha! I Googled and learned that this bakery is all over the Philippines, originally from Bulacan. Wala pa kasi yata sa Baguio nito, o baka lang hindi pa nakarating sa akin ang balita. 

Those who have tasted Emong Malunggay Pandesal, 'no say niyo?

Emong Malunggay Pandesal

Poblacion, Next to 7-11 

Guimba, Nueva Ecija

Note: There may be a lot of other blogs out there that offer an extensive and more detailed review on the same topic as the above. Things I put here are just my two cents. I don't even consider this a review. Just a kwento on the experience per se. Enjoy! ^_^ 7-11

Ciao! ♥

My Fave Spot In The House + Some Food Tripping

How are you friends?

I'm enjoying my vacay so much that I don't want it to end. I'm going back to Baguio tomorrow, going back to work tomorrow night. Aaaw. 

Mami-miss ko 'to. Dito, rest kung rest talaga. Kain-kain, nood-nood ng tv, tulog-tulog. Nakakapagpahinga na, nakakatipid pa 'ko. Haha! It would have been more fun sana if Vian didn't have hospital duty during my entire stay here. Madami kaming "magagawa". ^_^

She didn't have pasok yesterday. So in the afternoon, when the sun had almost set, 'di na masyado mainit, tambay-tambay lang sa labas.

This is our favorite spot. 'Lakas maka-bata.

Muder even noticed, "Kahilig mo ding mag-swing 'no?"

Glutton At Large In Palawan

Virtually, everything that I experienced - the plane ride, the zip line, the rock climbing, the snorkeling, everything in and about Palawan - in our trip was a first for me. And all firsts surely stick in our memories, don't they? These things are gonna for sho. More so, some of the foods that I've tasted in Palawan for the first time would definitely make it to the list of "Most Memorable's" in my life.

Nikki did a great job in doing her homework. Oh, not my daughter Nikki. My friend-slash-officemate Nikki who planned our Palawan trip. She did great on the research especially the must-taste foods there. In-avail namin lahat 'yun. So among the many firsts I've experienced on this trip is the chance to try these foods for the first ime.

1. Tamilok or Shipworm. I think this deserves to be in the number one spot. I wasn't totally engrossed by this food. I just thought of it like the street food isaw sans the food color and the stick. I honestly couldn't figure what it tasted like. My friends were saying it tasted like oyster. Um-agree na lang ako. Isa lang masasabi ko, makunat siya. Nguya-nguyain mo pa ng 100 times then lunok.

Recommended Store Of Dried Everything For Pasalubong In Puerto Princesa

Nikki and Niño found this store that sold dried everything - fish, pusit, dilis - and other pasalubong items like cashew nuts, banana chips, barquiron. Its owner, Kuya Albert, had been so nice (and honest) to us.

By the way, the best-selling pasalubong was the lamayo daing. That's what was served to us for breakfast in the hotel. Ang sarap, in fair! Unfortunately, I didn't brought (Wrong grammar akish!) bring home just even one pack. Frozen kasi siya. Hindi ko betch magdala on the way back home ng something that would be dripping. Even Vian didn't. Sister ko talaga siya. Hindi din niya betch! Sayang, because Nikki said masarap daw talaga.
 

See? Parang dabarkads lang!

Their price compared to Baguio price, less inexpensive.

KaLui Restaurant In Puerto Princesa

I learned from Nikki that KaLui (some would write it as "Ka Lui" but I prefer it written this way just like in its website) Restaurant is a popular, the most famous as a matter of fact, restaurant in Palawan, and that a Palawan trip is not complete without having tried dining at this restaurant. It is a must-visit place in Palawan. Ka Louie (just like saying it as Mang Lui, I guess) is the owner of KaLui Restaurant.

Originally, we planned and had a reservation for us to dine at KaLui on Day 2. But because there was nothing planned to do in the evening of our Day 1, after checking in the hotel and buying little grocery items in the nearby Robinsons Mall, we changed plans. In the afternoon of Day 1, we asked the hotel receptionist to make a reservation for us that evening. Luckily, there was an available table for six in KaLui at 6:15PM. After settling our things in our own rooms and taking quick shower, we had a tricycle ride from Go Hotels Puerto Princesa to KaLui Restaurant.

There was one mistake that we committed. We stopped tricycles from the hotel lobby. Wrong. We were charged P150 per tricycle and one tricycle was only allowed to load three persons. So we had to take two tricycles for the six of us. Tumataginting na P300. We later found out that one tricycle could load more than three persons and per person fare was only P8. Sweet!

Taste Buds At Work: Puno's Cheese Cashew Macapuno Ice Cream And Langka Cheese Cashew Ice Cream

I don't remember exactly when I first learned about this Puno's Ice Cream. I think it was about a year ago from my Sisterful Vian when I was visiting. She mentioned to me how sarap daw talaga this ice cream. That it was incomparable to some commercially known ice cream brands. Of course whose curiosity naman wouldn't be tickled upon hearing that, davah?

But at that time, Mr. (or Mrs. maybe) Puno still had to put up an outlet in Guimba. Closest outlet from Guimba that Vian could think of was in Talavera - two towns and maybe around 30-minute drive away from ours. We dismissed the idea.

Whenever there was a party in the house, we always ordered dirty ice cream from someone who was Muder's suki and family friend. The last time we visited Guimba for Muder's birthday, I couldn't be happier because there's already a Puno's Ice Cream outlet there. Yay!!! So this time, we had Puno's Ice Cream for a change.

I sent Vian and Jerico to buy "enough" ice cream so bahala na sila kung gaano karami. She told me that its price was much cheaper than usual ice cream brands so I handed her P1,000. Sorry guys if I cannot tell you the exact price or even just an estimate price for each because when they arrived from the store, we became too busy with the preparation for the party that afternoon and I forgot about my change na. Surely, I'd spent P1,000 for a 1.9L, a 3.8L, an 80mL ice cream plus Vian's service fee. Haha!

This is how the container looks like.

Puno's Langka Cheese Cashew Ice Cream

I thought it tasted like something really, really familiar to me. After so many scoops of it, that's when I finally figured out what it was. It tasted like halo-halo maybe because of the langka in it. Hansarap!

Muder's Big Five-0

Fifty years ago, on August 26, 1962 was when the most consistent woman in my life was born. Hallelujah that day came. If not then you know what would have happened.

Last year I promised her an extraordinary celebration on her 50th birthday. She dissented, or maybe that's what I thought. She mentioned that she would just like to keep it simple and that she didn't want any party, just an intimate lunch or dinner with her family. All the while that was the plan. But at the last minute, she changed her mind. There would again be a party. Although still simple, just merienda with family and few friends.

Be ready. Photo bomb's coming up.

Coffee or Tea?

When I was younger, I was never a coffee aficionado. My parents and uncles and aunts were and still are. I remember them chatting over cups of coffee even during some hot mid-afternoons. I only learned to consume cups and cups...and cups of coffee when I started working in a call center. Oh yeah, I've been a huge coffee fan since 2004. And it's good my company for giving its employees free coffee. Most call centers do.

Image Source

 

Tea, on the other hand, is something that I only learned to love taking a couple of years back. Elmer's mom, who happens to be a health buff, was the one who I got the influence from. She believed that tea was much healthier than coffee. While popular belief labels tea as a health drink and coffee as not, I've read that mounting evidence suggests that coffee and tea are both brimming with about the same amount of anti-oxidants in them.

Despite my love for coffee, I have never become a patron of popular coffee shops like Starbucks, Gloria Jean's or the others. First, I am cheap. Paying at least P80 for a short cup of coffee, to me, is robbery. Second, magagalit si Elmer sa akin. ^_^. Sipping on a cup of Starbucks aromatic coffee as I feel the cool Baguio breeze, once in a while, is, I think, heaven. But I still prefer to have my caffeine fix at the comfort of my home or at the office. 

My good friend at work and I have (almost) never failed to take at least one cup of coffee during our breaks until she was advised by her doctor to cut down on her consumption of coffee and some other foods and drinks and until our boss instructed us to not go on break at the same time anymore. Since then, I have been sipping on coffee in the pantry all by myself.

Lesson learned: (1) Do not see your doctor. He/She might ask you to stop doing things you love to do, or eating and drinking foods you love to eat and drink. (2) Hide when you see an approaching boss. ^_^

How about you? Coffee or tea?

Ciao! ♥

Taste Buds At Work: Army Navy's Charlie Bravo Querida Mia

When Elmer and I dined at Army Navy in its Session Road branch for the first time, he had a burger while I had a burrito. Fair enough for Army Navy is well-known as a Burger+Burrito joint, right? That time, I took photos of the place, the food that we ordered and this ad table standee showcasing Army Navy's Querida Mia.

That's why I promised myself that I'd order Querida Mia next time. So when Aunt Erma invited us for a dinner at Army Navy, I fulfilled my promise. ^_^

3 F's of Birthdays: Family, Food, Fun

How are you my dearies? I hope everybody's fine after all the heavy rains and strong winds brought about by Gener. Gener has left the Philippine area and yet it's still raining. It's been raining for weeks now here in Baguio. And. I. Hate. It. Dirty clothes already piled up. Ga-bundok na siya. Still, I'm not letting Pinky (the new house help/nanny) wash all the dirty clothes at once because 1.) We do not have a very long indoor clothes line to hang them on, 2.) There are still a few pieces on our line waiting to dry, and 3.) There's another typhoon coming.

The continuous raining didn't stop us from going out on Sunday. I mentioned here that we had an invitation for a dinner on that day. It was Aunt Erma's son Christian's birthday. We headed to Army Navy in Camp John Hay like we were instructed. So it was not really "dinner" after all. But that was free meal for us so I have no complaint. ^_^

Taste Buds At Work: 50's Diner's Pizza Burger

If you love pizza, and you love burger, then you would definitely love a pizza burger.

On Sunday when we dined out at 50's diner, I was not in the mood for a rice meal although I didn't have lunch that day. I thought, it was too late for lunch and too early for dinner. I knew 50's Diner's burgers were much bigger than the usual size that were served in most fast food chains. So burger - pizza burger - it was.

50's Diner's Pizza Burger, P135

With lettuce, onion rings, tomato slices, cucumber slices and few potato slices - usual burger add-ons

With lotsa cheese, mushroom, bell pepper and pineapple slices - common pizza toppings

The lettuce, onion rings, tomato and cucumber slices were not yet topped to the burger patty so you could have some kinda make-your-own burger thing on your plate. But the mushroom, bell pepper and  pineapple slices already were along with the thick grated cheese. I easily tasted the familiar pizza flavor in the juicy patty. 

As a pizza and burger lover, I just simply couldn't find anything not lovable about this pizza burger. I just loved it! Aunt Sol, who was sitting next to me ordered a 50's Burger that was exactly as huge as the Pizza Burger that I ordered, commented, "Pinilit ubusin ni Mia ang burger. Anlaki kasi." Inubos ko talaga 'yun kasi ansarap e. 

And now that I am writing about it and have again taken a look at its photos above, kahit malakas ang bagyo, parang gusto kong sumadya sa 50's Diner at kumain ng isang masarap na Pizza Burger. 

50's Diner

92 Upper General Luna Road Corner Brent Road

Baguio City 2600

Military Cutoff Road

(Beside Kubong Sawali)

Baguio City 2600

Note: There may be a lot of other blogs out there that offer an extensive and more detailed review on the same topic as the above. Things I put here are just my two cents. I don't even consider this a review. Just a kwento on the experience per se. Enjoy! ^_^

Ciao! ♥
  

A Surprisingly Luscious Leche Flan

Mona sold me one tray of fresh eggs last week. I thought, what would I do with a tray of eggs? Elmer told me to just put some in the fridge and stock the rest in the cupboard. Okay, they won't be staying in there long enough to rot anyway.

But still, I was itching to do something with them. I thought, leche flan! I love leche flan. Like super love. Carl would call it cream caramel. Leche flan, cream caramel. Isu met lang! ^_^

So on Tuesday, after taking a walk around Cudirao with my girls, leche flan it was! I know this is not the first time you'll ever see a recipe for a leche flan. 'La lang. Gusto ko lang i-share nang may ma-blog naman ako. Haha!

Kaya heto na!

Ingredients:

• 5 eggs yolks
• Half (or a little more than half) of the small can of condensed milk (See photo below)
• Half (or a little more than half ) of the big can of evaporated milk (See photo below)
• 3 tablespoonfuls of sugar

*There's supposed to be 1 teaspoon vanilla extract on the list but it was not available at that time.

Condensed milk, evaporated milk, eggs and the llaneras

My First Hodori Experience

Remember I mentioned how our new house was so empty? We've started filling it with furniture.

Last week (Oh yes, this is a very late post. Hamsowsowri!), during Elmer's only rest day, he and I went to Tiongsan Mabini to check out their dining sets. And we got one. We finally bought a dining table and chairs. Yay!!!

There's nothing spectacular about the one that we've bought. Nikki was even complaining "bakit walang bilog na umiikot sa gitna" (Lazy Susan), to which her Daddy replied, "Pang-tamad lang 'yun!". Then I explained, "Kasi pang-malaking mga tables 'yun. At pang-mayaman."

Okay, this is not about our dining set. Near Tiongsan Mabini was Hodori, a popular Korean and Japanese Restaurant here in Baguio. Elmer had been bugging me that I try dining there. He already did couple of times before with I forgot who. We headed right there and there was m first ever experience at Hodori Restaurant.

First we were served with this. Please don't ask me what it's called.

Jar of water with two bags of I-don't-know soaked in it.

At first I was, "Anong nasa loob?"

Love Thy Neighbors

You must already know by now that my family has already moved to a new house. That means, we have new neighbors. Well, they're not really strangers to us. They're long-time friends. For the longest time, I've never been neighbors with my friends. And now that I am, the feeling is just so warm and comforting. What's a better way to welcome new neighbors than offering them helping hands and good food? I guess, nothing.

These people know well how to love their (new) neighbors. During our first week here, we were showered with foods (which I have not reciprocated yet).

Although it was not really intended for us as her new neighbor, she got us to taste her spaghetti. I have to say it was really delish!

Karen and her spaghetti

The spaghetti. Yum!

My Far-From-Devilish Deviled Eggs

This is what Calli's Easter eggs ended up like. 

I checked out a couple of recipes online. I'm not really a fan of following recipe instructions. Wow! expert lang?! Because even if I followed them to a tee, sometimes palpak pa din. But I'm left with no choice. 

For these deviled eggs, I used my instinct on the measurements. Uy, me ganun?! Basta swak na sa panlasa, keri na.

Here's my version of deviled eggs.

What I used:

4 Eggs, boiled

3-4 tbsp mayonnaise

Onion, minced

Prepared mustard

Paprika

Salt

Pepper

Here's how to do these.

BHGCS Recognition Day 2012

Recognition Day was one of the many school programs that I was always excited about when I was still in elementary and high school. Aside from getting my medals and ribbons every year (Oh yes, I was a smart kid ^_^), Recognitiom Day had always marked that it was officially school vacation. Yay! How I miss my school days.

It was Nikki's Recognition Day today. She ended this school year second in class. Aside from that, she was her class' Best in Mathematics, Best in Makabayan and Most Helpful. Nakaka-proud naman talaga si Ate Nikki ko. It came to me as a surprise. Of all subjects that she would excel in, Math and Makabayan pa?! Those were the two subjects that we had to allot the most time in reviewing for exams because I thought she was having a hard time with them. Akalain mo nga naman? She was the best pa pala in those subjects. Astig!

It slipped my mind that it was her Recognition Day today that I forgot to file for a leave 2 weeks ago. So I still had to come to work, but I was so thankful to my boss that he let me leave work early so I could attend. Thank you so much Boss Jan! ^_^

My New Errands Buddy

That's Nikki!

She's 8. And she now makes a very good and convenient buddy when running some errands. She can walk by herself, can eat by herself, has urinary control, has opinions on things I buy, reminds me of important things, etc. She has no complaint sa walk-a-thon. Only complaint I have about Nikki is that she gets hungry so fast. I have to feed her every now and then. Kids!

Nikki and I went to SM today to shop for shoes, white stockings and a cardigan for herself, for her class' presentation on her school's Recognition Day. I picked her up from school then we went straight to SM.

On the way there, one would hardly miss this!

Since when was this here?

Is it just me, or SM really has to put this up where this is the first thing people would notice when coming from that area to its building? Pa-good shot lang sa mga tao?

Moving on.

Whatchamacallit?!

More than enjoying Jollibee's Chocolate Sundae as a dessert, I love making it as a dip for my extra large fries. When Nikki got a little older and first noticed that I was doing that, she wondered. "Mommy, bakit mo sinasawsaw sa sundae 'yung fries mo?", she asked and I simply responded with, "Masarap kasi Mahal e."

Chocolate sundae-dipped fry. Nom nom!

I wanted to tell her the real reason why, but not until I've solved this puzzle. ^_^

And here goes the story.

Kare-kare Take 2

I first attempted to make a kare-kare dish in January when I was itching to make something special for Elmer and my daughters on a day off work. I decided to cook kare-kare for them. According to articles I read online, because kare-kare traditionally uses beef which really takes a long time to cook, Filipino families prepare this dish mostly on special occasions like fiesta, family gathering, birthday party only and even served on Christmas lunch or dinner. I thought it was a special dish so pasok sa banga ang dish na 'to!

Yesterday, Elmer and I noticed that we didn't have a decent food this past week. Most of what we've eaten were fried. Hotdogs, fish, ham, eggs. He requested that I cook today. It's my rest day anyway. They must love my kare-kare at my first attempt because that's what they requested me to cook for today's lunch.

I believe that it does not necessarily have to use beef, and every Filipino family has its own version of this dish. Here's my version.