Jay-J's, Congressional Avenue

Ang sarap kumain kapag umuulan =)! Oh yes, it was another rainy day... hungry and all, my friend and I saw a new branch of Jay-J's Inasal along Congressional avenue and I told my friend that I have eaten at it's branch in Tomas Morato a couple of times...and loved the SISIG RICE and FREE mini turons!

How convincing am I... ;P

SISIG RICE!!!!!!!!!!!

YUMMMMMMMMMMY! Sisig bits (that was more of chicharon-ish...but so what? it tasted good!) , scrambled eggs with a sweet-savory flavored rice!!! We liked it a lot. Yes, we could tell that they added some sugar! Well, when we say "FILIPINO STYLE" it means "matamis" so I guess they know that we have a preference for sweetish food (e.g. Filipino style spaghetti sauce=matamis na spaghetti sauce! =) )

Crispy Pla-Pla with Bacalao

Remember how enticed we were by the Binukad-kad na Pla-pla at Abe's...but didn't get to have it because we thought it was too big? We thought this dish was like, if not the same as, that, at half the size (and the price!). Perfect for two people. This was our second time to have bacalao...first at Abe's ...but we thought we liked it's rendition here ....because...it was less tangy. Perfect with the crisply fried fish!

And ofcourse, we had to have some Inasal

This was the pecho (breast part). Tender and flavorful! Dip in suka with a little toyo, calamansi and sili.

Our somewhat alternative to Abe! Let the sisig rice be our "bamboo rice" and that crispy pla-pla for the binukadkad na plapla =) hahaha Oh they also have gising gising here...perhaps to try on a next vist.

No free turon though! hehehe Perhaps only in Morato.

No fuss, no frills and very affordable pinoy faves here.

Just Desserts

Let's talk about desserts =) Uhhhhhmmmm...as they say, this is the part of any meal that we always have room for, at times we opt to have it rather than the meal! I have a personal preference for contanst when it comes to my dolci desires. I really find hot and cold treats, say...a warm crepe and a cold ice cream...be it just a freshly fried turon ala mode! Next to that, perhaps anything ala mode...then anything cold ...and then bitter-sweet, dark,decadent and chocolately =)

Here are some sweet endings that I have enjoyed and not so enjoyed ;P

Brownie ala Mode at Mary Grace Cafe, Serendra

Yummy brwonie topped with a DOUBLE scoop of Vanilla Ice cream, drizzled with Caramel sauce and chopped cashews! That double scoop of ice cream made this dessert twice as nice ;P hehehe

Moleten Cake ala mode at Cena, Greenbelt 3

As you can see, the presentation lacked appeal. Kinda looked sad...that dark lava cake beside that chocolate ice cream mound. However, the cake oozed nicely with the molten chocolate center and the chocolate ice cream was nice. A good part in the pleasure of eating dessert, for me, is the enticement by sight....I like getting teased by the looks of a beautifully plated dolci as much as getting satisfied by its taste. Perhaps they could have presented this better for it's full appreciation =)

Chocolate Caramel Cake, at Mary Grace Cafe, Serendra

Not too sweet, moist and decadent!

Mango Cheesecake at Cena, Greenbelt 3

It was the no bake type...satisfaction level from this one..err....just ok =)


Decadent Chocolate Cake, Cena, Greenbelt 3
again, another dessert that lacked excitement. I remebered my first sweet encounter at Cena...it was with the Artic Mud pie...and I really thought it was great then....it was unfortunately unavailble that evening and we ended up with this. It was not bad, though.



Now, on to the cool stuff....

Halo-Halo at Bangus, Greenhills


Since halo-halo is a Filipino classic dessert, so logic told me any decent pinoy resto can serve this one up. This one was made up of, what I surmised, "minatamis" out of the bottle! ;P To add variety..they just made gulaman in two colors! hahaha Good thing I like gelatin =)

Ice Berg halo-Halo
Doulble the fun, with 2 yummy scoops of ice cream! Theirs had corn, which is kind of a deviation from tradition...or so the "traditional" kind I know.

Abe's Hao-halo

I love this one! I think all the mix-in's are homemade. The ube is rich tasting and tastd like the real thing....the leche flan was creamy and smooth....and I love that the gulaman is pandan flavored =)

Mango-Melon-Strawberry Ice of Iceberg

A light and cool...Ice Monsterish treat from Icebergs =) If you find beans, flan, ube, saba bananas etc too heavy...try a fresh fruit halo-halo! Refreshing, healthy and makes for a happy sweet treat.

Ahhh the sweet life =)

Mister Kebab

Persian food is great! It's simple, imteresting and healthy cusine =) One of the no fuss, no frills and cheap to boot, persian food can be enjoyed at Mister Kebab! Ah yes...I am sure alot of you out there have tried or at least heard of this place....located at it's new home, along west avenue...you can't miss this blue and red painted, al fresco resto! I remember the first time I tasted Mister Kebab...when it was still along Quezon Avenue...almost cornering West Avenue...it was then a bit shabby yet always teeming with hungry patrons. It's so refreshing that they now have a bigger and better place =)

Chicken Curry

Well, clearly no frills on the way they dish out the dish...buy hey...the curry is very flavorful, though my friend said it would have been better if they pumped this up with some heat! Very nice with rice and/or with grilled pita bread.

Spinach with Yoghurt

How great is this side dish for your digestion?! Very!!! Loads of fibre from the Spinach and yoghurt to aid in disgestion =) Very refreshing...reminded me of laing sans the richness and savory quality.

Hummus

Well, not the best tasting hummus....and the olive oil..hmm...it can be not olive oil ;P hahaha but hey...it tastes fine and fair enough for the price...I think about 60 bucks.


Biryani Rice
Alightly curried rice =)


Grilled Liver

I hope non-liver fans won't gawk at this pic...I am a liver-lover...love 'em grilled to a slight char! hahaha Love it with that garlic-mayo sauce...add a bit of that red hot garlic-sauce...yup that's the way I like 'em


I don't remeber what this is? Can you guess? ;P

Baba Ganoush and Grilled Tomatoes

They said it was baba ganoush...but it looked like and tastes like hummus! hahaha Grilled tomatoes are wonderul with the grilled stuff you can have here =)


Chicken Kebab

Ground chicken meat...formed like a skin-less longganisa and grilled! Served with a hefty mound of rice with a slab of butter! I think the butter compensates for the lean meat.

And pita....

Love that lean bread! Very usuful to scoop up hummus or baba ganoush...and to wipe of curry sauce! =D

A good ol' friendly neighborhood dining place =) Simple and satisfying.

Things To Love at Banaple =)

Oh yes! I have blogged numerous posts on this quaint cafe cum cake comissary...Banaple...located long Katipunan Ave....almost near the intersection before you cross over to White Plains.....but I just keep coming back..over..and over...and over =) Simple, reliable and very good comfort food to enjoy at anytime of the day....for breakfast..lunch..dinner..snack-time and dessert-time and very reasonably priced I might add! I just love it. I recommend and bring friends here quite alot.

Let me just share the things I enjoy having here....other than the pancakes and breakfast items that I just adore having here...

Penne con Salsa Verde

Delicious aldente penne pasta with pesto sauce. Served with yummy pesto cheese pan de sal. Yummy!!!

Pasta Jacintha

Fettucine pasta with sausage and oil =)

Parmesan Baked Fish (not so sure with the name, my apologies)

Something like the Baked Parmesan Crusted Fish of Cook Book Kitchen...only this one is not swimming in butter...but just as tasty!!! Served with rice and corn and carrots =)

Penne Bolognese

The Sauce is really, really good! Kinda Filipino style, as it is on the sweetish side....but very appealing to the pallate....real comfort food here!

Pasta Carbonara


Yummy and creamy! Generous with bacon to boot =)


Chicken Parmigiana

Ohhhhh lala!!! I love chiken parmigiana..or parmigiana anything! This was nothing short of being uber good! Served with rice and veggies...I hope they can serve it with pasta too!


If I am not mistaken...this is the Chicken ala Kiev

Yummy roulades of chicken breast, rolled with ham and cheese...breaded and deep-fried and blanketed with some sort of a mushroom gravy! Whoa! How good does that sound?


Tuna Sandwich with chips

Fresh wheat bread, gererously filled with yummy tuna spread. Very delicious. This is just one of the fave Banaple sanwiches of mine....I shall post the others soon...as I always fail to take pics prior to eating! hahaha ;P

As you may notice, the serving sizes are quite big...good enough to share =)

And, lastly, for this post....a new addition to their cake collection...Dark Chocolate Titamisu

Titamisu is one of my favorite cake variety....well, this one was alright...but I think it would be fitting to give it another name.

I guess I can say that...almost, if not quite, all of the dishes I have sampled here are truely delicious and true to the virtue of comfort goodness! For the cakes though...not all are winners for me...somehow there is a running similarity to all their cakes here....I think its the crust? or the cream? Nonetheless, cheesecakes here avre very dense and bears THICK CRUSTS....so if you fancy your cheesecake that way...that's another reason for you to love this place =)

Mapapa-RICE ka! =)

Amidst the rice shortage, I noticed, quite a number of restos offer RICE ALL YOU CAN promos. Perhaps they know most customers wouldn't really consume that much rice due to "diet/health" reasons, so it all makes sense too =)

It was raining quite hard last Wednesday...a nice time to laze and graze!? hahahaha Indeed! Well...maybe just graze....so my friend and I opted for some good ol' Filipino comfort food...and the first thing that came to mind....Abe =)

It's rice time! Ah yes, for about Php 60.00 you can consume all the nice steamy rice you want!

We contemplated hard to either order the yummy bamboo rice or have plain rice galore! We loved the bamboo rice, but some dishes just need to be paired with good plain grains! hahaha So rice it was for us then and to go with that....

Gising-Gising!

Oh yeah...it's better enjoyed with plain white rice! Chopped stalks of Swamp-water cabbage (Kang Kong) swimming in a light coconut cream sauce....coconut cream ...plain rice...is very nice =)

Another perfect dish with lotsa rice.....Kapangpangan Sisig!

This was not served in the usual sizzling plate....as most sisigs we encounter..perhaps this is just they way it should be? I have never had true blue Sisig from Pampanga (mental note: look for that Aling Lucing's Sisig in Pampanga ;P ), so I really can't state this matter of factly. It's made of chopped pork liver (we are liver lovers!) and chopped parts of the pig facing! hahahah (now that doesn't sound so appetizing now...) Well it tasted very good. Sisig sans the chicharon and other addendums that are usually added to the sisig (e.g. egg, mayo etc..)...which enables you to savor the real piggy face goodness of the dish =D

"Miss! More rice please!!! ...."

We just tried our best not to order the enticing Binukadkad na pla-pla and crispy tadyang! Maybe on another rainy day...but those would be nice with the bamboo rice!!! =)

Always a delightful eating experience at Abe's. Simple pinoy goodness!

Fun Foodies =)

Do you have days when you just don't feel like eating proper meals? Well, I certainly do! These are days when you just wana go about the day...jumping from one resto to another and just have some nice plates of yummy nibblies =)

Let me share a few....

Rootbeer Float at Bugroo

Burgoo Nachos!

Ohhhh yeah! It's kinda hard to go wrong with Nachos! Even the Nachos at Jollibee is kinda good ;P hahaha This one is loaded with black olives, jalapeno, tomatoes, onions and CHEEEEEEEEESE!!! If they added some sour cream...now that would have kicked this one up a knotch! ;P hahahaha

Jumping to another fun place....Pomodoro Verde....

How can pizza not be fun???? This is a Four Cheese Pizza with Pesto!
The crust was thin and crisp! It was a very nice canvass to the pesto and 4 cheeses!!! Very yummy but kinda small....a 9" round with a thin crust? Could just be an appetizer! hahaha =)

Yummy Thai at Jatujak, SM MOA

I love Thai food! Actually...Asian cuisine is really great for all the delicious flavors of spices, condiments...veggies...meats..that is mish-mashed in every dish to make them wonderful!

Jatujak, located at the Soth Wing of SM Mall of Asia, is one simple but definitely great Thai resto.

Fried Spring Rolls

I love spring rolls =) I have this veering towards wrapped and fried food! hahaha It had vermicelli, mushrooms and veggies neaty packaged in each crispy roll...and that sweet chili sauce just made each bite wonderful. Sooo simple and soooo GOOD =) We likey-likey!

Fish Curry
Sooooooooo good! We loved how the fish was fried and still had that crisp umph to it despite being doused with all that great and flavorful red curry! It was also great that all the veggies were perfectly cooked yet still had that aldente bite to it. That's the way I like my veggies in dishes...cooked but not wilted!!!---makes me feel that the nutrients are all in tact ;P


Bagoong Rice

Perfectly balanced rice dish! The sweetish-savory port pieces...that tangy green mango strips and the soy flavored rice =) One of the nicest rendition of Bagoong rice I have had...and a very generous serving to boot!

We enjoyed dining here...getting really full with good food is not a bad feeling =) Simple and very good Thai here!

Franchise Fair 2008

It's a very good idea to always keep abreast and have be open tonew business ideas. The 2008 Franchise Fair, held at the SMX Convention Center at SM Mall of Aisa, held July 11-13.

The fair housed quite a number of popular and new businesses open for franchising.

People who want to invest high, medium or small capitalization can find something that can suit their purpose =)

Ofcourse...I enjoyed looking through the foodie business aisles..... =)....

...simply because...I love food =) ....

..they have cute mascots ;P

...and....

...yummy freebies!!! Like this doudle scoop sundae treat from Selecta =)