Sweet Tomato at St. Luke's: THE NIGHT I BECAME AN AUNTIE =)

Yes I am officially AUNTIE JEN =) Wohoo!!!! My family and I have anticipated with much excitement, the arrival of my shobe's first born....August 28, 2008...he is finally here!!!! HORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY....and welcome to the family BABY JERMAINE BRYANT TAN TIO!!!!!!!! =D

A handsome and healthy baby boy !!!

Well, anticipating and waiting can work up an appetite...my friend and I caught up with my sisters and my good doctor friend Elpo at the hospital and as per Elpo's recommendation, we had snacks at THE SWEET TOMATO GRILL, located at the ground floor of St. Luke's Medical center, main building.

This is the FILIPINO FRIED RICE

Mixed with Tinapa flakes, dices fresh tomatoes and salted egg! A real meal on it's own and sooo good =)

They have fresh fruit shakes....

and desserts....this is the molten chocolate cake ala mode!
Not bad at all...a bit too sweet but hey....good enough to keep us waiting patiently=)

I heard that the bibinka here is great too!

Congratulations to my sis and her hubby for their new baby boy!!!!!!!!!!!! =) A real blessing indeed.

Banana Leaf Asian Cafe at The Block

Hanging at the block on a holiday day...my friend and I got in the mood for some Malaysian fare...we chose to dine at Banana Leaf Asian Cafe...

Nasi Goreng

Delicious and flavorful fried rice topped with fried egg. I think it would have been better if the egg was cooked over easy, so that the creamy yolk can easy run down and mix with the yummy rice =)

Fried Tilapia with Coconut-Corn Cream Sauce

This was really good. The fish was crisply fried and the flesh was sort of srapped half-way out prior to frying, that made for more crunchy surface area! The coconut corn cream sauce gave this dish a unique taste and twist....like having ginataand mais with fried Tilapia =) Nice...though it was a kind of heavy dish.

Happy palates on this visit =)

Olive & Jeff Wedding at The Mandarin Oriental

It's wedding season for me again! This time it's my very good and wonderful friend Olivia Marimel Poe's turn to tie the knot with her wonderful beau Jeff Mique. Congratulations to the happy couple!!!!!!! =)



Their reception was as wonderful as they are! It was held at the Mandarin Oriental, Makati.

This is their lovely and uberly delicious wedding cake...by no less than BIZU

A three-layer, ALL EDIBLE, dark chocolate truffle cake with an almond roca-layer and creme brulee coating, adorned with fresh strawberries and chocolate rolls....oh-lala.... DELICOUS! Let me tell you that! =D


Prior to dinner, we had cocktail hour....to give time for the couple to have their pictorials and the guests to relax and mingle...and enjoy canapes, pistachio and macadamia nuts with flowing cocktails, red and white wine and ......ASTI MARTINI (sooooo good!). We were entertained by music as we "cock-tailed" along =) hehehe...lovely! Lovely!

Dinner was romantic with the elegant ballroom setting and dim lighting....wine continued to flow....

It was a sit down dinner that started with freshly baked bread rolls...this one was a crusty poppy seed roll

Seared Salmon Loin Fillet on Garlic Herb Aioli and Mesculin Green s in Balsamico Dressing served with Mango Salsa

A light and refreshing salad that was fabulous with the wine wine


Cream of Roasted Pumpkin with Parsley Foam and Sesame Lavosh

Deliciously creamy and flavorful! The sesame lavosh makes for a nice and light compliment of crunch to the rich soup



see the parsley foam make a lovely swirl in the roasted pumkin puree...so nice =)

Oven Roasted Beef Tenderloin Medallion with Peppercorn Sauce served with Gratin Potatoes and Mediterranean Vegetables

cooked medium well....a vary satiating entree!

Apple Crumble with Rum Raisin Ice Cream in Brandy Syrup

this was a perfect cap to a wondeful dinner course!

a slice of the wedding cake....

wow!!! As is our dessert was not enough a sweet ending....this is one of the best wedding cakes I have ever had! I remember the last time I was so simpressed with wedding cakes...it was by Alex Franco...in a wedding I attended at Antonio's Garden, Tagaytay...that was amazingly delicious too! I think it's nice to have all edible wedding cakes...that are REALLY EDIBLE! Most wedding cakes tend to just be pretty fixtures during the banquet...cakes are meant to be eaten and enjoyed =)


And...more sweets here....pralines...chocolate truffles...

macadamia nuts....

and yes...M & M's =)

....nice nibblies as we had more wine and cocktails....dancing...chatting as the night went through.

True to the virtue of celebration! My fellow foodie...dear friend and amazing baker to boot...now a mrs.....good luck to your new life ahead!!! =) mwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

La Nuovo Pastilleria

La Nuovo Pastilleria has been in my "to dine-in" list for quite a while now....and finally, I AM HERE! YEY =)

It's a quaint resto, located within the compound where Sanctuario de San Antonio church is, at Forbes Park.

Looky what they have in-store....yummy cakes...that I WILL COME BACK FOR !!! =)


Cheeses! Tapas! Pickled veggies! woohooo.....I wana try them all!!!!! I love cheeses! =)


Marinated olives... tomatoes..veggies...which will be the casting members of your antipasti platter!

Jamon serrano...sausages...cured meats....ahhhhhhhhhhhh

cheese galore!

and more!

vinos!

mi cafe! =)

complimentary pita bread wedges to smear with yummy pate and salsa!

Quattro Formaggio Pizza

Crisp thin crust topped with Gorgonzola, Feta, Mozzarella and Fontina! It's wondefully light and bursting flavor form the melange of cheeses!!!! =P

Mental Note : Must go back for A HEAVIER MEAL, Vinos, Cheeses, Tapas and Antipasti!...Oh--oh...dolci too!

Bubble Tea =)

Moseying along The Block, SM North Edsa... my friend and I were looking for a refreshing break...we stumbled upon BUBBLE TEA, located at the ground floor of SM The Block, beside Seattle's Best Coffee...

They have a variety of Milk Teas, Fruit Flavored Teas, Fruit Shakes, Smoothies and Coffee ...as well as Japanese snacks and meals =)

Cakes and pastries are also available here...very interesting indeed!

My friend had the Taro Milk Tea

and I chose the Pearl Milk Tea =)

We loved that the bubbles or pearls (black sago) were of small and medium sizes....kinda adding funk while chewing on the soft pearls. The milk teas were kinda too sweet for our taste...we needed to add more ice and douse a bit of water to reduce the sweetness.

This place is worth goin back to for the Japanese meals =)

Nestle Pops!

Looking for something cold and sweet yet light to nibble on....my friend and I stumbled upon this not so new ice cream treat at the freezer section, ofcourse, in a local grocery....NESTLE POPS =)

The packaging is oh so cute! For Php 26.00 you get these kisses like morsels of chocolate covered vanilla ice cream!


Looky...looky here.! hahaha Yummy! Light in indeed! Little vanilla ice cream kisses!

Kitchen of Cakes and Coffee

I frequent Baang coffee and Kozui, quite a bit and so it is just but inevitable for me to miss this new coffeeshop, situated adjacent Kozui...Kitchen of Cakes and Coffee =)

I have went in and out of this place a couple of times before actually dining there, just to snoop around and check out their goodies. As I found out, this is owned by KoCo Cafe or KoCo Co? bakeshop is it? I am not sure exactly...but I know it is that bakeshop located behind Taza Cafe in Ma. Clara street, Banawe area.

Anyhooos...finally had the chance to try this place....actually thus post is two visits worth...one with my dear friend Shawie and the 2nd visit with another friend (as per my suggestion)

Here is what we have had here....

My Eggplant Parmigiana Sandwich

This is the first thing I tried here and I kinda liked it (that is why I went for a second go!) It had thin slices of breaded and deep fried eggplant slices with cucumbers and tomatoes in between Ciabatta bread. Served with a siding of french fries. I found it yummy =) plus, if you add 45 bucks it will come with a cup of brewed coffee....pairings with coffee...ALWAYS a good idea for me =)

On my second trip here I shared the Club House Sandwich with my friend...
....a HUGE one at that! A triple decker...ham...scrambled eggs...tuna...and some other mayo-ey stuff inbetween whole wheat bread...served with fries, cucumber and tomatoes. Yummmy! I guess they make pretty nice sandwiches here =)

We also had the Chicken Parmigiana on Pasta

Now, this one...err...was not so nice.... The chicken atop had a floury coating and the part we liked least was the pasta underneath...which tasted like it was just doused with tomato sauce out of the pack...sorry...but it really did taste that way =(

I do like the interiors of the place...and the staff are very nice and polite =)

They serve an array of cakes, breads and pastries...


The brew here is decent =)

They have a selection of teas as well

We my friend Shawie had this Mango Torte

It reminded me of the infamous Mango Bravo of Contis.

I got to try the Decadent Chocolate Cake 9with an over-exposed pic...please pardon that)
Nice and chocolatey. It was moist and good =)

They gave us this to try for free...perhaps a new pcoduct coming up? It was Coffee Bun =)

Not bad...though they flattened it out with killed the thrill of eating it as a "bun" hehehe It was free...it was nice..thank you =)

They have rice meals and other pasta dishes here too.

Tender Bob's Light

Yes...its like coke...you can have it light! hahaha Kidding...my friend and I wanted a place just to settle down and chit-chat so we could get home early too...on a Saturday night! hahaha Sometimes, don't just feel worn out by the work week and just need a little hang time but not major gimmicking? I have that feeling quite often (maybe it goes with ageing! hahaha I hope not!)

Well we chose Tender Bob's because my friend wanted french onion soup...and I liked some salad to go with that...

French Onion Soup

What do you know...it's kinda good! Compared to my last french onion experience at Azul..this is by far a GOOD one! It had a dark brown onion-y flavored broth with caramelized onions topped with bread with melted mozzarella cheese =)

Oriental Salad

Looking at it now, it looks like it had more of those crispy wonton shredded thingies that salad greens noh? hahaha But, but...it's mighty fine with us. The sesame dressing was yummy and it had a few mango cubes to give it a sweetish note =)

Good to have light meal options at a place like this.