My Small Helping Hands and Prayers

We were all caught off guard.

I was actually in Antipolo that saturday when Metro Manila was suddenly struck by rising flood water out of nowhere. I was contemplating on leaving around 830 am but decided to leave the house a little before 8...because I wanted to get home as soon as I can so I can clean my room before going out for the day. It was raining the night before and still raining when I woke up, but I was the non threatening kind of rain that didn't even made me think once or twice about heading out the door or not. It was smooth sailing...just rainy...but no traffic...no sign of what was about to come...

I got home safely and ok. I finished my morning room clean up, took a bath and was getting ready to be fetched. My sis went to my room about 10am and she goes "aalis ka pa?" I replied "oo naman ..why?" my sis goes "may bagyo ah". I just gave her a smile and just thought nah...it's just an ordinary rainy day like last week. I waited...waited...then my boyfriend called me and told that traffic was bad and he couldn't get to my house...I was not watching TV and I was just in my room watching recorded TV series episodes so I had no idea on the gravity of the situation outside. I got another call and he told me that that streets are starting to get flooded and he said he would just head home because a lot of streets have become unpassable. Then I turn on the TV and go OMG! Katipunan is flooding...Edsa...various parts or QC...NOW I GOT REALLY worried! SO I call and call...but his batteries went dead. An hour before lunch he was able to call me and said detouring led him to Libis and he was at KFC charging his phone and asking the delivery people which roads are passable. I was just glad he was able to charge his phones...communication pacifies a worried spirit! Around 3pm he was able to reach his sister's house in Valle...so I felt calm already that he was safe no matter what happend.

WE WERE SO LUCKY!!! Watching the consitent TV coverage about the condition of Metro Manila.....we just went...boy are we so LUCKY! Thank GOD for letting us both reach safety...we were so close to getting caught buy Ondoy!

Sunday morning my sister's and I rushed to the grocery to buy food...apparenty we were not the only ones with that idea. Check out was crazy! We watched the news through our the day....as we wonder the condition of our offices.

Monday morning was calm and dry...we reached the office and found everything dry and safe. Our workers was able to get to the office as well...they were all alright as well. THANK GOD for sparing us all.

My silent and small prayer of thanks was all I can give to God for his protection...my prayers I offer to those who were affected....and as little as donating some old clothes...so little I can give I hope helps even a bit. I shall be dropping of my donations later..either abs cbn or gma..closest to me.

I hope nothing like this ever happens again. I have friends with stories of how bad they were hit...some with homes flooded to the second floor....others had their cars drowned by the flood water...some offices and machines drowned as well. I am just thankful that all I heard from people close to me were just material loses...no one hurt, no life lost. I THANK GOD again. Everytime I look at the net...watch the news...my heart feels sorry and again makes me greatful. My silent prayers go our to the victims still. I hope with help great and small...when they add up...I hope...will help alleviate the situation.

Was it really because of the continuos rains? Or was is irresposibility by the people controlling our dams? I am not sure.

Lovin' La Cabane =)

A special birthday eve dinner celebration for my dearest....we were so delighted to have chosen La Cabane, Pasay road Makati. This place has a shabby-chic charm to it that we found cozy and romantic =)

Complimentary bread basket

Complimentary Amuse Bouche

A nice bottle of Alexis Syrah Vin du Gard

A light red wine to go with our dinner =)

TARTARE DE POISSON
A duo of tuna and salmon tartare on a bed of greens. It had the perfect balance of sour to savory....lovely with the wine and bread.

LA CABANE SALAD

Pan grilled Salmon and Prawns on a bed of greens and tomatoes with mango slices. This could be a meal on it's own. It came with a nice vinaigrette. A filling yet refreshing salad.

MAGRET DE CANARD

Duck brest with pepper gravy. This dish was so wonderful. The breast was meaty yet tender with the skin crisp, the gravy simply delicious! We had it with potatoes douphin, which was like a potatoes gratin. The combination was rich and perfect =)


CHOCOLATE HEAVEN

After our lovely dinner and wine..we were surprised by the waitresses who came back with this exquisite chocolate cake...candlelit and came with a song =) They were paying attention to us! hahaha It was absolutely rich, decadent and divine.

As if we were not delighted enough with our dolci...they even had us choose any cocktail or coffee to cap off our perfect evening....how wonderful!

He chose a Mojito

Delicious and minty!

and coffee for me =)

Thank you to all the wonderful La Cabane staff...we had such a great time.

Fine food...nice ambiance....attentive and warm service with all the nice treats for their guests...it's no wonder people can only say wonderful things about La Cabane.

We will definitely be back soon =)

Ristras

Ristras is one of the latest San Juan born restos that has gained much popularity in the foodie realm. I was indeed intruiged by all the written and spoken word about the great burritos they dish out here....we investigate ;)

The menu is straight to the point and simple mexican faves. What makes their burritos and tacos great is that they have very good quality ingriedients, they are generous in portions and you are in command of what you will have! You pick your meat: lime chicken/beef/pork; pick your rice/chorizo or cilantro lime rice; pick whatever goes in your burrito: guacamole/salsa/beans/what have you....pick one ...pick 'em all! hehehe

We had the chicken with lime rice, pinto beans and the works. It was delicious! Only after ordering did we find out we could have ordered two kinds of meat since we were splitting our huge burrito anyway! Next time =)

For Php 290.00 --good for two perhaps? not bad.

We also had an order of Nachos with salsa. Purple and white corn nachos with salsa and guacamole dips. Php 90.00
Yumm!!!!! Must try burritos with other meat...but try tacos and quesodilla! =)

Amano, Tomas Morato

Filipino Resto cum bar at night--Amano serves up affordable and yummy southern Luzon cuisine.

Complimentary Bread Basket

I was delighted to see the mini egg pan de sal served to us wih 3 spreads comprising of peanut butter, coco jam and spanish style sanrdines. It was kinda for us to have sweet spreads with bread as a starter...but it was fun having peanut butter and coco jam =)

Cavite Munggo Soup Php 60.00
This is the first time we have had a sour-ish munggo soup with bihon noodles, topped with chicharon and tinapa. It was stated on the menu that the Cavitenos Munggo is cooked with vinegar, really different yet it was yummy.

The soup was hot, frothy and kinda thin but nice =)

Tokwa't Baboy Php 85.00

Crispy fried tokwa cubes and pork pieces. This was very nice and traditional.

Adobong Manok at Baboy with Turmeric Php140.00

If I am not misktaken, this is the adobo sa dilaw that I have seen recipes of in magazines. It was Very flavorful..sour..and salty delicious with rice.

Laing ala Pinangat Php 80.00

Not your tipical laing here. It's dried fish wrapped in taro leaves cooked in coconut milk. It had a kinda smoked flavor to it and we could barely detect the 'gata'. I had fun eating it because it was unique to me, but he liked the convetional laing =)

Amano Halo-Halo Php90.00

Halo-halo cradled in a frozen buko juice bowl! How funky! I loved this as it made the halo-halo cold, cold 'till the last spoonful! We just found it strange that it had a semi-frozen lemon slice in it. Never thought of lemon was part of any native thingy. Anyhoos...this was nice and refreshing.

We enjoyed dining here for the new flavors of Filipino cuisine that we have tasted. The service was very good and the food came out quite promptly. We liked the nice presentation of the dishes and how everything was surprisingly cheap and generous enough in serving portions.

Amano is located along Tomas Morato, adjacent to 711, infront of The Sicilian and Sushiya. Oh, it's a bar after 10pm.

Pakibalot Pancit and Sancho's Churreria

We're back! We're back..at good ol' Maginahwa St.. There are two new places beside Pino which made this visit quite fun =) We were seated at Pino, having their Asian Chicken Lollipop,(the picture of which I can't seem to find in my memory card) and thought of ordering from the new neighboring retos. We were sooo happy that the people of Pino obliged....so I went to Pakibalot Binondo Style Panciteria...and ordered a pancit with lechon macau--half of which I requested to have served to our table at Pino and half I had PABALOT (to go)

Pancit with Lechon Macau (Php 100.00+30.oo for the lechon)

Ohhhh-la-la...it was soooo yummy and generous to boot! For 100 bucks...this ain't a bad deal at all! This was the half I had asked them to serve to us so we may try it. It was just off the hot wok piping hot! Well sauced and had veggies and of course our add on lechon macau---but we suggest that you can do without the add lechon....it's yummy as is =) I had a hefty bag left to bring home.

Adjacent to Pino is Sancho's Churreria....

Pan Grilled Fish Fillet with Pesto Sauce
It was served with a side of mixed veggies and mashed potatoes...just an ok dish =)

Crispy Crablets

Ok too..though I found it bordering on the over fried side. It was nice and crispy though.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

It was an ok dish too.

Tuna Salad

Just good ol' tinned tuna on greens with a lemon vinaigrette.

Over all the real find here is the Pakibalot Pancit...although the food in Sancho's was fairly ok but no dish stood out as noteable (we will still be back though!) =)

Indian By Nature, Makati

Cold and rainy weather makes me want to get comfortable and eat good food. Shall have we warm soupy food...hot pot perhaps? Something unique and spicy was our pick on this occasion =)

Indian By Nature was definitely a good choice. It is situated at the 2nd floor of ther building where the defunct IO KTV used to be (sorry I forgot to get the name of the building).....of which Mei Lin Pot and Noodle house still stands on the first floor, along Jupiter St. in Makati. Whew! I hope you find the place with my description....believe me...it's worth looking for =)

The ambiance is trendy-casual yet very comfy...we really like the shisha room sans using shisha (we have yet to try that! hehehe) The servers are very attentive and courteous.

Complimentary Papadam/Padpad

Uber thin, crisp and spicy lentil crackers =)

Tomato Dhania Soup Php 99.00 (I remember the price!!! ;P)
We liked this a lot. It's like an Indian zuppa di pomodoro. It's light and mildy spicy...great with the papadam to whet the appetite (even if it doesn't really needs any whetting in our case!hehehe)

Chicken Paalak (~ Php 239 or 249)

Classified as a health food. It's Chicken cooked in spinach. indian herbs and spices. We asked for a mildly hot version...spicy yet still friendly to the palate. There was just like a piece of chiken leg and part of the breast but it went a loooooooooooooong way with rice and bread because of the uber flavorful green sauce. The sauce was a lovely green, thick and flavorful.


Paneer Tikka Masala (anout the same price as the dish above)

Roasted cottage cheese cooked in traditional Indian Masala red gravy. It was sooo good! The paneer was redolent of tofu....creamy and yummy with the masala gravy. Again, perfect with rise or bread indeed.

We got lucky by ordering good contrasting dishes.

The tricky part in eating Indian food, i think, especially when one is not familiar with the dishes is to get to order the right dishes that goes well when eaten at the same time. I think it wouldn't be enjoyable if we had chosen similarly spiced dishes.

I really was torn between having rice or bread....he wanted rice and I wanted both! hahaha I love Indian breads! Chapati, Naan, Pooris, Papadam....plain or made funky with cheese and other stuffing and or topping.

So we ordered both =) YAY!!!

Plain Naan

It took me quite a while to conceed with having plain naan.....there were so many bread varieties that I would have loved to try, try, try!!! Since we were having sauce and flavorful dishes...it would be best to have plain bread. It was great naan!!! Crisp and toasty on the outside and slightly chewy and lightly flaky inside! Sooo goooooood! Makes we wonder how good it would be to have their cheese naan!!!!!!!!!!! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah---I want!!! =D

Jasmine Rice (Php 69.00)

Kinda pricey for a bowl of plain rice...the basmati rice is double the price...but it was served in a lovely metal dish, nonetheless =) They offer a good array of flavored rice dishes as well----very interesting and worth coming back for to try.

Kulfi (Php 139.00)

A traditional Indian frozen dessert, made of cottage cheese (perhaps low carb too?), and this one is lightly strawberry flavored, with some pistachio nuts and a drizzling of cream and chocolate syrup. I just scrapped off the cream. It was not as cold as I expected it to be...not entirely frozen at all...but it had a solid look right? Creamy, delicious and totally unique. Don't expect it to be like an ice cream or popsicle stick. It had a somewhat gritty mouthfeel...which we enjoyed.

Our IBN (Indian By Nature) experience was definitely a good one. We were very happy with the unique flavors and food textures that we have experienced here. A return visit is a must! We even asked for the menu again even after getting the bill...just to have a once again at the dishes we want to try next =)

Jayn's Vietnamese, Thai and Malaysian Cuisine

We have passed by this resto in BF homes Paranaque a lot of times and have always been interested to go here and dine...at last...JAYN'S =)

The place is quaint and cozy with nice asian decor and furniture. It kinda reminded me of a Thai spa.

We ordered the Appetizer Platter: Beef and Chicken Satay, Prawn Cakes and Chicken Pandan (which was supposed to be Vietnamese Spring Rolls--but they ran out of stock that day) I was disappointed that there weren't any spring rolls that day---I love spring rolls, but this platter definitely ut a smile on our faces. Everything tasted wonderful! The chicken pandan was one of the best if not the best chicken pandan I have had. The chicken was so fragrant and flavorful. The satays and prawn cakes were just as good made even better with their respective sauces. We could really tell they used all authentic spices. We enjoyed this very much =)

Laksa

This is my first time to have Laksa. It was like a spicy coconut milk-seafood noodle soup! Delicious! The soup/gravy was rich tasting with just the right hit of heat. This dish was generously made of prawns, squid, hard boiled egg slices, mussles and flat rice noodles. We even has jasmine rice along with this =) hehehe

yummmmmmmmmmmmmm!

We will definitely go back here to try other dishes...specially the spring rolls! They have curry dishes and pho too=)

Jayn's is located along Aguirre St., BF Homes Paranaque, adjacent Pidente restaurant (which we will try soon!)

Mann Hann, San Juan

Mann Hann has always been a good and old reliable place =) It has been quite a while since I have eaten here....upon remembering it's new big branch in the heart of San Juan, we thought of dining here again. We hoped that it's pinoy sister Manang is open as well...so we may order from it's menu too...but alas..they don't offer the Manang's food yet.

First, we rice up!

Spicy Sansi Fried Rice

The serving size is good for 3-4 people...BUT in our case for two =)

Spicy Squid
This is one of my faves here....and I remember why. The squid was ligtly breaded, imbedded with chilis and fried to a golden crisp!

squeeze a bit of kalamansi and dip in the fish paste! YUMMMMMM!

We really enjoyed eating this as we both love squid...and the good thing is that, it was fried to a crisp yet still tender to the bite---not rubbery or tough---we like! =D

Steamed Raddish Cake with XO Sauce

Ohhhh..something new for us to try! We have always had our raddish cake FRIED...but steamed???..interesting...with XO sauce...we love XO sauce....makes the dish more interesting. It was what it said it would be...and it was a yummy surprise! The XO sauce complimented the steamed raddish cake very well. Perhaps a healthier way to enjoy the good ol' rad-cake! hehehe

Steamed Dumplings

....delicious and simple...we love the hint of cilantro in the dipping sauce =)

Mango Sherbet

The only thing we ordered that kinda disappointed us...it took too long to be served and was so so sad to say. They infused it with lemon which kinda muted the mango flavor. We thought it would be a great palate cleanser though. We was kinda expecting something in the line of a creamy mango shertbet-y thing....chucky mango bits...cool and milky ice..that sort.

Buco Sherbet

My FAVE! It is still as good as I remember it to be. Creamy buko shake with sago, pandan gulaman bits and pinipig!

It was a very nice eating experience! Yummy... yummy! Can't wait to go back when Manang is open =)