Wednesday, July 23, 2008

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.

Friday, July 18, 2008

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 =)

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

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!

Monday, July 14, 2008

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 =)

Friday, July 11, 2008

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 =)

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Queens, Jupiter St. Makati

Eating Indian food, is always quite an adventure for the tastebuds as they incorporate a good number of spices in each and every dish. Queens, is one of the Indian restos I have heard quite a number of good reviews. I think the first time I heard about this was way back when there was "F" on studio 23...the magazine show of Amanda Griffin, Angel Aquino and Daphne Osena ( lobe that show....whatever happend to that??? )...but only got to try it now!!!! =)

I was really up for something cheesy....hey Indian's have paneer=cheese! =) Queen's offer Tandoori Pizza! We found it quite interesting...and chose the Curry Mozzarella Pizza



The crust tasted like Naan bread...good Naan bread...topped with a very, very generous layer or oooey-goeey Mozzarella....check it out.....

it had some tomato sauce...but wait....we looked at eachother after a few bites.....where is the curry???? hmmmm we called on the waitress to ask if there maybe some curry sauce with which this pizza should be eaten with....but alas....we were told that the curry was already incorporated in the pizza...I guess that was pretty much our disappointment for the day. Nevertheless...the uber cheesy-ness was definitely a thumbs up....makes it very satiating as well. We reallt felt the cheese thump down our stomachs hahaha =)

We also had Chicken Samosas =)


Delicious crispy empanada-like pyramids...housing flavorful ground chicken meat with some green peas =)

Served with pickled pickled onions, vinegared cucumber cubes and a basil-cilatro puree was it?


Kinda reminded me of the Krathong-tong Thai dish, sans som corn =) Yummy...yummy!
Queens have a very good variety of Indian dishes...from an array of curries, Tandoori meats, Vegan dishes, breads, rice Lassis....worth coming back to and perhaps with a bigger appetitie to boot! =)

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

KING ONE IS NUMBER ONE!!! =)

Oli's shobe Cat is leaving for Amsterdam soon....awwwwwww we will terribly miss her..and I know I would =( ...but let us wipe sad faces off...she will be back in a year..adn her darling sisters cooked up a scheme and gave her a surprise despedida party =)



Something good, healthy and fun...the surprise dinner was held at KING ONE! =D Oh yeah...everyone was sooo excited..to surprise Cat and HAVE EAT ALL YOU CAN HOT POT!!!!


Oh yeah baby! Bring it on!!!! For Php 475.00/head (no drinks) or Php 500.00/head (with BOTTOMLESS---YES BOTTOMLESS---shakes or juice or that green drink!)



Aineepooh made the reservation for the gang...consisting of TEAM A: Ainee (plus loves plus shobe + loves) and ainee friends; TEAM B Cat and Cat friends; TEAM C: OLI, couples and OLI friends!



When we arrived our tables welcomed us.....pots with broths a boiling....sliced lamb. fatty beef, chicken, squid, swahe, oysters, clams, lobster balls, fish balls...all balls imagineable....broccoli, enoki mushrooms, tofu, tofu skins, wontons, corn, all noodles imagineable (egg noodles, bihon, wheat noodles...etc...) leafy veggies....it goes on and on......




meat balls..tripe...intestines..fish lips....liver..blood......bacon........yeah..the tables cannot accommodate all the things we ordered..ready to dive in the boiling pot of broth =)




boiling awaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.....hahaahah =)


Apart from the check list that you tick with the hot pot goodies you would like to have...you may also run up front and pick up the goodies you like on the converyor belt the holds MORE plates of the food you'r wana cook up! =) VERY generous indeed!

I would like to bring focus on one of the high lights of the hot pot hottie.....THE MOZZARELLA BALL =)
Ohhhhhhhhhh lala!!!! It has an ooooey-goeeey mozzarella center....EAT WITH CAUTION! Melted mozza-middle can BURN YOUR TONGUE! =)

You can also have the wontons...fried...should you tire of all boiled meats, balls and dumplings =)


They also give a complimentary platter of yang-chow fried rice (AS IF YOU CAN CONSUME THAT WITH ALL THAT FOOD PA???? ;p --we skipped the rice part...thank you very much! hahaha ) and a platter of pineapples, papaya and watermelon slices...as dessert and to aid digestion =)
Bon voyage dear Cat....memories of fun cooking, eating and indigestion as you journey to Amsterdam! See you when you get back! =) mwaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!