San Sung Korean

Yey!!!! I finally got the chance to dine at San Sung Korean Resto!!! My friend suggested we have Korean food..because I was blabbering about korean telenovelas I used to watch and miss...effective subliminal insinuation and persuation for foodie innuendos ei? hahaha :p

It's located across A-Venue...another place where I wana go back to and try out what's there =)

San Sung is like an old Korean House...nothing fancy here....check it out...


...we chose to take the table inthe area where you are seated on the floor...like Japanese style...for added feel inthe dining experience =)

What we like here is the generous variety of appetizers they give...

oh yeah!!! Small plates of omelets, pickled veggies, chap chae, kimchi soup...more veggies with kimchi...more omelet like food...a generous plate of kimchi....potato salad (this is note worthy...the potato salad here is really good...we had three and on the fourth they told us they were out already ;P hahaha so much for being abusive! hahaha ) ...to top all that we were given this...

...a fullplate of vegetable pajeon =)

I was meaning to order that...but good thing I didn't as it was given to us free! How cool is that.

Now for the plates we ordered... Bibimbop...the HOT kind

as we were told, there are two kinds of Bibimbop...one hot and one not so hot....hmmm we wondered how the not hot was like...but naturally we wanted our rice dish to be HOT! We just told our waitress to give us the hot one. The rice was sizzling in the clay pot! Beef, veggies, rice and egg served with a red hot bean paste. It was really good! We loved how crusts of burnt rice form underneath as it held by the hot pot.


Pan Grilled Octopus
As you can very well see by the color of this dish...it is RED HOT! I am kinda weak with hot stuff so we ordered an extra bowl of pplain riceso I can tone the heat down in my mouth by eating this with more plain rice. It was good and very tasty...and HOT!!! =D

I am twice charmed by the food here...simple and authentic Korean cuisine.

Jerry's Morato

When really hungry, it super sulit to eat at Jerry's Grill. Good ol' pinoy food faves that is quite reliable in taste and satiety value=)

Crispy Tadyang

When the thought of having crispy pata is in mind...but you are just two people and an entire oata is waaaaaaaay too much to have (although IT HAS HAPPEND that we had an entire cripy pata to ourselves ;P hehehe), the next best choice is crispy tadyang! My friend does like this a lot...though I am not much of a beef lover....deep fried and crisp beef tadyang is a good idea to me. These were not dry despite being fried to a crisp and topped with lots of crispy fried garlic bits=)

Grilled Dory Fish

Along the list of "new" on the menu...grilled fish fillets, served with tangy-sweet Kangkong atchara. A light dish to go with the bad arse fried tadyang.

Vegetable Fried Rice

We just love funked up rice! This was our first time to have this.....so we may have veggies with our meal too =) It was cooked with loads of butter...there goes being light and healthy here! hahaha

Dining at Angel's =)

I'm back at Angel's Kitchen again...this time to have what my friend and I wanted to try when we last visited here. We are back for a full meal and with empty stomachs =)

Complimentary Liver Pate and Bread

yummy pate...good and free =) we asked for more bread!!! hahaha

Pate Trio

The first one is like a tuna-caper spread, next up is a pistachio based pate and more liver =)

Soft Shell Crab Salad with Mango-Sesame Dressing

The soft shell crabs were great!!! Crunchy and very flavorful...it was excellent with the refreshing sweet mango dressing. We likey very mucho!

Now this is what we came here for...Pakbet Paella

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh oh soooo good!!! Rice cooked with the pakbet veggies topped with a BAGNET and served with CHOCOLATE BANGOONG! YES---CHOCOLATE bagoong! You'd think it's strange to have chocolate with shrimp paste..but it was great! The chocolate was not the sweetened kind, so it gave a very nice complexity to the conventional taste of bagoong. The rice was loaded with veggies...okra, eggplants, sqaush, sting beans and tomatoes. You get a good helping of veggies with every-rice spoonful =) How good is that? Very!!! A new found fave! Oh so flavorful and good enough to share....though we did see a customer at the neighboring having this all for himself! hahaha

Angel's Kitchen really serves good comfort food with funky twists to delight your palate.

Mexican-Filipino Treats =)

My friend and I were craving for NACHOS, Burritos and Tacos...and with that...Mexicali came into mind! We were malling around Trinoma and went about looking for some Mexican! hahaha The consierge informed us it was at located at the top most level, near the cinemas....so we reached up...went round and round...and finally found it hidded a back the ticketing area...beside Tatters.

Yay!!!! =D

Nachos!!!!!

Generously ladened with ground beef, black olives, tomatoes, jalapenos, refried beans (Ilove beans!) cheese sauce and sour cream!!! You get loads of the yummy toppings with each nacho! Perhaps we should have ordered extra nachos!

Burrito!

My friend had the beef burrito, served with nachos and salsa!

check it out =)

I had the Chicken Taco on Soft whole wheat tortilla

Soooo yummy...light and fresh! Made me feel healthy as opposed tobeing indulgent...as I was indulging on my cravings =)

Our Mexi-capade was oh so satisfying...we decided to treat ourselves to some dessert...something cool, light...ah... halo-halo at Abe's! hahaha

This is the other kind of halo-halo as it was served with coconut milk.

Everything is homemade....and you can really tell by the taste of each "halo"


From the ube, beans, macapuno, saging na matamis...to the pandan gulaman...yummy always here!

All cravings sufficed! A great foodie day =)

Zucchini's

Finally, a full dining experience at Zucchini's=) My last visit there was just for dessert and coffee...this time let's have the whole shabang!

But first..check out the wonderful wine display! Tempting! Tempting...but let us stay sober onthis visit =)

Burre on a heart shaped dish...how cute is that!


Complimentary Garlic Roll and Whole Wheat Bread

Tomato-Mozarella-Basil with Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil

A towering plate of big crisp slices of Tomatoes...soft fresh buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil leaves....drizzled with thick, sweet-tangy Balsamic Vinagaer and laced with EVOO. A delicious way to start a meal. A light salad that will perk up the palate =) I likey, likey!

Chicken Pesto-Pomodoro Angel Hair Pasta

A healthy pasta dish! Chunks of chicken breast on the delicate pesto-pomodoro pasta. Simple and good.


Pan grilled Chicken Breast with Pomodoro Sauce with Mushroom Rissotto

The chicken breast was cooked to a tender and lightly flavored, complimented by the pomodoro sauce. It went very well with the flavorful, rich and creamy taste of the risotto underneath =)

For some dolci...Tiramisu

Their rendition of this classic Itallian dessert, doesn't quite appeal to me, sad to say. They incorporated orange liquer...orange is supposed to work well with chocolate...but I guess I am all for tradition...give me good ol' classic tiramisu please =)

It was a very pleasureable dining experience. I love the ambiance, the lovely food plating, excellent service and good food =)

Chef's Bistro

Along the sidestreet of Tomas Morato... of which corner, stands Citisavings Bank...stands Chef's Bistro! Opened around July this year, the resto is quiant and semi-casual, with an interesting guormet-ish menu.

Complimentary Cheddar-Chili Bread

When it was served to us...I was looking for butter...but as I bit into the bread...it was tasty on it's own...salty and a tad bit spicy. Nice =)

Fish Fillets with Pommes Frites

Oh...kinda of a disappointing, sad to say. The fish was thickly battered and bready and not crispy. The potato wedges were oily...not crisp and kinda on the under-cooked to raw =(

Pizza Filipino
Not sure if I got the name right...but it's the house rendition of a Pinoy Pizza. The crust was interesting and enjoyable because its not your typical pizza crust. This one is redolent of a papadam. Thin to almost cracker like and had peculiar flavors of perhaps lentils and spices. It was topped with cheese (perhaps the quickmelt kind?), kesong puti, slices of sweet longanisa and hard boiled egg slices! Yeah...hard boiled egg slices? Would have been better with salted egg? or just an egg placed on top...sunny side up and then let cooked as the pizza bakes? hahahaha It was ok...different...but not totally appalling. I guess as we ate away...bite after bite trying to understand the flavors...we managed to enjoy and appreciate this unique creation. It's always nice to eat with a bit of a thrill! hahahaha


See a slice up close....

The menu includes around 3 or 4 pizza varieties, pastas, entrees...starters and salad. We wanted the salmnon carpaccio, but it was unavailable that day. Their dessert menu offer basically a variety of crepes.

An interesting dining experience. Nice service here =)

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!