As most of you know peeling garlic is one of worst tasks one can do in the kitchen! But fret no-more! Look what I found! I’m pretty sure you are thanking me right about now.

So go ahead and let me know if it worked for you! I will use this technique when I start making my Salpicao!

So Jamba Juice finally opened in Manila and it took awhile considering how Americanized we are. The place was pretty new and in the nice part of Manila. Basically Jamba Juice serves up different kinds of smoothies with different “shots” for energy, immunity, etc. They combine different fruits and the franchise is actually quite famous in the US.

I love how if I’m not happy with my smoothie they will change it. I haven’t tried it though but I will definitely try to do it. I quickly asked the lady at the counter what their best seller was and was give Razmatazz. It was a combination of different berries but basically the predominant flavour was Raspberry. I’m not particularly fond of raspberry but it was ok.

I went for the smallest size which was 16oz.

To be honest, I don’t really know how to feel about my drink. I was a bit confused. I got energy shot to go with my drink. The fruits were fresh. None of the fruits tasted sour as if they weren’t ripe or anything.

It’s exactly like Fruit Magic but with the added branding of Jamba Juice. The 16 oz. cup cost P120

I can’t make any recommendation as of this posting because I don’t know enough about Jamba Juice. I’ll definitely try this again just to see if I really like it.

*on a side note, all photos taken with an iPhone 4 and I’m quite impressed with the results.

Yakitori (焼き鳥/やきとり/ヤキト), or grilled chicken is now open at the fort Burgos Circle. From the same people who brought you Ramen Bar, comes to you one of the most authentic japanese yakiniku restaurants.

When I saw the restaurant from outside, everything was quite simple and yet almost the entire restaurant was full. We were glad to be seated quickly and the service was polite and efficient.

Upon seating, the servers will hand you a piece of paper and you basically tick off which one you want to try and customize your whole dining experience.

I was quite excited and yet overwhelmed with all the choices. I quickly asked for the best-sellers and was quickly prepared.

We were quickly served some soup but since I was talking to much, I didn’t bother trying it.

Nina on the other hand liked her soup.

In order to complete our experience, we also ordered some Asahi Beer. It was their version of draft and I can say that it tasted pretty damn good.

One of the first skewers to come out was the Momo (P100 for 2 skewers) which translates to Chicken Leg Meat. Also, Momo Ninniku (P120 for 2 skewers) has a garlic piece in between and it was better than the original. A definite recommendation.

If you want to add a bit of spice to the skewers, you can ask for the 5 spice sprinkles and it lends to it a different twist and a bit of spicyness.

And now for the highlight of the night. Being Pinoy I had to have rice. The japanese Curry Chahan (P180) was the bomb! This is a definite must have. One order though is good for two. I noticed how everything is good for sharing between 2 people and I appreciated that!

The rice was fragrant, flavorful and for those of you worried that it would be spicy it wasn’t. This has gotta be the closest thing that comes close to my other favorite curry rice from another restaurant. No doubt we finished this.

We also were served non-chicken skewers like the Shitake (P150 for 2 skewers) I am a lover of mushrooms so I really enjoyed this dish. Nina on the other hand, dislikes mushrooms but she says it’s yummy. I think she was being polite.

Jagabei (P140)

Its no secret that I love bacon. No, love doesn’t capture it. I am crazy about bacon. I mean aside from Pancakes (which I wrote an ode to!) I may write an ode to bacon soon! So imagine my delight to see potatoes wrapped in bacon. The potatoes have the taste of bacon and was moist and soft. I enjoyed this dish.

Said to be also the most flavorful part of the chicken and definitely my favorite part of the chicken the next skewers is not for everyone.

Called Bonchili (P150) it is actually the chicken’s butt. I love this part. Full of flavor and just the right amount of fat, the meat was tender and didn’t feel any burnt parts.

For those who just want to drink and chill, the perfect side dish or pulutan would be Yagen (P140) or Chicken Keel Bone. It was a bit chewy but definitely tasty.

We also had some Tebasaki (P120) Boneless Chicken wing meat. Was never really a fan of white meat but still it was pretty good and full of flavor.

Lastly, and is the most sinful of all, we had some Kawa (P80) or Chicken Skin. This was so good and didn’t taste oily at all. I wouldn’t mind having a few of these skewers over and over again.

Over all Yakitori offers really quality food for good prices. A breath of fresh air in the area since a lot of the places are at the higher end of the price scale. If you are craving for some good chicken skewers but don’t really want to burn a hole in your pocket, then definitely try Yakitori! Japanese food is known to be expensive but these guys just got it right!

Yakitori

Burgos Circle, The Fort Global City

Taguig, Philippines

I received a package at the office the other day. It was 3 boxes of donuts! Being that it was the Christmas season it wasn’t a complete surprise that someone sent something to us. It could’ve been one of our clients. But what did surprise me was it was J.CO donuts! I’ve always liked J.CO donuts! Having offices in KL and Singapore I’ve tasted these bad boys before. What I liked about them were the unusual and yet simple flavors they had. I knew I was going to have a blast sharing these with the rest of the office.

I promise to add more detail to this post once I do some more research about them but here are some photos to wet your appetite.

Located the The Strip in Megamall, J.CO Donuts offer a variety of flavors from Choco Caviar (it has those tiny chocolate balls on top) to their signature donut the Al Capone which has white chocolate and a sprinkling of almonds.They also have cheese donuts and the matcha green tea donut all available. Like I said, non-traditional.

I promise to update more!

The verdict? I actually like these donuts better. They were soft and moist and most of all not sweet. Unlike other donuts which make me go crazy because of the sugar, I never felt like I was eating too much. I can actually have more than one just because it doesn’t have that “umay” taste.

I haven’t been to Megamall in a long time, and I’ve got a few more restaurants to try out there. Anybody up for a food trip? I know of at least  4 new place there now!

I know what you are thinking, “its been awhile” and I admit it has. Work has drastically increased and my diagnosed illness has been working overtime with my mood swings in a very non productive way. I think I might go back to my meds again. But anyhow, I’m in Malaysia again! I am finding myself frequenting this country more and more and falling in love with it more and more. Last time I was here I featured some dishes from Yut Kee, Bee Chiang Hee, The Loaf, and much much more. But I think I lacked out some of the more interesting places. I can ramble on and on about Nasi Lemak, Chicken Chop, Maggi Mee, Mee Goreng, etc. but ever wondered what Malaysian home cooking was? I mean as a Filipino looking in I wonder now, is our home cooking quite different from the usual restaurants we frequent. I mean with such great food places all over Kuala Lumpur, one would never think about home cooking! But I was very fortunate that my boss, who just got engaged btw you’ve probably seen his meme proposal on 9gag, had someone prepare a home cooked meal for us. Thanks Tim.

I’ve always had this fantastical idea that nasi lemak, and the different gorengs if not rendangs are normal staple food for Malaysians at home. I was quite surprised! It wasn’t too far off from regular Filipino home cooked meals! No specific names but you generally get the idea.

Oddly enough though, I quickly noticed the differences in terms of palettes of the two countries. As Filipinos we tend to lean on the salty and/or sweet. Veering away from the spicy and or umami tastes.

We started off with what looked like a pork cutlet fried in batter. It somewhat resembled a chicken fried steak minus the gravy.

I noticed that the Filipino Palette of mine quickly determined that it kinda lacked taste. But as I chewed on I realized it was just right. You could still taste the pork. We filipinos tend to drown the taste of the meat in the batter. Too much Salt I think! I kept resisting the urge to grab some of the condiments and appreciate the taste in all its originality. I was glad I did.

I next tried what looked like minced potatoes, carrots and beef with sotanghon or glass noodles. It reminded me of a chinese dish which you either eat with hoisen sauce on a lettuce or a wrap. This was a good dish. By this time I have gotten a hold of my salty palette a vowed to make my dishes less salty in the future.

I’ve seen this dish before and was eager to try the local version. It was stir fried spinach with garlic and chili padi. Ok this is where the difference was quite obvious. Filipino version would have been really garlick-y and the taste quite bland, Malaysian verison was really spicy. (nothing I couldn’t take but spicy nonetheless)

Last but not the least was what tasted like a cross between adobo and beef steak and humba and completely not sweet. I couldn’t quite pin point what exactly the taste was but it caught me completely off guard. I dug into the dish thinking “ah here’s something I’m quite familiar with” and got completely perplexed! I actually enjoyed it again not too salty.

I really enjoyed my simple dinner with Tim and quickly cleared my plate. I hope to be able to taste more Malaysian home cooking soon!

Its been getting colder lately. The wind smells a little different and you just know that Christmas season will soon be here! I love this kind of weather! You can wear those jackets that you’ve been keeping in your closet and those scarves that you bought but never knew when to use except when in another country. But before this turns into a fashion post, there are far more better things I love that comes with cooler weather. It makes sense now to drink warm drinks! Warm coffee being one of my favorites, but even more so Hot Chocolate. I mean c’mon, who doesn’t love hot chocolate?

The other week, I gave a talk about blogging and marketing at a recent convention (yes it’s because of my day job) and aside from actually meeting Bo Sanchez, (who spoke before me btw!) came a nice care package after. Inside the box were a lot of various food items and this can of Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate powder was in it. I decided to try it with my favorite milk, and I knew this was going to be a staple with me for a very long time!

Forgive the image quality. I only had my Oly EP-1 with standard kit lens for this. I just realized I just had to share this with people. I love how rich the chocolate was without being too sweet. I don’t like drinks that are all sweet and sugary. No taste at all. This was thick and full bodied chocolate drink!

I always keep this beside my desk in the office. You see our a/c has somewhat of grudge being stuck in a tropical country. As such, it tries to turn our office into a little antartica at times. But nothing like a warm cup of chocolate to help warm your soul.

Here’s how I do it. Really quick and easy!

Basically here’s what you need:

I use Harvey Fresh Full Cream Milk. Just because from my experience it tends to have a fuller body when mixed, beaten, blended, and you add things to it.

I then pop that baby in the microwave and heat the milk for 3-5 mins.

I like my milk warm and drinkable as compared to really piping hot just so I can really enjoy the full taste of the chocolate. Some people might enjoy it hotter, so just leave it a bit longer.

I then throw in my first TBSP of Ghrirardelli hot choco.

For some people this is enough. But I like my thick.

So for mine, I add another TBSP!

Give it a quick toss about and then its done!

I don’t know where you can buy this, so if anyone knows can you kindly leave a comment below and share with me! I want to stock up for Christmas!!!!

Science and Food has long been intertwined. From the very first man who decided to hold raw meat over an open flame gastronomy was born. Elements Gastrolounge seeks to mold together two things that the greenbelt area is known for, good food and good drinks. Drawing from the inspiration of a basement laboratory, the lounge offers your not-so-common barchow with a unique twist. The personality of the owners really shine through as each dish is signature and quite unique and equally good. But if you think Food is all they offer then you have to sit down and chillout for a few hours. As unique as the food was, the drinks were even more unique. Some of them served in test tubes with a test tube holder, some in beakers, truly sticking with the theme. Elements Gastrolounge is a place where you come for the food, but stay for the drinks.

Located where Bedspace used to be, the current bar transforms that particular nook into a more relaxed area, where one can head on over after a hard day’s work and have some good food, and even better drinks. They also offer the occasional acoustic night where one can actually jam with the band and just generally unwind. Cozy and quaint, the restaurant actually offers ambient lighting as one can dine in peace and serenity with friends and co-workers. With its pseudo-industrial design with open pipes, neon lighting, and wide open spaces, you will never feel cramped or crowded at Elements. The design actually helps in making the place feel more casual more relaxing, more cozy.

We naturally kicked off our lovely dinner with some bar-chow and some drinks.

We started off with some Mozza Croquettes – Deep fried mozzarella, potato and bacon croquettes with a tomato relish /salsa dip. This was quite nice as it wasn’t too mushy or too hard as some potato balls would go.

We also started off with 2 drinks. Red Iced Tea and Lychee Martini. The red iced tea was sublime. Brewed from real tea leaves, it wasn’t too sweet and it didn’t taste like it came out of a box or pouch. It also didn’t leave you with a strong after taste and it was really a great way to wash everything down.

The lychee martini was actually one of the best ones I’ve had. Not using the lychee syrup, the drink was perfectly dry tasting as it went down without a hitch and didn’t taste too sweet. I recommend this for those of you who loves martinis or lychee.

A platter of bar-chow was served next. California Spring Rolls – Crispy nori wrapped kani, mango, cucumber and tamago sans the rice and Sisig Taco – crispy lechon sisig in garlic aioli in soft taco were plated and served. Both were really good. The kani maki with the batter was absolutely awesome and I could imagine devouring a plate full of this.

The sisig taco was also really great. The sisg was decent on top of a soft taco shell it was actually bordering on a sisig quesadilla, and I know cheese goes well with sisig. Actually, anything goes well with sisig! (you guys remember the Sisig pizza?)

They also served us their version of chicken wings which they fondly called “The Bonchon Killer”. It actually tasted pretty close to Bonchon Chicken as it was double fried crispy chicken wings glazed in a thick sesame honey soy garlic sauce. It was basically candied chicken wings as they were a bit sweet and crunchy.

For the drink they served what they call the Breakfast Drink. It was yogurt drink with Banana liquor topped off with an olive and bacon. Like I mentioned, they didn’t do things traditionally. I was kinda iffy about drinks involving bacon, but then again how can you go wrong with bacon? Funny enough though, I ended up drinking this the whole night and it was somewhat a cross between a smoothie and alcohol. The drink was smooth and sweet accentuated with the saltiness of the bacon and olive.

They also served what they called a Two Timer. The flaming red shot for the girl, and the cool blue shot for the guy. I had a feeling we were going to get drunk by the end of the night. Must try when you drop by!

The other dishes they served us were:

Sakura Shrimp Pasta – vodka tomato cream based sauce with sakura shrimps and garlic. What I liked about this dish was the amount of shrimp that went into the pasta. They didn’t scrimp on the shrimp. *wink*

Beef Salpicao Kebab – Garlicky Beef Tenderloin grilled with Onions and Bell Peppers kebab style

The beef was tender and juicy. Each bite was flavorful. I wish they had a peanut satay sauce to go with it.

Teriyaki Burger

Surprise surprise, the burger had onion rings inside it!

Tenderloin Steak with Balsamic Vinegar

I never thought the two would go together but somehow they did. The steak was cooked just right and the meat was nice and tender. The aroma of the vinegar was awesome as it permeates the very smell of the beef.

Chocolate Cake – A chocolate martini

Detox – Cucumber, mango liqueur and gin,served in a beaker

Green Kryptonite – Chocolate mint shot served in a test tube

Over all it was a great place to hang out and relax after a long day. Come for the food, stay for the drinks, good music. Price range is somewhere in between Php 130 onwards, depending on how what you order. A bit lower than average GB prices in my opinion.

Thanks to King and Erika for inviting us over. It was still in its soft opening launch and they are still working out a lot of the kinks. But overall good service.

Also, happy hour is between 6-9PM where cocktails are buy one take one!

Elements Gastrolounge

3rd Floor, Greenbelt 3

Makati City, Philippines

Check out their Facebook Page here!

One of the perks of being a food blogger is when readers send over some of the stuff they make and let me try it. The other day, Lyschelle from Retox Ice Cream emailed me asking if I wanted to try out their concoctions of alcohol infused ice cream, and its ice cream, who would say no to ice cream. I quickly agreed and she had her partner send it over.

After the obligatory photoshoot of the packaging, I called over some officemates to partake of 6 different flavors they sent over. I didn’t know what to expect and was actually quite eager to try them all.

We quickly asked everyone who was “laway conscious” and luckily everyone said no. So we started passing around the pints of the different flavors. We also decided to skip on checking what was what and to trust our palettes to let us know what we were encountering.

I tasted Chocolate, Lychee, Watermelon, Irish Cream, Mocha, and Melon/Strawberry.

Each spoonful was full of flavor. The ice cream was creamy and didn’t taste too milky.

One pint was enough to make someone drunk. Just a few spoonfuls and I could feel my face start to turn red. The alcohol just made things a little bit better. Such a novel idea I thought.

All the flavors were actually quite good. But I loved the Lychee Sorbet. The concoction was light and refreshing. The sweetness of the lychee and you could barely taste the alcohol. (which was not a good thing because you tend to forget that it is indeed alcoholic!)

I think I finished more than half of the lychee sorbet.

My colleagues all enjoyed as well. Each one requesting if they could bring home a pint. This was a really great treat and I’m glad we were able to try it out. If you are looking for a novel gift, or maybe something to indulge and pamper yourself give Retox a try.

Retox Ice Cream

Contact them at retox.icecream@gmail.com

Call them at 212-1212 for delivery.

As most of you know (or do not know for that matter), it has been the ghost month this past few weeks. For the superstitious Chinese, there are different implications regarding the ghost month. But for the us looking in, it is quite fascinating. Usually falling during the Mid-Autumn festival, several different folklore is associated with Ghost month and the mid autumn festival as well as the tradition of eating/giving mooncakes during this period. Time for the Filipino to look into something quite different happening in my own backyard.

Here’s a short background:

Celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival is strongly associated with the legend of Houyi and Chang’e, the Moon Goddess of Immortality. Tradition places these two figures from Chinese mythology at around 2200 BCE, during the reign of the legendary Emperor Yao, shortly after that of Huangdi. Unlike many lunar deities in other cultures who personify the moon, Chang’e simply lives on the moon but is not the moon per se.

There are many variants and adaptations of the legend of Chang’e that frequently contradict each other. However, most versions of the legend involve some variation of the following elements: Houyi, the Archer, an emperor, either benevolent or malevolent, and an elixir of life.

One version of the legend states that Houyi was an immortal and Chang’e was a beautiful young girl, working in the palace of the Jade Emperor (the Emperor of Heaven, 玉帝 pinyin:Yùdì) as an attendant to the Queen Mother of the West (the Jade Emperor’s wife). Houyi aroused the jealousy of the other immortals, who then slandered him before the Jade Emperor. Houyi and his wife, Chang’e, were subsequently banished from heaven. They were forced to live on Earth. Houyi had to hunt to survive and became a skilled and famous archer.

At that time, there were ten suns, in the form of three-legged birds, residing in a mulberry tree in the eastern sea. Each day one of the sun birds would have to travel around the world on a carriage, driven by Xihe, the ‘mother’ of the suns. One day, all ten of the suns circled together, causing the Earth to burn. Emperor Yao, the Emperor of China, commanded Houyi to use his archery skill to shoot down all but one of the suns. Upon completion of his task, the Emperor rewarded Houyi with a pill that granted eternal life. Emperor Yao advised Houyi not to swallow the pill immediately but instead to prepare himself by praying and fasting for a year before taking it. Houyi took the pill home and hid it under a rafter. One day, Houyi was summoned away again by Emperor Yao. During her husband’s absence, Chang’e, noticed a white beam of light beckoning from the rafters, and discovered the pill. Chang’e swallowed it and immediately found that she could fly. Houyi returned home, realizing what had happened he began to reprimand his wife. Chang’e escaped by flying out the window into the sky.

There is a folk tale about the overthrow of Mongol rule facilitated by messages smuggled in moon cakes.

Mooncakes were used as a medium by the Ming revolutionaries in their espionage effort to secretly distribute letters to overthrow the Mongolian rulers of China in the Yuan dynasty. The idea is said to be conceived by Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋) and his advisor Liu Bowen (劉伯溫), who circulated a rumor that a deadly plague was spreading, and the only way to prevent it was to eat special mooncakes. This prompted the quick distribution of mooncakes, which were used to hide a secret message coordinating the Han Chinese revolt on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.

Another method of hiding the message was printed in the surface of mooncakes as a simple puzzle or mosaic. To read the encrypted message, each of the four mooncakes packaged together must be cut into four parts each. The 16 pieces of mooncake, must then be pieced together in such a fashion that the secret messages can be read. The pieces of mooncake are then eaten to destroy the message.

Houyi pursued her halfway across the heavens but was forced to return to Earth because of strong winds. Chang’e reached the moon, where she coughed up part of the pill. Chang’e commanded the hare that lived on the moon to make another pill. Chang’e would then be able to return to Earth and her husband.

The legend states that the hare is still pounding herbs, trying to make the pill. Houyi built himself a palace in the sun, representing “Yang” (the male principle), in contrast to Chang’e's home on the moon which represents “Yin” (the female principle). Once a year, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Houyi visits his wife. That is the reason why the moon is very full and beautiful on that night.
*source Wikipedia

But enough about the history. Today to celebrate the end of ghost month as well as to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival we had some mooncakes. I’ve had mooncakes before, so this time I wanted something quite different. Someone brought me Snowskin Mooncakes from Hong Kong.

For this experience, I had 3 kinds of Mooncakes on my plate.

Chocolate Pearls and Pandan Flavoured White Bean Paste

The taste was quite different. It somewhat resembled mochi but the flavors were really rich and bursting with flavor. The crackle of the chocolate pearls was a nice touch. I wouldn’t mind having this again.

Sesame and Mung Bean Paste

This resembled something a little bit like the traditional mooncake. The toasted sesame seeds were really prominent and really tasteful. Reminded me of the a black sesame mochi.

Mango and Mung Bean Paste

My favorite by far. Instead of the usual salted egg in the middle, this one had a mango core. The sweet and acidic center was a welcome surprise to the rich and full taste of the mung bean.

Quite a different experience for me and enjoyed every single bite! Till the next mooncake festival guys!

I’m a sucker for anything authentic. Authentic Pasta? I’m there. So imagine my delight when I finally discovered Amoroma at Tagaytay. Tagaytay is a brief 1 hour 30 mins drive from Manila and you have the cool crisp weather which is a cool respite from the hot & sticky weather that Manila has to offer.

I first tried this place with The Club on the way to Punta Fuego and have been back the succeeding weekends because I could never get enough of the place. I soak in the ambiance, the choices of handmade pasta, the music, and the weather, everything just ties in. This is one place I wouldn’t mind dining Al Fresco.

But why would one dine outside when you’ve got this quaint little ristorante inside? The tiny details are actually what makes the restaurant to lovable. The stained glass lamps, ceiling fans, and checkered table cloths all remind me of those italian ristorantes in movies, one you would find in Little Italy or Hoboken.

The menu consists of purely italian fare in their original names. But for the non-italian speaking public, the description of the dish is located underneath and in english too! So you get to show off to your date and order in italian if you prefer. (I remember the Eat, Pray, Love scene!)

I knew what they served best here since I was here 3 times in 3 weeks. Pizza was the way to go. The proscuitto bianca was what we used to order, but I discovered that a better pizza was hidden in its simplicity. The 5-cheese pizza was to die for. It is definitely going to my best list.

All pizza’s are handrolled and cooked for 2-3 minutes in their clay oven.

Yes. My lenses and camera all fogged up due to the weather.

The thin crust pizza is slathered with their home-made tomato sauce made from real tomatoes. Layers upon layers of good quality cheese namely, Bleu Cheese, Mozzerella, Provolone, Gruyere, Parmesan. The slices were huge and the crust nice and crispy. The tomato sauce complimented the saltiness of the cheese and the bleu cheese as usual added its hint of acidity to the entire dish. The mozzeralla was chewy and the mild taste of parmesan held everything together. Cooked to perfection, this has got to be the best cheese pizza I’ve tried ever. I am more than willing to pay Php 320 for this pizza any day.

My friend ordered a Parmesan and Tomato Pasta. Basically its a dish that upon cooling was tossed on a wheel of parmesan cheese coating the noodles in the cheese sauce. Drizzled with olive oil and fresh tomatoes one for the more lighter pastas I’ve tried. (Php 210)

I’ve had different pastas and I decided to feature and order a non pasta dish. I went for the Chicken breast stuffed with spinach and gorgonzola in gorgonzola sauce w/ steamed asparagus. (Php 310)

The chicken was moist and the spinach flavorful. The sauce wasn’t overpowering and I could taste the cheese. One note though, I noticed that they don’t season the food enough. I guess they leave it up to the guest to season to taste so don’t be shy about grabbing that salt and pepper and seasoning it to your taste.

Overall, Amorama offers an authentic dining experience at one of the nicest places to hang out at. Whether you are after ambiance, on a date, roadtrip, stopover, or just after some good ol’iltalian cooking Amorama is definitely a place you shouldn’t miss out on.

Amorama

National Highway, Tagaytay City

Batangas, Philippines

Serves Lunch at 11AM – 2PM only and dinner at 6PM – 10PM