The day that was Sundate

This entry has been in my drafts since I don't know when. Either I didn't have the drive to actually write things out and keep them all for myself or,i just didn't know what to write because I was partly distracted the whole time.

And so this is edited. Yes. The things I'd like to share are not for the faint of heart and my food blog might shut me down anytime if I post things vulnerable.

And so as much as I'd like to start with how my Sunday morning started with the rain falling, I'd start with Manila Seedling pronto!

Manila Seedling

The moment we got there...I totally forgot I was with Dan. HAHAHA! Like seriously. Too bad we weren't allowed to take pictures but Dan managed to snatch a photo! YAY!


 this is me holding my marjoram! :)

Dan lent me Amica's discount card while i thought to myself : "Where in the world did Amica get this? I need one for myself too!!!"



And of course, I knew I had to pretend like Amica.  how? Like purge in that intoxicating smile that I saw in TriNoMa? so if they ask for Amica, I'll show them the Amica smile. HAHA!

KERI BA? :))

And so my world paused for a while. I was inside this greenhouse full of herbs.

To my left were seeds, pots, buhaghag soil, gardening tools...and to my right was...Dan. Hahaha! But I was able to peek through and I saw the tarps about parsley, lavender, rosemary and etc. The way it described every herb possible on how to grow them, how to use them in cooking...everything. And I saw their nursery greenhouse and man, I knew I wanted to grow old to this. Yung you wake up every morning and tame your garden until dawn; or use your homegrown veggies for your family's daily meal. I'm envisioning myself to have my own farm or if I'm lucky enough, to enter the world of cheese producer's in the philippines. I'm thinking of pecorino, mozzarella, buffalo mozzarella, ricotta, and maybe get a little creative and invent my own line of cheeses. And maybe have my own sustainable restaurant after that. Aside from the fact that I'm seeing myself as a food photographer 5 years from now and that I will be having my own studio 5-10 years later packed with food photographers, food stylist, graphic artist and maybe after that, make it a full-pledged advertising firm that caters food businesses. Okay ba? Di naman SUPER DUPER LONG TERM GOAL NO? #UNIVERSE I'm counting on you ha.

Anyway, to formally end our first stop, I ended up buying a pot, 3 rosemaries, 3 sages, seeds of alfafa sprouts and seeds of coriander. Okay, gusto ko na umuwi at magtanim after! Onga pala, kasama ko nga pala si Dan. Haha!

Pipino Restaurant
I want to applaud Dan for finding alternatives for that busted surprise. Honestly, because of those irritatingly question marks, I started to doubt if we were headed straight to Pipino, because I wanted to. :( I want Pipino! 

WHY? JUST COZ PATTY LAUREL AND ALESSANDRA LANOT ARE MY #GIRLCRUSHESFOREV! That feeling that you get to eat where they actually eat; That you get to eat at the restaurant they put on their blogs; Alessandra Lanot's own restaurant! And I sooo love love love Patty Laurel that you know...I bought Suelas, fell in love with the whole sense of keeping things simple but fun; fell in love with meeting the right man, a man of God (Patrick Filart is!) and you know everything about her amazes me. She's such an amazing woman. Someone who isn't afraid to show the world her vulnerability. #stalkermuch

(AND HERE I THOUGHT THIS WAS ABOUT FOOD....)

Going back to Pipino Restaurant. I'm sooo sorry I failed to get a snapshot of Pipino's/PINO's facade. It was raining. And I, being tamad to bring umbrellas, walked through the rain. :(

Grabe, the moment I entered the place. I was completely starstrucked. As in starSTRUCKED. Dba? I used to see this in Patty's blog lang e and now I'm here! You know, the wall doodles na si Alessa mismo nagdraw. It's how I pictured it. PERFECT! Just perfect! And oh! I forgot...I'm with Dan. :))

I wish I could give better reviews but like I said, I was distracted the whole time. But I promise to go back here in a gool ol' sunny day and take photos of its facade, interiors and well, food. :) I promise to bring my doodle notebook to actually write things down at the very moment so I won't resort to saving it as a draft forever and ever and ever.

Going back for photos' sake, we ordered Lemongrass Tofu Skewers with Chili Garlic & Alfafa Sprouts for appetizer. I've seen it in Patty Laurel's blog and I knew I had to order it! It's her fave!!! (Hindi pa ba kayo natatakot sa pagkastalker ko?) Enough about Patty Laurel! I need to finish this blog or it will rot in my drafts. :))

We ordered Tofu Lemongrass Skewers with Chili Garlic Sauce and Alfafa Sprouts. Warning: This dish will surprise you via taste. I found it hard to breakdown the ingredients and man, first time! I usually breakdown ingredients so that I'd know how to at least cook them. This however is an exception! BRAVO! Though Dan and I managed to bring out one. I think we tasted ginger. We did. Right? 

They also have the most amazing Iced Tea yet. #truthinAdvertising

Creamy Pesto!! :)

One thing you should know about me is that I make Pesto. Damn good pesto. And yes, I'm holding my tiara here because it's Mario Batali's pesto. Laban ka? 

I always order pesto whenever it's available. It's my do or die dish. I judge them with how they cook their pesto. If it's better than mine, I mean Mario Batali's, then hats off to you for you just earned another regular. If not, then you won't see me again. #asifnamanImatter :))

So far, I really LOVED LOVED their pesto! So much that I wanna try and put cream the next time I make pesto. PLUS the Wasabi Onion Rings? TO DIE FOR! And I don't even eat onions! But their onion rings? I think I could eat all day!

Daniel ordered Chicken with Bacon and Cheese. I think I should ask Daniel's opinion here. Nakitikim lang kase ako because I was really amazed with their pesto that I want it only for myself. Haha! And because I managed to get a few bites before daniel finished his plate that I have a thing or two for this dish. One is the chicken breast was cooked perfectly. PERFECTLY. I repeat PERFECTLY. It's perfectly cooked that you get a juicy, aromatic meat each and every slice. Two, is the mighty meany cheese! I love how it complements the whole dish. It doesn't overpower the chicken and bacon unlike other Cordon Bleu dishes wherein you either taste the bland and dried chicken breast first and then the bacon and then yung nakakaumay na cheese! Pino's version is waaaaay better. Trust me on this one. You'd taste the juicy perfectly cooked chicken breast, then bacon kicks in that salty hint you've been looking for and the cheese brings everything together to a perfect perfection with it's mild rich flavor.

I loved Pino even though I ordered dishes from Pipino. Haha! I made Dan swear that we'd come back here and make a decent review about the interiors and well, food! I also promise to not be distracted on that day. DEAL? :)

And we need to buy those red velvet and green tea cupcakes from PIPINO! :)

Moonleaf

Ay grabe. Mahal ko na talaga ang Teacher's Village! Imagine having food restos, tea houses and cafes as your neighbors! This is like heaven for me!!! :)

Sorry for the kabaduyan photo but we tasted both macarons and they ended up resembling a heart. Ay ano ba, Dan + senti = inevitable kabaduyan forever. :)) The macarons weren't as awesome as those you can buy from streets of NYC. I like them french. Either I was looking for that ground almond taste or the filling overpowered the macarons.  

Since Moonleaf is famous for their WinterMelon Tea, I had to order WinterMelon tea! I made Dan order Pearl Milk Tea just coz I like how robust a Pearl Milk tea tastes like lalo na when it's roasted! Well, I think I prefer Gong Cha's WinterMelon Tea and with Pearl Milk Tea, ChaTime forever and ever. <3

I promise to blog a decent review for PIPINO and MoonLeaf one of these days. :*

Gosh I love PIPINO! I love love love love their food. <3

Before the day ended, we made strawberry cheesecake na hindi na naabutan ni Daniel matapos. :) 

See you next entry. :*