Luxent Dinner Buffet

Dan and I braved Timog on a Sunday night to avail our buffet voucher from Luxent Hotel. From the looks of it, it's as if the place was just newly established for their elevator still needs further furnishing but as soon as you step inside their buffet and cafe area, you're in a for surprise. It's too bad that we were too hungry to take photos of the place but the international cafe looks really elegant.



We headed towards the buffet area and started digging in. We didn't even bother to ask the what-abouts of the vouchers we were holding because their sushi station already made my mouth water.



The verdict:
It's not as fancy as Spiral or Dad's but their staff are very accommodating. We started getting everything Japanese. I skipped the salad and soup bar for I was ready to put on some pounds. I helped myself through yummy servings of sushi, tuna and salmon sashimi, spicy tuna salad and kani salad. I was actually eating lots while getting tempura and fried Maki.












After getting our hands and chopsticks dirty, we went to get mains. My only comment is that they didn't serve vegetables, just pure meat except for the eggplant and tofu steak which was exceptionally yummy by the way and by the taste of it, looks really easy to make!

They served spinach ravioli which tasted so-so. It had too much cheese that it overpowered the pasta, spinach and the red sauce. Their chicken pastel and everything else tasted normal. What really caught my tastebud is, again, the tofu and eggplant steak. I also helped myself through huge servings of lechon, morcon, and beer battered cream Dory. I just wished they served veggies as well because I can't really live without veggies.



Because their mains failed to amaze me, I immediately went to their dessert station. Boy, they made up for not serving greens because they have like the best egg custard I've ever tasted! I think I consumed like 5 servings in one sitting! Their almond pudding topped with blueberries and tangerine tasted really good too! I mean it was so heavenly that I ate a lot! Like a lot! The dark chocolate cake was really fudgy, heavy and yummy which is the contrast of their mango cake that's more on the light and heavenly department.







They also served fruits and halo-halo but skipped those already since I've been eating fruits a lot these past few days due to GM. Dan made halo-halo which was overflowing with milk! Haha!





Overall, they serve good sushi and desserts but I think their buffet price is kinda pricey compared to DADs which boasts a complete set of different cuisines.

Though I do recommend their egg custard and pudding! Really really yummy!

Sunday Pesto

I know I haven't been posting lately and I'm very sorry for that. I wanted to blame work but I figured I'm tired of creating excuses why I can't do this and that. Good thing though, my sister's friends came over tonight and she requested that I make pesto for them. Why not? When you've got no time to spare, Basil Pesto will always be everyone's go-to recipe!

Here's a series of photos to accompany you. Okay, I know my watermark sucks. Worry not, I promise that by tonight, I'm gonna have a decent watermark design. So going back...

1. Blanch and shock 2 cups of basil leaves

Why the need to blanch and shock? Shocking is when you immediately transfer what you're boiling or steaming to a bowl of ice to stop the cooking. The reason why were doing this is because basil leaves tend to lose its colour when cooked. 

2. Toast 3 tablespoons of Pignoli Nuts

Some recipes do not call for toasting nuts but I figured that when you toast nuts, its flavour becomes more robust. The nutty flavour of the Pignoli nuts contribute well to a pesto recipe, unless you want your guests to only feel its texture without the taste. But we don't want that, do we?

3. Drop in 3 cloves of garlic, basil, toasted pignoli nuts and a handful of salt into a food processor. 

Pulse until the the basil and Pignoli nuts are coarsely chopped. But if you want a smoother pesto, pulse further.

4. With the motor running, drizzle in 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. 

5. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmegiano Reggiano.

6. Serve. 

Do not forgot to add in a dash of salt and a generous amount of freshly grated Parmeggiano Reggiano just before serving. 

7. Enjoy. :) 

Steady dinner

That sudden crave for pasta resulted to an unplanned dinner at The Old Spaghetti House.

I ordered their Pinoy Pasta with garlic longganisa and Dan ordered Golden Crusted Chicken with Angel Hair in Marinara Sauce.

The verdict:

Pinoy Pasta tasted like breakfast. It tasted like macaroni soup and it's somehow similar to the usual Pinoy Carbonara only that it uses longganisa instead of bacon. It also has tuyo flakes which really took the limelight from the garlic longganisa that it should have been Pinoy Pasta with spicy tuyo flakes. Beware though, the dish is kind of spicy. So? Well it's good but not that good to make you forget your name and I have said, I wish it had a lot of crispy longganisa.


The Golden Crusted Chicken tasted like country-fried chicken with country gravy. It's really good and wait, it has melted cheese and ham inside. Similar to Cordon Bleu dishes! But it wasn't indicated in the menu so I guess that's their surprise for us diners. The angel hair marinara was awesome also. The marinara sauce was well simmered that it had that umami taste in red sauces.

So there, I think I wanna order what Dan ordered the next time I go back here. Haha! But definitely no more Pinoy Pasta next time! I do think I can cook it better, you wait for it! :)