Margherita what?

Mozzarella, tomatoes and dried basil! My stuffing for Chicken Margherita Roulade. Still developing the recipe though, will post it once it's perfect! Goodnight fellow foodies! :)

Where you at?!! #MasterChefPhilippines

Uhm yeah, so I joined Masterchef and was actually labeled as a food blogger! Whaddup!!!! :P

ANG MO KIO. Singaporean Hawker Cuisine.

ANG MO KIO came to the rescue when Dan was looking for a place to lamon! Trying out new places to eat is our new hobby and since we've been to Yaku and Shi Lin, we decided to give Ang Mo Kio a try! :)

They have an awesome ambience which doesn't really look like an authentic singaporean escapade but I'm diggin' the painted palochina dining sets! They look so artsy and it's something I'd want in my kitchen too. :)

Let's fast forward to food. We were served with bowls of white broth, that same broth they cooked the Hainanese chickens and it's packed with richness and flavour. 

I ordered CHAR KWAY TEOW. It is made from flat rice noodles stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chill, a small quantity of belachan, whole prawns, de-shelled cockles, bean sprouts and chopped Chinese chives.  The dish is commonly stir-fried with egg, slices of Chinese sausage and fishcake. 

I ordered this dish because it somehow resembled that same dish I ordered from Melaka, Malaysia. It is also made from transparent flat rice noodles, stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, scallops and a generous serving of oysters. It was also stir-fried with egg and fishcake. 

Now, Char Kway Teow may resemble the aforementioned dish in some ways but it tastes distinctly different. Different but delicious! I'm just not a fan of overly-salty dish but it's quite good. Maybe the chef poured a little too much of soy sauce but nevertheless, it's a good dish with noodles cooked to the tooth (al dente!) partnered with a good combination of ingredients but I think I'd prefer the noodles overpowering the meat than meat overpowering the noodles. It had too much sausages, fishcake, cockles and prawns. Now, I'm not complaining about the prawns but really, it had to much Chinese sausages.  

Dan went for one of their bestsellers, BEEF RENDANG. It was described as, "rich in spices; next to the main meat ingredient, rendang uses coconut milk, and mixture of ground spices paste, which include ginger, galangal, turmeric leaves, lemon grass, garlic, shallot, chillies and other spices.

As much as I'd like to say "no resistance, none at all", we actually had a hard time slicing the beef. Hamartia---a fatal flaw. 

But taste-wise, it was pure delish! One of the many reasons why I like Asian cuisine especially, Singaporean, Malaysian and Thai is because their use of various spices that perfectly marry together especially when cooked. I just wished they cooked the beef a little bit longer or until the meat separates from the bone. 

I just had to blog this because I kind of love their food. Not that I'm being biased with anything singaporean, malaysian or thai but maybe.... I'm quite biased. Haha!

PenPen's

It was @pingmedina who made me so effin' curious about this restaurant for he'd tweet Filipino comfort dishes with a twist. True enough, there's something comforting about their food that it feels so homey bite after bite. 

I wasn't prepared plus I didn't really know what to order so I asked the waiter and foursquare what their bestsellers were. He said locals usually order their Crispy Liempo and that it's actually a PenPen trademark so...

Crispy Liempo

It was okay but kudos to a new way of serving liempo. If I were to describe this dish, it's actually strips/bacons of fat, deep fried to goodness and that, it's not good for your heart! Haha! Taste is so-so. There's nothing to rave about but it wasn't bad either. What I do like about this dish is that it create fireworks inside your mouth not because of its taste but because of the sound it creates every munch. It's kind of addicting, actually. 

Lechon Kawali with Vinaigrette

Nothing special about this dish but partnering it with vinaigrette is just pure genius! Though their vinaigrette tastes more like a sweet soy sauce with vinegar, I think it would be more awesome if they used balsamic vinegar, olive oil and pepper flakes. Ah! The good life, if ever!!! 

Creamy Kalabasa Soup

I really saved the best for last. This dish is what surprised Dan and I. Creamy Kalabasa soup. Why? The only reason why we ordered this is because I want a veggie-fix. I originally ordered for their Eggplant Ensalada only to find that it's not available that night so I looked for an alternative and found this! <3

It's creamy and homey and I don't know. It actually makes me happy everytime I can't deconstruct a dish because it means that the ingredients are well married together. I'm guessing caramelized onions are present because I can feel and taste them in my tongue but that's just my curious guess. :P 

This Creamy Kalabasa soup now sits next to my fave soup of all time: Spicy Pumpkin Soup of Le Bistro Vert's. 

Also, look at their cutesy little treasure box for your food bill and pennies. :D

PenPen's do serve Filipino comfort food goodness that won't hurt your budget. Go try them if you need a little comforting today (BADUY! Pinilit lang! HAHAH!).

15-A Gen. Romulo Ave., Cubao Expo, Araneta Center

Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

#coupleapproves

Pancaaaake house that is!

Dan asked me out for a dinner date while I was on my cereals only diet! Haha! So off we went to pancake house. It was my first time here because you know, I won't spend a penny for pancakes for I can make them! Haha! And I prefer pancakes as breakfast and not as dessert. Okay, enough with blabbing...

I ordered a Caesar salad and Dan ordered their grilled cheese sandwich and country fried chicken.

Caesar salad was good but it lacked the anchovy taste. It wasn't that bad but it's not that yummy either.



Grilled cheese was yummy! Still trying to figure out that white cheese inside the melted cheddar. My initial guess was cream cheese but it's too mild so I don't know. Maybe I'm gonna have to eat more to figure it out. The potato salad which tastes more like an egg spread is really good! The pickles and pineapples go well together with the potato salad and grilled cheese sandwich. When eaten at the same time, it takes the dish to another level. :)



Fried chicken is good! I can even eat the bones for it was that crispy! My guess is flour and more of cornstarch, salt and pepper. Well, correct me if I'm wrong. Haha!

Asian LAMON

Lamon either means food binging or eating to much food! Our accounts head asked us to accompany her to DEC and YSY to look for something to buy for lunch, at 3PM, yes! Late lunch! So there, even though I had my lunch on time, the Dimsum and Korean noodles played devilishly acts on me! HAHAHA!

Andrea's Homemade Rice Krispies

Cook unsalted butter and white mallows together until melted, then add the Rice Krispies! Decorate according to creativity and you're done! :)

Recipe from my officemate's sister, Andrea.

Please please try! It really is good and rich and buttery and yummy and everything!!!! :)