The craze that is Jamba Juice

Berry Topper (minus the peanut butter) from Jamba Juice.  It has bananas, strawberries, non-fat yogurt and granola.

This is the other offer of Jamba Juice that I like (the other one being the Peanut Butter Moo’d).  I’ve tried maybe 2 or 3 other smoothies (all fruit based), and I didn’t enjoy any of them.

What’s your favorite from Jamba Juice?!

PORK overload

One of my good friends was coming over from Dubai for a very quick visit.  She asked me to set up a get together/mini-reunion with our ex-Saudia colleagues.  She didn’t really care where we would eat.. but her only condition was that it should have PORK! hahaha

Dubai has its own share of Filipino food, but my friend misses good old Filipino pork dishes.  After discussing with the rest of the group, we decided Kanin Club (Kanin = Rice) would do the trick and satisfy her craving… so did it?!?!

Sinangag na Sinigang.  This is my FAVORITE!!  I can eat the rice alone and be happy.  It already had a sinigang flavor despite it being dry (i.e. with nosinigang broth), which was perfect! It was topped with crispy kangkong and thin slices of PORK belly.

Crispy Liempo (PORK belly).  It was thinly sliced belly strips, which reminded me so much of bacon (minus the salty bacon flavor).

Crispy Dinuguaan. I’ve never eaten dinuguaan before, and I still didn’t want to try it even if it is a best seller at Kanin Club.  Dinuguaan’s main ingredients are pig’s blood and pig’s innards (not my cup of tea).

Crispy Pork Binagoongan – it wasn’t too salty and the bagoong was not overpowering.

Fully Loaded Fried Rice – this my least favorite among all dishes.  Nothing special, but it still did have PORK in it ;D

So yes, I think our friend left full and satisfied after eating so much pork! Us, her friends, on the other hand, left with higher cholesterol levels hahaha

It’s a wrap!

Did you know that Starbucks Manila actually serves a fish and chips wrap?!? I didnt! So when I saw it, I almost peed in my pants with excitement (ok, exaggerating a bit). Its basically fish, with potato wedges and seasoned with mustard. I liked it, although I wish the chips were crunchier (which I know is quite impossible). This is something I will order again

I miss Persia House

Mr. Kabab goes a long way back. I even remember it as Persia House. Its old location used to be just at the corner of our village, so it was very convenient for us to go to for a delicious and cheap midnight snack. Unfortunately, it is no longer as good as it used to be. Boo

Shown here:

Shawarma Plate — the shawarma taste was gone and it was overcooked and tough

Keema — hmmm tasted like ordinary sauteed ground meat?! We didn’t even finish this anymore and..

Special chelo kabab — I still liked the buttered rice, but the actual kebab was not like it used to be anymore

… Mr. Kabab is very different now from how it used to be… I miss the old Mr. Kebab… I miss Persia House

an afternoon of Kindermusik at Stacy’s

I read about Stacy’s from someones blog (sorry can’t link, because I forgot whose).  And was intrigued by the place.  From the pictures I saw, it pretty much resembled the kind of restaurant I would like to try (very girly with lots of pastels) but not something I think, JodiesDaddy would bother himself with.  Unfortunately, its quite far from where I live.. and the opposite side of QC from where my parents live.

So when  Teacher Mitch organized a simple, intimate gathering at Stacy’s, for the culminating activity of Jodie’s Kindermusik class, I was very happy as I now had an excuse to try it out

Merienda (afternoon snack) food was served.

Open faced Apple County sandwiches,

Potato Chip fried chicken (I loved this!),

carbonara and french fries (both not shown here) and of course, the kid’s favorite, CUPCAKES!

As usual, Jodie just licked a bit of the icing, and put it down.  She’s really not fond of sweets (the only kind of dessert she really enjoys is her rosquillos, egg-nog and yogurt).

They also served this really delicious chocolate cake too! However, by the time I remembered to take a picture, I had finished it already hahaha

My overall experience at Stacy’s was a good one.  And if it only weren’t too far, I’m pretty sure I would be dragging Jodie and JodiesDaddy here more often

Singapore sneak peek..

When in Singapore, we don’t shop.. we EAT!  haha

JodiesDaddy  and I had an impromptu trip to Singapore…  Here is a sample of what we ate (detailed posts to follow)

Overpricing…??

One of the most overpriced meals I ever had.  And it wasn’t even worth it!

P300.00 for a cup of rice, adobo (which was really bland), a wedge of boiled egg, a “salad” and a banana (yes, this was the dessert).  Oh, it was served with 1 glass of iced tea.

What was the most over priced meal you had?!?

Our Antonio’s experience

A few weeks back, JodiesDaddy and I (with Jodie tagging along), over-indulged a bit. We treated ourselves to a hearty lunch at Antonio’s in Tagaytay.

This was what we splurged on…

SALAD:

I didnt read the menu carefully so I didn’t realize our meal came with salad already. So I had ordered an extra one.. Below is the the crispy prosciutto and anchovies vinaigrette salad.

But all meals were served with Antonio’s house salad with rasberry dressing and bits or roquefort cheese..

SOUP and SIDES:

The complimentary soup was a tomato soup with some froth on top (not really sure what it was — but JodiesDaddy called it bula or soap suds hehe) and small balls of what they said was barley.  I’m not fond of tomato soup, but this was really delicious

I wanted french fries for a side dish, but there was none I settled for the mashed potatoes (as recommended by our server, Nick).  It was supposed to be infused with some truffle oil (which I LOVE) but sad to say, I didn’t taste much of the truffle.

JodiesDaddy had a side of tomato risotto

ENTREE:

JodiesDaddy and I shared 700 grams of prime rib.  Cooked medium (JodiesDaddy hoped we could have had it cooked medium-rare instaed), topped with strips of crispy onions.

This was absolute heaven for the 2 of us!  It was served with a variety of sauces, but JodiesDaddy and I just seasoned it with some rock sea salt.  When we were done, I could feel the oil shooting up my veins hahaha

DESSERT:

For dessert, I chose potato chips coated with chocolate – served with a side of some mango jam. I had to wait a while for them to serve this to me.  But it was worth the wait.  The chips could have been crunchier though

JodiesDaddy had the dark chocolate souffle topped with some heavy cream… hmmmm I had a teeny tiny taste of it.. and it somehow reminded me of a pudding.

This was our first time at Antonio’s and it did not disappoint!  It lived up to every good review we have read over the years.  And service was impeccable as well (**side story:  there was no kiddie menu, but our waiter was kind enough to order us some bacon from Breakfast at Antonio’s nearby — oh and they allowed us to have her eat her chicken nuggets**).  We loved our meal so much, and we hope that this will not be our last visit.

Celebrating JodiesDaddy’s big day

This was a meal for two.  Yes, it was!

Birthday’s are a big thing for JodiesDaddy and I.  We may not give each other gifts anymore, but one thing we make sure we do, is to eat out  At the beginning of the month, JodiesDaddy celebrated his 30++ birthday.  He was having a hard time trying to decide where he wanted to eat for dinner.  Until he stuck to his comfort food — crabs!

He devoured the crab sotanghon (vermicelli).

And I finished the salt and pepper squid.

We both shared the salted fish and chicken fried rice.. but I think I ate most of it.

With the way we are eating, I really wonder how I will ever get my sexy back ;D

 

Of fish and chips..

I was really excited when I read a tweet about a fish and chips place, Chucks Grub in Rustans at Powerplant. I absolutely LOOOOVE fish and chips, and have been looking for the best here in Manila. I think i have found it!

They had 4 kinds of fish to choose from: dory, snapper, cobbler and halibut. And 3 dipping sauces: cane vinegar, garlic mayo and tartar. I chose the snapper (instead of the usual dory) and paired it with garlic mayo. Nothing special with the dip and chips. But I liked the taste of the fish and the batter.. I guess it had to do with the fact that it was freshly cooked as well