Crepes n Cream.....

Here's a treat: Visit SM Pampanga and just near the Carousel area, you'll see a stall for Crepes and Cream. They serve both hot and cold servings of Crepes.

Naturally, we choose the cold servings.... Cookies and Cream and my favorite.... Rocky Road!




I don't advertise food..... but I do recommend good eats! Try it!

Sunday at DePaolo's

Last October after hearing mass, my wife and I went to DePaolo's for lunch. She was told me the food was good when she went there with her officemates. Any ordinary food critic would be intrigued with the sudden rave. It was almost noon so I thought, what the heck.... hit me with your best shot.

Naturally, that wasn't the case. We would settle with a middle man's course as I also believe that is the true test of cook's skill. No frills... Just good food... and I am hungry so they better give me the satisfaction that I need to deserve a good review.

We ordered: Grilled Fish Medallion, T-bone steak and leche flan for dessert.

Grilled Fish Medallion? I'm not sure why it was named that way but all I could say is that the lemon butter sauce seemed bitter. It may be with the herbs they used to rub in the fish. The fish meat was kinda tender but not exactly yummy. It was cold for me. It might have been better served sizzling. The buttered corn was also something that I would least eat in the course. The star of the dish was not the Fish, but the potato rolls. They were sweet and the presentation was something I did not expect. I thought initially that those thingy are spring rolls. Nicely done.

The T-Bone Steak..... good thing, I was not the one who ordered it. hehehehe. The meat was not savory as the steaks in Grill 99, but my comment is that it was served somewhat cold. The gravy was somewhat better than the one in Grill 99. Nevertheless, there were potato rolls too so that took the frown out of our faces.

The Leche Flan is...... is a..... is a.... well, simple. If I would compare it with the leche flan served in Susie's, I would gladly eat my serving from Susie's. I think the dessert lacked consistency and the texture was not smooth. It was flaky. I guess it's not their flagship that's why.

so in the end, it was just as I thought.... it's just another hype.... I would say, the dining experience on a scale of 5 being the highest, this place would get 2.5 (for the potato rolls and the decors).

Grill 99: Good Food at affordable prices

My wife and I went to this place called Grill 99 last September, somewhere in Bagumbayan, Angeles City. The place was similar in concept as Ventura grill in Marisol Subdivision.

The ambience was good. There were 3 areas to dine in. We took the middle area (garden) as the left wing area has lots of mosquitos and we wouldn't want to spoil the night slapping our skin while eating.

We ordered Baby Back Ribs, Grilled Liempo and Tokwa't Baboy. I was on a diet back then and told my wife "Yung tokwa't baboy sa yo yun ah". She then said "tikman mo muna, baka naman ikaw makaubos nyan eh. hehehe".

So we ate. The Ribs were a classic. Nicely plated with the mashed potato at the bottom and caramelized onion on top of the meat. It was tender and tasty. I liked the sauce that drizzled in the meat. It reminded me of meals that one of my uncles used to make when I was a kid. It was so good, I chewed through it in order to savor all the flavors. I was satisfied.

My wife took the liempo. Well, the meat was the usual. But compared it to the ribs, the preparation was pale in comparison. It was ordinary. What really annoyed me was the gravy they made for it. It tasted like lard. They may have used the oil from all the meat being grilled and added flour and flavoring to make it gravy. Well, I think that's bad practice. The first broth would have made it better than the oil. That's a tip to them. Pardon my being critic.

Finally, the curd. Hmmm.... Well, the best description I could probably use is BIG. I didn't expect this big a serving for an appetizer. Whoah! And it tasted good. The dip was tangy and spicy. The tokwa was good while hot. The pork... well, not to many of them there, but it complemented it nicely. I ended up finishing the plate as my wife gave up after claiming she took in too much. Oh well, there goes the diet....

What I really liked about the place is the people.... like parking for example. They would make sure that you smile coming in and smile when you leave.

Check it out!

Between Dieting and Eating (Solution: Calorie Counting)

It has been a while since I last blogged about food. You may have noticed that it's been months! We'll aside from being taken over by my work as deadlines are pressing and I have to prioritize them, I also have undergone a self assessment of my health. So before I continue with the usual food blogging, let me share sometime that might be of interest to you.

Sometime last July or August, I noticed that it's been hard catching my breath whenever I catch up with my kids. What's worse is when I try to rush to some place and notice that my body weight causes inertia and instead of thinking about reaching the place, I'm conscious on how I look like and careful as I might loose balance. Yeah, I know that over-reacting.... but sometimes I do feel that way.

I realized that my love for food might be the culprit. I take too much than what I should actually take. One morning when I woke up, I felt my legs hurt due to numbness. I didn't do anything to cause this..... and maybe that's the problem.

I thought the best way to overcome this and somehow bring a little bit of my self esteem back is to loose weight. I tried different methods, including one that asks you to eat only fruits and vegetables. It was hard at first..... heck, it was even harder to continue!

Then, I used a diet plan that asked me not to take a lot of the good stuff. No Rice for example. Then 0% saturated fat. It was getting harder coz if you check the label, the only edible things that do not have saturated fat are fruits, vegetables and water. LOL! Well some processed food claim they don't have it.... but they were hard to find or too expensive for my shrinking budget.

So I figured the best way to start is to ask the experts. It was a good thing that our company invited Nutritionists and Dieticians as part of their employee welfare activities. I approached them and asked for their recommendation regarding my situation.

At the start they told me that I was just okay after some examination and computation. But I figured that I may have been wrong with some information I provided. Like for my weight, I initially told them that I last weighed in at 185 lbs (then after a week I checked the scale and found myself at 196 lbs, that already after dieting for a week!)

The nutritionist then told me that if I wanted to either keep my weight or loose some more, I have to check my activities and calorie intake. Huh? Oh yeah.... While they were explaining the food groups and the science of nutrition, I now realized that what they are trying to tell me is pretty simple...... Energy In ---> Stored Energy ---> Energy Out. The Law of Conservation of Energy and Mass. Stored Energy = Energy In - Energy Out.

Okay this may should weird, but in theory it does make sense. We all know that people need food to GO, GROW and GLOW. That's the reason why we have the food groups to distinguish which ones should we take more and which one to take less. Right? If you understand this, then you are halfway through....

The other idea is that our body converts food into energy, which we use for our activities. These food which were classified into groups provide different levels of energy. I won't be your science teacher now but I hope you get the driff....

Anyway, so what you eat (Energy In) must be converted into energy for activities (Energy out). If Energy In is equal to Energy Out, then you keep your Stored Energy (and theoretically your weight or mass).

Now, what if you change your activity, say you have more physical activities? This means your Energy Out will be higher than before. If you take the same amount of food (Energy In), Stored Energy will decrease as Energy Out will eat some of it.

You think that's cool? Picture this out: What if you change your work activities, then go jogging at least thrice a week and watch your food intake? Get it? You'll notice that you'll get slimmer as days go by.

Two things I learned from this activity: Exercise and Calorie Counting. For me, this DEFINITELY works! To date, I am at 177 lbs. That's 19 lbs from 2 months ago.

You might be thinking, that's too low.... Well, actually I do have some eating splurges in between (I cheat) and that's every Friday, Saturday and Sundays..... Not counting the other celebrations and fiestas. I don't deprive myself on these dates. But I just make sure that I stick to the game plan on regular days.

For me loosing 19 lbs is better than doing nothing and possibly gaining 19 lbs. I also don't have to spend a penny. Actually, at times I'm able to save.

If you want to learn more about Calorie Counting, check this website I just stumbled upon today: http://www.acaloriecounter.com/calorie-counting.php I didn't know about this site when I started, but it has the same idea I am trying to tell you in easier terms.

So, let's eat......

Return to Ikabud: Crispy Buntot

This article has been delayed for almost 2 weeks now.... But friends, the long wait is over.

Hah! I knew we would be back to this place and this time, that Tuna delicacy will not escape our salivating mouths. Order what you want, this one is OURS! bwahahaha!

It was a feast as usual as the whole family was there to take lunch. Orders of grilled chicken, kare-kare, gising-gising and crispy pata were common. The waitress confirmed that the BIG ONE is available to my delight.

Here's a tip when you order this dish: Make sure to have it sliced open so that the meat gets fried all the way down, unless you prefer medium rare. This ain't a fine dining resto, dudes. :)

Also, request for additional calamansi and some chili. Oh my.... this is going to be sweet! I mean spicy! hehehe

Here's my take: As expected, the dish is superb as the deep fried Tuna tail for me is a perfect fit for lunch. Add some gising-gising or chop suey to your menu and you have a feast. The crunchy skin is tasty but should some part of it lose its crispiness, I suggest that you dunk in down that chili-toyo-mansi condiment. Uhmmm... hmmmm! Oh, make sure that you wash it down with buko juice or pineapple if you ordered one.

Heaven... But don't take my word for it. Try it. :)

At Ikabud Clark...

It was another Sunday lunch out, this time together with my wife, son and in-laws. After the mass, we headed directly to SM Clark to fill our empty and now rumbling stomachs with gustatory gusto. Watta word, huh?

We agreed that we should head to Ikabud to have a taste of the supposed Kapampangan cooking. It's not the cooking style we are after but the taste. My mind was already developing this illusion and smell of the "Piniritong Buntot ng Tuna"(we had previously tried this delicacy and it was soooo darn good if you are into Seafoods).

Unfortunately since the demand is sooo high, the dish was no longer available for ordering. Too bad, it should have been the centerpiece of today's blog if I had the chance to taste it again.

Well, we have to move on..... here's what we had and my thoughts on them....

Let's start with the Kare-Kare: It tasted good, particularly the peanut sauce. The vegetables were cooked right and complimented the texture and flavor of the peanut sauce. Noticed that I praised the peanut sauce? hehehe... well that was the good part. The not so good part is the meat serving. It was mostly pigskin and fat, and to be honest I was disappointed as I was looking for proteins... hehehe. The bagoong (shrimp paste) that came with it was also good. I just made sure the sauce was scrapped to the last drop.


Next is the Sizzling Chicken Sisig. Now, the term Sisig is synonymous to Kapampangan as Buko pie is to Laguna. There's a Sisig Festival in Angeles City which happens sometime during the holidays or during that quarter if I'm not mistaken. There are a lot of flavors and ingredients to choose from, but for this place and this day we opted the Chicken variation. Here's a tip: make sure that you mix the chili and the calamansi evenly on your dish and eat while it's still hot. It was, well.... it tasted plain for me. The chunks are a bit bigger than usual. Maybe you need to check it out.


Last in our menu is the Gising-Gising. It's like Chop Suey but has prawns instead of shrimps and slices of squid and scallops, all loaded in a Sizzling plate. It has lots of green chilis too so for those who are not fond of spicy foods, watch out for the chilis. After tasting it, I would recommend the same dish in Mr. Frosty's instead (there's one at SM Clark too) and you would be happy with the bigger serving. hehehe


Well, if you ask how's the overall eating experience.... Since the dish I was looking for was not available, plus the meat in the Kare-kare made me frown.... I indulged myself with a tall Mocha Frappe at the nearby Starbucks outlet. That's where I cooled down. hehehehe

A Sunday Lunch at SM Pampanga Foodcourt

Here we go.... as any normal catholic citizen would, after the Sunday mass, people would go to the malls or drop by fastfood centers. We opted to go to SM Pampanga to buy school shoes for the kids, among other things. What a way to charge up.... have a good meal which so much choices! Well, we picked up the Foodcourt and I was craving for a Sizzling Plate.

Before we went to the 2nd floor, we bought some California Maki from Tokyo Tokyo.

We ordered: Sizzling Porkchop, a meal with chuckwagon steak (burger) and chicken (I forgot the name) and surprisingly "Sizzling Kangkong". I grinned at my wife when I saw what was on our table. Here's what it all tasted like....

With the Sizzling Porkchop, it was a no-brainer. It was an easy satisfaction that would rival the Porterhouse or T-bone Steak. I mean the taste was its grilled best. And the gravy used complemented the yellow rice (it that StarRice? LOL!) and the buttered veggies. Nice....


Now the burger thingy with the chicken... Hmmm.... Errr... Ummm.... the burger seemed salty and it's not the gravy. I tasted the gravy separately that's why I know. It's with the burger mix. The chicken was somewhat dried due to overcooking and the side veggies was, forgive me for being true to my tongue, not good. Period. It tasted like it was prepared early morning and smelled that way too. huhuhuhu


So I turned my attention to the Sizzling Kangkong, and to my surprise, it was darn GOOD. It saved my usually remorseful taste buds from condemning the place. Heck, it was just a simple dish, right? But there is some sense of sweetness to the dish and the garlic bits were just right if not perfect. I ended up eating the whole dish.


With the full meal done, I was feeling okay and ready to go jogging, I mean shopping. Wait, there's still the Maki at the table. My wife was just finishing her plate and was ready to grab one. I had the first crack at the Japanese dish and..... .... .... .... ....


What happened to the Maki? Worse, is this Maki?

Sad to say, the usual sophisticated taste and feel of the dish went down. First, the rice lost its usual stickiness. The grains seem long and hard. I just hope this is not NFA rice for crying out load. When we usually eat Maki the rice is somewhat round and soft. Then the fish was like half it's usual serving and it appeared that the mango filing was used as an extender or trade off of some sort. Another knockdown, the Wasabi included in the box was like 2 pea sizes. It was weird, and I just thought that if the reason behind the drop in quality was the price, there should have been a disclaimer at the counter. We were robbed, if I may say.

And then I looked at the Kangkong plate and found two stems left. My wife smiled and knew what was on my mind.... If I were to wash down my taste bud revolt, I need to satisfy them. Slurp! Hmmm... yum.... oookay.... let's get going!

Toll House Nostalgia

Just last Saturday, my wife and I had a chance to drop by a known diner within Angeles City. Toll House was as I have remembered it as it has been almost a year since I last ate there.

We noticed that most of the waiters and waitresses are new, I told my wife that probably most of the originals may have already applied and found jobs abroad like in Canada and Dubai, where the food and dining industry is flourishing.

Nevertheless the ambience was the same and I noticed that since these servers are new, they are somewhat faster and more customer oriented (particularly with the requests e.g. toyo-mansi, pitcher of water, etc.).

Anyway, I again dared the challenge and ordered what I know as their specials. I ordered Baked Macaroni and my wife took the Fried Chicken Fillet. We noticed that the service was fast. Nice! Now the food.

Let's start with my order.... Baked Macaroni....


Uh huh.... Hmmmm.... Ummm... Yep! It tastes just as good as before. The cheese cream that rests on top of the macaroni was its usual buttermilk taste. Plus the meat sauce's still has its sweet and added mild tang to complement the small chunks of meat. The macaroni was cooked to my palatable favor. I would say it was "Delectable". Imagine finishing the whole serving just before you have your first sip of iced tea. Aaaaahhh....

Now for the Fried Chicken Fillet meal.... the most obvious thing about it is that the serving size gotten smaller. The chicken fillet... the rice.... no coleslaw!... and sniff.... the macaroni side dish was like two teaspoonful serving. LOL!


The crispiness and texture of the chicken was there (even with the small serving size). But the gravy seemed to be a little more salty than usual. The rice serving was lesser, and I was joking that either the one who prepared the meal overlooked it or the place was also affected with the rice shortage. hehehe. Nevertheless, the meal was still tasty and my wife was even able to finish her plate (that's a complement).

Maybe next time we drop by we'll also try on their other available meals. And oh, don't forget to buy the cupcakes!

Have you tried Kalamay Duman?

After an afternoon powernap, I urged my wife to drop by Susie's Delicacies as I was suddenly craving for pancit palabok. We got up and the kids and drove down to Dau to get a merienda munch.

Actually, what was on my mind was not just to eat palabok but to again have a taste of the new "Kalamay Duman". We went to the original Susie's store in Angeles and found out about it. However the first time I tasted it, to be honest, I was a bit disappointed. Thinking that it might be caused by the kalamay being a new trest, I vowed that I would have a repeat to validate my gustatory theory....


I knew the smell especially the taste of the special green rice since I grew up having it as an afternoon treat. Well not that frequent, but at least I could still recall every flavor. I remember my grandma would buy 2 servings of duman from peddlers within the Holy Rosary Church compound after mass. So that experience I used to test Susie's experiment...

Alas, it confirmed my initial theory. It was sad to admit that the flavor of the green rice was lost. That particular aroma and taste, it was not there! After repeated tasting and scavenging the delicacy, I think I found the reason why....




The kalamay was probably mixed with heavy coconut milk and the oil of the "Latik" (fried coconut milk) was just too much and overpowered the delicate aroma and flavor of the duman. It was in fact "Kalamay" and intended to be that way. Not special.


I hope someone out there could use this observation to create a unique recipe that would allow the Duman to shine. If so, I definitely would like to try it. I'd give you my honest to goodness feedback for free. Deal?

So in the end, I just savored the palabok to ease my dissatisfaction... hmmmm nice chicaron chunks. hehehe

I had my fill for the day.....

A sip at Seattle's Best

Had an opportunity to grab some coffee prior to my trip back home after a gruelling night shift at PBComm1. I had enough burgers and sandwiches and I urged my boss to drop by Seattle's Best to try out their coffee. To be honest, this is my first time to taste one of their concoction and it swirled this idea of logging it in my blog after wards.

I ordered a Javanilla milkshake and a corned beef pandesal to satisfy my breakfast needs. Poured in some cinnamon and nutmeg (i like adding those to my coffee, be it hot or cold) and stirred the cream down to smoothen the mixture.

The pandesal was okay. I just wished that there really was corned beef in there as there was hardly any. I guess that was the price to pay to eat in Makati's busy district. Either that or I got used to me helping myself with a good serving. Hehehe

Now the milkshake: First sip... Second.... 3rd.... 4th... Yup, consistent taste... coffee was there... However, I was looking for a defining words to give justice to the coffee and only found "tastes like Starbucks". I know, I know.... fanatics might word me down on this, but I am entitled to my own opinion especially if it comes from my senses, right? Sorry, but that came immediately on my mind after multiple sips. I was trying to find a different taste and was disappointed to have found none.

What was great though is that the WiFi connection was free. After finishing my weak pandesal, I enjoyed sipping my iced coffee while browsing the net. Too I wasn't able to log to blogger immediately as my service came. It would have been a real time treat to read this comment after finishing my drink.

Price for the Javanilla drink was P145 and the darn pandesal was P60. Might be good for you. But once I get back home, I'll just enjoy my Mocha Frappe and Donut from Starbucks. I could save around P10-20 with the same level of pleasure. Hehehehe

taste test.... taste test...

Hi! Are you hungry? Did you eat already? Well I was about 30 minutes ago and had a decent meal at our canteen. It was nothing grand nor to salivate for.

It was plain old canteen food. Heck, with 40 bucks in my pocket and the rising cost of transportation, I would keep my usual "critique-al" taste buds from complaining. Huhuhuhu.... Still a few more days before pay day so I could again be on a food trip.

Anyway, I started this blog after seeing some on the Internet and thought, "Hey, I could also do that!" And with a knack for munching and savoring the different flavors, aroma and texture.... heck, someday I can be like Jeffrey Steingarten of the Iron Chef fame. Darn, I envy him for tasting good food for free and even get paid for it.

Oh well, in my world... I'll feed you with my thoughts and my reactions to the different delicacies available.... whatever that I choose.... "straight to the smucker" feedback.

hehe.... grumble..... grumble....