Bistro Filipino

May 8, 2007. It was the birthday of Randy and Rodney who both turned 29 at the same time! Is it also coincidence that they both really look alike? Oh ya, they're twins. Hehehe... Anyway, our youngest brothers decided to hold their on-the-day celeb at Chef Laudico's Bistro Filipino in Taguig. I've long been wanting to try Chef Laudico's creations and that night was my chance.

I believe Rod and Zhar were in charge for that night and so they decided on the 6 Course Tasting Menu consisting of 12 dishes. For someone who's a first timer there, this is the way to go, although I must say, it is quite HEAVY on the wallet and a tad LIGHT on the stomach. As the heading suggests, it was a 'tasting menu'. As such, we had bits and samplers of different dishes. Below was our menu:

Trio of Appetizers: Crispy Lumpia Cone filled with chorizo, prawns and heart of palm topped with spicy sinamak sorbet; Romaine Lettuce stuffed with Rice Noodles and Smoked Milk Fish topped with Crispy Shrimp, Calamari and Palabok Sauce; Grilled Pork Liempo and Silken Tofu wrapped in Crispy Rice Paper with Spicy Garlic Vinegar Soy Glaze and Caramelized Shallots.

Soup Shooters: Free Range Chicken broth simmered in Ginger and Coconut Juice Garnished with Chicken Ravioli, Chili Leaves and Coconut Meat; Beef Nilaga Consomme garnish with Fresh Corn, Carrots and Potato Croquette stuffed with Beef and Cabbage; Adobo Shitake Mushroom Capuccino drizzled with White Truffle Oil garnished with Garlic Chips (this one's my favorite among ALL the samplers!)

Salad: Crispy Adobo Pigeon served on Warm Alugbati and Kamote Greens tossed in Balsamic Adobo Vinaigrette on Garlic Mushrooms

Fish Course: Oven Baked Chilean Sea Bass served on Lukban Noodles in Local Sea Urchin Roe with Asparagus Saute (this one's my second fave dish although the chilean sea bass they served tasted more like the alaskan codfish or the imported gindara)

Meat Course: Slow Braised Lamb Shank in Kaldereta Porcini Sauce on Roasted Capsicum stuffed with Potato and Carrot Puree; Grilled Calamansi and Pepper Spiced US Angus Rib Eye Steak with Grilled Onions served with Corn and Vegetable Saute

Dessert Sampler: Suman and Coconut Panna Cotta Cake drizzled with Latik Glaze garnished with Torched Fresh Mango; Slow Baked Tsokolate-eh in Celadon Tea Cup topped with Almond Cream; Halo-halo Shooter in Fresh Carabao Cream.

If there's one thing Bistro Filipino does not fail to do, it is to give its guests a unique dining experience. The interiors done by Chef Laudico's mother herself, are tasteful and make for good table topics. The dishes sound very intimidating but underneath it are some of our favorite comfort food like sisig, adobo, halo halo, so once you get a bite of it, there's something settling, something familiar. I must say, considering the price and the portions, one should go there with a tummy that's not entirely empty, but with eyes, nose and palate open to unique presentation, aroma and taste.

After dinner, we greeted the twins who blew the candles on the strawberry shortcake which Zhar ordered and from which we partook of thereafter.

Happy Birthday Randy and Rodney! Here's to lots of loving from your respective partners, now that you've found them! Here's to more blessings for you together and individually. Here's to a unique bond that you alone share as twins! May that bond never be broken despite time, space and distance. We love you both!!!

Chef Laudico's Bistro Filipino
Ground Floor, Net2 Building, 3rd Avenue,
Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
8560634; 8560541; 0917800CHEF
www.cheflaudico.com.ph

P1,500 per person plus 10% service charge for the Tasting Menu

Dampa sa DM

Dampa Alley

April 29, 2007. During one of those nights when one of our brotherhood or sisterhood felt like eating, someone suggested Dampa. I think it was Rondic and Rodney who did the inviting so with a family that never says no to eating invitations, we all braved the distance from Quezon City to Diosdado Macapagal Avenue to go to the dampa. As such, we had to leave early and various cell phone calls were made to one vehicle to another to make sure none of us lost our way.

our 'boy' or shopping assistant

So, finally we arrive at the dampa, or wet market and chose Master Cook of Hong Kong as our dining place. The procedure in dampa is to choose a restaurant. From there, they'll ask a 'boy' or a helper to bring you to the wet market where you're supposed to buy your main ingredients for your meal. He brings with him a pail where you dump all the stuff you've bought for cooking at the resto. The marketing is the most exciting part. The wet market is relatively clean and odorless.

sea grapes or 'lato' as we call it in Cebu
great with vinegar, tomato, ginger, onion and salt

mussels or 'tahong'
yummy baked with butter, cheese, mayo and garlic
cousin Val has a delish recipe for this!

aphrodisiacs abound in dampa... hehehe....

It is fun to see all the seafood available. Walking deeper will get you to the meat department and then the fruits area. I just am not quite sure if the prices here are cheaper than in Farmer's or in other wet markets. I do know for a fact that some stall owners here supply oysters and other fresh seafood to restaurants and houses. But it's already with 'patong' because they are also just the middle men. Oysters, for instance, come from Capiz.

not exactly alive, but fresh, nonetheless

mini lobsters - catch for the day
now these are live!!!

After choosing our fresh and live ingredients, these are brought to the receiving area of the restaurant where they check what you've marketed and tell them how you want to have it cooked/prepared. Then, it's waiting time til they serve the food.

All in all, I wasn't very impressed with the way Master Cook cooked our food. I was happy with the giant shrimp (more like prawns!) tempura but all the rest were nothing great. We had crabs, oyster cake, fish sinigang (wrong choice of fish, though), steamed shrimps (oh, this was good also!), fried rice, liempo, among others.

Whether or not the dampa was worth the long ride depends on what mood I'm in. Being a shallow person who enjoys trips to the market, I'd still go back and would even bring guests there if only for the experience and the fun of actually doing the marketing myself. We just need to look for a better restaurant the next time around.

Damage: If I remember correctly, we spent around P14k for the ingredients and the cooking. Not bad considering we were 21 adults and 10 kids!

Happy Birthday, Japa!!!

April 26, 2007. For Japa's 3-th birthday, he invited the family to Coral Garden. When he texted, I was pretty excited since although we don't frequent Coral Garden as much as we do Omakase, it is still one of those restaurants where you're assured of well-prepared home-cooked Chinese food and therefore, a full and satisfied tummy afterwards.

Originally located in Banawe, "Asia's Kitchen Goddess since 1978", opened a branch in Libis to serve their growing market. Their menu is good for dine-in, take out, delivery or can be served in a party platter. That night, Japa ordered from their a la carte menu.

Dizons and Gavinos eating heartily at CG's dishes

I would personally go back for their almond jelly drink - white almond-flavored diced jelly with syrup and crushed ice. Yummy! When our families arrived, the dishes started coming in! Fiesta time!!!

Coral Crab, Steamed Fresh Garoupa,
Grean, Leafy Kangkong and Smokin' Sizzling Spare ribs

We had sweet corn with crab meat soup, crab fooyong - a favorite of Boydee-we had to call for seconds and thirds, yang chow fried rice, salted fish fried rice, steamed lapu lapu taiwan style, crab a la coral - crab cooked in wine and its own crab fat, kangkong with garlic and Coral bihon - crispy bihon with seafood sauce on the side.

All made up for one hearty birthday blow-out dinner courtesy of our lovable, endearing, funny, witty, fitness and health-conscious brother, Japa. :)

Happy, happy birthday Japs! We love you!!!

Coral Garden
184-B E. Rodriguez, Jr. (aka C5)
Bagumbayan, Quezon City
(between Starbucks and BMW)
Tel: 636-3781
Open: 11:30AM-11:00PM Daily

96 Banawe Street,
Quezon City
(in front of Children's Memorial Hospital)
Tel: 712-1078 or 711-0255
Open: 10:30AM - 10:00PM Daily

Total Bill: Damage to Japa's wallet :)

Hello and Goodbye

April 15, 2007. Mommy Shalene had just arrived from the States, I think, and Bric and I were off to Cebu the next day. So, it was Hello to Mom and Goodbye to me. Actually, that was just our family's excuse to prepare something more special than the usual Melinda cooking. Hehehe...

So, our chefs in the family showed off their talents and we had an impromptu 'sosy' dinner.

Chilean seabass on a bed of mushroom risotto

Rondic prepared the mushroom risotto. The rice seemed overcooked that's why it was a tad too sticky but the taste was oh so delish! The thing with risotto though is it's just so filling. Just a little already leaves your tummy feeling heavy. Still, I carbo-loaded because of this!

The Chilean sea bass was oven roasted with bacon and diced walnuts. Or was it? Hmmm... I can't seem to remember. Seasoned by Rod and Zhar, it was good but unevenly cooked because of our oven. Some of the fillets were also tasting of freezer burn because it had been there since last January. Imagine four months! :) Hehehe....

Zharmagne cooked a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb

The roasted lamb rack was prepared by Zhar. All that was missing was the mint jelly sauce. Otherwise, it was yummy as I remembered it.

Slow turbo cooked iberian chicken by Melinda

Not to be outdone was our cook, Melinda, with her version of Iberian Chicken. Turbo cooked slowly and seasoned with herbs and spices, a bite of the chicken gives you that rich, aromatic taste but leaves you feeling guilty because, typical of Melinda's cooking, so much oil was used to cook it. Still, a little of everything is good. ;-)

Robyn: Daddy, can I have a bite?

The meal was complemented with Cabernet Sauvignon, and capped off with chocolate chip cookie a la mode.

A toast to our chefs Rondic and Zhar!

Mmmmm... what a way to welcome our beloved Mother! Hmmm... til the next 'welcome party'!

Seven Smiles at Seven Corners

For two days within a span of 3 days, we had lunch at 7 Corners, Crowne Suites' buffet outlet. For someone desperately trying to lose weight, this wasn't a good idea. But how can one POSSIBLY say NO to a tempting buffet lunch featuring Japanese, Chinese, continental, Italian and Indian cuisine plus a salad and dessert smorgasbord?!? Certainly not me!!! So when Dad invited us for lunch on a Friday, and when it was decided that we have lunch there after our photo shoot on that Sunday, who was I to say No, really!?!

Here are my 7 reasons to smile about in 7 Corners:
1. Location and Size - Strategically and conveniently located near our office in Galleria Corporate Center, 7 Corners can easily be reached simply by crossing through GCC to Robinson's Galleria Mall and straight into the entrance of Crowne and Holiday Inn Hotels. It involves just a few minutes' walk indoors, meaning all air-conditioned, from building to the next without going out or crossing streets!
The size of the place is just right; big enough for comfortable movement, small enough to see the whole buffet spread and enjoy it. It isn't a scattered affair where you have to walk around in different areas and look for what else is available. At 7 Corners, it's all in one straight line with just the Italian station a little separated from the rest. At 7 Corners, you just do what you intend to do... and that is to enjoy the buffet! No beating around the bush.

2. The Japanese station - For Boydee, it might be the overflowing uni (sea urchin) available upon request but for me, it is the temaki (hand rolls). All you have to do is ask the chef and he'll prepare one for you right away. The California Temaki was just perfect! Japanese rice cooked just right, not dry nor soggy; mangoes so sweet! Ahh.. I am craving for one now!!! And the best part is you can eat all you want!!! There are other Japanese faves: salmon and tuna sashimi, different makis, miso soup and the chawanmushi (steamed egg custard).

shiny, happy wasabi faces!

3. Rib Eye Steak!!! If ever there was ANYTHING that brought Daddy, Ate Rona and Elizza back, it was the steak! We found ourselves in 7 Corners during the Lenten season when Ate and Lai gave up meat, so they were literally salivating over Daddy's and my slice when we were eating. They swore they'd come back for it after Easter... and we really did!!!

steak, steak and nothing but steak on their plates!

Before the appetizers, or the soup, or the salad, they had S-T-E-A-K! The rib eye was juicy, tender and seasoned just right so as to give you the perfect beef taste. The slab is roasted rare and then you can have it sliced to the thickness you want and grilled to the degree of your liking.

the rib eye is calling you....

Up to now, Daddy still wants to go back for more!

4. Priority Privilege Card - Although it still comes out a little pricey per head (it's P950+++/head for lunch), it helps to have the priority privilege card. If you're two, you'll enjoy a 50% discount. You can not use many cards for one table, so you can ask them to put you in two tables if you're four so you can get 2 free off each time. Also, you can't use the main and supplementary card at the same time.

5. Rock lobster or the 'curacha' - In the cold appetizers station, they usually have bounties from the sea - prawns, curacha (rock lobster), oysters and blue crabs (alimasag or lambay). My hubby usually pounces on the curacha when available and have them grilled at the grilling station. The lobsters weren't available when we had lunch there. Maybe they put them out during the dinner buffet? I'm not sure.

Prawns cocktail!!!

6. Chinese station - I love their noodles. The clear chicken broth isn't too seasoned so that you don't get an overwhelming dose when you sip. (Some may find it bland though.) The ingredients are fresh and there's enough noodle variety. You can opt for noodle soup or sauteed noodles. Aside from that, they have peking duck and suckling pig (although it's more Filipino flavored for me, with Mang Tomas sauce to boot! So maybe it's lechon de leche! haha), hainanese chicken and soya chicken. Their siomai and hakao are not as good as in Xin Tian Di, their Chinese food outlet.

Various Ingredients for your noodles

7. Service and ambience - Ok, so they might not have the fastest service but their staff are quite accommodating. They are well-groomed, courteous and very helpful, from the waiters and waitresses to the 'chefs' in the action stations. So, hurray for that! It makes our dining experience so much more relaxing.

Replenishing the Cold Appetizers Spread

While there are reasons to smile, there are things I'm not too crazy about in 7 corners also. Among these are:
1. Salad Bar - There isn't much variety to the lettuce that they serve. The dressings, although aplenty, didn't taste as good. There were also no labels for the dressings so it was hard to choose which was which. I tried this fruity dressing and their balsamic vinaigrette, both of which didn't really appeal to my taste.

2. Italian station - I love the concept of making your own pizza, and the approximately 5-inch diameter dough is sized just right! But I wasn't able to finish the 3 cheese pizza I requested because for some odd reason, the cook added pesto before putting the cheese. It had a spicy and unpleasant after taste to it. Rogan ordered much the same thing and he didn't finish his either because of the pesto, which we didn't ask to be included at all!!! This was disappointing!

2. Ice Cream and Dessert Station - Very colorful and appealing, it's visually pleasing but not as palatable as it looks with the exception of the creme brulee, and the chocolate and strawberry home made ice cream (Ate Rona's yummy combination). The rest of the ice cream flavors didn't really register very well with me. Perhaps I'm a Magnolia/Nestle ice cream girl. Nevertheless, their teppanyaki ice cream concept (think cold rock/cold stone) was a hit with the kids!

Colorful goodies for the chocolate fountain!

Overall, 7 Corners makes for a satisfying dining experience. Some might compare the spread with other hotels and consider it 'smaller' but for me, it's a good sized spread with all my favorites being represented. There is still room for improvement but this is a restaurant I can go back to over and over again.


7 Corners
3rd Level
Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila
Ortigas Ave., cor Asian Development Bank Ave. QC
6337222

Buffet Price per head:
Lunch - P1,175.63
Dinner - P1,361.25

In-yo, Amo

The inviting facade of in-yo

Thursday nights are date nights for me and my hubz. We set a rule when we got married to always have a night just to ourselves. That way, we'll always have an "us" time. Last Thursday was no exception. We chose to finally try In-yo, an old house turned restaurant serving fusion cuisine. This place was recommended by Jocelle Pascual, good friend and business partner in PEP. Check out their blog that's managed by hubby Joel.

Since Joel and Jocelle work near In-yo, we invited them to join us. It was an instant double date. While I was busy taking pictures, Joel, Jocelle and Boydee were updating each other about the upcoming Wofex in Visayas focusing on Food Processing and Packaging Technology which will be held in Cebu, my hometown!, on April 18-21, 2007 in the Cebu International Convention Center.

A single water lily centerpiece for every table

There were a lot of things that kept me preoccupied while waiting for our orders to arrive. The green waterlily centerpiece reminded me of Mommy Nonie who loves waterlilies. The table utilized an old sewing machine as its body/legs giving the place a rustic feel.

Singer sewing machine-turned-dining table

Outside, the facade was decorated with what looked to me like the vines coming from an old rubber tree. A koi fish pond is right at the entrance making one feel more relaxed. I climbed the 2nd floor too where they had a table for 12. The small room was adorned with modern paintings while the stair case was accented with 'treasures' of our country's past. The mix of old and new made the place cozy and eclectic. I also read the newspaper write ups that hung on the wall going to their clean rest room. I especially loved the hanging capiz shells 'curtain'.

After roaming around, our orders came little by little. First up was the oyster rockefeller. This seemed like a popular order since the other table had that too. The oysters were kinda small so they added some more pieces into the shell. Flavors were just right. This was good!

Rock, rock, rock, rockefeller!

Next came the pasta alle vongole using linguini pasta and manila clams. On the first bite, it didn't quite register well to the palate. But on the 3rd and 4th slurp, it got better and better. The clams particularly tasted really flavorful without the 'sandy' smell that usually come with the bigger-sized clams.

I had my pumpkin soup brought in. Served in a white coffee cup with two large croutons as toppers, it looked good but wasn't what I expected. The ginger overpowered the taste of the pumpkin. You can hardly taste the pumpkin at all. I yearned for Zhar's pumpkin soup. Hmmm... Next dish please!

Our main courses starting arriving one by one. It was a feast for the eyes. The chef really gave careful attention to the food presentation. Each dish had its own style. They looked like works of art. So did they taste good as well as they looked? It varied per dish.

Chicken on a stick... of lemon grass, that is!

The broiled coconut lime chicken was a cross of Vietnamese (because of the lemongrass) and Singaporean/Malaysian cooking. This to me was the dish which you can eat and not be guilty about in terms of calories gained. It was broiled and used white meat. Not much oil and not much fat and the serving size is just right. The rice I didn't finish. I was too busy with the chicken. Besides for me, it stood well on its own without the rice since the flavors were not too strong. The rice would've just diluted it.

Doesn't the cute sunny side up look sooo appealing?

The beef salpicao I didn't get to taste. I was too embarrassed to ask Joel. Hehe... But I do love the quail egg (or was that just a really, really small egg?) they put on top of the rice! Judging from the clean plate after, I guess it must have been good, too.

Grilled US Top Blade

My husband got two dishes. The grilled US top blade and the duck leg confit. The steak was tender enough but not beefy enough, meaning the taste of beef wasn't too distinct. Maybe it was the cut, or the seasoning, I don't know. The black mushroom, and the cucumber-eggplant-tomato 'pile' was grilled and seasoned with what tasted like balsamic vinegar reduction. Again, on its own, the sidings were delish but mixed with the steak, didn't produce a very good combination since the sauce got sipped in to the steak. Perhaps a milder and simpler siding would have worked.

Top view of the duck confit

As for the duck confit, well, I prefer my duck confit more 'preserved', drier (including the fat), crispier and saltier. The duck confit here tasted more like roasted duck. Its fat was just oozing with oil. It should be okay as a duck dish; but as a duck confit dish, well, it doesn't quite hit the spot.

Trio of creme brulee

We capped the meal with trio of creme brulee and strawberry surprise. The latter I didn't get to taste since I was already reserving my taste buds for the creme brulee. The creme brulee came in three flavors-classic, coffee and chocolate. The first two I loved; the chocolate was so so. The texture of all three custards was wet and soggy, not jelly like. I wished they were slightly firmer.

In-yo is a cozy and a novel place to entertain friends and acquaintances. The food presentation is exceptional and even if there were some dishes that weren't quite what I expected (perhaps my expectations were high because they just looked too darn good!), it is still a place I'd bring my Mommy to when she comes to visit me from Cebu. For the ambience, the quality of the food, its serving size and for the whole dining experience, the prices are fairly reasonable.

Inyo is fine-dining fusion cuisine minus the snobbish and intimidating factor so identified with that genre. It is inviting and appealing. It is a restaurant that is inyo (yours in Cebuano) which we'd gladly call amo (ours in Cebuano).

in-yo fusion cuisine
66 Esteban Abada Street
Loyola Heights, QC
#s: 9286459; 0927-8742611
in_yo06@yahoo.com

Total bill: P3,330.60 with VAT and SC
Head Count: 4 adults

Triple Treat

Last Tuesday, after I watched the concert of Hail Mary the Queen Children's Choir in the Trinity College Chapel, I went to meet up with Elizza and Zhar in Silk, a Thai restaurant in Serendra, in the Fort. Our respective partners were attending the GMM of Manila Jaycees. So that left us girls free for the night. Missing were Japa and Ate who that day gobbled up buckets of popcorn while watching three movies in La Vista in celebration of Raegan's (their sweet eldest daughter) 9th birthday, so had to pass.

I ate the left overs of Lai and Zhar. That meant 3 spoonfuls of Pad Thai, perhaps half a cup of minced chicken and, although there was perhaps worth a bowl and a half of Tom Yam soup, I just took in a sip and 2 shrimps of it because it was too spicy for me. It was quite a sampler. Based on what I've tasted, it deserves a second visit; and a more thorough one, meaning let's try more dishes please! Hehehe... Well, that's what I get for being late. Besides, I had already eaten spaghetti at home. Thanks Lai for my second dinner. :)

After Silk, we scouted for a dessert place in that area since their two boylets were about to join us. My Boydee had to stay a while longer in the GMM since he was seated at the presidential table and couldn't escape just yet. Sigh, the price of seniority! When Rondic and Rod had arrived, the girls proceeded to give and hug their respective loves, while I had to content myself with blowing kisses in the air and hugging an imaginary person. Anyway, we settled for Miss Dessert, this pink girly-girl looking dessert place still within the confines of Serendra specializing in cheesecakes.

We found ourselves a table for 5 in the air-conditioned area and ordered Earthquake, a gooey chocolate layered cake, according to the waiter, and Fantasia, choco cheesecake with toffee flavor and nuts. Both were good although not something I'd daydream about.

You can't just eat one bite of Sonja's Cupcakes

Not content with the dessert fare, Rod offered to buy us Sonja's Cupcakes next door. He got Berries something and Red Velvet Vixen. I loved the Red Vixen. Lai preferred the berries cupcake (name totally escapes me). I really wasn't expecting much since I thought they were pretty expensive for just a mere cupcake. But when I took a bite, I couldn't stop myself from getting another... and another... until I finished the red vixen. You can feel its sweetness in your mouth and your nose. Yup, it smelled good and it looked good!!! Now, I understood what all the fuss about Sonja's cupcakes was all about. I should schedule another exploration here!

My hubby had arrived when we attacked the cupcakes. He ordered the Macadamia cheesecake from Ms. Dessert. This one was better than the first two orders we placed. I cut a small piece and put it in my mouth. No need to bite; this one I can squish with my tongue and relish its rich, creamy macadamia flavor!

In between sips of chamomile tea, Zhar and Rod stepped out to greet a friend. When they came back, she brought this brown and orange paper cup - Xocolat, it says. It was bitter sweet cold chocolate balls. She took bites and bites of those balls. I tried half a ball. It wasn't great, but I am not really a fan of chocolate that's too strong and frozen. I have to say the packaging is attractive though!

Xocolat's Elixir gamely endorsed by Zhar and Lai

So there we were, three couples enjoying dessert from three different places. It was a calm, relaxing Tuesday evening of sweets and sweetness. Til the next food trip guys!!! Hopefully, next time, Ate Rona and Japa, Randy and Stella can join in the fun!

Ms. Dessert
Sonja's Cupcakes
Xocolat
All at Serendra
The Fort, Taguig, Metro Manila
Will research on their numbers

Total Bill: Don't know... didn't pay for it and forgot to take a peek at the bill
Head count: 3 couples so that makes 6