Happy Meal

Best meal I've had in a while.

For Sunday lunch, Lem, the kids and I went to Wok at The Avenue Square on Magsaysay Avenue.

Wok is a Chinese restaurant and has been around for a long time now. They serve really delish authentic Chinese cuisine.

Lunch consisted of Crab and Corn Soup (approved by Tami), Chicken with Honey (served on a nest of crispy noodles), Sweet and Sour Pork (Enzo's choice), and (Lem's fave veggie) Broccoli with lotsa shrimp! Yum-mee.

The food was good but what made things better were the people I was with. They were such great meal companions. Being with them was sheer pleasure. =D

Thanks to my uber gwapo lunch dates, Lem, Enz, and Tam.

Ain't I the lucky one? ;-)

Comfort Food

Sweets with my sweet. ;-)

Black Forest Freddoccino, Mocha Freddoccino, and sinfully decadent Chocolate Decadent Cake
*Mocha Blends at The West Park, Magsaysay Avenue

¡La Quesadilla!

This snack is very easy to prepare and is both yummy and filling.

Spread about 5 spoonsful of bottled salsa

On one piece of tortilla

Sprinkle generously with cheese (cheddar, mozzarella or both!)

Top with another piece of tortilla

Toast over a non-stick pan.

Slice into bite-size pieces with a pizza cutter or knife.

Comemos, amigos.

Sake Time at the Metro

I first learned about Tokyo Tokyo Metro in one of the issues of Yummy Magazine. After telling Lem about it, we decided that we would check the place out once we have the opportunity. Months passed and we heard opportunity zealously knocking at the door.

Since it has been a while since I've read about the article, we kinda forgot (SOA) whether Tokyo Tokyo Metro is located at Glorietta 5 or Greenbelt 5. Lem said that chances are, it's located at Greenbelt 5 since that is where most high-end restos are located. I told him that Tokyo Tokyo Metro is not exactly what one would consider as a high-end resto. The article on Yummy would have mentioned that. We decided to ask one of the persons manning the concierge desk at Glorietta. She said that all she knew was there is, indeed, a Tokyo Tokyo at G5. She wasn't sure, though whether it's the Metro version. Such a big help. =(

Filled with uncertainty, we walked, nonetheless, towards Glorietta 5. Once we reached the entrance, we rushed to the nearest directory and checked the listing for Tokyo Tokyo Metro. We were at the right place. *insert happy jig here*

Assorted Maki + Cold Sake = Japanese Bliss

We went to Tokyo Tokyo Metro for the Sake. The (relatively) new resto is a little different from the regular Tokyo Tokyo as it serves alcoholic beverages. It is patterned after the Japanese izakaya, a type of drinking establishment frequented by office people after a hard day's work. That is why, aside from sake, they also serve local and Japanese beer.

I have never had sake before. Hence, the excitement at finally being able to imbibe some. When our sake arrived, we stared at the bottle for a couple of seconds before hastily opening the bottle and promptly pouring ourselves a glassful each. *kampai!*

I am not a sake expert but I liked the taste of that particular bottle. It was easy on the nose and the throat, to say the least. =)

Of course, what is Japanese dining without a plateful of maki? We ordered an assortment of makis (is there a plural form?). There was, of course, California Maki, Tuna Maki and a coupla pieces of tuna sashimis. *insert again happy jig here*

Was that all we ordered? Nope. Bring in the bento box.

There were huge prawns, some cabbage salad, a piece each of kani sushi and egg sushi, miso soup and a bowlful of rice. It was good enough for 2 people! =)

After we were done with the meal, though, we realized that we still had a lot of sake left in the bottle. So, we decided to order more food! After perusing the menu, we decided to try the yakitori. They offer chicken, pork and beef. Of course, we wanted to try all three so, we ordered the sampler. I didn't get to try the pork yakitori but i did bite into the chicken and beef. They were soooo tender and grilled just right.

What did we have for dessert? 2 pieces of the fudgiest fudge brownies came with the bento box. It came with a dipping, ehrm, icing. The bittersweetness of the brownies complemented pretty well the delicate and fluffy icing that had a slight hint of coffee. =D

After polishing off our dessert, I stared longingly at the sidewalk outside. I was hankering to light up a stick and pollute my lungs.

2 thumbs up for Tokyo Tokyo Metro. We shall come back for the food and of course, the sake. =)

333 =)

Birthday Dinner (July 21)

This is sooooo long overdue...

I had every intention of posting this ASAP but for some reason...or a lot of reasons, I never got around to do that.

Anyways, for mother's and Enzo's joint birthday dinner, we decided to go to this quaint Italian inspired resto at Cereza on Magsaysay Ave.

Grissini Ristorante is tucked in the back of the group of restos and cafes at Cereza. It is warmly lit and looks really welcoming. It actually looks more like a trattoria than a ristorante. The sign says ristorante, though. So, ristorante it is! =D

After we were seated and (tried) to settle down, perused the menu, then gave our orders to the (uber patient) waiter. Waiting on us requires a lot of patience. Being a bunch of food lovers, we sometimes find it hard to decide on what to order.

Complimentary bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip

After much deliberation, these are what we decided to try:

Insalata Verde

Mixed greens (mostly lettuce, actually) with slices of onions, tomatoes, cheese shavings and drizzled with some vinaigrette.

Ravioli di Spinaci

Spinach Ravioli in Alfredo Sauce with Grated Parmesan Cheese. This is an okay dish 'cept that I think they forgot to drain the spinach. It's also a bit dry and bland. I still managed to polish it off, though. =D

Creamy Tuna Penne

Now, this we really loved! The pasta is cooked al dente. It was seasoned just right. Plus, unlike most dishes that involve fish, this doens't smell fishy at all. Tami really loved this and helped himself to seconds and thirds.

Roasted Pork with Baby Potatoes

 There wasn't really anything extraordinary about this dish..there was just a need to order a meat dish for Enzo.

Pizza di Quattro Formaggi

 I forgot what kinds of cheeses exactly were included in this pizza. Definitely, there's blue cheese and some parmesan. I don't know what the other two were. I forgot to ask. It doesn't matter, though. The pizza was va' bene! Molto bene, in fact! Tami had no qualms eating it, blue cheese and all.

Steamed Salmon with Basil Pesto

The very reason why we decided to dine at Gressini...mom wanted to eat this dish again...The fish was oh-so tender yet disappointingly under seasoned.

In all, it was a good dining experience.  

 

 

Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Currently Enzo's favorite, this pasta dish is very simple and easy to make. Even a kid could make this. Afterall, Enzo did! =)

The ingredients are very common and can be found in any pantry or grocery (if you don't have them yet).


Cook pasta of your choice according to package directions. The sauce is kinda thick so you might want to use pasta of "sturdier" make such as spaghetti, penne, farfalle rigatoni and the like. I used rotini (swirl) this time since the kids find the shape fun and interesting.

For the sauce, roughly chop 1 onion and saute in olive oil until it turns translucent. Add 2 cups of tomato sauce and season with salt and pepper. Add a teaspoon of dried basil and least 5 cloves of finely chopped garlic and let simmer until sauce reduces and slightly thickens. Add half a cup of grated cheddar cheese and stir thoroughly to avoid lumps. Continue stirring until cheese melts. You may use other relatively soft cheeses and even Parmesan cheese as well. Once cheese melts, gently pour in a cup of all-purpose cream. Stir continuously and allow the sauce to simmer but never let it boil. Combine with cooked pasta. Serve hot and with some warm, thick bread on the side. The bread is best for mopping the sauce from your plate. =)


Buon Appetito!

Fiesta Eats!

What's a fiesta without food?

Every year, mom endeavors to serve good food that our guests will love and appreciate. There are some tried, tested and popular dishes that she serves every year. Usually, though, since we have guests who come over every fiesta, she tries to change the menu every year and is careful not to serve the same dish over and over year.

Super Soft Pork Steak

Potato Salad

Pork Humba

Catfish in Hot and Spicy Coconut Cream Sauce

Crispy and Crunchy Breaded Chicken with Sweet Sauce

Australian Mixed Vegetables (that's what the recipe says, I swear!)

Spicy Hot Chicken Salpicao

La Piece de Resistance: Creamy Mango and Jelly (I couldn't get enough of this stuff)

Fruit, Wine and Beer!

Maki-Kain ng Kani Maki

Home-made maki by (self-proclaimed) Sushi Chef Enzo. He taught himself how to use chopsticks so he "could eat 'em properly." Kampai!

No Mas Amor Que el Tuyo

Part of the Parma Family tradition (the descendants of Jeremias and Felisa, that is) is to have a Sacred Heart image enthroned in every family's home. Every year, each family commemorates the enthronement by inviting extended family members to pray with them and partake in a small feast afterward.

Then again, that may be just another reason for the whole family to get together and spend an afternoon of good food, good wine and good conversation.

As I mentioned in my other post (I think :-D) these small get togethers are like dry runs for the granddaddy of all feasts...the Holy Week Celebration. Nonetheless, no matter the number of attendees or reason, every Parma Family get-together is always satisfying. Not just gastronomically but emotionally and spiritually as well. :-)

Auntie San's Chicken in Red Wine

Ola's Oh, Crispyness! Lumpiang Shanghai

Super Lagkit Biko, Binya, Binatinglahat

Uncle Padi's contribution: Cake and Retribution

Mom's Fruity Fruit Salad

Anti-Guilt Veggie Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing

Ehem

After the dining table was cleared, Auntie San got busy again to prepare the merienda...

Happy Birthday, Auntie Madre, Auntie Winnie, Mom, Enzo and Aggie!!! :-)

Spaghetti in Creamy Tuna Sauce (yum!)

The way spaghetti is meant to be eaten. ;-)

Southern Comfort

Good, ol' babyback ribs so juicy and tender, the meat's practically falling off the bones. I wanted to go the whole nine yards and roast the meat with hickory logs or some other aromatic wood. Alas! I don't have a roaster nor do we have any aromatic wood lying around. So, I had to content myself with cooking the meat ever so slowly. To complete the southern theme, mom boiled some corn on the cob and sauteed some marbled taters. Chilled peaches completed the whole meal. :-)

Weekend Foodfest: Korean Chicken

We're touring the world, one dish at a time. I told my mom that we could go Persian next weekend. There's this Persian cat that i saw...she left before I could finish my proposal.

Saluti!

To cap the weekend foodfest, we strayed away from Asia and turned to one of the oldest and best wine houses in the world, Asti Cinzano. Sis kinda ransacked pop's liquor stash in search for some toddy. She was grinning like a cheshire cat when she emerged from pop's room, triumphantly clutching a bottle of Asti Cinzano Spumante. Saluti!

Weekend Foodfest: The Chinese Connection

Bring out the chopsticks! We did Indian, we had Filipino, and the last cuisine served last Sunday was Chinese. Mom made some Bam-i, stir fried egg and glass noodles with veggies and meat toppings, and shrimp and pork SIOMAI!

Weekend Food Fest

Vos V brought some spices when he came back from India. I've been meaning to cook some Indian inspired dishes but it was only yesterday that I had the chance to use the spices.

I've never cooked masala before. Beef shawarma, yes. curry, a lot of times. This was my first time, though, to try my hand at cooking chicken masala.

Masala, according to Vos V means "mixed" in Indian. It is a mixture of various spices such as cumin, pepper, ginger powder, garlic powder, capsicum, etc. etc. The result is an amazing blend with an interesting depth of flavor...chilli, earthy, yummy.

I always thought that Indian cooking is complicated. I was happily proven wrong. It was rather easy putting together the chicken masala and I really enjoyed cooking it.

I served it with rice fried in onions, cumin, chilli powder, carrots, and salt and pepper. It was really good. If I say so myself. :-)

To cleanse the palate and to temper the hot, hot, chilli taste, we had some store-bought mango-flavored yoghurt. Yum!

The next day, Sunday, was Fathers' Day. Instead of having lunch out, as what we have initially planned to do, Sis and I went to Bob Marlin to buy and take home some yummy-yummy food. Eating lunch at home proved to be a wise decision since while I was driving along Magsaysay Avenue (where most of the good restos in Naga City are), we noticed that all restos were full and bursting at the seams with people.

Bob Marlin has been one of my family's favorite restaurants. This is where we bring almost all, if not all of our balikbayan friends and family. Serving really tasty native food at very reasonable prices, it is a must for non-Bikolanos and Bikolanos who left Naga and don't get to eat much native food anymore.

Aside from being rendered speechless by the food, my Super Vos, Director J, is fascinated by the restaurant's name: Bob Marlin.

It is not the marlin (grilled or fried), though, that is the main star here. It is the super juicy and super tender yet super CRISPY PATA served with a slightly sweet soy dipping sauce. This has got to be the bestest crispy pata in the world! I've yet to try crsipy pata that is as good or better than the one at Bob Marlin's.

Other must-tries are the Grilled Squid served with Teriyaki Sauce, Grilled or fried tuna or blue marlin, crispy Pork Sisig and crunchy Fried Knuckles.

So far, Bob Marlin has never failed in providing native comfort food. :-)

HAPPY FATHERS' DAY!!!

One of the yummiest, richest, chocolatiest cake I've ever tasted...we got this for Pops for Fathers' Day.

Pure heaven in every bite! Thanks to our neighborhood lady baker. :-)

Cam Sur Recruitment Team Lunch Out

It's been a while since we went out as a team. Vossing went to India for 3 weeks and when he came back, Dyehri went on a tour of duty in Clark for a month.

We've been planning to go out even before Dyehri went back but due to our "hectic" schedules, there didn't seem to be any right time to do that. Early today, Vos annpunced that by george, we were gonna have lunch together...TODAY.

It almost didn't happen again, actually. since Vos had a meeting at 2PM we decided to go out at 3PM. At the last minute though, the meeting was moved to 3PM. Then there was a sudden surge of applicants. Naku naman.

As pantawid gutom, we munched on some empanada, hot and spicy Sugo peanuts and Dyehri bought some Mr. Chips (Dyehri pronounces this with a \k\ sound).

At last, at 4PM, Vos' meeting was over and we trooped to the nearest pizza place.

It was great bonding with the team again. Trading jokes, light friendly, banter. Oh, wait, we do that all the time! haha. Anyhow, it was great having the team back together again. cue in senti music.

Rock on, Team Cam Sur. Here's to another fruitful year!!!

I Love Balls!

Fishballs. Squidballs. Quekiam balls. Orlian balls. Tokneneng. Pero sabi ni Jerome, masarap din raw ang mahaba. Quekiam. Orlian. Etc.

Come South, Cam Sur!

Ateneo de Naga University Chapel

Pathway to the Statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola

Camarines Sur Wakeboarding Complex

Apparently, when she woke up last Saturday, my sister decided she wanted to go to CWC. I was on my way downstairs for breakfast and I peeked into her room. "Let's go to CWC," she mumbled. Since I didn't have anyhting planned for the weekend and since I am in dire need of a life, I told her it was a good idea.

Over lunch we tried to recruit people to go with us. The kids, of course, were ecstatic. Bro J had to go to work, though. Mom and Pop had other commitments as well. So it was just Sis, the kiddos and I who were available.

We packed some food (chocolates and water --- it was my sis who took care of this) extra shirts, wipes, sanitizer (Influenza A, begone!) cameras, shades, and whatnots. We then drove to Pili, Cam Sur! Okay, I drove and they heckled and critiqued my driving style, like they usually do.

First stop was at the SGS site, which is within the Provincial Capitol Complex and very near CWC. I gave sis a quick tour. We didn't stay long since most of the associates have gone home for the day. The site, during the day is usually boooooring.

Next, we moved on to CWC! Yay! The crowd was surprisingly sparse, which suited me just fine since I don't like large crowds anyways. Since it was already 11:30 am when we got there, we decided to order lunch.

I tried to convince sis to share with me the Laing Pizza (I've heard people rave about this and wanted to try it myself) but unfortunately, she wasn't in the mood to try something different. Instead, we decided to have the Sausage Pizza instead. Along with that, we had fries (we always order fries whenever we eat out since this is Tami's fave) and the Tantrum Chicken Fingers (breaded strips of chicken breasts served with honey-dijon mustard dip and a side dish of potato salad. Since it was a veeeeery hot day, we washed the food down with large Mango Shakes. ***I'll upload the rest of the pics soon! :-)

I have no idea why they decided to call the chicken dish "Tantrum Chicken Fingers." I sure didn't throw a tantrum when it was served. The taste wasn't really spectacular and tantrum-inducing. It wasn't bad either. It tasted like, errrr, chicken. :-p The fries were okay but the pizza was really yummy! The dough was freshly made, the sausages were juicy and firm but not rubbery. It was all good! :-)

We left a bit after lunch and after taking a gazillion pics (camwhores!). Since we couldn't decide where to go next, we decided to visit Super Lolo and Super Lola in the cemetery. It's been a while since we went there so it was just right that we stopped by for a visit. We tried to look for numbers (lottery!) but couldn't find any apart from the dates on their tombmarkers.

Sis called Uncah Jay to inform him that we were gonna go to Ateneo to pick him up. So after we left the cemetary, we drove on to the Ateneo. We went around, but left after 30 minutes since the sweltering heat became really unbearable.

 

At 4Pm, we were home. Tired, sleepy and gearing up for our next adventure.