Everyday should be Valentine's Day

Valentine's day may be over, but that doesn't mean boyfriends should stop taking their girlfriends out to a nice, sweet, but not necessarily expensive dinner. Since C and I are always on the look out for delicious dinners virtually every week, it really feels like Valentine's day all the time :)

For all you couples out there, here are two date-worthy places we've visited in the past few weeks that you may want to check out when you feel like being extra sweet even during the most ordinary of days.

1. Cafe Juanita - Kapitolyo

I was surprised to find Café Juanita in a new and much better location, but still along West Capitol Drive in Kapitolyo. It had a fully refurbished exterior, looking much more modern than its previous old house-looking façade.

Now, before you can even begin to notice the food, the first thing that'll catch your attention in this restaurant is its very colorful interiors, with furniture and accessories coming from different inspirations--Asian, Filipino, and tribal to name a few.

Where else can you find a restaurant that will greet you with a colorful view like this...

Interest you with wall pieces like this...

Amaze you with artfully-made chandeliers like this...

And surprise you with giant bonggo-looking pieces like these...

Moving on to the food. This restaurant is famous for its Corned Beef Sinigang with Chorizo, which I’ve always wished we could cook at home. I liked how they would let their customers taste the soup of the sinigang before serving the full dish, just so they could assess if it had the right amount sourness that best suits their fancy. 

The sinigang soup had that all-natural sour taste that can only come from fresh sampaloc, which I absolutely loved. I also like adding some spice to my sinigang and so I appreciated that there was a big piece of sili that you can opt to slice open to release the spicy juice, or just keep there for decoration. The beef was very tender, and there were fresh pieces of kangkong, eggplant and tomatoes. The only thing that was a bit disappointing was that there were only two pieces of chorizo in our bowl. We asked the waiter if this was really how the dish was served, and he very kindly uttered an apology and served us more chorizo pieces.

Corned Beef Sinigang with Chorizo

 

We also ordered Bagnet, which C and I found to be very delightful because the pork was so crispy without being dry at all. It also had fresh wansuy and tomatoes for added flavor. My favorite part of this dish was the vinegar dressing, which tamed down the taste of wansuy that I’d rather have in moderation.

Bagnet

 

The pork of the Binagoongan had the same crispiness as the Bagnet, and the bagoong sauce was semi-sweet for a change :) All in all, I'm quite happy with dishes we ordered.

Binagoongan

Needless to say, all of these dishes forced me to have more than my fair share of rice. There’s really something about Filipino food that makes you want to eat unlimited servings of rice. 

So if you and your beau love eating rice and want to be surrounded by an extraordinary ambience, then Café Juanita is a definite must-visit :)

Cafe Juanita Kapitolyo branch is located along West Capitol Drive, Pasig City. For reservations, call 632-0357. The Taguig branch is located in Burgos Circle, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. For reservations, call 403-1952.

2. Aria Cucina Italiana - Bonifacio High Street

Whenever I'm in Boracay, I make it a point to visit Aria for my dose of delicious Italian food, while enjoying the soft white sand in between my toes. And so I was so thrilled when I found out that they finally opened a branch in Manila, in a convenient location in the new wing of Bonifacio High Street. They had their soft opening last January 28, and two weeks after I was able to pay them a visit.

Word really does get around fast, because the place was packed. The turnover was also rather fast and so it felt a bit busy inside the restaurant. It was quite warm inside, I guess owing to the fact that they're still getting settled. The ambience was very different from the Boracay branch. While Aria Boracay was dominantly brown inside, the Manila branch had a very light color palette for its interiors, with both big and small abstract paintings decorating the walls. There was also an open kitchen where the delicious dishes came from.

My all-time favorite Aria dish is the Tagliatelle con Tartufo Asparagi e Prosciutto di Parma. In short, pasta with white truffle, asparagus and parma ham. I think this was one of the places where I learned to love truffle as an ingredient in just about anything, and so I had quite high hopes for the dish. It was still good, although it wasn’t the same as the one in Boracay. For one, the serving was significantly less (in Bora, the pasta serving is good for sharing). I also wished there was more parma ham and more sauce. The noodles were slightly overcooked, too.

Tagliatelle con Tartufo Asparagi e Prosciutto di Parma (P 460)

 

The pizza had a very thin crust and the toppings were almost falling off already :) I think this gave way for the tongue to taste more of the mouth-watering toppings. The edges were slightly thicker, which I liked very much because of its crunchy texture. It had a generous serving of toppings and the pizza went very well with the spicy olive oil that C and I thoroughly enjoyed. It was so subtle and smooth, but had the right kick of spiciness that I was looking for.

Quattro Stagioni (P 540)

Spicy Olive Oil (free!)

Although the Manila branch might not be the same as Aria in Boracay, but I think it’s still worth trying out for dates. I think the other pasta dishes are worth trying as well, so go ahead and pay them a visit!

Aria (Manila) is located in East Superblock, 30th cor. 7th sts., Bonifacio High Street Central, Taguig. For reservations, call (0917) 519-5368.

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Food has played a huge part in our love story, and it’s something that will always be part of both our special and day-to-day celebrations. It’s always a great time for us to sit down, talk, and strengthen our relationship over delicious meals.

I think couples should treat themselves out to great meals from time to time (and maybe even everyday!). Again, they need not be expensive meals. What’s important is the quality of time that is spent and the memories that are made.

Belated Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! Let's all make everyday like Valentine’s Day! :)

Lukewarm feelings for Wee Nam Kee

Given the hype that this restaurant has received, and the long lines I would always see in every branch, I had rather high hopes for Wee Nam Kee. C and I decided to dismiss any negative feedback about the place and tried it for ourselves so we can once and for all prove them wrong (or right).

True enough, despite being there early, there were already people lining up to get a taste of their Singaporean dishes. I couldn't help wondering if these were regular customers or first-timers like us. I thought, if they have this many loyal customers, the food must be that good.

After getting settled and getting a chance to look around the interiors of the restaurant, I noticed the set of light bulbs uniquely placed inside what seemed to be bird cages. I thought this was a very creative twist on the traditional chandelier. (I found this very interesting that I imagined replicating it in my own house in the future :))

One look on the menu and I immediately got the impression that Wee Nam Kee's dishes offered good value for money. The price range was definitely beyond reasonable, and this is perhaps one of the reasons why people flock to this restaurant.

C and I ordered one dish each, plus some Hong Kong Style Birthday Noodles for sharing.

What I liked about the noodles was that they didn't scrimp on the ingredients. In Filipino, it was masahog. There were generous pieces of mushroom, bell pepper, shrimp, onions, carrots, etc. It had a well-balanced seasoning -- not too salty and not bland either. It was good for 2 to 3 persons, so I think it was definitely good value for money.

HK Style Birthday Noodles (P 255)

I was pretty excited about the Hainanese Chicken (I ordered the Steamed Chicken Rice) because this was the dish that Wee Nam Kee was really known for. The chicken arrived at our table a bit too cold. Now, ultimately, I think what really completes this dish are the sauces and seasoning. And perhaps the reason why it's difficult to find outstanding Hainanese Chicken is the fact that the sauces taste practically the same. I mean, how many other different ways can hoisin sauce, chili sauce and ginger really taste, right? I guess that's the challenge for restaurants now -- how do you make YOUR version of Hainanese Chicken really stand out?

So anyway, the Hainanese Chicken was good, but it wasn't exceptional. And I guess I was expecting it to be so because the restaurant is called "Wee Nam Kee - Hainanese Chicken Rice" after all.

Steamed Chicken Rice (P 168 - personal set)

C thought the Wee Nam Kee Pork Chop Rice sounded very promising, and so he decided to have that as his order. However, when it arrived, it looked a lot less appetizing than how it sounded. It was just plain breaded pork with sweet and sour sauce poured over it. And as C put it, it looked and tasted like cafeteria food. Needless to say, we were quite disappointed with this one.

Wee Nam Kee Pork Chop Rice (P 178)

After our meal, C and I ended up having lukewarm feelings for Wee Nam Kee. We weren't too satisfied with what we ate, although some dishes had some decent highs.

I honestly feel that Shiok (read the post on Shiok here) offers better tasting and better value dishes for those seeking a Singaporean dining experience.


THE GOURMANDE'S SCORE: 3.5 out of 5 - It was decent, but not a restaurant I would recommend

Wee Nam Kee is located in Ayala Triangle Gardens, Ayala Avenue, Makati City. Telephone number: 846-8924.

I'll give Kenji Tei Ramen House a second chance

C and I have recently started our search for the best ramen in town. We crave for good ramen whenever we want to have good dinner, but one that wouldn’t necessarily leave us feeling guilty for eating far too much. 

On one of our dates, we chanced upon Kenji Tei Ramen House in Greenbelt 5. It was a Friday night, and not unexpectedly, it was packed! Good thing they had a table for two left for us. I liked the modern Japanese interiors of the place, although I felt that the tables were too near each other, not allowing enough space for private conversations. The slightly cramped space can also be a source of discomfort for diners like us who tend to order more than usual – and end up squeezing our bowls and plates in a small table.

I thought the logo was cute :)

I liked the interiors, but I wish there was more space

For starters, to get our metabolism going while we waited for the ramen, we ordered the Crunchy Kani Maki. It was a very generous serving of gorgeous looking maki topped with crunchy bits of tempura breading, some strips of kani dipped in Japanese mayo, and roe. I loved the added texture coming from the tempura breading as well as the flavor coming from the mayo. Each piece was literally a mouthful. I had to think twice about how I would make it fit in my mouth. My only criticism about this dish is that it wasn’t too intact and would break apart fairly easily.

Crunchy Kani Maki (P288)

Now, who would've thought cheese and gyoza would go well together? The Cheese Gyoza certainly put a cheesy twist to your ordinary gyoza. Inside the fried wrap was ground meat and cream cheese, which when dipped in the mayo dressing tasted delicious. It could use more cheese though, because I found myself having to take a couple of bites to get to the cheese.

Cheese Gyoza (P198)

Finally, our ramen was served. The owner of Kenji Tei (who incidentally was C's acquaintance) humbly suggested to try any of the miso based ramens because these were specialties of the house. We ordered the Miso Butter Corn Ramen because after all, who could go wrong with butter? It completely slipped my mind that I don't like eating corn when it's mixed with other kinds of food. For me, it's best when eaten alone. In any case, I was willing to give it a try. 

The bowl looked appetizing and smelled lovely when it arrived. C and I were quite disappointed with the taste, though. There were lots of different flavors coming from the dish, but they didn't quite mix well together. The miso base was decent but not so flavorful and so I expected the flavors of the other ingredients to compensate. But the combination of the subtle miso flavor, the taste of the corn, plus the flavor coming from the beansprouts and the other vegetables didn't sit well on my tongue.

Miso Butter Corn Ramen (P348 - large)

Because I enjoyed the kani maki and the gyoza, I think this restaurant has potential. I dunno, maybe we just ordered the wrong dish. I'm willing to come back to try their other ramens. If it changes my first impression (or even if it doesn't), I will most definitely let you gourmandes know :)

For reservations, see below:

THE GOURMANDE'S SCORE: 3.5 out of 5 - Great maki and gyoza, but the ramen could be so much better

The Best of the Holidays 2011

Happy New Year! My apologies for being MIA the past three weeks. The holiday festivities had me going from one reunion to the next, piling up calorie after calorie from all the delicious Christmas lunches and dinners. Despite the extra pounds, the great thing about all the holiday binging is that I got to try plenty of great dishes that I can share with you, my fellow gourmandes.

What follows is a compilation of some of the best dishes that I enjoyed during the break. This is just one of the reasons why Christmas is my favorite time of the year :) Enjoy!

1. Seared Salmon - The Stock Market, Bonifacio High Street

P650

My team and I celebrated our 2011 wins with our agency partners over lunch at The Stock Market in BHS. This, I would have to say, was my favorite among all the dishes we ordered. The Stock Market takes pride in serving dishes with only the freshest ingredients and their Seared Salmon did not disappoint. Just by its look and fragrant smell, I knew it was going to be delicious. The salmon was cooked very well, with no trace of that fishy stench. It was tender but they managed to keep the fish meat intact. The salmon's flavor was brought out even more by the caper tomato sauce. The garlic mashed potatoes had small bits of garlic inside, which was absolutely yummy.

2. Mozzarella Toast and Pizza Margherita - Green Tomato, Shangri-La Mall

Ever since my friend Avery announced that she's having a baby, we all cannot wait for the little angel to come! And so when she revealed the news, we all agreed to organize a baby shower for her. This meant months of planning -- over food, of course :) We had our first planning meeting a few days before Christmas (which doubled as a Christmas reunion, too) in Green Tomato.

The Mozzarella Toast was a great way to start our meal. Outside was a nicely toasted crust that was tasty and crispy. Inside was a delicious filling of mozzarella and tomatoes that went perfectly with the anchovy tomato sauce.

Mozzarella Toast - P195

Pizza Margherita is one of my favorite kinds of pizza because if its simplicity. Green Tomato's Pizza Margherita was delightfully simple, with generous amounts of cheese, fresh tomatoes and some pesto. The thin crust was just the right amount of crunchy.

Pizza Margherita - P190 for personal, P545 for large

3. Dimsum and Beef Curry - Choi Palace, Eastwood Mall

The day after Christmas, before my family and I went back home from our trip in Clark, we had a scrumptious dinner at Choi Palace in Eastwood. With the quality of Chinese food in this restaurant, it's like a more affordable version of Peking Garden. Below are, in my opinion, the highlights of our meal.

I enjoyed the dimsum in Choi Palace because I felt like we got our money's worth. The Pork and Shrimp Siomai and the Hakaw were packed and siksik, with no trace of extenders at all. Inside the Hakaw was a generously big piece of shrimp. Their Xiao Long Bao is one of the best ones I've tried. It was packed with meat and flavorful hot soup inside, and came with yummy black vinegar for even more flavor.

Pork and Shrimp Siomai

Hakaw

Xiao Long Bao

What I liked about the Beef Curry was that it had a very subtle curry flavor. The sauce was a lot more creamy than normal curry, which I think people who do not like the strong taste of curry would enjoy (like me and my dad). It also had a generous serving of beef, which again, I feel gave us good value for our money.

Beef Curry

Christmas season is always the perfect excuse to let go a little and feast on as much delicious food as we want. :) Best of all, it's the perfect time to spend meaningful moments with our family and friends, look back at the year that passed, be thankful for the many blessings we've received, and be hopeful for the many more blessings we know we will come our way in the new year.

Happy 2012, my fellow gourmandes. Cheers to more gourmandizing this year!

Christmas food tripping begins in Lolo Dad's

The Christmas Tree is up. Gifts in all shapes and sizes fill up the bottom of the tree. Several versions of Santa Claus can be seen all around town. Colorful Christmas lights excite little kids and grown ups alike. Yes, it is Christmastime indeed.

To echo the song, this is really the most wonderful time of the year for me. And yes, it's partly because of all the delicious food served in back to back Christmas parties and reunions. My first Christmas food trip began in Lolo Dad's with the most awesome officemates in the world.

(I think this was a special menu because I couldn't find most of these items on the regular menu. And so my apologies for not having the prices here)

Judging from the menu, we knew we were in for a treat that night

For our starters, we were served Romain Caesar Salad. This is probably one of the prettiest salad presentations I have ever seen. The taste definitely lived up to the visual appeal of this dish. The lettuce tasted so fresh and juicy, as if it was just freshly picked from the garden. It was covered with slices of Parmesan cheese, had half of a soft-boiled egg on the side (see how perfectly runny the yolk is?), and was sprinkled with anchovies. As you can see from the photo below, the salad wasn't swimming in Caesar dressing, but the amount of it was just right to bring out the flavor of the entire dish.

Romain Caesar Salad

Next came the soup. It was a very simple Mushroom Broth that warmed up my stomach for the more exciting part of the meal. It was alright, nothing too special, and I guess this was done on purpose so we can further appreciate the mains :)

Mushroom Broth

Now on to the main course. It was an "All you can surf and turf" main course and we had the choice of ordering unlimited servings of steak, prawns and starch. I picked the Tajima Wagyu Topside (medium well), Baked Prawns, and Mushroom Risotto.

There were two big slices of Wagyu on the plate, beside two big baked prawns. The meat of the steak was very tender and tasty up to the fatty part, even without the sauce. It was not the kind of Wagyu beef that melts in your mouth, but it was pretty close. 

The prawns topped with cheese were the perfect complement to the meat. It was baked just right to make the prawn meat not too soft but instead very slightly crunchy. 

Tajima Wagyu Topside with Baked Prawns

For a closer look

I am not a huge fun of risotto (because it's still rice, after all), but I didn't mind feeling guilty after eating this particular one because it was just so good. It was so soft and creamy, with slices of mushrooms and grated cheese to add to the flavor. It almost looked like it was mashed potato!

Mushroom Risotto

By the time we got to the dessert, I was already so full. But I was not one to pass on dessert. The chocolate cake was quite good. I really like chocolate cakes that are not too sweet, just like this one. The scoop of vanilla ice cream sat prettily on a small piece of wafer. The sweet-with-sweet tandem of chocolate and ice cream always makes a great combination.

Dark Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

Feasting on great food and enjoying the night with great company brought the Christmas spirit closer. I'm looking forward to the many more scrumptious meals to come, and to a season filled with nothing but hope and love for all of us.

Happy Holidays!

THE GOURMANDE'S SCORE: 5 out of 5

Lolo Dad's is located in the ground floor of 6750 Ayala Avenue, Makati City.

Bright lights and good food at Momo Cafe, Ayala Triangle

Ever since C and I witnessed the beautiful lights of Ayala Triangle last Christmas season, we knew we had to go back this year. This time, they had a lot more in store for their audience as they included a full lights and sounds show that would play every 15 minutes or so. The garden was packed with families, children, couples and barkadas wanting to get a feel of Christmas as early as November.

After watching the lights and sounds show, we walked down the line of restaurants to find a good place to have our dinner date. Just like two excited kids at the strike of midnight on Christmas day, we were so thrilled to find a branch of Momo Cafe in Ayala Triangle. We've been wanting to go back every since we tried their Eggs Benedict in Eastwood. It took us a while to get a table because it was full, but not as full as the other adjacent restaurants where hungry customers found themselves occupying #20 on the waiting list. Lucky for us, we made it to #2.

Spot the cute snowman

I've always liked the warm ambiance inside Momo. I love the interesting little details on the walls - from the wallpapers to the lamps. The Christmas decors inside the restaurant added to the festive feel.

Happy customers enjoying their meal

It's Christmas in Momo!

The beauty is in the details

Now, on to the food. Of course, we ordered what we came here for - the Eggs Benedict. I was slightly disappointed to see this branch's version of Momo's Eggs Benedict. I clearly remember it being a bigger serving, looking more tasty, with the poached eggs placed on English muffins instead of ordinary bread. While overall the combination of the eggs, bacon and hollandaise sauce still made a good dish, it just wasn't the same without the English muffins.

Eggs Benedict (P 350)

The bigger highlight of our meal was the 3-inch Glazed Smoked Bacon. The thick pieces of bacon came with mashed potatoes, sweet corn and some veggies, which for me gave it better value. The bacon was so tender and tasted perfectly smoky and sweet. The layers of fat were so well-cooked, you would think it was still the meat. Take a look at our photos below, and drool.

Glazed Smoked Bacon (P 350)

A closer look

Just so you can have a point of reference

Momo Cafe will always be a comfort dining place for me and C. I just wish they can be more consistent with the quality of their dishes from branch to branch. I'm hoping this is just one of those fluke circumstances. Perhaps we'll try it out in Eastwood again to see if there really is a difference.

THE GOURMANDE'S SCORE: 4 out of 5

For reservations, call 621-6161.