"Me Date" at Yabu

I was craving for some some Rosu Tonkatsu Curry for a week now and last Saturday, during my "Me Date", I finally had dinner at Yabu Megamall.

I was set on ordering the Rosu Tonkatsu Curry Set but saw something new on the menu, the Menchi Katsu! The description really got me : Minced Premium Beef and Pork with oozing creamy cheese :)  So I got that instead.  I opted to order the Extra Hot Curry set since I really, really love their curry :)

So, the Menchi Katsu did not disappoint :)  It was really good!  the cheese added an extra flavor to the meat without it being too overwhelming to the palate.  I felt it was just enough to complement the whole dish.  And again, the curry ... I cannot say anything about it except that it was delish! :)  I especially love how their Katsu do not turn soggy even though these were soaked in the curry sauce :)

Looking forward to eating there again soon!  Hope they come up with more new exciting dishes :)

 Dressings galore :)

 waiting for my Menchi Katsu :)

Yummy Yummy! 

Till next time! :)

-M

how j.co stole my heart

It was a Saturday afternoon and I just kinda got off work (yes, on a weekend) when a newly opened store in the Megastrip in Megamall caught my attention:  J.Co's Donuts and Coffee.  Actually, my friend, Chubby, brought me a cheesy donut sandwich from J.Co a few days days back and I really, really liked it! :D.  So, with a smile on my face and a grumbling stomach I went inside the store and lo and behold! I was in donut heaven :)  I was taken aback by the lay-out of the store and the variety of donut flavors they have.  I was kinda expecting a Krispy Kreme lay-out and format look-alike but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't the case.  I have nothing against Krispy Kreme, mind you, but their space in Megamall is kinda cramped and seats are just few and the atmosphere is not exactly relaxed. In fact it has a kind of frantic air, like a fastfood restaurant sort of vibe, so one can't exactly lounge around or hang out there like most of us do in coffee shops (or maybe its just me) :P  Anyways, moving on, J.Co has two counters: the drinks and desserts counter and the donut counter.  Their drinks are quite similar to your Starbucks fare ranging from hot to cold coffee drinks to more specialized ice blended drinks.  The donut counter displays the array of flavors available for the day. So after a few minutes of thinking what I wanted to get, I got myself an Alcapone and a JCoccino.  The Alcapone being the specialty of the house and the JCoccino, as the barista explained, is similar to a Frappuccino.  Both tasted great.  After my first bite of the Alcapone, I instantly regretted getting only one piece (takaw).  Going back in line to buy another piece is out of the question since by that time the line was insanely long!  The donut has a white chocolate frosting topped with almond slivers.  The dough itself is soft and not dry.      I then told myself that I need to buy a dozen of these to bring home.  I waited a while for the line to shorten and when it did, I went to the counter only to find out that there were no donuts left.  I was shocked! one moment the counter was full and then barren the next, all in under 30 minutes.  Everyone in that insanely long line must've bought a dozen each. I missed my chance to get a dozen myself. Darn!  Oh well, since I work in Ortigas, there would still be other days to get my hands on a box (hehehehehe :P).  But by then I knew, my heart (and my tummy) has been ensnared by J.Co :).

 

donut counter 

I love their napkins :) 

since I wasn't able to buy anymore donuts, I just sat back and relaxed a bit with 

John Carter: A Princess of Mars.  I was taking my sweet time eating my donut hahaha :) 

The Weekend Project (April 8, 9 and 15)

The Weekend Project is a chronicle of sorts of my kitchen adventures at home.  How did this start?  well, it started during the holy week.  I put it upon myself to run the kitchen so the parentals can relax for a few days.  I looked for recipes on the net (all my cookbooks were drowned by Ondoy) that I can cook at home and then went on a supermarket frenzy prior to the holy week break.  I opted to try some Thai dishes and experimented on a homemade version of Charlie Chan Pasta.  I realized it was fun :)  I realized I kinda missed how fun it was to cook and just play around with the flavors without all the technical considerations I have grown accustomed to (since my job as a food technologist requires me to do so).

I got so inspired I told myself I need to do some cooking at home more often, thus The Weekend Project was born.  At home, there are no constraints, no limitations on creativity, except of course when ingredients are absent :P, at home, time is not limited and there are no deadlines. Although the pressure is still there to make it taste good since both my parents know how to eat well and are quite critical when it comes to food.  I was born in a family of food loving people.  The Barnachea Clan (my mother's side) prides itself in either being a good cook or a good food taster (a connoisseur if you will :P), so food is in my blood (and literally in my bloodstream, since I eat a lot :P).

So, here are some of stuff I made the past 2 weekends and some comments from the panel of judges (daddy and mama).

Charlie Chan Pasta

I tried my hand in concocting a homemade version of Yellow Cab's Charlie Chan Pasta.  I got a recipe from the net and did a few tweaking on the recipe and voila! However, I wasn't really successful on this one, the sweetness is kinda high and can be toned down a notch or two to bring out the spiciness of the dish.  The parentals have the same thing in mind.  Daddy said it was sweeeeeet.... but he ate like two platefuls of it, so I guess it wasn't all that bad :P.  Will redo this recipe in the next week or two.  I want to perfect this one since I really love Yellow Cab's version of it.  At the same time my ego is screaming for redemption hahaha! :P  We had this pasta with Raisin Bread from Shopwise.  Their Raisin Bread is really good, it isn't sweet and all that raisin-y, except of course when you bite into one.  

Thai Chicken Fried Rice (Kao Phad Gai)

This dish I soooo love! :D  not because I cooked it but because I was able to remember my Bangkok days when I tasted this.  The recipe was great and so easy to follow :).  The secret? Thai Fish sauce and Cilantro!  I love the combination of flavors plus I love the fact that I can eat this on its own.  Will definitely cook this again.  The seniors liked this dish.  They even had the leftovers for breakfast the next day paired with fried eggs :).

Sweet and Spicy Fish and Tofu

I used Creamy Dory fillets and Tofu for this next dish.  I got the recipe from www.casaveneracion.com.  It tasted great! :) I was kinda scared of the spiciness level at first but when the sauce was poured over the fish, the strength of the chili was toned down considerably and the whole dish just came together.  As a testament to how much my parents liked this dish, there were only 3 pieces of bite-sized fish fillets left and some pieces of tofu but my dad kept it in the chiller for him to eat the next day.  Either he really liked it or he was just being a sweet dad.  I think I prefer to believe that it was the former for my ego's sake hahaha!

Pork in Thai Holy Basil Sauce

I made this at the last minute.  Since we had some pork lomo in the freezer, I decided to just whip something  up like this.  Plus the fact that I bought a Thai Holy Basil Sauce in the supermarket.  After my re-entry into the wonders of home cooking, I have this sudden interest in the oriental section of the supermarket.  Robinson's Metro East Supermarket has a good selection of Thai and Singaporean Sauces :).  I sauteed  the pork slices with some garlic and onion and added some of the sauce and kinda played with flavors a bit, adding a dash of this and a dash of that and then I added some string beans to have some greens as well.  Voila! dinner was served :)  However, I kinda got carried away with the spice level for this one.  My dad literally needed to drink cold water to take the heat off his tongue.  So, next time, I need to tone down the spice level and constantly remember that my tolerance for hot foods is higher than most people :P.

Fish Fillet in Lemon Butter Sauce

Last Sunday I did Fish Fillet in Lemon Butter Sauce.  I got the recipe off the Cooking Diva (Chef Melissa Deleon) from the net.  The recipe was easy to follow and the final product was good.  The butter sauce was not too rich, the lemon juice provided the break it needed so as not to render the dish too oily.  The garlic and green bell pepper gave the sauce the flavor oomph, marrying the sauce with the fish fillets nicely.  I still need to do a few improvements on this dish on my end, but it was a good first try nonetheless (*pats self on the shoulder*)

Sauteed Spinach

This last dish was requested by my Dad.  Not actually requested, but I was kinda expected to cook this dish since they bought spinach from the supermarket earlier that day.  I just sauteed the spinach in garlic and added salt, a dash of sesame oil and a bit of soy sauce.  All that's left after dinner was the plate ... so I guess they liked it :).

Well, that's it for now.  I want to be able to keep this up and do some more dishes in the coming weekends. Will try to do another pasta dish this weekend if not will try to make another meat dish.

Cheers! 

mama and milk tea

I recently introduced mama to milk tea.  She was kinda skeptical to try it at first, but since I was really makulit and kept telling her to just try one, she finally gave in.  We were in Gateway Mall last Sunday and I was looking  forward to my milk tea fix in Chatime.  When mama finally said she will try one, we then had a long discussion as to what drink she will get.  I said lets start you off with the basic milk tea. But, she was kinda on the fence on the taste factor, she was a bit worried if she would like it or not. So I said lets just get flavored milk tea first.  We went back and forth if she wanted red bean, taro, even banana.  My mom is not adventurous when it comes to eating so I need to explain a lot of things to her before she agrees to taste something.  Finally, she agreed to try the Lychee Milk tea.  I went in line while she looked for a seat.  When she finally got her drink, i was very happy that she enjoyed it :)

I got a Large Pearl Milk Tea and my afternoon was complete ! :) hahahaha! :P