Appetite Magazine January 2007 is out!

Grab a copy of the January isssue of Appetite Magazine. Natalia cooked the food on the cover and the McCormick spread on pages 88 to 91.
The Cover

The Contributors Page

The 4-page Spread

Miss Desserts at Serendra

We have been feasting on Serendra cupcakes since there were only three flavors available. They’re good alright - blog entry coming up. Just as how good it is, the price is equally as jaw dropping. As I walked out of the cupcake store one crowded night, I bumped into my cousin Nicky and his fiancée Alice. They whispered to me, “Mas OK dito” (It is better here) while pointing at the new Miss Desserts beside it. So I switched to my chismis mode and asked them why? “Mas sulit” daw! (You’ll get you money’s worth). They had recommended the Macadamia Cheesecake and Fantasia.



So on the last day of 2006, after our family lunch at Silk, I told my dad that there’s a new hot dessert place here at Serendra besides the cupcakes (take note, BESIDES, not BESIDE). We were all eager to try after I had told them about what Kuya Nicky said. While my parents were enjoying their cigarettes outside, I went in and browsed their menu. Someone from behind said, “I would recommend the cheesecakes”. She’s Bebet Lorenzo, Miss Dessert herself! We had a chat but I stayed firm with my Macadamia Cheesecake and Fantasia in mind.


Our cakes came and they were almost gone in 60 seconds, except of course for our family’s traditional “dyahe piece” (don’t worry, it eventually gets gobbled up or cut into smaller and smaller pieces to its crumbs).The Fantasia would definitely be some kind of heaven for a chocolover. It filled with rich chocolate that’s like a cross between a decadent chocolate cake, cheesecake and hot fudge. Yum! The White Macadamia on the other hand is my favorite. It is not too sweet and the macadamia taste perfectly complements the white chocolate. This might as well be our version of cheesecake factory... Taste wise that is :)



After two cakes, my mom tells Kiko, my younger brother to pick another cake. He orders the earthquake for us. As soon as the cake hit my moms tongue, the first thing she said was “Wow, sarap… WET!” in a very I –am-so-excited-and-satisfied tone. Kiko paused, “Ewww ma! Sounds so gross when you say it!”. “and besides, its not WET ma, its MOIST!”, I interject. We were laughing and mocking my mom’s WET comment while enjoying the cake. Must I say more? Sarap nga eh, WET!

When we were just about to get the bill, Miss Desserts goes in the store and recommends her soufflé. I was surprised by the soufflé, actually because it was only P175 and it didn’t say any of those annoying “Please allow 30 minutes to prepare” or something. She said that it was only available when she was in the store… so while everyone was pondering on ordering our fourth dessert, my mom suddenly blurts out, “OK, we’ll have one!” and everyone was like, “Grabe ka mom!” but we were all really excited deep inside. Hihihi!


The souffle took some time to prepare but it was well woth the wait. It came with a rich dark chcoclate sauce and vanilla ice cream. "can you teach us how to eat this?"my mom asked. So you have to crack the souffle and pour in the chocolate sauce. Dont forget that spoonful of vanilla ice cream! Y-U-M-M-Y!



Their Cheesecakes are P75 (New York Cheesecake) to P120 (My White Chocolate Macadamia). The Fantasia at P130, is one of the specials. The specials range from P95 to P175 and they include Chocolate Souffle, Banana Creama Pie, Swiss Walnut Tart and The Ultimate Brownie a la mode. They have cakes and sugar-free treats which are P65 to P200. Smaller items are biscotti and cookies are ideal for gifts.

Thai at Silk - Serendra

Its the Last Day of 2006. Woke up late with no plan whatsoever so i dragged my family to have lunch out at around two in the afternoon. Options were Shangri-la's new The Ledge or my current favorite place, Serendra. My mom and sister were up for fast and casual Shang and my dad and I wanted sosyal and convenient Serendra. My dad and i were on the front seats so we won. Besides the breezy and refershing look of Serendra, the parking is absolutely free! So far that is. Most of the formal places were closed so we ended up in Thai at silk on the first cove of Serendra's walls.


The restaurant is mostly green and white - very refreshing to look at. Upon entering you'll be greeted by a scent of freshly cooked Thai food that'll make you want to order quickly... coz its so appetizing. Their menu consists of 55 food items from appetizer down to the dessert and more than half of the green silkbound booklet had wines of all kinds from different parts of the world, liquer and cocktails.



We ordered #10 Tung Tong - crispy shirmp pastry with plum sauce, #17 Yam Pla Dook Foo - crispy catfish with mango julienne salad, #20 Khaeng Khiaw Waan - Green Chicken Curry, #26 See Khrong Moo Yaang - cinnamon and lemon marinated baby back ribs, and #36 Khao Kluk Kapi - bagoong rice. The staff was friendly but I'd have to say needs a bit more training on customer relations. Maybe it was the time of day that we came but it was quite a hassle getting the waiter's attention considering we were just by the door and there were not many people dining. Anyway, the food came...


(clockwise) Green Chicken Curry, Shrimp Pastry, Baby Back Ribs and Catfish Salad

My favorite was the Green Chicken Curry. Not because i am a curry fan, but because it was really good. I actually just took the "risk" of ordering curry this time because I knew that my dad never found anyone to share his fascination for curry with anyone in his family. It was, may I say exquisite. It was not like any of the scary very Malaysian looking curry (which I though would eat me up from the clay pot). This looked tame and gentle -- forgive the personifications! Anyway, I loved it! It was mild and soothing. Not at all intimidatingly green nor was the flavor too strong that you get that "umay" after 2 bites. just right.

My sister, Keena was the one who ordered the baby back ribs. Lemon and Cinnamon sounded new and good on meat and it tasted even better! sweet, a bit of spice and very tender to the bone. When my dad blurted out "sasaidin ko na to!" (I will finish this) on the last piece of meat, my sister frowned... only means, "yum!" hahaha

The Yam Pla Dook Foo (one of the only Thai words i've learned on our visit last visit to Bangkok -- the other one being Khao Kluk Kapi - bagoong rice!) was something different. It is usually served on a shallow bowl with all the ingredients - catfish, mango, vinegar sauce and chilies tossed in. Here at Silk, the catfish is separated from the vinegar and mangoes. What made this dish it the vinegar sauce. Be sure to ask your waiter for an extra serving of the it since the one on the plate is not enough! It was sweet, spicy, sour at the same time. Very much representative of Thai culture -- exotic, colorful and just one big pleasant chaos. I even sipped the sauce all by itself!



The Bagoong Rice - which the waiter mixed in front of us before we ate.

Last but not the least, the Shrimp Pastry with Plum Sauce. It was like fried Hakaw with sweet chili sauce. Yummy! My dad loved the plum sauce! And since they give FREE jasmine rice, yes it is F-R-E-E, he jokingly said that next time he'll just order the shrimp, ask for a lot of rice and three extra plum sauce!

Eveything was good! I take it as a cue from my dad that if he doesnt ask for salt (he does most of the time) then that gets his approval. We werent stuffed, just right... feel good right.


Our bill was Php 1450.00 and using my reliable manila eating out formula -- x * 1.22 = y; where x=subtotal, y=TOTAL --how nerdy. Our total bill including 12% VAT and 10% service is Php 1769.00 (roughly $35!)

-maica

*Serendra is located at 26th Street, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Beside Market! Market!

'Starbucks' sa KNL

Pasta Pronta

About 2 years back, we (UP Volleyball team) used to call this place Starbucks… sa KNL. I was new with the volleyball team and they showed me the places where they would eat. In one of the tight and congested roads in Krus na Ligas or better known as KNL, you will find our team’s ‘Starbucks’, now called Sefali. It is on Lt. Francisco road, near CP Garcia. If not for the good comfort food and nice and clean restaurant, we would not be going through the hassle of driving though such narrow roads and running the risk of having no parking space. From UP, you can ride a tricycle and just go down at Krus na Ligas then walk. From Katipunan, turn to CP Garcia then make a left to Krus na Ligas, under the arch and left on the first street.

The menu is written on 3 small blackboards stuck on the wall. Everything is written in chalk, easy to erase and change. The team’s favorites are chicken in white sauce, oriental chicken and their tapsilog. They are all served with a big cup of rice and for only Php58 for the chicken in white sauce and less for the others. The chicken in white sauce has always been my favorite. I actually don’t know why I like it. It just tastes good hehe… even better with Knorr seasoning. It is served with chunks of potatoes and Vienna sausage, although I would suggest they change their brand of Vienna sausage for it has a weird aftertaste. The whole dish is just so filling and yummy. The tapsilog is another one of their best-sellers served with fried egg, Filipino way, meaning, fried sunny side up on both sides until crunchy. The oriental chicken on the other hand simply has a gingery taste. They serve iced tea, which used to be very cheap, Php8 per glass but now has gone up to Php15 per glass, already more expensive than Ababu iced tea.

Sefali is at the ground flour of an old house. It is very quaint, homey and just a nice place to sit, eat and chat with your friends. It is one of those out of the beaten track restaurants, at least for most of the people I know, which is worth visiting. They should offer coffee, hot chocolate and tea with pastries too, for those who would want to make tambay in the afternoon. The interiors are quite Mediterranean, given the wall’s bright yellow color and the kitchen wall’s purple color. The rest would be Filipino. The lamps, windows, chairs and a lovely touch which makes you feel like you are not in KNL are the plants, orchids placed strategically around the house. Additional decors would be pictures of the UP Mountaineers up on the walls and old camera on the shelf. The owner happens to be a part of the UP Mountaineers and people from that organization and from the college of Human Kinetcis normally go to this place.

This place is one of the restaurants around UP or in Teacher’s village that is definitely worth eating at. The others would be Ababu, an all time favorite!, Salt of the Earth (when it was still open hehe), Grill Queen, Henry’s Grill, TomatoKick, Friuli, Steak of the Nation and BMK Pizza.

The Cliff House, Tagaytay

Pasta Pronta

During one of the weekends where I surprisingly had nothing to do, I tagged along with my dad and mom (to their annoyance of not being able to have that quality time date they had wanted) when they drove to Tagaytay. Not only was I a third wheel (haha) but at the same time a spoiled kid with a big appetite :) And since my mom did not hear the end of me making her kulit about her promise of taking me to Cliff House (or is it Cliffhouse) and having dinner there, she finally gave in and the 3 of us, my dad, mom and I went there after Highlands.

Cliff House is the new ‘The Ridge’. It is further down the road, after ‘The Ridge’ and Leslie’s coming from Manila. Pretty tight parking space but very well made. The Cliff House is quaint, classy and quite romantic (at least at night) with the dimmed lights, nicely paved path walks, trees and plants beautifully landscaped and neat looking restaurants. Other than the 2 restaurants we ate at, Buon Giorno and Fire Lake Grill, Breton, Massimo and this art gallery are also to be found in that area. I would think that this place is better than the other side because it has one look, is more organized and beautifully conceptualized, very clean and neat as well. And not to mention, the good food.

We first had our dinner at Buon Giorno, an Italian restaurant. It actually had the most number of customers the night we were there, about 5 tables occupied, including ours. The uniqueness of their menu is brought about by its big wooden board or ‘base’. I ordered risotto (of course, to compare its taste with the others I have tried and to see if its better than mine :)) and my parents ordered a salad, spinach soup and minestrone. As usual, my health conscious parents would normally just order salad, soup or fish.

The server we had was very efficient and so was the over-all service. Our food arrived instantly. First we were served bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar in colorful dispensers. Yummy. But for some reason, Italianni’s version still tastes better. You can put parmesan cheese in your olive oil- balsamic vinegar mixture, mmm… yum! The spinach soup, of course colored green, surprisingly tasted good. Now that I have made and learned to love spinach artichoke dip and spinach cannelloni, anything with spinach, this soup really appealed to me. It was not too creamy and not bitter or had no bitter after taste. It was soothing and very appetizing. My dad’s minestrone soup was so-so… I’m not much of a fan and have only tried it once before so I really can’t say much but I would think the minestrone in Capisce, Metro Walk, is better.

Next that came was my chicken risotto. Pretty big serving for a very reasonable price of Php200 or Php250 per serving. Their risotto was ok. Well- made and had a very subtle taste as compared to those I’ve tried and made. But then again, it was just ok. Adding parmesan cheese, which the waiters will readily give you, would be a good idea. The chicken strips that went with it were soft and cooked well but lacked taste. It didn’t even taste like it had salt or pepper. So bottom line is, I like mine better hehe… and so do my mom and dad. :)

Nothing much to say about their interiors, only that the place was nice, very homey, specially the dining area outside with the nicely arranged plants and the view of the lake. The music was also very nice and sets the mood of the place.

I wasn’t gonna leave without eating dessert. I decided to try the desserts at Fire Lake Grill instead. And boy did I make the right decision!

Fire Lake Grill, owned by Mr. Paul Wong, is an upscale restaurant which offers fine dining and exquisite food. The interiors of the restaurant is very modern, maybe I could compare it to LoloDad’s? White walls, neatly arranged tables with white linen and with its kitchen readily viewed through a big panel of glass. It also has big windows with the view of the lake.

Their servers were very well dressed and were very efficient. Our server recommended the pineapple carpaccio. He said that is their best-seller. So, we ordered the pineapple carpaccio poached in Malibu rum with pink peppercorn, candied lime peel and home-made coconut ice cream in a brandy snap basket and the poached pear served with cream cheese maple filling and almond flakes together with coffee.

The pineapple carpaccio was beautifully plated on a big, white and round plate. The best way to eat it is to put a little of everything in your mouth all at once, the coconut ice cream, brandy snaps and pineapple. The crunchiness and sweetness of the brandy snaps together with the sweet, citrusy taste of the pineapple and its added peppery taste and the coconut ice cream made me wish my parents weren’t splitting with me and hoped they would remember their diet! Hehe… My only complaint for this dish is that they could have placed three pineapple carpaccios, one slice after all is very thin and 3 slices won’t even reach the typical thickness of a slice of pineapple :)

Our other dessert was just as exquisite and delicately made. Not a very appealing plating to me but the thought of poached pears with the cream cheese maple filling made me not care at all. A bit shocking on the tastebuds the first time you try it but after really tasting it… mmm… :) The pears were not as soft as I thought they would be, given that the taste of the wine and the sauce were so infused and so strong in the pears. They were firm and still a bit crunchy but very tasty. The sauce was just wonderful. It had that slight tannic taste of wine but already sweetened, maybe due to the pear’s juice. It was also kinda carbonated, which made my dad and I conclude that they must have used a sparkling red wine… maybe :)

What a way to end a meal! My only regret is that we didn’t get to try their other desserts hehe… but then again, I was so full that another bite of anything would lead me to the check in counter to hell.

Appetite magazine

ahh im so proud its so nice! :) Get a copy of the next issue of Appetite magazine, out in the market early December! Thanks to Ina, I was able to experience something totally new. I cooked the cover for their December - January issue and all the other McCormick recipes in the issue. A tiring but fun experience withe the photographer and the food stylist.

Appetite magazine is the leading local culinary magazine giving its readers the latest news and info about culinary arts and updating us on the newest and trendiest places to go and things to eat.

Sunday lunch at New Bombay

When finally church service ended, at about 1pm, my family and I were off to lunch. Of course comes the dilemma of where to eat. I normally choose the place to eat but this time, my dad got ahead of me and said that he wants to eat at this Indian place along P. Guevarra (near Wilson) called New Bombay. He's eaten there a couple of times but not with me. I would always rather eat elsewhere than try that Indian restaurant. This Sunday, I wasn't really up for any Indian food because I was so hungry and when I get really hungry, I just want common comfort food like Aristocrat BBQ chicken, Persian food or fast food. But anyway, we had Indian. I was too hungry and tired to object. We were the only customers there so I can't really say that people don't go there for lunch on a Sunday because it was already 2pm when we got there. The first thing I noticed was that they did not have a signage outside their restaurant. No 'New Bombay' sign could be visible upon entering the establishment. It would only be the tables and some decors which would tell you that you are in an Indian restaurant. The interiors of the restaurant did not really WOW me, unlike the Persian restaurant Arya. Everything was simple and very minimal. but the horror comes when you actually look up to the ceiling and and see their very modern lights and lamps. Totally out of place in a restaurant like that. In other words, they did not really give much emphasis or importance to their interiors. And peak time was definitely over because they had to turn the aircon back on when we came in.

The servers were girls, nice and friendly but could use more training in welcoming guests, taking orders, etc. The menu was awfully made. It was just a compiled laminated menu without any design. Very straight to the point and direct. After browsing the menu, I ended up ordering samosa (their best seller for appetizers), 4 pieces per serving and served with 3 different types of sauces, and chicken tikka biryani. I ordered the chicken tikka biryani because it was familiar and we cooked this once in ISCAHM. My parents ordered palakpaneer and dall soup while my sister got chicken curry. Pretty weird though coz on the menu, it says that their chicken curry has no coconut milk. It didn't take too long for the samosa to arrive (thank God! This was gonna be my first ingestion for the day!). Samosas at New Bombay are served by 4s and with 3 dipping sauces. The best for me would be the coriander sauce, green in color and quite hot while the tamarind sauce is sweet and sour and the last is the mango sauce which is sweet and looks more like tomatoes than mangoes. The samosas are triangular in shape, crunchy on the outside and hot and soft on the inside, consisting of potatoes and raisins and small coriander seeds. A hot and very appetizing starter for your meal.

Next came my chicken tikka biryani, bright orange in color. I did not expect the rice to be quite sticky. It was long grain rice, yes but not dry as it would normally be served. It was delicious anyhow, although hot and spicy. The palakpaneer, bright green in color was also delicious and went well, surprisingly with the chicken tikka biryani. The palakpaneer is made of spinach and cream cheese together with other ingredients. I was delighted by the different striking colors of the food served, bright orange, bright green, yellow, red... and at the same time the different scents coming from the food and the mix of flavors makes me want to try some more Indian food. And I realize that truly, Asian cuisines are more diverse, exotic, flavorful and colorful than any other cuisine.

Not a very expensive restaurant to eat at either. For the 4 of us, with everything we ordered, the soup, palakpaneer, chicken tikka biryani, samosa, chicken curry, extra rice and 3 cokes, our bill was only Php800. Imagine, 200 bucks per head for a yummy meal. Not many resraurants can match that.

I would say that this restaurant is something like Behrouz. The interiors are lousy but the food is great. Although I must say, Behrouz has worse interiors than New Bombay. It was too bad none of their desserts were available and so we had to eat dessert elsewhere. But anyway, now that I've tried it, next time my dad makes aya to eat there, I'm surely not gonna object anymore!