It's Pocky!

Another of my favorite snacks!  As I said in an earlier post, I usually just buy this in anime conventions I attend, but as I said, I still love it :) 

As seen in this pic, there are four flavors included in this box: Chocolate, Strawberry, Banana and Milk.  I enjoy all of these flavors equally, although by preference I like the strawberry best.  They're sweet, and I don't get tired of eating them.  I can continuously eat a whole box!

 In any case, if you ever get to try them, I know you won't regret it :)

Thornton's Chocolate: Milk, White and Dark Continental

Now who's mouth wouldn't water wouldn't water with this?

I've always been a chocolate lover, and I have to say it was quite a fun experience trying out the different flavors of Thornton's chocolate.  This was a box of continental flavors, containing dark, white and milk chocolate.  If you are not a risk taker and you would prefer to only try out things you're sure you would enjoy, see that small notebook at the corner?  That contains descriptions of the chocolates included, so you can safely be sure that you're eating what you want (I guess this is important especially for people who have allergies, since you have to avoid food that can trigger it). 

So how does it taste? That's something you should find out for yourself. :)

Enjoying Hong Kong Food in Manila

You need not to go far to experience the tastes of Hong Kong, you just have to visit the nearest David's Tea House within your area to explore Chinese food in Hong Kong fashion.

For my initial visit, I and my friend sank our teeth on a yummy treat of hot steaming bowl of noodles and a basket of assorted dumplings. The verdict: a sure way to fi ll hungry stomachs with all of China's unique flavors.

Beef Brisket Noodles for PhP180.00

We each had a bowl of noodles, mine was Beef Brisket Noodles while hers was Beef Wanton Noodles. I must say, that true to its name, my bowl contains big chunks of beef and bok choy (Chinese cabbage). Even the soup is beefy in taste. My friend's bowl has wantons with real bits of shrimp in it.

Assorted Dumpling Basket PhP 2++

Aside from the steaming hot noodles, we also ordered a basket of assorted dumplings. The dumpling treat consists of 2 pcs of each variety: sharksfin, wanton, beef balls, four-season scallop dumpling, kuchay dumpling (consists of kuchay leaves, sotanghon, ground beef and shrimp) and lumpia (which my friend touts as "Hallelumpia" because it was crispy fried but with a melt-in-your-mouth meat filling that was perfectly complimented with a spicy vinegar dip)

Cuapao with Condensed Milk Dip PhP 70.00

What took me by surprise was when my cuapao (this is just your siopao bread) order came. Unlike in other Chinese restaurants that serves cuapao alongside Pata Tim or Peking Duck, David's cuapao was served with condensed milk.

Overall, the experience was not only fun and filling but I could say that it offers great value for your money.

Later!

My IL Mercanti Chronicles

I suppose you have already read Pariah's version of our Il Mercanti adventures, well let me share mine. Yes, I was also one of those who went all excited with the highly-publicized Banchetto Lantern Event and got all disappointed that it was canceled.

Since it was a jam-packed Banchetto Friday, we decided to choose the next best option, explore the tastes that Il Mercanti has to offer. It was my first time to visit Il Mercanti but I am already a veteran when it comes to midnight food bazaars.

Il Mercanti is located right at the Metrowalk Parking space in Meralco Ave., Ortigas. It is an open area housed with various tent offering an assortment of food and drinks.

Compared with Mercato Centrale (BGC Taguig) and Banchetto (Megatent, Eastwood and Boni-Pioneer), Il Mercanti's concessionaires are somewhat in the line of Mercato Centrale and a bit pricier than Banchetto. However, some of the food stall partners are already familiar like MedChef and Monster Burger, who also host stalls in the other food night market I mentioned above.

For my first Il Mercanti adventure, I tried to sink my teeth in the following goodies:

The Monster Burger: For 150.00, I was able to enjoy a half pound of burger. Nothing really special, except that the burger patty is thick and the whole burger is filling. Not to juicy but not dried out.

Ihaw-Ihaw: Yes, am a huge fan of grilled food, especially innards and pork ears. Ranging from 20-25 PhP a stick, this grilled favors is complimented with a spicy vinegar. Guess its better paired with a bottle of cold beer or ice cold soda. :)

Bangus Sisig: I forgot the name of the stall but their main offerings include sisigs of various meat/fish variety. This one, I must say, is a perfect beer partner. It has the right amount of mayo, well season bangus flakes and appetizing hotness contributed by chili fingers (it has lots of them). Overall, the double serving is sulit for its cost of PhP160.

Finally, to satisfy my sweet tooth craving, the sight of a home made egg pie made my mouth water. Mr. Arjay of Rogelio's pastries was generous enough to let us have a taste (for free) some of his baked goodies, enticing us to purchase some of his sweet treats. For PhP25, I sank my teeth in his home made egg pie that shouts "egg." It was creamy but with the right amount of sweetness. The egg pie was indeed a crowd favorite. The 8-slices pie was literally gone in a matter of minutes. Another hit was his tart like version of apple pies, which costs PhP 65.00 for a box of six. And since we bought a lot from him, he gave us a freebie, another tart which he calls Banana Apple and Cream Mini (Pariah mentioned this in her post).

Sir Arjay and his Pastries
(a friend said his looks is the kind whom you'd expect to sell steaks and not pastries. LoLs!)

Rogelio's line of pastries and goodies


The simple yet heavenly Egg Pie (a blockbuster)

Banana Apple and Cream Mini

Rogelio's pastry stall can be found in Eton Centris in Quezon Ave., every Sunday from 4a.m. till 1:00 p.m. and at Il Mercanti every Friday nights.

One thing I noticed in Il Mercanti is that though they have a spacious dinning area, they do not have bust boys who clears the tables unlike in Banchetto or Mercato, thus customers have to deal with eating in front of other people's "trash."

So far, the food and the night was indeed an experience.

Later!

A Veneto Avenue

Now here's an Italian pasta place I totally enjoy.  It's not very expensive, and you're sure to get your bill's worth.  Here's A Veneto! :)  During my latest visit there, here is what we ordered:

This is their starter platter.  It had a good selection consisting of fries, crab sticks, mozzarella balls and spicy chicken wings, as seen in the pic.  I think the dips were sour cream and marinara sauce.  All of the items went well with the marinara sauce except for the chicken wings, which seemed to mix better with the sour cream.  The four of us had a hard time finishing this before our main orders arrived, but we still managed to lick this particular plate clean :)

Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce and Hungarian Sausage
This is one of our most usual orders.  The marinara sauce was very tasty, and the 3 Hungarian sausages included in the pasta was more than enough for all of us.  Just a note: there is just a bite of spice in the sausages, but it was just enough to complement the flavorful sauce.   

Carbonara
This is the first time I ordered this since we wanted to have a white sauce pasta as well.  The verdict?  Better then I thought.  The sauce was very creamy, with bacon and ham and mushroom as other ingredients.  I guess I am a bit biased since I have always enjoyed cream based food, but seriously, you have to try this out.

Since this is just a few of their offerings, I know I'd be coming back to test some more.  You should try it out yourself :)

AME Monogatari Food Trip

Yay! I went to the AME Monogatari with pals and we decided to go on a food tasting as usual :3  Here were our choices:

California Maki
The filling was a bit creamier than most of the Californian Makis I usually have, but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary :) It was a good start to a food trip though, I have no regrets :)

Octoboy Takoyaki
This is one of the better takoyaki's that I've had.  It was not overflowing with veggies, and there was really some octupus inside.  The outermost layer was very crispy while the inside was very soft.  The thing is that it was so hot! I couldn't eat one piece in one biting :) Also, I wish they had place a bit more sauce.  It's also a bit expensive though, 3pcs for 50php.

Mitarashi Dango
Now this was a treat that I liked, even if my friends didn't think of it much.  It was mochi balls with sweet syrup.  I guess I just like the sweetness (not too sweet) and the soft and gooey feeling that I felt in my mouth.  A certified hit (with me xD)!

Tuna Onigiri
Okay, as usual, I don't know if this is how Onigiri is supposed to taste like, but as it is a Tuna Onigiri, it had tuna bits in the middle.  The tuna wasn't a lot, so basically it was more of rice and seaweed paper concoction.  Verdict?  I don't know, since I really don't know how it's supposed to taste :)

Of course, I never leave a convention without Pocky :)  I didn't take any pic of it since I hope to make a solo review of it.  It's one of my favorite snacks, that's why :)

Il Mercanti

A lot of people in Manila have probably heard of the ill-fated Banchetto event last Friday.  I was there as well, being one of the people who reserved lanterns.  My family and friends were with me, and although the lantern event made it more special, we were mainly there for the food (we missed dinner in order to be able to eat a lot of things).  Unfortunately, due to the crowd, we were unable to buy anything at all, and I just claimed my lanterns before we went to Il Mercanti at Metrowalk. 

Il Mercanti was similar to Banchetto in the sense that they offered various food for taste testing.  They say that Mercanti has a higher price when compared to Banchetto but I really can't compare 'coz as I said earlier, I wasn't able to buy anything at Banchetto.

In any case, here were the things we tried out:

 Monster Burger with 2 patties!
Yummy! Overflowing with beefy goodness, and very heavy on the stomach.  I shared this with a friend coz I knew I could never finish this :)

Mixed Pasta with white sauce - a bit salty, very oily 

Banana Apple and Cream Mini Pies (BAC Mini Pies)
I loved these! I honestly think they were great!  It really tasted like apples, bananas and cream, only the banana flavor was more pronounced.  Not too sweet, just right :)

Tikoy - nothing out of the ordinary :)

Corndog - typical :)

Unfortunately, I was unable to get the names of the store owners for these food :(  But it's really worth the visit :)

Mix it the Mongolian Way

A good friend and I decided to go on our usual "am-bored-let's-go-out-explore-and-eat."

Since we are on a tight budget but with big HUNGER spelled on our tummies, we rushed through Trinoma's Food Choices and got curious on this stand lined up with various bowls of veggies, meats, oils and sauces.

Ranging from Php120 (mini bowl with drinks) to Php180 pesos (large bowl with drinks), Mongolian Rice Bowls offers you a wide array of do-it-yourself rice or rice noodles meal topped with your choice of veggies, seasonings, meat, beef, chicken or squid.

Rules I've learned on trying this Mongolian thing:

1.) Pay first. You'll never get started without paying because you'll only be able to claim your bowl upon payment.

2.) Follow instructions carefully in concocting your own sauce, which can be sweet and sour, sweet and spicy, hot and spicy.

3.) Touch move. Once you have handed over your bowl to the cook who will stir fry you meal, there is no turning back.

Overall, it was a cool experience and a very filling meal. Recommended to those who wanna customize their own meals under a tight budget.

DIY FroYo

Good day all foodies!

Since my good friend Pariah invited me to share some of the gastronomic delights I have discovered in this blog, might as well start contributing some delish articles of my foodventures.

Well if you have an appetite for fro-yo then you might enjoy this one.

My bro, who happens to be not so adventurous when it comes to food, came buzzing me the other night about his latest exploration, a do-it-yourself frozen yogurt stand situated in SM Manila.

As per his account, Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt, the latest addition to the growing FroYo family in the Philippines, allows its customers to create their own FroYo mixes by choosing from their wide array of flavored FroYo and toppings. The cost, Php 20.00 per ounce.

You could select from an array of flavored yogurts and toppings ranging from fruits, candies, chocolates, syrups, brownies and nuts.

Aside from their branch in SM Manila, they have other branches in SM San Lazaro, Glorietta 4 and SM Megamall and would soon open in the following stores: Gaisano Mall of Davao, SM Sta. Mesa, SM City (I think this is SM North EDSA), SM Clark, SM Cebu and Eton Centris.

French Macarons

Okay, I had a Blair Waldorf moment earlier when I tasted divine French Macarons from Ireland.  It was from Maison Laduree, and I have to say it's no wonder that Macarons were her a favorite of hers.  Here's the pics:

One thing's for sure: these are very sweet.  I needed a drink of water after I finished eating one.  As for the taste? Well, it's quite hard to describe since there were different flavors.  I guess I like the Rose flavored one (seen at the 2nd pic) more than the black forest flavored one, but to each his own.

It's something to try out if you ever get the chance to :3

Meidoll's Cafe at Cainta

I've heard a lot of things about this place so I decided to see for myself what the fuss was about.  It was quite a long drive from my place (since I live near the north), although luckily I did not get lost.  It was a small place on the 2nd floor of Saunterfield Bldg. in Cainta.

The pics here are some of what my best friend and I ordered.  Here was what we ate:

Bread Rolls
My friend and I enjoyed this.  It was just simple, and you could not call the flavor outstanding, but it was the simplicity of it that made it quite good.  The dressing on top was mayo and mustard, and the bread roll was stuffed with hotdog.

Korokke
It was just your regular hash brown, Japanese style.  It was very crispy on the outside and quite soft in the inside, since the potatoes were mashed.  Quite bland, but I guess that's to be expected if someone really wanted to bring out the potato taste.  

Fried Sushi Rolls
Okay, I have to admit I didn't enjoy this dish very much.  It tasted a bit like fried suman (native rice cake) with crab sticks inside.  The yellow sauce seen in the pic is mayo + mustard, I think.  Why I didn't enjoy it?  I guess it was just all wrong for me.  It's an interesting dish, but I guess when you deep fry the whole thing, the oil just seeps into everything and in essence, it tasted like oil.

Meidoll Gyudon
I was kind of expecting something else when I bought this, since the presentation was different in the picture.  I can't compare it to other Gyudon, since I don't actually order it in other Japanese restaurants.  The taste?  It was just like beef stew.  I have no complaints though, it tasted okay.  The question is, is that really how gyudon tastes like?

Tempura Fried Ice Cream

This was my order so that we could all taste dessert.  The concept I think was fried ice cream, but they kind of made it into something like the bread roll.  It was satisfactory, although I wouldn't say the slices were really meant to be bite size since I had to half it before I could eat it.

I guess it's the novelty of the place which really draws patrons here.  The "Maids" here call you master, and they cook and serve you the food.  You can get them to sing a tune or dance for you, but of course, that all comes with a fee.  As for the meals, they could be improved, but that's not really the reason why you came there, right?

Mini Cakes at Gourmet Tart Co.

A late review.  Am already at the Philippines and yet I haven't posted quite a number of my tastings in Ireland.  I've been busy on other things as well, but I will try to post as much as I can before I forget about them.

We were in Galway City Centre when I saw these cute mini cakes.  Here's the pic:

Why did I pic four cakes?  It was only because my mom and I couldn't agree on the flavors :D 

I can't remember the exact names of the ones in the upper right and bottom left, but all I can say is that they were the fruity ones.  The mini cake with the strawberry was berry flavored, and the full flavor was quite intense.  It was a mix of tangy berry flavors and just a hint of sweetness.  As for the rectangular cake, it was also fruity, but as far as I can remember it had a milder taste than the berry cake.  It also was not that sweet, which accentuates the taste of fruit more.

Side note:  I checked the website, and I think the rectangular cake might have been Passion Fruit and Cassis Mousse and the  Strawberry cake might have been the Red Berry Mouss.  I'm not that certain though.

The one on the upper left is the Triple Chocolate mousse.  Everyone's verdict: utterly divine.  It was just the right amount for anyone wanting a bit of that decadent chocolate cake.  It was also quite soft that it melted in your mouth.  The amount of each layer was just fine, it blended well into that creamy chocolate taste in your mouth.  Phew!

The last cake is the Black forest.  Quite a surprise, isn't it?  I was also intrigued by this cake since it was all white, and not a hint of chocolate in it.  When I tasted it, viola!  It was the black forest taste I have always known.  The secret?  It was the bottom layer that housed all the nuances of the black forest cake.  It was a different take on the cake I thought I already knew.

Gourmet Tart Co., Co. Galway
http://www.gourmettartco.com/index.php

Brambles: Another Cake Affair

A week or so ago, I took home 2 pieces of cake from Brambles, a cafe (or so I think) in the ground floor of the Jervis shopping center in Dublin.  They had a lot of cakes to choose from, but these were my choices:

The cake with the strawberry is the Victoria Cake and the other is Fruit of the Season Cheesecake.  I hope I'm right about their names xD

For the Victoria Cake, it was a 3 layered sponge cake with cream and strawberries between each layer as well as on top.  Chocolate bits cover the side of the cake.  I think it's a fresh cream cake, but I'm not sure.  In any case, it was very good.  It was just the right amount of sweetness, and I know I could eat more than a slice of it.  The cream did not overpower the strawberry but they mixed with every bite.  The chocolate on the side was just an extra, you could hardly taste it except if you're just taking the side part.

The other cake was a cheesecake topped with a gelatine layer of a berry mix.  I found the top too sweet to eat with or without the cream.  The flavor totally overpowers the entire cake.  It was still good, you can taste a bit of strawberry and blueberries, and a hint of raspberry, perfect for someone who would like to try a berry cheesecake.

Recommended to Dubliners if you haven't tried it yet :3

Brambles @ Jervis Shopping Center
Dublin, Ireland

Edit: The Victoria Cake is a Strawberry Gateaux.  Here's a better pic of it:

Drinks for Everyone

We went to a debs party in one of my mom's friend's house and we had some drinks.  Here are some drinks we tried:

I just tasted Bacardi Breezer Orange and it tasted just like orange juice.  I finished it for my sister who was unable to finish it since she didn't like the taste very much.  Since the cocktail tasted sweet I think I would have no trouble drinking a few bottles of it.

Now this was a cocktail I really wanted to taste since the last time.  I really liked this, and I would have wanted another bottle if I wasn't so determined to taste a lot of different drinks.  It tasted sweet, and I can honestly say it can't compare to any of the cocktails I've had before (except maybe Smirnoff Ice) :3

 

My last drink was supposedly apple cider, but it tasted a lot like San Mig Lights.  Nothing more I can say about it.

Since I'd probably be going to another party tomorrow, I'm having more drinks.  Tough luck I missed the free drinks on Arthur's Day.  Tsk!

A Fast Lunch

Before my siblings and I went on our Trim Castle and Keep tour (trivia: It's where they shot the movie Brave Heart), we had a quick lunch at one of the nearby places.  I can't remember the name, but we had Beef Taco Chips and Lasagne with Salad.   

The Lasagne with Salad was what my sister ordered.  I tasted both the pasta and the salad and they both tasted divine.  The serving was just right for me, but when I think of it, it was kinda expensive for its 8 euro price, since the serving was not as big as it usually was.

The beef taco chips were what I ordered.  Honestly speaking, I really should have thought that since it said "chips", they meant potato wedges, but I thought they were just potato chips in the literal sense.  So, I ended up having to eat a lot of potatoes topped with salsa, beef and cheese.  It was good, although I wish there were some lettuce like in a real taco.  I found it quite hard to finish my meal since it quite very heavy and the chips were a lot.  In any case, for a person with a big hearty appetite, it is a good deal.

In all, we were stuffed when we went running back to Trim Castle to catch up with the tour.

Lunch at Carrickdale Hotel in Newry

On the way to Banbridge, near Belfast, we had to stop for lunch since it was already past 12.  We stopped at the nearest hotel, which happened to be the Carrickdale Hotel.  Lunch was as follows:

This was my order: Roast Irish Sirloin Beef.  I know, it's just roast beef with a fancier name, but the side dishes were different.  There was stuffing, roast potatoes, broccoli and carrots, and of course, the mashed potatoes.  How was it different from the meal I had yesterday?  Aside from the sides, the vegetables were not very well done, which was a good thing.  The broccoli and the carrots were both crunchy.  It was the first time that I had tasted stuffing, and I have to say it was delicious.  The stuffing was made of bread crumbs and herbs, although I'm not sure what herbs it were.  

Both my brother and sister had roast lamb.  I tasted the meat, and I could say the it was quite tasty, although I know I would not be able to distinguish beef from lamb anytime soon.  I guess I would only be able to distinguish the two by texture and aftertaste.  The lamb was softer, even without gravy, and it had a very distinct aftertaste which the beef didn't have.  I should taste veal sometime for future comparisons.

Dessert!  The banoffee we shared was very good!  Unlike the ones I usually taste, the toffee was not very sweet, so you could really finish the entire slice.  The strawberry syrup was a pleasant addition.  It was not too sweet, and it mixed well with the banoffee.  The amount of cream was just enough for me, although others might find it too much.  The chocolate sprinkles on top were also of good amount.

In all, it was a hearty lunch :3