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

Guinness! Guinness!

I drank Irish beer!  It was the first time I've tried it, and I have to say it was different from what I expected.  First, it was quite heavy, and after finishing the tall can I know I can't drink another.  Unlike beer from the Philippines it wasn't that bitter, but it wasn't tasteless.  It's quite hard to describe since I really haven't tasted anything like it.  I also drank a bunch of ciders (see the picture at the end of this post), but I preferred the beer's taste.  I now believe it when they say Irish beer is different :D  Cheers! I can't wait for Arthur's Day :D

The Station House at Raheny, Dublin

We went to a nearby pub to get some Irish food today.  I was treated to a meal of Roast beef, while my mom ate some fish and dips.  Here are the pics:

What can I say?  The food was good.  The roast beef and the gravy was delicious, the meat wasn't too tough.  The gravy tasted of herbs, but it did not overpower the meat and it blended well together.  The potatoes were 2 different dishes: one was mashed and another garlic.  I preferred the garlic potatoes, but the mashed potatoes were also good.  I guess the tastiness was the deciding factor, since the mashed potatoes were a bit bland when compared to the garlic potatoes.

The only problem for me was the vegetables, which was comprised of lettuce and broccoli.  They were overcooked, and there was almost no taste left to them.  They melted in your mouth, and that was not good for vegetables, at least for me.

I had a taste of the fish with tartar sauce, and it was also good.  I'm not quite sure what fish it was, but it was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  The tartar sauce tasted a bit like mayonnaise with some herbs.  It tasted fine when combined, although I still preferred my roast beef.

In all, it was an excellent experience in eating good food.

Airplane Food: Etihad

I've only been abroad a couple of times, and I know for a fact that good airplane food makes a long trip easier to bear.  I traveled to Dublin from Manila, and during the first flight to Abu Dhabi, and here was the meal I ate:

My doll, who is now my official model for some of my foodstuff, is showing the menu from which I chose which food I ate during the trip.  The next pic shows the meal after it was handed to me. 

The Menu:

A la carte:
Arabic beef tagine with green beans and kasuba rice

Dessert service:
Warm sakoo, kidney bean and coconut pudding

I have to say that the food was good.  The main meal tasted like beef curry, and the beans were very tasty.  The portions were small, but I guess that's to be expected.  The veggies which were presented like a salad were fresh, and the bread and butter which served as an appetizer was fine, even if the bread was not hot.  I had mango juice, but I found it quite sour (maybe it was green mango?).

The pic above is the meal itself.  It was an Arab dish whose name I actually forgot.   The dessert, seen on the 2nd pic, was coconut and kidney bean pudding.  It was sweet, but it wasn't outstanding.  I had hot chocolate (Milo) while eating the dessert.

I'm glad the food was good, and it filled me up in spite of the small portions.  The combination of tastes was okay, passable in terms of instant meals.  I hope the experience is the same for other travelers. :3

Want Want Shelly Senbei

I've always liked this snack since I first saw it, and I was glad to see it at Gourdo's.  I never really knew its name until I saw it again.  Here it is:

I guess what really draw me to it was its unusual taste.  It was sweet and salty at the same time!  I tasted something similar to this before, but I can't find it anymore so I guess it went defunct, so I am really glad I found this as a substitute.

Aside from having 2 tastes which miraculously blend in a single bite, it's also very...crispy?  Sorry for the uncertainty, but same as its taste, it has 2 opposing textures: its soft but also crunchy at the same time.  Great, isn't it?  You get to try out a lot of things in a single serving.  It's also quite cheap, only 35php for 8 pieces.  The only drawback is that you might not be satisfied with 8 pieces after trying out such an unusual snack :3

Cake Overload at Contis

I just got my diploma and I decided to treat myself to something sweet.  I was at Trinoma at the time so I thought of a place where I have been quite a number of times: Contis.  I ordered 2 cakes (Gluttony, I know, and I now cringe thinking about all the calories I consumed): Mango Bravo and Strawberry Cheesecake.

Cake 1: Mango Bravo

Sorry if it's not a very good shot, I forgot my camera again and I had to use my I-phone.  As you can see, the cake is divided into layers of wafer-like cake, with a single layer of chocolate cake and layers of cream, mangoes and nuts.  The topmost layer is filled with cream, mangoes and nuts, while the side was cream relished with chocolate.

The wafer layers were so sweet and tasty and they literally melted in you mouth.  They blended well with the mangoes, cream and nuts.  The overall flavor was not overpowering, but it made a very sweet dessert which would no doubt satisfy any sweet tooth out there.  Besides, the portion is huge, so if you feel you can't finish it by yourself, there's always enough to share with a special someone <3

Cake 2: Strawberry Cheesecake

After a very sweet cake, I decided to try something less decadent, so I tried this.  When I tried the layers separately, the strawberry topping was quite sweet, the cream part tasted like sour cream and cheese (the taste was actually quite overpowering that I couldn't handle it without taking a gulp of water afterwards) while the bread on the bottom was like grahams, but not as flavorful.  After tasting them separately, I decided to eat it as a whole.  Lo and behold!  It mixed wonderfully in my mouth, without any of the flavors overpowering each other.  Well, I did get tired of eating it after a while (probably since I already ate one cake), but thankfully, the cream on the last part of the cake was able to change the taste so I was able to finish the whole thing.  I guess in all it was good, but you need to get used to the flavors first.

The Mango Bravo cake was always their best seller, so it was no doubt that it was good.  I tried the Strawberry Cheesecake out of whim, and although I might not recommend it to someone who will be taste testing, I would still say it was pretty good and interesting.  This is one of the reason I come back to Contis again and again and again :3

Contis

Trinoma