Tips and notes to make the most of your Bacolod vacation

Just came back (This is five months blogging backlog from June)
We absolutely enjoyed our three day vacation in Bacolod. Of course, we did make an IT but as you know, schedules can only go as far as give you a background and everything changes when you actually do things. So here's a rundown of things we did and things (I think) can be of great help to you.

1.Tourist Spots

The Ruins
*This place is close to the airport and to Silay City so visit it together with the ancestral houses of Silay or before you head to the airport/straight ahead from your flight. Also, it is more beautiful in the afternoon before sunset. Lastly, note that this place can be booked as a wedding venue and become exclusive so they cannot accommodate guests on those days. We wanted to see the place on a friday afternoon but it was booked for a wedding, so I imagine Saturdays can be fully booked on particular months, especially wedding season. Do bring water, umbrellas and fans because the place is very exposed so it can be very humid.

Team Lagrimas for the win! :D

Mambukal
*I didnt enjoy our stay here as much as I hoped because of three reasons

1: We reserved a room since I wanted a secure place for our belongings since I was hoping to look around the facilities. However, it was only when we got there that I found out that rooms can only be used after checking in at 2pm, similar to most hotels. It was a waste for us since we were just on a daytrip and would leave the resort before 4pm. I also didnt know that cottages can be reserved as well so when we got there, there were no available cottages and we were basically palaboy.

2: I didnt expect the place to be so huge and for the walking paths to be so hot. I thought the facilities would be compressed in one area but we had to walk 3-5 minutes between areas, which was a waste of time and quite tedious with our bags(since we didnt have a cottage) and two kids that had to be carried.

Daytrips to waterfalls where you are only allowed to take pictures after trekking for a few minutes carrying a toddler and a preschooler aint fun Mambukal, It ain't fun :(

3: They were strict with the swimwear in the pool so we had no choice but to "reveal" our bodies sans the cover ups. I'm overweight so no questions asked, it was dead embarrassing, but equally as hard for my bffs who were conscious of their body post-pregnancy.

2. Making the most of the sweets that this city has to offer

You get what you pay for when it comes to pasalubong.
They're all butterscotch, Piaya and biscocho, but some brands are better than others. So far, the best Napoleones I've had are from Pendy's and the best Biscocho is indeed from Biscocho house. I'm torn about who has the best butterscotch and I don't like Piaya(so I'm not the one to ask), but I think Virgie's products are more expensive but more delicious; compared to the cheaper brands Margie's, Bongbongs and Merci.

Always leave room for dessert.
The people of Bacolod do loooooooooooooove their sweets and most of them are the best(I believe) in their range. Hence, it would be a huge loss on your part if you would only be able to try a few. Therefore, I suggest that you make it a part of your plan not to stuff yourself too much with meals(which was something since they were equally delicious) so that you can still indulge on that Calea cake or what have you.

I lost count of all the cakes we ate and ordered, but these were some that I had pictures of :)

If it's that big of a deal, prioritize your pasalubong.
We were familiar with Pendy's napoleones but didnt realize that it would be a big deal so we went there on our last afternoon in Bacolod- only to find out that stocks usually run out before lunch time so we were not able to buy. My heart "ached" (yup, the sweet tooth needs to be pleased and settled for a different brand which was okay but not spectacular.

I never know when we will visit again the city of smiles but I will surely take note of these things when the opportunity comes along. Ciao!

Boon Tong Kee- Good Food, no questions asked

After our Boon Tong Kee experience, I kept scolding myself for not trying Singaporean food much sooner. You see, one of the signature dishes of Singaporean food is chili crab(from what I heard) and I am not a fan of it plus adding the fact that I associate the cuisine with Indian food(not a big fan), it was the worst combo for somebody who hasnt tried the food before. Nonetheless, I saw a voucher on metrodeal and since we would be in the area on that day, I decided to give it a go.

Anyhow, I expected that our 2,000 worth of voucher would be consumed but I was surprised that we only ordered 1,400 worth for our dine-in purchase. It came as a surprise because even though each item was more expensive than what I would normally pay for, it was reeeeeeeally filling.

Let's start with the Bacon Meatball and Foo Chow Soup. It's 195php and good for 3-4. The bacon meatballs were served with these crispy strips that were absolutely delicious. I also loved that the broth was yummy but not overpowering and tasted like it was made from fresh ingredients and not that much artificial flavoring.

Next were the signature boiled chicken, hakaw and crispy deep fried chicken. All three dishes were served at roughly the same time and I enumerated them in decreasing satisfaction. 

I liked the signature boiled chicken the most probably because I set very low expectations. For someone who hasnt tried the dish before, I was expecting it to be very bland. True to that, the chicken was bland but it wasn't malansa and the sauce definitely made all the difference. Hubby was quite disappointed with the serving size but I thought it was okay since we had other dishes to try.

Next was the hakaw. I was almost certain that there were two shrimps when I took a bite but it wasnt as good as I wanted it to be because the wrapper broke. I think good hakaw has to have soft enough wrapper that doesnt break when you get it from the bamboo container.

Not bad for 125 :)

Lastly for this batch was deep fried chicken. I have nothing much to say except that it was average and very similar to the Savory chicken.

The last two served were the sambal rice and the cream cheese prawns and this is where it gets really interesting. The food attendant kept remind me(as if to discourage me) that the sambal rice was spicy so I kept telling her that we wanted it(my husband and yaya are both Bicolano, so there goes). The cream cheese was recommended on websites so I decided to give it a try.

The sambal rice(Not sure but I think it was at 295php) was, indeed, spicy, even for my Bicolano companions and even more so for me so I had to pair it with plain rice. Nonetheless, the flavor was really good, given the mix of peanuts and pork bits that I saw and though it was packed with flavor, it didnt clash with the other dishes.

The crackers were a nice addition, I'm guessing to pass time while waiting for the other dishes? hehehe

The cream cheese prawns(375 or 395php) really surprised me though. I was expecting it to be salty, like the nacho dips, but it was sweet. It was so creamy and the sauce was good, I wish we could take it home because I imagined that it would also pair well with chicken. The prawns were huge and all three of us who were so used to eating it with our bare hands had quite a hard time deconstructing each piece.

served with mantau, which I didnt like so no pic of that :)

At this point hubby was complaining from being too full(Yep, we're weird that way) ahahaha so he refused to partake in the chocolate almond jelly we ordered. It wasn't exceptional, but just right to wash down the rich taste of the dishes.

All in all, I would recommend eating in Boon Tong Kee for those "kinda special" eat outs like birthdays. Bear in mind that servings are good for 3-4 except the rice and the desserts or stated otherwise but I guess you need to order at least three main dishes to enjoy the experience. 

Till the next parenting or travel or food adventure!

Pepper Lunch Express' disappointing serving

I think my "loser level" will go up one notch after I tell you that it was my first time to eat at Pepper Lunch yesterday. I've always wanted to try it but somehow never ended up doing so before. Luckily, ze sister went shopping in Trinoma yesterday and she treated me to dinner so I was able to try it.

We milled around the food court looking for cheaper options but as sister pointed out, the other stalls did not have a line whilst Pepperlunch had a long line and it might be a good sign. Our order was ready within 10 minutes and truly, the taste did not disappointed but the serving did.

The bits of meat were randomly spread on the bowl and though it looks as if there is more because of that, there was no denying that there were very few pieces. The bowl looked very sad and here's how it looked like after I put the pieces much closer to one another, as shown in their picture.

Notice that less than half of the circumference is filled with beef

There were more chicken bits compared to the beef but there were still very few pieces

I guess it was disappointing because even though the price of 150 is already a bit high for fastfood standards, we would have been willing to pay more so as not to get very little food. Funny thing is, they do have the "upsize" and "jumbo" option, but I believe this initial size should be removed altogether and just peg their starter meal at 199 to avoid unsatisfied and only "partially full" customers like us.

So yes, the meal tasted good, yes the sauce was delicious and yes, the concept is catchy but the serving was way way way(can I add "way" one more time?) behind.

Mr. Donut's Do-ssant

Haven't been able to join the "cronut" craze for a number of reasons but when I passed by the Mr. Donut kiosk in Tektite this afternoon, couldnt resist any longer and had to get one for myself!

Mr Donut had four variants- Dark Chocolate, Glazed, Sugar Raised and Cinnamon. Naturally, I tried dark chocolate and here goes:

1. This baby reminded me a lot of Napoleones, that sweet sweet heaven in a square from Bacolod and other Panay provinces. It was probably because of the layers of pastry tucked with bavarian creme and glazed "thingy" I dunno what to call

those layers were quite heaven ^_^

2. It would be hard to eat this on a regular day when you just want a normal sized dessert. The dossant was about the size of an average cup saucer and after more than five mouthfuls, my stomach was close to bursting and the sweetness became a bit overpowering

I took it at this angle to emphasize the height..it was at least 2 inches

3. Because of that, it was very filling and quite worth the price, especially since they didnt use the standard milk chocolate for the coating.

Each do-ssant costs 65 pesos. I dunno how it would fare compared to the others but given its price, it was okay enough for me..4/5 taking everything into consideration..

Until the next chow session! 

Zark's Burger- TAFT

I went to DOLE NCR this morning to process my boss' permit and was contemplating on whether I'd buy a BK stunner for my lunch or settle for a carinderia meal somewhere in front of the Bureau of Immigration(my next stop)..I was about to ride an fx, looked up and saw their logo and I decided to give it a go..After all, I rarely say no to an opportunity to have an awesome burger! Here are my notes to my first (and definitely not my last visit) to their Taft branch:

The Place:

'Twas my first visit and I was going up, I was still on the steps of the stairs but the smell was already very strong and inviting. Probably because of the structure of the building, their space reminds you a lot of a computer shop, only instead of the game posters, their posters are taped all over the place.

As you walk in, you'll be reminded a lot of a burger joint or watering hole in American shows and movies that you see- counter on the left side, small cozy tables and a live NBA game on the TV in the corner.

The Menu:

I was given a menu and true enough, there were about a dozen burger variations- the upper half choices are more "conservative", slightly bigger than your fastfood burgers, with a few similarities and distinctions that tell them apart. The bottom half were for those who crave for more- including their jawbreaker- which from research, I have gained to be one of their best sellers and surely seems to live up to its name.

I went for the Classic American burger which costs 120- with BLT and their classic patty. Add 20 and you get fries and an iced tea as well.

My lunch for that day. Yumyum!

They have unique dessert offering such as the fried mars and fried snickers and though I was interested to try them, they were a bit pricey at 125.

The burger:
The size of the burger was good enough-as I said, slightly bigger than your fastfood burger but not too big. What I hate about these type of burgers is that it's almost impossible to have every ingredient in one bite-on one bite, I had a looooooooooooong stretch of bacon that took at least 3 minutes to chew(hihihihi) and on another, it was all ketchup, buns and lettuce. Nonetheless, I knew that each ingredient was fresh and meticulously picked..and I loved it

A closer look: there was so much more bacon in person... ^_^

The fries:
Not much to say, except that they were fresh and not your "fast food" french fries that are so freakin thin and taste the same after a few days. These babies were freshly peeled potatoes and by the quantity, I'd say they used two small potatoes for every order.

Notes:
I wish the place would look more like a burger place from the outside. Like I said, it looked like a computer shop rather than a burger joint.
I'm not sure if I didnt notice it or there really werent any, but I'd love for their menu to have shakes and the like, to complete that American burger joint vibe.

My work entails a lot of visits to DOLE NCR so I know for a fact that this was just the first of many visits to come. See u soon Zark's burgers!

Food Review: Angel's Pizza

As with previous instances, I hardly find time to write but when I do, I am usually on a roll and after my post on bridesmaid dresses, I decided to make this one as well.

I had the chance to buy their pizzas because for our son's monthly birthdays, we usually have mini-celebrations. I was so set on getting Yellow Cab Pizza but after finding out that Pepperoni Friday Promo was a one time thing only, I thought of Angel's Pizza as a cheaper alternative.

They actually have a wide menu but since I only bought pizzas, I'd rather focus on it for now. What I probably like most about them was that there were so many flavors to choose from! Most were just variations of one another but nonetheless, it was a good thing to know the taste would vary with slight differences.

I availed of the buy 1 take 1 family pizza for 550- making each 12" pizza 275 pesos, which wasnt bad at all. I got Angel's Medley and Chicken Parmigiana.

General Points:

* The place wasn't exactly enticing for dine-in and I think 90% of their customers actually order take out or pizza for delivery. Still, I appreciated the efforts to make waiting time bearable- the chairs were huge and magazines were available.

*Service was fast as promised! I almost raised an eyebrow when the crew told me that pizza would be ready in 12-15 minutes because there were at least 3 other groups of customers waiting aside from me, but as promised, the pizzas were ready even before I got back from buying cola from a nearby store.

*Some might say that the dough was too chewy but we liked it because it meant that the pizza was more filling- I could hardly eat my 3rd slice(I usually eat 4 or more for thick crust)

*The flavor of the pizza wasnt too overpowering. I think it's best for people who much on pizza non-stop especially while in front of the tv, because you can take a bite between scenes

Angel's Medley

Angel's Medley has beef, pepperoni, mushroon and mozzarella cheese. I liked it because the beef was well cooked unlike in particular variants I've tried in other stores before but the sauce was a bit too sour for me, tasted like tomato paste straight from the can.

from their website

Chicken Parmigiana
This one is actually not on their website yet, probably because it's new compared to the other pizzas. My family actually liked Angel's Medley more but being the weirdo that I am, I liked this one more. It has white sauce, barbecue chicken bell pepper and tomatoes. I liked that the white sauce was very subtle and yet you can still distinguish it from the usual marinara. I also liked that the chiken wasn't too sweet(which is why I don't like Yellow Cab's Barbecue Chicken Pizza).

credits to chinesenamatakaw- forgetfulness strikes again and I forgot where I saved my own shot

Final Points:
All in all, we'd definitely order again and probably try two of these- Angel's Aloha, Fancy Aloha, All Meat, Angel's Supreme or Cheesyburger

Website: http://www.angelspizza.com.ph

Till next time!

Binyag/Baptism Supplier Review: 2kh foodhouse

Peso Power: 150/pax for 4 dishes(1 pork, 1 fish, 1 chicken, 1 veggie) + rice, dessert, bottomless iced tea

use of buffet table, cake table, chafing dishes, utensils, plates and glasses

*tables and chairs not included

Website: https://www.facebook.com/2KHFoodHouse

http://twokhfoodhouse.wix.com/2khcateringservices

Rating: 4/5

Side Kwento:

I wanted to get a caterer pero sobrang limited lang naman ang budget namin kasi we have a huge guest list of 100(mostly my relatives). Prior to coming across 2kh, I almost accepted na magluluto nalang kami but after hours of scrolling across ads in sulit.com.ph, nakita ko sila. Thank God, hindi na kami namalengke, naghiwa, nagluto at naghugas ng pinggan.hahahaa. Nakakatuwa pa kasi they're literally in the next neighborhood kaya ang dali lang ng meet up

Review:

Chicken with mushroom: For me, this dish was a cross between Chicken Pastel and Potato Salad- mas maliit kasi sa Pastel ung hiwa nya and aside from the mushroom, it was creamy and had bite size potatoes. I liked it because it was creamy, milky and created a nice balance with the other dishes.

Pork Teriyaki: It was okay though it was not exceptional for me. Lagi kasi kami nagluluto nito and we like it very sticky- ung matagal nakasalang sa pan tapos halos manikit na kaya malagkit talaga. Nonetheless, their Teriyaki was very tender which was good.

Fish Fillet with Tartar Sauce: I was pleased with this one kasi malalaki ung fillets, almost the size of a patty, I was expecting them to be bite size kasi, parang fingers lang. The tartar sauce was also good, not too rich though mejo malapot.

Buttered Vegetables: Nothing much to say though for me, mejo kulang sa butter but the vegetables were cooked well- hindi nasobrahan sa luto pero hindi rin naman hilaw.

Coffee Jelly: This was a hit among many guests especially with the kids. I think they found the idea of coffee jelly very rebellious while my sister who has tried coffee jelly before said she liked it because it tasted better than another version she sampled before.

Pros:

1. Sobrang Mura

ito talaga yung deciding factor why we booked them. Imagine, we could have fed 100 people with just 15,000 pesos whereas most suppliers charge 300-500 for the same menu.

2. The serving was fair

There were last minute fallouts so we estimated that only about 80 guests(90 tops) came. Naturally, there were left overs and with managed servings, it can actually feed 10-15 people.

3. The presentation was okay

I set my expectations low kasi we had no prior experience of their service and sobrang mura lang naman. Sabi ko, basta okay yung food, okay nako. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised with the iced tea tower, kala ko jug lang gagamitin nila for serving. hehe. I also liked it that they served the coffee jelly in shot glasses, feel na feel tuloi ng mga bata na umiinom sila ng alak. It was also a bonus that they had spotlight for the food kasi shempre dagdag effect din ^_^

Our picture of the actual setup. Notice the coffee jelly in the far corner. Spaghetti are our own(not included in the package)

4. Accommodating staff

Mababait waiters nila and professional. At 2:30, nobody was getting food anymore but since the contract said service time was until 3pm, hindi pa sila nagpack up and I was the one who told them they can pack up. Our ice was stocked in a different place pero when guests requested ice for the beer, they were generous even though hindi na dapat un included sa kanila. We also added some of our food and they washed some of our dishes.

Cons:

1. Tables and Chairs are not included- this is a disadvantage if you want a real hassle free preparation because of course, you'll be talking to more suppliers but for us, it was an advantage kasi sa bahay ung party. Caterers normally prepare 1:1 for food and chairs meaning 1 chair is rented for every meal that you book. The disadvantage with that is you pay for all chairs even though you dont need them all. In our case, we had existing monobloc chairs and since sa bahay ung handaan, we assumed people will move around and need less chairs. We only rented 30 chairs and 4 small tables for 490 which means we only paid 4.9 pesos per guest for the chairs and tables, kaya 155 lang total budget namin per pax

2. They were a bit confused with their things

When we talked to Mrs. Marquez(shocks, tama ba?), she mentioned that we can request additional equipment at no extra cost. Come baptism day, wala ung table na nirequest namin. Luckily, their place is near so nakabalik agad for the cake table.

Also, before they left, one of the waiters approached me to ask about plates- kulang daw kasi ng dalawa. Initially, we couldnt find the plates. When they've left already, we found one plate(not two) , three shot glasses and two drinking glasses. We were just puzzled why they didnt look for the shot glasses and the drinking glasses.

Final Verdict:

We'd book them again for simple gatherings especially birthdays, when you just to celebrate and not worry about the food. They're also highly recommended for intimate office/company functions when you have ready tables and chairs.    

Until the next review!

At long last

There was a time when I didn't write for a very long time because I was sad that I didn't know the identity that I wanted to build for this blog.

*Do I want it to be about food reviews about new things we've tried? I thought I wasnt much of an expert.

*Do I want it to be about the hiking trips we've had? But we only climb "mainstream" mountains, and really, it's more about the overall experience and not the technical aspects of it.

*Do I want it to be about parenthood? Not so sure because at 8 weeks, I hardly consider myself an expert..

But why choose when I can do all three! After all, I am a foodie, I am a mountaineer and I am a mother..so blogging about any of these three would still make me true to who I am. I might get lost at some point but it doesnt matter. Get lost with me.

My Plate in Ristorante Bigoli, a place I've been dying to review but havent had time to do so

My first and last hiking trip as a preggy woman at 21 weeks

My darling boy at 4 weeks, aka Mr. Pogi :)

Maiba naman sa usual flash back friday crap. Haha. Till Next time!

Food Review: Moshi Moshi Katipunan

I got a voucher for this place from deal grocer way way back ( March, I think) and pleaded for husband for us to use it before it expires next week. Luckily, he was planning to buy something and after we came from Ortigas yesterday, we headed to Katipunan.

Moshi Moshi is in Regis, Center in Katipunan and if you're like me whose not very good with names and remembers landmarks instead, it's the glass building across Ateneo, the one with Fully Booked and CBTL in the ground floor and BonChon and Mom and Tina's on the second floor.

I called to reserve and said that we'll be there 4 or 5ish but since we finished early, hubby and I were already there by 3. The place was pretty much deserted at that time and so we were able to get couch seats to ourselves.

Look, they have Green Tea Kitkat!

The cashier is up front and the menu is behind her, just like in a regular fast food. I ordered Mayodon and hubby had Katsudon for our main entries, plus California Maki and Crepe.

Moi while the cashier explains their menu

I sure hope this is a "thing" in Japan that they copied..because I found it weird. Reminds you of stuff sold in school supply stores that lure kids in. :)

The Maki, Mayodon and Katsudon came in less than 15 minutes and since hubby and I hadnt had lunch, we munched away immediately.

Maki(79 4 pieces)
It arrived quicker than expected, which I was thankful for since I was already hungry. Nothing much to say, it was good- not too bad for me to regret ordering it, not too exceptional as well for me to remember every detail :)

uma-art sa shot just because our new lens makes it easy :)

MAYODON(165 level up size)

My Mayodon was "level up" or upsized but truth be told, I wasnt sure if it was. My bowl was the same size as hubby's and since we got different kinds, I had nothing to compare to if mine was really upsized. It got its name from the mayo drizzled on top of the chicken .The chicken in the Mayodon were crunchy, crispy and juicy bite size pieces and under it were shreds of white cabbage ala coleslaw

KATSUDON(135)

Theirs is rare (or medium rare?) compared to other versions I've had but I'm not complaining...It made the meat juicier and less oily. The seasoning was also less salty than the Mayodon, which was good.

CREPE ALA MODE(90)
They have three kinds of crepe- "crepe" which was the crepe with mango slices, "crepe ala mode" which was crepe+ice cream and "Moshi-Moshi Special Crepe" which was crepe with cheesecake, more like a dessert sampler. I wanted to try the last one but at 145, it was a bit expensive for something I'm skeptical about so we just ordered ala mode, which was fine though the mango slices were a bit sour, I guess because they were off season.

decent enough

Final verdict:

If you've read my entry about Crazy Katsu, I said their food was a tad too sweet. For this one, since 2/3 dishes we ordered were salty, I'd say their food is a tad too salty but since I seem to have blander taste than these two Jap restos' cooks, what do I know, I might be weird all along. Hehehe...

As for the value for money, I'd say it's so-so - Our total bill was 495 and since we had a voucher, it wasnt so expensive ( A food joint falls under the expensive category if the breakdown is more than 300/person for  a meal consisting a main dish + 1-2 other stuff)

As for my desire to go back, I'd love to try their other dishes but I wont have a hankering to drive all the way to Katipunan from Novaliches to go back, I'll probably do it once I'm in the area again or it's on the way

I'll give it a 4/5 with 5 as the highest.

P.S.
I bought this bottled water for 28 pesos so you'd know right away I didnt get it to quench my thirst but as a souvenir.hehehe.

too lazy to take a full shot- its appearance is a cross between a  perfume bottle and a toy rocketship

Whoa..I'm really an impulsive blogger.Didnt blog for weeks and now I've finished two posts in a row.

Til next time!

Review: Crazy Katsu in Maginhawa

Came from Manila yesterday afternoon and at 4pm I was helluva hungry pregnant woman who was quite a warfreak when her husband offered donuts.(Sorry Tatay..I love you! <3)

I initially asked husband if he wanted to eat in Little Quiapo but then I realized I was more in the mood for burgers than palabok and halu-halo plus he mentioned Sbarro so I thought we could go neutral and go for something totally different. My brother mentioned Good burger in Maginhawa after I mentioned that I was in the mood for burgers but then he mentioned that Crazy Katsu's service was faster, and it was air-conditioned, so the helluva-crazy-pregnant-woman genes kicked in..Crazy Katsu it is!

First thing I loved about them was that they don't greet you in Japanese. HAHAHAHA. Truth be told, I hate those fast food/s(Let's not name names, shall we?) where they greet in you Japanese to give that authentic vibe that doesn't work because they serve less than authentic Japanese food adapted to the Pinoy taste. Okay, back to Crazy Katsu. They have these unpretentious menu boards printed on one side. Each main dish comes with a serving of rice. I had Katsudon, hubby had pork ginger and bro had Chicken Katsu. We also ordered Chicken Katsu salad and Fish and Veggie Tempura with rice..

Off with the salad:

credits to karasantiago.wordpress.com

The salad had a nice dressing with vinegar and a few other things I'm not sure of. Anyway, the salad lived up to its name, the serving was generous and so was the chicken on top. The three of us quite had a trouble finishing it(considering the other items we had) and I had to do a bit of cajoling to convince the hubby and the bro(talk about a bully pregnant woman) to finish it up.hehehe

Next, we each ate our own meals.

True to what bro said, the chicken in the salad and in the main dish were the same, except for the difference in the veggie garnish. The chicken was very tender, crunchy and juicy...perfect!  It was quite spicy, though, so watch it out if you dont want something spicy.

from their facebook page

Next, my katsudon. It was quite good, really, since the meat was also very tender, the sauce was just right-just enough to seep in the rice but not get it completely drenched in sauce. It just created a not so good illusion that I had less food because it was served in a bowl and not in a big plate like hubby and bro's dish

still from their page

Next, let's have hubby's pork ginger. Not much to say about it because pregnancy quirks kicked in. The minute I put it in my mouth, I just knew it was a wrong move, somehow it didnt do well with me. Somehow, I imagined it would taste good- being very tender, sweet marinated pork with a strong taste of ginger, but like I said, pregnancy quirks kicked in and it didnt go well with me :(

still from their page. the actual serving was actually more generous. Hubby only ate half of the meat but it was  enough for his rice.

Last is the fish and veggie tempura. I actually ordered this one to serve as a second/ extra viand for us since I was afraid that we might not enjoy the dishes we ordered or that the serving would not be enough or that it'll be nice to have an extra dish- but I was wrong on all three accounts so after I took one bite and ze boys didnt want to eat anymore, we ended up taking out these babies. The breading was consistent with other tempuras I had but it was also much thicker than any other tempura I had so that could either go well with you or not. There were about 3 pieces of fish tempura and the rest were veggies-one eggplant, one squash and two others which looked very suspiciously like okra (I HATE OKRA!) so I didnt dare touch it.

I actually ate a fish and eggplant tempura prior to writing this blog, about 12 hours from the time they were made. Heat 'em up in the microwave and though they were far from crunchy at that point, I was thankful that they werent as soggy as I expected ^^

I forgot to note the exact prices of the foodies we ordered, but I was sure that nothing cost over 150 and the ice tea was 30, so expect 200-250 damage per person per meal. In case you still have room for extra carbs, their extra rice is cheap at 10pesos per cup, another great bonus!

Overall note: The food was great, the setting was unpretentious and they offer great value for money. A side note though: we "felt" like they adapted the dishes to the Filipino taste a tad too much- everything had a hint of sweetness. It was fine with us, but if you hate that hint of sweetness, then watch out.

Tah-tuh!

BARRIO FIESTA SM NORTH= TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE

My mom had an unused voucher for Barrio Fiesta and since the sissies and I went xmas clothes shopping in Trinoma, Mom gave it to us so we don't need to shell out for dinner... The whole experience was terrible!!!! Where do I even begin???? Lemme see...

To be fair, there were a few good points:

1. The chicken was well done. 

Hubby kept commenting that the chicken in Savory was much better(he's such a savory fan) but for me, they weren't comparable since the taste was different. I liked that it was cooked well but not dry and the skin was so crispy.. We're suckers for crispy chicken and though Mom can cook chicken ala-Max's, this was still good.

2. The lumpia wasn't drowning in sauce and the ubod was cooked thoroughly.

Some lumpiang ubod (fresh spring roll) in other restos or most especially in fast food chains are drowning in sauce as if to make the sauce comprise half of the taste test. This, however, just had the right amount of sauce and some might not like it that way (since they're looking for the crunchy feel), but I did enjoy that the ubod was thoroughly cooked.

3. The seafood toppings rice este Paella rice had a lot of sea food.

Some establishments put 2 kinds of seafood and call it seafood ____(seafood chowder, seafood rice, seafood kare-kare-kare), but this was really seafood galore. There was a crab, two big shrimps, squid and a good number of mussels.

3. They were prompt with the bill

Not much explaining left ^_^

As for the bad points, ugh...

1. It took them forever to bring out our order. OUR ORDER SPECIFICALLY.

Why ours specifically? Because the food at the table next to ours came 15 minutes earlier. It would have been okay if I knew that they came before us or that our food was much longer to prepare but for some reason, we had to follow up twice before our order was out. Mind you, we only had Paella rice(more on this later) and Chicken while they had Patatim, Kare-kare, and pancit bihon. Was it the fact that we had a voucher??

2. The Paella rice wasn't Paella rice, it was "not mixed-well-Java rice with seafood toppings."

This was a major major fail on many levels. First, for crying out loud, don't call something as Paella rice if it was something else! For starters, Paella rice should have the nice reddish color because of the tomato sauce and not the plainly yellow color from margarine. Second, the seafood should actually be sauteed with the rice or at least give the impression that they had the same base ingredients and not merely placed on top after being blanched and salted. Third, have the decency to mix the rice well if it's going to be called _____ rice because it's not plain rice. This last thing really, really pissed me off. As we chowed the rice, the bottom layer had chunks as big as a macaroon of white, unmixed, slightly hard rice. I do understand that the rice might not be evenly mixed and that the rice might be harder than plain rice(since it has to be cool for them to mix it well) but seriously, have the decency to at least crush or break out the bigger chunks. It was supposed to be Paella rice in the first place and the least you can do was to mix the rice well.

3. Have the decency to tell us early if our order was out of stock.

We ordered halo-halo and I thought they didn't serve it immediately because it was dessert. So when we were about to finish with the main meal, I asked a waiter to serve it. She nodded but after ten minutes, the halo-halo never came. Surprise, surprise, we had to follow up a second time and this time, the 2nd waiter came back after 5 minutes to tell us that it wasn't available. Wow. I was okay with the fact that it wasn't  available but what really ticked me off was that the waiter who was asked to follow up our halo-halo never came back to tell us it was out. This is dessert and if we didn't wait a total of an extra 15 freakin' minutes to know it was unavailable, we could have left earlier.

The final verdict: I dunno if it was just a series of unfortunate events but I'm guessing this had something to do with our voucher. If it did, then don't freakin participate in discounted deals! The main point of offering vouchers is to attract people towards your establishment or encourage them to try out less popular products and this experience made me think of the opposite! I only had two prior Barrio Fiesta experiences before this because both were terrible and after this, I am never, ever coming back if I can help it.

If it didn't have anything to do with our discounted voucher, then make sure your service and products are consistent.

I indulge in food and I would have been willing to pay the full amount for them to make our food okay. Sana siningil na lang kami ng original price kung ganyan rin lang na hindi aayusin. It was so disappointing since eating out is supposed to be a pleasurable experience but the bad points of this visit outweighed the good ones.

Disclaimer: Again, I repeat that this was in SM North Branch..It might not be the same in all branches.

Restaurant Review: Big Bad Wolf

There's still a TON of wedding related stuff that I can talk about..but now that a baby's on the way, I thought that

1. I am more interested to write about my journey to motherhood but I have to collect my thoughts first and
2. I have covered most of the important details about our big day and maybe the minor stuff can wait a bit.

So for, I'll shift to food blogging: all new experiences that hubby and I have had

At the top of the list is: Big Bad Wolf in BGC. It's at the back of Fairways Tower, we had the opportunity to eat there because I won free credits from Groupon/Beeconomic(yey!) worth 250. I used it for the big bad wolf voucher which allowed us to buy 500 worth of food. So what food did we buy

Now, truth be told, I had to do a lot of research about this. Hubby and I are not that well-off and so food tripping such as this one must be carefully planned. We once ate in an American restaurant chain that was so popular but we didnt feel full at the end of the meal so the last thing I wanted was for that to happen again. So I checked the net and based on what I found, here's what we had:

Potato Skins- 175?(I'll check the receipt later)

This appetizer was really good- Just enough to tease your appetite but still filling you up a bit. I read a review that complained a lot about the skins bein' too thick but ours were just right and the dip was really good with the skins- too bad they didnt serve the dip in that cute little jarsie thing I saw in reviews and blogs.

Next, we had our main course. Mine was Grainated Pork Tenderloin while hubby had the Santol Smoked Pork Belly. Let's talk about mine first: It was awesome!!!!! I am not a big fan of gourmet food because sometimes, the combination of flavors is so intricate that somehow, things get lost. However, this was one very good exception!!! The dish was made of strips of pork tenderloin cooked with mozzarella, shitake mushrooms and spinach. The cheese was quite understandable but the combination of mushrooms and spinach was what caught me by surprise and it was awesome!! Admittedly though, I thought it had a tad too much spinach and I felt like a little kid as hubby tried tried to finish off the rest of the spinach on the side of my plate. (sheepish grin)

At first, I was disappointed that it didnt come with rice but surprisingly, I felt very full after eating it(sans rice)

Now, lez talk about hubby's meal: Santol Smoked Pork Belly. Truth be told, I was disappointed with this one. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious but I had very high expectations on this dish given that 1: it was one of the more popular dishes and 2) it was kinda their best seller (or both). Like I said, it did taste good but it was very reminiscent of Christmas ham (the pork belly, only crunchier) plus ham sauce (the santol sauce). All the same, hubby finished it in a flash ^_^

  

Hubby only had water though I did mention that their coffee was good(according to reviews) while I had pink lemonade. It wasn't so pink(i was expecting it to be flamingo colored) and it wasn't so sweet nor too sour either- In short, the taste wasn't overpowering, which I liked. 

We also had mochi which was okay but for 90, I wouldnt recommend it since it's just the same mochi you'll get in stores

Verdict: We would definitely come back and we definitely recommend Big Bad Wolf considering the value for money, location, ambiance and service.

Points for Improvement: Better line up of desserts

Til Next time!