Romantic Dinner at Pizzeria Toscana

One thing I love about Paul is how he never forgets our special dates. He always remembers to greet me every 26th of the month (this has been going on for more than 50 months already!) and of course on that special romantic day every February called Valentine's Day.

This year's Hearts Day was made extra special because he prepared a wonderful evening just for me. It began when he picked me up at exactly 7PM and surprised me with a big big bouquet of roses that was placed at the back of his car. It wasn't until I tossed something to the back when I heard a crunchy, plastic-like sound that made me look and checked out what was there.

It was a short drive to our dinner destination. Located at Castilla street (same street as JEH Car Wash) that is perpendicular to Valencia Hills, Pizzeria Toscana is a cozy neighborhood pizza place. Mind you though, the place was jam packed when we arrived. Good thing Paul made reservations so it didn't took too long before we were ushered to our table.

The walls are filled with frames of pictures showing actors and actresses enjoying their pasta. There's an open kitchen where we saw the owners running up and about as they prepared one dish after the other. It wasn't after I briefly interviewed our waiter, who happens to be the son of the owners, that this is being solely operated by their family. The dad prepared the pizza, the mom takes care of the hot meals and pasta dishes while the kids (one guy and one girl) act as servers making sure the customers are happy and satisfied.

We ordered the Quattro Formaggi (P295), pesto-based pizza with mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano, cream cheese and gorgonzola, that is simply bursting with flavor. I love the fact that is it thin-crusted and it's not dripping with oil since the four types of cheese included are high in calories as it is.

The Pasta Polpette (P195), on the other hand, is your average meatball spaghetti with hints of basil and sun-dried tomatoes. Sadly though, Paul and I find this dish a bit bland with hardly no sun-dried tomatoes found. The meatballs were delish though but there's definitely room for improvement.

Lastly, we ordered the Osso Bucco (rough estimate:P200++) which we very much enjoyed. The meat is oh-so-tender just the say this dish should be. one word: YUM!

To celebrate Valentine's Day, the restaurant gave out two glasses of wine for every order of pizza. Sadly, we didn't liked the wine and opted for a glass of water each instead.

It was a very filling meal but what impressed me most was seeing the entire family working really hard to give their customers the best experience possible. I love the cozy ambiance complete with sentimental music playing in the background (we even heard the Wedding March played twice, haha!). I'll definitely be back. Ü

Pizzeria Toscana is located at the G/F Dunville Condominium (beside Community of Learners), corner of Castilla and Valencia streets, Quezon City.

Shameless plug: .... and while you're enjoying your pizza and pasta, why not give your car a treat at JEH CAR WASH located just 20 baby steps from Pizzeria Toscana? *wink*

Healthy Snack Time: Chickpea Deli

After having my long awaited haircut at Essensuals Toni & Guy last Saturday, I strolled around the mall looking for a place to grab a quick bite before rushing home to prepare for a dinner party. "Something light and yummy" was my main goal. Not so far from the mall's entrance coming from the salon, I saw this tiny kiosk located right in front of 50th Avenue and the department store with a brightly lit orange and white signage. Chickpea Deli, it read.

I walked towards the kiosk and saw two ladies preparing what seemed like samplers of their product. One immediately looked up and gaved me a big smile while at the same time offering me (i guessed it right!) a sample of their Falafel pattie with Honey Barbeque sauce. Did i just heard her right? They are actually selling Falafel?

For those who are not sure what on earth Falafels are, I took the initiative of doing a teeny-tiny research for everyone. According to Chickpea Deli's official site:

Falafels are a Mediterranean fast food that serves as a healthier alternative to meat. It is high in folic acid and in iron-rich proteins, all with no cholesterol or MSG.

In other words, this is one healthy alternative for those who adores burgers but is still conscious enough to know its heart stopping, arteries clogging long term effects.

Alas, why not give it a try? I ordered a Honey Barbeque Wrap (P80) to go. It took the attendant less than 3 minutes to prepare my order. Not bad, perfect for those who are really rushing and wants to just grab their wraps and go.

I bit into my order and I immediately tasted the tasty, sweet-salty Honey Barbeque sauce. Unfortunately, the falafel pattie was not served warm and tasted a bit bland. It somehow gave a very powdery, beany texture that did not satisfied my taste buds. The cheese and tomato slices were scarce and the pickle slices...(what pickle slices??)...non-existent. It would have been better if the falafel pattie was served warm similar to that of a burger pattie and there was a more generous serving of the other ingredients (cheese, pickles, tomatoes and sauce) to make it a satisfying meal worth its price.


my Honey Barbeque Wrap (is it worth P80?)
I might give this another try but obviously, my first Chickpea Deli experience wasn't as exciting as expected. Maybe I'll go for the Oriental or White Cheese Wrap next time.

Chickpea Deli is located at the 3rd Level East Wing of Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas cor EDSA.

freedom of speech

guess what I caught on camera earlier this afternoon...



Although I do not have anything against people voicing our their grievances as this is part of our freedom of speech. I just do not like the idea of them causing traffic and inconvenience to hundreds of employees here in Makati. I can just imagine the horrendous traffic jam that might beginning from Ayala Ave and Paseo de Roxas which will definitely stretch to Makati Ave and elsewhere in the Makati CBD. *sigh*

Then again, I wonder, if they won't rally today when everyone's at work and will definitely take notice of their demonstration, when is the next best time to do it. I think the answer here is to bring the rally out of Makati and straight to Malacañang to literally send their message ACROSS Ü

quotable quotes

A smart person believes only half of what he hears, but a truly smart person knows which half to believe...

- Mr. Ube

the start of my Meatless Fridays

Last Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent. Just like any practicing Catholic, this would also be the day when my family and I would skip having meat for the entire day and for every suceeding Fridays up until Easter Sunday. However, since this year's Ash Wednesday coincided with the super festive Chinese New Year, we had to skip the practice and compromise by doing a good deed instead. (hmm..now, i can't remember what was my good deed that day.. :P)

One challenge of eating out on a meatless Friday is finding a good restaurant that serves yummy seafood dishes at a reasonable cost. Normally, good seafood entrees can only be found at high-end restaurants that guarantees that your fish won't taste "malansa". Either that or you'd end up with deep fried seafood dishes that will clog your arteries faster than you can say "oh no!"

Thus, i really have high respect for restaurants who manages to come up with delectable veggie or seafood dishes and won't hurt your pocket afterwards.

Groovy Seafood Dinner
Last night, as I met up with two of my college friends, I suggested for us to dine at Cocorama at the 6th level a.k.a. The Ledge of Shangri-la Plaza. Since I've been craving for American diner-like meals lately, I figured out that with the 50s look, the red and white kombi and the psychedelic looking menu might be the answer to my latest food craving. Sadly, while scanning the menu, I figured out that this is not your typical American diner. In fact, there was no milkshake (which i believe is a must-have in every diner) being offered! Instead, they have a fusion of Asian/Jamaican/Mexican dishes that sounds and looks yummy. Good thing that they have quite a number of seafood dishes, mostly on shrimps though, available.

With our stomachs slowly growling, we ordered the Poke and Pineapple Salad (Php.330). Of course, I just had to ask the waiter was a Poke is. Turns out that it's fresh tuna in Hawaiian. We had our hesitations but our adventurous spirits just pushed us to give it a try instead of going for the usual Coconut Shrimp Caesar Salad.

The salad came in a big bowl that is good for 3-4 pax. It has chunks of fresh tuna, pineapple tidbits, raw onion rings, nori strips and sesame seeds all peacefully lying on top of a bed of the crunchiest lettuce that I've ever tasted. The salad came with two dressings: the typical asian soy dressing and a spicy red dressing. After pouring in the asian dressing, we excitedly mixed it up and began to help ourselves with it.

Sarap! (Delicious), exclaimed my friend and I just have to agree. The salad was just bursting with the best flavors that one can get out of the tuna, pineapple, onions and yes, even the sesame seeds.

Moving on to our main entree, we chose the Pan Seared Dory with Rice (Php.240). I've always been a fan of Cream Dory as my mom loves to cook this at home. Cocorama's version once again, made our palates very happy and satisfied. However, the cut of the fish is a bit too small and the rice a bit overwhelming. Perhaps they should increase the cut for the Dory and lessen the rice to make it just right.

It was a simple dinner but a filling and pleasant one at that. The service was pretty ok too. I love the ambiance but I think it would have been better if it was in a full restaurant set-up with Bob Marley singing in the background. hehe

I will definitely go back and perhaps try their waffles, pancakes or the chiquito (six pieces of mini taco filled with chicken strips or beef sauteed in tomato sauce, served with shredded lettuce, salsa and cheese!).

My Cocorama experience was a good one. It would have been better though if they have more food choices available. Nonetheless, they deserve 4 twinkling stars!

Cocorama is located at the 6th floor (The Ledge) of Shangri-la Plaza Mall nearest to the Cinema ticket booth.