Eat-all-you-can-Grill at Tajimaya Yakiniku Restaurant in SM Mall of Asia

Finally I was able to cross out another restaurant from my growing list of restaurants to try for the year!! We have barely 4 months to go before 2013 rolls in and I am barely half way there! *pant pant* So little time, so many restaurants to try!

After visiting an expo at the SMX Convention Center, Paul and I agreed to have dinner at Tajimaya Yakiniku Restaurant. I've been hearing about this restaurant from my cousin in law L who loves this restaurant and has been raving about their yummy grilled beef since last year! In fact, I still owe her a Tajimaya pig-out date together with ML.

We mentioned our dinner plans to The Food Club and our initial table reservation for two was magically turned into a private room for 8 as they wanted to try it out too! Well, as they say...the more, the merrier!

They have an Eat-All-You-Can promo where for only Php. 420 you get unlimited refills of beef, chicken, sausage, fish balls and pork. Add Php. 60 and make it Php. 520 then you get unlimited rice, iced tea, salad, appetizers and shrimps (note, shrimps NOT prawns).  I just love how the restaurant imposes a no-leftover rule where offenders will be charged an additional Php. 200. I really hate to see good food go to waste so this is a great way to ensure people just order what they can consume.

Snack Time : Cakes by Jayjay

I'm BACKKKKK!!! *waves*

Hello dear readers, hope you're all enjoying your long weekend! Paul and I had an amazing time in Hong Kong and Macau and I can't wait to share our foodie adventures with YOU!

Meanwhile, let me share with you another snack discovery especially for all chocolate lovers out there. My colleague Jayjay bakes these wonderful chocolate cupcakes that are so moist, fluffy and totally awesome! It's 100% homemade thus expect that these cupcakes has just the right sweetness level and the frosting on top was just too irresistible.

This is the type of cupcake that I used to enjoy when I was a kid. It's a straight-forward, no-frills type of cupcake. It's the kind that I love to indulge on while enjoying my lazy weekend at home.

I like how gooey the chocolate frosting is that I find myself enjoying my cupcake with the frosting intact. Normally, I would remove this before taking a bite but this one was just too yummy to discard. This pretty much comes next to my all-time favorite chocolate cupcake by Kookie Monster in Unimart.

A box of dozen cupcakes sells for only Php. 400! That's a great deal! This makes for a great party treat too! Jayjay also makes Red Velvet Cupcakes which I have yet to try soon!

For orders and inquiries, call Cakes by Jayjay at 0915-9286545. You may also email Jayjay at jbarlisveloso@gmail.com.

Twinings Tea: Tea Party for the Queen!

By the time you read this, I have already landed in the land of Jackie Chan, dimsums and endless shopping opportunities! Today, Paul and I are set to head out to Wan Chai and Central where we will be meeting up with an old friend and to have our much-awaited afternoon tea at a restaurant owned by a renowned French chef which has been highly (or shall I say strongly) recommended to me by my two food-loving friends *ahem* *ahem* ;) . I can't wait to try his macarons, croissants and tea sandwiches! This is really the highlight of our trip so we have extremely high hopes for this. Add to the fact that I love drinking tea.

This is also the main reason why I was so excited to receive a pretty pink tin can from Twinings. This is a limited edition and a collector's item tea blend which was created to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth of England.

I sniffed the contents of the can the moment it arrived and I immediately noted the strong Assam tea scent. Ohh...milk tea! ♥

This blend has a perfect mix of Assam tea from the Brahmaputra Valley in North Eastern Assam with the Yunnan tea leaves of South Western China. The best way to prepare this is to use a Chinese or English tea cup where you can strain the loose tea leaves from the water. In my case, I made use of a french press that did the job perfectly as well.

I drank my tea plain, no sugar, no honey and yet it was very flavorful. However, I'll try to be more creative next time by adding honey, milk or perhaps a dash of cinnamon to give me that Christmas-y feel.

The Twinings Diamond Jubilee Loose Leaf Tea Blend (100g) is available for a limited time in all Santi's Deli outlets in the Philippines. They're selling it for only Php. 580 which I think is a good deal as you get the commemorative tin can too!

Enjoying the Heritage Cuisine at the Taal Vista Hotel, Tagaytay City

For someone who loves to eat like me, I find enjoyment in trying different cuisines from all over the world. However, there are just days that I want to keep it simple and would go for my comfort dishes. These are the dishes that I grew up with, the kind that would give me that warm, fuzzy feeling inside..the kind that reminds me of HOME.

I've mentioned before that growing up, our family dishes predominantly evolve around the Chinese cuisine but if you ask me what are my favorite comfort dishes, I would tell you it's a plate of garlicky, oily pork and chicken adobo that our talented cook would prepare and I would always have this with a cup of rice..or even more. I love how well the meat soaks up the flavor brought by the spices included in this dish. If there's one dish that would quickly remind me of home, it would definitely be this.

Given that we have 7,107 islands in the Philippines, expect that we have just as much variety in terms of food and flavor too. I'll never forget having an impromptu Ilocos empanada party at the sidewalk near Crisologo street in Vigan, Ilocos Sur and later on the party continues in Laoag, Ilocos Norte where we tried to differentiate the two empanadas. I also enjoy stuffing myself silly with native Kapampangan dishes and luckily I can do this regularly every time we visit Paul's hometown in Pampanga. Every time I fly to the Visayas region, I make sure to leave the word D-I-E-T behind. From the sinfully sweet treats in Bacolod to the succulent Cebu Lechon and crispy Dangit to the delicious Managat in Ilo-Ilo that I constantly dream of for years now. I have yet to visit Mindanao but I'm hoping I'll be able to explore that part of our country soon.

Over dinner during our stay at Taal Vista Hotel, we were able to have a preview of their upcoming new dishes called the Heritage Cuisine. These were all prepared by Executive Chef Babes Austria who used to cook for the former President of the country. She has prepared age-old dishes that has been around for decades, these recipes have been passed on from one generation to another.

Allow me to share with you the dishes that we feasted on that evening:

Adobo sa Tubo ni Tatang
This dish is dedicated to Taal Vista Hotel's owner Mr Henry Sy, Sr who loves adobo. This dish makes use of sugarcane and coffee in creating this delicious and garlicky dish that I truly enjoyed.

Tinuktok
A flavorful dish that's made of dulong and prawns wrapped in fresh Taro leaves and cooked in young coconut milk.

Bulletin Board : Electrolux Family Style Shots Photo Contest

I love reading OK! Magazine Philippines! Of course it's really a big plus that I HAVE to read this on a monthly basis for work but hey, I really do enjoy going through every single page from cover to cover. From OK!, I get ideas on what's the latest (and cutest) pair of shoes out there, what type of make-up goes with a particular occasion and of course, I get the most updated news about my favorite Hollywood celebrities and even that of the Royal Couple William and Kate. In fact, I turn to OK! to even get gown ideas for my designer to make for me.

Take this month for example, it truly is heart-breaking to find out that Tom and Kate are filing for divorce which made me think of Suri who I think is one of the most fashionable kid out there. OK! hasn't only been my stress reliever but it's my Hollywood fashion guru too! Don't you just love looking at beautiful photos of stylish men and women and the best are those of families who not only eat and pray together but they all dress wonderfully too! How I wish my future family can be like them. :)

Let me share with you some of my favorite stylish Hollywood families and couples:

Reese Witherspoon and kids Ava and Deacon

The Beckhams (David, Victoria, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz)

The cutest Beckham in the world! Harper Seven! ♥

My favorite couple -- Prince William and Duchess Catherine (a.k.a. Kate)

Do you have a stylish family photo? To celebrate their 10th year anniversary, Electrolux Philippines is looking for the most stylish Filipino families out there!

The mechanics is simple:

Grocery Pick : Tipco Fruit Juice (and a chance to fly to Bangkok for FREE!)

I'll let you in on my mom's secret. :)

When my sister and I were still babies, she would make fresh Tomato juice for us to drink. We all know that Tomato has lycopene and it has a very strong anti-oxidant and anti-cancer power. Aside from this, Mommy believes that tomato juice is also very good for the skin. Of course, she wants that for her two daughters and I must say that her daily practice of feeding us with tomato juice has proven its benefits for the two of us. My sister and I have never had a facial treatment done and our only daily beauty routine includes washing our faces at least two times a day and to moisturize, moisturize and to moisturize. Luckily, we were also spared by the terrible facial acne problems that a lot of our peers got during our teenage years.

Someday, I wish to do the same for my kids. However, I can hardly imagine myself having the luxury of time to create these fresh juices for them. In fact, I hardly have time to make a glass of juice for myself lately! Oh, how we live a fast-paced life. *sigh* 

I'm sure a lot of mommies out there echo the same sentiments. While I still do not have a kid, someday I'm pretty definite that the last thing I want to happen is to compromise the quality of what they drink and eat.

Tipco is a leading fruit juice brand from Thailand. Over lunch one weekend, Paul and I were able to try a couple of fruit and veggie flavors that Tipco has available here in the Philippines. I was quite hesitant to try the Broccoli Juice. Sure, I love the vegetable but to drink it as a juice, I wasn't so sure.

On Stage: Cookin' Nanta Show in Korea!

Every time we travel, Paul and I make it a point to mix a little bit of cultural immersion to our regular eating and shopping spree. After all, every trip should serve as a learning opportunity for us to know more about the country, its people and its colorful culture. Be it a visit to the Chiang Kai Shek Monument and witnessing the changing of guards or watching the world renowned Siam Niramit show in Bangkok, we always enjoy being able to come home to Manila with these rich experiences that will definitely stay with us a lifetime.

Researching and planning for our trip to Seoul, Korea led us to the Cookin' Nanta website which is said to be Korea's Best Musical Performance since 1997! According to the website, it's a non-verbal, musical performance that has traveled the world even reaching Broadway and approximately 42 countries worldwide. Wow! Reading this has instantly convinced me that we have to watch the show! It was our chance, after all.

It's a good thing that some of our travel companions were also interested to watch the show with us. To ensure that we have good seats, we purchased our tickets online. It was also perfect timing that they were running an online promotion offering 20% discount to all Facebook fans of the Cookin' Nanta show! We all got a great deal with our tickets.

Kimbap ♥ at Gimgane in Seoul, Korea

Who doesn't love rice? Well..I do! Born and raised here in the Philippines, we Filipinos are known to be avid rice lovers. Personally, I enjoy rice in all forms! You name it, I love em all! Paella, risotto, garlic rice (sinangag), congee, brown rice, Thai Bagoong Rice, sushi and my one and only love -- FRIED RICE.

In Korea, we enjoyed more rice options such as the ever-popular Dolsot Bibimbap which is somewhat like Fried Rice only it's not fried, Omurice and my long-time Korean favorite, the Kimbap.

After traveling to Yeouido to see a line of pretty Cherry Blossom trees (hooray for Cherry Blossom Festival in April!) , we walked around the area to search for a place to have lunch. We saw a line of small eateries, some of which are filled with locals having their lunch break. It was then that we spotted Gimgane. Uncertain on what it serves, Richard, Rowena and I entered the restaurant to check the menu out. Thank goodness they have photos of their dishes on the wall making it easier to order.

Immo (auntie) preparing our Gimbap
Paul and I agreed to share our orders and so we got one platter of Gimgane Gimbap and Seafood Fried Rice. It was only after I placed my order that I realized that I failed to order a meat dish! It was a carb-loaded lunch indeed!

Our Gimgane Gimbap was quickly served and I stopped for a while to admire how pretty it look. Gimbap is Korea's answer to the widely popular hand-rolled Japanese maki. If you're familiar with Futo Maki then this is very similar to it. The only difference is they add in more savory fillings compared to its Japanese counterpart. You also don't need wasabi here as the fillings are all cooked. We enjoyed this very much and even went to Gimgane's Myeongdong branch on our last day to buy a box of Gimbap to take to the airport with us.

Yoogane: Best Chicken Galbi in Seoul, Korea

It was our first day in Seoul, Korea and quite similar to most of our past trips, it was drizzling the entire day. I really do not know if we're (The Food Club) just bad with timing or one of us have a big balat (birthmark) that attracts rain wherever we go. I wonder who it is... *ahem ahem* Anyway, in some parts of the world, they consider rain as good luck so let's just think that we will all be blessed with lots and lots of good food! *burp*

After taking our much needed rest at the hotel to make up for the lack of sleep due to our red eye budget flight, we walked around Myeongdong to check the place out. Some did a little window shopping, some actually did shopped already while some of us went to search for our dinner place! We didn't have to walk far as we quickly spotted the bright signage of Yoogane that's just a few blocks away from our hotel. Creating the group's itinerary, I did a thorough research and remember putting Yoogane down on my list of restaurants to watch out for as its said to specialize in really good Chicken Galbi (Dak Galbi). Hooray! One done, many many to go!

Looking at the menu, I was relieved to find out that it was in English. We have been warned that some Koreans have poor command in English and it would be really hard to choose what we want to eat if we will have to rely on the photos on the menu. Since we were a big group, we had to occupy three tables. On my table sat fellow food bloggers Richard (and his family), Jane, Paul and our friend Grace.

I love the fun and casual vibe of Yoogane. Totally loving the wall art of the lovey-dovey boy and girl making the ♥ pose. Paul and I should do that someday!

Starbucks Coffee Refreshers and new Lunch Sandwiches!

The Green Siren did it again!

Just when you thought they did everything they could to coffee from the basic espresso-based drinks to the cool and refreshing Frappuccino Blended Beverages. Well, they're not yet done! This time, Starbucks Coffee reinvents how we see and taste coffee by introducing two cool drinks called the Starbucks Refreshers Beverages with Green Coffee!

There are two flavors to choose from: Very Berry Hibiscus and Cool Lime. At first glance, you might seriously doubt if these two drinks really do have coffee in it but it does.

What is Green Coffee after all? I was reminded of a trip I took to a coffee farm down South that showed me how a coffee goes from the ground to the roasters to our cup. It's amazing to see colorful coffee berries get sorted and roasted to perfection until it looks like the coffee beans that we see everywhere. A green coffee bean is found at the center of a coffee cherry. What makes it different from the regular coffee bean is that this is the unroasted kind. Thanks to very modern technology, the caffeine is extracted from the 100% unroasted arabica coffee bean to create what we call a green coffee! This is then used in the two new drinks being offered by Starbucks Coffee.

I was able to try both flavors as shared with my friend T and here's the verdict:

Saltimbanco : The return of Cirque du Soleil in Manila

"Ey Fran, do you want to watch Saltimbanco?"

I squealed in delight upon reading this message sent by my high school friend V. Of course I DO! After watching Varekai a year ago, Paul and I instantly became fans of Cirque du Soleil! In fact, we were planning to catch the show in Macau only to find out that it has ceased operation a few months ago. Imagine how excited we were to hear that another Cirque du Soleil show has arrived in Manila and we got complimentary tickets to watch their Gala Performance! Yahoo! ♥ ♥ ♥

Saltimbanco is one of the longest running shows of Cirque du Soleil. While Varekai was more dramatic and imaginary, expect Saltimbanco to be more fun and colorful. As written in the programme:

(The show) explores the urban, cosmopolitan experience, from the hustle and bustle of streets to the towering heights of skyscrapers.

The show began with a comedy act that got me laughing and from that moment on I knew I'll definitely have a great time! There were a lot more funny antics in this show compared to Varekai including a couple of audience participation too! Luckily, we sat at the Lower Box area of the SM Mall of Asia Arena thus sparing us from being dragged up to the stage.

Operation HELP LUZON 2012 : Where to send your donations to and to volunteer

I'm taking a break from my regular food blogging to talk about an urgent matter that's happening right at this moment. Since last Monday (last week even), various parts of Luzon especially Metro Manila has been hit by non-stop rains which eventually led to terrible floods and a series of damages. Hundreds...maybe even thousands have lost their homes, some lost their loved ones and the worst thing of all is that the rain hasn't shown signs of stopping.

More and more roads have began to become unpassable to vehicles big or small, a lot of families have evacuated their homes and there is a GREAT need for HELP. As I am thankful to have a roof over my head and a good spread of food for every meal, I would like to do my part in making it easier on the lives of the victims of this nameless rain and thunderstorm.

In our own little way, Paul and I will be volunteering our time to a relief goods center near us the same thing we did during the height of nasty Typhoon Ondoy.

You can do your part too!

Here are some announcements that I've compiled from posters shared by my Facebook and Twitter friends:


ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY














To support the relief operations of the Ayala Malls, our Lancome Boutique in Greenbelt 5 will be accepting any form of donations that could be of great help to the flood victims.
Lastly, my kind-hearted and very talented friend Joyce will be sewing blankets out of old clothes/towels. Please send in your donations to Briggy Hall in Kapitolyo,Pasig.

For more details, GMA Network has a more comprehensive list here.

You may also get and send updates via Twitter by using the hastag #rescuePH.

We can do this Philippines...the sun will come out again and life will be better. ♥

Spices and Slices of Singapore at Dusit Thani Manila

Singapore always holds a soft spot in my heart. I loved it ever since I visited this very organized and beautiful country when I was 10 up until present. Luckily, Paul shares the same fascination towards Singapore that it came pretty naturally that we decided to spend a week in Singapore for our Honeymoon two years ago. Everything is always just in proper order and of course, Singapore is truly a foodie's mecca!

A trip to Singapore is not complete without enjoying the many hawker centers scattered around the country. Nothing beats the real thing as you enjoy a plate of Hainanese Chicken Rice, Lamb Briyani and a lot more! I love Singaporean food and the simplicity of it.

This is the reason why I happily headed to Dusit Thani Manila's Basix All-Day Dining Restaurant for lunch yesterday. To celebrate Singapore's National Day, they are having a 10-day long buffet special highlighting a number of Singaporean favorites. Spearheading this special promotion is Executive Sous Chef Liew Tian Heong of the famous Chatterbox restaurant of Meritus Mandarin Hotel. Chatterbox is known to have one of the yummiest Hainanese Chicken Rice as this has been regularly mentioned in Singaporean food blogs. I will make a mental note to try this on our next visit.

Yesterday, I had the privilege to sample a couple of dishes that will be included in the lunch and dinner buffet of Basix from August 6 to 16, 2012. Let me share them with you:

For starters we had a sampler plate consisting of a Mango and Prawn Salad, Achar Pickles, Chef Liew Special chicken and Marinated Mushroom.

I tried the Special Chicken which looked like a deep-fried prawn strip to me and I loved it! I was surprised that it was made of chicken instead. The Marinated Mushroom was good as it made use of a number of herbs and spices common in Singaporean dishes. The Mango and Prawn Salad was refreshing and yummy too. The only thing that I didn't like was the Achar Pickles as it was too spicy for me.

I guess it must be my Chinese influence that I grew up being able to appreciate the taste of all sorts of herbs and spices. After all, I used to drink a bitter medical concoction made of barks, leaves and some 'organic' insect back when I was a child. The doctor said this is to improve my resistance (or to secretly train me for Fear Factor haha). Normally, kids wouldn't like the herbal taste of the Singaporean Bah Kut Teh but not me and my sister! We had this every meal during our 2-week long stay back then. It was delicious! I love the tender meat and the delicious soup. It has an acquired taste but for me, it's really really yummy.

What's a Singaporean meal without a platter of Chili Crabs?! To be honest, I never had this as I have very low tolerance for spicy food but as I took a small piece of the very tender crab meat, I instantly loved it! It wasn't painfully spicy but instead it was very addicting, enticing you to take another piece...and another...and another. I can't believe that I've been missing out on such a delicious dish. I can't wait to go back to Singapore to have this with lots of Fried Mantou Bread to wipe the chili sauce off my plate!

Basil, Authentic Thai Cuisine in White Plains

Last week crawled by sooooo slowly that I was really ecstatic when Friday finally came!

All the more, I was also so excited to have dinner that day. Why? Well, first was because I couldn't wait to see my college best friend L and I was hoping her baby bump would finally show. The next reason was because we agreed to have dinner at Basil, a new Thai restaurant along White Plains and after reading several blogs raving about it, I couldn't wait to try it out myself.

Traffic has horrible that we got there an hour after our agreed meeting time. Good thing, we still managed to get a table despite not being able to reserve ahead of time. The restaurant was packed and parking was very limited but thankfully it went smoothly for us.

I'm happy that both L and T were just as excited as we were to try Basil out. I just love how my friends share the same love and passion for food. Basil's ambiance is different from any ordinary Thai restaurant out there. I love how there were a lot of plants even a tree inside the restaurant. It reminds me of a native Thai village that we saw in Siam Niramit in Bangkok.

We browsed through the menu and called out dishes that we would like to try. Our first unanimous choice was the Pork Ribs with Honey (Php. 235) which unfortunately wasn't available that evening. L suggested we go with the Spicy Wagyu Ribs (Php. 355) instead which was also highly recommended by our server. I'm glad we ordered this as it was soooo good! No hint of spiciness and the beef was just so flavorful! The meat was fork-tender and we all enjoyed scooping up the sauce to drizzle over our rice. The serving was quite small as I guess it's intended to be shared by two but since we had more dishes, we were able to share this among the four of us.

Snack Time: Happiness in Cupcakes, Regent Soft Cookies and Mr. Pea and Porky!

It's a common scenario to hear our family discussing what to have for our afternoon snack (merienda) while having lunch! I guess I took after my Kongkong who just loves to snack and who considers this part of his daily dietary requirement. He's an amazing cook so we always enjoy his homemade bihon soup or together, we will visit one of his favorite restaurants along Banawe to have a tall glass of really good halo-halo on a warm summer day.

Let me share with you what we have on our snack stash that got us addicted on for days weeks:

Happiness in Cupcakes (a.k.a. HIC) specializes in alcoholic-flavored cupcakes that makes a great dessert choice actually for adult parties. I got to admit I don't drink that often but I do appreciate a glass of mojito or a strawberry margarita to end a stressful day. They sell their cupcakes by the dozen (Php. 650) and requires a short lead time of 3 days.

We were able to try the following flavors: Car Bombs, Red Hot Choco Peppers, Mojito, Pina Colada, The Elvis and Food for the Gods. Among the four alcoholic flavored cupcakes, I was pretty consistent in liking the Mojito the most. I loved the lime-flavored cupcake! Sadly, I had to take the mint frosting out as I can't take anything with heavy cream but Paul, who tried a small amount said it was yummy!

Papa tried the Red Hot Choco Peppers and enjoyed this dark chocolate cupcake with a sudden kick of spiciness brought by the hot chili flakes. Mommy and I were just too chicken to try it upon hearing that it was spicy.

Those who wants to have a non-alcoholic cupcake will surely enjoy The Elvis. This was actually the first piece that I tried as I was totally drawn by the big piece of bacon on top of the peanut butter-banana flavored cupcake. Yum!

Let's Lunch at Bulgogi Brothers!

I really miss Korea. The cool weather, the clean surroundings, the super organized transportation system and the FOOD! I miss the street snacks being sold in Myeongdong, the endless Korean barbecue and fresh unlimited refills of kimchi! Allow me to tell you more about my Seoul adventure next week.

Every since Paul and I got back from our trip, we have been stuffing ourselves silly with all things Korean. Frequenting Korean barbecue places, filling our cupboard with Korean snacks and a lot more. This, I guess, was our way to happily reminisce on how fun Korea was. Do expect that we will definitely go back soon!

One Sunday as Paul and I double-dated with my parents, we headed to Greenbelt 5 to have lunch at Bulgogi Brothers. It was upon an invite from the cool folks of BB as they wanted us to try their three new lunch sets which are available everyday from Monday to Friday. We went on a Sunday thus we were given a special preview. Thank you! Each set was good for two and sadly Pan and Elton couldn't join us thus we agreed to just get two sets to be shared among the four of us.

For starters, we were served with a complimentary set of steamed corn, sweet potato and quail eggs. Of course, the first thing that I tried was a quail egg. Quite bland on my first bite thus I dipped it into the kimchi sauce. Mmm.. We also loved the boiled sweet potatoes which we happily enjoyed all throughout the meal.

In addition to the boiled appetizer platter, they also have three banchan saucers filled with kimchi, pickled eggplant and radish. I was only able to try the kimchi which I love love love. ♥

My only wish though is for Bulgogi Brothers to have more banchan varieties as this pales in comparison compared to the other Korean restaurants out there.

We also enjoyed the Spinach Salad which was spicy but quite tasty too.

Gourmandise Patisserie: French Eclairs in Manila

A wise woman once told our group that our sugar level goes down as you do mental work therefore...always... I repeat... ALWAYS keep a stash of sweets in your work station. :) This is really the perfect excuse to have some candies or chocolates within reach!

(left, from top to bottom: Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Raspberry Dulce de Leche, Coffee, Praline

right, from top to bottom: Peanut Butter and Jelly, Mont Blanc, Yuzu and Matcha Opera, Salted Caramel, Lemon)

It's a busy season for us at work that a number of us have been spending long hours in the office, some even working till the wee hours of the morning at home. It's planning season after all and this is the time of the year where we have to take a great deal of time away from our regular work demands and to do some serious thinking (chanelling The Thinker). With a great amount of thinking brings an equally great need for sweets! It's perfect timing that T had a box of these yummy looking french eclairs from Gourmandise Patisserie for lunch today.

What a lovely name! Gourmandise as stated in its Facebook page means "a love of and taste for good food." Sounds very much like ME and what I live for...GOOD FOOD! The box contained 10 mouthwatering eclairs in various fillings, toppings and sizes. I'm a big fan of eclairs as this is one of the very few desserts that I eat without removing the cream filling.

Let the tasting begin! 

We carefully divided each eclair into several bite-size pieces to allow everyone to be able to taste all flavors.

Let me share with you my top 4 favorite flavors:

Raspberry Dulce de Leche (Php. 90)
I love anything with caramel and this one was so creamy! Inside the perfectly baked choux dough was a delicious yema-like filling that had just the right sweetness level. It was soooo good! ♥

Hai Kang Seafood Restaurant : Modern Chinese Cuisine at its Finest

Growing up, I remember Papa telling me that what makes the Chinese cuisine different and special is its endless variety of dishes. He told me about this age-old practice that for one to be considered a good Chinese chef, he/she should be able to find 100 ways to cook an egg. This may or may not be true but what it really means is that the Chinese cuisine continues to evolve and innovate itself thus making it a popular cuisine all over the world.

I just had such an unforgettable dinner last Monday at Hai Kang Seafood Restaurant along Wilson street. This has been around for 12 years already and I've had fond memories of spending almost everyone's birthdays and a number of Chinese New Years with my family here. Aside from it being really close to our home, we have grown fond and addicted to a number of Hai Kang's specialties too. However, we have been around town trying a number of new restaurants thus it has been a while since we've dined at Hai Kang.

This is the reason why I quickly said yes to an invitation to have a small group dinner at Hai Kang Seafood Restaurant last Monday. Despite the bad weather, Paul and I agreed that we will still go no matter what -- rain or shine.

As soon as our group was complete, our Chinese feast began with the Hai Kang 4 Kinds Hot Cuts (Php. 1,200 / Php. 1, 500). We normally have cold cuts platters in lauriat dinners that consists of my favorite jellyfish and century egg. I was impressed that this platter was a couple of notches higher than the usual appetizer platter with crispy squid, hot chicken salad, sweet and sour spareribs, stir-fried shrimps with veggies and fresh jellyfish in the middle. I really can't say which one I liked best as I enjoyed all 5 of them! The jellyfish had the right bite and was sweet and juicy just the way I love it, the hot chicken salad had just the right amount of mayonnaise and was crunchy and tender too. The spareribs were addicting that I couldn't help but take an extra piece more than I really should, the squid had the right mix of spices and the shrimps was good too.

I seriously had to stop myself from getting more as I was warned that there will be a total of 10 dishes to be served that evening. Oh.my.goodness.! Our next dish was the Laksa Prawns (Php. 180/piece). You know the feeling when you've tasted something so good...so heavenly that you just can't stop smiling? Not minding the fact that I may look silly to my dinner companions, I fell totally in love with the Laksa Prawns. I love how big and meaty the prawns were giving me the impression that it was really worth the premium price tag. Hey, I wouldn't mind paying for 10 pieces if I get the chance to. The sauce was very flavorful and it is a must to mop up the sauce using the delicious mantou bread served together with the prawns. I love the sweet, slightly spicy sauce that will make you want more! In my next visit, I will make sure to have a plate of Laksa Prawns to enjoy again. This is definitely love at first bite. ♥