Manoy Roast: Delicious Chicken and Frozen Meals

I've mentioned that Yaya M has left us already and if there's one big challenge that majority of the households are currently facing is the lack of good, reliable help. When a helper leaves, it's harder now to hire a new one simply because you have to take all the precautionary measures before she actually starts work and that means having to do the recommended 2 weeks quarantine, swab test and all the checks. The worst thing is after going through all that, you then realize that the helper falls short of your expectations or worst, she would come up with whatever excuse to leave right away *sigh*. We are lucky though that despite the countless number of undesirable ones who have given all the excuses in lies in the books, we have found good reliable ones who are truly blessings in our household. 

I remembered when Yaya M first left us and we had R with us here at home. We would help out to make the workload lighter for her. For instance, we would take care of cooking to allow her to have time to do laundry and so on. We've also invested on more small appliances which we feel can help make cleaning, cooking, maintaining the house easier. One thing also is to stock up on frozen dishes that can cut so much time in food preparation. We discovered Manoy's which is known for their roast chicken and recently, they've also started selling frozen dishes such as Chicken Afritada, Sisig, Bicol Express, Laing and more. 

To be honest, I was so surprised that when I discovered Manoy's. it's a fast growing chain of rotisserie stalls normally found in supermarkets and wet markets. In fact, they have more than 60 stalls nationwide and still growing. Manoy's started by selling Roast Chicken and Pork. This is also one thing that I wanted to try as my kids just love roast chicken. The chicken is more on the smaller size so for our family of 6, we got 2 bags of whole roast chicken to enjoy. 

They have two flavors to choose from -- Espesyal (Tamarind-infused) or Paborito (lemon and pepper). I played safe and went with the Paborito Roast Chicken (Php. 200). The chicken was so yummy! I love how the juice stayed in the meat and the flavor was indeed present in every bite. The meat was also very tender and it was a good decision to order two whole chicken as everyone just wanted to go for seconds (or thirds)! 

As for the frozen meals, we had Kare Kare, Pinangat na Laing, Pork Sisig and the Bistek Tagalog. Each pack is good for a family of 3-4. I love how the packaging was so clean making it easy to store in the freezer and to reheat once we're ready to consume it. It also came with proper reheating instructions and best before date. All of these dishes were already pre-cooked so all we needed to do was to reheat it. It's made with fresh ingredients and has no preservatives too thus making it safe for kids to enjoy. 

EATaewon Seoul Food Experience

 Annyeong! It's been a while since my last blog post and boy this year is zooming by oh so fast! 

So, how has everyone been? 

As for me, I've been extra busy with work as I recently took on a new role that's equally exciting and challenging but really, I love theAsiaparent and I love my team and I am so excited to grow with everyone this year. On the domestic side, Yaya M has left us (again and for good this time) and we wish her luck in finding her one true love. 

Meanwhile, my twins have started pre-school this year so Paul and I have also took on our new roles as Teacher Mommy and Teacher Daddy. I'm still sad that my twins will most likely not experience nursery life such as meeting new friends, being part of school programs, gaining independence and more. Pre-school life was so much fun for me and it breaks my heart knowing that by the time the pandemic is over, they might have to enter big school already. *sigh* I'm glad that we enrolled them in Kindermusik early on though. Some how that gave them a year of social interaction with classmates and getting into the routine of joining a class and listening to teacher. I'd say, that was probably one of the best decisions we've made so far because no one really thought that we'd be lock up at home for more than a year and counting. 

Now, let's talk about food. The past year has been different, a bit difficult but one thing that I am thankful for was to have that privilege to discover really good food home businesses. I would often tell friends that the pandemic has turned me into this big online food shopper. I remembered the 1st day of the lock down and my brother-in-law E and I has already ordered ourselves a big tub of kimchi, trays of eggs and we were on a constant look out for bread, veggies and meat. From the basic necessities, I got to stumble upon sellers offering baked goodies, cooked meals and even yummy drinks. What makes it even more exciting is that we get to support our local businesses and enjoy our meals at home. What a win win situation, right? 

One of our discoveries turned favorites is EATaewon that sells Korean dishes and snacks. This is super perfect to satisfy our Korean food cravings to go with our Kdrama marathons. From kimbap, to kimchi soup, Eataewon has one of the widest menu offerings and I'm glad to say that even after trying almost of the menu, I liked them all! I also got to hand it to them for having one of the nicest packaging and the wittiest on-brand/on-strat ideas too. The names of the dishes are puns to most of the Kdramas and their social media pages are filled with really pretty graphics too. 

Here are some of my favorites from EATaewon: 

Kimbap : I've lost count of the number of times I've ordered this. From impromptu cravings to sending it out to friends on special occassions, I love getting the Sky Kimbap (Php. 400) which gives you a choice to get 2 flavors in one tray. I always go for the You are my Bulgogi which has their signature marinated bulgogi beef and veggies as well as the Legend of the Deep Orange Claw which has crabmeat, spam, mixed veggies and egg. If you ask me, this is the best surf n turf kimbap platter. 

Roasting 2020 the Kenny Rogers Roasters way

[PR] Who can ever forget 2020? The year that brought about a volcanic eruption, super-typhoons, and a global pandemic which caused everyone to rethink how they should live their lives. Set aside some silver linings, 2020 brought about a lot of unprecedented moments and everyone was just ready to say good bye to it.

But before that, we had the opportunity to let out all our emotions and say our final words about 2020, no holds barred. Last December 29, Kenny Rogers Roasters Philippines took on a bold and crazy move by literally roasting 2020—skewering meat shaped like 2020 and setting it on fire—and documenting it on Facebook Live. Everyone figuratively and freely roasted 2020 through the comments. Well, there's no better way than roasting such a challenging year and we gotta do it the yummy way. 

“2020 was an extreme year, and we each have our own opinions on how it impacted our lives. We were locked down for months, and most of our plans had changed. Roasting 2020 was a platform for everyone to say anything they wanted and to unify the sentiments,” Kenny Rogers Roasters Philippines Marketing Director Lorent Adrias said. 

On top of that, those who shared their feelings received a special treat from Kenny’s. “We know that the pandemic isn’t over but we wanted to end this year with a bang, and then move on. After roasting 2020 and all its negativity, we hope that our treat would somewhat help in signaling a better year in 2021,” he added. 

Check out the 2020 roast video here:

My thoughts on 2021 : New Year Musings

 "Nothing can dim the light that shines from within." - Maya Angelou

2021's entrance was probably one of the most quiet that I've ever encountered in my 39 years of existence. With the absence of massive fireworks and social distancing protocols are still being observed, we gladly bid 2020 adieu and hope that this year will be much better. If you asked me what I was doing as we counted down to the end of 2020, I'd tell you that I was quietly in my study area, working on my laptop. With my twins and my parents sleeping soundly and Paul sitting right beside me, it may not sound very happening but to be, I got everyone who mattered around me and that's just what I needed. Of course, we had a nice family dinner with my sister and her family on video call. I guess this is really the digital age where technology makes being apart physically makes it feel less painful and lonely. 

So what do I hope for this new year. I just hope for the pandemic to end. For families to go back to being physically together, for my children to enjoy being in pre-school and for the world to go back to normal again. I got to admit though that I had a lot of things to be grateful for despite the challenging year. Being online more has allowed me to reconnect with friends and extended family more than I ever had in the past years, I got to spend a lot of time with my parents, with Paul and with my kids, I learned to accept challenges head on and I pushed myself to get out of my comfort zone (how about that?!). 

This is actually the only year wherein I didn't made big plans or any resolutions except for perhaps to get back in shape. I signed up for more 808 studio dance classes and I hope I can make the most out of it this year. It feels good to take that 1 hour off to just dance like no one's watching. Whether I look like a graceful dancer or a headless chicken, it doesn't matter for as long as I'm having fun and am burning all those unwanted calories away. 

So here's to you, here's to us and here's to 2021. May you bring more smiles, more laughter and more love to everyone this year. 

Happy New Year!