BITTER HERB

It was supposed to be just me and my close friend meeting up on a Friday night, but my kid overheard me leaving and wanted to tag along. Since he has no school the next day, then I gave in to his plead. We met up with the godmother of my son at Wilcon City Center along Visayas Avenue since that is near our place. My kid only had a few rides/games at the jampacked arcade because it was very chaotic there...both kids and even adults were kinda wild. My friend suggested Pancake House and it was a relief for me because the restaurant was not full and we sat in a nice corner. The waitress gave my kid some colors and an activity sheet. Knowing my kid, he only colored a few and got lazy again...LOL.  Each time I ask him to write his name, he ignores me or won't do it. He only writes his name if he wanted to show off...and he did that night to impress his Godmother. So proud of you boy! Since we already had dinner, I ordered Spaghetti with Meat Sauce which can be seen at the Kid...

Before the birth of Mang Inasal and Chic-Boy  , there was already Bacolod Chicken Inasal. This restaurant introduced Chicken Inasal to the common people. There are still several diners who patronize Bacolod Chicken Inasal and I am one of them...remembering my good dining experience at that  restaurant years ago. I bought a voucher that  is worth P180 for P300 worth of regular-priced food and drinks at Bacolod Chicken...great deal right? After my kid got his check-up at Manila Doctors, we went to SM City so that my mom can claim her items in exchange of the Worlds of Fun tickets she have been collecting since early this year. My son also got to play of course. I remembered that I have a voucher and instead of having a snack, we decided to have early dinner at Bacolod Chicken...it was quite a long walk from SM City to the restaurant in Trinoma. It is located on the 2nd floor near the fountain area. The Bacolod Chicken Inasal branch was huge and has that festive ambiance wh...

I have eaten at Banapple a few years ago and I did not really get a chance to savor it because my kid was still small and a handful. Now that he is already 4, he can be asked to sit still and eat  (but I still fix a spoonful) After attending mass at Santuario de San Jose in Greenhills, my sis and her hubby treated the grannies (including us) dinner in celebration of Grandparent's Day. They chose to eat at Banapple, which is located at the 2nd floor of Northgate Building, Connecticut Street, Greenhills. You can even walk from the church to the restaurant.  The Banapple branch was quite small that's why we have to wait for our turn to be seated and there were 10 of us.  Instead of waiting for the people inside to finish eating, we decided to just stay outside so we can finally have dinner because we were sooo hungry.  I ordered Baked Fish Gratinee with Scalloped Potatoes which is worth P175. This scrumptious dish is served with white rice and buttered kernel cor...

Ampalaya (Eng: bitter melon)is hated by many because of its bitter taste. It is rare to find a kid eating ampalaya and even only a few adults would dare ate this vegetable. I think the first time I ate ampalaya was in grade school when we were asked by our teacher to eat it since it signifies the bitter herb mentioned in the Bible. Now that I am all grown up and enjoy eating all kinds of food, I happen to love ampalaya. My former colleague brought ampalaya salad  at work and it was good! You won't taste its bitternes so I asked her how she did it. I made it at home and mom liked it, but my sister did not because she said it was still bitter. FAIL!  As years go by, I think I have finally perfected making the not-so-bitter Ampalaya (Bitter Melon) Salad. I am going to share this to those who love this green veggie and the first-timers who dare to taste it. Ingredients: 3 tomatoes chopped into medium pieces 1 white onion chopped into small pieces 2 salted red eggs (itlog na...

It was a rainy Thursday night, but I have to meet a good friend at Wilcon City Center along Visayas Avenue for personal reasons. After walking in an ankle-deep flood just outside our subdivision and having dinner, I was lucky to get a free ride from my sister going to Visayas Avenue. My friend was already waiting for me at Nueve Cafe which was located at the ground floor of the mini mall.  The only customer that night was my friend who was still clad in her corporate office wear so I joked her saying, "how's the restaurant business going?". The restaurant looked elegant so the food there must be quite expensive.  She was having pasta for dinner and since I already had dinner, I decided to order desert. I checked out their cake and goodies selection tray to find what would fancy my sweet tooth.  The Tiramisu caught my attention since that  is one of my favorite desserts so I ordered that. It is worth P125 which is same price as most cake slices in restaurants...

I love Japanese food and one of my fave meals is Sukiyaki. My mom spent a lot of time making that dish when we were little so I thought it was difficult to make. She uses authentic ingredients which could only be seen in specialty sections in groceries or Japanese stores. With my desire to eat Beef Sukiyaki, I have made some research and used ingredients that can be found in regular groceries. Here is my easy and no sweat Beef Sukiyaki recipe.  Ingredients:  1/2 kilo Sukiyaki Beef Cut  Chinese Cabbage "bok choy"(Fil: pechay) - sliced around 1-inch long 2 Medium-sized Carrots - cut in thin slices Onion Leeks - cut around 1-inch long Tofu (or tokwa) - diced 1 small pack Vermicelli Noodles (Fil: sotanghon) - soaked in water 2 cups of water Sauce: 2 tablespoons of grated ginger 1 cup soy sauce 3 tablespoons of sugar dash of pepper Procedure:  1. After preparing all the ingredients, get a huge wok if you don't have a hot pot and boil 2 cups of w...