Best Meal of The Week

If you’re like me and you just LOVE Chinese food, I highly recommend the following restaurants in no particular order:

• Mongkok (you can read my review of the resto here)
• HapChan
• Gloria Maris
• Super Bowl of China

Best meal of the week came from Super Bowl of China. :)

My family and I first ate together at Super Bowl of China just last week before seeing the “It’s Complicated: A Valentine Concert in July” by Jose Mari Chan and The Company (wonderful concert by the way) at the SMX Convention Center. I’d always gone to this resto with other friends but never with my parents.

My dad brought home some food from Super Bowl of China last night. Imagine my delight. He got us the following:

(pictures taken from Super Bowl of China website)

Yang Chow Fried Rice

Eggplant with Minced Pork Hot and Spicy

Steamed Fish Fillet with Garlic

Deep Fried Cuttlefish with Spicy Salt

You guys reading this, I’m telling you. The combination of these dishes, it was like an orgasm in my mouth. And you know what? We ate these unheated. And it’s been sitting in our kitchen table for at least 2 hours before we ate it. Add to that maybe an hour for traveling from the SM Mall of Asia to our home. It was THAT good.

By the way, if you order food for dining in or to go, you get a pair of coupons that you can use on your next visit. I don’t know how long this promo goes on but we’ve gotten it twice and the it’s the same pair. You get a coupon for free Yang Chow fried rice for a minimum order of P750 on your next visit. You also get another coupon for P200 off your next delivery bill for a minimum order of P1000. Fabulous marketing strategy, I must say. :)

Let’s Twist Again

Baby, let’s twist again like we did last summer

As the song goes.

Like other people I know, I have missed the McDonald’s Twister Fries. And I am so glad that it is back.

Dear McDonald’s,

Why is it that you offer the Twister fries for a couple of months in a year every year? Why can’t it be a staple on your fast food menu? Is it because you want to boost sales? That’s pretty selfish of you guys, to deprive us of our beloved twister fries just for business reasons.

Anyway, I am getting some Twister fries on Thursday. Two more days! YAHOO!!

Thanks to Nuffnang for providing the graphics. :)

 

Turning Mexican…

Entitled as such only because I’ve been craving burritos and quesadillas for the last few days.

I finally found my new favorite Mexican food place. It’s Army/Navy Burgers & Burritos over at Glorietta 5.

Well, obviously, they serve burgers and burritos. Oh and onion rings. And fries. And quesadillas. Yum-my!

Last night, I had dinner with my cousin and Kris, my best friend’s brother-in-law, to talk about, guess what, life insurance. I really am growing up if conversations over dinner include life insurance.

Anyway, I was planning to get on some life insurance only because I really need to be forced to save money instead of splurging it on, say, an iPhone or a Blackberry (leaning towards an iPhone, by the way, because I realized I wouldn’t be forced to go into an unlimited surfing plan – unlike the Berry. Or so I think). And I thought it would be a great idea for my cousin, who’s a single mom, to get something just in order for her to be forced to save.

While she and Kris talked, I wolfed down my Steak Burrito and onion rings. Man, those were great. I tried my cousin’s chicken quesadillas and they tasted great too. The Libertea iced tea was as good as they said.

I have to say I really enjoyed the food there…now, how to convince the parents that it’s a good enough place for Sunday lunch? 

 

 

Of Interviews, Dates and Ice Cream

As some of you may know, I’ve been unemployed for a little over a month now. I’ve left my old company to explore new opportunities and new possibilities.


So, of course I've been looking for jobs. I've been to several interviews. I've received several invitations to final interviews and I've yet to receive feedback from them. To be very honest, I get a little nervous during interviews. For me, interviews are like going to blind dates – somebody sets you up (Recruitment team), you talk, ask questions, get to know each other a bit to see if you’re a good fit. Say one little wrong thing and it’s goodbye. If your date (the hiring manager) thinks you’re interesting enough, you get a second or third or fourth date. If you feel like you like each other a lot, you enter a relationship by means of signing a contract (the job offer) stating that you now have a commitment to each other.


But see, I’ve never been good with dates. I find them a little stressful and nerve-wracking. This is probably why I’m a serial monogamist in terms of my career and my personal relationships. You have to be intelligent, witty and decent looking. Yes, I’m all three (wink, wink) but I guess I just haven’t found my perfect match (hopefully, soon because I don’t think my pride will let me be jobless for more than a few months).


To relieve my stress from all the job-hunting I’ve done so far, I got me some ice cream. Two pints of ice cream, actually. One is Haagen-Dazs Caramel Biscuit and Cream and the other…well, let’s just say I’ve already written about it and it’s posted somewhere in this blog. :)


Anyway, I’m glad I got Haagen-Dazs Caramel Biscuit and Cream because it is simply dee-vine!! Yes, I know how to spell “divine” but I needed you to read “divine” as “dee-vine” because yes, it was that good (kind of like how people say “uh-mazing” on the internet). Delectable, creamy and just the right amount of sweetness. Yes, it is caramel but it’s not overly sweet caramel. It was soooo good that I had a hard time sharing it with my parents. In the end, I let them have a couple spoonfuls just so they would understand what I was raving about.


The taste is just so…comforting. I don’t know if there’s any other way to describe it. I dunno if it’s because it is ice cream (being comfort food in general) but I felt really…comforted, relaxed. And I’m not kidding. Like I really feel better after eating this particular ice cream. Like if this particular ice cream became a live person, this one will be your best friend giving you the best hug ever!


So I hope the following pictures will let you know how much I absolutely enjoyed Haagen-Dazs Caramel Biscuit and Cream. Hover your mouse over the pictures for some (cool) captions. :)

 
 
 

So you guys know what to give me if I feel a little too depressed and don’t want to take me out for some drinks. :)

But whether I get my dream job/dream guy or not, I will be eating Haagen-Dazs Caramel Biscuit and Cream. It’ll just be a matter of whether I’ll be celebrating or not. :)

Food Review: KFC California Maki Twister

I’ve been pretty curious about the new KFC California Maki Twister. I’ve had their pizza twister and their Hawaiian twister (which is basically a pizza twister with pineapples). I liked their pizza twister, but the Hawaiian twister, not so much.

Anyway, I finally had the chance to try out the KFC California Maki Twister last Tuesday afternoon. I’d gone to the office to give a parting gift to a good friend who’s leaving for Dubai soon. We had lunch. Or at least I did since I arrived just when he’d finished up with lunch. Got the twister for take out for merienda.

 

So, on to the actual food review.

If you like raw food like I do, you probably have had a California Maki. You’d be, of course, familiar with the flavors and the taste associated with the California Maki. You with me? Ok, good. So imagine all that without the dried seaweeds.

The California Twister had a good amount of great tasting mayo and chicken. The slices of cucumber and mangoes were there, making the California maki experience complete. Maybe it was in the mayo but I could’ve sworn I tasted something fishy in there. It wasn’t bad at all. It just tasted like how a California maki should taste – sweet and crab-y.

Overall, great experience with the KFC California Twister.

Next on my list of food to try? Sunrise Bucket Chicken Wings.

Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream

I’ve heard about Ben and Jerry’s ice cream in TV shows and movies. So when I went to the US last 2006, I resolved to try one of the flavors mentioned.

Chunky Monkey.

Chunky Monkey, as described in the Ben and Jerry’s website, is banana ice cream with fudge chunks and walnuts. It is simply delicious.

So imagine my delight that while I was hunting for the special Haagen-Dazs ice cream (more on that later) when I saw Chunky Monkey in the freezer of Rustan’s Market.

It was, as my friend Charls would say, like seeing a unicorn.

Instead of spending less than PHP 500 for that Haagen-Dazs ice cream, I ended up spending PHP 800 for both PINTS of ice cream.

Oh well. Back pay will soon be in my hands. :)

I can’t wait to eat this!

We Are What We Eat and What We Do is Yoga

“You are what you eat”. This is an age old adage that I was never able to fully get. I’d always rationalize like this: “If I ate only vegetables, would that mean I’m a vegetable?” Or “If I ate meat only, would that also mean that I’m a piece of meat?”

And so I looked for something that would make sense for me. What I found is an article by Giuliana Rancic entitled “He Is What He Eats”. Let me share bits and pieces for you here.

The guy who sends everything back because it’s too cold, too hot, too overdone, etc:  This guy is a perfectionist and commitment phobe.  He’ll find some reason not to settle down with you – you should move on to a different table.

The guy who suggests splitting an appetizer and then asks you to pick it:  This is a good guy – sweet, thoughtful and wants you to be happy.  Just be careful of any sneaky ex-girlfriends in the picture because someone has clearly trained him well.

The guy who suggests splitting an appetizer and orders some delicious fried calamari…after you told him you were a vegetarian:  Let’s face it, guys aren’t always the best listeners but this is a bit of a red flag.  First dates are all about first impressions and this guy just seems selfish.

The guy who finishes one type of food before he moves on to the next type.  For example, he’ll eat all his broccoli, then all his potatoes then his fish:  This is a guy who is OCD orderly – if you move in with him you better have your own bathroom.

The guy who talks with his mouth full:  Okay, this may surprise you, but there are worse traits and I think this guy may be a good catch.  He wants to hurry on with his life, multi-task, and has great enthusiasm. Just have him eat behind a sneeze guard.

The guy who wants to try everything you’ve ordered:  Okay, this is a guy who is open to new things and values your opinion.  However, if he ends up eating all your food you may want to send him back.

The guy who orders everything grilled with the sauce on the side:  He’s health conscious, metro, kinda’ sensitive and a little vain.  In other words – he’s Ryan.

The guy who eats food with just one color – all white, all brown – you get it:  Okay, I would forget him.  He’s probably a little crazy and if you hook up with him he may insist that everything in your house be one color (including your hair).

The guy who insists on ordering everything for you:  He’s probably too domineering and very traditional.  Unless you really like dating much older men (like say 99), I think you should skip him and order what you want.

The guy who after every meal says he’s had it better someplace else:  Skip him before he says he had a better girlfriend someplace else.

The guy who wants you to order for him:  Mommy issues – stay away from him, especially if he asks you to cut his meat.

I haven’t dated every type but I remember dating  Type 2. Too bad we didn’t last.

To add something of my own:

• The guy who can’t make up his FN mind about where to eat and what type of food to get. This guy is either indecisive or too eager to please or just doesn’t care. I say ditch him and go eat wherever you want. :)

In other boring news, I’m currently practicing yoga under Tara Stiles via Youtube. I’m also considering practicing Namaste Yoga via Channel 15 aka Discovery Home and Health Channel. I need to drop like maybe 50 pounds soon. Doing the night shift made me fat. Yes, I have cup C breasts (TMI much?) but I also have an expanded waistline that goes along with that. Slimming down will get me cup A breasts and a miniature waistline. Kind of like how I started before going on the night shift. As in like how I was when I just came home from the States.

Yoga Tara Stiles style is hard! Namaste yoga is better, I think.

Wish me luck! Oh, and here’s some videos of yoga. Who knows, it might inspire some people out there.

 

Mongkok: Our New Fave Chinese Resto

My parents and I recently discovered Mongkok, this Chinese restaurant located in Glorietta 5.

My dad has been eyeing this place ever since he spotted it from across Starbucks in Glorietta 4. He said it kind of made him think about food from Hongkong. Take note, this was probably about 3 – 6 months ago.

Fast forward to last Sunday, July 25. Our first time to eat in this place. And just yesterday, August 1, we ate here again. And I surmise that if we were to watch another movie at Glorietta 4, this is where we will be eating next Sunday. Yes, we’re boring that way.

I’ve no yummy looking pictures to show not because I’m too lazy but because I’m a little stupid when it comes to transferring pictures from my Nokia 6120c to my Compaq laptop (I’m not endorsing anything, but yes, I like these brands and that’s why I have things from these brands).

But allow me to tell you that I enjoy their food while my parents both enjoy the food and the affordability it has.

Let’s see…On our first visit, we had:

• Yangchow fried rice
• Pork spare ribs
• Seafood something (no, it’s not named “seafood something”, I just forgot the name).
• Bottomless sjora for my dad
• bottomless iced tea for me
• jasmine tea
• a bunch of steamed asparagus

All for the low price of less than P900 pesos. My dad was probably too happy and too surprised about the price that he gave the waiter a P100 tip (on a side note, this is one of the things I love about my dad. He’s a relatively great tipper). And this specific waiter was also probably happy to see us yesterday too as he was constantly checking up on us.

So on our second visit, we had:

• jasmine tea
• bottomless iced tea
• steamed ampalaya (bitter melons) with garlic (surprisingly, being a hater of ampalaya, i really liked it)
• beef something (had a really sweet sauce…went great with Yangchow)
• Yangchow fried rice
• broccoli flowers and shrimp (generous helping of shrimps, by the way)
• 4 pieces of big fried dumplings

And our bill? P810, including VAT. No, nothing was missing on the bill. Mom gave our waiter another generous tip.

My parents commented on the freshness and quality of the food. I would have to agree that it really tasted good. In time, this will probably give North Park a run for their money. We’ll probably get some pancit next time.

So, if anyone out there would be interested to try out Mongkok, please do. Please make sure to bring family or friends, or eat alone, I don’t really care. If you’re in the mood for some good Chinese food, it’s the place you have to be.

 

What I Miss About the United States

If there’s one thing I absolutely miss about being in the United States, it’s the food.


I’ve always felt guilty for not having the “American dream”. Meaning, I absolutely don’t have the desire to live in the US. Sure, it’s nice and cold here compared to the hot and humid weather here but I would prefer to be living here with all the luxuries I can afford by myself than live there and work like a horse in order to afford the luxuries I have here.


Anyway, I love IN N OUT burgers and animal style fries. And if there’s one thing I want to be brought here in the Philippines, it’s IN N OUT. If I had enough money, I would be working towards a franchise here so that a lot of the food lovers here can experience the amazing taste of their burgers.





Photo by Food Blogista.


Looks yummy, right?


I want one for lunch right now.