Hubby's Gastronomical Adventure

While I was gorging myself on the P37.00 sisig from one of the jolly jeeps along Rada Street, hubby was gorging on these.....



from this restaurant in Taipei.



Parang lugi yata ako :-)

Sisig Heaven

On my way home, I had remembered an office mate telling me about the best sisig this side of Makati. No, it's not from one of those over priced beer joints found in the mall. Rather, the famous sisig is found in this shack, Jolly jeep as fondly called by Makati urbanites, located in Rada corner de la Rosa Streets.



It was still open when I passed by (they close at 11:00 p.m., in case you're wondering), pretty unusual for jolly jeeps who cater mostly to the lunch crowd. I decided to buy some of their famous sisig for my dinner. Why not? I've been good all day eating just oatmeal and two peanut butter sandwiches.

Oh man, the line's quite long. The cook and his assistant was curious why this crazy woman in a dress was taking pictures of their shack. Their curiosity got the better of them and asked me, "Ma'am para ba yan sa advertisement for Coke?" "Hindi kasi ako na pose nung nga picture kayo" He he he. I said no, I just wanted to take pictures :-) Their patrons were looking at me funny, they probably think I was a lunatic :-)

The sisig is cooked only when you order so there's a bit of a wait. No matter, I think Manong gave me more than the usual serving. I couldn't wait to eat it, the smell alone made my mouth water.



Their sisig is not your typical pulutan. Their version is mostly the ulam variety. You can specify how you want it, toasted, spicy, not spicy, with egg, no egg. I preferred mine not spicy with egg. The egg is mixed in at the last minute and topped with a squirt of mayonnaise. I know, sinful right? And it's probably the cheapest one available, P37.00 with rice. Crazy cheap, right?

My golly, this sisig is very good, I finished every last morsel. Hold on to your Xenical girls, you're gonna need it. The thing is so fattening, it should be illegal.

Dinner with my BFF

My best friend (of 24 years) Jhon-ann, invited me to dinner today to cheer me up since hubby's out of the country and I was feeling a bit lonely. Since she loves Italian food, she chose Chef d' Angelo in Greenbelt 1 for our night of pigging out. The food's reasonably priced and the servings are generous. I've eaten there once but wasn't very impressed with the food. Hey, I was willing to give it another go.

The place itself is very homey and unpretentious, tables are placed side by side to encourage diners to eat family style, similar to what you would experience if you had your entire clan for dinner. Fortunately, it was quite late, the place wasn't packed and we practically had one of the long tables to ourselves.

My BFF ordered the Combo 1 platter which has carbonara, a slice of Hawaiian pizza and fried chicken. A very hearty meal reminiscent of the Shakey's bunch of lunch but with bigger portions. The Carbonara sauce is light and not too heavy and more importantly not too salty, pizza's just your ordinary run of the mill ham and pineapple combo, and the chicken is quite dry and tough. Maybe because it's the breast part. I hate fried chicken breasts, they have no flavor at all. Give me chicken wings anytime.



I had the Shrimp and Spinach fettuccine. It was surprisingly good. Very light yet extremely filling, if that was possible. The sauce is made of roasted garlic cloves, olive oil, chili flakes and some sort of crumbled ham or bacon. The spinach was very fresh and green, just wilted enough to retain some crunchiness. I gather some arugula mixed in with the spinach would make this dish more spectacular.



For dessert, we ordered the New York Cheesecake with whipped cream and strawberry sauce, split in half. Now, this dessert is a little hard to explain. The cheesecake tastes like egg pie, yema and lemon curd mixed together (and not in a good way), not cheesecakey at all in my opinion. I did not taste an ounce of cream cheese. And oh, don't get me started on the crust.....cheap egg pie-like crust similar to the ones that the merienda lady sells to your office every afternoon for ten pesos. Don't waste your money on this dessert folks.



Chef d' Angelo? Hit and miss. Jury's still out.

Hubby's First Pics in Taipei

Hubby sent me some pics of his hotel room in United Hotel in Taipei.







See through bathroom wall.... Innerestin'..........

Lunch, Pinoy Style

Hubby's off to Taipei today for a week long business trip. For lunch, we got an invitation from mom, she made chicken adobo and nilagang baka for us and my brother's family. Perfect Pinoy fare for hubby who's going to be out of the country for a week. An overload of Pinoy goodness for him to remember while he's away.





Dessert is sliced ripe mangoes... O diba. Pinoy na Pinoy?

I miss hubby already :-(

Penne with Prawns

I initially planned on just frying some prawns that I bought from the market. But I saw some tinned tomatoes lurking in the pantry and opted to make a pasta dish instead. Hubby was at a supermarket for his daily office lunch with his colleagues and I wrangled him into buying some bell peppers and fresh basil leaves for my pasta
dish.

This is very easy and fast to make with just the most basic of ingredients.

Penne with Prawns

Dried Penne, cooked according to package directions
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3-4 Cloves of garlic, chopped
1 Large onion, chopped
1 Can diced tomatoes
1 Can crushed tomatoes
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional but highly recommended)
1 Bunch basil leaves, torn
1/4 kilo of prawns, peeled
1 Green bell pepper, cubed
salt and pepper to taste
Queso de Bola (Edam cheese), cubed (don't scrimp!)

Saute garlic and onions in olive oil until soft, do not brown. Add the tinned tomatoes, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Simmer until the tomatoes are a bit dark, about ten minutes. Add half of the basil leaves.

Add peeled prawns and diced bell pepper to the tomato sauce. Cook for 2-3 minutes, just until the prawns are cooked. Add the pasta, the rest of the basil leaves
and cubed queso de bola. Toss well to coat. The sauce will thicken a bit when the queso de bola is melted.


(OK, it looks like I had too much sauce here in this picture, I eventually added more pasta and loads more queso de bola to it)

Serve piping hot, best eaten with a loved one.

Enjoy and say ahhh...yummm......

Evenings with Mom

Now that this blogger has returned to the advertising world, I find myself taking advantage of my mom’s generosity to cook dinner in her kitchen, due to the long drive to our home in the south. As many south dwellers would know, the hour and a half long drive home just zaps your energy away and when you get home, it’s more inviting to just lie in bed instead of slaving over a hot oven and washing mounds of dishes afterwards.

It’s been a while since I posted something on my blog. I’m happy to say though that I have not stopped cooking since I started working again. Despite the simple Pinoy meals that I make, I still find it very enjoyable to cook after a spending the whole day at the office. Now, cooking is not only pleasurable, it’s therapeutic as well (as long as I do it in my mom’s kitchen, a mere five minutes’ walk from where I work) and when my mom is home, it gives us a chance to talk and bond with each other, just like old times.

I haven’t posted any photos lately because what I have been making for the past month are very simple, uncomplicated and down to earth meals.

I hope to post more exciting dishes soon. I guess my menu planning skills need to be polished a little bit. Sometimes the supermarkets in Makati fail to inspire me ☺