Red Kimono/Painted Red in Westgate Alabang

After a long drive from Subic, hubby and I were contemplating where to have dinner. We decided to eat close to home instead of finding a restaurant somewhere in the North Luzon highway.

Our choice was at the Red Kimono Japanese Cuisine in Westgate Alabang. We've always been intrigued with the restaurant but never managed to eat there until last night. The place looks swanky and hubby dropped me off to check the menu before making a commitment. I liked the selection and I gave a thumbs up to hubby while he proceeded to park the car.

The interior was designed using red, black and white, very modern. The menu consisted of two types of cuisine. The first one is Japanese, called Red KImono (the name of the restaurant) and the second menu is American, called Painted Red. I like that, more choices. Hubby of course stuck with the Japanese menu.



It was rainy evening, hubby wanted some soup so he ordered the miso soup to start with. The miso soup is pretty typical, nothing fancy.



Red Kimono also offers Wasabi Oyster Tempura, and we ordered that immediately upon seeing it in the menu. Crispy fried oysters in a Japanese dipping sauce of mayo, Kikkoman and maybe a hint of sesamwe oil (?). The dipping sauce was a little bit sweet. I like this dish, hubby on the other hand, would like to have more wasabi in the batter. Well, the menu did say Wasabi Oyster Tempura but there was hardly any wasabi in the batter. I liked it anyway but I see hubby's point.



I also ordered from the Painted Red Menu (American). I had the Artichoke and Spinach Fondue although technically it's not a fondue since the dip is baked as opposed to being in a fondue pot. The Spinach and Cheese fondue was served with nachos and garlic bread. I liked this dish very much and would probably order it again. It smells funny because of the cheeses (sorry, I forgot to ask what kinds were used and Painted Red did not mention it in their menu).



I also had the Mediterranean Salad with feta cheese, tomatoes, walnuts, red cabbages, assorted salad greens, olives and dill with a white balsamic dressing. I've never heard of white balsamic but it tasted like white wine vinegar to me. I thought balsamic vinegars were dark and syrupy. Anyway, the salad wasn't a hit with hubby because of the fresh dill. I am more neutral. I don't hate it but it's not my favorite either.



Hubby also had his Prawn Tempura, which got a very negative review from hubby because the batter was tasteless according to him. I didn't have any because I already wiped out the cheese fondue and was very full.



For some novelty, hubby ordered the Green Tea Tempura Ice Cream. It's green tea ice cream, dipped in a tempura batter and quickly deep fried to have that outer crust. This also got a fail mark from hubby because of the bland taste of the batter and the ice cream.



I'm not actually crossing Red Kimono off my list yet because I did like their fondue (very much) and I would like to try their Maki dishes next time.

Fun day with my family

My mom just got back from a trip from Toronto and NYC and we celebrated her arrival by getting together at LP for a simple lunch. My mom did all the cooking. We had the usual grilled liempo, shrimp sinigang ang beef caldereta and a brazo de Mercedes cake from Goldilocks.







My mom had plenty of stories about her recent trips, family that she met and places that she dined in. Maybe because of mom's stories, our feet got a bit itchy and we took an improptu trip to Nuvali in Santa Rosa so that the kids can feed the Koi and ride the water taxi.



It was hot afternoon but the kids (and me also) enjoyed ourselves immensely at Nuvali. We bought tons of feed from the vendor to feed the Koi. Each cup sells for just P15. Nuvali prides itself for having thousands of Koi in their man-made river. I even saw baby Kois joining the feeding frenzy.



The river taxi ride was a short one but it was fun for the kids nonetheless. Nuvali charges P30 per head for the river taxi. The river taxi ride lasts about ten minutes (maybe less) in a slow and pleasant speed.



It was such a hot afternoon, if felt like we were in the middle of summer. Ice cream was in order. We drove to Cliffhouse in Tagaytay to get some fresh cool mountain air and some ice cream and a rootbeer float from Cafe Breton. I also tried Fling, a frozen youghurt shop just beside Cafe Breton. I like it. Quite perfect after a hot afternoon baking under the sun.





We spent some time also at the viewing deck of Cliffhouse to look at Taal Volano and the surrounding mountains. The kids never rao out of questions about when the lava will come out, why can't we go to the volcano. Things like that. Kids are quite curious.



Come dinnertime, we decided to head back and eat somewhere close to home. We had dinner at Kanin Club in Westgate, Alabang. "kanin" means "rice" in Tagalog. kanin Club, as the name suggests, specializes in fried rice dishes. You can have different kinds of rice.



Kanin Club's best seller is the Fully Loaded fried rice which includes, pork bits, ham, egg. This is very rich and tasty. I also like the tinapa rice. The rice dihes at Kanin Club actually can stand on their own even without "ulam" or viand, the combination of the rice and it's other ingredients make them complete meals in themselves.



We also had Dilis Salad. Crispy fried "dilis" or anchovies with tomatoes, cilantro and vinegar. JJ liked this one. The fresh cilantro provides a nice "freshness" to an otherwise salty dish.



We've eaten at Kanin Club several times but both hubby and I never tried the Fried Dinuguan and it got us very curios. My brother highly recommends that. My brother being the spawn of my mom is genenetically predisposed to liking pork :-) The Fried Dinuguan is highly recommended BUT, the recommendation comes with a warning. This is a very fatty, cholesterol-rich and high on the list of "eat this often and you will die young" list. Let me explain why. Dinuguan, traditionally is made with pork innards (lamang loob in Tagalog), that in itself is already an artery blocker. After the pork innards are deep fried, the little crunchy bits are topped with the dinuguan sauce. Dinuguan, is a "blood stew". The black sauce that you see is pig's blood cooked with vinegar and other secret spices. I've never actually cooked this in my kitchen, but I've been informed that after making Dinuguan, your kitchen would probably look like a murder scene. So, I never made it at home :-)



Oh, we had other dishes too like, Crispy Tadyang (Beef Ribs), Fried Chicken (for the kiddies) and Binukadkad na Tilapia (butterflied fried Tilapia).

The taste of oil and cholesterol still lingers in my mouth. I've ingested too much pork and fried food today. Over quota for the week!

I think I'm gonna have to steal from hubby's Buko Sherbet stash in the freezer to cool wash down everything. He he he.

Spaghetti Factory with the BFF

The BFF and I met again for dinner today. We like to schedule a girls' night out at least once a month for some heart to heart talk and to unwind a little bit.

The BFF is very fond of Italian food, as you may have noticed if you regularly read this blog. Tonight, we dined at the newly opened Spaghetti Factory in Glorietta 5.



Spaghetti Factory offers a wide selection of pasta and pizza dishes. The place was full when we arrived. We were fortunate to get an al Fresco table overlooking Glorietta and Ascott as well as a small park below. It was a balmy night and very pleasant to dine outside.



The BFF and I are shared just two dishes in Spaghetti factory. If you order any pasta dish, you have a selection of the kind of pasta that you want to go with your order. A short description and picture are shown for each type, to help you choose.

We tried the Italian Sampler which consisted of two servings each of Tomato Bruschetta, Spicy Chicken Wings and Chicken and Mushroom Calzone. The sampler is very affordable at P149. The taste is nothing to rave about. Put quite simply, you get what you pay for. Nothing great, "lamang tiyan" (stomach filling) at best. The Calzone particularly wasn't very pleasant. The dough was fried (as opposed to traditionally baked) and despite being fried, the dough was still a bit chewy (raw?) inside. The filling was dry and tasteless.



Next, we shared Penne Boscaiola, a pasta dish with Shitake mushrooms and green peas in tomato sauce. Both the BFF and I were very excited about this dish, "Boscaiola" being new to our vocabulary :-) he he he. Boscaiola means that there is mushroom in the sauce, well, at least that's why good ol' Google says. There was hardly any mushrooms in the sauce and the peas were a bit under cooked. In fairness to Spaghetti Factory, the servings were quite generous, good enough to share by two women "pretending to cut down" on caloric intake. The Penne Boscaiola just doesn't have "craveable", the oomph and the "let's have that for dinner again next week" factor.



I'm not sure about their other dishes though. The place was packed when we arrived. I think some people actually may actually like the food. I like the outdoor area for al fresco dining though.

For after dinner drinks, we decided to walk to Gloria Jean's for some hot chocolate and tea.



Overall, it was a very fun evening filled with stories, funny jokes and a lovely walk around Makati's commercial district.

When guramis went out for drinks

We had such a fun day yesterday at hubby's company bowling tournament and decided to wind down at a bar that we used to frequent as college kids, Tia Maria's. There's a newly opened branch at Festival Mall. You know, just to be nostalgic of our lost and wasted youth, ha ha ha. During our day, Tita Maria's was famous for its Weng Weng, a juice cocktail with vodka, I think. All college kids had that. Ah, fun times.



Hubby and I laughed when we got to Tia Maria's, guramis (or slang for "gurang", or old people), were there and a family. We said to ourselves, man, we're old :-) No college kids in sight! In fact, all Tia Maria's patrons last night were above 30!

Anyway, after perusing Tia Maria's menu, we had some pica-pica of buffalo wings and cheese flautas and some drinks. The strawberry margarita packs a punch. Hubby ended up finishing it for me.



After talking about our respective college adventures at Tia Maria's, hubby and I stayed for about an hour and went home because our old bones were tired and sleepy, so much for a night on the town! :-)

One Rainy Afternoon, Part 3 (Cliffhouse)

Cliffhouse in Tagaytay is great little place to visit. It offers a nice vantage point to see Tall Volcano and it has some cool restaurants in it. There's a new inn about to open there as well.



The weather was rainy (as it says in my title, he he he). There was fog that obscured much of the mountain views.



Despite that, it was still fun to go to Cliffhouse on a weekday when the place isn't too packed with people. There's a small patch of greenery and a pond in the middle, that makes Cliffhouse so pleasant to visit.



Hubby and I wound down at Cafe Breton for some ice cream, crepe and mint tea. We often go to the Cliffhouse branch (or Cafe Breton's Alabang branch) when we want to eat some crepes. The interior is very country and quite homey.



I love crepes because they're freshly made, light and so yummy. Hubby of course has to have ice cream on a cold Wednesday afternoon. He's an ice cream monster. He had the banana split but held off on the whipped cream :-)

I also make crepes at home. Crepes are easy to make but is very time consuming if you are making a huge batch for a party because the crepes have to be made upon "order". Hmm, makes me want to whip up a batch of crepes soon.



What a super fun afternoon.



Hubby gave me a special treat before going home, we drove to Nuvali and fed the Kois :-)

One Rainy Afternoon, Part 2 (Pink Sisters)

After our mid-afternoon snack at Mano's, hubby and I proceeded to go to the Pink Sisters House of Prayer.

The Pink Sisters House of Prayer is actually a favorite place of reflection for a lot of people. It is quiet, situated in a mountain, surrounded by lush greenery. It has a Baguio feel but without the pollution and the noise :-)










Pink Sisters House of Prayer in Tagaytay has a charming chapel with bells on its crucifix. Very lovely and quiet, perfect for prayer. The chapel offers masses every Sunday at 7:30 am and 5:00 p.m., in case you want to hear mass there.



We came there for the Angel Cookies or Cloister Cookies, baked by praying hands, it says on the label :-) The cookies are made with trimmings from the ostia or communion bread. I've read about it prior to going there and I wanted to try it out. Hubby and I have yet to taste it. Maybe tomorrow :-)



Incidentally, the late President Cory Aquino used to come to Pink Sisters for prayer and reflection.

One Rainy Afternoon, Part 1 (Mano's Greek Taverna)

It was a wonderful cold day today. Hubby and I had an impromptu trip to Tagaytay. SLEX from Alabang to Calamba has been finished for quite a while. Going to Tagaytay is now a more pleasant drive. It took just about 45 minutes to get to our first destination, Mano's Greek Taverna. We pass it all the time when we are in the area, why not try it out?



Mano's is mom and pop type of restaurant. The interior is decorated in blue and white, not surprisingly made to feel like you're in a hole in the wall somewhere in Greece. I've never been, so, I'm not an expert :-)

We started our mid afternoon snack with an order of tzatziki, a greek yoghurt dip with cucumbers, garlic and dill. We also ordered some pita bread to go with it. The tzatziki was nice, quite garlicky yet refreshing. Be sure to brush you teeth after. The garlic's a bit strong.



Hubby ordered the Greek Tomato Soup with spaghetti noodles. This is probably the simplest soup that I've had in a restaurant. The flavor is uncomplicated. For us, it tasted like boiled tomatoes with noodles. I wouldn't probably order this again. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great either.



Since it was our mid-afternoon snack time, we ordered some Beef Gyros (the waitress called it Shawarma). The beef was tender and mildly flavored. I particularly didn't like the soft potatoes inside. I've always had gyros with fried potatoes inside so it was a new experience to have mushy potatoes instead. I kinda miss a bit of the crunch and the saltiness.



For dessert, hubby ordered Baklava, a pastry made with multiple layers of filo dough, pistachio, and butter, butter, butter. We were surprised when we got this dessert, the filo was only on top and at the bottom, like a pie. This is probably so that you can get more of the filling. Personally, the carb addict in me, prefer to have the filling sandwiched alternately with multiple layers of filo.



I was a little disappointed with Mano's. I had read some pretty good reviews about it and was expecting some phenomenal food. In fairness, the food wasn't bad, it was just ordinary tasting overall.

If you're willing to spend a bit more dough, I would recommend to dine at Mati's (in Rockwell) or at Cyma (Boracay, Greenbelt and Trinoma) for Greek cuisine. The food is so much better.