Midnight Snacking at Ayu Sushi Bar in BF

Hubby and I were beat from last Saturday's errands and biking activities. When we took a "nap", we woke up past 9:00 p.m. already! Where to eat at such a late hour without driving too far?

Hubby's been meaning to try out that hole in the wall Ayu Sushi/Japanese Restaurant located near Southville International School along Tropical Avenue, which he passes by everyday on his way home. It's less than five minutes' drive from our place anyway so we gave Ayu Sushi a go.



The place certainly is quite hodge podge in terms of decor. There's even a Karaoke room tucked in a corner somewhere. Ayu Sushi also offers grilled items, which you can grill on your own, right at your table, in a separate area of the restaurant. I wasn't in the mood for grilling so we opted to just have sushi.



There's even a small Koi pond found at the entrance of the restaurant. Which is kinda cute and the Kois are very healthy.



Ayu Sushi was a great find! Hubby was very very happy with what we ordered. In fact, he raved about it in his Facebook page, he he he :-)

The uni in particular was very fresh (not frozen as insisted by the waitress). It's presented quite differently too, in plastic lemon cups. I thought from afar they were real lemons.



It would be nicer though if they cut the salmon and tuna sushi a bit thicker. Nevertheless, they were very fresh, which is very important when eating raw fish.



The Tamago was a bit bland though, I didn't like that one.



The Futomaki was a huge hit with hubby as well because there is less rice and more of the good stuff inside.



The owner and head chef of the restaurant is Japanese, that's why the taste is quite good. I haven't been to Japan yet, so I can't compare it to the real stuff.

Overall, I think hubby will be making midnight runs at Ayu Sushi quite often :-)

Atoy's Porkchop-BF Homes

Atoy's Porkchop, located along Aguirre Avenue in BF Homes, got rave reviews from two of our family's youngest foodies, my nephew JJ and my niece Ashley.



Upon passing by one night, a few weeks ago, hubby and I made a detour to have a quick fat-laden dinner. The place is a hole-in-the-wall type of foodie find, tucked between the many little shops located along Aguirre Avenue. Both the interior and the service are typical "carinderia" style (street canteens) with its avocado wall color combination, the condiment bottles on the table with the suka, toyo, siling labuyo (bird-eye chilis) and calamansi (local lemons) and of of course, the essential monoblock chairs. You place your order to the counter and you wait for the pork goodness to come to your table.





Atoy's Porkchop is really good, thin and very crispy. The baby foodies usually fight over who gets the "slimy" (baby talk for "pork fat"). Yup, the slimy was goood and probably habit-forming. For just P65 per order which already includes the fried rice and egg, it could be!



Eat sparingly :-)

Via Mare in BF

It has been such a hectic two months. Sneaking a date with hubby proves to be harder than I thought. It’s funny that we have to really make time for such simple dates. With our schedules practically on opposite timezones, hubby and I hardly have time so really sit down and share a leisurely meal together.

We finally got the chance to grab a quick lunch together in BF after such a super hectic morning. Via Mare recently opened its doors to the residents of BF. They are located near Starbucks (where Mocha Blends used to be).

Feeling famished, hot and tired, Via Mare was the perfect choice for Filipino comfort food. The puto-bumbong actually is what draws hubby to their restaurant.

We ordered quite a lot! We convince ourselves that we need that much sustenance to make up for such a super hectic day.

Hubby had the Lugaw Toppings, rice porridge with an assortment of toppings like tofu, wanton chips, pork "litid", pork flakes and others. He paired it with Tokwa’t Baboy. Tofu and Pork ‘face” stewed in vinegar, garlic, onions and soy sauce.




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Hubby’s partial to rice porridge and he considers it his go-to comfort food. It probably stems from his college days in La Salle where he would spend practically spend most afternoons, eating goto, lugaw ang matang baka (cow’s eyes, yeah I know, eeeew, right? Ha ha ha) near the LRT station. I know this story because he would often share it with me when he’s feeling nostalgic about his nerdy youth, ha ha ha! Surprisingly, our paths never crossed during our college days despite living in the same village and studying in the same area (I studied in St. Scho).

Anyway, back to the present, I ordered the Crab Omelette served with rice and Lumpiang Togue. Huge but delicious. I miss eating fried food!



If the above food wasn’t enough, we ordered some Oysters Boursin, too. Baked oysters with lots of cheese. Oysters and cheese, you cant go wrong.




Of course we had the Puto-Bumbong as well. Puto Bumbong is local “kakanin” or rice- based dessert. Usually made from “pirurutong” or purple sticky rice that has been soaked overnight and ground to create a clay-like concistency and then steamed in specailly made steamers with two tubes protruding. I know all this from theory only, I have never attempted to make Puto Bumbong, to the utter dismay of hubby, ha ha ha :-)

Amalia's in BF Homes

After our lunch and merienda at LP, the family had dinner at Amalia's, a Spanish restaurant located right along Aguirre Avenue in BF Homes.

For starters we had the Chorizo Bilbao. (Sorry, no photo)

Oysters in White Wine.



Vegetarian Paella, they used Jasmine Rice instead of Arborio rice for this one which is a bit unusual. The white asparagus was nice though.



Paella Espanola, with chicken, chorizo and seafood.



Salpicao, tenderloin beef cooked with lots of garlic (maybe they forgot to add garlic here?)



Callos or tripe stewed in tomatoes, garbanzos and red wine. This used to be my favorite at Amalia's (aside from the paella Espanola) but somehow the recipe is not the same tonight.

The kids had chicken lollipop which they finished off in fifteeen minutes flat.



For dessert, we had the Canonigo, a light fluffy eggwhite cake with a creamy sauce and a side serving of diced mangoes. This is one of my favorite desserts.





We noticed that Amalia's food is a bit lackluster today. I wonder if that's why only a few people (aside from us) dined there tonight.

A Veneto in BF Homes

I noticed that I rarely blog about the places that we visit quite often in BF Homes. One place that we often visit when we are too tired to cook is A Veneto. A pizza and pasta place right along Aguirre Avenue and is just walking distance from the in-laws. It's our standby place when Sunday dinners are time pressured or when hubby's folks suddenly have guests drop by.

Hubby and I are trying to eat a bit healthier these days (well, at least I am trying). We still love pork, mind you and we still indulge in it's fatty goodness at least once a week.

The big four-oh for hubby is just days away and since many of the young members (that means 50 and below, LOL) of our family are suffering in one ailment or the other, we deemed it best to cut down on fat now. Cut down, not completely obliterate.

Dining out is particularly tricky. Finding healthy alternatives for dinners and snacks prove to be very daunting.

A Veneto makes a great vegetarian pizza. I like this very much, light yet filling, two slices will be enough. A Veneto's pizza sauce is mild and not too over powering, I would prefer a thinner crust though. A Veneto's vegetarian pizza has mushrooms, bell peppers, olives and onions in them and of course a hefty serving of cheese.



Hubby also ordered a Seafood Salad. A Veneto's version has shucked mussels, shrimps, crab sticks, salad greens and pine nuts dressed in a sweet balsamic sauce. This is hubby's favorite salad at A Venento's and always make it a point to order this. (Pardon the dark pictures, yours truly took them without using hubby's fancy flash)



Hubby is also very biased when it comes to pizza choice. His always has to be shrimp pizza. You can choose whatever topping you like at A Veneto's and let your imagination run wild. A Veneto's also have their own signature pizzas and most people order those off the the menu.



A Veneto's in BF is a simple place with haphazardly placed eating nooks and peeling paint. I think the dismal interiors only add to A Veneto's hole-in-the-wall charm.

Saturday Breakfast with Hubby

For the past week, I've been craving for Kopi Bun. Kopi Bun is a soft and airy bread with a coffee flavored "shell". I'm so excited that there's a branch in BF homes that recently opened and I get my Kopi Bun fix whenever I want it. The Kopi Bun though delicious is very high in fat. I know this because when you touch the bottom of the bun, you can feel the butter sticking to your fingers and there's a large gaping hole inside the bun where maybe 4 tablespoons of cold butter was ensconed prior to baking. Hence, the combination of coffee and butter will entice any dieter to forget about dieting and finish at least one bun.



Hubby and I were up early last Saturday, 9:30 a.m. :-) After a quick bath, we proceeded to Kopi Roti and had our fix. Aside from the Kopi Bun, we also had soft boiled eggs mixed with soy sauce (they serve it that way), a mug each of Teh Tarik. Hubby had two Kopi Buns. I wanted to eat two as well but decided to be ladylike and not scarf down another bun.



Weekends are always so jam-packed. It's nice to have a long, unhurried breakfast with hubby once in a while.

Bangus Restaurant

I know that this post is a bit delayed. My weekend was packed with activities and mounds of laundry. Sigh…

Hubby took pity on me and dragged me to have lunch somewhere nearby. Our choice was at Bangus restaurant at The Pergola in BF Homes. It’s so funny that both him and I have never dined there with it just a short driving distance from our place. Bagus is milkfish in English. Bangus is abundant in Philippine waters. The best ones are found in Dagupan where the bangus is sweeter and more succulent. Bangus has about a million bones in it :-) It is best to have youor fish monger debone it for you for a small charge.

First off, we tried the Boneless Bangus Tinapa Rice. The whole smoked bangus is gutted, flaked and fried to a crisp and mixed with fried rice, topped with slivered green mangoes and scrambled eggs and capped off by the crispy bangus skin. Try this next time you’re there. It’s quite nice, the bangus skin is so crispy, it’s like chicharon. Good for two to three persons per order.



The sizzling Kangkong (water Spinach) was fresh and crispy, albeit a bit too gingery for our taste. No ginger next time.



For dessert, I tried the Reyna Blanca. A coconut gelatin dish with milk and pinipig (pounded toasted rice, sort of like rice crispies but flat). The pinipig is by far the best that I’ve tasted. Crunchy, light and so heavenly.



Hubby ordered the Mochi, which is unusual to find in a Filipino restaurant. It’s basically warm “galapong” (sticky rice that has been soaked overnight and ground to make a paste or "dough"). I forgot what’s inside, banana I think, sorry, but it wasn’t very special.



There were other interesting stuff on the menu that we would like to try next time.

Conti's

There's a restaurant in BF that we consider as the old standby whenever we need eat something homey, delicious and reasonably priced. Conti's has been in BF for as long as I remember. They are famous for their desserts and asado roll, which my mom used to line up for (when she still lived in BF). My mom would go there very early in the morning and line up.

Hubby and I go there for their delicious food and reasonable prices. The head waiter already knows us so we always get good service. It's been a while since we dined there.

We tried the Symphony Salad which is a new entry on their menu. It's basically salad greens with slivered almonds, tomatoes in a sweet and tangy tomato dressing. The dressing is similar to Pancake house's Taco Salad.



My favorite is the Grilled Pork Chop with Mushroom Risotto. I love their mushroom gravy and the risotto. A true blue risotto, I learned, spread around the plate when you give it a little jiggle. Technically, Conti's risotto is not really risotto but a creamy rice dish since it does not resemble a "lugaw-like" consistency when you give it a little jiggle. But I love it anyway. There was a time when I ate this at least once a week :-)



Hubby likes the Beef Salpicao. He said that their recipe improved since the last time he had it.



Our super duper favorite dessert there is the Frozen Mango Tart. Sweet pie crust with mango cream and fresh mangoes on top. Yummy!

Urashima Japanese Restaurant and Getting Pampered

Hubby’s back from HK. Yipee!

Our weekend was pretty busy. I for one spent the whole Saturday, cleaning, washing, ironing and preparing for hubby’s late night arrival from HK. I wanted him to go home to a nice clean house. Of course he messed it right up with all the pasalubongs scattered all over the place. :-)

For our Sunday lunch date, hubby took me to a nearby Japanese Resto called Urashima along President's Avenue in BF Homes. It’s just a few minutes’ drive from our place. They’re quite famous for their lunchtime bento menu.

Hubby ordered the Bento A. It’s a huge selection of mixed tempura (shrimp, assorted veggies, fish and parsley, yum!), miso soup, sushi, Japanese meatballs, Japanese-style potato salad, pickled cucumbers, hagadashi tofu. It’s a huge meal meant to be eaten when you’re very hungry :-) Can be shared too but hubby was very hungry and didn't want to share, he he he ;-)





The parsley tempura was very good. Very refreshing when you bite into it.

I got the Bento B. It’s pretty much the same as what hubby ordered but instead of the sushi, I had chicken teriyaki.





Both bento combinations were excellent and well worth your money. Hubby and I only spent P750 all in all, not bad eh?

If you’re in BF, I recommend that you visit this place during lunch time. Because that’s the only time they serve their super-sized bentos.

After such a filling lunch, we drove over my my brother’s place to give them hubby’s pasalubong and spend time playing with my nephew and niece. Cute kids! I love them to death.

Since it was still pretty early, hubby and I decided to pamper ourselves at the neighborhood salon by getting manicures and pedicures. Hubby bolted from the parlor as soon as he was finished and decided to have our car washed nearby. I on the other hand, stayed on to have my hair colored, get a hair spa, get a foot spa and paraffin and be totally pampered for the afternoon. I felt like a princess :-)

My neighborhood salon offers free paraffin wax if you avail of their foot spa package of P300 (includes manicure, pedicure, foot spa, foot massage and the free paraffin foot soak). The paraffin wax is so relaxing. I wanna sleep right after. They also offer free hair spa when you have your hair colored, comes free with a nice back massage too.

For appointments, you can drop by at Dunamis Salon and Spa (formerly Top to Toe Salon) along Cabarrus street, beside Resurrection Church, or you can call 994-33-80. Ask for Shirley, she gives great massages.

Tides Restaurant in BF

Hubby and I tried this new barbecue joint in BF Homes called Tides, located along Aguirre Avenue. The interior is rustic and pub-like, with wooden tables and chairs, there's a patio over looking the street. The patio is the best area to dine since it's al fresco, the interior of the restaurant is not airconditioned but with plenty of fans to circulate the air. If you don't like to breathe smoke from cigarettes, dine early before the smokers arrive.





The menu consists of bar drinks and an assortment of barbecue, sisig and viands. The barbecue menu is priced reasonably between P18-45 per stick, depending on the type of barbecue that you like. The marinade is very good and the meats are grilled perfectly with slight burnt edges, very typical Pinoy barbecue. We also tried the roti. It was pretty disappointing, it's not authentic roti, they used tortilla instead of an actual roti, the curry dip was not bad. I was hoping to re-capture the same taste that I had in Little India, Singapore. Oh well...





The restaurant shares the building with a pizza joint, you can cross order between the two restaurants since they have the same owner/s. The pizza isn't very good though. I'd stick with the barbecue if I were you.

Chicken Inasal

Chicken Inasal is one of the most favorite Filipino dishes of all time. Quintessential Pinoy, if you may. The dish originated in Bacolod, a province located in the Visayan region.

Although recipes vary from family to family, chicken inasal is always marinated and brushed with in achuete oil while grilling. The achuete oil (oil infused with anatto seeds) gives the chicken inasal it's yellow reddish tint. So far, none of the restaurants that we've dined in has given me the complete recipe for the their marinade. I can only discern flavors like vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper and ginger. Grilling over hot coals is very essential to it's smoky and distinct flavor.



I've never made this at home since it's very cheap to just dine in Bacolod Chicken House, a quaint little restaurant in BF that has been there for as long as I can remember. It's great that you can order the chicken parts that you like best. I like wings. Chicken inasal is best eaten with a dipping sauce of vinegar, soy sauce, chopped bird's eye chili, calamansi, ginger, garlic and onions.

Chicken Inasal in Bacolod Chicken House. Good Eats.