Yabu, best Katsu in Manila?

Finally, Yabu! I've been wanting to dine at Yabu for the longest time. I have heard so many good reviews about it. Hubby, me, Jayjay and Ashley braved the C5 traffic to drive to Megamall to finally try Yabu. (When did Megamall have a building C?!)

We were not disappointed. It is by far, the best katsu I've had (well, I haven't been to Japan, so there's really no comparison). Much better than Hong Kong airport's Saboten, in my opinion. Although, many would probably disagree with me.

We love to grind our own sesame seeds for the sauce. It really makes a huge difference in taste and texture.

The katsu that we ordered were crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and fried perfectly, not oily at all. All meals are served with unlimited cabbage salad and rice. How perfect for the Pinoy diner.

Yabu is so worth the wait, the drive and money spent. Will definitely go back to Yabu. I hope they open a branch in Makati or Alabang soon. **hint** **hint**

Tapella in Greenbelt

Another date night with Hubby! Our date nights come few and far between because of our opposing work schedules. I really cherish the times that we do manage to go out, eat and have a date.

We tried Tapella at Greenbelt 5. Tapella is a Spanish restaurant that serves tapas, various Spanish cuisine and they have an al fresco bar beside one of the gardens in Greenbelt. I often see expats dining there. We chose to eat at Tapella because it was quiet, intimate and I heard the food was good.

Hubby and I tried the Flauta Cammembert, Cammembert cheese with caramelized onions inside a warm crusty baguette. I was surprised with the bread because it was crusty outside but soft inside, obviously freshly baked.

Hubby ordered Flauta de Anchoa. Anchovies and tomatoes inside a crusty baguette. Simple, yet surprisingly delicious.

We also had the Mediterranean Salad with green and black olives, feta cheese, anchovies and various greens in a simple vinaigrette of olive oil and lemon (I think).

For our main course, although I was already very full, we had the Paella Manchego. Typical paella, cooked with broccoli, asparagus, shrimps, chicken and topped with grated Manchego cheese. The paella was a bit light, not too over powering, Hubby loved it.

Date night. I should insist having one at least weekly, 'no?

Nautical Theme

I was browsing through Pinterest earlier, and saw the picture on the left and realized I'm kinda wearing the same outfit. Ha ha ha.

Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe in MOA

Finally, some shopping time for me. Oh, blessed three hours of self indulgence! I managed to coerce Hubby to drive me to Mall of Asia (MOA) last Saturday to shop for some wardrobe basics. I normally don't like to go to Mall of Asia, since that mall is SO crowded and chaotic but, it's the only mall (currently) that houses all my favorite clothing stores in one roof. I unleashed Hubby so that he can have his own selfish indulgences while I shop in peace. Nothing deflates my shopping spirit than  an irritable husband following me around while trying out clothes and shoes.

Anyway, after a fruitful three hours of shopping and trying on clothes, Hubby  and I finally had dinner, just the two of us, at Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe. The restaurant is situated right beside the IMAX theater, so it's quite easy to find.

The menu consists of some typical Hong Kong hawker fares like noodles, dim sum, Hong Kong style spaghetti, curries and such. The menu really reminded us of our various food adventures in Hong Kong.

I ordered the Prawn and Egg Horfun, which was smoky, with thick flat noodles, prawns cooked perfectly and a sauce that was quite nice, not too salty.  I am surprised that Xin Wang actually captured the taste of Hong Kong!

Hubby had the Braised Udon Soup. He liked everything about it, except the kind of noodle used, he preferred to have the thin noodles. The broth has anise in it, which is quite typical of noodles soups in Hong Kong.

Hubby also had two kinds of dimsum - Hargao (or Hakaw, shrimp dumplings) and the Steamed Pork Spare Ribs. Both were good and better than King Bee's. I only managed to eat one each since Hubby ate them all. The broth from the spare ribs were quite nice and would be good as a sauce for rice. How typical Pinoy, 'no? :-)

Hubby Loves them ice drinks and desserts. He ordered the Mango Snow Ice and Lychee Ice Blended Drink. He loves them both because they're sweet, cold and quite refreshing. The Lychee Ice Blended drink was served in a carafe, yes, for one serving, which I think was quite generous, although Hubby managed to down it by himself. I only managed to try the Mango Snow Ice made with  shaved ice, with milk, mango syrup, mango bits topped with a scoop of ice cream because I think, even with Hubby's huge appetite, the serving was more than enough for two people.

When we arrived at Xin Wang Cafe, there was a waiting line and the place was packed, so be sure to come early if you want to eat there on a weekend. The food is good and authentic. We suspect that the chef might be a Hong Kee or trained by a Hong Kong chef. The price of the food is very very reasonable and worth every centavo, in my own opinion. Would you believe we spent under a P1,000 for all of that food? Tip included!  Our waiter was nice too, and very attentive. 

 Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe is worth coming back to.

Weight Loss Simulator

I tried this weight loss stimulator at http://api.modelmydiet.com/eywomen and see how it went. I plugged in my weight (I added a few pounds, just to be sure that I am not deluding myself). I also typed in my goal weight, which is 100 lbs (my weight in senior college, I can dream, can't I?).

I can't look at my college pictures anymore, I just get depressed.

Anyway, here's what I came up on my simulator:

For a 38-year old broad, I may not be such a super fattie after all.

Mom's Chocolate Icing

My mom says that she used to bake from scratch when I was young. Hmmmm, I have a different recollection of her version of "baking from scratch". My first memories of baking a cake, was when my mom opened a box of cake mix. But then again, I give her the benefit of the doubt since the toddler in question (me), was probably too young to remember the "baking from scratch" bit.

Anyway, I did remember though that she used to make icing from scratch. That, I am hundred percent certain. Because during my teen years, I decided to try making it on my own with disastrous results. I realized in hindsight what went wrong and made adjustments. Mostly, I just needed to be patient and not hurry too much when making this.

So now, twenty years later, I am doing my Mom's chocolate icing, from memory. Yes, memory. Because my Mom, bless her, does not write any of her recipes down. I didn't write mine either and decided to "eyeball" it, like the way my mom made it, with a few modern touches. We didn't have a non-stick pan nor a heat-proof spatula when I was young. I remember my mom used only regular steel wok, yes, the cheap ones from the palengke. The icing always turned out well, regardless of the crude equipment used.

Mom's Chocolate Icing

1 can of Evaporated milk
3/4 to 1 cup Dutch Process Cocoa
3/4 to 1 cup powdered sugar (Mom used regular granulated sugar)
2-4 tablespoons of salted butter (I may have used more, hee hee)

1. In a glass bowl, mix the evaporated milk, cocoa and powdered sugar until everything is well dissolved. If you have any lumps, pass the whole thing in sieve, once or twice, until you get a smooth, lump-free mixture.

2. Pour the mixture in a non-stick skillet. Using low-medium heat, cook the mixture slowly. This is very important, keep it on LOW-MEDIUM heat and stir the icing constantly in a circular motion using a HEAT-PROOF spatula. Don't forget to scrape the bottom and the sides of the pan as you cook the icing. Do no leave the icing unattended!

3. After about five minutes, add a tablespoon or two of butter and continue mixing until the mixture is reduced and have a spreading consistency. Keep the heat on LOW-MEDIUM. Again, never leave your icing unattended!

4. Add the rest of the butter, mixing constantly, two minutes before you turn it off.

5. Let cool slightly before spreading on cakes or cupcakes.

It takes a bit of effort and is much more labor intensive but it's soooo worth it.

Posting via iPhone

I've been posting some blog entries via iPhone lately. I've downloaded the Blogger app so that I can blog on mobile.

I am unable to post pictures though because apparently my Picasa album is already at its capacity.

I didn't realize I had a Picasa album until I logged on using my gmail account! The people at Google are kinda sneaky at way.

Anyway, upon my research, it seems that I have to upgrade my Picasa storage to 20mb so that I can attach pictures to posts made using my iPhone. Posts with pictures using a laptop or desktop are ok even without "upgrading" my Picasa.

Hmmm, sneaky sneaky Google.