Kubiertos

The metro is abound with Chinese food-serving establishments. You cannot turn a corner without encountering a restaurant or a canteen that serves chinese cuisine in one form or another. Because it has always been a constant part of our lives, I choose to stay away from it whenever I go and have dinner out. It also helps because my husband doesn’t like to eat Chinese.

The rare times that we do have the urge to eat Chinese, we always look for a place that serve dishes that would excite our palates and not dampen it. This is the reason we choose places like Big Buddha, Super Bowl of China, Zong at the Fort or North Park. These places also encourage more of the younger generation to appreciate Chinese dishes. Because of the popularity of yang chow fried rice, lemon chicken, deep fried cuttlefish in spicy salt, manchurian calamares, and string beans with minced pork, these places have flourished over the years.

That is why it is really disappointing for me to have such an unpleasant experience at Superbowl of China at the SM Megamall megastrip branch. The place itself looked unkempt and felt dirty. The air was filled with the smell of smoke coming from the kitchen which made me think that the place had inadequate ventilation. The set plates, flatware, and glasses appeared grimy. I kept wiping everything with tissue until I felt comfortable enough to use them.

But despite the grime and smell and the scowl of my husband, we stayed. We stayed because I was really craving for some yang chow.

We sat down and guess who our seatmates were? Flies! Two black flies were having the time of their lives jumping from one plate to the other, one spoon to the other, enjoying their space. I shuddered. It was 7pm at night after all and I can’t imagine flies in the evening inside a closed airconditioned restaurant.

I looked around and on the wall was a framed newspaper article that headlined Superbowl as the Best Resto of the Year. I couldn’t see what year the article was but I doubt it was awarded this year. Although., it isn’t hard to imagine Superbowl being the best once upon a time.

So does being recognized as the best give you the luxury of neglect right after the award has been given? Does the service end once you have reached the top? Looks like this restaurant felt it did judging by the flies on the table and the dirty floors.

I don’t think my husband and I will ever go back to this place again. Although, I may visit their branch in Glorietta or some other place if I get another yang chow craving.

Tsk tsk. Too bad.

Superbowl of China
SM MegaMall Ground Level, Bldg. B, Megastrip 5
Mandaluyong City
Tel. 634-7831

Years ago, there were only a couple of ice cream brands and names that you would see sold in Metro Manila. I only knew Magnolia, Presto, McDonald’s softserve and then there was dirty ice cream (ice cream sold by street vendors). Now you have all sorts of names, brands and flavors. Some establishments even specialize in making and selling this frozen treat.

Oh my. Have I turned into an ice cream addict?

It was only two months ago when I thought I had found the perfect ice cream brand for me. I was wrong. I discovered another favorite one stormy day as I was walking along Greenbelt 3 after having a hearty lunch.

It was wet and cold but the glass freezer that held the different flavors of frozen dessert caught my eye that I nearly slipped as my stilettos gave up on my legs as I had stopped so quickly. Good thing there was no one tailgaiting me.

Creamy colors of mouthwatering gelato called out to me. I winced at the price of a scoop but what the heck, it was too tempting to pass up.

I couldn’t pronounce the flavors so I desperately pointed out the choices I had. I pointed to about three chocolate-based flavors. The girl behind the counter patiently smiled at me as she gave me a small spoon of the first gelato for me to taste. Hmmm. I sheepishly asked for more before finally settling on the Roke. The girl said their Roke flavor was made based on the chocolate candy Ferrero Rocher. Oooh. Don’t you just love that? An ice cream that is actually named and created after another favorite? The best of both worlds!

Gelatone’s ice cream was very creamy. You do not get that icky artificial sweetness you sometimes get from commercially made ones. I love how I couldn’t taste where the chocolate flavor was coming from but I was sure it was there. And although I cannot say I was happy with the cone they sold with the gelato, I finished the whole thing quickly.

I was excited to go back a second time so I could try their other flavors. However, on my recent visit, there were a variety of different flavors that they did not have previously. I guess they create new flavors everyday to sell with their main flavors: chocolato, amaretto to name a few. Studying the colors and the names of the gelato, my eyes was pulled to a familiar name… Nutella.

Nutella is the famous and original chocolate hazelnut spread. If you can imagine what nutella tastes like… imagine that turned into ice cream. Pure heaven! If you have not had the pleasure of having nutella, try crumpy, which is the cheaper alternative.

I have read many times how gelato is so much better than ice cream as it is denser and keeps more of the flavor together. Now I can attest to it. Unfortunately, it is rather pricey at P100 a scoop. Since you will not be satisfied with just an teeny weeny scoop, expect to shell out more.

Gelatone
2/f Greenbelt 3, Makati City

I remember from the food seminar that I attended a couple of months back that real food writers do not need pictures to make their articles better. It should be enough to use the right words and sentences to make your readers feel as if they are seeing and tasting what you are writing about.

I will attempt this technique and hope that I can successfully entice my readers to enjoy food as much as I do without the help of pictures. But honestly, I just forgot to take pictures of the dish. (Hehe).

My dear hubby requested that I prepare dinner for his colleagues at the office on the last week of October. I was hesitant at first because I thought I would not have enough time to prepare and I did not want to embarrass my husband by creating something that is not well-prepared. However, I adore my hubby too much to disappoint him so I agreed.

He was the one who dictated what dish was going to be served for his staff and I was just there to obey his instructions. He said – Lasagna for 15 grown men… and some fried buffalo wings on the side.

Let us tackle the lasagna.

I think the key to any pasta dish is the quality of the noodle. So for lasagna, I would recommend you find the best brand of noodle in your local market. If you want to create it yourself, that would be better. I am no Molto Mario and therefore I went out to get my favorite brand of lasagna noodles. (Tip: Do not use the no cook ones as these are very thin and break easily. It also cooks faster and is more prone to overcooking.)

Other ingredients on my grocery list were – can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, ground pork, butter, milk, heavy cream, cheese, garlic, onion, and spices.

Many would opt to use ground beef but our family prefers otherwise and I have mastered my lasagna with the use of pork so I stayed with it.

The red sauce. Make sure that you have chopped up and minced one head of garlic and one big white onion. These onions have a milder flavor than the red (or purple) ones so it actually complements the taste of the sauce. The red ones tend to emit more of a bite but this is something you want to achieve with the other spices.

Saute the garlic and onion in some oil over medium heat. This way their juices are released yet they do not get burned. Nothing destroys a dish than burnt garlic (unless you are really aiming for that). When the onion becomes translucent and the garlic sticky, pour in the meat. Allow the meat to cook thoroughly. Since we are using pork, expect the amount of the oil to increase. Cook until the liquid in the pan has been reduced.

Pour in the diced tomatoes and let it simmer to allow the meat to absorb all the flavor. After a few minutes, temper the mixture with tomato paste or tomato sauce. I myself always use paste so that I can control the thickness and texture of the sauce, not to mention the taste. I have found that tomato sauce usually sold in the local market are often too sour and difficult to season to my liking.

Dump in your seasoning to the mix. Salt, pepper (lots of pepper is good), spices like rosemary or basil really brings out the molto in Mario.

The flattening sauce. I call this sauce flattening because it is the one that stops you from wearing out your taste buds when eating lasagna. Because the dish is so rich, most of the time you put down your fork after only 3 forkfuls.

Melt butter over medium heat. Lower heat and combine half and half. Bring to a boil.

The layers. Line your pan with the meat sauce enough to cover the whole area. Pour in some of the cream sauce over the meat. No need to mix. Cover with the noodles. Repeat. Halfway to the brim, cover with grated cheese. Layer again with the meat, cream and noodles. Cover the top with quickmelt cheese. Lots and lots and lots of cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in 350 degrees F temperature.

Once the cheese on top has melted and the edges start to brown, you will know that its ready. Ready to eat! Serve and enjoy.

And they did… enjoy, I mean for not a bit or morsel was left of the meal that we served at my hubby’s office. Sigh*

For me, the ultimate validation of my cooking skills are the empty serving dishes and horrific burping sounds that come one after another.

Ciao!

I am not an avid fan of plain butter cakes. I like my cakes chocolate or of the mousse-y type. My love for all things chocolate (including cakes), has been evident from day one.

I cannot remember where I first heard about the famous Vargas butter cake, but when I read about it in Anton’s post about the Rockwell Baker’s Fair, I felt like I had known about it for years.

Last week, I bought myself a small box of this butter cake. With all the hype surrounding it, I felt P150 was worth having a taste of it even if it turns out I don’t like it.

Since I do not eat a lot of yellow butter cakes, I have nothing to compare it with. After tasting it, I knew it was useless to find another one to compare. It was different from what I expected. Different in a good way I mean. Ok, I expected a very sweet, very light, crumbly cake that would make me reach for a glass of water the minute I tried to swallow a slice.

The Vargas butter cake was sweet but not sickeningly so. It was light but moist. It was moist but did not cling to your palate. It was crumbly but it was so delicious that you just have to gather all the crumbs and put them in your mouth. I also love the moist top that reminded me of meringue.

My sons further confirmed its taste when their eyes lighted up upon having their share. What was meant to last did not. The small cake was box was empty after my sons and I were done with stuffing ourselves.

Hmm. I wonder how it tastes with chocolate? Hehe.

Vargas Kitchen
49 Pili Avenue, Forbes Park, Makati City
Tel. No: 810-7529 and 817-8483

Let me just start off with saying that I am not a fan of mediterranean cuisine.

Food that are classified to belong to this group would be those native to the countries that surround the mediterranean sea. Think Egypt, Greece, Italy, Spain, Morocco and imagine all the exotic flavors that you could succumb your taste buds to.

Now you’re confused because I profess to love Italian cuisine. And I do, absolutely! And that is why I frequent Italian restaurants as much as I can. But eating at a restaurant that serves mediterranean fare is very different. I do not know why but mostly I feel these places focus on specializing in Greek and even Turkish dishes. The few times I went to such places, I became fairly disappointed with the Italian dishes that they served.

It was the same with experience I had dining at Mezze! in Greenbelt 2. The place was elegantly upscale. It had dark wood interiors and cushioned seats. The place was cooled by an air conditioner that I can only guess was turned on high. We arrived early for dinner and there were only a few people there so I guess there were less bodies to absorb the cold.

I browsed through the menu and zoomed in on the lamb dishes. I chose lamb croquettes. My hubby ordered the prawn pasta and we all had paella to share.

While waiting for our food, we chose to fill ourselves with patatas bravas which were deep fried potato wedges sprinkled with herb seasoning and topped with tartar sauce. Tartar sauce is really just a mixture made with mayonnaise and some relish but my husband didn’t know that because he had a taste of this and liked it. Hehe.

We also had salpicao which tasted simply great, the meat soft and the dish overwhelmingly flavorful. Unless the meat becomes overcooked and very little garlic is used, it would be hard to go wrong with this dish.

Taking this as a sign of more great food to come, I waited eagerly.

The lamb croquettes were ok. They were tasty and I would have loved them had it not left a dry taste in my mouth. The best part of my food order was the salad that came with the lamb. The greens were sprinkled with balsamic vinegar that captured my taste buds.

I focused my attention on my husband. He had this unhappy look on his face that displayed how miserable he was with what was served in front of him. You see my husbands favorite food is pasta. But his version of pasta is the kind made with lots of meat and thick tomato sauce. Yep, you read right - bolognese. Now and then however, he is open to trying out pasta dishes unfamiliar to him.

The prawn pasta was made of spaghetti noodles cooked with prawns, peppers, asparagus, olives and wine. It was made to be a light pasta and indeed it was. I found it yummy because the only pasta I stay away from is those made with pesto. The pasta absorbed the taste of the prawns and the flavor was really brought on by the variety of peppers and asparagus and the fresh tomatoes. I was left full but not heavy after eating my husband’s food.

The paella was served in a large pan and I could tell immediately I would love it. I could see the crab and mussels sticking out under the yellow colored rice. It had the appearance of too much oil but tasted otherwise. I was more inclined to think the rice just absorbed all the flavors contained in the dish. This is a thumbs up for me.

We were ready to call this dinner an overall disappointment until we were served dessert samplers.

The plate contained a serving of panna cotta, mini decadent chocolate cake and one other dessert I wasn’t able to taste.

The desserts was the reason I changed my mind about Mezze. I loved the panna cotta which is a gelatin dessert only better. Its made of cream and sugar that it actually turns out soft delicious.

The chocolate cake is to die for. The cake was rich and moist and the taste was capped off by the dark chocolate sauce. Y-u-m-m-y!

Mezze! promises to give you an unforgettable dining experience because of our distinctive feature of small plate dining, and a scrumptious array of tapas, petits plats, and cichetti, both hot and cold, that are served in portions meant to be shared with friends, family, colleagues, and the flavors are paired with a good glass of wine or two.
– Excerpt from Mezze!’s menu

Mezze!
Greenbelt 2, 1st Level
Ayala Center
Makati City
Tel. No: 728-8895