Kubiertos

Note: Cascada restaurant at Greenbelt 2 is now permanently closed.
– October 31, 2008

My managers invited us leads out to lunch yesterday as part of the company’s counseling program. One of them suggested Cascada in Greenbelt and I got excited as the last time I ate there was when I went out on a blind date and Geez that was eons ago. I do recall my favorites though. One was the fried maki and the other one was the lamb skewers. My tongue looked forward to tasting those flavors and spices again.

We arrived there and of course I immediately took pictures. I was not able to set my camera properly so please pardon the lousy images. I just did not want my post to be without pictures for reference.

So going back… Of course we ordered the fried maki for starters. It was called Deep Fried Seafood Salad Maki in the menu. Initially, I wanted to order my favorite lamb skewers but there were some additions to the selections so I browsed first. They had a lunch promo going on where you could order a set 2-course or 3-course meal. This included soup (and/or salad), main course and of course dessert. I did not fancy anything indicated in the lunch promo so I continued turning the pages. I then found something with lamb although it wasn’t the skewers I had tried before. I ordered Lamb chops with Seafood Risotto with the meat cooked medium well. Sounds delicious doesn’t it?

I was able to eat only one of the maki’s because after taking some shots and then eating the one I left on my plate, there wasn’t any left. I just waited for my chops in anticipation (or was it hunger). And then it came. Ta-da!

I got into the meat with gusto as I held my breath expecting the scrumptious taste that came with the sight before me. Unfortunately, it turned into a disappointing experience. Im not really sure how well the meal was prepared as the meat tasted like it was reheated from an earlier order. I focused my attentions on the risotto. At close range, the rice looked like it was the type that you eat at home - it was definitely not Italian. As I was chewing the yellow rice (is how I now call it), I could not believe they called that risotto. First of all, it did not cling to the mound. There was a mound on my plate but the grains were in mutiny. See for yourself:

Add to that fact, the taste was nothing like risotto. No distinct tastes of oil mixed with butter and cheese. It even tasted cold and uncooked. I became frustrated, mainly because I was really hungry and maybe because I expected much more. I think I made a mistake in my choice of dish during that lunch out. I came out of the restaurant, craving desperately for something really really mouthwatering.

Not everything was bad. In an effort to salvage my taste buds from ultimate depression, I accepted my managers offer of buffalo wings as she expressed she could not finish all of it.

What greeted my tongue did not make up for the lousy lamb experience but it was enough to remember. The buffalo wings were cooked using malnourished chicken parts. However, they were very crispy and delicious. They tasted sweet and salty all at the same time.

Don’t let my experience scare you. During dinner, Cascada makes for a great date place because it is designed to be cozy and comfy… sort of encourages nuzzling with your partner… hmm.

Continue reading “Cascada…falls” »

My first stab at making one of my husband’s favorite desserts was not entirely a disaster but it wasn’t a success either. I simply blame it on my utter laziness. I did everything the book said on how to bake an apple-pie (of course with a few tweaks here and there), except for… the crust! I felt I did not have too much time to prepare the it so I made the wrong decision on the substitute. I decided to use the very easy to make graham pie crust. Since the apple-pie filling was already very sweet - ingredients included: apples, sugar, cinnamon, butter - the honey graham only added to my husband’s toothache. Without the crust, the pie tasted good - not great but good enough. Next time at least I know better than to indulge my laziness.

Here is a picture of my “almost-disaster” of an apple-pie.

To all those interested to bake an apple-pie, dont make the same mistake I did.

The Holidays are almost over and I could have another run-down on the next restaurant that weve tried but today I would rather let you in on what I prepared for our family feast.

First off - Leche Flan. This succulent dessert is ever present during christmastime. I learned how to make great-tasting leche flan from my mother. I have never come across a better tasting one in all of my 31 years. I myself have tried but have never really matched the taste and texture of her masterpiece. However, my flan still tastes better than most (of course I made it! hehe). The secret I feel to making the best leche flan is two things. One: use only egg yolks (no egg whites puhleeesz!). Two: Knowing how to beat the egg yolks to the right consistency that would define fluffy. Another personal recommendation - do not use condensed milk to sweeten it. Use sugar. The result of using condensed milk just isn’t creme brulee.

Ingredients: Egg Yolks, Milk, Sugar, Vanilla (topping and syrup is only caramelized sugar)

Embutido. My husband loves embutido and I also do. Its just that I feel a lot of work goes into making it and I’m very often too lazy to prepare it. So we end up buying ready-to-cook ones that are being sold in supermarkets. The taste is disappointing. The holiday season gave me an excuse to whip up my own version, again something I learned from years of helping my mom cook it for christmas dinner. And what do you know? Sweetie actually loved it. That’s enough for me to strive to prepare the dish once in a while. The secret for my mom’s great tasting embutido (oh of course mine as well) would be using hotdog (the red one) instead of vienna sausage. My personal recommendation on this one, steam don’t bake.

Ingredients: Lean ground pork, ground hotdog, sweet pickle relish, onion, raisins, flour, beaten eggs, salt and pepper to taste.  

 Kare-kare. Another dish that sweetie loves and I love to cook. I discovered a fairly easy but tasty way of cooking this dish. Instead of the challenging way of using nuts - just use peanut butter! When I was in the states, I was even using the imported brand which still made it delicious. The secret to this dish is the meat that you choose to cook it with. We both like tripe and I like to include beef slices, like brisket or ribs. Some use oxtail and I recall trying one that used the large intestines (mind you it was very good). It takes more or less a fairly decent cook to wrap up the taste of kare-kare. Bottom line you have to know how you want it to taste to get the taste you want.

Ingredients:  Beef, tripe, garlic, peanut butter (preferably the creamy types), talong (eggplant), sitaw (string beans), pechay (bok choi)

So you… what did you have for christmas?

(C)

Last saturday, my hubby and I went to Rustans at Shangri-la Mall to buy stuff for our kids. After about 2 hours of walking along the department store aisles and skirting around little boys and girls and their mommies and daddies, we both became famished. We went outside the mall hoping to find a place with great food that will satisfy our intense hunger. We then came upon an interesting restaurant that had little hawaiian theme going. We looked at the huge menu that was on display and it took one look for my husband’s saliva to drizzle. I looked over his shoulder and was not surprised at all at his reaction. What he saw was an image that looked so tasty and delicious - besides it was his favorite - chili beans (uggh - for me).

So we went in and was greeted by a petite girl wearing a fluffy white top, very see through floral skirt and string sandals. Looking at her - I can almost smell the beach. I could not picture Hawaii but I could definitely imagine the beach.

The menu offered a wide variety of grilled and barbecued dishes like pork and seafood (pusit). Appetizers though were mostly sashimi or maki (I guess because in Hawaii you have easy access to fish - duh!). We ordered unagi with crispy calamares for starters. My first taste of it was glorious. The unagi was smoked perfectly and the calamares crispy (albeit a bit tough already) - the clincher was the salsa that was lightly drizzled over them. It was mango salsa. I must say it went perfectly with the tasty unagi.

Sweetie ordered the Big Foot - which the menu describes as Pork BBQ Skewers. He decided on only one stick and did not regret it. Apparently the place used very big sticks. He chose teriyaki sauce with sides of crazy rice and (of course!) chili beans. I asked the waiter what crazy rice was and he replied that it was fried rice with bacon bifs (bits - sheesh!). I chose to order the Island Belly Chops. These are commonly known as “grilled liempo”. I was musing on whether to get the small or medium fare. Like sweetie, I did not regret choosing the “small” portion. I also had teriyaki sauce and sides of crazy rice and mashed potatoes.

Our food came and it all looked good and delicious. I sliced a piece of my chops and was surprised at how tender the meat was. Usually the pork skin would remain tough even if the meat itself was tender. In this case - the whole thing was very tender and it was very easy to break it out into bite sized pieces using only a butter knife. Yummy! The chops tasted great and the crazy rice made me crazy (or maybe I just love bacon). I looked over at my husband and laughed at how he appeared to be savoring every bite of his VERY big foot… complete with closed eyes.

Next for me was to try the mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes looked “ok” but I could not say the same for the taste. It failed miserably in my book. The boxed version you can buy at the grocery is tons better.

Overall though, it was a deliciously filling experience. We actually did not get to finish everything that was on our plate because we got so full already. Plus I did not want to deal with swallowing the mashed potatoes. But if you like to experience a different kind of grilling then this is a place you could try. Don’t forget to try out their appetizers as I think this would be where they really excel.

Here’s more info on the menu for the grilled dishes….

Prices range P120 up. Considering the large serving, you get value for money. However, prepare yourselves as the appetizers are more expensive than the main dishes on the menu (the unagi was almost at P200).

I still recommend you guys try Hula Hula, it might turn out to be a different experience for you.

Hula Hula Seafood and BBQ House is located at Unit IS-8 Level 1 Shangri-la Mall.

Ciao!

It was a hot afternoon today as we left the pedia’s clinic to go back home. I began to feel a craving that I could not pin down. I thought of going to Greenwich to buy a pizza for merienda. It wasn’t a result of my craving but more related to the fact that we will be passing one on the way home. I told my husband to get the Greenwich special which I knew had everything on it. I also told him to get the family size in case we wanted the leftovers for our midnight snack.

We arrived home and I didn’t really dive into the pizza immediately – I wasn’t expecting much from Greenwich (sorry just being honest). I opened the box to get a slice after about 30 minutes later. If you must know, my husband, upon arriving home went straight to his computer and actually forgot that we had the pizza. Anyway going back to my first slice of the Greenwich special…. At first glance, I was a bit disappointed. I don’t recall the pizza being that thin and that small (for a family size)… or maybe I’m just used to those big slices New York style – that are so much more popular nowadays. I took a bite and turned into a hungry lunatic. I don’t recall Greenwich special ever tasting like this. The crust was crispy thin. The mélange of toppings was perfect. The only comment I had was that they said the family size was enough for 4-6 people. Uhh duh…. If my husband were not at home I could have finished the whole box myself! But alas, he was home and to top it off, he even had more slices than I did! $#*&^$#… haha – that being said – kudos to Greenwich for making it big and managing to hold its own for more than 3 years in a marketplace where there’s lots of stiff and tastier competition.

Good thing their hotline is now easier to remember: 5-55-55… Call now!

I wonder how the salted egg and sisig pizza tastes??… Hmm…but that’s another post.

Visit their site at http://www.greenwich.com.ph…

(picture and excerpt from Greenwich website)
Experience the mouthwatering taste of Greenwich Special. Now bursting with the taste of premium delectable toppings with every bite. Each slice is made more flavorful and more special.