Watch out for my birthday weekend posts! So much nomzzz, I'm  already expanding. 

Roasted Baby Potatoes wrapped in a Bacon blanket

Today as I was staring at the contents of our fridge, I suddenly saw the baby potatoes I bought. I've been making baked potatoes with bacon bits for awhile so I thought "why not just wrap them with bacon?".  It isn't a new thing, actually, I've heard of people wrapping bacon with a variety of things from hotdog and spam to fruits and veggies. Bacon wrapped in anything seems to always work. 

It's very easy to make. Anyone with an oven can definitely pull it off.
Here's my recipe:

• Baby potatoes, washed and patted dry

• Oil, enough to coat the potatoes

• Rosemary leaves

• Thyme

• Salt and pepper

• Bacon

 1. Preheat the oven to 160 deg C. 
 2. Coat potatoes with oil and season with rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.
3. Cut and wrap the bacon around the potatoes and place them on a greased baking pan with the bacon ends facing down. You can also use a toothpick (soaked in water to prevent burning) to keep the bacon in place.
4. Bake in the oven for around 30-40 minutes, or until the bacon is cooked to your liking.
5. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.

Addt'l: You can also serve them with a cheese dip: Mix cheez wiz with a cream cheese dip/ sour cream; OR add grated cheese while they're hot.

A great addition to any meal. NOMNOMZ!

-B

BLACKSOUP CAFE + Artspace

Oct 2010

With my favorite restaurant just next door (Van Gogh is Bipolar), you could imagine how I felt when I found out they were closed this particular day- this actually happens a lot especially with a travel junkie-bipolar owner. To make things worse, I was really really hungry already. And so, close to tears, we ended up checking out this restaurant next door that we haven't really noticed before (because we were so fixated with VGIB). Once I noticed how inviting the  sign that said "cafe + artspace blacksoup" in  black bold embossed letters in such an beautifully contemporary way was, my frustration immediately turned into excitement in trying out something new. 

I wasn't disappointed once we entered, as I saw how the place was designed. Different photographs surrounded the walls- it sort of had a hipster vibe actually. The place was definitely a treat to look at. 

I named these fishies Ping and Pong. :P

 I want to kick myself for not taking enough pictures of the place. 

Blacksoup Cafe + Art serves interesting fusion pinoy dishes. Thus, I thank the heavens that VGIB was closed that night, because if not, I wouldn't have tasted Black Soup Cafe's TAPA PASTA. I don't know what urged me to order it. It was probably a "best seller logo" beside it or maybe because it sounded so interesting.  But nonetheless, the tapa gods gave me something unique that I couldn't stop eating. I even ended up not sharing it because I finished it that quickly. They have other pasta fusions like their Spicy Tuyo Pasta.

Tapa Pasta (P150)- 2011 updated price

Their Lamb inasal was also good but the dalandan salad that was served with it tasted a bit off. Maybe the acidity of the dalandan was just not to my liking. 

Lamb Inasal with Dalandan salad (P250)

Other best sellers you'd like to try for a unique pinoy cuisine experience are their appetizer of spicy balut or an Adobo Flakes sandwich among many others. 
And of course, don't miss out on ordering their MANGO TURON for dessert! Served with ice cream, you'll definitely end your meal perfectly.

Mango Turon (P85)

Blacksoup cafe + Artspace also hosts movie nights, open mic nights and other similar activities which I hope I'd get the chance to take part of in the future. 

BLACKSOUP CAFE + ART SPACE

Unit G, Maginhawa Bldg., 154 Maginhawa St., Sikatuna Village, Quezon City, Philippines

435.2549 / 0915.3055480 

Payment                    Cash only 

Hours	Mon - Sat: 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm

CHEF'S BISTRO (Tomas Morato) under New Management

This is probably old news to some of you, nonetheless I'd like to reiterate this to the cyber foodie community. Chef's Bistro (Tomas Morato) has been under new management for a couple of months -if not a year- now. Improvements are actually quite noticeable, from the menu selection and quality of food to the interiors of the restaurant itself. The food is better now and cheap compared to other restaurants within its level. Though probably expensive to others, the prices are actually okay considering the quality of food and service. The ambiance is also perfect whether for a romantic date or a dinner out with the family. Attentive and friendly waiters are also a plus. And just like that, this has become one of my top restaurants among the multiplying number of restaurants in Tomas Morato.

There's this BDO promo (see photo below) so we ended up having a couple of appetizers.

Chef's Bistro BDO promo until March 31, 2012 only

Their chef's platter consists of onion rings, calamares and potato fries. The breading on their onion rings and calamares was good (my little sister agrees) as they were perfectly and evenly fried. Their Country Fries was also good; nothing beats real potato fries on my book! 

Cajun Calamari (P 280)

An appetizer, one of their star starters, that you shouldn't miss in Chef's Bistro is their special PISA (I call it tower of Pisa; they even have the same tilt going on! :P ). PISA consists of 7 layers of shrimps, mushrooms and gateu sauce drizzled with melted mozzarella cheese. It's a tower of the freshest ingredients stacked with this thin smooth dough. It's worth the money! It's unique and yummy. I haven't come across with a similar dish yet, probably a testament to me being a novice. I could ramble about this one for a few more sentences, from how the shrimps texture and taste was etc, but that would just spoil everything. Just try it out for yourselves.

Pisa - 7 layers of Of Shrimp, Mushroom & Mozarella cheese (P290)

They also serve excellent salads, accompanied by enough dressing that doesn't drown the greens.  I like the fact that their "Chef's special dressing" was flavorful and not liquid-y. The grilled chicken breast on this one was a bit dry, though the addition of mango strips was an nice touch. 

Grilled Chicken Salad (P290)

 Moving on to the main course. I've visited Chef's bistro in the past and I've tried other dishes like their US Rib-eye steak (P695), Lamb Chop (P495) and some Pastas. All of which were equally good. Oh just thinking about them makes my mouth water!
 I believe I've also tried their Pork Baby Back Ribs, marinated and baked to perfection. I shall "steal" a photo from their website just to prove a point. Plus, I also want you to drool with me.

Pork Baby Back Ribs (P590)

But for this particular visit, we only ordered their salmon fillet since we ended up stuffing ourselves too much with their starters. Now, we've ordered this before and it's still as good as we remembered it to be from our first try. The dish consists of a grilled salmon fillet with their special pistachio sauce. If you think it's sounds weird to combine salmon with an ingredient which I thought would only fit in desserts like pistachio, then this dish might end up proving you wrong. It actually fits kinda nicely, and you'd be surprised at how filling it is. 
 I've been hearing wild reviews about their Pizza's so don't make the same mistake as I did of missing it. 

Salmon Fillet (P420)

Here's a menu list to guide you in advanced ordering. 

They serve desserts that sound heavenly but if you've had enough of the spending spree, you could visit Cobo Bubble Tea & Snow Ice next door. Their milk tea tastes like any other and their snow ice wasn't all that special but I guess it was good enough to wash away the different ulam flavors from dinner. What's unique, though, is that you get to choose from a variety of around 10-20 toppings. I particularly like the wintermelon jelly (the one on the left)- I couldn't stop munching on them.
I still miss the Charmy Snow Ice I remember from my childhood though. I wonder if there are any branches left?

Cobo's Original Snow ice with Wintermelon and black jelly

CHEF'S BISTRO 
#94 Scout Gandia St., near Tomas Morato, Quezon City.
Full Menu link.
Contact Number              09177989811

Hours	Mon - Thu: 8:00 am - 11:00 pm Fri - Sat: 8:00 am - 2:00 am Sun: 8:00 am - 11:00 pm

COBO BUBBLE TEA & SNOW ICE
#96 Scout Gandia Street, Tomas Morato, Quezon City, Philippines
(02) 736-5621

Eating healthy @ PIPINO, Teacher's Village, QC

PIPINO Vegetarian Restairant is one of those few restaurants that assures you that you're in for a treat once you step inside. It is located on the second floor of its sister establishment, PINO Bar and Resto. The restaurant actually does the (challenging) job of trickling all the senses. The entirety of the place has this inviting and "healthy" smell that makes you want to stay as long as you can. The thing I love most about this place is the interiors. Their red bricked walls, cork boards and black boards surrounding the space, definitely gives off a homey and comfortable vibe. 

Don't be fooled, even though they only serve veggie/vegan dishes, PIPINO isn't only vegetarian friendly but also for all the meat eaters like me. 

They also sell Vegan Chocochip cookies and Vegan Bagoong

We visited Pipino for post-dinner tea and desserts, but seeing their menu made us wish we had enough space in our tummys for another meal. They also serve delicious ice cream, made out of either cashew or almond milk. 

Organic Black Tea with  honey

Here's a list of other beverages they serve: 

You'll also be greeted by different flavored pastries once you enter. How can you not say yes to this? :) If you need to detox yourselves from your frequent crispy pata, sisig eating and beer chugging lifestyle while still satisfying your tastebuds, head on to PIPINO veg restaurant located at 39 Malinap Street, Teachers Village  Quezon City. I'll update you once I get to try their main meals. Vegan Kare Kare? Why not! 

A variety of vegan Muffins and cupcakes made purely out of plant-based products

-B

Celebratory Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Surprise Vanila Cupcakes

I didn't mean to give them a name as long as that but it fits. :)


Today was the day the top med schools released their results for the SY 2012-2013. I saw my name on the list of both schools I applied for. Hence, I was in a celebratory mood and (since I have nothing better to do) I thought of baking again. Teehee. I have grown quite fond of the blog Glorious Treats, the first and only blog I follow since I joined. She regularly updates her blog, posts the most how-come-I-didnt-think-of-that things and backs it up with gorgeous photos. I came across her recipe for Perfect Vanila Cupcakes that she has discovered after multiple trials of different vanilla recipes, manipulating various components. So, I tried to test her credibility by making them myself. They didn't turn out looking as perfect as hers, probably because I ran out of oil and used an approximate amount of vegetable shortening, but it tasted as fantastic as it said it would.

I then experimented by deciding to place a cookie dough center on some of them. I did this by whipping up a batch of cookie dough, forming them into small balls, freezing them for at least 3 hours, and placing them on the center of the cupcake. After a few trials, I realized that the most effective way of having an intact cookie dough center, is by placing the balls in the middle of partially cooked cupcakes (around 8 mins of baking) instead of before. This is because the frozen cookie dough quickly melts and incorporates into the cupcake batter when placed before baking, leaving you with a gooey and liquid-y mess. 

Chocolate chip Cookie Dough Recipe
3/4 cup All purpose flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
1/8 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 small egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
1)Combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside
2) In a separate bowl, mix together butter and sugars. Beat till smooth
3) Mix in the egg and vanilla.
4) Slowly add the flour mixture.
5) Add in the chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed.
6) Form the batter into balls and place inside the freezer. 


I frosted my cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese frosting, garnished with Nonpareils. I also switched them around so nobody would know which ones had the chocolate chip cookie dough center. It's more fun that way! ;) 

And true enough, they were as good as they look. I'll definitely make some of these again in the future. :)
-B

Kebab heaven @ Mr. Kebab, West Ave.

This Kebab place and late night munchies source is popular for a reason. We went during the afternoon so the place wasn't jampacked. They usual are early in the morning, around 2am, since they're the usual post-inuman venue gimickeros go to. They serve really really good food, at a student-friendly cheap price. 
They have another branch at Technohub but most people say that this place is better.(& I kinda think so too) One thing I love about this place is that it's pretty huge and spacious (lots of parking also!)- which says a lot about the number of customers that visit. 





You have got to have that one friend (or two or ten) that occasionally craves for Mr. Kebab's Keema with Eggplant at least every month or so. The Mr.Kebab experience is improved and best enjoyed with your barkada. Trust me. Service isn't that great since we had to wave both arms for the waitresses to actually approach us but we kinda forgot about it once we took our first bites. 

Mr.Kebab's Keema with Eggplant (w/o rice; P95)

Special (Chicken) Chelo Kebab (P145)

I found the chicken chelo kebab a bit dry- the beef one is more flavorful. 

Motabal [above] and Pita bread (P15); sold separately

and of course don't forget to try their YOGURT SHAKE! It is, honestly, unlike the watery and bland yogurt shakes that other (persian) restaurant's serve. Mr. Kebab's yogurt shake is creamy and sweet with that distinct taste of yogurt, perfect to wash away the garlic smell and taste in your mouth after. Don't miss it!

Also try their lamb chops! nomnom worthy!

They're open 24 hours so head on out there and treat yourself to great Mediterranean food that would leave both your tummy and your wallets happy. 

ADDRESS:  95A West Ave. Quezon City

I ate out the whole weekend and got to try new restaurants and cafes. But I refuse to blog about it yet without nice photos. The pictures I took using my phone just doesn't do them justice. 

Please accept this photo of my homemade chocolate truffles as an apology. :)

-B

Cheap, value for money steaks at Everything at Steak

For a change, my date and I decided to take a break from the usual movie dinner dates. That’s why I planned this badminton and steaks date. Figured steaks would be a good peace offering after I beat his ass in badminton!!! LOL 

I suggested this small steakhouse I’ve been wanting to try for months now. Everything at Steakis located at 5 P.Guevarra St., San Juan, Phils. I knew it was just a small place but it was actually smaller than I expected. Nonetheless, the pastel yellow color scheme of the place gave off a homey and chill vibe. It’s right beside (or part of) the Petron Gas station (and across North Park)

It’s honestly hard to select a dish to try since everything seems so good! Like their lamb ribs, baby back ribs, chicken dishes and others. The cheap prices makes it even harder.

Decided to buy an appetizer. I actually wanted 2 but J knew we couldn’t finish it. We ended up with their Moo fries, which we absolutely loved. (Home style fries drenched with melted cheese, meat and tomato sauce, spicy yoghurt dressing and chives for only P140)

After much debate on which main dish to get, we decided to order 2 of their steaks (it is a steak house after all): T-bone Steak (P195)and their New York Steak (P185) with mac & cheese andmeatball pasta as our side dishes, respectively.

We were so happy about the fact that they have such big servings, not only for the dishes we ordered (I spied on the dishes of the people in the restaurant.hehe). Both our side dishes were excellent that even if the meal had rice included, I ended up not eating it because of my mac and cheese which had the right amount of creaminess and cheesiness.

However, J seemed to enjoy his New York Steak more than I did with my T-bone because I found it a bit dry or probably overcooked. But then again, I guess it’s not that bad when I consider the price. Also, they didn’t ask how I wanted my steak cooked. 

But overall, our experience was great: full, satisfied bellies with only a P520 bill. Though the place is far from a fancy steakhouse, you can’t really argue with good and affordable food. I actually have an idea for next order once we go back. Ribs here I come!!!

PLUS., most imporantly, I made my date happy. :)

Can't go wrong with Red Velvet cupcakes

An afternoon of baking. Red Velvet Cupcakes never gets old! Batter licking goodness!

Seduced to an evening of luscious libations @ G-Strip, GH

re-post from my tumblr!
---------------------------------

01.19.12

These days, when people head out to crowded, noisy and smoky clubs for fun, only to find themselves feeling robbed and exhausted from the experience, it is certainly great to come across an establishment  that offers a much laid back setting, coupled with great food and drinks with affordable prices along with the hippest music that people look for. LIBATIONS is a drink lounge that  started as a harmless idea between peers and is now a newly set-up establishment  with an elegant yet comfortable atmosphere that brings together great music, good people, inspired food  and handpicked quality beverages.  There’s definitely a new reason to visit Greenhills as LIBATIONS, located at the second level of G-strip, Greenhills, is set to have their grand opening on the 21^st of January, 2012.

LIBATIONS started out when its brain child, Elmer Nicolas, along with his peers, randomly started daydreaming of the idea just August last year. Within a couple of months, their vision quickly turned into reality. In the case of LIBATIONS,such rapid developments do not, however, necessarily translate to hasty choices. The name LIBATIONS was inspired by the latin style of drinking that involved a more personal and laid back feel. The term itself originates from the latin word libare, that refers to the act of pouring as an offering. The term evolved and began to be known as the act of drinking intoxicating beverage, often ceremoniously (as to a deity or a god). This is what the brilliant minds behind LIBATIONS want to achieve- for everyone and anyone that enters their doors, to be treated as gods. Elmer’s fascination with the old English vibe also contributes to achieve just that as such is translated in the interiors of the lounge. Designed by his friend Nikki Laurel, they were able to introduce elements of rustic and sophisticated design.

What sets LIBATIONS apart from other establishments, however, is their keen attention to detail. They are the first ones in the Manila night life scene to introduce the negative-ion bulbs. These revolutionary light bulbs uses technology that is able to remove positive ions, which are responsible in making us feel tired, irritable and depressed, and generally make the air cleaner. In the simplest way, this ionic technology is able to remove smoke and odors in just minutes. Another unique feature that would leave you in a positive mood is the establishment’s long bar, which appears to be the centerpiece of the whole venue.

The long bar was designed as such so as to provide more comfort to the customers. This said design enables people to be able to easily access the bar or comfortably engage in a conversation with others. This customer friendly design is noticeable within the four walls of LIBATIONS.

Unlike other bars, LIBATIONS is a place where it is possible to engage in intimate or group conversations void of the typical deafening night club music. The selection of imported wine and beer along with their signature cocktail drinks namely Libations and Volcano turns this drink lounge into a place like no other. 

The bar list has been carefully selected with expertise, taste and strict control to provide customers with the finest quality at the most affordable prices. Aside from their superb drink list, LIBATIONS is also home of the special pica-pica such as thecrowd favorite sisig and their sausage platter, with a flavor unlike any other. The Bulacan-hailed Elmer also makes available a variety of chicharon from his side of Luzon.To state it bluntly, LIBATIONS isn’t a club but more of a beverage lounge that exudes a more chill and inviting atmosphere where anyone is invited to enjoy the food and drinks as well as dance to its transfixing beats. Guided by the owners’ keen eye on detail and a customer focused design, LIBATIONS promises to provide a first class treatment, emanating in pure opulence with a single goal in mind: to make the customers feel like gods leaving each one satisfied and wanting more.

The fusion of an impressive selection of alcoholic beverages, beautiful people, and unrivaled music sets, parceled in a sleek and sophisticated space with an old world charm, will seduce you to an evening of luscious libations. When looking at the next decade and what it might hold for LIBATIONS, the partners envision taking this successful idea to other cities around the Philippines. So make sure to stay tuned.

Additional Details

Twitter: @LibationsBarGH

Founders/Owners:Elmer Nicolas, Junior Co, Mark Nocom, Bj Soriano, Jim Regis, Warren Dula, Jad Barcelona

Capacity: Seating capacity 150, Maximum 300

House Operations: 3:00 PM- 3:00 AM

Contact MadBananas Productions for table reservations: https://www.facebook.com/weMadBananas