Soi!

Lyn and I went out one weekend and found ourselves in MOA. Nowadays, going out just the two of us is a rare opportunity and it has been a while since we went out just the two of us and without our daughter. Years ago, we make it as a weekend habit to discover new things, trying out new restaurants and staying away from the usual stuff. And this is not an exemption.

But since I am no longer that updated as to what is happening to the food world (as if I was lol), I have no clear idea what to try so, we just scanned the area and look for something new. And in front of us, there's Soi! And our Thai-food lover stomach agreed.

We entered the restaurant with no expectations but of course we're hoping to be satisfied. The place is relatively small, with no more than 10 tables that can seat about four or five persons each but the large mirrors on the wall make the restaurant look bigger. It also help that the surrounding, from floor to ceiling, has a nice touch of earthy colors that gives Soi Fine Thai Cuisine a classy feel.

The staffs were attentive. The moment we sat down, they gave us the menu and handed us a free appetizer of spicy peanuts and chips. The peanuts are big and really spicy! Can you see the chilli on it? Hot.

It didn't take long before our orders came. They first served us Thai Iced Tea (P85.00). I was looking for the herb-y taste, it's there but only as a hint, it maybe overpowered by the milk and the exaggerated amount of ice on it, which after a while, make the drink less like tea but more of a watered milk with a hint of tea.

Thai Iced tea (with abundant supply of shaved ice) P85.00

Next came the Pomelo Salad Vegetarian. The pomelo chunks are a bit bigger to be called bite size, but it is a generous serving. Aside from being juicy, it also smells good. It doesn't have a complicated dressing and presentation as it does not need one. It is a refreshing way to start the meal. I am not really sure of the other ingredients, but this is quite different from other pomelo salad that has shrimp (it is vegetarian lol)

Pomelo Salad Vegetarian (P158)

We were almost finish with the salad when the Pad Thai Chicken and Fried Spring Roll were served. If the pomelo salad serving was enormous, I cannot say the same with the Pad Thai Chicken. It can still be shared by two persons but it has that bitin-look into it.

But one should not be deceived by how it looks. The moment we dug into it, fat and sticky noodles came out and layer of chicken strips underlying it promised a very filling meal. It has an unusual amount (and size) of togue that competes with the noodles as you put them in your mouth. The sticky feel of the noodles and the crunchiness of the togue is quite a surprise. The chicken strips has its own flavor and this part of the meal is the bitin one, as you can count on your fingers its number. A spoonful or two more of peanuts would also be a delight. Other than that, it was a heavy meal but not that extraordinary.

 The Fried Spring roll is different. And not in a good way. Though served nicely in a glass with the dipping sauce on the side, the pleasantry ends after the first bite. I am not saying this is bad, but it can be (it should be) better. The wrapper is thick, the veggies are thin, and we can taste more extenders than meat. Lumpiang shanghai is way better than this.

 Fried Spring Roll (P148)

With the exemption of the spring roll, our first time in Soi Fine Thai Cuisine is a satisfying one. Not the type that deserves a second look in a week's time, but we can eat here again, maybe, in a month's or a year's time.

Soi Fine Thai Cuisine
G/F North Parking Bldg.
Mall of Asia 
Tel. No. 9111584

Worth it?

It's all over: on prime time tv, on billboards, on your Sunday paper, on four corners of the grocery, even under the escalator complete with a promo girl. You won't miss it as your friends are also talking about it on Facebook and some strangers on the MRT or the shuttle service.

Magnum Ice Cream.

Yeah, the P50 ice cream that's making the rounds of its media glitz and successfully caught the ordinary people's attention and curiosity. Some magnum lovers are all in chorus in praising it ("every peso is worth it!!!") while some naysayers are branding it as some glorified pinipig crunch ("so overrrrated!"). So, the curious me looked for it one Sunday, and while doing the grocery, I managed to see a freezer full of the Classic and Almond varieties. I took the Almond, and Lyn was like, "isa lang yan? bakit ang mahal?!" I paid for it so that settles the argument hehehe.

We didn't eat it right away, we waited until we're at home and I almost forgot about it until I unload the grocery bag. So I immediately took it, look at it, open it, took a bite, close my eyes, and scratch my head. Did I like it? Let me put it this way: If the word almond is not written on its glossy packaging and I just happen to have a look on the ice cream itself, I would confirm that it's like a pinipig crunch, only smaller. And if you are thinking that this is the ultimate ice cream, you're very wrong. I am not convinced, and my wife agreed with me this time, that it is not worth all the praise releases but the Belgian chocolate coating is sooo good, it's like I am eating a, well, chocolate. But I cannot say the same with the vanilla ice cream, it is just that: vanilla, and not an extra-ordinary one. The saving grace here is the chocolate coating, and it is the one that my tongue remembers. I even forgot that there are almonds LOL.

For most of us, the P50 price tag is expensive for some minutes of icy cold sweetness on our mouths. It can even buy five ice cream on stick, or 10 scoops of dirty ice cream. If you want to stay away from your usual sorbetes, this MAY be it, but for its price, there are some better alternatives such as FIC and even the Korean ice cream Melona!

I do not agree that Magnum Ice Cream is the best there is, but I do agree that they market it really well that we are here talking like it's the impeachment hearing. I wonder what will Sen. Miriam Santiago would say if she tried one...whaaa!

There are three flavors, I think I'll also try the other two hehehe...

One sunset (in a low batt camera)

We just had an event at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila a couple of days back.  We were asked to come at around 6 in the evening, and since Roxas Boulevard is notorious for a sudden build up of vehicles for no apparent reason/s, the traffic paranoid that we are came early, 5 o'clock to be exact!  We were seated at the lobby waiting for the clock to strike 6, I am almost feeling the call of boredom and the soft cushion of the lobby chair is making me sleepy. One of my colleagues who is also drowned with boredom came up with the most amazing idea I have heard in the last 60 minutes: go to the pool area and watch as the sun sets.  The mere mention of staying away from the lobby is enough to pull me off from dreamland.

Some minutes later, we were at the pool area, with people in their swimming attire and us in our tie and suits and the girls in their evening dress, and I still wonder why they are staring LOL.  Anyhow, the sun is still bright at that time, not the golden one I am expecting, but such brightness is also a beauty (sunset is always beautiful) and ideal for silhouettes. There's one catch though, my camera is issuing a warning: low bat!!! So much for being prepared hehehe. But despite the warning and before it fade out on me, I was able to take some shots to share.

Since my camera is near dead, I was glad to take everyone's camera and be the shooter, never mind if I wasn't included in any picture, I'd rather be the one taking photos than be the one being photographed.

When we're inside the hotel, I checked again on my camera and I was glad that it's still alive, got a few more shots of the food served, and then it's bye-bye.

To be fair to me, I normally check the battery and charge it if it need be, it just so happens that I cannot find the charger thereby low battery (nag-explain pa talaga hehehe).

:)

Bachelor's guide to food

got this from my inbox and I can help but smile that, yeah, it can be real and I can almost relate to some of it, especially with vegetables hehehe (the indented comments were mine)

BREAD: Sesame seeds and Poppy seeds are the only officially acceptable "spots" that should be seen on the surface of any loaf of bread. Fuzzy and hairy looking white or green growth areas are good indications that your bread has turned into a pharmaceutical laboratory experiment. (Maybe the cure to all sickness can be found there, who knows?)

CANNED GOODS: Any canned goods that have become the size or shape of a softball should be disposed of. Carefully.

CARROTS: A carrot that you can tie a clove hitch in is not fresh. (guilty!!!!)

CEREAL: It is generally a good rule of thumb that cereal should be discarded when it is two years or longer beyond the expiration date. (Oh, I am proud to say that cereals and oatmeals don't last a week on my ref)

CHIP DIP: If you can take it out of its container and bounce it on the floor, it has gone bad. (At least, you can play ball with it hehe)

DAIRY PRODUCTS: Milk is spoiled when it starts to look like yogurt. Yogurt is spoiled when it starts to look like cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is spoiled when it starts to look like regular cheese. Regular cheese is nothing but spoiled milk anyway and can't get any more spoiled than it is already. Cheddar cheese is spoiled when you think it is bleu cheese but you realize you've never purchased that kind. (Does a melted margarine/butter inside a mayonaise bottle with something white growing around it is also spoiled? hehe)

EGGS: When something starts pecking its way out of the shell, the egg is probably past its prime. (This is probably not a very hot way of having a chick/s on your house, and inside your refrigerator, scary!)

EMPTY CONTAINERS: Putting empty containers back into the refrigerator is an old trick, but it only works if you live with someone or have a maid. (Half full bottle of cola, a box of milk, some stuffs on a jar that you can no longer remember what, and of course, water containers - lots of it - can do the trick. hehe)

EXPIRATION DATES: This is NOT a marketing ploy to encourage you to throw away perfectly good food so that you'll spend more on groceries. Perhaps you'd benefit by having a calender in your kitchen. (They have expiration...dates?)

FLOUR: Flour is spoiled when it wiggles. (Just imagine that's where the Sandman resides)

FROZEN FOODS: Frozen foods that have become an integral part of the defrosting problem in your freezer compartment will probably be spoiled (or wrecked anyway) by the time you pry them out with a kitchen knife. (Oh no, I already have a trauma when it comes to frozen food and kitchen knife, it's bloody!)

GAG TEST: Anything that makes you gag is spoiled (except for leftovers from what you cooked for yourself last night).

LETTUCE: Bibb lettuce is spoiled when you can't get it off the bottom of the vegetable crisper without sandpaper. Romaine lettuce is spoiled when it turns liquid. (Why is it that lettuce has this bad habbit of going to the bottom even though it's always placed on top of all vegetables?)

MAYONNAISE: If it makes you violently ill after you eat it, the mayonnaise is spoiled.

MEAT: If opening the refrigerator door causes all stray animals within a three-block radius to congregate outside your house, the meat is spoiled. (Hmmm, so that explains why there are a lot of stray cats in the neighborhood...)

POTATOES: Fresh potatoes do not have roots, branches, or dense, leafy undergrowth. (What? They don't have roots??? And onions and garlics should have leaves, right? Right? And ginger, too?)

RAISINS: Raisins should not be harder than your teeth. (At least, not as hard)

SALT: It never spoils. (Thank God!)

UNMARKED ITEMS: You know it is well beyond prime when you're tempted to discard the Tupperware along with the food. Generally speaking, Tupperware containers should not burp when you open them.

GENERAL RULE OF THUMB: Most food cannot be kept longer than the average life span of a hamster. Keep a hamster to gauge this. (Okay, now, where do i put the hamster, inside the refrigerator?)

c",)

Do you want to know a secret?

Closer, let me whisper in your ear...

But I won't ask you to promise not to tell because the world deserves to know this.

The other weekend, we discovered another gem in dining experience amidst the garden and the orchids around. Tagaytay? Nope. Baguio? Nah. Laguna? Cavite?? Those were far, you just need a taxi, bus, or even an MRT ride to go there. Where? In My Mother's Garden (formerly The Garden Room) in Pasay City. Yes, just in Pasay.

This By-Reservation only restaurant is situated in 2650 Zamora Street in Pasay, in the 1940 house of National Artist for Architecture Pablo Antonio. It is being run by the mother and daughter team of Malu and Letlet Antonio Veloso (who are very accomodating and will make you feel that the place is yours to enjoy).

They are offering a set menu ranging from P700.00 to P900.00, we opted for the P700-menu of Seafood and Chorizo pasta, Mustard Chicken (I give it a two-thumbs up approval) and Melanzane. All menus come with a garden fresh salad, freshly squeezed fruit juice (the watermelon juice made us craved for the beach!) and the best fruit tarts that can give those expensive Serendra cupcakes a run for their money.

The pasta is very filling (their serving for two can feed four hungry souls!), and i love the combination of shrimp and chorizo! I don't know how to call it but the tomato and black olives add-ons also give the pasta a kick and a very rich taste, which for me deserves a standing ovation! bravo!

Don't be deceived by the rather very discreet presentation of the mustard chicken, for its awesome taste, it deserved a better one. The chicken is their specialty, and I must say it should be because it's so darn good! Just for the mustard chicken alone, I'll go back to eat there! Trust me, you'll crave for it. (Sorry for the picture, I am busy eating hehe).

And the desserts? Oh, you don't need a sweet tooth to appreciate this. It was heavenly!

I don't remember being served with Melanzane, maybe they did or maybe they don't, but I don't see it on the table or maybe, just maybe, the turn of events that came along with the tray of desserts may have overwhelmed me. What events? Let's just keep it a secret...for now. hehe.

HOW TO GET THERE:

From Makati, take Edsa going to Taft Avenue. On the right side, the street before Taft, sandwiched by the MRT station and Watson's on the other side and where Kabayan Hotel is located, is Zamora Street. Turn right there and just cruise until you reach No. 2650.

CONTACT NUMBERS:

My Mother's Garden - (02) 8318407

Malu Veloso - 09176008886

Letlet Veloso - 09187022125 (or email bootsieveloso@yahoo.com)

Next time, we'll try going there during lunchtime to appreciate the garden because last time, we ate there dinner time and the ambiance and the low-lighting was just perfect and very ideal for a romantic date. yihaa. hehe.

it's a Thai!

along with Japanese food, Thai food is one of the best chows i've discovered in recent years that made me a convert, and made me realized there are better, way better, choices than those fastfoods that i thought were comfort foods.

my love affair with thai food started when i was first introduced to THE bagoong rice of sukhothai (i miss this restaurant!) and then it flourished when i worked in a restaurant that serves thai-malaysian-curry themed foods and there i met chicken pandan and it was love at first bite! and with tom yam soup? whoa, i was enthralled by its hotness!

i am, in a way, engrossed with trying different thai restaurants which, by the way, should also be affordable (with emphasis on affordable) and this has brought me (and lyn) to Som's (they now have a branch in morato, the reposo branch which we used to frequent is now closed, and we are yet to set foot on the original carinderia somewhere in the Rockwell area) and Jatujak. but not every thai food we've tried were good, some are also not commendable (take sukhothani and oodly's as examples).

one gloomy afternoon, lyn and i craved for something spicy, tired already of glorietta, we trooped to the Mall of Asia and our feet brought us again near the Entertainment Plaza to Jatujak! The attentive staff immediately attend to us and table and the menu came in next.

as lyn was raving about the pomelo salad in somer palace (or was that sommer palace or summer palace in greenbelt 3, i don't know), we tried the restaurant's version of Pomelo Salad with shrimp. it was my first time to try it and it was just a so-so for me and i thought it was very expensive (P220.00) for such an ordinary taste! and the serving was also small, just a few slices of pomelo, TWO pieces of shrimp, dash of shallots (onions) and other spices plus some lettuce and the thai dressing (which i thought was just a viniagrette). i am not going to order this again.

and the tom yam (shrimp) came. this never fails to amaze us. hmm, i think the taste is better compared to the last time we went there and the price (P195.00) is now more expensive as compared to P172 on our previous visit. we ordered medium size and mild hot, and yet our ears were burning! and we love it. hehehe.

the favorite bagoong rice came in next, nay! before it was only P110 and now P146!!! the serving is still good for three, and still has that porkbits and chicharon and the not so strong bagoong (shrimp paste) after taste. the green mango and cucumber also add some chunkiness to it and make the eating enjoyable.

for the first time, we tried ordering Red Curry beef (P245), and even for its mild hotness, this one is hoooot! i am not really a fan of curry but this got a really nice creamy taste (maybe because of the coconut milk) that compliments the beefy taste (hey, it's beef!). this is a good dish, and you need to stir it well before serving/eating as the sauce has this hobby of staying at the bottom. and one more thing (and possibly the only downside), it should be paired with a plain rice and not with bagoong rice, the taste don't really mixed well.

to down what we've eaten and to combat the spiciness, lyn and i got each other lemon mint iced tea at P45 each, and has that herb taste which is different yet cool and refreshing!

the above prices are still subject to a 10% service charge (this is expensive na ha) but a 10% discount (5% for card-users) for SM Advantage card users can offset it, so happily ever after pa rin. :)

our tummies were full and we still have a take out that is good for one more meal!


i love life! :)

side note: all taken with my camera phone so the details may not be that sharp and the colors were on the distorted side, as usual i did not used the flash.

Go Japanese!

Years ago, my idea of japanese food was limited only to Tokyo Tokyo and the uber-oily Ebi tempura, sashimi was a big no-no (because it's raw), and i don't even know how to use the chopsticks!

But now, aside from mastering the chopsticks, Japanese food, along with Thai food, has became a favorite! Blame it on me for working with the Japanese people (a lot of Japanese!) for the last five years. :) Eating sashimi is no longer an issue to me, in fact i craved for it!

And last week was one of those times that Lyn and I craved for something Japanese, not the generic one that you can find in the mall, we want an authentic one! And authentic it is that we want, Little Tokyo is the place.

I've been to this compound of japanese restaurants a couple of times before but it's the first time that i'll bring lyn here (ang kuripot ko raw kasi hehe) so this makes the visit extra special. :)

With lots of restaurants to chose from (you have to consult the menus of each resto or ask the attendants manning the door just to be sure if the resto has what you're looking for because not all of the restos there have the same thing to offer, example a certain resto do not have sashimi, instead they have a lot of omelets), we settled ourselves in Oinshinbou Restaurant (the first one on the right, inside the compound).

Since we are the only customers (6:00 pm is still early), the friendly filipino staff handed us the menu and take our orders, murmured something japanese (that i didn't understand only the "hai" part) and off she go to the counter. While waiting for our food, we scanned the small restaurant (a Lakers' game is on, and in Japanese!!!) and familiarized our nostrils to its wooden slathered with cooking oil and spices smell. Well, that comes with the authenticity tag. And I also told Lyn that if it's frequented by Japanese expats/nationals, it must be good and authentic (sabi nya: "owws, talaga lang ha?").

In no time, our orders came in one by one.

Tuna sashimi, eight pieces, served in a small bucket full of ice, P198. Fresh and yummy!!!! and we also like the cucumber and grated raddish on the side.

Kani Salad, P238. The serving is already good for two, and has generous servings of crabsticks and ripe mango! This is good! Panalo!!!! So far, the best kani salad we've tasted, it must be the dressing, ansarap, and to top it all, even though the mayo is on the creamy side, hindi sya nakakaumay! This is one good reason to go back here.

Chicken Teriyaki Bento (i forgot how much exactly but it's more than P200). The chicken, i thought, was dry, maybe overcooked but still tasty (maybe because of the msg?), the veggies side dish is also overcooked (i prefer my veggies to be crispy), the rice is definitely good, not so dry and not so sticky, just right to compliment the chicken and the veggies. But, the star of this set is not the chicken but the mashed potato and the raddish/cucumber/sweet we-don't-know-what-veggies that goes with it. hmmm! creamy (what's up with creamy?) and the taste is very different from, let's say Kenny Rogers' or even World of Chicken's, because it's creamy (yay, there goes that word again)! It save the bento box from being forgettable. And oh, the miso soup is also good.

Hah, life! You'll forget your diet or worry about that bulging tummy because of these.

oishi ne!

(sorry for some distorted colors, i used my camera phone for this set and also, turned off its flash).