Beef Bulgogi

I was 10 minutes away from home when a heavy downpour, courtesy of Mang Gorio, brought the late afternoon traffic to a crawl.  Luckily, I was just a few meters away from the mall, and I decided to take shelter instead of wasting gas and sitting in traffic.  I haven't been to a newly opened BonChon Chicken branch here and although I'm not that crazy about their chicken, I'd like to try their other dishes.  

I got Beef Bulgogi with rice, and extra beef for an additional forty pesos, and ChapChae, a traditional Korean noodle dish (which I had bagged for take-away, hence, no photo.:p).  ChapChae is made of black glass noodles (bigger than sotanghon), flavored with sesame oil, thinly sliced vegetables--I couldn't remember if there was meat, and garnished with sliced scrambled egg and sesame seeds. It was a bit too oily but tasty.  I'd definitely order it again.

I also enjoyed the flavors of this Beef Bulgogi (Korean pronunciation:  pulgogi), but some slices of meat were not as tender.  Bulgogi is one of the most popular Korean grilled dishes made from thin slices of marinated sirloin.  Bulgogi was listed at no. 23 on CNN's Your Pick: World's 50 best foods.

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Big Mao @ Ayala-Cebu

Big Mao is one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in Cebu--it's hip, modern and good value for money.  A Cebuano friend brought me to Big Mao at the Crossroads a couple of years ago and I'm hooked since.  On my recent trip to Cebu, I took two friends to lunch at Big Mao in Ayala.  We got a couple of dishes---my favorite appetizer, cold jellyfish salad, mixed vegetables, yang chow fried rice, a chicken dish and this beef dish.  I tasted oyster sauce, it has strips of beef with cheese and asparagus on top.  The beef was a bit tough, and the cheese didn't blend well with the flavor.  Unfortunately, this was not as delicious as it looks.

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Adobong Kangkong and Baked Boneless Bangus

I was in the vicinity of WTC when I got word that I needed to fly to Cebu, pronto.  So I rushed to the mall to buy plane tickets.  Didn't plan on having dinner but traffic was horrible going out of the area--turned out it was the night Aerosmith had their Manila concert at the MoA-Arena.  I walked towards the bay area and decided to eat dinner while waiting for the traffic to ease.

I wanted fish and the waiter suggested Baked Boneless Bangus, it's new on their menu.  It was flavorful but  the flavors of cheese and butter were too rich and I didn't even finish half of the fish.  Good thing I ordered adobong kangkong---its pleasant tartness countered the strong flavor of cheese.  This adobong kangkong was quite delicious, so different from other adobong kangkong I've tasted before;  even better than my mother's adobong kangkong, or apan-apan as what we call it in Ilonggo.  Just don't tell her.:p

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Lunch @ Lugang Cafe

 Taiwanese Crispy Chicken Nuggets

Met a friend at the Mall of Asia on Thursday, the last day of her short Manila vacation.  We decided to meet at MoA because of its proximity to the airport and there are places there to entertain the two boys while we're having girl-talk.  This was a late lunch and as we entered the mall to look for a cool spot, we noticed chefs making dim sum through the glass wall of a restaurant.   It was enough to lure us in to Lugang Cafe.

But as we browsed the extensive menu, we completely forgot about the dimsum!  A plate of crispy chicken nuggets  was ordered for the two boys, but they were engrossed with iPad games and we ended up eating the chicken nuggets.

As expected, I was seduced by oysters and got this Oyster with Black Bean Sauce.  The dish wasn't bad at all except that I realized I still prefer oysters blanched, raw or baked---not in a sauce.  

Instead of vegetables, we opted for Taiwanese Tofu Clay Pot with Pork.  I'm not very fond of tofu but I try to eat it regularly because I know it's healthy and reduces my calorie intake.:p  And I'm glad we ordered this tofu dish---it's quite tasty.  I wish it was a bit more spicy.

Taiwanese Tofu Clay Pot with Pork

Lugang Cafe is famous for their desserts but we had no more space for dessert. I will definitely leave some for dessert next time. The Belagio Breeze looks absolulely divine!

I love the stylish and hip ambiance of this restaurant (not like the usual Chinese restaurants).  The contemporary furnishings, high ceiling and crystal chandeliers give it a feeling of generous spaciousness.

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Oysters Rockefeller

Oysters Rockefeller--an appetizer I shared with my mother at dinner last week at the Mall of Asia.  The oysters were baked with a generous amount of butter, cheese, some herbs and bacon bits.

Oysters Rockefeller was created in 1899 by Jules Alciatore in their family restaurant in New Orleans called Antoine's.  The dish was named after John Rockefeller, the richest American at the time, for the intense richness of the sauce.  Although many restaurants in New Orleans serve dishes purporting to be Oysters Rockefeller, Antoine's claims that they're all knock-offs because Alciatore  took the original recipe with him to the grave.

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Callos

I wasn't really hungry but I missed eating at Almon Marina, so I came in and ordered an appetizer of Liver Pate.  I was planning to get a sandwich-to-go but the delectable flavors of Callos teased my taste buds memory. So here it...

Ponder well on this point:  the pleasant hours of our life are all connected by a more or less tangible link, with some memory of the table. ~ Charles Pierre Monselet

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Boneless Lechon

This was my third visit to Zubuchon-Escario in just two weeks.  This Zubuchon branch is near the hotel where I was staying in Escario Street, and instead of going to the mall for dinner, I returned to Zubuchon to check out other lechon dishes.  This time, I was joined by my niece, Tuesday, who is based in Cebu.  We shared a bowl of Mongo with Lechon and Boneless Lechon with 2 cups of rice.  Their serving of steamed rice is small and I was craving for more but I stopped myself.:p

I forgot to take photos of their Iba (Kamias) shake, which was wonderfully refreshing.

I tasted coconut milk in the creamy mongo dish and it was yummy.  The Boneless Lechon was scrumptious!  The skin was crisp and tasty, the meat succulent--no need for sauce.

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Food Friday

Seaweed and Lukot Salad

I hope I remember the names correctly---lato, guso and lukot.   These cold appetizers at Zubuchon-Escario were perfect complement to the lechon J and I devoured for dinner.  Yes, it was Holy Week, and J is a Catholic, I'm not---I ate lechon without guilt.:p   Lato and guso are types of seaweed, lukot is something else.

I was always wary of eating seaweed ceviche because of the briny, fishy flavor that seems to persist on seaweed.  But I was pleasantly surprised that this seaweed ceviche has none of that fishy flavor.  These were fresh and refreshingly good!

Among the 3, lato is my favorite---I love the texture, the crunch, and the sweet-salty flavors of the ocean.  Guso is gelatinous and slimy--the mouth-feel is so different from any salad I have eaten before.  I assumed lukot was also a seaweed---I was wrong.  Lukot looks like noodles, has the consistency of noodles, and has a distinct flavor that I can't describe.  It's a poop of sea hare, locally known as donsol/dongsul.

These were blanched and served with coconut vinegar/onions/tomatoes/ginger dressing.

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Quesadillas

Mushrooms and Spinach Quesadillas---our appetizer at Cadi Shack Diner in Cebu last week.  This was a scrumptious vegetarian quesadillas.  I didn't know mushrooms and spinach go well together.  The tomato, onions and cilantro salsa was addicting.  The flavors of the salsa were reminiscent of Vietnamese nouc cham.  

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Club Sandwich and Caesar Salad

Met an old friend for lunch last week, and I ordered just a salad with a sheepish little speech about my cholesterol.  Y gave me a dirty look and insisted on ordering a Clubhouse sandwich, afraid I might faint from hunger.   I almost yelled, "Somebody get me a cheeseburger!" :p

@ The French Baker

 

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Salmon Sashimi/Mandarin Orange Monday

Salmon Sashimi for Mandarin Orange Monday

"Sashimi is velvet dust, verging on silk, or a bit of both, and the extraordinary alchemy of its gossamer essence allows it to preserve a milky density unknown even by clouds...my cheeks recalled the effects of its profound caress." ~ Muriel Barbery

Carnitas Burrito

"I thought I was eating a candy bar, but it turned out to be a yummy burrito. I was both disappointed and appointed at the same time." ~ Jarod Kintz

Finally, I was able to take a photo of the burrito at Army Navy Burrito + Burgers before I demolished it.  It won't be photogenic anymore after the foil wrap has been opened, especially after I have chomped down on it.   I also got a dollop of sour cream to go with my Carnitas Burrito. *burp*

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Light dinner @ Dong Juan

One of the downside of having meetings in the afternoon is the heavy snacks.  After eating a couple of oven-fresh pan de coco and baked macaroni for an afternoon snack, I was planning to skip dinner and spend a quiet night at the hotel.  But after the meeting, J insisted to take me to dinner.  I tried to refuse kindly but he's having none of it. This is the usual scenario when I am in Cebu--suppliers feed me until I'm bursting at the seams, literally.

I finally agreed to go to dinner with a condition that we're eating light.  We didn't drive too far because around the corner was Insular Square in Mandaue.  I guess it's fairly new because some of the spaces were still vacant.

There were a couple of restaurants here but I veered towards Dong Juan---it looked cozy and I like the word play, it makes the name of this restaurant more memorable.  "Dong" is what  "toto" to an Ilonggo or "totoy" in Tagalog, a term of endearment we often call a younger male sibling, cousin, nephew, a young boy or a young man.

Dong Juan's cozy, casual ambiance  creates a fun, lighthearted experience.  They don't have an extensive menu---just what I needed for this dinner!

J told me that Dong Juan started as a hole-in-wall in Guadalupe then it became popular because of its affordable prices and range of popular food.  We got a garlic-cheese pizza and fish & chips.  The fish & chips was nothing to rave about but the pizza was good.  I was also impressed with the iced tea glass---it reminds me of a cough syrup bottle and the bottle where my grandmother aged her coconut vinegar.

This was a simple but fun dinner.

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