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.

Linking to Food Friday and Food Trip Friday

Lomi and Japanese Siomai

I was hoping to enjoy some sunshine in Cebu last week but the rain seemed to follow me down south.  Late afternoon rains got me craving for something hot.  These were my snack-cum-dinner at Big Mao in Ayala---Japanese siomai and steaming hot Lomi.

Lomi is a hot, sticky soup made of egg noodles, a medley of veggies (carrots and cabbage), slivers of meat, shrimps and kikiam (a mixture of ground pork, shrimps and vegetables wrapped in bean curd wrapper), topped with fried garlic and slices of spring onions.

Anything warm and flavorful on a wet, rainy afternoon is a comfort food for me.

Linking to Food Friday and Food Trip Friday
Monday Mellow Yellows

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.

Linking to Food Friday and Food Trip Friday

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

Linking to Food Friday

Food Trip Friday

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.

Linking to Food Friday and Food Trip Friday

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

Linking to Food Friday

Food Trip Friday

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.

Linking to Food Trip Friday

Food Friday

Fried Blue Marlin

I was looking forward to this simple dinner in Cebu last week as I was in a hurry to go back to the hotel to catch my favorite telenovella. *LOL*  This is fried blue marlin with fried garlic bits, some slices of cucumber and a cup of steamed rice.  I was surprised at the size of the blue marlin, it was as big as my slipper, no kidding!  Love the fresh, rich, melt-in-your mouth flavor.  And I was glad it's a small cup of rice.:p

Linking to Food Trip Friday

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.

Linking to Food Friday

Food Trip Friday

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.  

Linking to Food Trip Friday

Food Friday

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

 

Linking with Food Friday and Food Trip Friday

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*

Linking to Food Friday

Food Trip Friday

Carne Frita

"Food is for taste.  Happiness is taste of life."

Carne frita, or more popularly known as Bistek Tagalog.  Thin strips of sirloin beef marinated in garlic, soy sauce, salt & pepper, lemon juice, and sugar then pan-fried with caramelized onions. Served with steamed rice.

Linking to:

Food Trip Friday

Food Friday

Waffles with cherries

 “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” 

~ Mother Teresa

Breakfast doesn't have to be served in bed to be romantic.  Breakfast in bed can be messy--- and between all the pillows and spilling coffee on the sheets and the prospect of cleaning up afterwards kinda diminish all the fun.  What's romantic is when U surprised me with this lovely breakfast of homemade waffles topped with cherries.  And the waffles were perfect, too!   For someone who makes sloppy pancakes, I almost asked if he had these delivered!  But I bit my tongue and enjoyed the alluring waffles, coffee and  delicious conversation.

Do you cook with/for someone you love?

 Linking to 

Food Friday and Food Trip Friday