Me - brekkie girl

Wheat pandesal, kesong puti and itlog na maalat

Daing, fried rice and fried egg

Arroz caldo

Longganisang Lucban, fried rice and fried egg

Corned beef, rice, scrambled egg

Tuyo, fried rice, sunny side up egg

Of all the meals I get to eat in a day (we Filipinos have at least 4 meals a day, right?), breakfast has got to be the most important. I never leave the house without having had breakfast unless I expect to be served it where I'm heading. It's the one meal I want to have peacefully, unhurriedly and preferably in our small garden where it's cool and where I have the company of plants and trees and on lucky days, butterflies. Well, what better way to start the day than with a nice, huge brekkie while enjoying nature, right? And what's my favorite breakfast, you might ask? It's tuyosilog - tuyo (dried fish), sinangag (fried rice) at itlog (fried egg). Daing (another type of dried fish) can take the place of tuyo but the latter is my ultimate favorite. I'm not very fond of American breakfast fares because in our household, processed meat is not eaten regularly for health reasons. Can you please share with me what your favorite breakfast is? I'd love to hear from you.

Good morning! What's for breakfast?

Obviously, I'm having breakfast by the computer. Haha! On my plate are seafood pasta, which hubby brought home last night from Galileo Enoteca restaurant, and two slices of buttered toast. Truth is, I rarely have brekkie in front of the computer, as I prefer eating in my little garden, where the cool breeze whets my appetite - as if I need that! Haha! On my next post, I will share pictures of breakfasts I have had in the garden. But for now, I hope you could share what you're having to break the night's fast. Have a nice day!

Missing coffee breaks at Kopimeyts

Baked Carbonara, P95.  for single serving, P165 for sharing

Tapsilog, P100.

Brewed coffee that came with the Tapsilog. Lovely saucer, isn't it?

Grandma's Chocolate Cake P100. I gotta make mano to that lola!

Cafe latte, P60. Like the leaf art :-)

There wasn't a single coffeehouse in the vicinity of our office along Visayas Ave. in Diliman, Quezon City till Kopimeyts was established last year. So one day, one of my closest friends at work and I jumped at the chance of spending our coffee break there. Since then, I'd been at Kopimeyts a couple of times, with  different company on each occasion. I loved their Tapsilog, a breakfast fare which you could order here anytime of the day. At P100., it already came with brewed coffee. Not bad, you might say. However, I loved their baked carbonara even more. They used penne pasta, which surprised me the first time I ordered it, since most restaurants use spaghetti noodles for this particular dish. At Kopimeyts, baked carbonara was heavenly. It had just the right creaminess. Hindi nakakasawa. Yum! It came with a halved slice of toasted garlicky tasty bread - a plus point for me since pasta is lonely food without garlic bread, don't you just think so? Just before I embarked on a joyful three-and-a-half-week vacation last May, I took two of my kids to work and to Kopimeyts and they too loved the baked carbonara. But when I reported back to work, I found out Kopimeyts was no more, to my dismay! A salon is now in its place. Oh darn, no coffee shop in the neighborhood again! Now all I have are coffee and baked carbonara memories. Sigh!

Siphon-brewed coffee and more at Serye Café Filipino

It was palengke day on Sunday so I hied off to the Quezon Memorial Circle with my daughter to get the organic vegetables which I had called to reserve for (I buy our veggies for the week at AANI, a store owned by farmers practicing organic agriculture, who sell their produce at the QC Circle). Earlier on, I had planned to dine at Serye Cafe Filipino across the Quezon City Hall since we would be in that area. I have long heard about Serye but haven't had the chance to go there. I had known about it at work. Whenever there were big events in the country like the President would deliver his/her SONA (state of the nation address), bigwigs would gather at Serye and we would deploy one or two of our reporters there. But now my daughter and I were finally here to eat.

The menu

The counter

Interiors - clean and simple

 It was nearly 3 p.m. We hadn't had lunch yet but because we had late breakfast (brunch?) and ate cornic on the way to QC, we weren't hungry at all. Still, we had to have lunch so after browsing through the menu, we ordered: 

Pancit Miki Bijon, P185, solo size

Barbecue Duo 1, P275.

Decadent Chocolate Cake with Caramel Sauce, P125.

House Blend Coffee, P85.

My plate.

My daughter used two servings of milk for her coffee plus 4 servings of the coco sugar!

Everything was good but nothing spectacular (at least at this point). The Pancit Miki Bijon was even a bit bland to me. The hefty serving was a plus point, though. What we ordered for was the solo size but we found out it was good enough for 2 persons who are not very hungry. It also came with buttered toasted pandesal. The Boneless Chicken Barbecue was delish, okay, and my daughter liked the sauce that came with it which was nutty and sweet. The pork barbecue, however, tasted ordinary and my daughter and I agreed that the ones we buy in the neighborhood are better (promise! that's at P15 per stick). The java rice that came with the barbecue duo was yummy as well, and so was the achara. And then came our coffee and choice of dessert - the Decadent Chocolate Cake with Caramel Sauce. It was moist, soft and delicious but for me, a tad too sweet. I originally wanted another kind of chocolate cake as I thought about a slice from Serye that hubby brought home one night. I've been thinking about that cake! I thought I ordered the same one but a different kind came to our table. Was I disappointed! But since it was already served, we settled for this one. It was okay na din although as I said, a little bit too sweet. But the coffee.. oh, the coffee! I forgot to mention that it was what I came to Serye for. I read that they serve siphon-brewed coffee, which they say, tastes more divine than regular brewed coffee. It was so sayang that I wasn't able to take a picture of the waiter pouring coffee from that siphon-brewing equipment that they use, into our cups. For those who don't know about the process of siphon-brewing coffee, sorry, i'm not explaining here because I haven't comprehended it. Haha! It looks complex to me. But I tell you, the resulting flavor is really good and strong! What added to my pleasure of coffee-drinking here was that it was coco sugar that came with it, which is healthy! If only for this coffee, yes, I will come back to Serye. They said the Boneless Crispy Pata here is so good, so might as well try that next time. And yes, I'll make sure to order the right cake!

A wonderful lunch at Kape Pilato Bistro Café

I don't know what's come over me. Everything about Kape Pilato Bistro Café was unforgettable yet for a few months, I'd totally forgotten to blog about it. Silly me, really, as I was totally smitten by the food, service and ambiance at Kape Pilato and every once in a while, I'd think of going back there. Still, it slipped my mind that I had to write about that dining experience. Anyway, it was last April that I and my eldest child went to Kape Pilato along San Marcelino in Malate, Manila for lunch. It was not very easy finding it because I was not familiar with the area, which, by the way, is residential (which brought a question to my mind: why would the owners want to put up an upscale-looking restaurant in this area that is not even a commercial one?). Well, we had to find it or the voucher that I purchased from a group-buying site would go for naught. Haha! And so after asking for direction, we went on, and found Kape Pilato not long after. As we entered, we were immediately impressed with the interiors such that we did not pass up the chance of taking each other's pictures in various parts of it - inside a room that's comparable to a house's sala in its coziness, at the mini-bar, etc. That was after placing our orders, of course. And by the way, the waiter was nice and patient, answering all my queries as to when they opened, what their best-sellers were, etc. And yes, I asked why the owners chose the area for their restaurant (I would not pass up that chance, too) and he said it was because the upper floors of the low-rise building were actually a hotel, so it was deemed there would be ready clients. When our orders arrived and we started indulging, I knew the food was the star at Kape Pilato. My soup, the Broccoli and Cream, was thick, tasty and filling. My daughter's soup, Corn and Cream, was not as good, though, for me at least, and I was glad I made the right choice. The Herbed Chicken Sandwich was good, too, the chunks of chicken huge and flavorful. However, it was the Sisig Pasta that was truly unforgettable. It tickled my taste buds to the max with the strong blend of spices and chili. It was so full of flavor that anything you would eat immediately after it could taste bland. Haha! By the way, my drink of choice was unforgettable, too - Guava Basil Iced Tea. It was quite a unique drink, healthy and great-tasting! My daughter had Blue Lemonade which was good as well, though I liked my drink a lot better. The barista approached us to ask my daughter how it was (the Blue Lemonade), to which she answered 'okay'. But when I tasted it, I found it a bit too minty and I thought, sayang, I was not able to give my opinion to the barista so he could make some improvements. After a long while, we ended our meal with a slice of Reese's Cheesecake that both my daughter and I loved, and with a cup of latte. What a lovely lunch that brought us to a new world of flavors!

We decided for the second floor and this greeted us upstairs.

View of the lobby from the second floor.

A cozy, homey room.

Broccoli and Cream Soup, P70.

Corn and Cream Soup, P70.

Guava Basil Iced Tea, P70

Blue Lemonade, P70

 

Herbed Chicken Sandwich with Fries, P135

Sisig Pasta, P170

Sisig Pasta, another view

Cafe latte, P50

Reese's Cheesecake, P98

Relishing mom and sis' cooking

My mom, who is now 84 years old, is a good cook, presumably the reason my dad can't live without her. Haha! You see, my parents live in my dad's hometown of San Francisco in Quezon province, away from us kids when we were young (It was our two lolas who looked after us). Whenever mom visits us in Manila, she doesn't stay long because dad doesn't want her away too many days. Suffice to say, it's a rare treat to enjoy mom's cooking, so when my kids and I spent two weeks in Quezon last May, I was gastronomically delighted! Add to this that my sister who is herself an expert cook and baker, came home from Canada and my tummy was ecstatic! The ever busy mom and career woman that I am was just too happy relaxing and waiting for what mom and sis had prepared come mealtimes. Attempts to diet were thrown out the window. Haha! The pics here show some of what my mom and sister had cooked and prepared for us during our two-week vacation in Quezon.

Kare-kare. Mom does not buy ground rice and peanut but pounds these herself with the help of her well, helper. That explains the coarse texture, but mind you, that doesn't mean mom's kare-kare is not good because it is!

Hibasanan. 'Hibas' means low tide in our hometown, which is when these shells are gathered. Mom I think sautées
the shells with ginger. You will have to use a pin (perdible) to get the edible part. Need I say it's quite hard to eat hibasanan? Well, not really if you have a mother like mine who does the hard job for us. :-)

This is Nilagang Baka but let me tell you, this is not your ordinary nilaga. We call this Tinaphan (inihaw or grilled) na Nilagang Baka because my mom grills the meat and beef marrow before she makes them into Bulalo. The process gives the soup a wonderful smoky flavor that sets it apart from bulalo elsewhere. My mom's Nilagang Baka is really special!

Sinaing na Bigas at Mais. This is how my parents want their rice - mixed with ground corn. I love it!

Tinolang Native na Manok. Tinola is best when native, free-range chicken is used because the latter is more flavorful than the 45-day variety. The soup is really good!  I got my bowl filled ahead of the others so I would get the chicken blood and gizzard.

Ginataang Dalungyan. This is not 'langka' and I don't know what this called in Manila and other provinces but it looks like a small version of a jackfruit. In my opinion, dalungyan is better-tasting than langka.

Steamed fish. Sister cooked this. Tastes good and healthy, too.

Palabok. Sister made this on our mom's birthday. Delish!

Sister's birthday lunch at President Tea House

I just realized, I haven't blogged in over two months! Must have been really busy, though of course, eating was never sidestepped. Haha! In April, I was anticipating and preparing for the arrival of my two sisters from abroad and come May, I was having the time of my life with them and my kids and the rest of the family in my Dad's hometown in Quezon, as well as spent a weekend in Bicol. Needless to say, the family bonding times and happenings were full of food, glorious food! First of all, my Ate Tess celebrated her birthday at President Tea House in Binondo. She wanted dimsum and so did I and the kids. So all sorts of dimsum we had, plus the main entrees. We were so full for hours and didn't eat again till dinner. In truth, we rarely passed up merienda but the enormous amount of Chinese food we had at President really took some time to digest. Haha! Food there is really good and the price is quite reasonable. I particularly liked the soup, spareribs, and yang chow fried rice. What a nice birthday lunch sister treated us to. :-)

Complimentary tea

Bird's eye dumpling, P80.

(Sorry, can't remember what this is called.)

Siomai, P80.

Hakaw, P90.

Chicken feet, P80.

Sharksfin dumpling, P80.

Pancit canton, P220.

Yang chow fried rice, P200.

Bird's nest with quail egg thick soup, P220.

Spareribs, P240.

Fried fish fillet with sweet and sour sauce, P270. 

Crispy fried chicken, P240.

Crispy fried chicken

Almond with lychee (sorry, forgot the price)

Green mango shake

Buko pandan shake