The day I fell in love with a sandwich

At first, nothing was so special about this Saturday. I did the usual chores around the house, ran the usual errands. But come merienda time, everything suddenly turned rosy. And that was when I took my first bite of the Premiere Clubhouse sandwich at Cafe France. Hahaha! Sorry for waxing romantic. I really just fell in love with my sandwich -- with its soft wheat bread that well, sandwiched bacon and egg at the top and a thick slice of great-tasting ham, tomato and lettuce at the bottom. I know I like almost everything that I eat (Hehe) but believe me, I sooo loved my sandwich that I couldn't prevent the "uhmmm!" and "sarap!" from coming out of my 

full mouth. Haha!. 

By the way, my order was half a sandwich that came with pumpkin soup and a glass of soda. The soup was very delish, too! Really, my afternoon snack would have been perfect had I paired it with a nice cup of brewed coffee. Truth was I was tempted to do just that but my daughter and I were in such a hurry as we were about to attend the 6 p.m. church service and before that buy a Bible at a Christian bookstore on Taft Ave. and it was already around 5:10 when we entered Cafe France on UN Ave. in Manila. You know very well, a cup of coffee is best sipped slowly rather than downed in a few large gulps. Hehe. Anyway, my daughter had Tuna Onion sandwich and the same soup as I had plus soda. Also, we had Bacon and Potato Salad, which, was not so good, just okay.

Half a Premiere Clubhouse sandwich with Pumpkin Soup and a glass of soda, P159.

See how thick the ham is? Yummy!

Tuna Onion sandwich with Pumpkin Soup and a glass of soda, P159.

Now that's a fully-loaded sandwich!

Potato and Bacon Salad, P60.

Rootbeer and Sprite

                        The lady and her sandwich by the window. That's my daughter.

Love this painting of a French street scene.

                      Inside Cafe France at the corner of UN Ave. and Ma. Orosa St. in Manila. 

I'll be back here soon, I promise. Hehe. There's a lot of other things I'd like to try in this cafe --             other sandwiches, pastries, pasta and rice meals. And yes..coffee!
Cafe France has branches at SM Makati, Roosebelt, St. Luke's Hospital, The Podium, SM Mall of Asia, Greenhills and Robinson's Place-Manila, just to name a few. 

Great barbecue at Ineng's!

Weekend markets are popular these days and a number of restaurants that have made it big were borne of them. One of such is Ineng's, which started selling barbecue at the Sidcor Sunday Market in Cubao in 1999. Apparently, the products they sold were so good that the stall owners, a couple named Richard and Michelle, would always finish selling everything in record time. Their barbecue that grew more popular by the week became known as "Ineng's Special BBQ", Ineng being Michelle's moniker. The husband and wife soon joined other weekend markets until they opened their first mall-based branch at Market! Market! in 2004. The rest, as they, is history.

Earlier this year, I saw an Ineng's branch at the new Wilcon Depot near our office on Visayas Ave. in Quezon City. My friend-co-worker Pam and I had just had lunch at Bigger Better Burger and were about to go back to the office when we passed by Ineng's at the ground floor of the sprawling "mall". What immediately caught my eye was the poster outside with the words "kapeng barako" written in it. Hey! I missed kapeng barako, which I used to brew every morning upon waking up. I had long stopped this routine because of my hyperacidity, which prompted me to cut back on caffeine to just one cup a day, at the office, in the afternoon.  
Anyway, days later, I was back at Wilcon Depot, this time with my youngest son to have lunch at where else but Ineng's? 
Here, take a look at some of what they offer:

Pork barbecue with rice and lumpiang sariwa, P139.

Pinoy chicken BBQ, P129.

Complimentary soup.

Saba at sago con yelo, P49.

Iced tea that comes with our set meals.

Kapeng barako (oops, forgot the price).

The boy and his chicken barbecue.

I can't get enough of the barbecue sauce!

Inside Ineng's at Wilcon Depot on Visayas Ave.

At first bite of my pork barbecue, I wasn't exactly impressed; I've had good barbecue elsewhere. But when I poured some barbecue sauce into it, my rating shot up from 6 to 9 in a scale of 1 to 10. The sauce made a lot of difference! It made my barbecue go from okay to great! As for the fresh lumpia, it was..okay.. there's a lot of room for improvement in its sauce. Meanwhile, my son loved his chicken barbecue and declared he'd love to be back at Ineng's just for it.

Ineng's has several branches in Metro Manila, some of which are at SM North Edsa, Robinson's Place Novaliches, 168 Mall and Katipunan Ave.

Old yet new (to me!)

Pho Hoa is a nearly three-decade-old international restaurant chain with presence in seven countries and serves Asian dishes, particularly Vietnamese noodle soup. In the Philippines, it is currently found in 19 locations scattered all over Metro Manila. And although Pho Hoa has been here for many years (20 years maybe?), it was my first time to eat there earlier this year in the company of my two friends in the office, Pam and Glo. Truth was, I wanted to eat at the restaurant directly opposite Pho Hoa in Trinoma but my two companions overpowered me. Hehe. I'm not a very adventurous eater, that's why, so I make safe choices of restaurants and stay away from dishes not familiar to me. But well, no regrets. I liked what I had. 

These were our orders:

Grilled pork, veggie and fried rolls vermicelli bowl, P280.

Grilled chicken and spring rolls with rice, P280.

Beef Stew with Bread, P240.

Buttered bread that came with the Beef Stew

Fresh Lemonade, P120.

Pot of Jasmine Tea, P56.

The Beef Stew with Bread was my order. I went for it, thinking it was not very different from our very own "mechado". Hehe. Well, quite close. And it was good. I'd probably go to Pho Hoa a second time. :-)

Nice surprise at Nathaniel's

If there's one newly-discovered (for me!) foodie place that I can heap superlatives on, it's Nathaniel's Bakeshop. If you haven't been there, well, it's not just a bakeshop, it's a restaurant, too, that offers a somewhat wide range of dishes aside from being a food store that sells a variety of breads and pastries, puto, siopao and many other munchies.  I tell you this, and I assure you I'm not kidding, what we ate there were the best in their own league. Consider this: the best pancit palabok, the best pancit sotanghon and the best burger steak this side of earth. Haha!! 

I first heard about Nathaniel's from Ate Baby, one of my co-workers, last month. She wanted to buy Buko Pandan, which, she attested, was so good there. A few days later, we went to the Timog Ave. branch. There were four of us aboard our officemate's L-300 van. At Ate Baby's urging, we ordered palabok for take out. We also bought other food items including pichi-pichi and asado roll for me and a box of sans rival for Pam. Back in the office minutes later, I dug into my palabok. Mmm.. I was in love in an instant! I kid you not, this was the best palabok I've ever had in my life! Since then, I'd been looking for a chance to bring my family to Nathaniel's. That chance came on Black Saturday but alas! The restaurant was closed. Finally, last Saturday, we had the opportunity again. Two of my kids and I dropped by Timog Ave. on our way to get our organic veggies at the QC Circle. 
These were our orders: 

Pancit Palabok, P70. Definitely a must-try!

Sotanghon Guisado, P70. Very yummy too!

Sizzling Burger Steak, P135. The best burger steak I've ever tasted!

Lumpiang Sariwa, P55. 

Siomai, P55.

Buko Pandan Juice, P50. Another must-try!

Brewed coffee, P45.


Man, did we enjoy our meal! All, except for one, was very good! My daughter enjoyed her palabok to the hilt. As I write this, she's asking me to buy her palabok tomorrow. Hehe. My little boy, who eats burger steak each time we're in Jollibee, also loved it here. His ate  and I shared his leftover patty. At P135 per order consisting of two large and thick patties, a generous serving of rice and buttered veggies -  sulit talaga! Meanwhile, my sotanghon guisado left me really full and satisfied. The serving was big (I wasn't able to finish it) and it was really delicious, with lots of meat and vegetables. Even the slice of bread that came with it was good. And the siomai? Delicious too! And unlike other food places that give 3 to 4 pieces per order, Nathaniel's serves 5 pieces of siomai per order. And what did we have that wasn't so good? It's the Lumpiang Sariwa. We (my daughter and I) concluded that the sauce was the culprit - too mild in flavor, it failed to bring out the goodness of the lumpia itself. But hey, there's another thing to heap superlatives on - the Buko Pandan Juice - Nathaniel's signature drink. It's like having a drink and dessert in one. Very refreshing! Well, I liked my brewed coffee too, though it was already a bit cold when I sipped it at the end of my meal. Also, it was served in a plastic cup, which I didn't like 
(BPA, you know!)
Well, where's the surprise I was saying?
It's in the take-out bag!

See? There's a Bible verse written on it, and one of my favorites at that! Thank you Lord 

for my surprise blessing. :-)

Inside Nathaniels's Bakeshop along Timog Ave. in Quezon City.

Nathaniel's Bakeshop traces its origin to the City of San Fernando in Pampanga, in 1994. Its popularity quickly grew, fueled by its siomai, puto pao and buko pandan. Now it has four branches in Pampanga and two in Metro Manila - along Timog Ave. and in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. For more information, check out their website here: http://www.nathaniels.com.ph/index.php

The real 'power breakfast'

What's your morning routine? Me, as I open my eyes and sit up the bed, I say a prayer to praise God and thank Him for giving me another day to serve Him in my own little way. Then I get up and do the things I have to do like clean the house, bathe the dog, cook, etc. And then I sit down for breakfast, after which (and sometimes during) I read the Word of God, the Holy Bible. Feeding the soul more than the physical body, for me, is the real "power breakfast" and the best way to start the day right.

My brekkie for the day - a cup of coffee and goodies from BreadTalk which my hubby brought home last night plus a few slices of garlic toast from French Baker. Here also is my Bible which I read everyday.

Have your fill of international food favorites at Nitz

Eating out in the company of family or friends and not agreeing on where to go to satisfy your varying cravings? Try Nitz Restaurant! Here you can have your fill of delicious Filipino, Italian, Japanese, American, even French food! For added bonus, menu prices won't burn a hole in your pocket. How's that for an interesting food trip?

The first time I ate at Nitz was about two months ago although I've been seeing this restaurant for a few years already whenever I would pass by the corners of P. Noval St. and Espana Blvd. near UST in Manila. I was amazed that this small, simple restaurant offered a wide variety of  dishes: Filipino - goto, tapsilog, different types of pancit, lomi, mami. kare-kare, dinuguan, etc.; a French classic - chicken cordon bleu; Italian - fish parmigiana, pasta (carbonara, lasagna, spaghetti); American - hamburger; and Japanese - katsudon, yakiniku,  gyudon, chicken teriyaki and tempura. It's almost like there's something for everyone here. Over the next weeks, my kids and I often ate at Nitz when we attended church service at Victory U-Belt. 

Here are the dishes that we've tried:

Yakiniku, P80.

Katsudon, P80.

Tocilog, P75. 

Tapsilog, P75.

Pancit Palabok, P50.

Lasagna, P60.

Spaghetti, P50.

Chicken Cordon Bleu, P80.

Siomai, P35.

Buko Pandan, P41.

Our usual drink - C2 iced tea

Inside Nitz Restaurant on Espana Blvd. in Manila

Lasagna is the bestseller at Nitz and rightly so, I may say, 'coz it tastes really great - a wee bit sour, a little sweet and a lot creamy! However, the serving is too small that it will leave you wanting for more especially when you're ravenous. Also unforgettable here is their spaghetti. It's Pinoy-style but not too sweet; so yummy! - the reason it was a big hit for my youngest child. I liked the Chicken Cordon Bleu as well. 

Nitz Restaurant has three branches in Sampaloc, Manila: at Espana Blvd.corner P. Noval, R. Papa St. and Dapitan corner Asturias Streets. There's one, too along Regalado corner Buick Streets in West Fairview, Quezon City (in front of FEU Hospital) and at TUP Bldg. on 

San Marcelino St., Ermita, Manila.