Third Anniversary

It's our third anniversary today and we decided to make our celebration simple by having dinner at a restaurant my partner and I both love: North Park.

We had lemon chicken, salted fish & chicken fried rice, calamares, and naicha jelly for drinks. These are our usual orders. We don't usually get the other dishes, but I'm pretty sure they're all great, too.

We then head out to Ruins to buy some DVDs to watch at home. We were supposed to watch a movie at Alabang Town Center, but there weren't good movies we haven't seen left. It's either we watch New Year's Eve (which had terrible reviews) or Breaking Dawn (...ew?!). Buying DVDs was the best thing to do.

Lugawan Republic

I was supposed to write this post last Sunday, but I didn't have the time (we bought so many good DVDs I couldn't help but go on a marathon). I only have a couple of minutes so I'll make this short.

Mike and I went to BF Paranaque to buy DVDs. Immediately after we paid for a bunch, we set out to look for a place to sit down, enjoy the weather, and eat. There were a lot of good restaurants that we frequent, but we wanted to try something else, something we haven't been to. Mike suggest Lugawan Republic and I said yes.

I was really pleased that the restaurant didn't look like the regular lugawan places around town. It was clean and cozy, quiet and comfortable, and the food was good. I said good, not great.

We had pilugaw, chicken fingers and fries, and sago't gulaman.

I'm not used to having noodles on my lugaw so you can just imagine my surprise that pilugaw has it. It's just strange, but it wasn't bad at all. Though the taste was alright, pilugaw's sauce was thicker than the average lugaw I know--almost paste-like. It was their bestseller. Not for me.

The chicken fingers and fries we ordered was a huge disappointment for me. The chicken fingers, dry and bland; the fries, greasy. Didn't like it at all.

The sago't gulaman, on the other hand, was amazing. It was cool and refreshing. Silver lining.

Oh, they also serve pandan water to customers. It was an unpleasant experience for me to drink it. I don't know about you, but I like my pandan on my dessert, not on my drink.

Waiters should wait at Food de Sentosa

I like reading blogs of people I know, especially if they speak and write well. Sometimes when they post about their latest culinary adventures, my partner and I would immediately plan on trying it out for ourselves.

One of my friends, Isa of sisasaid.blogspot.com, blogged about her experience at a Singaporean restaurant called Food de Sentosa along Vito Cruz. She posted some really good photos of the food they serve there and made us really excited to try eating there especially when there's another branch along Aguirre, BF Paranaque.

When we entered the place, we were expecting a well decorated restaurant. We thought that it would be decorated with several Asian pieces, but we were greeted with long tables and sparsely decorated walls.

But we weren't there to check out the place. We were there to eat.

Since we were on a budget, we ordered a best seller (fish filler with chili crab sauce), some drinks (air bandung and naicha), and some rice (jasmine and hainanese chicken).

One thing I don't like about the restaurant is their service. While we were waiting for our food to be served, we suddenly realized that all the waitresses have gone--we were left alone inside the restaurant! I guess it took them around 15 minutes to prepare our food, which isn't really that bad, but the waitresses were never really there, you know? Like when we were already eating and we wanted to order more food, I had to go out of the restaurant just to find them chatting with each other. Hold on, are we not customers or we just part of the dull decorations inside? Aren't waiters and waitresses supposed to wait? Ayayay!

On a positive note, what they lack in service, they make up with good food.

The fish fillet with chili crab sauce was amazing. The fish was crunchy on the outside, but soft on the inside. There was a hint of spiciness on the sauce, but not really enough to warrant the name. The crab was nowhere on it though. Despite these shortcomings, the dish was delightful and filling.

Fish Fillet with Chili Crab Sauce

The jasmine rice and hainanese chicken rice were cooked to perfection. Need I say more?

Our Air Bandung and Naicha were cool and refreshing. Perfect to quench our thirst.

Naicha and Air Bandung

We were supposed to order more food but as mentioned earlier,the waitresses were nowhere to be found. We were left to wait for the waitresses.

Maybe we went there at a bad time. We were the only customers after all. Regardless, we should have been served properly. Maybe it's just this branch; the one along Vito Cruz may have better service. Whoever is managing the Aguirre branch might want to improve their service.

Now that we've tried it there already, are we going back for more? Unlikely. I like restaurants that provide quality service and good food. Lack of one is unfortunate. But should that stop you from eating there? Definitely not. The restaurant offers authentic Singaporean cuisine. It's always worth it to try different cuisines. Besides, what happens to me may not always happen to you.

Food de Sentosa is locate along Aguirre drive, BF Paranaque. It's just across Puregold Jr.

Cafe Breton, Galette Rustique

It's been a while since I last visited Cafe Breton at Westgate. Immediately after my trip to Acqua, I went to the restaurant for a good lunch.

I've always had Galette Americain ever since my first trip to this cozy restaurant in Makati. When I learned that they also have one in Alabang, of course, it became easier to have this old favorite of mine whenever I wanted it. The juicy patty, the savory sauce, the delicious egg, the meal is oh so good.

Galette Americain

But today was different.

Although I was craving for that familiar delectable meal, I wanted to try something different, something new to my taste buds. I browsed through their menu of awesome crepes, sandwiches, and galettes and found one that seemed interesting.

Galette Rustique

Galette Rustique is simple, but it's good. The tomatoes, the smoked bacon, and the egg all melted perfectly in my mouth. It's truly one for the books and I cant have enough of it. It's amazing. It's my new favorite.

If you haven't tried Cafe Breton, drop by and have a taste of goodness. The ambience, it's cozy, perfect for quick lunches with friends and family. Good place to take pictures, too!

A relationship with pasta

I am in love with pasta. It is one of the things that can cheer me up on any given day, be it penne, fusilli, linguine, or fettuccine (you don't expect me to name all types of pasta, do you?). I'd rather eat pasta than rice, to be honest. In fact, pasta is the first thing I look for on any restaurant menu. The more unique the pasta, the better; especially those with vegetables, magnifique! Le poulet comes second.

I've tried cooking a couple of pasta dishes myself. Whenever I like a particular dish from a restaurant I've visited, my brain automatically tries to identify the ingredients needed to recreate it. And recreate dishes I have! Although not as good as the original restaurant recipe, of course. Dishes like Cibo's penne al telefono and Mary Grace's creamy salmon pasta I have recreated so many times.

 Cibo's Penne al Telefono  image source

Mary Grace's Creamy Salmon Pasta

Then there are days when my recreations or experiments would fail me. There was a time when I have attempted to include cream dory and It didn't fit in with the rest of the dish. It broke my heart to waste such a beautiful and delicious fish.

But when I am in doubt, there are a few ingredients that I always use to create a really good meal and these are: basil, garlic, olives, and bell peppers. A new favorite of mine is the eggplant, a revelation, really.

I think I've made it clear how much I love pasta. J'adore les pates! I leave you now with a photo of a lovely pasta I had for lunch (courtesy of Mike). Not sure what it's called, but it's basically made up of my favorite ingredients sans olives and bell peppers. But it's really good, light and delicious.

Surprised

Mike surprised me with a beautiful dinner: pasta bolognese with the most amazing garlic bread I’ve tasted, and delicious cake. We devoured all these with delight right after he had me read a letter he wrote in secret. So far the best birthday ever!

Lunch

A lot of people were wondering why this photo was removed. Kusa ko sya tinanggal and now I'm bringing it back.

My lunch (December 03, 2010)

4 pieces chicken balls and one cup of rice (more like half a cup) cost P60.00

The small bottle of Minute Maid: P27.00

B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L.

Overpriced

Fish fillet a cup of rice from my school's cafeteria costs 60php! What the heck?!