Nanbantei of Tokyo

Thank you to my sister in law for suggesting this hidden gem in Greenbelt 3.  Nanbantei of Tokyo is a Japanese restaurant that specializes in Yakitori - grilled skewered bite size pieces of chicken, pork, beef, seafood and vegetables.

The Best Sellers Platter at P875 was the obvious choice for us.  We shared 21 sticks of assorted Yakitori which included Aspara Maki, Tebasaki, Pork Garlic Yaki, Shiso Maki, Negima, Corn and Poteto Maki.

The food was served as they were cooked.  The first plate that landed on our table had the Poteto Maki and the Aspara Maki.  The Poteto Maki were thick potato slices wrapped in bacon.  Some parts of the bacon were crisp.  I love fries and bacon but I loved the Aspara Maki even more.  Melt in your mouth pork covered the asparagus.  I actually forgot that I was eating vegetables.

Poteto Maki - potato wrapped with bacon
Aspara Maki - asparagus wrapped with pork

S&R Members'Treat 2012

Photo from their facebook page

Hero Sausages' Mix Rice with Cheesy Hungarian

Here's a great meal for people who are always on the go.  The Mix Rice is served in a bowl and topped with crunchy garlic bits, white onions, green onions and your choice of sausage.  I got the cheesy hungarian thinking that the cheese would somehow mask the spiciness of the sausage.  Boy was I wrong, my lips were burning up and I could barely taste the cheese.  I should stop testing my threshold for spicy food.  Not bad for P90 but it would have been better if it weren't too oily.  

---------------------------
Hero Sausages
Food Court Level, Shangri-La Plaza Mall 
Edsa corner Shaw Boulevard
Mandaluyong City

Aria Cucina Italiana

The first and only time I was able to visit Boracay was over a decade ago and Aria Cucina Italiana wasn't around yet.  My sister the budget traveller allots one splurge meal on each of her trips and it's Aria for Boracay.  She was pretty excited when she found out that they were opening a branch in Manila.  She suggested that we try Aria for my parents' anniversary last month.

one of the interesting art pieces that adorned the walls

I was overwhelmed by their extensive menu and I could hardly pronounce the names of the dishes.  i ordered using the English descriptions.  Although the waiter was very helpful, I still can't remember how to say most of the things we ordered.

Veggie Noodle Soup

It was a rainy and cold day today, the type of weather that makes you want to snuggle and hide under the covers.  I was craving for warm soup to soothe the chills.

I found a pack of instant rice noodles in our pantry and rummaged through the kitchen for other ingredients that I could throw into a boiling pot of soup stock.

Magnum Ice Cream

Social networking sites have been buzzing about Magnum ice cream for the past couple of weeks.  I'm a late bloomer.  I was able to try all 3 flavors just this week.

I liked them all but my favorite is the Chocolate Truffle.  Who can resist that rich Belgian chocolate coating and the creamy ice cream?  I saw the U.S. versions' website and I wonder if they would eventually bring the Dark, Mint, Mochaccino and other flavors here.

I understand the hype from the past weeks but I'm not totally hooked.  It would be great to indulge in this treat during hot and humid summer days but I won't be going from one grocery to another just to stock up on them.  

Cambodian Spices

My sister the seasoned traveller went to Cambodia a few weeks ago and brought home these spices and recipes for me.

The creative packaging caught her eye and I totally understood why as soon as I opened the box.  They were so pretty that I just had to have a mini photo shoot.

Pork Chopsuey

Instead of cooking vegetables and then a meat dish, I decided to add pork pieces to my vegetable dish.  One pot meals mean less stuff to wash too.

The Cheese Steak Shop Manila Again

My heart skipped a bit when I spotted the Deal Grocer offer for The Cheese Steak Shop's 10 inch Classic Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich for just P240 instead of P399.  When I shared the news with my husband he immediately gave me the go signal to purchase the deal.  We have been meaning to visit the Cheese Steak Shop Manila again and this Deal Grocer offer just made us troop to Makati sooner than we thought.

a partial screenshot of the deal grocer offer

Fusilli with Bacon and Mushrooms

I try to prepare pasta for dinner at least once a month, normally when we're almost out of vegetables or when the bread is nearing its expiration date.

Food Finds at a Thai Exhibit

Two Sundays ago we went to the SMX Convention Center in Mall of Asia.  We snagged several great deals at the Royal Summer Fest Sale.  The best were the 75 % discount on Reebok rubber shoes and 60 % discount on Rockport leather shoes.  After shopping, we explored the hall next door and walked through the booths at the 4th Thailand Trade Exhibition.

Our senses led us to the food booths and we sampled various teas, biscuits and juices including family fave Tipco.  We lounged around the Kanokwan booth the longest.  There were several shelves of condiments, seasonings and mixes.  

Tagaytay Goodies

The second best thing to enjoying the cool Tagaytay breeze during the sweltering heat is receiving cool pasalubong from vacationers.  Mom and dad spent a relaxing weekend there and showered us with these goodies.

Good Shepherd's Alfajor reminds me of lemon squares but crunchy and with a lot of powdered sugar.  I prefer chocolate over anything else but these cookies are great despite the fact that I have no idea what they are made of.

Mr. Moo's chocolate flavored Carabao Milk was light and I finished a whole liter in just 3 days.  In my defense, I wasn't able to pass by my parents house right away so when I picked up the milk, I only had 4 days until it expired.

My mom's favorite Mr. Moo's Pastillas de Leche is always out of stock by the time we drive by in the afternoon or evening.  Good thing mom was able to snag several packs of these before they went home.  These thin pastillas rolls made of carabao milk have just the right amount of sweetness that make you crave for more.  

The Manila heat has become unbearable these past few days.  I hope I can cool down in Tagaytay sometime soon... or maybe Baguio.

Tuna Casserole

Last night's meatless friday dinner was Tuna Casserole.  This recipe from my maternal grandmother has tuna, macaroni and lots and lots of cheese.  A dish that's always present in our meal rotations during lenten season but I prepare this throughout the year as well. 

Rockets' Sausage Chili Cheese Combo

First wednesdays are the best!  10 times rewards points at Shopwise is the reason why we do the bulk of our grocery shopping there every month.  It's been our strategy to have dinner before anything else.  We noticed that we grab more stuff on an empty or grumbling stomach. 

Most months, we would eat at Yang Chow but we have grown tired of the food and service isn't as great anymore.  We've tried Crave Burger and other food stalls as well.  This week was our first time to order from Rockets.

I got the Sausage Chili Cheese Rockets Combo.

Although this doesn't look appetizing, it was pretty good.  The Schublig was juicy and the chili wasn't that spicy.  And I just really enjoy anything with cheese.  The Schublig smelled so good while it was being prepared.  The other sausage options for this P99 meal were the Beer Sausage and Knackwurst which I'm not familiar with.  A small glass of ice tea was included in the combo as well.  I would love to grab dinner again at Rockets next month and try the other sausages, hotdogs or subs.  

--------------------
Rockets Sausages & Beyond
Shopwise Libis
150 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave.
Bagumbayan, Quezon City

*this has been replaced with a different food stall

Bulacan Treats and More

Hooray for bonding moments with family and double hooray for sweet treats.

Last week, Lola came to Manila and we spent the day at the mall with my aunt.  She came bearing these treats from Bulacan.

I love the Puto Pao with the salted egg.  The cute bananas were from their own backyard.  The dried pineapples must have been really good because I left them on the dining table and they were gone the next day haha.  My favorite is the kesong puti wrapped in the banana leaves.  It tastes totally different from the ones you can buy from the grocery.

We went shopping, stuffed ourselves at Dads and watched a movie.  She wanted to bring home some Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and shared a box with me.  

I'm hoping for more good days like this.  Despite being in the mall for more than 6 hours (a record for her), she didn't complain about her leg the whole time.  I guess sitting down in between shopping trips and the almost 2 hours in the movie theater helped a lot.  I'm looking forward to more malling gimmicks with her and the rest of the family.

Sayote with Chicharon

I don't like eating soft pork fat but I love chicharon haha.  It's been a habit to trim off the fat from raw pork cubes or raw pork chops and reserve it for vegetables.  Cooking it this way somehow lessens the guilt from eating so much fat.  I just used sayotes this time instead of a whole bunch of different veggies.  

Rosemary Kitchen Soap

Mom bought this from Living Well in Podium for P90.  It smells sweet and it's much bigger than a 100 gram bar of soap so it's pretty hard to grip.  We started using it last night.  I hope it effectively masks the not so great scents that stick to my hands when I prepare food.

Dampa sa Libis Restaurant

I love grocery shopping.  I take my sweet time combing all the aisles and picking out stuff from the shelves.  The market, especially the wet market, is a whole different story.  I'm squirmish about the cleanliness and smelliness of the place.  I've probably been to a wet market about a dozen times only and I admit that I have a lot to learn.  Imagine my lack of enthusiasm when my husband took me to the Dampa sa Libis Restaurant.

A Giant Gold Chocolate Bar

Most of my friends and family know about my love affair with chocolates especially dark, bittersweet and mint varieties.  When ordering dessert, I usually lean towards anything with chocolate.  

I was giddy with excitement when we spotted this huge gold chocolate bar which turned out to be a Williams-Sonoma brownie baking pan!

Mega Food Sale - Dulcinea and Gumbo

Dulcinea's P98 churros all you can deal was the main reason I wanted to brave the Sunday morning parking hassle at Megamall.  Among all the promos at the Mega Food Sale last weekend, I was looking forward to this the most.  

Churros con Chocolate P98