Froodie: The Cool and Casual Foodie: September 2011

One of the small reasons why I love my work is that officemates often bring "pasalubong" from different islands of the Philippines.

The Pilinut candy is the OTOP of Albay. OTOP refers to the One Town One Productprogram of the government. Through the said program, cities and municipalities identify and help develop a specific product or service (like local delicacies). Unfortunately, the OTOP program is now unfunded. :( Now enough of politics for a while. Here's another photo:

According to Wikipedia:The Pili nut (Canarium ovatum) is one of the 600 species in the family Burseraceae.

Although they are grown as ornamental trees in many areas of the Old World tropics of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, only the Philippines produces andprocesses pili nuts commercially. Production centers are located in the Bicol region, provinces of Sorsogon, Albay, and Camarines Sur, southern Tagalog, and eastern Visaya. There is no commercial planting of this crop, fruits are collected from natural stands in the mountains near these provinces.

The Department of Agriculture - Bicol was nice enough to have recipes of Pili delicacies.

PILI CHOCOLATE CRUNCH
Ingredients:
½ kilo pili nut
1 kg. chocolate premium
Procedure:
1. Toast the pili nut in an oven at low temperature.
2. Cool and set aside.
3. Melt the chocolate bar in a double boiler.
4. Distribute the nuts in moulders.
5. Pour the melted chocolate while hot to coat the nuts.
6. Place the mixture inside the freezer for a few minutes or until the moulder becomes cloudy.
7. Unmold
8. Wrap using chocolate wrapper.
9. Pack and store.
PILI TART
Ingredients:
Crust Filling
1 kilo ordinary flour ½ kilo ground pili
2 bars fresh butter 1 can condensed milk
1 cup sugar 1 cup sugar
1 cup cold water
Packaging Material: Colored cellophane
P.E. Plastic
Procedure:
1. Measure ingredients needed for crust and filling.
2. In a bowl combine sugar and flour, with a pastry blender or two knives, cut in fresh butter until it is the size of small peas.
3. Add cold water a little at a time, moving to the side the pieces of dough as they hold together.
4. Form into balls. Roll each ball into 1/8 inch thick.
5. Press dough to shape of tart. Prick sides and bottom.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. In another bowl, combine condensed milk and sugar. Mix well.
8. Fill up baked crust tart top with sliced pili.
9. Bake until golden brown.
10. Let cool before wrapping, pack.

PILI KISSES (Note: I personally love this one)
Ingredients:
1 cup pilinut-roasted
2 pcs. egg white
½ cup refined sugar or confectioner sugar
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
Procedure:
1. Grind the pilinut.
2. Separate the eggwhite from the yolk.
3. Beat eggwhite till fluffy.
4. Mix cream of tartar.
5. Continue beating until mixture form bubbles or foam.
6. Add sugar gradually while beating the mixture. Beat until stiff foam is formed.
7. Add the ground pilinut and fold the mixture.
8. Place small cones in baking sheet.
9. Bake for 40 minutes at 135 degree Fahrenheit.
10. Cool and pack.More recipes here.
Location: 399 Del Monte Ave., Quezon City

I got vouchers for Ace Water Spa a couple of weeks ago. The hydrotherapy was indeed heaven. I loved their hydro-acupuncture bed and herbal hot pools, as well as their cool shower room (complete with hair blower). By the time you convince yourself that you need to get back to the real world, you'll surely be famished.

Thankfully, their Ace Coffee Lounge serves good food. Their menu is quite interesting since they also serve Japanese food alongside usual restaurant staples.

I loved their seafood teriyaki rice toppings (P185). The bean sprouts were really tasty because of the teriyaki sauce and you could really taste the distinct and yummy seafood flavor. There was squid, shrimp and dory (I think). The tender consistency of the seafood contrasted well with the crisp bean sprouts. And the serving was enormous.

The Salisbury steak was also delicious (according to my boyfriend) and also reasonably priced (less than 200 also).

Unfortunately, the mini sans rival cake disappointed us. The icing was just too buttery (bland and oily...not enough sweetness - which is weird given that it's sans rival). So we ate it with as little icing as possible.

So I'm not sure about their desserts (though the other cakes looked yummy).

Nevertheless, it was kind of cool to eat by the poolside. But the cafe and the pool was of course separated by glass. They're very strict with cleanliness. Relaxation and good food. Best day off ever.
Location: 179 Maginhawa St., Quezon City

Because it's raining real hard right now and I was for a second contemplating on whether I should evacuate elsewhere, I thought of featuring one of the coziest neighborhood restos in QC. If you want a comfy place to hang out, then Cafe Quezon would be a good option.

Tucked in the middle of Sikatuna Village, Cafe Quezon offers delicacies from where else but Quezon. However, it is most known for its delectable and reasonably priced meals and cakes.

They also have a lot of cheesecakes. Seen above is chocolate cheesecake and cheesecake for peanut butter lovers (P55 per slice).

Their bestseller Spicy Chicken which has a similar (actually better) taste and consistency to that of Max's. It's around a hundred pesos, with rice and iced tea. The best!

Fettuccine Alfredo topped with breaded prawn (around a hundred bucks too). That was really filling. Their servings are more than enough.

And that's a picture of their lemon lime cake which my boyfriend can't get enough of (P75 per slice).

Better to get seated before 8pm since the place gets filled up by then. They have comfy chairs and a very inviting atmosphere.
Location: All Branches (promo still going on! - as of April 2012)

Whew! I went to the TCB Kamias branch with my officemates last month and we availed of the Unlimited Coffee and Cakes promo for (only!) P150.

My sweet tooth failed me. It was certainly "sulit" since I was able to eat four slices but the slices were thin and I thought I would be able to at least be able to eat six slices. But no. I was on my fourth slice when I felt it. The sugar rush was too much!

I think they should ban these kinds of promos! Haha. I don't think I'll be bringing my parents there (bad for their health).

Anyway, just don't expect that all of the cakes in the flyer are available. And they can only serve you three cakes at a time. They'll serve you the same three cakes until they are all consumed, after which you move on to level 2 (see picture below). :D

Gluttonous dessert-lovers will definitely get a kick out of this. And it's sooo affordable, right?

We had (see level 1) ube cheesecake, devil's food cake and sans rival (sinfully sweet). Oh and Kamias branch is also offering rice toppings which are very affordable (around P50 - think Chowking's pork chao fan).

P.S.

Promo only covers brewed coffee.

Apparently TCB is under Cravings which is also offering the same promo.
Location: The Block, SM North

I think this is the only Thai resto in Sm North. It used to be quite a hit (been seeing a lot of reviews after it opened a couple of years ago) but I seldom see the place full. Anyway, the food is still yummy. :)

We ordered Shrimp Pad Thai and Sate Pork. More than enough for two people. We weren't able to finish it all, even the tall glass of Thai Iced Tea (which I very much recommend).

What's so distinct with Thai food is that each dish explodes with flavor. It always has some sweet, sour, salty and even bitter taste in its components/ingredients. It is also a little hot and spicy, and of course nutty.

Shrimp Pad Thai is made of stir-fried rice noodles, eggs, bean sprouts, shrimp garnished with crushed peanuts and lime, plus some other ingredients I probably didn't notice. :)

Meanwhile, Sate Pork is none other than their version of barbecue - with a twist: peanut dripping sauce. Like the pad thai, it's sweet with a tinge of sourness, and all other flavors possible.

Thai iced tea or cha-yen is made from brewed black tea. It gets its orangey hue either from crushed tamarind seeds or just plain red and yellow coloring. It is sweetened with sugar and condensed milk, served chilled with lots of ice and topped with evaporated or coconut milk. A must try! Yum.

Because their servings are quite large, it's better to eat there with a group of friends so you can sample several dishes.

Prices are quite reasonable, especially for a specialty restaurant. Each dish costs around 200 pesos (2011).

2 Responses to “Jatujak (Thai food)”
1. I tried it wayback in 2010 with an old friend. ang laki ng servings nila…pang dalwang tao na agad sa isa…at hindi namin naubos (such a waste).I have to admit the Thai food was so good!:D
  
  Ann Louise De Leon said this on April 12, 2012 at 9:11 am | Reply
2. They have a consignment here in the office cafeteria every Tuesday and Friday. Love their Pad Thai and Tom Yum. We even get free Tom Yum soup.
  
  Ian Dexter R. Marquez said this on April 12, 2012 at 10:06 am | Reply