Froodie: The Cool and Casual Foodie: November 2011

Location: Timog Ave., Quezon City

I know, it's a seafood place but I tasted their sizzling bulalo steak (P255) and it was superbly delicious. The taste was just right, creamy, really really tasty, with the meat tender - and most probably fresh. The last time I tasted beef like that was at Tagaytay's Mahogany Market.
I don't cook that much but I love to bake since I have one hell of a sweet tooth. While I won't be able to divulge our family recipe for brownies, I'd like to share some baking tips for newbies.

Baking is pretty easy (I'm not an expert though). But you must be patient and in my opinion, exact. Here are some things I learned through the years...
Location: Megatent, Ortigas

We traveled all the way to Ortigas to finally check out Banchetto and watch the launch of the wish lanterns in celebration of the date 11-11-11 (Nov. 11, 2011) last week.

I was already in a "slightly" bad mood when we got to the place because of the long walk (motorists were equally pissed off because of the traffic). Nevertheless, I tried to cheer myself up with all the food. It was hard to feel cheery though since dozens of people are jostling you at all sides. It was worse than Divisoria during holiday season.
Location: home

I love having bacon for breakfast. So whenever I am in Cavite, my mom makes sure that I have some. Yum! :)

What's your favorite breakfast food?
Location: House of Representatives

I don't think I have ever been a part of a surprise party so it was fun when Team Teddy (which I am a part of) decided to organize one for who else but Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño who turned 43 yesterday.

We wanted it simple and affordable but also interesting so we decided to go with a Pinoy Fiesta theme, in line with Rep. Casiño's "Buy Pinoy, Build Pinoy" advocacy. Trivia: Rep. Teddy is also the chair of the Congressional Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development (SBED).
Location: Festival Mall, Alabang, Muntinlupa

I'm a sucker for Asian food so bear with me as I do another Japanese resto review. Fukuya is a low key restaurant tucked in the middle of fast food establishments in Festival mall. It's my second time to visit since I enjoyed it the first time and the food is relatively fairly priced.
Location: Greenbelt 5, Makati

As far back as ancient Egypt, garlic has been known as both a handy food and medicinal implement. It is said to help reduce bad cholesterol and threats of stomach and colon cancers. I don't know with you guys but I eat garlic because it just gives food that extra flavoring and kick. Please pass the fried garlic.

Anyway, I was surprised to discover Krazy Garlic, a hip restaurant in Makati (Greenbelt 5). The place is just so fun to look at. Check out WheninManila for pictures of the place. And the menu is mouthwatering. Of course, everything has a generous helping of garlic.
Location: Blue Wave Macapagal, Pasay City

One of the most popular Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurants in the Metro is Mister Kabab. The first branch that I've been to is the one in Matalino St. But I'll be doing a review on the Blue Wave branch along Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard.

As I mentioned in yesterday's review of Khas Food House, the keema (minced meat) is a staple and often bestseller item in any Middle Eastern-themed restaurant. And so we just had to try Mister Kabab's keema (P80). It's slightly more expensive than Khas' but the serving is bigger. The meat is also finer in texture, though I would have preferred a little more potato in it to balance out the slightly salty taste of the meat.
Location: Vigan

My brother was nice enough to buy a couple of orders of bagnet while on a field trip in Vigan (I know, 3-day high school field trip in Vigan! Envy.). Bagnet is said to be the Ilocano version of lechon kawali (crispy pork belly). It is basically like lechon kawali but it's extra crispy, almost like chicharon (pork rind).

It's a little hard to bite into but the meat/fat is very tender and flavorful. I heard the bagnet is fried longer (1-hour at low fire) and is even deep-fried for a second time. What my mom did is to just chop it all up (they come in big slabs of pork!) and mix it with tofu in seasoned soy sauce. Yummy. I'm not a fan of pork but I like bagnet.
Last sighted: Anonas St. cor Aurora Blvd., Quezon City

We were on our way to the jeepney terminal one night when we came across a colorful array of...puto (steamed rice cake). They looked so soft and warm we just had to buy some.
Location: Arcade, University of the Philippines Diliman (across Ilang-Ilang dorm)

Khas Food House or what we simply call "Arcade" or "Persian" has been one of my favorite restaurants inside the UP campus. According to Diliman Diary, it has been there for more than a decade and is owned by Tony Raza, a former graduate student of UP who is from Pakistan.

Come to think of it, we have been wrong all this time for calling it "Persian." It is most probably of Pakistani cuisine. Anyway, there are a lot of similar dishes in Indian and Middle Eastern food. I still don't know how to distinguish...

What I do know is that they're delicious. :) I love Ox Brain. Most Filipinos might hesitate at first, hearing the word "brain," but I think they'll find it palatable. Ox brain (P65 single order w/o rice) is usually partnered with ground beef. But even with ground beef, it is very tender.