Filipino Foods at it's Best!!!

I never thought there there are still places in the metro who sells good Filipino dishes with a twist! Not until I was asked to be at Buddy's at the Araneta Link. The place is quite small and not so busy during that time. It can seat less than 100 person I pressume. The interior is nice. It reminds you easily of a place somewhere in the provinces.

We took and seat and Alex ordered the foods. We have no idea of exactly whare are the foods that she ordered. It's her treat anyways so I don't really care. After we took our seat, the waiter served us what appeared to be fried noodles. Quite a nice starter for a full meal ahead.

The first to arrive is the never ending BULALO. The serving would be enough for 3 persons. It tastes good as well yet it's not expensive. We started digging it out while waiting patiently for the "RICE" to arrive as well. The beef of the "BULALO" we ordered is so tender that you hardly need any force to chew it or even separate it. The saltiness of the broth is perfect to my taste. The veggies are still crisp and not overcooked at all. It's really a nice treat to one's pallate. We are already almost done with the Bulalo when the rest of the foods arrived. We have "Pancit Lucban", "Hardinera", "Sisig Pusit" and Casava cake for desert!

The pancit Lucban taste good as well. It has a hearty serving of vegetables and lechon kawali. It was their first time to eat it though so i told them that It would go well with the "suka" or vinegar. They took my advise and fell in love with the dish more. like the Bulalo, the cost is not that much. The serving would be more than enough for 3 persons as well. Well, it should be good in the first place since the restaurant seems to offer home cooked food of the Quezon Province.

Next that fascinates me more is what appeared to be a baked "menudo". The dish is not called Menudo or Baked Menudo anyways. It's rather called "Hardinera". I tried tasking it and easily fell in love with the dish. It also has melted cheese on top that added some twist on the dish itself. Moreso, the vegetables in the dish itself was cooked well. The sourness of the tomato added flavor and blended well with the dish. It was indeed my first time eating that dish and I'll definitely gonna be there and taste it once more.

The last among the dishes that was served, Sisig Pusit catches my interest the more. I know that there are lot's of sisig but I never imagined that pusit can be made into sisig. It's spicyness added more twist to a regular meal. If you're drinking, the sisig itself can be made a very good pulutan. I wish the management had given me the recipe. Hahaha!!!

It was a very good meal. We really enjoyed and got bloated but not exactly spending too much. The foods reminds me of home when my mom and dad would cook. For me, the place really boasts a meal cooked inside the comforts of your home.

Mushroom Burger

Another place that needs to be visited if you go to Tagaytay is the MUSHROOMBURGER. It's a typical burger house that sells also a variety of fastfood dishes for hungry motorists and visitors.

Of course, the place is famous for it's ultra-healthy mushroom burger. A patty mainly made up of different kind of mushroom. The taste isn't bad either. We had tried their Cheese Burger and it's definitely good!

The place is not that cozy though but you can always go outside and eat your foods. The place also has a small corner where you can see how mushrooms are cultured. Pretty neat right?

What I love most is the fact that outside, kids are allowed to play in their see-saw and a swing. Hahaha! Just brings back the childhood memories. What I love most though... the WISHING WELL!!!

If you happen to visit Tagaytay, come and visit the place as well.

Mahogany Market

One of the famous places that Tagaytay can offer is the Mahogany Market. Their tagline goes like this: Mahogany Market - Home of Tagaytay's Famous Beef. And it really is the home of Tagaytay's famous beef.

The market looks like a regular market that you can see everyday. But, don't be fooled by the facade because at the back part of the market, you will find the place where beef hangs everywhere. On the other side of the market is where you can find vegetables and fruits that is guaranteed farm-fresh.

What sets Mahogany Market aside, is the fact that it is also the home of tagaytay's famous Bulalo, Goto Batangas and Tawilis. Before you will see the meat market, you will see a line of stores offering BULALO, GOTO BATAGAS, TAWILIS and a lot more.

We dined at one of the stores there. We ordered BULALO good for 3 persons for the price of P300 (not bad, right?). Since most of them haven't tried eating Goto Batangas yet, we also ordered which costs P70 per servings. Rice costs P15/cup. All in all, we spent about a thousand pesos for 10 people.

It's definitely a very good place to visit specially if your budget is a bit tight without even compromising the quality that it offers. For Tagaytay lovers or new visitors, a trip to Mahogany Market is really a must!!!

Pulutan Galore

During drinking sessions, one of the most important thing that should be present in the table is the "Pulutan". This keeps the ball rolling aside from the usual drinking and kwentuhan sessions. Sometimes, we prefer junk foods since it's actually cheaper and it's ready to eat anytime you want. However, if you go out what's left to do is order sissling "pulutan".

Here's our version of the Sizzling Hotdog and Buttered Mushroom:

Sizzling Hotdog: by Manuel Allones

Ingredients:

Hotdog, regular size

Ketchup

Chili Sauce

Butter

Garlic

White Onion

Procedure:

Slice the hotdogs thinly for easy and for faster cooking. Sliced the white onions and garlic as well. In a pan, melt the butter then sautee the onions then add the garlic. When the onions are wilted, gradually add the hotdog. Once the hotdogs are all heated, add the ketchup according to your desire then add chili sauce to add spicyness to the food.

Serve while still hot. If you have a sizzling plate, it would be much better!

Buttered Mushroom:

Ingredients:

Button mushroom, sliced thinly

Butter

Oyster Sauce

Worcestershire sauce

Garlic (minced)

Frozen corn, beans and carrots (optional)

Procedure:

Heat the skillet in a low temperature. Slowly melt the butter. Once the butter has melted, sautee minced garlic. Gradually add the mushroom while stirring constantly. Add oyster sauce and worcestershire sauce to taste. For added color and texture, you can add frozen carrots, beans and corn to it.

Serve hot! Enjoy!!!

Team Alex in Tagaytay

Yesterday was a blast! Team Alex just had another AWESOME and successful Team Building. We've  made sure that everything was perfect. And made sure as well that we ejoyed every moment that we spent together as a Team.

The place is definitely awesome. It's called "THE ZEN STYLE HOUSE" located in La Ceniega, Alfonso, Tagaytay. Almost 10-15 minutes away from the Rotonda and just 5 minutes away from the Mahogany Market. It also make you feel closer to heaven due to constant fogging even to the point of getting "Zero Visibility".

It's also a celebration for the Team for making it all in GMAX though it's also a sad thing 'coz 4 other team Members will be moved to another team. They won't be joining us for a while since they will be still be in GMAX. but nonetheless, we're still hoping that the whole team will be back again.

Anyways, the food was great! Everyone enjoyed it a lot. We also had the chance of going to the Mahogany market and get's the chance of tasting their BULALO and GOTO BATANGAS. We also went' to Picnic Grove but didn't have the chance of trying the Zip Line since not everyone wants to try it.

In the end, what matters most are the memories that we all spent together...

ISDAAN: Floating Restaurant

 

 

When I was still in the province, I usually saw a place in TV where you can release all your stress by throwing things against the wall. Aside from that, it also features a floating restaurant that offers a variety of dishes. I told myself... someday, I'll visit the place.

Last August, my friends invited me for a trip to Zambales. I love to travel a lot so i readily said YES! They told me that we would have to stop by Tarlac though. It's really a fun travel together with my friends. Come dinner time when my friends told us that we will have a  dinner at Isdaan. During that time, I don't have a clue yet of what type of restaurant ISDAAN is.

When me arrived at the place, I was amazed at the beauty if the place. ISDAAN is a floating restaurant located along the highway at Gerona, Tarlac. The place is cozy old and very inviting. We took a couple of pictures before we ordered our food. What catches our curiosity is the "LECHON TINUPIG" or the Roasted Chicken coconut milk first. We also ordered the "SINIGANG" and few other dishes.

We are supposed to play the game where a player has to carry a pail with water and has to cross a very narrow lane without falling into the water... The price would be 1kilo of fresh fish but since we arrived at the place at around 11PM already, it's no longer available. The food is really great. Their Sinigang too is very good. We spent about 3thousand and that is good for 10 persons already.

After eating, we rested for a while and had a bit of tour around the place. It was just afetr it that I realized that the placed I was in TV is this place. I'm a bit overwhelmed but I did not show it to them coz they might tag me as OA. I never imagined that I was able to visit the place that I only saw in our TV way back while I was still in the province.

My own version of Adobo

...Even before, I always love to cook and eat. I love to watch cooking shows and read cooking books. Basically, I love to eat so for me, it's very important that i know how to cook as well.

ADOBO is one of the favorite foods among Filipino. Almost evryone has their version of the ADOBO. One of the most tasing ADOBO is the one cooked with "coconut milk". Sometimes, I prefer it dry but others prefers to have it with a sauce.

Here is version of a SPICY CHICKEN ADOBO:

Ingredients:

Chicken (adobo cuts)

Ginger

Onion

Garlic

Black Pepper

Soy Sauce

Vinegar

Worcestershire Sauce (HOT)

Siling Labuyo

Marinade chicken in soy sauce, vinegar and worcestershire sauce for about 30 minutes. Before cooking, separate teh chicken for the marinade.  In a pan, saute ginger, onion, garlic, black pepper and chili slices. Slowly add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the marinade sauce and allow the chicken to cook. Depending on your taste, you can also add a little bit of sugar.

Enjoy your meal...

Slice N Dice

Slice N Dice!!! Nice name right? But the question is, is the place food good or just so-so? Well, a friend recommended the place so I pressume that this could be nice.

The place is situated somewhere in Quezon City. I forgot about the exact address though. The ambiance is good. A combination of yellow and orange and the interior is very comfortable to the eyes. Very inviting and makes me think more about food and what can they offer to us.

I browsed quickly to their menu. I can't hide the fact that I'm already hungry. What catches my attention is their Cheesy Garlic Mussels. For the price of P79, you can have a comple set already with drinks. Affordable right?

They also offer other meals and a TBone steak for only P99 pesos. Benj, one of my friends and the one who recommended the place, offered me to try their Steak Rice and it was so good indeed. One order is enough to fill you.

Slice N Dice also offers franchising for aspiring business men. Looking forward of owning one soon...

Leslie's

I've been to Tagaytay twice already. My first was with my ex-partner. We didn't have the chance of exploring it though since we only went there for coffee. First impression though, nice and cold.

Last Saturday, we went to Enchanted Kingdom in Laguna. We tried a few rides untill we're exhausted. Then we decided to have dinner in Tagaytay at a particular restaurant...

After an hour of travel from Laguna, we arrived in Tagaytay at around 10:30pm already. We immediately looked for Leslie's. It took us almost 10 minutes just to get a parking space. The place is really crowded. And it's so damn cold and i'm wearing shorts. but who cares, we're starving and what matters most is that we are here to dine.

We took a couple of pics of the hanging bridge then headed inside the resto to order. The place is nice. Simple yet elegant. Cozy and very inviting as well. We took the seat on the farthest right. The menu offers different foods, deserts, beverages and even liqours.

We ordered BULALO (P490) , Spicy Chicken Wings (P290) and 2 Family size Plain Rice (P220/order). And so the feast begun! The BULALO is one of the best tasting Bulalo ever. The beef so tender and the broth is so good. One order of Bulalo is enough for 5 people. Not bad right? The Spicy chicken wings is good as well although I'm expecting it to be really spicy but nonetheless, it's a good meal.

After eating, we thought of coming back to the place to try other food since a lot of people went there to eat. The place really is commendable although the waiters are a bit slow. But if you're looking for a place to go in Tagaytay, try Leslie's. They also offer a variety of set meals for groups of 5's, 10's, 15's and 20's.

Intoduction...

Two years ago, I have created few blogs regarding places that I have visited, people that I'm with and foods that I've tasted. Unfortunately, I have forgotten my username and password to that blog and therefore I can no longer access it. Eversince then, I got tired of making a blog and posting it on the web.

Lately, I've got the chance of visiting new places again and have met some interesting people which inspire me into writing blogs again. I will be posting here places, foods and everything about the resons why life should be enjoyed to the fullest.