Dining at Black Soup Cafe

Bold posters at Black Soup Cafe.
Not shown in this photo is a poster of a boy showing his privates.

The blackboard displays the menu

February 27, 2012. It was our 13th wedding anniversary. Black Soup Cafe + Artspace at Maginhawa St., Sikatuna Village, QC was an appropriate venue for dinner. It's a cozy place which is difficult to find since it is inside a compound. A good dating place if you want privacy. The cafe's walls are emblazoned with colorful and bold posters of the 70's to 80's. You would think that it's a meeting place of activitists circa Martial law years.

We had the place for ourselves

Cheers!

Apple and I ordered pasta, lamb chop, mongo soup, grilled salmon and turon for dessert. We were the only customers then - it appears that we reserved the place for the special occasion. The food is good but not outstanding. The ambience though was relaxing. We enjoyed the night reminiscing our colorful thirteen years as a couple and as parents. Cheers!

Lamb Chop - quite bare, isn't it?

Pasta

Grilled Fish





Turon and Ice Cream



A very creative clock decoration at the cafe.
The pop culture art decor is nice.



The kids love Cafe Mary Grace's pasta

Cafe Mary Grace is popular for its ensaymada. But in our case we eat at Mary Grace because of their salad and pasta. The kids, Geof and Julia, love their pasta. In our last visit at Mary Grace (Trinoma), Geof ordered the Leek Saffron Cream with Fillet of Cream Dory which is described by the menu as "a fillet of cream dory, fish that simply melts in the mouth atop linguini noodles covered with a light creamy sauce flavored with leeks and a hint of saffron" while Julia and I ordered the Seafood Pasta, "a medley of fresh clams, shrimp, squid, mussels, and cream dory lend their flavors to a tomato-based sauce enhanced with herbs, olives, and mushrooms." 

Leek Saffron Cream with Fillet of Cream Dory

Seafood Pasta

Messages on the table

The decorations and tables at Mary Grace are elegant - traditional wooden tables with a touch of antiquity but blended with modern decorations like messages written by the customers displayed on the tables. The service at Mary Grace is superb. The waiters are properly trained in arranging the plates and utensils and serving the food. The waiters are alert and ready to serve your needs. The price range is P100 - P300.

Geof: Hmmm. Tasty. Julia: My pasta is yummy.

Japanese food I missed

I missed authentic Japanese food. So when I visited Tokyo to attend the 9th CUEE/4ACEE joint conferences at Tokyo Institute of Technology last March 4-9, 2012, I made it a point to eat the Japanese food I missed. Hmmmm, oishi soo! Itadakimasu!

Steamy Ramen at a Ramen House

Tempura Bento Meal

Kare Rice Served at the TIT Cafeteria: Sweet and Spicy

Ten-Don and Cold Soba at Ten-ya

 

Ice cold Asahi beer and Sushi at the Welcome Party

The original Yoshinoya Gyudon is still yummy!

Bento Meals at Tokyo Supermarkets - 50% OFF



In my last trip at Tokyo last March 4-9, 2012, I stayed at the Prince Shinagawa Hotel. I arrived late at the hotel hungry. So I walked around the vicinity of the hotel and found Wing Shinagawa which has a supermarket at the basement. It was almost closing time 8:30 PM (the store closes at 9:00 PM) and I was surprised to see the prices of the bento food (take-out meal) changing prices from Y600 to Y400 upto as low as Y300 which 50% off. Unfortunately, I bought my take-out dinner just before the prices really went down. Still the tempura bento I bought is discounted at Y550 but If I only knew, I could have bought the food at a lower price. So if you happen to be in Tokyo or anywhere in Japan and you want to eat  take-out food, drop by at a supermarket just before closing time and get super discounts in the bento meals and other food including bread.

My tempura dinner



Food Trip at Bangkok

Aside from shopping, eating is one of the most enjoyable activities in Bangkok. Like the Pinoy, Thais love to eat. Restaurants and food centers in malls of various types of food - western, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, etc can be found. In our last trip at Bangkok, Apple and I had a food trip.

At MBK's 4th floor, there is a food center where stalls serve thai and chinese food at very reasonable price (ranging from 50 to 70 Baht) per serving. We ordered tom yum soup, fried rice and grilled chicken. For dessert, Apple had the sticky rice with sweet mango.

At MBK Food Center

Sticky Rice with Sweet Mango

 At Siam Paragon's food court, we tried the ramen in one of the Japanese restaurants.  And in one of my solo trips, I enjoyed the chinese rice noodle with various dumplings.



Chinese Noodles



Want some ramen?



At MBK's Sizzler, you order a main dish - grilled fish, chicken, pork or beef (price ranges from 250 Baht up) and you can eat all you can the vegetable salad, soup and dessert. You can choose various types of vegetables and dressing for the salad. There are three choices for soup. With the salad only, you will get full. That's why my former DLSU students who were with me ate only a portion of the main dish and had a take-out after.

Grilled pork and salad at Sizzler

Happy Faces, Hungry Tummies



With DLSU Alumni

Omelette and chili soup at Yum Saap - Ramchuri Square



Crabs at Somboon Restaurant

At Shabu-shi, buffet costs 300 Baht and includes Japanese food (various types of sushi), hot pot with various choices of meat, vegetables and dumplings which are served by conveyer belt - just pick your favorite dish and dip into your individual hot pot. Drinks and ice cream are also available.

Choose a dish and dip on you hot pot at Shabu-shi

Sushi galore

Hotpot at Shabu-shi



Lutong Bahay at Ateneo

 Want a taste of the best monggo soup in town? Partner it with pork inihaw.  Yummy, isn't it. If you happen to be at the Ateneo de Manila Campus at Loyola Heights, QC, you will find our favorite cafeteria at the PE Complex. We just call it "Manang's" and they serve filipino dishes that are close to home. Simple, no frills and reasonably priced. This is our favorite eatery duirng summer when the kids had swimming lessons at this PE complex. In our most recent visit here, Apple and I had monggo, pork inihaw, fried tilapia and vegetables. The monggo soup was superb - crushed monggo with chicharon and sili leaves - cooked the way I want it. The inihaw and fried tilapia matched with the monggo. It's really very satisfying to eat at Manang's -you pay less (compared to restos) but you gain more (weight).

KEN AFFORD

Stuffed Sizzling Squid (Pusit)

Fish Salpicao

Stir fried Vegatables

If we want value for money for a delicious and sumptuous meal, we go to KEN AFFORD at B.Gonzales Street cor Katipunan Ave., Loyola Heights, Quezon City (Beside Citibank). In our previous lunch, we ordered stuffed sizzling squid, fish salpicao and stir fried vegetables with squid balls. Rice is included in the main dishes. Total bill is only P290.00.

Longganisa Sorpresa

You don't have to travel to Vigan to taste the famous Vigan longganisa, or to Pampanga to savor the sweet version or to Lucban to buy their garlic filled longganisa. Just visit "Longganisa Sorpresa", my favorite "longsilog" resto which can be found at SM North's sky garden area. Longganisa Sorpresa serves different types of longganisa that can be found in the Philippines - Vigan, Cebu, Lucban, Calumpit, Pampanga, Tuguegarao, Laoag, GenSan. My favorites are the recado version with garlic not the sweet type from Calumpit, Vigan and Lucban.

For only P99.00 (special price - excluding service fee), you can enjoy your favorite longganisa with two eggs (cooked the way you want them - sunny side-up or scrambled) and iced tea. And they serve fried brown rice. The last time I visited the place I ordered the Calumpit longganisa.

You may also try their vinegar "sawsawan" from different regions of the Philippines. They have "suka" or vinegar like the "Pinakurat", "Paombong", "Tuba" and more.

"Sari saring sukang sawsawan"

So longganisa lovers, whether you like the longganisa "short" or "long", "meaty" or "sweet", you can choose your favorites at Longganisa Sorpresa and I'm sure you will be suprised with the taste and price of their longsilog meal. You may visit their website at http://longganisasorpresa.com/

Food & Art at Silya't Sili

If you regularly pass Katipunan Ave., White Plains in Quezon City, I'm sure you've seen the sign board of Silya't Sili. We pass the area only occasionally but the green and bold red color of the sign, plus the intriguing combination of silya (chair) and sili (chili) puzzled us - what is the connection of the two, save for both starting with the letter "s"?

So we gave in to our curiosity and visited the place one lunch time. We were at first apprehensive since we're not sure if it's a restaurant or a furniture shop. Unlike other restos, it doesn't have the feel of being in a glass aquarium that most often make costumers look like goldfish.

Once inside, it evokes a classy elegance that doesn't come handy anymore these days - there are no shouting food servers that greet you with "WELCOME MA'AM-SIR" at the top of their voice. Instead, a plain 'Good morning ma'am/ sir' from the staff is enough. And the paintings - oh, the paintings. Big, small, and huge decorate the walls - some are modern, others are post-modern!

As we sat, we admire also the chairs - simple and elegant. Indeed, the place evokes a feeling of being in a fine-dining resto.

When we checked the menu, we understood instantly the odd combination of "Silya't Sili" - the owner of the restaurant also loves to 'play' with chili - either to add an 'umph' to simple dishes, or to simply put a little 'red color' in a rather bland brown-colored "sisig."

The price range is also very friendly! For instance, we hosted a meeting in the resto for 15 people, and ordered 3 chicken teriyaki, 3 grilled pusit, 3 binagoongan-lechon kawali, 3 veggie curry, 3 okra salad, 3 sisig, 2 fish sinigang, 3 fried fish, adobo rice for sharing, bagoong rice for sharing, and plain rice, and bottomless iced tea/ lemonade - and guess how much was our bill? P9,000 only - that's just about P600 per head (and we did brought home a loooot of left-overs). The place has two function rooms that can accommodate 15 and 20, respectively - and the room can be used for a minimum of P5,000 consumable, for 3 hours)

My favorite, thus far, is the veggie curry (crispy and very flavorful), lechon kawali-binagoongan (sinfully delicious), kare-kare (all beefy-meaty goodness), chopseuy (crispy veggy, just as we like it). The adobo and bagoong rice are also good. In fact, all the dishes we've tasted so far are good - kudos to the cook! It's definitely one of our favorite resto at the moment.

Silya't Sili is along White Plains, QC (near David's Saloon). Visit their website at http://silyatsili.com/

A painting of a praying girl at Silya't Sili

Blog written by Apple

Today's Menu at Pinggan

Before going to school I usually take my lunch at Pinggan which is located at Mapagkawanggawa St, Teacher's Village, QC. Pinggan is a popular eatery - "turo-turo" style - of employees from NHA, QC City Hall, Hilti and nearby NGOs. The price of the food is very reasonable and it's a resto where you can eat really "lutong bahay" dishes. Price ranges from P35.00 (Veggie) to P70.00 (Pork/Beef). Pinggan's all time favorites include the lechon kawali, lumpiang shanghai, lumpiang ubod and the patatim. Read an earlier blog about Pinggan. Here are my favorites at Pinggan.

Lumpiang Shanghai

Ginataang Langka

Beef Steak

Lechon Kawali: A Best Seller

Sweet & Sour Fish Fillet

Crispy Dilis

Chicken Adobo sa Gata



Patatim