Kitchen City Ready-to-Heat Frozen Meals

Food delivery has become the new normal because of the pandemic. Ordering fresh meat and vegetables is sometimes expensive since there is a minimum order like 500 g for vegetables or 1 kg for fresh meat. The amount of order for meat and/or vegetables is sometime too much especially for a small family. Hence you must  manage and schedule wisely the dishes that you will cook to make sure that the food especially the vegetable stay fresh and will not rot. Because of this, I sometimes resort to ready-to-heat frozen meals. One frozen meal is good for one or sometime two eating depending on the quantity. I discovered Kitchen City as one supplier of ready-to-heat frozen meals. Their frozen meals come in two packs or quantities: 300 g and 600 g.  A 600 g meal usually is good for two meals in our small family. For an order of P1000.00, delivery is free. So what are our favorites at Kitchen City?

Some of their beef meals are little bit "malitid" or "mataba" but the flavors are good. Our favorite beef meals are:

• Beef Lengua (3/5)
• Giant Swedish Meatballs (4/5) - you can mix these in pasta
• Korean Beef Stew (3/5)
• Roast Beef with Mushroom Gravy & Rosemary Marble Potato (4/5)
• Beef Caldereta (3/5)

Still we haven't tried yet the Beef Bistek, Beef Salpicao and the Arroz Ala Cubana.

KC Roast Beef 

For pork meals, we have tried the following:

• Pork Bicol Express (4/5)
• Pork Liver Steak (1/5) - Did not pass when compared to UP COOP 
• Pork Baby Back Ribs (3/5)

They have other pork meals like dinuguan, dinkdakan, caldereta, binagoongan, sisig, lechon paksiw, menudo, embotido and more. 

For the chicken meals we have tried the following:

• Chicken Curry (4.5/5) - the sauce is good (we used it for roti dip)
• Chicken Tinola (4.5/5) - the soup is good, you can add more chicken.
• Kung Pao Chicken (3/5) - the marinade is good but breading too much
• Chicken Adobo sa Gata (4/5)
• Chicken Pastel (3/5) -  add quail eggs to increase quantity

Still for tasting are Black Pepper Roast Chicken, Giant Chciken Meatballs and Chicken Teriyaki. 

KC Chicken Tinola

For the fish meals, we have tried the following:

• Stir fry fish filet with black beans (3/5)

For vegetable meals, their giantaang langka is good but too creamy so add water according to your preference. Still to be tasted are the Chopsuey and the Steamed Kangkong in Oyster Sauce.

For dessert, we love their frozen decadent cake! Yummy at P350.00 Only!

KC Frozen Decadent Cake

If interested to order: Go to https://kcfrozenmeals.com/

STAR WARAK JOKES at ERIC & ANDY BITSTRIPS

Eric and Andy Bitstrips features a special series about STARWARS jokes from GOOGLE. The series  dubbed as "STAR WARAK" was inspired by the words of our DOH Secretary as he embattles  COVID19 and his critics on the alleged corruption and misuse of the DOH COVID19 Bayanihan Funds: "WINARAK NIYO KAMI!". Enjoy the series and relive your stress with this STAR WARAK Jokes! Here is a sample Episode I. 

You want more. Watch the Episodes II to XX at this link.

https://issuu.com/andyoreta/docs/bitstrips-star_warak_series

STAR WARAK JOKES.pptx from andyoreta

Roberto's SIOPAO at Iloilo's Calle Real

 

Filled with exotic pork adobo, egg ad ham chinese sausage, Roberto's King siopao is something not to miss when you visit Iloilo city

Infront of Roberto's at Calle Real

I am sure everyone has his/her favorite siopao. During my younger years when my Dad was still with us, we were exposed to Mamonluk siopao. During my college years, our favorite was Kowloon's siopao - jumbo, asado, pork, longaniza and more. Of course, there are varieties of siopao from other restos like Chowking, Ling Nam, Causeway and more. 

When I visited Iloilo city's Calle Real - the CBD Heritage zone of Iloilo for our CHERISH Project, our host, Dr. Bimbo Ibabao of UPV, made sure that we pass by at Roberto's so that we can taste the special siopao. We (from Metro Manila) are not aware of Roberto's so we are not excited. But Dr. Bimbo, lined-up and bought the siopao for take-out and we were returning to Manila so we were able to taste Roberto's siopao only at the airport. SURPRISE! Roberto's siopao is indeed very good. It has tasty fillings and the size is generous and the price is reasonable. So whenever, I visit Iloilo City, I made sure that I have a take home of Roberto's Siopao. 

Roberto's siopao comes in four varieties - each variety has a unique or extra filling like longaniza, egg.  The varieties are Pork Adobo with egg, Jumbo is a pork adobo with egg plus  Chinese sausage chicken, Queen (Pork Chinese Adobo with egg plus bacon) and King (Pork Chinese adobo with egg plus Ham-Chinese sausage). And which variety is my favorite among the four? I like them all. Roberto's siopao is one of a kind. Roberto's siopao beats the other siopao's that I know.  Roberto's siopao is part of the culture of Iloilo and I hope the owners will continue to serve the same quality of siopao for the future generations.

Another secret of Iloilo Calle Real Heritage zone is the Buho Bakery. "Buho" means hole in the wall. Indeed the bakery has a hole in the wall to serve customers during the night since it is open 24 hours. 

The Hole in the Wall of Buho Bakery

Sample pastry from Buho - tasty and affordable

When in Iloilo City, make sure you visit Calle Real Heritage Zone and you will see the heritage buildings of Iloilo. 

Geof's "A Travelogue of Modern Architecture"

Jan Geoffrey aka "GEOF" for short, our son will graduate at Ateneo de Manila University with a degree on Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Information Design this year 2021. "Information Design roots its relevance in problem solving through the effective presentation of relevant information so that it can best be received, understood, and utilized by a target audience. The program provides its students with opportunities to develop their own skills in design which they are tasked to use in attaining specific goals that can aid personal growth, growth in industry, and change in society." 

Geof has a very imaginative and creative mind even when he was a child. He designed the logo or banner  for their Grade 1 class at Ateneo. Recently, I just found out his work posted at https://www.behance.net/geoforeta, website where artists and digital designers exhibit their works. One of his exhibits is "A Travelogue of Modern Architecture" and in this set of digital designs, he presented landmarks he had visited during our out-of-the country vacation trips. 

Exhibit 1 - Atomium 

The Atomium is a landmark building in Brussels, (Belgium), originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair Expo '58. "It stands 102 metres (335 ft) tall. Its nine 18-metre-diameter (59 ft) stainless steel clad spheres are connected in the shape of a unit cell that could represent an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. Tubes connecting the spheres enclose stairs, escalators and an elevator (in the central, vertical tube) to allow access to the five habitable spheres, which contain exhibit halls and other public spaces. The top sphere includes a restaurant which has a panoramic view of Brussels." - Wikipedia

 It was 2017, when our family travelled to Belgium and our friends, Art and Gina Fabia toured us around Brussels and the Atomium was one of the landmarks that we visited. Nearby, we also visited the Mini-Europe museum.

The Atomium

With Art Fabia

 

Atomium, Brussels, Belgium (June 2017)

Exhibit 2 - Berlin Tower

“Soaring 368 metres into the sky, Berlin's TV Tower is the city's most visible landmark. But the tower on Alexanderplatz is not just literally a must-see sight, it is also the highest building in Europe open to the general public. The Berlin TV Tower was inaugurated on 3 October 1969 – shortly before East Germany held its twentieth anniversary celebrations. In 1979, during the days of East Germany, the TV Tower was already classified as a heritage building. Today, it welcomes over one million visitors annually from 86 countries. The viewing platform, over 200 metres up, offers spectacular views of this bustling city with its heady mix of history, cutting edge modernity and change. The TV Tower’s aptly named Panorama Bar and revolving Sphere Restaurant are also ideal places to linger over drinks and refreshments and enjoy the breathtaking views.” - https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlin-television-tower

In our EU trip in 2017, Berlin, Germany was one of our itinerary. We just had a photo opportunity with the Berlin Tower at the background. Berlin has interesting tourist attractions including the Checkpoint Charlie where the Berlin wall used to divide East and West Germany. 

Berlin Tower 

Exhibit 3 - Fukuoka Tower 

Fukuoka Tower is “a 234-metre (768 ft) tall tower located in the Momochihama area of Fukuoka, Japan. It is the tallest seaside tower in Japan. The highest observation deck at 123m has a 360 degree view of the surrounding area, the most popular time to visit is at sunset.” - Wikipedia

Incidentally, it was also in 2017, this time July, when I stayed for about two weeks at Kyushu University for the AUN/SEED-Net visiting researcher grant. My family joined me in the last five days. One of the landmarks we visited was the Fukuoka Tower. In the vicinity, is the Fukuoka Citizens' Disaster Prevention Center where we experienced virtual simulations of fire, wind and earthquake hazards. Awesome!

Fukuoka Tower

Fukuoka Tower (2017)

Our Favorite Pandemic Restos - Food Delivery

Our food orders from Cabizerra, Congressional Ave., QC

The pandemic and the quarantine has has changed our life style from dine-in to take-out or food delivery. Every Sunday, our usual routine after hearing the Holy Mass usually at the UP Chapel, Diliman, QC is to dine-in in restos nearby. Now that there are restrictions in restaurants and children less than 18 years are not allowed, we have adapted to food delivery.

We have favorite restos that serve Filipino dishes. But one discovery during this pandemic that serve good and reasonably priced dishes is Cabizerra Bistro located at Congressional Ave., QC which very near our residence. I remember eating here many years ago maybe twice only. Julia and I love their Salmon Sinigang in Miso while Geof loves their Beef Salpicao. We also tried their kare-kare, grilled squid, fried chicken and calamares. All our food orders from Cabizerra passed our palete. Maybe next time, we will order their pork sisig, kalderetang baka and more. 

Another favorite resto for food delivery, this time for Chinese dishes is Lido Cocina Tsina. There are two branches near our house - one at Visayas Ave. and another branch at Mindanao Ave. 

On the Birthday of Julia, we ordered our favorites from Lido - pansit canton, lumpiang shanghai and buttered chicken. Our favorite food order at Lido whether dine-in or food delivery is the shrimp foo  yong. Other favorites include the camaron and fish fillet dishes.

Shrimp Foo Yong from Lido Cocina Tsina

When we crave for the empanada from Ilocos, then Farinas Empanada is our refuge. Their empanadas come in various combinations - two eggs, salsted egg, pure veggie, etc.  Aside from the empanada, we also love the miki, their vigan longganiza and their bagnet chicharon dubbed as "butcheron".  

Our Christmas Eat-Out during the Pandemic

The pandemic has put our household in quarantine where dining outside our homes was very limited or even not allowed especially for the vulnerable - seniors and the children less than 18 years old. Celebrating Christmas is a tradition  in the family. So to make the Christmas celebration different from the usual lunch or dinner at home, our family decided to eat-out for lunch on Christmas day literally 

Apple prepared the main dish - roasted chicken. Side dishes include pancit and fruits. It was very simple lunch. What made it unique was we eat-out - outside out house at the garage to breath the fresh air and smell the flowers and plants at the garden. Gatherings like these are remembered not only because of the food but because of the moments of sharing the blessings with the family. Our eat-out lunch was a celebration and thanksgiving to our Lord for blessing us with good health despite the pandemic. Merry Christmas to all. 

MAD IN JAPAN: NAGOYA, JAPAN ADVENTURES PHOTO-VIDEOS

 From 1988 to 1994, I was a Monbusho scholar at Nagoya University, Japan pursuing a graduate degree in M.Eng. and D.Eng in Civil Engineering. Doing research and studying the academic courses are stressful activities for a Filipino student in Japan especially if he/she is not well versed with Nihonggo. To make life in Japan fun and enjoyable and to relieve the stress, you have to interact with you Filipino friends - students and working Pinoys. To remember those years with my friends in Japan, I compiled my photos and covernted them to digital images to produce these photo-videos. Thank you to all my friends - Filipinos, Japanese and other nationalities. 

NAGOYA ADVENTURES - 1: Highlights are Nagoya Expo Design, Nagoya Port, Tsurumai Park, Osu and Nagoya Castle. Activities include biking around Nagoya, Games at Meidai Gymnasium, O-bon Odori festival and Pinoy gatherings at my apartment.

NAGOYA ADVENTURES - 2: Highlights are trips to Higashiyama Zoo, Toyohashi, Gifu and Inuyama.

NAGOYA ADVENTURES - 3: Highlights are Kyoto Golden Temple, Nagoya University Foreign Students' Nights, and Pinoy "Kainan" at Nagoya University Foreign Students House.

Korean Delights from a K-Grocery

 

Watching K-Drama at Netflix influences our love for Korean food like kimchi, tteokbokki, gimbap, japchae, jjajangmyeon, ramyeon and more. When you see the actors eating with delight korean dishes, your craving for them is induced. I posted this photo of korean delights we bought in a Korean grocery at Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City at FB and it created a craving to one of my FB friends who is also a K-Drama addict. His comment is as follows: 

“ … Just got back from there as my wife was salivating because of your post. We spent almost 2K for all things Korean. Sumobra sa kakapanood ng K drama! She’s probably more korean than a local korean! …drove through traffic. Left the house at 4 and arrived at korean mart at past 6. Got home at past 7. Did nothing but drive just to satisfy her cravings for Korean! Anyeong Aseo! Kamsa Hamnida!”

We used to buy korean goods in one K-grocery at Kalayaan Ave., QC. But this K-grocery at Bagong Pag-asa (Road 8 corner Road 1) which was opened just a month ago sell good kimchi and appetizers. Their price is relatively cheaper than the other K-groceries. And it's nearer our house. 

Here is a list of korean dishes we have tried so far in restos and from the groceries.

• Jjajangmyeon (짜장면) - a Chinese-style Korean noodle dish topped with a thick sauce made of chunjang, diced pork, and vegetables.
• Kimchi (김치) - made by salting and preserving fermented cabbage in a bed of pepper, garlic, ginger and scallion.
• Samgyeopsal (삼겹살) -  a rollicking party punctuated by soju shots, pork strips sizzling on a grill and shouts for "one more serving, please!"
• Instant noodles (라면) - ramyeon package to boil water and sprinkle in the spice packet, 
• Tteokbokki (떡볶이) -steamed and sliced rice cakes (tteok), cooked with fish cakes (oden) and scallions in a sweet and spicy sauce made of chili paste.

• Samgyetang (삼계탕) - a thick, glutinous soup with a whole stuffed chicken floating in its boiling depths and mixed with ginseng.

•  Bibimbap (비빔밥) - lunch-in-a-bowl mixes together a simple salad of rice, mixed vegetables, rice, beef, and egg, with sesame oil and a dollop of chili paste for seasoning.
• Gimbap (김밥) - Sauteed vegetables, ground beef, sweet pickled radish, and rice, rolled and tightly wrapped in a sheet of laver seaweed (gim), and then sliced into bite-sized circles.
• Japchae (잡채) - a side dish of cellophane noodles, pork, and assorted vegetables sauteed in soy sauce,
• Bingsu (빙수) - summer dessert, sweetened red beans (pat) and tteok are served on a bed of shaved ice (bingsu).

Soju!

Korean Noodles

Fresh Korean Appetizers

Korean Mart at Road 8 corner Road 1, Bagong Pag-asa, QC

Favorite Take-Out Goodies during the Pandemic

 If you can not EAT OUT, go for "TAKE-OUT" or delivery. This is the NOW NORMAL to protect our families during the pandemic. So whenever we go out for groceries, we usually drop-by at our favorite food shops. 

If we crave for Kapampangan specialties, Susie's Cuisine near ABS-CBN compound at T. Morato, QC is the place we visit. My favorite, of course, is the "tidtad" or pork dinuguan with puto. Their dinuguan has a balance in sour taste and pork ingredients - just the right amount of "taba" and "laman" and "asim."

Pork Dinuguan and Puto/Kutsinta

Leche Flan of Susie's is Julia's favorite dessert.

Tibok-tibok - a Kapampangan dessert made from Carabao's milk with latik is another favorite dessert from Susie's. I believe only Susie's sell tibok-tibok.

 

If you crave for Crispy Chicharon Bagnet and Okoy, Farinas Ilocos is the place. Geof loves chicharon like me. Apple loves the chicharon without the "laman" - boring! The okoy is quite hard to bite, might break your teeth - so be careful. Better dip the okoy in vinegar to soften the hardness and enjoy.  Ofcourse, do not forget to buy the Ilocos empanada and miki noodles.

 

Whenever we visit UP for our walking exercise, our final stop-over for take-out is Snack Shack at the EC Building besides the UP Bahay ng Alumni. Snack Shack serves freshly grilled burgers and fries. Their serving is very generous, I usually eat only half and save the other half later. I rate their burgers for taste, quality and value for money as 5 stars better than the imported and expensive burgers like the one with almost the same name. 

 

Along T. Morato is one of the best Takoyaki in the city - Octoboy. Now during the pandemic, their takoyaki is on sale at Buy One Take One at about P150.00 +. The taste and the size are similar to the original takoyaki in Japan. Read a related blog on takoyaki. 

Popeye's at Eton Centris, QC serves mild and spicy chicken, burgers - chicken, shrimp and fish - and Cajun-flavored potato fries. We tried their food via Grab Delivery one Sunday. What's the verdict. Chicken was marinated well - so the taste was good and with mild spice (I wonder how their spicy chciken taste). The chicken burger passed Goef's taste (better than McDo), however their fish and shrimp burgers lack some taste - you need to add ketchup or sauce to enjoy them. Potato fries are ok. Will we order again? Hmmmm .... maybe .... !

Apple's Pandemic Food Creations

Because of pandemic and community quarantine, we miss eating out in our favorite restaurants especially on Sundays. Moreover, our grocery runs has  become very  limited.  Food delivery is one option to address our cravings for our favorite dishes - Japanese (ramen, yakisoba, tempura, hotpot), Korean (kimchi, ramyeon, bulgogi), Singapore/Malaysia (laksa, curry, roti, kaya) and of course Pinoy dishes and delicacies. 

THE SECRET INGREDIENTS AND SAUCES

To create your own dishes, you only need to browse and search Google. And that's what superwoman Apple did to sustain our love for food. The secret for creating these recipes is on the sauce, the spices and ingredients which can be bought in Korean and Japanese groceries - Sauces for Yakiniku, Bulgogi, Takoyaki, Yakisoba, Goma salad sauces, Salad, Kewpie mayo and more umami spices.

Here are some photos of Apple's pandemic food creations. Geof is the food critic and he enjoys eating almost all. Julia and I just love eating. Although sometimes we also have our favorites among Mommy's food discoveries. 

TAMAGOYAKI.
 Fried rolled egg was perfected by Apple after buying a
rectangular frying pan from Lazada.  You can put any kind of fillings inside.  

CROQUETTES
This is really just fried mashed potatoes.  You can flavor the potato anyway you like.  I put cheese and ham inside and fry it.  Geof likes it flavored with cumin and oriental spices, which he eats  with bread like burger patties, garnished with chutney.

PANDESAL AND KAYA SPREAD
Pandesal is the traditional Filipino bread that literally means bread with salt.  Kaya jam spread, on the other hand in the Malaysian/ Singaporean version of the Pinoy's cocojam.  The difference is that the Filipino cocojam is sugar and coconut milk and very sticky (similar to a semi-processed candy), while the Kaya spread has egg yolks - the egg yolks temper the sweetness and makes the jam more tasty and spreadable.  Kaya spread tastes better if you put butter on top of it.

It took me about 20 to 30 mins to make the Kaya spread.  As for the pandesal, they were good when freshly cooked, but became a bit hard the next day --- more practice is needed to make the pandesal better. 

KATSUDON
 We tried the quintessential Katsudon, the all time feel-good food.  We used pork cutlets  for the fried pork - cutlets are thinner in slice than the porkchop so the fried pork can really be made crispy - similar to the German Schnitzels.  For the egg and sauce, there's available Katsudon sauce from Japanese stores - just ask your friendly grocers.  (For Korean and Japanese items, we visit the specialty stores  ourselves; for ordinary grocery items, we shop online).   

BAKED SUSHI WITH NORI
 We did attempt to do a baked sushi, but since our ingredients are limited, the outcome misses the mark.  

PITA BREAD AND HUMMUS
  We are very pleased with this creation.  We love hummus and pita bread and miss eating them badly.  Fortunately, making hummus and pita bread are actually easy. Google and Lazada have become my best friends these days.  Google provides the recipes; Lazada gives me various options on the tools I can access to make my creations.  

This Hummus was made from scratch.  I don't have tahini, so I made one (roasted sesame seed, grounded and mixed with lemon and olive oil).  For the chick peas, I used the canned garbanzos  - remove the skin, boil, and pound/ grind it.  Mix the ground chick peas and tahini, season with salt and cumin powder, and voila - home made hummus. 

As for the pita bread, it's just flour, yeast and oil.  And patience (you have to wait for at least 30 mins to 1 hr for the yeast to do its magic on the flour.).  Fry in lightly oiled pan.    

MAKI in Japanese,  GIMBAP in Korean. 
This is rolled rice wrapped in nori.  They are similar in concept, but Japanese maki usually has a tinge of wasabe and is more simple with the filling (e.g. single filling of tuna, salmon, cucumber, crab), and eaten with soysauce;   while Korean Gimbap has a lot of going on in its fillings (combination of egg, cucumber, carrot, ham, cheese etc), and you eat it as it is.  The Japanese California maki is the closest to the Korean Gimbap.   

Our version of Maki brings together cucumber, carrots and artificial crab.  Since we don't have Japanese rice, we used the regular rice mixed with a dash of salt and mirin (if you don't have mirin, vinegar mixed with a little water and  sugar can be used as substitute).  Better to use also a ceramic knife in cutting the Maki - rice sticks in a stainless steel knife but not much on a (wet) ceramic knife. 

CRISPY KANGKONG 

The trick in crispy kangkong is to use rice flour.  Just mix the flour with a little water and salt, and bathe the Kangkong.  Fry each side for a few seconds.  Dip in either in garlic sauce or the traditional Pinoy sauce - toyo, vinegar, sugar, pepper, salt.  

YAKISOBA
 

This is also one of our favorite.  Yakisoba is just sauteed vegetable and noodles - you can use any vegetable that has neutral flavor (togue, carrots, cabbage, pechay baguio).  That's the basic.  You can add also whatever you wish - shrimp, chicken, fishball.  Here, we simply used cabbage, korean fish ball, and the Lucky me pancit noodles (minus its sauce).  The key ingredient is the yakisoba sauce. which you  can buy from Japanese groceries.