Our favorite bakeries - Bagong Pag-asa, Pan de Manila and Balai Pandesal

 I have suki bakeries when buying bread and pastries. My number one bakery is Bagong Pag-asa Bakery (BPB) at Pag-asa, QC. Their bread are of good quality and reasonably priced. My favorites are Premium Loaf Bread (P74.00), Wheat Monay (P38.00 x 6 pcs), Spanish Bread (P21.00), Kalihim (P19.00 x 4) and Kababayan (P22.00 x 6). I also love their Shing-a-Ling,

Bagong Pag-asa Bakery

Pan de Manila has become our alternative bakery when the pandemic happened. Pan de Manila delivers their bread and pastries via Grab or Food Panda. Our favorite choices at PdM are Cinamon Pandesal, Cheese Stick Pesto, Pan de Coco, Banana Loaf and Regular Pandesal. Compared to BPB, prices at PdM are higher. But the advantage of PdM is that there are many branches near our place. 

A new discovery for us is Balai Pandesal. I tried once to order via Grab their specialties like Cheese Bread, Coffee Bun, Spanish Bread, Cinamon and Banana Loaf. Eureka! I was suprised with the quality (soft texture) and taste. The prices are not high compared to other bread shops like Bread Talk but the taste and size are comparable. After my first order, we have become a suki of Balai Pandesal. I tried their Coco Jam, it was great with their pandesal! Now, Balai Pandesal specialties has become a regular bread at home for mirienda and breakfast. Like PdM, Balai Pandesal has also many branches. 

https://www.facebook.com/BalaiPandesalPH/

NAM NAM - A Cozy Vietnam Pho Resto

NAM NAM along Maginhawa St., QC is a new discovery for us when it comes to Pho and Vietnamese specialties. Nam Nam is a small cozy restaurant (15 pax max inside) that serves limited dishes (a) two types of beef Pho noodle soup Pho Bo (Regular) and Bun Bo Hue (Spicy), (b) two types of spring rolls - fresh and deep fried. Their drinks can be a choice of Vietnamese coffee (cold/hot), lemon grass juice and beer (local or imported). With their short menu, you are sure to taste their best and only dishes. 

 

Bun Bo Hue - Spicy beef noodle soup is superb. The quantity of the flat noodles may not be as much at other Pho restos but the soup is the highlight! You can judge how good the dish is after. No left over soup for the Bun Bo Hue!

Pho Bo - another outstanding beef noodle soup - if you want to add some spice, you may add their secret spicy red sauce. 

The deep fried pork spring rolls with their secret sauce is awesome. This may be a little bit expensive for P120 for two pieces but the crispiness and taste would make you forget about the price. 

The Vietnamese coffee is another reason why you will return to this place. Not bitter when mixed with condensed milk. Just right. Comparable or even better than the expensive coffee served in SB or CB. 

Nomiya Izakaya

 A rare opportunity to eat out during the pandemic with the family. A small Japanese resto. along Scout Santiago, QC is Nomiya, Izakaya. I was looking forward to grilled dishes like yakitori but there were none. We were not disappointed though. The maki, ebi tempura, agedashi tofu and seafood with vegetables were great. Looking forward to our next visit. Kampai!

Spicy Salmon Maki

Califronia Maki

Ebi Tempura

Seafood Tepan

Agedashi Tofu

Selfie infront of the Izakaya

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

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. 

Fresh Food Delivery during ECQ

Vegetables, fruits and eggs delivered from Theo's Holistic Farming

The Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) during this COVID-19 pandemic has limited our shopping of food essentials in supermarkets. Because of the risk of getting infected by the virus considering that you get exposed to people while falling in line during entry to the supermarket, while shopping and while online before paying for the goods, Apple opted to explore delivery options of fresh food.

And yes there are food delivery sites that we discovered and we became "suki" of most of them. Theo's Holistic Farming is Apple's favorite for ordering vegetables, fruits and eggs. Wow, our menu now consists of many healthy dishes like pumpkin cooked in gata, 'ginisang' veggie, sweet banana as dessert and more.

Another food discovery recommended by a friend is the "taho". We now have taho for snacks and spicy mapotofu for our main dish.

Taho! Taho!

What about fresh meat and fish. I used to buy fresh meat at FRESH OPTIONS and at supermarkets. Fresh fish and seafood are very rare in supermarkets. But recently, Apple, the "explorer", found a site that delivers fresh meat and seafood. Wow, because of this, we finally were able to cook and eat tahong and clam (alahan) soup. Of course, the simple boiled shrimp dish with tomatoes and red egg is my favorite.

Oh yes, not only fresh food but also cooked food, we have them delivered. My favorite is the "dinakdakan" of Vlyn's Homemade, managed by Evelyn & Ramil Sanidad.  They have other food choices including bagoong and pastries prepared by their daughter, Jamila. Order now! Warning, baka addicting ang dinakdakan! :-)

The addictive "Dinakdakan" from Vlyn's Homemade

Vlyn's Homemade pasties and fresh lumpia

Vlyn's special bagoong is a must order!

Romantic Baboy was not so romantic

Buffet Price at Romantic Baboy

Intrigued by the popularity of Romantic Baboy (RB), one of the Samyupsal grilliing restos that sprouted Metro Manila, we finally decided to dine in there one Sunday after mass. There is one RB branch near our place at Congressional Avenue. Initially, we were supposed to order ala carte but based on the Apple's quick calculation, the cost will be cheaper with the buffet price of P499 with unlimited pork+beef, veggie and rice. We were served several types of meat - my favorite was the thick pork. We just ordered four cups of rice.

After grilling of the different types of meat and slow eating, we realized that the serving is too much for us - even without refills. Some of their meat are of good quality (similar to the high-end Korean restos we have visited) but the others have too much fat or "taba"which our family except me, avoid. So how was the experience at RB? It was not so romantic, since we need to eat all because of the "no left-over " rule. But secretly, our dogs enjoyed the pasalubong.  The experience was too fattening that after the meal, we have to complement the lunch  with hot tea at home. I still prefer the Korean restaurants like Bulgogi (at Kalayaan Ave.) and the Ye Dang (Ortigas Center). A little expensive but you go home happy and full!

My favorite - simply pork, not mariinated

Geof enjoys grilling pork and beef

Kyukyu Ramen 99 - The "Hyaku" Ramen Shop in the Philippines

Located at the 5th Level of Ayala Clover Leaf Mall

If there is a "Hyaku"  or 100 Yen shop in Japan or an P88 shop in the Philippines like Daiso and Japan Homes, there is also P99 Ramen Shop! Kyukyu Ramen 99 at Ayala Clover Leaf Mall serves Japanese ramen starting at P99.00 only. We tried the spicy ramen (P179) and the ichban ramen (P199) and we were not disappointed. The quality and quantity of noodles are very satisfactory compared to other ramen shops. Ofcourse, do not expect a thick slice of pork in the soup considering the price. Just a minor improvement, they should add a little more soup, if you noticed the photos, there is more space for the soup. The taste of the soup, anyway was OK.

Ramen at this shop is Value for Money. We will come back for more. By the way, we found Clover Leaf Mall as very attractive - not so many shoppers (ordinary days, not sure during weekends, though) and complete - the popular restos and shops (including Daiso, Japan Homes, Uniqlo) are there.

Spicy Tonkotsu (P179)

Ichiban Ramen (P199)

Titu Chef at Maginhawa St., QC

A cozy and cool place that serves "lutong bahay" dishes

Titu Chef is more of a bar than a resto but the food is good!

Titu Chef is a small resto and bar along Maginhawa St., QC. We discovered this place when we were finding a place to dine in to celebrate Mother's Day (12 May 2019). We had the place for ourselves only, as if the resto was reserved for us.  Imagine going to restos in a mall during Mother's Day - I am sure most of them will be fully packed with long queues.

Titu Chef was indeed a discovery. The place is relatively small which can accommodate about 20 costumers but cool! I think it's more of a bar - it serves Tiger beer of Thailand.  The food is "lutong bahay." We ordered pork sisig, grilled salmon, beef bulalo and ginisang sitaw. The food was good, "pasado sa panlasa", except the pork sisig which has too much "taba", maybe they should have added "laman" also.  Are we going back to the place? Yes indeed. I would like return to drink thier Tiger beer and the other "pulutan."

Tiger Beer is their flagship beer

Beef Bulalo

Grilled Salmon

Ginisang Sitaw

Pork Sisig