Kids at Art

Julia with her painting on exhibit

Kids at Art is a summer workshop where kids explore their artistic skills and creativity. It's not really an art class like the ones being conducted by UP Professor Sena but it's more of an activity art session where the kids are instructed to create their artwork following a theme and using a specific medium. We enrolled Geoffrey when he was seven (7) yrs old. This summer, Julia at eight (8) yrs old took the same workshop at Celebrity Plaza. After eight sessions, they had an exhibit at the Robinson's Magnolia. Compare the artworks of the kids. Geof's images are more of technology - cars, submarines. Julia's drawings are more of cute girls, insects and pets.

Playful Animals by Julia 2013

Underwater Animals by Geof  2007

Sketches at the UP Oval

May 12, 2013 we celebrated Mother's Day at the UP Oval honing our hobbies - Geoffrey painted a landscape using watercolor, Apple is engrossed reading "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo", Julia played with her scooter and exoplored the insects with her magnifying glass. In my case, I tried my hand in pencil sketching using some sceneries at the UP Oval and Lagoon as my subjects.

Geoffrey did some landscape using water color

Apple reads the kindle and Julia explores

Crazy Katsu

On my first visit at the soft opening of Crazy Katsu at the Archer's One Building, Taft Ave. beside DLSU, I fell in love with their tonkatsu - the thick, hot and crispy pork rest on shredded cabbage. Their special sauce when poured on the pork magnifies the taste of the pork plus the sesame seeds - the real taste of a tonkatsu which I remember eating at a popular tonkatsu shop in Yokohama. Wow!

So when our family had dinner out, I suggested Crazy Katsu at Maginhawa St, Teachers Village, QC. We ordered their bestseller chicken katsu, pork ginger, fish and veggie tempura, pork curry, gyoza and miso soup. Their chicken katsu is not really Japanese since the spicy sauce is more Pinoy - soy sauce with vinegar and sili. I love the taste of their pork curry. Over-all, the family enjoyed the food - the serving is large, the rice is the sticky type which is appropriate for the chopsticks. And the price is very reasonable: P140.00 for tonkatsu!

Gyoza (5 pcs per order)

Chicken Katsu

Fish  & Vegetable Tempura

Katsu Curry

Pork Ginger

Maginhawa St, Teachers Village is a haven of eateries

The Mighty Ton of Cebu

An ordinary hamburger has a diameter of about 4 inches. But the Mighty Ton burger is 3 times bigger, with a diameter of 12 inches or one foot. Inside the giant bun is 1 kilogram of beef patty (shaped in a square mold), with 125 grams of veggies, cheese, and bacon. The bun is almost as heavy as the 1 kg of burger! 

The Mighty Ton (12-inch diameter) burger dwarfs the apple in size.

As soon as I saw this, the picture of Adam (of "Man vs. Food") flashed before me.  I have got to show this to my son and hubby who are both fans of the show.

Bringing it home was quite a challenge.  When I got it out of the restaurant, Casa Verde, the smell was overpowering.  I thought to myself, I can't hand-carry something this smelly, the entire plane might smell like McDonalds. We had to wrap the box with layers of packaging tape, making sure that the holes are sealed tight.  As soon as we cleared it with the check-in counter, the next challenge was the departure x-ray and checking of luggage.  The airport personnel couldn't decide whether to allow me to hand-carry it (donuts and cakes are regular hand carries, but a burger as big in diameter as a cake was something new), he had to consult his supervisor.  When we finally got it in, it's quite hefty to haul it around in a packed airport.

125 grams of bacon, cheese and veggies inside

So I got it home.  And Geof  had to have the first taste - the verdict:  "it tastes good."  The burger was a bit dry, though since it was grilled (and maybe because it took sometime to get it home - from Cebu to Manila, from Airport to Quezon City.  The bun is thick but is good and soft.  The fillings, especially the cheese and bacon, complements well the grilled burger.

Overall, the burger is  good (Geof gave it a "4" in  scale of 1 to 5).  

www.casaverdecebu.com 

The ordinary burger vs the mighty ton

- Apple Oreta 17 April 2-13

"Paluto" at "Dampa"

"Dampa" is a popular eating place in Metro Manila. There are dampa places near D. Macapagal Ave., C5-Libis, Ortigas Area and Pasay City near the NAIA I. A "Dampa" is both a market and eatery. You first buy the fresh seafoods - Lapu-Lapu, Tilapia, Crabs, Scallops, Shrimps, Squid, Tahong or mussel, etc - at the wet market. Price of the fresh goodies is on a per kilo basis. After purchasing your fresh seafood, choose a "Paluto" restaurant. "Paluto" means to cook. The restaurant will cook the fresh food based on your choice of cooking. For example: Mussels can be cooked as a soup or baked, fish can be fried, steamed or grilled, squid can be fried or grilled, etc. The cooking fee is also on per kilo basis. Price of cooking ranges from P75.00 to P200.00 

Fresh Sea Mussels

Last Holy Week, in observance of abstinence from pork and meat, we visited the Dampa at D. Macapagal Ave. We bought tahong (1/2 kilo), scallops (12 pieces), squid (1/2 kilo) and one Lapu-Lapu. Total cost is  P500.00 +. Then we asked Josefina's to cook our food. Four of us enjoyed the meal with still left-over for take-out. Cooking cost is about P500.00. By the way, at Josefina's, we love their appetizer, peanuts.

Fresh scallops

Baked scallops in cheese and garlic

 

Calamares

Steamed Lapu-Lapu - where's the fish? Ubos na?

Tahong  Soup in onion leeks and ginger

I love the appetizers at Rosemary & Thyne (Pampanga)

When you go to the City of San Fernando , Pampanga, make sure you drop by at the Robinson's Star Mills and have a taste of the delicious and mouth-watering appetizers at Rosemary and Thyne Restaurant.



Our highschool batch had a get-together at the Rosemary and Thyne Resto last Jan. 7, 2013. It was my first time to eat there and I promise to return there to bring my family and friends. The food is really good. Really the Kapampangans are really outstanding when it comes to food preparation and cooking.  We just ordered simple appetizers and when I tasted them, I was so impressed and commented: "iba talaga ang pagkain dito sa Pampanga. Manyaman (masarap) talaga."

Tokwa't Baboy. You can find this also in Manila but here the taste is really excellent. The vinegar and other ingredients plus the pork will really temp you to take more.

Shrimp with cheese on fresh vegetable salad. The fresh vegetables come from Floridablanca, Pampanga. The combination of the cheese with veggies - cucumber, tomatoes and leaves is magical!

Shrimp Tempura. Cispy shrimp tempura in vinegar sauce? WOW!

Sisig. (crispy pork on vinegar). Similar to the Tokwa't Baboy but no tokwa. The crispy "balat" and the "tender taba" soaked in vinegar matches your ice cold San Mig Beer. Isa pa nga! Sisig does not have to be sizzling!

Ye Dang Korean B.B.Q. Restaurant



Ye Dang B.B.Q. Resto



We have a favourite Korean resto along West Ave., QC and we miss the spicy tofu soup. When it closed, we have been searching for authentic Korean restos. And when I visited Seoul, Korea last Septmber, I got to taste real Korean food and I miss them. So when we were invited to a get-together at a Korean resto, I became excited and hoped to get a taste of the not so spicy but tasty Korean dishes. We were not disappointed.

Ye Dang Korean B.B.Q. Restaurant along Meralco Ave., Ortigas Center serves the dishes that I have been missing. As expected in any Korean resto, a variety of appetizers is served – sweet baby potatoes, sweet peanuts, bean sprouts, kimchi - dilis was not avaialble then. The Chicken Ginseng Soup with rice inside the chicken is sooo soft – even the bones melt in your mouth. It's like our arrozcaldo without the kalamansi, garlic and onion leaves. The Spicy Tofu Soup is the same as what they served in Seoul – although this is still not the same soup we missed at West Ave. The pork and chicken barbecues are tasty and you may eat them wrapped with vegetables. The price of the food is reasonable ranging from P250-P400.00 per order. We will definitely return to this restaurant and bring our friends.



Assorted appetizers

  

The Chicken Ginseng Soup - "it's really sarap to the bones"



The Spicy Tofu Soup - Yummy

The Chicken Barbecue - no smoke fills the room

The AISC Family



Apple tries the spicy tofu soup



Seasons Greetings from "Living the Good Life 4 Less"

Spending time with the kids at Eastwood City.

Art Circle Cafe' at UP Bahay ng Alumni

At UP Bahay ng Alumni, the most popular resto is the Chocolate Kiss, then ROC. Unknown to many is the Art Circle Cafe' since the resto is hidden inside the display room of paintings of Art Circle. If you want a quiet place to dine and do your chores quietly like reading, writing or even meeting a friend without a noisy crowd, then Art Circle Cafe' is the place to go.

It's menu covers breakfast meals of lucban longganiza which I ordered, various pasta meals, rice meals like the fish dory which Geof enjoyed. Their desserts  consist of various cakes and Geof loved the white chocolate molten lava. Price ranges from P100.00 - 250.00.

Ramen X

I love spicy ramen. When I was in Nagoya, Japan, one of my favorites is the super spicy "Taiwan Ramen" which we usually eat during Sundays after a tiring activity like bowling or volleyball. So when I read that Ramen X serves spicy ramen, I made it a point to try their version. There are two branches which I visited - one at the Centris Walk and another at Trinoma.

Ramen X. Affordable Ramen. Price from P149 - P189.



Kimchi Ramen. Price: )149.00. Shoyu based soup with slices of pork and kimchi. Not so spicy. I give this a rating of 3/5.



Karaage. Price: P59.00. The chiken karaage is crispy and soft but little bit salty. rating: 4/5



Oishii Ramen. Price: P149.00. Rating: 4/5. According to their staff, this is their best seller. So when I visited their branch at Centris Walk, I ordered it. It is shoyu and miso based with slices of pork so that the soup is oily which I like. The vegetables are fresh and the noodles are just right and more than enough to fill your tummy. It is not as spicy as the Taiwan ramen but it is good.



Teddy Bear Museum - Seoul, Korea

A unique museum worth visiting at Seoul, Korea is the Teddy Bear Museum located at N Seoul Tower. It presents the history and culture of Korea with Teddy Bears as the main characters. Imagine the King as a Teddy Bear and Korean soldiers ready for war as teddy bears. Modern Korean teddy bears in Louis Vuitton, teddy bears ala Blues Borthers in shades and more. This is a place that kids would love to visit and adults would enjoy too. So when you happen to visit Seoul, take the trip to the N Seoul Tower and meet Teddy and his friends.

Teddy Bears at work building a temple

King Teddy

Teddy Bears in Concert!

A "Teddy" for Julia