The Sandwich Guy

The Sandwich Guy is a major food discovery in 2010. I was enjoying a relaxing stroll with my boys at SM Megamall, and when we suddenly craved for food that may be considered as a heavy meal but still light for a snack, our feet brought us to The Sandwich Guy. We thought that it was more of a bread store at first, since their shelves were full of wheat bread. Lucky us, because another food outlet made it to our top list of favorites.

The Sandwich Guy:  Eastwood City

 For the health conscious, The Sandwich Guy offers food that are freshly made and without preservatives. It is a good choice. They sell Pasta, Salads, Sandwiches and Potato dishes. You can also choose an add-on like grilled chicken for your pasta, fruits for your salad, garlic bread, extra cheese or even pesto.

My favorite pasta is Tommy Boy. 

It is pasta in fresh tomatoes and garlic sauteed in olive oil.

 It's P70 for every order.

Favorite add-on: grilled chicken (P25)

My husband's pasta choice is Pesto. 

Basil, garlic, nuts in extra virgin olive oil.

It's P75 for every order.

Favorite add-on: grilled chicken (P25)

My favorite side dish: Mushy Potato with Mushrooms

The ultimate chicken sandwich: polloROSMARINO (Rosemary Chicken Sandwich)

P110

All sandwiches are made out of whole wheat bread and The Sandwich Guy bakes its own whole wheat bread.

Visit: The Sandwich Guy for branches.

Prices Range from Php55- 130

Vizco's Restaurant and Cake Shop Baguio City

We spent our second night in Baguio by making reservations in one of their famous Spa and explored Session Road for a restaurant that will answer our appetite for  Italian Cuisine.
We had a relaxing stroll along Session Road. Sunday is a busy night in Baguio. It was a cool evening.
There were so much restaurants to choose from... if we could only visit all in one night.

Vizco's is famous for their delicious international dishes, cakes and  pastries. Their signature dishes are mostly Italian, pizza and pasta. Meals costs from Php150-300. Guaranteed hot meal, fast service, fresh ingredients, friendly and hospitable locals ready to serve.

Lasagna

It may look plain, but once you taste it... the mix of herbs and special sauce will make this meal the ultimate Lasagna dish.

And when you're palette is ready for something new, it is best to order the house specialty. Like my Pasta Paella. I've never tasted Pasta Paella before, and they say Vizco's version is one of the best. True enough, I ordered another to go.

Italian dine-in is not complete without pizza. My Vizco's pizza experience was all about the dough. It was the perfect pizza dough for me. I was able to know that it was freshly made by the taste, I can even smell fresh flour with the steam coming from my hot pizza while I cut a piece and with the mozzarella topping melting. It was really good.

Vizco's has a traditional coffeehouse- like interiors that provides a relaxing atmosphere and is surely an inviting venue for both locals and tourists to hang-out. Our night at Vizco's was spent with warm companions, good conversation, relaxing dining experience and great food. It was surely the perfect way to enjoy Baguio before heading home.

Vizco's Restaurant and Cake Shop is located at the city's main commercial area, along Session Road.

*One of their house specialty is their Strawberry Shortcake. You can view it through this link: Vizco's Strawberry Shortcake

FTF: A Taste of KFC's Double Down Chicken Sandwich

Please be advised that: The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blogger's own.

I actually made my first purchase of this sandwich phenomenon the was day before we left for our vacation. Since everytime we visit a KFC store at night or middle in the afternoon, by that time, they're out of stock or it's sold out. For brunch after taking my son to school, I decided to make a quick drive to the nearest KFC and lucky enough, I was able to buy not only 1 but 3 Double Down Chicken Sandwiches, and it's their last 3 sandwiches at 10:20 in the morning.

₱100 ala carte, ₱135 with a regular drink and a fixin

It was just "okay" when I thought it would exactly taste like the one I imagined. A sandwich, only it's chicken. But it was too salty for me. It would have been better if they added some greens to balance the mix of flavors. In a real sandwich, the buns or the bread itself brings balance to the whole meal. So if you're going to eat pure protein, might as well add something like lettuce or tomatoes to kill the "suya factor" or lessen the salt of the chicken considering that there's bacon included. Everything here is based on my personal point of view as a consumer. Over-all, it's not as bad, you know why? because my husband is the #1 fan of KFC's Double Down Chicken Sandwich. When it comes to KFC,  it's always Double Down for him. I have 3 Double Downs in the first picture above, 2 of those are his.

Food Trip Friday

Red Lion Bar Baguio City

I've been reading some negative feedback about Red Lion. But I was told by frequent goers and regular guests that it is the perfect place to hang out and discover Baguio's little secrets. And so I decided to extend my birthday celebration at Red Lion. One person who is close to me, who can testify regarding Red Lion's good reputation is my husband. Another is a Baguio local who is also a good friend of ours. So whatever bad  review's been stirring about Red Lion, I think, it is just a matter on how we view things, how we carry ourselves and how we interact with other people.

Our evening started with my birthday dinner at Rose Bowl Restaurant. After, we took the kids back at the hotel with Kat's cousin. Then the 4 of us namely: Perry and Kat, Me and my Husband, went to Red Lion for some drinks. When I'm in a new place, I don't just sleep the night away. I know there's a long day ahead of  us touring the following morning. But hey, being able to travel will just keep you going. If one can enjoy the usual day in the city, might as well try what it has to offer by nightfall.

I started with a Margarita. Just to let you know, I always warm up with a cocktail  or a shot and end it with a bucket, I mean buckets of beer.

Red Lion is always full especially on weekends. To add, Red Lion also serves as an Inn for tourists. When we got there, a pop band was playing, the bar was occupied, people were happy and dancing. It was perfect!

We went all the way at the back of the bar, where guests can actually smoke and more tables were available. From the deck of Red Lion, if one is lucky enough to have a table reserved, you will see one of the best views of Baguio City at night.

The warm people of Red Lion was able to find us a nice spot where we can have some privacy, and  at the same time, a safe location where we can't be bothered by drunk guests. Hey it's a pub, it's a Saturday, it's cold so expect people to get drunk. After 3 buckets, I was already making some noise of my own. It was a fantastic night! We were sharing our stories as couples. From the time we met our partners, how the spark between 2 people began, advises, jokes, life, laughter, love, family, friends... Everyone was an open book but  we all kept an open mind.

The food that went with our beer were Tokwa't Baboy and Sizzling Sisig. If there's something to be disappointed about Red Lion, that would be their Sisig, which turned out to be Sizzling "Onion" Sisig. But it didn't matter, maybe they've run out (lol!) Even the girl behind us in our picture didn't matter (lol!) The pub was full night of November 27. Besides, I was actually enjoying my beer more than the food. Did I get drunk? Well, almost. I was able to control it, (if there's such thing as "controlling it")  but I almost hit a beam or something on my way to the bathroom (lol!) It feels good, I'm good!

I owe it all to this guy...

 I had a blast at Red Lion!!!

Red Lion Pub and Inn

92 General Luna, Leonard Wood Rd
Baguio City, Philippines

Gustaeu's Restaurant Baguio City

We arrived at our destination around 1pm in the afternoon, just in time to enjoy lunch in Baguio City. Gustaeu's  was one of my favorite restaurants during our vacation. It is located at the ground floor of our hotel, EGI Albergo Hotel. After checking- in, we went immediately to the newly opened Gustaeus' Restaurant. At 1:30pm I was having an all-day- breakfast meal, Tocino. Most dishes we ordered came in a whopping size, a plate can be consumed by 2 people. When I saw my Tocino Meal,  I knew that Gustaeus' Restaurant is going to be home for breakfast.

Longganisa Meal

It is not your ordinary longganisa, it's Baguio's Special Longganisa!

Tapa Meal

Tocino Meal

Salisbury Steak

I completed my morning food adventure in Baguio, by having a mug of Hot Chocolate to match the cold morning.

 I renewed my love for Baguio City through Gustaeu's Hot Chocolate, it made me want to live in this wonderful place.

Baguio Hot Chocolate

Gustaeu's Restaurant
Ground Floor EGI Albergo Hotel
No. 1 Villamor Drive, Brgy. Lualhati, Baguio City, Baguio, Philippines

Fresh Finds From The City of Pines

Aside from Baguio shirts, walis tambo, silver from Ibay's  and other handicrafts, Baguio is also famous for various food preserves, pastries, fresh fruits and vegetables.

Buying "pasalubong" would be easier if you choose stuff that you don't have back where you live, and items you may have but sold for a very expensive price.

Know their "house specialty".

Chocolate Crinkles, Strawberry Preserves, Pot Holder made of Pine and products from Good Shepherd. Though we have Chocolate Crinkles here in Manila, Baguio Crinkles is a pastry to try. My husband and I bought some Silver too. And for me, some accessories.

Good Shepherd will always be priority for the simple reason of helping  the makers of your favorite Lengua De Gato, Snowballs, Chocolate Crinkles and Mountain Maid Strawberry Jam, be sent through college. Good Shepherd products are good. Especially their Strawberry and Ube Jam.

A Baguio visit will not be complete if you didn't have a dose of their fresh vegetables and fruits. Most vegetables and flowers being sold in Manila are mostly from Baguio. And when you buy it straight from Baguio, you get almost 50% off from the Manila price. Let's say an 8 piece- pack of carrots for ₱10. A kilo of Broccoli for ₱60, that will give me 3-4 medium heads of broccoli. 

Not bad right? I mean, they sell Broccoli in Manila  around ₱40-60  per head. and choices are mostly small in size.

Plus, one should never miss out on "SAGADA Oranges". If some vendor insist, give that vendor a chance, because I guarantee you that 100% he/ she is not lying on how good these oranges are. But I was told that the real  so- called oranges from Sagada  are the big Dalandans (Philippine Orange), literally the big Dalandans, seedless and very sweet. In fairness, they will give you a taste test first, and then, you decide. Mines View Park Souvenir Area have lots of those Oranges.

The main highlights of my "pasalubong" shopping,  was being able to buy 2 of my favorites ---a fruit and a vegetable.

1. Bought fresh Strawberries straight from the Strawberry Farm La Trinidad. Fresh Strawberries are cheaper during the harvest season, which is around March.

2.  Fresh Shitake and Button Mushrooms

As you can see in most of my food entries, mushrooms are always present. I just love mushrooms!

Pasalubong Locations:
Mines View Park
Strawberry Farm La Trinidad
Baguio Market
Good Shepherd

Iced Gems

How will I start with this? Hmmm... oh yeah! Iced Gems! It's a snack that reminds me so much of my childhood. Especially during the days when I was still studying in Assumption. I was given a little allowance money then. My mom always prepare packed- lunch and sandwiches instead of buying food in the school cafeteria. The small amount of money given was suppose to be for my drinks to last for the rest of the day.

But most of the time, I rely on the school's water fountain and spend my money on packs of Iced Gems biscuit. When I was a little girl, the first thing that I got attracted with was the colorful icing on top of every biscuit. The biscuit itself was very good, easy to munch, easy to bite and I always make sure that my last bite would be the icing on top. Up to this date, Iced Gems are being sold in grocery stores. It gave me the inspiration to post about it when I found out that my son loves it too. Every time  I pick him up from school, he would ask me to buy him some. And during our last visit to Tagaytay, we dropped by at one of the pasalubong stations in the city and there I saw a BIG pack of Iced Gems biscuits being sold. From then on, in between meals, every time I'm watching TV, reading a book and even while surfing the net, I have a bowl of Iced Gems that I can munch anytime I want to. Yummy!

The Treehouse

An open bar- restaurant located at the heart of Quezon City Philippines. Serves Filipino and International cuisines.

The Treehouse Restaurant

29, Matalino St.

Quezon City

It was a lazy, sunny afternoon. All I plan to do was to deposit money in the bank, in an instant , the day became  a family trip to the wild life center and an afternoon of delicious snacks. The Treehouse. It was my first time to visit this restaurant. My husband: a frequent guest especially with his Dad (my late father-in-law). The whole ambiance of the place was very homey. Trees surrounded the whole restaurant. It wasn't humid or hot considering that it is an open resto.

Saba Con Hielo with Icecream php75

Pancit Guisado php180
My favorite. This platter is good for 3. 

BLT Sandwich php99
 Too bad, it looks appetizing, but there's something missing with the taste.

Calamares Fritos php185

Photos Taken: SEP990i

Free Website Builder

For your food blog, photo blog a personal blog, a website for your business. Anything you want to make a mark online are with this website builder . Looking for a free website ? Visit Wix and you will find all the essentials on building a website. Publish like a PRO, be on top of the search engine, get your own domain name, create stunning promotional materials: banners, newsletters, widgets and more to attract clients and visitors and no programming required. It's just simple and easy to understand. 

1. Start (by signing up)

2. Create (start building your website)

3. Save your final work

4. Publish (for everyone to see)

I've already started with my first website with Wix still in the process of developing the main page. It's crazy! With page 1 of my website I'm already in awe, there's so much option and choices with one click of the mouse.  I never thought that such website builder exist.  It is also equipped with guidelines in case you get lost exploring. The nice part, readers can still leave comments and messages to your website. Traffic still continues and you can customize everything. It's going to be a more formal website.

Eat This!

A Book On NOT Dieting. Who among you finds dieting such a hard thing to do? I'll be honest, I do. I always believe that whatever is served on the table, everything should be taken in moderation. But good food and delicious meals makes us disobey that rule. Which eventually results to having big bellies, unwanted fats and cellulites and having a sluggish body.

In reality, dieting was not made to be easy. It requires discipline and will power in order to achieve our goals. Well, I found a better alternative. As I was in line at the cashier when I saw this book. It just so happen that I was beside a stack of books and magazines related to kitchen and cooking. Good thing I was wearing my eyeglasses, it was hiding in- between the thick ones. The colorful title EAT THIS! was inviting me to buy it! buy it! This reading shows the fun side by not thinking of dieting. 365 reasons to stop dieting. Once you take a peek, you'll also find several humorous quotations.

EAT THIS! by Mary McHugh

 This book is going to be helpful and  inspiring to those who are very conscious with their body. Take a break, live a little and enjoy your favorite comfort food.

Dieting is Good. Too much of everything is bad.

•  Tap dancing is more fun than dieting burns more calories
• Your grandma always says: "Eat, eat- you're too thin". And she's old so she must be wise.
• Walking 15 minutes a day will help you lose 12 pounds a year; walking through the "sale" aisle at your favorite store counts double.
• Walk an hour a day and use up 280 calories= 2 hotdogs
• If you don't have enough carbohydrates in your diet, you can suffer from fatigue, lack of energy, short-term memory loss, vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Linguine with clam sauce anyone?
• Your hair is falling out, your skin is flaking, and you have no energy. Eat! Eat!
• Chocolate gives you the same feeling you have when you're in love.

Dessert With My Little Boy

It's been 2 days since Franky and I wanted to stuff ourselves with sweet delights. Monday night  we were given a chance. I was invited by my parents to have dinner in one of the restaurants in Metrowalk Ortigas.  During dinner I explained things to my parents with regards to blogging.  It was nice for them to show concern on the things I love to do. I mean, I don't live with them anymore, and here they are showing me support. Had to explain everything including how seo works. We also attended a gathering as G1BO Teodoro's volunteers. Well, it was just a get together.

Then the real event happened---dessert with my little boy!

I took my son to have dessert in Iceberg's,  our favorite ice cream parlor. It was a great night out for the both of us. It's like a date. Moments like this one should be cherished, the little boy will become a big boy soon, so I'm really taking advantage of the time. Can you imagine ice cream at 9pm in the evening! Anything to make my little boy happy, he doesn't ask much anyway.

So what did we get for dessert?

Franky ordered his usual Oreo Cookies Sundae

For me, I got very curious had to taste their Strawberry Float. It was very good, it's like a Strawberry Fizz drink with ice cream.

If we're going to talk about real Float, this is it, the ultimate. Take a look at it. Yummy!

On our way home... SUGAR RUSH! Franky was laughing and laughing  while making funny faces. When we finally arrived, he went straight to bed and didn't even bother to brush his teeth, KNOCKOUT!

Suddenly I NEEDED Coffee

Cutting on caffeine was really not easy for me. Had to stop smoking when I got pregnant . Not only that, had to totally eliminate caffeine as part of my daily routine. But eventually,  I was able to cope and I was graced not to have a daily caffeine fix. Not until...

Lately...

It's one of the things I can't explain because I am still figuring out why I am craving for coffee. My system is looking not just for any form of caffeine, just COFFEE. For the past week,  yes, I have been taking in some already, but not everyday. Then over the weekend, with all the activities and trying to be awake for the long drive, had to take more than my usual. And as of yesterday, my body's been aching to have more of it.

toothpastefordinner.com

This afternoon when I really couldn't take it, I had to walk all the way to the nearest Shell Select just to buy coffee. I used to have coffee for brewing, freshly grinded coffee beans. But since I stopped drinking years back, there's none stored in my pantry, not even instant coffee. I wanted to drive to Starbucks and spend my coffee time there, but our car wasn't around, I settled for some iced coffee from Shell instead.

After all this, looks like that I'll be a frequent follower of Coffee houses and Café restaurants.

The Original--- Cassava Cake

Orient, is the most famous Buko Pie seller in Laguna. Aside from Buko Pie, they also whip up some Filipino delicacies, like the Cassava Cake. Last Sunday, I was able to try a different brand of Cassava Cake. Then, yesterday my Dad who traveled again to Laguna dropped by and gave me another box of Cassava and this time it's from The Original brand. I was able to taste the difference. It only proves that Orient's Cassava tops it all.

Cassava is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates.

Cassava must be cooked properly to detoxify it before it is eaten.

Source

Food Trip Friday