Mercato Centrale

The Genius Foodies behind the great success of Mercato Centrale: Anton and Rachelle Díaz, RJ and Vanessa Ledesma, Janice and Gary Villanueva. As we all know, Anton Diaz is the famous author of Our Awesome Planet and Ms. Janice Villanueva for Mommy Mundo.

Mercato Centrale was inspired by various food markets all over Europe. It is a lifestyle market that offers one of a kind , great tasting food discoveries. Mercato Centrale caters to all food enthusiasts, successful food business owners, future food entrepreneurs and basically anybody who loves to hangout with friends and families while enjoying his favorite comfort food on a lovely weekend. Mercato Centrale  is also the perfect place to introduce and market one's personal kitchen discovery.

Here's the truth, I  don't go to Mercato Centrale because I am a blogger. Over-all, it's my love for food, "eating" and making discoveries that pushes me to go back to Mercato Centrale.

Does it show? yes, we don't mind standing up while eating. Besides, it's easier to go from one booth to another.

A friend, "not a blogger", a certified food enthusiast like me, introduced Mercato to us. It has been our meeting place since. Everytime we want to get together, we go to Mercato Centrale. We spend the whole day in Mercato. We stuff ourselves from brunch until lunch.

Aside from food, Mercato Centrale has arranged entertainment to make your Mercato experience enticing and extraordinary. The ambiance gave me the feel as if I'm in the comfort of my own home, eating my favorite food while listening to good music and sharing never ending laughs with friends.

Here are some of our favorites:

 Johnny Steams

 Mochiko

 Pan de Bagnet

tea.ology

More of Mercato Centrale:

Operating Hours: Saturdays and Sundays 7:00am - 2:00pm
Location: 34th street and 8th avenue BGC (across MC Home Depot)

And now, Midnight Mercato  a NightTime Food Market
open Fridays and Saturdays from 10pm- 3am

♥♥♥

I am a certified, satisfied foodie. 

 I always leave my ♥ at Mercato Centrale...

FTF: Charlie's Fish & Chips

A fishy idea for the Lenten Season.

It's one of those days when I wasn't in the mood to cook. We all get into that situation right? So my husband and I decided to make a quick drive over at Charlie's Grind and Grill. 

Charlie's is in our top 5 list of favorites. The original restaurant is located in Kapitolyo, Pasig. Before, we would drive all the way  from Quezon, City to Pasig  just to get a taste of Charlie's best dishes. But now, it's easier because there's one near our place. Right along Ortigas Avenue before you hit the main intersection of Santolan, SanJuan, and this road going to E. Rodriguez.  We discovered the new location last year. We  often take Ortigas Avenue going to E. Rodriguez coming from Greenhills.

Landmark: Petron Station

My order for the night was Fish and Chips then I loaded up on jalapeños.  Yeah, that's where I get my pickled jalapeños. Well, at least until I can find some fresh jalapeños so I can make my own.

Food Trip Friday

A related post.

Breaded Chicken Salsa

Lent is here. Lent is a tradition where as Catholics, we commemorate the Passion of Christ (Life, Death and the Resurrection) through praying,  fasting and self-denial. An old practice for Filipinos is through fasting for 40 days or at least, we sacrifice things that gives us  so much comfort and satisfaction. One, is eliminating red meat (beef, pork, lamb) as part of our weekly menu. Especially on Wednesdays and Fridays. Until the season is over,  we only serve white meat or nothing but vegetables for the family.  Having a kid around would make it impossible for me to stick with veggies alone. So I turn to chicken and fish dishes.

Here's one recipe that I will gladly share for the purpose in case you run out of ideas on what to prepare for the whole Lenten Season.

Ingredients:

• 5 pcs. chicken breast fillet (sliced open and thinly)
• 3 pcs. red tomatoes (minced)
• 1 medium white onion (minced)
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 cup flour
• bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp of chopped Wansoy leaves
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp tomato sauce
• cooking oil for deep frying
• salt and ground pepper
• toothpicks

*If you were able to get big chicken breast fillets, I suggest you add small pieces of ripe mango in the salsa... yum!yum! 

How To:

• Salsa: In a bowl, mix minced fresh tomatoes, onions, Wansoy leaves and a tbsp of olive oil. Set aside.
• In a plate season chicken breast with salt and pepper.
• Spread a 1/2 tsp of tomato sauce on each seasoned chicken breast,  fill it with salsa then pin it together with a toothpick.
• Dip each chicken breast as follows: beaten eggs, flour, beaten eggs, then breadcrumbs. Deep fry until golden brown.
• Before serving, remove toothpicks from the fried chicken breasts. 
• Happily serve it with any salad.

Food Trip Friday

  I prefer some pickled jalapeños.

Happy Friday and Enjoy your Weekend!

Home Cooked Beef Sukiyaki

Beef Sukiyaki, Beef Gyudon they're almost the same. It's the sauce that makes these two dishes different from each other.

The key ingredient to a delicious Beef Sukiyaki meal is the Sukiyaki Sauce. Sukiyaki Sauce is a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sake, mirin and broth.

Beef Sukiyaki is a one-pot , hot pot dish, which is compose of slices of beef, cuts of tofu, Shiitake mushrooms, any leafy vegetables, scallions, traditionally served with wheat noodles and Sukiyaki sauce. In restaurants, they have an iron pot waiting at the center of your table. Then, slowly cook the beef together with the rest of the ingredients. The ingredients are dipped in beaten eggs before being eaten. Others, mix the Sukiyaki sauce with beaten eggs. Some, like the ingredients simmered in Sukiyaki Sauce before they dip it in egg.

My Beef Sukiyaki was served like any rice bowl. A bowl of white rice was prepared, then I topped it with the ingredients (as seen in the picture above), then I poured a cup of beef broth and Sukiyaki Sauce mixture.

Planning to add Beef Sukiyaki in your home-cooked list? Here are the ingredients:

Servings: 2-3
Ingredients:

• Cooked white rice or noodles
• 2 tbsp Sesame oil
• 1/2 kg beef cubes or beef strips
• 100g tofu sliced
• 100g mung bean sprouts
• 100g asparagus (chopped)
• 40g Shiitake Mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 white onion (chopped)
• 2 stems of Scallions (chopped)
• 1/2 cup of chopped celery
• salt and ground pepper to taste

Sukiyaki Sauce: 

• 6 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
• 5 tbsp mirin
• 5 tbsp sake
• 4tbsp sugar

 How To:

•  Prepare a cup of rice in a bowl.

*Since I don't have an iron pot for my table. Beef is already boiled to perfection, then, I stir-fried each ingredient in Sesame oil using a shallow non-stick pan.

• Top the rice bowl with each ingredient.
• In a saucer mix 1 cup of "hot" beef broth and 1/2cup Sukiyaki Sauce. Pour over the prepared rice bowl.

ENJOY!

Baked Penne Carbonara

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 K lean ground pork
• 250g sweet ham (minced)
• 250g bacon (minced)
• 1 can button mushrooms (chopped)
• 2 whole garlic (minced)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 500g  Penne
• 1 cup all purpose cream
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
•  salt and ground pepper
  

Instead of the traditional egg sauce, I combined some cream and Bechamel sauce.
Bechamel Sauce:

• 2 cups fresh milk
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour

 How To:

• Boil Penne al dente, set aside.
• In a sauce pan, saute half of minced garlic, ground pork, half of minced ham, half of minced bacon and half of chopped mushrooms until light brown.
• Add all- purpose cream, Parmesan cheese and dried basil.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Add cooked Penne and mix everything until pasta is covered with sauce.
• Set in a baking dish.

Bechamel Sauce:

In a sauce pan, mix 2 cups fresh milk, 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp flour. Mix until flour is dissolved then bring to boil.

• Pour on prepared pasta.
• Top with remaining minced garlic, ham, bacon and mushrooms.
• Bake for 15- 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Quite a Friday. I was enjoying this pasta early this afternoon when I found out that a great earthquake struck Japan. Of course, it was a devastating scene, especially knowing that here in the Philippines, it's been said that we're also expecting something similar. Had to stop with what I'm doing and it took me the whole afternoon to absorb the things that's been happening. Videos online, on television and even via Facebook. I pray for a quick recovery and even more prayers to those who are still badly affected and traumatized with the turn of events.

Food Trip Friday

Dog Food Choices At Your Very Doorstep

Yes, we got another Beagle and his name is EMO. With the family getting bigger health for both Coco and Emo is priority, especially because they're still considered as puppies. During the first week of Emo with us, he suffered indigestion. For added information, Emo is a 2 month old Beagle pup. Younger than Coco. Like babies, puppies are also prone to anything that might greatly affect their health.

 Everything should be measured according to their age on a certain amount their body can handle. Part of my food blog is going to be about nutrition. Like us humans, pets like dogs to be exact, have their own list to follow in terms of good nutrition. 

As first time dog owners, one of the things my husband and I took note of are the food choices we can serve our Beagles. 

Most pet owners are raving about canidae dog food and taste of the wild dog food. Nowadays natural dog food delivery is also offered.

A good dog food should contain the following:

All Natural and high quality

Acceptable to the taste

Maintains and conditions skin and coat

Contains all the essential vitamins and minerals

Naturally Preserved

Digestible

In some countries, purchasing dog food was made easier through dog food delivery. Your dog's favorite grub can now be delivered anytime you want it. There are times when we can't take our little cuties out of the house, especially when it's raining hard or if they're sick or even if the pet owner is sick or busy. Just a few clicks online, your order is going to be delivered right at your very home. Here in our country, I'm still researching for sellers that offers the same service. It's such a big convenience.

Blogging An Essay?

Even with the convenience of searching information online can make it difficult to be able to create an original write up. Building sentences and paragraphs according to what my teachers taught me. For a Plain Jane like me, I did had thoughts of inquiring if an essay writing service would come in handy. Experts are available online to guide on how to be able to make an impressive original piece. Sometimes, we have the idea of the perfect topic to write about, and we stop with just an idea because we're not sure  how to put our thoughts in black and white the correct way.

I wasn't trained to become a writer, I don't really have the interest for it. It just so happen that I have the heart for expressing myself and blogging is a good way to be able to share my thoughts. There were times when I think if I'm doing it right.  A blog is like an essay. As a matter of fact it is an essay. Bloggers or the author creates a piece of short writing which is always based from the writer's point of view. In all blog categories, the main core of a blog entry is the author's opinion. Whatever we learned from writing a high school essay is 100% applicable in blogging. In school, we write it on a paper, with blogging, we directly feed using a computer. But the content and set up if we're going to follow the traditional essay format, are actually the same. From the essay title, introduction, body, and conclusion.

Throughout the years I developed a little of my writing skills. I never thought that I'll be able to create multiple entries that are open to everyone around the world. It's an achievement as a person. The fulfillment is even greater than getting a high score in school.

Bite Club

Who can resist a burger this big? Finally, I was able to try the famous Bite Club burger. Bite Club is a burger joint that  has been making noise not only because of its  grilled, mozzarella stuffed all beef burger delicious and juicy burgers but also for the size. The restaurant name Bite Club got us fishing for their house specialty. 

Bombarella

Now I tell you, size does matter for a mouth watering burger. It was pretty heavy for a snack. It's the perfect burger to munch on while in the middle of an interesting conversation especially about ppc services. Bite Club has a chain in Boracay, located at the middle of D’mall. Might as well try it and complete your Boracay  food adventure.

Bite Club Katipunan Avenue Quezon City

M&M's Fun Fortune Dispenser

One of the things that I'll be looking forward to in the near future is being able to spend my first M&M's World visit with my dear sister-in-law. We talked about it a lot. I mean, she's now based in America but she haven't visited a single M&M's store. And this has become a goal for the both of us. Well, for me, being able to travel with her  alone is going to be awesome, then add the both of us stepping in the nearest M&M's World. I know she's waiting for me, we made plans that we will visit together.

I became familiar with M&M's World when it was featured in a news channel some years back. It is a very colorful store, filled with all the goodies every child and the young at heart could dream about. The store that was featured was M&M's World Las Vegas. It's one of their famous tourist attraction.

And just last week, a family came home from America to visit and she gave us our very own M&M's Dispenser. It's a Fun Fortune Dispenser. It's really fun. We placed it in our room, then we made a rule to ask  a question before pressing the dispenser. 

The cube inside the crystal ball will give the answer to your interesting and fun question.

The dispenser can hold all kinds of M&M's.

Office Furniture

There are many ways to make the workplace more functional. These types of office furniture bay area businesses use are considered the top seven.

1. Cubicles

Nothing saves space like cubicles. This is one form of office furniture bay area businesses buy most. It is an excellent alternative to standard office rooms. They also offer call centers privacy while conserving space. With the economy today, cubicles are a real space saver for bay area businesses as it also saves on building costs, cleaning services and heating/cooling costs.

2. Workstations

A workstation are like a cross between a typical desk and a cubicle. They may have small walls to create a slight barrier between this work area and others in the surrounding environment. They do not provide as much sound isolation as a cubicle, but more than a conventional desk does.

3. Reception Desk

If you have a store or office front, every business needs one of these! When people walk in the door, this is the first piece of office furniture bay area clients will see. The receptionist or secretary needs a place to sit, answer phones, do computing, and greet guests. The reception desk is a type of office furniture bay area companies cannot miss.

4. Conference Table

There are a few reasons a conference table is often selected. For one, it provides a professional place to do meetings and presentations for clients. It also creates a place for staff meetings. Collaboration sessions are also made more effective and practical. Having a sharp looking, yet serviceable table is a must for businesses on a practical level, as well as to look professional.

5. Desk Chairs

If you've ever sat in an office all day, you'll know the importance of a desk chair as opposed to just any old chair. Comfort means a better outlook on your job and thus higher efficiency and better work. Desk chairs are a kind of office furniture bay area professionals find quintessential. They can be used at desks, cubicles, workstations, reception areas, and in the conference room. Keeping more than enough seats available for clients and staff is advisable.

6. Cabinets

Keeping your office or store sharp and clean looking means keeping the paraphernalia put away. Cabinets are the perfect place to organize and store items away from view. Cabinets, like bookshelves, are an article of office furniture bay area businesses usually consider a must-have. Without a proper place to keep books, supplies, company records, and so on, a business would be a mess, both literally and figuratively.

7. Guest Seating

If your store involves people waiting on you (i.e. a doctors office, consulting business, auto shop, etc), you'll want a comfortable, nice-looking waiting area for your clients. Even small businesses need a waiting area, if clients or customers visit the premises in person. Making them feel comfortable is priority number one. Guest seating, as well as nice coffee tables and end tables, are an ideal type of office furniture bay area companies utilize in order to accomplish this.