Ampalaya Con Carne

One way to make bitter gourd more enticing and interesting to eat is by mixing it with beef or any meat that will surely balance its bitterness. We all want our little ones to eat vegetables. As a mom, I introduced eating Ampalaya or bitter gourd to my eldest son as early as 3 years old, same thing will follow with my youngest.  With my experience, to be able to get my kids eat bitter gourd, I make the dish saucy. Tomato sauce will do, oyster sauce and serve it with their favorite food (fried chicken, fish, etc). It's also best to just serve it on the table, let them eat  it (but don't force them) than say a lot of things about it.

Here we go!

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

• 2 cups beef cubes (boiled until tender)
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
  
• 5 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1/2 tsp minced ginger
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 1 medium red tomatoes (cut into quarters)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large Ampalaya (sliced into thin pieces)

 To lessen the bitterness, get rid of the seeds and the white lining beneath it then soak it in water.

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 tsp black pepper granules
• 2 tsp cornstarch

Procedure:

• Boil beef cubes until tender. Drain the meat and set aside 1 1/2 cups of beef broth.
• Mix soy sauce, water, cornstarch and black pepper granules then set aside.
• Saute garlic in olive oil until medium brown.
• Add onion and tomatoes, stir for a few seconds.
• Add beef cubes and stir for a few seconds.
• Add bitter gourd or ampalaya.
• Add beef broth and simmer for 30 seconds or if vegetable is at least half- cooked.
• Shift to low fire then add soy sauce mixture and stir evenly.

Ready to be served!

Of course, bitter gourd has a lot of health benefits. One is lowering/ balancing blood sugar levels. Every part of the plant is useful, that's why some prefer to juice it. But personally, would rather cook it.

For leftovers, check this out!

Sancho Churreria Manila

Girl bonding was spent at Sancho Churreria Manila. My sisters and I wanted burger from The Burger Project but our mom was craving for pasta. Good thing that Sancho was just right beside The Burger project, we didn't have to look any further. 

They say, Sancho Churreria Manila, taken from the name and by word of mouth, serves one of the best churros in the city. So weird because we totally forgot to order some during our visit. 

And for first timers, I gotta say we enjoyed the over-all feel of the restaurant. It was so homey. The dining area has limited no. of tables and chairs but it's not cramped. The staff was very friendly and courteous.

For our food, we all ordered pasta and Brazo de Mercedes for dessert.

 Pasta Puttanesca

Pesto

Classic Carbonara

 Baked Macaroni

The pasta dishes we ordered came with 2 slices of buttered bread. The portions for the pasta is big. For a single serving, it's a lot for a person to enjoy. As a pasta lover, I can say that Sancho Churreria Manila serves delicious pasta. I love it. It's tasty but not salty. I can actually distinguish the mix of flavors thru the freshness of the ingredients from my Puttanesca. My mom enjoyed her baked macaroni, the sauce was very rich. Same with my sister's Carbonara. The Pesto was not oily and the mix of Parmesan cheese with the basil added texture and more flavor. By the way, extra Parmesan cheese is available by request.

The prices of our pasta dishes went around 175-190php

A slice of Brazo de Mercedes 35php

Sancho Churreria Manila has a wide range of food choices. From pasta, sandwiches, appetizers, main that goes around Filipino viands and desserts. One of their house specialty is their line of desserts: Chocolate eclairs, Cream puffs, Traditional Chocolate cake, Brazo de Mercedes and Churros.

My husband noticed this post while I was making it. He was not around when I took my mom and sisters at this restaurant. With that, this coming weekend, we will pay Sancho Churreria Manila a visit and taste more of its scrumptious dishes.

Location: 122 Maginhawa St., Teachers Village, Quezon City
Tel no: 436-5539

My Sister's Birthday Celebration In Subic

This was the first time that a member of the family celebrated her birthday for 3 consecutive days. For some reason we just thought of taking my sister's 26th birthday celebration out of town. It all started in a small conversation. Everytime we see each other we ask how everyone's doing in the family. So she opened up that since she got a job some 2 or 3 years ago, she didn't really had the time to go on long vacations and focused more on work. But this time, she chose to go at least for a long weekend break in celebration of her birthday.

As we were also planning on bringing the kids to the beach, my sister thought of making the said out of town trip as her birthday celebration as well.

Being the eldest, I planned something else with my other siblings and surprised the birthday celebrant for a weekend stay in Subic.

During the first day, we brought food to the beach to be grilled. I was in- charge of marinating everything. From the liempo, boneless bangus and shrimps. My brother took the responsibility to grill/ cook once we were at the resort.

It was a simple gathering where family, the beach and Filipino food made it all memorable. We stayed at the beach the whole day. Later in the afternoon, we went back to Forestview where we had a Deluxe Villa reserved a month before the said trip. Once all freshened up, my brother, my younger sister Les, my husband and me went to the Harbor Point Mall to buy a birthday cake, some beer and more food still in celebration of my sister's birthday.

When we got back, it was surely a surprise for the birthday celebrant to see more food, beer and of course a birthday cake. With all the waiting, she thought that we were just buying ice and she heated up the left- over food for dinner. "Forget about the left- over food, here's another feast for you."

Our evening went around singing for the birthday celebrant, enjoyed and shared with the birthday celebrant's favorite food from Max's Restaurant: Kare-Kare, 2 Whole Fried Chicken, Sizzling Tofu and Chopsuey.

The following day, we're suppose to continue our celebration at Meat Plus. When we thought that one of us called Meat Plus to have a table reserved, maybe to our excitement, turned out that no one did (hehehe!). Even with that, we tried our luck if we can still get a table, but Meat Plus was really full and the waiting line was very long. From there, we went to Aristocrat Restaurant near the Harbor Point Mall and had barbecue (pork, boneless chicken) 2 orders of birthday pancit (canton and guisado). Even if we didn't get a table at Meat Plus, this only proves that Filipino dishes can beat anything especially when it comes to celebrations. 

Our celebration continued when we got back in Manila the following day. We met up with our parents at the restaurant which my younger brother is managing. It was a fruitful gathering worth remembering. The family's complete, we had good food and lots of laughter. 

Mother's Day is near, until our next...

Restaurant Thoughts: Crazy Katsu

We spent the last day of our long weekend with errands. After shopping for some supplies, we decided to grab a bite on our way home. My husband thought of Miggy's at first, but we remembered that we just had burrito. Then we thought of driving back all the way to SM North to check YABU's new branch. Then again, since we're not sure if the restaurant is already open, we decided to stick with what the small restaurants along Maginhawa st. will offer.

If you're looking for a quick food adventure, you got to check Maginhawa st. It has always been our stop in case when we run out of options. For instance, if my husband wants a burger and I want a burrito, we go to Good Burger that's right beside Mexican Express and between the 2 is a milk tea shop. How good is that? You can never go wrong in this area.

So, my husband was driving slow because we were both checking both sides of the road for a good place to eat.

Then... lo and behold... the answer to our Katsu craving.

I've been seeing a lot of posts about Crazy Katsu, but I don't take time to go through the articles. I told my husband "There's Crazy Katsu, I've been seeing a lot of posts about it on Facebook." I thought it's located somewhere in Makati or Ortigas, but hey, I'm happy because here's another place where we can go to for our Katsu fix. Crazy Katsu offers dishes at a pocket- friendly price. Prices range from Php120-190. 

Outside the restaurant, the sign board is attracting guests with it's cute font and reddish background. It stands out.

Unit- 1, 81 Maginhawa st. Teacher's Village UP Diliman, Quezon City

Cozy, air-conditioned dining area with wifi.

When we got in, the staff was very accommodating. We were seated, served with glasses and a pitcher of iced water. The Crazy Katsu menu has a short list specializing on katsu dishes and house specialties such as their Pork Ginger, Sukiyaki, Fish and Vegetable Tempura.

Miso Soup (Php30)

Our soup was served immediately and it was smoking hot. It was very good, perfect for that rainy day.

Chicken Katsu (Php145)

This I must say, was one- tricky dish. I thought that it's going to be just an ordinary Chicken Katsu... I was surprised and got a "little" disappointed when I saw the siling labuyo. It's best to include a description on the menu, so the client will know of this extraordinary twist. Or better yet, make chili optional. I needed to dig through the bed of shredded cabbage for siling labuyo, but over-all, I still enjoyed my Chicken Katsu. The Chicken Katsu sauce has a touch of sweetness. The boneless chicken was juicy and crispy.

Tonkatsu (Php 140)

After the disappointing part from my Chicken Katsu, let me redeem Crazy Katsu for their Tonkatsu, Fish and Vegetable Tempura.

1. Their Tonkatsu is thick, firm and juicy. In comparison, it is as big as a 120g Rosu and is served on a bed of shredded cabbage and a cup of rice. With extra rice, the pork can be shared by 2 kids.

2. My favorite. Fish and Vegetable Tempura. This plate is composed of 8 pieces tempura mixed vegetable and fish. I just love that they serve 3 of my favorite vegetables: okra, talong (eggplant) and kalabasa (pumpkin) for their vegetable tempura. The fish tempura I got to say is also a hit. In most restaurants, they use Cream Dory for tempura, in Crazy Katsu, it's different. I can't recall the name of the fish Crazy Katsu uses, but one of the servers mentioned that it's a local saltwater fish. It taste like Tilapia.

Fish and Vegetable Tempura (Php140)

Crazy Katsu Iced Tea (php30)
With the taste of the iced tea, I guess, it's a special mix from Crazy Katsu.

Drinks: Php 30-65

Everything in Crazy Katsu is worth it. This is going to be added on our list. We've been in and out of Teacher's Village, it's nice to have a more reasonable alternative in case we want Katsu late at night or simply a budget friendly restaurant that serves high quality food.

Grilled Pompano Fish

First of all, I didn't know that Pompano Fish or "Pampano" as to what we call it here in the Philippines, is considered a delicacy. Being one of the richest and tastiest marine fish in the world. It is a silver fish with a body that is somewhat flat. You can view -fresh Pompano Fish photo- by going to the link highlighted, since I wasn't able to produce my own photo of the fish fresh.

One of the things I enjoy having a father who travels a lot, is being able to try extraordinary food or ingredients that he takes home coming from different provinces. On my last visit to my parent's house, my dad gave me a coco vinegar mixture which he made. Aside from that, he also gave me a big Pompano Fish to complete a meal.  At first , I didn't really know how will I serve the fish. Stewed, steamed, fried, grilled or even baked. I wasn't familiar with it, but I was advised that Pompano is best served fried or grilled. For lunch today (Monday), I got parts of the fish for fillet. Then, the remaining was still seasoned for grilling. Pompano fish is being sold in wet markets here in Manila for the price ranging from php200-280 per kilo.

On both sides of the Pompano fish fillet, drizzle it with olive oil, then season with salt, lemon juice or calamansi juice then slices of ginger. Get your grill ready and start cooking! Served my Grilled Pompano Fish with my dad's special coco vinegar mix and hot rice.

Celebrated At Johnny Rockets

If you're in the Philippines and looking for an all-American meal, Johnny Rockets is the restaurant for you. Located at the Eastwood Mall, Eastwood City Libis. Johnny Rockets opened it's first diner on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles offering an old-fashioned diner feel. It is a must- visit restaurant here in the Philippines because the Johnny Rockets in Eastwood, is also the only Johnny Rockets in Asia.

 Johnny Rockets reminded me of Pop Tate's, you know, the one from Archie Comics. The thought of bringing Pop Tate's to life through Johnny Rockets brought out my interest. I got very excited.

The menu is composed of juicy hamburgers, classic sandwiches, and hand-dipped shakes and malts.

The first one you should try is their famous, original shakes and malts which are made with hand-dipped, premium vanilla ice cream. Malts are blended with real powdered malt.

Philly Cheese Steak at php 395 served with french fries or garden salad

Thinly sliced sirloin steak, grilled to perfection and topped with grilled onions & choice of cheese. Served on an authentic hoagie roll.-source-

St. Louis at php395 also served with french fries or garden salad

Applewood smoked bacon, Swiss cheese, grilled onions, shredded lettuce, pickles and their “St. Louis” sauce. Created by one of their crew members, in St. Louis.-source- I'm not a hamburger person, but St. Louis brought me out of my box. I love it!

Rockets Kids Meal (Mix Meal of mini hamburger, mini hot dog served with ketchup and/or mustard.)Also served with American fries & choice of soda pop or milk. 

Last Sunday, we celebrated my son's birthday at Johnny Rockets. We thank the nice people of Johnny Rockets for being so accommodating. They granted our reservation immediately. They sang a birthday song for Franky, gave him a balloon and some freebies.

Johnny Rockets is one of the reasons that made my son's 6th birthday memorable. As a family, we will never forget this experience. Thank you Johnny Rockets! It was fun!

Weekend Fun With My Boys

Last week, we were blessed to have a long weekend. Just a few days after my husband was discharged from the hospital. Very timely, we took advantage of it. Even in the process of recuperating, my husband still opted to go out. Being stuck in the hospital was just unexplainable, it plays with your mind. It's not healthy psychologically speaking. Well, it's our first time to stay in a hospital for 1 week straight..

Anyway, Friday we went to Sm Megamall to do a bit of strolling and window shopping. Visited shops we missed and food we've been dying to taste. Restaurant stop was at Bubble Tea. I was craving for their Cold, Lychee Green Tea with Bubbles (related post). As for my husband, we ordered something fat free and salt free. That's what I like about Bubble Tea, they have plenty of options. We continued our escapade Saturday, buy doing the groceries at SM Hypermarket Tiendesitas. This time, we added a little to our regular budget so we can celebrate with my husband's speedy recovery. Had a good massage at the Big Apple Spa (also in Tiendesitas).

Sunday, I took my boys to the barbershop for their haircut. Then drove to a nearby mall, I went window shopping at the newly opened Payless ShoeSource, then had some pampering time at the salon. We had dinner at Sbarro.

Again, I have been craving for another dish. Sbarro's Baked Ziti. This time, I ordered some Chicken Parmigiano with meat sauce to top it. My son finished a big slice of Hawaiian Pizza and for my husband---Spicy Buffalo Chicken Pizza. Over-all, it was a perfect weekend for us. We didn't spend so much just to enjoy and it's still fun as dirt bike riding. It marked a new beginning for us. 

The important things are: health -wise and family-wise, it made us stronger than ever as one unit.

Lemon-Tarragon Fish Dory

Aside from Basil, Tarragon is one of my favorite herbs. For my mom, this is her favorite. I practically grew up with it. My mother taught me the first dish that involved herbs, one of them is: Tarragon Chicken. As we all know herbs like Tarragon are one of the best substitute if we want to eliminate salt completely. Experts, have them delivered fresh everyday, that may require a good auto transport. Others, grow their own herb garden. Either way, dried or fresh it doesn't matter.

Tarragon is one of the four fines herbs of French cooking, and particularly suitable for chicken, lasagna, fish and egg dishes.-source-
Since it's hard to find fresh Tarragon in the market today, I opted to buy the usual dried Tarragon. Here's another easy- healthy recipe for you.

Ingredients:

•  Dory Fish Fillet
•  Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp dried Tarragon or fresh
• 1 lemon chopped into quarters
• Ground pepper

How To:

• Drizzle both sides of fish with olive oil
• Squeeze lemon on each side
• Season with Tarragon and Ground Pepper
• Heat 1 tsp of Olive Oil in Frying Pan
• Cook each side of the fish for 2-3 mins

Servings: Good for 2-3

ENJOY a HEARTY MEAL♥!

Poached Egg

A healthy way of cooking egg is through poaching. Egg simmered in water, no oil or fat used. Most rice cooker being sold nowadays comes with an egg poacher. If you don't have an egg poacher, the traditional way of cooking it are as follows:

1. Simmer 1-2 cups of water in a small sauce pan.

2. Add 1 tbsp of vinegar. The vinegar coagulates the egg white turning it into a perfectly poached egg.-source-

3. In a bowl, crack egg, then slowly pour it in the simmering water with vinegar.

4. Cook 2-3 minutes.

5. Use slotted spoon to remove cooked egg. Serve immediately.

Poached eggs are commonly used for Eggs Benedict. You can also serve it seasoned with the herb of your choice, ground pepper or cheese. As for me, I like it plain.

No Salt---Beef Stroganoff

It may look like a common Beef Mechado dish for some, but  once you taste, it's going to be something new for your palate.  I researched online for low salt, low fat dishes and one of the easiest recipes I found is Beef Stroganoff.

-RECIPE-

Please click on the link just below the picture for the recipe. To make the dish look more appetizing I added some carrots, potato slices and Annatto or Atsuete for color. Great colors for Halloween Contact Lenses. By the way, Annatto produces a reddish pulp which contains the seeds that is often used both as a coloring agent and for flavoring. And I prefer serving it with rice instead of noodles or pasta.

If you get to view the original recipe, you won't believe that it can taste so good even without salt. The key ingredient to a Stroganoff dish is the sour cream. Perfect with  your healthy green salad and hot Jasmine Rice.

No Salt---Tuna Munch

Halu! I have been busy with family for the past 2 weeks. Just recently, my husband got hospitalized. It's Dengue for those who are still clueless. Since we're already in the hospital, we decided to have the rest of his system checked. The results turned out normal . But still , we were given a guide towards a more healthy lifestyle. And part of the list is preparing food/ meals that are low on fat and salt. As much as possible, the doctor recommends this low-fat, low-salt diet. He has a point, we don't wait for anything that will greatly affect our health then, that's the time we will consider going low on everything. It's better to be sure NOW than to be sorry LATER (when it's already too late).

One of the healthiest main ingredient we can use is fish.  Again the recipe I will be sharing is easy as cooking a sunny side up egg.

• All you will be needing are: fish fillet, dried or fresh herb of your choice, ground pepper, 2 eggs (beaten), 1/2 Cup flour, 1 Cup Bread Crumbs or any and 2-3 tbsps olive oil or canola oil for frying.

How To:

• Season fish with herb and ground pepper
• Dip in beaten eggs
• Coat with flour
• Then dip it again in eggs
• Coat with bread crumbs
• Heat oil in frying pan
• Then fry each around 2-3 minutes for all sides. I prefer it pan fried- to make sure that the recipe will stick on the healthy side by not getting too much oil.
  

With mine I used chops of Tuna. Then I drizzled it with a little olive oil, thyme and black pepper. Served with Honey-Mustard. It can also be served plain.

Celebrating Their Birthdays This August

When it comes to celebrations, it's best to tell a little story on the feast that was shared. August 22, 2010, we had an advance birthday celebration for my Dad and for my brother. Their birthdays are 1 day apart. As always each celebrant has his own cake and candles to blow. Having 2 members of the family celebrate together is one of a kind, especially when we're talking about a father and son thing.

We had our favorites cooked for this year's celebration. Ordered pancit for a change, turbo broiled liempo with herbs and spices and it was juicy. My dad also prepared some curried shrimps. He also served us his specialty---steamed Chinese Lapu-lapu. It was a simple get together. Aside from celebrating their birthdays, it was also a time to celebrate as 1 whole big family.

Thank God for the gift of having a complete family. Thank God for the ages 27 and 60. Thank God for blessing each one with good health and a happy disposition. Happy Birthday to our Dad (Aug.23) and To our brother Nano (Aug.25)

Discovering The First Aristocrat Restaurant

All these years, I didn't have any idea that the Aristocrat Restaurant along Roxas Boulevard is the original,  the first ever Aristocrat Restaurant established. July 22, 2010 with my mom and auntie, we took my grandmother to her hometown in Malate Manila to celebrate her 80th birthday. This year marked another year for her to be thankful for the life and love she found after World War II. On our way to Malate, she took us back in time, telling us her stories,  both her pre- war and post war experiences. Pre-war? well I thought of country cottages, fresh air, green surroundings and a quiet life. One her favorite stops when she was a kid was a stall, of now, The Aristocrat Restaurant.

And as requested, we took her to the place she reminded her of her childhood the most. She told us that she will never forget Aristocrat.

An Aristocrat visit will never be complete without tasting their famous Chicken Barbecue and their signature Java Rice. For me and Frank, we ordered our usual boneless chicken, and for the rest, the classic chicken barbecue. My grandmother was overwhelmed with the size of the chicken parts they served. Okay, I have a little ranting to do: How come in Aristocrat Cubao the chicken they're serving are far smaller. Hmmm...

We also had our favorite Sotanghon, which is vermicelli with stir-fried meat, shrimp and vegetables. It was so good and it came with lots of vegetables, which we loved the most.

Another dish to make the celebration extra special, was their Chopsuey . Stir fried vegetables topped with: crab meat, shrimp, pork and chicken and the freshest veggies. This was the ultimate. It was my first time to try their Chopsuey, how good? I can't explain it. Put it this way, I ordered another round of Java Rice.

I can't describe how happy my grandmother was. 

Spending her special day reminiscing the good, sad and bad times of her past, made  her 80th birthday unique. She couldn't believe that she reached this far. She is happy and thankful that she survived the fight of her lifetime.  I am happy that she didn't take World War II  just to become  a weak person. I can say that it was pretty tragic at that time, because she lost 2 of her brothers during the war, she got hit by shrapnels, that left  marks on her neck to her right leg. On this day, she offered prayers for her mom (my great grandmother who died at the age of 92) for being a good example on how to become a strong woman and for the souls of the loved ones she lost. After everything, it was the peaceful time and her fond childhood memories that kept her inspired through the years. Without this lady, I wouldn't be here sharing this extraordinary story.