TGI Friday's BHS

Ball Park Nachos (P395)
I didn't care much for these. They were just ordinary nachos with meat, cheese and some bell peppers, onions and tomatoes. Frankly I didn't think it was worth the price.

Jack Daniel's Pork Chop (P395)
The pork chop itself was ok, not that tender though. The sweet JD sauce was good, and really helped give the meat a pleasant taste. I love, love their mashed potatoes as always, and the corn were a welcome treat. But still, they could have added more butter to the corn.

A Simpler View For Now

It's been a long time since I've last made an entry in this blog. I've had to attend to too many different things and activities. Seeing as I don't want to really let this blog go to waste, I've decided to keep my posts pretty simple for now. What matters to me is that I get to update it more often than before, and continue to give people a taste of a subject and activity I hold dearly in my heart -- food and eating.

Instead of long and varied descriptions of my dining experiences, it will be more of a direct-to-the-point review if you will, of different gastronomical delights from restaurants to food stalls and everything in between. I hope you will continue to enjoy reading as I share my festive eats and may the pictures I show help shape and color your imagination as we go on this delectable journey.

Something Different and Something Familiar in Las Paellas

I've eaten in Las Paellas a fair number of times and I would just like to share more of their dishes that I've tried.
Their Teriyaki Chicken (P195) is your typical, run-of-the-mill Asian version of a chicken. The sweet sauce is good although the chicken could have been less charred.
The Prawns A La Parilla (P285) were better in taste, although I expected at least three pieces of prawns for the price. Nonetheless, you could not go wrong with pan-grilled prawns in lemon butter sauce. I've always loved shrimps drenched in lemon butter, and this dish leaves me craving for more.
These pictures were taken from the Las Paellas branch in BF Homes. One thing I noticed though, was that they lacked garnishing on their food. Like with the Oysters Rockefeller (P215), the oysters were simply presented in a plate, very much unlike the one we had in the Festival branch (click here to see picture) where there was a slice of lemon smacked in the middle and I'm not sure if the green garnishings were parsley, but it made the dish much more appetizing.
The same goes for the Salpicao (P245). The one in the Festival branch had buttered corn and steamed vegetables on the side (click here to see picture), which really enhanced the dish, while this one in BF had none. I'm not sure though if they had just no stock of spices and vegetables that day or if they really present the food in a plain and undecorated way.
The dishes themselves were good though, so decorations or no decorations, this restaurant is still good enough for a second or third or fourth visit.

Baker's Dozen in Rockwell

I've made a post about this same event a few months ago. And since I haven't yet featured every participant, this time I've managed to take more photos of the pastry booths and their wares.

Costa Brava features Coco Natura, an all natural and organic coconut sweetener, a sugar substitute for beverages, cooking and baking.
One of their specialties is the Chicken Mushroom Pie (P50).
Also included in their list are different cakes and cupcakes, ensaimadas, gelatin, leche flan, macaroons, palitaw, polvoron, and a whole lot more.
Costa Brava
Spot: 12 Polaris St. Bel Air I, Makati City
Telephone: +632 896.1267 / +632 896.6872
Contact Person: Juda Liu

Postres del Cielo mainly sells gourmet polvoron. They have unique flavors like Kiwi, Cranberry, Rose & Lavender (P250/dozen).
Postres del Cielo
Cellphone: +0918 818.8115
Telephone: +632 635.4734
Website: postresdelcielo.multiply.com
E-mail: [email protected]

Cake Avenue creates custom-made theme cakes for all occasions, some of which are decorated cupcakes and cookies, birthday, wedding and baptismal cakes, and company give-aways.
They also have special cakes and pastries like Brazo de Yema, Brandied Butter Cake, Food for the Gods, Lemon Squares, Oatmeal Crispies and Russian Tea Cookies. Their sugar free products inlcude Chocolate and Carrot Cakes, Fluffy Mamon, Brazo de Yema and Apple Pie.
Cake Avenue
Spot: 78 Estrella St. Bel-air Village, Makati
Telephone: +632 895.2579 / +632 898.3557
Contact Persons: Liza Salgado / Maryrose Damaso
Website: www.cakeavenuebakeshop.com
E-mail: [email protected]

The Crukitchen offers different brownies, lemon bars, food for the gods, crinkles and cookies.
They also have specialty cakes and pies like Luscious Belgian Chocolate Decadence, Belgian Chocolate Mousse, Dome Paradise Cake, Chocolate Pecan Turtle Tart, Baked Oreo Cheesecake, Moist Chocolate Caramel Cake and Walnut Carrot Cake. Sugar free versions of the cakes are available upon request.
Among their bestsellers are the Belgian Creme Puffs (P295/16pcs and P200/9pcs), Cinnamon Rolls, and Lola Consuelo's Leche Flan (P150). The leche flan looks rather tasty and so pretty, not too dark with the sauce.
The Crukitchen
Spot: 43 Barcelona St. Merville Park, Paranaque
Cellphone: +0920 927.8188
Telephone: +632 825.4474
Website: thecrukitchen.multiply.com

Puff Mommy basically offers cream puffs.
Here is one more luscious looking leche flan.
Puff Mommy
Cellphone: +0917 813.2323
Telephone: +632 821.2752

Ienne's Cupcake Cafe offers different flavored cupcakes like Vanilla, Vanilla Mint, Raspberry, Blueberry (P50) and Mocha, Red Velvet, Dark Chocolate, Passion Fruit (P55). They accept bulk orders with advance notice and you can also have mini cupcakes made. You can even have the cupcakes personalized with their available sugar decors.
Ienne's Cupcake Cafe
Telephone: +632 466.7645
Website: iennescupcakecafe.multiply.com
E-mail: [email protected]

Anatolia Cuisine serves Turkish pastries and desserts.
Anatolia Cuisine
Cellphone: +0917 855.8005 / +0917 855.8006 / +0922 855.7690
Telephone: +632 437.4249
Contact Persons: Levend Ekizoglu / Claire Saldana - Ekizoglu
E-mail: [email protected]

Joyce's offers all natural homemade food. They have pastries like butter or chocolate rum cake, chewy butterscotch and oatmeal crisps.
But probably their most famous product is the Dulong (P250). Tiny fishes drenched in olive oil and garlic. We've been having this for years. It makes for a very delicious snack, just grab several pieces of melba toast, smother them with a generous helping of dulong and pop them one by one into your mouth. Yummy!
They also have Queso de Bola Spread (P280), which my mom loves, and Portabello Mushroom Dip (P300).
Joyce's
Spot: 11 Margarita St. Magallanes Village, Makati
Cellphone: +0917 523.2913
Telephone: +632 853.0129
Contact Person: Joyce Aragon
Website: joycearagonfoods.multiply.com
E-mail: [email protected]

Iya's Jumbo Pastillas basically offers different flavored pastillas and lengua de gato.

Iya's Jumbo Pastillas
Spot: J&C Fruits Market! Market! Stall #18
Telephone: +632 729.0325

Talangkanin from Only You

The latest ABS-CBN teleserye "Only You" features a specialty dish, Talangkanin, made of aligue rice with seafood and vegetable toppings. All those intrigued with its taste whenever watching this primetime soap, can quench their curiosity by visiting Kaya restaurant which exclusively serves this extraordinary meal also called Aligue Bibimbap (P220).
Though good for two people, one person can find himself unable to stop from gorging on the aligue rice. The fusion of flavors from this melting pot of shrimps, squid, mushrooms, beansprouts, carrots ang egg paints a mosaic-like feel for the palate. I would have loved more aligue for the rice but one cannot complain at the wholeness of the meal. There's also even soup that goes with this dish.
Not knowing that the Talangkanin would be quite a stomach filler by itself, we had also ordered the Bulgogi (P160), pan-grilled marinated sirloin strips. The serving is quite small but actually just enough (though it may not seem so at first). Bulgogi is very much like any other meat dish save for the flavor of its sauce, which is distinct to Korean dishes. This brings me back to college days when a classmate of ours would sporadically bring Bulgogi to school and instead of having it as his lunch, ends up giving all of it to us (not at all unlike preschool bullies pushing little kids with lunch boxes around the playground, haha!). I really love the sauce, you can eat it with rice or just munch on it alone.
This is the first time I've tried Kaya and given the affordable prices, I think I'll be coming back to try other Korean dishes as well.
Kaya
Spot: Concourse Level, Powerplant Mall, Rockwell, Makati
Telephone: +632 898.0934 / +632 898.0935

Bohemia Cakes and Pastries

Erika Fortunado was a classmate of mine in high school. Every now and then, she would bring pastries to school, sharing with us her delicious creations in between classes. She is a graduate of Hotel Management School 'Les Roches in Switzerland and has also received a Pastry Diploma from 'Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France. Now, she is the proud owner of Bohemia Cakes and Pastries with the tag line "We Dream in Cake!!!".

Her passion for baking and flair for creating artistic and very detailed sugar pieces are evidenced by her every masterpiece.
You can also visit her multiply website to see her cake gallery, which serves as samples of her work and not a catalog of her designs. All of her cakes are designed per client to ensure the uniqueness of design and character. However, if you see a design that you very much like, she can replicate it with some changes tailored fit for you. Cake prices are dependent largely on labor so there is no set pricelist. You can send your cake or pastry requirements through e-mail, which is her primary mode of communication as she could not normally take calls in the middle of designing a cake. And no one wants to disturb a master at work (when you see how particular she is up to the tiniest detail, you will very much understand why).

Bohemia Cakes and Pastries
Contact person: Erika Fortunado
Spot: Ayala Alabang Village, Muntinlupa City
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.bohemiacakes.multiply.com