Magnum Gold

lets see what all the commotion's about..

Since someone got jealous of the neighbors...

we just had to fire up the grill!

Texas Roadhouse

 Part 2 of Car's Birthday Celebration

Waffle Toppers

Since mom made waffles for breakfast.. I decided to get creative and make some fruit toppers for our fluffy waffles.

Ergo, Fresh Strawberries with Whipped Cream Cheese and Brown Sugar Waffle Toppers

A rather simple breakfast, what matters is the presentation!

Miks

Mom's Seafood Kare Kare

Fish, Scallops, Baby Squid, Clams, Shrimps, and an assortment of veggies smothered with moms famous Kare Kare sauce.

Always a hit at any dinner party!

Must learn the recipe before she heads back to MNL

(so that I could share it here lol)

Miks

Papillon

 Happy Birthday Car!

Strawberry Cheese(pan)cake!

 If you don't get out of bed for that, I don't know what would...

Gives you just the right amount of energy and FAT to conquer the day!

Miks

Car's Garden Pizza

 and then some..

The Vine

 Hands down the best brunch place in our neighborhood!!

It's officially summer!

My second summer if I may add..

The Country Way

 You know a place is really good when mom intently reads the menu lol!

Come fly with me...

Soda and Panini at the Mabuhay Lounge as we wait for our flight..

Why can't in-flight snacks be as good as these??

These Pastrami and Cheese Paninis were just awesome!

Surely beats honey roasted peanuts

Miks

L'arc en Ciel Art Exhibit

 Art appreciation at Bellevue Manila

Spätzle

a contemporary take on European dining


Whenever European cuisine is mentioned, what always comes to my mind is either an extravagant, 5 star dining experience or a pub which served beer on the tap and schnitzel to go with it since that's usually the common take of European cuisine in the metro.  Luckily my mind set was changed when our friend Ketz invited us to try out Spätzle located at the new wing of Shangrila mall.

A quaint corner cafe on the 5th floor, Spätzle has a very modern-contemporary feel. Furnitures and fixtures from different genres are put together and somehow they work beautifully giving the place is cool, unique feel but still with a very warm atmosphere.

We were lucky to have met Ketz's friend Karen who was one of the owner's of Spätzle during our visit, who guided us through the menu.

Citrus Cooler

An all natural soda concocted in house the fresh flavors of mint and and zing of lemons finished of with a light effervescence. A healthy, refreshing alternative to soda.

Truffle Fries

Beautifully golden and crisp country fries seasoned with salt and truffle. Good starter but could use a little bit more truffle


As we moved on to our entrée, sadly, my phone decided to die on me. Which means no photo was taken of our amazing entrées.



Lets try to use our imagination shall we..

Roast Chicken Sausage on Mushroom Spätzle

A deboned roast chicken stuffed with homemade sausage which gives the meat of the chicken its smokey, peppery flavor. Served on top of the trademark Spätzle and finished off with a generous drizzle of mushroom gravy.

Defined as a "soft pasta", Spätzle as I see it is a German take on the Italian gnocchi, mimicking its delicate, light pillow-like texture.

Definitely a must-try dish!







Steak and Eggs

A generous serving of beautifully grilled steaks served with runny soft-boiled egg and a side of Spätzle.

This dish already had me at steak and eggs, but boy did that Spätzle keep things interesting.
What I learned from this dish is that Spätzle is actually the perfect alternative to mashed potatoes or rice since it has a lighter, delicate texture which keeps the focus on the meat and is actually less filling then potato or rice. So one does not feel so guilty/ heavy after enjoying a generous portion of steak.

This was one dish I would go back to Spätzle for!

There goes another memorable send-off.
Thanks Ate Ketz for planning this wonderful dinner!
Hope to see you soon and looking forward to another Spätzle outing!


Miks


 Spätzle
Level 5
East Wing
Shangrila Mall
Edsa cor. Shaw Blvd.
Mandaluyong City
Philippines

Cafe Mary Grace's Black Velvet Cake

always the skeptic..

I was always skeptical about this particular cake ever since the whole red velvet craze came about. With a red velvet cake having its own unique color,flavor, and texture which only a few truly get right, I was a bit critical with Mary Grace since i thought that the Black Velvet cake was just a regular chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting trying to join the red velvet bandwagon.

After a while I decided to just go for it and give this "wannabe" a try. Boy was I mistaken. The cake layers have a very light chocolate flavor just like a red velvet has combined with a light yet velvety texture with a very fine crumb. The cream cheese frosting also had the right balance of tart and sweet, just complimenting the cake and not hogging all the flavors of the entire dessert. 

In case there are some skeptics out there just like me, just go ahead and give it a try. You know you want to anyway!

Miks

Cafe Mary Grace

SM Southmall

Alabang-Zapote Road

Almanza Uno

Las Piñas

Philippines

Yabu down under

 

Yabu has finally made its way down South!

One last stop at the office..

clearing out my desk..

Pinkberry Time

Time for an American favorite after a Filipino dinner..

Kitchen

why am I only trying this now?

Quiznos

An appointment with the Man of Steel

Father's Day 2013

 Whipping up something for dad at home!

the nth of many...

Cheers to another amazing send off!

Thanks to mom, dad, and Sher for this awesome, food-filled night!

Unfortunately, we weren't able to take pictures of the grand feast that my mom prepared since everyone was to busy enjoying it.

See you all soon!

Miks

Big Bad Wolf

 A night cap for us not-so-little pigs..

Bar Dolci

 time for dessert!

Las Flores

 The start of "See You Later"s..

Salted Caramel Gelato

Finally got to make it!

Finally had the time to make good use of the salted caramel I made a week ago.

Consistency and sweetness still needs adjusting but not bad for a first try if I can say so myself!

More to come on this developing recipe!

Miks

Seafood Island's Kinilaw na Tuna

Had a really odd craving for a midnight snack!

After attending the premiere of my friend's indie flick debut, a bunch of us decided to grab night cap.

With the idea of just grabbing a beer, we headed over to Seafood Island which was one of the last establishment open in Robinson's Galleria. But while everyone got their drink, the Kinilaw na Tuna was too enticing to pass.

It was a good choice pushing through with the order since Seafood Island was very generous with the tuna which was marinated in a vinegar mixture which had a nice blend of sweet and sour taste. I also really liked the addition of Arosep (seaweed which pops like caviar in your mouth).

Congratulations Tabs for your big screen debut!!

Miks

Seafood Island

The Veranda

Robinsons Galleria

Edsa cor Ortigas Avenue

Ugong Norte

Quezon City

ps

 Don't order the mojito!! It tastes like mouthwash!! On the bright side, it would kill 99.9% of germs in your mouth lol. 

Quick lunch at the Continental

Grabbing a quick bite before heading back to the office..

Caesar Salad with Smoked Salmon and Alfalfa Sprouts!

You should definitely try putting Alfalfa sprouts on your Caesar salad because its gives the salad a fresh, crisp bite!

Back to work..

Miks

The Continental

The Palms Country Club

Filinvest

Alabang

Philippines

and how we spent Independence Day 2013

 

 Eating of course! Eating Truffled Popcorn nonetheless!

Treat fresh from Malaysia!

 Gotta love it whenever family comes home from a trip!

Carioca!

My treat for the day!

A Filipino version of sticky rice cake which is deep fried and glazed with caramelized sugar.

Definitely brings back childhood memories..

Miks

A whole lot of wit on a lazy afternoon

Got to check out the newly opened Fully Booked in town over the weekend and it truly is an awesome spot to just hang out on a lazy afternoon, with a good book and a cup of americano from Press which is conveniently on the ground floor.

Gotta catch up on some more reading!

Miks

Fully Booked

Corte De Las Palmas

Alabang Town Center

Commerce Avenue

Alabang

Philippines

Revisiting: Sensei

 Back for more!!

Maple

 

 the second home of pancakes!

Songkran

 

 In the mood for Thai!

Quickie: How to jazz up a cup of nooodles...

 Korean Ramen.. the endless possibilities!

Pizza Hut's Cheeseburger Pizza

First came the cheese, then came the sausage. Now Pizza Hut has taken their crust-stuffing ways even further with the new Cheeseburger Pizza.

Although I used to find the the whole idea genius since it did get everyone to consume all of the crust, the whole burger-in-the-crust idea just didn't quite work for me.

 For one, we're back to having some edges of the crust left plain. I guess the point was just not as clear to me as the cheese and sausage stuffed crust pizza. I mean, the cheese and the sausage we're kinda like a treat for eating the crust.. but why would I want a burger patty after I already consumed a whole slice of pizza?

I guess the witty tv commercial was more interesting than the actual pizza.

Moving on..

Miks

Homemade Salted Caramel

Experimenting on a lazy Saturday afternoon..

With the caramel done..now to make ice cream

Have a good weekend!

Miks