Cabalen: Pigging Out - Pinoy Way

We're sort of on a diet, if you call "eating whatever you like now and don't eat anything later" a diet, so despite having a food blog, we almost never go to buffets. They are the temptress that challenges our will. Resisting the urge to eat more is oftentimes futile and giving in is the only way to ease the heavy psychological burden it entails.

This time though, I was curious as to how this buffet-style Filipino restaurant, Cabalen, is faring since I last I there, maybe 7 years ago, so I forced pleaded Anne to eat there after our weekend French lesson. I was curious for two things: 1) Has the taste changed since I last ate there, and 2) Has my taste changed since I last ate there. That was last week but I just succeeded bargaining this week and so off we went into this obesity-encouraging Filipino restaurant.

As this is a buffet, we didn't really have any set meals since we just got a plate and filled it with whatever we liked that's on display.

He says...

I have this gut feeling that Filipino restaurants or any other Filipino establishments degrade in taste and quality as time goes by probably because of the whole "ningas kugon" thing. I was a but surprised because the taste wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. In fact, it was tres bien (very good in French; Shut up, I'm just practicing!). They had most (if not all, I can't tell since there are so many!) of my favorite foods like longaniza,  tocino, crablets and many more and they all tasted as good as the best ones I've tasted in my life. Note that we had this meal on a half-empty/half-full (pessimistic/optimistic?) stomach. Hunger and fullness more often than not skews our taste in food.

Possessed while Eating. DO NOT DISTURB.

One bad thing I can say about the whole experience, though, is their iced tea. It was horrible. I don't know if it was watered down or they were intentionally trying to kill us with bad taste.

He rates: Food 4.5/5; Iced Tea 0.5/5

She says...

I'm really not fond of buffets. I always end up getting a tummy ache. Often times I throw up due to too much ingested food. This time though, not sure if I moderated my consumption 'coz I did have 3 platefuls plus a glass of halo-halo for dessert, but Cabalen day was a no throwing up day for me. Sure my tummy did ache a while and I felt so horrible (and guilty) after that lunch but I really did enjoy the crablets and the other dishes there. They were cooked in a classic Filipino way, no fancy dishes with elaborate presentation, just good Filipino food. 

I was disappointed though of the kare-kare. It just didn't have a balance of slightly sweet and creamy pea-nutty dish I had always look forwarded to each time I see one served (even in our hospital cafeteria).

Apart from that, the fondue was tasty as usual, although they didn't have plenty of treats for the fondue, just marshmallow and a few variety of fruit slices. 

Over-all, the lunch experience was pleasant.

She rates: 4/5

Too Hungry for an Eel

It was one humid afternoon, when my sister and I was in the Pedro Gil area, we were really famished since it was around three in the afternoon and we hadn’t had our lunch yet. I guess we were having a hypoglycemic surge already. So we went to Robinson’s to look for a place to eat.

I wasn’t quite familiar with the place so she suggested that we eat at UCC. She had already eaten there and said that the food was great. So we looked at the menu and ordered.

I chose the Unagi Rice paired with lemonade while she, on the other hand, went for Omurice and got a cocoa float on the side. Food was served, all the while I thought that Unagi was beef, and lo, to my surprise, it wasn’t, to my dismay it was fish, I wasn’t pleased with the odor and was quite nauseated when I smelled it.



My sister saw me and asked me to try her food, and I liked the taste, so we decided to swap our orders. Thank heavens for that! Good grief if she hadn’t agreed, I wouldn’t have the stomach to swallow the whole dish.

The Unagi Rice didn’t quite suite my taste buds and my olfactory for that matter. I know, for an expensive dish such as that, I should have been delighted with it, but sad to say it’s not the price that matters but the taste which is of prime importance.

For the Omurice, well for me, from the taste down to the presentation, it was superb. I would recommend it to my friends. The rice and fish was cleanly wrapped inside the omelet which was quite deceiving. All the while I thought it was just a simple omelet but then, the presentation gave it a touch of mystery, which is quite important. The rice and fish were well cooked and the mixture of the flavoring was pleasing.

As for the drinks, well for the lemonade, it was quite sour; it lacked sweetness, which is important for sweet-toothed people like me, but if you prefer the sour taste then I am pretty sure you’ll love their lemonade.

As for the cocoa float, it was not what I expected it to be. After all, its price was soaring high. I thought that it was presented more elegantly but then it lacked the wow factor which can be expressed through presentation. As for the taste, well it lacked the sweetness and the richness of cocoa mixed with the ice cream. I wanted it to be creamier though, that’s the reason why it’s called a float because you want it to be creamier and better to the taste, isn’t it?

Hanna rates...

2/5 Unagi rice; 4.5/5 Omurice; 3/5 lemonade; 3/5 cocoa float

Anne's Laboratory: Choco Oatmeal Bars

I've been attempting to perfect this recipe which I got from my mom several months ago but it was only yesterday when I have finally gotten exactly what I wanted. I've always been struggling finding the perfect temperature since I have been using an electric oven.

For this recipe here are the things that you will need:

3 cups oatmeal

2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour with 1/2 tsp salt and 1tsp baking soda

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 tsps vanilla

1 can condensed milk

1 1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup chopped nuts

Procedure:
1. Stir together the oatmeal, all-purpose flour, salt, and baking soda.

2. Cream butter in an electric mixer while slowly adding the sugar.

3. Beat in the eggs.

4. Add in the oatmeal and flour mixture to the butter. Mix well to form a dough.

5. Line pan with wax paper and place half of the dough in the pan.

6. Heat condensed milk in the double boiler.

7. Add in the cocoa.

8. Add in the nuts.

9. Line dough with 3/4 of the chocolate mixture.

10. Place the remaining dough into the pan, carefully lining it over the chocolate mixture.

11. Top dough with remaining chocolate mixture.

12. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit over 25-30 minutes.

Anne's Laboratory: Classic Fudge Brownies

I love brownies. These ultimately chocolatey dessert especially when topped with vanilla ice cream always makes my heart swell. I like brownies when they're soft and gooey, fudgilicious.

I've been trying to perfect how to make these delectable treats and perhaps I have finally found the way how. I used several recipes and combined them to something that made sense to me. Lol. (I pick and choose the ingredients which are readily available and substitute the rest that aren't.)

For this recipe, here are the things that you will need:

1 cup butter

1 cup cocoa

2 tsps vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour with 1/2 tsp salt 

2 1/2 cups sugar

5 eggs

1 cup nuts ( I chose cashew since a friend of mine got me these)

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Melt butter. Add in the cocoa and vanilla. Set aside.

3. Beat eggs and sugar. Add in the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix well.

4. Fold chocolate into the mixture.

5. Add nuts.

6. Place in a 9x9 greased pan. Top with nuts.

7. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

Bedazzling Dinner

My co-workers have been inviting me to have dinner at a place that bears name that's truly intriguing, Gayuma ni Maria. I was never able to join them but I did tell him about it and had him oblige to soon check out the place.

We were on our way home from a unit viewing when we decided to finally have dinner there at Gayuma ni Maria. Indeed it's a resto that's truly tough to locate. Apart from the not so visible sign age from afar, the resto is located in a village lined with houses and this too appears like one. That night we hadn't found our way.

Today, we decided to have lunch there instead since the resto does open at around 10am however a meeting came up that we had to forgo. Good thing though was that we were able to find the place. The biggest landmark there is the SaveMore shop in the corner. If you're coming from EDSA, you would need to turn right at the SaveMore shop. Once you see the Sr. Pedro Lechon Manok stall, you're already close by. When you see a pink house, congratulations! You have finally found Gayuma ni Maria.

Since we had missed out on our opportunity to have lunch there, we decided to drop by for an early dinner treat. Finally, we were able to dine here.

The resto is not really grand looking. The lights are dimmed. I find the curtains dividing the tables that lines that side of the resto really cute. Indeed fit for a date night. The pink walls perhaps was chosen to give that love potion aura as their name suggest. Caution though, this is not a child-friendly place for that nice Sunday family lunch despite the truly chocolatey menu. A corner is lined with articles... toys, costumes, and the like to help you express your sexuality.

Tuliro, a nacho salad

Moving on, we had a an intriguing nachos, "Tuliro;" a chocolate-covered dory called, "Once you get black, you'll never come back" and an order of 'Rack Me Baby" with mashed potatoes on the side. We just had bottomless glasses of Royal for our drinks. Despite the interesting dessert line-up, our tummies could no longer accommodate them.

Choco-coated dory with rice and taro fries siding

She says....

'Tuliro' was a really yummy nacho salad. It minded me of fresh garden and fruit salad with natural yogurt dressing plus a twist of cheesiness and the crispy nacho toppings. It was really yummy!

'Once you get black, you'll never come back, was a really nice and unique dish. The fish was coated with chocolate (not the oozing type) as though the batter was made of chocolate. It had a nice caramel-ish sauce. A serving of this dish was actually too much for us both.

The 'Rack me baby' was comme ci, comme Ça. Not sure if we were just so full or it was just really as ordinary as it can be.

Overall dining experience was pleasant. It was quiet, not much people there, maybe because it was still early when we ate there (around 5pm).

She rates: 4.5/5 Tuliro; 4/5 Once You get black, you'll never come back; 3/5 Rack me baby.

Rack me baby (back ribs) with bar-be-que sauce

He says...

I never thought that a hippie-looking place would produce foods with wonderful tastes. The Nachos, despite looking like any old nachos you order every week, has something very different in its taste. I think it had some fruits in it which could account for the weird but pleasant taste.

The chocolate covered fish was also good but I could barely taste the chocolate. The fish in it was fresh and the cream included gave it a more juice taste.

The ribs was also very good. It had some spike in its taste that sent some alert signals in my brain. The meat was very soft (almost as soft as Rak's) and the sauce was just right.

Although, I may not have enjoyed the meal the way I should because I *may* have eaten a lot.

He rates: 5/5 for all 3.

What would I give up for an Asus ML Series 229H LED Monitor?

I rarely add a product as a fan page on my facebook account but just recently I've become of fan of Asus due entirely to how much I love their Asus Transformer TF101. I'm also the type to buy an item that I often regret later but this is NOT one of them.

Mine!!!

Anyway, I recently (as in today as of this writing) saw a contest they posted on their fan page. It said "What would you give up for an Asus Monitor?" and I thought what indeed would I give up. Despite regretting a lot of purchases I've made, I usually dispose of the things I dislike so all the things I now have are the ones that I like.
I thought a long time (say, 30 minutes) of what I would give up for their gorgeous monitor and then I saw this:

Took me 30 minutes to realize I was eating this

That is the Choco Oatmeal Bar that Anne made (for those interested, a separate entry will be posted on the Hot-To-Make-This). It IS as delicious as it looks. In fact, this is all that's left from 32 bars. And it was just made last night.

And a few moments earlier, we just had the most delicious dinner (again, courtesy of Anne's cooking skills). It was a Very Veggie Rissotto (de facto name since it's her own recipe) and it was heavenly. I have never enjoyed rice on it's own before, much less with a whole bunch of vegetables in it, but this meal can be eaten without any viand. Here's a picture for your drooling pleasure:

Mashed potatoes? No! Vege-Rice!

So the question again comes to mind, what would I give up for an Asus Monitor?

THIS!

Chocolatey Breakfast

 

 His sister got him a sans rival came from Aristocrat. She said she left it at the fridge but all we saw was a box of chocolate cake... Or so we thought.

She is a fan of chocolate cake and anything chocolate so she was more excited to dig in. We sliced the cake and to our surprise it was indeed a chocolate-coated sans rival.



She says...
I loved every bite. I was feeling unwell that day and that different twist from the usually boring butter coated sans rival and the the overwhelmingly decadent chocolate cake was the perfect boost to the roughly-textured layers of moistened crackers. I really just can't get enough.

She rates: 5/5

Another Coffee Partner?

I've been longing to once again taste my favorite oreo cheesecake from Starbucks when my friends decided that we meet at Starbucks Megastrip tonight.  On my way here, I said to myself, finally, am going to have a bite of my favorite treat. When i ordered at the counter, the barista initially repeated my order of oreo cheesecake and suggested that i try out their new offering, the triple chocolate cheesecake. He said that it offers an even chocolatier experience. I conceded abd changed my order. Along with it,  I got my usual caramel macchiato despite the fact that i was initially tempted to try out their hazelnut frapuccino but I guess my palate tonight wasn't as adventurous.

Food ordered: Triple Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake with Caramel Macchiato
Location: Starbucks, Megastrip,  SM Megamall
Cost: P120 slice of triple chocolate fudge cheesecake; P155 grande caramel macchiato

She says...
The caramel macchiato has remained constantly balanced. It just have the right amount of creaminess and sweetness that makes this coffee truly a bittersweet symphony. I have always liked this brew.
The triple chocolate fudge cheesecake on tge other hand was indeed chocolatey.  It had brownie bits and mini kisses as toppings while cocoa was indeed discernable in the cheesecake base. The crust was still similar to that of the oreo cheesecake but since everything was chocolate, it didn't really give an added zing to the treat. I don't think this new offering trumps my regular oreo cheesecake. The latter just has this nice blend of sweet chocolatey topping, a really creamy cake and a choco bonus crust. Indeed no more second helping for me.

She rates: 5/5 caramel macchiato; 3/5 triple chocolate fudge cheesecake

Stranded in the Airport

Airports are probably the most boring place to be. Whether you're waiting for your flight or awaiting for someone, it just isn't the most comfortable place to be. Good thing there are a few restos that line the terminals that despite the over-priceds goodies and treats, give you a better and more comfy place to ease the waiting experience.

Today, we were at the NAIA terminal 3. We were waiting for someone and had noted that their flights all got delayed. Thus we decided to lounge at one of the restos there: Le Bistro. It's a coffee, pastry and sandwich shop that also offers some pasta. We just had our lunch before heading here so we just got coffee and a slice of cake.

He as usual, opted for a cold, Iced Mocha, while she had her usual hot cappuccino. We also tried out their cappuccino almond cake slice.

Food Ordered: Iced Mocha for him, Hot Cappuccino for her, a slice of cappuccino almond cake

Location: Le Bistro, NAIA 3

Cost: P119 iced mocha; P99 cappuccino; P135 cappuccino almond cake

She says...

I think this is truly an ideal place to lounge when you're waiting at the terminal. The place is quiet, the seats are comfy, and they have free wifi. 

The coffee I had was alright. The cinnamon powder gave the cappuccino a nice twist. Otherwise it would have been simply brewed coffee with a bit of milk and sugar. 

As for the cappuccino almond cake, it was unexpectedly moist. I liked it. I guess it exceeded my expectation. It looked dry but the butter perhaps made this cake soft and moist. The icing was butter based as well. It had just the right amount of sweetness, while the almond slices gave this cake a slightly crispy texture. I did find it weird though that their was a faint taste of rhum in this cake.

She rates: 3/5 coffee; 3.5/5 cake

Reminiscing Malaysia

spicy version of Nasi Lemak's char kuey teow

Coupons is perhaps the latest craze that hit the Philippine market. It is where you get to enjoy perhaps the best deals in town. A few weeks ago he stumbled on this interesting deal, a half-price deal on a voucher in Nasi Lemak. It's a restaurant located in the east lane of the minotaur-friendly Robinsons Galleria. I personally found the name of the resto very interesting because it bore the name of the dish we stumbled upon while waiting for our return flight at the airport in Malaysia. When I ordered nasi lemak, I actually didn't have any idea what it was. I just saw the label "wraps" so I thought it was a sandwich. When we finally settled in the airport, after all the check-in procedures, voila! It turned out that nasi lemak is a dish that's got rice with sweet satay sauce, anchovies, pickled papaya, salted egg, and bagoong (shrimp paste). We were then non-rice eaters but we pretty much enjoyed the dish.

Going back to Nasi Lemak restaurant in Robinson's Galleria, we ordered the Nasi Lemak set, his all-time favorite char kuey teow, and milo dinosaur for the drinks.

Nasi Lemak's nasi lemak set

Food Ordered: Nasi Lemak set, Char Kuey Teow, Milo Dinosaur

Location: Nasi Lemak Restaurant, East Lane, Robinson's Galleria

Cost: Nasi Lemak set P260, Char Kuey Teow P220, Milo Dinosaur P118

Milo Dinosaur...
baka kasi mukha siyang brontosaurus

She says...

I really enjoyed the char kuey teow here. It had just the right blend of sweetness, spiciness, and yumminess. The noodles was firm. It was not a very oily dish. Compared to the char kuey teow in other restos, I liked this one the most. This one reminded me of the char kuey teow we had in Genting Highlands in Malaysia. He really liked the dish so when we got home, we've been shopping around several asian cuisine restos just to get a taste of the char kuey teow. This perhaps for me is the "one."

The nasi lemak set on the other hand was alright. The satay sauce was sweet and creamy. It had the essentials to make the dish a true nasi lemak such as the peanuts, anchovies, pickled papaya and shrimp paste although instead of the small sardine fish, they served a bigger fried fish and along with it a grilled chicken. The grilled chicken was very dry. The fish was unremarkable. The rice was sweet and creamy. It was perhaps a great dish but it just really didn't measure up.

Our drinks, the milo dinosaur was very delicious. It reminded me of the free milo served during sportsfest in my elementary days... The extra milo powder toppings was remarkably nice. I used to do that when I prepare my iced-cold glass of milo.

She rates: 3.5/5 Nasi Lemak; 5/5 Char Kuey Teow; 4/5 Milo Dinosaur

found another resto with char kuey teow on their menu!

He says...

Char Kuey Teow!!!!!

That pretty much sums up my feelings about this whole dinner. I first had the pleasure of having this fine meal when we were in Genting Highlands in Malaysia where we ordered 3 big plates of this dish. I ate two and a half of them. The Char Kuey Teow here is even more delicious than in Genting so I enjoyed myself even more.

When we ate the Nasi Lemak at the Airport in Malaysia, I disliked it because it was weird looking and weird tasting so I gave it to Anne and ended up eating round two at a popular international fastfood restaurant with a clown for a mascot. The Nasi Lemak here though was a different story, it was surprisingly good! It is no wonder they named this restaurant as such. The rice mixed with the satay sauce and peanuts and anchovies was freaking awesome! Of the two dishes, this was the more delicious one, the other dish just one ups this because I loved it in Malaysia and I have much love for char kuey teow.

The milo dinosaur was... meh. It was a stupid  finish to such a wonderful meal. Maybe we should have stuck with some coffee or maybe water.

He rates: 5/5 for the meal. 1/5 for the milo