A Pasta Afternoon

Charlie Chan Pasta by Yellow Cab

We were hungry but it was raining. Didn't have the ingredients for a home-cooked treat thus we had our ordered delivered right to our doorstep. Thank your food delivery services, always handy when we're hungry.

This time, we had an box of Charlie Chan, a pasta-based recipe from Yellow Cab. It actually looks like pancit but perhaps the oyster sauce gives it a taste of pure gastronomic delight. The peanuts and chicken toppings makes this dish even more unique.

She says...

I love how it taste. It's sweet, spicy and tangy all at the same time. I also like the peanuts on this dish. The texture is also great. I like firmness of the noodles that they used. The only drawback to this dish perhaps is because there were too much pasta and too little toppings.

She rates: 4/5

He says...

Charlie Chan is probably is a unique pasta. The noodle have the same consistency as the common spaghetti but the appearance (especially the color) looks like pancit (filipino noodle). It was topped with boneless chicken and a lot of peanuts. It also has a lot of oil, which is good or bad depending on your diet preference.

You can achieve the maximum satisfaction in this meal if you eat the pasta with the chicken and the nuts at the same time. Pure bliss!

He rates: 4.5/5

Dear Darla by Yellow Cab

It was a very rainy afternoon when we decided to grab a bite and try out the Dear Darla Pizza by Yellow Cab. Thanks to their food delivery services, we didn't need get horridly wet just to fill our tummies. After a few minutes of waiting, the door bell rung and there it was, our order of Dear Darla Pizza.

Unlike other pizzas, this one is unique. Firstly, you can't eat this if your very very hungry. You see, this one is sliced in rectangular strips. Then you have to assemble it by lining the arugula leaves on top of the rectangular slices then topping it with alfalfa sprouts. Drizzle it with chili oil. Afterwards, you need to roll it up and voila! You can now take a bite. See... you really can't eat this when your super duper hungry!


She says...

The trouble of lining up the leaves and putting on the sprouts were worth it. It gave the pizza a distinctly delightful taste. I haven't tasted anything like this. I usually am fond of vegetarian pizza 'coz I find most pizzas very oily. (They really are, so veggie makes me less guilty when weight-watching). This one however, is truly awesome. I love it so much, I hate about 4 strips of Dear Darla assembly! I totally recommend this!

She rates: 5/5

He says...

I was skeptical when my mom told me about Yellow Cab's Dear Darla Pizza. We've all been to Yellow Cab right? Their pizzas are very delicious and they probably have one of the best pizza places but their pizza taste roughly the same to each other. Changing ham to vegetable or beef doesn't really remove the strong taste of cheese, bread and oil.

I was wrong to doubt my mom. The Dear Darla Pizza was amazing!

Unlike their normal pizzas, this pizza had fresh vegetables in it. You have to put these leaves and sprouts yourself and roll the pizza up to eat it. It's weird to be doing that in a pizza where you traditionally just cut it, take it and eat it. Having fresh vegetables (as opposed to cooked) in the pizza gives a very unique experience to your mouth.

I dare to say that this is the best pizza I've tasted so far.

He rates: 5/5

Siomai @Siomai House

siomai with chili and garlic on top @Siomai House

It was quite a busy day for us, travelling to and fro from one office to another. The day was literally jam-packed with a load of activities that we realized it was already about 1pm when we reached SM Megamall. We headed to the basement for the needed recopying of ID photos. While awaiting for the photos to be done, we dropped by the food court where we decided to gobble up an order of steamed Chinese dimsum or what we commonly know as, siomai from Siomai House.

It's been a while since we ate a couple of these shrimp and pork dumplings with garlic and chilis on top plus a quirt of calamansi. Alongside, we had a bottle of buko water from Louie's.

Location: Siomai House/ Louie's Buko Juice, SM Megamall Foodcourt

Food Ordered: Pork and Shrimp Siomai/ Bottled Buko Juice

Cost: Siomai: P30 per 4 pieces, Buko Water (500ml): P42

She says...

I still like how it tasted. The food texture was just right. It was flavorful. Unlike other siomai's out there, I can still feel and taste the meat. Not much extender. The size is still the same although they did raise the price from then P25 to now P30 per order of 4 pieces of this dimsum delight. The buko juice complements the taste of the siomai although I don't find it to be fresh (guess 'coz it's been bottled up already.) Fresh buko juice has a certain sweetness this bottled one missed out. But, it was truly a satisfying treat.

She rates: 4/5 for the siomai @Siomai House and 3/5 for Louie's Buko Juice

He says...

A year or two ago, a quick snack at Siomai House was my favorite thing to do when strolling at SM Megamall. Their siomai has a good strong taste that you can really feel once it touches your tongue. I always partner this up with a bottle of Buko Juice to counter the strong flavor.

I don't know what's changed but that strong taste I love about Siomai House's siomai is gone. It was replaced by a gentler flavor that reminds you of tranquility. It's not my taste but it is still yummy.

Although the buko juice never changed. Still the same old watered-down buko juice that I enjoy.

He rates: 4/5 for the food and 4/5 for the buko juice.

Afternoon Coffee at CW Lifestyle Cafe

It was a rainy afternoon when we dropped by at One E-com Center in Mall of Asia. After conducting our business there, we were set out to go home but with the heavy rain and no umbrella on hand, getting wet was not a very good option. Thus we decided to drop by at the CW Lifestyle Cafe since it's been a while that we've just been walking passed this shop when we visit this One E-Com.

The ambience was nice. It was quiet and cozy with very comfy chairs. The man behind the counter was warm and friendly.

We ordered a slice of Belgian Chocolate Cake, a slice of San Francisco Cheesecake, a cup of hot latte macchiato for her, and a glass of iced cafe mocha (one of their best sellers)for him.

latte macchiato @CW Lifestyle Cafe

Location: CW Lifestyle Cafe @One E-com Center, MOA

Food Ordered: San Francisco Cheesecake, Belgian Chocolate Cake, Latte Macchiato, Iced Mocha

Cost: Cakes:P80-P100, Coffee: P80-P100

She says...

The chocolate cake looked yummy. The icing was thick, however the cake itself was rough and dry. When it comes to chocolate cakes I always like it moist. As for the San Francisco Cheesecake, it was good, although it did not bear any significant taste that would differentiate it from a New York Cheesecake. The coffee, however, was not remarkable. It didn't have the strong macchiato flavor. It was watered down milk and coffee combo. Thanks to the two packets of brown sugar that somehow helped add taste to the coffee. Did I just order the wrong coffee? Not really sure, but a sip from his iced cafe mocha tells me that this just ain't the coffee shop that suits my taste buds.

She rates: 2.5/5.

He says...

I guess it's no surprise that this cafe only exists in one place. Their items aren't really that remarkable. Their iced cafe mocha had no signature taste. It tasted and even looked like the iced cafe mocha that I usually order at a certain bread store that recently changed its name.

Their cakes were moist but the flavor was lacking. I (my taste buds) had fond memories of the phrase "Belgian chocolate" but this cafe certainly ruined that with their Belgian chocolate cake. I also had a taste of their San francisco cheesecake and it was a bit sour. Scary.

The place was comfy enough though. They even provide a free WiFi if you purchase beyond PhP 150 which is not bad. At least it wasn't crowded like all the other more popular coffee shops out there. They're reasonably priced too.

He rates: 3.5/5

Over-all Rating: 3/5

Nachos @Juancho Nachos

nachos with beef and cheese @Juancho Nachos

Nachos are usually a yummy treat when you find yourself tired of walking and in the mood for a snack. We saw this stall in Greenhills V-mall after walking around through the gadget stalls of which this mall is known of. They offered nachos, buritos and quesadillas but we opted for the nachos. We ordered their large nachos with cheese and beef toppings.

Location: Juancho Nachos, Foodcourt, Greenhills Shopping Mall

Food Ordered: Nachos with Cheese and Beef toppings (large)

Cost: P100.00

She says...

The nachos were fresh and crispy. Presentation wise, it looked yummy. Serving size was a bit small compared to other nacho stalls. The cheese was not so cheesy... I mean, it was a bit bland, diluted perhaps. The beef on the other hand was quite oily, not much flavor really. Grabbing another order... not really sure.

She rates: 2/5.

He says....

I hate cheese whiz. It's a very poor substitute for real cheese. That's what they put in this poor excuse for a Nacho. The meat we tried with the Nacho was beef and it tasted like under-cooked canned food. The nachos chips themselves were acceptable enough but what would have gone wrong from a ready-made ingredient? At first I thought we might try another item from their menu but after eating their nachos (it's in their name), I'm never eating there again unless I'm dying. 

He rates: 1/5

Over-all Rating: 1.5/5

Alain and Anne's World of Food

Dear Readers,

We love to eat and we'd like to share our thoughts to you on all the dishes that we've tried out. This is basically what this blog is all about.

As we all know, the food industry has been booming over these past few years. With it came different food avenues from high-end to low-end restos, to food stall and food carts. It can be totally confusing especially since they can carry names which are almost alike. 

In the years that we've been together, we have enjoyed the adventure of trying out those that looked new and those that which are seemingly interesting or enticing enough. Thus we have decided to come up with this blog to help us collect and recollect the memories of the foods that touched our palate.

Hope you find this interesting and helpful enough in deciding which foods are worth the second helping.

Your comments are very much welcome.

Cheers! Have a great day!

Dedicated to your tummies,

Alain and Anne