P.S. - burnz, i know you'll be reading this and i must tell you, you should try my chili vinaigrette and the fabulous PEAR! hahaha!
tight hugs,
AC
|
since saturday was salmon day for me, it continued to be salmon day for easter sunday until monday morning, which is today! hahaha.. i felt like i had too much omega 3 in my system. hahaha! looking at the salmon would already make me say "eeewww"! hahaha... my landlady's mom, whom i call nanay, told me... "wag ka nang bumili ng salmon kahit alam kong mahal yan kasi grabe ang taba nya!"... hahaha...mind me, salmon is my all time favorite fish but i really had way tooo muuuuch of it over the weekend, as in, nakakaumay na, sobra! hahahaha... our dishes for salmon over the weekend to name a few were: salmon in coconut milk, grilled salmon, fried salmon and paksiw na salmon... as in walang katapusang salmon! hahaha.... so for today, monday, i had to go back to eating salad again.. good thing, a high school friend of mine, who is a chef in Australia, Rowel Montajes, emailed me another vinaigrette recipe, the chili vinaigrette. so heto na naman ako, may i experiment again! hahaha... this time, i'm making myself a chilli vinaigrette... by the way, i have work today though its a holiday. so, i went to the grocery to buy myself salad ingredients for today's lunch in the office, as well as the ingredients for the chili vinaigrette... i discovered and bought another type of lettuce, the rosa green. oh my, for me, its better than romaine lettuce... more leafy than romaine so its not that crunchy, and its more bland than romaine, which i totally love! i think its shelf life is shorter than romaine since its more of a leafy type (we'll see). i love romaine coz of its crunchiness and longer shelf life, in fairness... but then again, we have different taste. so, to each his own when it comes to which one is better. hehehe.. so, here's another green version that i've made. i call this the oriental salad. chos! hahaha...this time, i added two more ingredients (would u happen to know what are these two just by looking at the pic? lol ), plus the chili vinaigrette! i am so in love with this chili vinaigrette right now. its zesty, refreshing with a little spicy kick, as in! THANK YOU SO MUCH Rowel Montajes for this chili vinaigrette recipe! :) here's the thing, i tried buying the small pears (the pear that you see in the pic) and to my amazement, its more juicy and sweeter than the big ones, as in! naloka ako sa sarap nya, i cant believe that it would taste this good talaga! :) and it only costs Php 8.00, as in!!! isn't life sweet?! hahaha :) hay naku, i really recommend that you buy the small pears, now na! hahaha
P.S. - burnz, i know you'll be reading this and i must tell you, you should try my chili vinaigrette and the fabulous PEAR! hahaha! tight hugs, AC
0 Comments
did it ever happen to you that suddenly, you change your menu once you're in the grocery? well, it happens to me all the time... when i went to the grocery first thing today, my mind was set to making the romaine salad which i blogged yesterday. but then, since a high school friend of mine, Ryan Montajes, emailed me his recipe for the corriander vinaigrette, i had to change my menu and try experimenting on a new recipe... while at the thai spice lane of the grocery store, i remembered that Burnz gave me a laksa paste (thai paste), it made me think again what to pair it with! hahahaha... oh diba, masyadong magulo ako mag-isip, kung anu-ano na lang! hahahaha... so, i ended up buying different ingredients for my salad, and bought salmon fish for my thai dish for tonights dinner... feeling chef diba? hahahaha...so this is the ganap for tonights dinner! lol :) setting is at the carinderia of my landlord where i do my OJT. chos! :) Burnz! this is what i did for the thai laksa paste.. i used it in my salmon dish and paired it with coconut milk! hahaha... the taste was so impressive and sinful coz nakakarami ng kain sa rice! a very sinful viand! hahaha.. kiver, kumain ako with rice, ano ngayon?!!! hahaha :) thank you Burnz for the laksa paste.. it really added a tangy taste to my dish, as in! kalas lang ni og rice nga sud-an ui, heavy! maau na lang nacontrol pa nako ako kaugalingon! hahahaha :) Burnz, i was expecting this salad of mine to turn green but it didn't! hahaha... you know what, i minced the corriander, super, kapoy ad2x hap! hahaha.... siguro it will turn green had i used a blender... what you think? i was aiming for ala maya na salad! ambisyosa talaga! didn't achieve it, but still, it was good! thank you Ryan Montajes for the corriander vinaigrette recipe, as in! i invited these two girls for dinner since they were about to have dinner when i saw them. when they learned that the fish was salmon, they said, "ay, ang sosyal!" ... "kakahiya naman kumain!" .... hahahha...i told them, you feast on it kasi ngayon lang din yan.. di na mauulit yan, sa 2013 pa yan maluluti ulit yang dish na yan! hahahaha.. chos! :)
its good to know that they adored the dishes i've prepared... gusto ko talagang maging chef, as in! as in seriously contemplating to enrol this year pero parang sobrang mahal ata... anong culinary school ang maganda, any idea? :) tight hugs, AC since i have work today, i've decided to have a very healthy sumptuous dinner. i must tell you, burnz really introduced and made me love greens even more nowadays. i have always loved greens but its not a regular staple on the table may it be at home or dining outside. with burnz, as much as possible, its our starter whenever we dine out. last tuesday, while doing yoga at the yoga center (my last yoga session before the lenten season), my yoga teacher really encouraged everybody to go vegetarian. i for one can't let go of meat in just a snap of a finger! lol... so, having heard this from my yoga teacher, i told her and the rest, "sa mga interesado, mauna muna kau... ako, di ko pa kaya! ayokong magpakaplastic! masarap ang humba! hahaha"... of course, such statement elicited laughter from everybody. :) at the back of my mind though, i said to myself, "i'll do this slowly if i really want to live a healthy life and look years younger than my age!"... chos! hahaha :) ... after my yoga session last tuesday, i haven't eaten any meat yet, only fish! oh diva? hahaha :)... so for today, i choose to eat a big bowl of healthy greens! todo na toh, walang kokontra! hahaha :) ... i really made an effort to go to the grocery and prepare this meal in the office. :) so, after i feasted myself with a large bowl of greens, i had a hard time finishing the pear as i was so full na! hahaha! :) by the way, my recipe for this green is almost the same to that of Cafe Georg. I didnt include olives and feta cheese coz its mahalia fuentes, as in! di na kaya ng budget! instead, i used other ingredients that would compliment the greens. it was still good, nontheless! :)
if you want the recipe for this salad, just email me. :) P.S. - burnz, be proud of me! hahaha :) ... see you soon! miss you! :) tight hugs, AC after burnz and i had dinner at Maya, we decided to check out Dolce Cafe for sweets and coffee, located at Panorama Heights, Nivel Hills, Lahug Cebu City. Dolce is an italian word wich means gently and sweetly, according to my research. hehe :) there's another signage that says, Belle Fleur, a french term which means, beautiful flower. im not so sure why two languages (french and italian) were used to be portrayed in a cafe. usually, if the concept is italian, it should be italian all the way, and so on... anyways, this two signages just got me confused as to which title is being accorded to the cafe... hmmm :) this chandelier caught my attention first when i entered the cafe. sosyal, luv this! :) ok, here's the thing, this is an upscale modern design cafe but i don't agree much on the structure where they use blackboard-ish type of menu for people to look at when they order. the chalk writing fades, and some descriptions are not readable. i suggest they use a signage type of menu where there's a back light coz it matches their modern chic theme. the likes of bo's coffee and starbucks, etc... the cake fridge is quite small since i can see plastic with fruits placed in there at the bottom most part when i was there. plus, the top of the cake fridge has a crowded display, there's too much going on there. on the right side, this is where we can see different turn-over croissant bread but they were not arranged properly. different from what we usually see in bread & pastry shops. it was like it was just placed there, that's all. at least, they could have put art on how they display things to make it look orderly and more enticing to buy. also, if you notice the people inside the main counter, they look crowded, as in! i've read from other blogs that the interiors were designed by Holly Dychangco. her sister, Sally Dychangco, i guess, also manages the cafe. i am inclined to assume that the two ladies you see on the pic above, inside the cafe counter, are the owners. hehe :) for me, these cabinets and fridge are so off talaga... the fridge is empty, i really took notice of it when i was there. lol... the white cabinets have wines and different mugs, ala starbucks ang show but for me, having it there was a poor choice... it doesnt stand out, it looks like a mini bodega na tinambakan ng kung anik anik...no offense ha, hindi lang talaga bagay... im not an architect or an interior designer pero i know naman what looks good and doesnt look good, at least, in my own opinion. chos! to make things worse, there are two small chest freezers na visible, kaloka! at parang may mop pa talaga sa likod ng chest freezer, can you see it?! lol :) ... the kitchen, i must say is also inside the main counter! when burnz and i were chatting at our table, kumalampag ang mga pinggan at baso! gosh! hahaha! there are beautiful pieces of furniture to take note of inside naman. mala cobonpue ang peg ng mga ito but i didn't take a closer look na kasi i notice may mga nakalagay na description na naka tape sa mga pieces, and since nobody was using it, or nobody dared to use it, i assumed, it was for display purposes only... hahaha ... next time, when i do a review, papasukin ko na lahat ng sulok and take pictures para complete lahat ng reviews ko. hehehe :) others kasi, they blog and just say all the beautiful things but for me, i dont think its right... i cant say that its delicious when its not, sorry. or say that its beautiful when its not, again, in humble personal opinion... im just being honest... hahaha in fairness, these are real flowers that they used as a center piece on each table. its really NICE! bagay xa sa peg na modern chic design! :) i must say that the white furnitures (tables and chairs) they have in their cafe is really sosyal, maganda and matibay. so bet ko ang mga ito. chos! hahaha :) burnz got the double brownie cake and i got myself the red velvet. the red velvet cake is just ok. the taste of the filling is average, the cake alone, the red crust, its also ok... if i have to rate this red velvet cake from a scale of 1 to 5, nasa 3 ang rating nya for me. for the double brownie, i'll have to rate it at 3 pa rin.. the filling is ok but the cake crust is not moist. by the way, they sell these cakes for 100 pesos each. for me, it should only be sold at 70 to 80 pesos each, from its taste. just my opinion. chos! haha :) ok, this is an over-looking outdoor lounge of the cafe. you can view the city from here. landscape is good and the big circular lights are really good to look at, very modern talaga. i made sure that i wont be able to capture what's on the inner right side coz its a bodega of old fixtures! kaloka! hahahaha.... hope they fix it naman at hindi yung ang tinatabihan ng mga customers nila is bodega. i find it just so not right. anyways, im not fond of outdoors pag gabi coz of the lamok! chos! hahaha :) im not saying that pangit ang Dolce Cafe, it needs a lot of improvement lang talaga. hopefully, next time i visit the place, baka bongga na talaga xa in all aspects! sayang lang, kasi the interior decorator is also the owner of the building tapos ganito ang kinalabasan, diba? the building itself kasi is really maganda, in fairness. yun nga lang, the interior, hindi masyado pinagisipan. we'll see as the days pass, babalik ako dito to check kung may bagong ganap! chos! haha :) in fairness, nakakaganda ang lights nila dito! swak for picture taking! hindi halata ang mga pores mo sa ganitong lighting! chos! hahaha tight hugs, AC last saturday, march 31, burnz and i had dinner at Maya, a mexican restaurant, located at Crossroads, Banilad, Cebu City. from its main entrance, you'll know that its a posh resto as you'll be greeted with beautiful art pieces hanged on the wall. from the name itself, Maya, the mesoamerican civilization who are widely known for their influence in the arts and architecture. this resto really depicts the rich culture of the mayan civilization. its really sosyal, as in! :) ... to my dear readers, read on as I'll be honest and candid with my reviews. my reviews are of my personal opinion of how i see, feel and think of the place and food is. i'll describe them to the best of my ability. chos! hahaha :) as you enter, you'll be greeted with dim lights... the ambiance is really luxurious and elegant... its the type of place where you really need to be prim and proper... their bar seems to offer a pricey range of drinks, from beer to cocktails. lol :) fronting the bar, i was greeted with a long dining table. and the pink container for their lighting really really caught my attention! hahahaha... so feminine, luv the contrast! at the bar, we were greeted by their friendly staffs... we instructed them that we'll be dining at the 2nd floor. burnz went to the loo (call of nature). i was just shocked to see Holy Images displayed beside the loo. i was really bothered as to why, of all places, beside the loo! my gosh, naloka ako! these are the pics of the Sto. Niño, God the father, Mother Mary , Baby Jesus and so on. look at the pics above... im sorry but i must take offense of the location... it should not be beside the loo, please lang! i suggest that they remove the images since it doesn't relate naman to their mayan theme. maookray kayo ng pari when they see this! lol :)...when we're about to go up, we were greeted with different painted skulls at the stairs, kaloka! mayan execution ang theme! hahaha :) when we're at the 2nd floor, we were greeted with another bar, neatly arranged tables and comfy couches! so nice and spacious, plus the dim lights! :) burnz and i looked for a table where we could sit on a couch and be comfy and feel good! so, we took the corner table. after we've settled at our place, we took our orders... its a good thing, they have free tacos for starters! yum! im sure, everyone will agree that the best things in life are those that are free! hahaha :) we also ordered vegetarian salad, ensalada de jicama (mexican version of veggie salad). hay naku, this is really my favorite, kakaloka! ginamitan ng coriander vinegrette, ang sarap, sobra! hahaha :) try nyo talaga toh! :) after the salad, our main courses were served at the same time... ang saya coz the timing is really superb coz by the time you're done devouring the starters, the main course would be served agad... so, walang tigil ang kain, dire-diretso talaga! hahaha :) for this enchiladas de queso y pollo - the taste is "just" ok... i find it kinda strong for my taste coz of the many spices involved... hahaha... i wont recommend this though. at least im honest na it doesn't suit my taste talaga... hahaha :) quezadilla camarones is what burnz had. this didn't have too much spice. i like burnz's dish even better than mine! plus, i love salsa too! hahaha :) here are the pics of their main menu. i really took the time to take pics of these so that you'll have a rough estimate of how much you are to spend if you go to this resto. click on the pics to show a bigger and readable pic! :) and one last thing, they also deliver! im just not sure if they have a minimum purchase. try to ask them na lang. so, call na! :) i must say, the staffs here are inglisero, fluent mag-english, bongga! they have really good customer service skills! :) their website: www.mayacebu.com tight hugs, AC after burnz and i had our dinner at La Tegola yesterday, march 28, we then proceeded to the VIPinoy Lounge of Ayala Mall Cebu. i told burnz that we should avail of this card since our A-card in Ayala is only valid until June 2012. Ayala Mgt. will not be renewing it anymore, as told... this we need to verify by June though... in case its true, it will be the end of our free use of their lounge, their very comforting loo, and other perks (discounts from diff Ayala shops)! hahaha... so, we were assisted by Grazzel, the receptionist of the lounge and we were given of what we need to provide. :) the VIPinoy card is a two year membership card that you can avail at any ayala mall branch nation-wide. sosyal! other perks include, free coffee (unlimited), free conference call, free use of wi-fi, free use of pc with internet connection, free use of the lounge, and etc.! :) to all - AVAIL na! :) tight hugs, AC yesterday, march 28, burnz and i wanted to eat sea food pasta. the best sea food pasta we both know is at La Tegola. we went to their ayala mall cebu branch. dining at La Tegola is like dining in a cabin. that is the peg of their ambiance. very woody, i wonder if its oakwood though. lol. here's our ganap there. haha so, this is what transpired during our dinner. i suddenly felt hungry after blogging this! hahaha tight hugs, AC i must admit that i have a penchant for jewelries. this is really what i consider my ultimate vice as my friends say. adik ako dito, aaminin ko, ewan ko na lang! hahaha... at least, its an investment... you know what, my ultimate dream is to be a saleslady, a supervisor, or better yet, a manager of a jewelry shop, as in! feeling ko, ang dami kong mabebenta, sobra! they say, follow your dreams and do what makes you happy... so eto, im sharing to you my ultimate dream, to be a jeweller! :)... pero, parang mahirap ata magapply or kung may hiring man, its not being disclosed to public... baka may alam kau, share nyo naman ang mga hiring sa mga jewelry stores, please! hahaha... i tell you, di kau magsisisi sa skills ko in marketing and selling! chos! :).... because of my wanting to have a jewelry with a specific design in mind, i tried looking for a goldsmith who has an eye for detail. recently, i chanced upon this shop, PISCES Jewelry Repair Shop. located in Colon, Cebu. their services include custom-made jewelry, they buy gold and silver scraps, they also do jewelry repair. here's the pic of the shop. :) i asked the one-in-charge, "sino ang pinakamagaling gumawa ng jewelry?!"... aristokrata ang pagkatanong para may kabog at intimidating factor! hahaha... and i was introduced to kuya Lito Villatore. so, since i wanted to try his expertise in this field, i had him make the design that i want for my solitaire ring. its really just a simple design, and to test if he's really good at what he does... there's a lot i learned from jewelry making coz i did a lot of questioning while kuya lito was making my solitaire ring... mabuti na lang, matiyaga si kuya sa pagsagot ng mga tanong ko... and i think he likes me as a person and as a customer. chos! hahaha... you know me, very ma-chika! lol :)... i requested for a white gold for my solitaire ring. then kuya lito told me that, we need a 24 karat pure yellow gold to come up with a white gold kasi that's the basic ingredient sa white gold. naloka ako! i thought, pwede na 18k or 14k na yellow gold, and then just add white alloy to it to make it a white gold... i was totally WRONG! hahahaha... it should be 24 karat pure yellow gold, plus the white alloy... so yun! mahal ang 24 karat na pure yellow gold ha, its a whooping Php 2,600.00 per gram! nastress ako bigla! hahaha! :) kuya lito estimated that we'll be needing 3.5 grams of yellow gold for the design of my solitaire ring. i told him that i wanted a 14k white gold result coz that's usually the type of karat for stone settings coz at this state, the white gold, that goes the same for yellow gold, its in a rock solid state, suitable for any setting design. "setting" is the term used when you want to put stones in your jewelry. oh diba, para akong pro? chos! hahaha :) ... kuya lito pala is in this jewelry making industry for more than 30 years, imagine?! bongga, diba? ... i asked him as to how he learned this skill... kuya told me that its a gift daw from God! Taray ng sagot, hindi ako nakareact! hahahaha... totoo nga naman, not everybody is blessed with this type of skill... i asked him if some of his children is into this, like him... well, sad to say, kuya lito told me that none of his children were interested on this craft... ang iba, nagbulakbol daw sa pag-aaral... "ah, ganun ba?" - ito na lang ang naging comment ko... its sad to know that things didnt turn out the way he wished it for some of his children... i told kuya lito to teach some of his children who's interested... kasi sabi ko, its in the genes. you just need to wake it up somehow to spark the interest.... sabi ni kuya, i have a point daw. then he told me, "i'll take your advise".... oh diba, full of encouragement and positivity ako? hehehe... kasi sayang talaga ang ganitong talent kung hindi mapass-on... hehe :) for the stone, i'll be using a diamond para bongga talaga! chos! :)... through the years, i've bought loose diamond stones na from friends and this is the first time that i'll be using some of it para naman mapakinabangan. hahaha :) ... while kuya was cutting bits and pieces to form the parts of my solitaire ring, i noticed that there were gold dusts that came from the cuttings. i know that these can still be melted and be added to the jewelry. i was testing kuya if he would inform me that he can meldt the gold dust and give the excess to me or add it to the jewelry. guess what, he just naturally said that, "these dusts are excess from this jewelry... we can melt it and use it if you decide to have another custom-made jewelry"... oh diba, he's very honest! im so touched... he told me that i should be careful with other goldsmith coz they are fond of fooling people who are not aware. its so true! his mantra is, always be honest, build relationship with customer, and give a lot of option to the customer kung saan makamura, and most of all, satisfy the customer! taray talaga ni kuya! im so impressed by his values, sobra! :) and here's the finish product of kuya lito. my diamond solitaire ring! simple but elegant :) ... after sa dami ng pukpok at pagsusunog na dinaanan... the journey to come up with such a beautiful piece is just so worth it... inantay ko ito ng 4 na oras, ganuna katagal siya ginawa! hahaha... sinuot ko sa office kaya sa office ang peg ng pic na ito...hehehe... i will always be engaged... kung sino... hindi ko pa alam! hahaha :) to those who are interested to have a custom-made jewelry, you may contact Lito Villatore at 09331509047 (call or send him SMS), or you may visit PISCES Jewelry Shop and look for kuya Lito. tight hugs, AC India's 'Pocket Hercules' turns 100. Manohar Aich, India's first Mr Universe, turned 100 on Sunday. Nicknamed 'Pocket Hercules' because of his compact 4-foot-11-inch frame, Aich won the world bodybuilding title in 1952. He overcame many hurdles, including poverty and a stint in jail, before he won the Mr Universe title. Aich says the secret to long life is a healthy diet and his ability to be happy. In 1942, Aich joined the RAF and took to weight training. Some years later he was jailed for protesting against colonial oppression and that is when he began weight training effectively. In 1950, he won a Mr Hercules contest and this spurred him on to set his sights on the Mr Universe tournament in London, which he eventauly won in 1952. After that he went on to win several contests, including the Asian Bodybuilding Championship. tight hugs,
AC im so lucky to have very thoughtful friends, super! from cody, surprising me on my birthday last year with a cake. to bethel, who got me a lacoste gym bag as present. and now, from burnz (fresh from new york), an H&M x Satchel bag, lululemon bag (for gym clothes), and body mist from bath and body (love their citrus scents). from burnz's cousin, ate jingle, who gave me a carmex lip balm (in tube form) and a burberry scarf! they all have good taste, thank God! chos! hahaha! im shocked, David Beckham is now a model for H&M! just gorgeous! lol! anyways, its really not the worth that counts for me. its the thought that really matters, and the taste (chos!) hahaha :) this is the best venue to say THANK YOU, burnz and ate jingle! please continue to bring me more as you travel around the world, charing! hahaha :) tight hugs, AC |