Saturday, August 29, 2015

Sarsa: Negrense Dinner



To cap off the Buwan ng Wika Filipino food features, we had dinner at Sarsa. We got an online discount voucher for this one.


Sizzling Kansi


Can't decide between bulalo and sizzling food? Well, just have a serving of their sizzling kansi. It is their kansi style bulalo with batwan gravy. There is actually no soup. tender pieces of beef and marrow are served on a sizzling plate. The plate was just warm and it was not actually sizzling when served though. The beef itself was tender but it was a little too salty to be eaten on its own. Better order rice with it.



Inasal Pecho

We just had to try their inasal. Loved that their inasal pecho (chicken breast) looked like a heart. It was not dry, it was actually a bit juicy. This particular inasal dish was already sour even if we did not squeeze calamansi juice over it. Quite salty for me too (I need rice). It was very flavorful even up to the inner parts of the meat.



Roasted Kalabasa

Discovered another tasty vegetable dish. Since kalabasa (pumpkin) is one of my favorite vegetables, we ordered Roasted Kalabasa. This had pureed and sliced pumpkin. To enjoy this fully, make sure to get some green beans, crispy dilis, and fried tofu along with your roasted kalabasa. This provides a good mix of textures and flavors. This is my favorite dish of the night. Just hope there was more crispy dilis in it.


Overall, the kalabasa dish was good. Plus points for the tender beef and juicy chicken. The beef and chicken were quite salty for my palate but then again maybe it's just my taste buds' opinion or maybe I just needed rice.


Branch visited located at: 2nd floor, Entertainment Mall, Mall of Asia, Pasay



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Friday, August 21, 2015

Backlog Post: Bangus




Way back in 2014, we dined at Bangus and used our online discount voucher. This restaurant's specialty is obviously bangus (milkfish) as seen in the numerous bangus dishes in their menu. But we opted to try their non-bangus offerings. We also ordered rice to complete our Filipino meal.


Spring Chicken
Half roasted chicken served with gravy as the poultry of the day.


Sirloin Tapa
I was craving for a saltier viand and got this beef tapa. Some slices were tender enough but some pieces were a bit rubbery. I liked that it was actually sizzling when served and not just presented on a cold sizzling plate


Branch visited located at: Main Mall, Mall of Asia, Pasay City



Saturday, August 15, 2015

California Pizza Kitchen: National Pizza Day 2015



Celebrating 18 years and National Pizza Day, California Pizza Kitchen offered buy 1 take 1 pizzas this August 14-15.


Just order any of their regular pizzas and you get to choose one free pizza from these flavors: Caprese, Hawaiian Pepperoni, Salami + Bacon, Italian Sausage and Pepper, and Traditional Cheese. Plus, if you are one of the first 10 customers, you get a free shirt!


Farmer's Choice
Their Pizzawars winning pizza, the Farmer's Choice pizza, makes their debut. It has a roasted pumpkin base instead of tomato sauce.

A generous amount of mozzarella cheese serves as the next layer . And for toppings, it has zucchini, eggplant, and cherry tomatoes instead of meat. Desiccated coconut is sprinkled on the pizza too.

Fresh from the oven, the aroma of pumpkin filled the air. The pumpkin was sweet and creamy and it matches the gooey cheese well. Really, it was a tasty vegetable pizza. This pizza can be characterized by its natural sweetness from the pumpkin and coconut. It is different take on pizza that's usually on the savory side.

Free Pizza
For our free pizza, we ordered Salami + Bacon pizza to go. Two meats embody the savory pizza we are all familiar with.


Shirt!

Here's photo right before we finished the Farmer's Pizza.



Branch visited located at Entertainment Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City



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Friday, August 14, 2015

Abe: Purple Soup, Bamboo Rice, and Lengua



Featuring more Filipino food restaurants as we continue with our Buwan ng Wika Special this August. We have started with Barbara's last week. This week we visit Abe. The place was full as it was lunch time. Good thing there was a table left at the corner.



Food has arrived.



Bamboo Rice


The bamboo rice was served with a little show, with the server drumming on the bamboo shell before sliding off the upper half to reveal the rice.


Flavored rice with wood ear mushroom and the bamboo taste. This is good for around 3-4 people.





Sinigang sa Ube

A thicker and purple version of the classic sour soup.


Ube is a purple yam which is commonly used for dessert, may it be cake, ice cream, jam, or others. Surprisingly, it went well in a soup dish. Purple coloring of the soup came from ube. The root crop's starchiness contributed to the thickness. This Sinigang sa Ube is less sour than other common versions.


Pastel de Lengua


Hidden under the pastry are chunks of lengua - ox tongue, stewed together with mushrooms and carrots. The ox tongue was tender enough and made more tasty with the cream.


Branch visited located at: 2nd floor, Entertainment Mall, Mall of Asia, Pasay city











Friday, August 7, 2015

Backlog Post: Barbara's: Buwan ng Wika flashback



The month of August is known as the "Buwan ng Wika", a month where language and culture is celebrated. In schools, activities for this month often include a presentation of native Filipino dances. And a taste of culture and Filipino dances (plus a dinner buffet) is what we got for this trip.

Note: This post will be more about the place than the food

Last 2014, we went to Intramuros, a walled city in Manila, to eat at Barbara's. We bought an online discount voucher for a dinner buffet plus cultural dance show at Barbara's.

We arrived earlier than the buffet start time so that we can hear mass at San Agustin Church. It is the oldest stone church in the Philippines and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.








Old houses turned into establishments are found along the cobble stone street. Barbara's is one of them. It's just across San Agustin Church.









After enjoying the place, we move on to the dining area, which seems to be the attic of the house.

The buffet choices were simple. Among the choices of viands, pasta, and salad, what I liked best was the pumpkin soup. It was thick and had a hint of sweetness. I had several bowls of that.


A number of cultural dances were performed. Here are some screen shots from the video I took.







Mabuhay!!


Branch visited located at: Intramuros, Manila