Divine Zeal

I cannot emphasize enough how much Casetta del Divino Zelo (in Silang, Cavite) is my favorite happy place to get comfort food--even before their new renovations and expansion.

An authentic Italian oven is being installed...
all the better to bake goodies with, my dear!

The pasta is wonderful and reasonably priced. Featured below is the marinara at P200. The best lasagna I have ever tasted is served here--I now know how Garfield feels. The aglio olio and the veggie pasta are both yummy and costs only around P100 each. Their pasta dishes are a definite must-try.

And if you ever get to taste their granitas... you'll probably get a second one. P65 only, it is worth every drop.

Nabusog ka na, nakatulong ka pa because the sisters who run the little cafe support mothers in crisis pregnancies. What more can you ask for? Food for your tummy, food for other people's tummies, allowing mothers to keep their babies... win-win-win!  

Afterwards, you can drop by their neighbor Ilog Maria to get various bee-related products from virgin honey to soaps, shampoo, and moisturizer. 

Do visit. Your tastebuds will thank you!

Tonkatsu

I am blessed with generous friends... 

Le Chink took me to Ginza Bairin, a Japanese restaurant in Greenbelt, Makati earlier this month. Apparently, the Japanese food scene in Manila is now focused on tonkatsu.

There are various options to eat the tonkatsu with, but what I enjoyed most was dipping the tonkatsu in the sesame seeds grounded with Himalayan salt. Apparently, I am a "purist," or so says their menu-guide... 

Overall, it was a very elegant and novel dining experience--except when the salad would be awkwardly stuffed in my mouth in my excitement to eat... hehe... The wasabi shoyu dressing had a stronger kick than the subtler roasted sesame seed dressing but both were wonderful. Unlimited salad. Unlimited rice. We had one cup of rice shared between us and about four servings of salad. Ang sarap!

Candy!

Le Chink and I chose to watch how candy is made

over watching a movie--Avengers, I think.

What can I say? My inner child was 

fascinated and excited as the two candy makers 

rolled out shiny green and red candy into slabs, 

pressed the colors together, rolled them out again, 

stretched them thinly, and cut 

their works of art right before our

salivating sweet tooth.

And the demonstrated candy is given away

as a free taste test. 

Effective! Le Chink

bought me a pack of candy. Superthanks!

Crispy Chicken Teriyaki

Thanks to providence and generous sisters, ate at Kenji Tei at Alabang Town Center. Started the meal off with salmon sashimi. That is always good in any Japanese resto but the sauce they served it with was something special. Not sure what it was but it was good! And they served it with wasabi, calamansi and lemon so you can really mix it up according to your taste.

This for me was the highlight of the evening. Crispy chicken teriyaki. It was love at first bite as the crispy chicken skin crackled with the juicy flavor of teriyaki sauce--a wonderful fusion of Japanese and Filipino taste. Of course, it's probably not good for you. But hey, if you can moderate the indulgence, this is a must-try!

Everything was good. The tempura batter was crispy. The sweetness of the shrimp came out after a squeeze of lemon. They had nice little touches, speedy service, and attentive servers. Definitely a place I'd like to come back to. Bon apetit!