Chocolate Fire

Is there anything better than a shop full of chocolate? 

Chocolate Fire in Makati has so many choices, it is

quite overwhelming. The one in the center is dark 

chocolate with mint. Yum!

An order of tea helps to keep the umay at bay. 

Relik

Before visiting our friend whose wife just gave birth, Le Chink and I had dinner at Relik at Bonifacio Global City.

Our salad was the chicken fajita which was presented with its bread arranged in a way that reminded me of a triceratops ;-). This was my favorite dish of the night---particularly refreshing when the spicier dishes would get to me.

Our main course was the gambas and the beef salpicao. The gambas had a touch more heat than the salpicao; it went well with the lemon. The beef salpicao was tender and also very good.

The name of our dessert escapes me but it had lady fingers with a bit of orange peel covered in some yummy cream underneath its toasted crunchy top.

Relik (BGC) also features a quiz night on Tuesdays so trivia buffs can have their fun and eat it too. Enjoy!

Oodles of Noodles

Le Chink treated me out to a noodle place along Jupiter Avenue: Mitsuyado Sei-Men. Men is the Japanese word for noodle so in this place, it's really raining men, sei-men!

Gyoza was gyoza... at par with other Japanese restaurants we've tried.

The black pepper chicken was good too.

We got the jumbo char-siu tsukemen, which was the first time I saw noodles served with a separate dipping sauce. The char-siu was a very tender pork roast--my favorite part of the meal. 

The other distinctive feature for me was the ambiance. The restaurant was decorated to give it a street-feeling... pretend stalls on the "road"; a bike hanging in one corner; pretend store fronts lining up one wall; and other details which lent a touch of whimsy to the place. The staff were attentive. Overall a fun and light dining experience.

Pasalubong Special 2

Dried mangoes are a treat in themselves though you might stumble into some with more fiber than you'd like. But this again is a leveled up version of this wonderful treat. Dried mango covered in dark chocolate. Yummm!!!

Each mango seems to have been selected so there are no fibrous pieces. Mango and chocolate blend in smooth harmony on the tongue. The only complaint I have is the price (P400 for a box of 12). But it is very good. Enjoy!

Pasalubong Special

December brings in a lot of gifts. This is one of a native delicacy which has leveled up in my opinion: JR's Special Arrowroot Cookies. I just know these as uraro.

I am not a fan of uraro cookies but these are truly special. Usually uraro cookies have a powdery texture that crumbles easily but these have a smoother, crisp exterior. And then, when you bite into them, that trademark powdery texture of uraro comes in a melt-in-your-mouth surprise. These are the best uraro cookies I've tasted, not to mention the best-looking to boot. It would make a great gift for any balikbayan friends and relatives. 

Szechwan Eggplant

Eggplants in the ref were begging to be cooked... eggplant experiment #2 is based on this recipe here. Two eggplants down, one to go...

Recipe called for four tbsp. of soy sauce but I may have added more than called for using the tantya-tantya (i.e., guesstimating) method; the result was slightly too salty for me. Note to self: maybe add a bit more sugar and less soy sauce.

So per policy of using what is available, mixed maybe more than four tbsp. of mushroom soy sauce, two tbsp. oyster sauce, a dab of spicy ketchup in lieu of chili sauce, a tsp. of sugar, chicken broth, and black pepper in a bowl.

Sauteed three cloves of minced garlic and a tiny amount of ginger (must add more next time... the ginger flavor was nice) in a dab of melted margarine, followed by some ground beef and then eggplant. Slowly added in the sauce mix. When it was almost done, put in cornstarch mixed with water to thicken sauce. 

Lunch is served. Self assessment: edible but can still be improved. If ingredients are available for another future attempt at this Szechwan eggplant recipe, maybe the omitted green onions, shrimp and sesame oil from the original recipe would spell the difference. 

P.S. Sauteed carrot slices and mixed with the leftovers. Result is prettier dish, less salty with a touch of sweet. [29 December 2014]

Rice Experiment 1

Seem inspired to cook today. First, I did the chicken spread recipe my mother taught me when I was young. Then I tried cooking the rice for dinner using the byproduct: chicken broth. 

Tonight's ulam was very simple: canned tuna in oil sauteed with onions. 

The more complex part was the rice. After successfully cooking the rice in chicken broth, the second part of tonight's rice experiment was conducted as follows:

• minced and sauteed about six cloves of garlic in some of the tuna oil and a bit of margarine, followed by a diced half-carrot;
• added about two or three spoonfuls of the tuna with onion;
• then put half of the chicken broth rice into the pan;
• as a final touch, beat an egg white (unused from a previous night's recipe that called for one egg yolk) and mixed it with the rice, stirring continuously until no evidence of raw egg white was left.

So we had two versions of rice for tonight: plain and fried chicken broth rice.

When I tasted the plain version, I could not tell the difference between our regular rice and the chicken broth rice, but my sisters appreciated both versions. The proof is that there were no leftovers tonight. Bitin daw. 

Yay! Another successful experiment. =)