TURMERIC CHICKEN

It is time to share a recipe that I concocted from random ingredients that I have here in the house.  We have some turmeric and tamarind tea that is wasting away on the cupboard.  Although it is really good for your health this tea really stains a lot.  So for me, the best to use it was of cook it (of course.)  I figured this would go well as a base for some chicken curry, so here is the recipe for it.

Ingredients:

500 grams of chicken breast fillet, cubed

For the Marinade:

2 Tablespoons of Powdered Turmeric and Tamarind Tea (Turmeric tea will work on its own)

2 cups water

1 chicken broth cube or 1 Tablespoon of Chicken Powder

1 teaspoon of Sriracha Hot Sauce

1/2 cup of lemon juice (approximately from one medium sized lemon)

For Sauteing:

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

1 Teaspoon garlic, chopped

1 Teaspoon ginger, chopped

1 Teaspoon lemongrass crushed

1/2 cup Fish Sauce

1 medium sized onion, sliced (you can use shallots or red onion as well)

1 Tablespoon, cilantro (coriander) leaves, chopped

Place the water, tea and broth cube in a sauce pan and put in a low heat until the tea and broth cube dissolves.  Take away from the heat and add the lemon juice and hot sauce.  Place the chicken in the marinade and leave it for about 30 mins.  The heat from the marinade will hasten the process.

Heat the garlic, ginger and lemongrass in olive oil in another saucepan until it becomes fragrant.  Add the marinated chicken and keep the remaining marinade for the sauce.  Add the fish sauce and saute the chicken for about 15 minutes stirring constantly.   Add the onion, cilantro and the marinade.  Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered until the marinade is reduced to half.  Serve with rice. Lots of rice. 

Kung Hei Fat Choi! East Meets West Braised Beef

Happy Lunar New Year!  Braised Beef has been a staple in Chinese restaurants in the Philippines so for Chinese New Year I have decided to share my recipe for Braised Beef.  But one thing unique in this recipe is a fusion of East and West since I used red wine for braising.

You need:

half a kilo of beef cubes (brisket makes the best beef cut)
2 cups of red wine
salt according to taste
6 tablespoon of cooking oil
1 teaspoon of ginger cut into thin strips (julienned)
half an onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, crushed and diced
3 cups of beef broth
1/2 cup of soy sauce
2 tablespoon of sugar
2 pcs star anise
1 carrot, sliced

and a lot of patience

Marinate the beef in red wine and salt and leave in the fridge for 24 hours.

The next day, strain the marinade from the beef thoroughly.  Keep the marinade for braising later.  In a large and shallow pot with a cover, fry the beef in cooking oil and make sure to have both sides browned.  The secret is to fry them far apart (about an inch) from each other so that there is even heat distribution to the beef pieces.  Fry them in batches if the pot can not accommodate frying the beef all at once.  Add more oil if it dries out.  After the beef has been fried put them in a plate and set them aside.  Do not line the plate with paper towel so that you can use that beef flavor that would settles down on the plate.  Trust me that is the good part.

On the same oil that you used for frying, saute the aromatics. Starting with the ginger until fragrant, then the onions until transparent and lastly the garlic.  Let it sizzle for a minute.  Bring the beef (and any drippings that is on the plate) back into the pot and saute with the aromatics.  This would be a great time to scrape that beef and marinade that settled in the pan during the frying process.  Season with soy sauce and sugar.  Put in the marinade, star anise and beef broth and let it boil.  Cover the pot and lower the heat.  I let it go down to simmering heat.  This is now the start of the slow braising process.  I allowed about 4 to 5 hours or until the beef is tender, stirring it constantly every hour.  The slow cooking also allows the alcohol to evaporate.  The test is when you pinch the beef with a fork it easily pulls apart.  On the last hour of braising, put in the sliced carrots.

Serve on top of steaming hot rice and enjoy.  Pair it with your favorite red wine.

Beef Stir Fry

Happy New Year!

My first recipe for 2014 is a quick and easy dish that I have done when I have gone home late from the office.  You just need to marinate it before hand so that the flavor penetrates the beef.

You need:

400 grams of beef tenderloin cut into strips

for the marinade
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

For stir frying
3 tablespoons of cooking oil
2 cloves of garlic - crushed
half of a piece of onion - diced
1 tablespoon of ginger - minced
half a stalk of lemongrass - minced
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander seeds
one red chili cut into strips
1 tablespoon of parsley
a pinch of sesame seed

1. Marinade the beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder and leave in the fridge.  I made mine overnight.  I would recommend to put in a bit more salt since you won't put any more salt during the cooking process.

2.  To cook, heat the oil in a saucepan (or wok if you have one.) once heated put in the onions until semi transparent.

3.  put in the garlic and ginger.  At this point the kitchen will smell very very fragrant, in an oriental restaurant kind of way.  do not over cook the garlic as this will become bitter.

4.  As soon as the garlic becomes fragrant put in the beef and stir fry for about 5 to 7 minutes.  When it dries out put in half a cup of water.

5.  put in the chili and coriander and let it simmer until the water dries out again.

6.  Lastly, take it out from the fire and add the parsley and sprinkle the sesame seed on top.

Best served over steaming hot rice.  I had mine with an ice cold can of Heineken.

Enjoy!

Homemade Pancakes

One of the things that I missed from home is having pancakes for breakfast.  Pancakes has been one of my favorite comfort foods.  There was even a time during my childhood when I would put match sticks on top pancakes and pretend that it was my birthday.  The only problem living abroad is that they don't have pancake mixes here so I have to make these from scratch.  After a few futile attempts I was able to make the perfect fluffy pancakes.  Here is the recipe:

Dry ingredients
1 cup flour
2 tbsp of sugar (I used two packets of Dr Oetker Vanilla sugar, it works like a charm)
1 tsp of baking powder (don't overdo this as it gives out an unpleasant bitter taste)
a pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients
1 cup full cream milk
1 egg beaten (so the egg probably has low self esteem now because it was beaten.  Yeah, I know it's a bad joke #sorrynotsorry)
2 tbsp of oil or melted butter (the melted butter is better trust me on this one.  to melt just toss it on the pan you will use to cook the pancakes with.  This also lessens the oil you will use to cook.)

Combine the dry ingredients first then the wet ingredients.  Blend together using a whisk until all the lumps are gone.  Preheat a pan with 2 tbsp of oil or the butter that you used for the wet ingredients.  You actually just need to lightly oil the surface of the pan so that the pancakes don't stick.  Once you already have a good heat on the pan (place your palm an inch away on top of the pan, if you feel that there is already heat from that point then you have a good enough heat.)  Pour or scoop the batter into the pan with just a good sized pancake.  Make sure the pancakes don't reach the sides of the pan to make it easier to flip.  Once you see bubbles forming on the pancakes then flip them over.  This recipe makes 5 medium sized pancakes.

Don't have maple syrup?  No problem, put some Nutella, chocolate syrup, peanut butter or my current favorite Speculoos Cookie Butter on top of it.  Enjoy!

Mackerel in Tomato Sauce with Egg (Fish Sarciado)

Fish Sarciado

This is a typical Filipino specialty and is very easy to cook.  For this dish you will need:

Fish, filleted and deboned (I used half of a medium sized mackerel for this recipe)
Two medium sized tomatoes cut into quarters
one egg beaten
one onion diced
three cloves of garlic
two cups of cooking oil for frying enough to reach half of the fish's thickness
some flour for dusting the fish
fish sauce (or salt if you don't prefer handling fish sauce)
one cup of water
salt
ground white pepper to taste


Dust the fish with flour and salt on both sides
Heat your oil in medium heat in a frying pan or sauce pan for about five minutes
Fry the fish on both sides for about 7 minutes on the skin side and 5 minutes on the flesh side
Once done set aside the fish
From the same oil used to fry the fish discard some oil leaving about two tablespoons
Saute the onions then the garlic until the onions are transparent
Return the fish to the pan and saute the fish
Add the tomatoes and let it be heated for about 3 minutes
Add one cup of water and let the mixture simmer
Crush the tomatoes so make a sauce
Add the egg and mix it this allows more thickness into the sauce
Finally, add some fish sauce/salt and pepper to taste

Serve on top of hot steamed rice!  I actually wrote this entry while finishing my lunch.

Found a new cafe in Mongolia

Here in Mongolia there are no Starbucks unlike in Manila where there's one every corner (OK that's already exaggerated but in Makati City it's close to that.)  There is a Caffe Ti-amo though and there's about four of them here in Ulaanbaatar.  I've tried the one in Sky Department Store during my first month here.

I've blogged about Caffe Ti-amo about two years ago where I fell in love with their Gelatos and Affogatos (you can find my blog entry here Favorites: Gelato)  So when I saw the Caffe Ti-Amo here I tried their affogato and I was immediately brought back home even for just a few minutes.  Incidentally, I also met some Filipinos working here in Mongolia during that time too so the sound of people talking in my native tongue completed the experience. You can check out Caffe Ti-Amo Mongolia's  FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/caffetiamo.

However, today it was a welcome surprise to find this new cafe at the ground floor of Home Plaza Shopping Center near where I live aptly named "Cafe".  And as always, the first thing I tried is my all time favorite the Caramel Macchiato.

I would say the coffee and cake was not bad at all.  The mocha roll does have sesame seeds which was not quite a good combination with mocha but I would have to try the other cakes and their sandwiches next time to make a better assessment.  The price and ambiance was also OK and gives a home style atmosphere.  I also noticed that their tea and coffee are also offered as either hot or as a cold beverage which gives more variety   Next time I will try my favorite tea concoction which is the Chai Latte.

Ahh... suddenly life seems to be "close to normal" again.

Beef Mechado ala Executive Lunch

I have read somewhere that when it comes to recipes why mess with a classic.  I somehow disagree on this since my philosophy is - eating should be a celebration of the palate.  And each person's preference to flavor, appearance and aroma of food varies immensely.  So here is my take on a classic Filipino dish called Beef Mechado or Beef Stew in Tomato Sauce.

For this recipe you would need:

400 grams of beef cubes  (beef cubes from the shank part works best)

1 big potato sliced into round chips about one fifth of an inch or half centimeter in thickness

100 grams pouch of tomato sauce

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 medium sized onion sliced to small pieces

salt and pepper to taste*

* I replaced this with Patis (fish sauce) and chili paste but this varies per person's preference and availability (luckily I found some Korean fish sauce in the local grocery.)

1.  Boil the beef with enough water to cover the beef.  Add some salt/patis and let it boil in high heat for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the beef is tender.  Separate the beef from the broth once done.  The broth can be used later and the excess can be used as soup.

2.  Fry the potatoes until both sides are golden brown.  The objective is not to make it crispy, remember you are cooking lunch or dinner and not a snack.  Set this aside.

3.  From the oil you used to fry the potatoes get about 2 tablespoon and heat in a skillet.

4.  Saute the onions and then the garlic once the onions are transparent.  There is some question on whether the onion or the garlic should come first when stir frying.  I say it should be the onion since it cooks slower than the garlic.  Also, garlic essence is already extracted from heated garlic at about 2 minutes from cooking.

5.  Add the beef and stir fry for about 5 minutes, put in some more salt/patis and the pepper/chili paste according to your taste preference while stir frying.  If the oil dries out do not add more oil but instead put in some beef broth.

6.  Add the tomato sauce and about half a cup of beef broth.  Let this simmer in low heat for about 5 to 10 minutes and remove from heat once done.  Check it from time to time and don't let the liquid to evaporate or dry out.  If it does, add some broth but be careful not to dilute the sauce by adding too much.

7.  For plating, place the fried potato chips on once side and place the beef on the opposite side.

Serves 3 to 4

This can actually be a meal on its own but still would work well if eaten with hot steamed rice.

Bon Appetit!

P.S.  For the other side of Executive Lunch please subscribe to 2438 Miles Away.  There I would post about music, movies, television, books, technology and anything under the sun.

Korean Ice Cream

This is probably one if the best tasting ice cream I have tried. I first tasted this ice cream on my Korean Airways flight to Manila. And now, I am eating (unlimited cups of) this ice cream again here at the Incheon Airport Lounge.

The taste reminds me of a cross between Häagen-Dazs and Selecta Gold's Caramel Cheesecake. But instead of caramel there is a strawberry ripple in it. The cheesecake bits is superb!

Not a bad way to be stranded in the airport at all.

Mongolia

I'm back!!! No, not in the Philippines but just back to blogging.  So it's already a month of being here in uber-cold Mongolia where the temperature hasn't gone up above zero degrees since I came here and this is just the beginning of winter.  I think if they offer here beer below zero it won't be profitable because I just leave my beer bottle outside my window and it turned to below zero.

Anyway, my life here has just been okay so far.  If I miss Filipino food I try to cook with what ever ingredients I can find in the local grocery.  I got  a package of canned goods and noodles from the Philippines so I can cook some sisig or pancit canton whenever I feel like to.  I still watch TV Patrol and other Filipino shows through live streaming.  And most importantly, I get to Skype with my wife and daughter everyday.  So aside from the climate, the distance and the language difference life still goes on (somehow) normally.  But not without days of wishing I am still back home.

A few days ago I posted this on my Facebook wall:

It actually came to a point where I asked myself "What am I doing here?"  And the reason why I measured it in twelve years is because I have this observation that events in life have a twelve year cycle (more on that on a separate post but you should try to check if that theory is true in your case as well.)  So I tried to reflect on my past twelve years and see if I ever thought of working abroad long term.  Twelve years ago I left my long time work with a local company and moved to a multinational company where I stayed for the next six years.  And the reason was not to work abroad but just to have the opportunity to travel.  Traveling abroad on business trips became more frequent but only on a short term basis as the need arises and my miles were piling up.  There were some invitations to explore opportunities to work in the Middle East and Papua New Guinea but turned them down.  My reason was that I can not bring my family with me and I don't want them to go through a tremendous adjustment.  Then how different were those opportunities to this one you may ask, and my simple answer is none at all except that this time I am determined to make a change in my life.  The time is right, the situations are different.  As I have mentioned in my FB post as life is a succession of events and experiences I believe that I have gathered enough experience in the past forty one years of my life to muster the strength to take this leap of faith.  The journey inside this elevator called life continues.

And for those who ask if there is Mongolian BBQ here, sorry but there has never been a Mongolian BBQ that originated in Mongolia and no I haven't seen Mr. Shooli either.

Ang Chicken ni Manang ay Hindi Check

So today I decided to check out what the fuzz is about Manang's Chicken. Somebody told me that it's the closest thing to Bon Chon Chicken so I gave it a try at their Glorietta Food Choices kiosk.

My verdict, well I'm not exactly solved about it.  The soy garlic sauce coating the fried chicken tastes like teriyaki sauce to me.  Plus the portion of the chicken is too lean that I hardly got any meat out of it.  The touted crispiness that made this chicken a hit on midnight markets was not there.  There is an option to replace the rice with a side dish which is good for those who like me are on a (ehem) diet.  I replaced my rice with macaroni salad and was a bit disappointed with the quality of the salad as well.  It's too sweet with a taste of pineapple which I don't see.  I am not sure if it was intended to be a chicken macaroni salad but I didn't even catch a glimpse of chicken in it.

I should probably try another branch to compare but for me this meal is 2 out 5.  Kudos for price and for having the option to replace rice but for food quality, taste and over all satisfaction it fell short of expectations.

We didn't start the Fire... Amazon did.

So the battle has now shifted to the tablets. A couple of tablets already came out running on their respective operating systems since Apple came up with the Ipad in 2010.  But the latest one which is met with much anticipation is the Kindle Fire which would be available by November 15th.

The Kindle Fire runs on a forked (customized) android OS running on a 1 GHz OMAP 4 dual core processor by Texas instrument.  It has 8GB of internal storage good enough to store 6,000 books.  It has Wi-Fi and micro USB 2 connectivity.  While it is still primarily an e-book reader it can play movies, TV shows, songs and of course games like the very popular and addicting Angry Birds!  The price point comes at a low $199 which makes it one of the most affordable tablet around. Wow, imagine checking out an online cookbook or watching cooking videos right at your kitchen.

And since Executive Lunch is now an Amazon Associate you can pre-order the Kindle Fire or the new Amazon Kindle (at $79 dollars! That is a great deal!) just by clicking the banner at the top of this page.

Ciao! 

The Champ is Here!

One of the most scrumptious of Pinoy comfort food is the Champorado.  It is glutinous rice cooked in cocoa.  It is sweet and served with a swirl of evaporated milk.  It goes well with tuyo, dilis or even salted egg (itlog na maalat.)  For some reason this food reminds me of rainy days as champorado never fails to keep my tummy warm when I was a kid on cold rainy days.

I usually get my champorado fix from Tapa King and Max's restaurant where they serve this as part of their All day breakfast line up. You got to try the Max's variety as it is called the Triple Chocolate Champorado and boy does it live up to its name!  It tastes like a bar of milk chocolate was melted into each bowl :)

For my mom's recipe here is how we make this in the good old days.

You need:

8 Tablespoons of Ricoa Breakfast Cocoa

1 cup of glutinous rice or malagkit

4 Tablespoons of white sugar

3 cups of water for cooking the rice

1 cup of hot water for the cocoa

evaporated milk

To cook:

Bring the 3 cups of water to a boil and add the glutinous rice  Cook until the water boils again.  While waiting for this, mix the cocoa with one cup hot water and let the powder to be completely dissolved.  Add this mixture to the boiling rice and stir constantly for another 15 minutes.  Add the sugar and cook for another five minutes but t don't let the water dry up.  Serve with a swirl of evaporated milk and enjoy!

For the Love of Cheesecake 2: House of Silvanas Takes the (mini) Cake

September has come and gone (here in the Philippines at least but it is still September in the US as of this posting.)  First of all, there are a few things to be thankful for the month of September.  As I have mentioned a couple of days ago I just reached the big 4.0 and September also marks the first year of my blog.  Time does fly so fast.

Some of my favorite posts where my take on the best blueberry cheesecake I have ever tasted.  (See For the Love of....Cheesecake!  and "Unboxing" a Becky's Kitchen Blueberry Cheesecake.)  Since then I have been on a look out for places that offered blueberry cheesecake as well as revisited some old favorites.

This one is from Yakimix.  Like every buffet the serving of the cakes are bite sized so this one is just a teaser. The cheesecake is more on the sweet side and the graham crust is too thin.

This came from my favorite Italian restaurant Italianni's.  As you can see I tasted it first before I can even take a picture :)  Well even though this is one my favorite places the cheesecake was a little bit of a let down.  This is the same cheesecake base as their sister resto FlapJacks but as you can see there is no real blueberries in it but just syrup.  The serving size is a bit big and it would take two to three persons to finish it.

This hefty piece is from Bob's a famous cafe in Bacolod.   This cheesecake is screaming CHEEEEESE!  And is a bit on the salty side. Also the crust is not made of graham crackers and a bit nutty . Bob's now has a branch in Makati along Dela Rosa St.

This one is from Market on the 5th at St Luke's Medical Center.  It is on the sweet side but it was quite OK. A bit expensive though for the serving size.  I think I was paying part of the hospital with it :) And I didn't come there for a check up either.

But if you are looking for value for money as well as being yummy then try out these mini blueberry cheesecakes from House of Silvanas

I was very careful with it because I thought that the cheesecake base might be too soft but lo and behold the base is more cake than mouse.

There is even an ample graham crust.  But the only one let down on this version is that there are no whole blueberries on the topping.

And since it is my birthday month what would be more fitting than to have one whole box of Becky's Kitchen Blueberry Cheesecake for my birthday.

This is truly a little piece of heaven here on earth :-D

Happy Birthday Executive Lunch!

Jollibee acquires major stake in Burger King

Jollibee acquires major stake in Burger King | ABS-CBN News



Wow! This bit of news is amazing but a little bit misleading.  It should be noted that they only bought 54% of the stake of the Burger King local franchisee not BK US.  Do we expect The Champ to be exported to Burger King then?  Let us wait and see.

Life is Like an Elevator

Life is like an elevator, it has its ups and downs.

It's been 40 years to this day that I have existed in this world.  And if someone would ask me what I have done all my life then I would say "I have loved."

You see, it was my love for my parents that I have allowed them to track the course of where my life would lead me and influence one of the most crucial decisions I have ever made in my life, which is a choice to take up Accountancy.  The year was 1987, I have already passed the UP entrance exam and I would have had the opportunity to take Organizational Communication, which was the non-quota course that I have ticked in the application form.  Honestly, I really had no idea what that course was.  And a funny twist of fate as it would seem that later on I would marry somebody who graduated with that course.

I was already losing options at that point but my friends from Manila Science High School told me that they are enrolling at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, so I gave it a try.  It was the last exam which was held in the month of April.  From what I have learned there was a low passing rate from the previous batches that is why the university opted to hold a special batch to accommodate late enrollees.  I consider myself lucky to have passed that exam.  Not only was I able to enroll in Business Administration as what my parents wanted me to take but on top of that I have also had the chance to meet the people who are now my closest friends and still get to see some of my old friends from Masci.  After 4 years of hard work, pains and often times fun and laughter I was able to graduate from PLM but not "With Honors" as I have wanted it to be with just a few points away from the 1.75 mark.  (The reason for that is a different story all together but I would rather not delve into it much deeper.)  But that incident made me work so much harder during the review and when I took up the CPA Board on October 1991, I passed - not bad for a reluctant accountant.

I have never really dreamed of being an Accountant.  I would have wanted to be a Systems Analyst, a Chef or even a Singer/Songwriter.  But since my mother have always wanted at least one of her offspring to become a CPA (since most of my cousins are CPAs), I gladly obliged.  That is why up to this day of all the hundreds and so staff that I have interviewed I always ask the same question "Was Accounting (or whatever course they graduated from) your first choice for a course?" And it makes me smile inside to know that somehow I am not alone.

But I believe that all of these things are interconnected like a web or neurons in the nervous system.  If I didn't take up Accounting I wouldn't have met all the wonderful people from PLM and all the nine (yes, nine!) companies that I have worked for in the past 19 (almost 20) years of my career.  But most importantly, I wouldn't have met that young lady working in the Advertising and Sales Promotion Department of Ayala Plans Inc.  She would later turn out to be the missing part of my heart.

Our love story is not without the tele-novela twists too.  A year after we became a couple I have decided to propose to her on her 26th birthday.  I have made a webpage that I showed to her after dinner and of all places the marriage proposal came in an internet cafe :)  With me explaining how I made the page as I pull out the ring and proposed.  It was one of the happiest moment of my life.  But things turned out not quite as planned a few weeks after.  We have not told her parents yet that we are getting married but decided to tell it first to a group of our closest friends.  It was announced to our friends on that fateful Fathers Day of 2001.  Fateful because on our way to a restaurant near the bay area we received a call from her house.  My mother in law met a traffic accident a few  meters from where we are going.  When we reached the hospital, she already passed away.  After a few months, we did tell her father about our plan to get married but it would be after the first death anniversary of my mother in law.

That union brought about the third reason my life has been guided by love and that is in the form of my daughter, the bringer of joy.  She is the reason why I persevere to work hard every day. To give her our wholehearted love and undivided attention.  Yes, I am on the other side of the track now and I understand why my parents have always wanted me to follow what they believe is good for me.  But I have also learned through that experience that I shouldn't control my child's destiny.  She has the capability to shape it on her own.  And while we always keep her under the mantle of our protective love I know that someday she would grow her wings.  And I wanted her to experience a life without resentment.

So in my 40 years there are still a lot of questions in my mind if I decided to get off a different floor in this elevator ride.  But as I try to look back those were really the reason why I am what I am right now.  Everything happens for a reason, and no matter how I try to think how my life would have been different if I decided to take a different direction, it wouldn't matter anymore because those things already happened and is now part of the past. And much like we wake up every day, it also gives us a new day to shape our destiny.

So on this day, after forty years of my existence, like any other day, MY LIFE BEGINS, TO BE ABLE TO LOVE AGAIN AND AGAIN.

Here's to the next forty years and beyond...

Pancake House buys Yellow Cab pizza chain | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features

Pancake House buys Yellow Cab pizza chain

It is with great pleasure receiving the announcement of the union between Pancake House and Yellow Cab. Pancake House which sells uhhh...pancakes buys Yellow Cab Pizza for P800 million pesos. That places Yellow Cab on better footing to compete toe to toe with Pizza Hut of the Araneta's (owners of the Dairy Queen and Taco Bell franchise in the Philippines) and Greenwich of the Jollibee group. Wait is Shakey's part of any group? Cowboy Grill? OK, forget that.

What I mean here is that you should have a big brother to back you up financially especially during these times of economic uncertainty.  Take the case of Domino's Pizza, they are a global brand but this was not used to their advantage.  Domino's is still stuck with limited branches and a minimal fan base.  Although in terms of flavor and price, Domino's can still compete and grab a share of this Pizza (Picha-pie according to some old folks) loving nation.

Yellow Cab is one of my favorite pizzas, with the Four Seasons flavor on top of the list.  It's generous amount of garlic and the use of dried chili as condiments is such a hit that I would prefer it over Pizza Hut, Shakey's or  Greenwich anytime.

One thing that I am also looking forward to is the inclusion of Yellow Cab to the Orange Card (which I really hope the Lorenzo Group does.)  That is one good reason to get an Orange Card now.

Pasta Alfredo with Salmon

Happy Easter everyone!

It's been awhile since I've posted a recipe (come to think of it, it's been a while since I've blogged, but that's a different story) so I've decided to share with you a pasta dish that I have prepared for the meatless days of the Holy Week.  It's my version of the Pasta Alfredo and I have used a can of pink salmon that I've bought from the grocery as a variation from using chicken strips.

Ingredients:

1 can of Pink Salmon (Century, yes the Tuna brand, got a good Pink Salmon that is just right for this recipe but you can use fresh Salmon fillet if you want to but you may have to cook it a little longer)
2 tablespoon of pitted black olives halved
1/2 bottle of cream cheese
1 all purpose cream
3 cloves of garlic
olive oil
butter
powdered garlic
oregano
salt
pepper
175 grams of Pasta pre-cooked according to package instructions

First, sautee the salmon with 3 cloves of garlic on about a teaspoon of oil or you may use the water of the canned salmon.  Sautee for about 3 mins.  Make sure to take out the skin and bones.  Salmon normally only has one piece of bone in the center.  The canned salmon already has salt so it is not necessary to add some more if you have used this. Separate the garlics, place on a plate and set aside.  Aside from Salmon, Tuna is also a good alternative.

Heat about a tablespoon of butter on a non stick pan once dissolved put in another tablespoon of olive oil this prevents the butter from burning.  Put in 2 dashes of powdered garlic and then the pitted black olives.  The aim here is not to burn any of the olives as the Alfredo sauce should have a consistent white appearance and the olives should not taste bitter.  Add in the cream cheese until it melts, stirring constantly.  Add in the all purpose cream and stir to blend all the ingredients together.  Add a dash of oregano, some more powdered garlic, salt and pepper to taste.

Toss in the pasta and make sure that all of it are coated with the Alfredo sauce.  Top with the cooked Salmon, toss some more and transfer to a serving dish.  It is best to serve and eat this immediately as the Alfredo sauce is known to harden at room temperature because of the cheese.  This serves 2 to 3 people and probably just for one very hungry dude!

Here is what I have cooked last Good Friday.  I have used spaghetti for my pasta but Fettuccine also works well.

Bon Apetit!

Fastfood chain suspends ads on 'Willing Willie' - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Fastfood chain suspends ads on 'Willing Willie' - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Yes! Mang Inasal I'm happy that you are sensitive to the Filipino people's sentiments and for standing up for what is right.

"Unboxing" a Becky's Kitchen Blueberry Cheesecake

The term unboxing has usually been reserved for new high tech computer products.  I came across this term during the launch of the iPad where first buyers (those who usually waited in line for long hours for the store to open) made a vlog of their unboxing of the new gadget.  According to Wikipedia, unboxing has been labeled as a new form of "geek porn."

So now I am "unboxing" not a tech item but as I have promised in my review the Becky's Kitchen Blueberry Cheesecake which I have judged in my recent post as my favorite cheesecake by far.  http://execlunch.blogspot.com/2011/02/for-love-ofcheesecake.html

So you have to take out the tape off the tape on each side...

Are we ready for this?

And here you go my friends.  Our first look at a Becky's Kitchen Blueberry cheesecake.

Yup, I just bought a half cake this time since we are celebrating...uhm...err... Earth Hour!  That's right we are celebrating Earth Hour so that is why we are having blueberry cheesecake :-p

Ready to have a big slice...

Don't worry I am not having this slice just for myself I am sharing this with my wife :)

And the verdict, I really love Becky's Kitchen's Blueberry Cheesecake I believe most of the fine qualities of the cheesecakes that I have sampled in my previous blog entry were combined with this one.  And the price is very reasonable too.  Aside from the store located at Bautista corner Pablo Ocampo St (Vito Cruz) where I bought this cake there is a branch at Community Center Suha St Valle Verde I Pasig City so people from the Eastern Metro wouldn't need to travel that far to sample these.

Bon Appetit!

Tried Recently: Guilly's Island Buffet

Buffets has been a constant crowd drawer for us Filipinos. I have tried some of the best buffets in town (see my entry on-buffets here.) And in my recent trip to Davao, I have also learned that the buffets fever (much like the Bieber fever) has also hit that city with lunch buffets as low as P 145 pesos per person.

Well another restaurant has jumped into the buffet bandwagon following the footsteps of Cabalen, Hard Rock Cafe and Kamayan. Guilly's Island Resto Bar a known gimik place is now offering lunch buffets at P239 while the dinner buffet is at P300. The dinner buffet comes with a grilling station with choices of meat and seafood ready to be grilled and served at your table. The selection is not bad either with good filipino dishes like the sinigang na baboy, lechon paksiw and kare kare. There is also pasta, Mongolian barbecue and dessert stations. The buffet comes with a glass of iced tea too.

One the best part about Guilly's buffet is that there is still an ala-carte menu that is good for my little princess who is a picky eater. Although kids can also partake of the buffet for half the buffet price.

Try the Guilly's buffet in their Glorietta 5 branch.