Weekly Photo Challenge: Nostalgic

July 6, 2013 by K.Z.

Filipino food and home-cooked meals make me nostalgic.

Halo Halo ^^

April 23, 2013 by K.Z.

I have one obsession this summer… HALO- HALO!

halo-halo from max’s

halohalo from chowking

‘Halo’ is a Tagalog word that means mix. And one can easily see why this favorite Filipino summer dessert was named as such ^^ Usually served in a bowl or in a tall glass, halo-halo consists of a mixture of shaved ice, evaporated milk, ube (purple yam) and leche flan. It contains a colorful blend of preserved fruits (nata de coco, sugar palm fruit, macapuno) and fresh fruits (bananas, jackfruit), and sweet beans (kidney beans, garbanzos, red beans). It also has gulaman, tapioca, and of course, a scoop or two (or three) of ice cream on top. It is sprinkled with fragrant pinipig (crushed young rice) and sugar, sometimes even shredded cheese.

Halo-halo is widely available in most restaurants here in the Philippines, even in fast food chains. Summers here are sweltering so they’re everywhere. Matter of fact, you can even get a cheaper version of Halo-halo from street vendors that use different ingredients such as thin slices of ripe mango and gulaman on shaved ice. It’s also pretty easy to make halo-halo at home. ^^ All you have to do is purchase some milk, ice cream and jars of dried fruits, sweet beans, etc from the grocery store. That way, you‘re able to control the portions.

When I was a kid, I’d make my own halo-halo filled with lotsa kaong, macapuno, and nata de coco – all my favorites – so I kinda end up having a snowy white halo-halo instead of the typically colorful one ^^

Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture

Tagged Q ~ Quench the Thirst

Tagged L / Weekly Photo Challenge: Lunchtime Day 6: Ox Tail and more ^^

March 20, 2013 by K.Z.

I’m now on my Day 6 entry for this cool iPhoneography challenge ^^ I’m obviously loving it. Yesterday, Frizz ( and L is also for Lunch ^^ ) made a comment on my Ox tongue post about a recipe for Ox tail. That seriously made me crave for one!! So I went to one of the must-visit local restaurants. It offers a wide variety of Filipino and international dishes… and cakes, they have cakes! ^^ Anyway, one of my favorite native dishes ever is the Kare Kare — a stew made of beef, ox tail and ox tripe and vegetables in peanut sauce. For the love of blogging, and because I’m really a glutton, I decided to go all out.lol We also ordered a couple of sandwiches: beef burger and a beef steak sub. There’s grilled squid and for dessert, a mango crepe and an apple muffin. But if there’s one dish that I keep coming back for, it’s the Crispy Beef Riblets. That’s exactly how beef is supposed to be cooked, plain and simple, and you can really taste all the yumminess oozing from the beef fat! It’s served with coleslaw and sweet potato fries. I also love their chicken potato salad but we skipped that ^^

Kare Kare – dish of ox tail and ox tripe

Crispy Beef Riblets

I have a feeling this week’s theme just made me fat. Hope you had a fabulous lunch! xo ^^

*for day 7, I went back to the local diner an took some actual food photos ^^ view my posts here

Serendra Piazza: A Food Trip ^^

January 8, 2013 by K.Z.

Serendra Piazza, Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Yey! haha i actually only wanted to do this challenge coz it’s my first time to use the maps. hahaha normally, these things confuse me,lol ^^

Lately I haven’t really been living up to the “foodie” part of my blog — I’ve been focusing much on writing poetry and fiction and sharing photos of travel and nature. So, I’ve decided to use this prompt as a way to make it up to you (those who follow my blog for restaurant reviews/ food porn) ^^

Our destination: only the ultimate foodie paradise in Metro Manila — Bonifacio Global City ; Serendra Piazza, Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Let’s go on a little food trip, shall we? ^^ We’re doin’ it my way: DESSERT IS SERVED FIRST. ^^

1) First stop: Cupcakes!

I’ve already made a post about cupcakes by sonja, click the link for more cupcakes. ^^

pistachio berries and cream

This is just one of my favorites! We’ll also have Berries and Cream, Red Velvet Vixen and Bunny Hugger Carrot Cupcake cos they’re awesome.

Ok, that’s it, enough! Quit stuffing your face with cupcakes coz our next stop is just fantabulous!

2) French Macarons and Royal Pudding at Chez Karine

So we have dark chocolate, pistachio, lemon, earl grey, choco mint, strawberry and my favorite: salted caramel! ^^

Muscovado Royal Pudding.. ahh the soft set custard pudding with dark caramel at the bottom.. pretty little jars too. And yes, you can take the jar home.. ^^

So it’s time for lunch but the sweetness doesn’t end here! I bet you never had a sweet burger before 😉

3) Lunch: Murray and D’vine — burgers, sliders, and damn good wine

If you happen to be in Manila and somehow specifically craving a heart-shaped burger, lol, then now you know where to get it. ^^

Murray and D’vine is what I’d call a win-win situation. Why? Well, for starters, their slogan says: “Burgers, Sliders and Damn Good Wine” so you know it’s the perfect dating place when you’re in the mood for something not too fancy but not too low-cost either. Yeah, their gourmet burgers are pretty pricey compared to other burger chains here in the Philippines but IMHO the price is still pretty decent. After all where else can you find a place where the equation: [(girl gets wine + heart shaped burger) + (boy gets beer + sports channel + burgers) = everybody happy] exists. ^^ — It’s ok, math confuses me too. ^^

in case you’re wondering, yeah, I believe all of their burgers are heart shaped, except for the sliders and yeah, they tasted good too ^^

4) Dessert — again! : Gelatissimo

chocolate truffle and forest berries are my fave flavors… a definite must-try ^^

I bet you’re tummy’s pretty damn full by now so let’s spend the rest of the afternoon walkin’ around and doin’ my favorite past time. I WILL SHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP . ^^

I’m bettin’ you’re hungry again.. And that your arms are aching from carrying my shopping bags.lol ^^ How about we sit for a while and grab a slice of pizza

5) Sbarro @ Bonifacio Global City

My fave Chicago White Deep Dish Pizza ^^

So I know this place with the best cheese rolls and ensaymada in town…

6) Mary Grace Cafe

More bread? ^^ Don’t worry, I got it covered.

7) Le Petit Artisan

bamboo charcoal bread

well, i’d have to say though, i prefer the macarons at chez karine!

Oh no, don’t you dare tell me you’re full now ^^ We haven’t even gotten to dinner yet!

8) Filipino Cuisine — Sentro 1771

On the menu: Dried fish spring rolls, glazed ribs, Beef tapa with bagoong rice, Green Mango Salad and Sinigang na Corned Beef

Don’t worry, no more desserts ^^ promise. But how bout some pica pica and mojitos instead? ^^

9) Shots: New Orleans Bar & Resto

Sizzlers and nachos and some mojitos ^^

And of course, you can’t leave without bringin’ a little sumthin sumthin home with you ^^

10) Krispy Kreme

Let’s go all out and get some donuts ^^ Wherever you are in the world, you gotta love your original glazed

Writing Challenge: Map It Out

I hope you enjoyed spending your day with me.^^ ~~Glutton!~~
^^
xo, kz

SUNDAY POST : Christmas — Pinoy Style ;)

December 23, 2012 by K.Z.

Last year our Christmas eve was pretty silent. Some relatives living abroad weren’t able to make it. There was too much food, too little to do 😦 So unlike Christmas Eve 2010 when the whole family’s there… We all dressed up in green, each one trying to outdo the other.lol And we wrote our names down in little pieces of paper for our little Monito Monita/ Exchange gifts. To me Christmas Eve with family means a lot of things and one of the words that I can’t help but associate with the season is FOOD —- like LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of it. We eat like the world’s about to end.lol In fact, I feel like I eat more on Christmas Eve than the rest of the year combined. Oh boy.. ^^ Below are photos from Christmas Eve 2010.

lechon / roasted pig — a must in every huge Filipino festivity ^^

chef wang — kind enough to work overtime and spend Christmas eve with our family

palabok or rice noodles with shrimp gravy, seafood, pork cracklings and deep fried pork and eggs

cordon bleu

shrimp tempura

steamed fish by mommy (my grandma)

rellenong bangus — milkfish stuffed and deep fried

chicken stuffed and baked

embutido — ground meat stuffed

crema de fruta

mixed buttered veggies — an attempt to have “something healthy”– as if! lol

lumpia 2 variations fresh and fried aka spring rolls

caldereta — beef stew with tomatoes, carrots and potatoes. i know it looks gross but it’s yummy!!! my specialty

buko salad – young coconut strips with condensed milk, cream, preserved fruits

gulaman/ gelatine

By the time you reach the end of this post, you’re prolly already suffering from a stroke. ^^

Here’s my happy news… This year, the family’s complete again– well almost.. we’re doing exchange gifts again and dress up in green and it’ gonna be awesome! ^^

see and share how Christmas is celebrated all over the world at Sunday Post by Jake

Merry Christmas from my fam’ly to yours 🙂