Kanin Club

Finally we made it to Kanin Club, Westgate Alabang. Imagine, it's relatively within my neighborhood and only this weekend that we were able to eat there. It was always full and a lot others were waiting outside on the instances that we passed by the area. Usually, lunch/dinner outside is imprumptu, so I don't get to do reservations.

We entered the resto 30 minutes before 12 noon. I was kindah surprised to find out that the place was uncrowded on a Sunday lunch. We even got to choose our table at 2nd level.

But it didn't take much longer for the seats to get occupied. In a matter of 15 minutes after our arrival, daughter said there were already a queue outside.

We were actually here to taste the famous crunchy dinuguan. I've been depriving myself of fatty food for the sake of hubby's health condition. This time, I was going over the top with this sinful dish in the name of high blood provocation. I also allowed husband to indulge just once this time.Well, as everyone who tried this already said_ it's sinfully yummyness! It's actually crackling pork skin (chicharon) bathed in pork blood.

The girls didn't even bother to glance at our black dish. Their attention glued in full to their forever favorite dish_ beef kare-kare.



We only had these two plus a bowl of rice in our table. But hey, if you had these super hearty dishes, I don't think you could afford to have an extra appetite for other dishes. We couldn't.

We didn't stay long, after less than an hour our lunch was done and on our way out the tiny resto was already full with many others waiting for their turn outside.



Look daughter was carrying a doggie bag? Nah, our left overs. We had them as dinner at home on that evening.

Tam-Awan Village Cafe

Tam-awan Village Cafe is located at the heart of this garden in the sky in Baguio City.

Every corner of the cafe' is loaded with mind boggling art works.

We didn't have time to feast on its interesting menu, but we made sure we tried the cafe's must try.

The Tam-awan salad. See here.

The famous Benguet coffee.

Cuzin' found her new fave drink here_ lemon hot tea. She was having a sore throat that day and she swore the hot lemon tea soothed her pain. She let me had a taste of it and agreed it was mixed perfectly.



We sure had eye feast on the art works but time bounded visit limited our food tripping. We'll definitely be back here to satisfy our gustation.

B-fast at Zenz

Although our complimentary breakfast at Mines View Park Hotel was not buffet, we all enjoyed our plates. It was good to be served with a slice of papaya each  first before main dishes were served. Papaya is actually recommended eaten when stomach is totally empty in the morning. Fibers are wisely digest that way. Breakfast was served at Zenz.

We all ordered for Filipino plate, those come with garlic rice,egg and which you need vinegar and catchup as dipping side mates.

crispy bangus

bacon



bacon again

tocino



ham

The meal was simple but we were all satisfied and ready to start the day right.

Baguio Taho

Among the many street foods available at the side walks and around  the tourist spots in  Baguio, taho ( sorry no english translation, a hot sweetened softer than soft tofu pudding) ala Baguio stood out.




Sure you could find taho everyday, anywhere in the Philippines, but Baguio has its own concoction.






The strawberry taho. In addition to the sago (tapioca pearl/ball) toppings, this has strawberry. Lots of it.

Now, with strawberries on top of your taho. . .

. .  in a perfect breezy fresh morning in the city of pines. . this underrated street food has leveled up to a gourmet status. Don't miss to try a cup when you go up to Baguio.

Cafe Alamid/Philippine Civet Coffee

Our country's pride Cafe Alamid is fetching up to $1k++ per kilo outside our country. So last weekend in Baguio's public market, while we were buying Benguet coffee to take home, I saw tin cans of the most coveted coffee all over the world and asked the merchant how much.For this smallest can of 25 grams, it's P1,200 ($25+), a kilo would be around $500+. Not bad, afterall, it's found, picked, roasted in our own country, so we deserve to get it cheaper than those foreign coffee connoisseurs.

Did I buy it? No. But cuzin from Davao did. First of all, I'm not a coffee drinker. I only buy coffee for my father. Second of all, my gosh!, it's still P1,200 for what a small tin can of coffee. Might as well, bring the whole family to Starbucks and buy each a tall glass of fraps for that amount. hahaha! You know I'm too cheap to afford that. I bought Benguet coffee for P80 only.



So anyway, upon endorsing it to rich cuzin, she didn't think twice and purchased the trial size can for P1,200. Anyway, she could definitely afford it and she's a 100% coffee addict! why not! So it came with a certificate of authenticity and a pin.

Yes, a pin to puncture pinhole on center bottom of the can so it would release pressure to make it easier to open. She noticed the pin late, she had already opened the can before she  read the certificate and saw the pin.

When it was opened (back to the hotel), we were all pleasantly surprised by the deliciously sinful aroma of coffee. The beans were also larger and more distinct compared to the other coffee beans I've seen my father had brewed.

For those who don't know yet ( have you not watched a delayed telecast/replays of Oprah's mentioning this type of coffee? which I guess what made this coffee so popularly expensive all over the world, thank you Oprah!) Cafe Alamid beans are poop of Philippine civet, locally known as alamid which I think is from the cat family. The process starts with the gift of smell of this animal which able to pick the ripest and finest berries. The alamid would stuff itself with these special find berries and excrete them the following morning. In Indonesia, this coffee is called Kopi Luwak and it's being produced by Indonesian civet.



So there we were, coffee drinker or not. Everyone was enticed by the alluring smell of Cafe Alamid. We were ready to taste it! But wait. . family how could we? The beans were not grind! We were at the hotel on our last hour before we checked-out, and neither there was a coffee maker in the room.
By now Sylv is back in Davao and might be_ had already tasted it herself. Now, I have to buy myself an expensive cup of this precious coffee in a coffee shop.. .or shall I wait for your kindness to treat me a cup of this? That would be better;)

Tam-Awan Salad

Tam-Awan Salad. Had tried this mound of mixed vegies in honey mustard and herb dressing. The dressing was too much for me and cuzin' Che. I thought, it didn't blend well with apple and bell pepper slices. It was served pre-mixed. No personal preference adjustment was given. Which I thought a salad should be_personal. It's a norm in most restos to serve a minimum of three dressing choices. Or atleast, the dressing should be served separately and not yet mixed. The dressing made the salad too sour for my taste and seemed to overpower the rest of the salad . Might be better as a side salad of a grilled or fried dish. On the contrary, hubby liked it. He loves sour foods. He finished the plate for us.

Tried it at Tam-Awan Village Cafe in Baguio City. I enjoyed the artsy structure of the cafe' more than the salad.


Come back later for the arts, coffee and hot lemonade and more of this beautiful coffee shop.

Cake2Go

Quezon City is one of the least areas we frequent. Simply because we reside at the south area of Manila_ distance! So while in the vicinity, we took advantage of something new to try like Cake2Go, only to find out that it has a branch in Paranaque which is nearby my place. Anyway, now I know.



We came from a heavy lunch and the kids were not actually excited about the cakes.

But the moms_ definitely were.

Look, that cake looked this pretty just few minutes ahead taken before those above photos. Luveth!!! Sweetness was controlled and cream was stable not to overwhelm the subtle sweetness of mango. This is Mango Meringue Symphony.

A must try, it said. Devil's Food Cheesecake. And try we did.

But the devil's cheese cake failed to score on us. Must be cos we had enough of the relatively similar ingredients of two cakes.

The kids were enticed with the Toblerone Overload and ordered a slice to share.

But after a quater fork load, no one was interested to finish the slice. They thought it would delight them the way a triangle of toblerone chocolate does, but obviously didn't.



One sugar free heart was happy thu' _ husband who enjoyed a slice of sugar free tiramisu.