Another Crustacean?

The other,other,other night. . someone gave us these. . Thank you. Clueless about the name of this crustacean.

I still haven't even found the name of the other crustacean  I bought in a market long time ago.

I'm just pretty sure both kinds aren't lobsters. The real one looks like the illustration above. But if we would try to connect both crustaceans we would somehow come up with an image near the real lobster.



Anyway, with my magic cooking wand, I turned them into a savory spicy ala chili crabs dish. They weren't  so meaty thu'. Between the two unnamed crustaceans, the other (seen at the second image above) one got more meat. Both are deliciously tasted like crabs.

Laksa-rious Soup

All I want at this rainy morning is a bowl of _ _ _ piping hottie laksa !!!!



So many foreign dishes to try. . so short in time. Finally had laksa during my recent overseas trip. . . at the Changi (SG) airport ?? The soup in a paper bowl, I wonder how far/close it was to the authentic one. Sorry, it's just me. .  airport outlets always come to me as "commercial".

This laksa was packaged with a toasted bread and a cup of coffee?? Hmm, I didn't like the idea of hot soup+hot coffee. I asked the server if I could have a bottled water instead of coffee. They made me add few cents for the alteration.



I had my first (plastic) spoonful of laksa and didn't stop until the bowl was empty!!! Sooo del-i-cious!! I don't know if this was a popular version of laksa, but it gave me a yummy  first impression that for sure would last until I have my second laksa bowl. That was a month ago and so far I haven't any second laksa yet. .not even in the few Singaporean & Malaysian restos here in Manila.
Until then. . this laksa is staying as one of the best soup in my list.

Bak Kut Teh

I was happy to see a Filipino stall at Rasapura Masters @ Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. I didn't realized that it was a Gerry's Grill (a popular bbq resto here in the Phils.) outlet then. I didn't notice their tiny signage. The stall was carrying Filipino Cuisine as a name. I was glad there's one to represent our own cuisine but I was in no way there to bore myself with my daily home dishes.
It was just another short visit to SG so might as well add more new dishes in my "foodictionary":))

I looked around the classy ( well, it must be. . it's in Marina Bay Sands !! haha ) food court featuring regional street foods and saw a lot of foreign sounding name dishes. Most of them I hadn't tried yet.

Bah Kut Teh was no news to me. But then I realized I haven't tried it yet at all . I only knew it by ears and never yet by tongue. I joined the progressing queue in front of the bah kuh teh stall and got myself a bowl of it for less than $10. I added a small bowl of rice cos the soup looked so bland and boring without anything to go with it.

It's actually a pork ribs soup. Authentic flavors achieved through simmering the ribs with a party of herbs. It looked so bland but actually tasted the opposite. It was so tasty it surprised me. Thu' I thought not strong enough to work well with the rice. Rice in general needs the strength of a flavorful viand to create harmonious flavors. Next time I think I would like it independent of a side dish or maybe I would try noddles with it but never rice again.



I'm definitely unsure if I was in the right place to have bak kut teh initiation, haha. First of all, it was still a food court and we all know how very commercial such place is. By "commercial" I meant we hardly get authenticity of a product. However, it was the best bak kuh teh I ever had. .it was so far the only one I had!! that's why, haha.

Sinigang Na Lechon

With the Chrismas season banging in left to right parties, I'm sure the famous local dish lechon (suckling pig) would flood the dinner tables. Inevitable lechon leftovers at the end of the party.  Paksiw na lechon as a recycled lechon  recipe is a cliche' already. Although still the most practical way if you were into storage and saving for the next meal.

But if you're digging for some tasty soup, you may opt to use leftover lechon meat and skin for sinigang (tamarind based meat soup).



I did try cooking "sinigang na lechon" for dinner last night. I worked with hotel's buffet version of the dish. From my own taste memory of those I had from Filipino buffet spread in the hotels. I don't have exact recipe thu'. But turned out okey and delighted my family of  foodies.
I cooked it the way I do my regular pork sinigang. I separated the skin of lechon from the meat cos I remember enjoying a version of it in one hotel with the skin still crunchy over the hot soup. While the veggies and the lechon meat were still cooking, I reheated the lechon skin in the oven hoping to regain the crunch. 97% successful. To plate, I put the soup in a bowl and  topped with the crunchy skin.
I think could be tweak better next time.
Must try.

Filipino Buffet

Everytime bestfriend (based overseas) has her random visits here in P.I., our default dining hubs would be those buffet restos serving filipino dishes. In between shoppings at Glorrieta / Greenbelt (Makati), Dad's Kamayan & Saisaki would always be the most accessible for quick lunch fix.



She would fill-in her cravings for Filipino home grown dishes. .

my first serving

2nd serving

. . and I would indulge on dishes I'm not making at home like sushi (remember Dad's has crossover buffet- Saisaki ), roasted beef, the etc's that aren't homecooked dishes.

Another favorite is the Cabalen's. It's actually very similar to Dad's in the sense that both are serving Filipino and Japanese buffet dishes. Both are also very accessible with branches inside popular malls in the country.






This Cabalen's outlet in Glorrieta, Makati is particularly chic with awesome interior.



Cabalen @ Festival Mall
Try to compare this branch to their other branch in another mall and you would see another feel of ambiance. It just goes to say that ambiance and location  make a lot of difference.

Filipino dishes on parade. .

. . complete with our famous lechon (suckling pig)

Bestfriend concluded that between the two filipino buffet restos, Dad's is better. It has a wider array of buffet spread and foods are warmer and fresher. Ofcourse, Dad's buffet plate is more expensive too than Cabalen's.

Selera Restaurant

At Nongsa Point Marina & Resort in Indonesia, we took our lunch at the Selera Restaurant located at the wing of the hotel lobby.



The restaurant succeeds the white domination theme of the hotel.




For me the focal point of Selera is the picturesque  marina spreads infront of the restaurant. However, that day the rainy weather got in the way. I bet, from this focal angle, on a sunny day the marina would be a sight to behold.

I was pretty excited ( I swear I was! I always try to put on a poker face whenever, haha ) to taste Indo dishes. I might have had some of them in SG and Malaysia, but I couldn't specify at this point..

From this menu, the most I was familiar with was _ "goreng". Only because, back home_  mi goreng instant noodles are staple and would always occupy a big space in our weekly grocery cart.

Bestfriend was quick to order her favorite nasi goreng. I cut my confusion and mirrored her choice. She had it a lot of times here. .case closed, haha



Nasi Gorengkoe. Rice with chicken satay, fried chicken, fried prawns, sliced omelette, local pickles and prawn cracker. It's a chef creation and lemme warn you _ everything in the plate was spicy, yes even the rice... haaaahhh, waterrr please!!!!



Rendang. As usual my brother default dish would be meat!! Specifically something beef. Rendang is a popular Indonesian beef stew. The plate was served with rice, local pickles and prawn crackers.



Here in our country, I could compare this plate to our local tapsilog/tocilog/bangsilog. When you get to visit the Philippines, you try our original version of nasi goreng, okey.

Shooting Cibo

It took us hours of rounds of restaurants in ATC (Alabang Town Center) before we ended up at Cibo. I'm talking about the other day when daughter had to do food photography as a school project. I agreed to her choice of Cibo cos first of all_ I knew I didn't have a post on it yet, hehe. Shooting two birds, haha.



We both doubted the light factor inside the resto. It was either dark. .

or too yellowed.

She decided, she was going to do her photo shoot. . outside at the al fresco area.



We chose the food not really to our likings (but I like everything at Cibo! ) but according to the aesthetics value of the presentation. Daughter specified that she needed something with colors. Salad was a no brainer choice.



*photo by daughter* Insalata Pacifica. With the greens, and the colorful tomatoes, how can you go wrong with this? The white elements were thinly sliced palm heart, sprinkled with parmesan cheese and dressed with balsamic vinaigrette . Yum.yum.yum.

I urged her to rush shooting the salad cos I was already drolling. I'm a salad addict, haha. Funny that this time  I took the seat of my family and friends who usually dined with me and always waiting for me to get done with the food shooting of each plate before they could eat. Now I know the waiting saga, haha. Oh, the salad? It was perfect. The veggies were so fresh and the dressing was just right with the balance of sourness and sweetness. I just thought I wanted more cheese on it.



Next, daughter wanted a dish already presented unneeded of anymore tweakings. She found the sandwiches in the menu and ordered one.

*photo by daughter*  Mozarella sandwich. It's in the seafood sandwich category. I know, the sandwich played background here.



*photo by daughter* The chips and the dips were stealing the scene. I guess, precisely why she chose this dish. The setting with those sidings was awesome. p/s : the chips were del-i-cious! The dip was I thought just plain mayo and salt.

*photo by daughter* But hey this isn't a photo blog! This is my food blog!! haha. Shall we get back to the sandwich? In between the ciabatta bread were anchovy, tomato slices, oregano and basil. Just exactly the way I want my sandwich_ sooo healthyful! And the threads of mozarella cheese were gooeyful!!!



*photo by daughter* Fresh grapes juice/smoothie. Her choice too. Why not? Aesthetically appealing with those pixels of grapes. The color is great too, right? The tiny mints as the crown glory concluded the freshness of its ingredients. The taste? Well, really grape-y. It's like putting a bunch of fresh grapes in a blender at home and blend with ice. That's it. That was how it tasted. No complications.



*photo by daughter* Tiramisu. What can I say? Truly "a heaven in your mouth". The best so far tiramisu I ever had. A lil' trivia here: I thought it's a Japanese dessert cos of the sound of its name. It was only lately that I found out that it's an original Italian dessert, haha. I would surely come to Cibo when I crave for tiramisu next time. The best!!! The layers were carameralized-ly gooey and the chocolate slices were massive!!! loveth!



photo by the waiter, haha. Now it's time for daughter to eat my leftovers, haha. She was done with her assignment and dived into the food. She and my younger daughter are also one hell of  foodies too.

Digging Swiss

I love the  Swiss Club in Singapore. Not only that it has super awesome recreational and relaxation facilities, it too prides itself for excellent cuisine with a number of exclusive restaurants serving the members. So happy, my Swiss girlfriend who is presently based in SG took me ( and my brother) there and I was able to indulge on my favorite Swiss dishes.

This was at the Arbenz, one of the restaurants inside the club. It serves ala carte menu of international cuisines particularly Swiss favorites.



I notice most  food blogs gave a big fuss over the complimentary breads. They usually paid huge praises over the freshness and excellence of the breads. Hmmm, they all taste the same to me, even quite similar to our breads at home ( I'm actually keen on procuring quality breads for my family ). It must be that bloggers organically are sweet creatures and that's the way they show gratitude. In this respect, please include me in the group, haha.



On the table : my brother's plate of lamb kebab. Yes, this resto serves Turkish cuisine too. Sorry, I forgot to taste it. I was busy with my own plate.

gf's hubby while cooking for us at home
I was so excited with my plate. I was secretly wishing that my girlfriend's husband  would cook for us again at  their  home. But during the duration of our most recent ( a month ago) SG visit, the husband was always out of SG attending his business commitments.

No, this is not from this resto. This was my plate full of girlfriend's husband homecooked dishes which I love.. .




. . and missed, so I ordered a plate with some similar elements like the creamy spinach. The square thingy in my plate is not a slice of bread as it looks like right there. It was a sausage or was it a ham? haha. I'm not sure. On top of it was an egg and beneath it beside the green spinach was mashed potato. Calorie packed! luveth!!

While I was digging Swiss dishes, my girlfriend had too much of  them serving daily  right  inside her home and was happy to indulge in Asian cuisine. She had a big plate of szechuan chicken which I helped myself with some pieces and really quite delicious. Perfectly sweet and spicy. Want this noooow!!!

The little misses ( my gf's daughters) had their favorites. Same grilled ham/sausage as mine, only her side dish was pasta. The sauce she was pouring here was unknown to me.



The youngest miss had her forever fave buffalo wings. I had a piece of this and found out it wasn't actually the usual spicy wings. It was less spicy but very tasty.



gf's hubby's rendition of chicken in red wine? haha, not sure what's the name
For me, gf's hubby's homecooked Swiss dishes are still the most delish.