Nathaniel's @ Molito Alabang

 After a grocery date ( yeah, that's the kind of bonding activity stayhomemoms do ;)) ( and please ignore the crown toy I was wearing, haha) with my gfs, I spotted a newly opened outlet of Nathaniel's (from Pampanga), at Molito, Alabang.



Nathaniel's with all the glory and fame of their buco pandan salad has just arrived at the South ! ( this was last month and the store had just opened 3 days ago then) Yeheey!!! Finally I would be able to have the famous buco pandan from Pampanga. Yeah, I hadn't yet then.
And I had to wait to get home to have that buco pandan salad cos there were too many others to try first. I took home a half gallon  for my girls and me ofcourse.



Came from a small hometown myself, I always find it nostalgic to eat in a food outlet which root came all the way from a province too. You know, the familiar snack house dishes like siopao, halohalo, siomai, pancit, etc.



The first thing we ordered were these heavenly bottles of  buco pandan juice. Ahhh.. super thirst quencher. The best I ever had. With hundreds of  buco juice/shakes store carts mushrooming allover the country, this buco pandan juice definitely stands out. It's meaty and tastes like fresh from a coconut shell with perfect mix of pandan. Very filling too as it is in a 500ml bottle. I won't recommend it as a side drink for a meal thu'. It can easily fill you up and will take a huge space of your tummy and leave a little for the main dishes. But if you're dieting, well go gulp down the whole bottle before a meal, haha!

We also had their rice meal like the beef caldereta (* as expected, homecooked goodness) for me, forgot what my one gf got# haha, lumpiang sariwa (*nothing special),

lasagna (* creamy+meaty goodness, generous serving too, to come back for)



siopao asado

putopao

Those two pao-s  are pretty much taste alike with the same asado filling. I bought packages of them for take home. My girls love the siopao and didn't stay long in our fridge.

Then finally it was time for buco pandan salad at home. The thick but young and soft coconut meat cut in squares - perfect. The gelatin is pandan-ed tasty with a hint of gooey-ness adds an interesting partnership with the coconut. It's creamy and I'd say it's not just the usual all purpose cream we use at home but I'm quite sure a great deal of icecream is the secret ingredient. The sweetness is controlled which make it easier to finish in one sitting. Yah, we did it in one sitting. Half gallon = 3 of us!!! Done.

After three days from that first visit, my girls had to drag me for a repeat visit. I suspect my face hadn't left the waiter's memory yet cos he looked at me like he knew me, haha

We kindah had the same dishes ( and the same mistake of having bottles of buco pandan juice on the side that made us not finish our plates) except for the following :

porkchop steak. my o.daughter's. I tasted it and quite salty for me.

pancit palabok. daughters loved it, better than Razon's they said.

I took home some Nathaniel's goodies too.

Stackers Burger Cafe

Lately I just let  my always- hungry-whenever-in-a-mall younger daughter leads where to eat. Oblivious of  where we were at, it was too late to back out when I realized that she brought us in a burger joint! Again!

Younger daughter was triumphant! She loves burger. Just like her dad. Older daughter doesn't. Me neither.

We were at Stackers Burger Cafe at the new wing of ATC. Meat here is supposedly 100% Aussie beef.



Younger daughter ofcourse had a cheeseburger. I was happy to see some greens peeping out of her sandwich. This daughter doesn't eat veggies but somehow could tolerate some greens when in a burger. I took a small bite, just so I would have a taste of the claimed 100% Australian beef. Hmm, I like McDo better, haha. Trust me not about burgers, I rarely have them.

O.daughter was glad to see some chicken in the menu and twice glad that the chicken is baked. She's starting to think healthy about her diet. She's 18. My influence ofcourse:)))

If y.daughter loves burger, o.daughter is a fried chicken addict. The loophole in her trying-to-be-a-healthy diet. She said nothing so spectacular about the chicken here except that it's baked. Must be healthier than the fried ones.

Fries/chips. Another weakness of o.daughter that destabilize her will for a healthy diet. She always have them with chicken. I grabbed some pieces and well they were good alright. Must be the chives toppings.

I asked the waiter for the best seller salad. He suggested this burger bowl. Oops, I was willingly cheated  to have a quarter pound patty on a bed of greens. I had Bbq Burger Salad.

Immediately the wanton chip toppings disappointed me. I hate them on salad. The dressing was also too much for me. The burger was quite big for my small burger appetite. In short, I didn't like the salad. And the quarter pounder with it. I only had eaten the greens and left the rest. Wasted. This is what happen when I'm not keen on choosing where to eat.



Anyway, I checked my girls and they seemed to enjoy their plates.



Especially their milk shakes.

Mesa @ Boracay

Just one satisfying lunch experienced at Mesa in one of it's Manila outlets, is enough to get it enlisted to my girls' favorites. So when they spotted one in Boracay, it had already been written that we would have one meal there.

Mesa at Boracay is located at station 2. Within the beach front prime location of Boracay Regency, and obviously being run by this high end resort.

We had one of our beach lunches there. I think it was when we were already had too much of "high-cholesterol-ed' meals that I suggested to my girls that we should tone down a bit this time. Because again they were hitting of ordering a bowl of their fave kare-kare, but we just had that the day before this. wt# :))) 

fried fish fillet. ok.ok. not the most perfect healthy dish, but atleast it's fish ! haha.

It got four dips. Now I forgot what were they, except for the bagoong *shrimp paste.

Younger daughter's bbq. Yah, I suggested no pork, but this girl insisted cos it's her favorite here. 

Refreshed by glasses of iced gulaman/sago *tapioca/jelly.

 Another awesome Mesa lunch filled us up with satisfaction.