Crisostomo @ ATC

Here's another themed resto at the relatively ( I had to add the word cos I've been referring to it as new for quite sometime now, haha) new wing of Alabang Town Center (ATC). Crisostomo is very Noli Me Tangere/El Filibusterismo. 

Quite detailed, if I may. Check the name of our waiter_ Tiburcio! I checked other servers and all the names I remembered from Noli and Fili.

Browsing the menu, you get_ (samples) from the vegetable section : Noli Me Talong, Pilosopong Pinakbet, Okra Clara. (samples) from the meat section : Tadyang ni Tiago, Mechado ala Bonifacio, Crispin at Basilio. (samples) from the salad section : Ensaladang Erehe, Crazy Sisa Squid... and many many other interesting entree names.



Lots of them but only two made it to our table. We were there to fill up our ranting stomach, it was just a random lunch. Not for degustation event, haha. We didn't order drink from here even. My girls bought their milk teas outside ( I think Gong-Cha?) which the resto kindly allowed.

kkk bbq. whatelse.is.new? You can browse all my pinoy resto posts here and always my younger daughter orders bbq. Call it deprivation. At home we rarely have bbq, if ever, it must be a take out from a certain resto. So when we eat outside. definitely she bbqued!
This one she loved big time. Just like the rest of the bbq's, haha.

kare-kare kura. ok, you may do the same as I mentioned above ( browse my archive, haha), to find out that kare-kare is another default dish we have when we eat filipino outside. Especially, this time around that I intentionally not cooking this favorite at home. Cos we are so "only 3 eating".
We enjoyed this kare-kare, we ordered for more rice. But we always like kare-kare. In this town, you would rarely find bad kare-kare.



When we are hungry like that, we play safe. Like we order dishes that we already know would serve us right, no matter what.

Given more space, the detailing of Crisostomo would surely be more interesting.



Detailed even more_ this is the bill holder. nice or what?

Hawaiian Bar-B-Que, Boracay

We had a quick one time late lunch at Hawaiian Bar-B-cue which location was just 5 feet away from our hotel.





It has 2 outlets out of Boracay. One is in Manila Bay and the other one is in Tagaytay. We had never been to any of them. I assumed by the name of the place that bbque here was pineapple marinated and on the sweet side.

bianx played sand while waiting

bianx bbq meal which she loved and wanted to eat the same plate the next day

che's chicken bbq, mine originally but changed my mind

she took the chicken bbq , but forgot to change the breast part order to her favorite chick part- thigh?

my fish in garlicky olive oil was the best, i paired it w baked potato in chives & other herbs

not bad at all :D

Digman Halo-halo Atbp.

Officially, summer is yet to come in the Philippines beginning March . But being a tropical country, the mother sun never really leaves our sky. She hides for a short time on rainy season, only to shine for a longer time. As early as this month, summer is pronouncing her presence with the hot weather we have everyday.

During hot season is the best time to enjoy cold treats. The other night, we drove up to Bacoor, Cavite just to enjoy our favorite halo-halo.


halo-halo - a kind of dessert made of sweetened fruit and crushed ice with milk or ice cream

Suddenly, this one reminds me of my American friend, who candidly often shares (over facebook) her enthusiasm about this dessert she had once tried here in Manila and couldn't get over it . She managed to find a Filipino resto near her place and once or twice she shared her halo-halo treats. Hello Joyce !!

the original

It's not far from us actually. We live in the next city. At night without traffic jam, it takes only 20-30 minutes drive to get there. It's the place we go to when halo-halo cravings hit us.

the famous

Digman is a street in Bacoor where the original and the famous halo-halo parlors residing, across by each other since the 70's. Both are quite popular and had been graced by famous celebrities ( if that would be considered as measurement of popularity) according to each wall of fame. Their walls with photos of famous people who had eaten there.

There has been a controversy that even reached the court of which was deserving of using the word original . Well, now we know who got the right. We eat at the original, always.



We have been eating halo-halo here for like more than 10 years now and the place hasn't changed a bit.



Except the prices. Nth times go up through the years.






But the flavours stay at their best. We usually eat the halo-halo with the place's equally delicious siopao and barbecue.



You could also buy tahong chips made from salt water mussels/ clam tahong meat which the town of Bacoor is also famous for.



Beside the halo-halo eatery is an ice cream parlor which we also frequent but not to eat ice cream.




But to buy empanadas ( meat pies) for take home. Sometimes the girls bring them along to school as snacks the following day. We buy them still fresh from the pan and really hot.

We love driving to Bacoor and just indulge with our favorite snacks.

BBQ Joints at the Streets of Malate

A friend who is following this blog had asked me : are you still cooking at home? it seems you're always eating out?




Ofcourse I cook, all the time. More than 3x a day!!! I feed hungry 4 tummies (includes mine) daily. I'm even quite fastidious about what I prepare for them. I count define calories, balance the intake of each, leaning to healthier foods . I try my best to achieve the most delectable home cooked meals my family could enjoy_everyday!

Before computer, at home, you could find me first infront of the stove. I can't get my mind to rest if I knew I had undone responsibilities in the kitchen. That's how kitchen geek I am_in real life!!

Yet, often times, I'm also caught in between errands outside home and these are the times that I have no choice but let my family junks out. Especially when we are already on the road, house is yet far, and it's time to eat. The alternatives would usually be the nearest to our coeval location. You know mad traffic of Manila, you can't really go farther or you get crazy!

Like the other night, we were in Malate (apparently, that would be roughly another one or 2 hours to get home, it was rush hours ) and it was dinner time. We got too much burgers and pizza from fastfood chains but neither it was practical to fine dine.




The girls wanted barbecues and I required real food like fish and veggies. So we tiptoed the streets of Malate and got a table by the road.




You know, those street bbq greasy spoon joints that spring out at the side walk when the real shops are already close _have you been there? There are lots of them in Malate at night.

Absolutely, not our first time, the girls like the noisy, polluted air of Malate streets. Imagine, you are eating on a table almost on the road with cars passing by.

It's cheap and fun once in awhile. Not bad if it's not a daily habituation.