Pizza Soup

Craving for some soup in this cold weather?

One can always heat up the stove and load up on MSG with instant noodles with egg (an all time favorite of mine, btw!), go something fancy with Campbell's mushroom soup from a can or try to consume the Salami in the ref and cook some fancy soup.

Check out Person A's Pizza Soup. 

Tomato, bell pepper, mushroom, basil, ground beef and the leftover salami.

It's very filling and tasty. Tomato with the herb-y taste of bell pepper and basil. It's a fancier and meatier  minestrone! 

Don't forget to add the mozzarella to add pizzaz!

Good with wheat pan de sal 

And loads of fruits. 

Fancy for the rainy day. Comfort food, too.

I asked the fiance to send me the recipe but he's kinda busy earning a living (read: to pay for our wedding and future house and the cost to raise our kids) so I looked up the recipe from Taste of Home.

You can just buy tomato sauce from the grocery instead of preparing it from scratch. 

Ingredients

• 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) Hunt's® Diced Tomatoes
• 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
• 2-1/2 cups water
• 1 package (3-1/2 ounces) sliced pepperoni, quartered
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 10 slices French bread, toasted
• 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

• In a Dutch oven, bring the tomatoes, soup and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Mash with a potato masher. Add the pepperoni, red and green peppers, mushrooms, garlic, sage, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Ladle into ovenproof bowls. Top each with a slice of bread and sprinkle with cheese. Broil 4 in. from the heat until cheese is melted and bubbly. Yield: 10 servings (about 2-1/2 quarts).

Nutritional Facts

1 serving (1 cup) equals 303 calories, 9 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 18 mg cholesterol, 884 mg sodium, 42 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 13 g protein.

It's safe to say I chose well and I am very blessed.  I am talking about the cooking bit and all the awesome things he do.

The Zone's JT Manukan and Happy Cream Puff

I grew up in a small provincial town where crabs and lobsters are the freshest, the lechon (roasted suckling pig) is the tastiest, and the chicken inasal is purely succulent.

One of my fond childhood memories is when my Papa buys me “ barbeque pa-a” from Nikka’s Lechon Manok. This is charcoal-grilled chicken leg that is marinated in special spiced sauce. I love it so much that 20 years later, I am on the constant look-out for the taste-of-home chicken inasal in the big city.

Despite of the chicken inasal places sprouting all over Manila, it is rare to find the authentic taste that is served in Visayas and Mindanao. That is until, I gave in to trying JT Manukan along Malugay St. in Makati. For some years, I did not try it thinking that it is the usual inasal-wanna-be place.

Boy, I was wrong.

Their chicken inasal is really good and has that taste of home. For the uninitiated, chicken inasal is a popular dish from Bacolod and all over Visayas and Mindanao (where I am from). Chicken parts (breast, legs, wings) marinated, skewered in bamboo sticks and grilled on charcoal to imbibe the smoked flavor. It has a distinct reddish-yellowish color from the achuete or annatto oil.

This is the JT pa-a inasal. At PhP 90, it is affordable. I like the pa-a since it is the tastiest part.

Most people prefer the breast part being it a larger serving. This goes well with salted egg salad and a glass of cold tea.

The place is a simple eatery, mimicking that of a provincial inasal place.

What sets this apart is the interesting framed arts on the wall. A last-supper-inspired painting.

Some movie  posters.

After you’ve washed down your inasal, we normally head to the adjacent store, which sells cream puff.

Inside this box is one of the best desserts I can recommend to anyone: pastry with cream filling.

The  pastry has the crusty, fresh taste and is well complimented by the cream filling which has a very subtle flavor. Not overpowering at all. It also has that mild flavor of vanilla. Marry all these flavors and you get one of the best desserts to a cap a meal.

At PhP 20 a piece, you can go for plain

Chocolate powder-dusted or strawberry-covered

I prefer, the plain or sugar-glazed since the dessert itself has a very subtle taste and the caramel gives the dessert a kick.

So if you are craving for a good provincial meal, capped with the neighborhood pastry shop, it is best to head to The Zone in Malugay and order a chicken inasal and happy cream puff.

JT Manukan
The Zone
Malugay, Makati
63.2.813.0106


Happy Cream Puff
The Zone
7224 Malugay Street
Bel-Air Makati
63.2.707.1263
63.2.817.4234

Kitchen’s Best Home Patisserie

We had no idea what this restaurant has to offer since this is a random stop from our let’s explore Pasong Tamo Extension afternoon.

Going inside the red and white interior gives you a quaint, homey feel. The pretty, white wooden chairs and red accents whispers "I am a nice little place for brunch". The walls are adorned with food reviews of the place and the awards it garnered.

That says a lot.

The menu is straightforward: soups, salads, appetizers, pastas, chicken fares, red meat and fish dishes , and drinks. There’s no dessert menu, you head to their display to see what’s available and the distinctions each dessert has been awarded.

Wild Mushroom (~PhP 250)

Spaghetti in white sauce with 3 types of wild mushrooms.

The cream-based sauce has the subtle taste of mushrooms. In fact, it’s close to the truffle taste. I recommend this.

40 Cloves Chicken (~PhP 300)

Slowly cooked chicken with secret herbs, olive oil and baby potatoes.

A phrase to describe this is gourmet adobo. It has tons of garlic, generous olive oil, and the chicken is very tender. It tastes great, especially with rice. This order comes with rice, by the way.

The only comment I had: the office canteen serves adobo with the same taste at PhP 40/serving. It's made with coconut oil not with olive oil.

White Chocolate Macadamia Cheesecake (PhP 165)

As described here, the cheesecake base is very creamy, sliding to the sweet side. It can stand on its own.

Worth coming back for more.

Iced Latte(PhP 105)

Coffee is strong and the whipped cream topping is milky. Great with the pasta, not so much with the adobo.

In Summary:

1. Kitchen’s Best goes to my comfort food list. It’s one place you can go back to anytime. The food tastes great, the place is pretty.

2. It is great for brunch, afternoon tea, date with the special someone, catching up with friends and family gatherings. Yes, it’s first and foremost a dessert place.

3. It’s not too expensive considering that it is in Makati and most of its desserts have been awarded some distinctions.

Kitchen's Best Home Patisserie
Unit 5B, Karrivin Plaza
2316 Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati
63.2.381.8518

Iba na Talaga 'Pag May Sakit at (May Dashing Office Boy)

Last night it was Sonja's cupcakes



Because I was craving for cupcakes last Sunday but was too sick to buy it myself. Malayo sa bahay.

Peanut Butter, Red Velvet, Strawberry and Cream, Choco Cream. 

We're not supposed to meet today because he still needs to drive home from Alabang to Province of Caloocan but since I wasn't feeling all too well, Person A asked me what I want for dinner. Daan daw siya saglit.

I replied "Salad and Bread". I forgot to add that I'll have my usual homemade salad with my olive oil-balsamic vinegar dressing and bakery sa kanto tinapay. I set the table and prepared a few things to shorten the prep time when he arrives.

When he arrived, office boy na office boy ang dating at may dalang paper bag.

Cibo's Insalata del Sole (Greens, sliced oranges, walnuts, anchovies with balsamic vinegar dressing).



Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's blueberry bagel with cream cheese.



Naglevel-up ako ngayong gabi.

P.S. Two days in a row nang nakalong-sleeves ang nagdadala ng aking pagkain. Nakacoveralls lang yan dati. 

As in ganito.

Seriously, thank you. -(",)-*wink*

Optimizing Your Pinatubo Trip

If you ascend Mt. Pinatubo at 6 in the morning, by 2PM, you'll be free to do pretty much anything you want to do.

If you still don't want to head back to Manila, you can opt to:

Avail of the Services at the PDC Spa Town.


I did not avail any of the services but I am interested to try it some other time.

Massage





The massage will be rendered inside this open space. This is a good way to relax your extremely tired muscles. This is also a good excuse to take a nap before you head home.

Mud Spa





You will be caked in lahar.

Hot Sand Body Wrap




The sand in the Pinatubo crater is hot, burning hot so the most likely intent of this service is to simulate that.



Heat is provided by this pugon. I find this creepy.

Shop








There is souvenir shop which sells Pinatubo brand of beauty product. It does smell of sulfur (read: mabaho) and most likely, I won't be using this product. Though, I want to try the body scrub.

Hot Spring


Apparently, there is a hot spring resort 40 mins from Sta. Juliana. I also want to try this next time.

Angeles Food Trip.


My happy place up north is Angeles. It's just an hour away from Manila, has great restaurants and it is actually a bargain shopping place. There are a lot of outlet stores in Angeles:

Shopping at Marquee Mall





The 158 Designer's Boulevard here sells Banana Rep, CK, Armani, Furla, etc at 60% off the price. It's from the past seasons though.



Apart from Aldo, Lacoste Outlet Store is also here.

C Italian Dining





If you want to have an out of town Italian food, this is one of the best. The food is a bit pricey though.

Cold Spoon Yogurt





I believe this is the mother of the yogurt craze in Manila. Their yogurt is one of the best. It's not too sour.

Dome Cafe: Definitely Comfort Food

I was with a group of friends who wished to dine at Bonchon Chicken and by some twist of fate, we ended up in Makati Med's ER. After the short ER stint, it was decided that we walk ourselves across the street and head to Dome Cafe.


Boy, that was one of the best dinners I've had. The food is so good that the phrase "comfort food" aptly describes Dome Cafe's menu.


When I'm happy, I celebrate at Dome.
When I'm sad, I console myself at Dome.
When I'm hungry, I dine at Dome.


Four dishes were ordered and we shared them among us.

Chicken Pot Pie (PhP 310).


Diced chicken thigh fillets with onion, celery, carrots and mushrooms in bechamel sauce covered with puffy pastry.



Once you tear off the bread, a light, tasty soup welcomes your stomach. This is the type of dish that completes a rainy day or any given day. Just perfect! If you only wish to try one dish at Dome Cafe, this got to be it.

If you opt for pasta, this Spinach Pasta (I forgot to take down the name) is also good.



The white sauce is not overpowering and blends well with the spinach and fettuccine. If you're not a fan of cream sauce (I am not. I prefer olive oil and tomato-based sauce) this can make you change your mind.

If you opt for a rice meal you can try:

Dome All Meat Plate (PhP 410).

Grilled pork, barbecue and grilled chicken, all marinated in herbs and spices with greens.

The marinade pairs well with the meat and it's grilled just right. Not well done and not rare. I can say that this is a gourmet rendition of the barbeque and inihaw sa kanto. It's also worth noting that the herbed and buttered rice pairs well with the meat dish. 

New Zealand Dory (PhP 410).

Fish is tender and the sauce adds sumptuous flavor. This is also a must try.

Carrot Cake (~PhP 100).

Cake is soft and moist. Since carrot has a subtle taste, it is complimented by the sweet buttery icing. This is worth the order and calories.



Blueberry Cheesecake (~PhP 100).

I believe we are a cheesecake nation. We just love cheesecakes hence it's difficult to find the one given the number of restaurants offering the blueberry cheesecake. This cheesecake is unique: the cheese base is soft and gelatinous with just the right amount of sweetness to compliment the salty cheese. Also a must try.



In Summary

1. The food is definitely good. If you come to this place, it's because you want to have good food. Price range is between PhP 200-400 a plate which is good for 1 person, 2 if you don't eat a lot. However, most desserts are not available and you just have to make do with what's left in the display.

2. The lighting could be improved. I find it too yellow and too warm.

3. They give GCs. We paid PhP 2000 for the bill and got PhP 200 GC. I think it's safe to assume that they offer 10% rebate. I'll definitely use the GCs soon, I am just waiting for the perfect excuse to do so.

Dome Cafe
Dela Rosa St., Legazpi Village
Makati

Shangri-La Mall
Mandaluyong

Podium
Mandaluyong