Date Night

It was just my baby and me last night, all by our coosome twosome. We felt like eating somewhere fancy together and we chose to do Sala.

We wanted to eat there last night but there was a private function. Plus, there was Earth Hour last night and the last time we ate out during Earth Hour, it was pure and utter chaos.

So a leisurely Sunday it was.

What I love about Sala is that it has such a cozy ambiance. You really feel like you're sitting in someone's living room. And the service is superb. When you want to go somewhere for an intimate evening, Sala is the place to go.

When we arrived there was one other couple and a long table filled with moms, dads, grandparents, brothers, sisters, babies and yayas. There was a cute toddler that kept pointing through the window to Hubs, who was smoking outside. The baby was so cute--he looked a little like Enzo at that age.

It just so happened this Sunday, the chef at Sala had come out in the Sunday Inquirer Magazine about losing a lot of weight from joining "The Biggest Loser Asia." He was so fit and trim, he kind of looked like Billy Crawford minus the bandana. The family were having photo ops with the celebrity chef :)

I opted for the Chef's Tasting Menu while Caloy ordered the Goat Cheese and Prawn Souffle and the steak. Warning: the photos in this post simply look like sin. Beware of mouthwatering. I must've been quite inspired.

This is the amuse bouche they served us of goat cheese and tomato in filo pastry. I absolutely love this kind of cream goat cheese. Wonderful way to start the meal.

This salad of spice encursted tuna, crispy baby squid with rocket, charred lemon and romesco sauce was light the right bits of crispy. I love octopus legs, and the one on the right looks like he's doing a cartwheel!

This second appetizer of portobello mushroom and ricotta with thyme ravioli in white truffle oil was my favorite meal of my entire menu, hands down. I actually was thinking of ordering this when I saw it on the menu but decided to go for the "more is more" technique. In the words of my officemate Mario, this dish is a win-ner!

Hubses' appetizer came out and I felt trumped.

Well, our server did tell us its been on the menu for 12 years. When the chef sometimes wants to take it off for something new, the servers do an Amy Winehouse and say "No, no no!" 


This, my friends, is the twice-baked goat cheese souffle. Look at the molten, melty mass of cheesy goodness. Kind of looks like a hat from the photo, huh? Itsutterly delicious. Maybe I'll order this as my main course next time I come to Sala.

This was my first main course, roasted grouper with spring greens, tomato fondant and bacon foam. Okay, I look like a glutton now, or perhaps a hobbit, "first main course," pshaw. But believe me, objects in this blog may seem larger than they appear.

I really liked the sauces that went with the dish although I would have preferred the fish slightly less cooked. But the flavor was good.

I almost forgot to take a photo of my secondses. By this time I was quite tipsy from my tipple and had already started eating and savoring this when my inner blogger, Auntie Eatem said "Aren't you forgetting something dearie?"

This is kurobuta of pork with seared scallops and clams in a bell pepper and tomato hash. I accidentally fed Caloy a calm saying it was an oyster, then when he swallowed it I said, "Oops! It's a clam!" and he gave me a dirty look. I must have been more tispy than I thought!

Now, this is the second time for me to try kurobuta pork. The first time I ordered it was at Sirocco in Bangkok to impress my fellow gourmand Amy, who wasn't really all that impressed by it. (Phooey!) Back then in September, I didn't like it much either, a pork rib is a pork rib is a pork rib. Who cares if it can say "Konichiwa!" and bow to you before you eat it?

Well, though this was tender and cooked well, I didn't like it none either. Give me a pile of baby back any time! To paraphrase Justin Timberlake who was in Manila recently: "I'm bringing baby back..."

And I must admit, by this time I was quite tired of the tomato flavoring. Caloy let me try some of this monster, the grilled Angus tenderloin. It came with morels, which I also love.

But I was through with savories. When this warm dark chocolate fondant and vanilla ice cream came out

 I wolfed it down like I didn't even eat five courses before it. Caloy got a complimentary scoop of his favorite, good ol' vanilla

At the end of our meal, we were both royally stuffed. When I got home, I tried to watch some TV but fell asleep. I woke myself up and somewhat remember kissing my hubs goodnight and getting myself to bed all changed into PJs, teeth brushed and face washed. Next thing I knew, it was 8 am this morning.

When was the last time you had a date night that ended in bliss?

Sala
Locsin Building Podium Level
6752 Ayala Avenue, Makati City
+632.750.1555
www.salarestaurant.com

Steak it to me, baby

I'm a very lucky girl because my brother in law Jack loves to cook. My sister, his wife, is even luckier because she gets to eat his "experiments" all the time. She learned to cook at a short cooking course at Enderun Colleges (www.enderuncolleges.com) and we, her family, are proud of her. 

So far she has made us a panna cotta. It was yum, but not really cooking...she hasn't really shown us her range of cooking prowess yet. She says she is saving cooking for us when she moves into her new house. 

But I digress. She is Jack's sous chef to his chef, making the bernaise sauce for the steak or dessert for the meal, but I know she can shine and cook a great meal all on her own.

She called me this week because Jack was in a cooking mood and he was going to make steak.

For some reason, a hunk of roasted meat was exactly what the doctor ordered. So I came over to their house just in time for dinner.

First they served salad with a raspberry vinaigrette Jack made. Very nice and tart, a clean slate to the carnivore's delight that was to come.

The meat was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and that au jus was jussss sublime. Jack lamented he should've taken the meat out of the oven earlier, but it was still medium and pretty in pink on the inside.

But those potatoes! My god, they were like a dying man's last request of mashed potatoes. The put bacon in it and topped it off with fried onions. Mm Mm Mm!

It was only me who ate dessert of chocolate molten cake and ice cream with macadamia. Sorry, I forgot to take a photo again of the dessert. Need to fix that user problem. Calling technical!

I am a happy guinea pig. Margie and Jack, thank you for the lovely meal. Can't wait for the new house to be done and for brudder to have all the counter space he needs!

Mooing over Holly's

When I go to the supermarket, I'm amazed at how many canned and boxed food items I buy, which has become quite normal grocery shopping for many. Corned beef in the can, tuna in the can, milk from a box and many other products are part of my usual list.

After reading theyoungtongue.blogspot.com I feel like an inadequate mommy because I joke that Enzo's five food groups are sausage, barbecue, pizza, hotdog and adobo. He calls all vegetables "decorations" and refuses to eat them.

He also still drinks powdered milk from a damn can. Fueled by wanting to teach Enzo to drink fresh milk, I asked my friend Anjeanette as to what she buys for her daughters. She suggested Holly's, the former Senator Magsaysay's business involving New Zealand cows in Laguna.

So I bought some whole milk, chocolate milk (unfortunately the distributor I got it from ran out of low-fat milk) and quesong puti (white cheese, our version of Buffalo mozzarella) from Holly's.

When I was going to UP Diliman for college, we lucky students had Wednesdays off so sometimes my friends and I would go all the way to UP Los Banos for some dairy delights. There was no Skyway back then!

Hubs and I decided to try the products out for breakfast last Saturday. Because we have such different sleeping habits, we don't get to breakfast as often as I'd like.

Everything was fantastic.

The white cheese was wonderfully thick and creamy. When we cooked it, it kept its shape, unlike some versions you find in the supermarket. Here I garnished it with some fresh basil from my plant in the garden.

Doesn't it look fab? Makes me feel a little like Ina Garten, everything was so easy to prepare and yummy.

As for Enzo, he thought the fresh milk was sour though my hubby found it "delicious." He did enjoy the chocolate milk though. Glad to know there are alternatives out there...

For more about Holly's, go over Rica de Jesus' comprehensive article in her blog, http://heart-2-heart-online.com/2009/02/04/hollys-really-farm-fresh-dairy-products/.

Enjoy!

Twice is Nice: Lemuria

When was the last time you tried a new restaurant at lunch that you thought was so good, you ate there again for dinner on the same day?

OK, i'm guilty.

We had a press con at Lemuria for a new La Mer product. I must admit, I've been very curious to try Lemuria as I have heard only good things about it. Best of all, it's near to where I live, which makes it totally geographically desirable.

Its hidden in a private village and owned by the Schroeders.

When I got there, this is what I saw

Quite charming, isn't it? In the Philippine Tatler's Philippines' Best Restaurants guide, the reviewer said it "feels like Provence in Horseshoe Village." For me, it felt like Tagaytay, without the travel time.

The setting for the event was superb

Apparently the set-up has to be according to La Mer's specific specs. And this finally, was the menu:

Two different kinds of bread to choose from

Mushroom and Gruyere soup

Beef Bourguinon

Lemuria Glace of dulce de leche, chocolate mint and citrus thyme

I must tell you, this meal was fantastic. The soup was served hot and rich, the beef was succulent and just the right bit of flavoring and last but not the least was the mouth-watering homemade ice cream. So creamy and rich, I really couldn't finish it.

Though the place and the food might be good to celebrate my mom and dad's 49th wedding anniversary. So to Lemuria again for din-dins!

This is how it looked at night

Interiors of the restaurant

And here is the happily married couple

They gave us a complimentary amuse bouche of fresh watermelon with black salt

Simple yet refreshing. When our starters came, we all oohed and ahhed the presentation

The duck breast with grilled pineapple

Wagyu carpaccio of beef

Notice the fresh greens and even bits of flowers? Very similar to Tagaytay dining, don't you think (one place in particular)? And the redness and marbling of that fresh carpaccio! No camera trick can do that. It was bloody good I tell you!

I was choosing between the two starters, but hubby got the carpaccio so I got the duck breast. It was the right combination of smoky, salty and sweet, tangy and tart. Love the grilled pineapple! My sister came a bit later than everyone but when she ordered, guess which starter she chose of the two?

If you have been reading this blog, and guessed duck breast, you are right! Gold star for you!

Now here are the mains, just look at how beautifully plated they are:

This was mom's dish, per my suggestion. Its halibut wrapped in vine leaves and baked with this aromatic cover. Inside was just a plain piece of fish served with horseradish mash. Our server said there was no mash, until i made him take out the menu and I pointed it out to him. Mom said it was good for people who are on diets. But she didn't seem too happy with it! Oops!

This was Pops' dish, lamb shank with apricot in a red wine reduction. He loves lamb shank wherever he goes and is very meticulous at cutting it up into small pieces before eating it. I inherited that trait of his! He asked for Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on this dish.

This was Tita Ella's dish. She really eats like a bird, but somehow finished all her cream dory, including the entire mashed potato on the left side. Good going Tita Ella! 

This is Margie's braised Kurobuta pork belly with pink peppercorn sauce. Margie loved it and Caloy said it was delicious.

This is Caloy's order: Dutch veal rib-eye stuffed with duck liver, anchoiade and a port wine reduction. He ordered it medium and it came well done so he sent it back to the kitchen. They asked if he'd like a new one and he said no more na, but they brought one anyway, perfectly cooked.

Sometimes Caloy likes to order things on the menu that should be good, but it comes out all wrong. Such as osso bucco at Bellini's, the little Italian restaurant in Cubao, which he said tasted like kaldereta. Or a dozen fresh oysters at Steaktown in Shangri-La Mall. Strikeout and strikeout! Or those funny mollusks in that restaurant in Barcelona...tee hee. Fortunately, he liked his new order much, much better.

This was my "healthy" order. (I just ate here for lunch, remember?") Seabass in saffron olive jus with braised fennel. It was very healthy, but just ok. Then again, that's what I get for ordering healthy, should've gotten the duck cassoulet...I paired this with Romanian Prahova Valley Special Reserve white. 

We ordered a trio of the home made ice cream for dessert: fig, strawberry-balsamic and citrus thyme. They gave a very generous serving we all enjoyed, plus they gave free chocolate mousse to Mom and Pops for their anniversary. And yes, I forgot to photograph dessert again.

The service was a little slow, such as they didn't clear away our dinner plates when we ordered dessert. The funny thing is the waitstaff had headsets. Maybe secret agent stuff kept them busy? Plus, mom and pops said when they asked for the reservation it was under "Lim." How could that be, when I made the reservation at lunchtime in person?

But what I liked about it is that there were only 3 sets of diners there. Its ambiance is very cozy and perfect for a little getaway in the city. Read: a place to hide from society at large

That ice cream too, what a treat!

Happy 49th wedding anniversary Mom and Pops! Love you!

Lemuria

5 Julieta Circle

Horseshoe Village, Quezon City

tel +632.724.5211

The Shang She-bang

Seems like i've been quite a regular at the Shang Palace in Makati Shangri-La lately, and its really ironic too.
Was it last year when B and I were craving dim sum and she suggested Shang and I said it was expensive?

Well, i'm totally eating my words right now, with a side of XO sauce please!

hallway leading into the Shang Palace

Had a private function there for a meeting with chefs and foodies regarding, um, food. It was wonderful! There's nothing I like better than talking about food over a really yummy meal.

private room built for 12

cosy details and a lonely plate of kropeck

First we started our meal with assorted dim sum. So much food, so little tummy room...

barbecued pork puff and shrimp dumpling

pork dumpling

steamed scallop dumplings

The dim sum here is absolutely love. Each little, steaming hot dumpling glistens under the bright florescent lighting, tempting you to douse it in soy sauce and a little chili. There's something for everyone...those who want their deep-fried puff, healthy steamed dumpling and I personally like things like the bean curd roll. What's your dim sum favorite?

Peking duck, the first way

For the main course, we had Peking duck two ways: yum and yummier. Seriously, it was Peking duck skin and a little meat with spring onion and cucumber rolled in a flat pancake. The second way, which came later and I forgot to photograph, was duck in lettuce leaf with a little hoisin sauce, so refreshing.

Segueway story: This Peking duck reminded me of my friend, Gevi who recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Every time she was in Manila, she would satiate her craving by inviting us to Shang Palace and we would unabashedly duck it out! Happiness is having as much Peking duck as you'd like, no fighting! 

Here's the simmered spinach with century egg and scrambled egg. Guess it shows you the irony with "spring chicken" and "old hen"! I, for one, love spinach. I also love century egg. So though disparate, this combination works.

The next time I ate the the Shang, I was with my girlfriends and we hadn't seen each other in a long while. So we decided order a little bit of everything we liked best: more dim sum. But first, here's a a little complimentary tofu appetizer:

This was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. It had a sourness to it, which I really enjoyed. Then we ordered century egg with seaweed. Some restos call it seaweed, some call it jellyfish. whatever it is, its rubbery texture is delightful. Amy enjoyed this, while Marga ate the century egg. As Amy said: "I don't eat old eggs." Of course, the glutton that I am, I had both.

These pork puffs are Amy's all-time fave. When we eat, we usually share everything but she had this one all by herself.

These spinach dumplings with scallop again. Love them! I'm a big fan of spinach and also scallops. You can see them bursting through the glutinous texture.

Here is the taro puff Marga was craving for. I just had a half of one, they are a little oily and quite filling for me.

Trying to order something beyond my comfort zone, I got this xiao long pao. Big mistake! It looks like breast implants to me, not very appetizing.

So my saving grace was my most favorite dim sum, as previously mentioned earlier, my beloved bean curd roll. I ate it all, including that beautiful wansoy (though I did offer to share!).

There are lots of people who always order the same thing in restaurants. The trick is to eat out with people who order the same thing always so you can try a bit of their food. As we did here. To cap off this very filling meal, Marga and I shared this:

Styling by Marga (beauty!)

Guess how much the entire thing cost us? We used Amy's Senses card, and let's just saw it was Ninoy Aquino bill for each of us--really, really affordable for hotel food and superb service. On weekdays they have a special lunch buffet promo at Php888++ where you can order unlimited dim sum, a main course and dessert. How can you beat that? 


Was there just earlier this week for a meeting too. Can't seem to get enough of the palace...


Shang Palace
Makati corner Ayala Avenues
Makati City
+632.813.8888