Adventures of the Happy Tummy

What to eat? Where to eat? It's so hard to please your parents... Nothing expensive, not too exotic, not the usual, no more long walks please? Ha! Thank God for Filipino food, thank God for reknowned chefs like Florabel Co-Yatco changing the landscape of local cuisine into a not so ordinary fare. We, a Filipino-Chinese family, found ourselves in a turn of the century local restaurant, and was amused to see fellow chinky-eyed locals coming in to enjoy dishes that we seldom see on the family dinner table. We shared a PLATTER OF GRILLED SEAFOOD and MEAT and everyone had a fair share. The BINAGOONGAN RICE is a good combination of flavors that complements the grilled entrees. You might want to add more rice though, we're just cutting back on starch due to high sugar levels in the family. And did I mention that they serve really good CORNICKS for appetizers?! We asked for more and mixed it to the rice - Crunchy! We had room for desserts, haha, I miss all the go...

Girls' date night! Yey! I miss my best buddy, good thing she was in the area and had time away from the busy-ness of being a full-time mommy & a full-time businesswoman. We pranced around the luxury establishments and drooled and contemplated over a LOT of leather goods. But one thing we indulge ourselves in at last is our appetite for real food. rice tea & shrimp salad for starters - filling already! Deciding on the contemporary feel of the place... actually the visually stimulating steak being grilled on-stone on one of the patron's tables was enough to convince us that yes, dinner is definitely here at KAI + it sounds like her adorable bunso's name, haha, what a coincidence! delectable oysters, of course! We indulgently paced ourselves, enjoying every bite of our precious dinner together. Taking pictures with either the Apple or the HTC phone and comparing every delectable shot as well. tasty tofu dish w/ 3 kinds mushroom Dinner was above ...

"Wala ka sa BAUNAN ko...!" - this is a common statement amongst us lunch groupie. Comparison on the effectiveness of the food containers or lunchbox (as we fondly callthem in Nursery). Have you ever bring lunch or warm food to the office, only to find it cold when it's time to dig in? Well this happens to us A LOT. Thus the search for the best BAUNAN . Food prepared in the morning, whether it be left-overs or newly-cooked, were put to the test w/ the following containers found at home: GLASS w/ plastic lids: heavy, but more health friendly, as opposed to using wholly plastic (supposedly). See the likes of Lock&Lock, Glass&Lock. ROUND, insulated containers: old-school, reminiscent of picnics w/grandma at Luneta, but soup still turned cold. :( THERMAL liquid containers: also reffered to as "thermos", derived from the brand itself that earned its reputation by keeping hot water... hot! Yup, this baby can store hot h20 ...

Am tired! Finally, my reward awaits!!! After a VERY fruitful day of errands all over the metro, I found myself in familiar territory - Binondo ! Down the tiny colorful alley, Carvajal , that prides itself of fresh produce & Chinese-speaking vendors... I look for the old hole in the wall: Quik Snack ! Ask any Binondo-bloodes friend and this certainly is part of the long list of must-try's in the community. My elders usually order: - Kuchay ah (veggie empanada/ turnover), - Indonesian tofu dish (best eaten with rice) - Beef Sa-te Chami (beef strips, leeks & noodles tossed in mildly spicy sa-te), - etcetera, etcetera, since everything tastes good & it's priced cheap anyways!    :) This busy afternoon, I ordered the Yo Tsi Misua . In English, pork kidney in fragile-ly thin noodle soup. My first sip of the soup for the day sent me to refreshed heaven, what with the toasted garlic's aroma permeating my hungry soul. I don't usually eat "laman loo...

Xtremely Xpresso Cafe Dewey Avenue, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Subic, Luzon 2200, Philippines 047-252-3681 Xtremely Xcellent food in Subic (from my post in TripAdvisor) Pizza Margherita... Truffle Pasta... Baked Vegetable Lasagna... Iced Mocha topped with tons of cream... Lavazza coffee... I dream of these when I think of Xtremely Xpresso. You should definitely drop by for a good, hearty Italian meal or for a cup of Lavazza coffee or dessert. The serving is generous & the price just right for the quality of the food. Homey, welcoming ambience greets you even as you spot the house-like structure. Go for the indoors if the sun is high up & if you cannot stand the heat. The interior is perfect for a chat or a private meal & it can still hold a few big group. Al fresco is recommended on a nice cozy night when the moon shows its face. Warm yellow lights all over the yard makes it perfect to cap off a nice day in Subic. Check out my review at TripAdvisor/ http://w...

I'm in the look-out for this wonderful pack of natural fruit lozenge that my aunt had me try when I had sore throat: If you're familiar with the Chinese cough medicine that cools the throat - the tall box has two old men (see photo).  Then you must admit, the taste is quite addicting! Well the lozenges is the answer:   It' the same taste but it lasts longer since you get to let it stay in your mouth longer. This pack is full of loquat fruit. Well on the package it looks like longgan (a sister fruit of lychee). To give you a more apt description of the taste, it's woody & minty & clears the itchiness and discomfort of irritated throat. (Yes, like Pei Pa Koa)!

One fine Summery, or rather, hot Monday afternoon, my neighbor yelled "Hey, little lady!" (in Chinese). I thought she was going to berate for something.... but look:  She shoved a nice plate-full of juicy-looking ripely-sweet Langka! Man, oh man, this is one of my faves! I don't know what has gotten into this usually grouchy grandma but well, good for me! And good that it's been seeded! I took a few pieces before I realized I just had to take a picture or two of these. So there they went, some to a container and some to my mouth =) by the way, come Tuesday, she gave me another batch! What does Wednesday hold, I wonder? To know more about this lovely fruit, please click on this helpful link: http://www.stuartxchange.org/Langka.html