Tag: food

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Vieux Chalet

When you go up Antipolo for dinner, people usually think Padi’s Point or Cloud 9 (not the surfing destination). But there’s actually an alternative that, at least for me, is better: Vieux Chalet. I only learned about Vieux Chalet from Wil who learned about it from OAP. So why do I like it? It’s got the same sunset and city lights view as the aforementioned places but in a fine dining setting. Perfect for quiet dinners.

Getting there requires a bit more effort than going to your favorite mall restaurant. Start by going along Marcos Highway till you reach Sumulong Highway. You will see Masinag Market as well as a traffic light in the intersection. Turn right and go on past Padi’s Point and Cloud 9. After some time, you will see Bankers’ Village to your right, watch out for the next intersection. Turn right and at the next intersection, turn right again and enter Villa Christina. Drive down the road (watch out for all those kids playing) and enter Purok Sampaguita. Follow the Vieux Chalet signs and go on past Villa Christina Resort till see Vieux Chalet to your right.

In my two visits there, Rico (the all-around guy there), recommended fettucine and osso buco. And in my two visits, I ordered the same :D Their menu is actually more varied than that though some items are sometimes not available. Be more adventurous than I. And don’t fail to try their signature lemon grass iced tea. Servings are good for 2-3 people.

Rating: 4/5

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Cafe Juanita

I’ve been to Cafe Juanita three times before. And last Sunday, I went there again for the belated celebration of Erwin’s birthday. I suppose that says something about how I like the place :P

Cafe Juanita is tucked away in a side street in Barangay Kapitolyo but it’s pretty easy to find. Coming from Makati, take EDSA and turn right at Shaw, turn right at the rotonda, and then you will see a sign on the right soon after. The restaurant has a homey old house atmosphere complete with the antique furniture, decor, and trinkets.

My favorite there is the the crispy fried Laguna fish. It’s a simple but nice dish. I almost always order it at Juanita so this time around I decided not to say anything about what to order. But Crissy ended up ordering it again along with kare-kare and bagnet which are also good :))

Rating: 4/5

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Siomai

Siomai is Chinese dumpling. I suppose there is a strict definition of it somewhere but here it’s usually a dumping with a filling of pork, beef, or shrimp. Michelle’s recipe involves mixing pork and shrimp but you can easily play around with your own combination.

1 kilo ground pork
1 kilo chopped shrimp
1 cup oat meal (binder and extender)
1 cup minced onions
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
olive oil
siomai wrappers
soy sauce
calamondon (kalamansi)
chili paste

Thoroughly mix pork, shrimps, oat meal, onion, salt, pepper, and olive oil into a bowl.
Put one tablespoon of mix into a siomai wrapper, close, and seal.
Boil water in a steamer.
When it’s steaming, brush the steamer with olive oil and put the siomai in.
Steam for 15-20 minutes.
Serve with dip made of soy sauce, kalamansi, and chili paste.

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Tinola

After sinigang, Michelle now has taught me how to cook tinola. I’m gonna be a cook! Haha. Below is the recipe.

6 pieces chicken wings (pakpak)
1 cup sliced chayote (sayote)
¼ cup ginger (luya)
¼ cup onion (sibuyas)
¼ cup minced garlic (bawang)
1 bunch chili leaves (dahon ng sili)

Boil chicken wings in pot until tender
Remove chicken wings and add chayote
Mince ginger, onion, and garlic.
Sautee ginger, onion, and garlic in pan.
Add chicken wings into pan and sear slightly
Pour everything into pot
Add chili leaves
Serve hot with fish sauce

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Game Crab Boardgame Cafe

I was looking for a place to go to for Friday night and I read about Game Crab Boardgame Cafe. Board game cafes are places where you can play, what else, board games. Apparently the concept is big in the US and Europe and these guys are aiming to bring and make it big here. Curious as to how it all works, I invited Michelle for a visit.

The cafe is situated at the 2nd floor of FBR Arcade in Katipunan where Yellow Cab Katipunan branch is. Thankfully, There was sufficient parking at the basement as parking is a major pain in Katipunan.

When you go in, the friendly servers and game masters welcome you in, ask you what your order is, ask you what game you want to play, show you how to play and so on. We first played two rounds of Amazeing Labyrinth and then an assisted (by JB) round of Heroscape. The whole board game cafe concept sounds fun in writing and I’m glad to say it actually is quiet fun in actuality.

However, I’ll have to say that the food is definitely not Game Crab’s main attraction. We tried the “special” pasta and the chili wings. The pasta sucks and the chili wings were so-so (but they are hot indeed). It’s too bad since it could easily be made better and make the place a really good place to hang out in.