T. G. I. Friday's

Citrus Shrimp Summer salad

Thank God it's Friday!

Can you think of a more fantastic way to conclude the week other than going to a restaurant with the most captivating and alluring name as the T. G. I Friday's restaurant? Well I could not think of anything better to do than dine on an it-feels-like-Friday restaurant.

Two Bleu Bacon Burger

I must say I had a pretty hard time choosing what to eat because the prices weren't too friendly for a person who is currently on an indefinite vacation with no particular work to go back into. But after a moment of pondering, I decided, once again, to give it a go.

My lips kissed the freshest drops of citrus juice squeezed into a platter full of lush green lettuce, fresh pink pomelo bits and ripe yellow mango cubes! The citrus summer shrimp salad also contained goat's cheese small slices of pecans and two tasty grilled shrimps. I must say it's the best version of the salad I have ever tasted! Hence, I'm giving this dish two thumbs up!

Big Apple Mojito

Vanilla Sundae

I also took a bite of the two bleu bacon burger. I was appalled as it was nothing compared to the salad I just ate. Although the ingredients were seemingly fresh, I was a bit frustrated because the burger was apparently lacking in taste. I could not find that particular "kick." The patty was also a bit irregularly shaped. It was also too thick and too greasy. The fries that came along with it was neither delicious nor disgusting. It was nothing special.

The vanilla sundae didn't have an exceptional taste. It was an ordinary vanilla ice cream decorated with heavy whipped cream, some nuts and topped with maraschino cherry. Although the taste was not outstanding, I must say, "boy, it looks good!"

Finally, I also ordered the Big Apple Mojito. It's one of the most delicious cocktails I've ever tasted! (But I beg your pardon for I haven't tasted a lot.) This great-tasting mojito is a mixture of rum, Margarita, Monin green apple syrup, sweet syrup, soda, lime wedges and mint leaves. Such a perfect combination! For a second I actually thought I was floating in the moon.

Overall, I think T. G. I. Friday's serves descent food. But the dishes are too expensive for what they are actually worth. 

Where to find the best mango shake in Cebu!

Have you been thinking of going to Cebu to eat those sweet, ripe and yellow mangoes? Tell you what, there is more to it than that. Cebu also makes the best mango shakes in the Philippines. And I HIGHLY recommend it. Where can you find it?

It's at Zubuchon restaurant! It's actually a restaurant which specializes on pig dishes--especially roasted pig! Coincidentally, they also make the best mango shakes. What makes the mango shake special is that they use a lot of mangoes; no milk; and less sugar. The ice is also blended to perfection, creating a really fine shake texture!

Zubuchon has numerous branches. The biggest branch is located at Escario street. Just tell the taxi driver to take you to Zubuchon. They definitely know where it is.

Round ONE

Round TWO

Round THREE

KNOCKOUT!

Pueblo Mexicano, Cebu City

A while ago, my boyfriend and I went to Banilad Town Center supposedly to do an hour of boxing training. Unfortunately, we didn't have handwraps and we didn't want to spend our money right then and there on disposable handwraps. And so, instead of engaging in physical activities, we decided to just 'chill' and fatten ourselves inside a Mexican restaurant which interestingly had a lot of foreign diners. Sensing its popularity, we decided to give it a try. We weren't really hungry so we opted to go-light and ordered Nachos de la Casa. When we took our first bite, we were in awe as we honestly never expected it to go beyond our expectations. The nachos were different from the ones that come in packets. They were crunchier and tastier! The mixture of ingredients in their specialty nachos was perfect too! Nachos de la Casa contained jalapeños, sour cream, tomatoes, chicharon and beef, among others. The dish is definitely a must-try!

Nachos de la Casa

We also ordered two desserts: Tarta Imposible (2nd photo) and Brazo de Mercedes (3rd photo). Tarta Imposible has a chocolate brownie-like base with a caramel custard upper layer. Although delicious, it is not really exceptional. Brazo de Mercedes is a dessert composed of a meringue outer layer and custard inner layer. What I like about their version is that the meringue layer is somewhat chewy and dense unlike most commercial Brazo de Mercedes which tends to be rather vacuous and porous. 

Tarta Imposible

Brazo de Merecedes

I'm definitely going back to this restaurant when I have the chance! You can drop by if you like. It's on the first floor of the Banilad Town Center building in Cebu City.

Brian's Ribs from Casa Verde (Cebu City)

My brother is getting married! In Cebu! Unlike the rest of my family members who will be flying to Cebu a couple of days from now, I boarded the plane rather early. I will be exploring and reexploring Cebu; I will particularly be keeping a keen eye on the good places to dine. One of my favorites is Casa Verde! I like this place because they have a relatively larger serving size than most restaurants in the Philippines. The one I usually order at Casa Verde is Brian's Ribs (first picture; sorry I didn't take a good one as I was too excited to eat). It's a platter of a really tasty piece of grilled pork ribs. I don't have a slightest idea why it's called Brian's Ribs though. Maybe the ribs came from a pig named Brian? :D I'm kidding. I love the rib's texture because it's soft and juicy. The tase is good, yes. But I should say it is rather much more suitable for Filipino tongues because the chef most likely sprinkled sugar in it, creating a distinct sweet and salty blend. The platter of ribs comes with a cup of rice; but I ordered fries because I missed Europe. Unfortunately, the fries wouldn't stand a chance from the fries in Belgium. But it's silly of me to compare, of course. The rice is the best though. It's very soft and somewhat glutinous. 

Casa Verde is quite popular in Cebu. People literally fall in line and hover around outside the restaurant before the crew finally opens the place at exactly 11AM. It's located at Ayala Mall; before you start shopping you can probably drop by and dine. 

Brian's Ribs

Chicken Tavern

Fries

Chocolate chip cookies

Baking chocolate cookies is so basic, a superior baking skill is not a prerequisite. That is why I decided to bake these crispy "morish" chocolate chip cookies yesterday. I took this recipe from my mom's old (and ancient-looking) notebook. I reduced the amount of sugar as I am not really very fond of very sweet "sweets." Here are the ingredients I magically tossed into my baking bowl:

- 1.5 cups brown sugar (maybe next time, I will use only 1 cup because using 1.5 cups is still too sweet for me).

- 1 cup butter

- 2 eggs

- 1.5 teasp. vanilla

- 3 cups all purpose flour

- a pinch of salt

- 1 teasp. baking powder

- 1.5 cups chocolate chip cookies ( I used the dark Belgian chocolate chips)

Because I wanted a crispy cookie, I set the oven to 200 C until the cookie turned golden brown. I also made sure the dough was not-so-thick. By "not-so-thick," I meant, it should be at most 7 mm thick.  If you prefer chewy cookies, I suggest you limit the temperature to 150 C.

Oh, forgot to mention. I'm now eating the cookies while sipping a mug of homemade chai tea latte. Feels like I'm at Starbucks right now!

Books, books, books!

I spent my evening catching up with one of my lovely besties. We poured our happiness and anxiety over a cup of cappuccino and a plate of sugary pastries. Then we strolled around the mall for a while. Unable to find the most beautiful pair of shoes, we headed straight towards the bookshop. And in there, we finally sealed the deal with the cash register. Sometimes it's a lot easier to resist shoes than books. Good luck to my pretty eyes. 

What is a Halo-halo?

Yesterday I ate one of my favorite desserts. It's also one of the most popular desserts in the Philippines. The halo-halo! I was asked a million times in the past about the meaning of "halo-halo". And always when people ask me, I tell them the literal translation: "mix-mix"! The dessert is basically a mixture of a lot of ingredients! There are some variations depending on the restaurant or fast food chain. Nevertheless, they are more or less 90% similar.

I was having difficulty choosing which restaurant or fast food chain to order halo-halo from. But I ended up trying the one from Mang Inasal because it was the food chain closest to my location at that time. Can you imagine me taking out a piece of paper and a pen just to jot down the ingredients? Yes, I did that just to make sure I don't forget any. And so, here goes the relevation!

The halo-halo I ate contained a mixture of the following ingredients: (1) shaved ice, (2) evaporated milk, (3) sugar, (4) red beans, (5) white beans, (6) leche flan (caramel custard), (7) ube halaya (purple yam jam), (8) ripe jackfruit, (9) green gulaman, (10) red sago, (11) macapuno and (12) my favorite ube ice cream!

Other stores sometimes add rice crispies, corn flakes and maize. I am thinking of going to other restaurants just to compare their halo-halo ingredients! And I am actually thinking of making halo-halo at home for my grandma.

Oh! In case you ask what is the proper way to eat the halo-halo? Like most food, you don't really need to follow a strict method to eat it. But for my case, I prefer eating 3/4 of the ube ice cream. Then I eat almost 1/2 of the other ingredients until the shaved ice melts. Eat your halo-halo fast! The warm weather in the Philippines will melt your shaved ice in minutes. ;)