I ♥ Dulcinea's Churros con Chocolate

When: November 7, 2010

Whenever I see Dulcinea in malls, churros con chocolate immediately comes to mind. This Spanish doughnut  used to be my favorite during my senior year in law school. Whew! It seems like only yesterday.  Since there's nothing interesting to blog about these days, I might as well proceed with my food blogs. On an afternoon stroll en route to my Sunday trip to Booksale, I chanced upon Dulcinea and decided to relive my churros days! Yes, I am that random and quirky.

Desde 1963 

We ♥ churros

 Churros con chocolate (Php 98)

 

Sopa de mariscos (Php 85) ~ seafood medley soup

The soup was surprisingly excellent and perfect partner for churros! 

More churros lovin'...

... and some more churros lovin'

I guess our churros was the most paparazzi-ed churros that afternoon.  :)

Dulcinea

2/F Ali Mall

Araneta Center

Il Dolce Far Niente, Part Uno

The title has been obviously inspired by Eat Pray Love, the most recent film I've watched. It's the time of the year where I usually feel so lazy. Blame it on the intermittently slow workload, holiday spirit and, horror of all horrors, a major bus strike? Oh well. One sure-fire way of cheering myself up is to take a peek at my camera and sort things out. That being said, I noticed my drafts have piled up and I don't want to be buried in a mountain of drafts, do I? So, here goes another random post from two weekends ago.

One of my quirks is to try new things, relatively speaking. So when my officemate and I were homeward bound one night, we tried this coffee & hot choco vendo machine near Ayala MRT just because.

The news literally came alive in Manila Bulletin 3D edition. Some images are best viewed using the 3D glasses.

General rule: I dread deep-fried food. But the rule admits of an exception - Twistix potato! As a certified cheese lover, I had my crunchy and uniquely shaped potato sprinkled with lotsa cheese.

Twistix potato is the best when paired with peppermint mocha frap! Trust me on this. This is an unhealthy breakfast combo but it isn't a crime to deviate from health standards once in a while, right?

I can't imagine my weekends without going to Booksale. It's a foolproof way to keep me sane in this phase called "the sweetness of doing nothing".

I never really produced a sane idea when I'm dead tired from doing nothing at the office, thus I captured all these random stuff.

Pinoydon + Starbucks Peppermint-y Goodies

When: November 6, 2010

In this blog of mine, I show my slice of gratitude to the BF.  He has now evolved to a perfect companion during food trips. Why? He now gave me full support to take pictures of what we're eating, unlike before wherein I contented myself with ninja shots of food. So, thanks are in order. Oops, it's not really my dream to be a food photographer but I take simple delight in staring at food pictures. Yes, I torture myself with those. :)

Last Saturday, we had dinner at Pinoydon. It's a simple resto that boasts of Japanese-Filipino fusion cuisine.

The menu

Batchoy ramen (Php 120) ~ ramen noodles in a rich Japanese broth topped with sliced pork, chicharon, quail eggs and fried garlic

Manila maki (Php 125) ~ nilasing na hipon and lettuce, rolled in garlic sushi rice and topped with Japanese mayo

Tocino alfredo pasta (Php 145) ~ creamy carbonara with tocino bits and served with pugon slice

The pasta was so heavy on the tummy. It took me a long time to finish the whole plate. The overall taste didn't impress me though.

Pics with Santa Claus

After dinner, we continued strolling and found a familiar fellow - Santa Claus! We didn't waste our chance to have a picture with him. Young at heart we are! Since we're then enveloped with Christmassy-like happiness, we capped the evening with holiday treats at Starbucks. Oh, for the love of that planner.

Tall peppermint mocha (Php 150) and peppermint brownie (Php 70)

I skipped coffee since I want to sleep the night away. To the man who still makes my heart skip a beat (in a good way, that is) - thank you so, so much! :)

Pinoydon -5/F
Starbucks -G/F

The Podium
 

My Looooong Weekend in Pictures

When: October 22-25, 2010

Just so you know, my long weekend started last Friday. Since October 25 has been declared as a special non-working holiday to give way to Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, I called in sick last Friday to fully enjoy my long weekend. Again, I didn't exercise my right of suffrage. As much as I want to spend the long weekend  in any tourist destination, that chance seemed elusive nowadays. Gotta save for an upcoming vacay!

My long weekend focuses on cheap thrills and random things that made me smile. It's basically life on the slow lane. Or calories and forgetting my vow not to munch on deep-fried.

Red Ribbon's crispy chicken with mango barbecue sauce

I had crispy chicken meal (pictured above) for dinner last Thursday. It's not officially part of the long weekend but, heck, it's a new discovery. I can proudly say I can cook much better than that! So I moved to another search for good fried chicken the next day. I found it at KFC with its newest  chicken variant - Chili Lime chicken (see below). Spicy yet citrusy. Okay, I'll say this to capture it all - it was finger lickin' good! :)

KFC's Chili Lime Chicken

Then came my obligatory trip to the mall with my nephew on Friday nights. Two things that make us both happy are: (1) latest K-Zone mag and (2) DQ's moolatte. What made him happier was that the latest K-Zone featured his fave cartoon hero, Ben 10. At my age, I still read K-Zone to keep me updated of the kiddie world. Hahaha!

Ben 10 + DQ = silencio

Then off to Empanada Nation we went for dinner. It was my second time to visit this familiar stall along Roces Street. This time, the BF went with us and had our bagnet (fried pork belly) fix. I'm not very much familiar with bagnet and the KBL that comes with it. Hmmmm, Marcos? No, KBL means kamatis (tomato), bagoong (shrimp paste) and lasong (small onions).

Bagnet with red egg, garlic rice and KBL

And of course, I can't simply refuse not to taste (again) the famous Ilocos empanada. I think I hoarded enough fat in my body for just one day. Shame.

Saturday was junk food & movie day with siblings Ivan & Nikki, nephew Dave and my one and only sis-in-law She. Thank God for this generous H & W tandem for the movie treat. The movie house roared in laughter at Vice Ganda's punch lines. He was undeniably hilarious! :)

Funnier than the original (remember when?)

Also, my sis Nikki and I had a mini-food fest at Shopwise Arcade food alley. Looking at the picture now makes me sick. Lucky us, no embarrasing public lavatory trip right after.

Blueberry danish, siomai, scramble and tuna kani panini

I'm a sucker for souvenir shots. Those orange pumpkins were too cute to ignore.

 My HH 2010 souvenir pic at Trinoma Mall (big thanks to my buddy Princess)

After window-shopping and exchanging stories, we decided to go cheapo by eating at Mister Donut. Hahaha! Oh, who would've thought that Mister Donut has good penne pasta? I must say that it was very al dente, cheesy and affordable.

 Baked tomato and sausage penne (Php 60 -beat that!) and Belgian choco lava (Php 30)

Okay, enough with gastronomy. Something new now.

 My super mouth telephone!

Here's something lovely amidst my random reads over the long weekend. A single red rose from the BF in honor of our 16th monthsary (October 24). Cheesy, I know. *huge grin*

*sigh*

Wow, I'm starting to sort of enjoy slow-paced, long weekends! :)

Binondo Food Trip: Wai Ying Fastfood

When: October 10, 2010

After trying out Dong Bei's kutchay dumplings, we wandered off to Benavidez Street in Chinatown. This street is known for authentic Chinese restos and other hole-in-the-wall food spots. One of them is Wai Ying Fastfood, which boasts of good dim sum at relatively cheap prices.

These roasted peking ducks on display served as our clue that we found Wai Ying. 

Since this is a hole-in-the wall food spot, I really didn't expect much in terms of cleanliness and aesthetic stuff.  It then reminded me of my Macau getaway last June. I felt like I was pushed inside a time machine and I landed without warning in a hole-in-the wall somewhere in Senado Square where I had a similar experience. Chinese in the nearby tables, greasy table and Chinese characters in a laminated menu.

Hongkong milk tea (Php 50 each)

Two thumbs up for their milk tea! It's the closest thing to the milk teas I've had in Macau. Highly recommendable indeed.

Taro cake (Php 65) ~ a Chinese dish made from the vegetable taro

It's my first time to eat taro cake and I didn't enjoy it. I had this feeling that it was fried in a heavily greased pan. Since we're quite full, we didn't order much. We trooped to Quiapo then to Chinatown right after our heavy lunch at home. Suffice it to say that we entered Wai Ying just for the heck of it.

.  

Hakaw (Php 65) ~ shrimp dumpling

Their hakaw is also a must-try. One can really see and taste the shrimps.

Taro cake with oyster sauce (I think)

Top view of our Wai-Ying experience 

Will I go back? Sure! I'll try to skip lunch next time and be in Chinese dim sum heaven. :)

Wai Ying Fastfood

Benavidez Street

Binondo, Manila

Binondo Food Trip: Shanghai Fried Siopao

When: October 10, 2010

As we were about to exit Chinatown, a savory whiff of siopao passed my nostrils. I immediately stopped in my tracks since I saw lots of people flocking inside this store which sells Chinese goodies. So I did not hesitate to ask the vendor if the siopao is fried in a large pan with cooking oil. The truth is, I dread deep-fried food stuff.

 

Lo and behold, it's not fried as a whole. It's just the bottom part that gets fried or lightly browned.

Shanghai fried siopao (Php 16 each)

For this quick photoshoot, I split one piece into two to check the filling. Yum. This siopao is packed with meaty goodness and, hey, it has chives too. I saw no signs of scrimping on ingredients here.

Very affordable and tasty. I'd love to go back and buy a frozen pack next time.

Shanghai Fried Siopao

Ongpin Street

Binondo, Manila

Binondo Food Trip: Dong Bei Dumpling

When: October 10, 2010

We (Mama, BF & me) were supposed to scout for a DSLR in Hidalgo Street but it turned that most camera shops in the area are closed during Sundays. Prior to our bargain hunting, we were quite unsure of what our Plan B is just in case we won't find any good price. I was almost ready to disregard the thought of mingling in the Sunday human traffic in Quiapo. Believe me, snatchers and market smell are big turn-offs but, heck, that much-coveted DSLR must be prioritized above all. 

Anyway, our uncertainty of finding a good DSLR proved to be true and no DSLR landed in our hands. So, mutual gut feel made us realize that - why don't we go to Chinatown? The mere mention of Binondo equates to food! Since it's 10-10-10 yesterday, a trip to Chinatown is just a fitting tribute to one of the lucky dates in the Chinese calendar.

After the obligatory visit to Binondo Church (formal name: Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz), we had our first stop at Dong Bei Dumpling. Note the absence of letter "s" at the end. Many foodies are raving about its kutchay (Chinese chives) dumplings which are freshly made at the entrance of this hole-in the-wall.

 

Kutchay dumplings 101

Dumpling wrapper

We had, of course, the famous kutchay dumplings. The filling is actually a mixture of pork and kutchay.

Kutchay & pork dumplings (Php 100 for 14 pieces)

Yes, the dumplings are very tasty. It's much more appreciated when dipped in chili soy sauce. Yum. It's my first time to eat this kind of dumpling so I wouldn't know if it's the best kutchay dumpling in town. 

A closer look at the filling

I hope they have disposable chopsticks next time.

 

Cold drinks: Wong Lo Kat herbal tea (Php 35) and Royal Tru-Orange (Php 25)

The herbal tea reminded me of black gulaman drink but without the gulaman bits.

 Yuchengco corner V. Tytana (formerly Oriente) Streets - the exact location of Dong Bei

Will Dong Bei Dumpling be included in my next food trip in Chinatown. Definitely! I'd love to try the fried version of their dumplings and some Chinese pancake.

Dong Bei Dumpling

642 Yuchengco Street

Binondo, Manila

(behind Binondo Church)

Death by Tablea @ Chocolat

When: September 19, 2010

When it comes to desserts, I'm not a big believer of chocolates. My family and close friends know this. Oui, it can trigger  the release of happy hormones called endorphins (think Elle Woods) and lead you to sugar rush albeit temporary. It doesn't impress me. Two forkfuls of chocolate cake and I'd give up. When asked to stash mini-snacks for humdrum episodes, I'd prefer buying a bag of potato chips and pineapple juice over a chocolate bar. I find myself more happy with it.

BF, on the other hand, is a chocolate cake person, particularly the bittersweet varieties. So when I asked him to accompany me in the 31st Manila International Book Fair at SM- MOA, I felt guilty that's why I treated him to a chocolate cake after our Kimono Ken lunch! It's a small price to pay after he patiently tagged along with me amidst the human traffic in the biggest book fair. Sweet, you bet! The name Chocolat, after all, holds a special place in my memory as it is one of my favorite romantic films.

Death by tablea (Php 80) and cafe latte (Php 60)

I've read positive reviews about Chocolat, home of deep dark chocolate cakes, so that's where we had his chocolate fix. One of their bestsellers is death by tablea, a chocolate cake with bittersweet icing made with native cacao and condensed milk. After two forkfuls of this cake, I was not very impressed. Sure, it did taste like tablea but the cake lacked moisture and depth. Well.

 

Revel bar (Php 30) and iced lemon tea (Php 35)

Same thing goes for their revel bar. Too dry. Blah. I'm not really disappointed since their products are reasonably priced. In my list, it may not be an award-winning place for chocolate cravings but it's worth a try.

Chocolat: Deep Dark Chocolate Cakes

G/F North Parking Building

SM Mall of Asia