This is what I really planned to post.  Not that 'sharing piece' I just posted prior.  That was random.

Anyway.  Just documenting what happened on my birthday.

You see, I made this personal tradition of going to churches I haven't been into on my birthday.  I love churches and churches are really grand and beautiful at this time, still Christmas season you know.  This year I decided to go to Blessed John Paul Parish in Eastwood.  That quaint church hidden and dwarfed by the skyscrapers of that place.  But actually it's really tiny, much like calaruega.

Here it is.  Charming eh?  And you can now get married here! It used to be a chapel but is now a parish.



Inside it's very intimate.  Simple structure, altar but a lot of airconditioners, flat screens, and the lectors place mimics an office space: desk, laptop, pen holder?! Haha

It was Monday noon so most mass goers were the elderly, and women at that, or the donyas as I fondly think of them.  The housewives with their made up hair, signature bags, and entourage.  Haha.  Actually most of them are really really simple yet exudes that regal demeanor, breeding you know.  The mass was solemn and the parish priest seems to me like vanguard.  This is a good thing right? Like the pope, I so love the pope.

And then went to get the cake. I saw Tous le jours somewhere so lemme find it.  Alas, I got lost.  Walking in circles, exploring.  Which was actually okay since I am not rushing to go anywhere anyway.  Eventually found it and took a long time just looking.  I wanted to balance pretty and yummy on my cake choice.  I had very few options though so I went with this.

Not so pretty, not so yummy either.  Oh well.  I think this cake is laced with rhum? Taste like it.  But I could have been happier with bakery yema cake.  This cake will be in the fridge for weeks I'm guessing.  The tower of ube and leche flan on the fridge would not help its popularity as a dessert of choice either.

To my horror, the shop don't take credit card payments.  So there goes the only cash I had.  Have to find a place to eat that takes plastic payments then.  But it is my birthday so I have to eat at wherever I like.  I wanted to go buffet but I'm alone and it'd be a bummer to pay for that when I could've eaten for free if I have someone with me.  ( Woot, woot, insert lonely singlehood feels here...haha)

I wanted shake and sukiyaki so I'm having it! So my boy, teriyaki boy is my date.  And then there I felt the Happy birthday vibe.  They have the old menu! I can have my usuals! (not on new menu).  So I had shake, sukiyaki don and philly sushi.  Yey!  Happy and stuffed.

This is better than any cupcake.

And then went home and slept.  Haha.  Come evening I had to tell people to order stuff for the family celeb and yet confusion led to more confusion.  So I had cake and nothing else.  Lols.  Actually they bought dinner and the customary noodles for long life though late was present.

Great Birthday.  Not grand but just as I like it.  None to fuss about too much since its not a milestone, in terms of numbers.  I got much, much love too from family, friends, and acquaintances.  All is well. Damn, most of my well wishers wished for a future love.  Can't, won't go there.  Get out of my head people!  Hahaha. I feel loved and blessed.  That's all I need right?  Right.

I am at a food binge this week.  One day I ate a Mcdo full meal, make that large fries, iced coffee, cheeseburger and caramel sundae.  A little after Dunkin bunwich (just because I miss it), doughnut (I can't resist!) and hot chocolate. Then there was siomai, tapa, eggplant omellete and sisig for dinner!  Yes I ate all.  The only thing I let pass was guinatan bilo-bilo, which is really all I'm supposed to eat that afternoon because my mom knew it is a favorite.  She never knew I chose to bingefest over her thoughtfulness.

I went out Wednesday to do some errands.  Since it was near where my sister work, I txted her so we could go home together.  But since we cannot agree on who goes where, we decided to meet-up on a nearby mall.  It took her ages to arrive, actually mass had ended way before she came.  Hence, it was dinner so I convinced her to eat first.  Lo and behold in front of us was Yabu.  I've always wanted to try out the best katsu place in town, as was claimed by its patronage.  I guess then was my chance..so there we dine.

As per info on their website, they only have 1 branch : Megamall.  I am not sure though cause I've heard too much of this place, there must be one in Makati.  They occupy a huge space in the Atrium, but during its initial hype there was a waiting list!  Imagine that, definitely a craze.  When we went it was weekday dinner, the place had a lot of patrons but a lot of tables are still available.  It was our first time to dine there, maybe it was quite obvious to the staff because they were extremely gracious and helpful.  I like Japanese restaurants, the sole thing I order though is Gyudon because I love Gyudon.  So first thing I look for was 'gyu' (beef), there was none.  Of course it was a Katsu house!

Actually katsu is a shortcut of katsuresu which means 'cutlet'.  Nothing at all to do with having no beef in the menu.  In fact katsudon dish originated when Japan started opening its doors to Western culture.  Hence katsudon was originally beef cutlet.  But pork was way better as katsu so that it became what it was known for.  It was not all pork katsu in the menu though, they do have chicken and seafood.  Yabu prides itself to having a master katsu chef for a consultant, Chef Takeda of Japan.  This better be good.

So what did we order?

We started with appetizers.  Not customary but we can't resist to taste the tofu and potato salad which where on different sets.  But they indulged us and paired them instead. Yey!
Verdict: Tofu was yum, potato salad had literally chunks of egg and potato; that's it.  Nothing too different.

I ordered Rosu katsudon.  Rosu is pork with fat, Hire was tenderloin pork.  I am not health conscious obviously.  My dish was yummy.  This can take the pedestal from my beloved gyudon!

My sister opted for Chicken and Seafood Katsu set.  The chicken was really, really tender.  Never ever have I tasted chicken that soft.  It was also yummy.  The prawn was ordinary, squid was nicely cooked too, the oyster was weird.  Note though that we don't fancy oysters, only the fresh ones.  Obviously serving was huge we were able to share!  It was actually more than enough.  I felt guilty I wasted a bowl of miso soup (which I really don't like) and the cabbage salad.  The dressing was so good I wanted to eat more but there's no more place to put it.  Cabbage and rice was unlimited.  I ordered house iced tea and it was as well yummy.

My katsu experience was great I definitely would bring friends to try it out.  Price was a little steep than usual  but actually I think at par with specialty restaurants of the like.  It was worth it anyways in my opinion.

We went home so full, any other food we see was unappealing.  Haha.

Next stop: the Vikings buffet.

Bingefest! And I think it's appropriate to say YOLO!

credits:
http://www.yabuhouseofkatsu.com/
ManilaShopper.com

These terms are totally alien to me way before the Sg trip. All I'm familiar with in Indian menu is Naan, thanks to breadtalk.

Because of that, we needed much help from a friend in ordering. If my memory serves me right we ordered paratha, papadum, basmati rice, chicken (or duck?) and mutton masalla.

Paratha is indian flat bread, much like pita or flour tortilla. It is just a little crispy and the one we ate is incorporated with egg, cheese and garlic. It was served with a variety of dips or sauces. I think one was yoghurt, one had spinach or jalapeno and the other with red spices since it was extremely spicy.

Papadum is crispy like a tortilla or taco shell. Think unflavored chippy.

Basmati is that long grain rice. Flavored with spices but not that spicy. It's "kaning buhaghag which my mom won't like. I can't remember anything about the chicken so I guess it's not that noteworthy.

And my favorite?..*drumroll*

It's mutton masalla! It's just beef in spices you know. Haha. Can't help it I'm a carnivore. It's actually very similar to caldereta. The type with melt in your mouth beef!

So there goes my indian food experience. Definitely I'd visit that famous indian restaurant near the office sometime soon. I suggest you do too...AND...Eat with your bare hands! :)

*visit New Bombay in Dela Costa or I think there is also in greenbelt?*

Since I really wanted to be active on blogging again...I decided to post something today...but...

What do I post?! *haha, writer-wannabe's block*

...

Oh well, ok I guess I'll just go food blogging again. This time I'm sharing my love for cooking experience. Well better yet my 'experimentation' hobby applied to cooking. I really feel I have that 'scientist' gene in me. Everything always has to boil down to experimenting. Haha.

Contrary to popular belief that I'm a good cook, I'm kinda not confident on this. Everybody either expects me to be good or perceive me to be good because:

• 1) I am Kapampangan
• 2) Yes, I hail from a family of good cooks (even the boys in the family are)
• 3) I am quite successful with my concoctions, taste wise.
• 4) I am forever fat, thus maybe I've been eating good food haha.
• 5) Last but not the least, my mom is a great cook and she runs a carinderia business since time imemorial.

I remembered being asked, "So, what's your specialty?". I was a little dumbfounded to realize it's embarrassing I don't have one. Well, I do have specialties pala : leche flan and spaghetti. HAHAHA. How impressive. lols.... Kinda everybody knows how to cook spaghetti, and they'd say it's also their specialty. And leche flan? Are you kidding? It's basically elementary cooking.

I realize I'm such a weird cook. I love cooking but Filipino viands and specialties don't interest me. I have a good grasp on how come though. As I mentioned, my mom is a great cook. I cannot probably compete with that. She's always like right there cooking so I have nothing to worry about, haha. *The last statement says a lot about my personality: go figure* I do ask about recipes once in a while though. But I am not as eager as others when she starts blabbering on ingredients, procedure and secrets. Well, now I realize I better take some notes. This is one of the 100 reasons why I wanna go somewhere far. So that I'd be forced to learn, and cooking is definitely on the list.

Obviously if you've seen me, you'd know I love to eat. But I am not adventurous when it comes to food. Trying something new is always preluded by unexplained fear. It's a hit or miss thing always. If I love something though, I get obsessive. I'd eat whatever that is until I'm sick of it or...I'm broke. Haha. So when the addiction is making me poor that's when I start to work in the kitchen and try to make a replica of whatever food that is.

So, here are the steps on my road to experimenting:

• 1) As I mentioned, I immerse myself to the food. I devour as if there is no tomorrow. By this I am familiarized with the taste, even the underlying ones.
• 2) I research. I hunt for recipes. I look into all versions of the recipe and do a mental checklist on what I think the key ingredients are.
• 3) I scout the grocery for ingredients. I keep an eye on the unconventional ones. Since we are kinda 3rd world, a lot of ingredients in the grocery are considered fancy.
• 4) I am so stingy I wait for sales. Some ingredients are pricey so I am on the lookout for good buys.
• 5) I battle the heat of the kitchen. I try and try and try. And often I modify until I get what I want.

My last project was baked ziti. I waited for end of the season sale to buy cheese. Haha. Cheese is kinda expensive if you're used to the local cheddar prices. All else was no problemo. My one worry is that I dunno how to go about the red sauce. I am used to my meaty sweet creamy spaghetti. The just right sweet-sour Italian taste I am not so good with. The red sauce is actually still under experimentation. I chose baked ziti because I love to order and eat it wherever. Also I know my siblings and cousins like it as well. I need food tasters and my family is oh so 'laitero' so perfect!

My experiment was a success on the first run. The pasta I made was yummy. I love it that this dish is heaven to my cheese-tooth. Yes, I have a cheese-tooth. I like cheese! Sadly though I wasn't able to spot ricotta on the grocer. I don't even have an idea what it's like. But mozarella, local cheese and parmesan is good enough for me. Oh wait, I can't remember if I had romano?!

Anyways, I'm craving ziti because of this post. Besides perfecting the red sauce and getting hold of all the necessary cheeses, I also want to incorporate tuna rather than beef on the recipe so I might do that next. Oh, cheese sale please! Haha

...and then there is that pichi-pichi project I have that is always a fail...darn.



Since I'm on it let's do a cheese 101

Ricotta



Ricotta is a fresh cheese (as opposed to ripened or aged), grainy and creamy white in appearance, slightly sweet in taste, and contains around 13% fat. (ct:wiki)






Romano



Romano cheese is a type of cheese that is known for being very hard, salty and sharp. It is usually grated. (ct:wiki)





Mozarella

It is a semi-soft cheese used for most types of pizza and several pasta dishes.






Parmesan



True Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese has a sharp, complex fruity/nutty taste with a strong umami flavour and a slightly gritty texture. (ct:wiki)





Eden cheese



Yum to snack on to. I like Che-vital and ques-o too and quickmelt ones. yumyum!

When I was starting on blogging, all I write about is emo-ness and totally random stuff about my likes. Well FYi I was on my 'teens' then...or maybe that was the level of my maturity...lolers

And then, I got hooked up on food blogs! For the love of cake, chocolates and food in general I spent hours and hours looking at mouth watering food pictures, reading on food and restaurant reviews etc. And then I moved on to more random stuff and technology ran way too fast my interest became as diverse as what is available.

I had my share of foodie entries I think. Most of it probably are fruits of my obsessive nature on almost anything as of the moment (pun not intended) When I can't think of something worthwhile to share, I share my obsession to such and such food. Haha.

And that is what I am actually going to do in this entry.

I am currently obsessing on

- DQ's ice cream cake, it's dad's bday cake which I probably ate 80% of. It's my staple dinner dessert for the past week. Its worth much more of its price. My favorite is that awesome fudge in the center. By the way, tonight is the exit of the cake board. I'm going to miss my love affair with DQ for sometime I think.

- Fried internals : I like isaw ever since, but now I'm hooked to the fried variety. It's the new "in" thing, haha for cheapo foodies I guess. It's sinfully yummy, together with that teriyakish sauce and vinegar. I love that the kiosk in cubao also sells isaw sisig, adobong isaw etc... yummy! It was love at first bite to almost everyone I shared this foodie also. As I said it's the new "in" thing...after scramble...

- White chocolate : specifically toblerone and goya's cookies and cream. I hate it that valentine's day made me obsessed with these. And I haven't yet recovered. The amount i devour in a day totally hurts my budget and non-existent diet.

- Mocha milk : Well there is only one brand in the grocery, Anchor. I used to buy Great Taste's caramel coffee but it's not always available so for now it's mocha milk for me. This helps me save on coffee money because it diverts me from starbucks, hehe...THIS and that coffee vendo downstairs.

I just recently went through a phase of cheese floss, yema, wendy's iced tea and potato salad.

I am missing froyo alot recently and weirdly that casaa burrito...haaayyy

On cooking, I am currently learning pichi-pichi to no success and I plan to experiment on pasta soon, for now still on gathering ingredients mode.

That electric mixer is still on my huge want list...all the more I won't buy it soonest. I'll end this post lest I go to that sad place mode again. haha...

Tah-tah!

I'm not a chocoholic. Well, not really. I like only two kinds, hershey's kisses classic with almonds or hershey's bar plain or w/almonds. Sometimes I fancy ferrero or maltesers or andes mint or homemade chocolate lollipops that sometimes tastes like sweetened butter...hehe...but only by default.

This xmas, I got french chocolates from geny and I've become a chocoholic wannabe. I loved the truffettes! All 8 pieces of it (but ofcourse I shared...)! But truffettes stores are quite few and not exactly somewhere I could just pass by. And so I settled for what I had been seeing almost everyday and was always curious about...Leonidas. I was ready to spend a day's wage on a few pieces of coño chocolates. As expected, there were a lot to choose from. Thus I let the shopgirl decide...which made me pay more than what I had planned.

And so I went home carrying my precious purchase excited to have a taste of each and relive the truffettes experience...

And I was disappointed. It tasted ordinary and for me it wasn't even ok. It was just...chocolate. It wasn't even unique whew!

And so I'll charge it to experience and go to the truffettes store asap! Or atleast wait for payday. I spent to much on chocolates already it makes my first statement seem like a lie.

...try the truffettes guys...my next experiment would be on those nama or sachi chocolates I also have heard about. That is if I could get hold of them or be willing to spend on them...hehe