A trip to Pan De Amerikana

There are days when you just want to hang-out in a very relaxing place, have a nice conversation and eat good food. You know, the simple joys of life. I always adored restaurants which is known not just for their good food but also for their ambiance and character. I've seen a lot of pictures of Pan de Amerikana in Marikina. Those giant chess pieces really got me interested, who wouldn't, right?

When you think about Marikina Food Trip, this resto should definitely be on your list, but then for us, the timing wasn't always right. We're in Marikina most weekends but then we never had the time to drop by this beautiful place. And one fine Sunday, we finally did.

It looks pretty interesting from the outside but you'll be wowed when you get inside!

Hot Tomato is really hot

Yesterday we attempted to stop having rice in an effort to lose some belly fats. Well, I had fruits for breakfast which is my usual. Lunch time, we had Pork Sinigang so we only had the vegetables, meat and soup. All throughout the day I was just snacking on fruits (strawberries, grapes and bananas) and I was feeling super full especially after I had green tea.

After a busy day and a 30-minute stroll in the mall to do some price canvassing for a TV, well, I was really hungry as in very hungry but I don't want to eat rice. Subway wrap crossed my mind but it's still not good enough. From IMM we transferred to Westgate Mall and then I remember this restaurant which I've been wanting to try for quite some time now.

The place is called Hot Tomato and their main menu includes grilled meat and pasta. The good thing about them is that the price is pretty affordable even for steaks. Way much better than the price of Aston's.

We both ordered their Steaks and Prawns which consists of a steak, 2 grilled prawns, lettuce and aglio olio pasta. Would you believe that that order only costs SGD13.50? Pretty good, right? And it looks good too.


Now, you also have the option to upgrade it into a meal for an additional SGD3.50 (SGD2.50 on their lunch time express 11AM to 3PM for weekdays only). This option consists of garlic bread, soup of the day (top up SGD1 if you opt for their other soup) and a choice of drink (iced lemon tea, lime juice, coffee, or tea). It really is affordable, right?

Wine Experience of Beginners

We are new to wine although we're very much interested to wine pairing and wine itself for quite a long time now.  I've always associated wine with happiness, romance, good food, intimate conversation, celebration, classy, and long lasting. Well, that's how I see it based on the movies that I watched and the helpless romantic in me. Whenever there's a scene wher the couple are on a date to celebrate their anniversary, or their still just getting to know each other, or the guy proposing or there's just something to celebrate, there's always wine or champagne in their table. I remember a scene in the movie, the devil wears prada, where Anne Hathaway was cooking her dinner. She prepared a very simple dinner for herself, a pasta paired with a wine and she looks so satisfied and happy. Even in birthdays and weddings, we always toast with a wine. And whenever a classy couple having steak for dinner, it's always paired with wine and everything seems super delicious. 

Then there's the picturesque vineyards looking so elegant and divine be it in Italy or France. When the camera is focused on the grapes, the oh so beautiful it seems so sacred grapes that will be made into wine. Picture that then ask yourself if you want a taste of the wine that it would become.

The thing is, wine is still alcohol and I'm not fond of the bitter taste of alcohol. I can't drink beer cause it's bitter. For cocktails, I'm a frozen margarita girl and maybe a moderate amount of cosmopolitan. But wine, I don't know. Honestly, I'm quite afraid that if I find it too bitter it will ruin how I see wine.

I like my wine sweet, not fruit juice sweet but a good blend of bitter, sour and sweet.

Cebu's Zubochon Experience

It is a well-known fact that when you're in Cebu, Philippines, you should HAVE their famous Cebu Lechon (Roasted Pig). One of the known Lechon Restaurant in Cebu City is Zubochon, we have heard of CnT and Rico's as well but Zubochon's name was stuck in my mind. While we were checking in at the hotel, I immediately asked the receptionist where is the nearest branch of Zubochon and they mention Escario branch but it's quite a long walk from the hotel.

Since our afternoon nap took longer than expected, we actually didn't know where have dinner since the mall is already closed. The receptionist told us that we can still try the restaurants and fast food in Cebu IT Park, good thing they offer service car for hotel guests and we only paid 50php since it is farther that Cebu Ayala Mall. We were surprised as there are so many restos and fastfood like Jollibee, McDonald's and KFC that are still open, it was around 11pm when we arrive there. We were driving around, looking for a restaurant that will catch our eye and at one turn, I saw the logo .... Zubochon's logo! And in unison, we told the driver where we want to eat and we all excitedly walk to see if it's as tasty as they said it is.

For a party of 3, this is what we had:

Part of Zubochon's menu featuring the main dishes

Zucchini Spaghetti

I've been reading about Zucchini as a pasta replacement for quite a lot and it got me curious.
I love pasta, I really do! It's just that I'm trying to lose some weight and some flab in my tummy and so I'm looking for the healthy alternatives that can make me eat the foods that I like. You see, when you're trying to lose weight and you cut down on food and try to stay away from "sinful" foods, you feel deprived and will eventually craved for those foods everyday and trying to lose weight and converting into "healthy living" an agony.

So finally, I had the motivation and eagerness to try zucchini as a pasta in my spaghetti. Here's how I did it but I think, it still doesn't look like a pasta.

1) This is optional, but I decided to peel off the skin of zucchini.

A taste of BaliThai

Last Tuesday we had an impromptu farewell sort-of lunch for our officement but then the news is not at all complete. It wasn't a farewell but a movement in position, still it's a happy news and a reason to celebrate by sharing a delicious meal over stories.

We chose BaliThai in IMM and ordered the following (which is enough for 4 hungry people although I must say, we over ordered the rice).

1. Mango Salad

2. Mixed BBQ Platter

3. Shrimp Paste Fried Rice

4. Tom Yum Soup

5. Fried Chicken in Pandan Leaves
They served us a crunchy snack which is not so spicy and has a bitter after taste with a chili sauce (which tastes so good, I mean the chili sauce). I wasn't able to take a picture because everyone ate it immediately after it was served.

The food are all ok as well as the service. The servings are for sharing so it's good for groups than for a solo eater. The ambiance is quite relaxing as well.

Will I go back? Why not? 

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Satay by the Bay Experience

Whenever we have friends/family who visits here in Singapore, we only bring them to 2 place to eat and experience the local dishes here (of course when time permits, Hawker especially in Maxwell is the place to go to), Makansutra Glutton's Bay (just beside Esplanade) and Song Fah Bak Kut Teh (along Clarke Quay). Just last week, I've heard from a friend of this new makan place in Gardens By The Bay, which is Satay By The Bay. It is located in between Gardens by the Bay and Marina Barrage, take the jogging/biking path. The setting is pretty much similar to Makansutra Glutton's Bay but your view of course is the waterfront and green lush along the marina bay.

Here's what we had for 3 hungry adults:

1) We ordered the following at Boon Tat's Street Barbeque Seafood. All the 4 dishes amounted to S$47.

Cereal Prawn S$15

Chicken in Pandan Leaves S$12

Bokchoy in Oyster Sauce (but it seems they forget to put the oyster sauce) S$8

Seafood Fried Rice S$12
2) Satay at 70 cents per stick.

Mixture of chicken and beef satay. They also have mutton and pork.
3) Ice Kachang at S$2.80

Perfect refresher on a hot weather
It was a good meal and just enough for 3 hungry people. The view and ambiance is very relaxing.

For More Info on Satay by the Bay, visit the following website:

http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/dining/satay-by-the-bay.html

http://www.sataybythebay.com.sg/about-us

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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my tried and tested favorite Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies adapted from Betty Crocker

I tweaked it just a bit because I prefer it crunchy and I played around with the add ons.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla (or 2 teaspoons vanilla essence)
1 egg
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips and nuts or anything you want to add

Personally, I prefer to add in a combination of raisins, semisweet chocolate chips and almond slivers.

Steps:
Note: Pictures taken using iPhone5s and we have a not-so-good lighting at home :(

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F or 176C.
2. In a large bowl, cream softened butter and sugar.

3. Stir in eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy.

4. Mix oats, flour, baking soda, and salt until well blended. the dough will be quite heavy and sticky.

5. Stir in the add ons: semisweet chocolate chips and/or nuts and dried fruits.

6. In a greased cookie sheet or silicon baking mat, drop dough two inches apart. You can use a spoon,
or ice cream scoop to do this than flatten it a bit using the back of the spoon or fork.
For this, I used a teaspoon drop of dough since I'm aiming for a bite size cookie.

7. Bake to 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown, rotating the baking tray half-way. Mine took exactly 11 minutes. Cool slightly, around 3minutes then transfer to a wire.

It's a favorite in our house and I made it as a guest treat for my baby's 2nd birthday as well. So far I got nice feedbacks and what I love the most is when they tell me that their kids/toddler finish the whole bag :)

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Pumpkin Puree

When I was reading the recipe for the Pumpkin-Oatmeal Cookies recipe I saw the main ingredient is pumpkin puree. What I initially thought is I would boil the pumpkin then puree it using the blender. Just to be sure I googled and boy I was wrong, almost all the articles/blogpost I read said that you have to bake the pumpkin before you puree it.

I was in the midst of preparing dinner as well when I decided to do the pumpkin-oatmeal cookies and I just browsed thru the steps on how to puree and actually missed out some instruction but it still turned out ok.

So here's how I did it:

1. Slice the pumpkin

2. Remove the seeds

3. Bake in 150C for 40minutes (the instruction was that the pumpkin slice should be face down and cover the pumpkin with oil but since I just browsed thru the steps, I missed out these notes)

4. Let it cool and remove the skin

5. Cut into even smaller pieces and blend until you reach the desired consistency.

Add a bit of water while blending

And your pumpkin purée is ready!

You can store the pumpkin puree into the freezer for future use as well and you can do a lot more things from this healthy puree.

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Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

I've been wanting to try out a pumpkin recipe for a long time but I has a hard time finding some of the spices needed, specifically the pumpkin spice and the ground cloves (to create the pumpkin spice, in case it's not available). And then finally, one fine day in Cold Storage in Sixth Avenue, I saw it ... pumpkin spice and ground cloves!!! Of course I bought both :) Then the next challenge was to find the molasses, I tried to look to every grocery I pass by and there was none and then last week, my friend/officemate told me about this baking supplies store near Clementi and we went there on our lunch break. It's just in Clementi and quite near the MRT station, the store name is Phoon Huat. It's a disneyland for the bakers and the prices are really reasonable as compared to the groceries.

As usual, the recipe is from my favorite blog site, Sally's Baking Addiction . I think I'm addicted to it already, I visit the site everyday! Well, can't help it coz her recipe are really awesome and so easy to follow.

Full recipe and details here

Steps and pictures below:

1. Toss in the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking soda, pumpkin spice and salt).

2. Fold in the oats to the dry ingredients mixture.

3. Mix well and set aside.

4. Melt the butter in the microwave oven then whisk in the molasses, granulated sugarand brown sugar.

5. Once combined, add in the egg.

6. Whisk in the pumpkin purée and vanilla until well combined.

7. Well mixed wet ingredients.

8. Combine the wet and and dry mixture.

9. The dough will be heavy and thick.

10. Fold in the add ins. I put chocolate chips, dried cranberries and sliced almonds.

11. Gently mix the add in ingredients.

12. Scoop into your baking tray with parchment paper or silicone liner, 2 inches apart and bake for 13-15 minutes.

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