Alavar De Cebu Part II

A truly memorable and wonderful meal from Alavar's. I love, love, love the food!




Grilled Pica-Pica and Calamares and Mango with Bagoong




Stir-fried Kang-kong




Fish in Alavar Sauce. The sauce is so good!



Who Doesn't Love Shrimps?

As far as I can remember, I can finish kilos of shrimps all by myself.
When I was growing up, we always stay in the province during summer. I remember clearly the endless Manangs arriving at our family house laden with fresh seafood. From jumping shrimps to crabs with giant claws to shiny fishes. My aunts would even joked that I and my cousins would all turn into sirena and siokoy (mermaid and merman) because of our love for seafood.

There's one story circulating in the province that time about a young fisherman having caught a mermaid in his met on the night of the full moon. But since the mermaid is a magical creature, it disappeared when the clouds covered the moon. The fisherman was then left heart-broken. Talaga lang ha!
Kare-Kare




Flashback: I am happy to cook kare-kare using Mama Cita's instant powdered mix.

Fast-forward: After slaving the the kitchen for hours, pounding peanuts and mixing rice flour and boiling ox tripe, I can now safely say that I can cook kare-kare sans instant powdered mix.
Aloha !!!



This meal is a no-brainer. Simply mix-in some pineapple chunks, ham and hotdog, some-peppers (not available at home when we made the fried rice though), some salt and pepper to taste. Then pair it with fried or grilled pork chops. Happy Eating!

Alavar's De Cebu Part I

A friend who invited me, my daughter and two teachers from my daughter's school treated us for dinner at Alavar's Restaurant. I've heard about this restaurant from my parents way, way back. I think they have a branch in Quezon City in the olden days.



DEC's Bottled Drinks




Taro, Kiwi & Black Gulaman. Costs P35/bottle or 3 for P100. Available in all DEC (Diao Eng Chai) branches. Almond and Watermelon variants are also yummy!


Bonding Time With Sweet Kiamoy


I was still working for Sofitel (more than a decade ago!) when I discovered this yummy kiamoy covered in crystal (sugar).

Being a kiamoy lover--- I used to chew them happily whenever I went to my mother's school. There's this old lady, Aling Lourdes who sold all kinds of pasalubong munchers. From kakanin, to cornick, to fish cracker, to kiamoy and champoy (the black hairy cousin).

I used to hoard (yes, hoard) the store's Crystal Ball (that's what they call the crystal kiamoy). My partner-in-crime, Ailyn and I were a regular fixture at that store come lunchbreak and after office ended for the day. The crystal ball was also a favorite whenever we have a Friday Night gimik.

So after a decade and a few years, while hubby and I are prowling the streets of Chinatown for something to eat, I spied crystal ball perched on top of a store's shelf. At P50/pack (it has about 10-12 pieces of the yummy kiamoy candy), I think the price doubled when I was still buying it more than a decade ago, hehehe. But who am I to complain? Prices are going up nowadays!

Chelsea Restaurant in Serendra




Toblerone Torte. I love cakes. I love chocolates.


Salad topped with bacon. Forgot what it's called but it tastes divine.


The pumpkin soup is just so-so for me. I'm not that fond of pumpkin and squash.

Carcar Lechon




This is a very yummy lechon. The skin is very crunchy and the meat flavorful.

My friend's Dad who graciously invited us to their rest house in Dalaguete, Cebu, surprised us with a lechon treat. And Carcar, Cebu being the Lechon Capital of the South did not disappoint. It is truly a memorable experience for a foodaholic like me.


A Simple and Healthy Meal

Sometimes I get bored with cooking rice and ulam so I make use of whatever it is that's in the fridge and cook it for lunch or dinner. And since daughetr loves fish (according to her, it is because her Zodiac sign is Pisces), we always have some on the freezer.

I've been hearing good reviews about this resto that serves baked Parmesan Crusted Fish but haven't tasted it yet. Then I was able to taste the pan-fried Parmesan Fish of Conti's but I know that baked fish are much healthier than fried fish.

With that in mind, I asked daughter to grate some cheddar cheese while I marinated the fish with kalamansi, butter and some spices. Then its off to the oven for about 20 minutes. I paired the fish with some lettuce, grapes and apple salad with mixed-berry yogurt as dressing.

Happy Birthday, Yaya!

We were supposed to treat yaya to the Japanese Resto that we frequent to but she requested that I cook carbonara for her. And because we lack time to buy cake and stuff, hubby said he will just buy cupcakes from Go Nuts Donuts. Luckily, we still have some sparkling candles left.
Her sister and my cousin joined us for her birthday dinner.

Happy Birthday, Yaya! from All of Us =)

Let's Kick It!

I'm not really sure why it's called Kick-Kick but if I were to use my imagination, I would say that Kick is synonymous with Cake.

My family loves the bread and pastry from Breadtalk although we don't usually try new creations. We prefer the baguettes, chocolate dome, raisin loaf, pudding, pork floss, mister bean, naan, and pizza. But during our last visit to the SM Megamall branch, daughter said she wanted to taste something different. She chose Kick-Kick because of the chocolate and cream. And it's yummy-- you won't even complain of the P29 price. This is best served if frozen. Alas, it's all gone before we were even out of the mall.