available from March 28 to April 8, 2012

Remember how Max’s treated us with their heart-shaped cakes last February? Now comes some egg-citing treats from Krispy Kreme. I was only about to take pictures of those neatly decorated donut eggs, and only purchase a half-dozen of honey glazed. But the crew tempted me informing that if you add another box of 6, you can get 12 pieces of doughnuts (yes! even the egg-shaped ones) for only Php 385.00.

Starting February 10, Max’s Corner Bakery will surprise us with their sumptuous cakes shaped into hearts!

From February 10 to 14, for every Php 1,500 worth of food at Max’s Restaurant, you get a box of Pastry bites in different sizes and decorations. Of course these could also be bought for 199Php, available online, dine in and take out.

Pastry Bites Box of 9 at Php199

More reason to celebrate Valentine’s day at Max’s is the heart-shaped Choco Moist Valentine Cake, layers of chocolate ganache and chocolate curls garnishes, with cherry on top and sprinkles of powdered sugar. (only available in Metro Manila)

choco moist cake at Php199

Valentine’s is not only for partners and lovers but also for kids, so treat your kids’ sweet teeth into these cute sugar cookies in bear and heart shapes.

sugar cookies at Php25

Nom nom nom.. as if it weren’t enough. Apart from the big cakes, Max’s have mini-cakes we love to call cupcakes in 3 variants: Blueberry, Black Forest and Choco Banana.

valentine cupcakes Php 135 (box of 3), Php50 each

Friends and family abroad can buy online and send them as gift to their loved ones in the Philippines. Visit Max’s Chicken to order.

It is rather challenging to prepare curry meals especially if you have kids. You need to make sure that the taste is milder than the traditional curry. Korma is a better alternative to traditional curry and young family members will surely love its creamy and mild flavor. It is also very easy to prepare and is very ideal for busy moms (and dads). This is a 10-minute dish and once the cookware and the ingredients are ready, you can start preparing this delightful dish that I found over the internet.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium size onion, chopped roughly
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed
• 450g (1 pound) skinned chicken breast fillets
• 2 tablespoons ready prepared korma curry paste
• 250ml (1 cup) hot chicken stock
• 142ml pot natural yogurt
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped coriander (OR 2 heaped teaspoons dried leaf coriander)
• 25g (1 oz) toasted flaked almonds
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ½ level teaspoons cornflour

Method

1. On medium flame setting, heat the oil in the stir-fry pan. Then add onions and stir occasionally until it becomes transparent. Afterwards, add the garlic.
2.  Afterwards, begin to add half of the diced chicken and make sure that it turns brown evenly. Then set aside and continue to brown the remaining half of the diced chicken.
3. Add the korma paste and stir for one minute. Then pour the stock as well as the yogurt. You may also add the coriander and half of the flaked almonds. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste.
4.  As soon as the ingredients are together, cover the fry pan. Allow 20 – 25 minutes to simmer until the chicken is tender. You may stir occasionally.
5.  Mix the cornflour with cold water; and add it to thicken the sauce. Again, simmer for about 1 minute until it reaches the right consistency. You may add in the remaining yogurt and coriander. You can adjust the seasoning to suit your taste buds. Finally, before serving sprinkle with the remaining flaked almonds.

This dish is best serve with plain basmati rice and shop bought vegetable samosas and pakoras.

Do you love to eat apple and pear crumble? This is one of the old time favourite pies; a popular variant from the traditional English dessert which is the apple crumble. It started during the Second World War due to the strict rations of foods. The ingredients were not quite enough to come up with the traditional pies. So what the people back then did was to create a crumble, since there were not much ingredients required. The only thing needed were sugar, margarine and a little flour. During the hard times, the creativeness of the English people paved the way for apple crumble to become one of the popular desserts.

Since then crumble is not just limited to apples. Today you would find pear crumble, raspberry crumble and rhubarb crumble. Some people would even try to use ice cream or custard in their crumble recipes. But before apple crumble came out, there was already an apple dessert known as Apple Crisp and a cake version which is called Apple Cobbler. These two apple pie desserts came out in the United States during the 1920’s. But the Second World War changed the delicious world of apple pie. Although the ingredients were not as extravagant as with the other pies, it came out to be a delectable alternative to the traditional pies.

The apple crumble became part of both the British and American traditions, most especially in the season of fall or autumn. It is the time when apples are plenty and ready for picking. Eventually it also became a popular dish in neighbouring country of US such as Canada. It became a favourite dessert most especially in areas where berries and other fruits are abundant.

I didn’t prepare any rice meal tonight cuz we still have some bake mac we ordered from Mike’s Aunt. However, he’s leaning for rice so we went out and grabbed a chair in our neighboring resto, North Park Noodles. We could’ve ordered the usual, Yang Chow Rice, but I guess he’s in the right timbre to taste other fried rice specialty.

NP Special Fried Rice with sauce at Php223

I was supposed to order another viand, a Lapu lapu Fillet, but the crew said the Special Fried Rice already has tofu, fish, mushrooms… etc.. and so I thought, it’s a complete meal already. And so it was.

It’s good for 3-4 persons and the best thing is that you don’t need to order soup since the sauce has complemented the rice and your craving for soup has already been satisfied.

The Sweet and Sour Pork (Php 218) also complemented the Special Fried Rice. We still had some left overs for tomorrow or tonight’s midnight snack ^^v

Cheesesteaks? When I read the invitation I was so ecstatic about hearing cheesesteaks. I used to be a non-steak and -cheese eater. But CBD sounded new to me so I guess I should give it a try. Chiloy (who according to his business card is CBD’s Chef Consultant, but he actually is the son of the owners, people behind Meat Plus in Subic and Tender Bob’s) handed out our menu. Each of us got to choose one from the CheeseSteaks, Burgers, or Rice Meals and a beverage.

We chose different sets of meal so we could taste each other’s..err.. food. One suggested we should just drink sodas than ordering their espressos so it won’t confuse our taste buds, but I ordered Cappuccino still. I won’t have to finish everything anyway, cuz I can’t LOL. I was literally eyeing on the Shake and Bake (milkshake plus your favorite cake blended together), but I wouldn’t have to order since Chiloy’s gonna give us samples of one of each! So kewl.

Onion Rings. The perfect pulutan for drinkers and non-drinkers alike. I liked it although it’s not as crunchy when first cooked since we’re busy photoshooting.

French Fries. One usual French fries and the Curly one (like twisted fries) but they ain’t your typical salty fries. It’s better than Wendy’s or McDo’s. They stayed as yummy to eat even if they’re not hot anymore. I bet the styro cups had something to do with it.

Buffalo Chicken Strips (on crispy coating plus Spicy Sauce and Ranch Dressing). I’m no fan of Buffalo Wings nor spicy/crunchy breaded chicken, but this I had to pass with flying colors. I think it’s normally prepared really spicy, but for the benefit of most of us, it was done with less spice on it.

Bacon Cheesesteak Sandwich. Tada! And so the cheesesteak. It had thinly sliced Angus (yes, imported beef), sauteed onions and bell peppers, creamy cheddar cheese sauce and of course bacon in a soft French Roll. Chiloy even double checked if there was bacon in our sandwich. I loved it, not the price though. But I did still order take home for Mike.

CBD Burger. I haven’t tasted this one though. The presentation looks the same as the other burgers and sandwiches – with Piknik-like Shoestring Potatoes which can also be ordered as an add on for Php45. For Filipino stomachs, CBD offers rice instead of bun for the same price (called Manila Special).

Hickory Smoked Beef Brisket. Nobody in our table ordered a rice meal so I did. Ran suggested the Hickory (other rice meals are Grilled Chicken Steak, and Pure Beef Burger Steak) which are served with coleslaw and steamed rice. Other than the burgers that you would want to change bun to rice, there were only 3 choices of rice meals. Maybe someday they would add more to these according to Chiloy.

CBD should stand for Cheesesteaks AND Cakes, Burgers and Drinks, cuz yes they also serve Cakes. 3 Selections of Cakes that is: Apple Walnut, Red Velvet and Dulce de Leche. When I asked one of the crews if the cakes are homemade or own recipe of CBD, she said they’re consigned from a third party. She doesn’t know yet that Chiloy’s Mom bakes these goodies.

Apple Walnut. I think I should rename this to Apple Cinnamon. I could taste the cinnamon all over. If you love cinnamon breads then you would love this. It’s not so sweet and the crunch is just right to amuse your mouth while munching on it.

Red Velvet. This is the first time I’ve tasted a red velvet cup cake. I think the icing was done just right – not too sweet. If I weren’t waiting for the shake and bake (and wasn’t thinking that there were many others who would taste test the velvet) then I would’ve finished this whole thing.

Dulce de Leche. Judging from its look, I could say it’s Dulce de Leche. You see, I haven’t done my assignment and read all the products CBD had to offer, but I should get an A for naming it right. It looks really creamy and was calling me to take a bite already and stop yapping and photo-shooting already. I did. But my tongue got confused from all the sweets it’d been tasting. I would really go back for this one just to check if it’s how I imagined it to be.

Drinks. CBD tenders hot and cold drinks from Milkshakes to Espressos and Sodas (Coke products); local and international beers. One openricer suggested we just pick sodas but I still ordered something else than the typical.

Cappuccino. This was my cappuccino but it didn’t look like mine as it was named “Febhz“. Well blame it on my handwriting. I took a sip and it’s just a regular tasting cappuccino. Nothing fantastic though I’m not expecting anything from it since I’m not a coffee drinker.

Shake and Bake. Everybody was able to taste all the flavors, I think, but one… or two. There’s Banana Cream Pie which I thought was okay, Chocolate Fudge which was chocolatey but not too sweet you’d ask for more, Strawberry Shortcake which is a cliché but still I took a lot of sip from it *winks, and of course the Blueberry cheesecake which I did grab for myself. The concept is to choose your favorite cake, have it blended with a Vanilla ice cream, and poof! You have it for Php 140 grande size, which you can also share with a friend if you’re not as selfish as I am, or that you’re on a strict diet.

And oh, I noticed they also have salads too: Caesar, Kani and Garden Salads, so if you’re bringing a vegetarian friend, then you could still hang out here together.

I guess that’s a wrap. I would be wanting to go back if we’ll be in the area (for another run race maybe or visit a friend in PsBank, but for someone who doesn’t work or live near the Triangle, then it’s not as convenient as I wished it would be. But hey, the next branch could be at the Fort Bonifacio or Alabang?

On our first event with the Openricers, we (mike and I) came in late; I wasn’t able to take pictures of the place, aside from being shy then *winks*

This is my 2nd Eat’s a Date and I thought I should come in early so I could take pictures of the whole place. It would be perfect to shoot before the sun sets for the event eating time should start 6pm sharp. I bet it would be lovely to take pictures when the shop is located in a park. Well that’s how I thought it would be since it’s on Ayala Triangle Gardens along with other known restaurants in the Central Business District.

I was the first one to arrive! What an accomplishment (clap clap for me). When the 3 lovelies arrived (Jec, Bam and Yani) I told them we should go in, but the servers were like sales talking us. I bet they weren’t expecting us. ^^v. Apparently, the openrice team would be arriving late. We waited outside and just did some photoshoot of the place.

When they (Openrice organizers) arrived we sat down on our reserved seats and of course started shooting inside. The crew were very accommodating and even posed for me. (Oh! aren’t they a natural?)

You know how particular I am about comfort rooms so I always check them out. CBD’s was one big room for both girls and boys, with a sink plus automatic faucet inside the toilet aside from the wash area outside complete with liquid soap and tissues (no hand dryers).

There’s a crew manning the door. I guess there’s enough of staff for this establishment, or I don’t know, just maybe there are just weren’t too much people in the joint that time.

I could go on and on how much I like the interior design of CBD. It’s so cozy in here. I could doze off immediately on that avocado green couch. The temperature and the lighting just made it a perfect hang out for a non-rowdy crowd who would just want to chill while drinking. Yes! CBD offers local and international beers and wines.

And the food? Well it’s so much for me blabbing for one post. Let’s move on to the next post.. shall we?

What I like about cooking Filipino dishes is that you don’t need a lot of cooking skills to do so. Well I guess the tricky part is choosing the right suki in the market. First thing is that you have to buy the best kind of pork meat and fresh vegetables. For my pork nilaga, I just chose the vegetables that me and the family consumes.

Ingredients:

• Pork of course. I would just leave it to the butcher which part is the best but I always ask for bony parts and a little fatty
• Pechay and Cabbage – yes I love to put both in it
• Baguio Beans
• Saging na Saba (Cardava Banana) – gives the nilaga the sweetness
• Garlic and Onion – depends on how much you would like to put.
• Peppercorn

How to cook it:

Well it’s so easy. What I do is after washing the pork meat, I place them in the pot without water, let the excess water from the meat evaporate and then put the onions and garlic, mixing them all together before I put water. You can also put the garlic and onions at a later time, depends if you like the onions to be as crunchy as the other vegetables.

When the pork is tender, that’s the time I put in all the other ingredients starting from the Saging na Saba, and then Baguio beans, pechay and cabbage. Toss in your peppercorn and salt to taste. Let it simmer until you get the desired tenderness of your vegetables. Remove from heat immediately if you want those veggies to be crunchy and not overcooked.

Are these doughnuts in recognition of the Youth Soccer Month? I guess so. I haven’t tried them though. I’m just after Krispy Kreme’s Chillers this time. ^^

When we ate at Kenny Roger’s SM Annex, that’s also the time when I saw their ad about the Kenny’s Chicken Kraze wherein you can purchase their whole chicken for only Php 259.00! That’s Php154 less of the actual price.

We love Kenny Roger’s Chicken so much that we’re thankful that they’re extending this promo until the end of September; since on the printed ad, it says until August 31st 2011 only. But you can avail this promo for delivery and take out only. 10% additional for delivery orders.

It’s not something I would rave about though. I felt it’s a little different from the regular priced chicken. This is my first time to avail a whole chicken from Kenny Roger’s cuz we usually order the Solo Plates which I sometimes upgrade to a quarter chicken. I don’t know if it’s not grilled right, or they used a different sauce. The take out gravy isn’t as thick as when you’re eating dine in. Or it’s just ain’t my lucky day.