Gingerbread Man Decorating

 

... with cousins decorating gingerbread man on Christmas day...

 

Cupcakes at The Royal Touch

The Royal Touch was founded by Chef Carolyn Robb -- Executive Chef to Prince Charles, Princess Diana and the royal family.

Oh cupcakes, my sweet indulgence.

Mesa Filipino Moderne at SM Aura

 

After some snapshots by the Christmas Tree we took the elevator to the top floor and walked to Mesa.

 

On the table... 

• Crispy Boneless Pata
• Crispy Boneless Tilapia Served with Four Sauces
• Chicken Binacol
• Pato Tim
• Laing 2 Ways
• Baby Squid Adobo in its own ink

 

 

 

 

SM Aura Premier

 

Met a dear friend at SM Aura which is located in a highly urbanized Bonifacio Global City.

 

 

 

Rufo's Famous Tapa

On the table... beef tapa, pork inihaw, danggit, sisig and sinangag

Romulo Cafe

 

Located on Scout Tuason Street in Quezon City, Romulo Café serves Filipino food at its finest.

 

On the table…

 

Gambas -- baby shrimps sautéed in roasted garlic   

 

Sinigang na Salmon sa Miso -- salmon belly cooked in tamarind broth, with fermented soy bean paste, served with mustard greens

 

Tito Greg’s Kare-Kare -- oxtail and tripe stew in a peanut-based sauce, served with steamed vegetables and our house bagoong

 

Flying Tilapia -- deep-fried tilapia with three sauces: chili-garlic, honey-bagoong, and soy vinegar   

 

Lengua - ox tongue stewed in red wine sauce   

 

Meatless Tortang Talong --  eggplant omelet cooked with minced tofu and onions  

 

 

...let the yummy times roll! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner in Antipolo

 

Destination is Antipolo with no specific restaurant in mind.  We just want one with a view.  So the journey started…  it was supposed to be a thirty-minute drive but has turned into a two-hour restaurant hunt.

 

Entered Antipolo City on the GPS and ended up at the city center.  A lady on the side of the road waiting for a ride told us that the restaurants overlooking Manila are in Sumulong Highway next to Robinson’s Mall.  We drove and found Robinson’s Mall but did not see the restaurants --  so we turned around.  Then we asked a traffic enforcer. He said there’s one out there.. pointing to the direction... “um, but I think it’s a resort.  I don’t think they serve food and I’m not sure if they are open.”  Funny!  

 

We continued driving, we passed by the same church twice, by the same gasoline station three times.  Then we asked a tricycle driver.  He gave us directions which unfortunately did not lead us to the place we were looking for.

 

So back to square 1.

 

We stopped by another tricycle driver.  He said, “ this is not the shortest, but the simplest to follow.”  Just drive straight, where it ends turn left, then another dead-end turn right, another dead-end turn left.  Voila, we were in Sumulong Highway.  There’s Padi’s Point on the left and Cloud 9 on the right.  We drove to Cloud 9 which is perched on a hilltop overlooking Manila.

 

On the table… sinigang na hipon, kare-kare, pork sisig, tokwa't baboy and pinakbet

 

 

 

SM Megamall

 

Where we met up with husband’s high school classmates for a mini-reunion before they head out of town/out of the country for Christmas break.

 

I snap this shot as we sprinted through the crowd.

 

 

 

Bangus

 

Time to revisit Bangus, a small restaurant in Greenhills, for some traditional Filipino breakfast.

Bangus or milkfish is Philippines national fish.

 

On the table… daing na bangus, sizzling bangus belly and coffee.

 

 

Seafood Island

We drove to SM Mall of Asia (MOA) for a late night dinner at Seafood Island.

 

On the table..

 

Salted fish rice, steamed crabs, steamed shrimps, fried tilapia, grilled squid, kinilaw na tanigue, crispy dilis, adobong kangkong, tinolang manok sa buko and tortang talong.

 

Yum!

 

 

Crab Shells Christmas Tree

This Christmas Tree in front of Seafood Island in MOA is decorated with crab shells.

How pretty!

Welcome to Manila

Plane touched down at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 a little past 10 pm. We cleared with immigration, picked-up our luggage and proceeded to the exit door where my brothers were waiting.  

Stop-Over in Japan

Eleven hours later, the pilot announced that we are descending toward Narita International Airport.  A peek through the window shows rain drops falling on a wet pavement. 

Two hours later, we were up in the air again…

Off to Asia

 

“All our bags are packed, we’re ready to go…”

 

A quick glance at the clock shows it’s 6 when we left the house to catch a 10 o’clock flight to Narita

 

We arrived at LAX 40 minutes later.  The airport was way busier than usual.  There were patrol cars, K9 units, TV crew and mile long security queues. 

 

Everyone is excited to get on the a plane for the Christmas break.

 

 

 

Grilled Lamb Rib Chops, Broccoli Rabe and Baked Potato

Three New Zealand lamb rib chops from Whole Foods were marinated in olive oil, rosemary, thyme and salt and then grilled on a pan for five minutes on each side.  

An hour ago I baked two large organic potatoes on a 400-degree pre-heated oven.  When cooked, I scooped the potato flesh into a bowl and added milk, sour cream, butter, salt and pepper.  Then I mixed until well blended and spooned back into the skin.  I added freshly-shredded cheese on top and baked for another 15 minutes.

The broccoli rabe was sauteed in olive oil and garlic.  A spinkle of salt and pepper flakes and a squirt of lemon.

Dinner is served.

Squirrel

The squirrel is gathering nuts for the winter.

Lego Time!

The Little Guy loves to build a tower.

Ramen Jinya

I have seen this restaurant evolved from the first week they opened when everyone seemed at lost into a better restaurant.   The menu has gone through many changes too.

On the table

• Takoyaki
• Jinya Bun
• Sauteed Shishito Pepper
• Spicy Creamy Shirmp Tempura
• Two bowls of Tonkotsu Black Ramen
• And, two cups of green tea

Barnes & Noble, Jr.

Then off to Barnes & Noble to get new board books for the Little Guy.  We picked first 100 animals, first 100 trucks and numbers, colors, shapes.

The Turtle Pond

After brunch we headed out to the turtle pond.

Tut-le! Tut-le!  The Little Guy yelled in excitement.