Monday, August 17, 2015

DAD's WORLD BUFFET 38th ANNIVERSARY PROMO



The pioneer in the buffet concept restaurant in the Philippines adds another feather to its cap as it turns 38 on August 26, 2015. For one day only, guests can enjoy the beloved buffet at a special 50% discount at P444. This Anniversary gift to their loyal guests can be enjoyed in groups of 6 or more. There are 2 time slots guests can choose from to dine in during lunch and dinner. The half-price treat is strictly on a pre-booked and prepaid basis. Guests are required to call any of the 5 branches to acquire a slot to avail of the promotion. Click here to view the full mechanics or visit their official website:  http://kamayansaisakidads.com/

Saturday, August 15, 2015

FOOD FINDS at the EASTWOOD SPICE SOUK WEEKEND MARKET

Was pleasantly surprised that since Friday, the Eastwood Mall has a Spice Souk instead of their regular Weekend Market stalls.






Found some tasty stuff from Whisk.
Taste tested these locally made honey fruit flavored mead, an alcoholic drink fermented with honey. My favorites were the Passion Fruit, Marang and Chili Honey.

Will be coming back for the Santol Bicol Express at Aling Dory's. That one ran out early on.

The Spice Souk at Eastwood Mall will run until today, Sunday and next weekend, on 21-23 August 2015.

Eastwood Mall
Eastwood City, E. Rodriquez, Jr Ave (C-5), Bagumbayan, Quezon City
Telephone: 709-9888/ 709-0888



REDISCOVERING DAD'S

Was recently invited to dine at Dad’s Megamall. I had second thoughts about going mainly because the hubby and I were on a diet. And there was also the mall traffic to consider. But the buffet beckoned and the belly could not resist, our diets be damned.
Buffets are a Filipino weakness. Give us an endless supply of a wide variety of food to be shared with family or friends and we will gladly partake.

Buffets originated as 16th century “smorgasboard,” a type of Scandinavian meal where multiple hot and cold dishes of various foods are served on a table which was, no surprise,  called a smörgåsbord.

Usually, the guests gathered before dinner for a pre-dinner drink, and the smorgasboard was a prelude to the formal dinner.  These side tables, called buffets by the French, eventually, at the dawn of modern day dining, became the center of meals where diners helped themselves and feasted on sandwiches, hot and cold entrées, beverages and desserts.

And that is what  I did at Dad’s.

When dining at buffets, you need a strategy so you don’t end up being full without tasting all the good stuff.

First, get your priorities straight. Find out the restaurant’s specialties. But since Dad's serves hundreds of dishes, this was quite difficult to do. I had to rely on what I remembered from my last Dad's experience and put the roast meat and  poultry with the Japanese dishes at the top of my list.
Kebabs


Cold Soba and Chawan Mushi
Then, map out and do a “recon” of the area.  Go around once before getting any food.  Dad’s has different sections for different global cuisines, a beverage bar and an extensive dessert area, so the walking can be considered as a warm-up for the gustatory marathon that's about to come.
Canapes and breads
Spanish Tapas
Japanese Sushi
US Roast Turkey
Baked Mussels
Greek Beef Souvlaki
And when you're ready, get that plate and take small portions of what you want to eat. Do not fill your plate to  a mountainous PG (Patay Gutom) or, even worse,  SPG (Super Patay Gutom) level.  First, because it's just not good table manners. Second, food is best enjoyed when it looks good. Third, Dad's, like most buffet restaurants, have a "no leftover policy." If you take too much without finishing it, you end up paying more. 
Don't be such a pig!
You can always go back again. And again. And again.

That's  the beauty of buffets. No one is judged for going back for seconds or thirds.

The staff behind the open-theater set-up were helpful in recommending what sauces and side dishes went well with the entrée’s I chose.
Open-theater- set up
Dad's World Buffet makes its own ham.
Special mention goes to the US Roast Beef. It was at Dad's when my own dad took me to my first buffet. This was the dish we both enjoyed the most. Biting through the tender, juicy meat smothered in Mushroom Gravy was a "Ratatouille moment."

For those with Balikbayan guests, the Pinoy selection includes classics like Lechon (and pritchon), Crispy Pata, Kare-Kare as well as regional favorites.
Crispy Pata and Kinilaw
And there are also quirky choices for the adventurous like the adobong balut.

The sign of a good buffet is the absence of lines. Not because people aren’t clogging up the cue to get food, it’s because they’ve already gotten what they want. No lines usually indicate that the dishes are replenished all the time. 

Great food shared amidst wonderful conversation...  was glad to discover, that after 38 years, it’s still the same at Dad’s.

Dad's World Buffet will be celebrating its 38th year with a one-day-only 50% discount on  August 26, 2015. For more details and reservations, pass by the nearest branch or check out their website .


SM Megamall
4th Level Bridgeway, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong
Telephone: 633-1758, 636-3785 or 0917-8961757

EDSA
207 EDSA, Greenhills, Mandaluyong City
705-1807, 722-8125 or 0917-8988124

Glorietta
2nd Level, Glorietta 3, Ayala Center, Makati City
892-8897 to 98 or 0917-8978896

Manila
523 Merchant Bldg., Padre Faura Street, Ermita, Manila
528-1723 to 24 or 0917-8971722

West Avenue
15 West Avenue, Quezon City
372-8845, 374-3767 or 0917-8988844

Monday, August 10, 2015

TASTED: CERVEZA NEGRA CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

I've always believed that one should  NEVER eat ice cream after drinking beer as it would only result in a terrible stomachache and embarrassing trips to the ladies room. That was until I got a chance to taste the Cerveza Negra Chocolate ice cream at the Vatel Restaurant Manila located at the rooftop of the Angelo King International Center in the heart of Manila.
Image courtesy of Vatel Manila Restaurant Facebook page
Part of the set lunch was an ice cream that combined two unlikely flavors: dark beer and chocolate. Despite years of the "no beer+ dairy rule," I just had to taste this quirky ice cream flavor topped with chopped pistachios.



For those too young to imbibe anything alcoholic,  Cerveza Negra is a  bitter-sweet dark lager with creamy caramel tones. It was introduced by Asia's first beer brewery in the 1890's.
Image courtesy of www.sanmiguelbrewery.com.ph
You read it right. It's been around for more than 100 years. And here's a quick trivia: at the turn of the century, nursing mothers were encouraged to drink beer to produce more breast milk. Barley, the main ingredient in beer contains polysaccharide which was then believed to stimulate the production of prolactin, the protein lets your mama's mammary glands make more milk.  Modern science has since refuted this belief and nursing moms nursing a cold bottle of beer are now frowned upon.


Let's toast to that!
But enough of breasts and beer. Let's get back to the ice cream.


The common ground of the two main ingredients is the bitter sweet flavor. The chocolate dominates the palate with an added hint of caramel from the lager. The pistachios add a nutty crunch to each spoonful of ice cream.  Though the combination seems unlikely, this is a quirky pleasant surprise.

So, the next time someone tells you not to have beer and ice cream, tell them these five magic words: Cerveza Negra Chocolate ice cream.

Vatel Restaurant Manila
Angelo King International Center
Arellano Ave. cor. Estrada St., 
Malate, Manila, Metro Manila


Telephone: 230-5100 local 2602




Sunday, August 9, 2015

TASTED: BOCADITOS FROM BAKED BY ANITA


Back in 2011, every time I found myself at the Powerplant Mall on a weekend, I'd make sure to drop by the Baker's Fair stalls at Level 1 and get a box of bocaditos from Baked by Anita.  These moments were few and far in between because I live an hour and a half away. A few months ago, I discovered that they're  no longer part of the Baker's Fair (I guess it's been that long since I've been to Powerplant on a weekend).

Was really glad to discover that Baked by Anita now has a stall in SM Megamall's new Fashion Wing.

Got myself a box of six of these small but tasty and filling pastry.

Bocaditos (which loosely translates to "morsels") are Cuban tea sandwiches, usually made with soft rolls filled with ham spread and served as snacks or as party appetizers.

Baked by Anita's bocaditos' are not made from soft rolls but buttery and flaky pastry dough cups. Every filling is distinguished by its marking on the crown. This one with the star, is the Chicken and  Mushroom in Marsala Cream. It's a bit like bite sized chicken pot pie but a little bit dry.


But if chicken bores you, there's the Spanish Chorizo with Mozarella with the "C" marking.
That's a "C" not a horseshoe
For the vegetarians, they also have the Baby Spinach with French Goat Cheese and Toasted Pine Nuts.
My personal favorite is the Wild Mushrooms with Gruyere & Truffle Oil. The truffle oil aroma wafts inside your mouth as you bite into the bocadito. Then the silky texture of the mushroom slides onto your tongue as you taste the nutty saltiness of the gruyere. This is what got me addicted to Bocaditos. Make sure to try it when do get a chance to buy from Baked by Anita.

Baked By Anita
Telephone: 736-2877 
E-mail: simplygood@anitali.com.ph