FOUND ONLINE: COLOR-CHANGING CAKE ILLUSION

Saw this short video of a color-changing cake! 

 

It's a magic trick and party food rolled into one.

Just to check that this was not some hoax, I looked for other videos and found out that his is how you can make this amazing illusion of a cake:

TRIED AND TASTED: JOE'S CHEESESTEAK

After doing some errands yesterday afternoon, while I was waiting for my mom to answer my call, I found myself in front of a small, newly opened food place at the corner of the street.

Not being a bread person, I tried out just half a cheesesteak. While waiting for the sandwich, I struck a conversation with the woman behind the counter, Grace, and her husband, Joe. They seemed like an easy going couple who knew how to make great sandwich. It turns out I surmised correctly.  Back in 1993, they opened "Cheesesteak"  along Reposo Street in Makati, where they served meals along with their best-selling sandwich which Grace mastered in making when she lived with her sister in Philadelphia.

Photo  courtesy of Joe's Cheesteak FB Page

It was doing well. In fact, even chef and restaurateur Sandy Daza remembers it distinctly. But with their six children growing up, Grace decided to focus on her kids and they closed down the Makati restaurant in 1997 and transferred to Quezon City.

Photo Courtesy of@sandydaza77

With their kids all grown up, the couple decided to go back into the food business. Joe shares that it was a challenge to go through all the testing but I guess they got the taste and texture they were looking for. The warm french bread,  crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, enveloped the tender frizzled beef which was sauteed  in onions and mushrooms, blanketed in melty cheese and topped with a slice of fresh tomato. The cheese did not overpower the beef with its saltiness and the textures were on point. Even before I was done with my half-a-cheesesteak, I ordered two more to go for  my mom and my brother.

But more than the cheesesteak, I enjoyed the randomness of the moment where I was given a chance to have a conversation with the people behind the food (I even met their daughter Zita!). For neighborhood restaurants like this, it's a good thing to know that the people who make your sandwich love what they're doing because that means they'll always make it a point to live up to your expectations so when you come back for more, you'll always have that great cheesesteak.

Joe's Cheesesteak

Address: G/F SMRC Building, B. Gonzales cor. Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City.

Telephone: 0920 870 6222

TRIED: TOP 5 PINOY RESTAURANT FINDERS

Eating out has never been more exciting and confusing, especially in the booming urban areas of the country. To find your way to a good meal, I recommend using an app or  finding a trusty website not just for directions but also to read reviews by other foodies.

Here's what I regularly use, ranked in order of foodie friendliness:

1. ZOMATO
    App: Free (iOS/ Android/ Windows/ Blackberry)
    Web: https://www.zomato.com/
    Rating: 4.3 stars on Google Play (out of 5)

    What Zomato can  do for you?

• Search restaurants by location, cuisine or name
• Browse curated restaurants  from halo-halo to the top trending restaurants of the week
• View directions, addresses, phone numbers, operating hours, payment options and other info (i.e., average cost per meal, specialties, etc.)
• Explore other restaurant options in your vicinity
• View restaurant information, menus, user pictures and reviews
• Checking in at restaurants you visit allows you to see restaurant information
• Post reviews/Like Reviews and get a reply from the restaurateurs
• Tag friends you are dining with
• In the Philippines, India and UAE, zomato offers online food delivery services 

My take:

It's definitely a foodie's companion when looking for restaurants that would suit their dining needs. I also like that the restaurant owners are allowed to interact with the users through the reviews. It's a two-way street and concerns and questions are answered and hopefully, addressed. After all, what is a review if it falls on deaf ears?

2. TRIP ADVISOR:https://www.tripadvisor.com.ph/
    App: Free (iOS/ Android)
    Web: https://www.tripadvisor.com.ph/
    Rating: 4 Stars on iTunes Preview (out of 5)

What Trip Advisor can do for you?

• Search restaurants, hotels and resorts search by location, cuisine, price, features and recommended user types (i.e. business groups, families, etc.)
• View directions, addresses, phone numbers, operating hours, payment options and other business info (i.e., parking, wi-fi access, reservations, etc.)
• View restaurant information, menus, user pictures and reviews, including the Traveler's choice award winners
• Allows you to post reviews / like reviews
• Explore other similar restaurants/ establishments
• Send a question to eh restaurant/ establishment owner 
• Find deals
• Download maps of over 300 cities worldwide (so you avoid using expensive data charges when you travel)
• Support for Apple Watch: Save and view info later

My take:

I find this app and site very useful when I travel outside of Manila. This is where you get the most number and variety of reviews which, for restaurants, are logically divided into: food, service, value and atmosphere.  You get the detailed information you want but you need to sit down and sift through all the information.

3. MUNCH PUNCH
    App: Not available
    Web: http://www.munchpunch.com/
    Rating: 3.5 stars on iTunes Preview (out of 5)

What Munch Punch can do for you?

• Search restaurants by cities, hubs, cuisine, type, features or budget
• Browse curated restaurants  from halo-halo to the top trending restaurants of the week
• View directions, addresses, website, phone numbers, operating hours and other info (i.e., average cost per meal, delivery, wi-fi access, etc.)
• View restaurant information, menus, user pictures and reviews
• View restaurant activities and other food-related activities in nearby area
• Offers a list of restaurants that provide delivery services in key cities in the country
• Freebies and perks listing

My take:
This is one of the food finder sites I used  prior to my introduction to apps. Trustworthy info, reviews are pretty honest and I find the other info (i.e.  price range, wi-fi access, etc.) very helpful. I'm wondering why they don't have an iOS app, though?


4. CLICK THE CITY:
    App: Free (iOS/ Android)
    Web: http://www.clickthecity.com/
    Rating: 4.4 Stars on Google Play (out of 5)/ 4.5 Stars on iTunes Preview (out of 5)

What Click the City can do for you?

• Restaurant, hotel and resort search by location, cuisine and type
• View directions, addresses, phone numbers, operating hours, payment options and other business info (i.e., parking, attire, reservations, etc.)
• View restaurant information, menus, user pictures and reviews
• Allows you to post reviews/ like reviews and share your reviews on Facebook and Twitter
• Explore other restaurant options in your vicinity
• Discounts and freebies exclusive to Looloo users

 My take:

This is useful when you have other activities to do with your dining schedule.  Mall time with the family can be easily scheduled through the app. Great for finding restaurant chain locations, too. But you won't get any decent reviews from here, though. It's more like a phone book with a lot of discount coupons.

5. LOOLOO:https://looloo.com/    App: Free (iOS/ Android)
    Web: https://looloo.com/
    Rating: 4.4 Stars on Google Play (out of 5)

What Looloo can do for you?

• Restaurant, hotel and resort search by location, cuisine and type
• View directions, addresses, phone numbers, operating hours, payment options and other business info (i.e., parking, attire, reservations, etc.)
• View restaurant information, menus, user pictures and reviews
• Allows you to post reviews/ like reviews and share your reviews on Facebook and Twitter
• Explore other restaurant options in your vicinity
• Discounts and freebies exclusive to Looloo users 

My take:

Like Trip Advisor, this one is great for travel and looking for reviews for hard to find restaurants. Reviewers basically want to share good experiences and pictures which I think appeals to the selfie generation. I read that this is a Filipino-developed and owned app so I guess that's worth some support from Pinoy foodies. 

REPOST: CACAO IS THE NEW COCAINE?

I'm not so sure if this is such a good idea... snorting cacao. I think it should be enjoyed for the sense it was made for, taste.

You can click here, too.

Click on the pic to get linked to the article by Leslie Ngyuen-Okwu for ZY and online site from down under.

TRIED & TASTED: SUMMER BURRATA SALAD AT GINO'S BRICK OVEN PIZZA

Garden salads are definitely more fun to eat if they come with something calorie-laden  like cheese. 

This is definitely a non-dieter's salad.

This Summer Salad from Gino's Brick Oven Pizza is a mix of greens, prosciutto, pine nuts, parmigiano reggiano, dalandan dressing and a small burrata.  You simply break the burrata's outer shell made of mozzarella and let the creamy mixture inside flow slowly onto your greens. Squeeze a little of the dalandan to add that tangy twist.

Burrata, which has about 90 calories, is said to have originated from Altopiano delle Murge, a rocky plateau found in the south of Italy know for its marble quarries, olive orchards and cattle. This artisanal cheese is considered as pasta filata  or stretched curd cheese  and was first produced around the 1920's out of the Piana Padula farm at Castel del Monte by signor Lorenzo Bianchini Chieppa. He wanted to save cream inside a sack made of scraps of shredded mozzarella.

 Traditionally,  the burrata is wrapped in leaves of asphodel. This was to make it look prettier and also as an indication of how fresh the cheese is. If the leaves lost their bright green color, then the cheese is more than a day old. I found a video from the Culinary Institute of America that shows the modern burrata production process.

Ginos Brick Oven Pizza

2/F K2 Building, 341 Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City
Telephone: 02- 2257462/ 02-2121212

GREEN EGGS AND HAM, NATURALLY

 

Do you like green eggs and ham?
I do not like them  Sam-I-Am.  I do not like green eggs and ham.

If you're like that snotty unnamed character in the best-selling children's book by Theodor Seuss Geisel a.k.a Dr. Seuss, you might find green eggs appalling. I hope to change your mind because colored eggs are as fun to make as they are to eat!

And if you've got kids, it's also an exciting way to teach them about the science of cooking.

INGREDIENTS
- Eggs
- Red Cabbage
- Butter (or oil)
- Salt & Pepper to taste

Red cabbage to make green eggs? Seriously?

 

TO MAKE

Wash and cut the red cabbage into quarters. Take out the tough fleshy part in the middle then cut the  into smaller strips about 1/2 inch wide.

Microwave the red cabbage for about 5 minutes (high setting). It should be wilted and its juices leaking by the time you're done. Let it cool.

 

Get an unbleached muslin cloth or coffee filter and use it to squeeze the juice out of the red cabbage. You won't get a glassful of purple juice but it's okay, you only need a small amount.

 ***

An alternative to get the cabbage juice is to cook it in boiling water and use a strainer.

 

 

***

While you're waiting for the cabbage to heat up and cool down, separate the egg yolk from the whites.

Gently whisk the cabbage juice into the egg white and add a little salt. Watch the purple juice magically turn green right before your eyes!

***

But it isn't magic, it's science. Red cabbage contains anthocyanin, odorless and flavorless water-soluble pigments that occur naturally in plants like the red cabbage, berries and red corn. Plants use anthocyanins to make their leaves, fruits and flowers more attractive to animals so they get eaten,  dispersed and pollinated naturally.

***

Heat up the pan and get your ingredients ready.

Pour in the whites (or greens, if you want to be technical about it).

 

Pour the yolk in position, carefully making sure not to break it.

Let the egg cook in low heat.

Serve with slices of ham.

*** 

 I also made a scrambled egg version. It needs a little sprucing up unless you're serving it as a  halloween treat.

***