Kapitolyo Eats: Gostoso Piri Piri Chicken

Last Sunday, I tried out this Portuguese-style roast chicken at the Legazpi Sunday Market for brunch. Around dinner time, I was still looking for that flavor (I'll blog about that lip-smacking good chicken next week if I remember to take pictures).

We heard about the new Piri-piri place down at Kapitolyo, Pasig so we drove down there for a quick take out.

Counter

The whole chicken was humongous. We were surprised when we opened our take out box. Though huge, it was still moist and tasty. But I will be honest, the Frango chicken I tried in Makati earlier had much more flavor compared to this.

Piri Piri Chicken, whole (Php 525)

Sorry for the blurry picture. The grilled pork was really done well. It was tender and juicy, way better than the chicken. The fat on top was a bit charred, it was oh so good and sinful. We were bummed it was smaller than we would have wanted (we opened the box of chicken first so expectations were set). We'd go back for this.

Porco Gostoso (Php 325)

The beef empanadas were ok. The bell peppers added a nice twist to the usual empanada fare. I've had better though.

Bolsas (Php 150)

The Piri-flavored fries were soggy (I guess because it's take out? I did open the box as soon as we got into the car and it was in that state already) and salty. The sour cream was a nice but weird partner for it. I would have preferred ketchup or the mild piri sauce.

Piri Fries (Php 90)

The stars of the night were the mild and spicy Piri sauce. Mr. S mixed it in his rice and really enjoyed it. It was nice that the restaurant did not scrimp on the take out sauce. We got two small containers of the mild sauce and one of the spicy. That should last Mr. S for a week.

Piri sauce

We didn't take out any of the other sides. We'll come back for a proper meal next time. Oh and I found out they deliver through 212121.

Gostoso Piri Piri Portugese Restaurant
East Kapitolyo Drive, Pasig City
(02) 477 7330

Mon - Thu: 11:00 am - 10:00 am

Fri - Sat: 11:00 am - 11:00 pm

Sun: 11:00 am - 10:00 am

Recipe: Hot and Sour Soup

Recently, I wrote about how I am in the look out for a good hot and sour soup. Then, I found this hot and sour soup pack in the grocery that cost around Php 70. I decided to try out the recipe at the back of the label. I chose to follow the vegetarian recipe with a few modifications.

Ingredients:

1 packet of hot and sour soup spice paste
1-2 cups of diced tofu
1 cup shiitake mushrooms
3 tablespoons of oil
1 chicken bouillon cube or 1L chicken stock
2-3 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp water
1 egg
chopped onion
chopped garlic

First step is to saute the mushrooms with garlic and onions. If you are adding meat, throw that in too. Shredded chicken will go well with this recipe. Add about 1 liter of water or chicken stock. I dropped one chicken cube to the water. Then, I added the spice paste into the soup along with the tofu. Wait for the soup to simmer then add the cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons of water to thicken the soup a little. A few more minutes of simmering action and slowly add the egg. Total time including preparation of ingredients is about 20 minutes. This was really easy to make.

Finished product

It was good but could be improved. I will try to add bell peppers next time I make this. And chicken strips too! I spent around Php 160 to make this and serves 5-6.

Hope you try this at home and let me know how it turns out.

Molito Eats: Chairman Wang's Prime Beef Noodlehouse

We chanced upon Chairman Wang's Prime Noodlehouse in Molito, Alabang because Omakase and the Wooden Spoon were closed for a late lunch. What a wonderful discovery this little Chinese restaurant was. Coming in, the restaurant is a bit narrow and the tables are a little bit too close together, though that would really work well for larger groups.

View from above

Lanterns

Round tables for larger parties

On the second floor they have a room for a more private party. There are two big round tables that can seat around 12 people. There is a clear door that can be closed for a more intimate feel. The nice lanterns here provide consistency in the design.

On to the food...a bit of heads up, this is a picture-laden (I admit, resolution can be better. These are taken using my low end but trusty phone) post.

I love hot and sour soup but a good one is hard to find. The last good one I've had was at Big Buddha restaurant in Greenbelt 3, and that restaurant has been long closed. I am in the hunt for the next best hot and sour soup. I would say Chairman Wang's version comes close to Big Buddha. It has the right balance of spice and tang to it. It had a lot of ingredients in it too. There are bits of meat, tofu and mushrooms.

Hot and Sour soup (small bowl). I think this is around Php 120.

I never thought lamb was good for dumpling but it worked! I was so amazed how this can be fried but still ooze juice when you bite into it. The ginger-soy sauce was a great pair to the dumpling too. This is definitely a must try when you visit Chairman Wang's.

Lamb dumplings (Php 220)

I love how a lot of the food in the menu, I have not seen in other Chinese restaurants before like the braised bean curd skin with Tofu. The wrinkly sticks below are the bean curd skin. The curly tops are fried tofu. The sauce is a little bit spicy, I love it!

Braised bean curd skin with Soy Tofu (Php 150)

I was a bit under the weather on my first time at the restaurant so I thought I'd order this funky tea. I thought that if it was herb infused, it must be good for me. I forgot what it's called and I wasn't really sure what it was. I just had that notion it was something good for my sniffles (lol). It tasted like your regular tea. At the bottom there were sugar crystals that slowly rendered sweetness to the tea. It was nice and would be a good ending to a great meal.

Tea (around Php 95)

The main course I've tried so far included this simple steamed fish. It tasted fresh and the garlic sauce complimented the fish well.

Steamed fish fillet in garlic sauce (Php 350)

I am not a fan of their fried rice though. On my first trip here, we had oily Yangchow. It was good except for that. On my second time here, I shared the Chinese sausage fried rice with my in laws on Father's day. I requested for less oil, which they complied with. I am not a huge fan still. If you are a lover of chorizo, you'd like this. It still felt a bit oilier than I would like but less oily than the Yangchow rice we've had before.

Chinese sausage fried rice (Php 250)

The sweet and sour pork with mandarin oranges was a hit with the boys, all three generations. I like how well-cooked the pork was and not fatty at all.

Sweet and sour pork (Php 280)

For our dessert we had Chilled mango sago with Pomelo. I am not a fan of the mango-pomelo combi. We were also given the Chilled coconut milk soup with sago and fruits for free on Father's day. I was not able to get a picture. Father-in-law said it was good. I also had the red bean rice pancakes. It was like tikoy with red bean paste filling. It was nice and not too sweet.

Chilled mango sago with pomelo 

I also though I got a photo of the braised beef, can't find one in my gallery. I guess that should be a reason to go back? I really really love this place. Chairman's braised beef with garlic coriander (Php 350) was also great. The beef was super tender, almost melting in my mouth.

Chairman's braised beef dry noodles (Php 250)

Though the place boasts of it's hand pulled noodles and the Prime beef noodle soup, I have never tried the dish with the restaurant's name sake. My office mates have and they say it's really good. However, on my most recent trip here, (I have actually been to the restaurant at least once a month since I started working near the area) I tried the Chairman's braised beef dry noodles and it was to die for. It was that good. The hand-pulled noodles was chewy and had that "ting!" when you bite into it. Not sure how you call that property of the food. It was like magic in your mouth. The beef was super tender too. The little fat on the meat rendered so much more interesting flavor to the dish. I was dreaming about this noodles for a week and planning to go back to order this again.

Molito Lifestyle Complex
Alabang, Muntinlupa
Contact No: (02) 828 8477
Operating hours: 11 AM to 11 PM daily

Kainan sa Dalampasigan: Nasugbu's hidden gem

Kainan sa Dalampasigan is where we ate lunch when we went on an overnight trip to Canyon Cove in Nasugbu, Batangas. I'd say it's a good 15-20 minutes drive from the beach. It's a good alternative to the resort's restaurant.

The restaurant's name is a misnomer as it was nowhere near the dalampasigan. I'm not sure why it was named that. The place actually has a magical forest kind of feel to it. All the greenery is so relaxing and definitely a welcome change from what we are used to in the city.

This is what welcomes you as you step in to the restaurant.

More plants along the side

This is the waiting area and yes more plants here

Kainan sa dalampasigan bilao (about Php 500)

 I can't remember the exact prices of what we ate but the taste, I'll never forget. Everything was so yummy in this bilao. The baked mussels with the creamy, buttery cheese topping is just to die for. The halabos sa hipon was so simple and fresh. The fried bangus has a different taste to it and distances itself from your regular pritong bangus. And of course the liempo, was just cooked right. The ensaladang mangga was a great siding for all these.

Sisig (About Php 200)

  They have a large serving for the sisig. But it was not my kind of sisig. It was too fatty for me.

Halo halo (about Php 65)

The sweet tooth in me will not pass up the chance to have dessert. I ordered halo-halo. It has your usual sweet beans, minatamis na saging and gulaman...nothing special there. The leche flan was rich and may be a better choice to order than the halo-halo.

Out of town: Datu's first trip to the beach

I have been extremely busy with a whole lot of things with work and personal stuff that a month went by and I have yet to finish this supposed summer post. But all's good. Almost done with my tasks so hopefully my rest days can be fully spent with family and not just running errands. We are still in the middle of summer so I am not exactly late yet for this review.

Thing is, we actually took this trip back in January. We had attended a Tagaytay wedding and Mr. S and I decided to take a long weekend, spend one night in Tagaytay and then another in Batangas. We did have that Canyon Cove voucher we bought last year and decided to use it for that weekend.

We were so excited since it was Datu's first out of town vacation and his first ever trip to the beach. I was looking forward for the trip for my son since he loves the water so much and he's never even been to a pool yet at that time. I just know he will be so happy wading in the water.

Nasugbu is about another hour's drive from Tagaytay so around 2.5 to 3 hours drive from Manila. I would say that drive is well worth it. The pool is so picturesque and the beach was nice and clean. But it was cloudy when we got there so we weren't able to enjoy dipping in the water too much as it was too cold. We did enjoy the beautiful view though.

Took this picture with my phone from the balcony of our room. No filters.

The kiddo enjoying the water.

We had to take him out of the water since it was too cold.

As expected, the little boy did enjoy himself even for just a little while. In the afternoon, Mr. S and I attempted to take a dip at the beach. We took the boy with us but we just played in the sand as it was still chilly. I didn't want him catching a cold.

Room with the king size bed and day bed

As far as the accommodations go, do not expect a whole lot. We did just pay Php 2999 for our voucher so pwede na rin. The bed we got was rickety. There was a noisy sound every time someone moves or maybe we were just too fat :p The size of the bed was perfect for us and the boy though. I loved that we were really comfortable. The hotels we've stayed in the past had queen sized beds so it was a bit too cozy sometimes.

The bathroom is...yes, you guessed right--old. There were a lot of rust but most of the stuff work. I did not take a picture anymore. There is an enclosed shower area and a bath tub you wouldn't want to soak in. The shower head in the actual shower area was busted so we had to use the one in the tub. Problem is, there was no shower curtain so we had to take care not to get the area beyond the tub wet.

They did provide towels, tissue paper and soap. That's it. Also, you can only ask for extra towels/pillows if you paid for the additional person who joined you. So if you are smuggling a companion in, do not ask for one so you don't get caught or be ready with an alibi. Extra person is Php 800. The person gets "free" breakfast though. No, the voucher users will not get free breakfast. Although, the newer vouchers they are selling includes breakfast and so one of my officemates say.

Two kids can stay in the day bed or two short adults :) We brought our nanny with us so she slept there. Be careful not to eat on the bed though. She fed the boy with grapes in the afternoon before we went for a swim. When we got back, there were ants in the bed. We were able to get them all out of the room so thankfully no one got bitten.

For the food, as per resort rules, you cannot bring your own inside. We were able to smuggle water, bread and chips. A friend of mine who has been in Canyon Cove at least thrice told me that I can stow the food inside the baby's bag as they don't normally inspect that. And make sure that you hide the food under the baby stuff. 

We went to the town proper for lunch. Found a great local restaurant, Kainan sa Dalampasigan, in Google (will blog about that soon). And ate at the resort's hotel in the evening. They have a tie up with Max's restaurant so there's no guessing in that area. Food was fine.

I will recommend Canyon Cove as long as you have no issues with staying in an accommodation I described above. The beach and the pool are great and seemed well maintained unlike the rooms. When you buy a voucher (bought mine through Metrodeal), try to book your trip as soon as possible as weekend slots get taken too fast. I didn't have that much of a problem booking ours as we went there on an off-peak season and we were there on Sunday.

We are planning another out of town trip very soon. This would be our first family summer getaway. Super excited. Will blog about that maybe in two months! Haha!

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Of first haircuts and traditions

I had this post in my draft folder since October when my son had his first haircut. Last January, he had his second cut three months after the first one. Due to insistent demand from Mr. S's family, I finally agreed to have his head shaved in hopes he'll have thicker hair. 

Anyway, below is my post about his first haircut drafted four months ago. Hehe!

My son turned a year old almost two months ago. His hair has gotten pretty long on his first year but was still relatively manageable. We rarely experience the dreaded knots that are so tangled you need to cut them off.

He lost all his hair at around three months (around the time I also lost a bunch of mine) so it's really just nine months of outgrowth for him. I wanted to keep it growing until it reached at least chin length before we got his first haircut. See, he is genetically predisposed to be bald. I just want to give him a chance to experience having long hair while he can. Mr. S started losing his hair in his mid 20s so if he follows that time frame, it's not a very long time for him to enjoy his hair.

Mr. S does not agree with me on this. He wants to get our son a haircut soonest time we can. Still following tradition, we waited for my son to turn one before we had his first haircut. Our son has thin, fine hair. People say that if you cut the baby's hair really short (read: skin head or semi-kalbo), it would grow fuller and thicker. I suggested we take it slow and cut his hair short instead of just getting a trim and then we'll go from there.

One Sunday morning, we trooped to Cuts4Tots at SM Megamall. The shop is at the 5th floor near the chapel. We were there a little after 10 AM and we were second in line. Mommies, try to be there soon as the mall opens if you're planning to have your kid's haircut on a weekend. Other customers started pouring in at around 10:15 AM and it got crowded. Babies wailing stresses other babies (and mommies) out so it's best to be the first and get the haircut done as fast as possible.

We were there about 20-30 minutes since there was only one barber at that time (the other one arrived as we were leaving though) so we had to wait for the other baby to get his haircut first before we got our turn.

We chose Cuts4Tots since we live nearby. Also, read good reviews about the service plus the fact that they print certificates and attach a lock of baby's hair with it. They took before and after shots of the baby's cut which they draft into the certificates too. This service costs Php 525. You'll have to come back after a week to pick it up.

While waiting for our turn, Datu was oblivious to the other wailing child. He sat in the (car) barber's chair and was busy playing with the steering wheel. He very rarely cries and has almost zero stranger anxiety so I was confident that there will be no drama here. Boy, was I wrong. He started crying soon as the barber started on his razor. I ended up having to carry him for him to stop crying and I got his hair all over me. Mommies, bring extra shirt or make sure before you carry your baby, ask for a cape (or whatever that is called) so you won't get hair on your clothes.

That's where the babies get to sit. There is also a regular chair for bigger kids. Stations have a monitor where you can request your kid's favorite show to be played to help calm him down. This didn't work with my baby though so I had to resort to carrying him.

There are toys in the waiting area your kids can borrow to occupy them while waiting for their turn.

Before the barber started to cut D's hair, we made sure to follow one tradition, to have an intelligent person cut the baby's locks. They say that if someone intelligent gives the first haircut, the child will also grow smart. Not sure where that came from and obviously, there was no scientific basis to that but it won't hurt to follow. Who got to cut his hair first, you ask? I was the designated person. I guess I was the smarter one. I got Mr. S to marry me after all :p

How about you, what traditions did you follow when your baby had his/her first haircut?

Here are my son's before and after photos.

I was kind of emotional while my son was getting a haircut. He felt like a different kid to me. As if he suddenly grew up. I don't know, I guess I was just being sentimental or hormonal or both. Doesn't he look so grown up after the haircut? Oh, babies grow up too fast.

Biggest Loser: The Lunchbox diet review

As with a lot of people, my one new year's resolution is to lose weight. My son has turned 17 months and I really do not have any excuse to be carrying all this weight.

I have always had a hard time dieting. I would prefer to exercise than to follow a strict diet. Problem is, I don't have as much time these days. Ok...I admit, I'm just too lazy (kung gusto may paraan, right?). I have a lot of other excuses but really, I think it boils down to laziness as far as exercising is concerned. But I promise, I will exercise...someday...haha! Soon...some time this year...Mr. S and I promise that we will exercise once the gym at our place finally opens.

While waiting for the gym to open, I decided to try dieting once again. As part of my wedding preps five years ago, I dieted. Mostly, I counted calories and lost about 15 lbs over 6 months. I went to the gym over that time too so that helped tone muscles too. I was dedicated to my goal to lose weight and look good in my wedding gown. This time, I do not think I have the same discipline. For the sake of trying, to jumpstart my weight-loss and fitness goals this year, I employed the help of a food delivery service that would take away having to count calories.

Lunchbox diet is a food delivery service that promises to deliver 3 meals and snack(s) per day that will only total 1200 calories. This is good. Based on calorie counting apps, this is the amount of calories a lazy me should be consuming (based on age, height, current weight and daily activities-which is zero exercise). I found out about them through Facebook. They post their meal plan for the week in their FB page and if you like their menu you can place your order. You will need to fill out a form through their page and you will receive a text message to confirm if they deliver in your area. Once confirmed, payment instructions will be sent to you. After you have paid Php 1,700, though BPI or BDO, you will need to send a copy of the deposit slip through their email address to finally confirm your slot. Then, wait for Monday for your first delivery.

Because of my schedule the next week, I requested for my food to be delivered at my place on Monday and Wednesday. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday deliveries were at my office. They were great with accommodating my request that way. On the first day, they delivered the food at my house around 8:30 AM. I was told that I was at the bottom of the list. I did not have expectations really, but I was really hungry at that time already since I am an early riser. I requested for the deliveries for the next couple of days to be earlier. They were were able to accommodate that too. Tuesday came, it was already 8:45 AM and I still didn't have my food at the office. I was really hungry already. I called them up to ask where my food was. I was told it was delivered to my house contrary to my instructions (which they approved). They apologized and I was told that they will bring my food to the office and pick up the one they delivered at my place. I though it was going to take a while so I decided to buy myself a sandwich lest I faint. After about 10 minutes, I got back to my office and found the delivery guy already waiting for me. So in their defense, they were quick to rectify their mistake. After those incidents, I never had a problem with them. In fact I went through the diet for two weeks. I lost four pounds the first week, gained a few back over the weekend. Lost a few more the next week. The total lost weight was six pounds over two weeks. I think that was a great accomplishment since I kind of cheated on the diet. I would probably total 1500 calories a day. Yes, I ate at extra 300 calories because I was hungry. I couldn't take it. I had to eat. Anyway, I still think 6 pounds in two weeks is great, considering normally, we should really just be losing 2 lbs per week. I would have probably lost more if I really stuck with it. I think the 4 lbs I lost the first week was partly water weight since the food was a little on the bland side for me. Take note though that I tend to be heavy on salt as far as flavoring in food is concerned. What is bland for me might be just right for most. After a couple of meals though, I got used to the lightly salted food that when I went back to my usual diet, I found myself using less of it. And this is generally good for my family.

Anyway, this is what was delivered to me on the first week of my diet. Sorry I forgot which days correspond to which pix. I think overall, the food quality was great. For 1700 per week, that means Php 340 per day for 3 meals and snacks. I think there is value for money as far as taste is concerned. Also, apart from the food portions (of course that is controlled), you really don't feel you are on a diet because you still eat rice, pork and beef. There is also the occasional sweet treat. I love their oatmeal cookie. I'd buy a whole pack if they sell it on its own. The only big thing I didn't like was they claim they serve red rice but to me, this is more brown than red.

Upper left corner: Savory French toast. That's one of my favorites too. I didn't think it would be so tasty so I was pleasantly surprised. Bottom left: Oatmeal cookie. Super love this. One of the best oatmeal cookies I've had. Lower right: Meatball pasta. The meatball itself was pretty tasty but the sauce was not enough to coat the noodles.

Upper left: Forgot the exact name but that is pork medallion with some sauce and jalapeno corn bread. The corn bread was really good. It has a little bit of kick to it. Upper right: Peanut butter and jelly oatmeal. I thought I wouldn't like it since oatmeal was my least favorite diet food. Surprisingly, I liked the hint of peanut butter in it. Middle right: Lemon cupcake. I have a sweet tooth so I guess that is why the desserts stick to me. This one was also a winner. Bottom right: Fish fajitas were alright. Nothing to rave about. Same with the beef and vegetables on the left. The beef was a bit tough to chew on.

I forgot to take pictures of the rest of my food for the day. Left is daing na bangus. It was delicious. To the right is a sloppy joe sandwich. The texture of the bread they used here is a bit weird. I am not sure what brand they used but it's a bit different from Gardenia. This one was too soft for me. The sloppy joe was not saucy and a bit of a challenge to eat. Not one of my favorites. 

I was so hungry that I forgot to take a picture before a took a bite of the pandesal with scrambled tofu. (upper right). it was surprisingly tasty so I liked it. Only the pandesal and fruits stood out to me on that day.

I was not able to take pictures of my food the following week as I was not able to follow the diet as "strictly" as the first week. I think I was invited to eat out a lot of times and I couldn't say no to the company. Friends before diet (excuse nanaman!Haha!). I still lost weight though which is the important thing. 

One thing I noticed though, it seems that the food on the second week wasn't as great as the first one. They also use caramelized onions a lot to make them tasty. If you do not like the onions, you can always lift them with your fork. There are times when it feels like one or two meals tasted the same even if they were called differently.

Of the three similar diet food delivery services I follow in FB, LBD is the cheapest. If you want to try out the no fuss, 1200 calorie diet, you can start with this one. Based on other reviews, weight loss range from 2-5 lbs per week. Again that would depend on your lifestyle as well as your age, gender and height.

I will be trying another food service delivery soon so keep posted.

Hiatus

I know I haven't been writing for a while but didn't realize that my last post was actually four months ago. I was looking for an old post last week when I saw that the last thing I wrote was in October last year. It wasn't an intentional break. I was just swamped with a lot of different things towards the end of the year and blogging just had to take a back seat.

For the most part, what kept me from my writing was our move to our new place. Our condo unit was turned over third week of October. Though we actually moved in December, we had a lot of packing, fixing and cleaning we needed to get done before the big move. I had my birthday and our 4th wedding anniversary in November. We finally moved in December and the holiday season got the best of us.That's basically what happened to me and my family in a nutshell. 

I do have loads of drafts and photos for future food posts and recent family getaway. Excited to publish them soon!