Cebu Food Trip: Casa Verde

When I learned from Mac that we're going to Cebu, I immediately thought of where do we eat? Haha! Obviously, no question there. To say that I was excited is an understatement because the truth is I was ecstatic!

I started asking friends on recommendations on where to eat and what's new in Cebu. And boy, I tell you, the suggestions are endless. And I also subjected in researching on what's new in Cebu in the food scene. I was obsessed! :) But given that the stay that we're going to have is short and sweet, I would need to narrow down the foodie itinerary.

Ayala Terraces, Cebu

First stop, Casa Verde! Too bad we didn't go to the original branch in Ramos, since Mac is concerned that we might not make in time for the event back at the hotel since we're still going to get danggit in Tabo-an. And so, we went to Ayala Terraces.

Ayala Terraces, Cebu

I think this is my third time eating at Casa Verde, so I ordered one of their classic, Brian's Ribs. And it is still the same big, juicy slab of ribs that I was able to taste the first time, two years ago. Yum-oh! It hits the spot, especially for a very hungry tummy.

Brian's Ribs

Mac ordered the Dax Steak. Prime beef with shrimps on the side with a mayo on the side. Also, this is very good. Surf and Turf, Casa  Verde style. Hearty as well.

Dax Steak

This is why people rave and go back to Casa Verde in Cebu, the food and the experience of having to eat big portions with very reasonable prices. A good deal indeed! Everyone I know who's been in Cebu, definitely recommends this and when they go back here in Manila, they crave for it. Though there are a lot of restaurants that serve baby back ribs, Casa Verde's charm remains to be a very strong force in Cebu when it comes to food.

This is a must try for those of you who plans to go to Cebu, definitely good value for your money.

Fish and Chips? You need to try Chuck's Grub

I first saw this food stall on TV way back. Unfortunately, I can't remember what show, but it was part of the show as a feature. Looking at those yummy deep fried, beer battered goodness, I mean, who doesn't want anything deepfried and battered? Surely, I was hooked to watch! Haha! As far as I can remember, the first branch is in Power Plant Mall in Rockwell. So I was really surprised to see this as a new food stall in Trinoma's food court. I didn't think twice! I immediately lined up and got me and Mac the Dory to share.

The line can be pretty long and service slow (and confusing) for those at the counter. What I liked was the portion, because was actually big, so it was filling. Well, we ate it with a smoothie maybe, nonetheless my craving for something fried was satisfied! Price point is fairly reasonable, in my opinion.Verdict? I will come back for more. :)

Chuck's Grub
Rustan’s Supermarket, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell
Makati City
Tel. No. 671-1750
Open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily

Chuck's Grub

2/F Trinoma Mall, Food Choices,

North Ave cor Mindanao Ave Sto. Cristo,

Quezon City

(02) 507-0005

The Journey to a Healthier Me

I'm on a roll! Hopefully this lasts and I get myself enough inspiration to write everyday and if not, atleast once a week. And with that, I am happy.

Romain lettuce with Adobo, Peach-Yakult Smoothie, Home made Siomai

I am happy that I am again, taking interest on the things that I love doing. Those are - reading, writing and cooking. Reading, takes a little more effort nowadays, because I fall asleep easily nowadays. Writing, emails are pretty easy. I eat emails for breakfast. Oh, wait, that doesn't count as writing. Well, pretty hard to write if I don't have something to write about. Cooking or making things in the kitchen is pretty much easy since I do it, almost everyday. Cooking for my lunch, making myself a smoothie for dinner or breakfast has become a habit, since I started to commit (well, I need to try harder) to eating healthy.



Wholewheat pasta with asparagus and bacon (top)
Rice topped with pork chops and steamed asparagus (bottom)

I love to surf the internet for the different varieties that I can make into a smoothie. Thanks to my handy dandy hand blender, this makes it very, very easy to whip up something for a quick snack. I need to incorporate more green veggies in my smoothies though to make it more yucky, I mean healthier. :) 

Smoothie made of frozen strawberries, grapes, pineapple with yogurt and arugula

Discipline is the key to eating healthy. I will pray for more of that.

Have a good week everyone!

Spanish Sardines Pizza

This weekend, though rainy and katamad, I was inspired and masipag to get down and dirty in the kitchen. To cook, bake and literally do the dishes. :) Before midnight today, I made a pizza. Yes, pizza. Mac really loved the Oreo Cheesecake Bars I made, and I was inspired to top that! Haha!

Yesterday, he was apparently craving for home made pizza and Spanish Sardines. Weird combination, but I thought it would work, just like anchovies, right? So we got the supplies needed. And these are what we bought and I got from our pantry/fridge:

Spanish Sardines Pizza
Ingredients:
Spanish Sardines
pack of kesong puti
black olives
mushrooms
baby arugula
frozen pizza dough (sorry, I still need to know how to do this from scratch)
tomato/spaghetti sauce

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius, and you also need to thaw out the frozen pizza dough before you put on all the ingredients. Spread out the tomato/spaghetti sauce on the dough and lay out all the rest of the ingredients on the dough except for the baby arugula which I added after taking out the pizza in the oven.

I baked them for 20-25 minutes, constantly checking if its burning. :) I didn't put any condiments like salt and pepper, because the sardines' already seasoned, kesong puti is already salty and the red sauce is tart and sweet. It's just perfect.

It tastes good! Loved it! Mac loved it!

Making this, took me back to some very good childhood memories I have with homemade pizzas. When I was a kid, we used to make pizzas with left over pandesal and whatever deli we have in the freezer and then pop it in the turbo broiler until the cheese bubbles. Oh! How the pizza pandesals smelled good! Happy times!

This is perfect for me. Homey, rustic and (I hope) very gourmet. :)

Oreo Cheesecake Bars

It was a rainy weekend, and really all I could think of was to stay in and tuck myself in bed the whole day. But I would need to go to the office and get my laptop and have it configured. Okay, and so, fast forward to 1:30pm of a Saturday, got my laptop, watched a movie and then, yes, finally, went grocery shopping for supplies to satisfy some of my cravings the past week.

I was craving to do that cheescake thing I saw in Pinterest, the Oreo Cheesecake Bars, since Mac gave me a bag of those crushed Oreo cookies. Well he evidently (secretly) want me to make a cheesecake. :) I am happy to oblige, no problem with that, and I think I'm going to enjoy this. Got the supplies that I will not find in our pantry and fridge.

Bag of crushed Oreos, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Nestle Sour Cream

Started late last night in my baking. I have to admit, I was a little nervous making this from scratch. Because I am not a baker, I'm more of a cook. An experimental and spontaneous cook at that. Or I'm more of a foodie who wants to experiment. :)

Oreo Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

Crust:

23 tbsp of Oreo cookies (crushed)

2 tbsp unsalted butter

Cheesecake:

12 oz cream cheese at room temperature

6 tbsp sugar

6 tbsp sour cream at room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

12 tbsp Oreo cookies (crushed)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius

2. Line an 8x8 in pan with foil

3. Mix crush cookies and butter and spread across the bottom of the pan

4. Beat cheese for 2 minutes

5. Mix in sugar, sour cream, vanilla, salt, egg, egg yolk and crushed Oreo cookies.

6. Bake for 40 minutes

7. Cool for 1 hour at room temperature; then chill for 3 hours in the fridge.

Oreo Cheesecake Bars

The outcome was pretty cool. Though it didn't come up as picture perfect as the original recipe I adapted it from, I was pretty happy with it. The original recipe has a much thicker cheesecake compared to this. What I did was, I actually divided the mixture for the crust and the cheesecake, so it was a thinner bar. It turned out okay, and good for snacking according to my Mama, since cheesecake is kind of indulgent. Mac really loved it, dunked it in milk and he was in cheesecake heaven. And that in itself rates this endeavor as a success.

Adapted from this recipe - http://annies-eats.com/2010/05/21/oreo-cheesecake-bars/