Comfort Food

It's another rainy day in Zamboanga. It got me thinking about how nice it would be to just huddle up in bed under my thick warm blanket and just be lazy. How I wish I could but today is also "errands" day before the weekend hits us so I had to haul my butt off to several banks to finish transactions. While on the way to the bank I started thinking about one word. COMFORT.
What brings you comfort? Lots of people would say a hug from their loved one, an extra hour of sleep, a warm cup of coffee, a foot spa session, an hour or two of body massage and a lot of other things... Personally, one of the things that give me comfort is FOOD. Hence the term, "comfort food". Today I'd like to share some of the comfort food that really hits the spot. *smiles*

L-R : Chowking's Beef Mami, Sugar & Ice's Ice Cream Cakes, Isaw & BBQ sa Pasonanca, Pancit Canton, Pork Siomai, Nestea Milk Tea, Mama's Homemade Pork BBQ & Longaniza, Rosemary Roasted Chicken, French Fries, Strawberry Icecream, Jumbo Cheese Sticks, Big Ben's La Parola Boodle Fight Meal, KFC Chicken Teriyaki Shots, Satti, & Ikea's Meatballs!

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First Impressions : Yummylly Cakes - Cafe

This cafe has been open for some time and people have been bugging me to do a review on it but I've always tried to put it off. Why? For the simple fact that my 2nd degree cousin & his lovely wife own the place. Willy & Yummy started Yummylly Cakes a few years back and have now opened their 1st cafe branch at Nunez Ext. Crossing, behind ADZU, beside TV Surplus shop (Zamboanga City)... People may think that I'd be biased because of the fact I'm related to Willy, but I've always given 100% honest reviews and this particular one won't be any different... Now that we got that out there, let's get on with the review... My friend D.A. & I stopped by around 3:30pm. There were a couple of other people in the cafe to place in cake orders but we were the only ones there who were actually going to stuff our faces with food. *lol* Their color motif was pleasing to the eyes - a soft pink & a teal blue color. We loved the lighting fixtures, cutesy throw pillows and also their long stretch "sofa" couch. The fondant covered cakes on display also offered a touch of quirkiness to the place that balanced everything out... We all agreed to give Yummylly Cakes a 5/5 for their cafe set up. What's better than FREE WIFI? *winks* (ilovecakes) I liked that they used a chalkboard as their menu board because these gives them the option of spicing things up with colored chalk or other decorative writing styles... Though their current one was a bit out of place with the overall cuteness of the cafe... They have a variety of finger foods available and they even have rice meals! We decided to order a strawberry frappe, a cookie monster "monster frappe" (monster frappes were on a separate menu board), a slice of their yema cake and plain salted fries... *Quick story : My friend D.A. got really pissed off with the one manning the cash register and taking our orders because she gave off this really mean attitude. She talked to us as if she wasn't in the mood (in Chavacano "dol nuay le gana combersa na customers) and seemed impatient to answer my questions regarding the monster frappes. My friend decided to just go sit down at our table before she also goes all b*tchy while I was left to handle the situation... (Bawas pogi points tayo sa ganito eh!) Only 3/5 for this particular customer service. Our orders arrived in batches (something that irks me at times) starting with the yema cake, the frappes then lastly our plate of fries. We digged in and started  comparing notes on our orders... Strawberry Frappe P75/order Taste : 4/5 Presentation : 3/5 D.A. & I liked this frappe a lot. It had the distinct strawberry flavor you'd expect from a strawberry frappe and it had a generous serving of whipped cream on top. We just wished it had more of an "oomph" presentation-wise. Cookie Monster - Monster Frappe P150/order Taste : 2/5 Presentation : 5/5 We gave this frappe a 2/5 for taste because it lacked that cookie or chocolate-y taste we were expecting. Most of the "flavor" from this frappe came from the toppings but the actual "milkshake" portion of the drink did nothing to satisfy our tastebuds. Having said that, we gave this a 5/5 for presentation because come on, just look at this thing! It was overloaded with yummy goodness! It was impressive enough to warrant the P150 price tag. Plain Salt Fries P50/order Taste : 2/5 Presentation : 2/5 This were your standard "from the package" kind of fries that came with a dusting of salt. The serving size was a decent "good for 2 unless your'e fry obsessed". Presentation was MEH! I wish they had a separate container for their fry sauce (mayo+ketchup, I think) because it can get a bit messy if it's squirted directly onto the serving plate... I know they could have done better on their presentation but at P50/order, you definitely get what you pay for.  Yema Cake P55/order Taste : 2/5 Presentation : 3/5 I had high expectations for this... This is supposed to be their best seller, an all time favorite... I got disappointed because of the taste. I was saddened because my friends D.A. & A. also had the same opinion about the taste of this particular slice. The yema filling and frosting had this really weird "plastic-balloon" kind of taste, and it wasn't an after taste at all, it was straight up plastic balloon (the kind I played with as a kid) in my mouth. At first it was subtle, but as we progressed into the cake, it tasted more and more like the plastic balloon that we ended up not finishing this piece. I've had my share of yema cakes so I definitely know what it's supposed to taste like, and believe me when I say that this piece tasted nothing like a yema cake. *sad sigh* I really think it's the frosting was the thing that was off since the cake was light and fluffy by itself. Well that's it for now. We're giving Yummylly Cakes cafe an overall 3/5. There's definitely room for improvement on several factors. So, has anyone tried this place out yet? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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Don Vicente Restaurante Latino

Aside from doing freelance makeup, another thing I enjoy is eating out and trying new restaurants... Living in Zamboanga City can be a little frustrating for my palate since there aren't a lot of unique dining places that grab my attention... So obviously I was delighted when a fellow Zamboanga blogger and friend, Anj, blogged about this new place that's going through its "dry run" phase... I decided to stop by for lunch the other day and I'm glad I did...

Don Vicente Restaurante Latino is a cozy little resto located at Crispin Atilano Street, Tetuan, Zamboanga City. It is currently owned and managed by Mr. Vincent Paul Elago...

This is what Mr. VP Elago had to say when I asked him a bit more information about Don Vicente...

"I have been around and I love eating good food mainly mexican and italian food. I noticed that the real Mexican and Italian food have their distinct taste compared to the Filipino version of some of their known food that we also cook filipino style. There are plenty of herbs and spices absent in our local versions that give the real Mexican or Italian food that distinct taste reflecting their origin... So, I decided that it's time that the people of Zamboanga be given the real taste of Mexican and Italian cuisine through a small Latino restaurant that I decided to open and name after the patriarch of my clan."

For now, the restaurant is going through their "dry run" period with currently 10 tables ready to accept diners... But in case of a sudden rush of diners, they also have a their "VIP" area to accommodate the diners. Don Vicente is open daily starting 10:30am-2pm after which they close for "siesta break" as said by Mr. Elago... The resto then re-opens at 5pm-11pm to serve dinner.

I asked Mr. Elago regarding his crew, his chef as well as the food preparation and here's what he had to say :

"The best sellers so far are the Mexican asadas, lenguas and the various pastas. The dry run menu is some kind of a test. We are observing closely the movement of our food as well as the preference of our clients.By the time we will be officially opening, we will definitely have more choices for our clients.

The ingredients especially the herbs and spices are imported. However, we have also started to grow them right here at the restaurante. Don't be surprise when you'll notice one of this days, our chef going out to pick some leaves at the garden and going back hurriedly to the kitchen.

Our meats are washed and cooked separately. Beef, chicken and pork are washed in different basins and also cooked saparately. This is very important for the restaurante since some of the people who come don't eat pork due to their religious customs.

Our chef is Italian who used to work in a prestigious ristorante in Italy also in a European cruise ship. The frontline crew or attendants as I prefer to call them are mostly my relatives and are working hard to meet the standard I have set. Give them a couple of weeks more and I am sure they will be among the main reasons why clients will enjoy the restaurant even more.."

Now that I've given you guys a little background information about Don Vicente, it's time for a review of sorts...

When we arrived at the resto the other day it was around 11:30am and we were just in time for an early lunch... As I walked into the resto, the first thing I notice is the plush interior. It had a very nice feel to it, very latin-ish. Their air conditioning was also running properly, it wasn't too hot nor too cold. Just the right temperature for people to enjoy their meal away from the Zamboanga heat. One thing to take note of were the big tables that seat 6 or more people, definitely perfect for family meal time. I actually noticed a lot of things upon entering. Why? Well because for 15 minutes Cj and I were left standing and waiting anxiously since no one was at the "receiving area" to help us to a table. Yes, that was the first "uh-oh, minus 1 point" for Don Vicente on this review. I believe that a restaurant's receiving area/table should always have at least ONE (1) person to assist diners at all times. Especially once the "OPEN" sign is already posted on the door...

After around 15 minutes, someone finally came to assist us to our seats. Our attendant gave us a quick overview of the menu and also answered our questions regarding  the dishes. We placed our orders and waited...

While waiting I took time to take some shots of their dry run menu.

One of the things that certainly caught my eye while waiting was the elaborate set up of the whole place as well as the dining table. For now they have round tables that seat 6 or more people. Hopefully they will have table that seat a smaller number of people (2) for those who wish to have more privacy during their meal. Plus points on the lovely plates, silverware and glasses. As well as the lovely golden colored place-mats and dark blue table covers that really give off a lovely vibe.

We were first served our drinks. We ordered the usual Cokes because we wanted to focus more on the food served at Don Vicente. As our attendant started pouring our cokes into our glasses I noticed he took a bit more time in pouring mine and eventually he said "Ma'am papalitan ko po yung baso kasi madumi." (Ma'am I'll be replacing the glass because it's dirty.)

I admired his honesty regarding the glass situation (other attendants in other restos would have kept silent about it till the diner notices) but I wished that prior to serving they already checked the glasses (and other things) while still in the kitchen to avoid embarrassing moments later on.

Anywayyyy....

Cj orderd the Lengua. On the menu is was described as "blando lenguas de vaca con sarsa de tomates o sarsa de crema". He decided to go with the more traditional kind of lengua and got the dish in "sarsa de tomates" which translates to tomato sauce. It cost 250 pesos and is supposed to be good for 2-3 people.

I won't lie, when the dish was served I had mixed feelings. First was, "OMG! It's such a tiny serving for something to be considered good for 2-3 people..." Felt more like good for 1 serving or at the most 2 people! Second was, "What a lovely plate though..." I whispered a silent prayer that the dish would taste mind-blowing or else I'd feel disappointed that the dish with that price tag didn't deliver.

Guess what? Cj & I loved the lengua. The lengua was super soft and all the herbs in the tomato sauce balanced and complimented each other well. The green olives were a lovely touch to the dish as well as the "bread sticks" of some sort that was brushed with what seemed to be herbed butter...

Cj had most of this dish with a single order of the "mexican" rice.

My personal order was the Asadas Mexicana de Cerdo which was described in the menu as "barbacoa de res servido con arroz mexicano y ensaladas"... I think that roughly translates to what you'll see in the picture below. 

My order was served on a lovely (and heavy) square plate. I've got to give credit to presentation... When most restos serve their rice in a "cup" or dome shape, Don Vicente serves it in a square-like presentation. My pork-chop looking barbecued piece was just lovely! It was grilled in a way that it was cooked but still had that very juicy touch to it that most grilled meats tend to loose. In my opinion the marinade sets this dish apart from other barbecue dishes in other restos. It's supposed to be a "secret recipe" marinade, and by golly! It really does taste good. The mexican rice was also very filling and complimented my grilled pork well. The ensalada which seemed to be a salad of finely minced ingredients also balanced out the slight tangy sweetness of the marinated meat by adding a hint or sour-like undertones to the meat. Was it worth the 185 pesos? Definitely!

Overall, I'd give Don Vicente a 3.5/5. Minus points on the absent attendant at the receiving area, lack of smaller dining tables for more "cozy" meals with your special someone, the issue about the dirty glass, and the rather small serving that's supposed to be good for 2-3 people (which can be subjective since Cj & I are a bit on the "huge eaters" side)... But aside from those very little complaints I love the restaurant. I'm even looking forward to bringing my whole family once they have their grand opening because I'm sure they'd enjoy the food and the ambiance as much as I did.

If you're from Zamboanga, and don't mind the rather "far from town" location, then by all means get your butt over at Don Vicente for a wonderful dining experience. If you want to make reservations or inquiries you may call one of their staff, Sir Claude at 09177566677.

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Cup & Cakes ~ Sweet Tooth Delight!

DISCLAIMER : Word Heavy & Picture Heavy Post!

When I first heard of Ate Sandy's plans of starting a new food-related business venture, I was silently hoping she's start something that will satisfy my secret sweet tooth. Last September 28, 2012 when she unveiled her plans and the actual shop front, I was ecstatic! Why? Well because her new business venture turned out to be a cupcake & coffee sort of cafe!

I've been dying to get hold of some legit red velvet cupcakes, and now my problem's solved!

The other day, I, along with Cj & Shanne, stopped by Cup & Cakes to get a taste of the available goodies. 

Cup & Cakes is owned by Sandra "Sandy" Balagapo and is located at Yubenco Star Mall's ground floor, near the grocery area. It's a new shop that offers high end, gourmet cupcakes made fresh everyday without putting a huge dent in your wallets. There are around 6-7 cupcake flavors everyday and each cupcake differs in base, filling, icing & toppings! They also serve coffee made from coffee beans shipped all the way from Batangas. Pasta, sandwiches & salads are also available for those not really into the sweetness of cupcakes!

I was a happy kid as Ate Sandy presented us with 6 different cupcakes to sample.

Cupcakes in the back are as follows : (L-R) Lemon Poppy, Vanilla Orange, Choco Coconut.

To the front are as follows : (L-R) Choco Banana, Red Velvet, Black Bottom

3oz cupcakes like the ones in the photos cost P27/each.

5oz cupcakes which a larger cost P35/each.

Half dozen assorted box will cost you P155 only while assorted one dozen box will cost you P300!

I've decided to post a solo photo of each of the cupcakes we sampled starting off with my personal favorite...

Lemon Poppyseed

Red Velvet

Black Bottom

Choco Banana

Choco Coconut

Vanilla Orange

All three of us also had "short" orders of Vanilla lattes which were iced because it was a scorchingly hot day out. We all loved the drink, especially me since I finished mine and sipped half of Cj's! *lol*

The drinks were served in the cute glasses and I thought "how lovely!" that they put attention to details.

Cinnamon buns were also available for P25/each but I decided against them since I really came for the cupcakes and I was already too full to have another bite of anything!

I also snapped a photo of these choco-blueberry cupcakes sans icing which were sitting in a corner waiting to be displayed. I'm definitely hoping to try this out next time I visit Cup & Cakes.

Below are just some more photos I snapped of the cupcakes...

Unofficial boxes for your "take out" orders. Ate Sandy informed us that there are more Cup & Cakes personalized boxes coming soon. I'm betting it's going to be pastel pink! *fingers crossed*

From left to right : Unlimited, Short, Tall

The cure lil cups above are for the warm coffee orders...

I have the cute lil cup for "unlimited" serving because Ate Sandy was sweet enough to give me one!

I know sip my home made warm milk tea in it every morning.

Ate Sandy (left) posed with Shanne & I. Credits to Cj for snapping this photo.

Of course I couldn't go home without taking a photo with the crew and also taking home a box of assorted cupcakes for my grandparents to try out! *hehe*

That's it for now. Head on over to Cup & Cakes and tell Ate Sandy I sent you. I'm sure your sweet tooth and taste buds will be in for such a delightful time...

Till my next post!

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I'm TEA-rrific - A Dream Come True

DISCLAIMER :

LONG "WORD" POST + Photos

First things first. I've been receiving lots of comments (unpublished) that happen to be basically the same thing. Seems to me that lots of my current readers want to know what my boyf's name is... So I'm finally going to answer that before I receive another comment asking his name. He's known as Cris or Cj. I prefer the latter. So We'll be using that from now on, okay? *wink*

The other day, Cj & I were strolling around a local mall when I stopped *dead* on my tracks. Was I hallucinating?! Lo & behold, right in front of me was a soon-to-open milk tea stall. My eyes widened in delight and excitement.

You see, I'm *secretly* more of a milk tea/tea person that a coffee person. I like how simple it is compared to coffee. That's my opinion. Coffeeholics out there, please do not butcher me for saying so. First time I ever had milk tea was when I turned 18. I was online blog hopping on food blogs when I stumbled upon a tea lover blog explaining how she mixed milk with her tea to create "milk tea". It's ironic how the English have been doing these for years now. *ugh!* So I gave it a shot and *bam!* was hooked.

For those who still don't really know what milk tea is about, here's a short background about this tea-rrific drink. Milk tea refers to several kinds.

1. TEA with an addition of a little milk plus sugar (cubes/powder) - Very "English" in a sense.

2. BUBBLE "Milk" TEA is another famous version which involves the addition of "pearls/tapioca balls/sago balls". - I'm not very fond of "bubbles" in my tea.

3. HONG KONG STYLE milk tea is black tea sweetened with evaporated milk.

4. TEH TARIK is the de facto "national" drink of Malaysia & Singapore. It's tea plus condensed milk. - I've had my share of cups of this kind when I was back in Singapore. *missing it*

Though "bubble milk tea" happens to be the current crowd favorite it's a fairly new rendition of this timeless classic. Honk Kong style milk tea supposedly originates from the time when Hong Kong was under British rule. I won't bore you guys with more details about milk tea. So for now, this is about it.

Moving onto what this post is really about... I'm happy to share with you one of the many new joys I'm currently enjoying in our lil ole Zamboanga. *le sigh* TEA-RRIFIC's milk tea stall opened last Saturday and I finally had the chance to try it today! I had to control myself as Cj & I walked towards the stall. Cj asked me what flavor I wanted or something to that extent... I was a little preoccupied just staring at the stall, making sure it was really there. Call me weird, but well... It's MILK TEA, people!

The Tea-rrific stall is located at Mindpro Citimall's ground floor, towards the side of the grocery's entrance, in front of the baggage counter and beside the Coco Loco stall. (Will talk about Coco Loco in another post...) The stall's pretty small, doesn't take up a lot of space at all. It has this cutesy cup logo that I'm totally diggin'.

They have a variety of drink available and I had enough b*lls to snap photos of each category.

"Traditional" MILK TEA. Tea-rrific describes it as freshly brewed tea made creamy and chewy. They only have 5 flavors available under this category. OOLONG is a natural mild fat burner, JASMINE boosts concentration, CEYLON's an immune system booster, GREEN TEA is a healthy antioxidant variation and WINTERMELON is a "feel-good" relaxing tea. 

Next up are the FRUIT SMOOTH-TEAs which happens to be a combination of brewed tea plus your favorite fruit. The flavors with the green lightning bolt are supposedly the highly recommended choices because they apparently offer the bigger "health boost". Don't quote me on that though. *wink*

The smooth-teas come in 10 flavors. I'm eyeing MELON MANGO and APPLE MANGO. :)

Another category is the TEA FUSION which is a concoction of tea plus fruits. I'm still a little confused with the difference of tea fusion and the smooth-teas though. Anyway, for this variant I'll probably try out MANGO CEYLON or CEYLON LIME first.

Lastly Tea-rrific offers a concoction called YIN&YANG. It's a mix of BOTH coffee & tea. I think this is geared towards those coffeeholics who're willing to try something new or tea drinkers that want an added caffeine boost! This variant's offered in hot & iced. Since I'm a huge JASMINE fan, I think I'd go for that.

Tea-rrific offers three sizes for most of their drinks. They have medium (12oz.), large (16oz.) and grande (22oz.) Each size has a corresponding price. The price range for the different variants are around P39-P69. 

Since it was our first time with Tea-rrific, Cj & I decided to get our drinks in the medium size so in case we end up not liking our drinks, it wouldn't be too much of a dismay on our pockets and stomachs. After debating on what to get, we settled for milk teas. He decided to get OOLONG for P39.00 and of course I went for JASMINE which cost P45.00. We also swapped drinks while walking towards the food court so that we could both taste the two flavors. The verdict?

JASMINE MILK TEA

Hers : I definitely loved my jasmine milk tea. It was mildly sweet with just the right jasmine kick! The only downside was the fact it had pearls. I forgot to tell the lady to hold the pearls on my drink. I dislike tapioca pearls in my drinks. It's just a quirk I have.

His : "Dol bien sabor sakate man gayot ste babe?" - Babe, it tastes too grassy. *lol* Apparently he felt that it had too much of an "herbal" kick to it.

OOLONG MILK TEA

Hers : I didn't like this at all. It was too strong for my taste. Well, oolong does really have a robust flavor to it but I thought the added milk would have subdued some of the stronger notes of the flavor. I thought wrong.

His : He loved the oolong kick. Just right for his taste buds. He finished his milk tea a whole lot quicker than I did mine.

OVERALL

I'd shell out my $$$ for more of Tea-rrific's milk tea and other variants though next time I'll definitely tell them to skip the tapioca balls. Can't wait for my next milk tea fix! :)

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