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On the Tummy Spot: Lord Stow’s Eggtart
I have just recently tried this eggtart item but I have been intrigued ever since. I have heard a lot of friends mention Lord Stow’s and how they are quite famous for their eggtarts. One day while with family strolling around Binondo, I came across a branch of Lord Stow’s and decided to try out their eggtarts and see if they were all that everyone has been raving about.Upon entering the bakery in Binondo, you get this very cozy feel and an atmosphere that is quite different from the hustle and bustle of the Binondo streets. Very relaxed and homey feel with good airconditioning. 🙂 I do mention the airconditioning because if you have walked the streets of Binondo in the daytime you would know that it is quite tiresome and hot depending of course on the weather so the bakery was a welcome respite on that day.
I then proceeded to order the eggtarts and see what they were like. The eggtarts are quite small but they are packed with a creamy deliciousness that makes me want to order another one although I have restricted myself to just one thinking of all the sugar and calories that were in that eggtart. My first bite was good with the flaky pastry covering that rich and creamy custard filling inside which was not to sweet but definitely creamy! The tart wasn’t also too sweet for my taste so I really enjoyed eating them. I was in eggtart heaven!The tarts also come in boxes to bring as pasalubong for your friends and family so you can share with them the creamy and yummy goodness of the eggtarts. They were priced at PHP40.00 each so they are not a walk in the park as well but definitely well worth the price.So far this is the best eggtart I have ever tasted to date. As they say in Bisaya – “Pagkalami ug pagka espiso ba ani” which roughly translates to “Super yummy and creamy”. Although I have it on good authority that the exact term for “creamy” is “lapoyot”. Hahahahah! These are your Bisaya words for today!Bon Appetit!Note: Photo taken with my phone camera. -
Sweet Talks: Apple Pie ala Mode and Milky Milk Shakes
Nestled among the “red” light district of Makati is this quaint and cool restaurant which embodies how American diners are supposed to look like. The place has a great collection of old-school mementos which are bound to have you say “ooohhh” and “aaaahhhh” many times over. The restaurant boasts of life-sized cartoon characters like “the Flash” and there is even an Elvis hogging the microphone as well.Presenting…..the “Filling Station”.Aside from it’s great decor, the place also has a very extensive American menu which is bound to make your mouth water and your pocket suffer. The prices are quite more than you would expect to be paying but basing on what I had when I was there, I think it is quite worth it. The servings are also “Americanized” which means they are great big heapings that are pretty much good for at least 2 Filipino diners. 🙂
Because me and my sister and a few other friends already had dinner at that great Korean restaurant nearby, we stopped by the Filling Station to have a little bit of dessert. We ended up ordering apple pie ala mode which was a really yummy and served hot apple pie with a flaky crust which surrounded sweet apples inside. The pie turned out great and not soggy which is what you would like in your pie. Of course topped with a yummy vanilla flavored ice cream and a serving that you could share between 3 people.
Aside from having the apple pie, we also had the yummy milky milk shakes. Super duper sized milkshakes which were flavored chocolate and vanilla and you can really taste the creaminess of both. They were served in really tall glasses and the left over shakes from the blender were even served together with the usual serving glasses, so we sort of ended with 4 drinks instead of just 2. So creamy and so sinfully made. I am sure my caloric count for that night far exceeded the norm for a regular person.
This was a dessert tale to be told. For a great apple pie, this place is good with the super-sized milkshakes. I wouldn’t recommend this to diabetics though…:) Sugar is not shy in this store!The Filling Station is located in Burgos Street nearby Makati Avenue.Note: Photos taken with my camera phone only. 🙂
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My Binondo Foodie Adventures: Part III – Wai Ying
To date my most loved find thanks to friend Cherry, Wai Ying never fails to amaze and satisfy me. Friend C first brought me here for a foodie trip. Their dimsums were just sublime and they evoked memories of my dimsum experience way back in Cebu. For years here in Manila, I have tried to find the exact taste that I enjoyed with Cebu dimsum and then I was brought to Wai Ying. So far I have never visited Binondo without a visit to Wai Ying, may it be for dimsum or for their great coffee(siphon method).
Next up on the list is their hakaw. These were plump and juicy shrimp dumplings which were wrapped in a thin wrapper and best eaten with the chili and soy sauce. The hakaw’s were a joy to taste. Wai-Ying did not scrimp on their ingredients and this is a good thing!
HAKAW I also enjoy their Taro Cake. Savory taro made into cake and deep fried. It tastes like pork but without all that fat. 🙂
TARO CAKE They are also famous for their asado menu item. Wai Ying is a pretty small restaurant and it easily gets packed especially during the weekends. Fronting their restaurant is a display of an assortment of meats ranging from duck, chicken and pork. For pork, you have the asado style, for the chicken – soy chicken (with a very delicious ginger sauce made of minced ginger, green onions and some sesame oil methinks) and for the duck – peking style or in a mami.
PORK ASADO 
SOY CHICKEN Siomai is another staple and so far, it is the taste I have been looking for. I don’t need to fly to Cebu to get my dimsum fix. There is just nearby Binondo and I have been there almost every month. Sometimes just to enjoy walking along its streets or when I have need of Chinese medicine or just for my dimsum fix or my mahu craving. Eventhough mama knows how to make mahu, it does take a lot of effort to make and sometimes a trip to Shin Ton Yon in Binondo can give you the Mahu or Kikiam you have been dying to eat.On to the next Binondo adventure. I think I am still halfway as I know there are a lot of great restaurants in Binondo and I have yet to eat in their famed “Estero”.Note: Wai Ying has this tendency to always be full so you might find yourself on the waiting line for a table. Don’t worry, the food is always worth it!!! I might also do another Wai Ying article but this time focusing on their other menu items. I heart Wai Ying…. -
My Binondo Foodie Adventures: Part II – Royal Garden Restaurant
Basing on my posts, you should know by now that I am in love with Binondo. It’s nooks and crannies never fail to fascinate me. I can go through Ongpin St. many times and never get tired of it. So does my mama and papa. They are avid food lovers and Chinese food always has a special place in their heart.
When my Uncle B from the States visited us for my other Uncle’s wedding celebration, I suggested a trip to Binondo for all of the family. I had told my Uncle B that I would take him to dimsum places in Binondo. He knows the place but he isn’t well versed as to where to eat. He has only ever eaten at President’s Tea House when Binondo has so much more to offer.
Papa was pretty much excited as he has long wanted to visit Binondo to eat but he wasn’t able to because it is quite far from where we live. Anyway, I couldn’t get enough of their dimsum and the best part, it was very affordable. We had like about 20 dimsum baskets of assorted yummies.
I then got in touch with friend C (who lives in Binondo) about where to go for a really great authentic Dimsum experience. She said to try out Royal Garden along Ongpin corner Padilla Street. It is not hard to find since it is literally at the corner of that street. Friend CB tells me that this place serves really authentic Dimsum and I have to agree that they did after the first bite.
We had fish head in black bean sauce which surprisingly was good. The fish head had little meat but the sauce which accompanied this was the bomb.
Papa and Uncle B also enjoyed these wonderfully cooked and seasoned pig’s intestines. Trust me, I thought it would be bad but I enjoyed myself thoroughly.
We also had steamed chicken wings. Really fall of the bone tender chicken goodness.
We also had the spareribs which were great and this peculiar looking dimsum made out of kani wrapped in vermicelli. This was a unique and delicious addition. Don’t forget, chicken feet galore. You gotta love ’em.We also got some fried rice which was rice and viand enough for anybody.
Some pancit canton, which wasn’t really their strong suit, and a host of other dishes that I could no longer recall. Oh! We also had this really great curried squid which was something really different and delish for me.
We also had these huge meatballs which are akin to the meatballs used in spaghetti although these were really huge and packed so much that I wasn’t able to finish 1.
Of course, we also had siomai which was really great.
Sharksfin dumplings are also a must in this restaurant. They were just delish.
All in all, I had a great and authentic Dimsum experience although the ambiance left a lot to be desired.A must-eat place when you visit Binondo. You have got to try them out and the good thing is, they are open 24 hours so no need to wait for your dimsum fix.Royal Garden RestaurantOpen 24 hoursLocated at the corner of Padilla and Ongpin Streets.Happy Eating! -
My Foodie Experiments: Bacon Drop Biscuits from Yummy Magazine
If you are a foodie or a cooking enthusiast then for sure you have come across Yummy Magazine or browsed through its pages. One day, I was leafing through the pages of this yummy magazine when I found this recipe for Bacon Drop Biscuits. I looked over the ingredients and found that they were easy to look for and easy to find so tonight, I went and baked myself some. They came out really delish, they are best served warm and they will really be great appetizers before dinner meals. They are savory biscuits which are crisp on the outside and soft in the inside.Below is the recipe…Total preparation time: 45 minutesBaking Time: 15 minutes or more depending on your oven temperatureIngredients:2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour1 1/4 tbsps baking powder1/4 tbsp baking soda75 grms cold butter, cubed1 cup sour cream1/2 cup bacon, cooked, drained and finely chopped3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese ( I wasn’t able to find this so used Eden cheese instead)Preheat your oven to 425’F. In a bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt. Using a food processor or blender, cut in the butter. Mixture should resemble that of coarse crumbs. Don’t allow the butter to melt. Add in sour cream and mix in the blender again until the dough holds together. Fold in the bacon and cheese then drop the mixture into your baking sheet by heaping tablespoonfulls. Bake until they are golden brown for about 15 minutes or more depending on your oven and serve while warm.
It was a hit with the family. They loved it and we all thought it would make a great appetizer or something to tide the hunger over.
Happy Cooking Friends! 🙂 -
Resto Feature: Hunan Lutong Bahay (6404)
You might be wondering about the 6404 number in this entry. It actually is the exact same numbers that you will see outside this unassuming Chinese restaurant which doesn’t have a name. It only has the number outside and that’s it. It is situated at the back of Rockwell and it has attracted many foodistas since it opened. It is owned by a Chinese family and I think they still want to keep this place a secret owing to the fact that I don’t think they are registered (if you guys know what I mean). Anyway, we are not going to talk much about that but we are going to talk about my eating experience there…Me and friend BV actually had a little bit of a hard time in finding this quaint and secret hole-in-the-wall place. We had to search the internet while on the road to find out the address and figure it out for ourselves. Friend BV had read about it on Anton Diaz’ blog and I had also known about it through several other foodie bloggers. But in any case, we did find it and lo and behold we caught sight of house 6404.When we went inside, we were assailed by so many Chinese words going to and fro between the diners. That familiar language I hear in Binondo, I could hear in here but it had a difference to it. There were also a couple of Filipino diners. One thing that caught my attention though was this rice cooker in the corner and it seemed that people were just getting up from their seats and serving themselves with the rice. I learned later on that their kitchen serves all their guests with unlimited rice.When we got seated, I immediately went to pounce and check on the menu. There was a name at the top and I think that it is the name of the restaurant – “You Jie Xiao Chao”. Which reminds me, I have to ask mum about what it means.
They only had a few dishes but all the better so it doesn’t confuse their diners. A friend told me that they served really good patatim but me and friend BV didn’t dare order it as it was just the 2 of us and we were thinking we couldn’t finish it all. So, instead we got the braised pork belly which was really think slices of slow cooked pork served atop braised mustard greens. The pork was so melt-in-your-mouth tender that we both finished it eventhough there was quite a lot. I couldn’t believe how tender it was and the braised mustard greens were the perfect compliment to it.
Their Hunan fried rice which is sort of like Yang Chow fried rice only lesser on the other addends but still a very filling rice and some steamed dumplings which were very fresh served with their own sauce.
We spent around PHP500.00 and I think it was a good 500 spent on some Hunan cooking. The dinner was interesting as well as filling and for sure I will be back for more and this time to try out their Patatim which they say is the bestseller.Happy Eating!!
Note: Resto Address is 6404 Camia Street, Makati City -
American Cuisine – Mr Jones @ Greenbelt
Burgers, Fries and Milkshakes – these are what come to mind whenever we think about American cuisine. These 3 are the trademarks (or at least I’d like to think so) of American cuisine. When my friend Karlo was here one weekend, he was wanting to explore the burger cuisine in town as he considers himself a burger fan and is always on the lookout for great burgers. We decided to haunt Greenbelt and try Mr. Jones. It’s this burger joint which is themed like those American diners.They had red vinly seats and a menu boasting of American favorites. I heard they are quite well known for their burgers and the portions of their food. It was a bit pricey when I glanced at the menu and I wondered if it was as good as it’s price.
There were actually 3 of us and we decided to order and then share because they advised us that the portions were big and BIG they really were. We only had to order 1 burger and that was good for 2 boys and me. (Whew!)For the appetizer, all 3 of us chose the “Threesome”. It was a sight to behold. 3 kinds of appetizers served in tall glasses and they were delicious. First glass was a truffled egg salad topped with some black caviar (itsy bit of caviar). This was good. Second glass contained Old bay and fresh dill prawn louie with caper and berries and lastly the third glass was the sweet and creamy pineapple and apricot and canadian double smoked bacon macaroni. They were all good and easy on the mouth. These 3 alone made us feel quite full.
We had the Superman Burger for the main course and boy was it Super Big! Homemade 100% char grilled US beef patty with American Cheddar cheese, balsamic sweet onions atop, Hickory bbq sauce, double smoked bacon, lettuce and tomatoes on a black & white sesame bun with a pickled pepper on top. Sounds like a mouthful right and it was also a mouthful. We had trouble finishing it and it came together with a siding of abundant fries. 🙂
For drinks, we had (of course) chocolate milkshake which was great. We all went home feeling a bit wuzzy and happy with what we had eaten. Good food! Good friends to share the bill! It was a nice night! Looking forward to eating with friend K and M again!
Photo Credits: The 1 photo that is not branded here is from Clickthecity.com. My apologies as my phone pictures are not that clear. Wasn’t able to bring my slr camera then. 🙁You May Also Like
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My Binondo Foodie Adventures: Part I – Tasty Dumplings
It has been a while and I have collected a dozen pictures and a dozen more thoughts about food and restaurants in general and I am sorry to be so remiss in updating my blog. I have been meaning to but I have been bogged down with wedding pictures and work related stuff that I haven’t had the time nor energy to take care of my foodie blog.I have been in and out of Binondo countless times but it still doesn’t fail to charm and excite me everytime. The purple firetrucks, the great and cheap chinese food, the blabber of Chinese everywhere and it’s delightful nooks and crannies. Blame it on my Chinese heritage but there is just something about Chinatown that keeps me coming back for more.My first restaurant on focus would be “Tasty Dumplings”. Located at the side of the Binondo Church – it is a fully airconditioned Chinese restaurant that offers great value for good food. The interiors of the restaurant are very clean with attentive waiting staff. Their restaurant menu is not that comprehensive so that it doesn’t confuse you so much and their food is good.I was with a foodie friend during this exploration and she was the one who introduced me to Tasty Dumplings. We first ordered some fried dumplings which came in due time and it was accompanied with a special sauce which I thoroughly enjoyed. Pegged at less than a hundred pesos and about 10 pcs. in 1 order. I consider this a great buy.
There were the fried ones so we also had to try the steamed ones. Still at the same price and same quantity. Another good buy.
After the dumplings, we proceeded to real food. They have this porkchop meal which is just PHP99.00 and you will be surprised because the porkchop is so huge that I wasn’t even able to finish it at all. Yummy! We had some free green tea to wash away all that grease and full feeling because we had another restaurant to go to.
After trying out that porkchop, we actually ordered mushroom balls. Really good stuff. Fried mushroom balls which were a welcome change to all the fried dimsums I have eaten lately.
Overall rating, I’d give them 7 out of 10. Their surroundings were really clean and you will be very much comfortable eating inside. They also serve free soup with their porkchop btw. A worthwhile foodie exploration. -
Sweet Talks: Josephine’s @ Tagaytay
Yes, we were off to Tagaytay one Friday afternoon to make some arrangements with the staff regarding the wedding we were going to be holding there this coming August for my lovely cousin G and soon-to-be cousin-in-law M. It was just the right temperature for a nice and breezy afternoon to go and visit Josephine’s again in Tagaytay.Josephine’s is known for their good food. Well, aside from that we took the venue because of it’s fabulous viewdeck which offers a fantastic view of Taal Lake with the Taal Volcano. Mom, K, G, Baby Z and me were off for an afternoon treat. Tagaytay’s cool temperatures never cease to soothe and calm me.After we finished with the arrangements, we had a fun shoot with me being photog and sometimes K and then we proceeded to order some late afternoon dessert as we already had lunch at the house. We decided to check out one of the items on our wedding menu as well as get some refreshments.G and Me ordered flavored lattes (chocolate macadamia nut), K had iced mochacinno and Mom had iced flavored latte also (irish cream). G and I’s hot flavored latte left something to be desired at PHP95.00. It was inside a small mug that I though was for the cappucino only. The size of for a latte was disappointing. I should have just gotten the iced one, at least it was bigger. Taste wasn’t really something spectacular and it was okay since they are not really a coffee shop, so they are excused. Not really expecting a lot in that department.
For our cakes/desserts, G chose the Sorbeturon priced at PHP95.00. It was one of the items on her wedding dinner. And boy oh boy did I like this Filipino treat. Luscious turon with some macapuno ice cream on top. Very good! Will definitely choose this for the wedding dinner as my dessert. The bananas for the turon was not so sweet, it was just right which was something I really liked. There langka inside it too which made it tastier.
K had cappucino cheesecake. I didn’t like it much as it seemed too fluffy and not really that delicious @PHP95.00.
I had the Silvana cake @PHP95.00. This was something we all liked. The creaminess and the crispiness were just right and the sweetness not so overpowering. I liked this one.
I also ordered Baby Z some Brown Derby @ PHP85.00 which was a brownie ala mode. Heated brownies and vanilla ice cream on top with some cherry sauce at the bottom. Z loved it.
We went away full and refreshed and had fun shooting with the great background and of course, excellent company.To the next dessert tale… -
On The Tummy Spot: Razon’s Halo-Halo @SM MOA
I have heard so much talk about Razon’s famous halo-halo that I was able to convince my Atsi to give it a try.We were just strolling around in MOA and we found that they had a Razon’s branch so we decided to try out this halo-halo that has been getting rave reviews from almost everyone I knew and it was even featured on TV a few times. They are a Pampanga-originated restaurant. Their halo-halo, in my opinion, was a bit pricey at PHP85/serving although later on I figured out why it was such. When it arrived on our table, it was just whitish with brown portions and not your usual colorful halo-halo that we get from Chowking. I wondered to myself, why all this hype for a colorless halo-halo. First observation was that their ice was really pulverized that it was like powder and not the usual grainy ice you find in most halo-halo’s.
When we dug in and started to eat, I then knew why it was priced as such. It was so deliciously creamy that even if the ice has melted, it still tasted pretty much the same. It was so good that for the first time, I finished that 1 glassful of serving for that halo-halo (take note, I don’t eat halo-halo and when I do I just usually eat off somebody else’s serving because I don’t like too much of it).We also ordered dinuguan and puto but I wasn’t able to take pictures of it anymore since we were quite busy eating. We also ordered a bilao of pancit luglug which I really didn’t find very delicious. Pancit malabon is better but since they ran out of it already, we ordered the luglug.
It was a meatless version of malabon and it was just layered with so much crushed chicharon as topping. Overall, I’d say the halo-halo was a hit with me and that’s coming from somebody who doesn’t eat much of the stuff.If ever you get to see a Razon’s resto, I do suggest that you don’t miss their Halo-Halo!!
exploring food forever! among other things…
