Laing from Happy Home - Leandro's

Oh my this Laing from Happy Home (Leandro's Catering) which we had for lunch today did not disappoint TheFoodieMommy and my hubby. It tasted just right for me and the hubby. I was tempted to bring home another order for our dinner but since it has coconut milk and we won't be heading home yet until a few hours after, I decided to just have this again some other time.

They mixed pork in this laing recipe. I wish the cook would be able to share the recipe. This foodie mommy's tummy was really satisfied with the taste of this laing.

Laing is a vegetable dish cooked in coconut milk. It is usually spicy. It is a dish that originated in the Bicol Region where coconut milk is used in most of the local cuisine. It is made from dried taro or gabi leaves and coconut milk. I usually find dried gabi leaves at the Robinsons Supermarket here. I fell in love in laing perhaps becuase I love dishes with gata and I have acquired the fondness for spicy dishes due to my hubby's influence who loves to eat spicy dishes.

I have not eaten this dish while a neighbor we have in my parents' home would usually give this to us. But during the Sooo Pinoy food trip in our own city leg that I was blessed to be a part of, I finally got to try the dish in a few of the restaurants we went to since I have to taste them and that is how I started to eat this dish I somehow avoided before.

I now try to eat laing whenever I see the dish being served. It is kind of like the search for the best laing in town for me now. So far I have tasted a more rich and creamy laing before but this laing was just good for my taste. I enjoyed our simple lunch eating it!

Manang's Chicken Soon to Open in Gaisano Mall Davao

Manang’s Chicken, “Ang Bagong Fried Chicken ng Pinoy,” is opening soon at the 4^th Level of Gaisano Mall. Get your fill soon of our famous soy garlic double deep fried chicken and other delightful treats!

Their first branch outside Luzon will be on soft opening soon from what I heard from a source. They have about 12 branches already since Manang's Chicken became an instant hit, from what I have heard, when they first put up a stall in December of 2010 at the popular food market among foodies which we go to when we travel to Manila known as Mercato Centrale loacted at the corner of 34th Street and 8th Avenue (across MC Home Depot) in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig City.

I am quite curious to try Manang's Chicken version of soy garlic double deep fried chicken after having tried BonChon's and Chicken Charlie which I both liked. The old Fiesta resto that has closed in SM City Davao also had a good tasting garlic chicken which was our fave there. Among the three I liked Chicken Charlie most when It was still a few months open in Gaisano Mall Davao.

I am looking forward to trying Manang's Chicken and see how the taste fares with the others. See you soon there at their soft opening foodies!

Fried Siomai

This is the new fave fried siomai of TheFoodieMommy and my foodie hubby that we can buy at the school canteen of our dear little kid. We love it the first time we tried it during the recess of a speech fest event where the parents of those performing were invited. We had our heavy snacks at the canteen during their recess and this is what we decided to try then.

This lunch costs P39 that consist of five (5) pieces of fried siomai plus rice and hot sauce (which I did not out take anymore). If you just want to have the siomai, well they sell it at P30 which makes the price of P6 per piece of siomai. That makes the price of the rice at P9. You can opt to buy it at another food stall in the canteen for P8 saving you P1. That saving can still go a long way in the long run for a student in the school. The take out box costs P6. I thought too late that I should have brought to the canteen instead the lunch box of my son and just have this lunch placed there after he has eaten his lunch.

Anyway, I'll do that next time. *wink* The P6 I can save can still buy me a good small cup of iced tea at the first stall there at their canteen where we buy iced tea for our little kid. Well just a mother trying to save a little in our own little way. A student should be able to figure that out. Anyway if you eat at the canteen, they will serve this friend siomai in a bowl for no extra charge at all of course.

Well this lunch already is good for our hungry tummies when we are at our kid's school for lunch. It also more affordable compared to when we have to eat out or in the mall or fastfood when we have not much time to go home for lunch then come back again for awhile to fetch our little kid from school once again.

I tried asking if they sell this siomai and the lady serving me most of the time I order there answered that we can buy a pack of 25 pieces  of not yet fried siomai, though already cooked previously (steamed that is) and has been frozen, for P125. A piece costs P6 same price as when it was already fried. One just need a good deep fryer to fry these siomai. Or you can just steam it again.

Free Soup All You Want

If it's free soup all you want, then here it is from Mandarin Tea Garden in Abreeza Mall.

We just wanted something hot like soup for a rainy night when we were having dinner there but I did not want to order another dish coz I am saving it up for something else later after our dinner. We asked one of their staff, who I assume is their supervisor, if by any chance that they have free soup tonight and he answered, "Yes." So we asked for a little of that hot soup and here is what they gave us. I pray it's clean, hot soup. People may just take this for granted. This hot soup they served to us may just be free but it did warm us a little bit more on this cold, rainy night at the mall having a simple dinner at MTG.

McDonald's Holiday Sweet Pleasures 2013

McDonald's has launched their Holiday Sweet Pleasures 2013 about five days ago. I just found out about it today. Indeed the Christmas holiday for this year is near. Stores everywhere have been launching their holiday offerings.

Here are the posters both courtesy of the McDonalds FB page.

Their new dessert Salted Caramel Sundae is an offering to indulge in a holiday treat that is what they described as the perfect medley of salty and sweet to get the merry mood started early.

For those who loves their McFlurry, there's a new scrumptious brand new holiday flavor which cookie lovers are sure to love. The cookie butter that has been trending for months now has come to be one of their new flavors in their Cookie Butter McFlurry.

There's also the McFlurry with OREO in Merry Berry and OREO flavors. Who loves Oreo? Well this foodie mommy and my lil foodie kid loves Oreo. I would love to try both.

Last but not the least...

The McCafe Coffee Float has been one interesting drink for me when I need to really work late at night. Coffees don't usually have that effect on me to really keep me up all night long. But McDo's Coffee Float has been tested and proven for us as the most effective coffee drink I have taken that kept me awake till the wee hours of 3AM to 4PM. We cannot forget it when we first tried it before with my hubby. We were not able to sleep when we turned in around 2AM which is already really late. We both were kept awake until 3AM and for me till 4AM when finally sleep came to me.

I want try all the new holiday flavors soon! I also that they also have new flavors for the sundae cone. Well let's try them all this holiday season! Kids and kids at heart would be delighted!

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Cafe France's French Donuts - Classic Chocolate and Lemon Custard

I have heard about the cronuts craze since August initially through Instagram and Twitter then on Facebook. So when I knew that Cafe France Opens a New Branch in Davao City at Hai Global in Pryce Business Park, I thought I have a closer place to go to when I want to try out one of the cronuts version available in the city.

For those who are not yet familiar, the cronut is a croissant-doughnut pastry created by a Chef Dominique Ansel for Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City just this May 2013. When I first saw it, what comes to mind is our local "Otap". I dunno why but it just looks like it. *wink*

The half-croissant, half-donut pastry made a craze in our country a month after that in June this year. I have been hearing and seeing various cronuts from Chef Ansel's, Wildflour Café + Bakery's version which I think was the first in the country to make its own version. There is also Yamato Bakery Café's cronuts, Krispy Kreme's Krispy Krouissant, DolceLatte's croughnuts, Dunkin Donuts donut croissant, Chatime's Kronuts, The French Baker's croinuts, Go Nuts Donuts cronuts. The list could go on. Intercontinental Hotel Makati cro-nuts and Manila Hotel also made their own version of the pastry. Even Vikings Luxury Buffet Restaurant also has their own.

Then this Cafe France's French Donuts was the first one I heard to be available here in the city. It was launched in Manila last August 1. These are available in these flavors:

LEMON CUSTARD: Zesty lemon-sugar icing atop numerous layers of buttery, crisp puff pastry filled with creamy lemon custard paste.

SALTED CARAMEL: A luscious blend of sea salt and caramel icing atop numerous layers of buttery, crisp puff pastry filled with smooth salted caramel pasty.

CLASSIC CHOCOLATE: Silky semisweet chocolate icing with a choco espresso bean atop numerous layers of buttery, crisp puff pastry filled with rich chocolate paste.

The classic chocolate can be my fave for now among the three from Cafe France but I have yet to try the salted caramel which was not available that  time we were there with the foodie hubby having a light brekkie.

The cronuts craze goes on and our city is just catching up to what was started in NY to Manila to our city.

Go Nuts Donuts' Donut Croissants Cro-nuts

Go Nuts Donuts has joined the cro-nuts craze and we're glad to have been invited to try their new offering of Cro-Nuts by Go Nuts Donuts just a week ago when they launched it here in our city.

Exceptional lightness of a donut. Extraordinary crispness of a croissant. A melt-in-your-mouth masterpiece.

Here are the variety of cro-nuts to choose from...

These were the Cro-Nuts available at that time we were invited by Go Nuts Donuts... 

Plain Sugared (Php 75.00) - Go Nuts Donuts donut croissant fried and injected with pastry cream and rolled in sugar.

Chocolate Almond (Php 75.00)- Go Nuts Donuts donut croissant fried and injected with pastry cream, topped with chocolate fudge and sprinkled with almond slivers.

Strawberry Jam (Php 75.00) - Go Nuts Donuts donut croissant fried and filled with pastry cream. Topped with our homemade jam.

Peaches and Cream (Php 75.00) - Go Nuts Donuts donut croissant fried and injected with pastry cream. Topped with whipped cream and peaches.

Among the four I've tasted, I like the chocolate almond most since it's given that we all like chocolate and I personally love almonds! The peaches and cream was also delightful to eat especially when it is freshly made.

The other cro-nuts are...

Apple Cinnamon (Php 75.00) - Go Nuts Donuts donut croissant fried and filled with pastry cream. Rolled in Cinnamon Sugar and topped with homemade apple jam.

BlueBerry Cream Cheese (Php 75.00) - Go Nuts Donuts donut croissant fried and filled with cream cheese and topped with Blueberry Jam.

Hopefully we would be able to try these two other variety soon.

Berry-Stuffed French Toast With Vanilla Yogurt Sauce

Whenever I think about French Toast, I remember a beautiful and kind friend in college who brought me to her house with another friend and she taught us how to make French toast. I really like how she made her french toast! Since then every time I see French toast anywhere, she would almost always come to mind. She is now based and working in Singapore.

Anyway I found this recipe just awhile ago and I want to try it soon or maybe later you know how busy moms can be when it is almost exam week in our little kid's school.

It looks so yummy and I love this kid of toast. I'm craving for it already!

Photo from Food.com

Berry-Stuffed French Toast With Vanilla Yogurt Sauce recipe that I found at Food.com which I would like to try but in a simpler version soon.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh mixed berries, about 1/2 lb (blueberries, sliced strawberries, raspberries or blackberries)
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/3 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1 (6 ounce) container low-fat vanilla yogurt
10 ounces French bread (1 small loaf)
1 egg
1 egg white
1/3 cup low-fat milk
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

1. Place berries in a small bowl and sprinkle with powdered sugar. For the sauce, spoon about 1/4 of the berries, sweetened condensed milk and yogurt into a blender (or food processor) and puree until smooth; set aside.

2. Cut bread into twelve 1 1/2-inch pieces. Cut into each piece almost all the way through to create a pocket. Stuff the bread slices with remaining sweetened berries and press lightly to close; set aside. Reserve any unused berries to garnish top at serving time.

3. Whisk egg, egg white, milk, granulated sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Spray skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Dip stuffed bread slices in egg mixture to coat and cook until lightly browned on both sides, turning once.

4. Spoon sauce onto serving plate, arrange French toast on top and garnish with any remaining berries.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Open House | Espresso Cream Ice Blended & Espresso Cream Iced Latte

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has sent an invite to their upcoming OPEN HOUSE in their stores nationwaide on August 18, 2013 Sunday.

This foodie mommy and my foodie hubby and kid usually take our time to visit our barista friends at CBTL when they have an open house to try their new offering but as for this time it is said to be a returning favorite.

NOTE: This is open to everyone so bring your family, relatives, friends, officemates, neighbors and enjoy a free taste of their Espresso Cream. No need to print this invite. Just come to their participating stores at the given time next Sunday, August 18.

Check out their poster image and details below from the CBTL invite I got in my email. See you there at the CBTL store we will be going to next Sunday!

Treating Our Customers Is One Of Our Favorite Things To Do.

Join us as we bring back two Returning Favorites: The Espresso Cream Ice Blended® and The Espresso Cream Iced Latte!

Come for a visit on Sunday, August 18, 2013 from 10:00am to 11:30am at all The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® stores in Manila, Batangas, Olongapo, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos and Davao (except University Mall and CBTL™ Coffee Bars) for some Espresso Cream goodness like no other.

See you there! #tastematters

Source: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Fresh Durian Arancillo Variety

Fresh Durian Arancillo Variety

August is the Kadayawan Festival month in Davao City. During this time, I seem like many people have an excuse of not a reason to forget doctor's orders and eat DURIAN, the king of fruits considered by many people in southeast Asia as the "King of Fruits" given its delicious taste (that's a yes for us who love eating Durian) with yet a strong smell that we like while some people who don't eat it simply don't like. The famous description for Durian is that "It smells like hell yet taste like heaven!" The smell is so enticing for us who love to eat the king of fruits.

Last Friday on our way home from attending the afternoon First Friday Mass at the nearest church, we passed by a durian vendor that parked his mobile stall or whatever more apt term there is for it. It is the first time we saw him there in front of the sari-sari store.

He was selling Fresh Durian Arancillo Variety that sells for P40 per kilo. Arancillo is said to be named after former BPI-PhilFruits Director Vicente Arancillo according to an article I found through Google.

While my first love among the durian varieties was the native which is more bitter and strong in taste yet creamy that is usually easily distinguished among people who are durian lovers, I have come to like the taste of the other durian varieties. I like the more sweet, delicious type which are creamy in taste and nice texture and I find that in the Arancillo Durian variety. How about you? What's your favorite durian variety?

Going back, the durian that manong durian vendor has last Friday were not that big and I just requested for one that is as close to a kilo. He easily found one and in as much as I try to avoid eating durian now for the effects it has on us, hubby and I just could not resist especially when you have the durian and Coca-Cola Coke softdrink combo.

The durian vendor let me taste it upon opening it. Most of the vendors here allow you to taste the durian which is nice so you would have an option of which taste of each variety you like to indulge yourself in.

Etcetera...

I am not a durian expert buy we have a suki durian vendor along F. Torres Street in Davao City. His name sounds like Lito (sorry I tend to confuse it with Tito) and he used to park his multicab full of durian along F. Torres Street corner Panganiban Street across Bistro Rosario or Cups and Lowercase or at that corner going to Ponce Suites. Sometimes it would cause a little traffic at that corner since some cars and taxis would stop by to buy durian expecially at night. NOW they moved a bit and they park their multicab nearer the entrance of Holiday Gym and Spa still along F. Torres Street. They have been our suki durian vendor there since we moved downtown and found them there. They have many suki. One group of guys selling near Victoria also in a multicab even said they belong to the same supplier. That's how known Lito is to his suki durian customers here in the city.

We used to have Nong Willy as our suki durian vendor in front of Magsaysay Park along the corner of Leon Garcia Street and R. Magsaysay Avenue (more known by its old name as Uyanguren). Near Magsaysay Park in Davao you will find the stalls of Magsaysay Fruit Vendors Association and many of them are Durian vendors of Davao City. We love Nong Willy in the office then because he would sometimes give us free extra durian when we buy many of it for our office boss to be brought to Manila. I actually learned to indulge in durian in that office because our big boss from Manila simply loves durian. Every time he would come here then or even if not, we would buy and send plenty of durian to Manila.

The price can vary also when it is peak season or not. The lean season when there is less supply of durian, expect the price to be higher. I remember those days when it used to even price as low as P20-P25 per kilo and those were the days when I could eat at least five serving/seed in one durian eating session. These days I had to control. In as much as many claim the  benefits of durian, it does have some effect to the not so healthy and young anymore. It is okay to indulge but just know how to control depending on one's appetite and tolerance.

Otherwise for the young and healthy foodies who can truly indulge in durian, enjoy! Hope this Kadayawan Festival 2013, we have an abundant and lower priced supply of delicious durian may it be the Arancillo Durian variety of others.

Nutella Ferrero Hazel Cocoa Spread

Photo by TheFoodieMommy

These Nutella Ferrero Hazel Cocoa Spread bottles seems to be calling to me... "Buy! Buy! Buy!" While I on the other hand is saying deep inside my foodie sweet tooth thoughts, "I want, I want, I want!" *wink*

My elder sister now living somewhere in Europe used to send us a big bottle of this when she used to send balikbayan box during Christmas season before. These Nutella though can now be found in almost any supermarket and even in the 24-hour convenience stores here in the city.

When I do my grocery time, I have this thing for looking into the imported goods section of the supermarket of GMall. Everytime we do get to do our grocery there, I would take some time to go around and look into products that I like, crave, interested in as a foodie or simply look at products that are not usually found in other supermarkets in the city. By the way, just a tip if you are in the city and looking for imported food items and stuff that you don't find in other supermarkets or stores in the city, try the GMall supermarket.

I have been thinking of buying Nutella again out of my own saved money since this is out of our weekly grocery budget already. So everytime I would pass by the peanut butter displayed on the shelf in any grocery, I would stop and think if I should give it a go for yes that Nutella craving craze we sometimes randomly have! *wink*