The BDJ Box

My first BDJ Box arrived three days after I placed my order. The shipping was pretty fast, considering it was an online purchase with a delivery schedule. At first, I was a bit hesitant with making the purchase because it was something new in the Philippine market, but it was also the reason I gave in. For those of you who aren't familiar with the BDJ Box, it is a samples subscription. Every month, subscribers receive a box of samples ranging from skin care products, cosmetics, and fragrances. Some of them come in small (sample) sizes, others in their regular sizes. 

 

A Big No-No for Balikbayans (and regular Pinoys)

A few days ago, we brought our yaya and driver to Cabalen Trinoma for an early Christmas treat. They are very simple people who don't really indulge so we thought a dinner buffet would surprise them. Since it was just a few weeks before Christmas, we had to wait in line for a while since the place was packed. But for P298 only, we thought this would be worth it.

NOT.

Backlog 1: Adobo Connection

When I was still working in Makati, I discovered this small, literally hole-in-the-wall restaurant behind our office building. It was inside a parking lot along de la Rosa. I got so tired of the usual office cafeteria food so I decided to walk along de la Rosa in hopes of finding other restaurants where I could buy food. And that's when I saw Adobo Connection.

I know this restaurant isn't really unknown. I've seen it in malls before but I've never really bothered to check it out. This time, something caught my attention. They had adobo rice for only P39! I thought it was a good deal so I tried it. Was I surprised! I got a really big serving of delicious adobo rice topped with garlic and sliced scrambled eggs in a microwavable plastic container! Yup, I loved the packaging too. 

And because I really enjoyed the first one, I decided to bring Gus there since I wanted to try a lot of their dishes.

We had their Kuya's Mixed Adobo, which was the traditional salty adobo made of chicken and pork. The portions were good enough for two so we just ordered an extra cup of rice.

Kuya's Mixed Adobo

Taiwanese Fare: Lugang Cafe

A long overdue post on Lugang Cafe, one of the best xiao long bao places in Manila. Okay, biases aside, a really good Taiwanese dining place along Connecticut Avenue.

I heard of Lugang Cafe a year ago. Friends started talking about this new Taiwanese restaurant that served really good xiao long bao. The deal sites were just starting to gain popularity at the same time and I saw a deal on their famous xiao long bao so I decided it was about time for us to try the Lugang Cafe.

The restaurant was beautiful. It had a traditional-modern feel. The outside was made of stone bricks, and the interior was just grand. 

Wake Up! Part 2

Another recent discovery was Tapsilog Avenue along Xavierville Avenue. Two weeks ago, Gus and I went to Ababu for a late night snack (yes, we usually eat rice for snack), and we saw this new tapsilog place beside. Since we went all the way to Katipunan from Ortigas just to eat at Ababu, I decided we could try the tapsilog place another time. And so we finally did!

The place was a little hole-in-the-wall. Nothing special. Tables and benches made of wood, an inside and outside area, a small restroom and don't count on parking. There's only enough space for one car in front of the place. But of course, we didn't go there to see/appreciate the place. We went there to try the food.

The place offered different kinds of silog. -silogs are famous breakfast meals in the Philippines. It's a meal with one kind of meat or processed food product, sinangag (fried rice), and egg (itlog). For P45, you can try the ever famous Filipino breakfast tapsilog -- tapa, sinangag, and itlog. Or if you're not a salty type of person, you can try their tocilog (tocino or cured sweet pork), hotsilog (hotdog), porksilog (porkchop), and all the other silogs you can think of. Yes, all kinds of silogs for P45 only. 

Tapsilog

P45

Wake Up! Part 1

To wake my blog from its unplanned hibernation, I am writing about two new places in one blog entry! I never intended to go on hiatus but I guess I'm not a real writer because I don't always have time to write *sob* So now that I have extra time from work, I will write as much as I can before it runs out. Let's go!

A few months back, Gus showed me this dimsum place in SM North EDSA which he described as "new and interesting." But with all the dimsum houses in Manila, I didn't know what to think of. "Another dimsum house? What's new? We could always go to an authentic Chinese restaurant for dimsum." What was so different and interesting about this one?

To satisfy our curiosity, we decided to have dinner there. It was called Dimsum Break. I was still a bit hesitant about going so all the stereotype images of dimsum houses started popping into my head. But when we got there, I was speechless.

The place did somehow remind you of stereotypical dimsum houses you might have been to in the country -- very simple interiors, rectangular tables, and a noisy ambiance. 

But what really stands out is their concept of "serving" food: