Coleen's Recipes: Sinampalukang Manok

I think I've mentioned it a couple times before that I really, really love soups, especially sinigang.  I learned this recipe more than a decade ago from my aunt and I've considered it as one of my specialties ever since.  This version has been modified according to my taste so beware. :)

Shawarma Bros.

This has been a long overdue post. During our pre-midterms week, Pearl and I decided to try this new shawarma place in BGC. I've always complained about not having enough shawarma places in the Rockwell-BGC area so I was pretty excited when I saw Shawarma Bros. open in BGC.

I went for my traditional Beef Shawarma Rice plate while Madam Pearl decided to get the Big Bro Plate, which is also a Beef Shawarma Plate but it comes with a side of Keema and a glass of iced tea. The Beef Shawarma Plate costs P159. It comes with a LOT of rice (which was a big plus for me), the beef, and a side of tomato-cucumber salad. 

Beef Shawarma Plate ala Carte

P159

Turq du Soleil: A Fair to Remember

The past three months flew by so fast because of all the things I decided to busy myself with. I've completed 360 hours of internship (though we were only required to finish 240), am about to take my final examinations for summer term, I volunteered to do all these things for school and other people that I'm actually surprised I'm still breathing. I guess I was too focused on forgetting and getting rid of all the drama in my life that I forgot I was human too. No regrets. I am satisfied of all the things I got to accomplish this summer and will still be accomplishing in the next three to four weeks. But before anything else, let me take a break. 

Gus and I, though it's mostly him, have been frequenting different bazaars recently. He seemed to have developed a certain mild obsession with it. I'm not complaining. It's the most fun thing I can do when I'm not interning or studying. But because of all the these trips, it seems that I too, have found bazaar window shopping, kinda therapeutic. Even if I don't get to buy anything, just looking around the various products they offer, and the different food stalls waiting for you when you exit, is such a de-stresser for me. Plus, I get to discover new items every now and then. Speaking of bazaars, there's one coming up this weekend. It's not just a bazaar, but a fair.

Yup! You read that right. A fair. The last time I went to a real fair was around a decade and a half ago, when I was still in high school (or was it grade school?) You get to eat, get married, get jailed, or visit a haunted house. You can also play a game or two if you don't get stuck in jail or locked in the horror house. This year, The Women of Aleitheia, one of the sororities in the Ateneo Law School is presenting Turq du Soleil: A Fair to Remember. It will be a fun-filled day of activities ranging from carnival fun and games, go kart, food tripping, shopping, a circus show, and even an outdoor movie screening! If you missed the screening of one of 2014's funniest Filipino rom-coms, English Only Please, now's the time to watch it on the big screen (sort of).

What are you waiting for? Get your tickets now. Gates open at 12 NN, the movie starts at 7 PM, and you have until 11 PM to enjoy with your family and friends! Time to chill and de-stress. Let the inner child run wild even for just a day. Or go shopping if it does not want to come out and play. Regular tickets sold at P150 and tickets with the movie pass are sold at P250 each.

Turq du Soleil: A Fair to Remember

Bonifacio Open Grounds

25th Street corner 7th Avenue,

Bonifacio Global City

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Post-mortem Treat

The first night of my last finals week as a sophomore student (please let me get to junior year) called for some good food.  Sophomore year was not only tiring physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.  It came to a point where I was not even sure if I was prepared enough to take my final examinations.  I studied, well, I really did try my best to study and retain everything I was able to study.  The whole year was just a mix of super highs and super downs that sometimes, I began to doubt myself and my dreams more than usual.

So, to let go of the extra anxiety that finals week was about to bring, I decided to treat myself to some good food.  I've been reading about this new bistro in the Makati area, which supposedly served inexpensive quality food.  Gus picked me up from school and we decided to try it out.

The Plantation is located along Don Carlos Palanca Street in Makati.  If you're coming from Makati Avenue, cross Ayala Avenue, make a right on De la Rosa Street (PLDT Building), and look for Don Carlos Palanca on the left.  The place isn't hard to miss since it's usually full of people at night.  In case you're coming in for lunch, just look for the building which offers al fresco dining, a few meters away from Greenbelt Excelsior. 

When we got there, we had to settle for the bar area as the place was packed.  It was only around 8 o'clock but all the tables were already taken – couples, groups, enjoying their meals and having drinks.  They apparently offered its customers live band entertainment over dinner.  Perfect after office hangout place.

We started dinner with their Pumpkin Soup with Laguna Cheese.  The Plantation had five different kinds of soup on their menu plus the Soup of the Day so we thought they offered all five kinds.  I wanted to try their 3-Mushroom Cream Soup while Gus wanted to try the Clam Chowder with Baguette but apparently, the only available soup aka their Soup of the Day was the Pumpkin Soup.  You could say that we settled.  If you've been reading my blog entries, you can tell that I always almost need my soup for every meal.  

Pumpkin Soup with Laguna Cheese

P130

Where Do Broken Hearts Go Ba Talaga?

I went to Sagada to clear my head, breathe some fresh air and maybe some sanity back into my system. I expected it to be less of a vacation and more of a Let-Me-Find-Myself trip but the place was too amazing to not be noticed. Here are a few places we visited during our 1-day stay up in the mountains.

Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

It's been a while since my last post. Despite my strong belief that law school will NOT eat much of my time, it has. In between sleeping and studying, I find it hard to throw anything else in the mix. Writing, reading, traveling, and shopping for make-up has been put on hold, indefinitely. It seems like of all my loves, law has taken over everything else. 

Despite the lack of time for anything else, it seems that one other thing has found its way in my crazy, busy school life. I tend to run away when confronted with things I do not want to deal with so I ended up going on a spur-of-the-moment, That-Thing-Called-Tadhana-ish roadtrip to the City of Pines, Baguio.

What was supposed to be a soul-searching, drama-purge trip ended up as a foodtrip, which I did not mind at all. Discovering new restaurants/hole-in-the-walls has been a hobby put on hold because of school, and this little side trip/discovery was definitely refreshing.

So this restaurant I'm talking about is Good Taste Cafe and Restaurant. The cab driver recommended it when we were on our way to the bus station going to Sagada. He said a lot of people patronized the place and that it would be worth checking out. Since our bus was scheduled to leave at 1 PM, and it would be a long trip, we decided to have lunch there.

Good Taste looks like a cafeteria. Big, busy, steel bars/ledges for the serving trays. I wasn't able to get photos of the place since I wasn't expecting to write about it. We went there just so we wouldn't die of hunger during our 6-hour trip to Sagada. But the food surprised us.

Sik Gaek: Gourmet

After weeks of trying to finish a drama that caught my attention because of its uncommon theme, I finally finished it an hour ago! Whee! First, a few details.

CAUTION: May contain spoilers.

Title: 식객 Sik-gaek, Gourmet (on Philippine television), Shi Ke 食客 (Chinese working title)

Episodes: 24

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Cast:

Kim Rae Won 김래원

Nam Sang Mi 남상미

Kim So Yun 김소연

Kwon Oh Joong 권오중

Synopsis:

An aspiring chef who uses not only his brains and skills in cooking, but his heart.

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