Pans Up Home Cooks! You #GataLoveJolly’s Coconut Cream and Coconut Milk

Bicol Express 

Are you a huge admirer of foods with "gata" (coconut milk) as a base? If you enjoy incorporating coconut milk's magical qualities into your favorite dishes, you're probably aware of how difficult it can be at times. Not because it is hard to cook with, but because of the preparation process when using it as an ingredient.

Easy Baked Sea Bass Fish Recipe from Sarangani Bay

I was very fortunate to try Sarangani Bay's Sea Bass or Apahap fish because to be honest, I don't even know what Apahap is. All I know is Bangus, Tilapia, Maya-Maya, Galunggong, and all other common fishes. I didn't know that Apahap could be so tasty and resilient, too, where you can do a lot of dishes out of it. 

Sarangani Bay's Sea Bass (Apahap)
Each fish is freshly sealed and underwent quality checking so it's guaranteed fresh. 

Bang Bang Bangus: Crispy Boneless Bangus Delivered To Your Doorstep!

These past few months, I have been an avid customer of online delivery. I think it has also been a new normal to most families since the pandemic began. I've tried fast food, pizzas, milk teas, you name it. But there are times I crave for seafood. I was able to order tempura, squid rings, and sashimi, but sometimes I crave for seafood that I could eat with rice. 

Now, I am happy to discover Bang Bang Bangus! They offer special crispy bangus that's already flavored to perfection! Their bangus is made with Bang Bang's signature breading and glaze topped with toasted garlic and cilantro. 

They delivered the bangus in a box. The Lalamove guy thought it was pizza. 

I was very fortunate to try their original flavor.  The fish came with classic Pinoy side dishes namely laing and pinakbet. The moment I opened the box, I can really smell the delicious garlic! 

Uni-Pak's Mackerel Sisig Recipe + Giveaway!

Mackerel Sisig for Mother's Day? Why not? That's what we served at our home last Sunday for lunch and everyone especially my mom, my brother, my husband, my sisters just loved it. The sisig was gone in just one sitting and they kept asking for more.

Aside from its delicious taste, using mackerel for sisig is good for the heart, too, because mackerel is a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids. Plus, it doesn't give you that heavy feeling in the tummy so you would feel less guilty after eating it. It's the perfect alternative for pork, which we would often use for sisig. It's also a great dish for the barkada, don't you think?  I guess it's true what they say that hindi basta nakasanayan, the best na 'yan. 

Uni-Pak Mackerel in Natural Oil

We don't just consume any mackerel brand in the market. We choose the Uni-Pak brand because their products are guaranteed fresh from "catch to can" and they contain only the finest ingredients. Uni-Pak is the flagship brand of SLORD Development Corporation that specializes in toll-packing quality canned goods for more than 30 years.  So remember, basta Mackerel, dapat tatak Uni-Pak! 

Mackerel Sisig Recipe

Ingredients: 

• 1 can of 425g Uni-Pak Mackerel in Natural Oil, drained and flaked
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium-sized onion, minced
• 1 pc. red chili (siling labuyo), minced
• Oil or 1/8 stick of butter for frying
  
  Optional Dressing:
• 2 pcs. calamansi
• 1 tbsp. mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
  
  
  Procedure: 

1. In a cooking pan, heat oil or butter
2. Saute garlic, and onion. 
3. Put in Uni-Pak Mackerel flakes and red chili. Cook for 3-5 minutes. 
4. Remove from heat and transfer it to serving plate
5. Put calamansi, mayonnaise and soy sauce. Mix well. 

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And here's the giveaway! Uni-Pak is very generous to give a Uni-Pak gift pack to one of my lucky readers! Simply enter the contest through the Rafflecopter below and follow the instructions to gain points. Giveaway is open to Philippines residents only and will run until May 29, 2017.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lunch Date at Little Quiapo BF Homes

Little Quiapo has always been the favorite go-to place for people when they crave for some delicious good old-fashioned Filipino home cooking. I was craving for some "lutong bahay" food, so my hubby and I decided to have lunch at Little Quiapo, BF Homes Paranaque.

Simple Yet Delightful Treats from Pan de Manila

Just recently, while I was walking along Legaspi Village in Makati, I came across two Pan de Manila branches. The store's facade really was quite inviting so I was lured inside to see what's new. :) I think it's been 4 years since I last visited one of their stores. 

Here are some items that I bought that are worth mentioning:

1. Pan de Manila's Salted Yema Spread (Price: P85)

 What I like about it is it really does taste like our old favorite yema and it's really spreadable or should I say it's easy to spread on a bread using a spoon. The price is quite reasonable, too! 

I like its not too sweet yema flavor. If you want it to be sweeter, then simply stuff some more yema spread on to your bread :D 
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2. Pan de Manila Cinnamon Pan (Price: P15.00 )

It's simply a soft and huge pandesal smothered in lots and lots of cinnamon and let me tell you, it really works! My son ( a picky eater) who loves cinnamon rolls would sometimes complain how the cinnamon rolls were too thick in texture and he also doesn't like raisins. Well, when he tasted this cinnamon pan, he really loved it and finished the whole bread! 

 

Like I said, it's simply pandesal with cinnamon, but it really does taste good. Perfect for coffee. 

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3. Chocolate con Nueces (3-in-1 Chocolate with Roasted Peanuts)

Price: P18.00 per sachet.

It's like drinking choc-nut and I love it! I was actually expecting some little bits of nuts to chew on while drinking it, but there's none. The taste of chocolate and nuts really blended well, thus, giving me a nice hot cup of eccentric chocolate.

Note: Just be sure to use just a small coffee cup when you drink one for maximum satisfaction. Before, I used a big mug for it thinking that it would be enough, but it tasted bland because there was too much water used.

Well, that's just about it. Of course, the usual bestsellers are still there such as the Pesto Cheese Sticks, Ensaymada, and I was also delighted to see some donuts displayed in their shop which I failed to take a picture because I left my phone at home. T_T

Well, a short stop at Pan de Manila was really nice & pleasant, and I do recommend that you do visit them when you have the time because they might have something that you want in terms of bread, bread spreads, and beyond :D They're open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Pan de Manila

http://www.pandemanila.com.ph/

Delightful Treats from Chips Delight

Chips Delight has been a part of our family for a long, long time. I remember munching on them when I was still in college because I just love their cookies! My favorite Chips Delight flavor is their original chocolate chip cookies partnered with chilled milk.Now that I have kids, it's not hard for them to love Chips Delight because one bite of their cookie and they just can't get enough of it.

This is a pic of our stocked food when we checked in a hotel in Makati just this summer.
I really made sure we have Chips Delight to make our stay more delightful. 

So since I love Chips Delight, I was actually thrilled that they were one of the sponsors in Blogapalooza 2015. I was really eager to see what they had in store for bloggers like me. 

Luckily, as I went and entered the venue, theirs was one of the first booths I saw so it's the first booth I went to. All the staff greeted me and took my picture below as I was holding Chips Delight's fan sign. 

Their booth really looked festive ^_^

 After taking a picture, they gave me a pack of their new flavor, The Chips Delight Chocolate Chip Brittle Brownie. I decided to take this home and let the delight reach my kids. :)

The resealable lock makes it more convenient to bring whenever and wherever we travel.

And so when I went home, my kids got excited to see the pack. They knew it was Chips Delight right away because of the familiar logo. We all ate it right away as a snack. My little girl even asked for some chilled milk which was a great idea. 

A close up photo of the cookie.

The cookie was actually a bit more brittle, thinner, and not as chewy unlike the other flavors that we usually buy, but it's still a winner in our list. It's more crunchy and it did resemble the flavors of brittle brownies, which is why the pack didn't last for more than 5 minutes :)

 Chips Delight offers plenty of other delicious flavors such as :

1. Soft Brownie cookies (family favorite)
2. Peanut and Caramel Chip cookies (my brother's favorite)
3. Coffee caramel chip cookies (my other sister's favorite)
4. Striped chocolate cookies (family favorite)
5. Striped Cappuccino chocolate chip cookies (my personal favorite)
6. Rainbow candy cookies (great for kiddie parties)

Mini Chips Delight Butter Oatmeal Choco Chip CookiesThis party pack is best suited for sharing :)

For a more nutritious treat, I also buy the Mini Chips Delight Butter Oatmeal Choco Chip cookies for my son's baon for school. It's definitely a delicious way to add a bit of fiber to my son's snacks :D The smaller packs has a very budget-friendly price of P11.00 each.

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Here are some new flavors of Chips Delight :

Chips Delight Triple Chocolate Overload Cookies
I think this would be an awesome treat during the Holidays to make it extra special, don't you think? :) I'm sure my kids would be delighted to see this.

Chips Delight Chocolate Chip Cookies (No Sugar Added)
I think this is best for adults like me and for those who are health-conscious This is definitely good news to us because we can enjoy the same old Chips Delight goodness without the guilt.

So there you have it. Chips Delight has lots of flavors to choose from that suits  every individual's taste and you can definitely expect that their cookies are reasonably priced catered for everyone's budget. I make sure I always have stocks of Chips Delight at home so my kids always have something delicious to munch on any time of the day.

More about Galinco, the company behind Chips Delight:

GALINCO is a world-class food and beverage company from the Philippines.

Our products include delightful cookies, easy-to-prepare pre-mixes, popular Philippine desserts, and irresistible confectioneries. These are made from the finest ingredients, in our state-of-art facilities, and based on recipes developed by our experienced professional food and beverage specialists.

From the time we set out to introduce our first cookie product in 1996, our founder has always believed that the key to success is products that delight the Consumer - hence our first cookie brand "Chips Delight".

Through the years, our high-quality products are being enjoyed all over the Philippines; as well as being exported to various countries.

The cornerstone values for our successful track record as a world-class organization are:

• Focus on delighting our Consumers
• Innovation
• Non-compromising standards of quality
• Development of our Human Capital
• Responsible Corporate Citizenship

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For more information about Galinco and their products, you may visit them at their website at http://www.galinco.com/home/

Manila Chocolatier: Pure Chocolate Pleasure for Chocolate Enthusiasts

I was purchasing some Machiavelli Chocolates in Rustan's Makati branch when I noticed a different brand of chocolates also being sold in the same store and that's "Manila Chocolatier." It's named after Manila because it is locally made.  I'm always an avid fan of locally made chocolates because of their good quality and taste, but this one really hits the number one spot of my favorite chocolates!

Box of 8 chocolate pralines.
Price: Php 750.00

  The box itself looks nice and a good gift idea for every occasion.
The sub text on the box says "Supreme Quality." Believe me, it is. :)

Traditional Filipino Food at Via Mare

Via Mare is a familiar name especially to restaurant diners old and new. They became famous with their oyster specialties and other Filipino favorite dishes. So when I won a Via Mare gift certificate worth P500 from their Facebook contest, I got all excited and decided to use it when I went to Makati. I chose their Greenbelt 1 branch because I've been longing to dine there for its cozy ambiance that people can see through their restaurant window.

Very nice and cozy ambiance. Luv it!

It was really difficult to choose what to order from their menu because everything looked so delicious to me. But then, their simple pandesal meal caught my eye at that time so I ordered their Crispy Vigan Longanisa.

For dessert, I ordered my all-time favorite Pinoy food, the Palitaw.

I was craving for coffee at that time, but coffee was not available so I ordered their Spanish Style Chocolate.

Grilled Pan de Sal with Crispy Vigan Longganisa 

The first one to arrive at my table! I did not expect my order to have chips on the side, but the more the merrier! .It may not look so grand in the picture (They're breads! What more can you expect?)

but they sure did not disappoint. The breads were sooo soft that almost melt in your mouth and they go really well with the crispy Vigan longganisa.

My Spanish Style Chocolate!
Very thick and bland so you have to add some milk and sugar according to your liking.

My meal.

Palitaw
Tastes like the original and authentic Palitaw - just the way I like it. 

Another shot of my complete meal.  I was so full after eating all of them.!
 Call me an old soul, but this is my kind of happy meal :D  

 I really loved eating at Via Mare. The manager and the staff were all very accommodating, the place was so fine, and the food is just divine. I look forward to dining there again in Greenbelt 1 branch. :)



GREENBELT 1
Restaurant Type: Cafe & Oyster Bar Express
Paseo de Roxas Makati City
Tel. No. 815-1918
Telefax No. 893-2306

A Simple Dinner at Dong Juan (BF Branch: CLOSED)

Thanks to Beeconomic.com.ph, I was able to purchase the following deal:

For P128, there's sisig, iced tea and rice that's good for 2 already! How insane is that? When I saw this, I immediately bought it. Last Saturday, we finally were able to use it.

Fresh Pasalubong From Tagaytay: Loumars and Bag of Beans

My sister went to Tagaytay with her friends last Saturday and went home late at night when everyone was already sleeping. Early morning, we were greeted by her pasalubong at the dining table!

Coffee & Cake Combo at Serye Café Filipino

My sister bought the "Cake and Coffee Combination" promo from Ensogo and all I have to say is what we saw from the pictures is really what you get. 

FYI: The promo is only P99 for a coffee and cake that's worth P200, but if you ordered a pair that exceeds the P200, then you'll have to pay the excess value.

 

 

The first pair: Café con sorbets with biscotti

Here's the biscotti

And here's the Cafe con Sorbets. My brother says it's simply coffee with ice cream.

  

2nd Pair: Café Mocha Manila with Suman

Cafe Mocha

Suman.
My mother says it lacks flavor. She still prefers suman wrapped inside banana leaves.

Here are the rest of the desserts we ordered with coffee: 

Apple Pie
We didn't like this. It tasted like bread reheated in a microwave with dried apples inside. It's quite a disappointment.

Chocolate Decadence Cake
It was so-so according to my sister.

Macapuno Pandan Cake
The best Filipino-themed cake we've tasted so far. It's a must-try.

Sans Rival
I wasn't able to taste this, but my husband was able to finish this cake. I guess it's quite good. :)

The overall experience was okay. The ambiance of the cafe and the staff were satisfactory. Take note of the word, "cafe," in their title because the place was transformed more like a cafe and not a restaurant. It's actually a good place to hang out with friends and family.

Panoramic view of Serye Cafe

Serye Cafe Filipino
Ground Floor, Santana Grove, Sucat, Paranaque
Reservation nos.:825.4691/826.9317