Pampanga Feast: Cs Italian Restaurant

For some it was a grueling 12 rounds of presentations, for some it was simply a grueling work week, for some still it was an excuse to pig out. But whatever our reasons were, there was no stopping me and my officemates from eating our way across Angeles, Pampanga.

First stop is the Tatler-awarded Italian restaurant C'. Unimpressive facade under the 11:30 am sun, it would be a fault to judge it by just that.

Inside, it's Italy. There are brick walls, warm lighting, wine racks and paintings. I could feel that this place was going to cost me half of my Pampanga Feast money. Which I wouldn't mind if it was worth it.

And it was. We started with 2 types of Panizza.

The first is called the Don Carmelo and is very thin pizza topped with chorizo, anchovies and peccorino cheese. It is as salty as it sounds but is adequately tempered once rolled with the accompanying arugula and alfalfa sprouts.

ANGSARAAAAAP! Every bite was an invitation to roll more and more panizzas so you could eat more and more.

The second panizza was the slightly healthier Primavera. Still paper thin and still loaded with yummy melted cheese, the health I'm claiming comes from the roasted bell peppers, mushrooms and artichokes that sit gloriously on top of it.

Less salty than the Don Carmelo, it still is better eaten with the aragula and alfalfa.

And is pizza rolls were not filling enough, we also ordered a Risotto Rustico. A melt in your mouth risotto made of rice reduced in what seems to be a chicken broth topped with chicken tenders, artichokes, snow peas and cheese.

It was a very comforting dish. I'd love to eat this on a cold rainy day while nursing colds (sans the officemate's face of course).

The last dish we had in C was not a dessert but a pasta - because what is Italian without pasta?

We ordered a Penne Roberto, which is penne pasta cooked in cream, chicken tenders, sundried tomatoes and roasted garlic. Best savory dessert ever!

But we also needed real dessert - the sweet kind.

And so the trip continued...

Perhaps it's time for a quest: Our Awesome Planet's Best Burger

After my Army Navy entry, I found myself jonesing still for burgers.

And so, as I browsed the blogs I love frequenting, I chanced upon this:
The Battle of The Best Burgers.

It's Our Awesome Planet's contenders for best burger in Manila. And although I am familiar with quite a few, the beef-eater in me couldn't accept that I have yet to bite into all.

And so. I am wondering if I should go on my very own burger quest. To taste at least everything on the aforementioned list and maybe discover more on my own.

What do you think belly? Should we do this?

Meat My Soft Spot: Army Navy

I have a soft spot for burgers (my belly, to be precise). I have eaten quite a few and Army Navy's classic quarter pound burger, remains as one of the more memorable.

Last night, I decided that the memory needed rekindling. And so off I went to the Army Navy branch in Dela Rosa and ordered the Classic Burger with sauteed onions and cheese. The boyfriend got a Chicken Burrito. And we decided to split an order of Freedom Fries.


My burger arrived with bacon and cheese instead of onions and cheese, we had it replaced but my burger instead came back with sauteed onions, cheese AND bacon. Perhaps it was their way for thanking me for my honesty (bacon costs more than onions)? Or perhaps they really were giving bacon away, I will never know.

But I do know that it did make my burger a tad more greasy, a tad more salty and thus a tad more perfect. I loved every messy, oily bite.

The Freedom Fries were shoestring thin and crispy and covered in KFC-Fries type batter that gave it an orange color and a peppery taste. Too bad though that the oil they used was probably a bit burnt because the fries had an aftertaste.

The boyfriend's chicken burrito was large, meaty and flavorful. I confess to only having a bite, but it was enough to taste all the flavors. I especially like the bean paste and the saltiness of the rice.

I walked out of that restaurant with my soft spot twice as big (my trainer will kill me) and my memories very much alive.

Ah, beef. How lovely you taste in between buns.

Army Navy, Solaris One Dela Rosa St. Makati (near Makati Med)

Oriental Sunday: Shi Lin

My love for Chinese food runs deep in my blood - my mom made sure of it.
We are the type of family who spends weekends shunning a menu and picking everything attractive in a dimsum cart, we are the family who goes to Baguio and eats almost daily at the old Chinese restaurant along Session Road instead of pigging out on strawberry jam, we are the family who can tell which fried rice comes from which resto with just 1 spoonful. We love it all - from Chowking to Binondo.

That's why when the boyfriend asked me where I wanted to eat after we were done window shopping at the Podium, I immediately answered Shi Lin.

Shi Lin is relatively new and has garnered some great reviews on several blogs. Their biggest draw is the now fashionable "shao long bao" - bite-sized meat dumplings that have soup inside the dumpling skin.

The restuarant's version was pretty good - the soup is hot, the meat is tender and the skin is sufficiently thin. They're not the best that I've had but for the price point, I'd say it's worth an order.

What I did love are the Spicy Shrimp Dumplings. Basically, 6 dumplings, filled to bursting with shrimp and pork, served swimming in a spicy broth-like sauce. Each bite packs a wallop of flavor and you just can't help but dribble the excess sauce on your rice.

Not that the fried rice needed any more flavor. Another of my Shi Lin faves is their shrimp and pork rice. It is very similar to the famous Yang Chow fried rice but with less vegetables. What I like about it is that it is very eggy. I looooove eggs on my rice and this is very simply yolk heaven.

I was so enamored with it, that I admit, I forgot to take a picture. :p

But! I did take a picture of the boyfriend's fried porkchop with rice. A steal at 189 pesos. It has the same eggy rice underneath and the porkchop is well-cooked, flavorful and has strong taste similarities to kikiam.

Shi Lin is worth the visit. And very deserving of this - another good blog review.

*Shi Lin is located at the 3rd floor of Podium mall

Excitement!

It's Friday! And I am planning my restaurant itineraries for the weekend.
Do I try the new night food market at the Fort? Do I go to Binondo and eat siomai?
Do I try every salad on Spot.ph's Top Salads list? Do I go to Maginhawa St. and revisit Tomato Kick and I Heart Froyo? Do indulge in some Sonoma Chicken from Kitch Cafe in Makati?


I am salivating!

Happy weekend everyone! Happy eating!

Belated Happy New Year! : Crave Burger

Belated. That is exactly what has happened to this food blog.
I have been remiss with my writing duties despite the fact that I haven't missed a meal.
With the great deal I have tasted in the last 3 months, this blog should already be overflowing.

So, this entry marks my first official resolution for 2011: To update this blog weekly.

And I will start fulfilling this resolution with a review of Crave Burger.



I was driving home when I passed through White Plains and saw Crave.
I've been seeing it for quite some time now but never really felt compelled to try it (it could be because everywhere there seems to be a new burger joint) and that lack of compulsion was increased by the lack of parking (on hindsight though, a filled parking area should have enticed me.)

But it was 30 mins to 10, and it was nearing closing time so there were no other cars and no other customers - just me and my desire to do something fun before going home.

I ordered their simplest Crave Burger meal which consisted of a burger, fries and blue lemonade.

The burger I got had perfectly toasted buns and a meat patty so soft there seemed to be no need to chew on it. It was very filling and very tasty although I have to admit that I wanted a little more bite.



The fries were perfect - hot, slightly crispy, salted. I have to commend the staff for still serving me freshly-cooked fries despite the fact that it was minutes before they could run off to their own lives. I fully appreciated the extra effort.

For the service and my desire to sample their fish and fries meal, I'd definitely come back to Crave. And maybe this time I'll bring some friends with me.






Crave Burger
White Plains
Katipunan