Palitaw is a small sweet flat rice cake eaten in the Philippines. It is made from sticky rice (malagkit) washed, soaked, grounded and molded. Then it is dropped into boiling water until it floats. After that it is dipped in grated coconut and viola! You have this yummy kakanin.

Well, most Filipino would say that they love palitaw or to some they have tasted it but sad to say it was my first time to taste the palitaw. I know it doesn’t show but I’m a little picky when it comes to food, especially the ones in violet. Urg! I so hate it! Yea, I know it’s all in the mind but I can’t seem to get over it. I’m also not that adventurous when it comes to food as I always order the food that I’m familiar with like pork chop, chicken, steak and the likes.

I’ve seen palitaw already but I don’t like the plain white color so I don’t even try to taste it. But last month I got really curious as everyone were raving about how yummy the palitaw is, so I tried eating one and they were right it was delicious and so yummy, especially if you put mascubado sugar with lots of toasted sesame seeds on top. I’m just happy that I’ve tried this sweet rice cake. Atleast I’m not a noob with it. Yummy!!

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New Executive Chef to Spearhead Marriott Manila’s Kitchen Team

Positioning itself as one of the most-sought-after dining destinations in Manila’s famed culinary scene, Marriott Hotel Manila takes pride in introducing a young and vibrant newly-appointed Executive Chef– Meik Brammer.

33 year old Brammer is a native of Beirut, Germany and started his career breakthrough at the famed Reneissance Zurich Hotel as a demi chef. He took charge in the banquet, outside caterings, and in the lunch buffet in the all-day dining restaurant which gave him the “Associate of the Month” recognition.

Chef Meik’s flamboyant, sociable personality creates a distinctive flair for being flexible as he interacts with the guests. He describes himself as “an outgoing person who would like to interact with guests and delight them in every way possible from a culinary point of view.”

Executive Brammer’s assignment in different hotel properties in Asia, Middle East, and Europe brings a distinct culinary mastery in the international market. He subsequently joined JW Marriott properties in Kuwait, China, and Thailand where he acquired unrelenting creativity and precision in the kitchen which landed him the position of Executive Chef at Hua Hin Marriott Resort Spa in 2006. At the same time, his exposure in a variety of cultures and cuisines has gained invaluable knowledge in both classical and modern techniques throughout his gastronomic journey.

Fuelled by his love for eating and cooking, the young chef also likes to travel a lot. With Chef Meik’s larger than life personality, he looks forward injecting it throughout the hotel’s dining experience. He adds, “Marriott Hotel Manila’s signature fun, high-quality dining experience in a welcoming setting has surely won the hearts and palates of many guests.”

Marriott Hotel Manila general manager Richard Saul says, “We ensure that we hire top-of-the-line talent. In the increasingly competitive gastronomical scene, we understand that our sophisticated clientele expect only the best. Chef Meik’s leadership in the culinary team ensures that we present our guests with distinctive and superior dining offering in the finest Marriott tradition.”

Marriott Hotel Manila is set in the world class entertainment complex of Resorts World Manila across NAIA Terminal 3. The hotel is a 15-minute drive from Bonifacio Global City and Makati Business District. Blessed with a splendid view of the adjoining 18-hole Villamor Golf Course, it boasts 342 exquisite guest rooms that offers luxurious bedding, high-speed internet, 40″ full high definition LCDs with IPTV and the new remote jack pack plug-and-play system. Hotel facilities include Quan Spa, 6 meeting rooms and a Grand Ballroom, 5 superb restaurants, outdoor pool and a health club. To know more about the hotel and its promotions, call (02) 988 9999 or visit www.marriott.com/mnlap

Café 5845 promises the public a record-setting dining experience as they will be offering different menus everyday for the month of August. The cafe and the MIHCA chefs will also bring to life the record-breaking 5,845 scrumptious dishes for everyone to get a taste of.

It will also serve pasta such as Penne amatriciana with Shrimp & Mushroom, BBQ Pork w/ Cheesy Béchamel Sauce as one of the main courses, Vegetarian pizzas to satisfy vegetarian guests and of course, sandwiches such as Chicken and Cheese Panini lined up in the menu, guests are sure to indulge in a unique dining experience.

Cafe 5845 is located at SM Mall of Asia North Living Seaside Boulevard area and it is very accessible to the public. The café’s design is a reminiscent of a quite and classy European café-complete with an impeccable view of the Manila Bay.

The launching of Cafe 5845 was hosted by Dimples Romana. Also present during the occasion were Steve Tan (SM MOA’s AVP), Cecille Ang (SM MOA’s Marketing Head), Timmy Ong (Kraft Foods Philippines’ Brand Manager) and Alex Dan Tacderas (Kraft Category Manager for Cheese and Spoonables).

Well, all-in-all Café 5845 is a place where you can relax, unwind and chitchat with your friends and family over a unique and scrumptious dish only served at the Café. You could talk anything and everything you can think of from family life to your favorite LMAO Off-Broadway Musical, travels, movies and a lot more. Well, what’s best with Cafe 5845 is that it’s really affordable even though it’s a Guinness World Record holder. So I will definitely recommend this place to everyone and be part of the World’s first cheese Cafe and enjoy the world-class culinary talent of Filipinos.

*****

Café 5845
SM Mall of Asia North Living Seaside Boulevard

Cafe 5845 classy European look

The Guinness Marker found at the Magsaysay Center for Hospitality and Culinary Arts (MIHCA) and Kraft Foods Philippines (KFP). After successfully pulling off 5,845 cheese-infused dishes this marker testifies to the Guinness World Record™ win of the Magsaysay Center for Hospitality and Culinary Arts (MIHCA) and Kraft Foods Philippines (KFP) last December 14, breaking India’s record with only 4,668 in 2007.

Well, we decided to order their special for that day – the spaghetti with meatballs and grilled burgers (forgot the  name). Unfortunately when we went their, they run out of lettuce and other green leafy vegetables but it was still yummy and delicious.

The place is really small. It can only accommodate 15-25 people but the ambience is really relaxing. The interior is filled with paintings showcasing the famous landmark of Silay. The food is superb! Their specials are different everyday so you’re for a treat everytime you are at Café 1925. Their brewed coffee is also good.

Aside from pastas, sandwiches and desserts Café 1925 also offer fresh salads for the health conscious and for those on the Diet-to-Go.

Well, I would recommend the place to everyone. So, if you’re in Silay or Bacolod never miss going to Café 1925 Silay.

How to Get There:

Café 1925 is located at J. Pitong Ledesma Street in Silay City. It’s located at the back of BPI and just around the corner of El Ideal.

From Bacolod: Just ride a jeepney or bus going South, just tell the driver that you’re going down at BPI Silay Branch. After that just walk a few steps at the corner and you will see the signage of Café 1925.

From Bacolod-Silay Airport: Ride a tricycle or a shuttle and tell the driver that you’ll be going down at BPI Silay Branch corner.

Alice’s Recipes is owned and managed by the Torres and Pandan’s Family. And it is located at UTC Bldg., Singcang-Araneta St. in Bacolod City. The place is not that hard to miss for it’s located in one of the main road in Bacolod, Araneta St.

Alice’s offer incredibly delicious food with a Filipino touch. They have an impressive menu with the house bestseller – Rack of Ribs (Php 138), a 500-gram slab of succulent baby back ribs with a choice of Classic ribs, mouth-watering ribs smothered with smoky & sweet Barbeque sauce and Hacienda ribs, tender-finger licking ribs with light tangy and spicy sauce. You should also try their yummy Chicken Teriyaki, tasty grilled chicken strips laden with their family’s secret teriyaki sauce and this is one of my favorite in their menu.

Alice’s Spare ribs ni Doc

They also offer Spanish style Beef Ropa Vieja ni Lola Nita, Spanish adaptation of the traditional tapa. Chicken sisig, Deli special, Spareribs ni Doc, Basil Vinaigrette Salad and also sumptuous food which is a fusion of Asian cuisine (Korean, Chinese, Filipino) like all-tine favorite of everyone – Asian Fried Chicken, Korean Chicken, Pork Misono, Quail Egg Siomai and a lot more.

The oh-so yummy Chicken Teriyaki

Well, all I can say is that it’s worth every penny you spend. The food? Very delicious. The service? Is good. The Place? Is small but has a nice-homey atmosphere. The Price? Is very affordable – tender and oh-so yummy Back Ribs at Php 138. Well, I will definitely come back at Alice’s Recipes. It’s a great restaurant find.

*****

Alice’s Recipes
UTC Building, Singcang – Araneta St.,
Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, Philippines 6100
Tel. #: (034) 4343773

Lagawan at Alice’s Recipes

Delicious and very affordable baby back ribs

Alice’s Story
Eating has always been the perfect bonding time for the Torres and Pandan Families. We seem to be genetically-disposed to sharing stories over the dining table and entertaining visitors in the kitchen instead of the living room. It has also become a “tradition” of sorts for us to have family dinner after hearing Saturday Mass at the La Salle Chapel. It is during these dinners that we often try out recently-opened restaurants or patronize our old, favorite ones. Because of this passion for family and food, we have always dreamed of having our own restaurant so we could spend more time to bond, not only with our generation but with the next generation as well. This dream is being fulfilled through our new venture, Alice’s Recipes, aptly named after our mother. Our menu features different recipes that have been our comfort food for many years. We welcome you to share our dream and start your own memories of exquisite bonding moments at Alice’s Recipes.

We started with “Mga Pampagana” (Appetizer) through Bauhinia’s delicious Kinilaw na Tanigue at Tuna Shooters, a marinated Mackerel fish in calamansi and vinegar, with seared tuna, carrot slaw and balsamic reduction. The kinilaw was really good as well as the seared tuna.

Another appetizer that I love in Bauhinia is their Squid ala Pobre Crostini. It was really mouthwatering and so scrumptious. A sauteed squid in olive oil and chilies on French baguette, Thin slices of french bread topped with a heaping  serving of sauteed shrimps and mozzarella cheese. What more could one ask for? It’s perfect! It taste like pizza and look like one too.

Bauhinia’s delicious Sugpo sa Aligue at Sili

Well, for Bauhinia’s main menu or the “Mga Paboritong Ulam”, we had Guinataang Salmon, Tenderloin ala Pobre and the delicious Sugpo sa Aligue at Sili. I really like the taste of this one, tiger prawns cooked in coconut crab fat sauce and if you want it to be spicy you could just request for it.

For the healthy conscious, don’t fret for they have a fresh selection of salads. We were served the Bauhinia’s La Pinay is made of mesclun salad, grilled eggplant, roasted bell peppers and cashew praline, spicy balsamic dressing for only Php 185. And another salad served was the Crispy Adobo Salad made of fried pork adobo flakes, green mango, radish and cucumber with Camuguin honey-soy dressing for only Php 165. It’s called Organik ensalada but made you the Crispy adobo salad was really good. I’m not a vegetable lover but I love the taste of it.

We also had the Chocolate Kisses for desserts that was imported from Nothing But Dessert. It’s a walnut gelato with chocolate and berry syrup and the other one was mint flavor.

All in all, it was a satisfying and palatable dining experience. The food are classic Filipino with a modern twist in it and very delicious. The price is quite affordable. The place is  really cozy and relaxing. With walls in cool hues and adorned with charming murals, dining at Bauhinia Filipino Cuisine Restaurant will surely be a worth-it experience.

Bauhinia Filipino Cuisine
The Avenue ComplexGlicerio Pison Avenue, Brgy. San Rafael Smallville, Mandurriao,Iloilo City Philippines
For Reservations: +63.33.329.6159 loc. 033

Bauhinia’s Guinataang Salmon

Bauhinia’s delicious Sugpo sa Aligue at Sili

Kinilaw na Tanigue at Tuna Shooters

Bauhinia Restaurant at the Avenue Complex, Smallville, Iloilo City

**Last 3 photos grabbed from Bauhinia’s PR

Anyways, yogurt is delicious healthy non-fat diary product and is rich in potassium, calcium, protein and B vitamins. SO, to those health conscious out there you can treat yourself to a yummy yogurt without compromising your diet. There are lots of yogurt stores in the Philippines today but one of the pioneers in this business is the CaliforniaBerry.

You can have this scrumptious dessert for only Php 85 for small size, Php115 medium size and Php145 for large size. If you want to put an exciting twist to your yogurt you could add fruits, chips, and sprinkle some love to it. CaliforniaBerry’s also have its famous “CaliforniaBerry Special” which has mango, kiwi and strawberry. Or you could also try their signature creations such as: Blueberry morning, tropical slim, crunchy goo green apple, rocky road (my favorite) and rainbow overload.

Froyo is so Yummy!

CaliforniaBerry
Website: http://www.californiaberry.net
Branches: (checkout CB’s website for more store locations)
-Silver City Mall, Julia Vargas Ave., Ortigas
-SM Megamal, Lower Ground Flr., Bldg. A
-Robinson’s Galleria – 4th Level, Near Cinema, Robinson’s Galleria, Ortigas

*The last two photos grabbed from CaliforniaBerry

Flowers Say “your special”,  Chocolates says “your sweet” but with new Red Ribbon special Valentine’s cake – Roses and Kisses Cakes, says it all.