Food Archives - Page 3 of 12

Sérye Post.. Vegetarian Kare Kare

Seriously? Vegetarian Kare Kare? Well maybe.. no beef but pure veggies, but what about the stock? I can’t imagine how will it taste minus the beef stock.

But then again.. Sérye Café Filipino (yes, still part of Sérye Café Filipino experience we had last Friday) made it possible.

The same goodness of Kare Kare minus the beef..the same smooth peanut based sauce, the same veggies but this time with tofu as the main meat. And since this is a Vegetarian Dish, alamang is definitely out. So what will balance the taste? This…

A serving of equally tasteful but animal free dip. Equally as it has the same effect as the alamang to your usual Kare Kare. I am so amazed at how they were able to find this dip recipe for their Vegetarian Kare-Kare. That was Tausi and Tahore..(another soya product).

And that’s Michelle in action as she took a photo of that Kare Kare..

Will I try this dish again? Of course I would! And would even recommend this to my friends who are into meat and of course this is something to rave about to my friends who are not into meat. Go try it for yourself…

And oh, the prices at Sérye Café Filipino are all budget friendly 😉

Sérye Post.. New Look, Old Recipes

Sérye Post is a sequence of post devoted to one subject… and that is Sérye Café Filipino. Serye is a play on the family name of the one who started the first Filipino themed restaurant, Engracia Cruz Reyes. If you have been to Sérye the past few days or weeks, you will notice that from their old green, white and red color, their are now changing the resto into a more warm and cozy look. “We wanted Sérye to be a coffee shop that celebrates Filipino coffee, cuisine, and culture,” Alvin Reyes Lim, the company’s president, shares. “The changes on the stores’ look and feel, particularly the menu offerings were recreated to follow this theme.”

The interiors are are Spanish/ Filipino inspired and one will notice that even the music are all OPMs. The foods are served in hand-made plates and bowls, in earthy hues of brown and green, crafted by renowned local potter Lanelle Abueva.

And for the most exciting part… the FOOD. The Reyes family’s popular dishes like Chicken Barbque, Kare-Kare, and Boneless Crispy Pata are still available but the new menu also offers a wider array of light meals, coffee, tea and chocolate beverages as well as cakes, pastries and desserts.

And so we were served with Boneless Crispy Pata, Kare-Kare, Chicken And Pork Adobo and Honey Chicken.

The Boneless Crispy Pata together with its sour dip is so good but not that as sinful. It’s not your ordinary Crispy Pata that almost burst with oil. This one had the same crispiness minus the sin. And with the way it was presented, who cannot say no to Pata?

Kare-Kare was tasteful, peanuty and beefy is what it’s all about. And the beef is tender. The alamang is so good, that even if I had a low tolerance to Alamang, I ate more that what I should. (guilty!)

Now, I love how the Chicken And Pork Adobo was served. The drippings are set in a small bowl. For those who usually eat with their kids, you know how hard it is when it comes to saucy dishes. The kids kept on asking for more sauce… and you on the other hand, keep on scraping what’s left on the serving plate. With Sérye’s Chicken And Pork Abobo, that won’t be a problem anymore. And for those who love their Adobo’s dry, Sérye is here for you.

The Honey Styled Chicken, I was not able to enjoy much but the peanut sauce (I think same as Reyes’ BBQ sauce) compliments well the chicken.

We were also served with Vegetarian Kare Kare.. which deserves a separate post of their own.. But to give you a head’s up, well, it tasted like Kare Kare, minus the beef broth and the Alamang. They used different ingredient for the dip but you will be surprised that it almost match the same taste of Alamang.

Of course the meal wouldn’t be complete without DESSERTS. We tried their Mocha Manila and the Macapuno Pandan Cake. Other than that, we also take a sip on the Beverage version of Mocha Manila and their Tsokolate Eh.

Sérye Café Filipino also offers sandwiches from pandesal which can be ordered with a choice of Adobo, Ala Cubana or Kesong Puti filling. Pasta with a twist can also be found on their upcoming menu. Kesong Puti Puttanesca and Vigan Longanisa Bolognese are some classic example.

And since Sérye Café Filipino celebrates Filipino coffee and beverages, you can find traditional Filipino beverages being served there. That includes Salabat, a hot ginger tea that is surprisingly refreshing and invigorating, and Pandan Tanglad Tea and Pito-pito, popular Filipino infusions.

As far as coffee is concerned, Sérye celebrates both choice beans and the talent of Filipino master roasters. Their coffee is siphon-brewed, each cup is prepared as you order ensuring that you get a fresh cup. The best locally available coffee beans and chocolate are used to prepare their beverages that include Café con Yema Frappe, an iced-blended coffee with a distinct caramel custard taste, Café Mocha Manila, a hot combination of coffee and tablea and Tsokolate Eh and Ah, the delicious chocolate beverages popularized in the novels of Jose Rizal. (Thanks Abby for the notes)

Sérye Café Filipino is located at Eastwood, Quezon City; Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City; and Sucat, Paranaque.

Ladies Who Lunch @ HK Choi

Ladies who lunch is a phrase to describe slim, well-off, old-money, well-dressed women who meet for lunch socially, normally during the working week. Typically, the women involved are married and non-working. Normally the lunch is in a restaurant, perhaps in a department store during shopping. Sometimes there is the pretext of raising money for charity. -wiki

SLIM? well off? really? oh, all mommies would love that eh? but since most of us are not on the slim side, let’s just focus on social lunch. How nice can it be? imagine meeting your mom friend for a lunch every week or even every other Friday. Now that’s what a breather means. LOL

But really guys, I think all moms should this. Meeting other moms for a Friday lunch. And I am sure moms would enjoy this ‘time out’ just like what we did last Friday!

The Place
HK Choi. A chinese restaurant from the same owner of Choi’s Garden. Authentic Chinese Food with a very affordable tag price. The ambiance was relaxing. The furniture pieces are worth eying as you wait for your food. I like the chair’s intricate details. This is located at Megamall Atrium, 2nd floor.

The Food
Eating in a Chinese Restaurant, The Chinese Way. Need I say that whenever we went to a Chinese (or Chinese sounding or looking) restaurant our menu will always include yang chow? I am sure most of you would agree. Yang Chow and siomai. That’s a perfect Chinese meal right? oh don’t forget the pancit! And if the pocket is accommodating, an add ons of sweet and sour fish or pork. I am super guilty of that! haha

Our usual meal will include yang chow, siomai, hakaw, sweet and sour fillet and broccoli. That is how I am used to eating at Chinese (or Chinese sounding or looking) restaurant. I can’t let go of hakaw. I have seen how it is made and whenever I went to a resto, I just have to try it.

So last Friday, when I heard we will be eating in a Chinese Restaurant, I was excite. WoW! Hakaw overload! Yes, I am expecting siomai and Hakaw.. LOL

The appetizer were served. A plate of cold cuts, soy bean, Soy Chicken, pork bbq (sweet asado, super yum!yum!), century egg and jelly fish and pork knuckles cut:

The soup was hot and sour.. something that my taste bud does not like.. you know I am all for sweet and salty..

The rice.. yang chow? nah! it’s RICH MAN’S RICE… fried rice with dried scallop and egg white. How’s that for a yang chow patron? The taste.. heavenly.. I mean tasteful. Since I am used to yang chow, I was expecting this fried rice to be bland in taste, surprisingly, it is waaay better than Yang Chow. Now I don’t know why it is called as such but our theory is, because you need viands with this kind of rice unlike yang chow where it seems to be a complete rice. In rich man’s rice, you need to spend more for the viands. Sounds logical eh?

Other food includes: crab, squid in broccoli and shrimp in salted egg. Now that is something worth raving for. Shrimp in salted egg? I thought it was cheese! If not for my girdle.. opps! did I just say I wore a girdle? of course, how do you think I am to wear this dress without my bulgesss showing?

but come to think of, there is still some bulge showing..hahays..

so back to the food, yeah if not for those lacey girdles, I would have finished all the shrimp and the peking duck in lettuce.. yum yum yum

Here’s the crab that I refuse to eat without coke haha.. I have a low tolerance with crabs but boy, the coating or whatsoever on the crab is so good to refuse.

The Peking Duck served in two. The skin is carved and was wrapped. Not my type as the skins taste is overpowering. Second serving is with veggies, wrapped in lettuce and added with sauce. Now, this part, I regret so much that I did not took 3 servings. It was good and something I can eat over and over. As for the dessert, we were served with Almond Jelly:

The Experience
FUN! I was thankful that our food was ordered by someone else and not us. If it has been me, I wouldn’t had experience this kind of food. So the next time, we eat at a Chinese restaurant, I will take them at HK Choi and let them experience the real Chinese Food, yang chow aside.

Peking Duck photo courtesy of Fedhz while the last two photos courtesy of Lourdes.

And you think we went straight home? nah.. you know how it is with Fedhz and me. We stayed a bit to check out Payless.. it’s like Pay less.. a shoe store from US. Had fun at Toy Kingdom, then bought two Beyblade for the boys. She let me tried Milk Tea Bubble or so..