Jalapeño

I love Mexican food, be it the authentic kind or the Tex-Mex variety. It's one of those things I crave for every once in a while but never really get to indulge in as often as I'd like because Mr. G is not particularly fond of it. I still mourn the decline of Tia Maria's. I miss their flautas, pizza and falling-of-the-bone pork ribs.

Nachos with baked jalapeno cheese dip (P150)

I had been planning this visit to Ortigas Home Depot for some time because I heard it's a burgeoning foodie's haven and I wanted to go to this particular restaurant, Jalapeño Cantina Mexicana, because I'd been hearing good reviews.

Steak and cheese quesadilla (P240)

The nachos with cheese dip wasn't bad but the Mexican nachos was better. We ordered two kinds of quesadilla, steak and cheese and chicken and cheese. Everything was smothered in cheese as expected but I wasn't fond of the brand they use. It tasted like the local cheese whiz. I wanted something with more tang.

Mr. G ordered grilled Cajun pork chops (P210). I didn't get to taste it but I can only surmise that it was good because he wiped his plate clean.

I was craving for the sweet-piquant taste of buffalo wings so I ordered from Buffalo Wings 'N Things next door. I didn't get the lip-puckering sourness that I expected.

Taste of L.A.

Beef fondue

The fantastic olive rice that is served with the beef fondue

The calorie-laden pleasure-in-a-wrap, Pritchon

Old favorites seem to be haunting me the past few weeks. Here's another. We used to frequent this place--until we started running and found that our nocturnal lifestyle didn't go well with our new sport.

New Bombay

The Menu

Chicken Tikka Masala

After attending an event at the Podium last Friday, I found my tummy craving for "real food" after the palate-stimulating hors d'oeuvres. My friend B has heard of a new Indian place in the building that was supposedly good. We asked the Concierge about it and were led to the New Bombay restaurant on the fifth floor near the cinemas.

Chapati

I wasn't particularly craving for Indian food but I was sooo glad we went there. The food was rich and flavorful, the kind that sticks to your stomach. We called a friend who has been there to suggest to us what to try. He recommended the chicken tikka masala (Php195) and mushroom greenpeas masala (Php185) and the chapati (php30 each). So that was what we ordered. He later texted to further suggest the biryani but we doubted whether we would consume that much food between the two of us. We saved the other specialties for another time.

Mushroom Greenpeas Masala

I was very pleased with what we ordered, particularly with the greenpeas masala, which I haven't tried before. I loved biting into the chunks of cheese mixed in with the savory sauce.

Arya

Beef koobideh

Mr. G and I have always loved this Persian restaurant at Greenhills Promenade. The food was good and the service even better. The owner makes it a point to greet every diner and, when we became regulars, he'd give us a nod of recognition and approach our table once in a while to check on how we're doing. But after a succession of shawarma and kebab dinners, we temporarily lost our taste for Persian food and turned our favor on Asian.

Mourg barg (chicken)

Hummus

Last week, when we got off early from work, we decided to revisit this old favorite. We weren't disappointed. In fact, we were surprised that the food tasted even better. I couldn't get enough of the hummus and the mourg barg had a lovely smoky taste.

A Tale of Two Weekend Markets (Part 1)

I've been wanting to check out Manila's growing list of weekend markets but I couldn't get myself to get up early enough. But with Mr. G in Hong Kong, I found no good reason to stay at home.

I asked two friends to pick me up and drive to the Salcedo Weekend Market. We got there before 8am and found the place packed. But we were lucky enough to find parking near the entrance.

My, what a feast for the senses. Just look at the pictures and tell me if you don't agree.

Can you smell the bbq?

I think grilling brings out the sweetness of corn

Giant macarons!

I gained pounds just looking at this.

Love the bread and the dips.

Chicken and eggplant lasagna. Yum!

Imagine with butter and garlic, finished with a squeeze of lemon.

More seafood

Mr. Crepe

Roasted calf

I'll be back for you

Man's best friend

So much to eat, so little time

Mr. G would love these but I didn't buy because I was told they wouldn't keep

I love kielbasa.

I smell lunch.

Heat of varying degrees

Lots of hard-to-find spices

Smoked fish

Fabada, my next favorite Spanish dish to callos

Will try next time.

So, what did I get to try?

I'll never pass up shawarma, especially if the meat is wagyu.

And Ilocos empanada.

What was in my shopping bag:

Seedless and sweet

From Davao

Very hard to find.

For one of my friends and benefactor, who's a malunggay believer

Sweetener made from coconut

Baker's Hill

We had lunch at Baker's Hill in one of our slow days and I was pleasantly surprised that it had much more to offer than just the Palawan hopia that we came here for.


There were two contemporary American style homes, one bungalow type and the other three-story high with a roof deck. Although livable, they were unoccupied and were there for show, to reinforce perhaps the theme park spirit conveyed by models of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and other theme park characters in the garden.


There were benches to sit on and picnic tables, a playground for kids, an aviary, and a cactus and herb garden. But before exploring further, there was the matter of lunch.


There was an open-air barbecue shack, a canteen called Baker's Kitchen, and an enclosed air-conditioned restaurant called Twigs. We opted for the last one because the heat was searing.


The restaurant was bedecked with Dutch country decor, which I'm not too fond of but the kids enjoyed.


We were served complimentary tinapa pate, which I loved.


This reminded of Sonya's Garden's flower salad. It was good although not at par with Sonya's.


I just had a taste of the sisig. I've had better.


We had a laugh when the waitress took our order of this salad because she pronounced Caesar as Cesar. When our order arrived, we thought she may well have been right because the salad didn't look anything like the usual Caesar salad. It had breaded squid and kani, and the dressing was thousand island.

I failed to get a shot of the pork bbq I ordered because the sight of it made me very hungry. It was a two skewer serving of smoky substantial chunks of pork. For only Php100 including a cup of steamed rice.

Dessert was halo-halo at Baker's Kitchen. Loved the leche flan topping. The ice was shaved, not crushed, and the the halo wasn't overwhelming. I'm not a big fan of halo-halo but this one I really liked.


Back at the resort, we enjoyed our hopia. There were three varieties--monggo, ube and baboy. We bought only the first two.



Not as good as Eng Bee Tin's but good.