Pursuing our Best Life - one word and one stitch at a time
Food Trip
We bond over food. We love checking out new restaurants, just for the fun of it.
Like many of our generation, we click before we eat. Sometimes though, we’re too hungry to bother.
We are not prolific food critiques, we’re just normal people who know good food. :)
Between the two of us, it’s the husband who cooks at home. Maybe someday I will too. But until then, I wouldn’t likely be sharing recipes on the blog. :)
We passed this last week on our way to PC Options. It’s along Gilmore, probably a block away from Aurora Boulevard when you’re coming from E. Rodriguez. There used to be a big BM ‘branch’ on the other side of Aurora. I think BM Plus is what it was called? Paulinians would be more familiar with that (girls who studied at St. Paul QC). Anyway, it had the burger joint at the ground floor, and a ladies dorm on the other floors. That’s what I remember.
There were a few of those around Metro Manila, including one in Kamias. But they didn’t last long. I don’t think any exist up to now. A quick search and this WikiPilipinas article reveals that the Asian Financial Crisis of the ’90s is to blame. There also aren’t that many Burger Machine stands anymore. The one along Sct. Reyes near the corner of Roces has been gone for at least a year. I’m surprised the one behind this wall is getting any business being hidden and all.
What an interesting location. I think the house behind it is abandoned.
Now I want me some BM burger. I remember the old stand across St. Luke’s when I was little. An AILM student once took us there for a burger treat. Now, there’s a small stand right outside Garcia’s grocery store right across the Trinity University of Asia entrance.
Bart Burgers are the best, yummy and very affordable. It’s the burger that never sleeps because it’s available 24/7. Because of that, it’s become a favorite meryenda after a night of partying or drinking. 🙂
Apparently, the real reason why the boyfriend was late for our Friday itinerary was that he was so drunk. After I left for work at 2am, he hooked up with friends for a round of drinks. When he walked towards me at the mall that afternoon, I could see he was still drunk.
No, it was not a hangover. He was still drunk. How did I know?
> The way he talked. Not slurrred speech, just fast and a bit excited.
> How he moved
> His smell (he didn’t reek of alcohol but there’s that nice hint of it)
> How he was sweating
> His being touchy in public. 😉
The day before, we had a big lunch at Max’s. We talked about the need to regulate our food spending, and the need to eat less and eat wise. If we couldn’t prepare our own lunch, we’d buy from the stalls at the back of St. Luke’s instead of eating out.
Guess what? Because he was drunk, he had wanted another big lunch. And because I wasn’t feeling well, my conviction easily went out the window and I agreed.
That day’s restaurant of choice was one we had never tried before: Uncle Cheffy.
Now, it’s on the list of our favorite places to dine at.
We ordered their Asian fried rice, and their specialty dish Mediterranean barbecued ribs. The ribs were served with greens on the side and baby potatoes. There were two sauces as well – a special barbecue sauce (I didn’t ask what it was called) and the chimichurri that I so loved.
The chimichurri was a sort of pesto sauce in olive oil and a concoction of herbs. I liked it with the veggies, the potatoes, and even on the ribs. If they sold it in bottles I would have bought one. I asked, they don’t.
The whole time we were eating the boyfriend was commenting how he loved the food and that we should come back. We loved it so much we ordered dessert.
The two cakes we had were heavenly! I got the Chocolate Roulade while he ordered Uncle Cheffy’s cheesecake. Yum!
The only thing that wasn’t quite okay was the wait time for the bill, and then again my two debit cards not working with their swipe machines. It took so long it allowed my headache to creep back in. The boyfriend eventually had to go out and withdraw from an ATM because I didn’t want to use credit. But other than that, we love Uncle Cheffy and we will be back.
(Uncle Cheffy is on the first floor of the Ali Mall. There’s an entrance from the outside walkway fronting SM. It’s next to Gerry’s Grill (or The Old Spaghetti House))
I just drank a bottle of Minute Maid Pulpy. They say it’s got ‘no preservatives added’. Aw, c’mon…It’s bottled juice. Is that even possible? So I thought maybe… I’ll give it a try. It tasted almost like freshly squeezed orange juice with real bits of fruit swirling around the bottle. Not too sweet, and even a tinge of tangy that characterizes citrus fruits.
I didn’t believe it the first time I heard it’s got no preservatives added. So I read the ingredients (even the fine print) and everything checked out! It really has NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED! That means it doesn’t have ingredients that may turn out to be allergens, or worse…carcinogens! Whew! Now that’s healthy goodness that tastes so good, I… feel no guilt downing a big bottle of Minute Maid all by myself 🙂 No need to worry about harmful traces being left in your body either.
So okay, it’s got no preservatives added. That’s really good, right? Not just because it doesn’t have those icky, harmful ingredients, but it also means… that you get all the nutrients from the fruit. Because it’s pulpy, you also get the fiber from orange that aids digestion, and is a friend for anyone who desperately needs to lose weight like myself!
So far anyone who still has a hard time believing that Minute Maid has got no preservatives added – meaning it’s THAT natural, it’s almost like it’s plucked straight from the tree, it’s just as Mother Nature wanted your orange juice to be, it’s got nothing but the good stuff yes, none of those potentially toxic stuff that can harm your brain, kidneys, heart; cause tumors aargh- the list of preservatives’ bad effects just go on!!! Anyway, just to prove a point on just how good Minute Maid Pulpy is ’cause it’s got NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED, I’m gonna show you just how much I love my Minute Maid Pulpy Orange – I took photos of my MM vendo experience from work! Haha 🙂 Yes! First, I was excited about the new kind of vendo we have at work and wanted to give it a try, butI was more thrilled seeing that it houses my favorite juice drink!
Before this yummy drink pictured above arrived at my station, it was in this neat vendo that also carried other Coca-Cola products (including my favorite beverage, Coke!):
Though I was tempted to grab a 500-mL bottle of Coke, or opt for the 5-peso cheaper can below this rack, I stuck to my guns and hit C7 on the panel. I promised myself I’d make the little adjustments necessary to get to a healthier me, and opting for this drink isn’t a sacrifice at all!
Here’s my drink on board the drink elevator:
And finally, the small door opens with my small bottle of cold pulpy goodness ready to be picked up.
Now, there’s no reason not to replace my daily soda intake with the healthy goodness of natural juice.
Feels good to know about the real pulpy deal, right? C’mon show me a smile on the comment box, and you might win yourself a Really Pulpy Deal! (That’s a chance to win a Minute Maid gift pack simply by commenting. Sweet! C’mon you just might be picked as the lucky ‘commentor’!)
Abe at the Trinoma Mall is easily becoming one of our favorite restaurants to dine in. And this Pako Salad has become a staple of our meals there, it is yummy and healthy for you, plus it brings back memories of short but fun summer in Baler. 🙂
Anyway, on this particular afternoon of October 15th, we had salad, pork sinigang, and binukadkad na pla-pla (fish). I took a few more photos but don’t have time to edit just now… That was a LOT of food and we were both sooooo full by the end of the meal. We were done eating but couldn’t get up just yet, so we stayed to talk for awhile – specifically about eating TOO much, ALL the time together.
Me: If you weren’t my boyfriend, siguro hindi ako lumaki ng ganito (I wouldn’t gave grown THIS huge)
Him: Hindi ka naman masaya (but you wouldn’t be happy)
Business is really doing well. My best-selling truffles are being ordered both at my office, and at Alfred’s. I can hardly keep up with them, even with Alfred assisting me with making them. So last night, we were talking about getting someone to help us. Maybe my cousin or her daughter can help and we’d set up a truffles assembly line, lol. But what takes a lot of time to do is coating each ball in chocolate and Alfred doesn’t want to outsource that. He doesn’t even want to do it himself, haha.
But here we are thinking of ways to make the work more efficient. On TV there was a feature on how the Sofitel pastry kitchen does their special truffles. Looks like they have molds and stuff for those. We’ll try to setup a cooling rack (once I get one) over a pan, place the oreo balls on them, then pour the chocolate. Then figure out how to coat the bottom. The choco that goes to the pan can be melted again so it won’t be wasteful. Sounds like a plan.
It feels really good when you’ve got people complimenting your product. And I appreciate each one of them, specially my frequent buyers. There’s one who said that these balls are so sinful, and acne-inducing. Haha! My advice to avoid having to take acne pills and still enjoy this chocolatey goodness? Share it. Don’t eat all 15 pcs all by yourself. Or take two each day and save the rest for later. Or you can always flush it with water. Or you can give up other oily foods and sweets on the week that you’re eating my oreo truffles. 🙂
One of the first pictures of my early truffles days in 2008.
