Amare La Cucina: Woodfire Brick Oven Pizza

Yes, you read that right! WOODFIRE BRICK OVEN PIZZA!

Area was kinda warm coz of the oven just by the dining area and lack of ventilation but absolutely tolerable.

Finally my curiosity on what a brick oven baked pizza tastes like has been tamed by this fabulous restaurant.

Hand tossed dough, fresh ingredients, almost everything's from scratch, brick oven, a good location with chill sounds (not the FM thingy that would give you empacho), friendly crew and a BIG smile on my tummy. What else would I ask for? Not to mention it's not your commercialized tasting kind of pizza. Seriously, I can go on and on and on praising their pizza!!!

Bottom line: affordable, more than amazing palate and tummy happiness, all worth it. Pizza toppings has a lot of variety but only served in one size (approx 12 inches). Fast service, therefore fast eating :D

The Food

White Pizza. Plainly mozzarella cheese and some bacon.  No tomato base. FANTASTIC! Gone in no more than 10 minutes.

Sausage Pepperoni Mushroom.  As the name implies, those and mozzarella based with tomato sauce made from scratch, I can so taste the freshness. YUMMY!!!

Marianne's salad. Lettuce, cucumber, carrots, arugula, chopped nuts, and dried tomatoes drizzled with vinaigrette. REFRESHING!

Drinks were home brewed regular iced tea and mint iced tea. Not that impressive but WTH. Everything's so perfect so just savor the moment :)

We asked for hot sauce and they handed olive oil with crushed chilies and who knows what herbs are there. Not that spicy which I think is great coz it wouldn't ruin the taste of the food. Had a really great dining experience. Don't  forget to leave a tip for those who served you ;)

The Place

Here is where the magic is being made, an open kitchen...

Hand Tossed Dough

They let you watch while they prepare :)

The Indoor Oven

Dining Area

And here are more shots, I so love the rawness of its presentation. I include them in my favorite places to eat <3

Store Info

Location

Albergo Hotel, a bit past the ever famous Wright Park, Baguio City, Philippines

Store Hours

Monday to Sunday 11:00 am to 9:00 pm

Contact No.

0916 332 1522

My Satisfaction Level

Palate Happiness: 5/5
Tummy Loader: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Budget: for these w/c fed 5 people Php 1,400


To top off this great meal, great conversations with some desserts :) Loved this day. And obviously, my family's not fond of eating ;)

Chil Cheon Gak Korean Restaurant

As far as my Korean dining experience is concerned, Chil Cheon Gak had something typical so I'll just do a run down.

This post is dedicated to my sister's graduation day from her masters so I won't do so much of a review :)

The Food

All time favorite K. food and ever famous Samgyeopsal. Side dishes include kimchi - Chinese cabbage and onion leeks, pickled radish, battered string beans and eggplant, sweetened sweet potato, lettuce, and bean paste. All are refillable.

Put them all together, open wide, and savor the flavors.

Oudong (Wheat Noodles). Seafood packed noodle soup. Broth is really flavorful; with mussels, octopus arms, crab claws, and mushrooms.

Oudong

Doenjang Jjigae (Soybean Paste Stew). Another flavorful soup that fired up my mouth. Really spicy broth with tofu, slices of zucchini and long chili. Perfect for rainy and -ber nights.

Doenjang Jjigae

Jjinbang (Steam Bread). These are bean buns.

Jjinbang

The Place

Here's the dining area. 3 rooms on the left to experience the "squat dining" or whatever you term it.

And here's the happy tummies...

 And the graduate(s). Congratulations Glet, minus stress for you! ;)

Store Info

Location

Second floor of Lindi Hotel (across Kubo Grill) Legarda Road, Baguio City, Philippines

Store Hours

Monday to Sunday 10:00 am to 12:00 am

My Satisfaction Level

Palate Happiness: 3/5
Tummy Loader: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Budget: Php 200/ person

Gefseis Greek Grill

Finally found a Greek restaurant!!! After a great day in the beach, Gefseis Greek Grill is definitely the place to have a hearty dinner. All I can say is, food is awesome... in fact it's beyond awesome. Can't find the right words so here are some snap shots. Don't be deceived by the simplicity of its presentation, coz every bite bursts flavors I can't pinpoint.

The Food

Let's start with the appetizers:

The Greek Salad is so refreshing. Tomatoes, thinly sliced white onions, cucumber, olives, and feta drizzled with olive oil.

Greek Salad

Fried Saganaki is fried cheese. Squeeze the lemon to neutralize the saltiness. FRIED CHEESE!!! Need I say more?

Fried Saganaki

Main entree:

Moussaka is made up of eggplant and potatoes smothered in richly spiced tomato sauce. I was so fascinated I didn't dissect my meal to see what's more in it.

Moussaka

Souvlaki Mixed Platter, I got the lamb/chicken/beef just to have  an idea what lamb tastes like. This plate is for sharing, though it looks not that much it's really filling. 2 pieces of pita topped with chicken, lamb, and beef,  smothered in rich tomato base which I think has olive paste or something. Comes with thinly sliced white onions with finely chopped cilantro, tomatoes, fries, really strong garlic sauce and hot sauce. Eat them up together and BOOM!

Souvlaki Mixed Platter

Yummy desserts:

Baklava. Lots of walnuts under thinly layered pastry, cinnamon powder, and honey to kick the sweetness. Great, simply great!

Baklava

Lemon Cake. I bet you're expecting something zesty and a bit sour to be served, not this one. It's off the menu so the chef was the one who suggested this. And I'm glad we had it. Refreshing, simple yet heavenly. It has been a long time since I had something really good as this.

Lemon Cake

Cold water for drinks is fine so you can savor every flavor that their menu has to offer. A picture of the flyer is at the bottom, just zoom in to see how worth it is to stop here for a meal. Still working on the photo quality but here's some snaps of the dining area with a visible kitchen.

The Place

better enjoyed scene on the day time

the room is a bakery of some sort, yeah they serve it fresh!

Some flowers and light under the glass table

Store Info

Location

Urbiztondo, San Juan, La Union, Philippines (in front of Sebay Surf Central)

Store Hours

Monday to Sunday 9:00 am to 12:00 am

Contact No.

0917 711 0419

My Satisfaction Level 

Palate Happiness: 5/5
Tummy Loader: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Budget: Php 70 - 350/ person

(Red Green Pepper) Taco, Burrito

Taco, Burrito is located at SM City Baguio's top floor fronting the cinema which I really don't remember coz I just take the turn to the direction OPPOSITE of Quantum -- if Quantum's on the left, I go to the right (yeah I need landmarks coz I can't remember little details). It's a food stall with a small dining space, lemme know if there's a certain term for this please :)

It's a great place to grab some Mexican food. Food is great, really affordable (and I mean REALLY), and just right to fill the tummy. The pictures aren't appealing but believe me, it's yummy. Here's what we got:

The Food

Grilled Beef Cheese Steak something. The name's so long I can't remember every word!

Beef, sauteed tomatoes and white onions, and cheese wrapped in soft tortilla. Sour cream is given upon request, don't forget to ask for this coz it would give the "boom" in every bite. Had it with their superb iced tea. I like Army Navy's Libertea but this I love. I can taste the brewed tea and some honey-lemon tasting stuff which makes it so perfect, plus sweetness is just right.

Bacon Chili Hotdog is very flavorful. Franks with chili beans and 2 strips of bacon wrapped in soft tortilla. Food for only Php 89 was never this worth it. Best eaten with their self made chili sauce, also available upon request.

Personally, the only down side for them is the packaging. Foil for tortilla wraps and styro for to go meals.

Here's our meal worth around Php 220

My Satisfaction Level 

Palate Happiness: 5/5
Tummy Loader: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Ambiance: 1/5
Budget: Php 39 - 120 (for this meal, Php 110/ head)

Grumpy Joe Restaurant

Grumpy Joe is one of the newest food joint in town. It is located along Leonard Wood Road, Baguio City. They serve pizza, pasta, and sandwiches among others. 

You'll definitely love their food IF you are a fan of Jollibee-tasting-spaghetti. Personally, it was a disappointment for me coz I'm not into the FIlipino style kind of tomato sauce/ base (especially the flavored ready-to-cook type of tomato sauce which was obviously used on their food).

We went here mid afternoon, ambiance wasn't that inviting. Staff were friendly and attentive to their customers though.

I find the food really ordinary and pricey as to the food's quality. On the right is their "Grumpy Joe Fried Chicken with rice and potato salad". Being one of the resto's signature dish, I was expecting way more than what was served.

"Chili Con Pizza Wrap" which I find weird coz it's stuffed with  ham, bacon, onions, cream, and some cheese. Not to mention that the dough inside was not cooked. They claim it's mozzarella however, I cook pastry and I sure know what mozzarella tastes and looks like; I surely know how to differentiate cheese from uncooked dough. Cut the story short, I ended up eating 1/4 of the thing and didn't pay for it.

Still would recommend coz you might like it. Plus, I might have ordered their wrong specialty. I won't give my rating on this one, I'll just leave it to you guys.

I came in really hungry expecting for a great dining experience but unfortunately went out grumpy.    

  

Home Cooking: Jamaican Style Chicken Curry and Chapati

Since Baguio City has limited restaurants, I always look up for recipes that will satisfy my cravings for different flavors.

For this stormy day (BTW, this was done last Sunday), I decided to cook some chapati and Jamaican style chicken curry. I don't accurately follow the measurements coz sometimes, it's better to make some revisions to get the taste and texture I really like. So I just listed the ingredients (with my revised measurement) and procedure in case you wanna try it.

Everything was made from scratch, which makes it more yummy! Here are some shots during the process. I was able to take only a couple of snaps since the chapati making was kinda messy on the hands.

I really enjoyed doing the chapati - from start to end. It's rewarding seeing your hand-made chapati fresh from the pan. Plus, it's highly addictive!!! Don't worry if you don't have the right materials. Just improvise. The one I used for kneading is actually a chopping board. If you don't have a rolling pin, use a bottle. It will do the trick ;)

Chapati (unleavened bread)

2 cups flour
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons oil

1. Mix all the ingredients.
2. Knead until you get that elastic dough. Gradually add flour if mixture is too wet, water if it's too dry.
3. Let it stand for 10 minutes before shaping and cooking it.
4. Cook on a non-stick pan over medium heat, less than a minute or so. It's done when brown spots appear.

*Hint: You'll know you got the right texture if the mixture doesn't stick to your hands when kneading.

if it's ready, it should look like this

flatten small circles but not too thin coz it will turn out like a biscuit when cooked

this is the part when my internals go goo-goo-ga-ga (WIDE smile)

Jamaican Style Chicken Curry

Chicken parts of your choice

Potatoes (optional)

Tomatoes

Garlic 

Onions

Curry Powder

Thyme

Salt

Water or chicken stock

oil

1. Fry chicken. you can remove the skin if you wish.

2, Saute garlic, onions, and tomato. Add chicken; then season with curry powder, thyme, and salt.

3, Add water or stock. 

4. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes.

*If you want to thicken the sauce, add a bit of flour dissolved in cold water.

if you want to eat your usual fried chicken, this is how boring it is

here's the simmering Jamaican style chicken curry to be

And here you have it :)

 Preparation and cooking time: 1 hour

This duo is worth trying! It will surely tickle your taste buds.



**I'd like to acknowledge Grench for helping me out on this.