Weekend Food Choices Week7: Surprising the Control Freak

This week, hubby wanted to be secretive and refused to give his 3 choices for our weekend food trip. I was bugging him all day and couldn’t concentrate on anything else because i wanted to know. He knows i get fidgety when i can’t anticipate what comes next but he wouldn’t budge so i eventually decided to give up.

When we exited the Power plant mall, i knew he really had something up his sleeve. Its not often that hubby decides to plan our Sunday dinner all by himself and i got excited.

We turned to Edsa and exited on Buendia and found ourselves on the corner of Jupiter and Antares

Hubby’s Weekend Food Choice:

Osonho was not yet on my list of food places to visit and i had to give hubby a big hug for his efforts in finding a new place for us to dine in.

When we arrived at around 6pm the place was still deserted. Good i thought, extra time to take photos!

The ambiance of Osonho is laid back but with good enough interiors for a casual first date

The wall near the entrance displayed various magazines and papers where Osonho has been featured.

then again, yes, i think ive come across a review on this place before but it never caught my interest because im not familiar with Portuguese food.

Complementary bread and olive oil & garlic for dipping were served

Appetizer was Portuguese Gambas

I didn’t know what Portuguese gambas was supposed to taste like but i wanted to taste the succulent prawns the moment the hot plate was served on our table.

The prawns were cooked in garlic, olive oil, and what we suspected was sun dried tomatoes.

This dish is a must order. Yummy!

My order came next

Jeera Meera Masala is lamb leg marinated in garam masala spices with grilled tomatoes and onions over steamed rice. The hot pasty sauce of the dish was delicious. I only wish they grilled the tomatoes and onions more thoroughly and not just to put grill marks on them, as i do eat my veggies…

Hubby’s order

Peri-Peri chicken on fragrant chicken rice.

Now ive never really been a fan of the peri-peri chicken after tasting it at Greenhills. I found the chicken a little dry and the taste nothing to get excited about. But when i tasted Osonho’s peri peri chicken i was blown away!

No exaggeration this is one of the best chicken dishes i have tasted! The boneless chicken was deliciously juicy and tender and Osonho’s peri-peri sauce was wonderfully mouthwatering!!

The fragrant rice brought balance to the flavorful chicken.

This order could actually be good for two, that is, if you’re willing to share!

As we finished our food, people started to fill the restaurant.

Now, im a confessed Portuguese food newbie and have nothing to compare Osonho’s dishes to, but all i know is that authentic Portuguese food or not, we had a great dinner!

I guess handing the control to someone else once in a while isn’t so bad…

It can actually turn into a satisfying dinner!

lets drink to that!

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Weekend Food Choices Week 6: A New Asian Favorite

Last weekend, i felt i needed to reward myself so hubby planned a nice dinner for us.  Unfortunately amidst the chaos, we forgot to pack my LX3 and had to content ourselves with my Omnia.

Weekend Food Choices:
1. Malacca
2. Indian By Nature
3. Sango

Our Choice:

Ive read about this restaurant in other food blogs and got interested in the dishes they served. Like Filipino dishes, Malaysian food is a combination of influences from nearby countries. This fusion makes the dishes interesting and unique.

The menu of Malacca is simple. No flipping through numerous pages and getting confused. There are around 6 dishes per heading and a couple of pictures that fit on the 2 sides of a board like menu.

When we arrived at around 6pm, last Sunday, a friendly staff greeted us and showed us to our seats and as we were musing over the dishes we wanted, a small plate of kropek was served.

We ordered barley with lemon and cold teh tarik for our drinks

We were debating whether to get a big dish of crabs or several dishes for variety.

We decided on variety.

As we were finalizing our food choices, 3 other diners arrived, the most senior of the 3 men seemed to be a regular and knew exactly what to order.  He was so happy with the food flavors and the service of the staff that he bellowed “good service ah” “good food, all good” in broken English which only made me even more excited to sample our orders.

Hainanese Chicken

This dish is usually served with rice and soup but you can ask them for a half order of just the chicken if you would like to share and enjoy it with other dishes. The plate is enough for 2 people, 3 if you order it with other dishes. We later found out that you could actually ask the staff for the specific portion of the chicken you wanted.

The sauces included a ginger paste, thick soy sauce and a spicy condiment.  A very good dish!

Sambal Prawns

This is a delicious dish that would make the spicy seafood fan drool. The prawns were succulent and juicy and the spiciness of the dish just right for that gastronomic kick. We would definitely order this dish again.

Nasi Goreng

Now, when this dish was served i was not impressed. Yes, nasi goreng means fried rice and it looked just that, but a spoonful of this rice will put a big smile on anyone’s face. It was de-licious! I could practically eat this rice by itself, that’s how good it was!  If you decide to order this, you will be asked how you prefer the spiciness of the rice. We ordered it mild and it was just right. For those who are not fond of spicy food, the plain nasi goreng would probably be for you.

Seafood Soup

When we added this dish to our orders, we were told that the soup in the menu was for 6 to 8 people. But because hubby really wanted his spicy soup, the staff asked the chef if we could get a short order and they gladly gave in to our request. The steaming bowl of soup came which was good for about 5 small bowl servings. This soup was soooo good. Dont be fooled by the color because it is not as spicy as it looks. We could not put our finger on the flavor as it was not like the thai tom yum that we were used to that has a predominantly gingery quality to it. This seafood soup had a more tangy like flavor and with the plump tomatoes, various spices and shrimps, we were so satisfied that hubby and i both agreed that Malacca has come out on top of all our other Asian restaurant favorites.

We capped the delicious dinner with coconut jelly dessert that was equally yummy

A big blob of coconut jelly is topped off with crushed ice, muscovado sugar and seasoned with pieces of ripe mango. This was a perfect ending to a delicious dinner!

The service in Malacca was wonderful and the dishes superb!

Ok, the pictures do not do justice to how delicious the food was…i guess that just means we will need to visit again soon to take more decent pictures…and taste more of Malacca’s delicious dishes!  Definitely!!!

Malacca
Jupiter Place, Bel-air Village, Makati
Open daily
11am-2pm
6-11pm

How to Drive the Stress Away

Ive been so busy lately with official work that the photos waiting to be posted have piled up.

Stress can creep up on me when a new hectic schedule shows itself and there’s no better way to relax than with cookies and milk!

My good friend Dr AST got me a box of homemade cookies by Roshan and i almost forgot my schedule was in a limbo.

i was very excited when i got the gold box and with good reason

opening the box revealed larger-than-my-fist cookies that smelled wonderful!

Biting into a Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookie revealed a chewy and moist center with chocolate and walnuts…yuuuummmyyy!

Stressed?

Grab a Roshan cookie and a cold glass of milk and you’re on your way to sugary heaven!

Roshan Cookies and Biscotti
631-7786
(0917) 833 – 6286

Good Combination

Last weekend we attended the beautiful wedding ceremony of Drs RA & CHA.

Reception followed at The Peninsula Manila

the ballroom was beautifully decorated with drapes, beads and bouquets.

At our table sat the sexy Dr GB

We chit chatted as we waited for the delicious dinner to be served

Dinner started with Atlantic smoked salmon and crab salad mimosa style, petit salad leaves and horseradish cream

what can i say, i loooove salmon!

The cream of roasted pumpkin scented with thyme was served next

Then the much anticipated main course was served

Braised wagyu beef rump on truffle scented potato puree

the tender wagyu beef was delicious and the truffle on the potato puree made you feel like a hundred bucks!

The wonderful dinner was capped off with an exquisite dessert sampler

The luscious cheesecake and strawberry compote tasted wonderfully with the chocolate ice cream

It was a lovely night made even lovelier by such a happy celebration.

What makes a great wedding reception, you ask? 
The combination of special people, a beautifully decorated ballroom and a delicious dinner.

And what predicts a happy life together?
What else but the pairing of two good friends!

Have a wonderful life together R&C!! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your special day!

Weekend Food Choices Week 5: Tough to Beat the Real Thing

Weekend Food Choices:
1. Sango
2. Ramen Tei
3. Phoa

Our Choice:

Ever since hubby got home from Japan, he has been trying to satisfy his craving for something that would come close to the best ramen he has ever tasted. Apparently he found one of the best ramen places in Japan which was a good 20 minute walk from his flat in Saitama.

(Taken 2004 in Fujimino)

Dubbed as “manong’s ramen”, the noodle soup in this small eatery in Fujimino is by far, still the best ramen we’ve ever tasted.  The thick flavorful broth with a generous serving of meat and my favorite marinated egg.

(Manong’s Ramen, Fujimino, Japan)

Now, more than 4 years have passed and we’re still trying to find something that comes close to manong’s ramen.

Last week, hubby was excited to find out that Rament Tei had opened near our home and so without much thought, we decided it would have to be ramen for our 5th weekend food choices.

Ramen Tei was the first of the Japanese noodle houses to open in Makati back in 1977. That branch in Pasay was notable because the signage had no English words, just japanese characters. Thus it was just Japanese nationals, expatriates and businessmen and their families who came to eat at the first branch of Ramen Tei.

Ramen Tei, meaning noodle house, got hubby’s attention the first time we saw the branch at home depot in Ortigas. This little restaurant has around 8 tables and a crew of 4-5.

It was a slow Saturday night when we arrived at around 8pm but the tables started to fill up after a few minutes.

We ordered Regular Ume, a plate of assorted sushi

The sizes were authentically large. I never got the hang of placing a whole sushi in my mouth and still ending up looking so prim and proper like the women in japan. So thumbs up for the sushi size, but hubby said that the rice in the sushi was a little dry. It was good for my hungry tummy though.

Hubby ordered his favorite fried gyoza

i always find this a bit too oily and meaty so i was just able to finish one piece.  Hubby on the other hand, thought their gyoza was delicious.

Then finally our ramen came!

Hubby ordered Sutamina Ramen

and i ordered Nabeyaki Ramen

The ramen was good but still not what we were looking for. After all, Manong’s Ramen is a tough dish to beat!