Paradise Dynasty -- ION Orchard, Singapore

Paradise Dynasty is set to delight with both northern and southern Chinese cuisine, with an innovative touch. Go crazy for their mouthwatering flavors of fusion Xiao Long Bao. The steaming sampler basket comes with eight inventive flavors clad in brightly colored wrapping. There’s even a little slip of paper for a lesson on how to eat them in the correct order. Start with the original Xiao Long Bao before progressing to the stronger tasting ones. I super loved the idea of this! My mom and I wanted to order 1 basket each, but then we weren't that hungry.

Note: This was last June, since my mom and I visited for the Great Singapore Sale. I wanted to post it now, because it's semester break for majority. This is also a short review since I wanted to focus on their specialty!

Recipe of the Week! #9

 
I don't know about you but this weather is making me extra lazy. So for this week, I just put together something that is easy, fast, and satisfying! This is a copy-cat of Donna Hay's recipe, since I'm starting to re-watch her show at TLC! Enjoy!

One-pot Chicken
Ingredients

• 3 cups Chicken stock (What I did was 1 chicken bouillon and 1 cup of water)
• 6 thinly sliced Ginger
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 long green chilli, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups of Jasmine rice
• 1 kilo of Chicken Tenders
• Ginger powder

Procedure:

1. Marinade the Chicken Tenders in Ginger powder for 1-2 hours.
2. Place the Chicken stock, ginger, garlic and chilli in a cooking pot over high heat and bring to boil.
3. Add the rice and stir once to distribute evenly over the bottom of the pan. When the stock comes back to the boil, add the chicken. (TRY NOT TO STIR TOO MUCH!)
4. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes or until the rice has absorbed the stock and the chicken is tender.
5. AND THEN YOU ARE DONE! It's that easy!

Recipe of the Week! #8

I honestly don't know what to call this, but I have to say this was one of the best salmon marinades I have made! According to my parents it was "Japanese style" Hahaha! Give it a try!

Grilled Salmon
Ingredients

Marinade:

• 1 1/2 pound salmon fillets (mine were skin off)
• 1 table spoon of ground black pepper
• 1 table spoon of Garlic powder
• 1 table spoon of Cayenne pepper
• the juice from two fresh large lemons
• 1/3 cup Soy sauce (I used half Kikoman and half Coconut Brand)
• 1/3 cup Brown sugar
• 1/3 cup water (or apple juice if you have it)
• 1/4 cup Olive oil

Additional Ingredients:
Peanut oil

Procedure:

1. Clean your salmon and season the fillets with lemon, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and ground black pepper.
2. In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, lemon juice and oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fillets in a large tupperware with the soy sauce mixture, and flip the fillets around. Refrigerate overnight.
3. The next day, preheat grill for medium heat. (I used an electric griller)
4. Lightly oil grill plate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. 
5. Cook salmon for 5 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Recipe of the Week! #7

When I was making this post, I was thinking 'Chicken nanaman?!' I blame my mom, because she makes me cook chicken every Sunday. The thing is, I am just sick of looking for new recipes for chicken so I usually use my old recipes and find things to make them different or even better.

Then recently had this chicken with garlic (the ones you usually find in buffets) and I loved it! I was trying to figure out what you call it, but I knew I had it before and it's a Spanish cuisine. But finally, I have found it! This turned out really good and I don't think I'll ever get sick of cooking this, especially because I love the combination of chicken, garlic and potatoes!

 

Pollo al Ajillo - Spanish Garlic Chicken
Ingredients

Marinade: 
10-12 Chicken Thighs (Skin on)
2 lemons
1 garlic head - the cloves must be finely chopped
Salt
Pepper

White Garlic Sauce:
1 cup White Wine
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 can of Evaporated Milk
Garlic cloves - skin off (I used a head)
5 dried bay leaves
Flat Parsley
Cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper.

Additional Ingredients:
Oil
Potatoes (Sliced or baby)

Procedure:

1. Clean your Chicken thighs and put together the juice of 2 lemons (don't add the seeds since it will make it bitter,) garlic, salt and pepper. Allow the thighs to marinate for 2-4 hours.

2. Add oil to your pan. Remove the Chicken thighs from the marinade and drain well. Brown the chicken in the oil on both sides. (MAKE SURE YOUR PAN IS HOT.)

3. When you see the skin is already browned and it's half-cooked then you can already remove it from frying pan and place in a plate. Let it rest.

TIP: Don't get rid of the pan used to cook the chicken, since you can still use that to cook your sliced or baby potatoes.

4. In big pot (something that can fit your Chicken thighs) Add the White wine and the Red Wine Vinegar and let the liquid reduce. When it starts to bubble, you can add your garlic cloves.

5. After 3 minutes, you can now add your Evaporated milk and Cayenne pepper. Let it boil.

6. After you let it boil, you now add your Chicken thighs and the juices on the plate. (YUMMY!)

7. Add your bay leaves, and put it on low heat for 15-20 minutes. You can now add the salt and pepper according to your taste.

8. When it's almost done, you can add your flat parsley (stems off)

9. And you are done! You can now plate your Chicken thighs and top it with the potatoes and the sauce. So good!

ISOGI -- San Antonio Plaza, Makati

Isogi is one of the newest addition in the San Antonio Plaza! It's a really tiny restaurant between Purple Oven and Kashmir, but do not underestimate their size for their food! To be honest, I thought it would be one of those pasosyal na Japanese restaurants, but this one is definitely not one of those! Isogi is by KAI (Greenbelt 5)

My parents and I tried it after the anticipated mass in San Antonio Parish. Note: Go early! It's tricky to find parking in the area, unless you're hearing mass there. Just to be sure also, call ahead so you'll have a table! Even though you're a small group still call. I had to call in the morning just to make sure we get a table.

Recipe of the Week! #6

 

Wicked Oreos 
(aka Fried Oreos) AKA my friends' newest favorite dessert that I make!

Ingredients:
1. One bag of Oreos (I use the Original one, by Nabisco)
2. 1 pouch of Pancake mix (I personally use Maya)
3. 1 1/2 cups of milk
4. 2 eggs
5. 4 teaspoons of Vegetable oil
6. 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract

OPTIONAL:
Cinnamon sugar
Confectioner’s sugar 
Vanilla ice cream

Procedure:
1. Chill the Oreos in the refrigerator for about 4 hours. (I refrigerated mine overnight! Hehe)
2. Mix the Pancake mix, milk, eggs, oil and Vanilla extract together to make the batter. There should be no lumps at all. (Tip: Count to 100!)
3. Soak the Oreos into the batter. Make sure that both sides are fully covered. Let them sit there for 2 minutes.
4. Pour 3 inches of cooking oil into a pot. Put it to 'High' so the oil will heat faster. Make sure the oil is VERY HOT.
5. Use a spoon to move the Oreos to the pot. Put the Oreos into the pot carefully. You must leave room between them for the batter coating to rise/expand without the cookies touching each other.
6. The cookies will float, then it's time to flip. (It usually takes a minute.)
7. When it's golden brown (mine usually turns brown, but nice kind of brown) you should strain the excess oil.
8. Once it is fully strained, you can mix the Cinnamon sugar and Confectioner's sugar together to make the coat for the Oreos. Just roll them or use a Ziplock bag and shake them in.
9. Plate and add a scoop of Ice Cream (I suggest Magnolia or FIC) and just add another dash of Cinnamon sugar and SERVE!

Recipe of the Week! #5

Outback's Steakhouse's Kookabura Wings 
COPYCAT!

Ingredients:

For the chicken coating
13-15 chicken wings and/or wing drummettes
2 1/2 cups of All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon of Cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon of Paprika
1 tablespoon of Ground Black Pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon of Garlic Salt

3-5 cups of canola oil (you can use vegetable too.)

Spicy Sauce (coating)
1/3 cup salted butter

1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce (Original)
2 teaspoons Ortega taco seasoning (Chiptole)
1/2 tablespoon Tabasco
3 tablespoons Brown Sugar (depends how mild spicy you want it to be)

Procedure:
1. Clean your wings and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Combine flour, cayenne pepper, paprika, black pepper, garlic salt all together.
3. Coat the wings with the dry rub. Make sure each piece is well coated.
5. Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
4. Heat oil. When oil is heated, fry the chicken until it floats and golden.
6. Drain the oil from the chicken. (use a strainer)
5. Let chicken wings rest then put it in a bowl.

For the sauce:
1. In your sauce pan, let the butter melt, then add the hot sauce. Stir.
2. When it starts to bubble, you can now add the Taco Seasoning. Mix.
3. Let it bubble up and add your Tabasco and Brown sugar. KEEP STIRRING. (Make sure the brown sugar is completely dissolved)
4. Let it bubble again, then turn off heat.
5. While it's hot, pour the sauce into the bowl of chicken and use a thong to fully coat the wings.

AND ENJOY!

Calderón -- Little Baguio, San Juan

YES, I AM BACK!!! I am so sorry for being gone for almost two months, beacause I was swamped with school work this summer since I took advance class. It took up my whole week, and I would only have Sundays as my "rest day."

As my comeback (lol), I was invited by OpenRice Philippines (thank you so much for the invite!), to try the latest addition in Little Baguio's street of restaurants, which is Calderón. This is the newest Spanish Kitchen and Tapas Bar in the Metro! It serves authentic home-style Spanish food, tapas, sangrias, and more inside a homely, warm-lighted interior.

This night was the perfect combination of good food and good laughs! A night to remember and I'm happy that I got to spend it in Calderón!

 Calderón is the baby of Angela, Marmi and Monchet, plus Chef Rafa!
With this team-up, you can only expect to be pleased and very delighted!

SUGI -- Greenbelt 2

NOTE TO READERS: I LOVE JAPANESE FOOD! Super short "review" though!

My parents and I just watched Iron Man 3 last Friday (Loved it!) The movie ended at 8:30, and we decided to have dinner in Sugi, since we were craving for Japanese (I'm always craving for Japanese food huhuhu) and we wanted to avail the 50% discount when we use our Metrobank Platinum MasterCard or Metrobank World MasterCard. -- Until MAY 10, 2013 ONLY!!! (Mondays-Fridays ONLY)

Village Tavern -- Bonifacio High Street Central

To celebrate my first day of Summer (freedom!!!) my parents and I headed to BGC to have dinner. We tried Village Tavern; traditional comfort food with a refreshing twist. We got to try some of Village Tavern's dishes combining both traditional flavors and fresh new twists, resulting in some creative and delicious dishes. We've been wanting to try this, because it is part of the The Bistro Group (just like Italianni's, Bulgogi Brothers, T.G.I.Friday's, etc.) They say it's the "High-end of Friday's" but I thought otherwise. It is no where near Friday's, lol.

For a Friday night, the place was packed! This was around 8pm and there was a line and I was getting cranky (because it was just so hot!!!) but we were still 4th for a table inside, so my mom decided to just get a table outside. I was shocked that my mom wanted a table outside, since the weather wasn't cooperating. I can't even explain how humid it was, but at least the food and the staff were pleasing. The staff was very welcoming even though they were all busy, and even though we were outside we didn't mind, because their food was a winner for us!

Update?

Hi readers!! 
I'm sorry I haven't been posting at all.. I've been super busy with school and other things, but I promise to post this week and I am sure you will all enjoy them!!! 
Thank you so much xx

And if you have any suggestions, comments or anything feel free to email me at sugarsanchez16@yahoo.com 

Namnam and a part of Burger Bar -- Greenbelt 2

My family and I are always on the lookout for good comfort food. Namnam is Filipino comfort food, located on the Ground Floor in Greenbelt 2. The 2nd Floor was Burger Bar and both establishments shared the same owner. (Same owner as Cue too!) Namnam offers you affordable dishes, even though it is located in Greenbelt. You can choose the size of your dishes from small, medium and large! Aside from being budget-friendly, the serving sizes were just right and properly seasoned.

Sorry for the low quality photos, I just used my phone. But I assure you, the food here is really really good!!! A must try!!!

 

Las Flores -- Bonifacio Global City

I bet you're wondering why most of my post are in the Makati-Taguig side on Metro Manila, and that is because these are the places I always pass by on my way to school and on my way home! So, I think I can say, I know BGC very well already! While I was on my way home, I made my driver take a different route, which we never tried passing before (to get away from traffic,) and I found this restaurant called, Las Flores. (The owner of Las Flores, are the former owners of Barcino!) This is a modern Spanish restaurant that offers a different kind of Spanish food!

This weekend, after mass I told my parents about this place, and they said we should give it a try! I was super excited, because it's been awhile since I had Spanish food and I've been craving for Gambas!

Recipe of the Week! #3 and #4

Sorry I haven't had a 'Recipe of the Week' post in 2 weeks?! So today, I'll be sharing my own recipe! The first one is my friends' favorite dish that I cook whenever they're in my house. This is perfect for parties, hang-outs or just plain chilling at home! *This is good for potlucks too!*  It is super easy and fast to prepare and cook! I usually have them in Wings, but since I wanted this "less fattening" I only used white meat.

Sinfully by Makati Shangri-La -- Greenbelt 5

After having dinner in Greenbelt 5 (again,) my parents, brother and I went our separate ways and I had a chance to do a review on one of my favorite patisserie! This would be Sinfully by Makati Shangri-La. This used to be in Circles only, but they took their collection of pralines, french macarons, designer cakes, and freshly-baked pastries outside of the hotel’s swanky location, on the Second level of Greenbelt 5 in Makati City.

‘Cue Modern Barbecue -- Bonifacio High Street Central

There are a lot of barbecue places here in Metro Manila, but the variety of flavors of ‘Cue changes the competition! It may not be a Filipino taste inspired, but its taste has inspired a Filipino food lover. Since my family is a 'Foodie,' this week I made my parents try 'Cue Modern Barbecue! I tried this restaurant before with my brother and his girlfriend (that was the time I tried one of the best Fried Oysters dish I ever tasted,) and I knew I had to make my mom try their not so usual tacos and my dad to try their special menu!

Kenji Tei Ramen House -- Greenbelt 5

The thing is, our family usually goes to Greenbelt 5 and yeah we would notice Kenji Tei, but it seems empty. (That would be around 3:00pm-4:00pm, before the 4:30pm mass in the Greenbelt Chapel) So, I thought it would be the usual lousy restaurants that serve pathetic food for such expensive prices, that's why it's empty. I TAKE THAT BACK NOW. Nothing makes me happier than being able to eat good Japanese food, which is exactly what happened when my dad and I first tried Kenji Tei Ramen House (This was last January 2013.)  Today (February 2013,) we planned to eat there again with the whole fambam. My parents and I are into noodles and soup, but my brother would rather have rice, and it's nice how Kenji Tei offers not only Ramen, but other good dishes too.

Recipe of the Week! #2

Who doesn't like fried chicken? What if there was a healthier and easy way to cook it? For this week's recipe, we have Oven Fried Oatmeal Chicken! It is quick and easy to prepare, yet very delicious.

There is no such thing as too many cupcakes!

Almost everyone is looking for the most perfect cupcake store or bakery here in Metro Manila. My family has this special relationship with sweets and we can never say no to cupcakes! Especially Bella Cupcakes Manila! This cupcake local business is my ultimate favorite; the cupcake business that I knew I must blog about.

Recipe of the Week!

This week's recipe will be a family favorite that is sure to please! This is an easy dinner recipe and it is absolutely delicious. Now, this is my own version of the Perfect Roast Chicken by Ina Garten of The Barefoot Contessa

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro -- Bonifacio Global City

Finally! P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, a popular US-based full-service chain, has opened its second branch at the Bonifacio Global City last January 15, 2013. I was happy to find out that they opened a branch that is somewhat in the middle of Metro Manila! The new location has two floors, including private function rooms in the second floor and as well stocked bar at the first floor.