Food & Recipes

Family Dinner at The Old Spaghetti House

August 8, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 2 Comments

We are a family of big eaters. Seriously, you would be surprised at how much food we can consume as a group, specially when we eat out. A while back (yes, this is another delayed post), we had dinner out as a family at The Old Spaghetti House in Festival Mall Alabang, upon request of my dad. I don’t know why, but he just loves their spaghetti and meatballs. Personally, I think it’s quite bland. But anyway, since dinner was on dad, of course we went where he wanted to go.

Spaghetti and meatballs, our reason for eating at TOSH

I love when restaurants have nice kid menus because that generally means that my son will be in a good mood and we won’t have to rush through our meal because he wants to leave already to go someplace else. Like many places that have pizza as part of their children’s selection, TOSH has a make-your-own option. We always go for this whenever available because Little MrC really enjoys prepping his own food like a big boy.

TOSH2-1 — Make-your-own-pizza ingredients

Let me give you an idea of just how much we eat as a family hehe. So, my dad had an order of pasta, and my son finished his pizza. MrC and I split a pasta dish and a salad, plus I had a bowl of soup.

TOSH2-13 — Cannelloni stuffed with three kinds of mushrooms and cream cheese, baked with homemade marinara sauce

Now, I need to be honest and tell you that I did not enjoy what I ordered. The clam chowder tasted like cream of mushroom soup. I ordered this because I was craving for the chowder at S&R. The Caesar salad looked and tasted like it had fake bacon and lots of mustard in the dressing. Again, I was thinking about the Caesar in CPK when I ordered this. Are my expectations too high? And finally, the pasta just wasn’t very tasty. This was part of their premium menu, and I’m not sure if this is still available.

Okay, on to the dishes that people actually did enjoy. My brother ordered a bunch of appetizers for everyone. We had buffalo chicken tenders, and two orders each of mozzarella sticks and fried onion rings. All were yummy. All were wiped out too haha!

TOSH2-7 — Onion rings with ranch dressing

TOSH2-6 — Mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce

TOSH2-11 — Buffalo chicken tenders. The only thing missing was bleu cheese dressing.

I’m not done yet! My mom and my brother each had a pasta dish, and my sister ordered a main course.

TOSH2-10 — Blackened fish fillet with mango salsa and cilantro rice

TOSH2-9 — Chicken cordon bleu in white sauce with mushroom and bacon

Isn’t that a lot of food for 6 adults and one kid? Well, guess what? We still had room for dessert. We ordered two dessert items to share, but we only ended up eating one of them because my sister pulled out a very long strand of hair when she took a piece out of one of the dishes. That would have been the first bite, and we’re just glad that she pulled up that hair strand right away and not when we were already halfway through the dish. Gross.

TOSH2-15 — The colossal chocolate chip cookie ala mode which we returned, uneaten

TOSH2-16 — Golden Oreo cookie ala mode. Obviously they got to this before my camera did.

Since that epic meal, we haven’t yet gone back to The Old Spaghetti House. I think it’s only a matter time, though, before my dad gets reminded of his “favorite” spaghetti and meatballs, and we’ll either call them for delivery or head on out to the restaurant for another giant family meal.

The Old Spaghetti House
2/L Bridgeway Entrance (Near Shopwise) Festival Supermall, Alabang
+632 850-9959
http://www.theoldspaghettihouse.com/
#/TheOldSpaghettiHouse

Lunching at La Creperie

August 2, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

Earlier this week, I paid for my slot for Dainty Mom‘s upcoming Write On Workshop, the third in the series. I realized this morning that I have yet to post about the first two workshops, which of course I attended. The only evidence on my blog that I was actually at those workshops are my completed “homework” – this post that tells the story of my hopes, dreams and fears as a mother, and my about page, which I can now proudly say exists.

I love the Write On Workshop Series, and that’s why I keep coming back. There are three very compelling things about these workshops that I know all the attendees look forward to. First, and most obvious, is the learning experience. I don’t think anyone who’s ever joined one of these can honestly say that they did not gain anything from the session. I know for a fact that I am a better blogger because of all that I learned from Martine and my classmates. I’ll be sharing these learning points in a few days, I promise! Just need to get my thoughts and my notes together.

Second is the networking opportunity with other moms who blog. Through my involvement in these workshops, as well as the Manila Workshops projects, I have made so many wonderful new friends. What I love most about these ladies is that we are all on the same boat! Regardless of age, background, what city we live in, we all can relate to each other, we help each other out, and we encourage, uplift and inspire each other every day. It’s a great circle of friends to have and a great community to belong to. Through these workshops, we get the chance to meet regularly, and it’s always fun.

The third reason is the food. I remember Martine saying once that writers need good food and good coffee to function. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Obviously our workshops are always held in a place that has both. Happy tummies make for happy writers!

I was extra excited about the restaurant where we had our second Write On class, La Creperie in San Juan. Whenever the boys and I go anywhere outside of Alabang, I try to look for a place we can eat that doesn’t exist in the south so that we can try something new. We totally jumped at the chance to try La Creperie because all of their branches are north of Makati, an area I call the far north. Lol.

Breakfast at The Manila Hotel

August 1, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

Kukuruku! Umaga na! Good morning! What did you have for breakfast? Eggs benedict? At si Umberto ba ang nag-serve?

-Jennifer Cortez as Suzanne Reyes, Temptation Island (1980)

I actually had Eggs Benedict for breakfast at the Manila Hotel last week with a friend . It wasn’t served by Umberto though. Lol. We were there for a shoot, and since we had a long morning ahead of us, we decided to eat before getting to work. Breakfast was on her that day, and I’m really grateful for the treat because the food was on the expensive side, and not quite worth the price in my honest opinion.

Coffee. Always a must at breakfast time.

Baon Plan # 5 Plus a Recipe for Lazy Pizza Grilled Cheese

July 31, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 12 Comments

Woohoo for a whole successful month of packing recess and lunch for my son! We move on to month two now, and I’m pleased to say that this early morning cooking task is easier to do and feels more natural now. I love it, I am making progress!

I found out from my son that some of his classmates pack hotdogs and spam with rice for lunch. One of his classmates even has McDonalds almost every day! I now feel so proud of myself for really making an effort to prepare freshly cooked healthy meals for my little boy each and every day. I’m also super proud of MrC for stepping in for me on days when I couldn’t be in the kitchen, like during Week 4 when I was sick. Teamwork and cooperation is key!

So, here’s what we prepared on Week 5.

MONDAY
Breakfast: Crumpy sandwich -(Crumpy is one of our fave sandwich spreads! Yum!)
Recess: Pomelo (Dad’s pasalubong straight from Davao.)
Lunch: Baked pork ribs (Leftover from dinner prepared by Lola.)

Baon Plan #4 – Sick Week

July 26, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 1 Comment

If last week’s lunch box plan was loaded with photos, this week I only have one. I have a good reason why though! At the beginning of the week, I cooked up a lot of the food that I had previously kept in the freezer. And then, towards the end of the week I got sick and MrC had to take over my kitchen duties. Excuses, excuses? Lol!

Another thing, I discovered in the previous week that my son’s recess and lunch times are close together. This means that when I pack a heavy snack for him, he usually fails to finish his lunch. This being so, I’ve decided to just pack him fruits for recess. It’s also nutrition month, and the school is encouraging the kids to pack fruits and veggies as snacks, so this particular week was a good time to start on a new fruit-snacking habit.

Here’s what we prepared on the second week of July.

MONDAY
Breakfast: Tuna and cheese sandwiches
Recess: Banana
Lunch: Rosemary Chicken and cheesy potatoes

TUESDAY
Breakfast: French Toast
Recess: Banana
Lunch: Daing na bangus

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: Cereal and milk
Recess: Apple slices
Lunch: Meatballs in tomato sauce and boiled carrots

Packed lunches. One for my sister and one for my son.

THURSDAY (Which was the first day that MrC took over for me)
Breakfast: Cereal and milk
Recess: Apple slices
Lunch: Chicken nuggets and boiled carrots

FRIDAY
Breakfast: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Recess: Apple slices
Lunch: Tocino and scrambled egg

Sorry this week’s post is delayed. It’s been an insane work week for me. In fact, it’s only 8pm and I’m already very sleepy. We’ve got The WAHMeo Workshop with Manila Workshops tomorrow, so it’s gonna be a big day. I should probably get to bed now. Haha!

Hope you’re looking forward to next week’s baon plan!

Husband Date at Kenji Tei Ramen House

July 20, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

Like I said in my previous post, MrC and I have been making an effort to spend more quality time together. A few months ago (yes, I know, my post is soooo delayed!), my parents took Little MrC with them to Fishville for the weekend. The husbandry and I took advantage of our alone time with a movie marathon at home, a lunch date and a dinner date at Con Gusto in Molito. I remember that around that time, we were always craving for Italian and Japanese food, and we ate mostly pizza, ramen, pasta and sushi for maybe two weeks. Given the cravings, we decided it was a great time for us to try Kenji Tei in Alabang Town Center.

Condiments on the table. I am so addicted to that Japanese chili powder!

The restaurant is really pretty. I love the design of the ceiling, and how the place is really bright. I think the wood furniture fits the space perfectly too. MrC was still in a ramen mood during our visit because our family lunch at Ramen Yushoken really made an impression on him. At Kenji Tei, he chose to order the Curry Ramen. I went for my usual Sashimi, tuna this time, and decided to add an order of Ebi Fry too.

KenjiTei-5 — Curry Ramen. Rich and a little spicy.
Regular Php258, Large Php348

KenjiTei-6 — Ebi Fry. Two pieces left. One was already in my belly haha!
3pcs with tartar sauce Php248

The food was good, and I’m definitely coming back soon to try their other dishes. I love that they are located close to the cinemas. We now have another nice place to go for a meal before or after a movie. I think my date agrees with me.

For more yummy food photos and a great review about Kenji Tei, hop on over to my friend Joei’s blog.

Kenji Tei Ramen House
G/F Alabang Town Center (near the cinemas)
+632 511-8980
#/kenjitei