Alabang

Food, Friends and Fun at Sweet Bella Molito

May 29, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 26 Comments

It has happened. I am becoming old(er) and forgetful. Those of you who are my friends and followers on Facebook know that, earlier this month, I went to a restaurant to do a food review and forgot to bring a camera. That would have been okay if my phone was nice and high tech, but no. I have a BlackBerry and a very, very, very, VERY low-end Samsung. Basically, I sat down and realized that I was toast.

But, because I was with amazing friends that day, this post won’t be a boring, wordy account of what the food looked and tasted like. My new-found friend Jane of Sugar & Spice, and my neighborly neighbor Michelle of Momma ‘N Manila decided to save me by sharing their photos with me. Thank God for these two, because trust me, one look at the photos and you will want to come to Sweet Bella for lunch or dinner.

With wonderful friends at Sweet Bella - Michelle, Kathi, Patty, Cai, Jane, and owner, Veron — With wonderful friends at Sweet Bella – Michelle, Kathi, Patty, Cai, Jane, and one of the owners, Veron

All the other ladies were there when I arrived. I was really rushing that day because we had football in the morning, and then I was scheduled to enroll Little MrC at school in the afternoon. Yes, that’s my excuse for forgetting my camera at home. The other mommies actually brought their kids with them, but mine was too tired to go out for lunch. It was too bad, because they served all of his favorite things at the kids’ table.

Four Cheese and Rustica Pizzas, and Penne Carbonara

I got to try some of the Rustica Pizza (Php395), which is topped with Italian sausage, Hungarian sausage, frankfurter, pepperoni, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Yum. I could even eat this for breakfast. There was also a Four Cheese Pizza (Php395) with fontina, mozzarella, bleu and parmesan cheeses, and Penne Carbonara (Php350) served to the kids. Like I said, all of my little boy’s favorites.

Now that I think about it, a lot of the dishes served to us mommies are faves of my kiddo as well. I swear, I need to take the boys here real soon. For sure, MrC would love the Seafood Chowder (Php250), which is one of the super winner dishes in my opinion. It’s loaded bits of seafood, a definite plus considering that most restaurants have more soup than meat in their chowder. The zigzag bread stick that comes with it is a perfect complement. I also truly enjoyed the HUGE Rockefeller Oysters (Php395) served to us.

Beef Salpicao, Rockefeller Oysters and Seafood Chowder

One dish that deserves special mention is the USDA Beef Salpicao (Php450), which is served with steak rice. The rice has bits of crispy beef and bits of crispy fat in it. So, so, so good. This is perfectly flavored, very garlicky, and an absolute must-try. You won’t regret it, I promise. So worth the calorie splurge.

Gambas with Foccaccia Bread, Grilled Salmon Steak and Capellini Pomodore e Salsa Verde Pasta

Michelle says that she likes to order the salpicao, plus an order of Gambas al Ajillo (Php270) for an instant surf n turf meal. Sounds like a good idea, for sure! The best way to eat the gambas is to pop a piece of shrimp in your mouth, whole if you can, then soak up some of the oil with your bread and pop that into your mouth right after. Mmm, good.

If you’re craving for pasta, you need to try the Capellini Pomodore e Salsa Verde (Php395). It has truffle oil, pomodoro sauce AND pesto sauce, plus crunchy balsamic-glazed eggplant on the side. This goes really well with the Grilled Salmon with Lemon Butter Sauce (Php495). I have to tell you, I don’t normally like cooked salmon. I don’t like the rubbery texture that comes from overcooking the fish. Sweet Bella’s though was cooked perfectly. It was tender, flaky and just melts in your mouth.

Actually, everything we ate that day was perfectly cooked. Even the salpicao cubes were a little bit pink inside, imagine that? Now, if the beef cubes were perfect, you can just imagine how amazingly perfect this piece of wagyu beef was.

Sweet Bella is actually the pretty, pink sister of Melo’s and House of Wagyu, so you can be sure that the steaks they serve are superior-grade. I can totally eat an entire Rib-eye Steak (Php995) all by myself, coz I’m takaw like that. But, I was smart enough to only have a small piece because the best part of our meal was yet to come – DESSERT!

As you walk into Sweet Bella, you are greeted by a display of gorgeous cakes. I was so happy when I heard that we were going to be given six different mini cakes to try. I love cake! Oh, note that the prices for the cakes below are for the personal size.

First, there’s the Mangotier (Php275), an oven-baked cheesecake with mango mousse and fresh mango coulis. The Chocolata (Php220), which has been voted as best dessert, is a chocolate cake layered with ganache and topped with chocolate glass and butterflies. So pretty! They warmed this for us before serving, making it all melty and delicious. The chocoholic in me is happy.

Just when I thought that it couldn’t get any better, I had a bite of the Trio (Ph275). It has layers of coffee mousse, and dark and white chocolate mousse, and just literally melts in your mouth. This, along with the Mi Camille (Php295) are my favorites. The Mi Camille dome is made of a delicate Belgian milk chocolate mousse on top of hazelnut praline on top of French biscuit on top of an almond praline crust. Chocolate plus nuts, for the win.

These last two cakes win simply because they are pink. The Strawberry Shortcake (Php275) is a tower of vanilla cake layered with strawberry cream. This is so good with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. And oh, the Hot Chocolate at Sweet Bella is a must-try, too. If you want something unique, try the Pearl (Php295), a pink guava mousse filled with flambeed mango. This one was voted best dessert as well.

I’m really so glad that I got to borrow photos for this post! It wouldn’t be the same without them, right? I’m even happier that I actually made it to this lunch. I almost missed it because of my nutty summer schedule, and I’m glad I made an effort to be there. I know what I would have been missing, and really, it would have been a lot.

Oh, one last thing. Sweet Bella has AMAZING sugar free ensaymadas and cheese rolls. We recently got some for my lola, and she loved them. She had them as a snack, as dessert, as breakfast, and I think as lunch also, once. You have to order these in advance, though, and it takes 2-3 days before they are delivered to the branch.

Thank you, thank you, Michelle for inviting me, Michelle and Jane for sharing your photos, and, of course, Veron for having us. I will definitely be back soon with the family!

SWEET BELLA CAFE
Cluster II, Unit IIB
Molito, Alabang
(02) 556-4247
sweetbella_alabang@yahoo.com
sweetbellacakes@yahoo.com
#/sweetbellacafe

My Ratatouille Moment at Kessaku Japanese Restaurant

February 18, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 10 Comments

If you’ve lived in Alabang as long as we have, you will probably remember a restaurant that used to be in Casa Susana, called Okasan. I’ve been trying to look for a photo or anything else online that might be able to prove that it once existed, but sadly, there’s nothing. It vanished before Friendster, Multiply or Facebook became popular, and before everyone had digital cameras and camera phones.

My family and I used to go there all the time. It’s was once our go-to place for birthdays, random celebrations and weekend meals out with the family. I remember that the first time MrC and I went out to dinner, that’s where we went. I think that was during our first anniversary in 2000. We were there so often that the waiters already knew what our favorite dishes were. And when they started offering a delivery service, our favorite waiter from the restaurant would come to the house to bring the food himself. It’s too bad that after they closed, we had no idea if they were ever going to open again, or if they had a sister restaurant or another branch, at least. Okasan just went away, and with it went our favorites – the Tonkatsu with cabbage and thousand island dressing, Ebi Tempura, the crunchy dilis that they serve as appetizers, and the unforgettable Tori Kuwayaki.

Halloween Events in the South!

October 21, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 2 Comments

As with most Filipinos, I get really excited when the -ber months come along because I just love the holidays! For me though, the season doesn’t officially start until Halloween. Yup, our family is really big on Halloween! When we were younger, we would even have open-house parties at home, where everyone would be in costume. My siblings actually continue to dress up and go out to Halloween parties up until now. As for me, I’m happy to have an excuse to go trick or treating again now that my little boy is old enough to enjoy it too.

Of course, with me being the south person that I am, my go-to October 31 events are all within the south area. Apart from trick or treating in our village though, I’m not yet sure which other events the boys and I will be heading to this year. If you happen to find yourself around here on Halloween, you may want to check out these great parties and celebrations.

Acacia Hotel , which celebrates is 2nd year this October, is having two parties this Halloween – one for the little kids and another for the big kids. The afternoon session for kids will take place at the Grand Acacia Ballroom, and will have loads of entertainment, games and fun activities, loot bags, trick or treat, raffle prizes and a yummy snack buffet. Tickets are at Php 995 nett per person, and children 2 years of age and below are free of charge. You may call 720 2000 to purchase your tickets.

Acacia 1 — A Grimms Tale at Acacia Hotel

It’s October, and I Want to Treat You To an Acacia Hotel Buffet Lunch (or Dinner)!

October 1, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 54 Comments

Just like that, anniversary month is already over. The good news is that we are thismuch closer to Christmas, the absolute most wonderful time of the year! Yes, I am a kid at heart, and the holiday season still excites me.

Last year, the boys and I culminated anniversary month with an amazing staycation at Acacia Hotel Manila. We spent a super relaxing weekend there, and even though the hotel is literally 5 minutes away from home, the quiet time that the three of us got to spend together made it feel like a real getaway.

We watched the DLSU-ADMU game in our room, with matching yummy treats from the hotel’s lovely Guest Experience Group.

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

Dinner Date at Con Gusto by Buon Giorno

May 10, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

One Sunday, while the little boy was at Fishville with his grandparents, MrC and I decided to go out for dinner after mass. We decided to try out Con Gusto in Molito. It was an easy reastaurant choice, for once. They had me at Buon Giorno.

If you ask me, I’d rather still drive to Tagaytay to eat at Buon Giorno, if only for the whole road trip experience and ambiance. At the same time, the menu at Con Gusto doesn’t have everything that Buon Giorno has, which is actually something I’d expected. What I didn’t anticipate though was that the prices seemed a bit steeper, and the servings were smaller. But anyway, I can’t really complain because it really is more convenient to come and eat here, since Molito is only 5 minutes away from home.

So here’s what we had. Disclaimer: I can’t actually remember what each of these dishes are called, since this dinner happened a few weeks ago. Sorry!!!