merienda all you can at Nena’s

I love eating kakanin. One of my fondest childhood memories was waking up to the sound of a kakanin peddler selling kutsinta. I love the feel of eating fresh kutsinta and puto in the morning with fresh coconut meat gratings.

This love for kakanin was the reason why I love eating at Nena’s Special Bibingka and Restaurant. For only 75 pesos (tax included, no leftover price) per person, I get to indulge on the following (thanks to Ivan about town for the Philippine street food dictionary):

1. kutsinta – steamed boiled rice with lye and brown sugar; has a gelatinous consistency. Their kutsinta has just the right consistency and it’s not too sweet.
2. puto – stemead rice cake. This is great with their dinuguan.
   

Crispylicious, Juicylicious

After a tough week of PST (Product Specific Training for non call center peeps), I was in need of a comfort food. Without giving it much thought, I went to the nearest Jollibee branch. I was dying to have my usual comfort food, Jollibee chickenjoy. The best fast food fried chicken for me so far because it’s really juicylicious and crisplicious, true to its claim in the famous TV commercial. The skin is to die for. It’s fried to crispy perfection and it’s tasty too. The meat is soft and perfect when dipped in the gravy that comes with the chickenjoy meal. Include pineapple juice or your preferred softdrink and presto, you get one perfect meal. Get the 2-piece chickenjoy value meal because I assure you that one is never enough.

Just a little definition from wikipedia.org:

Comfort food is typically inexpensive, uncomplicated, and easy to prepare. Many people turn to comfort food for familiarity, emotional security, or special reward. The reasons a dish becomes a comfort food are diverse but often include pleasant associations of childhood. Small children often seem to latch on to a specific food or drink (in a way similar to a security blanket and will repeatedly request it in high stress situations. Adults eat comfort food for a sense of continuity.

How about you what’s your comfor food? Care to share?

*Disclaimer: I’m not being paid by Jollibee to post this entry. Thank you very much.

Got milk(tea)?

What happens when you mix tea and evaporated milk, add gulaman crystals and chill the mixture with (lots!) of ice cubes? Why you’ll get a bitter-sweet-creamy-refreshing beverage called Nai Cha. Just a little bit of history:

Hong Kong-style milk tea originates from British colonial rule over Hong Kong. The British practice of afternoon tea, where black tea with milk and sugar is served, became popular in Hong Kong. “Milk tea” is similar to the type of tea drunk in Britain, except that evaporated milk or condensed milk is used instead of ordinary milk. It is called “milk tea” (nai cha) to distinguish it from Chinese “tea” (cha). (from WIkipedia.org)

The best Nai Cha that I tasted so far was from Chowking at 45 pesos for a large glass. Their’s always a great treat whichever Chowking branch I order. They have NEVER let my taste buds down. But hey I’m always on the hunt for the best tea or best milk tea for that matter. So if you think otherwise, I’m open to suggestions.

Siomai overload

Last friday, I rushed to work to get my training allowance and meet my wavemates. We then decided to eat at Dimsum n Dumplings Shopwise as everyone’s hungry. I went for the ALL YOU CAN EAT SIOMAI for 139 PHP. The siomai was good, however I’m not a siomai expert so don’t take my word for it. I love dipping it in chili paste – soy sauce – calamansi extract combination and fortunately for me Dimsum n Dumplings also has unlimited supply of each. The Yang Chow rice tasted bland and dry though as always. This is the reason why I did not choose the ALL YOU CAN EAT SIOMAI & YANG CHOW RICE for 179 PHP.

I had 2 refills aside from the 4 siomai with my first order. I ended up being cranky during the training (sorry Eve and my wavemates) as my body longed for a comfortable bed after that siomai overload.

The Dimsum n Dumplings place in Shopwise Cubao is small, about 14 seats are available inside the shop and 8 seats outside. So better consider if your eating with your whole team or with the extended family.