Chef Nancy Lumen-Reyes' Bibingka Ube Crepe Cake

Nancy Lumen-Reyes' Bibingka Ube Crepe Cake

Bibingka Ube Crepe Cake

Ingredients for Crepes:

4 tbsp. Butter

4 pcs. Eggs

1 Cup All Purpose Flour

½ cup Milk

½ cup Coconut Milk

13 cup Sugar

¼ tsp Butter for Pan

Procedure for Crepe:

Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.

Whisk together butter, milk, coconut milk and eggs.

Gradually add the wet mixture to dry mixture whisking until smooth.

Pour through a fine strainer into a plastic food container (must be airtight), discard lumps.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours or better yet, leave overnight.

Lightly coat a crepe pan with butter.

In a medium heat, allow the crepe pan begins to smoke, remove crepe pan from heat, pour about 2 tbsp batter, swirling to cover the bottom. Reduce heat to med-low, return the pan to the heat. Cook flipping once until the center is cool about 20-30 seconds per sides.  Slide crepe onto the plate. Repeat process with remaining batter.

Ingredients for Ube Custard Cream:

1 ½ cup of Milk

3 pcs. Eggs

½ cup Sugar

¼ cup Cornstarch

¼ cup Ube Jam

1 tbsp Ube Flavoring

½ cup whipping cream

1 tbsp powdered sugar

Procedure for Crepe Ube Custard Crème:

Add milk, eggs, sugar, cornstarch, ube jam and ube flavouring in a stainless bowl and blend until smooth.  Pour mixture into a saucepan and heat over medium low heat while stirring constantly until it thickens. Remove immediately. Let custard cool completely.  Whip the cream into the cooled custard using a silicone spatula. Place custard in the fridge to firm up.

To Assemble:

Put crepe down on a plate then spread thinly  on even layer of the Ube cream (not too thick the cake won’t hold shape when you cut it) continue layering, saving the best looking crepe for the top layer.

Nancy Lumen Reyes' Recipe: Mama Nena's Kinulob na Manok

Mama Nena's Kinulob na Manok

Mommy Nena’s Kinulob na Manok

Ingredients:

1 Kilo Whole Fat Chicken (Remove fat and set it aside)

8-10 cups of Cold Water

2 Whole Chorizo de Bilbao (quartered diagonally)

100 gm Dried Ham Bone

100 gm Chinese Ham Bits

1 Piece Large White Onion

2-3 Pieces Large Potatoes (peeled in halves)

15 pieces Large Peppercorns

1 tbsp. Kikkoman Soy Sauce

1 tbsp. Sherry

Rock Salt, to taste

Banana Leaves to cover the casserole

String

Procedure:

Stud potatoes with peppercorns

Singe banana leaves till smokey fragrant

In a casserole, render oil from chicken fat.

Saute chorizo, oil will be orange.

Add ham bone, chicken and water to cover.

Bring to boil.

Add onion and potatoes, soy sauce and sherry.

Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer.

Cover the casserole tightly with banana leaves.

Cook in 35 minutes then check chicken.

Chicken has to be fall-off-the-bone-tender.

If not yet tender, cook another 10-15 minutes.

Alley 8 Sizzling House: Great Eats in Project 4

Alley 8 Sizzling House in Project 4 is a great place for chilling out + great affordable food

Sometimes I forget how agonizing it is to create a food review. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. But it actually involves both passion and fuel for my creak writing machinery to work. And being a diabetic, I need to control my food intake + the sugar (read: carbs) I eat in order to manage my condition. But then, when good friend invites you to a place his brother co-owns and manages, how could I say no?  I couldn’t simply resist such combination of having a good conversation with a long lost dear friend, Bernard (FYI: He was a grade school classmate of mine.) + good food? It’s quite ironic that for someone who has lived practically more than 3 decades of her life in Project 4, I’m not that fully aware of the several great food finds in my area. Alley 8 Sizzling House located in Alimudin Street in Project 4 is perfect for hungry friends who want to eat good dinner meals or for folks who simply wanted to have fun, chill and catch up on each other. 

Island Cove's Sangley Point and Fishing Village Restaurants Food Review

Like sunsets, life at the resort is over before you know it. While packing your bags after living a life of reckless abandon during a long weekend, you dread the thought of heading back to Manila where work is waiting to zap your energy all over again. Somehow your short vacation has put your life back together, but the point of no return is somehow tearing you apart.

I recently revisited Island Cove and Leisure Park in the hope to balance out work and play. Thankfully, Island Cove gave me a respite from work, what with the beautiful island cove engulfing me that reminds me of paradise momentarily.

I won’t talk much about what Island Cove resort has to offer here as I do have another blog post for that. Since this is my food blog, allow me to share with you my gastronomic journey on the island instead.

The Wholesome Table Estancia Branch introduces healthy bowls and new dishes

The Wholesome Table Estancia

When Bianca Araneta-Elizalde decided put up The WholesomeTable several years back, she only had one thing in mind: to introduce the Filipino palate to healthy yet deliciously good food (she does this by incorporating organic nutritious superfoods) to become more enticing and exciting. She had no idea it would revolutionize the way diners regard and appreciate healthy and nutritious organic food. Thus, the restaurant was born out of her desire to nourish and restore the body's healthy state in order to optimize wellness and good health. 

Bianca Araneta-Elizalde, The Wholesome Table's owner

The Wholesome Table was such a hit that a few years after they opened their first branch at the Bonifacio High Street, they had opened two more branches, one in Salcedo, Makati while the other one is at Estancia Mall in Pasig City. 

COCA Restaurant Review at SM Aura: Experiencing The Art of Ojiya

To be perfectly honest, I’m a really huge fan of hot pot. I could still recall that as a kid I loved observing how the simmering pot would be split into two—spicy broth for the oldies and clear soup for us kids and for those who aren’t into anything spicy. We would fill the broth with watercress, sliced beef, pork, squid balls, fish balls, tofu and taro.  So when I received an invitation recently to review another must-try hotpot restaurant, I immediately agreed. After all, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a hot pot, I think the last one was with a Korean restaurant in Quezon City. I got really excited to try COCA Restaurant for the first time. 

Located at the top level of Skypark at the SM Aura Premiere in Bonifacio Global City, COCA’s known not only for their delicious hot pot but they really have good a la carte offerings as well. I had no regrets braving the traffic I had encountered from my place in Quezon City to BGC that weekday morning. The Buffalo Bites was so, so good. Tender yet flavourful crispy chicken in bite sizes. I was initially reminded of my nephew’s favourite Korean chicken, but I actually like COCA’s better—crispy chicken with a tangy glaze that offered a mellow kind of sweetness.

Jack 'n Jill introduces exciting new chips

Jack 'n Jill's Ripples in Sour Cream and Onion flavors, Spicy Pizza Potato and Japanese Nori flavors

Prep up for a different snacking experience as Jack 'n Jill launches unique and exciting flavors of chips with the release of two Calbee Ripples in Sour Cream and Japanese Nori flavors and Spicy Pizza Potato. Brace yourselves and make your tastebuds ready for once you start munching on these chips, it's quite difficult to stop. 

Calbee Spicy Potato Pizza Flavored Chips

The Spicy Pizza Potato gives your tastebuds one rollercoaster ride. Topped with the goodness of real melted cheese with that extra kick of spicyness on a pizza flavored chips, it'll surely make you want to ask for more. 

Krispy Kreme Creates More JOYful experience as it Opens its First Concept Store in EVIA Center Vista City, Las Pinas

 International well-loved doughnut brand Krispy Kreme has recently opened its 78^th branch in the Philippines and incidentally its first concept store at the emerging urban ub, Evia Center in Vista City, Las Pinas.

 

Southern fans of Krispy Kreme no longer need to travel far and wide to have a taste of their favourite doughnut brand as Krispy Kreme brought delight to those with craving for sweets in nearby communities of Alabang, Vista City and Molino. The fresh concept look of this Krispy Kreme branch has a more modern yet laid-back vibe with touches of warm colors. 

Purple Plum Fairy and fellow blogger John Japhet

Live Life Vegetarian Restaurant Food Review in Makati: Discovering the wonders of healthy and delicious vegan meals

Owner Ms. Sylvia Cancio took a leap of faith when she transformed a portion of space from their family business into a small but cozy restaurant. But it turned out to a worthy risk. Now it’s charming yet still some sort of secret because it’s partly hidden at the back of her building (but hey, now if you’re reading this, I’m sharing with you this little gem), frequented by groups of friends and families with healthy appetites yet they choose healthy meals over fast foods.  People obviously enjoy Live Life Vegetarian Restaurant. Not only because of it’s cozy ambiance, but their buffet spread of Italian, Filipino and Asian inspired dishes that are all surprisingly good.  The best part? Everything’s affordable! 

Vegetarian Spaghetti Pomodoro

THIRD SEASON OF FOOD HERO SET TO RAISE THE BAR IN 2016

Asian Food Channel and Food Network’s hunt for the next food host is expected to draw fierce competition across Asia-Pacific. The digitally-enabled competition expects to surpass past seasons’ participation numbers and increase engagement among food lovers in the region. the search for the region’s best home cook and host kicks off in Asia as Food Hero returns in its third season. 

Building upon the momentum and success from previous seasons, the digitally-enabled competition will look to crown one winner who will go on to host his or her own Asian Food Channel and/or Food Network programme. “As the leader in lifestyle programming with two dedicated regional channels focused on food, we are always looking to grow our pool of on-air and digital talent. Continuing the Food Hero competition is not only a great platform to uncover fresh talent, it is also a great way for our viewers to connect over the common passion point around the love for food,” said Carl Zuzarte, Senior Vice President of Programming and Production at Scripps Networks Interactive, Asia-Pacific. 

DATU PUTI ADOBO MOVEMENT EVENT

Are you ready to be wowed by different versions and incarnations of your favorite adobo dish? Datu Puti x Mercato Centrale pair up to support the Adobo Movement, an advocacy to make adobo our national ulam. To take the advocacy to greater heights, some Mercato Centrale vendors will be showing off their culinary expertise and treating the Mercato foodies to unique adobo specialties.

After an exciting search for and screening of Mercato's best adobo dish, there's going to be one grand adobo feast to celebrate this traditional gastronomic gem. With all the derivations and incarnations of the traditional adobo, one vinegar-soy sauce-garlic masterpiece will be dubbed Mercato's best. Vote on your favorite and find out which will be proclaimed the winner. 

Join NutriAsia's Datu Puti and the original food market Mercato Centrale for the launch of the #AdoboMovement and let's be one in making adobo our country's national dish.

See you on June 11, Saturday at Mercato BGC( corner of 25th St. and 7th Avenue of the Bonifacio Global City, Taguig) at  6 pm and get ready for a night of food-trippin' fun!