Trick or Treat!

It was the Annual Trick or Treat event in Bel-Air.



LOTSSSSS of kids attended the affair.  I accompanied my friend, Jing, and her two sons.

Jing's son, Michael, in his Bumblebee costume.

Jing's son, James, in his Indiana Jones costume.

My niece Sophie and nephew Renzo were the early birds.

Ate Sophie in her Madhatter costume and Renzo in his Spiderman costume.

They were at the park at 1:00 pm when the "show" started. The trick or treating began at about 5 :00 pm!!! Good thing Jing, her sons and I got to the park at 3:00 pm or else it would have been a hot and boring afternoon.  LOL  Of course, boring for the adults and not for the kids.



There were many contests and guests: acrobats, fire dancers, magicians and a whole lot more I did not pay attention to.

All the registrants got food chits: free cotton candy, hotdog, siopao, siomai, bbq, french fries and ice cream. 

When it was candy gathering time....

I regret not bringing a pumpkin pail.



I used the mask of Michael to collect candies.



I only got Mentos from one house.

Kids got very tired because they had to walk from street to street.



Michael was really beat.




Jing had to carry her son.




Ahhhh the love of a mother for her child.  I do not think I will be a good mother.  Hahahaha I was so grateful this afternoon that I do not have a child...  just a little boy with 4 legs.

When the kids got home, Tita Lia levied taxes on them.  Hahahaha  I asked candies from the boys and they willingly gave me the ones they did not like.

Our post trick or treat snack was at Mc Donald's and I had fried chicken, rice and fries.

My inner piglet came out after our snacks because I went to Pancake House to eat spaghetti!!!



I do not know why but whenever I eat sweet children's style spaghetti, I cut the noodles into little pieces.  LOL  I know it is bad manners but there is nothing like eating sweet spaghetti the way a kid eats it!

My favorite dessert in Pancake House is Bacon Waffle.



I always tell the waiter to instruct the cook to make the bacon crispy first before adding to the waffle.  It happened already several times that they put a soggy bacon in the waffle. YUCK!

I drizzled a lot of syrup!



I know, I know it is bad for me but there is no other way to eat it but drown it in sickly sweet syrup!!!!

I also tried a new Happy Lemon Milk Tea today, I added pudding.



I did not like it so much because it tasted like leche flan with no sweetness.  Will still stick to my original Happy Lemon Milk Tea with Black Pearls and Puff cream and the ever favorite Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese.

Speaking of Cocoa ....  I know I am being bad but the girl in front of me ordered "Kok-wa"!!!  I could not help telling all my FB friends about it.  Then when she got their order, which was several glasses of different drinks, she said, one of the Milk Tea concoctions tasted like "Sampaguita"!!!   For those who are really not into Milk Tea which I think is an acquired taste, the first sip would normally taste like "surot"  Hahahahahha.   That is just me ..... being naughty.

Trick or Treat!!!!!

Impormptu Bagoong Fried Rice

While I was attending mass this afternoon, my mind was already wandering, thinking of what to eat for dinner.   When I got home, I suddenly felt very hungry but cannot imagine myself eating tocino with garlic rice and fried egg.  I had that the other night.  BORING!!!!!!

Then I read in FB that Tita Jit who lives in Bangkok will be busy cooking Thai food among other yummy treats!  Then it dawned on me that I can make Bagoong Rice!  http://liasfoodjourney.blogspot.com/2010/09/thai-lunch-with-friends.html

I opened my recipe in my blog and discovered I was out of HIBE!  I also did not have green mangoes but still decided to cook sans the two ingredients.

I followed my recipe and then just added chopped roasted cashew, sliced red onions, sliced green lemon and Thai chili flakes.

YUMMMM!!!!



It was really good.  It was not boring anymore!!!!  Imagine if I had to eat again the tocino with garlic rice and fried egg??????

Sometimes you just have to add a little from your usual and normal fare and it will be a totally different ball game.

Serenitea, Bel-Air

There is a new milk tea place in Jupiter, Bel-Air called Serenitea.


Mona and I went after lunch to check out the place.  It is very cute from the outside but very hot al fresco drinking area and yet there were a couple of tables with patrons.  The shop crew said they get a lot of customers at night.

I asked the girl behind the counter what their best seller is, she recommended Okinawa Milk tea(brown sugar flavor).


I ordered it, 0% sugar, added black pearls and 2 packets of splenda.



Mona tried the Hokkaido Milk tea with extra black pearls.



I read in some blogs that it is very good.  It is a Butter-Toffee flavored milk tea.   It was too sweet for me because the sugar level was 100%.

At least it is convenient if I want a Milk Tea fix aside from my favorite Happy Lemon in Rockwell.

Brunch at Salcedo Market

I slept early last night because I could not wait to go to Salcedo Market!   I still woke up late, so I just had brunch at Salcedo with Mona.

I was chatting last night with my friend from NY, Lisa, and she is coming home for a visit in January.  We were talking about all the food she wants to eat when she gets to the Philippines.  One of them was Inihaw na Liempo!!!


I got envious and ate it this morning.

Bought it from the grilled food vendor.


I took a bite from Mona's Tamales.



Hahahahaha  Did you notice anything wrong with the pictures??? They are a little blurred because I was hungry and my hands were shaking   hahahaha  From here on end.... clear pictures only.

I have a friend who recently ate Samosas and.... as usual I got envious!!!



I bought Chicken Samosa with Mango Chutney.



It was still hot!  Delicious with chicken, chick peas and curry.  Then I dipped it in mango chutney.  It is the Indian's equivalent of empanada.

I also ate corn dog.



I like to eat it with mustard only.



My Ate would have loved the Chicharon Bulaklak!!!!



The "flowers" were in "full bloom"!!!

Hakao from the dim sum cart.


I bought my favorite Kilawin Puso ng Saging.



Will eat it with daing na bangus at home.

There were a lot of food to choose from at Salcedo Market but these were my "picks" for the day.

Bulgogi Brothers

There is a new restaurant in Greenbelt 5 called Bulgogi Brothers, South Korean franchise owned by the TGIF-Italianni's Group.



The servings were huge and the meat so tender and cute. 

Heart Shaped Beef -  Unyang Style Bulgogi





Gwanyang Style Bulgogi - thinly sliced beef marinated in sweet sauce with beansprouts.





Dubu Steak - fried tofu with bean sprouts in Terriyaki  Sauce



They gave free condiments, salad, kimchi and spinach with sweet sauce.



 



3 dipping sauces: Spicy, salt and sweet.



The hot tea for the day was barley which came in a little thermos!



The soda glass was chilled and filled with ice!!!



My dessert was the Korean Melon popsicle.



Tita Portia and I were able to finish all our food!  It meant it was good.  I really liked the fact that the beef was so meltingly tender.  I would go back and try the other dishes.

Chicago Popcorn Shops

Look what PD and I found at the Cinema area of Greenbelt 3!!! 

Chicago Popcorn Shops! 



She was just watching Oprah last night and O was eating the Chicago Karamel Mix!!!



Lucky for me, we were able to try it. 



Soooooo YUM!!!!!



I know, I should have not eaten it because of the sugar content but it was really delish!  I liked the combination of the karamel and the cheese.

Next time, I am going to try the Chocolate mix!!!!  



I have a problem, once I start .... I will not be able to stop eating the popcorn!!!!!

My Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls Experiment

Finally! After 5 restaurants, Pho24, Ba Nois, Pho Hoa, Pho Bac and Oodys, I am now confident I know how Fresh Vietnamese Rolls should taste.  I googled several recipes in the internet and I chose the one with the simplest ingredients and I know which will produce a taste I like.  http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/5009/authentic-and-very-fresh-vietnamese-spring-rolls

Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls



Ingredients per roll:

Transparent rice paper 



20 g. shrimps, boiled in salted water and sliced into half
20 g. pork chop, loin or butt, boiled in salted water and sliced thinly
10 g. rice noodles/vermicelli, cooked



Basil



mint leaves



lettuce, just the leaves not the hard vein
Chinese chives

Boil the rice noodles for 3-5 minutes until al dente. Rinse in cold water. (Do not use bihon or sotanghon.  I was able to buy rice noodles in Zaifu, Rockwell.)
On a plate with warm water, soak the rice paper wrapper until soft, about 10 seconds.
Place on top of  kitchen towel or plate.
Layer the lettuce, basil, mint, noodles and pork slices.
Roll tightly then add the sliced shrimps, cut side facing the roll. 
Fold the ends and roll.
Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and put a damp cloth on top.

It tasted really good! If I compare it to the other fresh spring rolls, I like mine better because it has more meat and shrimps and very little noodles, probably just a tablespoon in each roll.



Unlike the ones I have tried,   most were  made up of noodles, carrots and cucumber, the shrimps were only decorations.

I ate the rolls with Nuoc Leo, peanut-hoisin sauce.  http://oishiieats.blogspot.com/2007/05/vietnamese-mama.html



1T. cooking oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. Chili Garlic sauce
1 T. sugar
1/3 C. hoisin sauce
3 T. peanut butter
2-3 T. water or shrimp broth

Heat a cooking pan.  Add oil and cook garlic until fragrant,  Add the hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce, peanut butter and sugar.  Stir for 15 seconds then add water.  Serve as dipping sauce with the Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls.

Very easy make! This is the dish I am going to prepare in the Asian dinner I am going to have with a few close friends next week.  I hope they like it!