Magalawa Island Food Fiesta

When we went to Magalawa Island last weekend, my hubby and I were expecting a feast just like the one we got at Cagbalete island when Koryn first organized a trip for us. Since we availed the food package at Magalawa island, we were indeed offered some kind of Filipino food fiesta!

There were times, we weren't able to take photos of the food anymore because of hunger and how inviting the food was. Here are two food photos though that we were able to take before we ate them all.

Greenwich Pizza for Halloween

I didn't have the time to prepare for a party or to even cook a decent meal. I was up to my neck with work and I still wanted to celebrate Halloween, even it meant partying by myself, at home. Peter was helping me running errands and doing chores while our tenant/friend Princess might have had other plans for that weekend.

Lunch #2 at Zenz Restaurant at Mines View Park Hotel

Finally, here's the last set of wonderful, palatable, tasty (and free) dishes that were served during our short stay at Mines View Park Hotel. I tried not to eat much coz I was already feeling so bloated. But because everything was so yummy, aside from the strawberry sinigang, I also had a bit of the other dishes that were served:

chopsuey

I liked the way they prepared this dish. The vegetables were crunchy and not overcooked. It also has a buttery taste to it. Loved it!

fried bangus with garlic sauce

Since I already had bangus the day before, I didn't eat much of this dish. It was very delicious though. I'll make sure to order this dish when I come back here next time.

crispy fried chicken

This fried chicken was crunchy indeed! I could never get enough of it! *burp*

bibingcrepe

I am actually craving for bibingcrepe right now as I write this review. I guess that says something about this unique culinary dish that's very exclusive to HalfMoon Cafe. Yummy!

Bon appetit!

Lunch #1 at Zenz Restaurant at Mines View Park Hotel

I am very picky when it comes to eating out. This is probably because I mostly like very flavorful dishes and detest those Western bland ones which I normally found to be served in restaurants I've visited before. This is why I resort to my own cooking 90% of the time. And so I was really surprised and happy to have enjoyed the dishes that were served during my stay at Mines View Park Hotel in Baguio from Sept. 23-24. We were always served with buffet but I was assured that their regular servings are always hefty and worth the price you pay for.

Let me show you the dishes I had together with my fellow bloggers who got invited to visit the place and experience it all for ourselves. Here's the lunch we had:

fresh leaves and carrots

Because we were in the land of not just strawberries but fresh vegetable produce, it's only normal to expect really, really fresh vegetables. And they did serve us with those!

lettuce with bread crumbs and cheese

I liked the way the textured bread crumbs, twist of cheese and a bit of vinaigrette blended with everything.

beef caldereta and rice

I seldom eat caldereta for fear of chewing a gummy beef portion, but the one they served us was tender and delicious!

chicken in sesame and barbecue sauce

I will never get tired of this chicken dish.

breaded fish chips

I like fish but rarely eat fish chips coz they mostly taste like bread rather than fish! But this one exceeded my expectation. The fish inside was flavorful so I didn't mind eating the breaded part.

mango gelatin... sweet, mangoey and yummy. ^_^

I'd love to come back there again, but this time, I want to enjoy it with my hubby. There are still so many Continental and Asian dishes I'd love to try next time.

Grilled Chicken, Baked Scrambled Egg and Rice Leftover Delight

Whenever I cook, I try to cook a lot in one go so I won't have to spend so much time preparing food for my next meal. I can just eat what's left and that's that. But sometimes, I do get bored with the same dish to I try to make something different out of what's left from my previous meal.

Here's how I did my Grilled Chicken, Baked Scrambled Egg and Rice Leftover Delight:

Pan Roasted Chicken and Potatoes In Red Wine Reduction

Here are the ingredients of this very tasty chicken dish:

• one large onion chopped
• 6 or so cloves of garlic chopped
• a cup of baby potatoes, sliced into thin medallions
  
• 1 cup of spaghetti sauce
• half a cup of wine
• 3 chicken thigh fillets
• 3 chicken thigh fillets
• half a cup of wine
• 3 chicken thigh fillets
• dried herbs (basil, rosemary and thyme)

Once the ingredients are prepared, all you have to do now is follow these procedures:

Toasted Rosemary Chicken and Buttered Vegetables Sprinkled with Edam Cheese

Ingredients:

• Chicken breast or thigh part marinated in rosemary (you can buy the ready kind at the supermarket)
• Okra
• Bell pepper
• Tomatoes
• Onion
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Water
• Edam Cheese

Toasted Chicken Liver + Fried Baby Potatoes + Salad

Here's how I did it:

I dried everything with a piece of tissue, put them on a clean plate and put a dash of salt and pepper to taste.

I popped them in a toaster oven and let it run a full clock on each side. After one run, I take out the liver and spread them on a piece of tissue for the natural oil that dripped from the fatty liver be absorbed by the tissue then I popped them back again inside the toaster oven, but this time, I make sure that the other side gets toasted too. Then I set my toasted chicken liver aside.

I prepare my baby potatoes same way I prepared the chicken liver, only this time, instead of toasting, I fried them in about 4 tbsps. of canola oil.

Fried Chicken Liver in Butter and Honey + Tuna Adobo with Veggies

After a looong break, I'm back!


Should you wish to find out what have I been doing lately, just head over to SEXYNOMAD, my main personal blog.

Anyway, vacation is over, I'm back to doing 2-3 jobs at a time, which I love by the way, but I still want to make sure that I can find a window in my busy schedule to practice cooking (and food photography too!). For this week, I was able to cook twice --- first was yesterday when I just prepared an old potato dish I already blogged about. Then the second one was earlier this evening. I was craving for some Tuna Adobo and Chicken Liver and I thank the universe that I still have the ingredients inside my fridge. I need to do some groceries soon though so I can start experimenting with other recipes. Hopefully, I can prepare something from one of my cook books rather than just going by my gut feel just like what I said in my personal projects site, TheJenAdamsProject. ^_^



Anyway, here's what I cooked a while ago. Please take note that when I did this, I didn't measure my ingredients. I just went with my gut feel. Hihihi.



Fried Chicken Liver in Butter and Honey

I dried my chicken liver parts a bit using tissue paper. Then I dashed them with pepper and salt to taste. I set them aside for a moment.



I put my old sauce pan on the stove and turned up the heat. I placed a thin slice of butter and some honey on the pan. As they were melting, I put my chicken liver. I fried them until they were a bit burnt by the simmering butter and honey. I like it that way.

Once it was fried the way I liked it, I set it aside.

Chicken Breast in Herbed Tomato Sauce

I was craving for something that's "tomatoey" this particular weekend. Since we had chicken in the fridge that needed to be cooked and we always keep several packets of tomato sauce, we decided to have chicken in tomato sauce one Saturday.

After the chicken has been thawed, we dashed it with pepper, salt, basil, thyme, sage, and rosemary; we wrapped it in foil; and then we popped it in the oven toaster for around 20 minutes. This way, the chicken did't get burnt while it's baking. The foil also helped retain the natural fat juices of the chicken and helped in absorbing the flavors of the spices and herbs much faster even if it was not marinated the night before.