A Veneto Napoli Pizzeria Ristorante

I first got acquainted with A Veneto, Glorietta back in 2005 (or early 2006), and loved it for being a real value for money especially for groups. A few years later, I introduced the resto to a pasta-lover friend, and since then she and another friend became regular customers of the place. But for about a couple of years already, I haven't been back in A Veneto.

On May 17, 2010, for a supposedly surprise dinner for a friend, I got re-acquainted with A Veneto, now to the third branch I would try out (the second being the Visayas Ave. branch) - Trinoma Mall. Not much difference, except for a less flashy set of wall paintings versus the nice mural in Glorietta.

I'll be back in A Veneto, especially for a group treat that gets everyone so full and the pocket still breathing. *burp*

Kanin Club (UP Technohub)

Do you want to feel high? Go to Kanin Club and eat Aligue Rice!

Caution: Get your medicines ready.

I was there last Dec. 11 and 17 for a dinner with college friends and graduate school classmates, respectively. Enjoyed the food, the place was nice and cozy for a big group, but not really budget friendly for a student without a job. If the Dec. 11 wasn't JD's treat, I would have spent some P260.00. The second dinner robbed me P200 (on a service water diet), but gave me a different kind of high.

I shared the aligue rice (supposedly good for 2 to 3 people) with Mon and Kevin, and we all got high. Thanks to Pinay who helped us finish the sinful heap of rice. Vodka 7 was nothing compared to feasting on rice sauteed in high cholesterol aligue plus other sumptuos meals. Aack! Aligue rice was most delicious on first serving.

Some classmates tried their Sinangag sa Sinigang Rice, and being sinigang, it was maasim. I like to pour tons ofsabaw ng sinigang over my rice, but that rice was weird.

As for the meals, I loved their Calderetang Nuevo (really tasty tender beef) and Crispy Tadyang. Their tinolang manok, nilaga and pinakbet were not so special, at least for me.

By the way, Karen said the P20 green mango shake was better than Kanin Club's super expensive (some P120) version.

Spaghetti with Parsley

Vietnamese so love parsley. Here's a spaghetti with parsley served in one of the coffee shops in Ninh Kieu, Can Tho.



Most often, they put parsley not as a decor but as an actual ingredient in the food they serve. Along with ice, tea with ice (and no sugar), rotonda, toothpick, ice cream, motorcycles, leaves or grass (vegetables, the green leafy ones) and coffee, they love parsley.

Related stories here.

Paris Deli

"10% service charge will be added in the Labour Day. Thanks"

Story here.

From Bicol

From Bicol, originally uploaded by thortz.

August 15-18, Mon and some of his officemates went to Bicol. Bicol!!! I want to go to Bicol! It's in my "places to go".

However, I did not go with them. I could not go with them because (1) he was going with his officemates, and (2) I did not have a long weekend. (For that, I settled going to Guimaras -- next week.)

I reminded him of his pasalubong for me (I guess he really did not plan to buy some treats for me, huh!) So, on Tuesday last week, he gave me a basket of goodies from Bicol.

Pinya, very delicious, which cost only P10.00 each. Pili tarts. A pair of slippers made of abaca. Tinapa. All in a cute basket that can be bought at three for P100.00. Yummy! :)

P.S. Photo is in black and white because (1) it shows some mood of not being able to go to some place I really wanted to go, and (2) I could not take a decent photo of those treats.

I WILL GO TO BICOL someday! And, I'll take good, beautiful photos of the things and places that I want!

One Evening in Tokyo-Tokyo

... I ate alone.



I wasn’t able to finish my second cup of rice…



… which I tried to eat without using the spoon and fork.



I tried to contemplate about life…



… as I tried to finish my regular glass of red iced tea.




Still, I wasn’t able to contemplate about life or finish my drink. Nevertheless, I enjoyed Tokyo-Tokyo’s beef misuno. Yum. :)

Sunken Garden

On June 7, I met with some friends in UP. After a very long time of not getting together in UP, especially with Princess and Rojo (I regularly see Bebang and Ed, for some reason), we have finally spent our time away in Sunken Garden.

Here are a couple of shots from my phone:

In black and white

In color

I also took photos using my film camera. I hope they'd turn out better than the one I've posted here.

We were supposed to shoot a very short video, by the way. Bebang wanted so much to capture the fire trees already blazing in red. However, we didn't have a good enough concept to work with. So we just went to SC to eat in one Korean-Japanese restaurant there (the stall to the left of the stall across Rodic's). We ordered kani salad for P75, California maki - 8 pieces (P95?), and a bowl of spicy noodles (P40 or P50?). Worth it (though a bit pricey for a UP food hehe.)

Anyway, that was an afternoon of relaxing.

ChocoNAGA

This weekend, my college barkada got together (minus Princess who had chickenpox and Ed who was in Baler) in Trinoma. Lunch and coffee courtesy of Bebang and JD (thank you birthday peepz).

The get together was, aside from the birthday treat of the two, called on to meet Rojo who has been in Bicol for more than a year now. We haven't seen him that long, and yes, he has grown and looked more serious than before. Hehe.

So what's with Bicol? Pili nuts.

After staying in his hometown for so long (he's from Camarines Sur), he brought us pasalubong but not the usual pili nuts brittle. He brought ChocoNAGA and some sweet pili nuts mini cakes.

The pili nuts mini cakes were delicious. Really. Soft. Sweet. Tasted a bit like yema. And, not enough for the five of us. I was not able to get the brand of the mini cakes he brought as the whole pack did not survive to be taken out of the restaurant where we had lunch. Kulang pa nga e.

As with the ChocoNAGA, I brought it home and survived to be taken to the office.

It's chocolate with pili nuts! Definitely, I would love it. I tasted the Classic Premium variant, which Bebang was not able to appreciate preferring the semi-sweet one (she's the only one who opened that bar). It was not bitter, but maybe not sweet enough for her taste.

Here's the information about that chocolate:

ChocoNAGA
Chocolate with Roasted Pili Nuts

Manufactured by:

ChocoNAGA Enterprises
Ateneo de Naga University
Ateneo Avenue, Naga City

Tel. No. (054) 472-4596 / 0919-2644864


Product of Naga City, Philippines