“It's been a pretty tough day," he said. "No sense making it worse with a salad.”
― Susan Juby
Home to Woefield
I had a salad for dinner last night. You know you're getting older when healthy choices become conscious ones, and they become so much harder to stick to. Like blogging, which I have forgotten to do for more than a few months.
My salad left me craving for sugar a few hours after. And then I came across this set of photos taken when I met a friend for mid-morning doughnuts at the little cafe across the street, and I forced myself to be thankful for the days when I could eat a doughnut, pair it with really good coffee, and not feel guilty about it.
Happier times indeed.
From my observation, the older you get, the more you like the word cozy.
Holly Goldberg Sloan
Counting by 7s
There's this restaurant at the Korean business center that has the coziest spaces, complete with large tables, comfy sofas and private booths that are large enough to sleep in. I think it sits between a Korean BBQ and a Chinese hotpot restaurant, but the decor, both inside and out, screams English cafe. I've never done any sleeping the two times I was there, but I can definitely say if I had to choose a place where you can order shepherd's pie and sleep if you feel like it, this would be my choice.
This is also a great place for some girl talk. Sometimes girls just need a cozy nook to chat and giggle and be serious all at the same time. Took a few snaps of the details while I was there for a quick afternoon drink with T, a good friend who's been teaching in CQ for years.
Too few photos, too short a time to spend there, the good thing is that it's only two bus stops from where we live.
We discovered Bakery 5 last year, and were pleasantly surprised to know that they've expanded to open a couple more branches all over the city. Last week, we dropped by their Nanbin branch because we were starving after getting stuck in the middle of the Chongqing International Marathon bus rerouting, and it was the only chain that we had tried before. I try to avoid eating at new restaurants if am starving. If the food isn't that good I usually end up hungrier than when I came in.
Baker 5 has a great view of Nanbinlu, the river and the cityscape acrosss the river. This part of town is also not too crowded, unlike Jifangbei or Guanyinqiao, and there are lots of art studios and galleries inside the mall. Hop a bus and two stops later, you arrive at Madame Tussauds, too! No wonder a lot of families like to spend the weekend here.
Bakery 5 serves great comfort food, like salads, pasta and breads and sausages all set in a single plate. They also have a great selection of fruit teas. Pair all these with a great view and you get a pretty enjoyable weekend by the river.
The feels! The feels I have for this Japanese restaurant that serves the best fried pork chop in the land! This was a happy accidental discovery by myself and JP while we were walking around GuanYing Xiao. We entered Sunshine Mall and discovered that the fourth floor was the default food floor, since that's where different restaurants, from Japanese, Thai and even an American-style pizza place kept shop. This place is extra memorable, because this is where I used chopsticks on rice FOR THE FIRST TIME! It boggled my mind, in the past, to see people picking up rice with the finger dexterity of acrobats-- I knew that I could never do it. And I didn't for years, until one day when I was so hungry and the pork chop looked so good that I knew I would have to learn how to pick at rice with chopsticks if I didn't want to starve. The servers, who are young, very friendly Chinese kids, always look happy to see us, so it's no surprise why I look forward to weekend lunches in this place.
travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel,
Sometimes I look back at moments like this and realize how these milestones came out of random walks and unplanned trips that led us to discoveries that we would revisit over and over again, and there is nothing but gratitude for moments like these. Chongqing is a city of hotpots so finding these gastronomic havens is something that I will always be thankful for.
“Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonalds? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria's mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head? I know what I want. I want it all. I want to try everything once.”
― Anthony Bourdain,
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
So there's this really small noodle shop just around the corner from where we live in Chongqing and it serves the best spicy beef noodle soup! The meat is soft, the noodles firm and it is the right amount of spicy. This place is where I really learned how to eat noodles with chopsticks. For the longest time, I have shied away from learning how to use chopsticks because I thought I can live with dishes that do not require eating with them, but that was all before I tasted their noodles.
The place is fairly small, with just about six or seven tables and there's only one person behind the counter. She takes your order and prepares it in the kitchen. But the service is fast and the noodles are always done right when she serves them. Gaaah, my mouth is watering just thinking about them! This shop is one example of local eats that make this place really interesting to be in. There's a McDonalds, a few Western style bakeshops and even a Seven Eleven nearby, but after some time, you get bored with fastfood (and it makes you sick!) and you want to try out what the locals are having. For those who want a tamer version of Chongqing's hot and spicy fare, a visit to this small noodle shop is a must.
travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel, travel,
One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.
~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright,
Pavarotti, My Own Story
I don't know why food gives such comfort, even if they can't give you hugs or tell you that things will be OK. During the most stressful times of my life, I unconsciously turned to food as a way of rewarding myself for getting through the day. I packed a few pounds, certainly, which is why I am glad that the usual sources of stress are lying low and for now I am able to breathe. But I thank God for food, glorious food, whether its homemade
paksiw or sweet and cheerful cupcakes. Edibles just make my day.
Got these cupcakes and cinnamon bun from Sans Rival. Although I go there for the silvanas and the sizzling beef steak, I didn't know that their cupcakes were also pretty good.
I finally tried the biggest burger over at Kap Joe's and boy, it did not disappoint! This is their signature burger, the one with flag (I got a Canadian flag keeping the ham and pineapple slices together) and it was big! See how it fills up almost half of the plate there? And that's a regular plate, not a platter, a plate that we use for eating lunch and midnight meals (yes, I have those and frequently, I might add.) Greens at the bottom, crispy, yet moist beef patty right on top of that, slices of tomatoes, cucumber, maybe a little bit of coleslaw, ham, one fried egg and cheese on top. My mouth was in burger heaven! And all these for PHP 69!
Finally tried Missy Bon Bon's mint chocolate and Ferrero Rocher-flavored gelato, all thanks to JP who brought me to the cozy little shop as soon as I got off the boat. Great way to start the day, with a cup of gelato and the boyfriend beside me :)
I have always wanted to make quesadillas at home since apart from burritos and nachos, quesdillas are right at the top of the list of favorite Mexican food that I have cravings for. It's a good thing that I found frozen tortillas at the frozen foods section of Lee Plaza, or my homemade quesadillas would never get done (for the life of me, I do not know how to make my own tortillas, even if I have a step-by-step recipe in front of me.)
Making the quesadillas was a breeze. I just laid everything out, sauteed the vegetables and shredded the cheese so that everything will be ready for assembly as soon as the tortillas were toasty. Everything was done in 20 minutes! Definitely making another batch again soon :)
“Tea pot is on, the cups are waiting,
Favorite chairs anticipating,
No matter what I have to do,
My friend there's always time for you”
--Anonymous
I love the thought of setting dates for meeting friends... it is something worth looking forward to. Yesterday was a great Sunday, the first Sunday of summer and it was sunny and warm. I got out of the house and dropped by Robinson's to buy the silvanas that I promised to bring along with a box of tea. I arrived late, as usual, although the sun was still shining bright although it was nearing 5 PM. Darwiza's house, a 3-story "building" is nearing completion, although the first floor was almost done and felt so much like the lobby of a nice, small hotel. She had prepared a nice table for us, complete with a tea set for my tea (yay!!!). Serlyn prepared pasta, someone bought chicken, the others brought fruit mix, coconut shake and ice cream. For an afternoon snack, we sure know how to prepare!
Love, love, love days like these :)
Last weekend the brother and I decided to take a short drive up to Valencia. He wanted to take water shots using his camera, while I just wanted to do a little driving.We felt hungry so we stopped by one of the food stalls that sell tempura and kwek-kwek at the park. It was almost dark but there was a line for that stall and I figured that they must sell tasty street food.
I ordered the kwek-kwek since I have not tried it yet. I'm familiar with tempura and fish flats but not kwek-kwek. To be honest, the fake orange color turned me off and I really did not know why it looked round and bloated.
To my surprise, it actually turned out to be delicious!!! My brother told me that kwek-kwek has eggs inside, and the best ones have full, hard-boiled eggs. Smaller versions have quail's eggs inside them which makes for smaller, bite-sized kwek-kwek balls. The orange color is because of food dyes, and although they give the balls a pretty unnatural color, they do not affect the taste whatsoever. I also liked how the vendor wrapped a bowl in plastic and placed the kwek-kwek there. It was much easier eating them off a bowl than eating the balls off a stick. I spent 40 pesos for the kwek-kwek balls and squid balls, which is pretty cheap for an afternoon snack.
Related post on Suite101 here.