I Want Some Spicy Fingers

Oh no, we did not eat some severed fingers showered and coated with spices. We decided to eat at Spicy Fingers in Greenbelt before going to the New Year Street Party in Ayala near the Makati Shangri La last Saturday. We were supposed to have dinner at Bizu but they closed early. We walked to Italianni's but the branch was full so we had a choice between Izakaya and Spicy Fingers. We chose Spicy Fingers because they still have available seats inside and they had an ongoing happy hour (cocktails are only priced Php50 or a little more than US$1 per glass). 

We were not really hungry yet because we just had coffee at Starbucks so we ordered drinks to quench the seemingly unending thirst. We ordered rum coke and margarita and some light beer. I haven't had any alcohol for so long so it took me awhile to get accustomed to the taste again. I liked the rum coke because the alcohol wasn't too overpowering. We then ordered their Tapas Sampler (Php650 or around US$15), House Sisig (Php280 or US$6.50), Fita Bread (Php80 or US$1.80 for 4 thin pieces), and Bacon Alfredo Pizza (Php380 or US$8.80). We thought of ordering some more but we were already full.

This is the Tapas Sampler. It has chili gambas with mushroom, beef tapa, sausage, meatballs and some french fries. 

I liked the sisig because it wasn't too oily. 

This Bacon Alfredo Pizza could use some more bacon bits (the crunchy ones please).

We were not able to wait for the live band to start playing already as we still had other plans for the night. The band usually starts at 1015PM and we left around 9PM.

Will I still be back? Yes, I will. I want to try other dishes from their extensive menu. If you want to try their food yourself, then head on over to the Ground Floor of Greenbelt 2. It can be easily spotted (black and red interiors) with a complete band set in the dining area.

NOTE: I initially intended to post this entry in my other blog http://littlemisskessa.com thus the watermark. 

Nuffnang Blog Awards Dinner

When you read this, I am probably on my way to Kuala Lumpur International Airport already for our early flight. I just wanted to share the food we were served at the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards. It was a very good meal for someone starved the whole day (long flight from Manila to KL then long drive from KLIA to Putrajaya Marriott).

This was yummy and I really liked it. Terrine is similar to a pate and usually served cold. It's called as such because of the cooking used to make it. I think this could have been plated better. 

The chicken was very tender but I didn't like it much because it tasted bland. 

That tiramisu in chocolate cup was the bomb!!! I can have another serving. The fruits were a tad too sour (maybe we were served unripe ones). 

The dinner was good and I enjoyed it. The servers were kind of in a hurry to remove your plate and serve a new one though. Anyway, it's all good. I felt full after the party but I was craving for more dessert (me and my sweet tooth). 

I was not able to take a picture of the Split Pea Soup and Grape Sorbet because I was too engrossed watching the pole dancing number.

Midnight Cravings Malaysian Style

I can't believe that I have ignored this blog for almost four months. Not that I did not eat or cook in between but I just didn't have that "blogger's" motivation to say the least. If you are reading my main blog and my newest blog, you would know that I just recently attended the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards and at this very moment I am in my room in Putrajaya Marriott typing away as I miss breakfast. I plan to not eat breakfast because I am not hungry yet after eating too much chocolate-coated wafers last night.

I know this is going to be a long day today because we will be leaving to go to the airport at 2:00AM tomorrow morning. That's more than 12 hours from now. I did not shop much so I still have enough money left to spend on some Japanese buffet maybe for lunch. I tried the buffet breakfast yesterday and there's nothing stellar about it really. I had sausage and waffles and a good mix of watermelon and celery juice (yes, I love celery).

I am writing this post to share to you what I ate with a new blogger friend, Badet, after the awards night right before midnight at the all-day dining restaurant at Marriott Putrajaya, Zest Restaurant. We felt like the dessert served at the awards dinner was just enough to tickle the palate and that we want more. Badet ordered Ccheesecake and I ordered Mango with Sago (Tapioca) and a mix of Chicken and Beef Satay with delectable peanut sauce to share from the a la carte menu. We paid a total of RM76.00 (around Php1000 inclusive of tax). I like that Marriott food charges here are not that expensive. Considering the big servings, I think it was reasonable enough for hotel food.

I don't know why I have this affinity to sticky rice. I like how it melts in the mouth. The chicken and beef satay was tender enough but I think the ones I tasted at the Central Market near Petaling Jaya was comparable at a much lesser price.  Then again, I am dining in a hotel restaurant so what do I expect?

Badet did not like the consistency of this cheesecake. I tried it and yeah it tasted like bread pudding. It wasn't soft and fluffy the way I want it. 

This one I really loved! Well, anything with sago(tapioca) is a little piece of heaven on earth for me. The mango was rather sour but I think the coconut milk complemented it. 

I read that the restaurant just opened around the middle of 2011 after a whooping RM10,000,000 renovation. The chairs are very comfy and I even told Badet that if I would get chairs done in my apartment, I would get the same exact one. They had us pay before midnight so they can start their new accounting system for the day while we were having the food. It was understandable to say the least. I would recommend the restaurant for guests who don't want to go out to find food near the hotel especially during late hours. Marriott  is about 30 minutes to an hour away from the KL city center and costs around RM30-50 by taxi. If I was to decide, I'd rather spend that on food inside the hotel. 

Have you tried eating in this restaurant? What can you say about it? 

Vegetable Curry

Our recipe for today is meatless. Yay! It's good to go meatless even once a week. So, I am serving you an all-vegetable recipe today (brocolli, sugar snap peas, carrots, okra or lady's finger, and taro). Just to add a little kick to the dish I will be adding curry sauce mix (powder and water).

Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes, especially from Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Thai or other South and Southeast Asian cuisines. -Wikipedia

Ingredients

brocolli, broken into florets

sugar snap peas, cleaned (both ends cut or removed)

carrots, sliced

okra, sliced into bite-size pieces

taro, sliced

curry sauce mix - follow package instructions and consistency should be dependent on you

onion, sliced

garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

This is an easy-to cook recipe and an interesting dish to try. In a little vegetable oil, fry the onion gently for about 5 minutes in a large pan then add the remaining vegetables and stir together. Remember: Add the hard vegetables first (in this order: taro, carrots, okra, brocolli, sugar snap peas). Add the curry base sauce and simmer gently for around 10 to 15 minutes, taking care not to overcook the vegetables. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little water to give you the desired consistency.

This is a very colorful dish and something that would really tickle your palate too. You can serve it with basmati rice or some naan bread (to go with the Indian theme for today). You can also eat this dish just as it is like I did.

If you will try to cook this dish, let me know how it goes...

Chicken Adobo

Oh happy Tuesday!!!

I did not go to work last night because I am on a split off this week so when Uncle Don said he will be cooking adobo I volunteered to do it instead. He bought chicken and other ingredients from the grocery near the apartment. I asked him to boil the 1/4 lb chicken in water with a dash of salt while I sliced the onions. I then removed the chicken from heat and poured 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a pan then added the onions. I let the chicken join the onion in the pan and added 10 tablespoons of the chicken stock and quartered potato.

I then added half a cup of vinegar, half a cup of soy sauce and all the juice in a can of pineapple. After about 3 minutes, I added the pineapple and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Oh the smell of what's cooking in the pan was heavenly.

After about 5 minutes I added black pepper. I skipped adding a bay leaf as I ran out of it and I didn't have time to go and buy some. Et voila!

This is just one of the many versions of my adobo. What's your version of adobo?

Let's Eat Some Smørrebrød

Smørrebrød (originally smør og brød; Danish for "butter and bread") usually consists of a piece of buttered rye bread (rugbrød), a dense, dark brown bread. Pålæg (literally "on-lay"), the topping, then among others can refer to commercial or homemade cold cuts, pieces of meat or fish, cheese or spreads. This daily practice is the base on which the art of the famous Danish open sandwich, smørrebrød is created: A slice or two of pålæg is placed on the buttered bread, and then pyntet (decorated) with the right accompaniments, to create a tasty and visually appealing food item. - Wikipedia

In layman's term, a smørrebrød is an "open sandwich".

A typical smørrebrød would look like this:

PHOTO CREDIT

I however managed to try to create my own version of smørrebrød in my own kitchen. The ingredients I used are not hard to find. I just went to the grocery in the ground floor of my office before I went home. I bought the following:

Wholegrain bread from Le Coeur de France

Red cabbage

Bacon sandwich spread

Cooked ham

Tomato

Sugar snap peas

Iceberg lettuce

White onion

Avocado

Egg (use hard boiled egg for this recipe)

Tip #1: When cooked, red cabbage will normally turn blue. To retain the red colour it is necessary to add vinegar or acidic fruit to the pot. (I did not do this though, maybe next time I will).

Tip #2: The perfect hard boiled egg can be had 10 minutes after the water starts to boil. Remove from heat and immediately place eggs under ice cold water or in a bowl of iced water to chill promptly to help yolks stay bright yellow.

I wiped about a teaspoon and a half of bacon sandwich spread over the wholegrain bread and then the red cabbage, iceberg lettuce, cooked ham, sugar snap peas, tomato, avocado, white onion and egg in layers. If you want to make your own open sandwich, feel free to be creative and come up with your own design.

Have you tried any variant of this dish?

Lifestyle Network Free Cookbook Contest

Here's an exciting promo from one of my favorite channels, Lifestyle Network, and one of my favorite bookstores, National Book Store!

 

Free cookbooks from the newest and best food stars cuortesy of the Lifestyle Network and National Bookstore. You might own one of the cookbooks written by Giada de Laurentiis (Everyday Italian), Rachael Ray (Rachael Ray), Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) among others.

Tune in to Lifestyle Network and watch out for the book covers to appear during the food or lifestyle shows. Click this LINK for the show guide.

Write down the dates and program where the book cover appeared along with the title of the book.

*2 Similar Icons/Book covers = 1 Entry

Email your entry to lifestylenetwork@abs-cbn.com with the following information:

Name

Age

Address

Contact Numbers

Promo Period:

July 18 – August 7, 2011

Deadline for Submission:

August 7, 2011