Breakfast in Bed with Ronald McDonald ♥ ♥ ♥

 

There’s something about me that you don’t know.

I hate mornings.

But I love breakfasts.

Nothing can get me out of bed before 830am except something as delicious as a morning smooch from Brad Pitt… or a McDonald’s Hash Brown.

Make that two.

 

Have you even had McDonald’s hash browns lately?
(Please pretend you don’t see the hot fudge sundae in the background.)

 

They’re fried to a golden crisp outside and the potatoes are soft and moist inside. It’s like eating crunchy French fries except you don’t have to keep reaching out for more. They are French fries on steroids. And they are the perfect add-ons to your Sausage McMuffin.

See?

 

How much sunshine does this bring to your morning?
(Please pretend you don’t see the pancakes in the background.)

 

 

 Pancakes!!! So soft and fluffy!

  

Seriously, I need to wake up earlier and enjoy more breakfasts in bed.

After all, we are taught as kids that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and that breakfast recharges us with the energy we need to deal with all the things the universe throws at us.

 

 

 GOOD MORNING!!!
Kulang nalang si Brad to make it a great morning! :P

 

 

Bale Dutung ♥ ♥

 

 

Published on Manila Bulletin Lifestyle Section, August 7, 2011

Kapampangan Lovin’ at Bale Dutung

How I love slow days like this. My alarm goes off at nine o’clock, I snooze it twice and take my sweet time getting out of bed. I perform a mini concert in the shower, eat breakfast unhurriedly, sleep like a baby in the car for a full two hours and wake up to warm sunshine kissing my face, a lush garden surrounding me, and a four-hour lunch waiting for me.

 

 

I am in Bale Dutung, the lovely home of Claude and Mary Ann Tayag, where the mega-talented husband reigns in the kitchen (Claude is an artist, chef, sculptor, writer, photographer - whew!), and the wifey takes control of the dining hall. “This is my house and I am the boss, today you are my special guests,” the smiling hostess declares as we take our seats on the long dining table (built also, I assume, by the very man preparing our meal.) I’ve never met Mary Ann in my life, yet right away I feel at home with her. She hands us glasses of fresh dalandan with dirty ice (chill, dude, it’s just muscovado) and gathers us in a circle for an important announcement.

 

Dining Area

 

 
Ahh… Nostalgia

 

Mary Ann welcomes us with fresh dalandan with dirty ice

 

“Today we will be dining al fresco, and this is going to be your aircon,” she says, eyes twinkling as she places in front of us a wooden bowl filled with frozen towels.

 

Our aircon

 

I just know this is gonna be one exciting meal.

 

Iced Salabat with Lemongrass

 

The spreads – balo-balo, talangka and pesto

 

There are three spreads to mix and match – balo-balo, talangka and pesto. I have them altogether for that party feeling in my mouth. Then comes Ensaladang Pako, the freshest fiddlehead ferns tossed with tomato and quail egg in a calamansi mustard dressing that is tangy yet sweet, zesty yet comforting. I wipe out the healthy plate and hope for something sinful. And if the next dish isn’t wicked enough, then really, I don’t know what is.

 

Ensaladang Pako

 

Chicken ass. Woohoo! My favorite chicken part next to the thigh, marinated in lemongrass and grilled on a stick. I savor the fatty juiciness of the bum, which Mary Ann, for the benefit of the cowards and sissies, insists on calling chicken “tail.”

 

BBQ Palduet at Claude’9 Talangka Rice

 

Claude makes his own Aslam Atbu

 

The Adobong Pugo is nicely browned and tasty although I find the quail meat a tad too dry. My favorite is the little bird’s liver, so rich and decadent, so perfect with the side of hot mini pandesal. Then plates of small bites are passed around - Talangka Sushi sporting a full head of aligue and a crown of kamias, and Fried Hito and Balo-Balo Sushi wrapped in fresh mustasa.

 

Adobong Pugo

 

Talangka Sushi

 

Hito at Balo Balo Sushi

 

Then Mary Ann says the magic words. Lechon Tortilla, I shoot up excitedly and follow her like a puppy. This is the dish I’ve heard so much about. On a bed of soft tortilla lies a mound of crispy lechon floss. I have a grand time topping it with onions, tomatoes, coriander, and wait for it… kimchi!!! I wrap and roll and stuff my mouth, enjoying the textures and bursts of flavor. Yum.

 

Create your own Lechon Tortilla

 

My very own creation. YUM.

 

I never knew goat tripe and goat liver swimming in goat bile could taste so good until I’ve tried the Papaitan Soup. Gamey, pungent and very delicious. I love this over our second soup course of Bulanglang Kapampangan which is sweetened with guava. The last three courses make the perfect ending. Claude indulges our palates with Sisig Babi, chopped pig ears and cheeks that is crunchy, soft, chewy, all at the same time. Then some seafood in the most delicious kare-kare I’ve had in a while. I swear I can swim in the peanut sauce forever.

 

Papaitan Soup

 

Create your own seafood soup

 

Bulanglang Kapampangan na may Tiyan ng Bangus, Ulang at Tadyang ng Baboy

 

Sisig Babi

 

Kare-Kareng Laman Dagat

 

There is a reason why our dessert is called Paradiso. Balls of ube, macapuno and yema rest on sweet carabao milk, then torched to achieve just the thinnest layer of crisp caramelized sugar. Just saying it and I gain 10 lbs already. I eat each element on its own, then I eat all elements mixed together. Happiness.

And every time my seatmate looks away, I eat a spoonful from his plate.

 

Paradiso

 

Sinaunang Kape

 

The group with Claude and Mary Ann Tayag

 

Our names and our menu

 

And this cute little girl is Miss Sophie Tan

 

Bale Dutung is located in Villa Gloria Subdivision, Angeles, Pampanga. For reservations, please call 09175359198 or email reserve@baledutung.com. Visit their website at 
http:// baledutung.com.

C’ Italian Dining ♥ ♥ ♥

Today is a wonderful day. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, I wake up with 8 hours of restful slumber, with the eyebags unusually under control. We are headed north, driving at a speed that frightens and excites the hell out of me, to fill our hungry and ready stomachs with some of the best Italian fare in the country.

Good morning, Pampanga! Life is beautiful!

 

Awards, recognitions, and autographs

 

and autographs and autographs and autographs…

 

The place is rustic and charming

 

So is the food.

Freshly baked bread and pesto-parmesan dip

 

Prawns cream soup with cognac (half serving) – rich, smoky, prawn-y, velvety.
So good next time I will refuse to share.

 

Angelico – chorizo, salami, bacon, mushroom
I genuinely enjoy the first few rolls, and then the novelty of eating pizza rolled with arugula and alfalfa sprouts eventually dies down. Maybe it’s my choice of toppings (although really, who can go wrong with all that tasty meats?), but somehow I feel that the panizza is just okay. Not bad, but also nothing phenomenal.

 

Oven baked Chilean sea bass fillet with anis sauce, roasted potatoes and braised raddicio –
I wouldn’t drive all the way to C’ for the panizza, but I would for the mains. This sea bass is perfectly cooked so it forms a nice thin layer of crust on top and yet remains super moist and tender inside. If everything so healthy can taste this sinful, my oh my, I will be happy to give up red meat right here, right now.

 

Or maybe not.

3-hour braised lamb shank in rich red wine sauce served over parmesan polenta -
it can’t be 3 hours only, this depth of flavor and the fall-off-the-bone tenderness. I tell you, I have absolutely no need to pick up my knife until it’s time to claim ownership of my share in the dessert.

 

Tiramisu – unfortunately, this fails me. Something is off but I can’t seem to pinpoint what. Maybe too much vanilla extract?

 

Come to C’ for the mains, order a side of panizza (since you’ve already come all the way here anyway. Read: leftovers = tomorrow’s breakfast) and… ummm… get your tiramisu fix elsewhere.

Go, plan your trip now!

 

C’ Italian Dining: 10 Don Juico Avenue (Friendship Road), Clarkview Malabanas, Angeles City, Philippines. Tel: +6345-892-4059, +63918-944-0929