banana+apple=banapple

been wanting to try out banapple eversince i read it on lori's blog. and today is the day i finally got the chance. it was past 1 when g and i decided to eat there. i could see through her that she wants a decent meal so i agreed. here are the stuff we got.



cream of dory fillets with honey mustard sauce and garlic rice. it's ok nothing to rave about. there's just too much sauce on top that it becomes overpowering.



pasta jacintha, is one of their bestsellers. i have to give this a two thumbs up. it was so flavorful. i could not figure out how they made the carbonara sauce. sauce was infused with a lot of flavors that it seems like it has been simmering with beef/beef bones for god knows how long. served with a soft herb pandesal which was also delish. i highly recommend it.


and of course the banoffee pie. it was very substantive compared to the small serving in red ribbon. but i'm such a banoffee addict that i could care less where it comes from. yummy too!

we got some cakes to go which we brought to v's house. tried the very berry custard cake which is also something to crave for especially for berry addicts like me. i'm looking forward to trying out their other cakes and getting some more pasta jacintha. this is enough reason for me to pass by katipunan on my way to work.


banapple
katipunan avenue (across kopi roti)

a pricey lunch

i already came to the office last monday, right after i got back to manila. i just found out that some of the guys just got their cars. i was teasing the boys who got new cars and persuaded them to have a test drive. and the best way to do that is have some lunch at the fort. good thing that r agreed, unfortunately j's car is coding kaya car na lang ni g.

so we were basically clueless on where to eat. the cheapest place is conti's and it was full. so i suggested portico. the breakfast menu as featured by anton was not that pricey and my friend d keeps on raving about it. but no!!! the regular menu items are pricey. more expensive than chelsea which was still closed that time that's why we didn't go there.

i got some garlic scallop pasta which is just normal. the strong lemon flavor is evident to remove the fishy smell/flavor but other than the cheesy plate it's nothing extra ordinary.



i took a picture of the centennial chicken? which is basically chicken marinated in patis with roasted eggplants.


too bad that this lunch out did turn out as great as it can be. how i wished i insisted on zao na lang.



portico
serendra
global city, taguig

first foodie trip post birmingham

i was immediately out of the house after eating lunch and taking a bath when i arrived last saturday. some friends and i watched avenue q. after which, had to drop by the canon service center to pick up g's DSLR. saw thai pad read it in anton's blog and it's supposed to be from the same owners of sukothai. did i remember right?

anyway, it was more of a hole in a wall kind of place. was pleased with the prices when i saw the menu. and here's what we got.

phad thai. my thai meal staple. yummy! cheaper than muang thai's but of course with less ingredients.


fried spring rolls. one of my faves. flavorful. no complaints on this one.

we also ordered some cheap thai iced tea which was a good value for our money and some peppered/garlicky tofu which was delish.

btw, these are just mobile phone pics. for some weird reason g's 400D did not take great pics as expected. probably need some tweaking post the repair. i like this place. comes close to muang thai and cheaper too.


thai pad
marvin plaza
pasong tamo, makati

my last birmingham food expose

the traumatic happy gathering experience (talk about irony) did not hinder us from eating out especially trying out chinese buffets. my aunt mentioned big wok which is supposed to be cheap and great. looked it up and apparently it's just two blocks away from our apartment.

when g visited us from london, i suggested the place. the dinner buffet costs 10 pounds while the lunch buffet is just 6 pounds. the difference would be the teppanyaki, sushi and satay bars. great value for money. i'm not sure if the happy gathering experience made me think that big wok is definitely several notches higher or it simply was.

again, i was too excited to eat that i forgot to take pictures. my favorites are the battered chicken balls, sauteed cabbage, fish balls soup, stir fried mushrooms and hainanese chicken. i also liked the peking duck and chilli prawns featured in the pictures below.








btw, i went there twice. second time was with my aunt, uncle and cousins.




big wok
wrottesley street
city centre, birmingham

schoko king

there's a german market in the city centre and they sell all sorts of things, from crafts to sausages to other food items. schoko king is one of the booths. it sells fruits dipped in belgian chocolate.

i didn't know at first that they were belgian but i was so amazed on how smooth the chocolate was. the not so chocolover in me simply had to have another.

here's my first stick - bananas and strawberries.



a lot of variants to choose from...whole bananas, strawberries, kiwis....i will probably come back before we leave.




christmas market
new street
city centre, birmingham

going solo at fraser

i read somewhere that the food hall at house of fraser offers good food. house of fraser is another posh department store here in the uk. so when i went shopping yesterday, i made sure i was there before the lunch rush hour. it's horrific to go out during the weekend too toxic to shop and dine out.

anyway, the food hall looks like the one at selfridges. i went around first and got lured by the central southern food booth. i ordered jerk chicken. very spicy but i like how the flavors developed in my mouth, unlike nando's wherein the sauce burns your tongue. the chicken is served with a salad and mexican rice.





house of fraser food hall
corporation street
birmingham city center

afternoon at garfunkel's

we were tired walking around london with all the sightseeing and shopping and then the rain started pouring. we were near piccadilly circus and i was hoping to find a decent coffee shop. starbucks was the closest but the place was full. went around the circus until we saw garfunkel's. we were greeted by a pinay waitress who was very cordial.

it was a comfy place with a great ambiance. well lit and has a lot of comfortable booths to sit on. perfect place to take a break and rest our overly used feet and legs. we had some sweet stuff and coffee to boost are low sugar levels back up.



my toffee waffle. i love toffee! the waffle was not hot and doesn't seem to be freshly made but it was still good.


apple pie...not much of a traditional apple pie girl but this was c's so might as well take a pic.



g's strawberry cheesecake


garfunkel's
piccadilly circus

shangri-la @ birmingham

this is not the famous hotel chain but a small chinese resto alongside our apartment. there are actually four chinese restos near our apartment. we have been dying to eat at shangri-la which seems to be jampacked all the time.

we were starving and willing to shell out mucho dinero. nothing can top our £13 meal at another nearby resto which is totally forgettable. so luckily it wasn't that full and we were seated immediately. we just had to splurge. 4 orders of rice and these are huge servings, a huge seabass, grandma's whelk (i wonder what this was but it's a chef's recommendation...my boss said it's probably wok but we still didn't know what it was) and a hotpot which was the loser dish i must say. spent a lot for this meal but we were all happy and satisfied. here are the pics.



egg fried rice. this is worth two servings. then we ordered another two servings of steamed rice hehe.



grandma's whelk...the best dish! apparently this is sea snail...we all thought it was octopus.




the seabass. my favorite fish whenever dining out. did not fall short of expectations.


the hotpot. was expecting the same dish i had in oakland but this was just not that memorable.


the shangri-la restaurant
station street, city centre, birmingham

nando's

we were treated by one of the team leads here in the uk before he goes off for his holidays. they were raving about nando's, an african chain which serves peri-peri chicken, a portugese dish. it's grilled chicken with several side dishes and sauces of varying 'hotness'.

here's my plate. quarter chicken with coleslaw and peri peri fries. so so... i'd consider it a decent meal.


they got some appetizers which is basically olives and spicy nuts.




nando's chicken

bullring
star city
mailbox

the dragonfly by wetherspoon

the dragonfly is where we first ate in birmingham. unfortunately, i wasn't able to capture that first outing. we had the chance to come back again when my colleagues had enough of our subway diet.

i actually enjoyed the food, price range is £7-£10 per dish. we all had lamb rogan josh, which is basically mutton curry. the serving was huge and my guy companions were very happy with the serving. they even cleared my plate by eating my basmati rice. the serving is a major carbo overload with basmati, naan and popodoms. i like the crispy popodoms and the spicy curry. there's also an extra side dish which is fried i dunno what which was great with the mango chutney.






the dragonfly
birmingham international airport

wagamama

wagamama is on my list of places to eat at here in birmingham. unfortunately, the dish i ordered did not wow me. fell short of expectations with this chain which appears to be almost everywhere except in manila. i should have ordered something else but i already made up my mind on the ramen before going there. here is my seafood ramen.


c loved his chicken katsu curry below.




my boss's chahan.


and the coke christmas edition.


the food items of wagamama are the same as the ones at one of the booths at the selfridge food hall where we ate a couple of weeks ago. the selfridge stuff are far better which surprised me since you don't expect food hall food to be so much better. anyway, i'd rather eat at selfridge even if the ambiance is not that great.

wagamama
the bullring

the lamb fanatic

i am such a lamb fanatic. this is the only meat i am willing to break my blood type diet for. yesterday, i realized i still have to cook myself a meal or two before moving out of my apartment to a hotel without any cooking provisions (i am so looking forward to my subway diet).

so yesterday, i got myself some lamb chops. marinated it with my mom's great bbq marinade. so here it is. baked lamb chops. got myself some mac and cheese from marks as well. yes, marks actually sells the best food to go and contrary to popular belief m&s is still considered expensive here.

pareng ben and jerry

i love ben and jerry's. i was excited to find out they have it here. unfortunately the by the scoop counter seems to be too pricey for me. luckily, tesco sells them in pints. i had some ice cream craving today despite the uber cold weather so i got one.

here is my ben and jerry's strawberry cheesecake.


apparently it's frozen yogurt and not ice cream. still a good treat even on a cold night. i added some fresh strawberries from the fridge.

healthy birmingham finds

my healthy finds kuno in birmingham. these are my organic and healthy food stuff here. consuming everything before we move to a hotel (no more cooking then).


my probiotic fix. sarap, consistency is thin. unlike nestle's yogurt drink.

blood type diet savior. turkey sandwich forever.


this one is so so...the taiwanese veggie sausage is way much better.


bad tofu! grainy and all that.


so so. the stuffing aint that nice it's like marzapan.


my pasta source.


my sandwich essential.

chicken alfredo

contrary to what everyone might think. i haven't cooked a decent meal here in birmingham. my pasta dishes are mediocre like the scampi and sausage pastas i whipped up a couple of weeks ago. this is the most tedious meal i have cooked by far.

cooked with creme fraiche which apparently is sour cream like, fresh button mushrooms, flat leaf parsley which tastes like the curly parsley and nothing like kinchay. this dish reminds me of r who whipped herself some non pork carbonara a couple of weeks ago. anyway, here it is.

my birmingham cupboard

i had a short stop at tesco once again. hmmm it seems that i go there every single day. anyway, while arranging the stuff i got, i realized that i have unconsciously replicated my cupboard essentials back in manila.


i have my garlic, cayenne, pepper, tomato sauce and ketchup. all tesco - it's the store brand, thus, the cheapest. don't forget my butter, mayo, eden cheese in the ref. also got some more stuff, my couscous which is a must ( i am definitely bringing some when i go back home + the foie gras at schipol hehe)



also, i couldn't limit myself to the free sugar from the office so when i saw the muscovado i knew i had to grab it. even got inspired to make some lemonade when i got back home.



i am also loving my tesco digestives. better then m&s is all i could say. but it's a matter a preference right? anyway till next time. happy eats.

birmingham food finds

was able to go to the market yesterday and here are some of my food finds.

fresh native eggs for 25 pence a half dozen

fresh peaches for 10 pence each

also went to the supermarket and got myself an organic mayo and a huge pack of strawberries which are not that tasty. so not worth my £3.

with all my buys i got myself a decent breakfast for today.

bubbly teas

here's my last food adventure in manila before i head to the land of fish and chips and bangers and mash.

bubble tea is in my must try list. with my recent errands i got the chance to finally try it. i got some kiwi tea slush which is so refreshing and affordable. i just got the medium but it's a tall glass already and it's only 69 PHP.

i think that this is what i liked about this place. you get terrific drinks at affordable prices. i've been recently eating at places wherein the drinks are overly priced so bubble tea is on top of my list now.

i also got the seafood udon. not sure on what udon is supposed to look like. i've eaten at other places and their udon appears to be the thick noodles similar to the lomi. now i'm confused which one is the authentic udon, the thick ones i've tried before or this flat one they serve in bubble tea.

the seafood udon is acceptable. i haven't tried a similar dish in other restos so i couldn't make a comparison. but i'm pretty satisfied on how this dish turned out. i recommend this place for people who love pearls/sago and modern jap/fusion cuisine.


bubble tea
sm the block
sm megamall