My dose of creative juice

Much love for Indian Cuisine at Swagat!

Like mentioned in my previous post, our craving didn’t stop in dining at Little Tokyo. We figured we should make most of the day and look for an authentic Indian restaurant in the area. It’s not often that you find an Indian restaurant which serves authentic Indian cuisine other than those commercialized Indian restaurants found at the mall which serves curry not even better than my mom does - ack! Your best bet to find one is to really dig and search deep (using google - haha) in the streets of Manila.

We were lucky we had a good researcher (which is me by the way - haha) and we were able to find out about Swagat. Unfamiliar with the streets of Makati, we still braved our way just to satisfy the craving in our taste buds. Imagine when we finally found the restaurant while driving around; we literally screamed on top of our lungs “SWAGATTTTT”!- this by the way, is a real story 4 girls in one car and Swagat!

Swagat which also means “Welcome” is a small restaurant which is owned by an Indian couple and has already been featured in various newspapers and magazines.

Upon entering, we were greeted by the receptionist in full Indian costume. She was very knowledgeable about the menu and didn’t mind when we asked her to pose for a picture with us.

My cousin ordered the Indian Masala Tea (Chai) - Php70.00, it has the perfect amount of milk which is enough not to over power the taste of the tea. Personally, loved this.

My sister got the Strawberry Lassi while I got the Rose Lassi, both being sold for Php60.00. Lassi which is a sweetened yogurt drink with milk was good and quite addicting. I’ve always been curious what rose petals would taste when infused in a drink and I must say that it is quite refreshing.

For starters, we ordered some Samosas with tamarind sauce (I’m not sure of the price but I think it was around Php70.00).

Inside, was a well flavored vegetable mixture and the tamarind sauce complemented it very well.

When we asked the receptionist what would she recommend, instantly she said we should try their Mutton Masala Php150.00. I think this was our favorite! You can taste the various spices that the sauce is composed of and it had the right amount of spiciness for you to enjoy the dish. The goat meat was bony as expected and there wasn’t actually enough “meat” but the sauce was definitely to die for! As some Filipinos would say “sauce pa lang ulam na!”.

Curry we wanted and curry we got. The skinless and boneless chicken curry (Php100.00) was just as good as the Mutton Masala. This was probably one of the best curry that I’ve ever tasted because of the spices used. You know how sometimes you can distinguish if they cooked something using those instant powder or if they mixed up various spices just to get the right curry taste? Well, this one definitely didn’t come from an instant packet of curry mix.

Here we have the Murgh Biryani (chicken biryani)- Php160.00, this is one meal in itself. Basmati rice flavored with Indian spices served with bits of chicken, it was really good and I couldn’t stop eating it.

We also got ourselves dome Buttered Roti (Php15/pc) so we can enjoy the curry and masala sauce.

To end our meal we got ourselves some Gulab Jamum - Php60 for 4 pieces. A traditional Indian dessert which is basically a cheeseball dipped in syrup.

It tasted like a doughnut, but better!

End result - just look at those empty plates! If you’re looking for good Indian food, I say you visit the place and give it a try.

After dining at two restaurants and having two different cuisine in a day, we were definitely stuffed. But hey, these girls can eat!

Swagat Indian Cuisine
119 FCC Building, Rada Street
Legaspi Village, Makati City
(click for their website)

(Source: 88teaspoons)

A Japanese haven in Little Tokyo

In the first day of 2012, my very first meal was Japanese. I remember dining in a Japanese restaurant and recalling the old saying that “whatever it is that you’re doing on the first day of the year will be the same thing you’ll be doing the rest of the year”… if that saying is indeed true, it would only mean I’ll be munching Japanese food in most days - and with that, I cannot complain. (Of course, that would also mean I’ll be eating a lot the whole year right?! If so, then I love this year!!!)

Who knew that four hungry girls and a craving to feast on a scrumptious meal would lead me, my sister and cousins to a (hidden) gem in the busy streets of Makati?! Enter a unfamiliar place to us called “Little Tokyo” along Chino Roces Avenue, with the help of google map, a reliable vehicle and enough money to get a decent meal; off we went.

You have to have a really keen eye or else you wouldn’t even notice that you’ve already passed by it. Above is the pathway leading you to a couple of Japanese restaurants secluded in one place.

The ambiance of the place literally made me feel like I was in Tokyo! I’ve never been to Tokyo or Japan although I intend to visit the country in the future.

We were there quite early at around 6pm and most establishments open at 7pm. Luckily, there was one restaurant which looked very promising and most importantly, they were already open. (Please note that we went there on a Monday.)

They also had a sort of bar area, in case you prefer to be seated there.

Huge Japanese Sake bottles caught my attention.

There were condiments placed at every table.

You can also watch them as they prepare your sushi and maki orders.

Two orders of different kinds of maki for us to taste. On the left, was salmon and the one on the right is spicy tuna. (I apologize for being a bad blogger because I didn’t take note of the name of the dishes.) Both maki, were very good. In fact, one of the best I’ve tasted. The spicy one was my favorite of course.

A steaming bowl of a good ramen with a generous serving too! The ramen was our favorite and it definitely hit the spot. Some ramen at various restaurants tend to taste like instant noodles straight out of the packet. Fortunately, this did not.

Lastly, a plate of perfectly cooked gyoza. Whenever I eat at Japanese restaurants I tend to veer away from ordering gyoza because of the fact that most restaurants have it prepared way in advance that the filling has that almost “sour” taste to it. This plate of gyoza had a crunchy and soft exterior and was packed with a good amount and the best tasting filling I’ve ever had.

I can’t remember how much we paid for every dish but we paid around Php 1400+ for all our orders. Despite the dishes being pricier than other Japanese restaurants, every single centavo was definitely worth it.

I am definitely coming back to Little Tokyo and making it one of my goals to eat at every restaurant in the vicinity.

Little Tokyo
2277 Chino Roces Avenue,
Makati, Philippines

P.S. our craving didn’t stop there…

(Source: 88teaspoons)

A feast at Poco Deli

As much as I love my greens for lunch, I cannot veer away from meat no matter how hard I try. The one time I find myself munching on a slab of bacon; I need to remind myself to hold back and not eat like I barely chew my food. Obviously, I was born to be a carnivore and I do love a good piece of meat - YUM!

With my goal to eat at all the restaurants around Kapitolyo, I found myself inside a neighborhood deli place - Poco Deli.

Upon entering, you’ll see an “open kitchen” where you can view how they prepare your meals.

They have a wall with a wide array of wine which you can enjoy while dining…

Or you can opt to have a beer of your choice!

From cakes to cheeses and sausage, you can never run out of options!

They also sell the deli meats they have on the menu frozen in case you want to take some home and cook it for your family.

Sausage platter - I was told that if you order a smaller variety of sausage you get three pieces but since I chose the huge ones, I only got two. I forgot what type of sausages they are but both are really good with the sauerkraut it came with.

I like my sausages with a good amount of mustard!

The Pomodoro pasta was a disappointment. The serving was too small for the price and there wasn’t really anything special about it. If you were to eat here, skip the pasta and go for the meat!

The lamb curry was okay but I’ve tasted better curry elsewhere. Perhaps, it wasn’t spicy enough and doesn’t contain that “curry taste” I enjoy. Although, the meat was perfectly cooked and was tender.

DO NOT EAT AT POCO DELI WITHOUT ORDERING THE BACON SLAB. I repeat: DO NOT! This is definitely a must order and it is a different take from the usual thin and greasy bacon that we all are used to. With a thick cut of meat and the right amount of flavor, that is BACON at it’s finest right there. 

It comes with 2 pieces of eggs and guess what - A huge serving of rice with MORE BACON! -YUM

The end result was of course a really messy plate. And yes, in case you’re wondering; I did eat my bacon with mustard!

I cannot go home without trying their famous Black Out Chocolate cake for dessert.

It had the right amount of sweetness and the perfect chocolate taste that would make you want another serving - a perfect way to end any meal!

I shall end this post with a photo of a quote that I couldn’t agree more!

Poco Deli
21 East Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo
Pasig City, Philippines
(02) 477-4332

(Source: 88teaspoons)

If you’re looking for something to serve your friends which is:

1. Not hard to prepare,
2. Can be eaten in one bite,
3. Will not only satisfy their cravings but will make them even beg for more

I have one awesome treat for you:

Three things you need:

• Marble potatoes a.k.a. baby potatoes
• Sour cream
• Smoked Salmon
• Of course, the usual that I’m sure you have at home; salt, pepper and olive oil

Follow these simple steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place marble potatoes on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Pop in the oven for about 15 minutes. (You can eat the potatoes by the time they’re cooked and when it’s not too hot for you-  I did!)
• Place a dollop of sour cream on top of those yummy baked potatoes.
• Slice up those smoked salmon then you know what to do. You don’t really need a lot to place on your potatoes just a tiny slice will do. (I opted to work with my fingers while sneaking a few bites in between - YUM!)

I promise you that this simple treat is really addicting! You might even finish up the whole thing even before your friends arrive!

(Source: 88teaspoons)