Food Archives | Page 8 of 68

LaMesa Philippine Cuisine (Sydney, Australia)

28 August 2013 Ibyang Sanchez 0 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Food, Restaurants

LaMesa was a known Filipino restaurant in Dee Why and now they have moved to Sydney. We’ve always wanted to visit the restaurant but it was just too far away. Now, it is located conveniently in the city where we can conveniently visit in case we’re too lazy to cook but crave for Filipino food.

And so one fateful night in May, a few friends and I got together and tried LaMesa’s offerings. We arrived and dinner was already in full swing. I recommend calling to reserve a table as it seemed that things get busy and full during peak hours. The place was cozy, dimly-lit and had nice looking furnitures. A few touches of Pinoy can be seen in the decors such as monochrome photographs of the Manila we once knew.

LaMesa Philippine Cuisine (Sydney, Australia)

We started off with Kwek-Kwek, deep-fried coated quail eggs. The taste of the coating was as bland as it looked (we’re used to orange Kwek-Kwek).

The Okoy looked different as well as it seemed like the prawns were individually battered and fried. This was definitely more of an appetizer. I think we were used to the big Okoy which can be paired with rice. The coating was crunchy but did not leave any significant “Oomph” as we took a bite in.

The sinful and indulgent Sisig (diced meat from pig’s face) was everything we hoped it too be. Sizzling and with egg on top, beautiful on its own or with rice. Best eaten with a bit of lemon and chili sauce.

A cold night is often associated with Pork Sinigang at home. It was nearly winter then so we got ourselves a bowl of Pork Sinigang to warm our tummies. An enjoyable tamarind soup with pork, radish, okra and kangkong that tasted like the comfort food we enjoy at home.

Pinakbet was another dish we enjoyed. With just the right saltiness from the shrimp paste, the vegetables were tasty, fresh and flavourful. It also had a generous portion of meat.

We resisted to order another pork dish but threw all health caution out the window and got the Lechon Kawali. Deep-friend pork belly with crispy crackling. The best partner to the Pinakbet.

Over-all, we enjoyed our dinner at LaMesa inspite of a few misses with the appetizers. They have definitely nailed the true taste of Filipino food. Our only hope is that they add a little more to their serving as we found the pricing of their food quite on the more expensive side.

Will we visit again? Why, yes! Once in a while we’ll come back to try their other offerings and bring other friends to enjoy Filipino food with us.

LaMesa Philippine Cusine
Level 1, 19 Goulburn Street
Haymarket NSW 2000
Ph: 1300 880 835

Food Find: Mango Chocolate by Cebu Best

27 August 2013 Ibyang Sanchez 7 Comments Category: Food

One of my great food finds in Manila this year was the Mango Chocolate by Cebu Best. I found this at Kultura in SM Megamall.

It’s ingenious to put together two delicious things, dried mangoes dipped in Belgian chocolate, have them wrapped individually and packaged in a gorgeous box. It’s a product worthy of praises both from local and international consumers.

The dried mangoes were chewy while the generous Belgian chocolate coating was of good quality. I find that it is best eaten straight out of the wrapper (no refrigeration needed).

I bought a small box containing 12 pieces for P419.75 at Kultura (Megamall). I also found them available at NAIA 1 Airport (they were more expensive there though).

I highly recommend them if you love dried mangoes and Belgian chocolate. These are also a yummy gift to your family & friends who live overseas.

Want to try dried Mangoes covered in chocolate but can’t find these in the market?

Check out my blogmates DIY entries, Toni and Kaoko, as they recreate these yummy Mango Chocolate in the comforts of their home.

Magnum Pleasure Bar (Sydney, Australia)

24 August 2013 Ibyang Sanchez 4 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Food

For six weeks, the Magnum Pleasure Bar in Westfield Sydney gave Sydneysiders the pleasure of creating their own Magnum Bar. The pop-up store gave each Magnum bar creator a choice of chocolate (white, milk or dark) and and three to four of 18 toppings for just $7.

We went passed the Magnum Pleasure Bar on its last Friday and there were so many people on queue. As much as we would like to experience creating our own Magnum bars, we just couldn’t sacrifice our time for waiting. With the line that we saw surrounding the pop-up store, we thought one would need to wait for at least 40 to 60 minutes.

Nevertheless, it was fun to watch the staff behind the Magnum Pleasure Bar dip the Magnum vanilla bars in chocolate coatings and shower them with lots of toppings. The Magnum Bar creations look divine and pretty at the same time. Maybe the next time they do something like this again, we’d have our chance. Or better yet, this could be a sign that soon enough, we’ll have a Magnum Cafe here in Sydney.

Were you able to create your own Magnum Bar at the pop-up store? What coating and toppings did you get?

New HOP Find: Crisped Rice Flavour

20 August 2013 Ibyang Sanchez 2 Comments Category: Food

Another visit to the Asian Supermarket has brought me to my new favourite HOP (House of Polvoron) flavour, Crisped Rice.

My first taste of HOP happened not so long ago. My favourite then was the Cookies and Cream flavour. While I still love that flavour, I love Crisped Rice flavour more.

The Crisped Rice has nuts and pinipig giving this flavour a delicious crunch. It’s sweet and more tasty than the Classic flavour.

Happy Hour While Watching Kdramas

18 August 2013 Ibyang Sanchez 0 Comments Category: Food, Korean Flair, The Married Life

We miss the night life in Seoul, particularly the kind where we had drinks at a market place on our last night in Seoul. We had a drink of Makkoli (Korean Rice Beer) and ate a plate of fried food. It was such a memorable travel and foodie experience–one of our best times in Seoul. After so many months, we got around to finding a liquor shop that sells Korean alcohol and that’s where we found a lot of bottles of Soju and Makkoli (also known as Makgeolli).

We bought two bottles of Makkoli because there were two brands available…we bought one of each. On Friday night, we celebrated the end of a busy work week by opening one bottle while we watch episodes of a Korean drama we are currently finishing.

If you find Soju too strong for your taste, try the Makkoli. It’s smoother than beer so it’s easier to drink. We read the information on the bottle and found that it’s healthy too! Its formulation includes Lactobacillus, the stuff used in the production of yogurt and cheese.

Happy hour won’t be complete without munching on something. Last Friday’s choice were flavoured popcorn from Korea.

We enjoyed two small tubs of flavoured popcorns: Creamy Caramel and Butter & Cheese. The Creamy Caramel is similar to Goldilocks Caramel Popcorn (from the Philippines) but only it’s not too sweet and sticky while the Butter & Cheese had the right amount of saltiness. We got these at Tong Li Supermarket and hope that it will always be available from now on.

Having a drink of Makkoli and eating snacks from Korea while we watch Kdramas eases our longing to be in Seoul. We know one day we’ll be back there again. But for now, we’re happy to enjoy a Korean-inspired happy hour at home.