A different side to McDonald's -- Sampling McCafe's treats

I've had the opportunity to witness one of the most awesome job's a kid could ever hope for, and that's to become a part of the 2012 McDonald's Kiddie Crew! 

Photo grabbed from McDonald's Website

My 7-year old nephew and 5-year old niece have recently finished their week-long Kiddie Crew Duty (they participated from 3-5 PM). They were asked to do a bunch of things. But most of their time were also devoted to singing, dancing, eating, cooking burgers and more.

Sampling Green Coffee's Buy-1-Take-1 Coffee Jelly Freeziccino

I still have an hour until my sister's plane lands on LAX grounds. So while waiting to get updates from her arrival, let me share to you my earlier visit to Green Coffee.

As you all know, I've recently blogged about my first try at this new coffee shop by Tomas Morato. And what got me to come back was Green Coffee's Buy-1-Take-1 promo of their Coffee Jelly Freeziccino. I was given the promo code for this after retweeting one of their messages on Twitter. Lucky for me, I received the golden DM! Ok, so I was only allowed to redeem the code until April 24. But since my boyfriend wanted to try the Freeziccino right away, we decided to avail of the promo this afternoon. 

Filipino Viands For A Special Despedida

Just wanted to share the food that we served for my sister's despedida yesterday. My Kuya asked what she wanted to eat -- something that she wouldn't be able to eat or order in the US. And what was requested from last night was some crispy Lechon Kawali and some Garden Fresh Salad. My other brother also cooked some Bistek Tagalog as an additional viand.

Anyway, here's some of his homemade creations. *NOTE: Mouthwatering photos ahead of you -- make sure your eyes are wide open and not your mouths! hahaha!*

Crispy Lechon Kawali -- Fried to perfection!

4 Fingers Crispy Chicken - Two Thumbs Up!

I'm sure all of you have tasted Bonchon's korean-style soy garlic fried chicken. I have several times now, which lead me to try one of its closest competitor's: 4 Fingers Crispy Chicken. 4 Fingers was established by 4 foodie friends who shared the same passion for 'fine wines and top nosh'.

4 Fingers soy garlic chicken is actually my go-to comfort food whenever I frequent the food establishment. I would usually order the set meal instead of the ala carte since it saves me more money. 

And last Friday, during the onset of SM North Edsa's Forever 21 opening, my boyfriend and I decided to eat at 4 Fingers after an hour's worth of clothes browsing. I was so dead hungry that we immediately ordered their set meal of 6-PC Chicken with Fries and drink (we had the fries changed to rice instead), and ordered another 1-PC Drumstick with Rice and drink as an extra. So by doing a little math, we were served 3 small wings, 3 medium-size drumsticks, and 1 big drumstick. 

6-PC Chicken (soy garlic) with Rice & drink at Php204.46 (w/o vat)

The Perfect Meal - CBTL's Chilled Spicy Chicken Pasta

If there's one coffee shop in Quezon City that I always frequent to (before I even discovered Green Coffee in Tomas Morato), it would have to be Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Not only do I love the shop's earth-toned ambiance, their tasty treats and well-brewed drinks drew me closer to becoming one of their loyal customers.

CBTL has become my go-to place for meet-ups with friends. It also turns into my make-shift work space at some days since they provide free wifi (exclusive use for Swirl Card Members). And when I do stay in CBTL, I would usually order their Earl Grey Tea or their chilled Orange Juice. For dessert, my main staple would be their Toblerone Cheesecake. And for their pasta --- the Chilled Spicy Chicken Pasta.

"The perfect blend of hot and cool, this salad is made with a healthy mix of fusilli pasta, shredded chicken breast and our special sauce – all in a bed of fresh romaine lettuce - CBTL

Gamjatang - Korea's Spicy Pork Stew with Potatoes

When it came to dinner time (this was also our last night in Jeonju), Rachel and her two lady friends, Morgan and Virginia took us to another authentic Korean Restaurant (this was a few minutes away from where our hotel was). Upon entering this small and simple restaurant, my niece and her friends immediately ordered a hearty and spicy meal called Gam-ja-tang.

Gam-ja-tang in Korean stands for Spicy Pork Stew with Potatoes. This was probably my korean version of Sinigang, only that it was a lot spicier and richer in color. It was a soup that had pieces of pork, bean sprouts, chillies, potatoes, Chinese cabbages and more. And much like our moment with the Samgyeopsal, we were also served with these bowls that contained different kinds of Kimchi makes.

Dasarang Chicken & Pizza in Jeonju, South Korea

My younger brother and I arrived in Jeonju a few hours earlier than Kuya. And since the 5-hour bus trip from Incheon to Jeonju drained as pretty well, we decided to go around the city on our own. Sure, we got lost for a while. But it didn't take long before we finally saw the famous Cinema Street. The yellow signages for the JEONJU INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL weren't hard to miss. So I was sure that we were on the right path. We also took it upon ourselves to get to know more of the famed street, which lead us to where this fancy English-looking place was. 

A Taste of Korea's Samgyeopsal & Manila's Yakimix

It was only last year when I started fancying all the restaurants here in Manila that began offering those smokeless grill arrangements. So why just last year? Well, I had a trip in Jeonju, South Korea last May that pretty much had the same setup (but looked a lot simpler). 

Anyway, the first dinner meal that my brothers and I had on our first night there was a mix of different beef cuts, which were actually cooked by means of grilling. And since the servers couldn't speak in english that well, my kuya took the initiative to point at what most of the customer's were eating. Eventually, they understood what we wanted to order and then gave us our own grilling unit.

Check-out the Menu at the back of my Kuya & my little brother - pure korean characters!

A Birthday Burrito Buffet!

I recently blogged on how birthday celebrations were usually held at home. I also shared the usual viands that we typically serve during our parties. Now, here's something different to add into our yearly traditions -- A Birthday Burrito Buffet!

My brother, who recently turned 26 last Monday cooked up a Make-Your-Own-Burrito dinner for our family and friends. And since it was a Make-Your-Own thing, I've managed to create my own by laying out a piece of pita bread on a plate, and then started filling it with some ground beef. This was followed by a few additions of Chicken chunks, some salsa, and then a slather of sour cream. After I was done putting in all of the ingredients, I wrapped and folded the pita bread. 

Anyway, this burrito feast was also a totally different experience, and it certainly deviated from our usual fried chicken and spagetti servings (the pizza's and cakes were still present though -- hehehe!).

Ok, so on to our Mexican creations. My brother by the way cooked everything from scratch! Just see for yourself...

BEANS.. =)

Family Birthday Celebrations - An Absolute Food Gathering

One of my brother's is celebrating his birthday today. I'm sure, he'll be cooking something later that's very delish like he always does. 

In lieu of his natal day, birthday's in the family have become more than just a yearly tradition for us. Other than the fact that one more year is added to our age, our special gatherings have become one to look forward to.

And because of this, I would like to share the food staples in our humble gatherings every time a family member celebrates his/her birthday. Predictable as it may seem, I'm sure our family and friends will never get tired off our usual set of dishes. Here's just a few photos of our served dishes yearly

Pizza's from Shakey's

A good combination of Yellow Cab & Green Coffee

One of the reasons why my whole body keeps getting rounder (especially my tummy and thighs) is because of my love for food. I used to join runs and go for jogs 3x a week to help trim the fat. But all that's changed. Yes, I'm yet to blame for my laziness to exercise but I just can't help but eat, sit, and work. 

Anyway, my boyfriend and I just simply love to go on food trips. Other than our shared passion for traveling, eating and exploring new dishes would be something that we just can't help indulge on. And yesterday, as he came home from work, we decided to hit our favorite pizza place for an early dinner date -- Yellow Cab! 

Yellow Cab's pizza's are definitely my favorite amongst all the other pizza establishments here in the Philippines. Having just 15 employees in 2001 to over 1,500 employees today, you can be well impressed with how this chain has expanded throughout the years (has a number of chains in over 5 countries now).

In my opinion, the variety of pizza that they offer, as well as their selections of pasta's, appetizers and more, definitely complements my taste palate. For starters, we got ourselves some cold drinks (to help beat the summer heat!) and 4 pieces of hot wings.

Rasberry Sola (Php 50) and Coke in can (Php40)

Take a bite into Swirls N Sprinkles customized cakes

I've always had a liking for cupcakes, especially the unique-looking ones. I remember lazing around, feet up on our living room table, while watching marathon episodes of Ace of Cakes. I love their work!!!!! And because of that show, I googled the same cake art here in the Philippines. Good enough, my research-savvy-self did not disappoint me. My fondness over these dessert goodies escalated more when I discovered Swirls N Sprinkles.

Swirls N Sprinkles owners, Nadine and Jeff were two of the most nicest people. My first order from them was smooth and was well-worth the investment. Moreover, my cupcake topper pegs were also made to perfection. They made my ideas into actual creations! =) 

I personally ordered 40+ different customized toppers (every piece had something to do with my kuya's life), which to me was not an easy job. But they've managed to deliver more than what I've initially expected to receive. Here's my first batch of cupcakes from Swirls N Sprinkles, 40+ birthday cupcakes for my Kuya who turned 4.0 last year:

Sinigang Junkie - That's Me!

I've been meaning to share my food experiences ever since I became active in promoting my travel blog. I have had a constant love affair with food (well who doesn't??), and I felt like I needed to create a food journal that would help document all of my adventures and misadventures concerning the matter.

I guess, this is the best time to share one of the few things that I love to do other than travel, and that's to eat and to explore new dishes!

And of course, what's with the name right? Well, as I was thinking of catchy blog names and quirky catch phrases, I suddenly came up with SINIGANG JUNKIE. 

Sinigang Junkie was born out of my deepest love for a well-known Filipino dish - SINIGANG! I've always loved sinigang, and our Sunday lunches would not be complete if we didn't have this dish on our dining table.

Now, Sinigang is a soup that has a very sour taste to it. And no matter how the ingredients may range from one Filipino kitchen to another, this well-loved dish will never deviate from its sour-tasting feature. In our home, our version of Sinigang will always include either cut pieces of pork and/or beef (some even put fish or shrimps as an alternative), Sinigang mix (usually Tamarind based), sauteed diced tomatoes and onions, radish (labanos), Kang-Kong (sometimes referred to as swamp cabbage or river spinach), a few pieces of green chili pepper, and some Taro slices (known as Gabi in Tagalog).

Mommy... eating Sinigang at Trinity Ihaw-Ihaw & Foodhouse by Mall of Asia

So how's that for an introduction? =)

Anyhow, I will be starting from scratch, and will write about my future food posts real soon!

For now..

Explore & Be Free,

Mai