Date With Dad

We were sooo looking forward to our date night today. It was a long day and we came out from a very frustrating meeting at work. Just before heading to our designated date place, wifey and I drove by our parents' place to pick up something and do some errands for dad. When we got there, dad was all by himself 'coz mom was in Cebu.

On the way to the bank (dad requested us to withdraw money from his atm), wifey and i thought of just having dinner with dad. We both decided that since dad was alone in the house, that we just eat with him instead of our usual datenight. We realized that he looked really tired and stressed out and a nice dinner would cap the day right for him.

As we drove back to the house, we chanced upon a barbeque stall/restaurant called "Three Sisters". I read somewhere that this joint has been judged as one of Manila's top 10 grills, which made us more interested to taste their food. For tonight's dinner, we bought chicken and pork barbeque.  The smell of charcoal and meat grilling made us hungrier every minute.

Just before heading home, wifey noticed an Oriental Shop just across the street that sells"Fresh Chinese Rolls". She went in and bought some to accompany our grilled foodies.

When we arrived home, Dad was surprised to know that we brought food and had planned to eat with him. He was actually about to eat left over food (*ginataang langka and half of a fried tilapia). We noticed how his face lit up when he learned that we brought freshly grilled yummy barbeque. Moreso, we think that he was happier that he had company for dinner.

Digging into our grilled foodies, we shared visions of how we wanted the house to look. We are about to share the apartment with our parents after the Holy Week as we attempt to semi-live in Pasig again. We talked about the appliances that we needed to fix and stuff that we need to arrange so that the house will be homey and presentable. Dad shared that he was super tired of fixing the airconditioning unit the entire day. He said it was refreshing for him to have someone to share dinner with after a long day of doing manual work. He was even teasing us that the rice he cooked was a special kind of thai jasmine rice and was very delicious and goes super well with the barbeque. (Wifey and I are abstaining from rice for the lenten season, so...yeah, eating grilled meat without rice was a bit frustrating)

Food Talk: The pork and chicken barbeque were served in big portions. It was regular in taste and was served with extra sauce to make it the uniquely "Three Sisters" barbeque. It looked good which means that it was well cooked and the meat was quite tender. No burnt chicken skin that causes cancer..hehehe. The extra sauce however did not make any difference since the base sauce was already absorbed by the meat that gave it its barbeque-y taste. We didn't bother putting on the extra sauce as the marinated barbeque tasted okay already. Generally, there was nothing grand about this meal. Probably because we are very much used to "street barbeque" that tasted almost the same as this one. Moreso, street barbeque is waaaaay cheaper.

The Chinese Fresh Roll that wifey bought across the street complimented the grills. And for us who are abstaining from rice, it definitely went well with the barbeque :)

The dinner date night surprise for dad ended with a simple thank you and the relatively good food gave us good mood to end the day. As we drove home, wifey and i had a peaceful feeling. Today's date was made extra special as we shared this night with dad. Being with him that night made us realize that no one must feel alone and abandoned when you are in a family. A family that reaches out to pull special surprises to each other is a sign of deep respect and love, specially for a guy who dedicated his whole being to make our lives comfortable during his younger years and made sure that this family was/is taken cared for. Now that he is in his retirement age, we are happy to serve him and let him know that we are here for him with our small surprises such as this special datenight.



*Ginataang Langka - is a Filipino dish cooking young Jackfruit in Coconut Milk. Fried Tilapia - is fried St. Peter's Fish.

Tips on Grilling

One of our favorite way of preparing food is by grilling. We feel that it brings out the best flavor of the food and moreso, it brings out lots of great memories. Grilling is one of Africa's greatest influence on our cooking/eating...Thanks to the never ending Braai Fellowships that we've had with friends and co-missionaries.
 
Sharing with you some grilling tips from our favorite chef who is well known for his grills.

Check Out:
Bobby Flay's 10 Great Grill Tips (http://www.ivillage.com/bobby-flays-10-great-grill-tips/3-a-57917)

1. Before grilling, less is more. Brushing food with olive oil and sprinkling with a little salt and pepper is generally all you need. Overdoing elaborate marinades and rubs can dominate the taste of food.
2. After grilling, pull out all of the stops. Condiments make the dishes distinctive. Be bold with your fruit and vegetable-based ketchups, relishes, and salsas.
3. Do what works, the grill is not sacred. Finishing precooked foods with a quick sear, and searing just prior to eating are great strategies to get food cooked perfectly and on the table for your guests.
4. Use squeeze bottles. Pour vinaigrettes into squeeze bottles and store them in the refrigerator.
5. Organize! Prioritize! Plan a menu, make lists, do the shopping. Know what you can make ahead of time. Plan what you're going to make first, second, third and stick to your plan. Get everything out in front of you -- food, spices, and tools should be in easy reach.
6. Gas and charcoal are both heat sources. I prefer gas for its ease and speed.
7. Use a two-level fire. High- and low-heat sides are recommended for maximum cooking flexibility.
8. Keep the lid closed for cooking longer than four minutes and during preheating.
9. Let the food sit a couple of minutes on the grill to develop sear marks and to help avoid sticking.
10. Keep it simple. Make sure you have a nice array of foods, but don't turn the cooking into a burden. Grilling is a relaxed way of entertaining. Enjoy it!

Greek Treat

Today, we decided to watch a movie and as usual, check out a new restaurant.  We wanted to go somewhere with less people and less complications.  So we went to Alabang Town Center (A Mall in the South of Manila with the crowd mostly from the middle to upper class).  We figured that it was near our province and the mall setting was more casual and laid back.

I (the wifey) usually decides on what to watch.. hehehe. And so, I decided: Miss You Like Crazy.

The film is a comeback movie of John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo.  So much media hype was given to this movie thus the reason why I forced my hubby to watch it with me.  Of course, this is besides the fact that I am an avid supporter of Pelikulang Pilipino (Filipino Movies). Most especially the love stories.

I don't need to tell the whole story, but it revolved around the "illicit" affair of John Lloyd and Bea, the messages written in stones, Malaysia and just plain falling in love.

Honestly, we got disappointed with the storyline, with how it ended and the values that it tried to convey to the audience.  We don't quite agree with the idea that "living-in"was okey and that it was, as it appeared in the movie--normal.  However, we both agreed that the cinematography was quite good and the actors were styled nicely.  But we still can't get over the fact that it was embedded with screwed up values like breaking relationships, illicit affairs, living-in and one night stand. However, we liked Maricar's acting (John Lloyd's girlfriend that he left for Bea), this kind of roles suits her perfectly...she speaks nice English. But we definitely hate the wigs. 

We went out of the movie house disappointed so we looked for a highly recommended, nice restaurant to make up for our frustration.

CYMA Greek Taverna... our new favorite place. to eat!!! This restaurant is sooo panalo (a real winner!)!

We both loved the "ROKA SALATA", its a salad made with chopped romaine lettuce, arugula, sundried tomatoes, candied walnut and shaved parmesan cheese in Greek vinaigrette.  This salad super rocks!  It even made hubby reminisce on how eating salads was one of my biggest influence in his life, made us both remember our mission days in Kenya when we hated eating arugula (rocket) because by itself, even if you dunk it in whatever dressing, its still bitter.  But going back to this wonderful salad... Roka Salata was simply amazing.  The whole dish was a harmonious marriage of ingredients.  The bitter taste of the arugula, the sweetness and crunchiness of the candied walnuts, the kinda sour taste of the sundried tomatoes and the saltiness of the shaved parmesan... perfect gayot (really perfect!)!

And our main course, "Paidakia" Char-grilled lamb ribs and roasted potatoes.  This dish is to die for!  Although it's a bit pricey, but definitely worth it.  I say its worth every penny and it definitely compensated for the bad movie hahaha!.  The lamb was grilled wonderfully, its meat falls right off the rib and the potatoes are a perfect siding to complete the meal.

Both hubby and I realized that food was something that brought us closer to each other.  As we ate our wonderful meal, we both became sentimental on our past adventures before, even when we were just mission partners, and it all involved food!  When we were sad, we compensated the feeling by eating nice food at nice restaurants. When we are happy, we celebrated with the same. Hahaha. In short, we LOVE food. And we will look for every excuse to eat out and try any kind of dish.

Hubby and I went home smiling.  Good food + Good memories - bad movie = Great date night!

Finally loved Arugula (Rocket)!

Arugula (Rocket) is a greek leafy plant that we hate to eat! It's bitter and gives an after taste that will kill your appetite. So when we encountered Cyma's ROKA SALATA, we were initially skeptic about the taste. To our surprise, Cyma perfected the combination of Arugula into its salata! 

Sharing with you the health benefits of eating Arugula...



Arugula is an excellent source of vitamins A and C, folic acid, calcium, manganese, and magnesium. It's also a very good source of potassium, iron, zinc, riboflavin, and copper.

Arugula and other cruciferous vegetables contain a group of anticancer compounds known as glucosinolates. These compounds exert antioxidant activity, and are potent stimulators of natural detoxifying enzymes in the body.

Murray , Michael N.D.. The Encyclopedia Of Healing Foods.
New York: Atria Books, 2005.