Maginahawa Chronicles: Cat Cafe Manila

Research shows that cats can help us deal with our stress. Just by watching your cats do antic tricks already help relieve stress, said David Frei who is the spokesperson for the Delta Society. which is a nonprofit organization interested in relationships between people and animals. 

I was trying to find a way to calm myself and temporarily escape the pressure of school with loads of papers and other requirements, and so I called my childhood friend Brine and invited him to go to Cat Cafe Manila in Maginhawa, Quezon City. I have seen a documentary on Pop Talk that Cat Cafe Manila is a must-try since you can not just have your usual coffee and cupcake, but you can also throw away that stress by mingling with different cats at the cafe.

We had once a cat named Muning and other two stray cats which we named Orange (because of her fur color) and Blue (because of his bright blue eyes). We lost them when we moved away from La Mesa Dam to Bulacan four years ago, and most of the time I missed them because there's nothing like hugging and stroking a cat which calms me down and takes away whatever stressed feelings I have. I remembered how smart Muning was, who would often sneak into our bedroom windows and climb onto our beds to wake us up in early in the morning.

As we entered the Cat Cafe, I was suddenly filled with nostalgia when I saw the beautiful cats, which had name tags and were sleeping during that time. There were house rules before entering the cafe: you should first wash your hands and take off your shoes or sandals. The place was a little small but very comfortable and bright-lit. The ambiance was also nice: once you enter, you would first see the counter and the variety of cupcakes and brownies that you could order, and also a wide array of cat-inspired merchandise. 

Rainbow Cat Cupcake

Moica Cupcake

You would automatically have a one-hour session with the cats, which is P100 and another P100 worth of food and drinks. 

Because there were still quite a lot of people who were playing with the cats during that time, my friend and I decided that we ordered first and chat for a little while. We ordered coffee and Moica and Rainbow Cat Cupcakes (P60 each). The cupcakes were moist on the inside with the right amount of sweetness. The coffee was not too strong. You could also add creamer, milk and sugar in your coffee.

A guy who always has interesting stories to tell, Brine told me about his life so far studying in UP Los Banos. He also talked about our favorite series "Big Bang Theory" and shared scientific ideas. I on the other hand, simply listened and we also exchanged stories.

After a while, we decided to play with the cats but unfortunately, most of them were still sleeping. Part of the house rules was to not stress the cats by carrying them especially when they sleep, and so we just sat with them and took pictures of them. Some of the cats were roaming around and even one of them climbed on top of one of the high stools.

Cat Cafe Manila is located at the 2nd Floor of 189 Maginhawa Street in Sikatuna Village. You can visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/catcafemanila?fref=ts.

Maginhawa Chronicles: Caution Hot! Spicy Noodle House

A taste of the world in one place. 

You may have missed half of your college life in UP if you haven't been to Maginhawa, Quezon City, where it offers a variety of Filipino, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, and even Persian cuisine. And so, my good friend Kat and I have decided that we would explore every corner of Maginhawa before we graduate from UP. 

Kat recommended that we start with Caution Hot! Spicy Noodle House in Teachers' Village, because they offer authentic spicy Chinese noodles which comes in different flavors and degree of hotness.

The menu is very simplified and easy to understand: you will first choose your toppings--all-veggie, pork, beef or seafood. Then you get to choose your broth: Szechuan, which is a southwestern Chinese spicy broth made with Szechuan peppercorn and chili pepper; Asam Laksa, which is a Penang-style sour and spicy fish-paste broth; and Classic, which is a non-spicy savory pork bone broth.

For the next step, you get to choose what type of noodles you would like to match with your toppings and broth: either Wheat Noodles, which are firm regular-sized noodles or Egg Noo

dles, which are thin wheat-and-egg noodles with the vibrant flavor of egg.

Finally, you can choose the degree of hotness for your spicy noodles: it was amusing that they likened it with the "degree burn". For starters, you can choose first-degree burn and for those who are in for a challenge of their palette, there is the Ultimate Burn.

Kat and I ordered Pork-Asam Laksa-Wheat Noodles with a first degree burn spicy noodles. I am not a very big fan of spicy food, but I enjoyed eating the noodles, which was garnished with onions cucumber strips, pineapple bits, greens and boiled egg. You could see the level of hotness of the noodles by just looking at its bright red-colored soup. The pork was tender and juicy at the same time and the pineapple bits neutralized the spiciness of the noodles. 

For my "fire extinguisher", I ordered Soya (P45/ P70-unlimited). It was refreshing and it really calmed down my burning mouth that I almost sip my Soya every after I ate the noodles. I just couldn't imagine if we ordered the Ultimate Burn level of spiciness of the Chinese noodles.

We also ordered Kuchay-Pork Dumplings (5 pcs-P60/ 10pcs- P110), which are made of minced Chinese chives and pork. It is quite different from the regular dumplings because there were more Chineses chives mixed with the pork in the dumpling. 

Finally, to cool down our burning faces from the Spicy noodles, we ordered their signature dessert Bao Bing (P95), which is a classic Chinese shaved ice dessert, topped with fig and grass jelly, fruits like lychee, drizzled with condensed milk, and topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was truly a refreshing way to end the meal. I particularly enjoyed the fig and grass jelly along with the lychee fruit bits which gave the right sweetness of the dessert. And the shaved ice was truly authentic.

Caution Hot! Spicy Noodle House is a must-try especially to those who loves spicy food and noodles. I will definitely come back for more and try their other noodle combos. 

You may like their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/cautionhotmnl?fref=ts.

Tramway Lunch with Family

I remembered in high school when my Journalism mentor Ms. Josephine Bonsol accompanied us to Tramway Garden Buffet in Timog Ave., Quezon City. It was my first time eating in a buffet and she prepped us on what to do once the hunger games start: 1) eat only little amounts per dish so you can taste every thing and 2) No drinks, no water so that you would not be full easily. I tried on the tomato pasta and just like a deliquent student who never listens to her teacher, I grabbed the big spoon and started putting large amounts of pasta into my plate, and my mentor went, "Sabing konti lang eh, sige sasaksakin kita diyan. Kumuha ka ng gulay." In the end I was able to eat most of the food but was not able to enjoy all of them because my mentor kept feeding me ghory vegebables and fish dishes.

This time my family went back to Tramway to celebrate the upcoming birthdays of my eldest sister Ate Nadine and our youngest Norman "Jigs" on September 3 and 9 respectively. As we walked to the restaurant I couldn't help but reminisce how the Journalism Club went and gobbled all the food that we wanted and I remembered how one of my classmates kept on teasing the waitresses to release their famous buko pandan. 

I have already learned how to eat in the buffet and I was able to eat every type of dish in the menu including the starters and the dessert without being too full.

 My eldest sister kept on grabbing the crunchy and tasty buchi while my youngest brother hoarded five big pieces of fresh maki and sushi in the counter. Jillian, my twin sister on the other hand had her own second serving of pansit. I loved the pichi pichi the most in the dessert and their signature crab and vegetable stew and tofu dish. 

Fried dumplings

Fish dish

Tofu dish

Sweet and sour pork

Tramway opens at 11am to 1pm for reservations and 1pm- 3pm for the second batch of reservations. Dinner starts at 6pm-8pm and 8pm to 10pm. Reservations can be made through their contact details. Adult buffet is P228 while Kids buffet ranges to P155 per head.

Steamed Siomai

tomatoes

boiled eggs

My minimalist dish

Maki and Sushi

The divine buko pandan

Specialty puto

Variety of breads

Pichi-pichi and maja

Mikee's Make and Bake: Molasses Cookies

Mikee's molasses cookies

What better way to spend time with long time friends than to enjoy sweets while catching up with each others' stress, adventure and love lives? My friend Marichelle offered us home-made molasses cookies last August 5 during our lunch at NCPAG at UP Diliman, and despite its soft texture it definitely tasted heaven--you could taste every component flavor of the cookie from the molasses, cinnamon and refined sugar.

Amy and Mikee

It was definitely a memorable and unforgettable friend bonding yesterday with such friends who slap you in the face because you decided you don't want them as your classmates for the upcoming school semester. My best friend Amy always teased me by not hugging me although I was sure she missed me as much as I have missed her. We also caught up with each others's love lives and our other friends' plans to go to Japan this September. 

Mikee, Amy and Shaula

Watch out for more of my friend Mikee's Make and Bake recipes as we serve as her taste testers and customers at the same time.

with my friend Shaula

Mikee and her molasses cookies

Have yourself a load of hand-made Bagels from Bakersville!

Hand-made bagels + home-made spread of cream cheese = PERFECT HOLIDAY TREAT!

Food always consumes me--from mom's lovely cooking to sweets to cakes and especially pastries. And indulging in such a sinful pleasure where "your satisfaction is an award in itself", I only have one word for you: bagels, made even more special and perfect for the holidays by Bakersville Boulangerie and Patisserie!

All thanks to Marco Abesamis' innovative pastry creations, we don't have to purchase a round-trip ticket to the City that Never Sleeps, just so to taste the authentic New York City experience with its iconic bagels that are a part of its rich heritage.

Cinnamon Raisin Bagel

What's best about Bakersville Boulangerie and Patisserie is its ideal campaign of producing pastries and breads that not only taste good, but also promote good health. Currently they have bagels with the New-York-style variants: Plain (P100 for a pack of 3), Savory Onion, Roasted Garlic and Whole Wheat (P120 for a pack of 3) and Cinnamon Raisin (P130 for a pack of 3), all perfect with strawberry jam or home-made cream cheese or any spread and a hot cup of coffee or milk. For the Cinnamon Raisin bagel, you can even eat it on its own with its strong and lovely cinnamon flavor that can truly complete your day.

Plain Flavored Bagel

I also loved the Roasted Garlic flavor; soft and chewy on the inside, with the garlic bits and roasted sesame seeds showered on the crusty surface of the bagel.

Roasted Garlic Bagel

Owned and innovated by photographer turned to chef Marco Abesamis, who specializes in artisan breads and pastries known around the globe, Bakersville also offers pizza rolls, panna cotta, pudding, oatmeal breads. Coming out soon are focaccia, ciabatta, cheesecakes of various flavors and praline bars. Marco Abesamis has just launched his hand-made Bagel line, who has also taken pastry classes with legendary chef Ernesto Babaran as his instructor.

With Bakersville's hand-made bagels, which is still the best way to make one, both pastry lovers and certified bagel connosseurs alike will definitely satisfy their cravings for bagels especially with its unique and marked texture of being crusty and a little tough on the outside but chewy and moist on the inside at the same time.

Perfect with home-made cream cheese!

What's more, their bagels are truly healthy, not only because they only use the freshest ingredients, but also because 1) they don't use oil in their products; they use Canola oil in others if needed, which only contains low amount of saturated fat 2) they don't use egg and milk, which becomes also a perfect treat for those who are lactose-intolerant 3) they use honey instead of sugar, making it ideal for those who have diabetes.

The painstaking process of making such healthy pastries is also justified with the two days it needs to perfectly bake a hand-made bagel, which is also subjected to long fermentation, resting and shaping process.

Bakersville also has a test kitchen that mainly focuses on developing new products for custom requirements.

Like any other bagels, Bakersville's is best reheated in oven toasters than in microwave ovens to maintain their crusty-chewy texture.

Tired of giving mugs and fruitcakes as gifts this Christmas? Better have a trip to Bakersville Boulangerie and Patisserie for a perfect holiday present! You may visit them at Mercato Centrale at The Fort every Saturday and Sunday from 7AM-2PM. Establishments may contact them at 02-5770527. For custom orders, you may contact them at 09178156575. 

Also check out their Twitter account at bakersvillePH.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Thank you very much to Ms. Annesy Del Mundo!