Share the love with Angel's Heart-shaped Pizza!

Angel's Heart-shaped Pizza

"Happiness is only real when shared."

I remember this quote from the movie Into the Wild shared to me by Ms. Josephine Bonsol as I celebrated the season of love with friends and my twin sister at Angel's Pizza Pasta Combo with their new Heart-shaped pizza.

As we indulged ourselves both in non-stop laughter and in Angel's cheesy burger double decker pizza (P647), a mouthwatering journey to 7th heaven of oozing mozarella cheese, beef, bacon and culinary cream between the two thin crusts we reminisced and laughed at our high school days and it has been one of my most memorable days thinking even though our college life is slowly changing us, we, especially my friends Gemma and Kim, have stayed the same--makulit, humble, funny and bubbly.

We also mused at each other's love life with Angel's innovative creation of heart-shaped pizza perfect for this season of love.

Chicken Parmigiana

We also ordered Angel's Breaded Chicken Bowls: Chicken Parmigiana (P95 with iced tea), perfectly baked chicken with oozing cheese and  pizza sauce and Chicken with Creamy Sauce (P95 with iced tea), chicken in rich cream and corn and carrots.

Chicken with Creamy Sauce

Chicken Aloha

My dad got a little envious as my old man is also crazy about pizza and so I availed their Family Chicken Aloha pizza (P470/12")--equally a bundle of joy of bbq chicken chunks, bacon, pineapple, green pepper, bbq sauce and mozzarella cheese--with Angel's VIP card, where you can avail any of the following upon placing your order: 

1. 20% discount on all pizza purchase;

2. FREE Family pizza for every Big Family pizza purchase; or

3. FREE Medium pizza for every Family pizza purchase

You can still avail Angel's Heart-shaped pizza (for Big Family Thin Crust Pizza only) until February 29 with friends and family that will truly make your Valentine's season complete.

Visit their website at www.angelspizza.com.ph and like their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/angelspizzapastacombo. 

Taste the best of Persia at Al Fakhr's

 In a country where food preparation is taken seriously and is a labor of love, Al Fakhr's is the best place to go for that Persian cuisine experience. A whole new exciting food trip for me, it was like taking a trip to the place itself.

Good thing it's close to UP Diliman (located at Maginhawa St., UP Village), so I decided to invite my best friend Gemma to try Al Fakhr's famed Persian food after classes.

The place was quite small but has that simple yet unique ambience, with the walls painted with black and white drawings that was truly a sight to see.

We first started with the hummus, Levantine Arab food dip made from cooked mashed chickpeas in selected spices topped with olive oil and sesame seeds. It was my first time to try the hummus and I was surprised at its strong smoky flavor with that distinct grainy texture brought by the chickpeas and sesame.

My friend ordered the Grilled Persian Chicken (P100) and mango shake (P45) and was surprised at how big the chicken breast was, made very flavorful and very persian with its signature curry, herbs and spices. Grilled to perfection,not too much on the spiciness of the curry and a little sour made it an authentic Persian dish.

I tried their Beef Kebab (P70) made from their special ground beef and it was a dream come true for me because my mouth used to water whenever I watched the TLC shows about kebabs and was dying to try one.The beef kebab had that unique flavor with the spices fusing all together in my mouth with every bite. The grilled Persian chicken and beef kebab were made even more perfect with the grilled tomato and buttered rice, which was a new experience for me as I realized butter could really go well with rice. 

Their mango shake was one of a kind and truly satisfied my craving for mangoes that also refreshed me on such a crazy hot weather.

Take a trip to Persia at Al Fakhr's and experience their other Persian bestsellers at very affordable prices like the ox brain, beef and chicken kebab, falafel and shawarma.

Thank you very much to Ms. Annesy Del Mundo!

Santa's coming to town with Figaro's Christmas Pastries!

Ready your socks and watch out for your mom and dad's Santa Clause costumes! The countdown is on and Christmas is even made more special with Figaro's new Christmas Pastries!

I was surprised at myself not even realizing (for the first time) that the -Ber months were already dominating the year, with the tons of school work and deadlines that's driving me crazy as usual. I got my sweet break when I attended Figaro's launching of its Christmas Pastries at Edsa Shangri-la Mall with bloggers last Wednesday and I was truly thankful because it brought me back the good old days when my siblings and I would always watch out under the Christmas tree if we received any sweets from the ever-mysterious Santa Claus.

I was overwhelmed at the sight of Figaro's elegant Red Velvet Cake, and it tasted like heaven with its moist chocolate and rich creamy frosting, plus a hidden layer of caramel and showered with nuts on the side.

The Figaro Fruit Cake made me remember my mom's own fruit cake with its generous heap of fruits and nuts on the  inside and outside. To complete that Yuletide color, the chocolate-based cake is laced with alcohol (brandy) covered with white chocolate royal icing and glazed fruit bits.

I got the mint fever with the Peppermint Brownie glazed with oozing white chocolate and peppered with candy confetti sprinkles. This chewy, fudgy and refreshing mint flavored brownie will definitely make you feel the chill air of the Yuletide season.

I'll always be the kid with the sweet tooth, as I especially loved the Butterscotch Bar, with the brownie caramelized to perfection, coated with rich chocolate and topped with yummy nuts.

It was actually my first time to taste a Gingerbread Cookie, and I mused at my childhood memories of my mom telling us the fairy tale story over and over again. Figaro's Gingerbread cookie is made of soft dough, butter and sugar. There was definitely a tang of ginger with its special royal icing and colorful candy confetti sprinkles.

Christmas is definitely in the chill air with Figaro's sweet Christmas Tree Cookie glazed with special royal icing and showered with candy confetti sprinkles.

The Pistachio Biscotti was new to me and I loved munching on the crisp and crunchy double baked cookie dipped in sweet white chocolate on both ends and sprinkled with green pistachio. I also enjoyed dipping it to Figaro's hot brewed coffee that definitely relieved me from all the stress on such a rainy season.

Make your holidays more special with that Christmas spirit with Figaro's new Christmas Pastries! You can visit their website at www.figarocoffee.com. 

Thank you very much to Ms. Annesy Del Mundo!

Food for the Angels with Angel's Breadilicious Chicken Bowls!

They all used to taste the same: breaded chicken or pork cooked by mom, or from our high school canteen and even at Casaa in UP. Ketchup would be the standard dip to diffuse its dull taste.Fortunately Angel's Pizza Pasta Combo has shed some light to make the kids' fave dish a more exciting and appetizing one, with its Breaded Chicken Bowls!

My friend and I ordered the three flavors: Chicken with Creamy Sauce (P95), Chicken Teriyaki (P95) and Chicken Parmigiana (P95- all with regular ice tea). My friend voted for the Chicken Parmigiana with its rich tomato sauce and mozarella cheese baked to perfection to complete that Italian experience.

We also loved the Chicken with Creamy Sauce, with its chicken generously coated with thick yummy cream and showered with corn and carrot bits for that extra crunch and colorful presentation.

The Chicken Teriyaki was as appetizing but had little teriyaki sauce. The chicken were all perfectly cooked with the steamed rice.

We also ordered the Tuna Pesto Pasta in a Dough (P215), and we especially loved the flavorful herbed pasta smothered in olive oil and complemented the spice taste of the tuna. My friend was overly amused at how the pasta served as the overall topping of the pizza.

Amidst a very stressful week that drives us all crazy, Angel's Pizza Pasta Combo is the perfect place to go to take a break and taste heaven! Dial 922-22-22 now or visit their website at www.angelspizza.com.ph. 

Thank you very much to Ms. Annesy Del Mundo!

Be proud of your school with Jollibee's University Floats!

I remember my professor saying we UP freshies are still floating in seventh heaven and would brag in any way possible that we're part of the most presitgious Univerisity in the Philippines. Who would not be proud of their own university? And with Jollibee's University Floats, we can be prouder in raising our schools' signature colors--be it red, blue, yellow or green!

Hungry and thirsty and awfully stressed from a hell week full of exams, my twin sister and I decided to treat ourselves and tried Jollibee's newest products. We ordered the Red Watermelon Univerisity Float (P28/regular, P38/giant), and it was truly refreshing, even though I thought it tasted like its previously released Watermelon Float.

Not your color? Try the University Float in Yellow Dalandan, Blue Bubblegum or Green Apple to equally quench your thirst amidst a crazy weather these days.

We also ordered the Hashbrown Burger (P64/a la carte, P80/ w reg drink). My twin sister was surprised at how firm the two blocks of hashbrown were that served as the sandwich with the traditional yummy burger patty and a generous slice of cheese. It definitely satisfied our craving for hashbrown and burger at the same time. It was like two treats in one, plus the healthy fact that the hashbrown was baked, not fried.

Satisfy your own cravings for heavenly floats and scrumptious hashbrowns at Jollibee! For delivery, you can call Jollibee Express Delivery Service hotline at 8-7000 or log on to www.jollibeedelivery.com.

The sweet taste of trying something new: KFC's Chili Lime Chicken plus shaved ice cream at Caveman and Yeti!

So much for new taste adventures.
I've always looked up to my big sister Nadine, as she became my stepping stone to acquire interest on and pursue writing (she was a journalist at Quezon City Science HS back in her days). And somehow I wanted to follow her adventurous food trip and her universal principle of always trying something new.

After watching Atty. Vincent Tanada's (by the way, he just won Best Stage Director for his musicale "Enzo...Santo" at the 23rd Aliw Awards) 4-C Part II at SM North Edsa last November 28, my twin sister Jillian and I decided to have dinner at the food court and ordered Chili Lime Chicken (P91) at KFC. I've always envied Ate Nadine (having been always updated to food menus) because she said the chicken really tastes like lime, and I've always been fond of sour cuisines. The chicken did impress me with that sweet-sour hint of lime at first bite, and only noticed its sharp chili taste after I ate it with hot rice.

I've also noticed the chicken's chili lime flavor only covered its outer part, and not much on the meat itself. Even so, we enjoyed it as I never dipped the chicken to the gravy to savor the chili-lime taste.

I then suggested to Jillian we check out Caveman and Yeti's shaved ice cream, located at the third floor of the Main Mall (we passed by it before the play as we got lost to where Cinema 9 could be). I also remembered my mentor Ms. Josephine Bonsol saying Caveman and Yeti is a new experience of shaved ice cream.

We ordered a regular Mango-go-go (P68) with additional toppings of ube pastillas and nata de coco (P20), and sesame mochi buns (P28/2pcs.). Jillian especially liked the hot, soft mochi buns and the ube pastillas on the refreshing ice cream.

Caveman and Yeti is different from other ice cream franchises because it offers shaved ice cream better chomped and enjoyed especially during summer days. They also have this exciting  Make-Your-Own shaved ice cream (P108) I believe children and childish people will enjoy and come back more.

Other flavors include Strawberry Heart, Choco Nilla, Banana Choco, Mais con Yeti, Ube Mungster, Choco Nutty, Banana Nut.

Just when it comes to food, two people always update my taste buds and share me what they enjoyed eating: of course, my Ate Nadine who's always taking home cakes, desserts and pizza after she received her salary. Famous food and lifestyle blogger Ms. Josephine Bonsol also shares with me her latest foodtrip rolls at times, and I would always check he blog as well. What I really looked up to her was even though she has eaten expensive and first-rate delicacies at fine dining, she would still and always crave for street foods in the end.

Check out www.cavemanandyeti.com and www.jobonsol.blogspot.com