Twin Peaks is the perfect man-cave really.  It is ruled by fun, sexy, confident and very well endowed women dressed in red and black checked tops and wee bit shorter than short khaki shorts.  There were more than enough flat screen tvs that were tuned in to sports and the Twin Peaks channels.  But it would really be quite difficult to concentrate on the tv screens when all the action was right there on the the dining room floor and at the bar. Even I found it hard not to stare! Yeah, envious much! Hee hee.

Twin Peaks has a single-page menu.  You know that it’s not very smart to eat at a sports bar when you’re watching your weight and counting calories, right?   I’m pleased that they had something for the temporary non-meat eaters like hubby and me.

I ordered the Shrimp and Chicken Basket. Fire Fries completed the ensemble.  All the chicken strips became my daughter’s afternoon snack when she came home from school. And mind you, she thought they were delicious. :)

My food was served in a wire basket with a paper liner. I kinda liked the presentation. I had three dipping sauces, too: poblano mustard, cocktail and tartar.  What is it about fries that one just can’t get enough of them?  I would have loved a piece or two more of  shrimps. There were only four.

Hubby ordered the Blackened Fish Tacos served with nachos and salsa…

The fish was seasoned well and perfectly cooked. The veggies did not overpower the flavors of the fish.  The nachos were a little greasy for my taste but guess what, I had a couple of them just the same.

I understand if you have second thoughts about bringing your kids to Twin Peaks.  But you are more than welcome to bring them. Kids eat free at Twin Peaks on Saturdays and Sundays until 4 PM. I can just imagine what my daughter’s going to say if and when we bring her to Twin Peaks, “Their clothes are too small.”

Twin Peaks boasts of beer that is served at 29 degrees in a frosted glass. I hear they even form crystals at the top! Drinks have very playful names, too, like Dirty Blonde and Knotty Brunette. Did I mention that hubby had a Knotty Brunette?

Overall, I liked the energy of the place.  Don’t be surprised if you chance upon guests bobbing their heads like yoyos in a yo yo factory.  You can blame that on the music!  Hubby and I were quite pleased with the food.  We also found the service to be good.

Next time we’re here, we’ll try the wings, which is the true test of sports bar awesomeness. Ha!

Cheers, y’all! Enjoy the view! *wink*

We have been to Sap’s and Madam Mam’s on West Anderson Lane three times in the last four weeks. Three times! That’s every weekend since March 4th, except for March 11th. I guess you can say we like Thai cuisine that much! Haha!

This is my new favorite dry noodle dish, Yum Guay Teaw. My choice of protein was fried tofu. This dish reminded me of the Philippines’ pancit sotanghon or pancit bihon except that this Thai version had cilantro and peanuts and had a sweetness and a hint of sourness to it.

Hubby ordered the Noodle Lord and opted for vermicelli instead of flat noodles. He is usually happy with the dishes he orders at Sap’s, but not during this visit. He found the sauce to be overly sweet.  I guess you win some, you lose some.

This is my daughter’s current favorite, Lard Na with Fried Tofu with the vegetables served on the side. *rolls eyes* I know, we should have a good talk about this veggies on the side thing of hers. For now, I’ll just let her be.

My daughter seems to like it. I’m not a huge fan because I’m not particularly fond of saucy noodles unless it’s a pasta dish. For Asian noodles, I want them stir-fried or with soup.

I think I’m ready to order something new the next time we’re at Sap’s. Sap’s does have an extensive menu. I won’t be surprised if we find ourselves in Thailand again this weekend, gastronomically speaking at least. :)

Here’s a tip if you’re planning on having a meal at Sap’s, be sure to come for either a very early or very late lunch or dinner. Otherwise, there’s a very good chance you’ll have a hard time finding a parking spot and waiting a long time for a table.

Cheers, y’all!

It was a good friend who introduced me to the beauty that is the Kona Grill happy hour. A good number of appetizers and sushi rolls can be enjoyed at only half their regular menu prices. So, when I am too lazy to cook, which lately, I almost always am, we time our visit to Kona Grill such that we’re there close to dinner time and just before the office crowd comes in.

We typically order 4 kinds of rolls (each order is 8 pieces) and for my daughter, the Kona Calamari.

She loves those crunchy deep fried battered squid rings, which is served with spicy aioli dipping sauce. As of our last visit, the price is around $5.  She also loves the Crab Crunch and California rolls.

For hubby and me, we almost always order the Spicy Salmon or the Spicy Tuna roll, rolls our daughter won’t touch just yet.  We love a little kick in our food. It’s a huge bonus that a little heat helps speed up metabolism. That’s something I learned from Dr. Oz, not from a Thyroid doctor austin.  The rolls are priced at around $3.50 during happy hour. I say that’s a bargain!

There are other interesting items on the happy hour menu, which we have yet to try. To think we’ve already been there a couple of times! Predictable people. That’s us! We can always try next time, or maybe not.

It’s Friday! Have a good one, y’all!

Kome is on Airport Blvd and we arrived just before the lunch time crowd hit.  We were welcomed with warm greetings from the hostess and the sushi chefs behind the sushi counter. Only a few tables were occupied when we were seated. But when noon time came, the dining room quickly filled up as if on cue.

Hubby and I took our lunch picks from a single-page lunch menu. I already knew I was going to have something from the sushi bar before we even left home. I’m a predictable bore like that. It was hubby who took a bit of time to decide. I may have had a hand in helping him decide to order something from the sushi bar as well.

I ordered the Chirashi, an assortment of sashimi served with sushi rice. Typically, the sashimi is laid on top of the rice. But at Kome, the rice was served on the side.

How pretty is that?! But trust me, it tastes even better than it looks. The sushi was oh-so fresh. I swear, I thought I heard bells (or was it Pulse cymbals?)! I believe I mmmm-ed after every mouthful of the good stuff, one too many. Ha!

Hubby ordered the Hokkai-don – salmon sashimi, salmon roe, scallop, tobiko and shiso on top of sushi rice…

Mmmm-mmmm-mmmm! I could have had this, too! In addition to my Chirashi, of course!

Our entrees were served with clear soup and Japanese pickles.

Portions were adequate, that is, Asian-size. You might want to order an appetizer or some sushi rolls if you consider yourself to be a hearty eater.

It’s nice to have real sashimi/sushi every once in a while, Japanese food lovers that we are. When we crave sushi but don’t want to spend a whole lot, we go to a buffet, where sashimi is fresh…that is, freshly thawed and cut so paper-thin that just the slightest of winds can blow them away. Seriously!

We will definitely be back at Kome, distance notwithstanding. We’ll keep coming back until we’ve ticked off every item on the menu. Then again, I may just stick with my usual Chirashi.

Kome Sushi Kitchen
Address:
4917 Airport Blvd.
Austin, TX 78751
Phone: 512.712.5700

These are my featured birthday freebies for this post:

1. International Crepe Passport from IHOP – Actually, my coupon was for a Rooty Tooty Fresh ‘n Fruity, a pancake combo which includes 2 bacon strips, 2 pork sausage links, 2 eggs and 2 buttermilk pancakes. It does say on the coupon, however, that I can exchange the Rooty Tooty for something else of an equal or lesser value. Since I had bacon and sausage for breakfast, I ordered the International Crepe Passport.

I requested for the simple ‘n fit version of the combo (except for the dessert portion of it!), so I had 2 scrambled egg substitutes and 2 turkey bacon strips. For dessert, instead of the seasonal fresh fruit crepe, I went for something that’s just a tad sinful: Nutella Crepe with banana slices and topped with strawberry topping and whipped topping. Yum-eee! :)

Want a free meal from IHOP on your birthday? Join the PANCAKE REVOLUTION!

2. Brunch Buffet at Cannoli Joe’s  - Cannoli Joe’s sent me a coupon for a free lunch upto a $9.99 value. A weekday buffet lunch has a $7.99 price tag. Weekend brunch, on the other hand, costs $10.99. We went on a weekend and thanks to my birthday coupon, my buffet brunch was only $1. Not bad at all!

I liked everything on my first plate…

1st Plate

The omelette needs a little bit of work. I found it to be too dry. I like my omelettes a little moist.

2nd Plate

I loved everything about my dessert plate. I only ate half of each pastry, even if I really truly wanted to finish them all.  :D

3rd Plate

If you want to take a gastronomic trip to Italy on your birthday and anniversary, sign-up for the Cannoli Joe’s EClub. While you’re at it, sign-up your dear ones – husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, mom, dad, etc. – as well! It’s not exactly the best of romantic girlfriend gifts, but it’s a sweet gesture, specially if you combine it with the little blue box with white bow. Hee hee. And besides, free is free!

Cheer y’all! Mabuhay! :)

Here are the one’s I’ve taken advantage of so far…(Photos were taken with an IPhone, mostly using the Instagram application).

1) Free dessert at Boston Market – I had a choice of chocolate cake, brownie or cookie. I chose chocolate cake. Sorry, no photo of that one! :D Love rotisserie chicken? sign up for the Boston Market VIP Club. You’ll also receive a $3-off coupon after you sign-up.

2) Free 1/3lb Burger at Fuddruckers – What meat-lover says no to a good burger? Not me! For the second consecutive year, I claimed my free juicy burger at Fuddruckers.  If you want a free burger on your birthday, join the Fudds E-club.

3) $5 off ANY purchase at Jason’s Deli – I could have easily gotten something that would have come out free or close to free after the $5 off discount, but I always choose the all-you-can-eat salad bar whenever we go to Jason’s Deli.  That’s $7.29, a good deal at $2.29. ;)

If you’re a Jason’s Deli fan, you can sign up for their email list HERE and get a $5-off certificate in time for your birthday.

4. Free Birthday Bowl at Genghis Grill – You build your own bowl at Genghis Grill. The build-your-own-bowl costs $8.99 for lunch and $9.99 for dinner. For an additional $2, you get a bottom-less bowl (that’s figuratively speaking, of course!).

If you’re a fan of Mongolian stir-fry, join Genghis Grill’s Khan Klub and receive a birthday bowl!

This weekend, we’ll try – try being the operative word – to take advantage of the other presents I have yet to claim. :D  Now, where can I sign-up for birthday diet pills? Hmmm…

Cheers y’all!  Mabuhay!

One of the most noteworthy meals we had during our Philippine vacation was at Fish Out of Water at the posh Greenbelt 5 and for very good reasons:  good food and one of the best company.  Our cousins (hubby’s actually…my cousins-in-law!) treated us to a yummy feast of Filipino dishes that were familiar and new at the same time.

For starters, we had Chicharon Bulaklak…

Ooh la la!  We haven’t had these in the length of time we’ve been away.  That’s close to four years!  I found Wikipedia’s definition of chicharon bulaklak very amusing:

“It is made from (deep fried) mesenteries of pig intestines and has a bulaklak or flower appearance.”

Click here for the definition of mesenteries. I could have eaten an entire plate of these.  But that’s a heart attack waiting to happen so I didn’t.

So we wouldn’t feel too guilty about the chicharon, we had Cebuano Danggit Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing…

That’s my danggit fix right there!  Danggit is salted dried fish that is fried to a crisp.  It is actually perfect with garlic fried rice, eggs and tomatoes or vinegar. Yum!

We sure love oysters so we had some Manila Rockefeller Oysters…

These were baked with saluyot (jute), cream and bacon bits.  I normally just prefer plain steamed oysters but how can you say no to cream and bacon? You  just can’t!

Believe it or not, we ate several whole crabs.  They were not the king or Alaskan kind though…

Crispy Shrimps and Crablets.  There sure was a crunch in every bite. Hee hee.

We were all game that night, so we decided to order something game-y, Cagayanon Ostrich Salpicao…

I believe it was the first time I had ostrich meat.  It wasn’t bad at all!  Salpicao is the perfect way have ostrich meat.  It was garlicky and buttery.  Then again, everything tastes good with butter! *wink*

Unfortunately, the restaurant only had enough ostrich meat for one serving.  So we settled  for the next logical choice of protein…beef (Beef Salpicao)!

At first glance, the beef salpicao didn’t look too different from the ostrich salpicao.  They do differ in color, and of course, in taste.

How many deep fried dishes have we had so far?  Why don’t we throw one more in the mix, Deep Fried Fish with Chili Mango Sauce…

It tasted as good as it looked.  If only we could have this as often as we liked and I mean with somebody other than me doing the cooking.

Last but not the least, we had a very tender Twice Cooked Pork Belly…

It was saucy, moist and served with quail eggs.

To wash down all that glorious food, I had Dalandan Juice.

Hubby, on the other hand, had something “light” from the  patron saint of Filipino men – San Miguel…

I’m glad we got to add Fish Out of Water to our Pilipinas Food Trip List.  The place was pretty upscale, being in an upscale location and all.  I thought it was classy until the servers started singing Happy Birthday to the beat of what I believe to be kitchen utensils.  It was a Singing Cooks and Waiters- slash- Ihaw-Ihaw, Kaldero-Kaldero moment. Hee hee.

For dessert, we had gelato at another establishment. :)

Thank you again, cousins, for a wonderful night.  We hope to show y’all a good time when you come visit us.  Your cowboy hats and cowboy/ equestrian boots are ready and waiting.  Yeehaaa! ;)

I instantly fell in love with Gelatissimo’s gelato display.  At first glance, it’s no different from most ice cream window display. Oh but there is one very obvious difference! In addition to the labels that let people know a gelato’s flavor, there is an actual representation for each flavor…

See what I mean?  I think it’s very smart. Hee hee.  It doesn’t take Mensa-level IQ to recognize the flavors!

There’s apple pie, green apple, lime and vanilla.

There’s also peach orange yogurt, guava, lemon and green tea.

Can you guess the other flavors?  There’s biscottino, white chocolate, Veronese chocolate, tiramisu, roasted almond, original chocolate and creme caramel.

There’s American chocolate and chili chocolate.  I knew right away that I wanted the chili chocolate.

Because two scoops are better than one, I had a scoop each of tiramisu and chili chocolate.  I loved my choices, specially the chili chocolate!

Hubby had biscottino.

If you’d rather have something warm, you can go ahead and have some cappuccino.

It was my first visit to Greenbelt 5.   I imagine the restaurants there are filled with yuppies and their custom laptops during lunch time. I can hang-out at G5 all day with my laptop as well…and not buy anything!

I can’t wait to attempt to make my own homemade chili chocolate ice cream.  It’s been a while since we put our ice cream maker to work. My “must try at home list” just got longer. Haha!

I had a fun fun weekend.  I hope you did, too!

Mabuhay, y’all!

Kusina Felecitas is the in-house signature restaurant of Grandpa’s Inn.  The restaurant’s  walls, according to the website, is made of 18th century bricks.  Hanging on these walls are paintings, which diners can buy.  The rustic furniture pieces are all locally made, furniture making, after all, is one of the industries that Vigan is known for.

The Kusina Felecitas menu offered us plenty of choices.  But there’s only so much we can eat, so we ordered dishes that were mostly new to us or that had an Ilocano twist.

Of all the food choices, Poqui-Poqui Balls, piqued our curiosity the most.  The name of the dish made us smile, too!

It is simply an eggplant omelet formed into balls, sort of like croquettes.

We tried the Krispy Bunog as well, my choice.

There’s just something about deep-fried fish no matter the size that just calls out to me. Bunog, we learned, are small fishes indigenous to the Abra-Banaoang River.  They are fried until crispy to the bones.  The dip of choice is referred to as KBL – kamatis (tomatoes), bagoong (shrimp paste) and lasona (onions). Yum-eeee!

Because we were in Ilocos, it only made sense to order Bagnet, deep fried pork.

Gotta love the crispy pork skin!  The Ilocano way of eating bagnet is to dip it in KBL. *wink*

We had to have vegetables, so we ordered what I believe is called Baradibod, a vegetable stew thickened with gabi or camote.

One has the option to make it more special, that is by adding fish to the vegetables, and that’s exactly what we did.

We also had Pinakbet, which was topped with bagnet…

As it is, I already love pinakbet, but I sure loved it more with the crispy deep fried meat! I sure ate sinfully during our vacation! Ha!

We weren’t too sure how my daughter will warm up to Ilocano food, so we ordered some dishes, which she was sure to like the Tinola Ilocano.

We also had pork barbecue, again for the youngest members of our party.

For the big boys, pork spareribs made its appearance on the table.

Here’s the last dish, promise, Lomi served with 2 pieces of pandesal…

Oh my, we did eat a lot!  Didn’t I say we feasted?!  Long drives will do this to you, really!

I’m glad we had our first Ilocano meal at Kusina Felecitas.  The place was really homey.  It’s like dining in your lola’s (grandma’s) kitchen.

Believe me when I say that we didn’t always eat like this.  Well, that’s a lie.  Hee hee.  A lot of times, we ate like this, specially on our last week of vacation.  And you’ll read about each and everyone of them! :)

Mabuhay, y’all!

I don’t recall if we had a chance to eat at Mang Inasal in Iloilo when we visted the city in 2006.  But during our short but sweet vacation in the Philippines very recently, we made sure we did.  We had our Mang Inasal fix in Laoag City, at the Robinsons Mall Ilocos Norte, on the night we were driving back to Manila.  I’ve always been a fan of “inasal” (barbecue), which, funny as it might sound, reminds me of weekend overtime work in Makati when I was still a newbie architect. :P  And this is what I would always order, Pecho (chicken breast), otherwise known as Paborito Meal #2…

I have to admit, there is something comforting about skewered barbecue chicken with rice wrapped in banana leaf on the side.  It’s home-y. :)  I always dip my chicken in a  mixture of calamansi, vinegar, soy sauce with a crushed chili pepper. *wink*  Hubby, being not so big on chicken breast, had the Paborito Meal #1, which is Pa-a or skewered dark chicken meat.

My daughter had the Sulit Meal #1, which is 1-piece chicken leg, also with a side of rice…

Mang Inasal is always filled to the rafters specially during lunch and dinner times and it’s success can pretty much be summed up in two words: UNLIMITED RICE!  For every rice loving Filipino, rice, which costs about Php 26.00 in other inasal serving restaurants, unlimited rice is such big bonus!  Think of all the pesos you’ll be saving, specially if you can easily down 3 cups of rice! There’s unlimited soup, too!  Panalo (winner)! :)

Here are your typical inasal condiments of soysauce, chicken oil and vinegar…

What does one do with the chicken oil?  Drizzle it on the rice, of course!  We would have loved some baticolon (chicken gizzard) and chicken liver, too, but they were out of stock at the time of our visit. Bummer.

For dessert, my niece had Mais con Hielo topped with Ube ice cream and a barquillo…

My sister-in-law, on the other hand, had a little bowl of Minatamis na Saging (sweetened bananas), which was also topped with ice cream…

Yum!  This meal was a fitting farewell to an “amazing race” in Ilocos, whose ruins, I hope, are asbestos free (you can’t blame me for being fearful of Mesothelioma!).

I’m happy I have all these food memories to hold on to, while we recover from our vacation and save up all over again for the next one. ;)

Mabuhay!