ABE

Yesterday, after trading 12 hours of my life for a couple of Physiological Psychology bonus points, my very nice, loving, and agreeable Friend (who accompanied me throughout the whole 12 hour bonus point garnering ordeal) and I went to Trinoma, looking for someplace to have a lovely and quiet dinner! The rain was pouring outside and we were both craving for something rich and satisfying (AKA unhealthy). We were deciding between Cyma, Buenissmo, Cafe Breton or Abe.. But we finally decided on Abe.

 Our very pleasant server started off our meal with complimentary preserved mangoes. I wasn't such a fan because they were acidic (duh, as they were preserved) and made my sensitive teeth hurt but my Friend loved them! He pretty much polished off the whole mini-bowl. The mangoes were tangy and chewy and tasty, albeit being too acid-y for my taste.

We ordered Gising-gising which happens to be one of my ultimate favorite foods. It's made out of KangKong (a local Pinoy veg, similar to spinach. i think it's called water something...) stems, stewed in coconut milk with lots of chili and pieces of shrimp... :9 heavenly.

We also ordered a WHOLE crispy pata.. Crispy pata (for you Aussies out there) is a whole pork knuckle deep fried... TASTY and MURDEROUS at the same time. Crispy pata's a childhood favorite of mine because I LOVE pork skin and pork fat (obviously I will be no septuagenarian). The Abe version was really good-- the skin was crispy and the meat was juicy and tender. We had garlic rice (one bowl to share. We may have no cares for Cholesterol but Carbs strike fear in our hearts). Abe's got the best garlic rice ever.

WONDERFUL MEAL. :) Four stars out of five (would've been higher if we didn't get dizzy after all that fat! Not that it was the restaurant's fault. We're just greedy. :D)

Loving Earth Organic Chocolate

Last Friday, my friend and I headed out to Surry Hills for an exhibit. Afterwards, we headed to various art galleries which were certainly interesting and mind-blowing. She told me that she knows this foodie shop that sells ALL ORGANIC GOODIES. When we got there it was sort of like a condensed grocery. There were canisters full of nuts, legumes, muesli, and beans! Chocolate, honey, jam, juice, chips, popcorn, meat, ice cream, berries- there was pretty much everything there! I spent a good amount of time looking at the things that actually interested me. I couldn't decide what to get, so I just went for the obvious, CHOCOLATE. Despite going for the chocolate, I was still indecisive which variety of it to get. In the end, I got a brand called Loving Earth Chocolate.

Activated Almond & Purple Corn and Goji & Camu Camu

I went for the more adventurous ones. I got a Goji & Camu Camu Raw Dark Chocolate and an Activated Almond & Purple Corn Raw Dark Chocolate. Personally I prefer the first one. Reading from the package- Loving Earth Chocolate is raw. This means our chocolate has up to TWICE as many antioxidants as conventional chocolate.  So anyway, what's even better is they don't add sugar! They use a sweetener called Agave Syrup which is a natural derivative from cactus!

Camu camu is a berry found in the Peruvian Amazon and its very high in Vitamin C which is definitely PLUS POINTS. Goji berries on the other hand are really good anioxidants. The combination gives a zingy and tangy taste which works impeccably well with the dark chocolate. The goji berries somewhat taste like cranberries to me. I finished this bar in absolutely NO TIME. 

On the other hand, the almond one was also good, but I didn't fancy it as much. The pieces of raw roughly chopped almond were just really fresh and nutty. The purple corn gives a sense malty whisky flavour that is just unimaginable. It contributes a lot to the overall taste and mouth feel of this chocolate bar.

The only thing that I didn't like so much about these chocolates are the fact that they tend to get a tad gritty and grainy afterwards. But kudos to the people who came up with these fantastic flavour combinations and making them all organic and healthy! :) ITS EPIC, definitely worth a try even though they're quite pricy. Retail price: $7.90 (P320 pesos)

Central Baking Depot: The Humble Meat Pie.

Front to back: Beef Mince, Chicken in Red Wine & Beef Steak.
All from Central Baking Depot.

So, MEAT PIE. I absolutely love meat pies. Its one of the fabulous things that I grew up with. I would have it any time of the day or year. It brings me a sense of comfort and calmness. Even though I've already had countless meat pies, I never get sick of them. NEVER. 

What do I like in a MEAT PIE? I classify a meat pie into 3 parts. The pastry, filling, and the sauce. 

PASTRY- A nice crusty egg-washed top that's immensely brown/nearly burnt at the edges. For the bottom bit, I prefer a tad soggy pastry- NOT CRUNCHY at ALL. Don't ask me why, that's the way I like it. 

FILLING- My favorite meat pies are generally BEEF. They make the best meat because it lends itself very well when it is cooked/stewed for long. I like it minced too.

SAUCE- I've come to realize that I'm not a fan of a heavy sauce cooked with wine and such. I simply like the stock and juices that the filling was cooked in. SIMPLE. NO KETCHUP OR OTHER CONDIMENTS WHEN SERVED.

My favourite meat pie comes from Manly- that's where my family and I lived when I was a kid. The bakery that makes the meat pies is tucked away from the central walkway to the beach. It's a small humble bakery run by Vietnamese people, or so I think. What I love about it is, it just brings me so many epic childhood memories that I've had. Generally, I don't eat meat pies elsewhere unless I'm utterly desperate then I buy some from the frozen food section of the grocery(They're scrumptious too! I like Sargent's). 

For a change, I decided to go somewhere else to buy some meat pie. I went to the Central Baking Depot in the city. I could smell the bakery a block away, such a heavenly smell. I arrived around lunch time and it was fully packed! There was a short queue, but I gladly fell in line because I REALLY wanted a couple of meat pies. I brought 3 home and started critiquing. All the meat pies they had the nice crusty flaky top pastry, but the bottom wasn't all that soggy!:(

The first one a chicken one with veggies cooked in red wine. Inside, it was a bit hollow which was no good. The sauce I didn't really like because it was just over the top rich. The filing turned out a little bland when it came to the bigger pieces of chicken

Epic Steak Pie

What I liked more was the steak pie although it was a tad hollow as well. It had a well-made sauce just the way I liked it. The steak was fork tender. It was absolute bliss.

Oh, and my cousin ate the other one! She said it was good though, but then she kinda says everything is good!

Thing is, my heart will ALWAYS belong to the humble meat pie in Manly. :) I'll post those ones soon!

Central Baking Depot

37-39 Erskine St. 

Sydney

The fundamental option

is the moment wherein one chooses one's fundamental stance, the guide upon which all of one's decisions will be made. You can't always stand there looking at all the shoes. There comes a time when you just have to pick one.

Do we decide to be diplomatic, always careful, stepping around people's toes, never truly expressing ourselves? Or do we choose to express whatever is on our minds, regardless of public opinion? I say, life is too short to limit ourselves. I'm tired of pleasing people before pleasing myself.