Banapple - Dark Chocolate Tiramisu Cheesecake

We had lunch today at Banapple, it's the place we go to when we don't want to have chinese dishes, but can't think of any other place we want to go. ^^

We ordered chicken breast parmigiano, herbed chicken roll with basil, baked creamy cheesy penne, and cheese and mushroom pie with potato salad.  The cheesy penne and chicken parmigiano are two of our all time favorites. =)

Before leaving, my brother wanted to bring home a cheesecake so we picked the dark chocolate tiramisu cheesecake, just because it sounded yummy lol! ^^  Well, it sure is yummy and super chocolatey!  But since it's cheesecake, having just a little is the best, having too much will spoil the yumminess.  Even if it's super chocolatey, it's not too sweet and the coffee taste of the cheesecake adds to the unique flavor.

Omurice

My Korean entertainment blog was taken down today.  After numerous warnings, I was expecting it to happen sooner or later, but it's still sad. =(.  I have more time now on my hands now, so I thought I'd invite my brother to cook so our mom can rest a bit today. =)

We tried to make our own version of omurice, the Japanese dish for omelet rice.  We used corned beef and bacon Spam as ingredients for the fried rice.  Turned out pretty good, even our parents liked it! ^^

Cronuts~

The instant popularity of cronuts in New York by Chef Dominique Ansel brought about different versions of the pastry by many other pastry chefs around the world.  This croissant-doughnut pastry has been featured in TV Shows and seen with hollywood celebrities.

So the Philippines wouldn't want to be left behind which is why different bakeshops around the metro are offering their own versions of the pastry as well.  Because of it's popularity, getting hold of this new pastry is quite a challenge.  One has to call for reservation if you want to get at least a box (6pcs.) of them and they also has a set time for pick-up.

There are different pastry shops that I heard are making good versions of this pastry.  Just to feed my curiosity, I went ahead and asked a friend to include a box for me when she was ordering 2 boxes for her family from Dolcelatte.  A box of croughnuts costs 660.00 pesos and they come in different flavors.  The flavors I got are Nutty Nutella, Custard Creamcheese, Blueberry Creamcheese, Peanut Butter Crisp, Chocolate Caramel, and Chocolate Macaroon.  

It tastes better than a doughnut because it's not as sweet and this can cover for a light meal since it's bread, so it's pretty heavy for a snack.  The croissant is crispy on top and bottom and chewy in the middle.  My favorite flavors are the nutty nutella and chocolate caramel because I have a sweet tooth ^^.  The custard is a bit bland for my taste and I usually like blueberry cheese flavors but the cheese on this one is a bit short in flavor.  The peanut butter is okay and those who loves dark chocolates would like the chocolate macaroons because the chocolate is a bit bitter.

My friend asked me if it's worth it, I say, the pastry is delicious, and I'd surely not turn it down when somebody offers me one ^^.  But if I have to call up for a reservation, set aside a particular time to pick it up, brave the traffic just to get there in time, go trough all these hassle just to get my cronuts, I'd say "No, thanks". =)

New Post! ^^

I just thought I'll visit my blog again after a year of non-posting.  I'm hoping I'll be able to post more this year, but it's actually the middle of the year already. =S  I'm here with new hope that more posts will come up in the days to come. =)


Cheers! ^^

Ddeokbokki (Spicy Rice Cakes)

It had been a while since I cooked Korean dishes so when I checked on the chili paste I bought before, the expiration date is coming near. I'm going to waste another ingredient because I'm too lazy to cook. =S So I thought I'll give it a go, thank God for long weekends! ^^

When I looked at the dishes I posted here, I didn't find any entry for ddeokbokki but I'm pretty sure I had cooked that before. So I cooked it again today to get a picture and be able to post it here, keke. =P

Ddeokbokki is one if the most popular street foods in Korea. It's very spicy which is why it's not a favorite in our house. My family don't like spicy foods. =( I think Koreans like it because it's cold in their country and the spiciness can help keep them warm. I remember when we went on a vacation to Korea before, my brother got all sweaty in the middle if winter while eating ddeokbokki, LOL! =P