the canDIshhh tales

I really like Chicken Sopas.  I remember when I was in grade school in ICA, I would run down to the canteen right after the bell rang for recess, so I can buy myself a cup of chicken sopas or arroz caldo.  I remember trying this every so often because I really liked hearty soup during recess.  There were times that the canteen would sell out on the chicken sopas and arroz caldo.  But surprise surprise, the kuya or ate who serve will always give me a smile and offer me a bowl that they've kept for me.  Sweet, noh?  Awwww!! Since I also wanted some Chicken Sopas at home, I would buy the trusty Knorr Chicken or Beef Sopas pack in the supermarket.  This has been a staple in all of my supermarket runs.  I would need to have a few packs in the pantry just in case I had a craving.  It was so easy to make and I felt comforted when I had it.  I would still do this after I got married.  I even introduced my kids to having it because t...

Ever since tasting the Beef Bourguignon of Duck and Buvette in Shangri-La Mall years ago, I have so been looking for a recipe to do at home.  Most recipes I found online were very tedious, they require a lot of cooking steps.  I'm sure the best recipe has to be Julia Child's - but reading through the ingredients and procedure, it was tiring.  But I guess, the labor of love would be worth it. I finally came across a simplified version that involves a slow cooker.  So I bought all the ingredients and did my first attempt.  Since the recipe used a slow cooker, I assumed that I could just put all the ingredients together and let the slow cooker do it's magic.  And so I waited patiently for hours, checking every so often if the meat has tenderized.  To my surprise, after 3 hours - the meat was still tough.  It thought to myself, why not add 3 more hours to the cooking time, I mean - I already waited for 3, what is three more?!  And so ...

In Tokyo - there are Yoshinoya stores everywhere.  There's also the competing brand, Matsuya all over too.  Every time I wanted to go in and try it, well - my Panget will discourage me.  I remember friends saying that the Yoshinoya beef bowl tastes so much better in Japan than in Manila (obviously).  But last year, I managed to buy a Yoshinoya beef bowl for take away when i saw a take away counter near the Gina subway station.  While my Panget did something, I ran to the booth and ordered.  Their service was quite fast and I was really happy about it.  I was smiling like crazy as I walked to him showing him my purchase.  He then told me to try it right there and then, I guess he was curious too!  So we ate it, standing outside the station while the kids sat on their strollers.  Hahaha! The verdict?  Well, it's a very simple, affordable dish that is filling.  It serves its purpose, it's not the best but it's good enough to s...

Oyster Cake is a favorite dish that I order in Coral Garden.  Its THE best Oyster Cake if you ask me.  Its crunchy and has a LOT of oysters.  So, last week, when I saw at Fisher Mall's supermarket that they were selling shucked oysters - I had an idea. 1)  Make my version of the XO Oyster by Tian Pao Wan 2)  Make an Oyster cake 3)  Bake them On my first try - I cooked Oyster with Tausi because it was requested by my Panget.  It turned out okay.  On my next attempt - I tried the XO Oyster - and instead of it being crunchy, it came out makunat.  So on my third try - I wanted to do an oyster cake.  So I looked for a recipe online.  Looked and looked and wasn't satisfied.  All recipes I saw used an egg, and I didn't want an egg in my oyster cake.  I finally came across a recipe I liked a few days ago.  The problem was that - it asked for a particular starch - Tapioca Starch.  I started to look for it, but all my...