January 2018 – Page 3 – Jellybeans in the City

Katsu adventure in Yabu, Ayala Vertis North

Our boss treated the team to a pre-Christmas dinner at Yabu House of Katsu located in the newly opened Ayala Vertis North Mall.

Katsu sets are another of my favorite cuisines, and Yabu is among the few resto chains that offer quality katsus, so I welcomed the opportunity to dine in a new branch.

The place was packed when our group arrived so we had to wait for 5 minutes or so (no biggie!). The table was a bit of a tight squeeze for our group of 6 but we didn’t mind so much.

The staff were polite and helpful, though a bit overwhelmed with the volume of people that we had trouble calling some of them to request for refills.

Still, we thoroughly enjoyed our orders, which included:

Mozarella Katsu Sticks (Php270) as our appetizer

4 orders of Rosu Pork Loin Sets (Php440/180g; Php385/120g; Php350/80g). These consist of thick cuts of juicy pork loin cutlets with some fat trimmings.

Menchi Katsu Set (Php385). This consist of spiced minced beef and pork stuffed with cheese.

Rosu and Prawn Set (Php530). This consists of pork loin katsu with black tiger prawns also coated in panko.

Our orders included unlimited soup, rice and fruits.

Consistent with my experience in other Yabu branches, the pork katsus were well seasoned and juicy, justifying several requests for rice refills.

This Yabu branch is located at 2nd Level, Bldg. 4, Ayala Malls Vertis North, North Avenue, Brgy. Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City

Recipe: Carrot Cupcakes

Carrot cupcakes are the miniature version of carrot cakes. The World Carrot Museum posits that carrot cakes originated from carrot puddings enjoyed by Europeans during medieval times, which then arose due to the innate sweetness of the vegetable, making it surprisingly an appropriate ingredient for desserts.

I prefer baking cupcakes over full-sized cakes as there is less chance of baking fails. This is a tweaked version of a recipe I found on Pinterest, adjusted based on availability of ingredients.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups carrots, grated
2/3 cup oil
2 eggs, beaten

Frosting:

1 225g bars cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup cold all purpose cream

Procedure:

To make the cupcakes:

Pre-heat oven to 175-deg C.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Combine grated carrots and oil in a separate bowl. Slowly add flour mixture, while stirring until just mixed. Add beaten egg and stir for a few more times.
Line muffin pans with paper cups. Fill each cup 2/3 of the way, then bake for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when you insert it in one of the cakes.
Set aside and let cool.

To make the frosting:

Beat cream cheese until smooth.
Sift powdered sugar into the bowl. Mix then add vanilla.
Beat in the cream at medium-high speed.
Transfer the mixture to a piping bag with your desired tip, then pipe frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.
Top with carrot-shaped candy for a fun and festive look.

Yields 12 moist and yummy cupcakes.

Unlimited Korean BBQ at All4U, Century Mall

My problem with unlimited Korean BBQ restaurants is that you expend so much time and attention to cooking your food that you don’t get to enjoy and savor it as you should.

In All4U, a Korean restaurant located in Century City Mall in Makati City, you can get unlimited beef, shrimp, Korean-cut pork and rice all for Php699/head (reduced to Php599 thanks to an ongoing promo) as well as several refills of side dishes. You also get a some ramyun which you cook shabu-shabu style, as well a Melona ice cream to cap your meal.

My family, together with my in-laws, went here on Christmas Day so the place was packed and we had to wait for around 20 minutes for our table. The staff was also a bit overwhelmed and was not able to immediately address a lot of our requests for refills.

I would suggest taking turns with someone from your group when cooking so that everyone will get a chance to enjoy the food. Also, be sure to bring a hearty appetite to maximize all the inclusions in the buffet package.

All4U is located at the 4F Century City Mall, Kalayaan Avenue, Poblacion, Makati.

Holiday Get-together with Friends at Denny’s BGC

The holiday season affords friends separated by distance or circumstance with a valid reason to get together and catch up. That is what I recently did with a group of friends composed of current and former coworkers.

Earlier this year, I had my birthday treat at Denny’s Trinoma. For our yearly get-together, we opted for a Denny’s in BGC, our middle ground when you consider that one of us lives near Fairview, Quezon City while another lives in Binan, Laguna.

The restaurant is well-located at Uptown Parade, easily accessible from the carpark. It does not accept reservations during weekends but, when I called the day before, the hostess agreed to put our group in the priority list.

We timed our get-together on the Saturday morning before Christmas Eve, to avoid the traffic from the holiday rush and to enjoy the hearty and filling breakfast fare that Denny’s is known for, such as:

Ham and Cheese Omelette (Php395), fluffy, 3-egg omelette with diced ham and melted cheese. I opted for waffles to accompany this dish to have a nice combination of savory and sweet flavors.

I also ordered a Hot Chocolate (Php120) to go with my meal.

Fit Slam (Php375), scrambled egg whites with fresh spinach and grape tomatoes, served with chicken breast and apple cubes. This was ordered by one of my fitness-conscious companions.

All American Slam (Php395), scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, bacon strips, sausages and hash browns, served with toast.

Tenderloin Bistek Tagalog (Php345), tenderloin beef slices marinated and sauteed Bistek Tagalog style (a Pinoy favorite), topped with onion slices and served with 2 eggs sunny side up and a cup of garlic rice. This was ordered by my boss who simply had to have her “kanin” and “malasadong itlog.

Loaded Veggie Omelette (Php355), melted cheese omelette with fresh spinach, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, sauteed zucchini and squash, served with toast and hash browns.

Sausage and Pepper Skillet (Php395), cheddar cheese, sausage and Schublig mixed with fire-roasted bell peppers and gravy.

We also ordered a Caramel Apple Crisp (Php295), served with a generous dollop of vanilla ice cream and sprinkled with powdered sugar, as our dessert.

We spent over 3 hours chatting and bantering, a great time spent among close and trusted friends.

This Denny’s branch is located at Uptown Parade, 36th Street Cor 9th Street Uptown Bonifacio The Fort, Taguig City.