Gel Jose

Have a box of good cheer with MDJ Cookies

It’s been three-and-a-half months since our seemingly well-ordered life has been upended by the community quarantine and I won’t be surprised if we don’t find ourselves a little out of sorts with the world every once in a while.

You know what comforts me when the doldrums come?

A little bit (or a lot!) of something sweet – like a cookie! – can get me right back into a cheerier mood. It’s not just about the rush of sugar in bloodstream. It’s more about the comfort and warmth that emanates from a piece of well-made cookie.

This morning, just as I was about to take a well-deserved break from working with multiple gadgets open and heated discussions scrolling up my screens, a box bearing my name (well, IG handle actually) arrived from MDJ Cookies.

Talk about a welcome sight!

MDJ Cookies (from owner Martine De Jesus’ name) is a tribute to her mom’s baking prowess. Using her mom’s recipes, Martine gets to spread little packets of good cheer through her cookies. As she puts it: her cookies feel like a warm hug you can eat!

As soon as I opened the box, the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted to my nostrils and made me think of my own Sunday baking sessions with my mom when I was a little girl. Oh, such happy memories!

And guess what: the box’s cookie contents are no less cheery. Check them out!

Salted Brown Butter Chocolate Chip (Php30/pc | Php190/6pcs | Php370/12pcs). The good ‘ole chocolate chip cookie gets an upgrade with use of brown butter and a bit of salt.

Birthday Cake (Php35/pc | Php220/6pcs | Php430/12pcs). There’s something so festive about this cookie… Is it the colorful sprinkles? Or the sweet smell of toasted marshmallows? Whatever it is, it’s good for any day worth celebrating.

White Chocolate Macadamia (Php40/pc | Php250/6pcs | Php490/12pcs). A creamy and milky cookie wonderfully complemented by buttery macadamia nut pieces.

Dark Chocolate Macadamia (Php40/pc | Php250/6pcs | Php490/12pcs). This time, the luscious macadamia nuts come with semi-sweet dark chocolate.

Double Chocolate Fudge (Php40/pc | Php250/6pcs | Php490/12pcs). Double the treat for chocolate lovers!

Red Velvet (Php40/pc | Php250/6pcs | Php490/12pcs). The cookie version of the rich deep-red colored chocolate cake with cream cheese icing.

Peanut Butter Bomb (Php40/pc | Php250/6pcs | Php490/12pcs). Any kid knows that peanut butter and cookies are a winning combination. Add in a piece of peanut butter candy for some real decadent sweetness.

Loaded Crinkles (Php50/pc | Php310/6pcs | Php610/12pcs). A fudgy chocolatey treat for the certified sweet-tooth.

While my faves among these yummy treats are the Peanut Butter Bomb and the White Chocolate Macadamia, all variants feature a moist buttery texture and just the right amount of sweetness to highlight the featured ingredients.

To get your hands on these sweet delights, send MDJ Cookies a message via Instagram or Facebook with your name, address, contact number, delivery date, flavors (with quantity of order) and mode of payment (GCash and BPI are accepted).

Plus, personalize the box with the recipient’s name for just an additional Php20.

Sure, the situation in the metro, and in our own daily lives in The New Normal may seem stressful and daunting; but with a little bit of good cheer, I’m sure we’ll pull through.

Are you a cookie lover, too? Give yourself a box of good cheer and give these a try!

Product samples were provided to facilitate an honest review.

Check out my blog posts on other small enterprises and startups in the food business:

#QuarantineCookbook: Banana Loaf Three Ways

It sure looks like the quarantine has turned me into some kind of maven in the kitchen (if I may say so myself; indulge me, please).

With a little bit of extra time that working from home afforded to me, as well as the greater availability of ingredients from online sellers, I found myself getting bitten again by the baking bug.

I decided to try my hand on an old favorite: the Banana Loaf. It’s a simple enough recipe and the ingredients are easily accessible.

It’s also great as a mid-afternoon snack or an after-meal dessert.

Here’s the twist, though: my kiddos and I have varying preferences when it comes to the Banana Loaf. I love it with nuts (for the contrast in texture), while my daughter #ExhibitA prefers it without; my son #ExhibitB, a sweet-tooth just like his mom, would go bonkers for it if it has chocolate.

What’s a budding baker mom to do?

Well, why not have it three ways? I made a plain Banana Loaf, two loaves with nuts, and a loaf with nuts and chocolate. This way, everybody’s happy (especially me, because I get two loaves, hehehe!).

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 ripe mashed bananas
2 tsp lemon juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk substitute (made by combining 1 1/2 tbsp vinegar with enough fresh milk to make 1 1/2 cups of the mixture)
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 135 deg C (275 deg F). Line four 8″x 3″ loaf pans with wax paper and lightly grease the bottom and sides.

In a small bowl, combine the mashed bananas with the lemon juice. In another bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. Set both bowls aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, white and brown sugar in a large bowl for three minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla.

Mix in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk substitute until evenly combined. Stir in the mashed banana mixture.

Scoop enough of the batter to the first loaf pan to fill it two-thirds of the way. This will be the plain Banana Loaf.

Fold in the chopped walnuts in to the batter until evenly distributed then scoop enough of the mixture to fill two-thirds of the next two loaf pans. These will be the Banana Loaf with Walnuts.

Fold in the dark chocolate chips into the remaining batter then scoop it into the last loaf pan. This will be the Chocolate Walnut Banana Loaf.

Place the loaf pans into the pre-heated oven and bake for sixty to eighty-five minutes (depending on your oven) or until a toothpick you insert into the middle of the loaves comes out clean.

As soon as fully baked, remove the loaf pans from the oven and place them directly into the freezer for forty-five minutes. Doing this will add to the moist texture of the loaves. (I’m not familiar with the exact science behind this but I can’t argue with the results).

Serve and enjoy!

The loaves turned out to have just the right amount of moistness and are not overly sweet.

As it turns out, even #ExhibitA likes the loaf with the chocolate chips. Hmmm…

PS:

If you want to add some more sweetness to the loaves, you can top them with some cream cheese frosting, similar to the one used for my Carrot Cupcakes.

You may also adjust the amount of walnuts or chocolate chips you add into the banana loaf batter for the second loaf pan and so on, or the sequence of adding the tweak ingredients, depending on your family’s preferences (and whose preference reigns supreme!).

Try this recipe out and let me know how it goes!

Looking for other easy-to-cook dishes to try out while in quarantine? Check out my other kitchen adventures:

The Jelly List: Fresh takes on Filipino food

The Philippine Independence Day is just around the corner and despite having a lot of restrictions on movements and dining out, there are still enough reasons to celebrate the flavors and ingenuity of Filipino cuisine.

Characterized by the interplay of sweet (tamis), sour (asim) and salty (alat) flavors, Pinoy food is rich in tradition and history, with many recipes passed down from one generation to the next.

Every once in a while, however, a kitchen maverick adds an unheard-of twist to an established Pinoy dish or adapts a foreign recipe by incorporating local ingredients or cooking styles which will result in an entirely new way to enjoy an old favorite.

In this edition of The Jelly List, let me share with you fresh takes on Filipino food from innovative restaurants. And since the community quarantine is still in effect in many areas in Metro Manila, I’ve chosen dishes from restaurants that are open for pickup or delivery.

Manam’s Caramelized Patis Wings (Php180)

Just when you thought that there couldn’t be another twist to fried chicken wings, Manam brings out this zesty appetizer flavored with patis (fish sauce). Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it!

To order, visit MomentFood.com.

Ready-to-eat dishes from San Miguel Foods and Petron Treats

Momshies, does working from home still leave you with little time to prepare and cook your family’s meals?

Worry no more, because San Miguel Foods has a line of pre-cooked dishes that are sure to be showstoppers at the dinner table.

With these ready-to-eat dishes, you won’t have to stress yourself out in the kitchen: all you have to do is heat, serve and enjoy!

I was able to serve some of these to my fam for lunch. Check them out:

Cook Express Chicken Karaage (Php424 for 1 kilo). Karaage is a Japanese cooking technique in which food items – mostly chicken – are marinated and lightly coated in flour prior to frying in light oil. After I’ve heated the chicken karaage in my oven, I found it close to restaurant quality, especially when accompanied with Japanese mayonnaise.

Cook Express Lechon Paksiw (Php495 for 1 kilo). I usually encounter lechon paksiw the day after big celebrations like fiestas or Noche Buena because this is the Pinoy mom’s answer to “”What happens to all those lechon leftovers?” (at least those not carried away by the Tupperware-toting guests, hehehe!). The leftover lechon is simmered in vinegar and the liver-based lechon sauce resulting in a dish with fork-tender roasted pork meat in sweet-sour-savory sauce that’s good for another family mealtime.

Cook Express Beef Kare Kare (Php693 for 1 kilo). I have great appreciation for kare-kare every time it is served to me at the dinner table because I know how much effort went into making it. My mom used to grind peanuts herself, meticulously clean and boil the animal parts prior to cooking up a great tasting peanut-y beef stew. This one has the same tender meat and peanut sauce I love and is enjoyed best with bagoong. Add in some veggies string beans, eggplant slices and pechay and it’s almost like the kare-kare that my mommy used to make.

Chef’s Selection Fresh Corned Beef (Php655 for 900 grams). Corned beef is called that because in the process of salt-curing the meat, it is treated with large grains (or “corns”) of salt. Today, it is one of my favorite breakfast food when served with fried rice and a sunny side up egg. This corned beef version differs from the canned iteration because the beef comes in chunks, not flakes. Still, it can be sliced up thinly to be sauteed with garlic and onions, or added to beef broth and veggies for a fresh take on nilaga.

So momshies, there’s no need to sweat it out in the kitchen. Just order these ready-to-eat dishes and more from San Miguel Foods through this website and schedule pick up at your nearest Petron Treats store.

Thanks to Harvard of AlwaysHungry.PH for sharing from his ulam stash!

#QuarantineCookbook: Sausage Pasta with The Saucier’s Creamy Sundried Tomatoes

Today, I was faced with a Mommy Problem: What do you do when dinner time is near and all that’s left in your freezer are some Hungarian sausages?

How did I get to this state? Well, I blame it on the quarantine… and, okay, on me too.

I thought I stocked the ref with two week’s worth of meats for the fam’s ulam, but apparently, I was one day short. Here’s the thing: during the quarantine, my city imposed specific market days when residents of a certain area can go to the wet markets or grocery stores to restock on food items.

When is our area’s next market day? Tomorrow. When did we run out of beef, pork or chicken for our ulam? Today.

Yikes!

Fortunately, I espied a package of Hungarian sausages and some fusili pasta that I bought at the nearest Landers branch during my last grocery run. Plus, a friend of mine recently sent me a bottle of Creamy Sundried Tomato from The Saucier.

So I had an idea: why not make a Sausage Pasta using The Saucier’s Creamy Sundried Tomato?

In the culinary industry, a saucier, also known as the saute chef, prepares the sauces, stews and the hot hors d’oeuvres as well as sautes food to order.

As I discovered, if you have a bottle or two of The Saucier’s homemade and preservatives-free sauces and dressings, it’s like you have your very own saucier in your kitchen.

Sun-dried tomatoes, in case you’re wondering, are made by drying out ripe tomatoes in the sun after treating them with salt so that they lose most of their water content. This is a traditional way of preserving tomatoes in Europe, guaranteeing a steady supply that can be enjoyed and provide nutrition during the winter months. Sun-dried tomatoes also have a more intense sweet-tart flavor than fresh tomatoes, making their use popular across a variety of dishes throughout the world.

The Saucier’s Creamy Sun-dried Tomato is made of sun-dried tomatoes, cream, olive oil and spices, definitely no preservatives. Since it already has cream incorporated in the sauce, it saved me the effort of experimenting the ratio of cream to sauce that would have plagued me if what I had on-hand was just plain sun-dried tomato. Whew!

Wanna know how my bright idea turned out? Here’s the recipe I used:

Ingredients:

250 grams fusili pasta, cooked according to package instructions and drained well
5 links of Hungarian sausage, boiled for twenty minutes until cooked, then sliced thinly
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 chicken bouillion cube, dissolved in 1 cup hot water (my substitute for 1 cup chicken broth)
1/2 cup The Saucier’s Creamy Sun-dried Tomato
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (apparently, I also ran out of this cheese, so I used the remaining half tablespoon of parmesan and substituted the rest with ordinary cheese)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

In a large saucepan or casserole over medium heat, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the garlic, and cook for up to two minutes, stirring frequently until fragrant.

Whisk in the flour for one minute until it turns light brown, then gradually whisk in the chicken broth whisking constantly for up to two minutes until the flour is well incorporated into the broth.

Stir in the creamy sun-dried tomato, cheese and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir in pasta and sausage until these are well-coated with the sauce.

The resulting pasta dish is rich in taste and has a creamy texture.

Well, if the emptied-out casserole and the happy faces of my fam are any indication, I would say this makeshift dinner was a success, thanks in large part to the new and wonderful flavors introduced by The Saucier’s Creamy Sundried Tomato.

For more details or to get your hands on The Saucier’s sauces and dressings, as well as its tasty Mushroom Burger (more on this coming soon!), visit The Saucier on Facebook or call +63 2 76233600, +63 2 79015526 or +63 917 8870125.

Looking for other easy-to-cook dishes to try out while in quarantine? Check out my other kitchen adventures:

#QuarantineCookbook: Homemade Avocado Ice Cream Cake

Relief from this summer’s oppressive heat and humidity is few and far between.

It makes me want to cool down with some frozen treat. How about you?

Well, since I recently learned how to make homemade ice cream, I set about learning how to add a twist to it: make it into a cake!

And of course, I just had to try it with my favorite fruit: the avocado!

This fruit has been having quite a resurgence lately, appearing in a variety of trendy and previously unheard-of dishes from toasts to pastas. However, the avocado’s real siren call to me is as a dessert. Its rich and creamy texture, as well as its earthy flavor make the avocado absolutely sensational when sweetened, making it a great showcase ingredients for desserts such as this homemade avocado ice cream cake.

It turned out to be so easy!

Ingredients:

For the crust:

2 cups crushed Christia toasted bread (can be replaced by an equal amount of crushed Graham crackers)
1 stick of softened butter
3 tbsp white sugar

For the ice cream:

1 cup avocado puree (made by pureeing the flesh of two ripe avocados in a blender)
1 300ml can of condensed milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream

Procedure:

In a bowl, combine the crushed Christia toasted bread, butter and sugar. Press the crumb mixture onto the bottom of two 6″ x 2″ cake tins then set aside.

In another bowl, mix together the avocado puree, the condensed milk and heavy cream at low speed until the ingredients are well-combined and the mixture begins to thicken.

Increase the mixer speed to medium and continue mixing until the mixture forms stiff peaks.

Transfer the mixture into the prepared cake tins, gently pressing the mixture into the containers and smoothing out the top using a spatula.

Freeze for at least six hours or overnight.

What you get is a wonderful creamy blend of avocado sweetness and crumbly buttery crust with each spoonful. My kids (and I!) absolutely love it!

Well, it sure looks like I’ve got new favorite dessert!

Plus, wouldn’t you know it! You can use this recipe to make other fruit-based ice cream cakes! You might need to adjust the amount of condensed milk you use depending on the native sweetness of the fruit you’re using. Check them out:

Mango!

Banana!

Strawberry!

If ever you need to bring dessert to a potluck party or want to give out ice cream cakes as gifts, you know you can always whip ’em up in a jiffy.

Which fruits would you like to make into homemade ice cream cakes? Try this recipe with your favorite fruit and let me know how it turns out.

PS: Truth be told, the recipe originally called for Graham crackers but after scouring through three supermarkets looking for this out-of-stock item, I decided to use Christia toasted bread as a substitute. It had a buttery flavor and a more crumbly texture that went well with the ice cream. Still, if you want a more conventional crust for your ice cream cake, you may opt to stick to the crushed Graham crackers.

Looking for other easy-to-cook dishes to try out while in quarantine? Check out my other recipes:

#QuarantineCookbook: Slow Cooker Pork Roast

Wanna know what my fam and I had for our Mother’s Day meal?

Pork Loin Roast with Herb-Buttered Vegetables!

If you find the name of the dish intimidating, don’t worry. It’s actually quite easy to do. (I have a “no-frills, no fuss” philosophy when it comes to home-cooking.)

Well, the ease of preparing this dish, of course, requires that you have the right tools, the most important of which is a slow cooker.

A slow cooker is a counter-top kitchen appliance used to simmer food in lower temperatures than other cooking methods which facilitates unattended cooking for many hours. The result: cheaper cuts of meat become fork tender and produce more flavorful stews.

You would think that using the slow cooker would entail a lot of hours slaving away in the kitchen.

Well, my hack for this recipe is to place the pork loin in the slow cooker and set the time for eight hours before bed time. The meat will be fully cooked by the time I wake.

So check out how easy it is to make this dish!

Ingredients:

For the rub:

1 tsp ground dried rosemary
1 tsp roasted garlic and herb seasoning
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil

For the roast:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 c water
1 1/2 kilo roast pork loin
1/2 pork bouillion cube

For the sides:

5 medium potatoes, boiled then cut into quarters
1 medium carrot, cut into strips then parboiled
1 bundle French beans, parboiled
1 tsp ground dried rosemary
1 tsp roasted garlic and herb seasoning
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter

Procedure:

In a small mixing bowl, combine the rub ingredients until well-mixed. Massage the rub into the pork roast, then place into a Ziplock bag and place in the refrigerator for up to six hours. That will help the meat absorb all the lovely flavors from the rub.

In a flat pan, melt the butter in olive oil then sear the marinated pork loin for up to 2 two minutes per side.

Place the pork loin in the slow cooker along with the water and pork cube. Cook on low for eight to ten hours.

Place the slow-cooked pork loin in a baking pan. Surround the pork loin with the vegetables. Sprinkle the vegetables with salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary and garlic and herb seasoning. Distribute dabs of butter among the vegetables then place in a 200 deg C oven for fifteen minutes. The meat is already cooked from the slow cooker. This will heat it up for your meal as well further brown the skin of the meat.

Lightly toss the vegetables to evenly distribute the melted butter and seasonings prior to serving.

This recipe serves ten. My household of five had two takes with this dish, as we had quite a lot of leftovers after the first serving.

Looking for other easy-to-cook dishes to try out while in quarantine? Check out my other recipes:

This post contains affiliate links.

Buffalo’s Wings N’ Things, Tomas Morato

If you’re eating lunch with a big group and you all want to stay together in one place, what do you do?

Head straight to Buffalo Wings N’ Things, of course! Here, everyone in the fam and barkada will find something to like.

Deep-frying chicken wings is rooted in Southern cooking but cooking them in peppery sauces started in Buffalo, New York in 1964. A bar owner in the area decided to cook leftover wings in hot sauce as a snack for her son and his friends. Served with celery slices and bleu cheese, it was a hit among the guys and the rest, as they say, is history.

Buffalo Wings N’ Things enriches its buffalo wings by having eleven savory flavors and seven spicy ones for its customers to choose from, along with tasty add-ons that chicken lovers can enjoy along with their Buffalo Wings.

While out on my lunch break with my office buddies (ten people in total!), we decided to maximize our budgets while sating our hunger by getting Grand Slam bundles of Buffalo Wings, and, well, things:

Grand Slam 6 (Php688 Good for 4). 8 pcs Champion Buffalo Wings, 8 pcs Signature Chicken Tenders,Bacon & Cheese Fries, steamed rice (we added Php98 for iced tea.

Grand Slam 4 (Php988 Good for 6). 12 pcs Champion Buffalo Wings, 12 pcs Signature Chicken Tenders, Chili n’ Cheese Nachos, steamed rice (we added Php138 for iced tea.

With these bundles, we were able to enjoy these Buffalo Wings flavors:

Honey BBQ. Southern BBQ flavor blended with sweet honey.

Creamy Salted Egg. Rich and creamy version of the regional favorite.

Chipotle Lime. Creamy smoked Chipotle sauce enhanced with the tanginess of freshly squeezed lime juice.

Garlic Parmesan. A blend of garlic butter sauce and real Parmesan cheese.

New York’s Finest. Medium heat Buffalo Wing sauce.

Thanks to the bundles, our meal amounted to just a little Php200 per person!

How’s that for value for money?

The good news for chicken lovers out there is that you can enjoy these with your family at home during the quarantine by ordering from these Buffalo Wings N’ Things branches now open for takeout or delivery via GrabFood, FoodPanda or LalaFood:

Brixton Kapitolyo, Pasig
Banawe, QC
Calle Bistro , Ever Gotesco Commonwealth
BGC Stopover
SM Manila
Grace Mall, Taguig
SM North EDSA
SMDC Jazz Mall
Southwoods Mall
SM Valenzuela

This Buffalo Wings N’ Things branch is located at M Place, Panay Avenue, South Triangle, Quezon City.

The Jelly List: Desserts for Delivery During Quarantine

How are your sweet cravings, foodies?

Sugar addicts like me are sure to be missing their usual dessert places with many restos and cafes closing shop during the enhanced community quarantine.

If your usual dessert haunts are currently inaccessible, you’ll be happy to know that desserts and baked goodies from these stores are available for delivery.

1. Cookies from Sugar Creations by Alex

“C is for cookie. That’s good enough for me.”

For all you Cookie Monsters out there, mommy Alex whips up crave-worthy cookies like Dark Chocolate, Dark Oatmeal, Classic Chocolate Chip and Smookies.

To order, call +63 988 5447945, or send a message via Instagram or Facebook.

2. Breads from Chloe Creations Bakeshop

Even if you’re working from home, you can still use a coffee break.

Have a few pieces of Ubechizdesal or a slice or two of Banana Loaf to go with your favorite cuppa.

To order, call + 63 915 3196411 or send a message via Instagram or Facebook.

3. Cakes from Carla Kusinera

C’mon… you know there’s always room for dessert! There’s nothing like a sweet treat to cap off a great meal.

So how about a slice of Carla Kusinera’s light and fluffy Creme Brulee Cake or decadent Chocolate Cake?

To order, call +63 917 5638785 or send a message via Instagram or Facebook.

4. Mocha Dalgona Avocado Gelato from What’s Your Flan?

With the summer heat intensifying, what we sometimes need is to cool down with a a frozen treat.

Indulge yourself with a tin of Mocha Dalgona Avocado Gelato (with real Dalgona candies) from What’s Your Flan?!

To order, call +63 916 4978876 or send a message via Instagram or Facebook.

5. Burnt Basque Cheesecake from Sweet Samthings

My birthday-in-quarantine was still a happy one with this lusciously milky and custardy Burnt Basque Cheesecake from Sweet Samthings.

To order, call +63 917 6183443 or send a message via Instagram or Facebook.

6. Apple Pie from Yellowbakerbug

Want a taste of home-style apple pie? I know I did last Mother’s Day!

That smell of cinnamon that wafted from the crumbly and sweetly spiced pastry from Yellowbakerbug got me and the fam salivating! Its crisp apple slices and buttery crumb topping make it a perfect dessert for my Mother’s Day meal.

To order, send a message via Instagram or Facebook.

Now you know who to call to sate your sweet cravings during quarantine!

Thanks to Harvard of AlwaysHungryPH for sharing the goodies from Chloe Creations Bakeshop, Karla Kusinera and What’s Your Flan?

Check out my other adventures compiled into Jelly Lists:

For the kids at heart – Scout’s Honor, Ayala Malls Vertis North

Every once in a while, even responsible and serious adults need to let loose their inner child.

Well, guess what: you can do exactly that the camp-themed Scout’s Honor branch in Ayala Malls Vertis North.

Designed to be a place where kids can hang out and enjoy their favorite food, it can also be a place for adults to give in to their playful side.

Together with my officemates, I set out to allow my inner child free rein over lunch at Scout’s Honor.

There, we munched on kid- and kid-at-heart-friendly fare which included:

Crackers, while waiting for our order.

Campfire Potatoes (Ph135). Handcut fries deep-fried to a crisp golden-brown topped with bacon bits and doused with cheese sauce.

Crispy Calamari and Chips (Php165). Crispy battered squid rings flavored with oregano and fennel and served with freshly crisped potato chips.

Scout’s Honor Cheeseburger (Php160 + Php75 for drink and fries). Scout’s Signature beef patty topped with melted cheese sauce between buttery toasted buns.

Tapsilog (Php245). Sukiyaki-cut USDA Beef tapa served with garlic rice, two sunny side up eggs, atchara and spiced vinegar.

Burger Silog (Php235). An all-beef burger steak in savory gravy served with garlic rice, two sunny side up eggs, atchara and spiced vinegar.

1 Bite 2 Bite (Php80/10 pieces). Mini-bite size milk chocolate chip cookies that we divided among ourselves.

I love how Scout’s Honor totally gets a kid’s predilection for melted cheese sauce, and of course, cookies!

And since two of us unlocked our Zomato Gold provileges here, we got two of these dishes for free!

Want to have some of that kiddie joy right at home?

During the enhanced community quarantine, two of Scout’s Honor’s branches are open from 11am to 7pm Tuesdays to Sundays with a special menu for takeout, delivery via GrabFood and FoodPanda or pickup via Grab Assistant or Lalamove Purchase Service:

Uptown Bonifacio: To order, call +63 917 631 0765 or +63 2 79467374
Santolan Town Plaza: To order, call +63 917 7061607 or +63 2 77288902

This Scout’s Honor branch is located at Level 1, Ayala Malls Vertis North, Bagong Pag-Asa, Quezon City with store hours from 8am to 10pm daily. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 79406480 or +63 917 7021404.

Other branches are located at:

Estancia Mall, Capitol Commons, Oranbo, Pasig
Uptown Place Mall, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Santolan Town Plaza, Little Baguio, San Juan
SM City North EDSA, Bago Bantay, Quezon City
SM City Fairview, Novaliches, Quezon City
Century City Mall, Poblacion, Makati
Robinsons Place Manila, Ermita, Manila