Eat – Page 76 – Jellybeans in the City

#QuarantineCookbook: Homemade Mango Ice Cream

How’s your summer going, foodies?

If you’re feeling the summer heat like I am, you might be craving for some lusciously decadent ice cream packed with the flavors of summer.

And what can be more summer-y than mango? Ooh, just imagine the sweetness of ripe mango bursting in your mouth from the cold, soothing silkiness of ice cream.

If only it was more readily available, right?

I usually had to go to large supermarkets or specialty stores to get a tub of mango ice cream. However, with the enhanced community quarantine, stores would have a lot more difficulty keeping it in stock.

Well, thanks to my mommy, I found out how to keep my own stock of yummy mango ice cream: I just have to make it myself!

Mommy made me a batch of homemade mango ice cream for my birthday. What’s even better is that she gave me the recipe!

It’s actually quite simple. Check it out!

Ingredients:

1 cup of mango puree (made by blending the flesh of two ripe mangoes in a blender)
1 300ml can of condensed milk
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
2 drops of yellow food coloring

Procedure:

In a bowl, mix together the mango puree, condensed milk and heavy cream at low speed until the mixture begins to thicken.
Increase the mixer speed to medium and continue mixing until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
While mixing, food coloring.
Transfer the mixture into a small loaf pan or ice cream tub, gently pressing the mixture into the container using a spatula.
Freeze for at least six hours or overnight

This recipe serves four, at approximately 680 calories per serving.

You might be wondering if you can substitute all-purpose cream for the whipping cream. I wouldn’t recommend it because you would be sacrificing the ice cream-like consistency. Whipping cream has a higher fat percentage which makes it suitable for desserts such as this.

Now, I just need to stock up on ingredients and I know I can easily whip this up and have my mango ice cream fix whenever the craving hits!

Check out my other recipes:

McDonald’s Breaded Chicken Fillets are now available in frozen Cook-It-Yourself packs!

In case you missed it last week, McDonald’s announced the availability of select frozen food packs that allowed their customers to prepare and enjoy their McDonald’s favorites at the comfort of their home.

“We are making McDonald’s Cook-It-Yourself Packs available for sale to help consumers have access to food they can cook and enjoy at home. By making these frozen products available through our McDonald’s Drive-Thru or for Take Out, we make it safe and convenient for our consumers as well,” said Margot B. Torres, Managing Director of McDonald’s Philippines.

Today, McDonald’s is extending the Cook-It-Yourself lineup with the inclusion of the Breaded Chicken Fillets, the main ingredient of crowd favorite orders like the McCrispy Chicken Fillet with Rice and Crispy Chicken Sandwich. Cook-It-Yourself Breaded Chicken Fillets are now available in packs of 15 pcs for P315 at participating McDonald’s stores through Drive-Thru and Take-Out!

Should you want to include McDonald’s Cook-It-Yourself Packs in your next grocery run, marinated chicken cuts and Chicken McNuggets are also now available in participating branches of SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, Savemore Market and Walter Mart Supermarket.

Get your McDonald’s Cook-It-Yourself products now and prepare it— just the way you like it— from the comfort of your home! Check bit.ly/McDocookityourself for the full list of participating McDonald’s stores and bit.ly/CookItYourselfSupermarketList for the full list of participating Supermarkets offering the frozen Cook-It-Yourself packs. Follow McDonald’s on Facebook for the latest updates.

Product image and details provided in a recent press release.

Lido Cocina Tsina salutes COVID-19 front liners by giving back

Lido Cocina Tsina, a family Chinese restaurant chain, shows support to the heroes in the front lines who help fight the spread of COVID-19 by distributing food packs while the enhanced community quarantine is in effect.

Lido team members or Lido family as they call it, prepared and packed healthy and delicious meals and distributed within selected communities in Metro Manila.

“As front liners ourselves, we feel for those who take part in their commitment to serve our countrymen. This is the least we can do to help our healthcare workers, police and military officers, and government workers to show appreciation to what they are doing,” says Lido’s owner, Ms. Annie Wong.

For the past two weeks, the Lido family tirelessly reached out to personally thank our front liners in different hospitals. Health workers at Holy Infant Jesus, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Veterans Memorial Medical Center, De Los Santos Medical Center, St. Luke’s Medical Center, Makati Medical Center, and Pasay General Hospital were among the recipients. The team also did not forget hundreds of personnel from the police and military forces that secure the borders.

There were also countless heartbreaking encounters with homeless fellows who are most in need of assistance from the government. They were also among the priorities of Lido during the distribution of food packs. Families from Brgy. Bagong Pag-asa, Brgy. Vasra, Brgy. Mariana and Brgy. Project 6 are among the beneficiaries during the first two weeks of distribution.

To date, the Lido team continuously extends its hands and finds better ways to send help to the front liners and the general public. Some Lido stores remain open to cater to take-out and deliveries.

To support the enforcement of social distancing and community quarantine, orders may be placed via www.lidodelivery.com, 8888-5436, Grab Food, Food Panda and Lalafood.

Grab launches on-demand grocery service to help deliver essential needs of Filipinos

Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading super app, continues to offer ways to serve the everyday essential needs of Filipinos through the launch of GrabMart. With the limitations and restrictions due to the COVID-19 situation, Grab has provided a solution that will make acquiring of basic necessities easier despite the enhanced community quarantine.

Through GrabMart, users can purchase grocery items, personal care products, and soon, even medicines, from specialty stores and well-known retail partners such as Robinsons Supermarket, Great Deals Ecommerce Corporation, FamilyMart, Starbucks at Home, ASSI Fresh Plaza, Fetch! Naturals, Dog City, and Barcino to start. GrabMart is one of the few app-based grocery services that offers on-demand delivery, which means orders are expected to be delivered as early as 30 minutes or within a few hours.

GrabMart BETA is currently available in select areas of Quezon City, Pasig, Manila, Mandaluyong, Makati, San Juan, Valenzuela, Paranaque, and Taguig, but will soon expand to more locations within Metro Manila in the coming weeks.

“With the launch of GrabMart, we are hoping to further serve Filipinos during this trying time. Aligned with our community-wide GrabBayanihan COVID-19 response, GrabMart helps not only consumers who need access to daily essentials, but also our delivery-partners and merchant-partners whose livelihood and businesses have been affected by the situation,” said RJ Cabaluna, Grab Philippines Country Marketing Head.

Similar to GrabFood and GrabExpress, cash payment is still available, but users are encouraged to pay via GrabPay and practice Contactless Delivery for safer payments and transactions. Delivery fee during the Beta period ranges from as low as P89 to P149 based on distance to the store, with a minimal service fee of P30 applicable for all orders.

To order from GrabMart, users within the serviceable areas just need to click on “Mart” tile in the Grab app and select orders from their desired merchant. Follow Grab Philippines on Facebook or visit the GrabMart site to stay up to date on all Grab announcements.

About Grab

Grab is the leading super app in Southeast Asia, providing everyday services that matter most to consumers. Today, the Grab app has been downloaded onto over 185 million mobile devices, giving users access to over 9 million drivers, merchants and agents. Grab offers the widest range of on-demand transport services in the region, in addition to food, package, grocery delivery services, mobile payments and financial services across 339 cities in eight countries.

Dessert drinks from Black Scoop, Tomas Morato

I admit: I do have a sweet tooth.

This is why I’m always on the lookout for ways to sate my craving for sweets.

Then one day, while I was running errands near my office, I came across this cafe along Tomas Morato called Black Scoop Cafe.

Founded on love for coffee, tea and ice cream, Black Scoop Cafe combines the choicest ingredients, technology and know-how to come up with fresh takes on drinks and desserts.

It’s no wonder, then, that I found myself returning to this cafe to get my sugar fix with:

Brown Sugar Latte (Php140 medium | Php150 large) with Cream Cheese. Chewy boba pearls cooked in brown sugar syrup that also lines the cup of this milky drink topped with a layer of frothy cream cheese.

Hershey’s Cream Cheese (Php140 medium | Php155 large). A chocolatey concoction made even more decadent by the cream cheese topping.

Being a dessert lover, I have a strong affinity for cream cheese, which made these drinks extra rich and indulgent.

What’s your drink indulgence?

This Black Scoop Cafe branch is located at CKB Centre, Tomas Morato Avenue corner Scout Rallos Street, Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City.

If you’re craving for a bit of sweet refreshment but can’t go out due to the enhanced community quarantine, order your Black Scoop drinks from these branches which are still open for pickup and delivery:

Rey-lor Building, Felix Avenue, Cainta (+63 966 7747853)
L&Y Plaza, 120 E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue corner Ortigas Avenue Extension, Barangay Ugong, Pasig City (+63 920 8251234)
561 Shaw Boulevard corner Princeton Street, Barangay Wack Wack, Greenhills East, Mandaluyong (+63 905 2114424)
42 Esteban Abada Street, Loyola Heights 3, Quezon City
625 NS Amoranto Sr. Avenue, Banawe, Quezon City (+63 917 8888328)
939 Banawe Street, Barangay Manresa, Quezon City (+63 2 82813596)
One Raffles Place, Congressional Avenue, Project 8, Quezon City (+63 915 7047837)
1630 Upper McKinley Road, McKinley Hill, Taguig (+63 917 3289266)
Ground Floor, Villa Building, Jupiter corner Makati Avenue, Barangay Bel-Air, Makati (+63 916 6068749)
1229 Navarra Street corner UST Dapitan, Sampaloc, Manila (+63 932 5833666)
One Archers Place, 2311 Taft Avenue, Malate, Manila (+63 2 77283118)
2436 Leon Guinto corner Kapitan Tikong Streets, Malate, Manila (+63 917 3242436)
Unit 345 RLV Building, Aguirre Avenue, BF Homes, Paranaque (+63 916 6550636)
BF Resort Drive, JB Tan Street, BF Resort Village, Las Pinas (+63 2 89005689)

Check out my reviews of other milk tea joints:

Fine Italian food at Amici, SM North

Who would have thought that an Italian missionary would establish a tasty culinary tradition in the Philippines?

Well that’s exactly what happened when Salesian Father Gianluigi Colombo decided to open a canteen (then called Amici di Don Bosco or “Friends of Don Bosco”) to cater to the workers of Don Bosco’s printing press.

Its initially simple menu of coffee and gelato which later expanded to include wood-fire oven baked pizzas and homemade pastas. Amici later became known for serving tasty and authentic Italian food prepared by priests grew and developed its own loyal following.

Today, Amici has 9 branches in Metro Manila, one of which is in SM City North EDSA where my fellow foodies and I headed for dinner after attending a few events.

There, we shared a meal which included:

Truffle Mushroom Dip (Php385). Truffle, porcini, shiitake and button mushrooms mixed together with caramelized onions in a rich creamy sauce. Dip the crisp pieces of pizza crust served with it and you’ll find yourself addicted to this.

Pesto Prosciutto (Php400). A hearty dish of penne pasta covered in creamy pesto sauce and topped with fried prosciutto.

Linguine al Prosciutto e Tartufo (Php380). Al dente linguine pasta tossed in a sauce of proscuitto, truffle oil, porcini and shiitake mushrooms.

Since Amici translates to “friends,” it looks like its yummy offerings are best shared among friends.

Hankering for a taste of good Italian food but can’t go out because of the enhanced community quarantine? Amici’s Tomas Morato and Don Bosco branches are now open for pick up or delivery. Just call in your orders through Amici’s hotline +63 2 85551000.

This Amici branch is located at Ground Floor, The Block, SM City North EDSA, Bago Bantay, Quezon City, with store hours from 10am to 10pm daily. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 85551000 or +63 2 87095545.

Other branches are located at:

Level 3, One Bonifacio High Street Mall, 28th Street corner 5th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City in Taguig
Bellagio Square, Tomas Morato Avenue, Laging Handa, Quezon City
Ground Floor, UP Ayala Technohub, Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City
Ground Floor, 101 Missouri Square, Missouri corner Connecticut Street, Greenhills, San Juan City
Third Floor, Mega Atrium, SM Megamall, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City
Ayala Triangle Gardens, Salcedo Village, Makati City
Don Bosco School, A. Arnaiz Avenue, San Lorenzo, Makati City
Second Floor, Alabang Town Center, Alabang, Muntinlupa City

Get your bowl of happiness at Hanamaruken

I wasn’t always a ramen lover.

Once upon a time, I wouldn’t be able to differentiate among ramen varieties, nor appreciate the artistry that goes into crafting and delicious bowl of ramen.

That changed when I first tasted Hanamaruken’s Happiness Ramen three years ago.

Thus started my #RamenPhase that’s showing no signs of fading away.

Before the enhanced community quarantine, I was lucky enough to take my fam out to dinner one Saturday night at the place where my love affair with ramen started: Hanamaruken at The Grove along C5.

Hanamaruken is a ramen chain that originated from Osaka, Japan which was established in 1982 by Takaku Arakawa who belonged to a family of butchers. By drawing from its founder’s background in butchery, Hanamaruken became known for ramen dishes that feature choice cuts of meat and uniquely flavored broth.

There, the fam enjoyed a meal that included:

Signature Happiness Ramen (Php445 half | Php580 whole). Arakawa’s ramen masterpiece features a combination of shoyu (soy) and tonkotsu (pork bone) broth topped with ginormous piece of tender slow-braised pork bone rib. This is still my benchmark when it comes to ramen.

Pot Belly Ramen (Php410). Another showcase for the tonkotsu and shoyu broth combo topped with roasted pork belly.

Spicy Tobanjan Ramen (Php320). Tonkotsu broth spiced by tobanjan paste. Hubby liked it so much that he ordered extra noodles (Php80) to savor more of the spicy broth.

Gyoza (Php240). My daughter #ExhibitA will not consider a visit to any Japanese resto complete without these Japanese potstickers.

Ebi Tempura (Php580). Large prawns battered and deep-fried to a beautiful golden brown and served with umami-rich tempura sauce.

I look forward to tasting this kind of happiness again and again.

Wanna have your own taste of ramen happiness but can’t leave home because of the ECQ? Here’s a bit of good news for you: Hanamaruken Forbestown is now open for pickup and delivery via Grab Assistant or Lalamove. To order, call +63 917 6356254 or +63 916 2142208.

This Hanamaruken branch is located at The Grove by Rockwell, E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue, Barangay Ugong, Pasig City. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 86953643.

Other branches are located at:

Ground Floor, Serendra, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Forbes Retail, Forbes Town Center, Burgos Circle, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Ground Floor, Santolan Town Plaza, Colonel Bonny Serrano Avenue, Little Baguio, San Juan
Hole in the Wall, Fourth Floor, Century City Mall, Kalayaan Avenue, Poblacion, Makati City
Second Floor, Garden Wing, Trinoma Mall, Bagong Pag-Asa, Quezon City
Second Floor, Alabang Town Center, Alabang, Muntinlupa City

Momshie, grab a takeout from Baliwag

One of the challenges we moms face during this period of enhanced community quarantine is planning the family’s menu.

Stocking up on food items, hunting for that missing but all-important ingredient, adding twists on old recipes so that the little ones won’t get tired of eating the same viands week after week, tracking which refrigerated item is nearing its expiration date… All these can be quite overwhelming, huh?

So momshie, just this once, give yourself a break: order takeout from your nearby Baliwag Lechon Manok ATBP stand. (And chances are, wherever you are in the metro, there’s a Baliwag outlet near you.)

You won’t have to break the bank to give yourself a rest from the kitchen woes.

Get a Whole Lechon Manok for just Php290 and let the kiddos enjoy the tender and juicy chicken pieces roasted just right for the Pinoy palate.

Get a whole Inihaw na Liempo for just Php224 and savor the crunchy skin and flavorful pork belly meat.

All you have to do is cook up lots of steamed rice and have a liter of juice ready and you’re good to go!

You can always go back to menu planning and cooking tomorrow, right?

Can’t go out because of the enhanced community quarantine? Have your order delivered to you instead by GrabFood or LalaFood.

This Baliwag Lechon Manok ATBP outlet is located along Countryside Avenue, Countryside Village, Barangay Santa Lucia, Pasig City.

Other branches may be found at:

Pasig: De Castro Avenue, Manggahan, Santolan
Quezon City: Eastwood Citywalk 2, Robinsons Galleria, Project 2, Project 4, Project 6, Project 8, Ali Mall, Gateway Mall, Farmers Plaza, Sikatuna Village, Diliman, Tomas Morato, Paligsahan, West Triangle, Fisher Mall, Trinoma Mall, SM City North EDSA, Del Monte, Citiplaza Commercial Center, Walter Mart North EDSA, Bago Bantay, La Loma, Tandang Sora, Ayala Malls Cloverleaf, Sangandaan, SM City Fairview, Zabarte Road, Maligaya Park
Mandaluyong: SM Megamall, Shangri-La Plaza, Plainview, Addition Hills, New Zaniga
San Juan: Greater San Juan
Marikina: SM City Marikina, Barangka
Makati: Guadalupe, The Landmark, Olympia, Cash & Carry Mall, Ayala Malls Circuit
Taguig: Market! Market!, Greater Taguig
Manila: SM City Santa Mesa, Santa Ana, Pandacan, Paco, Sampaloc, Santa Cruz, Lucky Chinatown, 999 Mall, 168 Shopping Mall, Tutuban Center Mall, Tondo, Dragon 8 Mall, New Divisoria Mall,
Pasay: Buendia, Victory Pasay Mall, W Mall Bay City
Paranaque: Sun Valley, Don Bosco, Moonwalk, Marcelo Green, BF Homes
Malabon: Longos, Fisher Mall, San Agustin, Concepcion
Navotas: North Bay, M. Naval Street
Valenzuela: Puregold Paso de Blas
Caloocan: Deparo Road, Zapote Road
Muntinlupa: Festival Mall

Have a Sweet #MomentOfSerenitea

Serenity is that feeling of peace and calmness from having an untroubled mind.

And soothing one’s thirst would go a long way towards soothing the mind.

Tea has long been touted as a way to relieve stress. For centuries, people have been drinking tea as an aid to meditation or to help achieve a peaceful state.

It’s no wonder then that tea brand Serenitea has made the achievement of inner peace its central concept. Established in the country in 2008, it helped usher in tea drinking amongst a coffee-drinking populace by brewing teas using an espresso machine and customizing drinks according to sweetness levels and by adding sinkers.

It recently launched its a new line of drinks – the Brown Sugar Series – which adds the luscious sweetness of brown sugar to its tea drinks. The Brown Sugar Frost (Php180), in particular, combined chewy pearls drenched in brown sugar syrup mixed with a rich and creamy premium farm-fresh milk topped with Serenitea’s Signature Cheese Frost and sprinkled with muscovado sugar.

It’s a truly indulgent treat that can chase your troubles away.

To bring you that moment of Zen that only Serenitea can give during these stressful times, Serenitea opened two of its branches – Congressional Town Center and The Exchange Regency Ortigas – for takeout and delivery via LalaFood.

Download the LalaFood App and get a free delivery coupon when you use my code: BEINGJMR53

This Serenitea branch is located at Ground Floor, Connecticut Carpark Arcade, Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan.

Other branches in the metro are located at:

Quezon City: Eastwood Cybermall, UP Town Center, Scout Rallos Street, Ayala Vertis North, SM North EDSA, Congressional Town Center, Banawe, Belfast Road in Novaliches, Ayala Malls Balintawak
Pasig: The Exchange Regency, Estancia Mall, Robinsons Cyberscape Alpha
Mandaluyong: SM Megamall, Greenfield District, SM Light Mall
Makati: SM Jazz Mall, Glorietta 3, Glorietta 4, Ayala Tower One, Greenbelt, Rada Street in Legaspi Village
Taguig: Bonifacio One Technolog Tower, Burgos Circle, Venice Grand Mall
Pasay: Butterfly Garden in Newport City, Resorts World Manila, Shore Residences, Two E-com Center, ASEANA Square
Manila: Robinsons Place Manila, Elements Building
Paranaque: SM Bicutan, Ayala Malls Manila Bay, BF Homes
Muntinlupa: Alabang Town Center, Filinvest Mall
Las Pinas: SM Southmall

Check out my reviews of other milk tea joints:

Hassan Kababs & Steaks, Katipunan

Have a sudden and irresistible craving for Mediterranean food at an inconvenient time?

There’s no need to wait for the conventional mealtimes to have your taste of strong and fresh flavors of Mediterranean cuisine because Hassan Kababs & Steaks along Katipunan Avenue is open 24/7.

We went here during a night out with the extended family as this restaurant is highly recommended by my bro who found the food served quite delicious yet affordable.

Among the highlights of our meal are:

10″ Keema Pie (Php200). Flavorful bits of grilled ground beef and minced onions doused with strewn across a layer of melted cheese on top of a crisp pita bread crust. I think I can eat several of this all by myself.

Koobedeh Beef Kabab (Php160 regular | Php290 large). Two pieces of grilled ground beef served with grilled tomato, onion and rice with butter. Always a safe bet!

Beef Shawarma Plate (Php120). Minced rotisserie-grilled marinated beef served on a plate with fresh tomato, onion, cucumber and pita bread.

Beef Kabab with Ox Brain (Php270). The beef kababs are accompanied by a serving of ox brain along with with grilled tomato, onion and rice with butter. Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it!

Hassan’s flavors are bold and fuss-free. While the presentation of the food and the place may not be Instagrammabale, the resto is well worth a visit.

Personally, I’m just glad to discover there’s a place to go for my late-night kabab cravings.

This Hassan Kaban & Steaks branch is located at 197-C Katipunan Avenue, Barangay Milagrosa, Blue Ridge, Quezon City. While it maintains its 24/7 operations during the enhanced community quarantine, it only caters to takeout/pickup (call +63 935 7150253 to pre-order) and delivery requests via Lalamove Purchase Service and Grab Assistant.

Other branches are located at:

9 Visayas Avenue Extension, Culiat, Tandang Sora, Quezon City
Aquilina Street, Fronting Marikina City Engineering Office, Santo Nino, Marikina City
The Avenue, Felix Avenue, San Isidro, Cainta, Rizal

Check out my posts on other restaurants serving Mediterranean cuisine: