restaurant review – Page 35 – The Jellybeans Edit

Filling sub sandwiches from Subway

Did you know that the submarine sandwich, also known as the hoagie, hero or grinder, is said to have originated from the Italian-American communities in northeastern US in the early to mid-20th century?

It got its most famous moniker due to its shape: the cylindrical bread roll housing its hearty fillings resembles the shape of a submarine.

Its nickname, the hoagie, came about in Philadelphia in the 1950s when Italian-Americans working at the Hog Island shipyard started putting various meats, cheeses and lettuce between two slices of bread.

Subway, the largest restaurant chain in the world, specializes in subs.

From its beginnings in the Fresno, California in 1978, Subway has steadily conquered the rest of the globe, setting up shops in Asia and even appearing prominently in popular K-Dramas.

Maybe it was its high visibility in his favorite Korean dramas that drove my Hubby to start ordering sandwiches from Subway to be delivered via GrabFood whenever he gets peckish while working from home.

And why would I complain when he so generously orders subs for the rest of the fam so that everyone has something to tide us over until dinnertime.

6″ Italian (Php138). Hubby’s go-to sub is made of spicy pepperoni and salami with crisp veggies and peppers in a toasted bun.

6″ BLT (Php138). One of my mottos is “Bacon makes everything better.” Well, it surely does! Sandwich some bacon slices together with lettuce and tomato in freshly toasted buns and you’ve got a great sub!

6″ Steak and Cheese (Php184). Inspired by the classic Philly hoagie, this sub features lean and tender steak with crisp lettuce, sliced onions and tomatoes and topped with melted cheese in a freshly toasted bun.

6″ Roast Beef (Php184). Lean and tender slices of roast beef with sliced cucumbers, onions, tomatoes and peppers in a freshly toasted bun.

With these tasty and filling subs, the wait for dinner doesn’t seem so long, right?

And with Metro Manila back on moderate enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), we don’t have to leave the safety of our homes to have our subs. We can just have them delivered right to our doorsteps just by ordering from GrabFood, LalaFood or FoodPanda.

Mixed donut treats from Krispy Kreme

Does your fam love donuts?

Mine sure do!

And, boy, we do all go crazy over these sweet little creations from Krispy Kreme!

Krispy Kreme has been around for over fifty years, with families in the southern United States making a trip to their local Krispy Kreme branch their weekly ritual. Then, in the 1990s, Krispy Kreme underwent a massive expansion by opening branches coast to coast.

The brand reached our shores back in 2006 when it opened its first Philippine branch in Bonifacio Global City.

Today, it is firmly entrenched in the hearts (and palates!) of Pinoy donut lovers.

To give my fam a taste of the various donut possibilities that Krispy Kreme can bring, I recently ordered a Mixed Dozen (Php470) to be delivered to our home.

This includes a box containing six pieces of Krispy Kreme’s original glazed (also know as “OG”) donuts and a box containing six pieces of assorted donut flavors.

The OG donuts are Krispy Kreme’s signature flavor, made from Krispy Kreme’s donut mix, water and yeast, which are mixed, fried and glazed in accordance to strict specifications to produce that light and fluffy donuts we so love.

As for the other six pieces, we got a variety of flavors for the fam to discover and enjoy: KitKat Chocolate, KitKat Matcha, Glazed Vanilla Cake, Double Chocolate Cake and Glazed Chocolate Cake.

So despite the still ongoing community quarantine, donut lovers can still get their donut cravings satisfied by having their Krispy Kreme donuts delivered just like we did!

Plus, here’s some good news for donut fans! From August 17 to 20, you can have six Original Glazed, three ring-filled Choco Iced Kreme Filled, a New York Cheesecake, a KitKat Chocolate and a Red Velvet delivered to your doorstep for just Php399 if you course your order online or through +63 2 88879000 (Metro Manila Hotline), thanks to Krispy Kreme’s Delivery Dozen Deal.

Check out which Krispy Kreme stores are open near you.

Do you know what else is available for delivery? A Krispy Kreme OG Card, that’s what! Get this card to start enjoying freebies such as a half-dozen OG donuts for every order of a dozen OGs, as well as a free box of three OGs on your birthday and more!

Home-cooked feels from Aling Banang’s

After almost five months of being cooped up at home, I must say that I have developed a newfound respect for home-cooking.

These are the dishes that many of us grew up with and have loved over the years, the viands that we may not always list as put absolute faves but nevertheless welcome when they are presented to us on the dinner table.

The thing is, however, having the same home-cooked dishes again and again can become a drag. Blame it on the limited repertoire of many homemakers when it comes to Filipino food, or simply the lack of time to learn to cook new dishes despite being stuck at home or to replenish the pantry with the needed ingredients.

Whichever the reason, I found myself having to look for viand for my family’s lunch one weekday.

I already know that Aling Banang’s makes a tasty Pancit Canton for groups, but the challenge was how to scale that for a simple family meal.

Fortunately, Aling Banang’s also offers solo servings of its dishes such as:

Pancit Canton (Php60). Pinoy-style stir-fried noodles with shredded veggies topped with Lecon Kawali pieces.

Lechon Kawali (Php60). Pork belly that is boiled, seasoned then deep-fried in a wok until the meat is tender and juicy and the skin is crispy and golden brown.

With five orders of Lechon Kawali and two orders of Pancit Canton, I was able to satisfy the lunch appetites of the entire fam for just Php420!

What’s your meal hack?

Get your own lutong bahay eats without having to sweat it out in the kitchen. If you’re in the Pasig area, order your meal from Aling Banang’s by calling +63 2 73582953, +63 921 3364640 or +63 955 6922033.

“Kitakits sa bahay” with McDonald’s delivery

Have you seen McDonald’s new ad “Kitakits?”

It shows snippets of life that still goes on despite the raging pandemic: the shy smiles from behind the necessary face masks, greeting each other by shaking feet instead of hands, eating out together while remaining apart, and getting used to spending time indoors, all as part of the New Normal.

My fam and I are also adjusting to the new way of being, enjoying our extended time together at home.

And while we’re both busy working from home, Hubby and I still try to squeeze in some bits of time with kiddos within our workday: our own “kitakits.”

On one such occasion, I ordered some of our favorites from McDonald’s for us to munch on during our afternoon break:

Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Hubby’s big appetite needs a big burger and this one fits the bill. A quarter-pound beef patty topped with slices of onions, pickles and melty cheese in a sesame seed bun.

McChicken Sandwich. My go-to order: a crispy fillet of chicken slathered with mayonnaise and sandwiched in a toasted sesame seed bun. It should have come with shredded ice lettuce but I guess someone left that out. Oh,well… 😒

Chicken McNuggets. For the kiddos, we got juicy and crispy ten- and six-piece nuggets accompanied by barbecue sauce. They just can’t seem to stop biting into these yummies!

French Fries. The fam’s favorite fries made with stripes straight cut from whole potatoes, deep-fried to a golden brown, salted and best enjoyed hot and crisp from the fryer.

The missing iceberg lettuce from my McChicken Sandwich, I’m not to crazy about. My enjoyable time with the fam? Luv ko ‘to!

Wanna have your favorite fast food delivered right to your doorstep? Order online at McDelivery between 6am and 9.30pm or download the McDelivery App. Due to the moderate enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), delivery will be available in selected areas.

You may also course your orders through these food delivery apps.

Download the Grab App and get a discount on your first food order when you use my code: GRABJELLYBEANS.

Use this link to download the FoodPanda app and get Php100 off your first order

Check out my other posts on McDonald’s:

House Pizza Time with Yellow Cab delivery

In between video calls, reports and other tasks that make up a frenetic afternoon at work, Hubby and I were able to squeeze in a quick, tasty and filling snack, not just for us, but also for the kiddos.

This is thanks to Yellow Cab’s ongoing promo on GrabFood.

For years now, Filipino-owned pizza brand Yellow Cab has been offering New York-style pizzas using the finest ingredients to local pizza aficionados.

This type of pizza is characterized by a large hand-tossed thin crust, topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, usually sold in wide slices for takeout. If your pizza is thick and crisp on its outer edges yet soft, thin and pliable enough to be folded in half to eat, then what you’ve got is a New York-style pizza.

Through Yellow Cab’s House Pizza Time deal, the whole fam was able to enjoy a modest feast for just Php999! This consisted of:

9-inch Pepperoni Pizza. Hubby’s all-time favorite pizza!

9-inch Hawaiian Pizza. Pineapple bits on pizza may be problematic for some but not for me! I’ll take this pizza topped with pineapple, ham and bacon any day.

16 pcs Hot Wings. Crispy and juicy chicken wings coated with a spicy and tangy buffalo sauce. For me, it would have gone so well with Yellow Cab’s garlic ranch dip but I guess it was left out of our delivery pack. Still, Hubby and the kids lost no time in demolishing these chicken pieces.

Our little snack break was able to tide us over and helped keep our energy levels up until dinner time. It also gave us another reason to get spend a fee minutes with the kiddos despite our busy workday.

Have your favorite pizzas and more delivered right to your doorstep by ordering online. You may also order directly from the store nearest you by calling:

Metro Manila hotline +63 2 87899999 | +63 918 8073591 | +63 918 8073590 | +63 918 8038306
Baguio hotline +63 074 4429999
Cavite hotline +63 046 4169999
Laguna hotline +63 049 5029999
Cebu hotline +63 032 2541111

Sunday family meal with Mang Ding’s

I used to look forward to Sundays because that used to be the day when the fam and I will go out for lunch.

Sunday was the day when I don’t need to worry about what to prepare for my hungry, yet discriminating hubby and kids because we will let our resto choice for the day take care of all that for us.

Well, as we all know, dining out has been curtailed due to the community quarantine (and rightly so, considering the steadily rising number of COVID-19 cases). While I’m thankful for the relative safety of home, I do sometimes seek a break from the toil of preparing food for the fam.

Thankfully, Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ, Marikina’s destination for street food that’s Malinis, Masarap at Mura, has innovated its product line to include frozen packs of its signature ihaw dishes that #TeamBahay momshies like me can cook at home.

These packs are vacuum-sealed for freshness, with meats already seasoned and marinated according to Mang Ding’s signature recipe, ready for grilling.

Take the Liempo (Php270/500 grams), for instance. I just thawed out the pack, brushed my grill pan and the hefty pork belly slices with cooking oil.

Then, I grilled the pieces (just using my stove, mind you!), until they get to that beautiful golden brown color.

I cut the liempo up into bite-size pieces before serving with the dipping sauce (included in the pack) and hot rice for a lovely Sunday family meal.

Each piece is flavorful and tender, and the pork rind has that satisfying crunch!

Step-by-step instructions are in this video, but really, preparing this is a piece of cake!

I also got a frozen pack of Chicharong Bulaklak (Php280/500g). Since the pieces were already well seasoned, I just thawing out the pack, deep fried the pieces for five minutes until crunchy, then drained off the excess oil before serving.

This is quite a special treat for the fam as chicharon bulaklak is quite hard to come by.

Cooking up a special family meal gets so easy with Mang Ding’s frozen packs. (Check out my home barbecue and isaw experience, also with Mang Ding’s frozen packs).

What will make a Sunday meal even more specials is dessert. Well then, check out Mang Ding’s Belgian Chocolate Cake (Php680)! Moist chocolate cake topped with a decadently rich chocolate icing that will satisfy any choco-holic’s craving.

So #TeamBahay momshies, don’t sweat over your fam’s Sunday meal. Just order a frozen pack and dessert from Mang Ding’s!

Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ branches are located at:

Block 3, Lot 13 C Buenviaje Street, Barangay Santo Nino, Marikina City (store hours: daily from 11am to 6pm | Tel: +63 916 2853031)
Shoe Avenue, Barangay Elena, Marikina City (store hours: daily from 11am to 6pm | Tel: +63 906 3977559)

Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ is open for dine-in, takeout, pickup and delivery via GrabFood. Safe cashless payments via BPI, BDO and GCash are also available.

Note: If you’re getting a frozen pack, place your order a day before. Mang Ding’s vacuum-packs on demand to ensure freshness.

Disclosure: Product samples were provided to facilitate an honest review.

Pinoy street food for #TeamBahay from Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ

Momshies, do you sometimes wish that you could enjoy your guilty pleasures – like Pinoy street food – in full view of your kids?

Well, no need to hide your street food fix from your kids. In fact, you can take this opportunity to introduce them to Pinoy street food.

It’s all thanks to Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ and its frozen ready-to-grill Malinis, Masarap at Mura street food.

Mang Ding’s is where I had my first (and only!) taste of isaw. There, during a foodie meetup with fellow food bloggers, I had a whole lot of fun rediscovering tasty Pinoy street food, all freshly cooked at Mang Ding’s Instagrammable al fresco restaurant.

When Marikina was placed under quarantine and restrictions were placed on mobility and dining out, Mang Ding’s started offering its fare in frozen and ready-to-grill packs.

Each pack is frozen and vacuum-sealed, its contents seasoned and marinated with Mang Ding’s signature sauce.

Tonight, I flexed my indoor grilling muscles, got out my grilling pan and got to grilling.

And wouldn’t you believe it: it was actually quite easy!

First, I thawed out the frozen pack containing the pork barbecue and isaw. Then, I added six tablespoons of cooking oil to the basting sauce provided. I then brushed both sides of the meats while they were grilling until they’re done.

From the satisfying sizzle you hear as they grill, to the appetizing smell of barbecue wafting throughout the kitchen that had my eldest #ExhibitA blurt out “Ang bango, Ma!“, to the beautiful spread these make on my dining table, and to the my fam’s joy as we bite into the tender sweet-savory pork barbecue, isaw manok and isaw baboy, my fam’s Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ dinner is a feast for the senses.

So have one yourself. Treat your #TeamBahay to a lovely street food meal, right at home.

These ready-to-grill frozen packs are priced at:

Pork Barbecue: Php400/20 sticks
Isaw Manok: Php360/20 sticks
Isaw Baboy: Php450/20 sticks
Chicken Tail: Php550/20 pcs
Chicken Barbecue: Php390/3 pcs quarter leg (1 kilo)
Chicharon Bulaklak: Php280 (500 grams)
Liempo: Php270 (500 grams)
Rib Eye Steak: Php500/2 pcs (380 to 400 grams)

Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ branches are located at:

Shoe Avenue, Barangay Elena, Marikina City (store hours: daily from 11am to 6pm | Tel: +63 906 3977559)
Block 3, Lot 13 C Buenviaje Street, Barangay Santo Nino, Marikina City (store hours: daily from 11am to 6pm | Tel: +63 916 2853031)

Mang Ding’s Pinoy BBQ is open for dine-in, takeout, pickup and delivery via GrabFood. Safe cashless payments via BPI, BDO and GCash are also available.

Note: If you’re getting a frozen pack, place your order a day before. Mang Ding’s vacuum-packs on demand to ensure freshness.

Disclosure: Product samples were provided to facilitate an honest review.

A Subway Snack Attack

Busy working at home but in need of some nourishment to plow through your tasks?

Not to worry because you can easily have a tasty and filling sub from Subway delivered right to your doorstep!

The sub, or the submarine, is a sandwich made with a length of bread split lengthwise and filled meats, cheeses, vegetables and condiments. It is so-named because of its distinctive shape, but has also been called hoagie, hero or grinder.

Subway, the world’s largest single-brand restaurant chain, specializes in submarine sandwiches, some of which, my kiddos and I were able to sample when Hubby ordered a few subs for our mid-afternoon snack. These include:

6-inch BLT (Php276). People say that great things come in threes. In the case of this sandwich, those three things are crispy bacon, crisp lettuce and juicy tomato slices served with mayo on freshly baked honey oat bread.

6-inch Roasted Chicken Breast (Php149). A six-inch sub with a tender, juicy roasted boneless chicken breast patty, with lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, onions and mayo is served on freshly baked honey oat bread.

Truth be told, Hubby ordered a 12-inch Spicy Italian (Php264), a footlong sub with spicy salami and pepperoni with crispy veggies on a freshly baked footlong bread, but I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of it anymore. Guess why, hehehe!

Well, I do plan on getting a fews subs again soon, especially since it has an ongoing Two for Php200 promo.

Posted by Subway Philippines on Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Feel like a sub today?

This Subway branch is located at Ground Floor, Zeta Tower, Bridgetowne Business Center, Libis, Quezon City, and is open from 9am to 4pm for takeout and delivery via GrabFood and FoodPanda.

Got our food faves from Bistro Charlemagne at home

There are places and food that just become family favorites.

Take Bistro Charlemagne, for example.

I had my first taste of its unique and tasty takes on Asian cuisine in its then newly-opened Ayala Malls Feliz branch and it was only a matter of time before my whole family got hooked. Since then, we have visited this resto again and again for intimate dinners or big celebrations with the extended family. We even stopped by for a meal at its Ayala Malls Solenad branch on our way down from Tagaytay.

Unfortunately, it had to pause its operations during the enhanced community quarantine. The fam missed our enjoyable dinners there (and I missed my chance to celebrate my birthday in our favorite place). Sigh!

Thankfully, the metro has transitioned to a general community which provided people some freedom of movement and less restrictions on dining out. That said, I still have qualms about my family, especially the kiddos, leaving the safety of our home.

Well, the solution came when I heard that Bistro Charlemagne has re-opened and has made most of its menu items available for delivery and pickup.

Just in time, too, for my daughter #ExhibitA’s natal day. (She has been hounding me about having her faves from this resto for her birthday lunch.)

And wouldn’t you know it! Ordering was so easy: I just called the Ayala Feliz branch at +63 956 4507704, gave my orders, and then paid via GCash. On the day of my daughter’s birthday, I simply booked for the pickup of my orders from Ayala Malls Feliz Loading Bay for delivery to my place.

Just as #ExhibitA wished for her birthday, we feasted on several orders of:

Drunken Lengua in Brown Mushroom Sauce (Php415). Tender pan-seared ox tongue with mushrooms and asparagus in white wine sauce. This dish is particularly memorable for #ExhibitA, as she was the one who picked this dish out from the menu when I took her and her brother to eat at Bistro Charlemagne a few days after my first dining experience there.

Tenderloin Beef Rolls with Cheese (Php415). Tender, thinly sliced beef wrapped around cheese and sauteed in teriyaki sauce. This dish is absolutely irresistible for my little boy #ExhibitB, who just can’t keep himself from putting roll after roll onto his plate.

Japanese Beef Rice (Php135). Japanese rice, ground beef, mixed veggies and egg, all mixed together in one flavorful rice dish. This goes so well with the other viands that we can’t imagine our meal without this!

I may not be able to bring the whole fam outside yet, but I’m glad I was able to bring one of the best dining experiences home to my family.

Miss dining out? Bistro Charlemagne is also open for dine in and follows strict sanitation and physical distancing protocols for your safety.

This Bistro Charlemagne branch is located at Fifth Floor, Ayala Malls Feliz along Marcos Highway, Dela Paz, Pasig City. Call in your orders or book your table by calling +63 956 4507705 or +63 2 77299496.

Other branches are located at:

GFF-6, Building B, Ayala Malls Solenad 3, Nuvali, Don Jose, Santa Rosa, Laguna. (Tel: +63 049 2580846 or +63 917 8334223)
Lot 2, Third Floor, Cinemas Building, Ayala Malls Manila Bay, Entertainment City Paranaque (Tel: +63 2 79149082)

Bistro Charlemagne also delivers via GrabFood, LalaFood and FoodPanda.

Download the Grab App and get a discount on your first food order when you use my code: GRABJELLYBEANS.

Use this link to download the FoodPanda app and get Php100 off your first order.

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

Snack time at de Original Jamaican Pattie Shop and Juice Bar

Feeling peckish with hours to go before the next meal?

Why don’t you stave off your hunger with something tasty?

A Jamaican pattie (or two or more!), for instance.

de Original Jamaican Pattie Shop and Juice Bar

This flaky pastry traditionally tinted a golden yellow and filled with seasoned ground beef is claimed to be Jamaica’s No. 1 snack.

It came about when Cornish pastry was introduced in the Caribbean and was then combined with meat fillings flavored by seasonings from India, Africa and Jamaica. The Jamaican pattie then made its way to the US, Canada and UK in the 1960s and 1970s, brought by Jamaicans who migrated to these countries.

In 1990, it arrived in Southeast Asia by way of the Philippines when Fruitas Holdings, Inc. opened the first of many de Original Jamaican Pattie Shop and Juice Bar in Manila, where these yummy patties are baked – not fried! – fresh everyday.

Hubby was the first of us to develop a taste for the Jamaican pattie. His favorite from long before is the Cheezy Beef Pinatubo Pattie, which, as the name implies, was inspired by the volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo as evidenced by its spicy beefy flavor.

The rest of us in the fam were introduced to this delicacy during the quarantine when one of my former officemates opened a de Original Jamaican Pattie Shop and Juice Bar at the Zeta Tower in Bridgetowne Business Center some short distance from our home.

The kids and I developed a liking for the Cheezy Beef Pattie. We love its savory goodness, made even better by the cheese that accompanied the ground beef filling.

Each pattie is priced at Php59. Other variants available include Beef Pinatubo (without cheese), Cheeze Tomato, Cheezy Tuna and Chicken Stew.

Order a pattie bundled with a ready-to-drink Fruitas bottled juice (Mango, Four Seasons, Dalandan and Calamansi flavors available) for just Php88.

This branch of de Original Jamaican Pattie Shop and Juice Bar is located at Ground Floor, Zeta Tower, Bridgetowne Business Center, Libis, Quezon City, open for takeout or pickup.

However, it also offers free delivery within Barangay Santa Lucia in Pasig which is where I live. The patties can be delivered baked, for immediate consumption, or par-baked, so you can just reheat during snacktime. Well, isn’t that just awesome!

So when the fam is in the mood for some munchies, we know what to do.

If you’re near the area and want to order, send a message via Facebook, or call +63 917 5695300.