Afternoon Tea, Revisited

I'm alway going to have a soft spot for afternoon teas.  It's a nostalgic time for me as they used to be special girls' day outings for my mom and I when I was in grade school.  Hair cuts, afternoon tea, and shopping in Union Square.

These days when I find myself in a hotel lounge for an afternoon snack, I will almost always order the afternoon tea set - for old times sake, and because afternoon tea is so much fun with the variety of savory and sweet.

So I found myself back at the Lobby Lounge in Makati Shangri-la giving their Afternoon Tea Set another shot.  The menu always appeals to me and brightens up my stomach.  But when the set arrives and I'm eating the tea sandwiches and sweets, I was again disappointed.  It totally lacks freshness and tastes like it was made yesterday.

Now I'm craving for some quality afternoon tea - perhaps I'll look venture around Makati.  And I'll definitely explore the afternoon tea action when I'm next in Hong Kong.

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If you can't see the slide show here, check out my Flickr album: Afternoon Tea - Makati Shangri-la

Quality Filipino Feasting

If you're looking for some Filipino food to make your stomach and palate happy while impressing your sense of sight, Chef Laudico's Bistro Filipino is the place to go.

The a la cart menu is always available if you're not looking to gain a pound.  But, if you don't mind throwing in an extra workout the next day, the A La Carte All You Can is best option for feasting.  It's a "clean plate" policy, so choose wisely.

My choices for this particular evening included 8 selections.  The appetizer bites start the evening with an excellent first impression.   Smartly plated bites of classic dishes revamped in such a fresh manner.  The subsequent dishes all followed suit.   My eyes were attracted to every dish which made my stomach open up and eager to taste it all.

The menu is quite extensive which encourages me to always go back for more and to try out all of these beautifully crafted dishes.

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If you can't see the slide show here, check out m

Traditional Filipino Feasting at Mesa Filipino Moderne

"Filipino food" and "feasting" go hand-in-hand, especially when you're with family.  Without a doubt, your stomach will be filled for the night.

At Mesa Filipino Moderne, you get traditional plates of Filipino food in a pleasantly casual setting with affordable value pricing.  It's no wonder that I've never seen this place empty on any day of the week.

Some of the dishes are modernized with appealing plating.  Every dish has strong flavors, many with fun sauces like shrimp paste or tamarind sauce.

If you're looking for an affordably priced Filipino restaurant that serves good tasting selections, this is a great option.

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If you can't see the slide show here, check out my Flickr album: Mesa Grill

Baking my favorite restaurant dessert - Bostini Cream Pie

San Francisco has always and continues to give me some of my favorite food memories.  It's the area where I grew up, and it's the area where I had some of my favorite childhood meals and dishes.

If you ask me what's my all-time favorite dessert, I'd list a few of my mom's signature baked specialties.  As I travel around the world, every city is building up my list of favorite dishes, and desserts included.  So ask me what's my favorite all-time restaurant dessert in San Francisco.

Scala Bistro's Bostini Cream Pie (also found on the menu of Bistro Giovanni in Napa).  Hands down, my favorite San Francisco treat.  Now, I haven't tried this in a few years, so I can't tell you if it's still consistent.  But from what I remember, it's a generous cup of vanilla bean custard that drowns a little orange chiffon cake, and wonderfully topped with a semi-sweet chocolate glaze.  That combination of vanilla, orange, and chocolate.. they are made for each other.

I remember when I was in grade school, I cleaned the cup and the chocolate glaze all over the plate so well that the waiter couldn't help but comment that I must have enjoyed it.  Yes, I totally did.

This Bostini Cream Pie dessert is always on my mind.  I've been wanting to make it to relive my happy memories.  So over the Easter weekend, during the height of my baking spirit, I gathered the recipe together.  It's a long process to completely cool the cupcakes, and then chill the custard.  But, it's all so worth it once you have that first spoonful of that custard, orange, and chocolate goodness.

If you can't see the slide show, check out my Flickr album: Bostini Cream Pie

Baking at Home: Hazelnut Cookies

As this past Easter weekend approached, my mood to bake was in full swing. Now was a great time to make use of a tub of hazelnuts. That's right, mmm hazelnuts.

My mom recommended I check out her baking book collection, particularly Gina DePalma's Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen.  From its opening, Batali hand-picked her to be the pastry chef.  So, yes, that Babbo.

The hazelnut recipes had a great selection of biscottis, chocolate hazelnut cookies, and a plain hazelnut cookie.  I wanted the hazelnuts to shine, so I chose the Hazelnut Cookie recipe (this is a blog that writes up DePalma's recipe).

I made two batches.  One is as the recipe dictates, with just a gentle coating of confectioners' sugar.  I also left the hazelnut skins on.  I love the homemade, speckled look; and the skins really don't give off any bitterness to distract from the nut's flavor.  These cookies turned out really great - chewy, crispy, and intense sweet hazelnut.

The second batch was coated with more confectioners' sugar, flattened, and twice baked - Hazelnut Biscotti Cookies.  They are perfect dipped in my daily cup of Americano.

I'm inspired to tweak this recipe into my own now.  Maybe lessen the sugar and bake it a little less for more chewiness.  I'm also curious to try it flour-less and/or egg yolk-less.  I'll keep you posted when I try out these new batches..

If you can't see the slide show, check out my Flickr album: Hazelnut Cookies