Afternoon Tea Nostalgia

One of my all-time favorite food memories as a child was my monthly visit with my mom up to San Francisco for afternoon tea at the Rotunda in Neiman Marcus in Union Square. Eating by the window to see all of Union Square was such a treat! I loved the whole occasion of dressing up for the day and eating a fancy, girly meal with just my mom. The mini sandwiches and mini desserts were so much fun, too!

So every time I get the opportunity to have an afternoon tea, I always look back at those memories fondly. I also place that as my benchmark of what a good afternoon tea (in terms of atmosphere, setting, and food) should be like.

For a local afternoon tea, my parents and I visited the Makati Shangri-La. The atmosphere and setting of the Lobby Lounge is beautiful. The live orchestra, the tall windows, and the high ceiling makes for a pleasant surrounding. The food is decent, but nothing like my memories from San Francisco.

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Beef (Cheeks) Stew

Whether I'm in a city that is filled with great restaurants or a city that has only a handful of good restaurants, eating at home always produces some of the most memorable meals. On one particular night, we made use of some Wagyu Beef Cheeks and braised and stewed it. Then, we whipped up a couple of potato recipes. I also stirred together our homemade Caesar Salad for some of that vegetable balance. Lastly, paired the meal with a couple (or few) glasses of quality Cab. What a dinner!

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Home-Cooked Italian Pastas

My style of cooking is to challenge myself to not use any recipe and cook with whatever is in the fridge, freezer, and pantry. I guess that's why pastas have become my specialty - because we always have dry pasta, onions, and tomatoes in the kitchen. So to whip up a quick meal, I made a couple of pastas with the ingredients we had in the fridge. Half hour later, Buon Appetito!

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Home-Cooked Spanish Cuisine!

While I love eating and discovering all cuisines from around the world, there are a few cuisines that have remained my favorites through the years. One of these favorites is Spanish food. It is one of the ultimate comfort foods.
With a bottle of Rioja, my mom made her Spanish specialties: Pote Gallego and Paella. If I didn't care about my weight, I totally could eat her paella almost every single day.

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Banana-Que

A classic Filipino street food find! It's a banana coated with brown sugar, and then shallow-fried. They are typically on skewers when sold by street vendors. It's best eaten freshly made because you get that crisp from the hardened sugar coating. This is definitely one of the best ways to eat bananas and plantains!

Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.