Crisostomo: Our Namesake With The Best Kare-Kare

I am a Crisostomo. It's my Lola's maiden name. And when I was in high school whenever our teacher read my name in the class list it was always: Dumana, Ma. Teresa Crisostomo Ibarra. It's an old joke I get all the time. For those who don't know who Crisostomo Ibarra is, he is Dr. Jose Rizal's main protagonist in Noli Me Tangere.

Since we're always at Eastwood, Mom and I keep passing by CRISOSTOMO a restaurant found in the 2nd floor of the new Eastwood Mall and one of Chef Florabel Co's babies. We wanted to give it a try immediately, but never really got to until Christmas Day, when Mom treated me to Christmas dinner (as if our Noche Buena feast was not enough!).

We were at the restaurant a wee bit early for dinner so there weren't much customers JUST YET. I was able to take photos of the dining area before it got crowded. And I super loved their chairs it was comfortable and the back rest was soft.


Since it was Christmas, most of the customers were families. Within minutes the restaurant was packed - even the seats outside were filled with hungry families. But despite the number of customers, the servers were able to bring our orders in just about 5 to 10 minutes after ordering. Kudos to the fast service! :)

This is what we ordered, and must I say everything was GOOD! And they were still good and tasty when Mom and I had them for lunch the net day! :)

2-pcs. porkchop with mushroom gravy

I do not regret ordering this. Although the porkchops were a bit oily, it was really good. It was crispy, and best to let it swim with that mushroom gravy. Perfect meaty goodness!

Tuna Belly

Since Mom's the healthy eater, she ordered a fish dish. We super loved this, and this is even better than the tuna belly of Gerry's Grill and Jaymark's (in Paseo de Magallanes). Fish eaters will LOVE this hands down!

Last but not the least Kare-Kare


Now this was love at first bite! Their peanut sauce was to die for I especially loved picking on the peanuts in the sauce! I have to admit I am a bit snooty when it comes to kare-kare, our helper makes one of the best kare-kare, so sometimes I can't help but compare. But Crisostomo's version is just DELICIOUS. Although it lacked ox tripe and was a bit selfish with their vegetable portions, it was still one of the best kare-kare's I have tasted!

And after that big meal, we even had the good old doggy bag...

...and a satisfied smile on our faces!

Looking at Crisostomo's menu, there are some other dishes that I'd like to try next time.

Like the Kangkong with Lechon Kawali Chips. I believe that a perfect food pair would be a mixture of healthy and unhealthy, so that is on the top of my list!

And their line-up of sinigangs and their tinola. Again, it's just a comparison with our helper's cooking. She was trained by my Lola who can whip up a storm, so I'm just being snooty and would just like to compare it with our own sinigang and tinola! :)

Right outside the restaurant you'd see Eastwood Mall's giant Christmas tree. It was very simple, but it was beautiful and it towered over the people taking pictures of it. With the cool air, it was a happy and peaceful Christmas night.



Crisostomo
2/F Eastwood Mall Veranda, E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave., Bagumbayan, Libis
Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Tel. No. 710-1693

Momo Cafe: Momolicious Food!! :)

Since we live near Eastwood now, Mom and I spend almost every Sunday over there to hear Mass and of course, EAT! Me thinks we'd be able to eat in every restaurant in that place very soon! So far we've eaten at Italiannis, Cravings, Cafe Via Mare, and Cyma although I was with my BFFs then.

Our recent gastronomic exploration at Eastwood is Momo Cafe. Under mother company Raintree Restaurants, Momo Cafe shares its fame with "sisters" Mr. Jones, Museum Cafe, and Chelsea.

It was a dream come true when we finally ate there, I've read rave blogs about their Fish & Chips, and I knew I just had to try it out for myself! But first thing that invites you over to their posh restaurant is the HUGE bar and chiller purveyor of all alcoholic drinks and sweet desserts!



The alcoholic in me wanted to try some of their cool cocktails, like the Mojito with lychees which I saw being happily ingested by our seatmate. The thing was I was on a mega dose of antibiotics for my stye that left me sober for an entire freagen week! I just knew I had to come back to try that one out!

Anyway, Mom and I decided to first have soup. We ordered the Herb Pumpkin with Bacon Bits and French Bread. It was thick, creamy, and oozing with pumpkin goodness! We were sold with this already and couldn't wait for our main entrees!

We decided to just share a dish, since we had the pumpkin soup, and we're not really big eaters. We were so very much contented with the Country Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Corn. The chicken was tender and fried to perfection. I am salivating just by writing this, I am definitely conjuring up the memory of this dish and it is making me hungry!

Momo seems to be on the innovative end for their drinks. I was reading their menu for a perfect drink to keep me distracted from that purplish Mojito beside me. This drink, Peach and Lychee Shake got my attention. Aside from bananas and mago shakes, peach and lychee make me happy! But this one in Momo Cafe kicked ass! Perfection combination, the slight sourness of peach combined with the sweetness of the lychee made on orgasmic shake! Good God! This definitely kept me busy, slurping up the entire shake til there was no more! I found myself scrapping the bottom of the glass for more! It was so good it deserves two photos here! :D



Reading from this entry, I'm sure you guys know that I'd definitely come back here! And oh! They have a treat for you when they give you your change. CHOCNUT! Ain't that sweet! Instant dessert for Mom and me! :D


Momo Cafe
Eastwood Mall, Libis, Quezon City
Tel No. 900-1006 or 1007
E-mail: reservations@eatmomo.com
Website: http://www.raintreerestaurants.com/momo/index.html
11:00am to 11:00pm, 7 days a week

Satisfying our Cravings at the CCA Kitchen

Every week now, Mom and I have been having our Sunday bonding at the Eastwood Mall. It's hilarious that we have to travel all the way to Libis from Cainta just so we could hear mass in ENGLISH. But it's been fun cos I've been on an eating spree, and the blog's sorta on a roll. I think that's why I could feel the fat slowly seeping back in my body again! Wait, I just bought new dresses! I have to fit in them!!

So yesterday, Sunday, Mom and I found ourselves at Cravings at CCA Kitchen. I've been pretty familiar with the Center for Culinary Arts (CCA) since my editorial days with FAME Publishing. They've been so generous in baking/cooking/whipping up totally delicious dishes and desserts for our magazine readers. But it's my first time to eat at their restaurant, Cravings.

It reminds me so much of Angelo King International Center (AKIC) in Benilde. Since the students are pretty much hands-on, the food you eat are actually made by them, the receptionists are students, and so on. Cravings is pretty much the same, they cook and even sell their products (cookbooks, vino, desserts, and other merchandise).

What's cool about Cravings, and is quite sad how they don't really rely on it to draw in customers, is that when you order from their Entrees you get to avail of their eat-all-you-call soup and salad. You have 3 soup choices - Chili con Chocolate, Egg Soup (which I had and sucked), and Cream of Carrots (which Mom had and was really good!). You could also put in croutons, peanuts, mushrooms, and other stuff to spruce up your soup.

Since Mom's a soup AND salad person, she enjoyed it. But I did get my own salad, which only had cabbage and carrots, it looked pathetic. Sorry it's the only veggies I could actually take.


For the main course, Mom had Braised Beef. It had french fries, rice that looked like porridge, and of course the beef. It was tender and really tasty. Funny cos it was served in this huge ass bowl-like plate thing that occupied most of our table, but really the whole content of it was just at the center.


As for me, I stuck with the good old, never-fail poultry dish. I ordered the Sunday Roast Chicken Dinner, perfect because it was Sunday and it was our dinner. The chicken was HUGE, I think it was 1/2 a chicken, roasted to perfection. It was moist and tender, but not oily, unlike some disastrous roast chicken I had in the past. It was so tasty that there's really no need for gravy or any other sauce. It had rice and buttered vegetables on the side.

Drinks, I had Mango Banana Freeze, which was a disappointment because whoever made it put a whole lot of ice. It ended up with a diluted, watery taste to it. As for Mom, she had Fresh Lemonade, which she liked.

Ambiance-wise, it had this really cool, somewhat homey feel to it. Instead of the usual pinlights or bulbs, they used candle-shaped lights that hang from the ceiling. It was spacious, and you don't bump into the other people's chairs when you get your refill of the salad or soup. I really liked the clean feel to it.




A good experience in a restaurant or any place ensures people to come back to try out new things. As for Cravings, I'd definitely come back and try out some of their entrees. Since it comes with an eat-all-you can soup and salad, it comes out relatively cheap, with that huge meal Mom and I paid less than P1,000. Great to bring the family, especially when you're a group of hungry adults. They also have a promo that if you ring up a bill of P1500 and above you get a 20% discount when you pay with your Citibank Visa card.


Cravings
3rd Floor, Eastwood Mall, Libis, Quezon City

Other branches would be at Katipunan, Shangri-La Mall, Salcedo Village in Makati, and Alabang.

Foodie Sunday with the Mother

My previous blog entries have been slightly off as I haven't been on an eating spree. But now that I am back in the grind, and since it was a long weekend, I have so much to share I can't even decide if I should blog about it chronologically. To put an end to my internal debate, I decided to blog about this first.

Last Sunday, I took Mom to Eastwood. It was her first time there because when we were still residents of Makati, we were too lazy to venture far off. But now that we live like 20 minutes away from there, we decided to go for it and let the oldie discover the hip and happening place that is Eastwood.

After hearing mass, our grumbling stomachs lead us to our favorite comfort food place, Cafe Via Mare and had a beautiful merienda (afternoon snacks, we Filipinos love!) at 5pm.

First on the list is this beautiful, oh-so-yummy Vigan Longganisa sandwiched between soft, warm Pan de Sal. This time Mom and I knew we both had the real deal Vigan longganisa, and we were just blown away! We had the sad, sad misfortune of eating so-called longganisa a couple of weeks back. And being true to Filipino form this dish comes with crispy kamote chips, instead of potato chips. They were a bit salty but Mom and I had fun munching on them.

Next was Mom's favorite in Via Mare, Bibingka with Salted Duck Egg and shreds of coconut. It was perfect with coffee!


After Mom's day out in Eastwood, we went to Shopwise along C-5 to buy groceries for the house. After several hours of going around that huge-ass store, we were again, famished.

At the ground floor just in front of the escalator is this hidden gem: Yang Chow Dimsum & Teahouse. It was a cheaper version of our favorite North Park restaurant. There were people outside waiting to be seated, but since it was new food haunt, Mom and I decided to try it, just for kicks.




Since it was our first time to try the place, Mom and I didn't know any better and ended up over-ordering. My goodness, be prepared for this because for 2 people this was A LOT!

Having a bad cold and even slight fever last Friday, I wanted something hot to ease the colds. So I had this delicious and piping hot Noodles with White Chicken. The broth was oozing with chicken-y delight, and the noodles cooked just right! It was heaven and perfect for the sick one!


Next on the noodle list was Seafood Pancit Canton, although there were more vegetables than actual seafood. And this was something Mom and I did not expect. This huge dish costs P180, and just look at the size of that thing! It was so generous we even had it for Monday brunch and dinner. And yes it was DELISH!

Mom also ordered Fish Fillet in Tausi Sauce. I loved this because the fish was soooo tender, and the sauce was really good with a tinge of spice. And we also had this for Monday brunch.

Unfortunately, there was a black sheep among the dishes we ordered. And this was the Shark's Fin Dimsum. Totally forgettable and I MAJOR MAJOR feel sorry I ordered the damn thing. It was dry and un-shark's fin like. I consider myself a dimsum guru, I could siomai anytime, everyday, and not get sick and tired of it. But this thing, forget it!

The shark's fin was a minor setback, but I was just so thrilled with this Yang Chow place. I'm sure a lot of people have eaten here, but new food haunts excite me! This place is totally and highly recommended! And with those 4 dishes which left us hauling our tummies all the way home, our bill totaled to P605 and some lose change. It was incredibly cheap! Great cheap, Chinese food is just AWESOME! :) And it must have been really good because at 10.30PM people were still coming in.

After a good grocery shopping spree at Shopwise, treat the family to Yang Chow why don't you! It's totally good! :)

Yang Chow Dimsum & Teahouse
Shopwise E. Rodriguez, Jr., Brgy Bagong Bayan, Quezon City
For reservations and delivery please call 470-1251 (No delivery charge)


Cafe Via Mare-Eastwood Mall
2nd Level, Eastwood Mall, E. Rodriguez Ave., Quezon City
Tel No. 709-3005, 709-3006
Visit their website or click link http://www.viamare.com.ph/

Cyma: Perfect Way to Cap Off The Week

There are some statements about food I regret saying too soon. I said before I don't like Thai food but ended up going to one particular Thai restaurant more than thrice already.

Then there's Greek food. I said, "Me. No. Likey!". But then last payday Friday, Trency wanted Greek, so off we went to Eastwood Mall to chomp on Greek food in CYMA. Since I knew nothing about Greek food I had to check out their website and look at their menu for something familiar. Good thing I saw a lot of meat..so it was safe!

If there is one thing I thank for having a group that's dead set on consuming good food is that it has opened my eyes..and taste buds..to a wider variety.

Anyway got there earlier than the rest, and thank God for early reservations! I sat all by my lonesome for about an hour. So what's a lone blogger to do but take pictures of the place.




I love how informative their menu was. There was a short history, a map, and pictures of Greece. It made the feel very authentic. And I also liked the statement from CYMA Executive Chef, Robby Goco.
"When the raw products are of such flawless quality, as they are at CYMA, covering them up with sauces and forceful flavours is exactly what should not be done. CYMA prides itself on its delicious food - the idea is perfect simplicity. To preserve each ingredient's distinct flavour and nutritional value. Why interfere with what nature has already mastered?"

Seriously after reading that, I felt all my Greek food inhibitions disappear. There was so much power in Chef Goco's words. All I had to do was wait for the gang to arrive and order. My eyes, stomach and mind were already focused on one thing - Lamb Gyro!

Trency arrived first, and as always hungry. So we started ordering like there was no tomorrow. Here's what we had, first stop was Roka Salata. I'm not a veggie person, and if there's salad, the only thing I'd eat is Caesar's Salad. But Trency said this was her family's favorite. Aside from the veggies, it had nuts and I think cheese (Quezo de Bola type).

Then we had this totally awesome appetizer which will blow you away. Saganakai - Mozarella. Served like this:

Yep FIRE! It was so cool because the servers all had to yell OPA! Whatever that meant! The effect was definitely worth screaming OPA over and over! After all the fire tricks, it looked like this. Served on a sizzling plate, the mozzarella cheese was so good with the white, soft, buttered bread that comes along with it! I am such a sucker for all things cheesy! :)

For our main course we had Pork Souvlaki with pita bread. The pita was really good, but the pork was a bit hard. I remember Trency complaining about it. But it sure was tasty!

We also had pasta because no one ordered the famed kouskous. This was the Angel Hair Baby Clams. There was more clams than pasta.

And this was the motherload, for me anyway! Lamb Gyro! You see, Gyro made CYMA famous. Although their best seller was the Chicken Gyro, I just had to have LAMB! What's so cool about this was when I ordered, the server, Kuya Jerwin, said they ran out of Gyro. I think he saw the distraught look on my face, and he said he'd have it specially done for me! Hooray! And it did not disappoint. It made me remember my LU experience - LAMB on Rigatoni! Seems like lamb is the way to go! Uber yummy! And no lamby after-taste.

Since we all felt so grown up, and since it was Trency's belated birthday treat, Amanda and Mike capped off our gluttony with WINE. Yes, WINE complete with the chilled glasses! We all felt very chic! Mike and Amanda nrought the White Zinfandel from California. And this bottle came along with a little trivia: Claudine Barretto allegedly bought all the stock of this little sucker (in some wine depot) because it was THAT GOOD!




But being the beer drinker, my taste buds did not conform with the supposedly good taste of the White Zinfandel. On a good day, I'd still have beer.

My first Greek experience was not traumatizing after all. And this teaches me to taste first before saying something. CYMA you made my first Greek food trip totally exciting. Really good food! :) Can't wait to try out the other entrees from CYMA! Now if I could just drag Mom to a CYMA store, that would solve it.

Oh and if in CYMA Eastwood Mall, look for Jerwin, our server. He was the best! You'd see him present in some of the photos in this blog. He was the one holding the Saganaki and the one pouring wine in Mike's glass. He was just so cool. He even took pictures of us using Trency's brand spanking new Canon 550D. He will make your time at CYMA a great time! :)

CYMA Eastwood is located at the 2nd floor of the new Eastwood Mall in Libis, Quezon City. Call them at 709-1955.

To know more about CYMA and its other branches simply visit their website at www.cymarestaurants.com.

Remember to have your seats reserved. Having reservations usually mean a quicker way to get a seat and a server! :)