Little Kitchen’s Quiet Solace

Just this weekend, I had the pleasure of having an intimate dinner with a few lady friends at this cute little restaurant at the corner of Quirino Ave and Zapote St. in General Santos City. The Little Kitchen is situated in a quiet little nook, perfect for small gatherings or private dinners or luncheon meals for two. (Note to self: remind hubby to book dinner here one of these days! J)

We were welcomed not just by the friendly staff but the gracious owner herself, Dr. Margarita "Aret" Dometita, a dentist by profession. It comes not as a surprise that this lady dentist’s love for cooking is truly evident in the sumptuous meals they serve in this quaint, little restaurant. The interiors of the restaurant exudes elegance and has non of the extra clutter that usually adorns walls of many restaurants all around the city. The chairs and tables are just the right size, so as not to overcrowd the restaurant’s intimate space.

We were treated to a sumptuous feast comprised of a three course meal starting off with their own creamy Mushroom Soup with a basket of garlic bread , perfect match to start the meal.

Then comes the  appetizer salad. They served us one of their signature Green Salad, with iceberg and romaine lettuce, cucumber, and a surprise ingredient of pomelo and mango. It is a light salad  designed to stimulate our appetite. hmm...as if it still need sstimulating. :) The salad comes with a choice of four (– yes four!) dressings: thousand island, anchovy, strawberry (which I am sure has a tint of chocolate) and Dr. Aret's own concoction of mango puree.

The main course is a sumptuous feast of Lengua cooked in a rich tomato based sauce with mushrooms and spices. What I love about this dish is the richness of the sauce, which was perfect with the soft lengua. It has none of the after taste of the meat or the oil. This delectable dish though is another special recipe of Dr. Aret. She really knows good food! :)

Another dish served is their signature Baked Bangus.  It is a scrumptious dish of boneless bangus topped with a mixture of cheese, cream, onions and spices. Truly another dish that will make your taste palettes crave for more.

Dessert was the best part of the whole dinner, where we were treated to a delightful treat of three different types of sweets. Dessert being my favorite part of any meal, I enjoyed these three treats of choco cream, fruit jelly and bread pudding.

We learned that the Little Kitchen used to be a noodle house and a residential home before that. It is no wonder that as you enter the restaurant, a feeling of the warm comforts of a home is resonant in its interiors. Match that with the range of superb fare they have in store for their dining customers. Their best sellers are their range of pasta and pizza – yum! Something I will surely try on my next visit which will be soon! It was a truly delightful experience having dinner at Little Kitchen. Our thanks to birthday gals, Ms. Espie Maliwat and Dr. Bel Acuesta for bringing this blogger to this charming little restaurant! Buon Apetito!

For reservations, you may contact them at 083 3031586 or email them at your_littlekitchen@yahoo.com 

Rrroaring Lion City (Singapura Day2)

The Lion city is readily one of my favorite cities as of date. Not that I’ve been to a lot of cities abroad but then Singapore for me is one of the cleanest and safest cities anywhere. I love that you can go walking around its streets even in the wee hours of the morning without fear of being mugged. Photo below of my mom and sister was taken at the Esplanade - Theaters on the Bay in one of our numerous strolls around Singapore.

On our trip here, we stayed at the Value Hotel Thomson, a cute high rise hotel located at the Balestier cor Thomson Sts. . The rooms are miniscule but clean and perfect for travellers on a budget.  What I love about this hotel is its close proximity to a number of good eating places like the 2^nd Kitchen at the ground floor and a lot of hawker stalls just a few minutes walk  away. It is near the Novena MRT and the Velocity Mall. A good location for a budget hotel I must say. Plus it has a swimming pool for guests with kids on the 7th floor.

photos from the Value Hotel Thomson website

One of the newest attractions at Singapore is the Marina Bay Sands, so on our 2^nd day here, we took time to visit this unique hotel – it’s the one with a sort of big ship on its top floor.  Its architectural design is truly one of a kind and is slowly becoming one of Singapore’s famous landmarks.

The Marina Bay Sands also houses a big Casino and one of the classiest malls in Singapore with big brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel et. al under its roof. It also houses the Art and Science museum with elegant art masterpieces like the works of Salvador Dali, one of the 20th century's best known artist and the most iconic figure of the surrealist movement. Truly, a wonderful treat for true blue art aficionados.

We were lucky that during our trip there, there was a major rehearsal for the Singapore National Day parade. We were mighty confused since this rehearsal was complete with the actual firing of canons, helicopters were flying around in a formation carrying the Singapore flag, and the grandstands were filled with thousands of school children and an actual fireworks display which lasted for 30minutes! Imagine that! The expense would have been a biggie since this rehearsal was doing everything they were planning to do and its not even THE DAY yet! Very entertaining for tourists like us, I considered it an added treat.

Then on the way to Ikea at Alexandria (which I will blog about separately :), there was this very entertaining taxi driver Mr. Yeow Bee Hong ( I hope I got his name right). According to him, if you want your taxi driver to be really nice to you (I mentioned that taxi drivers in HK are rude) all you have to do is wave your dollar bills in the air when you hail a taxi. J And then he taught us how to make Bak Kut Teh...

Bak Kut Teh according to him is a Chinese soup which literally means “Pork Bone Tea Soup”, a sort of pork stew simmered in a combination of complex herbs and spices. It is one of the delicacies of Singapore that every tourist must try. It is comparable to our beef nilaga but with a certain twist in taste brought about by the combination of star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic thus the term Tea soup.

And then he was rambling on and on about other sites in the city that are worth visiting. When we asked him where these places are though, he just answered..."you have to pay me, I take you there!" haha. Talk about a driver with an attitude... very amusing. 

The last stop for the day was dinner at Chinatown.  As it is already around 9 in the evening, we just had time to eat at one of the hawker stalls along Smith St. And my goodness! The food there is really mouth-watering! I was so hungry I even forgot to take shots of it, sorry!  I think I ate a week’s supply of food there.  Mental note to hit the treadmill double time when I reach home. J

Chinatown like most like it around the world is a tourist haven with lots of souvenir shops selling affordable knick-knacks for you to take home. Specifically, Pagoda and Smith Streets are the ones to go to for souvenir shops and hawker stalls. Other streets in Chinatown like Temple St, Trengganu St.,  Pagoda Sts, houses some of Chinatowns temples, a good place for taking pictures.

After an activity loaded day, we just had to retire late to our hotel laden with bags filled with trinkets and souvenirs and our camera full of snapshots. Its no wonder, we keep coming back to this magnificent city.