Sbarro Invades Gensan

I used to love eating at Sbarro. But when I moved to Polomolok more than a decade ago, I only get to eat here during the times I visit Manila. So imagine my excitement when this favorite pizza chain opened a branch at the Veranza Mall in General Santos city! 

Sbarro. 

A chain of pizza restaurants that specializes in New York style pizza and other Italian-American cuisine. One particular favorite is the Chicago White stuffed pizza. It has two crisp layers of dough overstuffed with mozzarella cheese with pepperoni, ham, ricotta and pineapple. Perfect for cheese lovers like myself. This baby costs P179 a slice and P1,432 for a whole pizza. 

Blackbeard's Seafood Island's Boodle Fight

It was my birthday, and one of my fellow bloggers suggested a burpday celebration with the Sox Bloggers at the newly opened 

Blackbeard's Seafood Island 

at SM Gensan. 

Boy, we were in for some serious boodle fight! :)

We had so much fun when the food arrived that I forgot to take photos of the place. Sorry! :) While waiting for our food, we were served with these complimentary 

Tuna Chicharon.

Mint Cafe @ Greenleaf Hotel Gensan

Mint Cafe. Aptly named since mint is one of the strongest scented herbs. This restaurant is part of Greenleaf Hotel's main dining area. I won't be surprised if this will be one of the strongest restaurants to beat in Gensan for sure. It is where the buffet breakfast is served every morning for its guests. 

Cinco Niñas Filipino Cuisine

Cinco Niñas Filipino Cuisine is a top notch restaurant located at Koronadal, South Cotabato. It is so named maybe due to the fact that the owners have five daughters who are entrepreneur extraordinaire in their own businesses. 

Red Trellis Seafood Garden - Microtel Branch

Just last night, Red Trellis Seafood Garden opened another branch at Microtel, Valley High, National Highway, General Santos city. Bringing with it all the seafood-dish goodness prevalent in their original restaurant located at Lagao.

Exploring the Food in Singapore

In my visits to Singapore, one of the things I like the most is the food. It is true what they say that Singaporeans love to eat. Of course we wonder why true blue Singaporeans remain thin and  fit despite their love for eating. Hmmm. they might know something I don't. just kiddin. 

But the food choices here are endless. And to be truthful, quite intimidating. Singapore’s multi-cultural diversity is reflected in the variety of local cuisine it has to offer,

Blugre Coffee - Mindanao's Pride

With the emergence of foreign owned coffee shops in and around the entire archipelago, Blugre Coffee comes as a breath of fresh air. We take pride in knowing that this coffee shop is Mindanao's pride having originated from Davao and owned by Filipino coffee connoisseurs. Husband and wife team Gatchi and Larcy Gatchalian both Davaowenyos founded the coffee shop with their first branch in Davao year 1998.

Teriyaki Boy @ SM Gensan

Teriyaki Boy is one of our favorite restaurants in Davao, so when it opened one of its newest branch at SM General Santos, our family of three had to troop over for a meal. The restaurant serves Japanese cuisine at fairly reasonable prices. Their signature lemon yellow furnishings is a breath of fresh air from the usual reds or darkwood designs of traditional Japanese restaurants.

First Glimpse of Mt. Sabrina Garden Resort

Up in the hills (Mt. Sabrina), hidden from view of the public's prying eyes sits Jam's Garden Resto-Bar. The handsome property started as a venue for countless prenup shoots done in the area, well mostly by Mr. OSG :).  Maybe due to the picturesque view in these hills, The owner Ms. Sol Mananquil, decided to invest in the property and put up a permanent structure which is perfect for garden weddings. 

I love the view from up here, where you can see all the way to Sarangani Bay. 

According to photographer extraordinaire -- Mr. OSG (excuse me for being biased :), sunsets here are breathtaking. So if you are planning on having a garden wedding, you might want to consider having it here at Jam's Garden Resto-Bar.

I remember MR. OSG telling me a story about the first garden wedding that was held here at Jam's Garden and Resto-bar, they had no covered areas yet, and the wedding party was constantly getting worried should the heavens shower them on their very special day. According to the owner, she will put up a permanent structure if the wedding goes well without a hitch. Well, I suppose the heavens wanted future brides to enjoy the place so true enough, we can see and enjoy the new buildings put up in the  area. Here are a few of the pictures from that wedding...

Their restaurant on the other hand, sits with pride in the highest peak of the entire establishment. 

From my visit there, I think, they can comfortably sit around 50 people inside the air conditioned hall and about 20 more in the restaurant's entrance. 

 This is of course just my guess-timate so you might want to see for yourself how many of your guests can be seated comfortably if you prefer the covered area.

For inquiries, you can get in touch with them through these numbers: (0917) 708-1693 or (083) 553-2763 .

Kee's Cafe and Restaurant by Jinkee Pacquiao

At first glance,you would think that Kee's Cafe is just an ordinary coffee shop just like any other coffee shops  scattered all over General Santos city. But look again, it offers a wide array of delectable dishes... Kee's Cafe is a restaurant, open 24 hours daily. 

Beef Roll with mushrooms in tomato puree and pesto...yum! one of my ready favorites!

Kee's Cafe is the brainchild of Ms. Jinkee Pacquiao, lovely wife of world boxing champ Manny Pacquiao. It serves not only as a coffeeshop but a restaurant which has a wide selection of yummy dishes among which are the Pacman's personal favorites.

Upon entering the restaurant, photos of the power couple line the walls. It is of course understandable since the restaurant cum coffee shop is relying heavily on its bankable owners to attract its target clientele.

Upon my visit at Kee's Cafe, Chef Nestor Palle, a chef who just came from Saipan, whipped up a few of his mean dishes which according to him will be included in the restaurant's menu come November this year. So I was touched that they invited me over to sample these sumptuous fare. First dish I tasted is the Seafood Saute, a seafood delicacy made from fish dory, shrimps with capers and olives brandished with lemon butter.  Its sweet, pungent and somewhat salty taste is something new to the palate.   

This following dish, Garlic Chicken with Mustard and Balsamic Sauce is also new to my taste. The sourness of the balsamic vinegar coupled with mustard is truly something that puts your teeth on the edge but it was just right to balance out the taste of the garlic chicken. But to be honest, this one might not be in my list of favorites from the dishes that I've tasted here so far. I'm not a fan of anything sour, sorry. hehe. 

The Japanese Harumaki, which according to Chef Nestor is originally a Vietnamese delicacy, but chef named this particular dish "harumaki" owing to the fact that in Japanese, it means "spring roll". This spring roll is a combination of julienned veggies with chicken. Another new viand to my taste, I find this one a good contender for appetizers. 

Being a meat-lover, the Pork Barbeque Spareribs with Special Sauce below became one of my easy favorites. It has a sweet, tangy taste that is prevalent to a dish such as this.  I am sure this dish will also be a hit with the kids. :) 

Expect a lot of delectable Oriental culinary masterpieces from Chef Nestor (2nd from the left) and the rest of Kee's Cafe and Restaurant's cooking staff. Take my word for it, the dishes I've sampled are just the tips of the iceberg. They still have lots of new and exciting dishes coming out so expect something distinct for the ardent dining public.

If I was surprised that Kee's Cafe is actually a restaurant, I was even more astounded to find out that they also serve cocktails! Roadhaus hotel and Kee's Cafe's operation manager informed me that to make it more formal, they will be opening a mini-bar in the hotel. So here are a few of the cocktails they will be serving: From left: The Pacman Punch (a somewhat strong concoction of 5 - yes five! - alcoholic beverage with a hint of orange which can literally knock you out as fast as the Pacman throws punches); the Counter Punch (below right, which is mostly vodka and four seasons juice, perfect for the ladies) and the Upper Cut (top right, another vodka based cocktail). 

And of course, I just have to mention that Kee's Cafe also has a number of yummy cupcakes (all flown from Manila from the kitchen of Ms. Pia Cayetano so I was told) for its diners who just want a sip of their brewed coffees. 

Kee's Cafe and Restaurant is located at Aparente St., corner Block 0, Dadiangas Heights, General Santos City. You can make reservations or inquiries by calling them at (083) 553 8888 or visit their website here.

The House of Cashews

Cashews. I remember my grandfather used to buy us a pack of these straight from Antipolo whenever he goes there to attend a mass. He introduced us to these delectable nuts and it has since been a personal favorite ever since.

Imagine my delight when I've learned about the 

House of Cashews 

in General Santos city! My first impression at first of course is that this is a store filled with bottles upon bottles of cashew nuts, sort of like a "pasalubong center". So it was a surprise for me when I learned that it was a restaurant serving a variety of yummy fares.

The restaurant takes healthy eating into a different level. They use only organic and natural ingredients freshly picked from their garden. They're the only restaurant in the city  that serve alkaline water. If only for this reason, we will surely be coming back to eat here often. And of course, it wouldn't be called The House of Cashew without incorporating this healthy nut into each and every dish that they serve here.

One of their best sellers was the Lumpiang Sariwa a.k.a. Fresh Lumpia, which of course I had to try to find out for myself if it really is worthy to be on every diner's "must try" dish. And sure enough, it never disappoints as I taste the crunchiness of the ubod ng niyog (heart of palm) and other veggies coupled with the delectable honey herb sauce with garlic and cashew nuts. Yum! This dish only costs P55 per serving.

The Aurora La Beef is another dish I tried which I heard was a personal recipe from the grandmother of the Fuentespinas. It is a dish mainly of braised sirloin steak simmered in herbs and spices. The cashew nuts sprinkled on it adds a tinge of robustness on the taste of the beef. For a solo order, it will take you back for a measly P90 and P200 for a regular order for sharing.

The Pimped Shrimp, aptly called since this dish is simmered with the cashew crab paste and garnished with bell peppers and sprinkled with cashew nuts. I didn't really get to taste this particular dish, but from the looks of it, shrimp lovers might enjoy ordering this dish.

Another favorite of mine is the Cashew Chicken in Garlic Sauce.  So sorry didn't have the chance to take photos of it prior to devouring since it was too good to be kept waiting sitting on the table. :) It is coated in what looks like cashew nuts and deep fried. Then a generous drizzle of their delectable cashew garlic sauce. For this dish, be prepared to shell out P90 for a solo dish and P200 for a regular serving.

The FK House of Cashews is tucked in a quiet corner of Eca Commercial Complex, National Highway, General Santos city. For inquiries and reservation, you can get in touch with them through these numbers: 083 5541331 or 0933 3440136 or 0927 8491545. Special thanks to Ms. Kathrina Hagoriles for accommodating us on a short notice. They also have power/promo meals at a reasonable price if you have need of a lunch or dinner meeting at their restaurant. The restaurant can accommodate small parties of 20-30 heads.

Thailand Chronicles: Thai Food... Truly Gastronomic Feasts

Temples. And more temples. Often this is all that we ever read about when it comes to the Siam country. Of course we have to admit, Thailand has Asia's most awe inspiring temples. And truly, these temples are one of the country's most visited tourist attractions.

But come to think of it, Thailand has a wide array of food that are tourist attractions in themselves. So one of the reasons people come to Thailand is to sample the gastronomic feasts that makes every tourist (including me and Mr. OSG) come back for more. Sigh... thinking about Thai food just now, makes me miss it even more and thinking how I can hitch myself a free fare back to the Siam country. :) 

Pad Thai at Fifth Street Food Center, MBK Mall

So here is a list of some of our favorite Thai delicacies that we've gotten to feast on, and can't get enough of...

1.) Pad Thai.  If there is a national food, then maybe Pad Thai will get the most votes for being Thailand's national food. Its like you've never really eaten Thai food, unless you've tried Pad Thai. It is served in most restaurants in and around Thailand. It is served in a lot of different ways like the one we had at The Montien where they enclose it in egg - omelet style (below). Pad Thai at The Montien will take you back for about 150baht. per order. The Pad Thai we ordered at The Fifth Street Food Center of MBK Mall, is a bit pricier at 185 baht, but it is the best I've tasted in Bangkok (picture above).

Pad Thai is a dish of stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, fish sauce (Thai: น้ำปลา), tamarind juice, red chilli pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts, coriander and lime, the juice of which can be added along with Thai condiments (crushed peanuts, garlic, chives, pickled turnip, coriander, lime, spicy chili oil, chili powder, vinegar, fish sauce, sugar). It is usually served with scallions and pieces of raw banana flower. (info taken from the Wikipedia)

2) Stir Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts. or Gai Pad Met Ma-Maung. This dish is a favorite not only among us Asians but among the Westerners as well. I should know since there was this group of tourists who come to eat at the Fifth Street of MBK mall like us, who only orders this yummy dish over and over again! :) What I love about this dish is that it has a sweet and tangy taste that brings out the flavor in the chicken. Plus the cashew nuts makes a nice addition giving off a woody flavor to the dish. There are condiments on the side, like peanuts, chili, and sugar which you can add to your dish according to your liking. Its really considerate of them since not everybody loves spicy food. Well including me at times. :)

Our favorite Stir Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts dish is the one served at the Fifth Street food center of MBK mall, which costs 150  baht per order, a generous serving which can be shared by two people. But nah, it was too yummy for sharing so we order separate servings. hehe.

3) Pork Satay.  Now when it comes to Satay, I have no qualms on ordering this dish since I love the peanut sauce that comes with it.  I'm not too sure though  where it really originated , whether it came from Malaysia or Thailand. But then, whether you order this from Malaysia, Singapore, or Thailand or even Indonesia, you will surely come back for more.

Satay is a dish of marinated strips of pork (or beef/chicken), then skewered and grilled on the BBQ or broiled in the oven. It is then served with peanut sauce for the ultimate taste sensation. This particular satay dish, we ordered from Ruenton Coffeeshop of The Montien hotel where it looks more of a Tapsilog dish native to us Filipinos minus the peanut sauce. It was served with an aromatic serving of fried jasmine rice with shrimps, and a sunny side up fried egg on top.

4) Pad See Ew or Fried Noodle with chicken/pork/seafood. This Thai dish was introduced to me by Ms. Challika, a Thai local who happens to be a good friend of my cousin. She brought us to Suan Luang Market near Chulalongkorn University to have dinner there "carinderia" (or hawker store) style. From what i learned, Pad See Ew is a Chinese - influenced stir fried noodle dish commonly eaten in Thailand and Laos. What I love about it is the mix of saltiness and sweetness with a tiny hint of spiciness brought about by the cayenne pepper. This one is with chicken which I absolutely love!

Pad See Ew is made with dark soy sauce ("si-io dam"), light soy sauce ("si-io khao"), garlic, broad rice noodles, called "kuai-tiao sen yai" in Thai (commonly abbreviated to just "sen yai" meaning "big strip"), Chinese broccoli, egg, and some form of thinly sliced meat — commonly pork, chicken or beef — or shrimp or mixed seafood -- like picture below. (from the wikipedia).

5) Nam Kang Sai or Thai Shaved Ice  Dessert. Also at the Suan Luang Market, we had the fascination of eating this Thai local dessert that is somewhat similar to our native halo-halo. The only difference is, the Thai version's shaved ice is placed on top of the mixings. There are between 20–30 varieties of mixings that can be mixed in. Among them are young coconut that have been soaked in coconut milk, black sticky rice, chestnuts, sweetened taro, red beans, sarim (thin strands of cooked flour that is very chewy and slippery) and many more.

With a number of mixings to choose from, I just know it would take me forever to come up with my own Nam Kang Sai, so we just let Ms. Challika choose the right combination for us. The colors of the mixings are so bright that they look more to me like eye candy than a dessert for someone to devour. :) This is a photo of the dessert shop at the Suan Luang Market we went to, which according to Challika is quite famous that even celebrities and the Thai Princess often come here to satisfy their sweet cravings.

To Ms. Challika of DHL Thailand, our heartfelt thanks for taking us to dinner and introducing me  and Ate A to Platinum Mall which I will blog about next time. :) 

Fire and Ice Grill and Steak Bar

Just last night, I was one of the privileged SOCCSKSARGEN Bloggers to be invited to the newly opened Fire and Ice Grill and Steak Bar over at the Gensan Sports Center (to be launched and fully operational by 11 - 11 -11)

We were welcomed by none other than our gracious host, Mr. Rey Billena, owner and known businessman and Rotarian. According to him, the Fire and Ice Grill and Steak Bar is one of the first installments in the transformation of the Anchor Driving Range (its former name).

The feast was a composition of a few of Fire and Ice Grill and Steak Bar's delectable menu. The star of the dinner of course was their prized steaks. Cooked just right, medium rare to be exact (my preference actually) and coupled with a siding of stir fried veggies. There was also a steaming beef bulalo and fresh pineapples to complement the steaks.

The Fire and Ice Grill and Steak Bar is located at the entrance of Gensan Sports Center (formerly Anchor Driving Range) right at the back of East Asia Royale Hotel, National Hi-way, General Santos city.

Gala Bakeshop...making the finest bread in town

Gala Bakeshop (unbeknownst to all) has been making bread for more than 30 years. It started as a small store selling a few buns of bread in the 1980s by a teacher cum housewife (Ms. Marita S. Gallinero) to help augment their dying tailoring business.

 
Gala (pronounced originally as gey-LAH) got its name from the gala uniforms worn by the PMA cadets.  It was aptly named, since Gala Enterprises started as a tailoring business. It evolved as a bakery, refreshment and general merchandise store  in 1981.

Today, Gala Bakeshop is known for good quality breads and pastries. The leader in utilizing advanced methods in bread making, Gala Bakeshop also prides itself as one of the cleanest bakeries in the entire SOCSARGEN area - that's according to the Dept. of Health locally auditing their bakeries annually.

Gala Bakeshop produces the yummiest fare in the bread-making business. Its very own "Gala Blend®" which is patented and is being ordered direct from a manufacturing firm in Manila ensures the consistency of taste for all of its breads and pastries. So you can be assured that the ensaymada you love will still taste the same in any of its branch bakeries in Polomolok or in Gensan.

 
Let me give you a brief intro of some of my personal favorites: 

The Cheese Roll - a soft bun with soft edam cheese filling rolled in Gala's signature sweet dough, topped with a brush of butter and sugar. It is one of Gala Bakeshop's best sellers. It flies off the display rack freshly baked as quickly as you can say supercalifrajilisticexpialidocious! :)

The Regular Ensaymada -  sure you wonder what sets this lowly ensaymada apart from the numerous counterparts sold all around, well... this one has the same sweet dough made from Gala Blend® and a surprise filling of oozing sweetened monggo or ube. The special ensaymada is softer than its regular variety comparable to the soft ensaymadas sold in big malls in the metropolis. I even have friends in Manila who still request that I bring the regular ensaymada as pasalubongs every time I go home. 

The Fruity Muffins -  muffins is a cross between a bread and a cake. With that in mind, Gala Bakeshop's fruity muffin is basically more a cake-like type of muffin. This lip-smacking muffin is topped with glazed fruits and nuts. It has a longer shelf life compared to other pastries.  And it's taste improves the longer it sits on the shelf' (well, not that it usually happens), but it kinda reminds me of a fruit cake wherein the longer you wait to eat it, the yummier it gets. Perfect for baons for school kids.

The Spanish bread - although also categorized as a normal everyday bread, Gala Bakeshop's twist lies in the streusel type of filling combined with the sweet tangy taste of pineapples. Once you taste it, you will never look at the ordinary spanish bread the same way again! :)

The Cream Bread/ Diet Bread -  another signature bread of Gala Bakeshop, it prides itself with one of the softest (bubble free) and tastiest "tasty" or cream bread. It is so soft that even your kids would love to eat it without any filling or palaman. My little girl can totally vouch for that! And those who are diabetic can still enjoy their "Diet Bread" since it is made with less sugar and very low in GI. 

There is still a lot of delectable fare that is worth mentioning like the Chocolate-mint cookies I am so fond of or the Biscocho like toasted bread, along with their signature cakes sold at reasonably low prices compared to its counterparts but not compromising the taste and over all look. 

Butterfly Bread

But... it might take too much of your time reading, so for the meantime, I suggest that you head on over to Gala Bakeshop and try them out for yourselves! Find out for yourselves if this blogger is kidding when I say that Gala Bakeshop makes one of the finest breads in town! - or in the region!

 Gala Bakeshop's main branch is located right in front of Dolefil's employee entrance over at Asuncion Village, Cannery Site and two satellite branches in the Polomolok - Poblacion area...  one at Zennia St and one at Miranda St.. 

Gala Bakeshop now has three branches in General Santos city:

• at Block 8, Dadiangas Heights 
• another at corner Pendatun and Santol Sts. 
• newly opened branch at Mabuhay Road

Come visit and taste our breads to see for yourself what this blogger is raving about. :)