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Mama Lou's Italian Kitchen

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        These visits to different restaurants every Friday are becoming more frequent and of course I can never say no to a food invite especially when it comes from either of my uncles or my aunts. My uncle Tony had told me about this restaurant early during the summer but we never got the chance to swing by until recently. Mama Lou's is a home based restaurant and it's hard to miss with it's red and green signage beckoning you as you drive by Tropical Avenue. We were welcomed by several smiling ladies and a cozy interior. As we were having dinner, the owner himself approached us to ask how are meal was and we politely tried to respond but our mouths were too full. Kidding. My mum asked, "Who is Mama Lou?" He talked about how the restaurant was named after his wife, who passed away early in the year. Despite that, Mama Lou and her Italian-inspired dishes continue to touch the hearts and stomachs of so many people!


Bread with tomato and pesto dip.
           I like being around bread and I like eating bread. Lots of bread. And when restaurants offer these yeast wonders to start off a meal I don't hesitate to eat as much as my stomach can handle even before our orders arrive.









My Uncle Tony & my barely awake cousin Neo
Spaghetti Seafood Olio

          In order for me to enjoy my pasta experience, I always go for the simple flavors. Spaghetti drowning in oil and lots of garlic is my kind of pasta dish, just like the Spaghetti Seafood Olio. Accompany that with a good serving of seafoods (or sausages) and I'm good to go!

Spaghetti Seafood Pomodoro
I noticed how Mama Lou's pastas have a light taste to them. That's probably why I felt like I could eat one whole plate (like the photo above) and it was going to be just enough for me.
Risotto Tartufo Funghi
                                               Wild Mushroom and Truffle Cream Risotto

Mama Lou's Special Pizza (P350)

Thin Crust Pizza with Tomato, Mozzarella, Prosciutto, Mango, Arugula and Balsamic Cream

           This pizza surprised me! I have mentioned several times in my previous blog posts that I am no herbivore. And every attempt I make to eat anything green or healthy makes me squeamish. Also, I take my choices of pizza very seriously. I want the crust thick, greasy and chewy. However, this time around, not only did I enjoy a thin-crusted pizza, I actually ate every bit of this healthier alternative. Well, three slices to be exact. The combination of sweet (mango) and salty was a delightful revelation! 

Mama Lou's Blueberry Cheesecake (P180)

Biting into this creamy dessert was just as fun as feeling my teeth sink into the blueberries which were quite chewy.


Apple Pie a la mode (P160)

          Whenever I check the dessert section of a menu, I always search for the words "Apple Pie" and as soon as I saw a huge photo of a whole pie plastered at the bottom of the menu, I already knew what I would be having at the end of my meal.



Mama Lou's Italian Kitchen
B1 L36 Tropical Ave. corner
Tropical Palace Bf International,
1721 Las Pinas


Tito Chef Is An Awesome Chef

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I don't know why but every time Friday classes come to an end, I feel like my appetite goes from "I can totally go on a water diet" to "Feed me before I scratch the lining of your stomach!" Voracious is the more appropriate term to describe my hunger on Friday evenings. Luckily, my aunt and uncle are always there to calm this food monster down because goodness knows I turn into a mad woman when I'm feeling ravenous. My uncle, who is very supportive of my food blogging venture, told me a week in advance that we'd be dining at this place called "Tito Chef" in B.F. I wasn't aware of this restaurant (since it sounded new), but I felt my ears move...Dumbo-style (mind you, my ears aren't as big as his), because anywhere my uncle and aunt take me always leaves my tummy happy. I was excited. When we pulled up to the parking space of the restaurant, I noticed that it was full. Surprisingly, a man offered to park the car for my mum while we scurried to the entrance. I definitely wasn't expecting valet service. Upon entering the restaurant, I immediately felt like I was entering my own living room and dining room merged into one. Tito Chef restaurant, the brainchild of Chef Menoy Gimenez, was cozy, well-lit and the interior wasn't cluttered. Since there were 7 of us, we were brought to a room that accommodates a group of 8 people and boy did I feel oh so special! It was like our own private room!



What really caught my attention were the seats. They had wheels. That means two things: one, expect a noise-free meal except for the sounds you hear from the clanking of the utensils and two, I felt like I was flying. Well, more like, gliding.


Click on the photos to get a bigger and better view of the menu. :) 





Calamari with Kimchi Mayonnaise (P240)

This was the first thing that was served to us and my cousins and I didn't hesitate to reach for the bowl. I've tried fried calamari that was either too soggy or too thick.  This one though had just the right amount of salt and crunch to it! 

Fruit Melange & Candied Walnuts Salad (P 220)
I don't eat vegetables. So imagine the look on my face when my mum told me that I HAD to eat the salad. Before I could even say anything, my mum had already placed a small serving of the salad onto my plate. It had slices of bananas, strawberries, grapes and walnuts so technically it was more of a fruit salad. (That's just me trying to convince myself that I didn't actually have a salad.)

Water Buffalo Cheese Salad (P240)

Truffled Mushroom Soup Puree (P 135)

Mushroom soup at its finest. 
Cedar Grilled Salmon (P375)
Caviar-topped mashes potatoes

Salmon gets its close-up. Look at the juices on the wood.


                                     
                                               Rosemary Grilled Lamb Steak (P350)


Osso Buco Milanese (P395)
Beef shank stew with saffron infused risotto Milanese, gremolata and spring vegetables.            
                            
The 300 (P 795)

This dish should be called The 795. *laughs* I love me a good steak, especially when I'm hungry. This US Rib Eye Steak coupled with sour cream mashed potatoes was my ticket to a happy meal. My favorite part of the steak was of course, the fat. And the mashed potatoes were creamy, light and fluffy. 




My favorite part...DESSERT! 

Strawberry Shortcake (P95)
The ballerina in this cake spread - light, dainty and pretty!

Tiramisu (P165)

Espresso dipped cookies layered with Marsala flavoured Mascarpone cheese & chocolate. Perfect for coffee-lovers.

Nutella Sansrival (P110)
Nutella is the queen of sweet sandwich spreads (along with local, crunchy peanut butter). Imagine nutella buttercream tucked into layers of toasted almond sansrival cake.

Chocolate Citrus Gateau (P120)
This has got to be my favorite cake OF ALL TIME. I didn't think I would enjoy a sponge cake soaked in citrus flavor because the chocolate-orange tandem never really appealed to me. I can seriously eat this with my bare hands. *laughs*

My cousins Pau, Patch and yours truly
You see these happy faces? We're not just posing for the camera, we have our "This restaurant is definitely worth going back to" faces on!
Tito Chef
President's Avenue, corner Adelfa Street, 
Parañaque City (beyond the gate of Tahanan Village)
Operating hours: Monday to Thursday 10-11am, Friday and Saturday 10am-12pm, Sunday 10am-11pm
Official Website
Facebook Page


Cukay's Cakes & Pastries

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When I first came across the name "Cukay's", I honestly did not know what to make of it. I wondered if it was a fancy way of saying "cuckoo". However, the cakes, cookies and pastries were enough to make me forget or even ponder some more about the reason behind the name. After several conversations with the owner of Cukay's and a good amount of crumbs left on the table from eating the mini cupcakes and cookies, I found out more about the real reason behind the name and where you can get hold of these delicious treats! 

1. Your business has such an interesting name. Why did you decide to use the name Cukay's? 

Cukay is my real name and I figured that if I use my name, it would be something that will catch anybody's attention. It's unique and it makes you wonder the meaning of the name.  It's just my nickname, usually used in spanish families and true enough, most of my clients, ask my sales ladies, "what is cukay?" "Is it a name?" "Is she pretty?" (lol), etc. So it worked just fine. It leaves everybody curious.

2. Have you always been into baking? How did your business start? 

I started baking since I was 16 and till now, I still use some of my baking cups.  I attended short courses and enjoyed them a lot.  When i was 18-19, I started selling cookies in school.  When I got married, would practice cooking for the family until I started selling spanish food then in 2004, when all of my kids were out most of the time, I enrolled in a long course of baking and I started making use of what I learned. In our school there is 1 specific cake that I loved so I started to master it until relatives loved it, friends started loving it until 1 would order, then 2 until it became a word of mouth.  I started selling the lemon torte one cake a month until it started growing, started to join bazaars and after 2 years, it boomed especially the red velvet and the smore's cookies. I have been actively joining the bazaars for almost 3 years now.

4. What are your best sellers on the menu?

My bestsellers are the Red Velvet, Decadent, Lemon torte, cookies and the sans rivals.

5. Where do you get ideas for the flavors of your pastries? Who are your target market?

 I get my ideas from my own taste and what my children tell me.  I always ask my girls, ages 18 and 21 what they think would sell because it is usually their age group that buys a lot until my daughter started working and they find out Im her mom, then office would make it a regular thing to give away to clients, then my son in csa would take a slice to donate or something then classmates will find out and buy, bazaars really a hit too especially ATC and ROCKWELL.  My target market are the teenagers and moms.  

6. What's something your customers can look forward to in the future?

When you are in the business, little by little, you will learn from experiences and all and you will also feel if you are getting bigger.  You will notice you already lack mixers, refs, stocks getting more and more so you will just have to go with the flow and that is how I do it.  I really join bazaars for exposure number one and marketing. As much as I want to be there to meet my customers, I am stock in my production area to make sure everything is in order but there are sunday's when Im don baking, I make it a point to go and visit .  Regarding expanding, eventually I will have to open my own coffee shop bakeshop because clients have been texting me to do so but until I can keep my expenses down while I am growing, I think that is important. It is so hard to have many overheads like rental, people, etc so maybe I would want to supply coffee shops and join bazaars, accept orders until I have enough capital to open one of my own.


Red Velvet mini cupcake
Assorted mini cupcakes: Carrot, Mocha with espresso buttercream, Chocolate with peanut butter, Dulce de Leche and Red Velvet

S'mores Cookie (left) and Oreo Stuffed Cookie (right), both P60

Sneak peak: Gooey marshmallows



What's inside? Graham crackers layered with chocolate and marshmallows

The Dulce de Leche was definitely my favorite. Once I took a bite, it literally dissolved in my mouth. The topping was even thicker than the cupcake itself!

At first I thought there would be too many flavors going on with the S'mores cookie since I usually just enjoy eating plain chocolate chip cookies. But I guess you can't go wrong with chocolate, graham crackers, marshmallows and a soft cookie base!

Apart from buying from their bazaar stalls in Alabang Town Center and Rockwell, you could also order through text and have it picked up in any of Cukay's stalls or in her own home (address and contact information below).


Cukay's
844-5707 / 0917-859-6244
1632 Dian St.
San Isidro, Makati City

Rainy Morning Breakfast

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Classic French Toast

I think this is the most number of suspensions I've experienced with school..weather-wise. Well, the rules are completely different when you're studying as a post-graduate student. Back then I would always look forward to the cancellation of classes due to the heavy weather but now, the chances of me going to school on a Saturday to make up for lost school hours changes everything. Nevertheless, I am thankful for having a home that has not been washed away by flash floods and a bed I can comfortably plop myself on. Hopefully this entry will keep you warm on this cold and stormy day.


Normally, I would have a fruit shake for breakfast. But since my mum was extra happy to have me back home (even though we were together just a day ago), she decided that cooking some comfort food was a great way to "welcome" me back. *laughs*




This is how french toast gets its bath - by getting a generous sprinkling of confectioner's sugar.





This is my kuya posing enthusiastically with this super-sized chocolate bar! My aunt received this chocolate wonder as a gift from a friend of hers. I know it's not mine but I'm already "secretly" thinking of ways to eat it. Maybe I should start at the corners or just dig my teeth right in the center? Hmm.



My breakfast plate!

There are days wherein a I crave for pancakes and on other days, I crave for french toast. This morning was an exception. I just wanted something that was sweet, filling and required syrup.

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