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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.

Official Facebook page!

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My blog's Facebook page has just been launched! Have the latest updates on my food adventures, features and edible photography delivered straight to your news feeds.

Click on the link below and like! :)

Corniche Lunch Buffet: Diamond Hotel Manila

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Although this post is 3 months delayed, it's definitely worth writing about. Thanks to my aunt, my cousin and I were granted our own golden ticket to Diamond Hotel Manila's newest restaurant, Corniche, which is conveniently located at the hotel's lobby. Elegantly designed and decorated with what seemed like dove-shaped glass on the ceiling, Corniche serves a lovely food spread fit for breakfast (P988), lunch (P1420) and dinner (P1480) all at a great price.  I like going to buffets during mid-day the best mainly because I'm hungry enough from not eating breakfast and once I'm royally full, my stomach has time to rest throughout the day.

They say that one of the rules when eating in a buffet is to keep yourself from eating rice just so you'd have enough room to try everything else. I like breaking rules...food-wise. And I do this by eating as much rice as I want! I can go as far as having four buffet plates, two of which are filled with dessert since it's the one thing I look forward to the most whenever I'm given so much food to choose from.

I'm going to let the photos to most of the talking now.



Cheese spread


Kare-Kare


I couldn't help but do little jumps (no, I did not skip) in the restaurant once I saw that they had several shelves dedicated to candy. 


Walnut Tart


The chocolate fountain! 


Dragon (fruits) on the loose!


Chocolate cake


Pancakes & Waffles


Ube Puto




Pasta sauces




My cousin Sam enjoying her Ramen


Before


After


Pasta Bar: You can create your own pasta and choose what kind of pasta you want as well as the sauce and toppings. 





Indoor sky.




Lechon Macau + Tempura + rice =  :D :D


Yeaup. Don't be surprised, this is my tempura share.



Butter Croissant


Chocolate Croissant



Spongebob must be looking for Mr. Crabs right about...now.



Parmesan-encrusted salmon


Roast Pork


Bread & Butter


The chocolate cake and cheesecake were my favorite in this sweet bunch.


The fact that the restaurant was spacious, bright and had a sky-high ceiling made eating so much more enjoyable. The buffet spread covered most of the cuisines - Filipino, Chinese, American, Italian, Japanese and Indian. Picky-eaters (such as myself) won't have a hard time choosing dishes they like and might even leave the restaurant more open to trying new dishes!

I'm pretty sure you can tell based on the photos that I enjoyed eating all the food I put on my plate. Corniche is definitely worth a second, third and fourth visit (of course, it's not limited to the number four..you know what I mean! *laughs*)


Corniche Restaurant

The Diamond Hotel
Roxas Blvd. corner
Dr. J. Quintos St., Manila 1000
http://www.diamondhotel.com/

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