Food Trip Friday--Noche Buena

I hope your holidays have been filled with loved ones, all of your favourite things and foodies. Our Merry Christmas festive was celebrated with the family, with smiles and giggles^_^

Chocolate Tart from REPACO Garden that I ordered online--ornament and party candle included

Our Noche Buena

Beef Pastrami Garden Salad-- rocket ( arugula), romaine lettuce, mizuna, tomato with our favourite salad dressing

Chicken Namban--deep fried chicken seasoned with soysauce, mirin, vinegar and sugar accompanied with tartar sauce

Japanese style Caprese--Mozzarella cheese, tomato and shiso (japanese herb) wrapped with Prosciutto, sprinkled with ground black pepper

Tomato sauce Pasta

A glass of fruity Beaujolais-Village Nouveau red wine and piece of Chocolate Tart for you ^_^

An entry for Food Trip Friday. Chibugan na!!\(^0^)/

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Food Trip Friday---Sisig

I owe Kaye of the BeautyQueenGene (please check out her chic blog designs at WAHMaholic Blog Designs,too) for the recipe of sisig which I have been dying to cook for. She's a heavent sent to me! Some of the ingredients are not available here so I used pork offal, chicken cartillage ( that is finely chopped ) and pork belly instead and it went well. Thank you dear K!! The best talaga to as pulutan!! Sisig are best with beer but it went well with white wine,too ( I guess it's just me lol ) ^_^
If you want to cook sisig the original way, here's the recipe of Kaye's father. Try 'em!

INGREDIENTS:

1kilo maskara (mukha ng baboy)
1/4 kilo liver (or liver spread)
1/4 kilo utak (optional)
3 cloves bawang
1/2 kilo sibuyas
1/4 kilo chili fingers (sibuyas na panigang/green)
1 tbsp. seasoning (maggi or knorr or kung anong available)
1/4 cup soy sauce
cooking oil

HOW TO:

1.boil pork face/maskara until tender. drain then fry until crunchy.
2.tadtarin yung pork face then set aside
3.chop bawang sibuyas liver into fine pieces
4.slice chili fingers pa-slant thinly.
5.igisa ang bawang. when golden brown, lagay n ung maskara at liver.
6.saute for a couple of minutes then ilagay ang sili.saute for another couple of minutes
7.ilagay ang soy sauce & seasoning.
8.ilagay ang sibuyas.
9.saute until sibuyas is cooked.
10.serve hot. top with an egg or mayonnaise.

An entry for Food Trip Friday. Chibugan na!!\(^0^)/

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Food Trip Friday---Zuwai Crab Cream Croquette

Dinner last night: Veggie Salad, Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry and Cream Croquette with zuwai gani ( snow crab ) meat and Tofu Miso soup ( photo not included ).

An entry for Food Trip Friday. Chibugan na!!\(^0^)/

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Food Trip Friday--Lunch Date At Italian Dining

This is how my rival-free ( read: daughters lol ) lunch date (again) with my husband ended. I really like days like this ^_^

Me and my husband had our lunch date at Italian Dining at Alios Iwaki Performing Arts Center. We came early and enjoyed the atmosphere without the crowd on a weekday. Yup, another date while my kids were at school--I'm always looking forward on days like this^_^ I invited Yochan ( hubby) there coz it's a new found italian restaurant--yours trully and some of my mama-tomo ( japanese mum friends) had our lunch there ( I didn't take photos though, nahihiya ako ) and ordered their pasta combi lunch ( your choice of pasta and a slice of pizza plus veggie salad and a drink for 850 jpy).

One of my favourite is a little something before starting the meal and that is the antipasto platter. Lively variety and is pleasing to my eyes--it was almost a meal for me! I'm also addicted into salads and their italian dressing was great. I had onion, carrot, spinach and lots of fresh lettuce. Their pasta carbonara is tasty and delicious although my husband says the sauce is too heavy for him--I have no problem with mine however. The presentation of their dessert was really nicely made, it doesn't help my waistline but would definitely go back just for dessert! The service is superb but a little pricey ( 1,600 jpy per person ) but worth the cost and would definitely go back again. ^_^

Antipasto Platter---marinated bacon, pumpkin salad, vinaigrette daikon radish and olive
Carbonara, simple yet elegant meal
Dolce--Cheesecake and Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

An entry for Food Trip Friday. Chibugan na!!\(^0^)/

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Food Trip Friday---My Birthday Party At ZaZa

Celebrated my (?)th birthday last November 16 at Zaza ( yakiniku restaurant)together with my In-Laws(PIL,SIL and family,BIL and Great Granny). My MIL (sponsor) suggested a shabu-shabu party or a sukiyaki party for a change but I always love a yakiniku party at Zaza--making it like a tradition (coz she's always treating my birthday there) plus the food ( you cannot get wrong with their meat, they serve the best meats and high quality meats here in our place--that's why it's pricey ), service and ambiance of the restaurant are just great. Received a birthday sweets from Zaza as service but if we mind telling them that it was a birthday reservation ( was reserved earlier), the birthday sweets would be more gorgeous. Well, I love it anyway and hey, it's free^_^ We ordered and ate, drink, then we ordered again. It's either me who's doing much the talking, picture taking or making the meat burned and then we ordered again and before I know it, I'm on my 5th glass of my favourite shochu drinks lol!

My 34th birthday~Time flies when we're having fun ^_^
Birthday sweets for me, service from Zaza! Arigatou Gozaimashita!
Fresh Cassis Grapefruit sour (shochu based drinks)
Nama Wagyu Nigiri, can be eaten as is with the sauce (without grilling). Forgive me, but I grilled mine
My Wagyu( highest grade kobe beef) platter, soft and delicate! Literally melts in your mouth!
Pork Shabu-shabu Veggie Salad with Sesame Dressing
My share of bibimbap and Peach and Grapefruit sour ( shochu based drink )
Annin-doufu for dessert(2nd time around lol), ice cream for the kids
after

An entry for Food Trip Friday. Chibugan na!!\(^0^)/

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Food Trip Friday--My Tokuji san

While waiting for a mamatomo ( friend mum), I lurked inside the Bakery House My Tokuji, a bakery house that is a joy to visit.( I tend to take photos of what the inside but there's a lot of buying customers in the bakery and so I didn't and the truth is it's my 3rd time attempt ) I love having my simple ME time there and sometimes a tambayan while having a talk with some of my mamatomo. They have a wide of arrays of baked goodies and I highly recommend their maple french and kurumi pan ( walnut bread )since it was one of their best, they're all gone when I visited (T_T). All of their goods looks amazing and smell even better! And also you can sit back and relax while having their best baked goods at the outside and the environment here is like a cozy bakery and oh before I forget, there's also a FREE coffee service ^_^ I bought mine however at the nearest convenience store lol!
Their healthy Tofu Burger in a Sesame Bun---
YUMM!!
An entry for Food Trip Friday. Chibugan na!!\(^0^)/

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Food Trip Friday--Gyudon (Beef Bowl)

Gyudon with Potato Salad and Mugicha ( roasted barley tea) for lunch

Another Japanese dish in a donburi style called Gyudon, served with a bowl of rice and topped with beef and onion. I usually cook them during lunch at home coz it's very easy, quick to prepare and it cooks up so fast. Japanese loves to add raw eggs to their gyudon but I love mine just the way it is and lots of beni shonga ( red ginger ) for topping. It adds a punch to the flavor. If you don'tlike to add raw eggs to your gyudon, you can use poached egg for topping if you like. Today, I'm gonna share my simple gyudon recipe for you to try at home, too^_^

Gyudon ( Beef Bowl )

Ingredients:( good for 4 people )

Beef-- thinly sliced, 240g
Ito Konyaku( shirataki noodles )--160g
Onion--1 pc

A:

Dashi soup--200 ml ( 200ml water + 1 tablespoon of dashi powder)

Sugar--2 tablespoon

Soysauce--4 tablespoon

Mirin--2 tablespoon

Preparation:
1: Boil shirataki noodles ( if you don't have in hand, it's okay ), set aside.

2: Cut onion thinly

3: Put A into pan and put to a boil then add #1 and #2, simmer for a few minutes in a medium heat then add beef. Simmer for a few minutes more in a low heat until done.

4: Serve hot plain rice into a bowl individually and put the beef toppings over the rice add some boiled green peas, add beni shonga on top and you're done.

An entry for Food Trip Friday. Chibugan na!!\(^0^)/

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Food Trip Friday--Bento For My FIL

Veggie Stirfry, Rolled PorkTeriyaki, Tamago Yaki, Pickles, Rice sprinkled with Furikake ( rice seasoning )

My MIL has been in and out from the hospital since she had a car accident of last year--we were hoping her fastest recovery but she cannot walk really well unlike before. It is hard for her anymore to do chores at home that's why we see to it to visit them every weekend and do the household chores for them. During our stay there last weekend, I decided to prepare homemade bento for my FIL to eat for lunch at his work coz I guess he's not been eating "real food " since my MIL can't prepare anything "much" for him anymore. I cooked something for them before we left Monday morning and all they have to do is nuke the food ready to eat for dinner.
Salad Nori Maki, Pickles, Tamago Yaki, Mini-Hamburger topped with cheese, Pan-fried Salmon
Onigiri (Rice Balls), Shimeji mushroom Stirfry, Tamago Yaki with Nori, Teriyaki Meatballs, Pickles
An entry for Food Trip Friday. Chibugan na!!\(^0^)/

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Food Trip Friday--GODIVA

" All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn' t hurt. "

~Charles M. Schulz~

~GODIVA Chocolatier Gems~
Milk Chocolate Fins, Dark Caramels, Dark Chocolate Fins, Milk Caramels

~GODIVA Chocolatier Pearls~

Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate with Mint

GODIVA, AWESOMELY DELICIOUS!

An entry for Food Trip Friday. Chibugan na!!\(^0^)/

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