Bubba Gump – TriNoma

Had dinner at Bubba Gump TriNoma with Manong this evening. The moment I saw the place, I had the urge to eat shrimp.

Manong just got back from a raket somewhere and since it was my birthday last Monday, he treated me to dinner before we went to rehearsal. Yeeba!

I had a red snapper something. (I really should take note of the stuff I order.) Well, it’s new on their menu. It had some kind of ensalada on top of the fish.

We ordered dynamite shrimp as well and it was sooooo good! It was sweet and spicy and definitely complimented the red snapper with ensalada. (I am not letting go of the ensalada. It really did look like that! I am not complaining. I am just saying.)

Dynamite Shrimp

Red Snapper with ensalada
(not its official name)

There was a long table filled with boys and before leaving, a handful of the Bubba Gump crew went to their table with tambourines and a candle-lit cake. It was someone’s birthday. The highlight of it was, they kinda stuffed up their singing. It was hilarious! The entire room cracked up laughing. They sooo need to practice their birthday spiel and they need to do it with gusto.

No shake meter just yet but if I did have one, I would give the entire Bubba Gump experience 2 shakes. (1 being the highest and 5 the lowest.)

Amici, Tomas Morato

I tagged along with the Peren family this evening after mass when I heard they were having dinner at Amici. I’ve been meaning to try it out for ages. Never got around to doing so since their only branch (back then) was at Don Bosco, Makati. Finally! They opened one along Tomas Morato!

You should taste pizza, pasta and gelato the moment you hear Amici!

Pizza’s are made in masonry ovens. How savvy is that?! (HA! I researched this! I knew there was an official name for the old-school brick oven.)

It’s self-service. You go up to the counter, order and pay. Wait for a couple of minutes then tada! Food’s served. Oh. I forgot the bit where you get your own plates, utensils, glasses and tissue at designated stations.

I loved their spaghetti alla carbonara! The best! I am not a fan of carbonara. People who make them go wrong by putting too much white sauce over the pasta.  But this one, oh mehn! It’s perfect! The cream does not overpower your taste buds. It’s just right. Absolutely delicious.

Other than that, we also ordered the Cannelloni Agli Spinaci (pasta tubes filled with spinach and ricotta cheese topped with creamy tomato sauce), Genovese Con Gamberetti and Vegetariana pizzas. I have nothing else to say but yummy!

OH MY GAD! THE GELATO! The gelato is to die for! They had more than ten different flavors. Selds and I wanted to cry when we saw them. We didn’t know which one to get. Our taste buds did cartwheels of sorts and got dizzy.

P50 for a cup. Good deal too! It was worth every cent! Since I had a hard time deciding, I went with the old classic. Cioccolato! I swear, it’s the best chocolate ice-cream ever! I’m an anything-chocolate fan. I’ll try their other flavors next time.

The place isn’t fancy really. You do not go there for the ambiance. You go there for the food and you go there with family and friends. The more the merrier!

It is definitely not a dating place. Having a one-on-one session with someone and you might just end up scaring him/her the moment he/she sees you gorge down your pizza. Won’t be a pretty sight and it definitely won’t be a happy ending!

For a company of six, we pretty much spent under P1500. Not too shabby! Can’t wait for my family to visit. I’ll definitely take them there.

The original Amici is located in the Don Bosco Compound, Makati (Arnaiz Ave cor Chino Roces Ave). Store hours are: 7am-10pm (Sun-Thurs) and 7am-11pm (Fri-Sat). Delivery hours are: 10am-10pm daily.

The Quezon City branch is along Tomas Morato cor. Scout Fuentebella (it’s right below Ratsky Morato). Store hours are: 11am-11pm (Mon-Thurs) and 10am-12mn (Fri-Sun) Delivery hours are: 11am-10pm daily. Delivery hotline is 818-4444!

Whoops! I think I overdid it a bit. Haha! I am just sharing the love!

Mob Wars

Out of the three RPG game applications on my Facebook, Mob Wars is the most addictive and fun. Basically you build your character by leveling up through experience and you gain experience by doing jobs, fighting and expanding your city. Through these, you earn and generate money. But you also have to expand your mob in order for you to have a higher chance of winning fights. In short, the name of the game is power.

I did not think I would fancy it but hell! It’s pretty straight forward and easy to understand. It gets exciting once you get the hang of it.

Elven Blood and Blood Lust have the same idea but it does not appeal to me as much. Doing quests, fighting skeletons & goblins and earning little gold is not as fun as attacking someone, stealing their money, running away to stash your loot in the bank, saving up to buy a casino and eventually generating millions from it.

I have yet to reach that point where I am a filthy rich tycoon. For now, I shall pay my respects to the Made Men.

Let me know if you play it too.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Shrine, Quezon City

While on the LRT2 on my way back to Katipunan from Quiapo, I noticed the lady a person away from me make the sign of the cross. I looked out the window to see if we passed by a church. (Well, she could just be praying for all I know!)

So yeah, I looked out the window and oh my lords! What I saw wowed me. As in jaw-dropping moment that I made an effort to bug the lady and ask her for the name of the church. She completely ignored me when I politely said excuse me. Pfft! Good thing I had my trusty city atlas in my bag. Pulled it out and quickly flipped the pages to find it.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Shrine. (I know right! It’s a mouthful!)

But still! It is beautiful. Googled it and came across this;

Picture was taken by Nate0924.

I want to visit this church some day.

Next year’s Visita Iglesia? Hmm, I’ll look for six more churches to visit in the Metro. Churches I have never been to.

Exciting!

ROC Cafe

Recently tried out the new restaurant in UP Diliman; ROC Cafe. It’s situated on the ground floor of Bahay ng Alumni, same side as the bank.

The place is nice and spacious. Brightly lit and yet still cozy. The staff are really friendly and so are the owners, Chef Golda and Chef Sonny.

Food’s delicious. I had Caesar’s salad with chicken strips and an Italian Job (pasta with red sauce and Italian sausages). Not sure how long their soft opening is. The menu has not been finalized until the grand opening but it still has a wide range to offer.

Their desserts are sinful! Had a hard time deciding which one to get. Chef Golda recommended the Banoffee Pie and the Mango Cheesecake. I got the former and good choice too. Yum yum.

Price wise – it is within the same range as Choco Kiss and Chateau Verde. A dating place? Definitely! Or if you want to spend for lunch while on campus, it is the place to be. Indulge! You know you want to.

salt&pepper101

Anything goes in salt&pepper101. I have been meaning to put up a weblog where I can share my thoughts and opinions on anything and everything; places, music, food, people.. whatever. Hence, this site. Enough of the mellow dramatic stories. Those go in another corner in cyberspace.

Why salt&pepper101?

Over the past week, I have been obsessing about a new blog name. Nothing came up to par with what I had in mind until today while having dinner at a-not-so-great-steak-house along Katipunan.

The idea sprouted from the phrase, “salt and pepper to taste.” 101 because today’s date is October 1 which is pretty apt because courses with 101 digits mean “an introduction.”

Please note that this blog is not about cooking and is not just about critiquing food/restaurants. Like I said, anything goes at salt&pepper101. Just my two cents worth.

I do not know how to just yet but hopefully I can put up a shake meter of some kind. 1 shake would equate to great and 10 shakes would mean terrible.

For the mean time, hello world. This is entry #1.