Rangoon Teahouse and why Yangon could be a place for milktea lovers

Food is what distinguishes one country from another. From street food to a typical household cooking, each country offers a different blend and taste that anyone shouldn't miss trying if they get to visit a place for the first time. Like many others, Asian countries have already established themselves globally when it comes to taste through their iconic dish. Among those are the Pad Thai and Tom Yam of Thailand, the Pho of Vietnam, the Nasi Lemak of Malaysia, and the Adobo of the Philippines. But I bet only few know of Burma's Mohinga (I prefer to call it by its old name since it sounds more lit hehe). 

Mohinga, a fish soup with rice noodles, is the national dish of Burma. Its main ingredients are fish paste, chickpea flour, lemongrass, ginger, fish sauce, and catfish broth. It is commonly garnished with coriander (see recipe). I have also seen a fried version of it at Yangon's street market.

Going back to NE

Last last weekend, I visited some friends in Nueva Ecija. Can't help it, you know, the place is very nostalgic. I stayed there for two days and two nights and enjoyed the conversation from morning to night.

Photo: Ate Mabel's FB account

PCC Milka Krem

Who said that the land of carabaos can't be classy?

You might be in awe once you set foot in the infamous Milka Krem (a carabao milk café) of Philippine Carabao Center. This is the first built café that offers various carabao milk products: from its signature chocomilk and ice cream to pastries and cakes.  The café can pretty much compete with starbucks.

Milka Krem

Products

Milka Krem's interior offers an ambiance of both comfort and class. It somehow uplifts the face of the agricultural sector and carabaos in the Philippines. Inside you'll see displayed figures of carabaos and farmers who play a major role in agriculture. And I must say, this café is one of the best projects of the Government thus far.

Interior

Carabao milk delivered to Milka krem are mostly from contracted farmers in Nueva Ecija. So if you buy milka krem products you also augment farmers' income. 

Being the only milka krem branch so far, Milka Krem caters to many customers everyday. And this café is definitely a must try for café lovers.

So if you happen to be nearby check out your PH OpenSnap, an app for foodies like you, and head to Milka Krem for a taste of agri with class.

How to get there:

Since PCC is a landmark, locating it isn't really hard.

Milka Krem is just beside the main office Philippine Carabao Center, along maharlika highway going to San Jose City. 

Complete address: Maharlika Highway, Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija

For more restaurants and food finds, download OpenSnap app from App Store or Google Play.

Seoulmate

Being a fan of anything Korean, this Seoulmate cafe got my attention. No I haven't heard of it before but as the hotel where we stayed is just in front of this cafe - what a good opportunity to try it.

Kel'z Cafe

It might not be known because of its label as an agricultural science city, but Muñoz, Nueva Ecija have cafes worth trying for. And as I was looking for a place where I could sit, relax, and eat alone, without so much people around, I tried Kel'z Cafe. And the place is just what I needed.

Not much people go during holidays or weekends, as far as I know, since I come during those days. And I haven't seen it really full though, but I love it because people don't really flock that much which gives me more space and freedom to stay long. I already have friends brought there after trying it and we usually stay for an hour.

Tuna Pasta

Chips and fries

If you are somewhere in Nueva Ecija and in look for local cafes, check out PH OpenSnap and head on to grab your next cup of tea!

For more restaurants and food finds, download OpenSnap app from App Store or Google Play.

Dynamite: The Recipe that I just Knew

Dynamite.  Sounds intense. I didn't know it could be a recipe, such an ignorant me? But here in Luzon it is  a recipe that they have for chilies. I'm talking about the long green chilies used for soups. It is guaranteed that you'll love chilies, if you'll taste dynamite.

I knew about it months ago but I only made one yesterday with a twist. By twist, I mean, deviating from the usual ingredients used. I am no chef but my friends as critics said it was good. (bleeeeh)

So here are my ingredients:

Lumpia wrapper

Corned beef (instead of ground meat, cause it is expensive)

potatoes

Cheese

Chilies (which I got from the farmers we've visited)

Cooking oil (just enough)

I cleaned the chilies first and removed its seeds. The seeds are what makes it spicy, the hollow space where seeds have been removed is where you put the filling.

after seeds are out

I then cooked the filling, which is the corned beef and potatoes. By the way, removing that much seeds caused me so much pain. My hands were so spicy all throughout the night, so be sure to use gloves or apply oil on your hands before touching the chilies or else you'll end up like me. :(

Once done, start stuffing chilies enough to fill it. Put a slice of cheese inside after filling. This could be laborious so try to get some help when needed. 

You can now then wrap it with the lumpia wrapper and it is ready to fry.

The end product should be like this:

Arabela in Liliw, Laguna

I'm not a fan of Italian pastas. However, I like pastas cooked in Filipino way. My palate is very much accustomed to the sweet and sour taste of Filipino cuisine, that eating the opposite would be a great adjustment. And, indeed, it was. But I didn't regret dining in this place. I am always amazed by how I manage to change my perception on things by giving it a try.

Both sides are line of shoe stores. It was raining the time we were there but that didn't stop us from checking every stores

As a first timer in Liliw, Laguna, there's not much to see but the array of shoe stores in every street corner. Liliw is a quite secluded town which is famous for the cheapest and durable shoes. It can be a hassle to go there if you don't have a private car. So if by any chance you happen to drop by, you need to grab the opportunity to buy any shoes you want. That's what people told me.

Yet going with the person who frequents there, I've known that it is not just the shoes that this place can be known for. He brought us to this cute little family resto that offers pastries and pastas.

This is just to show you how low the ceiling is. 

For a bit of history, the place was just an underground of the house converted into one decent resto. You'll find how low the ceiling is once you go inside. But that what makes it so cute.

There were lots of pastas to choose from, but I went with his suggestion to be safe.  

We all had a sort-of chicken pasta (forgot what exactly it's called) and frappe. But with only an hour given to us to go around and buy, we just had a limited time to finish our orders. I ate mine in just 10 minutes or so but we still ended up being late. Everybody was waiting for us and got a bit jelly for only having ourselves eat there.

Here are some of the things on their menu. Their price starts from P200 up.

 The so-called chicken pasta.

Frappe

Knowing that this resto has long been existing, there were lots of reviews about it, not only in the net but also in leading newspapers. 

A compilation of newpaper articles about the resto.

It's wise to make a reservation ahead of time  because sometimes it gets so full. We were lucky that there were only few customers when we were there. ;D

Thai Food

Meeting an adventurous friend, can be a great time to explore new food. So we have agreed to have a dinner in a Thai resto in Trinoma out of gusto. I suppose it was a newly opened one considering the furniture and signage.

A classy interior you'll find there.

It took me minutes to choose my order since I'm not familiar with the foods' names so I had to look at the photos for something that is yummy. We ended up ordering these…

Looked like a fresh lumpia to me. But it isn't, the wrapper is different.

Now this is like the omelete with noodles inside.

The sauce. Quite Filipino ey?

Generally, South East Asian cuisine can be that similar to each other but every country still has their distinction. With Thai food, I don't find it hard to adjust with the taste. I'm just amaze by how they put lots of pepper on food. Regardless of that, I think I can live in Thailand. hahahaha

Arabela in Liliw, Laguna

I'm not a fan of Italian pastas. However, I like pastas cooked in Filipino way. My palate is very much accustomed to the sweet and sour taste of Filipino cuisine, that eating the opposite would be a great adjustment. And, indeed, it was. But I didn't regret dining in this place. I am always amazed by how I manage to change my perception on things by giving it a try.

Both sides are line of shoe stores. It was raining the time we were there but that didn't stop us from checking every stores

As a first timer in Liliw, Laguna, there's not much to see but the array of shoe stores in every street corner. Liliw is a quite secluded town which is famous for the cheapest and durable shoes. It can be a hassle to go there if you don't have a private car. So if by any chance you happen to drop by, you need to grab the opportunity to buy any shoes you want. That's what people told me.

Yet going with the person who frequents there, I've known that it is not just the shoes that this place can be known for. He brought us to this cute little family resto that offers pastries and pastas.

For a bit of history, the place was just an underground of the house converted into one decent resto. You'll find how low the ceiling is once you go inside. But that what makes it so cute.  

This is just to show you how low the ceiling is.

There were lots of pastas to choose from, but I went with his suggestion to be safe. We all had a sort of chicken pasta (I forgot what exactly it' s called) and frappe. But with only an hour given to us to go around and buy, we just had limited time to finish our orders. I ate mine in just 10 minutes or so but we still ended up late. Everybody was waiting for us and got a bit jelly for only having ourselves to eat there.

The so-called chicken pasta.

Frappe

Here are some of the things on their menu. Their price starts from P200 up.

Knowing that this resto has long been existing, there were lots of reviews about it, not only in the net but also in leading newspapers.  

A compilation of newpaper articles about the resto.

It's wise to make a reservation ahead of time  because sometimes it gets so full. We were lucky that there were only few customers when we were there. ;D 

Red Station

This is going to be my first post for the year 2015. But this is going to be a throwback post though. Remember when I went to Baguio and dined at Chil Cheon Gak? This time I went with my awesome friends and tried Red Station. A Korean Resto just across Cheon Gak. Since the first time I failed to order samgyeopsal, this time I got it on my plate. Gladly, my friends were also up for a new taste so they were quite excited to try it.

We had a lot of side dishes (as expected). And we didn't managed to eat all of it.

The taste of these dishes are no way sweet, I guess that's why we were not so into it. but we weren't really up for these (however we thank the resto for making us feel  like we spent our money well haha).

We were really waiting for the meat. But this came first…

A bunch of lettuces, healthy right? instead of eating rice, rice, rice at PhilRice.

And the meat came forth.  The slices might seem not enough for us but, I tell you, it is, enough for first timers since you'll have to adjust for the taste.

And since we are no good at this, we had to ask for the waitress' assistance, which was very nice of her of course. She cooked for us for the first few slices and we did the rest. 

And that's how our table looked like. She told us to also fry the onions, which I don't know why. Maybe to add some taste to the meat.

My friends seriously wanted to be done cooking because it was already past one and we haven't eaten yet.

Wanna eat????? Looks like she's enjoying it. But honestly, I think it was more of the photos we are up to instead of the dish hahahahaha. Cause we really didn’t much enjoy the taste except for the meat and lettuce.. But I'm slowllly and slowwly getting used to it. Just need more time…. I'm up for other restos again!

Random Gala in Manila

This is way back August when we happen to have a small gathering with my VSO-ICS peeps. I stayed overnight with one of them- which was a very nice sleep of course. And then my companion brought me to the newly built SM in Taguig. By the time I was in Manila this mall was still underconstruction. The Samsung Hall is also located there (too bad I wasn't able to watch Sungha Jung's concert). But that's not what I wanted to say. We had a small tour and she treated me with Magnum Ice Cream. This ice cream is famous in the Philippines for being expensive and yummy. And I assume that the first Magum resto is in SM Aura? Well, nevermind.

So, we first had to choose the ice ream whether vanilla or chocolate. And then, the coating - they offer the dark chocolate and white chocolate. My friend and I had to different orders so we can taste each other's ice cream. And for the toppings they had array of toppings to choose from. It was so varied that you will go gaga for choosing only three toppings for your ice cream (which is very much unfair).
Ok so this is the array of toppings, in blur.. hehehehehe

And tada our finished product ice cream, after going through all the stages.

But it is not just the ice cream that you will be fascinated to eat. If you love chocolates like I do you'll definitely appreciate these chocolate bars that they displayed over the place. How can they possibly be displaying it instead of eating it? grrr such a waste! It is sooo big.

The Magnum place is located at the top floor near samsung hall. It is represented by this large M made of ice cream sticks!

Ok lets move on to the other part of our gala. since travelling to Manila is what I seldom do. I met with one friend of mine who has been wanting to see me but failed due to my busy sched. hahahaha. He is actually been wanting to treat me to lunch so I contacted him that day to fulfill his promise. He took us to this cake resto and had small chit-chat.

and the cakes we had are so deliii..

But they didn't like it that much so I had to bring the left overs. We parted ways right after. and that ended my gala in Manila. Hope to see them again soon.!

Food Trip (Sagada)

I'm not really into food but trying new things is one of my motto now so I'm kind of doing things I haven't done before to know my own limitations. That's why if I had to walk for hours or get into topload rides on a bus passing on a very steep road- just  to get into a place I haven’t been before - I'll do it. Challenging myself is my new hype.

And for this post about food, well, some people might think that its not new to them but since it is new to me I'm posting it. These are the places that I've been to when I was in Sagada, my travel buddies recommended it.  They've been there many times, so I bet they have great taste when it comes to food in Sagada.

And our first stop,

Pinikpikan House

"Pinikpikan" is a specialty in the Mt. Province. It is prepared by beating the live chicken prior to cooking. Maybe PETA people won't agree in the way the chickens are killed but this is part of the place's culture, basically since then. So there's no way of stopping them from doing it. And there is no wonder why most tourists drop by and try it since it is delicious. The chicken used for this is a native chicken so it is tastier and fresher than the commerical ones. 

One order of it includes the infamous etag or "smoked meat". Smoking the meat is the same as smoking the fish in central luzon, they do it to preserve them. But I think I prefer etag if it was fried and not in  a soup. It was very salty but worth a try for tourists.

Their food are surprisingly affordable. And the resto doesn't run out of people, tourists keep flocking in.

And an added attraction of this resto - are their really cute dogs. Go to their backdoor and you'll find them. This resto is nearer to the market where jeepneys park so it is not hard to find it, just go straight and look for the sign.

Lemon Pie House

Now, friends told me that this is where most people go. And yeah, obviously they are up for the lemon pies. It was also my first time to taste the pie. It was good, but the blueberry cheesecake was  good as well. Their tea is good too.

 

The house is located in the further end and near to the curve going to the first cave. You can just walk to it.

Yoghurt House

If you ate in the "Pinikpikan house", walk further and you'll find it. It is near to stores selling souvenirs and stuff.

Their yogurt tastes really good compared to the ones I've tasted before. I ordered the one with ice cream and loved it.

Gaia café

This is one nice café based on my standard. And it is not really hard to find. It is along the way going to sumaguing cave. Must try are the veggie chips and the lemon tea. I got a separate post of it here 

OTHERS

Suman (Rice Cake)

Maybe their own version of rice cake is worth a try as well. I bought this suman while on my way to cavalry hill and it is quite tasty.

 Etag

This is how etag looks like when still on the process of being etag (I don't know what they call it, maybe airdry)

And a finished product etag - ready for buying.

Fruits

These are the fruits found in the North.

My first time to see and eat rattan. this tastes really sour. I haven't liked it that much.

Persimmon on a tree. It was my first time to see one too. When Iwent to the market I bought 1/4 of the fruit. The taste is similar to papaya - sweet

Peaches. Looks different, right? This is how their local peaches look like. But I haven't tasted it so I don't know its difference with the ones we frequently see in fruit stalls.