How to make creme brulee

March 4, 2012 - Homemade Creme Brulee

Creme Brulee sounds like such a difficult dessert to make but really it's not. With only 5 ingredients, you can make this dessert at home if you have the right materials. LJ loves creme brulee so I decided to learn how to make it just in case he craves for some. :)

Some special things you need besides your oven are:

1. Ramekins - These are small ceramic containers that can be baked inside the oven without breaking. You can use these for lava cakes too! I bought mine in the Salcedo Market for 30 Pesos each. They have these in department stores as well. You need 6-7 ramekins for this recipe.

2. Browning torch - Creme brulee means "burnt cream", so having the burnt caramelized top is one of the characteristics of the Creme Brulee. My torch was a gift from my sister and she bought it in ACE Hardware for around 500 Pesos. It's also good for toasting marshmallows and meringue on top of pies or cakes too!

3. A deep roasting pan or a big cake pan that can hold your ramekins - I used my 9 inch cake pan to hold 6 ramekins with water that goes up until the middle part of the ramekins. This is called a water bath. I think this is to prevent the creme brulee from getting burned. (Not so sure what will happen if a water bath isn't used when baking these)

Once you have all of these things and of course the ingredients, you're all set! Here's what you need to get in the grocery:

2 Cartons of All Purpose Cream (250ml each)

1 Small Carton of Full Cream Milk (But you will only use 100ml)

1/4 cup White Sugar and some more for the top

5 Large Egg Yolks

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Procedure:

1. Turn on the oven and pre-heat to 300 degrees. Put the cream, milk and vanilla in a sauce pan and set aside.

2. Set up your roasting pan or cake pan with your ramekins inside.

3. In a mixing bowl, whisk your egg yolks and sugar until it's light, pale and fluffy. Set aside.

4. Place your saucepan with cream,milk and vanilla on a stove and simmer until bubbles start to form on the side. Turn the fire off immediately and slowly pour the cream to the egg and sugar mixture. Maybe you can ask someone to pour while you mix with a whisk.

5. Your egg and cream mixture should look like this. As you can see, there's a layer of bubbles. You have to scrape this off with a spoon and discard.

6. Now it's time to pour the egg and cream mixture inside the ramekins. Fill it up until the top. You can also use a spoon to make sure it doesn't spill.

7. Add hot water in the pan. Not too high though or it might go inside your egg and cream mixture.Bake inside the 300 degree oven for 35 mins. It should be a bit firm and jiggle when you shake the pan gently just like jello.

8. Take it out of the water bath and cool on a tray for 10 mintues. After you can chill it in the refrigerator. Chilling overnight can be done too.

9. When you're ready to serve, put 1 teaspoon of white sugar on top of the creme brulee and spread it using the back of the spoon. Torch the top evenly by making circles with the flame and until the sugar is dark brown and bubbling.

THE FINAL PRODUCT!

Now that was easy right? :) Try it at home and for sure everyone will love you for making these!

Yabu: The House of Katsu

January 6, 2012 - Yabu: The House of Katsu - SM Megamall, Atrium Level 2

Finally we found the urge to get out of Kapitolyo for our Fridate! Good thing some friends of ours suggested we go try out YABU, a Japanese restaurant that specializes in Katsu. Katsu is a deep fried breaded piece of meat like chicken, pork or beef and dipped in a Japanese barbecue sauce. If the restaurant says they specialize on one type of dish then it's got to be good right?

A full restaurant seems to be a good sign that they have delicious food. We had to wait a bit to get seated but we didn't mind.

This sign outside looks so good!

In each table there's this condiment tray with salt, soy sesame dressing, roasted sesame dressing, katsu sauce and also chili powder (behind the bottles). I'll tell you later what the salad dressing is for.

There was this instructional guide on how to make your Katsu sauce by grinding the sesame seeds and adding the sauce.

This smells so good by the way.

The food hasn't even arrived yet I started licking the chopsticks because of the sauce. Yum! If you're familiar with the BULLDOG Japanese sauce, it's the same one. You can buy it in most supermarkets.

My food arrived! I ordered the TONKATSU SET (120g) with Japanese Rice, Miso soup, Japanese Pickles and UNLIMITED CABBAGE and fruit. Now you know what the dressing is for. By just looking at it, I know already that for P320, it's worth it! When I tried it, I knew already that It will be my new favorite Katsu! The pork was so soft and the outside was cripsy. Melts in your mouth goodness.

There's this thin layer of fat that is perfect! That's what makes it juicy.

LJ's food looks exactly like mine but it's actually the Premium Tonkatsu Set. We wanted to try if there would be a big difference on the taste and quality of meat. The meat used here is called KUROBUTA, the pork version of the premium and expensive Kobe Beef. This is P515 for 120g. You could really taste the difference between my order and this one. This is juicer and more tender than the one I ordered but both were EXCELLENT!

After the meal I was so full. I didn't even get to finish my miso soup!

This was really such a great Fridate for us so we came back a few weeks after this. We even saw a family friend Paolo and Penny Yambao who treated us to dinner at Yabu. Thank you Paolo and Penny! :)

Everyone try YABU! It's a must!!

'Til the next Fridate! Cheers! :)

Quick Picks: Citizen Pub

I would highly recommend you guys visit Citizen Pub in Citygolf Plaza, Julia Vargas Avenue, Pasig City. They make great burgers, pizzas, pasta, and finger food (onion rings!!!). You can also enjoy your favorite local and imported brews!

Not convinced? Check out the Crazy Burger above! For P185, you get a crispy beef patty with kani-wasabi mayo salad served in an oatmeal bun. I haven't seen a resto in Manila serving crispy beef burgers, so this was definitely a first for me! Definitely crispy on the outside, juicy inside and with a kick of wasabi goodness!

Follow them on Twitter @CitizenPubMNL (link here). They have their contact details in their profile if you want to reserve seats or celebrate a special occasion with drinks and good food with friends!

Ramen Cool

January 7, 2012 - Ramen Cool - East Capitol Drive , Kapitolyo Pasig

Another restaurant opened up recently here in our neighborhood. How many times did I say that I love this place for being such a foodie destination. For now, LJ and I will be going to these restaurants until we run out places to eat.

We love the art work that's all over the menu and the restaurant.

Plus points for the very pretty and sheek design of the place.

Since their name is Ramen Cool, I thought of taking a picture of their ramen list. Prices are not so bad because their serving of ramen is big.

Now on to the food. Here's what we ordered:

GYOZA - We love ordering this for starters in any Japanese restaurant. I say this was good but not the best I had. I prefer the one I had in Little Tokyo before. I would order this again, just not the best for me.

Beef Ramen - This is really a big bowl of soup. But I think majority of it is soup. We suggest sharing this and ordering other things on the menu. Beef was thinly sliced and tender. The soup was flavorful but not too salty. Others might prefer this with a bit more soy sauce.

Sharing! :)

Ebi Tempura - I don't eat shrimp so LJ said that the batter was crispy and it was fairly good sized shrimp.

Red Orange Roll - Salmon Sashimi, Tuna Sashimi. Kani (crabstick) and Tamago (sweet egg) with Japanese rice. We love the combination of this roll! Very good! :)

Should be eaten in one bite!

For dessert we had their soft serve ice cream with an asian twist. At the bottom of this bowl is bean paste, like the one they put inside hopia and topped with crushed choc nut. Odd tasting at first but the flavors work out well.

The other option is putting sesame paste on top the ice cream. I liked it! Very asian! :)

One thing we love about Ramen Cool is their Hot Tea Containers for each table. It's to keep it warm throughout the whole meal.

We think Ramen Cool is pretty good considering it's so near my house but we have tried better Japanese places. We'll eat here again when we're too lazy to go anywhere else. haha

Cheers everyone! :)

NAV: Modern Thai Cuisine

December 2, 2011 - NAV: Modern Thai Cuisine, United St, Kapitolyo, Pasig

The past few Fridates have been about restaurants in my neighborhood in Kapitolyo, Pasig. This place is really booming and restaurants are popping one by one out of nowhere. It makes it so much easier for LJ and I to decide where to eat since the restaurants are just a few minutes away from where I live. Lucky us!

We were in the mood for Thai food one night in December so NAV was the perfect place to try.

Right beside Moe's in Kapitolyo and near Pioneer Center Supermarket

Thai Milk Tea. It tastes just like any other Thai milk tea I have tried before. Nothing special but still very good.

Chicken Pandan -The chicken was boneless cut into small pieces so it was easy to eat. We loved the charcoal grilled flavor that went well with the vinegar on the side. Some Thai restaurants serve their Chicken Pandan with sweet chili sauce. I guess you could ask for some if you like that more than vinegar.

Vegetarian Crispy Noodles - OUR FAVORITE! The sauce was underneath all this crispy goodness.

Baby corn, broccoli, carrots, and shitake mushrooms in sweet brown sauce. We almost forgot it was vegetarian because the mushroom kind of tasted like meat.

LJ loves crispy noodles. He doesn't like mixing them to make the noodles soggy. The crispier the better. :)

Fried Sticky Rice with Mangoes and Coconut Sauce - WINNER!! This isn't your usual sticky rice because it's covered in shaved coconut and fried to make it crispy! This dessert really made a good impression on us because it was so good! Must try!

Hmmmmm. Heaven!

Perfect way to end out Thai meal! We will be back for sure. Thank God Kapitolyo has a really good Thai place.

'Til the next Fridate! <3 Cheers!

Mad Mark's Manwiches

November 4, 2011 - Mad Mark's - East Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo Pasig

A new restaurant opened in our neighborhood recently and it's called MAD MARK'S. Their specialty? Not just your regular sandwiches, but as they call it Manwiches.

Their menu is straight to the point.

Cute small place.

Mariner Manwich - Fish Fillet with Tartare Sauce, Relish. Don't forget to add cheese! I love the crusty bread! After tasting this, I'll never go back to eating Fillet-o-fish in McDonald's.

Lumberjack Manwich - Angus Beef, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, and cheese. The beef is so tasty and not at all tough. We love that they don't skimp on the meat in their sandwiches.

Garlic Parmesean Fries - Amazingly crispy fries! Eat it while it's hot! :)

With our friend Joanna joined us for dinner :)

Mad Mark's has expanded their menu since the first time we came. Now they have other kinds of Manwiches and also rice meals. Try it out! :)