March 11, 2017
2:32 AM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

May 13 Is National Breakfast Day

McDonald's celebrates the 5th National Breakfast Day on May 13, 2017, Monday

McDonald’s celebrates the 5th National Breakfast Day on May 13, 2017, Monday

BREAKFAST is the most important meal of the day. A good, nutritious breakfast provides us with energy that will last the whole day, and even if you overeat a bit, you still get to burn the calories throughout the day. Unfortunately, we sometimes take breakfast for granted. We are so much in a hurry to get to school or work that we often just drink a cup of coffee and run off.

To highlight the importance of breakfast as a meal, McDonald’s holds National Breakfast Day on Monday, March 13, 2017, for the fifth straight year. Promising to be the ‘best Monday ever,’ the 5th National Breakfast Day will see close to 450 participating McDonald’s restaurants nationwide giving away free breakfast sandwiches via dine-in, takeout and drive-thru.
Simply visit a participating McDonald’s restaurant from 6:00 to 7:00 a.m., queue up and get either a Sausage McMuffin, Egg McMuffin or Burgerdesal.

Sausage McMuffin

Sausage McMuffin

Sausage McMuffin is McDonald’s iconic breakfast fare. It is a juicy and savory all-beef sausage with quickmelt American cheese, sandwiched between halves of perfectly toasted English muffins.

Egg McMuffin

Egg McMuffin

Egg McMuffin is a classic variation made with lean Canadian bacon, American cheese and fried Grade A egg sandwiched between halves of English muffin.

Burgerdesal

Burgerdesal

Burgerdesal, which is McDonald’s newest breakfast offering, is the fast-food chain’s twist on the Filipino staple, the pandesal. It is soft pandesal with a tasty burger patty topped with sweet, creamy and flavorful sauce.

“With the 5th National Breakfast Day, we want our customers to know that they can count on us to make their mornings extraordinary,” says Kenneth S. Yang, McDonald’s Philippines president and chief executive officer.

He adds: “We hope that this one-of-a-kind breakfast experience will provide Filipinos with a warm and happy smile on their faces that will keep them going throughout the day.”

So, save the date—May 13, 2017, Monday, from 6:00 to 7:00 a.m.—and head for a participating McDonald’s restaurant. The 5th National Breakfast Day promises to be the biggest celebration of breakfast ever.

Share your National Breakfast Day experience. Tag @McDo_PH on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag #NationalBreakfastDay.

 

Posted in FoodBiz Tagged , , , , , , ,

March 10, 2017
1:11 AM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Kani Salad

DSCF6385CHICKEN Teriyaki, Ebi Tempura, California Maki, Salmon Sashimi, Kani Salad… These are the most frequently ordered items on the menu of Japanese restaurants, be it a high-end restaurant or a fast-food chain. No matter how extensive some menus can be, these classic dishes will always land on top of the list.

These dishes look sophisticated but are actually easy to prepare. Kani Salad, for one, needs only an assembly of delightful ingredients. No cooking required. My sister Swanie and I made Kani Salad at home often. Since my husband Raff and I have been temporarily staying with her in her place in Mandaluyong City, we have made Kani Salad several times already.

Here’s how we did it:

6 cups Iceberg or curly lettuce
1 pc. cucumber
1/2 pc. carrot, peeled
1 small pack kani (crabsticks)
Japanese mayonnaise
1-2 pcs. ripe mangoes
tobiko (egg roe), optional

1. Wash and pat-dry lettuce leaves. Tear into bite sizes and place in a big bowl.
2. Peel cucumber, cut vertically in half, and core. Cut into thin slices. Scatter all over the lettuce.
3. Slice carrots thinly, then cut into fine julienne. Spread out over the salad.
4. Slice crabsticks into half, then shred roughly. Sprinkle over the salad.
5. Pipe Japanese mayonnaise over the salad. Mix well, and add Japanese mayonnaise as desired.
6. Cut ripe mangoes into cubes. Add to salad and lightly fold until fully incorporated but not mashed.
7. Serve in chilled salad plates topped with a little tobiko.

Posted in Recipes, Salads Tagged , , ,

March 4, 2017
2:20 PM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Minty-mansi Granita
(The Maya Kitchen)

Minty-Mansi GranitaYOU know it’s summer when the cool climate is starting to give way to a warm breeze and your sweat keeps streaming down your face especially during noontime. It is thus time to beat the summer heat with cool, icy drinks such as this Minty-mansi Granita from The Maya Kitchen.

3 cups water
1 cup sugar
zest of 6 pcs. calamansi
1/2 cup calamansi juice
mint leaves, crushed (as needed for taste and garnish)

1. Combine 1/2 cup of water and 1 cup sugar in a medium-sized saucepan.
2. Add the calamansi zest and mint leaves to the saucepan.
3. Over medium heat, stir ingredients frequently until sugar is dissolved completely. Remove syrup from heat and strain into a bowl. Add the remaining water then chill.
4. Add calamansi juice to the cooled syrup then pour into a shallow pan. Put the pan in freezer for 30 minutes. Scrape the edges towards the center using a fork once they begin to freeze. Check every 30 minutes then repeat the process of scraping until the entire mixture is frozen but is broken down into fine crystals. Use individual dishes for serving.

*Note: Basil may be used instead of mint leaves.

Posted in Beverages, Recipes Tagged , , , ,

February 27, 2017
1:56 AM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Serye Restaurant and Cafe:
Top 5 Signature Dishes Revealed

Serye Restaurant and Cafe's Classic Kare-Kare

Serye Restaurant and Cafe’s Classic Kare-Kare

CONSIDERING how many delicious and impressive Filipino dishes there are on the menu of Serye Restaurant and Café, what do you think are the Top 5 dishes of the restaurant that diners crave for?

Let’s do a rundown:

Boneless Crispy Pata

Boneless Crispy Pata

1) Boneless Crispy Pata (Php140 per 100 grams). Crispy Pata, as it is, is already always a winner on every Filipino restaurant’s menu. But Serye goes a step further by deboning it and slicing it as well. So all diners have to do is take a slice and enjoy it with a knife and a fork. Serye’s Boneless Crispy Pata is pork trotters cooked three times after being deboned—boiled in its marinade, baked to dry up the skin, and then fried to a golden crisp. The result: tender and succulent meat and crispy skin. It comes in three sizes — Regular (good for 2 to 3 persons) at Php365 to 495; Medium (good for 3 to 5 persons) at Php495 to 885; and Large (good for 5 to 7 persons at Php885 to 1,120.

Classic Kare-Kare

Classic Kare-Kare

2) Classic Kare-Kare (Php475). It is oxtail and tripe stewed in a beef-annatto broth thickened with rice and peanuts. Serye’s Classic Kare-Kare is special because it is made from scratch and prepared according to how Kare-Kare is prepared during the Spanish period. No shortcuts. The chefs roast the peanuts, toast the rice, boil beef tail and knee cap to make beef stock, and utilize onions and aromatic herbs for added flavor.

Binagoongang Lechon Kawali

Binagoongang Lechon Kawali

binagoongang lechon kawali-IMG_07903) Binagoongang Lechon Kawali (Php475). This dish is inspired by two Filipino favorites, Binagoongang Baboy (pork strips cooked in bagoong or shrimp paste) and Lechon Kawali (pork belly deep-fried until the skin is golden and crispy). Serye makes its own bagoong, which it uses to prepare its Binagoongang Lechon Kawali.

Laing con Camaron Rebosado

Laing con Camaron Rebosado

4) Laing con Camaron Rebosado (Php350). A Bicolano specialty, Laing is gabi or taro leaves stewed in coconut cream with ground pork and shrimp paste. Camaron Rebosado is crunchy shrimps that have been breaded and fried. In this Serye dish, three crunchy shrimps sit on top of a platter of Laing.

Chicken and Pork Adobo

Chicken and Pork Adobo

5) Chicken and Pork Adobo (Php385). Chicken and pork are combined and braised in garlic and vinegar. Serye uses artisanal fermented vinegar with soy sauce, although Serye’s Chicken and Pork Adobo has more of a sour, cooked vinegar taste than of soy sauce. It leans towards the Batangas style of cooking adobo, which is garlicky. This new and improved version of the restaurant’s adobo dish, which was launched last year, comes with quail eggs.

All five are signature dishes of Serye. They are best-sellers at Serye and are constantly being ordered by diners.

“The combination of Laing and Camaron Rebosado came as an accidental discovery. One time, I came to the restaurant and ate Laing with my rice. I also ordered Camaron Rebosado, and eating them together, I realized that they’re a good combination,” explains Serye Restaurant and Café owner Alvin Reyes Lim, whose great grandmother Engracia Cruz Reyes is the founder of The Aristocrat restaurant chain and whose grandmother Teresita Reyes is the icon behind the Mama Sita mixes and sauces line.

Recently, the restaurant added two new dishes to its menu. These are Grilled Tuna Panga and Crispy Tuna Tail, both utilizing Line-Caught Tuna (which is tuna sourced through sustainable fishing methods and therefore environment-friendly). By patronizing only line-caught tuna for its tuna dishes, Serye is able to support the sustainable seafood effort made collectively by several hotels and restaurants in the metro to encourage Filipino fishermen to employ only sustainable fishing methods and refrain from destructive fishing methods that will eventually take their toll on the Philippine seas.

Grilled Tuna Panga

Grilled Tuna Panga

Grilled Tuna Panga (Php160 per 100 grams). It is tender and juicy tuna jaw served with dipping sauce.

Crispy Tuna Tail

Crispy Tuna Tail

Crispy Tuna Tail (Php130 per 100 grams). This new dish of Serye is not just crispy. It is as crispy as the restaurant’s Crispy Pata because the tuna tail is cooked following the same method as Crispy Pata.

 

(Serye is located at Quezon Memorial Circle, Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City; with telephone numbers (02) 924-3411 and 426-2693; and at Santana Grove, Dr. A. Santos Ave., San Antonio, Parañaque City; with telephone numbers (02) 825-4691 and 826-9317.)

Posted in Restos Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 25, 2017
2:43 AM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Deep-fried Chicken Cordon Bleu
(Jolly Canola Heart Mate Oil)

Deep-fried Chicken Cordon Bleu

Deep-fried Chicken Cordon Bleu

LOVE Chicken Cordon Bleu? It is a dish that sounds snobbish and looks complicated to make but is actually easy to replicate at home. Yes, it is fried, but if you use a light and healthy oil and fry it at the right temperature, you can actually eliminate excess fat and the dish can be light and healthy. Fly Ace Corporation, which retails different varieties of cooking oil under the Jolly brand, suggests its Jolly Canola Oil for deep-frying Chicken Cordon Bleu. Considered a healthy type of oil, as it has the lowest saturated fat content among cooking oils, Jolly Canola Oil is fortified with Vitamins A and E and contains Omega 3 and Omega 6, which are essential to the heart.

Here, Jolly shares the recipe of a delectable Deep-fried Chicken Cordon Bleu:

4 pcs. skinless, boneless chicken breast
salt and pepper to taste
4 pcs. Cheddar Cheese slices
4 pcs. thinly-sliced smoked ham
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1 cup Goodlife Bread Crumbs
Jolly Canola Heart Mate Oil for deep-frying

1. Pound chicken breast to 1/4–inch thickness. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
2. Place one slice of cheese and one slice of ham on each breast.
3. Roll up each chicken breast tightly. Use toothpicks to seal ends, if necessary.
4. Dredge each chicken breast roulade in flour, shake off excess, then dip in beaten egg and, finally, roll in Good Life bread crumbs.
5. Heat Jolly Canola Heart Mate Oil and deep-fry chicken roulade in hot oil.
6. Cut into slices. Serve with rice and gravy on the side.

Posted in Poultry, Recipes Tagged , , , ,