zambo resto review: Country Chicken!

been on a hunt for a good gourmet resto in zambo... there's just a few to consider but there's only 2 that i favor... Lantaka Hotel's resto (though i'm not totally impressed still) and Country Chicken. I am no stranger to Country Chicken because this had been my family's go-to resto during special occasions when we were still little.... i can remember their bilao and clam soup... that's what we always order back then... then i haven't been there for so long... until last year, when i met up with my elementary classmates... i made sure we'll meet there hehe... before that i always try to put off plans of trying country chicken, it's my last hope of a good gourmet resto in zamboanga... i always get disappointed with the restos we try around the city... and based on some friends' recommendation about gourmet food in Country Chicken, i hold on to the idea that at least there'll be one good resto here... i'm not so sure if the gourmet dishes had been in Country Chicken's menu... i can only remember the bilao.

the december meetup at Country Chicken did not disappoint me. I am raving about their pizza! and pasta too! although not as good as some of my fave restos in Manila, it's still good! It met my expectations.... hehe. Went back there several times after... and then we got a treat from Ma'am June Bugante who promised us a Country Chicken dinner once she starts to work again.... as the Region's Department of Tourism's Director! coolness!

this was served to Ma'am June before we arrived. The Chef wanted her to try this new patte that's not yet in their menu... it was supposed to be made of  olive oil with eel or something that exotic.. i forgot already, even failed to remember the name (i know blogger-fail again!). but this was good! 

and the bread that goes with the patte! made me miss Italiani's free focacia bread... hehe the soft freshly baked feel of this bread complements the patte.

ceasar's salad with parmesan cheese, nachos and bacon bits! this is one of my major frustrations here in zamboanga, there's only one variety of lettuce... just the iceberg lettuce... so any green salad you'll find in any resto here (or even if you want to have a home-made green salad), it'll just be iceberg lettuce...

this is callos i think.... name slipped my mind again! ugrh! hehehe but this is one of my fave dishes served that night!

and pasta! just as how i cook my version! super like... :-)

their homemade ice cream! tastes like sorbetes. I was too full to appreciate it but enjoyed it somehow...

ambiance-wise... pasadong pasado!!!! i love the homey feel.... :-)

and what's good food without good people to have good chitchats with! :-) Kaladkarin's food trip again!

i got too excited about the pizza served that i forgot to take photos of it... t'was my fave pa naman.

it was just me, edsel and ma'am june who really enjoyed the gourmet dishes.... the rest of the kaladkarins wanted to have rice, so the usual bilao was served. I guess this is one major reason why gourmet restos do not flourish here in zamboanga.... most people here prefer rice-heavy meals, that's what they're used to...

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Country Chicken

Pasonanca, Zamboanga City

02 June 2011

camera: Canon Powershot D10

zambo trip ng mga igits - 2 of 2

we were supposed to go to Sta Cruz island that day.... but just that weekend, weather's bad for zamboanga city... major fail for the planned trip to the pink island... big waves that the small boats that would take us there even backed out (although there was one group who still dared the waves)... i cant take the risk, i have this little buddy inside me.. too sad though, it would have been dianne, etz, ray and ryan's first time to go there (and some CMZ friends who came that morning at Paseo del Mar to join us). we forgot to summon the power of itlog....

just to make sure the day's not wasted we just brought them to Puerto Villa, a beach resort somewhere in Patalon.... when we got there big waves still welcomed us... but it contributed some fun to the Patalon trip (pseudo-body surfing of some sort for them! hehe although, you will definitely end up with a bruise or wound because the beach's not pure sand... stones are aplenty!). i've been to this resort in Patalon several times, and most of the time i find it boring, except for that day... the big waves really added character to the beach... 

my travel buds from manila... ryan, ray, ezra, dianne and etz

i was not able to really prepare good food for their trip but still found a way to have something to answer their seafood galore craving (wala nga lang crabs... suri!)

my dude and his buddies... they were the first ones to play crazy with the waves

first time i saw ray play with waves this big was during our bataan trip... i didn't expect he's the type who would have fun for something like this! hehe

we had 2 underwater cams with us that time... while ezra and me were doing my underwater preggy shoot, this is what kept them busy... nice! :D

videoke session at Bojol... t'was their last night anyway... just trying to make the most of their time... i think we tire them too much!

and as if we were not yet stuffed that day... we still had a little late dinner at chinito's! (my fave find that night.... grilled sinigang! yummy!)

zambo trip ng mga igits - 1 of 2

it's nice to have friends come over and visit me here in zamboanga... although i know their ulterior motive is to go to Sta Cruz island... hehehe just kidding... they're my travel buddies back in Manila. This is ezra's 2nd time and first for Ryan & Ray (naiwan sila ng plane last time), Dianne (marami kasing excuses dahil takot pumunta ng Zamboanga) and Etz.

Last time i have friends over, my preps was over the top... and we had so much fun going around zambo & sta cruz island. (2009 zambo trip ng mga igits posts: GE Pips in Zambo , Mt.Pulong Bato, Freedom Park, Jardin Lobregat, Camp Atilano & Tree House, Sta Cruz -1, Sta Cruz - 2, Canelar Barter, Sta Cruz - 3, Fishpond, Sta Cruz - 4, Kape Zambo, Cawa-Cawa). But sadly this time, i barely did any preparation because of work and my pregnancy... i hope somehow they still had fun during their super quick trip...considering the planned sta cruz island trip was cancelled due to bad weather.

Guiwan Market

i was this unprepared that i have to drag them to the market after picking them up from the airport... :D but looks like they had fun going around that small place... hehe


Fort Pilar Shrine

last time i brought the previous group here there was a mass going on, we made sure there's none at the time we went there.

Zamboanga National Museum

they didn't get to come here last time too! so we made sure this is one of our first stops...it started to rain after we went around the museum. btw, they've closed the "aquarium"-like part of the place.

Canelar Barter

they have a shorter trip this time so we made sure we'll have their barter needs covered soonest so we'll have the rest of the time going around.

Pasonanca Park

weather's not really nice to us that day. We made a quick stop at the Pasonanca park for a little shoot and for them to see that famed Tree House.

Kape Zambo

and to end the day... we spent time to just chillax at Kape Zambo. Sound trip and food trip galore.

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everywhere around Zambo

11June2011

some photos used were from Ezra Montemayor (as indicated)

colette's buko pie now in zamboanga!!!

i'm not really a huge fan of Colette's buko pie... i was actually turned off when i cut the first and only colette's i bought during one of my Laguna trips before was only half filled with buko... but last month an officemate brought a colette's at the office and told us that it's already availble in zamboanga. i took one slice and surprised to see a different version of colette's... it's buko galore! and their pie here is only Php175!!! compared to the Php200+ in manila (even in laguna i guess). 

so one weekend, we went out of our way to visit the store... they cook the pies there. good thing the displays were newly cooked so we got really fresh pies! 

it's a bit weird to find a Colette's sign here... hehe 

good ol' classic Colette's Buko Pie!

they also have Buko-Langka & Buko-Pandan Pie variants

and the Buko Pie Supreme... i guess it's the topping that's different about this one. But i find this too much for me... so i'm sticking with the classic buko pie... :-)

Dulce Recuerdos de Zamboanga - name of the store. They also sell other famous food from various places.

they also have a packaged lokot-lokot! now aside from the usual barter's coco jelly this is something i can bring as pasalubong.

Colette's or should I say Dulce Recuerdos de Zamboanga's exact address. It's near Claret School.

just so you won't completely miss it, it's inside this building. the only building you'll find at the back of Jollibee-San Jose, Zamboanga City.

kusina experiment: mango crepe w/ butterscotch sauce!

i have days when i would think of something to cook out of nowhere... most of the time trying to mix different food ideas i get from all my food trips... for this, i combined the idea i got from that unforgettable butterscotch banana we had during our Pagudpud trip (had it at Kapuluan Beach Resort) plus that "orgasmic" (according to my friend ezra) deja vu crepe of Cafe Breton... :-)

months ago i've discovered how to make fresh lumpia wrappers... well not really discovered but tried what i found online... and decided i could use the same for a crepe... although texture was still a bit different, so i've tried to search again for a crepe recipe... i should have added milk.... i will still have to try that later. :D 

anyways, for now here's my mango crepe with butterscotch sauce recipe. it's basically made of 3 parts: the crepe with mango, butterscotch sauce, and the ice cream! :-)

the mango crepe

     what you'll need:

          sweet ripe mangoes - as many as you want!!!

          1 egg, lightly beaten

          1/2 cup water

          1/4 cup cornstarch

          dash of salt

          oil to grease the pan

     here's how:

          1. Mix egg, water, cornstarch and salt thoroughly until smooth

          2. Take about 1/4 cup of batter to make each crepe (piece of wrapper)

          3. Brush some oil on a non-stick pan. Spread the batter thinly by turning the pan 
              around. Cook only one side of the crepe over low heat.
          4. Using a spatula, lift the crepe out of the pan.
          5. Arrange the mangoes on the half part of the crepe then fold.


      tips:
          - Don’t keep the crepe too long on the pan as it will be toasted. 
          - When it turns slightly brown or small bubbles appear on the surface, it’s cooked!
          - if you don't have a non-stick pan, a brush and the cover of that trusty saingan is a 
            good alternative

the butterscotch sauce:

 what you'll need:

          4 tablespoons unsalted butter

          1 cup of brown sugar

          3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream (nestle cream would do!)

          1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

          dash of salt

          

     here's how:

          1. Melt butter under low to medium heat.

          2. Before the butter is completely melted, add the brown sugar. Stir until sugar is  

              uniformly wet.

          3. Stir infrequently until mixture turns from looking grainy to molten lava. This will 

              take about 3 to 5 minutes.

          4. Once you'll notice that the caramelizing brown sugar begins to feel and look more 

              liquid than a thick wet sand, add the cream. Use a whisk at this point.

          5. Lower the heat while whisking the cream into the mixture. Once the liquid is 

              uniform turn back the heat and continue whisking for another 10minutes. Turn off 

              once this boiled after the 10minutes.

          6. Add the salt and vanilla extract. Taste, and add salt and vanilla until your desired 

              butterscotch taste is achieved.

      tips:

          - The whole process will happen really quick so make sure all ingredients are 

            measured and are ready within reach before starting.

the ice cream and the final touch!!!

 what you'll need:

          mango crepe (arranged as mentioned above)

          butterscotch sauce

          mango or vanilla flavored ice cream (other flavors may not be good for this!)

 here's how:

          drizzle butterscotch sauce all over the mango crepe and on the sides as you wish. 

          Add a scoop or 2 of mango or vanilla ice cream. Best served while crepe is hot and 

          ice cream is at its perfect state! ENJOY!!!

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sourced of recipes:

Simply Recipes - for the butterscotch sauce

Pinoy Recipes - for the crepe

mango crepe arranged and photographed by my dude!

zambo foodtrip: VG Queen Health Food Center

this is a nice foodie find for me! after trying the nice veggie resto in Tacloban last year, I was really hoping there's also a veggie resto here too... when i told my friends about this they recommended VG Queen to me. We've been planning to go there since last year but...well at least finally we get to try it now! :-) I was told that you are required to finish everything that's on your plate. So we're up with the challenge... hoping food is good. 

It's located at Campaner St. That's the street that leads to the back of McDonalds (the one located in front of Zamboanga Cathedral). Just at the part of the street that's about to curve, you'll find this old building with the yellow VG Queen signboard.

it's not as posh as the veggie resto i've encountered in Tacloban... so don't set your expectations too high. setup is more carinderia-like. The owner is a chinese so you'll see a lot of chinese stuff inside the shop.... and lots of Vegan & food wastage reminder. :-) 

it's basicall self-service. you may stuff your plate with as many as you want. they will charge you Php20 per 100grams. veggie BBQ and rice costs Php10. they have a lot of choices... only thing i didn't like is i don't know the names of the dishes... :D

this is my plate... i guess i overestimated my capacity to eat... took a lot of pasta... i was the last to finish, was forcing all of these in my stomach even though i was already full with just half of what's in my plate. the BBQ's ok, nothing to really rave about. Pasta is good. the mongo sprouts are a fave! it's still crunchy and feels like it's not cooked but doesn't tastes raw. and there's this intestine-looking veggie dish that's also a favorite!

except for the fact that they're serving healthy food, i don't have anything specific to rave about the place. it's nice that there's a vegetarian resto in zamboanga... i've heard they've been operating for years already i hope they'll exists longer... i've noticed that during lunchtime there are a lot of customers too! so i suppose they really have their support. :-)






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VG Queen Health Food Center
Campaner St., Zamboanga City
Tel No.: (062) 991-9191
29 June 2011

zambo wedding singers: Allan, Rawen & Ritzie!

another part of the wedding which i completely entrusted to hubby.... i'm into a lot of different types of music but we both agreed that our wedding songs will be mainly acoustics... his fave and mine too... (was actually thinking also of reggae if only the wedding singers can do it...). he told me he's getting Allan, his friend who regularly sings in Kape Zambo (one of our fave hangouts here in zamboanga) to sing during reception. and told me further that Allan will be bringing 2 more girls to sing with him, sisters Rawen & Ritzie. I've already heard Allan sing and play the guitar, and he's really good! i am very confident he would really do justice to the songs we wanted for the wedding... i was a bit hesitant about the 2 girls because i never had the chance to hear them sing in Kape Zambo... 

Leo asked me for the songs i want to be included in our list.... I told him to make sure Never Saw Blue Like That by Shawn Colvin, Feels Like Home by Chantal Kreviazuk, Lucky by Colbie Callait & Jason Mraz and a lot of other Colbie Callait songs are included in the list. On his part he wanted Jason Mraz songs and his all time song for me daw - The First Time I Love Forever (cheeziness galoreeee!!!).

Leo chose Never Saw Blue Like That for our entrance at the reception... that was the first time I heard Rawen sing... i kept on smiling the whole time... i really really like the way she sang it. :-) and then Ritzie sang The First Time I Love Forever for our first dance.... it was sooooooo smooth and soooo nice! super love... kulang na lang yung Somewhere I Have Never Traveled poem snippets... :-) Leo had it in his mind daw during preps to say the poem in between the singer's part but completely forgot about it already during the day.


too bad we chose to only have an SDE video that's why moments like that was not completely captured... so when we had the chance to be at Kape Zambo while it was our wedding singers performing, we asked them to sing our songs again and i was able to get a video of 2 of the songs. :-)

here's Never Saw Blue Like That (sorry for the dark vid and the noisy friends behind camera!)


and here's Feels Like Home. they sang this when we had the cutting of the cake.


Kape Zambo's close as of this blogpost (for renovation). I know Allan still performs in Mano-Mano in Paseo del Mar. You may want to check them out there. :-) And just in case you want to consider them for weddings or whatever, here's Allan Ebojo's number: 0915 397-7745. :-)






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Kape Zambo
Canelar, Zamboanga City
11 June 2011

zambo foodtrip: ISAW sa Paseo del Mar

just one of those random foodtrip fridays ng kaladkarin. :-) found a way to dodge my grounded status and joined them since they've been craving for isaw the whole week already. They've been raving about how good the isaw  is at Paseo... so despite the little rain, we headed to that crowded place....

for now i think there's only one resto selling isaw in Paseo. It's at the end part of the stretch of restaurants on the right side. The one selling the famous Knicker Bucker's also the one selling the isaw. They've setup this cart where they grill and fry street foods... aside from isaw and tempura, i think i remember trying their chicken balls too (you'll taste more potato than chicken hehehe). 

isaw costs Php1.00 per stick. this tastes really good! i'll vouch for this! a must try!

tempura costs Php5.00 per stick. i'm just ok with their tempura. i think i prefer the tempura we use to have along cawa-cawa or inside Grandstand... the one being sold by street vendors. :-)

some of the kaladkarins. edsel (left most) is usually the one who starts a craving that ends up to be our friday foodtrip destination... :D

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Paseo del Mar, Zamboanga City
01 July 2011