Posts Tagged ‘valentines day’
Late Hearts Day Dinner at Adarna Food and Culture Restaurant
February 28th, 2011 | 
Author: The month is ending today and because of my busy schedule, I have not got any time again to write anything for the month of February. Yes, this is the month of love and many of us are celebrating a particular day with our beloved one and yes this is another date that companies are seizing the opportunity to earn a whole lot more by offering specials that consumers will certainly bite. There is too much consumerism and commercialism that one can handle before, during and after Valentine’s Day that it already created a murky image of what this day meant for lovers.
Well, my dearest one and I decided not to celebrate it at all and just let it pass. But I cannot help myself but to treat her in a splendid dinner and spend a good time with her the weekend after Valentine’s Day. I researched for weeks to find a good restaurant in the metro, and I always see a restaurant that seems to be exceptional in terms of its menu and ambiance. I also noticed that reviews are good at the most and many bloggers out there are recommending it. This is none other than Adarna Food and Culture restaurant.
Adarna Food and Culture
This restaurant has a certain cultural feel that I have not experienced yet to other restaurants that we went to before. You will feel at home while dining, and every corner offers a collection of memorabilia that will blast you in the past. The menu is rich and extensive in historical and heirloom recipes from all over the Philippines.
Fried Vegetable Lumpia
First we are astounded by the vastness of the menu, many of which we have not heard of before. We ordered a known appetizer just to be on the safe side; Fried Vegetable Lumpia, which we know would not hurt us since it is a mainstay in all Filipino tables. We did not ordered any soups or salads because we still felt full from the merienda that we ate a couple of hours ago.
Piassok
We then ordered Piassok. I heard mostly good reviews for this particular dish and I myself am curious how it tastes. Piassok is a native Sulu dish made of beef chunks cooked in smoked coconut milk, buttered and grilled before serving.
Rellenong Sugpo
The next dish that we ordered was the Rellenong Sugpo. The sugpos are stuffed with minced pork, shrimps and vegetables and rolled in butter and fried. It comes with a special sweet and sour sauce.
Garlic Fried Rice
As for rice, we are checking out the Batanes Yellow Rice. It seems exotic to us, but because of a review that I read that it is not that good enough, we just went off with the normal Garlic Fried Rice. Later on I regret ordering it, not because the garlic rice was not good, but the feeling that we should just have tried taking our chances on something new.
Gulaman at Sago
We did not order yet any desserts as we are having hard time choosing. My girlfriend opted with the normal Gulaman at Sago because she was craving for it before.
The dishes did not take long to be cooked and a the same time, we are entertained by the richness of the setting. The dishes are served in high quality china that makes you think that everything here is special.
The lumpia is simple, nothing extraordinary, just like what my dad and mom cook for us.
The presentation of the Piassok is visually enticing enough as well as for the taste buds. There is a certain aroma created by grilling the beef and combining it with the richness of coconut milk.
I really liked the Rellenong Sugpo; at first glance we were amazed that it looked pretty much like fried chicken legs. The taste of pork overcomes the taste of shrimp; but nevertheless it was excellent. The sauce really complements the dish. The special sauce somewhat taste like honey with certain sourness in it.
The rice is just like any other garlic rice; which is plain and simple also; as well as the Gulaman at Sago. It is so sweet in the palate even if we already put lots of water in it just to dilute the sweetness.
We spent the night satisfied; however, the only misfortune that we experienced was the food that was switched when we asked the leftovers to be packed because we were not able to finished it all up but the service is good and the whole experience is wonderful. All in all, this restaurant proved to be a really nice dining place for lovers or not.
Our Extremely Late Valentine’s Day Date at Bellini’s
It’s been a month already and I am still contemplating while writing if I should write or not. I don’t know but days just passed and I haven’t yet got the initiative to write something about our heart’s day date. I even got a post for my birthday, which was 2 weeks after V-Day, but still haven’t got any on our date last Feb 14. Me and my girlfriend talked whether I will write a post about it or not. I have shift on that day, fortunately, I was on the morning shift and I went home early to buy flowers and the humongous card that I saw in the bookstore. The message is really cute, not mushy at all. This is the first time that we celebrated hearts day on the day itself because we don’t want to go with the crowd and all the hassle, but there is always a first for everything, right?!
I checked out several restaurants about 2 weeks ago before that date that I wanted to try but this restaurant got the highest positive reviews above the rest and given a short notice, Bellini’s was able to accommodate us. For one, this was the venue of the movie of John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo, which we watched. My girl really liked the film. Well, the restaurant seemed cozy and has an authentic Italian ambiance. Amongst the reviews, many food enthusiasts said that the food was excellent and the atmosphere transported you out of the metropolis and the feeling that you are in Italy.
We went there at around 7 pm. For those who don’t know it, it is by the way in Marikina Shoe Expo, right in the heart of Cubao.
I was impressed by the reviews in Bellini’s that is why I chose to go there on Valentines 2010. However, I am not at all satisfied at the food and the service after we went there that day.
First, we we’re served with the mixed appetizers of breadsticks, bread with something like liver spread and eggplant with cheese, ham and tomato. The eggplant appetizer looked and tasted like it was prepared 4 hours before we order it!
The first plate of pasta was good. I got the Ravioli Rossi Al Tartufo, which is red ravioli with spinach and ham in truffle cream.
My girlfriend got the Fresh Fettucine Scampi E Pomodoro, which is fettucine with shrimp in marinara sauce but also it was good but nothing extravagant about it. It is salty to my taste.
For the second plate, I got the Rotolo Di Pollo Con Formaggio E Panceta or the Chicken Roll with Cheese & Bacon in White Sauce .It was also good but only reminds me of a dish that is served by a caterer everytime I am in an occasion like weddings or birthdays.
My girlfriend got the Pesce Amore Mio Alla Toscana , which only has a single prawn, two clams and two mussels..the serving is really small, a kid might not even appreciate it, like the first one, it’s just a mediocre dish.
Then the waiter suddenly told us that the dessert that we ordered, the Panna Cotta were already out of stock! After eating everything! Why didn’t he told us in the first place?!
The dessert that were offered to us were Tortella Alla Crema Di Fragola or Strawberry Cream Tart and Obama Cake. Both were truly great but my girlfriend could not eat much of the tart and the slice of cake because it is too sweet and your blood sugar will surely shoot.
Waiters are shouting at each other while attending to customers. I need to get their attention twice just to get the bill, and received it after 15 minutes!
The price on the set menu didn’t justify at all the food and service. It is really high beyond expectation. They are taking advantage of this special day, well, may be not only this restaurant, but also other establishments including other restaurants, hotels and resorts out there.
The food and service is not that really great as expected after all the hype about this place, but considering the day itself and the person that I am celebrating it with, I can say that our date was perfect!
Posted in Featured | 
Tags: Bellini's, hearts day, Marikina Shoe Expo, Panna Cotta, v-day, valentines day | 
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will you be my valentine?
So many stories to tell. Endless sending of love quotes, messages and letters, chocolates, teddy bears.
Flowers, ahh flowers, especially rose, the ultimate symbol of Valentines Day. Bouquet of roses and different kinds of other flowers.
Hotel bookings. I don’t know why bookings in hotels are quite high during this season. Can you please tell me why hehehe?!
I don’t know why Valentines Day is such a big deal to us Filipinos, but I think it is not only in our country. Other nationalities also celebrate in this day with great passion.
What is so special in this day that the normal guy or girl tends to be much more romantic than in any other day in the year? Well, if you will ask me, I don’t know the answer. Why is the serotonin level of an individual too high in this time of the year? Sorry, but why is the urge of a normal human being shoot sky high because of this celebration of love?
Can you please answer all of these questions for me?
Posted in Daily Dose |
Tags: Add new tag, Bouquet of roses, chocolates, flowers, teddy bears, valentines day |
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love is in the air!
I can smell love in the air!
I’m not a valentines fanatic; however, the love hype won’t leave me hehehe!
Everywhere I go, every channel I switch, all the ads that I see..single or in a relationship, committed or just flirting, people can’t help but be engrossed in the euphoric feeling of being in love due to the phenomena that valentines day brought us.
I like talking about love and relationship. I like sharing experiences and hearing other’s experiences as well. This is one topic aside from making money, business, current news, politics, history, cooking that I’m totally well aware of and very interested.
People in every walks of life will never run out of stories to tell. It’s great to hear other person’s joy and triumph due to the feeling of being in love. Also, we can never leave the fact that there are sad stories as good stories to tell. Stories of misery, despair, separation can ruined someone’s day but also teaches others good lesson to heed.
But however we sees it, valentine’s day are for those who still believes in love and willing to sacrifice everything and go the extra mile for love to live. It’s an embodiment of us being human, capable of having emotion. A day for all that believes love still exist in this world that is full of hatred and loneliness.
