Birthday Lunch at Vikings - A Feast from the Sea

I got wind of Vikings' birthday promo via a social networking site. Their rules are pretty simple: you dine there on the day of your birthday accompanied by a full paying adult, present a government-issued ID indicating your date of birth, and you get to eat for free! Neat, eh?

So last month on hubby's birthday, we trooped to their MOA branch for lunch (we made reservations a week earlier) and dived into what Vikings had to offer. I guess I was a bit overwhelmed by the buffet spread (ok, I was starving, too!) that I just got whatever looked good to me. By the time I spotted the fresh seafood at the grilling station, the pasta section, and the oyster rockefeller and array of dimsum at the Asian section, I was already too full to even take another sip of juice. I promised myself that next time would be different.

February came around, and as planned, off to Vikings went our little family of three. After being shown to our table, hubby went off to take photos of the food while the little boss and I went around hunting for goodies.

First stop: Grilling Section. We selected an assortment of fish for Nathan as he isn't too fond of meat and added a couple of squid to be grilled. They had shrimps but it was brought out later, while crabs, we learned, are served during dinner and weekends. As I am allergic to crabs, it was not really a big deal, though hubby would have liked to try some. We settled for a good serving of freshly cooked shrimp tempura which was just being brought out beside the Grilling section.

Next: Carving Section, which is adjacent to the Grilling Section. Got some beef tenderloin, US top blade and crispy baked pork belly. Hubby also got some leg of lamb, which I tasted since I never had lamb before. It was ok, but I still prefer my steaks. Their beef tenderloin was so tender and flavorful that it doesn't really need any sauce. The top blade was good, too, but not as good as the tenderloin, while the pork belly tasted pretty much like lechon. They also had a lot of meat on skewers, including sausages and what looked like gizzards, but we skipped that.

Some of the goodies we had that day :)

As we passed by the appetizer section, the little boss started reaching for nachos. I got some of that and added some cheese, canapes, little ham sandwiches, and shrimp in a little red cup called ceviche. Also got a small serving of their pumpkin soup which Nathan and I shared. It was good, but the wild mushroom soup they had during our first visit tasted much better, at least to me.

No tummy space left for the yummy-looking bread and salad

At the Asian section, we got some oysters and hubby's plate of sushi. I never had oysters before simply because they, uh, look slimey to me. The ones at Vikings have cheese on top, just like baked mussels. Well, here goes... Hmmm... not bad. It was actually good. But as I was trying it for the first time and I just found out the hard way that I'm allergic to white clams, I decided not to overdo it and settled for just a couple. I was so intent on finding new things to try that I totally forgot one of our dimsum staples: the hakao. And they were really good! Tsk!

I was eyeing the pomelo and waldorf salads, but decided that if I want dessert, I'd have to skip them. So it was off to the dessert section for me and little boss. We peeked at the chiller and was a bit disappointed that there was no chocolate mouse that day. So we got a mango crepe with ice cream, cappuccino panna cotta, and an assortment of cakes. Then we went back for more ice cream (it was yummy and not too sweet!), some gummy candies, and another mango crepe. And since there are no photos to show just how much dessert we had, the calories in them don't count, haha!

Last time, they had prepared crepes in a covered dish which you can fill with your choice of filling. This time, a crew was assigned to the area so that each crepe was made as soon as you order one. We skipped the chocolate fountain as we weren't too impressed with it the last time. The chocolate was much too thin and runny, and tasted more sugary than chocolatey. It also looked like Vikings will be adding puto bumbong and bibingka to the native dessert line-up, since equipment for making them are already set up beside the crepe station, although at the time of our visit, they weren't in use yet.

While waiting in line to get some coffee (they only have 2 machines and the one I went to was sooooo slow!), I saw the frozen yogurt machine and thought, why not? Brought some back to our table and shared it with Nathan. Also beside it was a bartender preparing the shake of the day, cucumber with mint. However, I'm no fan of cucumber so I stuck with my ever-dependable dalandan juice while hubby alternated between that and the flavored iced tea, which happened to be his current favorite, Twining's passion fruit, mango and orange. There was also a soda machine dispensing 2 kinds of flavored lemonade (strawberry and blueberry, I think), sago at gulaman, and even draft beer (strictly for 18 and above only says the sign). Wine, on the other hand, is charged separately.

Of course, I got a birthday cake and a birthday song from Vikings' friendly crew :)

It was indeed a very nice birthday lunch. I got a free birthday treat, was able to try at least a couple of new things, and had two of my favorite boys with me. What more could a girl ask for? :)

Photos by Myk Esguerra

Sunday Brunch at Buon Giorno, Tagaytay

About a year ago, hubby and I agreed that Sundays will be devoted to: 1. attending mass, preferably in the morning since one tends to get a bit lazy later in the day, and 2. quality time spent with the family. This after we noticed that on most Sundays, we get so wrapped up in attending to little work details that it has become just another workday. It was fine when there were just the two of us. But now that we have our son, our priorities naturally changed, and we want to spend as much quality time with him as we could.

Last Sunday, our little boss woke up much later than his usual hour. As we wouldn't be able to make it to the 8:30AM mass at Our Lady of Lourdes, we opted to attend the 10AM mass. The mass finished shortly after 11AM, so instead of our usual late breakfast, we decided to try out something new.

We have been to Buon Giorno before, we live about 5 minutes away after all. However, upon learning that we were up for at least 20 minutes of waiting to get a table, we decided to just head out and find another place. Since it was still a bit early for lunch when we got there last Sunday, only a couple of tables were occupied, although more than half of the place was already reserved including all the tables on the open veranda. But luck was on our side as we were given a spacious corner couch that had a view of the whole restaurant as well as a glimpse of the view outside. Not bad! :)

The boss having milk at the corner couch which can double as a daybed.

As Nathan is sure to share my drink upon waking up (he fell asleep just before the mass ended), I got a glass of dalandan juice. It's actually a shake on the menu, but you can ask for it to be served as juice. Hubby decided to just have water as he wasn't too keen on their iced tea which the server informed us was a commercial brand one. Good decision, as I was surprised at my drink's size when they served it. It was HUGE!

Dalandan juice (Php120) in a  gigantic mug!

While waiting, they gave us some house bread, which was quite good. It was warm, light and had a hint of herbs. 

House bread

The bread went quite well with their cream of broccoli soup, which hubby and I shared. It might look a bit small, but if you're planning on having a heavy main course, it would be wise to just share a bowl as it can fill you up if you finish the whole serving on your own.

Crema de Broccoli (Php140)

Having seen risotto on reality cooking shows, hubby has long been wanting to try some. A food blog that I read a while back mentioned that Buon Giorno has really good risotto, so he decided to order one of their bestsellers, the chicken and mushroom. And good it was! I though at first that the generous-sized strips of chicken and mushroom were just toppings for the risotto, but when hubby started eating, we saw that there were more chicken and mushroom mixed in. Nathan seemed to like it, too, though as he just had his milk, he was more interested in sipping the dalandan juice than eating.

Pollo E Funghi risotto (Php302)

After debating with myself whether I should order their other bestseller risotto (smoked salmon and asparagus), I finally decided to have their rib eye which the served said was the bestseller in the steak/meat menu. I initially wanted prime rib but was informed that they no longer have it although it's still on the menu (with N/A written beside it). It was quite big, maybe 10 oz or more,  butterfly cut, and came with 2 sides and  mushroom and wine sauce. I asked that it be cooked medium well, but upon cutting into it, I realized that they had it well done. So well done, in fact, that the steak was almost dry and tough. It was also a bit on the salty side, just like the sides. I was contemplating on having it replaced, but decided against it as it was not entirely bad. But I'll definitely steer clear of it in future visits and stick to their risotto, pasta and salad.

Rib eye with potatoes and vegetables (Php598)

Overall it was a nice Sunday brunch for us. Nathan got a few bites of everything, but wasn't really impressed with the food. I guess he still wanted his pancakes and french toast which are his staples after Sunday mass. I'm sure we'd be going back to sample more of their menu (with pancakes thrown in for the little boss).

Buon Giorno Caffee and Bistro is located at The Cliffhouse, Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay City.

Picky little me -- the journey of a reluctant foodie

I have always been a picky eater. As a child, I would ask my mother to make me a soft boiled egg or a chocolate rice cake (read: steaming rice with Milo choco powder on top) whenever I didn't like what's on the table. And boy, is my list ever so long when it comes to what I didn't like to eat. I cannot remember if I ever ate veggies as a child. Probably not, since at my age, the number of veggies that I don't eat far outnumber those that I do.

I know how to cook. I was fortunate enough to have gotten my mother's palate that I can recreate simple recipes just by tasting them, with a few alterations to suit my taste. But I would cook food that I like. Whenever hubby is craving for food that I don't eat, then we have to eat out or order, since it's really difficult to cook something that you wouldn't taste, don't you think? And when we do eat out, I stick to the dishes that I know and like. No adventurous and/or exotic dishes for me, thank you.

Even at work, my colleagues used to tease me about my being a picky eater. I'd go to the office armed with Spam or sausages, ready to be opened and tossed into the microwave whenever I didn't like the lunch menu at the cafeteria and was too lazy to drive out to get something to eat. Looking back I guess I would qualify as malnourished not because I wasn't eating enough, but because I wasn't eating right.

Then, I had my son, Nathan. From the moment I learned I was pregnant, I resolved to overcome my being a picky eater so I can eat healthy for the both of us. And when he started eating, I knew I needed to set a good example so that he won't be a picky eater like me.

And so started my "affair" with food. I have ordered food I haven't tried before, eaten at unfamiliar restaurants and whipped up new recipes in my effort to widen my knowledge and appreciation of food. I have made some progress, but it has not been all success. In fact, to this day, there are still certain food that I wouldn't taste because I think the combination of ingredients doesn't sound right, like karekare (I maintain that peanut butter belongs with bread and not with meat and vegetables, hah!), or simply because I don't like the way it looks. Also, I must confess that most of the recipes I have tried are those that look the most palatable to me, although of course, I now look at their nutritional value as well since my 20-month old son would be sharing the meal with us. But I have come a long way from being the girl who scrapped the meat sauce from her spaghetti just because it felt "bumpy" in her mouth.

With my little food "critic", about to try some healthy broccoli soup.