Lugaw with Fried Chicken

Thoughtful as Mr. M. is, he would bring home lugaw (congee) bought from the neighboring lugawans he passed by when he bikes. The kids enjoys his pasalubong a lot but I couldn’t seem to finish my bowl. I love lugaw, no doubt, but I find the lugawan’s version too complex for my picky palate (hello luya and sibuyas all over). So I decided we make it at home.

Malagkit (Sticky) Rice

Rice
Chicken
Garlic, Onion, Ginger
Flour, Crispy Fry, Salt and Pepper (for chicken breading)
Roasted Garlic, Onion Leaves (for garnishing)
Pepper, Salt, Patis, Calamansi (to taste)

1) Sauté garlic, onion, ginger in a pot. Add chicken.
2) Add water. Bring to boil until chicken is tender. This will be the broth.
3) Remove chicken from the broth but leave the small pieces there.
4) Cook malagkit rice and rice in the broth. Pouring more water if needed. Season with a little salt and pepper and patis.
6) While cooking the rice, bread the chicken. Fry.
7) Garnish the lugaw and add fried chicken on top.
8) Serve hot.

My take: The malagkit rice plus rice combination gives a good sticky not-too-watery effect to the lugaw. The fried chicken on the other hand gives a crunchy contrast to the softness of lugaw, making it a complete meal. 

Tip: This is an enjoy-it-your-way kind of meal. It is more exciting if the eater garnishes his own food and seasons it just the way he likes it. 

The verdict: Nobody can say no to a home-cooked meal.

Johnny Rockets, Tomas Morato

After our vanity-Friday session, Mr. M. and I, together with Floki (our blogger-wannabe friend) headed to Johnny Rockets (JR1 Building, Tomas Morato Avenue, beside CBK Building, Quezon City). I scratched Johnny Rockets from my must-try-asap list after reading the review of the Foodiestation. I was persuading the two for a pasta joint instead, but they were fairly decided. Since Floki will shoulder the first P1000 from our bill, I was obliged to seat inside this friendly restaurant with dancing crews and smiley ketchup.

Johnny Rockets has an old-school American vibe. I felt I was time warp as I enter the restaurant. It makes you sing along to the likes of Do Wah Diddy and other classic pop rock songs. The only thing that was missing in that branch was the Jukebox, I actually asked the crew and she said it was lent to other branch.

Mr. M. had a Rocket Fuel Burger (P285), spicy burger with fresh lettuce and American cheddar cheese and Nacho Jalapeño. It has a single serving of fries. You can make it a double or even triple patty burger by adding P95 per patty. Floki upon seeing its huge photo in the menu book ordered for it too.

I had a bite of his burger and I forgot about it. I was hearing Mr. M. that he still liked Army Navy’s Burger better, while Floki kept on complaining that it’s too spicy. Apparently, she has a low tolerance of spicy foods, nevertheless, she finished her burger after alternately taking pictures of the food (food blogger wannabe I told you), munching and drinking water. 

Because I really liked pasta that night, I ordered Mac ‘n Cheese – P275 (I only had 2 choices the other being the spaghetti). It came with loaf bread. It has the perfect amount of cheese that sticks to your fork and your mouth. The serving was too small for my appetite. So I had to fill my tummy up with the fries and chocolate milkshake. 

I already knew that the “unlimited fries” comes with extra price but we still opt to have our fries unlimited for P75. To our surprise, it was actually a separate order, but only those who had a hamburger meal can avail. Sayang, we had two orders pa, we could have shared instead. 

Of course, our Johnny Rockets experience wouldn’t be complete without ordering their milkshake. I ordered chocolate milkshake for P145. There were various variants but I am just not bold to try. I could say I super-duper love their milkshake. It was made with pure pleasure one could forget his name. It has scope of real ice cream and other special ingredients only food fairies know. 

My take: Happy crew brings out happy customers. Although we were not satisfied with the serving, the taste was fairly above average. 

Tip: It pays to read the food description. Never judge the food by its photo.

The verdict: Johnny Rockets is still a must-try restaurant. Maybe not ASAP but it’s still worth your list.

ASYA Filipino-Asian Restaurant, Eton Centris Walk

The in-laws had spontaneous lunch-out after hearing the Sunday mass. The girls (headed by my MIL) asked to “look around” the Tiangge over at Centris before going home. After our quick shop scan, the FIL declared he’s hungry (you know men). So he decided to dine at Asya – Ground Floor Centris Walk, Eton Centris , EDSA corner Quezon Avenue, Quezon City. 

Asya is a Filipino-Asian Fusion Restaurant. It serves exciting Filipino-Asian dishes presented with a modern twist, it moves you to encounter the flavors of the orient and reinterpret traditional dishes with new inspiration. Asya has cozy feel furnished traditionally. Each table has this man-shape chair, each with different face and body. Their high chair was rather unique too. 

Juice was served first but it didn’t take long for our food to be on the table, it was delivered almost at the same time. The food serving was good for 3-4 average eaters. We had: 

Sinigang na Liempo (P320) as soup. We like how all the ingredients were present in this dish and it gives us the enough kick of sourness that even the kids can tolerate. 

Chopsuey (P275). See how it was packed. It was so complete you can eat it on its own. The sauce has just enough consistency and the vegis were crunchy good.

Crispy Squid (P230) was the love. It was always a hit for the kids but this version my favorite so far. It was crunchy and flavorful inside and out. 

Lechon Kawali with Laing (P260). While the Lechon Kawali was above the usual – crispy and not dry type, Laing was the best. I was eating it on its own (I do not eat vegi, btw), the gata was flavorful and has enough touch of spicy-ness. 

Pancit Mix (P280). I was too full to judge this, although I had spoon or two (left-overs of Miss L.). It is safe to say that it was good. 

Kids had Ripe Mango Shake (P95), which has the natural taste of a ripe mango while adults had Sago’t Gulaman (P60). I liked how the small sago comes with every sip and it stayed sweet up to the last sip. Jasmine Rice was P45/serving.

**Prices were exclusive of 10% service charge and 12% VAT.

My take: We were all pleased with the food. But I just didn’t like the attitude of the restaurant’s crew. They were approximately 15 there and they were only serving 2 tables yet they were too inattentive. I asked for additional highchair for Master E. a crew looked at me then looked away. They were even so hesitant or rather slow to comply with our request for water when MIL was still ordering. The staffs were not really courteous. Then it all changed when the MIL had placed our order. What’s that mean?

Tip: Don’t mind the crew? (Am I tipping here?) 

The verdict: Asya offers good food that can satisfy any palate.