MINISTOP - My One Stop Shop

After working the entire day, the idea of cooking dinner is not so appealing. We'd rather lie down in bed and rest when we arrive home. For those with family this is unrealistic. It is a must that they prepare meals for their loved ones however tired they already are. So what can they do to be able to provide food for their family and still save time for the much  needed rest?

One of the things that working parents can do is to just buy food from fast food chains or in their neighborhood carinderia. Buying precooked food would save them a lot of time. However, buying in fast food chains can be costly.

Another thing they can do is to buy boxed meals that they could just heat in the microwave oven. One of the best places to find these boxed meals is MINISTOP. They have various choices of boxed meals. I discovered this when I transferred to another house a couple of months ago. On my first night there  I was so tired from unpacking and arranging my stuff I didn't like to cook anymore. I just headed to the nearest convenience store which happens to be MINSTOP to buy something to eat. That's when I found out that they have many choices of boxed meals. This is perfect for those moms or dads who do not want to cook.

But that's not the only thing I discovered. They also have rice toppers. In my case I do not like to bring home the food anymore because that would mean additional trash so rice toppers are great. There are several MINISTOP branches that have tables and chairs for "dine-in" customers and I'm lucky the branch near my place is one of them.

Some of the food I've already sampled and liked are burger steak, sisig, caldereta, pork chops (I can't remember exactly how they call their pork chops), chicken inasal, fried chicked and fried siomai/sharksfin. They also have Samurice (its flavored rice wrapped in nori wrapper -Japanese seaweed) which comes in 3 flavors -  Pork Bulgogi, Chicken Adobo and Bangus Sisig. This is good for those who prefer something light. My favorite is bulgogi.

These rice toppers are reasonably priced. Prices ranges from P 29 to P 49. One piece fried chicken is about P60+. The Samurice costs  P 25. It's probably what Ms. Kris Aquino would call sulit because their serving is really filling. The 2 pc. burger steak which costs P 39 pesos for example is good for those who are really hungry. Light eaters can actually share one order of this. However, I noticed that for about a month now, the serving of rice become a bit smaller. Hmmmm......is this an effect of the sudden increase in price of rice grains?

They also have what I call the Spam collection -- yes, it's the canned meat we all love. There's the Spam Teriyaki Musubi worth P 29, Spam Breakfast meal worth P 49 , etc.

Recently they added the Pork and Beans Collection. It comes in 3 variants but I've only tried that Barbecue Pork and Beans. It is worth P 29.

I still have a lot more to try at MINISTOP but here are some pictures of those that I have sampled. And by the way, after MINISTOP I'll explore 7-11 also because I know they also have rice meals.

Barbecue Pork and Beans

Pork Siomai

Pork Sisig

Pork Bulgogi

2 pc Burger Steak

Pork Bulgogi and Yakult

Chicken Inasal

Hotsilog made Sosyal - Korean Hotsilog ?

Last Sunday, I accompanied my friend who went shopping in Glorietta. We walked all over the place which made me really hungry. After about a couple of hours walking I asked my friend if we could go to the Food Choices to eat. I didn't have anything in mind that's why I chose the place where there are lots of options. My only consideration then was I wanted to eat something heavy and cheap.

When we got there my friend ordered lamb chops at Go Greek and I just had Umo Rice Garlic Sausage at Kim 'n Chi. My order is worth only P 85.00.  Heavy? Check.

Umo rice is fried rice "wrapped" in fried scrambled egg. In effect, the Umo Rice Garlic Sausage is like hotsilog or combination of hotdog, sinangag (fried rice) and itlog made to look different (made to look  sosyal haha). The sausage is just an ordinary sausage -- nothing really  special about it. And it's not really garlic flavor. You'll get the garlic taste from the mayo dressing they squeeze on top. In my mind it's just hotsilog so I think P 85 is a little bit too much because you can have tapsilog in your friendly tapsilogan stores for about P 50 - P 60 only. But then the serving of rice is big so I guess it's acceptable.

Recipe for Dry Flat Noodles in Squid Ink Soup

I have always been fascinated with pasta in squid ink or black ink sauce. Whenever a restaurant has this on their menu, I make it a point to try it. Most of the time I'm satisfied with this pasta variety.

One weekend, while thinking of something new to serve for lunch, I thought of making something using black ink or squid ink. I was tempted to experiment and try pasta in squid ink but I felt that it won't be original because there are quite a number of restaurants serving that already. That's when I decided to try to make a Ramen like dish using squid ink.

My experiment turned out okay so I'm sharing with you my very own recipe of Dry Flat Noodles in Squid Ink Soup

Ingredients:
 500 g        small squid
 150 g        dry flat noodles
 250 g        lettuce
                  garlic
                  onion
                  spring onions
                  salt and pepper

Procedure:
1. Saute crushed garlic and minced onion.
2. Add squid. Leave it in the pan for 2 - 3 minutes to allow it to release the  black ink.
3. When the black ink is boiling and the squid has shrunk, add two to three cups water. Let it boil for a few minutes.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste. Go easy on the salt coz squid can be a little bit salty on its own.
5. Add the noodles. When the noodles is almost cooked, add the lettuce. Let it boil for under a minute.
6. Serve the noodles topped with spring onions and roasted garlic.

Note: You can also use big squid. However, you may want to remove the squid when you do step 3. Set the squid aside and cut to form rings. Just the squid rings back again when you reach step 6.

Koreans -- Where do they buy their pasalubong (Take-home treats)?

That there are many Koreans in the Philippines is already given. We all know that. Perhaps they outnumber all the other nationalities in the country. Maybe their number is even greater than the number of other tourists combined. Some of them come here to see the beautiful places like Vigan in the North and Boracay in the South. Others stay here to study in good Universities like the University of the Philippines and La Salle. Others just come here to study English believing that Filipinos are good teachers of that language. Still others come here to do business. But I've also learned that some Koreans actually come here with intentions of staying for good. Some of them intend to make the Philippines as their retirement place. Nice thought, right?

We Filipinos like to bring pasalubong or take-home presents to our family and friends whenever we come home from trips. Do Koreans do the same? In my observation, some of them are like us. Some of them also bring pasalubong. I saw some Koreans buying bags of Chicacorn when I was in Vigan. By the volume of what they were buying, I assumed they were for pasalubong. I also saw Koreans buying key chains in Boracay. In Laguna, I saw some buying buko pie although I doubt if they are going to bring those pies home to Korea. Perhaps they'll just give it as pasalubong to friends who were left in Manila and were not able to join them.

But do Koreans who do not go out of Manila buy pasalubong as well? They do as I saw in SM Mall of Asia. I saw Koreans buying volumes of pasalubong in a stall near the skating rink called Michelle's Putong Ube.

Michelle's Homemade Putong Ube

There was a long line of Koreans buying bags of goodies that I assume are delicacies not available in Korea (duh? haha). The delicacies they sell in Michelle's are good -- export quality I should say. We won't be shamed if tourists like these Koreans present them as pasalubong to their family and friends. However, for many of us locals, their delicacies are a bit pricey. But judging from the long line I saw, these Korean tourists probably didn't mind.

Long line of Koreans buying pasalubong

Take that Stress Out with a Spa Visit and Buffet Meal

Working 8 hours a day, 5 times a week can really be draining and stressful. You give your all to your work thus your energy is zapped come Friday. So the best response to this is to relax. And two of the best ways to relax is to go to a spa for that much needed pampering or to have a really good meal in an eat-all-you-can restaurant.

There are a lot of spas you can visit. Some of them would cost a fortune (which could make you even more stressed) but there are also others that are affordable. There are also lots of eat-all-you-can (buffet)  restaurants around. Some are expensive while others are cheap.

If you can't decide whether to go a spa or to a buffet restaurant, don't worry. There is a spa in town that also offers buffet meals. This spa is none other than Wensha. It has a branch in Timog (near Quezon Ave) and Pasay (across the World Trade Center).

Wensha's body massage costs P 780. That price includes use of the jacuzzi, steam room, sauna and showers. And yes, that also includes the buffet meal (more on this later). You can even sleep in the massage room after your massage. You can stay inside the spa for a maximum of 8 hours.

The buffet usually consists of siomai, siopao, a fish meal (fish fillet in lemon sauce, with tausi or hot and spicy), a pork meal, vegetables, chicken (fried or afritada), noodles, soup and rice.

I've noticed that the chefs in Wensha like the lemon sauce a lot. They usually have something in lemon sauce on their buffet table -- fish fillet in lemon sauce, pork in lemon sauce and chicken in lemon sauce. I think lemon sauce is best for fish. Of the three, its the one that I liked.

Their siomai is okay but I think it's similar to the ones you could buy from those canteen or mall carts. Their siomai is far from what you can have in good Chinese restaurants. I have not tried their siopao yet.

I like their noodles (pancit). Instead of pork, they usually put beef. The first time I saw their noodles I didn't try it because it looked dry. But it's good the lady ahead of me actually "showed" me it's not. She got from the bottom of chafing dish. That's where the sauce (and oil) is.

Aside from these ready to eat dishes, they also have shabu-shabu. They have a long line of ingredients for this do-it-yourself meal. I had tried this only once but that was already too long ago I can't remember anymore how it really tasted. What I do remember is that I didn't like what I cooked until I made the soup spicy. At first I thought what I cooked was bland. Most of the ingredients you can put in look good but don't be tempted to get a lot because you'll be  asked to pay P 300 for leftovers. The reason why I do not eat their shabu-shabu anymore is because I usually go alone. I'm too conscious I might cook more than what I could eat so I  just forget about the whole thing altogether. You see it's weird to cook just a little shabu-shabu. I don't know exactly why but it feels awkward cooking soup just for yourself. Anyway, if you go with friends, shabu-shabu is good especially if you want to stay long in the dining area to chat.

They serve bottomless (unlimited) drinks -- orange juice and red iced tea. I was told that they also now have soft ice cream.

This is a spa to begin with so may I say a few words about their spa services?

When you enter the spa you would need to register or pay at the reception counter. After paying, you will receive your electronic locker key and then you'll be asked to go one side where you'll deposit your shoes and get your prescribed rubber slippers. When you enter the locker area, the attendants will give you your robe and two towels. Before, they just give you robe and a towel. That's because back then you can use several towels per visit. But probably because of laundry expenses they've cut down towel use to two per customer per visit. Actually there's a sign saying that even before but I guess nobody minded it so they had to think of a way to really implement it.

You can choose to stay in the wet area first before getting your massage. The wet area is clean. Probably it's because you can't wear your slippers (yes, the one they gave) inside the wet area. You have to go in barefoot. The jacuzzi is big and inviting but if you're a little shy or conservative, you'd probably think twice before taking a dip because the jacuzzi has the big video wall as its backdrop.

I've never been a fan of their steam room because it is way too hot for me. It could get suffocating inside, actually. I like the sauna more.

The massage is most of the time good. Probably 80% of time, I've been satisfied. I've had a masseur or two who are not good  but it general, their masseurs are fine.

So, are you tired and stressed? If you want to relax this weekend after working so hard, I say try Wensha.

Maple - A New Fancy Restaurant to Try in Mandaluyong

A good friend of mine celebrated her birthday recently. We didn't get the chance to really celebrate on that day so we decided to meet up a few weeks after instead. She invited us to dinner in a relatively new restaurant at the relatively new wing of Shangri-la Mall along EDSA, Mandaluyong. The restaurant is called Maple.

It was my first time to go to that part of Shangri-la and it was my first time to eat at that restaurant. When she said we were eating there I  got really excited. I didn't have any idea about the place so I was really looking forward to eating there.

Another friend and I met up earlier than the actual "call time" so we had the chance to go around the new wing first. After a few minutes of malling, we decided to go to Maple. The birthday girl wasn't there yet but she said we could already order. We know nothing about the place so we opted to wait for her. But since we were hungry, we ordered Fiesta Chips and Dips. When it arrived, it was a total disappointment. The chips are "hard" and definitely not crispy. It's worth Php 360. I felt it was overpriced.

Fiesta Chips and Dips

When the birthday girl arrived, she ordered Caesar Salad, Maple Glazed Chicken Wings, Drippin Baby Back  Ribs, Prime Rib Tapa, fish tacos and Blueberry and Cream Cheese Pancake Tower.

The waiting time was not very long. They served the food just a few minutes after we placed our order. The food came even ahead of another friend lol.

The salad came out first. I liked it because the vegetables were fresh and crisp. I  think even those who are not so into vegetables will appreciate it. They gave us just a small amount of dressing so I thought it wouldn't be enough. Well, it wasn't enough but I  didn't mind because the Romain, even without a lot of dressing was good enough for me.

Caesar Salad

The Maple Glazed Chicken Wings came next. It was okay. There's nothing really amazing about the chicken but it wasn't bad as well.

Maple Glazed Chicken Wings

The Prime Rib Tapa is something I will probably have again the next time I visit the place. The meat is tender you wouldn't really need to use the knife given. Well, that's an exaggeration but what I'd like to say is that the meat is really tender you wouldn't have difficulty chewing. It was perfectly marinated. However, it has very small fat. I like the fatty portion, you see.

Prime Rib Tapa

Maple's Drippin Baby Back Ribs is also something I would recommend. Juicy and tender -- that's perhaps the best way to describe it. And compared to baby back ribs served in other restaurants, the one served there at Maple is reasonably priced.  

Maple's Drippin Baby Back  Ribs

What came as a real surprise for me was the Fish Tacos. It's not your ordinary tacos not only because it's fish but because the 'shell' or crust is like pita bread -- flour tortillas. The salsa-ish mixture that you put with the fish when you wrap is flavorful. It's something I really liked even if at first I was hesitant because I saw an herb that I do not like. It's good the smell of that herb was masked so I had the courage to try -- I would have regretted it if I hadn't.

Fish Tacos

The Blueberry and Cream Cheese Pancake Tower of course came last. It was a pity, really. It tasted so good and yummy but we were already full so we were not able to finish the whole tower. It was a great injustice to the pancakes.

Blueberry and Cream Cheese Pancake Tower

After dinner we decided to go to the main mall. Though we were full, we still had dessert. I think it's more for us to have the chance to talk more than to really eat something sweet. Hmmmmm......

Papa John's Pizza All You Can 2013

Papa John's Pizza All You Can is back. For only P 225 you get the chance to eat as many slices of pizza as you want and can. Last year, I tried this Papa John's Pizza All You Can promo and I think I had 7 slices. If I remember it right, they serves four flavors. I'm sure they served Hawaiian and Pepperoni but I don't remember the other two. 

This year's Papa John's Pizza All You Can is good for all Tuesdays of July, from 5 to 9 pm. Again, it's just for P 225. This comes with a regular glass of soda.

If you want to read my post about last year's promo, you may click here.