My Kalderetang Kambing

Goat is a popular dish in some countries like Philippines and Mexico. Goat meat is different from lamb and beef because goat has less fat and is thus  good for your diet. The perfect way to cook goat is to  boil it with sauce or grill it on low temperature until it is tender.

On 05/13/2012, me, my mom, dad and brother went to the Sunday Market at SM Centris. We bought seafood, vegetables and raw goat.

At 2:30 P.M., I  cooked Kalderetang Kambing with my grandmother downstairs.

I crushed 1 whole garlic and chopped 2 onions and sliced 3 potatoes. Grandmother sliced 2 carrots and boiled the goat.

Kalderetang Kambing recipe

Ingredients:

1 whole garlic crushed
2 onions chopped
3 sliced potatoes
2 sliced carrots
2 kilos of goat , sliced
400g. tomato sauce
1 sliced bell pepper
1/4 cup cooking oil

Procedure:

1. Stir fry garlic in hot oil.
2. Add onions and cook until onions are a little brown.
3.  Wash then drain the goat slices. Add the goat to the sautéed onions and garlic then keep mixing so the goat skin won’t stick to  the wok.
4. Add tomato sauce, carrots and potatoes.
5. Boil until meat and potatoes are tender. Add chili (optional), bell pepper, salt and pepper.
6. Serve hot with steamed rice.

That’s it for today everyone. Adiòs!

Dinner at Outback Steakhouse

It was April 7, 2012. My family and I went to Makati Shangri-La hotel  for my sister’s birthday and for our vacation. We ate lunch at Dad’s and after that we went shopping and went back to the hotel.

We went swimming and we were there for about an hour or more. We took a bath, rested and went out to look for a place to eat dinner.

The Place

Australia

We   dropped by at Outback Steakhouse at Glorietta 4, Ayala Center for Zia’s birthday dinner.

At first I thought it was a bar but when we went upstairs I was surprised to see a   big restaurant  .  We sat at  the window   in front of the S.M. food court.

Australia

Outback Steakhouse has a wonderful theme and great pictures. The outback is a home land for many Australian animals like dingoes and wombats.  Kangaroos and dingoes hide in the bushes to rest  when the weather is really hot.

Australia

There are also birds who fly at the crack of dawn. Snakes and other reptiles bask in the sun .

The pictures on the wall show road  signs  , animals, and geography   of Australia.

The bathroom doors had “Blokes” and “Shielas” on them rather than Men and Ladies. The toilets were really clean and smelled good.

Toilet

The waiters and waitresses also wore hats, vest and shorts used in the Australian outback.

The Food

Bushman's bread

Combo Appetizer

First, we ordered appetizer and water. They gave us Bushman’s bread , which is made with wheat and honey. It’s  brown and served with butter. The inside is soft and the outside is crunchy.

We ordered the Combination Appetizer, which includes  Kookabura Wings, Aussie Cheese Fries and Crispy Calamari.

Kookabura Wings tasted like buffalo wings. It  is deep-fried and crunchy. My little sister found it too spicy but I didn’t think so. The fries had cheese and bacon, and tasted like it was homemade .The calamari is crunchy  and tasted fresh.   The combination platter also had four slices of celery, which was  as fresh as if it was only plucked from the ground the same night.

Alice Springs Chicken

The Baby back ribs

Grilled Chicken and Swiss sandwich

Fish sandwich

Garlic rib eye steak

Next, we ordered our main dishes. I ordered  Alice Springs chicken.

The Alice Springs chicken is a flame grilled chicken breast that has  mushrooms, bacon, Monterey jack and Cheddar. It also has honey mustard sauce.  It’s cheesy, flavorful and cooked properly.

Mom ordered 1/2 slab of Baby Back Ribs . My mom was surprised and happy  because the serving was bigger than she thought it would be.  There were about 5 ribs on the half slab, but it had lots of meat.  Knowing that I love ribs too, my mom gave me a piece so I could describe its taste. The ribs are  tender.  I could taste the smoky flavor on the barbecue sauce and ribs.

My sister got the Grilled Chicken and Swiss Sandwich. I had a piece too because mom wanted me to taste everything. It’s made of chicken breast, caramelized onions, Swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato, and buns.

It also came with fries. It wasn’t very tasty , but I think you’re supposed to add some salt when you eat it.

My younger sister ordered the Fish Sandwich .  It had breaded fish and cheese, with tartar sauce  , lettuce, tomato and burger buns.  Like the Grilled Chicken sandwich, it , too needs a little more salt  and pepper. The bread is soft and crunchy. The vegetables are fresh and still crunchy.

Papa ordered the Garlic Rib Eye steak, which also came with vegetables and baked potato. Papa  said it was cooked perfectly and tasted really good.

The servings were generous and we were all full.  Right after dinner, the crew burst out of the kitchen, singing Happy Birthday to my sister, Zia. They brought her a serving of ice cream with chocolate drizzle and a candle on top.

This surprised us but made us and Zia happy.

The food is worth the price because it’s delicious and the servings were more than enough.

The Service

The place was kid friendly. When we arrived, we were given coloring papers and crayons to keep us busy. They had high chairs for little kids. The waiters and waitresses also talked to us.

Say CHEESE!

The service crew are very friendly and were very helpful all the time. They are smiling every time they came to our table. We always got water refills once our water run out.

It was great that they remembered when my mom mentioned it was my sister’s birthday so that they sang her happy birthday after our meal.

Outback Restaurant is a great place. I wish we’d go back there again.

Here are my ratings (5 is the highest):

5 stars for the food
5 stars for the place
5 stars for the kid friendliness
5 stars for the service

See you all next time! Adios!

Dinner at King Bee

It was a boring day because  we couldn’t play dodgeball outside since it was raining. The cool breeze brought with it, the lazies all day…..Feeling too relaxed to cook dinner, my father came up a brilliant idea to have dinner at the then newly opened Chinese restaurant that intrigued us since it started construction . We quickly wore our outdoor clothes and jumped into the car.  About three to five minutes later, we arrived at King Bee, Commonwealth. (10 minutes by foot from our house)

The facade was inviting, donned with big, round, bright lights, and exhibiting the dining area through its glass walls. We did not have a hard time parking because they have a wide parking lot in front  and beside the restaurant. It’s a welcome sight , since there are not a lot of decent restaurants along Commonwealth , other than the usual fastfoods like Jollibee and McDonald’s .

This is King Bee in Commonwealth Road

From outside, it  looks like it’s an expensive place to eat. It  also looks wide and huge   but when you get inside, you realize that  it’s even bigger.  They even have a second floor. Since it was quite new, everything looked clean and smelled fresh.  The tables are neat and shiny. The chairs are soft and clean. We sat on a round, shiny table. I wiped my plate and my spoon & fork with tissue, not because it was dirty but because that’s what we always do everytime we eat out.

A neatly dressed waiter  gave us a menu. There was a variety of food. The  chef suggestions include dim sum, roast & soy specialties. They offered soup, crabs, shrimp, seafood hot pots, meat noodle soup, vegetables, rice, rice toppings, noodles, drinks and desserts. Some seafood are seasonal and so the prices also vary. Then they served HOT TEA and asked us which appetizers we would like to eat. We chose Chicken feet, Japanese sushi, Quail eggs and others. I like the appetizers we ordered because it’s fresh and tasty. I like  hot tea better than iced tea because it does not have any sugar in it.

Japanese dimsum

Chicken feet

We ordered Roasted Goose, Seafood Rice, Chopsuey Fried Noodles, Lechon Macau and last but not least , Lapu-Lapu w/ Moichay & bean curd in hot soy sauce. We waited for 10 – 20 minutes for the food to arrive.

As we waited, I looked around and  noticed   the variety of meat that hung by a glass window — pork, duck, roast pig and lechon Macau.

Then I saw huge aquariums filled with sea creatures ready for picking. We   went for a closer look- there were crabs, oysters, lapu-lapu and king fish.

Our food arrived as scheduled. The goose  came first. Next , the noodles , lechon, and Lapu-Lapu. We were ready to eat but we got pork fried rice rather than seafood rice, which we ordered. So we waited another 10 minutes before we started eating.

Roasted Goose

Lechon Macau

Thanks for the help sir

Lapu-Lapu

The lapu-lapu is soft, juicy and had a coconut and garlic sauce. The taste, smell and texture were excellent. (The waiter gets bonus points for removing the fish bone.)

The goose  is   tender,  tasty and the color is appetizing. This was to be the first time for our entire family to eat goose, so we were quite excited. All I can say is that it tastes a lot like duck.

The noodles are   crunchy  , the sauce tastes like chopsuey and the vegetables are soft , but I found the sauce to be a bit watery.

The lechon is  crunchy, and  tastes and smells like garlic.

I think the   rice was  a little overcooked.

The price is very reasonable. It is just as affordable as   other popular chinese restaurants  like Lingnam or  Mongkok.  Vegetable dishes range from P180 to P330 for a small serving, which is good for 2 to 3 persons.  Noodles cost between P200 to P240 (small). Prawns and shrimp range between P310 to P420 (small).Meat dishes range from P230 to P390 (small).  Other seafood dishes are seasonal in price.

You can order rice toppings  and spend only between P130.00 and P185.  We spent a little over P3,000, and there were 7 of us. It was a little expensive because we ordered the goose , and the lapu lapu (which came fresh from the aquarium), which were both priced seasonally. It was a good first time for the goose, anyway.

Thumbs Up!

My ratings are: 5 stars for the food, 5 stars for the cleanliness of the place, and 5 stars for the  service. They have other branches : The main branch is in Manggahan and the rest are in Cepza Bacao, Marcos Highway, STA. Rosa, Rodriguez, Daang Hari branch and Commonwealth. Yes, they  deliver.

By the time we were done with dinner, it was already 8:00 pm. Now it’s time to bring that lazy day feeling to my bed.

(It took a little more than a month for me to write this review because I was busy studying for an exam. I hope I pass!)

Thanks for reading!