This Christmas is unique because it is a Christmas amidst a health crisis.  Yet, the Philippine food industry is quite fortunate as there are a lot of establishment that can thrive like the international brand Subway that are still well-loved and well-supported by the community. 

Subway One Archers Place

During our visit for take-away at Subway One Archers Place's we can't help but notice that there are a lot of delivery men who come in and out to pick up orders.

12 Subs of Christmas Discount Deal

To show its gratefulness, Subway is offering its 12 Subs of Christmas Deal that aims to lift up the Christmas spirit through a 12-day promo discount deal.

Subway One Archers Place COVID Protocol

40% On Second Sub

GENERAL MECHANIC

1. Buy (1) 6-inch of Christmas + 16-oz drink and get the 2nd 6-inch of Christmas at 40% Off.

The 12 6-inch sub of Christmas are: 

• Ham
• Sliced Chicken
• Roasted Chicken
• Sliced Chicken & Ham
• Smoked Chicken
• Spicy Italian
• Pulled Pork
• Italian B.M.T
• Steak & Cheese
• Meatball Marinara
• Subway Melt
• Subway Club

2. The 2nd sub at 40% off should either be of the same or lower value.

3. Available for TAKE-OUT and DINE-IN only.

4. Promo is available for 12 days starting December 16, 2020, until December 31, 2020.

So here's our orders... It's worthy to mention that despite the pandemic, four (4) breads options are available: Wheat,  Honey Oat, Italian Parmesan and Oregano.

Food

♥ 6-inch Italian B.M.T (126 php)

The Italian B.M.T is a world favorite with sliced Genoa salami, pepperoni and ham and your choice of vegetables.  We like all vegetables including onions please!

♥ Steak & Cheese (160 php)

Our personal favorite is the Steak & Cheese. You can't go wrong with lean and tender steak slices with creamy melted cheese on a sub.

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The COVID pandemic has taught us to spend more time in the kitchen than going out of our homes.    These holiday season instead of buying gifts for relatives, we sent out cooked dishes to them instead.  One of the most popular dish we've conjured that gained a lot of praise is our Creamy Truffle Mushroom Vegetable Penne Recipe.

Creamy Truffle Mushroom Vegetable Penne

So we're sharing our tweaked Tsinoy Foodies Creamy Truffle Mushroom Vegetable Penne Recipe for you and your loved ones to enjoy too.

Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup butter
1 chopped medium onion
6 cloves chopped garlic
2 cups fresh shiitake mushroom
1 can NESTLÉ Cream 300g
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
2 tbsp Umbria Terra Di Tartufi White Truffle Oil (from goodwill.market)
2 tbsp Umbria Terra Di Tartufi Black Truffle Sauce (from goodwill.market)
500g Vegetable Penne (cooked al dente)

About Umbria Terra Di Tartufi

Umbria Terra Di Tartufi is an Italian artisan brand distributed by Dygen Food Ventures, Inc.  Its artisan products including truffle oils and sauces are made with pure ingredients fromt he luxuriant area of Valnerina Italy.  It does not contain any artificial colors, additives or preservatives and is produced from years of research to retain the unique and authentic flavor of the truffle. 

Umbria Terra Di Tartufi White Truffle Oil

Umbria Terra Di Tartufi White Truffle Oil is a condiment based on olive oil, dehydrated Bianchetto truffle and white truffle aroma.  It is your choice for ready to serve snacks and meals.

 

Umbria Terra Di Tartufi Black Truffle Sauce

Procedure

• Step 1: In a heated pan, add 3 tbsp olive oil and ¼ cup butter.
• Step 2: Sauté onions and garlic until fragrant (but don't let them caramelize).
• Step 3: Add 2 cups fresh shiitake mushroom and let it sit for 3 minutes.
• Step 4: Pour in NESTLÉ Cream and let it sit for 2 minutes in low heat.
  
• Step 5:Season with salt and black pepper.
• Step 6: Toss in Vegetable Penne and mix.
• Step 7: Add 2 tbsp Umbria Terra Di Tartufi Black Truffle Sauce then mix.
• Step 8: Turn off heat then add 2 tbsp Umbria Terra Di Tartufi White Truffle Oil then mix.
• Step 9: Serve immediately. 

Christmas time is undoubtedly the best time of the year!  During the Christmas season, people gift, surprise, donate, charity, and make the most exquisite meals throughout this joyful month to bring in joy and make everyone else’s Christmas jolly too… It is also the time for the entire family to come together, share their stories, and have a hearty laugh.

People coming together also means that you’ll have to cook in plenty and make amazing food for everyone to relish and rave about. Of all that you’ve been cooking years after years, we recommend you treat your loved ones to this fun and fancy looking dish. It will be really nice to have your family members rolling out the dough, topping pizzas, and baking them fresh while discussing events of past and future.

You simply have to arrange the ingredients and tools in advance to make up for the pizza making session. The most important tool to have for this family fun event is a cheese grater. Of course, what good is a pizza without any generous load of cheese? 

To make things easier for you, we have enlisted the best cheese graters available. Check thedaringkitchen.com/cheese-grater to find the latest and choicest selection of cheese graters that will surely impress your guests too.

So, without wasting any more time, you must peep into the recipe to get the ingredients ready for the family cooking event.

Holiday Pizza Wreath Recipe

• Cheese grater
• Vegetable chopper
• Knife
• Peeler
• Spoons
• Bowls
• Rolling pins

Ingredients
2 cups pizza sauce
Pizza dough
Dry flour, for rolling the dough
Mozzarella cheese, grated
Any topping of your choice (I used colorful bell peppers, mushrooms, and chicken shreds)

Procedure

1. Thinly roll out the pizza dough using dry flour into a circular shape and place it over a lined   baking tray.
2. Use a cookie cutter to cut out a hole from the center of the dough so that the dough looks like a doughnut.
3. Now, evenly put pizza sauce on the rolled out dough as the first layer.
4. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees C
5. Top pizza with any topping of your choice and load it well with the grated cheese.
6. Bake the pizza for about 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown on top.
7. Slice and serve hot!
   

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The COVID Pandemic has made us realize how we can be consciously or subconsciously affected by everything around us.  The months of confinement made us yearn for the psychological comfort of once again being able to go out.  Fortunately, we can now (with safety measures) go out once again and chill at our favorite cafes like Cafe Mary Grace.

Well-known for its Ensaymadas and Cheese Rolls, Mary Grace has become one of the fastest growing local food brands.  Even during the pandemic, it has continued to open more kiosks and cafes. All of its kiosks and cafes have the same interior which we love.  It just charms us to coziness each time.  The yellow lighting, floral and ceramic decors and the homey furniture and fixtures harmoniously makes it one of the most beautiful and cutsie cafe in the Philippines.

Food

The cafe menu covers all types of meals from breakfast to after-dinner snacks. 

Crispy Cassava Chips with Onion Dip (205 php)

Since we wanted to take our time and enjoy our meals slowly, we first ordered the Crispy Cassava Chips with Onion Dip for starters.  This is our first time to try this and it was surprisingly good!  So good that we dare say that the Onion Dip is as addictive as the more famous Spinach Dips or Artichoke Dips.

Hearty Soups

Seafood Chowder (190 php)

The Seafood Chowder has the right blend of creaminess, richness and chunkiness to make it the appropriate warm and comforting soup that prepares the belly for a heavier meal.

Salads

Fresh Kesong Puti & Calamansi Vinaigrette (288 php)

The Fresh Kesong Puti & Calamansi Vinaigrette is a refreshing salad to try as it incorporates local ingredients.  The kesong puti is fried and breaded but not oily at all.  It was so much fun to eat.

Mary Grace Caesar Salad (360 php)

 The Mary Grace Caesar Salad is the classic Caesar Salad done right.

Tomato- Based Pasta

Pasta Amatriciana with Meatballs (320 php)

This is the first time for us to encounter a pasta with Amatriciana sauce.  Based on our research, the Amatriciana sauce is a sauce named after the town of Amatrice and is actually one of the most famous pasta sauces in Italian cuisine today.  While we couldn't verify how near it is to that one you can find in such town, we enjoyed this Pasta Amatriciana with Meatballs as the red sauce was rich in spices with a tinge of savoriness and tanginess.

Cream-Based Pastas

Classic Carbonara (315  php)

The Classic Carbonara is one of Cafe Mary Grace best sellers.  Everyone who has tried this has loved this.  We're sure you would too!  Enough said!

Pizzas

Margherita (498  php)

Cafe Mary Grace pizzas are thin and chewy dough crusted topped with fresh and premium ingredients such as its home-made tomato.  We opted for the classic Margherita which was a great compliment to our other orders.

Freshers

Homemade Iced Tea

Apple, Cinnamon Tea and Honey (95 php)

Peppermint Iced Mocha (185 php)

After our meal, we stayed for coffee.  The Peppermint Iced Mocha was a hit among us.

Cappuccino Regular (120 php)

If you're the plain-type of tito or tita, you can go for the hot Cappuccino.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
Cafe Mary Grace is one of the best cafes in terms of ambiance and food quality in the Metro Manila.  We can see this cafe chain as one that would expand with more branches in the future. 

Tsinoy Foodies Review Rating		Cafe Mary Grace Menu
Ambiance	★★★★★	N/A
Taste	★★★★
Service	★★★
Price	★★★
♥=Favorites or Recommended

Cafe Mary Grace Rockwell
Business Address	R2 Level Expansion, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Drive, Estrella Street, 1210 Makati City, Metro Manila
Business Hours	10am-9pm (mall hours)
Payment Options	Cash
Service Charge	10%
Budget/Person	500-1,200
Free WiFi	Yes
Contact	(632) 84781850
Other

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With the COVID pandemic still on-going, it makes us think more about what we treasure most in our lives.  Definitely, one that tops our list is togetherness with the family.  Buenas means luck and blessings in Filipino language and that is exactly what we felt having during our family dinner at Casa Buenas.   Casa Buenas is located in the new "Newport Grand Wing" which was unfamiliar for most of us.  Even if you park at the nearest parking area which was the Newport Grand Wing, you have to take elevator and escalator  to reach this very spacious wing.  

Kuala Lumpur Malaysia's RM460 Burger Viral Drama

Just recently, we were discussing with foreign friends on how to spend money better.  The topic was incidentally brought about by the recent Kuala Lumpur birthday dinner drama over the RM460 burger that became viral over the net.  Based on such discussion, we discovered that some would actually spend more for travel, online games, KTV and bars rather than having a fancy dinner with some close friends and family.  Well, though we admit that we do spend for some of those but we give utmost importance to celebrating birthday family dinners more.

It's kind of interesting to learn about other cultures and customs.  All these years, the question "Who pays for the birthday dinner celebration?" never crossed my mind.  For me, it was always a given whether its with family, friends or even just office mates, whoever invites pay for everything.  This applies to all occasions... birthdays, graduations, winning something or even when someone just feels generous.  So yeah, you can all take this as a disclaimer too... We openly admit that not everything we post here is paid by us okay?  It depends on who "invites".

Well, apparently in the RM460 Burger scenario, the payment arrangement for the birthday dinner was to equally split the tab.  We also do the split tab payment arrangement when we casually meet up with close friends for dinners.  But, we've never encountered that kind of scheme when invited for a birthday dinner.  

One of my friends whose married to an Australian that her husband was surprised when the birthday celebrant had to pay for the dinner.  Friends take you out, they pay for their own meal (in Filipino slang its "KKB" - kanya kanyang bayad) but they pool money in to treat the birthday celebrant.

Well, perhaps its because my friends and family are very busy people (with so much going on with business, work or family) that we treasure time more than anything.  In fact, we're hardly ever complete.  Some would be on a leisure or business trip, have business commitments or other affairs.  Thus, its customary for the birthday celebrant to appreciate simply just the presence of someone being able to accommodate the invitation.  After the meal, we even thank each of our guests for coming before bidding our good byes.

Now that that's all settled, let's continue on with the food. 

 Food

This was actually the last family dinner we celebrated dining in a restaurant before the lock downs (In the Philippines, we term them "ECQ, MCQ, GCQ") so we were fortunate enough to order from its full menu.  As of the time of writing, it is only offering limited menu because of the pandemic.

Complimentary Bread

While we were waiting for our orders, we were given some Complimentary Bread with a variety of flavored butters.  

Soup

Salmon Yazu Dashi

From the Salmon Yazu Dashi, we were already hinted that the dishes served in Casa Buenas is international fusion.  The Salmon Yazu Dashi seemed like a Japanese soup dish with its own twist.

In addition to the warming comfort it brings before the heavy meal ahead, it is quite light and refreshing. 

Sandwiches

Buenas Burger (580 php)

To be honest, we were expecting the  Buenas Burger to be more extravagant.  Yet, it came out rather plain which made its special thick and juicy pork and beef belly patty stand out.  It was actually quite good and filling.  Yes, the price is justified in for this burger!

Mains

♥ Grilled US Angus Beef Tenderloin with Lychee Sauce (2,900 php)

If there's one dish that stood out among our orders, it would be the Grilled US Angus Beef Tenderloin with Lychee Sauce.  Usually, you'd feel overwhelmed from the savoriness of eating too much meat.  But for this dish, the intricate sweet, fragrant and refreshing lychee sauce counters the savoriness and oiliness from the tender roast beef making it quite pleasurable to eat. 

Off the Grill

Grilled Squid (900 php)

The menu offered a lot of grilled dishes but most of them are quite similar.  Guess, there isn't much twist to grilled dishes other than being precisely grilled to tenderness, appropriately seasoned and dipped in a variety of sauces.  The Grilled Squid was good but it just didn't show much creativity or personality that we'd expect from a famous Chef.   

Paella

Paella Seafood (1,000 php/good for 2-3 persons)

Paella is always the most expected order when dining at a Spanish restaurant.  When you order Paella at Casa Buenas, you will be asked if you would prefer the traditional with burnt bottom or not.  We chose the traditional.  Our side of the table ordered the Paella Seafood good for 2-3 person but the other side of the table ordered the Paella Negra good for 4-6 persons.  When our orders came, we realized that the it could cater to around twice as much people as stated.  We ended up having to take home most of this dish since it had bountiful amount of toppings.   Comparing the two, we liked the ♥ Paella Negra more.

 

Pizza

Truffle Pizza (490php)

We loved the Truffle Pizza which involves breaking the poach egg on top before the slicing and all.  The truffle essence for flavor and the chewiness of the dough for texture was just right.

Beverage

Cappuccino (190 php)

The coffee cup set is so pretty.  But, the Cappuccino is just okay.

Complimentary Chocolates

All of us appreciated the Complimentary Chocolates as an extended gesture.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
The grand Hispanic Filipino interior of Casa Buenas defines it as one of the best places in Metro Manila to impress guests with its luxurious dining atmosphere.  The food and service service is hotel standard.  But, not all the dishes would standard out to be impressively memorable. 

Tsinoy Foodies Review Rating		Casa Buenas Menu
Ambiance	★★★★★	N/A
Taste	★★★★
Service	★★★★
Price	★★★
♥=Favorites or Recommended

Casa Buenas
Business Address	Ground Floor, Newport Grand Wing, Portwood Street, Newport City, Pasay City
Business Hours	11am-10pm
Payment Options	Cash
Service Charge
Budget/Person	500-1,000
Free WiFi	Yes
Contact	(02) 7-908-8988
Other

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