Bistek Tagalog

in the mood to cook, so i took out the filipino steak from the freezer this morning and let it thaw for a few hours. after lunchtime, it had thawed through at room temperature and i washed it in running water to remove the blood, sliced the meat in manageable rectangles, then arranged them in a collander to drain. about an hour later, while my bff, tata, was waiting for me, i took the moist meat and seasoned it with salt and pepper and a little canola oil, then marinated it in maggi savor kalamansi. then i let it stand while tata and i went swimming in the pool.

after the swim, tata and i had dinner at the bacolod chicken house express. then i bought some veggies at shopwise before going back home to check on the marinating beef.

the meat had absorbed most of the marinade so i knew it was ready for the frying pan.




i heated up some canola oil in my non-stick pan and arranged the marinated beef slices in a circle. i let the meat cook through around 5 minutes each side or until brown.




then i added water to the remaining marinade and added it to the pan to deglaze the bottom. i allowed the beef to boil in the marinade until it was reduced to the consistency of a sauce.



then i arranged some sliced white onions in the center of the pan and browned them on both sides.





after the onions were cooked, i took the pan off the fire and let the beefsteak cool for a while before arranging the cooked slices with the onions in a food container. then i poured the sauce over the meat, ready for lunch at work the next day.

4th of July

it was another lazy saturday afternoon at kingswood. cathz was in the unit for the weekend. i asked her if she wanted to watch a movie. so we checked the schedules online... most of the movies showing that weekend was eclipse. and if you know cathz, she would rather kill herself than go through 2 hours of kstewart making out like a zombie... just kidding!

then i suggested toy story 3. it's been showing for a couple of weeks now and they had a 3D version at the rockwell cinema... when we checked it was already two in the afternoon and there were only two shows that day, first at 1220pm and the last at 250pm. so good luck taking a shower and getting dressed then taking a cab to rockwell in time for the movie. so we decided to have our movie date the next day, sunday, and we would watch the 1220pm schedule so we could have lunch before the movie started.

the next day, we left kingswood at around 11am and arrived at rockwell just in time to buy tickets with only a senior citizen couple in front of us... what's great about senior citizens living in makati is that they get to watch movies for free... i wonder if this couple was going to watch eclipse... wow! in na in ang mga lolo't lola...

after buying our tickets, cathz and i decided to eat at oliver's sandwiches near the ticket booths. she ordered a pink salmon sandwich and i had a basil chicken one, both on wheat bread... they only had banana and mango for their shake so that's what we ordered... i would have wanted a strawberry-banana one but they had no strawberries available... bugger!

we finished lunch just in time for the cinema to open. we were given 3D glasses which i thought we didn't need to return... for paying double the price of a 2D movie... heheh... tough luck! the movie brought tears to my eyes... thank you pixar for giving toys a soul...;D

after the movie, we browsed fully booked because they were having a sale... i was able to get the last copy of World Without End by Ken Follett, the magnificent sequel to The Pillars of the Earth.



an epic 1237 pages, i am now at page 145. it's going to be another loooong and satisfying read...

after buying our books, i told cathz i was hungry again. so we went to the lower ground floor of rockwell where the restos were located. i guided her to cheesesteaks but she wasn't very keen on having another sandwich. i asked her what she wanted but she was undecided. then i spotted Zaifu, a japanese resto down the hall. i asked her if she was in the mood for japanese food. knowing cathz, she never turns down japanese food and she told me so.

so we went in... they had dining tables designed like authentic japanese which were supposed to be just a foot high from the floor.



we removed our shoes and sat japanese style on the cushions but, since they were allowing for customers who are used to sitting at dinner tables western-style, there was a cavity under the table for our legs to fit through. ;D



as was usually the case when cathz and i ate japanese, she ordered cold buckwheat noodles and i had my favorite kani salad with tekka maki.


zaru soba (cold buckwheat noodles)



kani salad (crabstick salad)



tekka maki

after such a "light" meal, cathz started to crave for more... so she asked for the menu again and ordered tuna sashimi.





the resto was cozy... cathz was ready to lie down on the elevated floor and take a snooze... it was so relaxing...




but lunch is never done because there's always room for dessert. we tried the green tea ice cream and was pleasantly surprised that it was very creamy with a velvety mouth feel. we had to let sheena know about it as she was disappointed with the green tea ice cream she ordered at another resto.






like most japanese restos, this one also followed the minimalist line as far as decor is concerned. we were pleasantly surprised to find a japanese doll beside our table and this collection of japanese dolls above the pantry.




all in all, this was one fun day for me... let's do this again, cathz... and maybe next time bring the other 4H girls with us...hmm hmmm