Monthly Archives: January 2011

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao

There’s been a lot of happy buzz about Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao, but I haven’t gotten a chance to try it till this week. The restaurant is well-known in Hong Kong and Singapore, and now it’s in Manila. When a friend suggested we eat there, I was all for it. Here’s what we ordered.

We had the Crispy Eel in “Wu Xi” style for our appetizer, as recommended by our waiter. I thought it was very tasty. If you like sweet and crunchy snacks, this is perfect for you.

Xiao Long Bao is the restaurant’s specialty. These Steamed Soupy Pork Dumplings have a rich pork broth inside the dumplings. I liked that the dumpling wrappers didn’t tear up easily. I’ve tried Xiao Long Bao in other restaurants, and they’d usually puncture before you could even take them out of their bamboo steamers. With Crystal Jade’s Xiao Long Bao, you can enjoy biting into the dumpling and the broth that oozes out. Xiao Long WOW!

We also ordered the Lemon Chicken. It was crunchy, sweet and tart — all the elements you expect from a lemon chicken dish.

Whether you’re a vegetarian or not, you’re going to love their Vegetable Dumplings. These are by far the tastiest steamed vegetable dumplings I’ve ever tried. I really enjoyed this dish.

Are you a big radish fan? You have to try their Radish Pastry then. It’s crunchy on the outside, and the warm radish filling is crunchy, chewy and very flavorful. This was a pleasant surprise and a refreshing change from the usual radish cakes we see in other dimsum places.

For dessert, we had Red Bean Paste Pancakes. Think of it as a crepe with a thin layer of red bean paste. It’s very simple but rich in flavor. It’s also quite addicting.

They don’t serve house tea, but you can order hot tea by the pot with unlimited refills. For these dishes, a pot of tea plus two cans of softdrinks, enjoyed by a party of four light eaters, it came up to around P325+ per head.

I missed the presence of dimsum carts and would have loved to feast on chicken feet while I was there, but they don’t serve typical dimsum. So if you’re craving hakao and chicken feet, you won’t get those here.

Will I go back? You bet! I want to try their La Mian (hand-pulled noodles) next time, which is also another specialty of theirs. I’ll also go back for the Xiao Long Bao and Radish Pastry. Yum!

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao is located at the ground floor of V-Mall (Virra Mall), Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan City. They’re open from 11am – 2:30pm ; 5pm – 930pm. They can get really full around twelve, so it’s best to come early. I was lucky to have snagged a comfortable booth for our party of four at the height of the lunch hour.

Enjoy!

Gearing Up for Excellence

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“Deoxyribonucleic acid,” my then-seven-year-old cousin said out of the blue one afternoon. “Deo-what?” I asked. We were munching on our merienda when she began rattling off some science terms I had forgotten.

“DNA!,” she exclaimed. “It’s a nucleic acid that carries our genetic information.” Then she began reciting other things she learned from her science class. I just sat back in my seat, in awe at my little cousin who was telling me things I learned at a much later age.

That incident happened a few years ago, but I remember it clearly because it was one of the first moments I seriously reflected on the pressures of a young schooler. So many big terms for little kids! How could I help my son manage with all the pressures once he starts going to school? How could I encourage him to excel without pressuring him? He starts schooling in a few years, and you know how time flies by so quickly.

When I was growing up, there were three things my Mom was sure I had enough of to get me started for a school day: enough sleep, a good breakfast and vitamins. These three will guide me as well once Timmy begins going to school. Sleep? That’s pretty manageable. A good breakfast? Yes. Vitamins? There are so many options in the market nowadays that choosing the right brand for my child is critical. I’m leaning towards Nutroplex because of its Intelliboosters.

I think every mother wants her child to excel. I definitely want my boy to be a cut above the rest. Inspired by my little cousin’s sharpness, guided by my belief that vitamins can help boost intelligence and encouraged by a brand like Nutroplex, I’m certain my little boy will do well in school. Maybe soon he’ll be the one surprising me with random, scientific terms from the top of his head!

A budding Happy Lemon addiction

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Happy Lemon makes me happy. YES. I’m still dreaming about the seemingly weird combo but heavenly delicious drink I had twelve hours ago. Mmmmm. Tell me, if I tell you I had a drink of Green Tea with Rock Salt and Cheese, would you picture this?

Times four?

Crazy yummy. CRAZY yummy. My friend Fiona recommended the place. So after a delightful lunch at Crystal Jade (which deserves its own entry because it was also crazy yummy), my three friends and I trooped over to Happy Lemon. Since it was my first time there, I followed Fiona’s lead ordering what she ordered. My other two friends did the same thing. “Four orders of regular sized, green tea with rock salt and cheese please, 50% sweetness!”

She said it was addicting. I think she’s right.

Crazy delicious. CRAZY delicious. I’ve already told my husband I want to go to Greenhills this weekend just to order the drink again. Two actually — one when we arrive at Promenade, another before we leave for home.

I’ll try the other flavors next time, but let me fulfill this craving for the seemingly weird but surprisingly luscious drink I had twelve hours ago. It drove me crazy happy!

Happy Lemon is at the ground floor of Promenade Greenhills. P80.00 for a regular-sized Green Tea with Rock Salt and Cheese. Yummeh. I’m beginning to feel an addiction coming on.

Ibong Adarna, now an interactive e-book

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Ibong Adarna was one of the books I enjoyed reading for school. Brothers Don Juan, Don Pedro and Don Diego searched for the mystical adarna whose song can heal their sick father King Fernando. I wish I had kept that book from Filipino class, with its frayed edges, dog-eared pages and all. If I want to reread it today though, I can do it in a more hi-tech way. Ibong Adarna is available as an interactive e-book!

It’s the first of its kind here in the Philippines. Produced by Vibal Foundation’s Vee Press, it has a “read-to-me” feature that makes it play like an audiobook, complemented by full-color illustrations and animations with Filipino motifs.

I’m big on reading, especially classics taken up in school. Back then I felt like some of the required reading were being rammed down our throats by teachers. Encouraging students to read required classics should be, I think, done in the most engaging way possible. If an interactive e-book will encourage this generation to read more, I’m all for it.

Ibong Adarna is just the beginning of many children’s books that Vibal and Vee Press will soon publish in print and digital media. You can read the book via Amazon Kindle, Sony E-Reader, Nook, BlackBerry, iPhones, Macs, PCs, and tablet computers like the iPad.

This will be available at the Apple iBookstore on January 25, so watch out for it. Here’s the trailer:

Ibong Adarna e-book trailer

I wonder what’s next. Florante at Laura? Noli Me Tangere? El Filibusterismo? This is a very exciting new journey in making the classics even more engaging for this generation.

Ode to adobo rice

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Adobo rice is love.

Let me rewind. Adobo is love. Yes. I love adobo with lots of garlic, lots of sauce, with chicken and pork in the mix. Omnomnom. I love how adobo gets better as days pass. I love how adobo can get a second life in adobo flakes, and another in adobo rice.

I like my adobo rice with meat chunks in them. Delicious! It’s also very easy to prepare. Toss your leftover rice into a hot pan (lightly oiled, yes). Stir in the leftover adobo, sauce and all. Mix the rice till every grain is covered with adobo love.

You can go all fancy by shredding the meat first then toasting them before you put in the rice. You can also toast some garlic till they’re golden before you put in the rice.

It’s a meal in itself! Just top with a fried or scrambled egg and you’ve got yourself breakfast. Sarap!

However way you do it, it’s going to be yummy. But do share — how do you prepare your adobo rice?

An afternoon at Ark Avilon Zoo

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Ark Avilon Zoo is the only interactive indoor zoo in the Philippines. With the baby developing an interest in animals, we thought it was prime time to take him to the zoo. Ark Avilon was perfect because it’s very accessible (near the Eastwood area) and it’s shaded (no glaring sun!). So one Sunday afternoon, off we went to Ark Avilon.

Looks like an ark on the outside!

We arrived at Ark Avilon Zoo around 4.30pm. There weren’t that many people, but shortly after we arrived a tour group followed. I’m guessing the morning is the best time to visit the zoo so it won’t be that hot either.

Ticket Area

A ticket costs P300/adult, P200 if you’re a kid, free if you’re one year and below. Timmy got in free. Here’s what the first floor looks like:

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

Upon entering the zoo, you’ll encounter a beautiful blue and gold macaw and a white parrot perched on their stands. You can have their picture taken with them, under the supervision of a zoo guide. Both sides of the first floor’s long hall feature various wild animals.

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What will 2011 be like for you?

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There’s a belief that the way you spend your New Year’s Eve gives you an indication of how the rest of your year will go. Oh goody. My 2011 looks like a simply delicious and restful year then.

Shortly before 2011 rolled in, I snacked on a bowl of tofu. This is a simple dish my mother-in-law made. It’s cubed tofu sauteed in oil, chopped white onions, chopped green onions, ground pork and shrimp.

More simple good eats that I enjoyed were two slices of bread: one slathered with a Quezo de Bola spread, and the other topped with oh-so-delicious chicken pork adobo. Then I washed them all away with a cup of strong, dark tea. Bliss.

While I relished my simple and tasty meal, I finished Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love” and started Gwenda Blair’s “Donald Trump” biography. Good reads.

By eleven, I tucked the baby in and we dozed off into dreamland. Had it not been for my husband waking me up to softly greet me “Happy New Year!” I would have slept through the night. Well, I guess I did. After saying “Happy New Year!” back, I drifted off to sleep again.

Simple. Delicious. Restful. I like that. Sounds like my kind of year.

Based on your New Year’s Eve, what will 2011 be like for you?

How do you know you’re ready for Baby #2?

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Baby #2′s on the brain — well, my brain sometimes, not my husband’s. Yet. I think. The topic has been thrown around casually over the past month.

Scenario 1:
Husband: “Timmy, do you want a baby sister?”
Me: “Yes!”
Husband: “…”

Scenario 2:
Husband: “Paano na kaya kung apat tayo?” (I wonder how things will turn out when we’re a family of four?)
Me: “Yikes!”

Scenario 3:
Me: “Do you think we’re ready for another baby?”
Husband: “No.”

Scenario 4:
Husband: “Do you think we’re ready for another baby?”
Me: “Notyet.”

It’s seem pretty obvious from the above scenarios that we’re not ready now, but that doesn’t mean we’re not considering building a bigger family.

Another thing is I don’t think one is ever really ready for a baby. Babies take you by surprise in their own little ways. Timmy was a huge surprise to us and we certainly weren’t prepared then.

How did you know you were ready to start trying for a second baby?

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Pop go the beans!

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Want to add a healthy and delicious crunch to your salad? Go for pop beans.

Whenever my aunt prepares her yummy salad with greens and grapes, these roasted pop beans are a constant ingredient. Served separately from the other salad components, it’s meant to be a salad topper. You can also eat it on its own too. It’s quite addicting.

I think the brand is called Mr. Bean. It’s low-cholesterol and tasty. So if you’re on a health kick this 2011 (as we all should be), try sprinkling these crispy pop beans on your salad. They’ll surely give it a delicious crunch.

Playing with Plastic Balloons

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Do you play games during your holiday gatherings? Our family does — we’re big on games. One of the fun ones we played this year was very simple — the plastic balloon challenge.

The mechanics are easy to follow. Grab on to your own tube and straw. At the game master’s signal, create the biggest plastic balloon you can with only that tube. Whoever has the biggest plastic balloon wins.

The last time I probably played with plastic balloon was in gradeschool. Eons and eons and eons ago. I had so much fun trying to create the biggest balloon I could from this little blob. Good thing I had fun because I failed miserably! Here are the winners of our challenge:

Once the winners were awarded, we all put out plastic balloons together and created a snowman!

There were still some tubes left over, so I went for my second attempt. HA! I should have won. Competitive!!!

The plastic balloon challenge is quick to mount. It’s also cheap. Each tube costs only P1.00. Grown-ups and children will enjoy the game. Just don’t forget to clean up afterwards!