Bagnet Festival @ Bagnet 8065

Bagnet 8065

Location:
8065 Estrella Street,

San Antonio Village, Makati

BAGNET- it is a boiled, deep fried pork meat; a delicacy from the North of the Philippines. Similar to Lechon Kawali but is fried longer until pork skin transforms into large cracklings. We ate a lot of this during our trip to Ilocos Norte, just to try and identify how it differs from other fried pork dishes, and to taste it from where it originally came from. I’m in love. I don’t know if they enjoyed the dish the same way I did but I did. And I know deep in my heart that I’m a fried pork lover, name it- Lechon Kawali, Chicharon, Porkchop, Crispy Liempo, etc. etc., BAGNET!

And so our Bagnet 8065 lunch out happened last Saturday after shift. From a source: (Our Awesome Planet) during Saturdays, operating hours starts at 11:00 am – 12:00 midnight. We left the office by 10 am and we arrived there exactly at that time when they are preparing to open the place. We’re the first customers for that day (eggzoited lungs? O gutom na talaga?!).

The PLACE

It’s a cozy little shack with slightly dimmed lightings. Chair and tables were old and wooden. On one part is a built in book shelf with old books. Walls are covered with drawings, pictures, and paintings; all with an old touch. The place can accommodate 20-25 pax inside. They also have an extension outside, which i recall can fill in another 10 more people --- It was jampacked! On the other hand, the wall on the left side upon entrance that's filled with free hand writings (mostly doodles) looked like an urban graffiti, which i think didn't match the whole theme of the place. They mostly play a lot of pop songs in the background too and it was an addition to my confusion. I felt like it was out of place. 

The FOOD

We slightly brainstormed on what to order, and it’s difficult to decide so I popped my usual question: what is your best seller? Ate answered “yung Original” and so Ram ordered the Original Bagnet. I’m torn between the Bagnet Dinuguan and Bagnet Spicy Gata. I again ask for Ate’s recommendation and she happily replied “dinuguan”. Jaymie got the Bagnet Binagoongan out of all the other.

Original Bagnet:  simply the best with Mangga and Alamang as side dish.

Bagnet Dinuguan: a lot like crispy dinuguan, it’s just that the taste of the

sauce lacks the “sour” taste of the authentic dinuguan.

Bagnet Binagoongan: I’m not sure how they infused the supposedly bagoong taste on this because the sauce tasted like Mang Tomas to me. I wonder if they served the correct dish to Jaymie. hehe

Buko Pandan: The taste is perfect, milky, and not too sweet. The only problem is it was served in icy chunks. So we have to wait a little while for it to melt.

We were supposed to order Ensaladang Talong but we’re too early that veggies were still unavailable.

For the overall experience, it’s still FOOD so we had fun! Haha. We’ll surely go back for the Original bagnet and try the other bagnet dishes they offer. And I would also like to mention that it’s a good budget meal for P120 with soup. The serving is generous.

Thank you to Miss Adeline Uy for this wonderful recommendation. Let’s eat here again…together! :D


Love,
Wandering Venus

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TAT @ Kanin Club (Kusina Filipino)

Late Post: Once in a Blue Moon for TAT, my girl group from High School. :)

It was a girls' night out for TAT. We've been praying for this to happen for oh so many years after our high school graduation, roughly 8 years na. Haha. TAT is a bunch of “tikal” people; parasitic-opportunistic creatures who loves eating without spending (??!!??). Knowing that this is going to be like a once in a lifetime moment, we opted for the easiest route, a simple dinner. Since most of TAT’s members were from Laguna, we decided to meet them halfway. Haha. The event took place one Saturday, May 25th @ Kanin Club in Greenfield District, Paseo De Sta. Rosa, Laguna.  Present were Jaymie, Con, Panget, Yohh, Asshet, Myl, and Martha.

Con, Yohh, Asshet, Panget and JayMie

***Food for the Goddesses :D***

Crispy Liempo P150: A simple, crispy, fried pork belly.

Hototai Soup P235: Seafood, Veggies, Quail Eggs and Meats in Chicken Broth, it’s an 8/10 for us!

Lumpiang Sariwa P102: This is a Yohh order. We’re not the biggest fan of Lumpiang Sariwa but she seems happy with this.

Chopsuey P274: Nothing really special about their Chopsuey except that it compliments the fried viands that were served.

Crispy Dinuguan P274: Asshet and Con’s paborito. Really crispy and fat so please eat in moderation! As for the taste of the blood/sauce—it has the right combination of salty and sour, an authentic taste of Dinuguan. A must try!

Lemon Chicken P235:  Deep fried breaded chicken meat topped with slightly sweet and sour lemon sauce.

Sinangag na Sinigang P235: This one’s new to us. Sinangag and sinigang in one?! Hmmmmm. Presentation was very nice; really looked enticing. It tasted sour since it was flavored sinigang. I must say we did not take much time savoring into this. We preferred the other rice instead, which you will see below as you scroll down. It was very creative of Kanin Club though. :)

Bagoong Rice P156: A best seller as per Kuya’s recommendation. He didn't let us down. This is what I was talking about!

Turon KC a la Mode P141: An instant favorite. Sweetened saging na Saba with Langka strips and Ube Halaya inside a mildly sweet fried crepe and topped with ice cream; a perfect Filipino dessert.

For the list of the whole menu: http://www.munchpunch.com/kanin-club-greenfield-district/menu

After a hearty <3 meal at Kanin Club, we decided to chill at a nearby outdoor bar with a band singing hippie songs, drank a bottle or two while tackling our favorite subject - LIFE. And when the band stopped singing after 2 sets, we then went to the nearest Starbucks to tone down the alcohol that we consumed before going home. 

Asshet, Con, Mie, Myl, Yohh, Panget and Tah

- FIN -

More Love,
Wandering Venus

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Kanto Freestyle Breakfast

Kanto Freestyle Breakfast

San Joaquin St.,

Plainview, Mandaluyong

(02) 400-2268 for queries and delivery

A dear friend of mine visited me last July 1^st for a hair coloring session since it’s her birthday. I played as her salon professional fairy god mother who stroke the magic wand in circles to make her birthday wish come true, color her hair “reddish brown!” 

TADAAAAA!!!

Sari in her # 55 reddish brown hair color from Revlon

It was then that we started chit chatting - random things about old friends’ lives, from our up to date way of living to midlife crisis issues, dreams, plans, wishes, etc… And I don’t exactly remember how Kanto Freestyle Breakfast came in to our conversation. I recalled her saying that I should try the food there; that it was located in Mandaluyong; that despite its being like a carinderia, the food presentation is something to look out for. I got curious so I searched over the ever reliable World Wide Web and TADAN! I found it here: MunchPunch !!! :D Monday night, I immediately relayed the information to my co-Wandering Venus and ask her if we can try it. She’s extremely passive so she said YES! No sweats! Haha. We agreed on visiting the place July 4^th, Thursday, after shift. 

Tuesday…Wednesday…Thursday!!!!  :)

The KANTO PIG-OUT PICTURE PARADE!

Salivate dear readers!

James, Maycon, Raena, Mie and Melody. Photographer: Ram

@Group picture- Kanto Freestyle Breakfast's eating area
Yes, eating area's along the street, on a pavement.
Behind it is their mini kitchen.
Carinderia it is? 

Hmmmm. Below comes the thriller. :)

Mie's                                Raena's
@French Toast with Bacon and Egg
Mie and Raena had the same meal though
Mie's was served a little bit more
presentable than Raena's
Price: 90php

@Honey Garlic Chicken Meal

for Melody and Ram

Price: 90php

@Fluffy Pancakes Topped with Goya and Chocnut Ganache 

for Con

Price: 90php

@Batangas Beef Tapa

for James

Price: 90php

(image)

@Potato Wedges

Price: 30php

@Deep Fried Cloud

Price: 50php

Let's make a brief review:

• We loved the scrambled egg. It was perfectly cooked. It was neither over nor under done, and hurray! Not greasy :D
• The combination of Garlic and Honey as James would describe a 'good food' is just about right. The meal came in with garlic rice. Aside was a tomato pesto cut in half. Melody and Ram wished they had plain rice instead; it’s too garlic-y for their taste.
• Pancakes are fluffy indeed. Lol. It has a local taste apparently because of the Goya choco spread and the crushed chocnut on top.
• Batangas Beef Tapa is really good. Meat is tender and the serving is generous for a 90 bucks meal. Note: Don’t expect a Batangas Taal Tapa taste on this one.
• Potato Wedges were the usual thin sliced potatoes you can make in your own kitchen; nothing special about it. It’s the dip that made the difference! And so we loved the whole thing! <3
• Curiosity hit us most with their Deep Fried Cloud. On our table served was a deep, fried, breaded Cloud 9. Yes, I said that right. Cloud 9! It tasted like smores covered with crispy, fried bread crumbs. Hehe
• The food preparation took a lot of time: 35-45 mins. So don’t go there with an empty stomach. LoL. 

All in all, we enjoyed our breakfast escapade at Kanto Freestyle Breakfast. They have a special touch that made us want to go back. 

And Mie came back for breakfast (around 9am) after a few days. Shockingly, she said the food preparation was way too fast than the last time. 

P.S. They don't have a site yet!


More Love,
Wandering Venus

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DIY Fringe Top 101

Yesterday for a few minutes, I busied myself on cropping an old top from my labyrinth of forgotten clothes. This I learned from watching several videos (via YouTube and other helpful blog sites) about cutting/making a whole new look from olden clothing. I did the easiest and the safest, which I think only took me not more than 15 minutes to finish. That quick and easy!

DIY Fringe Top 
What you need:
1. A pair of sharp scissors.
2. An over sized shirt. They can come in handy by making a search in your house's closets. They can be your brother or Pop's shirt. Or something RTW that you got for a low price, though make sure it's still you in style.

Step 1: 
I just cut the bottom hem of the shirt. Make sure that while you're doing all the cutting, you're laying the shirt on a flat surface for a good eye view of the material and for better cutting results.

The cut hem outlined with a yellow line

Step 2: 
Fit the over sized shirt onto you and put on a mark where you want the fringe to start or how high you want the fringe to go. It can be above or below your belly button, whichever you prefer. I prefer it way below my belly button since I decided to partner it with an old skirt with an upper part I don't want the people to get a glimpse at. :) By the way the fringes' height from the bottom of the shirt until where I cut it upwards' approximately 3 1/2 inches long. 

Step 3:
To get even width of the fringes, my technique was cut first the middle part of the shirt (you can refer to the above image), and then cut a half again on each of the halves you initially cut (this time see images below). So that makes 4 equal parts now. Repeat the steps until you reach the part where the strings are already sized about half an inch wide. 

Step 4: 
Pull all the strings you've cut to make it longer and to not make it look like it was freshly scissored. Without pulling the strings, i think the shirt would look too technical, boring and not fashionable enough especially on a shirt like the one I used since it's all white and plain. Tugging the ends of the strings makes a good look to the now appearance you're trying to make off of the shirt.

Step 5: 
Tie the end of each string to a knot. The knots can go low or high, depending on you. 

Step 6: 
WALAH! There you have a fringe crop top! Ready to go. HAHAHAH

I could't find anything decent to wear since almost all my clothes are left in a crate in Mandaluyong, and I was home in Laguna from a weekend off. This was one instance where watching videos about recycling clothes became serviceable to me!!!  

Please bear with how I managed to capture the step by step process. I didn't know I'll be posting this, but I hope this is somehow clear and helpful. :)) 


More love,
Wandering Venus

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Mochiko Mochi :)

Yesterday was only one of my many non-diverse days. I was only out with wanderingV, Maycon, because she has to pay her bills and i need to get a rush birthday gift for my god daughter, who I'm visiting in Mindoro tomorrow. 

Mega Mall's our stop. Upon finishing our errands, we still checked a boutique sale like Forever21's. On our way out of the mall, we stopped by a store standing in the middle of the bridge way area of the mall's 2nd floor. We've been seeing this for the longest time now and have been ignoring it as well, though in my mind "what's that?" It was only after yesterday that we were able to try it since Maycon's curiousity did get the best of her. 

Mochiko

Website: http://mochikomochi.com/index.php

Location: SM Megamall 2nd Floor, Bridgeway, Megamall

Store Hours: 10am-9pm

Mochi is a Japanese delicacy made out of rice flour, mochiko. Mochiko actually serves as the upfront coating. It is chewy like a mashed dough. Inside a Mochi is some sweet center, which is anko, or red bean paste and eaten as a snack, but Mochiko, the store itself, made it more exceptional by infusing new flavors and fillings into mochi.

http://mochikomochi.com/faq.php

Their best sellers, as per the lady we bought the mochi from, and who also pointed us to these mochis with plate numbers, are Red Velvet, Oreo and Milk and Cookie Dough. I don't know if that's their mark for best sellers but she said "Our best sellers are those that with numbers." I recall.

Before drooling takes us over as we look into the Mochis inside the glass covered freezer, we made our choice to Oreo and Milk Mochi. We only bought 1 since, aside from it's a bit pricey at 70php a piece, we only want to try it in our mouth. 

                     |

                |

                |

               \/

        premium, dairy ice cream by FIC 

      real milky goodness

 +  one whole oreo cookie (flavor)

      mochico (rice flour)

      special japanese techniques in making the mochi

      the love for making mochi

_____________________________________________

   

=   

       Oreo and Milk Mochi (with 1 whole oreo cookie inside)

And though it's mostly observed as costly, I take it you will know why it is what it is in terms of price once you've given yourself a chance to try it. Our 70php, which we divided into two (haha), was not put to waste. Aside from it's really delightful in the mouth, you're never deceived in quantity and quality. The Mochi's inside is thick and compact with their A lister ice cream goodness and flavor, which is Oreo in this case.

Oreo and Milk Mochi in a Mochiko style paper wrap

#ThoughBubble: I thought Mochi was actually hot, but it was otherwise. haha. 

More Love,

Wandering Venus

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