Umenoya, a japanese term for a flower is a popular Japanese Restaurant in Paseo de Sta. Rosa. It offers great selection of real tasty japanese cuisine. The best time to dine here is during lunch. Because it is only at lunch time that they offer the bento sets at affordable prices (starts at P200++). On other meal occasions you have to order a la carte style and you may find that some food are a bit over priced. We keep on coming back here and undoubtedly, the taste is consistently good. Unfortunately, we noticed that the service is deteriorating in quality. My colleagues and I recently dined here and we were so dismayed with the poor service rendered to us. We’ve been standing inside the resto for quite awhile waiting for a waiter to approach us and give us some seats. But all that we saw were crews running here and there at the top of their voices. For seconds, we thought we were given a market feel instead of a decent to say the least ambiance! When we were finally seated after making so much attempts to get the waiters' attention, we felt that the table is just not comfortable for a group of five. Therefore, we requested to be transferred to a new one, preferrably the "tatami room" since it's the only table available at that time. However, one of their crews told us that there's a minimum charge of P1500 for the room. Imagine, they have to compute for our bill first so they can decide if they will transfer us or not. It’s quite annoying really! We went there with our hungry stomachs and the least that we would expect (or any customer for that matter) is poor service. We feel that the 10% additional service charge is definitely not worth it. To think that the service charge is added on top of the tax, huh! Anyway, this is the first time that we experience this kind of treatment at Umenoya. Unless they do something to improve on their service, and had it not been for their food, surely I will never go back.

Umenoya Japanese Restaurant
Paseo de Sta. Rosa 3, Don Jose
Sta. Rosa City

It's Weekend Herb Blogging once again by Kalyn's Kitchen. The host for this week is Zorra of Kochtopf. Last week I blogged about Moringa, one of the nutritious leaves we have in the planet. This week, I am featuring its nutritious kin Ampalaya, scientifically known as Momordica Charantia and Bitter Melon in English. Ampalaya is a widely cultivated plant in the Philippines. It's getting more and more popular nowadays due to its invaluable health benefits. In actual fact, a number of researches have proven Ampalaya’s ability to increase the production of “beta cells” by the pancreas. This leads to the body’s improved production of insulin. In this way, Ampalaya became most notable for its effectiveness to combat diabetes. We are proud that the Philippine variety is considered as the most potent. Thus, the Department of Health of the Philippines (DOH) endorsed it as one of the best herbal medicines for liver problems and diabetes.

• 1 large Ampalaya (Bitter Melon) fruit, chopped in thin diagonals, soaked in salt for a few minutes and squeezed a little (to lessen the bitter note) then washed with water
• 1/4 kg ground lean pork
• 1 med sized onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
• 2 beaten eggs
• 2 tbsps soy sauce
• 2 tbsps canola oil
• salt and pepper to taste
  

Procedure:

From South - drive down SLEX and take Sta. Rosa - Enchanted Kingdom Exit. Turn left from the toll gate and drive through the Sta. Rosa - Tagaytay Road. Continue as above.

United Colors of Benetton - Gas, UCB and Sisley brands of clothing, bags, havaianas flip flops etc.

Speedo - swim wear, sandals and slippers, swimming gadgets etc.

AND 1 & Mizuno - apparel, shoes and many sporting goods

If I would "foodify" or describe Greenhills Shopping Center as a food, I would consider it a complete meal in itself. It's known to be a shopper's haven. But with the significant "facelift" done with the place, it's deemed to be a foodie's haven as well. I personally liked the watch and dine concept at the Promenade. Here, you won't resort to the usual popcorn - burger combo on your way to a movie. And these are what we thought the worthy finds in the area:

Mexicali

Mexican Cooking by way of California is the tagline of this resto. For the price, serving size, food taste, ambiance and service, this resto is not bad at all! Good enough to try but not something to always crave for.

Sizzling Grilled Pork

Grilled Chicken

Go Nuts Donuts! Go Nuts Cupcakes!

It seems that Go nUts DoNUts is on the "cupcake" trend as well. We were happy to see this new product offering, it means consumers will have more choices to the ever growing sweets category. The cake is a little bready and crumbly though, I would prefer it to be more chewy and moist. But I guess for a P35/pc price parameter, that maybe quite difficult to achieve. The peanut butter and dulce de leche are said to be among the best sellers. All in all, this one is still worth a bite! Maybe good enough for a kid's delight!

Cafe Xocolat

I would really love to try this cafe. The look is just so inviting! It's so unfortunate our stomachs were heavily loaded already that we can no longer afford for another creamy, chocolatey treat. But we would definitely go back and try this one sometime. We have to find out the secret why there's a waiting of 5-7 minutes for their hot chocolate to be served best . Real intriguing!

Beard Papa - The home of quality Cream Puffs!

Awarded as the Best Cream Puffs in the country and the first to receive such quality seal, wouldn't you be charmed by this lip-smacking goodie? It's just too rich, a piece would be enough.

Annabel Lee Gourmet and the Finest Cheesecakes

Another awardee in the area, Annabel Lee. Awarded by Philippine Tatler as Best Restaurant of 2006, it prides itself of real gourmet selection. I personally find the cheesecakes so tempting!

Preparation time: 30 mins

Cooking time: 45 mins

Serves 15

Ingredients:

2. Do the filling: Combine egg yolks and condensed milk. Cook on top of a double boiler, continue cooking until thick or of spreading consistency. Add butter and vanilla. Blend well, set aside and allow to cool.

3. Do the Meringue: Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in high speed mixer until it stands in peaks. Add 1 cup of sugar gradually, beating continuously. Flavour with vanilla. Mixing is done when a smooth, grain free and shiny meringue is achieved. Spread meringue onto wax paper lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F for 13 - 15 mins.

4. Layer the cake: Spread the custard filling on top of the previously prepared graham-ice cream base then top with Meringue. Put in a freezer for 1 - 2 hours before serving.

Baking tips: If you want a cheesier and creamier version, you may use cheese or manticado ice cream (although we find this too sweet and satiating) that's why we significantly preferred plain vanilla ice cream for a more balanced, less sweet, more enjoyable profile. You may also double the amount of filling if you're a fan of custard and you want a thicker layer of it.

Indeed, like any other commercially processed food product in the market today, instant noodles are also packed with some nutrients. The important question now really is how transparent the food manufacturer was in providing the right declaration? This is something that the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) should properly regulate and monitor. Not to discount the Bureau’s capability, I’m sure they have put the rules and regulations in place. (well, we really hope so, aren’t we?!).

What about its ingredients? What do the noodle pouches and bowls have inside? Here’s the typical list:

The ingredients that will be in the “hot list” or (consumer alert) so to speak are MSG, salt, and all the other "technical sounding" substances commonly referred to as additives. The unhealthy claims on MSG have long been battled in the food industry. But until now, no established studies can fully support the arguments hence, it is continuously being used in food processing. On the subject of salt, it is often link to hypertension and other kidney related illnesses. In fact, health concerns on sodium levels in commercially processed foods have already been raised in the developed countries and certainly Philippines should not be left behind. Consumers must be mindful of the recommended daily intake of sodium which is no more than 3000 mg (1 1/2 tsp of table salt). A 60-gram pack of noodles normally contains less than the prescribed amount. According to the book of RENI (Recommended Energy and Nutrients Intake), the sodium in food falls into three main categories: sodium naturally present in the food and beverages, sodium added during processing or cooking and sodium in table salt and sauces added at the table. Therefore, we have to be cautious of our day-to-day diet. For the moms out there, this might be an important information: It was noted that sodium requirement is highest per unit body weight in infants and young children in whom extracellular fluid volume is rapidly expanding (FNB,1989). Moreover, infants lose proportionately more sodium in feces than do adults (Guthrie and Picciano, 1995). In essence, most humans can adapt to wide variations in salt intake. However, there are also salt-sensitive individuals who have difficulty eliminating sodium from their body efficiently. Thus, the US Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) recommended to limit the adult's daily intake of salt to 6g or less. To serve as your guide in determining the sodium level in a particular amount of salt, always remember that salt consists of 40% sodium and 60% chloride.

In the case of preservatives, again so much have been said and done in this raw material. It's good to know that there are a lot of institutions doing stringent evaluation prior to its approval or grant of food safety. If you want to be enlightened more, you can check the Codex Alimentarius, FEMA (flavor and extract manufacturers association), or FDA (Food & Drug Administration) - GRAS (generally recognized as safe). Additives are normally added into food in very small amounts (e.g. in ppm levels or parts per million). What is essential to note is that the effects if ever there may be will only result from "exceedingly" large consumptions. The way to put it is probably consuming a hundred of packs of instant noodles per day which, we all know is way too much from reality. Thus far, enjoying a bowl of steaming hot instant noodles once in a while will not do any harm to our body. In a nutshell, we all want to live healthy and the key to that is moderation.