District 50 Restaurant at J-Centre Mall, Cebu

Hello everyone! So, about several months ago I've been scouting again for some restaurants in Cebu that are worth mentioning and while I was at J-Centre Mall in AS Fortuna St. Mandaue City, I found this sort of retro-diner inspired restaurant called District 50.

When I entered the place, I immediately liked the theme. It has a sort of diner feel to it though they actually serve more than just burgers. What immediately caught my attention was the beetle sports car which you can actually use as your table although it can only accommodate two persons. But it's pretty cool, huh?

As you can see, they pretty much have a lot of framed pictures (of music bands, music icons, celebrities, etc) and other 50's-inpired decorations, which I find really cool and inspired. They also have booths, al fresco dining and a bar as well.

So I know you're all very excited on what we ordered so without further adieu, here it is:

Nicoise Salad (above) and Russian Egg Salad (below) for around PhP180.00 each. As you can tell from the photo, the Nicoise Salad is a mix of lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, boiled eggs, olives, white onion rings, canned tuna and some balsamic vinegar as dressing. The Russian Egg Salad is basically just two hard boiled eggs with some peas, carrots, corn, olives and then topped with mayonnaise dressing. Both okay.

Chicken Parmesan for PhP180.00. I love love love this one! The sauce is really tomatoey which I like. But if you don't like tomatoey sauces then this might not appeal to your taste. But this is one of my favorites.

Creamy Dory with Pesto and Peas at PhP180.00. This I like too. The sauce is really tasty and complements with the creamy dory very well. Yum yum!

Smoked Paprika Beef at PhP230.00. This is one of my personal favorites! I like it's bit-of spicy taste and the beef is so tender. Really really tasty!

Chanesca (District 50's version of Puttanesca) at PhP180.00. I'm not quite a fan of this one. I was a bit disappointed that it has sardines in it. I guess that's what makes this version a different Puttanesca since the original Puttanesca recipe has anchovies instead of sardines. But I'd have to say that it does have a certain unique flavor to it, but it just didn't suit me that much. It kind of reminds me of misua with sardines, which I don't like very much...

For dessert we had Bea's Crepe and Brownie S'more each at PhP100.00. 

Bea's Crepe has ripe mangoes as filling and vanilla ice cream on top, while Brownie S'more is a chocolate brownie topped with s'mores and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. Both yummy and heavenly.

Overall I really loved my dining experience at District 50. What I really like about it is how cheap their price is and yet, as you can see from the photos, their dishes are very much like gourmet in appearance and taste.

Will definitely come back again!

For more information about District 50 or if you want to visit them yourself, here's their address and other contact information:

• Address: 2nd Floor, J Centre Mall, corner Bakilid street, AS Fortuna, 6014 Mandaue City
• Contact #: 520-6562
• Email: district_fifty@yahoo.com
• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/District50

They are open from Mondays through Sundays from 10:00 am to 11:00 pm.  Payment options are Cash and Credit Card (Visa, AMEX, Mastercard).

Anyway, that's it for now. 'Til next post guys!

Firozian Indian Tea House, Cebu City, Cebu

If you're yearning for an authentic Indian cuisine here in Cebu, then you have got to try Firozian Indian Tea House.  It is a newly opened Indian restaurant located at Don Jose Avila St. (at the back of Cebu Doctors Hospital).  They've just opened last April 25 and we went there a few days after that to have my first ever taste of authentic Indian food.  Comfortable and cozy, this cute little restaurant is owned by an Indian guy named Firoz, who also happens to be the chef!

It was a great dining experience indeed!  The restaurant has the ambiance of colorful walls and curtains with low tables and chairs and throw pillows such that the customers can get to try what it's like to dine the Indian way.  Firoz actually explained to us why eating this way is better than what we normally do.  First, he said that in the old days, eating on the floor was a natural thing such that even kings enjoyed lying or sitting on the floor while eating.  The Greeks and Romans do this too. Second, eating in a lotus position (or as what we usually call the cross-legged sitting position), helps the body absorb and digest the food faster as the blood flow is concentrated in the stomach area.  It is also beneficial for the back.  Finally, the third reason is that it shows a symbolism of no hierarchy system while eating this way.  Everyone is equal, rich or poor. Pretty cool, huh?

So anyway, as I mentioned, I've never tried authentic Indian food before and I tell you, the first time I tasted it at Firozian Indian Tea House, it was love at first bite!!!  My personal favorite was the Dal Makhani.  It's a healthy Indian staple food made primarily of whole black lentils (urad) and red kidney beans (rajma).  You can eat it alone or with rice, or you can also add a little yoghurt on it for an extra kick.

Dal Makhani

Another favorite of mine is the Durum, or as what they call, "the real shawarma".  As you can see, it is indeed a shawarma and I must say, the best shawarma I ever tasted.  It's so much different from the shawarma sold in food stalls.  I guess it's because Firozian's Durum has just the right amount of sauce and spices to it.

Durum

I also like the Aloo Paratha, a popular breakfast/snack dish in India which is made of whole-wheat Indian flat bread stuffed with mashed potatoes.  You can eat it with butter/yoghurt or Lassi, also a popular Indian yoghurt-based drink made of yoghurt blended with water and some Indian spices or sugar.

Aloo Paratha

Lassi

Other snack items that we ordered were Roti (a flat bread made of stoneground wholemeal flour known as atta flour) and Samosa (fried or baked pastry stuffed with potatoes, ground meat, and other spices).  The Samosa is much like the Empanada, the only difference perhaps is the stuffing and/or how the pastry was made.

Roti

Samosa

Other main dishes that we ordered were Aloo Keema, Butter Chicken, and Chicken Masala.

Aloo Keema

Aloo Keema, also known as potato and mince curry, is actually a traditional dish of South Asia.  It is made of potatoes, ground meat, and spices.

Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken, also known as Chicken Makhani, is one of the best known Indian food (and also, another one of my favorites).

Chicken Masala

Chicken Masala is a creamy spicy chicken dish made of roasted chicken chunks (also known as tikka) in a spicy sauce called masala.

Aside from Lassi, we also had Chai (also known as Indian Tea) for our beverage.  It is a spiced milk tea served with sugar, which they had shaped in cute hearts.

Chai (Indian Tea)

What's interesting about Chai is how it is served.  I can't really describe it in words so you can just refer to the picture below, heheheh!

This is actually the traditional way of serving tea in India and Firoz told us of three reasons why it's done this way.  First is that it creates a natural foam on the surface of the tea, it mixes the tea well, and lastly, it helps cool down the tea a bit so it wouldn't be too hot while you drink it.

So of course a meal wouldn't be complete without dessert, right?  So for that we ordered Besan Laddu and Gulab Jamun.

Besan Laddu (sorry about the teeth marks! hehehe!)

Besan Laddu, also known as Indian sweet chickpea flour balls, is a popular Indian dessert made of bengal gram flour (or chickpea flour), sugar, ghee, and powdered nuts (can be almond, pistachio, etc) formed into balls.

Gulab Jamun

Gulab Jamun, also known as milk balls in sweet syrup, is another popular dessert in the Indian subcontinent made of milk solids, mostly khoya (an Indian milk product), and some flour rolled into balls and then deep fried.  It is then put into a sweet syrup flavored with different spices and natural flavors.  Looks yummy, doesn't it?

Well, that's all we ordered!  I really had a wonderful dining experience at Firozian Indian Tea House.  I can definitely say that Indian food is surely one of my cravings now!  And not to mention that their prices are so budget friendly.  Based on what we ordered, their meals range from PhP120 - 150 and their snacks and desserts range from PhP40 - 80.  Not bad, huh?

Firozian (right most), April and their lovely staff)

I've seen in their Facebook page that they still have a lot of delicious Indian food that I haven't tried yet.  I just can't wait to go back!!

Well, thanks for dropping by you guys!  Till next post!

A Dinner Date at the Persimmon Plus, Mabolo Cebu City

Last Friday February 18, my husband and I were invited by the Aboitizland for a dinner date at the Persimmon Plus in Mabolo Cebu City. It was kind of like a post Valentine's Day event. Lots of other couples were also invited. I guess the event was also kind of a presentation of some of the shops that are soon to open at the Persimmon Plus, although there were only 2 shops that showcased their products that night -- Happy Rooster, which sells imported home furnishings and caters interior designs, and Urban Living, which is a salon and spa that also sells awesome bath products, I was almost tempted to buy one ^_^.

Anyway, it was really a romantic evening for me and my husband. The food was awesome! It was catered by Dong Juan. They're originally from Manila but they'd be opening a branch soon at The Persimmon Plus to serve their delicious meals for us Cebuanos. My favorite dish from was their Spaghetti. I loooooved it so much that I came back to the buffet table for a second helping, LOL! I wish I had photos of the food but it was a candlelit dinner and my camera wasn't just powerful enough to capture food on a dark background. Sorry guys!

There was also a band which I think was really awesome. They played popular songs which mostly are romantic. Their singers are pretty good, especially their guy singer who has a very soothing voice and almost exactly match that of the original artist's.

After dinner, they held a raffle contest where I won a 20% discount voucher on Oral Prophylaxis from the Bright Smiles Oral Care Center. Awesome! I wonder when I can avail of this service. I think it's been more than a year since I had an oral prophylaxis, hehehe!

So I guess that's all guys. I would really like to thank Aboitizland for inviting us to this awesome event. Wish there are more of this in the future, hehehehe! ;-D

I Just Buried CJ :'(

My dear friends,

Yes it's a very unfortunate and sad news indeed. CJ just passed away a while ago. I'm not really sure the exact time but it was sometime this morning. If you don't know who CJ is, she's the crippled kitten that I found on the street one rainy afternoon and brought home (and oh, she's a female BTW as opposed to what I thought in my previous post that she's a male; click here if you wanna know how I found her). I just finished burying her in the small yard beside our house, just outside our room :'(

I just couldn't help but cry while I was burying her :'( It's really really sad. I didn't even see when she died. I just saw her lying by the tambis tree when I got home from the groceries. I asked my neighbor if she saw how she died and she just said that she just saw CJ crawling (even quite fast, with no signs of being weak or anything) from our house to the tambis tree across and the next thing she saw, CJ wasn't moving anymore and just lay there...already out of breath :'( I mean I can only imagine her just crawling and perhaps wanting to explore around and maybe fell asleep, not knowing that her life's gonna end right then and there :'(

The truth is I already kind of saw it coming, that she's not gonna live long because she can't poop well because of her crippled hind legs. Lately I've noticed that her bottom was kind of swelling. I felt really bad because I can't afford to send her to the vet, what with all the expenses for my cats' food (and for our food as well of course) and other expenses and necessities and especially with the baby coming (yes, I'm pregnant for 8 months now), so we're kind of saving up our money in preparation for the baby. But I didn't really expect that she would die so soon. How many days has it been since I found her? About 6 days I guess? I thought that she'd still live for about a year or two because even though she can't poop very well she still can poop, only that she can't expel them out altogether and would just drag her poop across the floor when she crawls. (My husband is so sweet BTW to volunteer cleaning her and her nest every morning because it's not good for me, a pregnant woman, to clean a kitty's litter due to possible toxoplasmis infection).

Anyway, CJ's death was really unexpected. I mean, she was still very active this morning before my husband and I went out for breakfast. I was even able to feed her and she didn't show any signs that she's dying. She wasn't weak or anything. She even crawls very fast towards her food. Really really unexpected.

I immediately buried her after I found her. And placed some flowers (which I picked out from our neighbor's garden, sshh!) on top of her bed. I also whispered a little goodbye to her as I laid her on her grave before covering her up. After burying her (and after washing my hands of course), I then went ahead and put away the groceries. As I opened the bag, it was then that I found and remembered the milk that I bought for her :'( I decided this morning to feed her milk so that her poop would be much softer and easier for her to expel out. I guess I was too late :'(

Is there a heaven for cats, dogs and other animals? I wanna believe that there is. Because then I can happily say that CJ is there playing with the other cats...(call me cheesy, I wouldn't care).

Gawd I'm so depressed. I'm gonna go and eat some chocolates. But before I go I just wanna thank everyone who showed their empathy to CJ in my previous post (and possibly in this post). It really means a lot to me and CJ. God bless!!!

Frizberry Yogurt - Grand Opening at Parkmall Cebu

Who wants frozen yogurt? I do! And one of my favorite frozen yogurt stores out there is none other than Frizberry Yogurt. Why is it my favorite you ask? Because one, it's not only delicious but also healthy. Two, their yogurts are not expensive. And lastly, but definitely not the least, it's Cebu based!!! Hehe! Love my own!

Yep, Frizberry yogurt is a Cebu based yogurt company that offers affordable yet delicious frozen yogurt. So far they have three branches in Cebu. One is in SM which is their first, and then in Ayala and Parkmall.

Medium sized frozen yogurt with blueberry, cherry and almond toppings.

So the one I'm showing you here is their Parkmall branch. It's located right beside Japengo (a Japanese restaurant). This branch has actually been existing for a few months now but they just had their grand opening last Friday.

Aside from frozen yogurt, they also serve fruit shakes and yo-shakes (a yogurt shake). They also have frozen yogurt on a belgian waffle. My favorite is their Fruit Parfait. For each of their menu item, you can choose from a wide variety of toppings such as fruits, cereals and nuts. You can also choose a strawberry flavored frozen yogurt, which is sweeter than the ordinary frozen yogurt.

For my fruit parfait, I chose the original yogurt mixed with kiwi, strawberry and almonds and then drizzled with choco syrup ^^ while my friend had strawberry yogurt mixed with kiwi, strawberry and cornflakes. YUM!!!

For more information about Frizberry Yogurt (including their menu items and prices), you may visit their website at www.frizberryyogurt.com.