Abe Restaurant, Serendra

It was a real happy day for our family as we just fetched Nardie (my husband) from the airport. He is home for his 2-weeks break from his job stint in China. He got out of the airport shortly before 6pm and by 7pm we were at Abe's in Serendra for his welcome-home dinner. I made a reservation (advisable even on a weekday night) the night before so we didn't have to wait for a table.

Everyone was in a great mood as we ordered fried catfish, pastel lengua (ox tongue), lamb adobo, bicol express and rice. Here are the dishes with photos on the left and our "findings" on the right:

Lamp Adobo...yummy ! Personally, I love this dish. I like the innovative spirit behind it. Lamb not being a traditional Filipino choice-of-meat cooked in the most traditional Filipino style: adobo. The meat was tender and I like the use of unshelled garlic. Chryso, my eldest son who is studying to be a chef says the flavour of the lamb is too overpowering. Well, that's his opinion which I respect but still...I love this dish ! I bet you will too.

Bicol Express...was good. Fresh & not over-cooked vegetables with a delicous creamy coconut sauce. They could have put in more "hotness" spice into it though as Bicol Expess is known for that.








Lengua Pastel....not bad, not bad at all. Our family is used to the creamy-white lengua and find red-sauce a welcome change. We loved that they put in a lot of olives in the dish. The lengua (ox tail) melts in the mouth, just the way we like it.



Deep-fried catfish...the winner of the night ! Absolutely love it's yumminess that we ordered another plate immediately after first-bite. haha. Fish was cooked just right, crispy on the outside while the flesh inside was very soft. The catfish sure was fresh. Real good with plain rice.



The catfish was served with buro (fermented rice) and lettuce leaves on the side. Buro is a kapangpangan specialty and the one served at Abe's sure is special. It has the right balance of sourness and saltiness. I put some on the lettuce, made a roll and mmmm....delicious !



Turon with ube ... was rather ordinary. I like the portioning but presentation of this dessert was too simple. It was below our expectation. The ube inside didn't make any tasty impression that we had to check if there was indeed ube. Maybe this dessert would have been nicer if langka (jackfruit) was used instead of ube. Oh, and some vanilla ice-cream on top would have been lovely.





Abe has a restroom inside, separate for male and female. Thing is, the restroom ceiling is too low for my sons' comforts. Dale, our youngest, is already 5'9 and had to bow his head down to fit in. Quite a cute sight though. So for those with tall western guests, you may want to take note of this and look for another restroom to use.

The bill came out to about P 1,900.oo. That was a pleasant surprise. A good value-for-money restaurant in Serendra with great interiors and good Filipino food. I was expecting it to be around P 2,500.oo or so since there were 5 of us and we even had 2 orders of the Fried Catfish. Rice was refillable, by the way which is always good when you have hungry boys with you.

All told, we did enjoy ourselves at Abe's and if we do have some balikbayan visitors, we will surely invite them there.

Abe's number is (632) 856.0526

Kusina Salud Rest., San Pablo

I LOVE THIS PLACE ! The ambiance is wonderful and the food is superb. The decor is an eclectic mix of Filipino and Balinese and it works. The place is surrounded by a rich garden and there is even a nice aviary that completes the look and feel of this small paradise. According to my son Chryso, a chef-in-the-making, the food is fusion Filipino French. For me, the food was original, creative and most of all...delicious. I LOVE THIS PLACE !

Casa San Pablo, Laguna

After reading several features on "viaje del sol" (way of the sun), our family decided to embark on it. Viaje del Sol is sort of a route-map of interesting sights and places in the provinces of Laguna and Quezon. We chose two main destinations: Casa San Pablo and Kusina Salud. This post is all about Casa San Pablo while my next post will feature Kusina Salud.

Let me begin by saying that this is mostly a positive review. I like Casa San Pablo but just like many accommodation places, it has areas for improvements. We left our house in Quezon City by 9am, had a 45-minute bfast break in Petron McDonald's along South Super Hiway and was in Casa San Pablo in San Pablo Laguna shortly before 12 noon.

There is a visible sign (right side of highway if coming from Manila) outside Casa San Pablo so we didn't have a hard time finding it. The gate was closed but a courteous security guard appeared right away to let us in after we told him we have a reservations for the night. The driveway led to a parking area which, sad to say, needs some maintenance work. There were plants aplenty around the driveway and parking area but they are mostly not kept well. Frankly, I was getting worried that I may have chosen the wrong place to stay-in for the night. We walked from the parking to the area where the cottages are, passing 2 swimming pools along the way.

As we entered the area where the cottages are, I gladly noticed the scenery change. There is wonderful landscaping and the gardens surrounding the cottages are simply lovely. There are even several towering pine-trees. The exteriors of the cottages are quaint-looking. A friendly lady staffer appeared to welcome us and show us the interiors of the rooms. Since we were there on a weekday, the place was not busy. In fact, we were the only guests which was kinda nice. The lady staffer first showed us a room with a loft and can accommodate 5 but we find it rather small for my 3 grown-up and relatively tall sons (Chryso, the eldest is 5'9; Cocoy, my second son is 6'; Dale, the youngest is 5'7).

We chose to stay in Cottage 13, the second room shown to us (see pic on left-most side). It was spacious, has high ceiling and 5 seperate single beds (see pic on left side) The staff re-arranged the beds so Nardie, my husband and I had one double bed. The beds were basic and not really of the standard-hotel type but they are ok ... for one night. The pillows are thin but the staff lent us several pieces to make up for it.

The cottage we stayed in has 2 toilets and baths, access to one of which though is outside the cottage. Casa San Pablo does not provide toiletries so make sure you bring your own.


Aside from those already mentioned, here is a list of things I do like about Casa San Pablo: books, magazines, boardgames, volleyball, basketball, billiard table and clean swimming pools for the guests to enjoy; the interior design of the cottages and the dining room speak of laid-back elegance; the collectibles and paintings scattered around the resort are all in good taste and shows the talent of Filipino craftsmen and artists; breakfast included in the room rate was good and filling (fried eggs, longanisa, daing na danggit, tocino and fried rice all served family- style and with hot coffee) and the staff and owner are all very friendly and helpful.

Butch Alcantara, one of the owners, met and join us for a chat over bfast. He was very accommodating and made each one of us feel at home.

Here are things that need some improvements based on my opinion: the lovely chandeliers can use some cleaning; prices of the set lunch or dinner choices which start at P 350./person is high; lighting at night and lastly, maintenance of the entrance and parking areas.

Picture on the left shows pottery plates made by Ugu Bigyan, a talented potter whose shop in Tiaong, Quezon is part of the Viaje del Sol.

Cost of overnight stay with bfast at Casa San Pablo is P 1,100. per person if there are 4-5 persons staying in a room. It's P 1,300. per person if only 2-3 persons will stay in a room. It was worth it.

Direction: From Manila, after the San Pablo border, stay on the Maharlika Highway. You will see a Caltex station to the left, before a fork in the road. Turn left, and shortly after the San Pablo hospital, to the right, is Kay Inay Resort. Turn into the resort gate, Casa San Pable is inside.

Check out Casa San Pablo's website at http://www.casasanpablo.com/ or call Butch Alcantara at 0917.8126687.

Sports Plus Cafe, Eastwood

Cocoy (my 2nd son), Elaine (my youngest sister) and I tried out Sport Plus Cafe since it's relatively new having just opened February this year in Eastwood Citywalk.

The ambiance was pleasant enough with it's relatively big tables and chairs so we didn't get the feeling of being cramped. There were about 3-4 hanging wide-screen t.v. showing different sports channel. TV volume was fortunately toned-down allowing guests to carry on conversations. (i am not such a fan of restaurants where you can't talk because noise level is too high)

We asked the waiter what his recommendations were and were promptly told about the "field goal" pizza with pepperoni, onions, olives and tomatoes as toppings. Also, of their version of the classic cheeseburger. We ordered both.

The pizza arrived after about 20 minutes which was not bad. It did look promising Sadly, we had to return it after first bite. The toppings was delicious but the dough was too hard to eat. The waiter told us they prepare the dough in-house so I guess they have to check on their baking procedure on this. It is noteworthy to mention though that when we informed our waiter about the dough, he returned it right away to the chef who immediately offered to replace it. No justifications, no arguments. We all find this very good. Since we were in a hurry, we decided not to ask for a replacement.

SportsPlus Cafe's version of the "cheeseburger" was good. A little pricey at P 240. exclusive of service charge but I won't complain. The beef patty was thick and tasty. It was served well-done but the inside was still juicy but not oily at all. The american cheese complements the beef patty rather well. The side french fries served was more than enough for one person so we were all able to share. It was crunchy outside, soft inside and were cut the right size (not like the thin-cuts served by famous fastfood chains). They are not oily as well and they taste real good.

One thing I like about Eastwood restaurants is that most, if not all, have their own washrooms. The one in SportsPlus for ladies is very clean, big and has a modern design. I was actually pleasantly surprised.

When we asked for the bill, we expected to be charged for the pizza (P 275. plus service charge) and the burger. They just charged the burger. Because of this nice gesture, the delicous cheeseburger and the warm friendly staff, we might just go back. I hope by then, they've already done something with their pizza dough.

lizahernandezmorales@blogspot.com

Why I Am Blogging

Welcome to my first attempt at blogging. (wish me luck hehe) I am doing this to share with same-minded people my 3 passions in life: food, home-making, and travel.

I have worked a good 18 years as an executive in some of our country's top resorts and hotels, a very fulfilling but stressful experience. Recently, I "changed lanes."
I quit my full-time hotel job to do what I've always wanted to: spend a lot of time with my family. I have 3 sons, all grown-up now. Chryso is 20 years old, Cocoy is 18 and Dale is 14.

Aside from sharing experiences which I find very rewarding, I am blogging in order to document the many events that happen in our daily lives. I will be posting reviews of restaurants, resorts and other leisure spots, travel notes and photos, "family-tested" recipes and some insights and hindsights on domestic life.

I invite you to peek into my simple and often-crazy, but definitely, blessed world.

Liza