Forgive the long gap between posts–it’s been a busy week over here at Hurry up the Cakes. I’ve been finishing up all my work obligations before our trip to Singapore this Tuesday, and UFC Undisputed 3 was just released and I’ve been waist-deep in it since yesterday.
But now here I am, and here’s what’s been up recently:
There are some days that I would call “quiet” days–when nothing too noteworthy happens, just a simple, pleasant day that goes by with barely a hitch.
There are other days that I call “big” days–usually planned in advance, “big” days are those I in which there are events that I look forward to, like my impending Singapore trip, or last week’s WWFX event.
And then there are those days which sneak up on you, like rain on a hot day. When you expected a quiet day, or even, sometimes, a “big” day, but you end up experiencing gifts and pleasures and joys beyond what you initially imagined on that first bathroom trip after waking up.
February 7th was one such day.
I had to deliver something to my mom at Sofitel Manila (she was there for a conference), and when I arrived, she said I can go have lunch at the famed hotel restaurant Spiral.
I was expecting a Starbucks sandwich for lunch, so imagine my excitement upon finding out where I was going to eat. Go ahead. Imagine.
Also imagine how good this was:
Every so often, Team Hurry up the Cakes ventures off to the mostly-first-class land of Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, to partake in the weekly celebration of gluttony, revelry, and sheer hedonism that is the Midnight Mercato food fair.
A few hours after Char and I had dinner the other night, we decided to go to Serendra/Bonifacio High Street at Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, to have dessert at our new favorite gelato place, Gelatissimo.
Typically, though, we decided to walk to Mercato Centrale instead for their Midnight Market and grab a post-dinner bite. Well, I had dinner. Char just watched me eat.
Right next to Mercato is a new pro-turf Soccer field which, I must admit, gave a nice, warm, “community” vibe to the al fresco smokey-barbecue atmosphere of the Midnight Market. Brilliant real estate move by Bonifacio Global City, as it certainly adds value to an already-popular location.
Soccer! The new (old) hipster sport!
Instead of doing a Mercato Classic Tour (one person finds a table and waits, while the others go and buy food), we decided to take Mercato Express, which meant that we just keep walking around and eating, without a table.
First nibble of the evening was Bale Dutung‘s sublime Lechon Wrap. It’s crispy lechon flakes, with onions, cilantro, tomatoes, and a salty/sweet sauce, wrapped in tortilla. The cilantro colored a beautiful contrast to the crispy, heavy, tasty, flavors of the wrap filling. It’s my new Mercato favorite.
Lechon wrap.
Crunch.
Next up, we had Chinque‘s Inasal Chicken butts, with SEVEN butts on a stick. You usually can’t go wrong with this, but after a heavy, greasy, crispy lechon wrap, somehow pure chicken fat and skin on a stick would only be a good idea if served with a substantial amount of starchy staple.
Chicken fat on a stick. Lovely.
Unfortunately, I decided to order Cuisiniers‘s Roast Beef, which was delicious and tender during the taste test, but was overwhelming when served. Still, the sheer volume of roast beef is good deal at Php130.
Looked good, tasted good
Looked okay, tasted the same, but that's a packed box of beef.
We ended our Mercato Express tour with our favorites at Merry Moo Ice Cream/Gelato: scoops of Strawberry Basil and Milo flavored ice cream, best consumed while walking in cozy weather.
Both flavors looked the same in this light. But isn't it pretty?
Overall, a good food evening.
Last night was heavy food / long walk date night, in which Char and I do little else besides eat, and walk, and talk, and eat some more. It’s my favorite kind of date night, because it ensures that the time we spend together is truly quality time, where love is sure to deepen.
But Hurry up the Cakes is not just about love, it’s about life. And life, my dear friends, is about food.
Our (first) dinner was at Omakase, which is soon moving to Molito Center Alabang, from their previous home at Alabang Town Center Casa Susana. We ordered the Salmon sashimi, the Spider Maki (deep fried soft-shell crab roll), Tuna Tataki (slightly charred [heh] Tuna covered in Chili powder, served with ponsu sauce), and Char’s favorites: the Seabreeze (a Maki of Tuna, Salmon, and Ebi Tempura, served with a sweet Japanese-Mayo-based sauce), and Spicy Tuna Salad (Tuna sashimi chopped and mixed with chives and Tempura flakes, dressed in spicy wasabi mayo).
Beautiful, isn’t she? And my girlfriend doesn’t look too bad either!
The Seabreeze is classic date-night fare for Char and I me and Char. The freshness of the seafood, with the crunch of the Tempura and the sweetness of the sauce all create a contrasting spread of flavors that make me smile. It rarely, if at all, fails to bring comfort.
The spicy tuna salad is kind of like tuna sashimi (already a “mainstream” sashimi fan standby) for the masses (and that’s not necessarily a bad thing). Covered in spicy Japanese salad dressing and topped with a small hill of Tempura flakes, your sashimi-phobic friends will have nothing to fret over. Omakase’s version, in particular, is rather delicious.
The Spider Maki is almost purely a Mikey indulgence–deep fried soft-shell crab, teriyaki sauce, sushi rice, seaweed wrap–what can go wrong? As it turns out, nothing can.
The Tuna Tataki salad, on the other hand, is an example of gluttony food greed (that stomach-is-full but mouth-wants-more feeling) getting the best of me. It didn’t particularly taste bad, but it did not add to the happy-belly feelings I had with the other three dishes–I even risked taking away from it. Lesson learned.
It was still a delightful dinner, of course. Pleasure is King here at Hurry up the Cakes, and the King was well served last night at Omakase.
Of course, the night was young, and the King was served yet again. Read about it in our Mercato Report coming soon!
You’re tired from work, your butt hurts from driving too much, and you’re about to get grumpy because your stomach’s rumbling and the idiots on the road are preventing you from appeasing your angry empty stomach.
A few minutes later (though they may have seemed like hours), you arrive home to find the food of your childhood–of afternoons running around the yard, dressed in a white tank top sando with baby powder on your neck and a towel on your back.
You sit down, you eat, and then you remember that you are alive, in all the fullest, luckiest, most wonderful ways.
Step 1. Prepare bread (Preferably purchased from local neighborhood convenience/sari-sari store)
Step 2. Prepare cheese spread (preferable MacLaren's Imperial cheese spread, the best in the world - though any will do)
Step 3. Spread cheese on bread
Step 4. Dip in coffee / Step 5. Repeat ad nauseum, Enjoy.
Hurry up the Cakes verdict: I am alive.
Hurry up the Cakes 