breakfast on a budget

i am not a breakfast person but i love hearty breakfasts.  so its two things, either i grab an energy bar if i have to wake up early or sit down to a slow leisurely brunch that has to have sinangag and eggs.

one early morning, having time to sit down and eat but not wanting to cook for only one person, me, i left the house wondering where my grumbling tummy would take me.  there is a short block in Ruby St, Marfori Heights, which i pass on my way to work everyday, which houses, mostly food establishments.  only one of these opens early enough, Gian's D' Breakfast Club.  this is actually their new second branch, the original is in Ponce St.

it is not airconditioned but the way the place was set-up, one would think that a meal here would not be as cheap as it actually is.  you could say that the owner invested a lot on the ambience as it looks and feels homey and cozy.  anyways, it was still early, read: the sun was not yet that hot, so i decided to take my breakfast there.

i ordered: tocino and eggs with garlic rice, and a mug of coffee.  I spent a grand total of:--, err i don't remember how much i spent but i'm sure it was a whole lot less than P50.00.  real value for my money!

the serving was just right.  i asked for extra packets of cream and sugar for my coffee, noting that the service staff did not wince in pain at my request, nor charge me for it.  and they were not stingy with the condiments either.   but the food was good, i didn't need any seasoning to go with it.  it was like having breakfast at home without having to prepare and cook it yourself.  Not bad, not bad at all.

two very crabby places

H [my hubby] and i love crabs. when i was pregnant with the little girl, we ate crab plenty of times because H craved crabs a lot. this was when i discovered that this old chinese restaurant in Villa Abrille served the best crabs in town. we fell in love with their Sate Sauce preparation that we hardly ate crabs anywhere else again.

so when it was a 'must have Sate Crab day', i remembered that a flashy new crab retaurant opened in Torres St. i urged H that we try it out. He refused to eat in any expensive looking restaurant without recommendations so we drove straight to Villa Abrille.

everytime we go to Davao Asia Restaurant, before we start imagining all that aligue, we make sure to ask the waiter up front if they have female crabs. when the answer is no, we back out. nevermind the whetted appetites, we can't have crabs without the aligue.

So when we arrived, my face fell when the waiter said 'no she-crabs anymore'. as i turned to inform the waiting driver, H, the waiter said 'why don't you try out our new branch?' which one? i didn't know they had other branches. He said, 'the new one in Torres'.

I happily told H the good news and off we went to Let's Crab Eat, the newest resto in town. we were not disappointed, the Sate Crabs were the best we had so far, super rich and for sure cholesterol-full, he he.  And i, the hygiene-freak was very happy to see that they had modern interiors and because it was new, it was very clean.  we had our new crab haunt.

a three-hour holiday

when it was still just the two of us, hubby, who was The Boyfriend, back then, and I would spend most of our dates in this manner:
Three hours in Holiday Gym and Spa Massage Area, usually starting at around 5pm,
dinner at a nice restaurant,
and then probably a movie or if there was nothing we wanted to watch, guzzle beer at MTS.

what the heck did we do in the massage room for three hours, you may be asking. this was our routine:
a hot shower,
15-30 minutes in the sauna,
a 1 hour and 15 minute massage,
another 15-30 minutes in the sauna,
and another shower to prepare us for the evening ahead.

we would usually meet up in the lobby still perspiring from the sauna.

fast forward to getting pregnant and becoming a mother, i had not been in Holiday Spa's Massage room for three years as i couldn't muster the thought of leaving Miguela and be selfish for a few hours.

Having a second baby changes your perspective and with the experience with your firstborn up your sleeve, you become less of a martyr and a bit braver to leave them in the care of trusted people.

and so, one day last week, hubby and i, after a lot of failed attempts, drove over to Holiday Spa for this long awaited ritual. first, i was surprised to find out that the rates did not change, still P450.00 for the full body massage, even after 3 years! and as i entered the women's massage area, i was pleased to find the place neat and clean, and well maintained. The reception area staff were new, but also friendly, and i noticed, more professional.

what got me excited was when i learned that they had a current promo - an hour of full body massage and an hour of foot massage for only P600.00. i decided to upgrade as i am a foot spa freak.

the lowdown:

the massage therapists were nice and attentive, they listened to my requests to concentrate on my back, shoulders, and feet more. they were skilled and knew where to put on the pressure and when to lessen it. i'm not one who likes hard massage as it makes me sore all over the next day, as if i spent an hour torturing myself in the gym. so i guess the therapists were happier, they had a pretty easy time with me. i came out of the spa promising myself that i would do this once a month at the very least, i was still in an altered state, i guess. i'd be lucky if i'd find the time again within this year. >o

hubby was already at the lobby and judging from the look on his face, he was must have been waiting for quite a while. i was right, his hair was already dry. i couldn't wipe the smile off my face even as he complained about my taking too long.

little did i know that he was going to get back at me not long after we left Holiday Spa'a driveway. We were having dinner in another thai restaurant just a few meters ahead. blecch!

our life with the Jadali-Sabets

how can i not write about MAJID'S PERSIAN KABABS! First, we fell in love with the food. Then we fell in love with the couple [Majid and Arlene] behind the food. Then we became business partners with them. And now we are practically family. Majid became our ninong sa kasal. Arlene became ninang to our first born, Miguela. And now, hubby and I are ninong and ninang in their eldest daughter, Farzane's marriage.

We first got to know Majid when he chatted with us, his new customers, around 7 years ago. We heard about the place from hubby's brother and being true blue foodies, we tried it out. we couldn't get over the tastiness of the kababs as each type had its distinct flavor and aroma. the goat kabab immediately became our favorite. served with nan [locally called pita bread], grape seed powder, THE secret sauce, and a salad, we were in gastronomic heaven.

the difference of Majid's food from other foreign dishes is that you truly will never get tired of it. unlike pasta or pizza or even burgers, you can eat kababs again, and again, and again. and because we were crazy about it, we had it for lunch and then for dinner, everyday of the week. what's not to love about it? you get carbo from the pita bread, protein from the goat [or beef or chicken], all the nutrients plus fiber from the salad. one complete healthy meal! and its not even diet food!

and then, majid fell in love with us, well more with my hubby actually, as according to him he had not many filipino friends. he then started inviting us over to his house, first to meet his wife and 3 kids, and then to feed us some of the most amazing food we ever encountered. in our visits, we learned about how Majid, an iranian, and Arlene, a filipina met. they told us about their life, how their family started out, their struggles, and how their little food business began. hubby and i were still courting at that time and so all we could do was eat and listen intently. we learned a lot from their stories. we were in their house practically every weekend, that is, until we had Miguela.

as we came into our own as a family, we saw them less and less. hubby started to become busy with the business and i with taking care of miguela. our visits with them became few and far between. but we remain family, and with family, you don't need the constant contact to remain close.

for 3 years now, Majid has been taking care of 2 branches. the original one in Rizal St. has grown from 2 tables to more than 10 tables. and with a lot of convincing and guarantees from hubby and i in the early years, they are now serving many other persian dishes. come to think of it, maybe Majid was making us his guinea pigs for the recipes he wanted to try selling. we made good, i guess, as 2 of our favorite dishes continue to be bestsellers.

Now, hubby and i make it a point to eat at Majid's as much as our schedules permit us. our usual order: 2 chicken biryanis, 2-4 goat kababs [depending on our hunger level], salad, hummus, loobia and whatever drink we fancy for that day.

so, for all of you who strangely still do not know of this place which is already a landmark in davao, visit Majid at J. Rizal Street [in front of Rizal Promenade]. Tell Majid i sent you. So he will love me more than he loves hubby. ha! ha! ha!

a WOK in BANGKOK

i was never a fan of thai food but my husband adores it. he has been in constant pursuit of the genuine thai taste since i can't remember. and up until he set foot in Bangkok, that eatery in boracay, in station 1, wins hands down. well, as i said, that was until he set foot in Bangkok. now, he has yet to find something which will at least come close to the food he sampled in the food stalls of Bangkok.

so for dinner tonight, we went to BANGKOK WOK, the newest thai restaurant in davao city. it was quite far from where we live, situated in Robinson's Cybergate mall. As we waited for our orders to arrive, i noticed how the set-up of the place was well thought out. the air conditioners were out of sight, there were laptop charging stations right under your seat and out of your feet's way. and i was surprised to find bag hooks under the table, which rendered my cutesy bag hanger useless. =D

i can't recall all the names of the dishes we ordered but pad thai stood out because i see that dish in every menu card featuring thai fare. it was my first time to try it and i was quite looking forward to it as i love anything with noodles.

hubby ordered the usual tom yum goong, beef sate and a steamed sea bass dish that he thought would be swimming in soup. we also had their sampler of appetizers.

the verdict:

the appetizer sampler did not whet my appetite, the soup left a sour taste in my mouth [pun intended] and the pad thai sauce was too overwhelming. hubby devoured the beef sate because he was already hungry. though he was not happy about the sea bass not swimming in soup, i loved it as the fish meat was tender and so infused with davao's native lime, which we call dayap.

as i am not a thai food connoisseur, i can't say if BANGKOK WOK serves authentic thai food or not. but judging from my hubby's unfinished plate, it seems a long way from Bangkok, Thailand.

the service was good though, the wait staff were friendly and seemed to know about their food enough to give descriptions and make recommendations.

all in all, i think it's worth trying out the other dishes in the menu list. but i will not go back there with kids again. Guela ended up playing and running around. we had to bring her to jollibee, the sleekest [newest?] branch located in Buhangin for her usual burger steak and choco sundae meal.