Arroz Caldo and Rice Toppings with My Tacook Ricecooker

Hey all! My Mom-Friday is still alive and active, heehee... just haven't been blogging as much as I used to. So, for today, I'll be sharing something that I've been using for a few months now, and it truly deserves a blog feature. Tiger Tacook JBX Rice Cooker -- the multi-tasking, multi-use, micro computer controlled rice cooker from Japan!

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A Steakhouse Like No Other: COWRIE GRILL by Manila Hotel

I love beef. I love steak. It's been a while since I've had one good steak meal, kaya it was a welcome treat for me when I got invited to dinner at Cowrie Grill in Greenhills. That was my first time to dine there and let me tell you, it was one of the best meals I've had in months. While I knew that Cowrie Grill was by Manila Hotel, I never expected it was the famed steakhouse of the hotel until my recent visit.

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Foodie Friday: Titas Brunch at Toast Manila

First Friday of the month: Dining / Restaurant

I'm not a morning person. It's so difficult for me to get up earlier than 6 am (unless we need to travel). That is why I like brunch time better than an early breakfast, kasi hindi na ako antok and I can take my sweet time to savor my meal compared to a few rushed bites while I prepare breakfast and baon for the kids and bring them to school. I enjoy this mid-morning meal when I'm alone or have a casual brunch date with friends. The most recent was with fellow titas hosted by Toast Manila in San Juan.

 

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Hot and Cheesy Makes an Angry Whopper

Not all burgers are created equal. In my family, we have our own favorites from each burger shop we dine at. For fast food burger chains, this is the only one that got me hooked on it's unique flame-grilled, cheeeeesy, spicy, juicy whopper of a burger. Yep, I'm talking about the one and only king... Burger King! And look, I found a new favorite -- mouth-watering Angry 4-Cheese Whopper!!!

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Foodie Friday: Great Kahuna at Teddy's Bigger Burgers

First Friday of the month:  Restaurant / Burgers

I am a carnivore. My husband and kids too! We all love a good, meaty, juicy burger matched with our favorite refreshments and crunchy potato fries on the side. Naturally, when a friend invites us to dine at one of the newest burger joints in town, we say 'yay'! Aloha to Teddy’s Bigger Burgers, Hawaii’s number one burger since 2001!

Did I say meaty and juicy? Look at that perfect "medium well" quarter-pound beefy goodness! Welcome to Teddy's!

From what I learned about Teddy's, this Hawaiian franchise started as a backyard business of Ted Tsakiris and Rich Stula, who both love a good home-cooked burger. They wanted to create the best quality burger in a quick service restaurant and ‘reinvent the burger joint’. In 1998, they opened their first Teddy’s Bigger Burgers, and has now landed on our local shores with two branches.

A few Saturdays ago, we trooped to Teddy's in Shangri-la Plaza Mall and were greeted with a sunny Hawaiian-theme welcome from the staff. The cozy dining area is like a 1950s diner but with a beach vibe complete with cool surfboards mounted on one wall by the entrance.

As soon as my family was seated with my blogger friends, I went up to the counter and was overwhelmed by the mouth-watering choices of burgers on offer. Ang tagal ko talagang naka-decide what to try!

What's up with Teddy's Bigger Burgers?

"Teddy’s uses only 100% USDA Ground Chuck Patty (no fillers or binders), hand-pattied daily and always charbroiled to order. Because all menu items are fresh and prepared to order, it takes a little longer to serve. Teddy's goal is to make it worth the wait."

I zoomed in on the specialty creations under the Great Kahuna Burgers line. Read the menu board and you'll find that everything looks delicious!

Teddy's burger features:

• 1/4 lb. beef patty from 100% USDA ground chuck -- flame-broiled burgers
• A creative combination of chunky toppings and cheeses
• Signature sauces
• Burgers on a potato bun
• Choice of burger sizes and doneness -- up to 9 oz. burgers, cooked from rare to well done

I always go for medium well, which is Teddy's standard. Simply specify your preferences upon ordering.  We really appreciated these extra options to enjoy our burgers better.

A view from our table. We had soda, house-blended lemonade and iced tea to down our hearty burgers and fries.

Bae-con Me Crazy Burger is love, I highly recommend this!

This was my quarter-pounder burger with flavor overload. It's got everything I want -- bacon, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, grilled onions, drizzled with special sauce and truffle honey. All complementing the flame-broiled, well-seasoned juicy beef patty on a soft potato bun. Sorry the burger is hiding in this photo. Believe me, it's big and tasty, not greasy at all. I'm salivating as I type this!

"Super Sauce is Teddy’s own sweet and tangy creation, not the usual thousand island dressing. Teddy’s Teriyaki Sauce is a traditional recipe made from scratch.

Our produce and potato buns are delivered fresh daily."

Diablo is the name.  See those jalapeños? J had this one and I got a little taste of it.  The mild heat from the peppers are compounded by a medley of sauces -- fire sauce, buffalo sauce and special sauce top this spicy burger.  It's not too hot for me, tamang-tama lang ang spiciness, so I'll definitely have this in future visits.

The Gaucho has a big crunchy beer-battered onion ring, on bacon and cheddar cheese, topped with Teddy's barbecue sauce. J and I split this one coz the kids wanted plain burger instead. It's good 'coz I enjoy eating bacon and onion rings, but realized I'm not fond of bbq sauce on burgers.

It was a Hau'Oli split between these two who wanted no frills on their burger, except it has to have cheese.  Lettuce was omitted, as requested. The boy munched on the fries, while the girl got a side order of yummy Corn Dog.  Simot lahat!

We went home so full and happy! After this very satisfying dining experience at Teddy's Bigger Burgers, we have now added this in our list of favorite family restaurants. Teddy's food choices already made a good impression on the kids, thus making it an easy choice for us the next time we crave for gourmet-quality burgers!

I'm already thinking about our next visit and eyeing the Bleu Cheese Bacon, the Elvis, or the crave-worthy Kukaelio burger with cheese-garlic-bacon-stuffed portobello mushroom! OMG!

Visit Teddy’s Bigger Burgers with the whole gang.

Follow Teddy's Bigger Burgers on Facebook for the latest updates!

Teddy's Bigger Burgers branches:

Level 3, Greenbelt 3 

Level 6, The Ledge, Shangri-La Plaza

I'd love to know your thoughts on this post.  If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it!
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Foodie Friday: Korean-Style Beef Stew

I have been doing trial and error with many dishes that the family likes to eat - some success, some failures. Family members have different preferences, and unfortunately for me, I need to plan / prepare / cook at least two dishes every meal time.  On occasion, I try slow-cooked dishes like stews.  When I am able to buy good cuts of meat and get inspired by what I find in the grocery, I cook family favorites, like this beef stew which I learned from my mother (but hers is always better!).

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Foodie Friday: Beef Sukiyaki a'la Mom-Friday

First Friday of the month:  Mom-Cook / Recipe

We love Japanese food and I made some attempts to prepare a few favorite dishes at home, but without success.  It took several trials before the hubby was pleased - yes, he's my greatest (and most brutal) critic! =)  But who else would give me an honest feedback, right. Over the years, my kitchen churned out good and bad versions of katsudon, kani salad, chicken teriyaki, gyudon, yakitori, among others.  Of course, I've failed and succeeded too with J's fave Japanese hot pot dish - sukiyaki.

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Foodie Friday: Instant Korean Bulgogi

First Friday of the month:  Mom-Cook / Recipe

Remember my Samgyusal foodie post last year? After learning how easy that was to prepare, I've been serving almost every week 'til we got sick of it, hahahaha... Then I found this nice bottle of pear and apple puree.  Hello instant beef bulgogi!

Korean #lunch:  My post on Instagram

I did not plan on posting this "recipe" because the magic is really in the bottle and not with my cooking.  All I did was just prepare the mise en place, then sauté everything. =)   But seriously, I know I'm not the only one who needs something "instant" on some days or nights.  I can't deny that I buy a lot of prepared sauces for meats and pastas.  They just make my domestic life so much easier while making the food taste good too.

CJ Korean Bulgogi sauce is one my go-to sauces for quickfire dishes.  For home cooks like me, spending 30 minutes, or less, from prep to plating would be a home run!  This bulgogi is one of it.

Bulgogi literally means "fire meat", a technique where meat is cooked in open flame.  This traditional Korean beef dish is cooked like a barbecue, but can also be stir-fried, and eaten with a lettuce wrap.  Chicken (dak) and pork (dwaeji) can also be use.  Today's dish is traditional, with thinly sliced beef.

KOREAN BULGOGI

250 g sirloin beef, sukiyaki cut

CJ Korean Bulgogi sauce

garlic, minced

white onion, sliced

ginger, (about a size of a thumb) sliced

carrot, julliened

leeks, sliced on a diagonal

2 tablespoon cooking oil

1/4 cup water (optional)

To prepare:

(Ask your butcher for sukiyaki cut sirloin. This paper-thin cut cooks faster.)

Use 1/3 to 1/2 of the bottled sauce to marinate the beef (or pork) slices for at least 30 minutes.  Mine was overnight in the ref.

Ready your mise en place and heat a pan with oil.

To cook:

Saute your aromatics over medium to high heat, then add carrots and the marinated beef.

Stir-fry for about 2 minutes in high heat, then add the leeks. Lower heat and mix well.

Add more bulgogi sauce by the tablespoon and gradually pour water until your desired thickness of the sauce (you can omit the water if you don't want a watery sauce). Taste to adjust flavor.

Simmer for another minute or two.

Serve immediately. Add cracked pepper if desired.  Bulgogi is great as rice topping!

I forgot how much I bought this bottle from SM Hypermarket, but I'll update this post as soon as I get the price.  See prices of the bottles above (there's spicy variant too!) from SM Hypermarket in Mandaluyong.  Please excuse the grainy food shot - it was taken from my phone for a quick post on Instagram (see top photo), so no pics of ingredients and cooking process as well.  This dish was too good not to share on the blog, so here it is.

Hope you can try this out if you're craving for a simple and delicious instant Korean rice meal! =)

I'd love to know your thoughts on this post.  If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it!
Get instant updates:
My Mom-Friday on Facebook
Follow @mymomfriday on Twitter
Also on Google Friend Connect, or Subscribe Via Email.
I try my best to reply and answer any questions you may have on each entry so check back if you've left one. Thank you and do visit again!
(Comments with links will automatically be flagged by Disqus.)

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