#danielaeats: green living

One thing I know I will never be able to give up is eating good food. Even dieting is too hard to do because how is it possible to decline delicious food when you know you're stomach's not fully satisfied? When food is there, I'm always there (and so is my iPhone, ready for that food post). Eating just gives a different kind of happiness that doesn't only last the meal. Which is why I might pull back a few bucks when spending on clothes and other necessities, but with food, i'm all in. 

In the last couple of days I've been exposed to different vegan and vegetarian restaurants because of my work. I've heard of these places a lot, but since most of them are located up north (aka anything past the skyway), I don't usually make an effort to try out these places. Aside from that, the term veg or green was never appealing to me. I regularly eat my veggies, but I don't go out of my way to get some. Aside from that, I can never imagine myself having consecutive meals without my meat. But visiting these places totally changed my perspective on vegan or vegetarian restaurants, debunked all my initial thoughts about it being bland, boring and not filling, and has opened a new door for me to explore. 

Pipino (Maginhawa, QC)

Edgy Veggy (Kapitolyo)

 Susi (Bonifacio Global City)

They don't look boring at all and they definitely don't taste bland. These dishes (and others that missed the photo op) were, to my surprise, very, very delicious. They were more flavourful than I expected and were so fun to photograph! Being a visual/photo person, I immediately judge the dish by its looks. When they were served and I saw all the colors, I immediately whipped out my phone and snapped away. I got to taste majority of the dishes, and they were all. so. good! They may come with a lot of veggies, but having them prepared the way these restaurants do makes you want to have them all the time. 

The Earth Kitchen (Bonifacio Global City) 

The Earth Kitchen is not exactly veg or vegan (as you can see, we had super good kebab!), but it will be on the show mainly because it's one of the few organic restaurants we have in the metro. They make all their ingredients from scratch so nothing's processed, and they have a farm up in Tarlac with almost 200 communities working together. Like all others, this restaurant is one to try out when you're in Bonifacio Global City because the food is delicious, it's HEALTHY, and the restaurant setup is so beautiful it's like dining in a garden with aircon. You may not be able to go the veg/vegetarian route early, but eating in places like The Earth Kitchen is a step towards keeping a healthy diet without compromising flavor.

Until next time #danielaeats!

#danielaeats: #MeatHeads at the red light

Last month I missed out on Bruce Ricketts' La Chinesca pop up at Mecha Uma and I felt bad about it. The feedback was really good (the food, the prices and the turnout as a whole), and even though I'm not a total Mexican food lover, a part of me really wanted to try it out because I was almost sure that it would've changed my thoughts on Mexican food. So when I heard that #MeatHeads was happening at The Red Light, I made sure not to miss it. 

The cook out was a collaboration of Chefs Bruce Ricketts, David Ong, Erwan Heussaff, JP Anglo, Allen Buhay, Mikko Reyes, and BJ Mantuano. The guys got together and did a pop up at The Red Light for charity, and all proceeds of the event are to go to Payatas Mother of Divine Providence Parish. Now, how could you NOT want to go? 

At Php 250 (each) you can get these sandwiches

PHUC NYU

Chicken Thighs, Bagoong, Pig Skin Pickles, Potato Bread

I'm not a fan of bagoong but I enjoyed this sandwich. It was a bit more filling than the others because the bread was big, and I wish it had a tad bit more sauce in it. I also wish the chicken piece was cut up so that I could have a piece of it in every bite. Flavour-wise though, it was delicious.

EL TORRO

Carnitas, Wakamole, Salsa Verde, Ciabatta

Anton and I were a bit clueless about Carnitas, so we were unaware of the fact that it has Wansoy (Cilantro) in it. I didn't mind, since I enjoy some Wansoy in my food, but Anton has this aversion to Wansoy (which according to studies, some people really have because of genetics) so I caught him picking out most of it from the sandwich. I took a bite off the El Torro without the Wansoy and I didn't enjoy it so much, but once I started eating into it and getting the bits of the remaining Wansoy and the rest of the ingredients, it tasted much better. 

GRILLED FACE

Beef Cheek Pares, Spicy Pickles, #meathead cheese whiz, Mustasa Pesto, Sourdough

Our Grilled Face sandwich had a bit too much fat in it but I enjoyed the little meat that I got. The bread was just right, toasted crust and soft inside, and I liked the flavor of the generous amount of sauce it had. 

Until next time #danielaeats!